The Express. — London, England, 1847-02-18 00:00:00

with half an hour for bet akfest, an hour fa dinner, and half an hour generally for tea, loosing twelve hears a day tor clear labour. The labour of iyinnieg was most laborious, and perhaps was only exceed.] in that respect by mowing alone; and few mowers worked twelve hours without inter mission. It was imenesible anjbedy could work for twelve hours in this way without injuring his constitution. Farm and other labourer' seldom worked more than ten hours a day. Many of tke member* of that house had argued about the great disadvantege of losing a farthing a pound on the cot. ton manufacture by redo big the hour. of bane in opposition ' to the far more important quation, 'tamely, the morel: mg of the lives of millioos of the people of this country. They said that it was the duty of the British House of Commons to re fuse this bill in order that the superabundant wealth of the manufacturers might be made greater than it was. There was not a cotton-spinner in Lancashire who dared attend a public maing in any one of the large manufacturing towns, and there openly state, in the presence of numbers of the factory workmen, facts similar to those which had been laud in that house ; and if there seas one hon. member eminent,' with the cotton trade who was prepared to die pute the policy of granting this measure before the factory workers of the north of England, he challenged him to go down to the town with which ho was connected, where he (Mr. Ferrand) would meet him, and disuse the question with him at a public meeting ; and he pledged his word, that although attempts had been secretly made to induce the fee tory workers in many parts to make statements in opposition to the bill—and he should prove it to the house before long—he should show that tho ope ratives themselves were anxious to work no more than ten hours a day, and that if the house would nut legislate for them they would legislate for themselves. It was further dated, by the authority to which he hai re ferred, that the 6,urth cause of the ill-health prevailing in the manufacturing districts might be traced to the weakened condition of married females working in factories, which also passed to their offspring. Was there a member of that house who could contravene these facts, or eay thst they had not led to the sacrifice of thousands of human lives ? Tke ma nufacturers had also said, in a statement which had been circulated among the members of that house, that if they carnet the Ten Hours Bill, the goserninent must be res ponsible fur the consequences, and they had gone so far as to threaten to close their mills, fur the purpose of creating events similar to those which occurred in 1812. Was that the way for men who had amassed enormous wealth cut of the bones alai sinews of the starving people of England to con duct theinalves ? Was that the way in which they should set an example? After they had voted—disgracefully to themselves—and had carried the corn-laws, they still opposed the Factory Bill, after they had promised to give it their support.( ear, hear,) r.BRIGHT—No. Mr. FERRAND —The hon. member for Durham said " No." He (Mr. Ferrand) believed that they did, and if they did he called on them, as men of honour, to redeem their pledge, and if they did not do so, they ought to be branded with infamy and disgrace. It was not the ininietere that would be responsible, but the manefacturen by their representatives in that house. The manufacturers had de clared that if they were left alone, and legislative interfer ence were not brought to bear upon them, they would im mediately arrange the thing . between the masters and the workmen—that they would introduce a Tea Hours' Bill themselves. Had they done so ? They had broken their pledge and promises, being determined that this disgraceful state of things should continue, and it was therefore the duty of parliament to interfere, aced to protect the weak against the strong. It was machinery which destroyed the system of manual labour ; and he had been told, by very competent authority, that in a few years machinery would destroy the labour of 70,000 persons more. What were the manufacturers doing at the present moment ? Their mills were not running six hours a-day. To effect permanent good the employment in mills ought to be steady and regular ; and they ought not to starve the people for one half of the ycar, and work them to death during the other half. Its bad received so-emote from Manchester, which stated that there was a probability that • the peat maionty of the mills would soon be entirely closed, ..^; • • a . .110 yet, during this state of things, it was proposed to retain the power of working the people for twelve hours a day. The 4 .te first medical men in England had declared that no mesa was capable of working twelve hours a-day during the whole year. They were longer than any horse or man could bear it; and yet women and children were compelled to bear it, and were dying by thousand*. Even men could not bear the factory labour beyond the age of 45. The hon. member for Mon trose had said, leave the women and children to themselves, they would settle the matter with their masters. Did any man suppose that when a mother went to the mills, receiving only 81. or 10e. per week, and returning she found her three or four children crying forfood, that she would not work her fingers' ends raw, and herself to death, rather than sit down and see her children starving ? He had conversed with some of these women themselves, and they had eked to him that it was little known what their sufferings were. When they returned weary and fatigued, and saw their children in want, yet they would work, as long as God gave them health and strength, to support them. hon. member for Dur ham, OR Wednesday last, made some extraordinary statements, and that in so determined and firm a manner, that he (Mr. Ferrand) had no doubt that the house believed them to be all true. The hon. member had asid, in one part of his speech, that such speeches as used to be made by Loa Ashley had not been heard that day, except from the noble lord the member for Newark, and that Lord Ashley used to make speeches in that house which he bad now given up, and which had been proved to be wrong. Now he (Mr. Ferrand), was prepared to challenge the hon. member to prove that any statement Lord Ashley ever made in that house, connected with the Ten Hours' Bill, was not strictly true. It was not manly of the hon. member to come there and attack Lord Ashley behind his back. Mr. ROEBUCK here made some observation. Mr. FERRAND—" He could come here," said the hon. member for Bath. Mr. ROEBUCK—I did not ray so. Mr. FERRAND had understood the hon. member to say so, and the next time the hon. member interrupted him, let him speak so as to be understood. The noble lord was not there to defend himself, and he (Mr. Ferrand) should be secured of ingratitude towards the noble lord, if he sat in that house, and allowed his character to be so unjustly attacked, when he had sacrificed his seat for the principle of this measure. The noble lord hail published to his coesti enency a letter, stating his determination to support the repeal of the corn-laws, and he (Mr. Ferranti) was justified in saying that he (Lord Ashley) had received a communica tion made to him from the leading cotton-spinners of Lan cashire, to the effect that if he did support them in obtain ing the repeal of the corn-laws, they would support him in his Ten Hours Factory Bill, which the noble lord had sup ported during the best period of his life. The other day in Lancashire the noble lord attended a vast meeting, when no man dared to eppoee him. The hon. member was in Roch dale, but did not meet Lord Ashley. Mr. BRIGHT—I beg your pardon, I was not. Mr. FERRAND—ffut why did not the hon. member meet the noble lord ? The brother of the hon. member at tended, and manfully spoke before his own workmen, but he was not able to get a single man to second him. He again asked the hon. member what statement of Lord Ashley's which was ever made in that house he was prepared to re fute ? Two years ago the hon. member made some such statement. as these against the noble lord, who was accused of having