The Express. — London, England, 1848-02-04 00:00:00

emit, to others WI perhaps too much. The pro longation of the term for repaying the hurricane loan, and the new loan to Tobago, are unexceptionable. Ws do not see any valid reason for excluding molasses from brewing, and the " if" which accom panies the promise respecting cane juice reads wondrous like an evasion. On the other hand, we have a well grounded mistrust of all such loans as that for promoting immigration. They are sure to turn to R ifts in the long run. As to the captured negroed, at is a long and ravelled chapter upon which we will not enter at present. BATII has adhered to the metropolitan protest against the window duties. This was to be expected. Lord DUNCIOI and Mr. ROEBUCK had made the window duties their own question, and Lord ASHLEY, after stepping into Mr. ItoEauce's shoes, has accepted the task of seeking the repeal of this obnoxious tax as one of the incumbrances of the estate. Bath is the natural focus of an anti-window duty agitation, for few pls:es feel more heavily the weight of its une qual pressure. In 1844 Bath paid 21,722/. of window duty, while Birmingham, with twice its wealth and more than twice its population, only paid 10,713/. The window duty is one of those taxes which are neither direct nor indirect. It is not paid by the dealer in a commoeity and charged in the bill to the consumer, like a customs or excise duty ; it is not an immediate appropriation of a certain proportion of a man's possessions, like an income or property tax. It isa fine paid by the owner for being found with the article taxed in his possession. The rationale of such taxes—the reasoning upon which the tax-imposer proceeds in laying them on—is nearly as follows : The man who can afford to indulge in this luxury or comfort must have SOM.: property ; he will indulge in it in proportion to the amount of his property ; taxing him in proportion to his indulgence is equiva lent to taxing him in proportion to his wealth.' In short, window duties, and all taxes of the same cate gory, are, or are meant to be, a property tax in dis guln general it may be remarked that taxing amanita proportion to his enjoyments is never found to answer. A Chancellor of the Exchequer, with respect to such taxes, constantly feels the ground giving way be neath his feet. They have the effect of sumptuary laws; they make people retrench their private ex penditure, and curtail the national revenue at the same time. It is very fine—there is a tragic pathos in the sound—to declaim about letting the necessa ries of life, which even the peer must consume, pass untaxed, and laying the load on the superfluities, which only the rich can afford. The superfluities' will not allow themselves to be taxed ; they shrivel up and disappear at the touch of taxation, likedeli cate exotics at the touch of frost, leaving nothing to be taxed. Purr laid a tax upon hair powder, and the returns were almost entirely confined to the return of gentlemen's and ladies' hair to their natural colours. The tax on armorial hearings had the effect in Scotland (a nation of gentlemen true GEORGE IV.) of limiting the claimants of hereditary coats of arms from the whole to about one-fifth of the population. The win dow duties are said, when first imposed, to have re sulted in long ranges of blocked-up windows, on which wags wrote, " Pitt's Works, vol. i. ; vol. ii. et peg : " Should the authenticity of this anecdote he questioned, an experience of our own day may be substituted. In 1839 a re-asessment of premises, subject to window duty, was decreed under the auspices of Mr. 11 MING. The re-assessment in the course of one year had the effect of raising the re venue from windows from 1,298,000/. to 1,661,000/. But the very next year it began to creep down again, and in 184 t; had fallen off 60,0001. Windows are again being blocked up. The window duties, in common with others of their class, do nut become more productive as a nation increases in wealth and numbers, but rather retro grade. And they have this peculiar bad feature, in addition, that the special object upon which they are imposed is nut a reliable index of the value of the property which the tax-payer possesses, nor even of that which his vanity would be thought to possess. The comparative value of houses is not dependent upon the number of their windows. An instructive table, with reference to this point, is published in the report of a committee appointed in 1843 by the metropolitan parishes to collect infor ma'ion on the subject of the window duties. The first column of the table designates a number of houses in different parts of the metropolis; the second states the number of windows in each • the third the amount of window duties assessed ; the fourth, the rental assessed to the property-tax ; the fifth, the per-centage borne by the amount of the window duties, to the rental as assessed to the property tax. We here fled a house of the annual value of 24!., with 18 windows, paying 5!. 4s. 9d., or 21; of the rental for window duty ; a house of the annual value of 1801., with 12 windows, paying 2/. Os. 2d., or 14 of the rental for window duty ; and one of the annual value of 2,000!., with 129 windows,paying 37!..'5. Id., or 1; of the rental fir window duty. These facts, taken at random from a long list, demonstrate that the weight of this tax increases exactly in proportion as the ability to bear it diminishes. There is a circumstance connected with the reten tion of the window duty on our list of taxes, that cannot tail to render it doubly odious to all persons of moderate or scanty means. Previous to 1834 there was a house-tax as well as a window-tax. The house tax was really proportioned to the value of the houses upon which it was imposed; the window-tax if to anything was proportioned to their salubrity. It became a question in 1834 whether the window-tax or the house-tax should be repealed, and parliament, in its wisdom, decided that the house-tax should be abolished in preference. The effect of this decision we will illustrate by reference to the table we have already noticed, and another which appears in the same report. From the first table we 'earn that the house of a certain nobleman is assessed to the property tax at an annual rental of 1,0001. and hasl2s windows ; that the house of a respectable plasterer is assessedto the property-tax at a rental of 32/., and has 20 windows. In 1833 there was paid on the house of the nobleman 33/. 