made some unfounded statement in that house with regard to the children in the factories. The hon. mem ber for Durham had also referred to a petition which had been presented to that house from Manchester, with 70,000 signatures, in support of a repeal of the corn laws, as a con ned to the petition of the operatives in favour of the pre sent bill, signed by 22,000. Why, the population of Man chester was but 262,000, and the male adult operatives there not more than 40,000, so that it would be impos sible to get up a petition with 70,000 names, even if all the male adults signed it. He trusted, when the bill went into committee, the hon. member would get up and explain how this petition was got up, as he (Mr. Fer rand) believed that 22,000 was a fair representation of the opinion of Manchester. It had also been denied by that bon. member that the operatives were prepared to take the chance of the reduction of wages. He (Mr. Ferrand) had been lately at meetings all over the manufacturing districts, at which the question was always put, if they were prepared for the consequenoes of a reduction of wages The universal answer was, they were. Now it so happened that a report of the Rochdale meeting had appeared in the hon. member for Durham's own paper, the Manchester Examiner. Mr. BRIGHT—It - is not mine. Mr. FERRAND—But the hon. member - is a shareholder or has—(Cries of " Order"). The Manchester Examiner eondrmed the fact that the question bad been put at the Rochdale meeting, and answered in the manner he had de scribed. At the very time the hon. member was makinghis speech last Wednesday, • message was sent down to Brad ford, and the next morning a meeting of the operatives was advertised by placard. It was held in the evening, in Christ Church School, which was densely attended, and, when the question was put about the wages, every hand was held up for the bill. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member had eke told the louse that the mechanics of the north were always glad to work long hours when they could get an Menem of wages. Bat be (Mr. Ferrand) had received a letter troth the me chanics of Manchester, denying the statement, end enclosing a copy of a prise essay, issued under the &umbel of the de legates of the united mechanics of Great Britain and Ireland. as to the benefits resulting from a reduction of the hane labour. (The bon. member then proceeded to read various entracte, with a view of showing that a compact had been entered into between the Anti-Corn Law League and the kaeray operatives, that if the latter wai si s upported the repeal of the corn laws, the format with draw Asi to the Tea Hours Bill. He wethl new= mi attentioa et the been to a bet far which be weld = a wed whisk skewed to what extent was intiwidethen ea the opoentives. In ldr. Nor rues UM NaMetwitost, the everlethw went reseed on Meeday int mitt • week coded fa slurs*, headed respect ively—then wig ware Ihr twelve boas' work and teethe hours' welsh thew Ar Away and thaw Ow meet. The beads wen wiled wen he Won this book. Bone Om dews, and setha fair Me, leth the f l he Min; Mktg the worker vends they were senet s W e e As wait Mgr, bow.) This, be •thathwil, was bed latioddedan ; bet to arm wend ware As seal hefty at the egaintiwo• be wed& nesth ll iss tbet an Se reds= wean a very All raft of ves the Yid In tbe Mealkenes, lthasbwasr, awl wore adeplead, dowaisty tae athinst lo bed seantitned, end has meths to lake a ten sew lai n seopese of its Moth wages. wadi Oaths. smoke * a Durham now say lath thelMeettheosethe notippend Atha Ike risk? (Hear, kw. The WA. den w art they would we 1,01 4/0 bo In on. They bed been taunted by the Chancellor dices Ilserspar with net Melee time question, bat let bin beware, la to silly their Jut _thewthent, • s wadi as be bawd in him ' mpliallies to the Bride Haan 'Z. • "'struck " - m taw shorTtim If mass wont sat tin chorus at balmy cripples yard, nixing the TOWS of "5t • , • , . , 4... 1 _ THE EXPRESS, THt.FRSDAY EVRTING, FEBRUARY 18, 1847. of Commons, and singing the universal song of the factories, "We will here the ten hours bill." (Opposition cheers.) Mr. ROEBUCK mid that if noise went tor anything, or having a good opinion of one's self was of any value, the hon. nicmle r who had just eat down would be indeed a formi debit. person. (A laugh.) But as that was, happily, not the case, he (Mr. Roebuck) should address himself to the very small portion of argument contained in the hon. mem ber's speech, pasting by with small observation the garnish with which the hon. member had so plentifully adorned it. He (Mr. Roebuck) had no interest in the question before the house, further than as it concerned the well-being of the iliellunchity, but that, it seemed, was not enough to defend him from imputations. A new species of crime had been got up, and those who opposed the bill on public grounds were stigmatised as cold-blooded political ecouomiets. (Hear, hear.) He pleaded guilty to having endeavoured humbly to ascertain the laws which regulated the acquisition of wealth, and the circumstances connected with the condition of our 110a:tering population. On these subjects he had come to conclusions opposite to those of the hole member, and he did think that under the circumstances it was somewhat hard to have this vituperation levelled twainst him for conscien tiously upholding his opinion. (Hear, hear.) He Mudd hardly . have addressed himself to the subject but for the ob servations which bad fallen from the noble lord the member for Newark in the course of last Wednesday's &bate. (Hear, hear.) They heard constantly statements to the effect that nothing was to be made a party question. There was a constant affectation of candour on the part of gentlemen opposite, and, among the rest, the noble lord, after about half-a-dozen affecting perorations—(a laugh)—wound up his speech with this observation "Let the working people of this country know and understand that the gentlemen on this aide of the bout the party attached to historic recollections, are in favour of a ten hours bill, and have not opposed themselves to the rights of their labouring fellow-subjects. The party of historic re collections! If he could but lay his hand oh the page of hie tory which recorded the doings of that party towards their country, ho believed he should find that there had been ems constsnt effort to depress its energy and to stifle its intense tual and moral greatness. (Hear, hear.) But he was not called upon to enter the list; with the noble lord on that subject. If called upon he could do so, but this was not a question into which be wished to infuse any party spirit, but to deal with it as one seriously occupy ing the attention of the house, and likely in the end to affect the deepest interests of the country. (Hear.) To hear the hon. gentleman opposite threaten them with a congrega tion of cripples in Palace-yard, to influence their judgment through the medium of their feelings—was that worthy of men who called themselves the representatives of a civilised community? (Hear.) They knew that misfortunes at tended all claws of society. They knew that the fate of humanity was to toil for iti bread, that labour was the inevi table lot of man, and that disease and every other species of misfortune would visit him, no matter what his rank its life. But was it rational, was it fair, in approaching such a ques tion as this, to tell hon. members with threats that they would soon have 500 cripples in Palace-yard crying out in chorus for • ten hours factory bill? (Hear.) The truth was, that gentle men opposite made a great assumption on this question. They assumed that they could regulate wages by act of parliament. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member for Knaresborough said, that when you asked the operative would he take ten hours' wages with ten hours' work, that was not the fair way of putting the question : that was not the way in which the hon. member himself would put the question. Ho would say to the operatives, " I know full well that if you have this ten hours lull. you will still get twelve hours' wages ; " and then he put the question, " Will you run the risk ?" ( Hear.) Why, was it not human nature in the operatives, when a gentleman whose zeal they saw, while perhaps they over rated his intellectual espacity—(a laugh)—when he told them they should have twelve hours' wages, was it not natural they should take him at his word, and consent to run all risks? (Hear.) But that was no answer to the main question. Can you by any legislative enactment get for the labouring man twelve hours' wages for ten hours' work ? If they could do so, let them do it ' • but why not go one step further ? If en act of parliament was omnipotent, if it could get twelve for ten, why not for six ; or, by the same rule, why not twelve for no work at all, (Cheers.) Unfortunately, the hon. member for Weymouth was ales endowed with this species of rhetoric. He said, "What is the use of over-pro ductiveness, why should men labour so long that we may get a shirt a farthing the cheaper ?" But, unhappily for the hon. member's reasoning, the course of trade was regulated by a totally different concatenation of events. The course was simply this—a man, having a certain capital, was able to em ploy a certain amount of labour, and to produce a certain article. With that production in his band he went into the market to compete with other men. If the products of those men were cheaper than his he would soon be put aside, and must fail in his enterprise. The noble lord the member for Newark had said, " Now mark the effects of your proceed ings. You are not only inducing the English people to labour, but you are inducing long hours in America. \ Vhat did this mean ? The Americans were competing with us, and if we passed this bill, they would labour until they dis possessed us, and we should never recover our position. (Hear, hear.) Let the house consider the period at which they were called upon to make this extraordinary inroad upon the manufacturing power of the country. It was at a time when the people were more heavily taxed than they had been for forty years, when they were called upon to maintain eight millions of their fellow subjects. Was that a moment in which to tie up your right band? (Hear, hear.) lie bad heard it stated that our success in all the conflicts with Napoleon was owing to British valour. It was so, but there was another element at work in producing that success, and that was British intelligence applied to manu factures. (Hear, hear.) The sinews of war sprung out of our surplus production, and thus the nation was enabled to make such gigantic efforts. They had, at the present ma meat, an enemy far greater than Napoleon to deal with, one that worked with a more p otent instrument. Famine was stalking over the land. ( Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") They would have to strugg le with bim in every region of the empire. Ireland was already starving, end England was on the brink of starvation, and it was at such a moment that, for party purposes, thi s question was raised. (Hear, hear.) He did not tmport party into the question; but he could not abut his eyes to the fact, when he saw gentlemen on the opposite benches watching for every stray straw in their attempts to make a party. They held up a Bag to attract every prejudice, glad to get anything like support. One day they promised mutton to the starving Irish, and the next they told the English operative they would get him twelve hours' wages for ten hours' work. That was called statesmanship—that was called dealing with the interests of a great country on a comprehensive plan. (Hear, hear.) Comprehensive plan! It was the wrecker's plan. That of the man who hoisted a light on a lee-slnke, In the hope that he might get something by scrambling amongst the shipwrecked seamen. (Loud cheers.) Let them only see a vessel in distress, be it a Ten Hours Bill or an Irish famine, and gentlemen opposite immediately hoisted a signal to tempt the ship among the breakers. (Loud cheers.) But could they do what they attempted to do, and that was a question which the house had a right to ask, and which he should impress on his countrymen wherever he met them. And here he would tell the hon. member for K naresbo rough that he was not afraid to meet hisconstituents whenever it was his duty to do so, butit was not his duty to go about as a peripatetic wandering advocate for any set of men. His duty lay in that house, and there he would express his opi nions; but if his constituents asked him to come among them he would do so at a proper time, and the hon. member might be there also. He acknowledged that on this question the operatives entertained opinions different from his ; he believed that they seriously entertained the idea that by an act of parliament they could regulate their wages. lie differed from them entirely, and he had such confidence in the truth of his own opinion that he wished to see them in that house to give expression to their desires. (Hear, hear.) He hoped that these new-fledged philanthropists would en deavour to extend to the labouring classes the constitutional right to vote for members of parliament, so that they might have a true and virtual representation in that house. He trusted that the bon. member for Finsbury would test the feeling of hon. gentlemen opposite on this question. (Hear, hear.) Let them have a " large comprehensive scheme" submitted to the leader of the great party opposite—(a laugh)—and the labouring classes could come and express their opinion themselves. (Hear, hear.) When that time arrived, and he hoped it would soon come, then they would see the value of all these fine declamations. Gentlemen opposite always deal with the people with • patronizing air, patting them on the beck as they would a child, and saying " We will do everything for your good; be quiet, we will be your pastors and masters, but don't, for heaven's sake, attempt to be legislator." (Hear, hear.) He wanted that the people should have the responsibility of passing this bill themselves, because he believed that no greater calamity could betel them. And when the noble lord at the head of the government told them of the difficulties of his financial position, be (Mr. Roebuck) heartily sympathised with the noble lord's position, and tendered his best wishes for his complete success. But as the noble lord was now the chief adviser of the crown, let him beware how he gave the in fluence of his great name to this most pernicious fallacy. Why, the noble lord dealt with it as a fallacy—u an emer gency, but could he stop at eleven hours ? (Hear, hear.) If legislation were worth anything, it was as good for two hours as for one. If they interfered with the great principle ineisted upon on the previous night by the right bon, mem ber for Tamworth, if they ware to interfere between master I and man, and to regulate private enterprise, let them do it effectually, and if they could make men happy by act of par liament, let them make them completely happy. (Hear.) Wby this was merely trifling with the subject. He would rather go the whole length with the hon. member far Old ham than have this eleven hours bill. The ritten. bare net the Secretary for the Home De IMM OIe great argument He said, "TberoVeTwe i neer_ , you are too Wis." In the bet pleee. bi Olht. hid always talked spinet this hal. Is had *gm& for adult labors en every twessism and It was on yin the cue of those wha wen not swijewis, too young to defend their own that he had lent his assistance. But it so happened OM had not as yet touched upon the ques tioa or adielt_ ,bibeez swept in an indirect way. The hon. imeaber fir Aninediereugh sews down with • book, de esdhlns be hearible andiden of women and children in debeir, ben the kw already probated children under thirteen. lb Ail under that age could work our eh hewn art the frietory-warn was compelled is boson *ea bat. woe not that kw extended to the ors they aloha not ilidlealma de nib the adnite, litiniderial they might do 1 ) t ha lt be ildieken. Ithy met Enke thinker tha t a firma &said mai " == l"lt etegby la nei n e lagm he dirret abl iebet he ne (lab, lam.) lot the here essaider who tar be as& gen at the agebeibrel Mabee abbe The young rheterielme tine Mb ohs= ens web bark tell bon abas be were be et weient. = l l . Ile had never me =fp geallemn left fiesitsaillog yeateaties* egrindoeral hew •••• 60 7 "le alt.a pow mesa in I W= all: furepenerraday. (Loud cries of " War, hear.") It was sway far them to thearibe the horrible effects of the (*aloe, on tbe human frame. He Lad no professional opinion on the suliectOwit he had read upon it, and had looked through a great number of factories, and he was prepared to say that the women in the factories, with their good clothing and sheltered labour, were in a ten thousand times more happy condition than the unfortunate women whom he had hinted] absolutely driven from the cold wet field. (Cheers.) Hall clothed they were, ill fed, and by the eotustry gentlemen W oad. (Loud cheers.) The house would recollect the con stant assaults that had been made on masters as opposed to Isbouiers, &IA the constant attatopti to set one against the edit?. lie did not mean to say that inch were the objects of the high-minded, phi'Authropie, supporters of this question, but they wt re the ends sought by the vulgar declaimer though wretched rhetorician, who had nothing but the most vulgar means wherewith to ()luaus his vulgar ends. (Hear, hear.) He talked of black books, of task masters, and of the crimes of the factories. lie (Mr. Roebuck) was not going to retort that language on the employera of agricultural labour ; he believed that the labourer was badly paid, because his master could not pay him better, and badly clothed am! fed for the same resaon. But precisely the same was the condition of the factory operative. If he bad not full wages and full work, it wra> not the fault of the master. but the misfortune of both, for neither one nor the other mild regulate wages. (Hear, hear.) He had facturen' agitation respecting the corn laws, and, therefore, he had a right to vindicate them in th.: present matter. And if he wished to take an assem blage of men from whose appearance he might prove th, advantages of civilisation, he would take them from those hives of industry, the northern towns of this country. He would not take the agdeultural laaourer, nor the women working for 4d. a day. He repeated that the factory ope ratives were better fed, better clothed, and better cared for than any other class of labourers in this country. (Hear.) Let the house consider the hours occupied in labour by other workmen. Take the printers in the Tines office—how many hours did they work at night ? Why should there not be an act of parliament to regulate their hours ? Why not limit the printers' devils to six hours, and oblige their employers to educate them? What was for the factory children in the north of 4 4 - land, was surely good for them in Printing-hewn square. He saw no difference in the cases ; and with lasi permission of the house he should endeavour to frame clause to meet the difficulty. (Hear, hear.) They were told by the Secretary of State that they had interfered with, the children. They had done so, and what had been the result ? The water-mills which only could work • few months in summer had been closed, diminishing to a certain extent the productive power of the country. But again it was said, why not work the same hours all the year round, and so keep a sufficient cock ready ? Ile wished that honourable gentlemen who suggested that course could know the anxiety experienced by the great merchants of this country in watching the turn of the markets. (Hear, hear.) They were going to make a great experiment; and he would advise them to make it at once ten hours ; and he was very much mistaken if the person who first regretted it, was not the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Heavy would be the disappointment among the opera tives themselves, and even the honourable member foe Knaresborough might live to see the day when he would not be so popular among them as at present. The hon. member for Knaresborough had led the labourers to believe that wages would not fall as the result of limiting the hours of labour; but so sure as they were disappointed in this expectation—which undoubtedly they would be—the first persons who would turn round upon them and complain of the mischievous effects of their legislation would be the labourers themselves; the consumer would feel that effect also, and the nation as a nation would feel it to its heart's core, and when they had to supply millions with food, the Chancellor of the Exchequer would find the energies of the country crippled, its finances cut short, and the right arm el England weakened. (Hear, hear.) Mr. P. BORTHWI CK supported the seemed reading. He "greed that the principle of the measure should be asserted boldly, and that the ten hours' limit should be adopted, in order that the experiment might be fairly tried. Sir R. INOLIS concurred with the hon. and homed member for Bath that sooner or later this bill must bosoms the law of the land, and also that that being the case, it would be better to take the measure as it stood, rather t han adopt the compromise proposed of eleven hours. That tare was nothing in the argument that a further limitation in the hours of labour in factories would lower wages woe proved by the experience of the result of the limits which, by the interference of the legislature, had been already imposed. He conceived that the master manufactures'. having obtained the repeal of the corn-laws, were morally bound to assist in the passing of laws which were prop osed with the view of conferring benefit on the labouring pope. lation, especially when such laws were brought forward with the concurrence and at the request of that due of the community. (Hear) Mr. TRELAWNY considered that the bill would, by lowering wages materially add to the distress of the working classes. He trimmed the second reading. Sir G. STRICKLAND denied that there was any simi larity between the cases of the agricultural labourer and the factory worker. The former worked only from ten to twelve hours a day by daylight, and in the free and invigorating air of heaven ; while the factory labourer, and he spoke of fe males and young persons more especially, had to leave their homes at fire o'clock in the morning, in the winter, in order to be at their work at six, and remain, the hours allowed for meals excepted, working in • heated factory, until eight o'clock at night, when they had to return home in the dark, and exposed to the severity of the weather. With regard to the question of wages ' the labourer was comparatively powerless. Adam Smith had laid it down that the masa% being rich in purse and few in numbers, might with mom enter into combinations to keep down wages, and the labour ers being numerous and poor, whenever they attempted be unite as against such combinations, were, by their poverty and hunger, soon compelled to give way. This showed that the labourers were under • disadvantage, in dealing with the masters, and required to be assister , l 6 o4 legislative interference. And ifwere th this e case regard to the adult-labourer, how much more so was it ha the case of women and children ? The time had arrived when it wan n for the legislature to step in ; and w was also of opinion that the ten hours' limit was that they should adopt. (Hear, hear.) Lord EBRINOTON observed that the question of prl&. ciple bad been dealt with by parliament when they limited the working-hours to 12. The interference of the state is limiting the hours of labour was defensible ou economical grounds—anything that tended to impair the health and capabilities of the working classes entailed • loss on the com munity. It might be to the advantage of the master to keep his hands on long hours, because the profit of the over , wore went wholly into hie own pocket, while the loan was legend over the whole community. On economical, as well ee sanatory grounds the interference of the state was desirable. • genmel interference with children he thought justifiable, bed umesived that it was continued too long with reference M bare in whose case he was of opinion it should cease as seen es they arrived at the age of discretion, that was to say, about 14 or 15, when they could make • bargain for thew selves. (Loud cries of" Divide.") Mr. NEWDEGATE rose merely to Bay that he bad bees so late that day to I resent some petitions from solieiteen mown% merchants, manufacturers, shopkeepers, and other isbalsinuits of Huddersfield, praying the house to pass the meesere before it. (Hear, hear.) Mr. MARSLAND, as the representative of a manufectur ins district, declared (amidst much impatience for a division) that he should oppose the measure of the hon. member for Oldham, who, in sacrificing his own interest ought not to forget that he was probably sacrificing at the same time the interests of those who were depending on him. (Renewed cries of " Divide.") He addicted that the people ought to have more relaxation and enjoyment, but he did not admit that many of the improvements which had taken place in fac tories were to be ascribed to legislative enactments, but to the introduction of machinery, the rendering manual labour less severe, and the influence ofpnblic opinion. Besides, the menullseturers were tired of agitation on the subject. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE entirely concurredj in the last remark. He believed that not only were master manufac turers tired of agitation on the subject but the labourers themselves, for it was injurious both to employen and ens ployeL He regretted therefore that her Majesty's ministers were not prepared to settle the question, so as to prevent bather agitation. (Hear, hear.) As for an Eleven Hours Bill it was most absurd, and only showed that the govern ment had great doubts u to the justice of the principle. (Cheers.) Such a proposition would gain them no credit, and would not satisfy the factory labourers, who would be content with nothing short of • Ten Hours Bill. (Hear, hear.) Not only had past experience shown that a reduction in the hours of labour had not calmed a corresponding de crease in the amount of wages, but he had letters in his pos session from high authorities alleging that if the hours were reduced to ten, it would rather tend to increase than diminish the amount of wages. He would therefore heartily support the bill. Mr. ESCOTT rose amidst loud cries for • division, and moved an adjournment of the debate ' • giving as his reasons that the noble lord the member for London, the right hon. baronet the member for Tamworth, and the noble lord the member for Lynn, the leaders of three great parties in the house, had net yet spoken, the two former being pledged to explain their sentiments. (Cries of "No,' and much in terruption.) The right hon. gentleman the Recorder for Dublin ought to answer, not interrupt him. (Laughter, and renewed cries for a division.) Mr. SHAW believed the hon. gentleman's only object in moving an adjournment waste impede the progress of the mature. (Loud cheers.) Mr. LABOUCHERE would vote with his hon. friend the member for Winchester against the bill, but he thought his moons for an adjournment were extremely unsatisfac tory. (Loud cheers) Such motions were often made for the purpose of enabling hon. gentlemen to address the house who were desirous of doing so, but his hon. friend wished to oompel hon. members to speak who had no wish to do so. (Cheers and laughter.) Sir R. PEEL denied that he had given any pledge, or entered into any engagement, to again explain why he should offer all the opposition in his power to the principle of the bill. (Cheers.) Lord G. BENTINCK, in reply to the hon. gentleman's challenge, begged to say he was in favour of the bill. (Cheers and laughter.) Mr. BRIGHT having seconded the motion for adjourn rant, thinking it important that the measure should be fur ther discussed, The house divided—For adjournment.. 7 Against it 282—Majority, 276 It being now withinivtinutes of six o'clock, much seszloty was evinced for a division on the main question be am tbetbeer ; and on its taking place there appeared Per almond reading 195 it B7—Majority,loB a lio bino mi a l : reed a seco u n . d4ime a u n d ordered ANALTSIS OF THE VOTES OF IRISH MEMBERS ON I.Oltp G. BKNTINCK'S IRISH RAILWAYS BHA- It is not easy at present to distinguish the particular shades of Irish politics; but Irish members may be classed roughly es Liberals. Conservatives, and Repenters. From the subjoined hats, it appears that 69 Irish members voted in the division no Lord George's bill, and 3.5 did not vote. There is one Irish seat vacant. Of the nr:mberd who voted, 38 went with the ayes and 31 with the noes. Among the ayes there were 2 Liberals, 22 Conservatives, and 14 Re pealer,. Among the noes there were V Liberals, 3 Conser vatives, and 6 Revelers. Among the absentees were 121 Liberals, 16 Conservatives. and 6 Itepeuhrs. AYPS-311. Aetna, Cot. C Gregory, W. H., C Martin, T. 8., L Barron, Sir H. W., It Grogan, E., C Newry, C Ritmo, T., C Hamilton, J. H., C Norreys, Sir D. J., C Hemmed, \ " C Hanailtent, G. A., C Northland, rife., C I L, J., It Hill, lewd C O'Brien, C., It Brooke, Mr A. 8., C Kelly. J. It O'Brien, W. S., It Breen, 031., C Km, D. K C O'Connell, D., Jon., B Bonbon - 01M., C Kirk, P., .ft O'Connell, J., It Butter, iterce S., It Lawler., Hon. C., B Smitbwick, It., It Cole, lion. 11. A., C Lefroy, A.. C T-tyks, E. C Cottony, Cul., C Lath ,e, C. P., C Tuite, 11. L Fitzgerald. It. A., It Meenamara, B Verner, Sir W., C Grattan, H., It WCarthy, A, R NOES-3I Acheson, Viet, L Emulate, Sir T., L Power, J., B Bellew, R. L French, F. IL Retrace, Col., L Budgie, J. J., L (tore , Hon. R., L Rom, D. R., L Browne, It. D., IL Hatton, Capt. V., L Shaw, lU. llon. P., C Carew, lion. It. 8., L Howard, Slr R., L Shed, It L, L Castlereagh, Vise., C Layard, Capt., I. Somers, J. P., L Cavendish, Hon. C.C.,L3teDonnel, J. M., B Stuart, W. V., L Chagnon, 8., L O'Brien, J., L Watson, W. H., L. Cortelly, M. E., L O'Connell, R White, H., R Corry, tu. C O'Conor Don, R Wyse, T., L Dawson, Han. T. V., L DID NOT VOTE-35. Alexander, N., C Darner, Rt. Hon. G., C O'Conne l l, N., It AieArchboid, Cap R., t M., C Pfolliott. J R ir C B. A., L O Po 'FerralL R. M., well, C., Armstrong, tar A., L Gore, W. B. 0., C Roche, L. 8., R Boyd, Dr. J., C Hamilton, Lord C, C Seymour, Sir If. 8., C Bridgeman, 11..,L Hates, Sir it. S., C Shirley, E. P., (7 Browne, lion. W., L Jones, Copt T., C Somerville, @kW. 11.,L Callaghan, D., It Maher, N. it teem, Sir T., C Chichester, Lord J., L Maxwell, Hon. J.P., C Weeteara, Clemente, Vise., L Meynell, Capt., C White, 1..t.-001. 8., L Collett,T., R Young, J., C Coots , Sir C. H., C O'Connell, D., R K -h e , px , t)sls • MAILS. Thc overland mail" for Gibraltar, Malta, Greene, the lonian Wands, Egypt, Aden, Ceylon, India, 'long-Kong, and China, no nouUnimpton, milk made up on the morning of the loth of February. The overland doped mails, nn Marseillea, to the Mediterranean, EMI , Aden, Ceylon, India, Itong Kong, he., will be =dr up on the evening of the 24th February. The mill for Vigo, Oporto, Liston, Madeira, Cadiz, nod Gibraltar, will be made up on the morning of the 27th February. The me/Is for New South Wales, Van Diemen'. Land, and New Zealand will be made up on the evening of the Int March. The Went India mails, including those foe Mexico, Honduras, and the Savannah, will be mule up on the morning of the 2nd March. The mails for IlritiPh North America, Bermuda, and the United States, will be made up on the evening of the 3rd March. The malls for the Brazils, the River Plate, Monte Video, Pernam buco, Bahia, Madeira, and Buenos Ayres, will be mado op on the evening of the 4th March. TO CORRESPONDENTS. The Advertising Oases of the "DAILY NEWS" and "EXPRESS " have teen REMOVED from 90, FLEET—STREEP to No. 10, ROOVERIE:-.STREET, FLEET-STREET, contiguous to the Printing :1;d" PubilAing Mee. WO sonnOt notice, in eny May, any communication that It sent to n. anonymously ; but those erbochonee to iddrere os In confidence sill End their oonfkience respected. NEITHER CAN WE UNDERTAKE T.) RETURN ANY MANUSCRIPT , 4 WHATEVER. ••• Advertimententa Intended for The iirpress, London evening paper, most be at the Office by Tem &close on the day of publication. HIGH WATER AT LOSDON-BRIDGE. Tan DAT—Morning, 37 eels. peat 9; Afternoon, 2.* min. put 4. To-Moaaow—Mornunt, 41 seta. Feet 4; Afternoon, 9 min. pot 9. LONDON, THURSDAY, FEB. 18. Ar the morning sitting of the House of Commons yesterday, the house having resolved itself into a committee of supply, the sum of 18,310,7001. was voted on account of outstanding exchequer•bills. On the resumption of the house the adjourned debate on the second reading of the Factories Bill was proceeded with until nearly the hour of rising, when, on a divi sion on the question of a still further adjournment at the instance of Mr. Escort, the proposition was lost by a majority of 275 ; the house at once proceeding to divide on the question of the second reading, which was carried by a majority of 108. THE present is certainly a most witless parlia ment It is brimful of logic, and seriousness, and solemnity, and, no doubt, of a very large quantity of talents and virtues. But it hes lost all sense of the comic. And it is totally wanting in that talent, which seizes the weak side of folly and pretension, exposes it to ridicule, punishes with sarcasm, and kills with a laugh. Oh! for an hour of SHERIDAN, or SYDNEY SMITH! Did a tithe of their hu morous powers survive on the tip of any tongue or in the bottom of any ink-horn, the political tomfoolery which we see sprawling over the House of Commons, exhausting its time, its patience, and its propriety, could not exist an hoar. Shades of BURKE and SHEIUDAN, PITT and Fox! could ye have witnessed Lord GEORGE BENTINCK getting up to answer PEEL, and gesticulating for hours—hours of figures, but not tropes—to achieve this task ! Only think of where, this lord and politician by courtesy, emerged from but yester day, in order to ask the Howse of Commons for sixteen millions, which he and Mr. HUDSON were to invest in railroad shares, to feed the starving Irish! Imagine the same politician coolly offering to take the reins of government, on purpose to try this hope ful scheme ; and fancy the House of Commons so dumb-foundered by the offer, that it knew not whether to laugh or cry, and consequently didneither No doubt the universal feeling of four-fifths of the house was to burst into a laugh. But they wanted the fuglemen, the wit, the dispenser of repartee, and so all remained in decorous silence, and in a tolerance which lulls the unfortunate chiefs of the protectionists to imagine still that they are respected and accredited statesmen. Ten minutes' explosion of humour ought to have blown DISRAELI and BENTINCK with their whole pack of railroad philosophy to the winds. But whilst all the rest of the world travels by steam, par liament seems to have taken to the old heavy stage coach, and jogs along with all the slowness, but none of the jokes and merriment, of that ancient conveyance. So heavy were the roads on Tuesday night that the wearied team did not get in till half-pest 3in the morn ing. All the papers, Whig and tory, discover that PEEL was very eloquent—no wonder, compared with his neighbours. He stated the case with great clearness, quietness, and common sense. He said nothing but what every one knew, or might have known for the mere trouble of asking no other than one's self. Sir ROBERT made no bnlliant discovery—he dug up . no hidden truth : he was neither imaginative nor im passioned, nor witty, nor profound : he merely spoke the idea uppermost in every mind, and of course every mind set him down as wondrous eloquent. Yet it is a great success for Sir ROBERT. His aim ie to eclipse the Liberals one iday. On Tuesday hie effort was to show the immeasurable distance between him and the leaders, whom the Conservatives had given themselves. It was indeed " Oast to a wart." In these displays of talent, this bidding for popular admiration—for the debate has been nothing else — ministers are not able to play any very brilliant part, the burdens and the difficulties of office being upon them. And Ireland with its starving millions seems to haunt them like a spectre, and makes all their cou rage shrink to the mere task of exorcising it. They were, moreover, obliged to follow the railroad league through its windings of argument Mr. LABOUCHIRE andthe CHANCELLOR fully refuted every objection, and Pau did but repeat these refutations wi th his sual addition of solemnity and order, and with the help of those financial developments fr om which a minister was precluded. All this made his success. There is, however, one peculiarity of Sir ROBERT PEEL which here deserves notice. It is a peculiaritj to which he owes much of his success in debate : rt is, that he always seeks to extinguish every plan marked by novelty or grandeur. Ile is not for adven turing money either on waste lands, or on emigration, or on railways. In short, we know not one of the per manent measures for Ireland likely to win his appro bation. Even drainage is little to his taste. In short, the kissezfisire seems to be his motto in Irish policy, at least in financial and material respects. His own government cobbled and meddled with Irish griev ances and parties merely in a moral way. And as far as physical suffering came is him to be dealt with, he had no panacea leas simple or less costly than alms. What Sir ROBERT PEEL would have done in the present crisis does not ap pear. But moat certainly, from all he utters, we should gather that his prevision and his remedies do not extend beyond temporary measures, and the alle viation of existing distress. At permanent measures he shakes his head, and seems as ready to " pooh pooh" those of Lord Joux as of Lord GEORGE. THAT the system of interfering between the manu facturer and the labourer whom he employs, and of considering the factory operative as a slave in whose behalf the legislature must make conditions, will gain ground, and be extended from childhood to youth, from female to male, and from youth to manhood, there is little doubt. The principle is admitted, ex claim even those who first objected to it. And the reason of the thing being thus got over, there is no check nor limit save in experience. And restrictions will indubitably be carried on, until they reach the limit where work must stop. When they reach that limit, or rather when manufacturing industry retro grades to meet it, the result will not be a stop, but a collapse. It is argued, however, that as manufacturing in dustry must one time or another reach its term, sooner or later is not of such immense importance, and that it is better it should reach its zenith sooner without the extreme degradation of the operatives whom it employs, than later with that extreme degradation. It is evidently as sumed, though it is not alleged, that wages, if given at all, must be such as will suffice for existence, and as this point is deemed to be reached, the evident opinion of the promoters of the bill is, that it will not lower wages. The manufacturers cannot and durst not lower wages. At the same time, whatever talk there may be of the compromise of eleven hours, ten hours will be fixed sooner or later. What the manu facturers, therefore, have to look for is, ten hours' work for the same wages as twelve. That is the law which the legislature is about to pass. We must own, that in whatever way the mann facturers decide upon meeting this law, it fills us with alarm. The competition runs stronger and stronger against them in foreign markets. Must they meet this competition from abroad, accom panied by restriction at home, with the invention of new machinery, with such culling of labour and allotment of wages, as will allow the single man to Live, and leave the female population, which Mr. FIELDEN would educate, to look for food in the work house, dragging thither those who have the misfortune to be husbands? Or will these inhuman but inevit able efforts fail, or be too disgusting to be tried, and, in order to avoid such alternatives, will the manu facturer close his mill ? The legislature evidently thinks not, and will assuredly push its experimental interference further than even a ien hours bill. We mast own, that we look upon the principle of interference as calculated to produce more pernicious effects on the moral condition of the workman, eves should it succeed in shortening the hours of labour without reducing wages, than two hours a day vest on education could redeem. It will teach him to look to government, not to himself, to parties in the legislature, not to his own prudence and strict rights. With the poor-house to provide him a refuge in age, with a factory law to prevent his being overworked, with fair wages found him, what incen tive is left for industry, what difference can the future hold forth for the sluggard or the industrious, the talented or the simple ? The state furnishes all ne cessaries, morality included; whilst, to be consistent, it must follow up the principle, and with Mr. PETER BORTHWICK, regulate the hours and the kinds of labour in the fields. A similar spirit of legislation applied to Ireland would forbid the potato and the conacre : a humane prohibition. But as it would be necessary for the government which prohibited the potato to find wheat, or oats, or at least maize, to supply its place, nay, to bring these to the mouths of the quondam potato eaters, government, and even Mr. FERRAND, will probably shrink from such an edict. And yet it is one of precisely the same nature and principles as the Ten Hours Bill. IN an article on the admission of dissenters to the universities we had recently occasion to discuss the general character and inclinations of the heads of houses. We stated that they were opposed to im provement, incapable of distinguishing the real ten dency of public opinion, and obstinately indifferent to the wishes of the more intelligent members of the university. A remarkable illustration of the unfitness of those dignitaries to represent the interests of a learned body, has been since afforded by the pro , ceedings consequent on the vacancy of the chancel 'airship of Cambridge, occasioned by the death of the Duke of NournumsEaLssn. While the great col leges and the members of the senate in general were discussing the pretensions of various noblemen who had been suggested as fit candidates for the vacant honour, the heads of houses, without taking any steps to ascertain the general feeling on the subject , met together and drew up a requisition, in sufficiently abject terms, requesting Prince ALBERT to allow him self to be put in nomination. By a very unscrupulous exercise of their influence, and. by appealing to the natural unwillingness of individuals to show even an apparent want of respect to the hueband of the Queen, the heads have since prevailed on a large number of the resident members of the senate to sign the requisition in question. Before this officious and sycophantic proceeding of the heads was known, an application had been made by the master and fellows of St. John's College to the Earl of Pow's to become a candidate, and that nobleman has already published his acceptance of the offer. He is, we believe, popular with many mem bers of the university, in consequence of the success of his exertions in favour of the maintenance of the see of St. Asaph. We are not aware, that he has any other remarkable claims to the distinction to which he aspires. Personally respectable, and moderate in politics, he is neither better nor worse than many other wealthy noblemen, who might have been chosen to present to the crown the customary Cambridge addresses of condolence and congratulation on royal births and deaths. The interests of learning and education have seldom been represented in the House of Lords by the Chancellor of Cambridge. Among the NEWCASTLES and GRAIPTONS, tne GLOUCESTERS and CAMDEN% some have been illiterate, and none accomplished. They have received adulation from university dignitaries, which has probably increased their natural con tempt for learning, and which has not unfrequently attained its reward in the distribution of Liahoprica The late Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND was one of the most respectable of the class; and probably Lord I Powis may, as a man of business, be better qualified for the office than his deceased relative. We should not, however, have thought his claims worth advo cating, or the disposal of the Chancellorship worth discussing, if there was a mere contest between two harmless noblemen, the Earl Gyases or Marquis • Cloanthuses of the House of Lords. It is only spinet a public and ostentatious proclamation of servility and prostration to rank, on the part of the university, that we protest. It is most unfortunate that Prince ALBERT'S name should be brought in question on this occasion. With out disputing any of the qualities which may be attributed tohis royal highness by the officious func tionaries who have put him forward, we may boldly ask whether any person, in or out of Cambridge, sup poses that any consideration but that of his high rank and possible power to reward indivitlual supporters, has weighed in the minds of his proposers. If the university has any object to forward, if it would in troduce innovation or resist innovation; if it would retire more rigidly into its ecclesiastical observances, or extend its ambition to rival continental learning whatever it would do, or prevent, or promote, Pnnce ALBERT is precluded, by his position, from assisting, guiding, or directing it. The crown is the visitor of many of the colleges, and, for many purposes, of the university itself. It is probable that whenever great academical changes are attempted, the determination of the relative rights of the crown and of the univer sity will lead to much discussion and, perhaps, colli sion. In what state will the university then find itself, with its chief functionary identified in public opinion with the crown itself.' Ile could not, with. out shocking public opinion, resist the crown ; he could not, without a breach of duty, c oal , promise the privileges of the university. For the sake of procuring for a few heads et houses some royal marks of favour, whi c h we hope they will be disappointed in calculating upon, the university is to be subjected to the risk of unjust interference, the public to the risk of undoe influence used to prevent just interference., a n d t h e crown itself is to be compromised by an unnecessary connexion with interests, with respect to which g ought to enjoy the position of an impartial =eh". On the indecorum of bringing forward Prime ALBERT'S name, without first ascertaining ah e general feeling, we need not remark. The conduct of the heads of houses has, we belie ve . united all those who object to it in support of L a i Pow's. A meeting has been held at the Britt/ Coffee-house, at which resolutions to that effect wens passed with the agreement of persons of different poll. tical parties. Whatever the effect maybe, it is a ueefal protest . against an unauthorised attempt to involve th e Senate in an act of awkward and uncalled for servility. That in England learning should be preferred to rank in academic estimation is not to be expected, and all custom would lead to the selection of a wealthy peer for the highest university office. That Lord Powis is an active man of business, possessed of respectable abilities, is a happy accident. lle is selected for his wealth and rank: but be at least possesses the nega tive qualifications of being in a private and therefore independent position, of having been educated at the university, and of possessing, probably, a general knowledge of its character and objects. The reve rence of Cambridge for station and fortune will be sufficiently gratified by his election, and not forced into unwonted extravagance by being brought into humble contact with the ultra-royal etiquette which may perhaps be becoming in a court. Mr. Iluctes motion respecting the guarantee un dertaken by England for the debt due from Holland to Russia, comes on for discussion to-night. The treaty of Vienna was confessedly violated by the separation of Belgium from Holland, but that separa tion took place on a full understanding between all the powers, that the alteration was exceptional, and that the other stipulations of the treaty were not to be invalidated. This agreement became necessarily modified, when the division of the king. dom of the Netherlands became the subject of a separate treaty between Great Britain and Russia. This treaty was signed at London on the 11th NOV., 1831. It sets forth that, whereas a convention had been entered into on 19th May,lBlo, the objectot which was to afford Great Britain a guarantee that Russia would identify her policy with that of England on all questions regarding Belgium, while on the other hand England secured to Russia the payment of an old debt due from Holland, and that the change made in the constitution of the kingdom of the Netherlands had disturbed the complete agree ment between the spirit and the letter of that conven tion ; it was desirable to renew it. By the treaty of November, 1831, Great Britain renewed her guarantee of the debt, on condition that Russia bound herself to contract no other engagement prejudicial to the hide pendence of Belgium. In other words, the treaty of Vienna was broken by the mutual consent of Russia and Great Britain as re. larded Belgium, but was to remain in force as far as its other stipulations were concerned. Besides the independence of Cracow, therefore, the minor stipula tions regarding this Dutch debt, as also the intangibi lity ofthe Monte Napoleon at Milan, or the consolidated property of the pious and charitable foundations of Lombardy, were to remain binding on Great Britain and Russia, as had been fixed by the treaty of Vienna. ROME, FEB. 4. In addition to the sum of about 2,000!., contributed by natives and visitors of this metropolis, for the moribund population of Ireland, there is an announce ment to-day of a grand subscription ball, to be given in the Senators' Halls, in the Roman Capitol. 'Tie many a century since this classic citadel was visited by Brennus, whom the " nation" claims as one of its own Celtic chieftains; but it seems never too late to acknowledge an old obligation. The resident nobility, ably seconded by his Grace of Devonshire, are most active in promoting this kindly effort. The new goa ernor pursues his career of town reforms, taking Florence still for his model. In that city, until some years ago, as in ours, in rainy wea ther, the streets were, at stated intervals, enlivened by miniature cataracts from projecting spouts, which sometimes discharged a volume of water equal to any waterfall in Switzerland, and washed an occasional footman bodily from behind a carriage. All these memorials of medieval architecture are to be forthwith removed at the sole expense of the house proprietors, who are not allowed to charge their tenants with a farthing cost ; the eaves•droppings are to be conveyed in pipes to within one foot of the ground. Cases of suicide are proverbially rare in Rome: whether there be anything in the genius loci adverse to the commission of the "rash act," or whether the aspect of our mouldering ruins has somethingsoothing to the mind diseased, I do not profess to say. It certain that an old Roman general felt resigned to his defeat while seated amid the ruins of Carthage, who would, probably, have fallen on his own sword in a gayer locality ; and as a French poet observes — Et ores deux panda debris Pe oonnoLvent enteeur. It is a matter of statistic truth that in this "city of the soul" to which " the orphans of the heart" have resorted long before the days of Byron, self-murder has ever been of rare occurrence. Two days ago, - of however, the Piazza di Spagna was the scene ... a strange transaction. An author of several treatises on educational matters, who had lived some years in London and Paria,where his name is probably not for gotten, Angelo Cerrutti, after spending the last few months in composing his autobiography, which fills two octavo volumes, and having caused supplies of the work to be distributed for sale at the various booksellers' shops throughout the city, on the morn ing of the 2nd inst., ordered a number of bill-stickers to placard all Rome with the title of the said antobio graphy, "seritta lui rirente ;" and while they were executing his job in all directions, he quietly at noon New his brains out. For the information of some of your metropolitan sectors of parishes, whose pious wrath is wreaked, is the refusal of sepulchral rites, on the relatives of the e re , I hasten to acquaint you that in Rome, by a decree of Pope Benedict XIV., suicides are declared to be, by the very act, proven madmen ; and, as each. entitled, as well as dying lunatics, to the full benefit of Christian burial, and are here buried acooldingly. FRANCE.—Tea FLORES EXPEDITTON.—The Mare de Bayonne contains the following : " For some drys put several men have been observed wandering about oar streets in tattered uniforms of a yellow colour, and present ing a most wretched appearance. We understand that they are French subjects who had been enrolled for the expedi tion of General Flores, but which has bees abandoned. There were about 100 Frenchmen enrolled, and 1,500 Spaniards, all of whom are now dispersed." SWITZERLAND.—The Union Monarchique says: —" We learn from a certain source that the Ron of Sir B. Peel, who is ad interim charged wirh the direction of the English embassy in Switzerland during the absence of Mr. Monier, has received instructions from Lord Palmerston to signify to the Vurort his approval of the answer made by the Federal Diet to the collective note of the three northern powers. This makes another difference between the cabinet of Paris and London, M. Ouieot having directed the French legation in Switzerland not to approve of the said reply." GERMANY.—PIWBSIA.—Tun UNITED DIST•—• The following decree wu published at Berlin on the Bth " We, Frederick William, King of Prussia, &c.—By the decree relative to the institution of the states of the 3rd d this mouth, and by other decrees of the same date, we 4.- dared our intention to unite In one diet the eight mono cle' diets of our monarchy, not only as often as the wants of the state should require new loans or an augmented:toe of existing taxes, but also for other important affairs of the state. The financial administration, which has bees in per fect order during a long and moat happy peace , cans fer such a union ; bat ea there are important subjects of a us tura to be diceanad by the invited diet, and as we feel, be. sides, the nee r s e asiamarking the important event of t he formation of central assemblies of states, by uniting around us the states of our monarchy, we have re ✓olved to open in person, in our capital and residence cd Berlin, the united diet, on Sunday, the 11th April of til+ , year ; and we charge the Ministry of State to cause the said diet to be convokedby the Minister of the Interior, and to make the other necessary iptreparstions.—Given at Berlin the Bth February. (Signori) " FRIDRItIen WILLIAM. TUNIS.—The Slide says : " It is asserted that the government has received important despatches from Tunis, among which is a note from the Prime Minister of the Bey to our Charge d'Affaires, depicting the usious embarrass' ments into which the Bey is thrown by the conduct of the Porte, and asking France to make a serious and firm declara tion in his femur, in accordanee with the promises made W him by the ministry. This note is said to have thrown M. Guixot into a state of great agitation." PARLIAMENTARY PAPER. Retvaxs RIMPECTING BINOLZT POURBOVBE.—These were called for by Mr. Ferrairl, and comprise-1. The num ber of times and dates thereof, that the Bingley poorhouse, in the Keighley union, has been visited by the assistant poor law commissioners since June 9, 1842 ; by which it appears that the Keighley union was visited eight time during the above period, five visits being for the purpose of attending the board of guardians, and three for inspecting the Bingley and Keighley workhouses. The last visit to the latter was on the 24 November, 1846. The assistant-oornmissinners were Messrs. Mott, Clemente, and Atatin.-2. Numbs': of inm ites in Bingley workhouse at the following dates:— June 9, 1842, 55; January 1, 1848, 43; January 1, 1844, 51; January 1, 1845, 42; January 1, 1846, 53; January 1, 1847, 44.-3. Correspondence relating to Bingley workhouse. This embraces letters from the assistant poor-law commis sioners, the board of guardians of the Keighley union, and the poor-law commissioners; by which it appears that the Bingley and Keighley workhouses have been grossly mis managed, and that they are too email for the accommodation required. In May, 1846, 69 paupers (some sick), were in the former, and 59 in the latter. The assistant-commissioner states so his opinion that Bingley workhouse is only calcu lated to contain 45, and Keighley 56. The Somerset House authorities gave immediate orders that these numbers should never be exceeded, which the guardians have com plied with. This paper is dated Feb. 10, 1847. ~~ ~ ~~ . f