188. 3d. of window duty, and 1231. 199. 2d. of house tax ; on the house of the plasterer, 51. 12s. 3d. of window duty, and 31. 12s. of house-tax. By re pealing the house-tax in preference to the window tax, the nobleman had his public burdens reduced at the rate of 363 per cent., the plasterer at the rate of 64 per cent. And this relief to the law-making class, at the expense of the law-obeying class, was afforded while the latter were compelled by the corn-law to pay a tax to the farmer in the form of artificially heightened prices of agricultural produce. The window duty, besides being an unequal tax, an unreliab'e tax (inasmuch as it may diminish while the means of pa) ment are increasing), and an un wholesome tax (as unfriendly to the due lighting and ventilation of houses), is an irritating tax—the very worst quality a tax can have. The movement against it in the metropolis and at Bath is but the first indi cation of a wide vortex of agitation. The legislature would set wisely in getting rid of it before a pro tracted struggle has disseminated hatred and dis affection. MANY of our more ardent advocates of social pro gress see in the laws and customs by which the suc cession to land is regulated, obstacles to improvement of the most formidable kind. They say, and with much force, that the aggrandising one member of an aristocratic family enables him to quarter upon the public service his younger brothers, whose bringing up has made them disdain industrial occupations ; and thus the most powerful, if not the most wealthy, class of our community, have a direct interest in pro fuse public expenditure, which they seek to maintain at all hazards. At the late free trade meeting in Manchester, the recent outcry about our national defences was by more than one speaker traced to this source. For in stance, Mr. BRIGHT said—" I think I can give you the secret of all this. In this country it is the'custom for men, the larger property they have, generally the less they leave to the majority of their children. Now, an honest cotton-spinner or calico-printer down here, if he makes 20,000/. or 30,0001., he generally divides it tolerably equally among his children. But the more property a man gets, and especially if it is in green fields, he thinks it necessary that the oldest should get it all ; and I believe Colonel THOMPSON gave a right explanation of this when he said, " It makes one hand in the family so strong, that he can force the public to keep all the rest of the family." Well now, bear in mind this—that, among aristocratic families, there is a natural increase as there is in families of other sorts of people. All these children, for the mot part, are brought up with an idea that it would be lowering to their dignity if they were to be seen offering anything for sale, or offering to pur chase anything on your exchange. They don't go to trade : they go to the public departments. Well, the pasture Is getting rather bare ; in fact, they must have a wider scope for their energies, those energies being principally employed in doing nothing and eating taxes." Now it cannot be denied that there is much colour for such imputations. Few of the younger sone of the landed gentry engage in trade; not many of them engage in earnest in the laborious pursuit of the law ; but they rely mainly on the church, the army, the navy, and the civil service of the public; or they live as mere annuitants, on ncomes paid out of the family . estate in the hands of their eldest brother. This is a national evil of no slight importance ; nor has been now noticed for the first time; but the scrutiny to which the tenures, devolution, and transfers of land hare of late been subjected, shows that the social and political inequalities: complained of co-exist with, and are derived from the same source as the economical dis advantages which result from the aggregation and settlement of large estates in the hands of one mem ber of the family. And it is this system of settlement which all the efforts of the improvers of the law of real property cannot get over. They try to evade it, but it reduces all their plans of reform to mere pallia tives. There is and can be no free, cheap, or speedy transfer of land so long as entail, that is, the settle ment of land on an unborn generation, is permitted by law. - - - - Thus we find Mr. JAMES STEWART, in his Mat lecture before the Law Amendment Society, " On the means of facilitating the transfer of land," after recommending a public register of titles, with refer ences to a general map, on whicheaeh property should be numbered and distinguished, said " There would be more difficulty with our settlements, for, V course, I propose no restriction as to them. The charges under them remain a long time as burdens on the land. The portions of children are not always paid off; they often show them to remain as charges, and they are settled on marriage, and perhaps three gene rations must pass away before all traces of this de,d must be wiped out." But Mr. STEWART has here omitted to state the real difficulty which settlements and the power to entail create in the title to landed property. Charges for portions and so forth are doubtless serious evils, and, as abiding ineumbrances, greatly interfere with the free transmission of land ; yet they are simply charges—active, interest-bearing charges — subject to which land might be sold with of course a proportionate reduction of price. But the real obstacle to the easy transfer of land is the possi bility that some person who may be apparently owner of the fee simple is only tenant for life, or foe some other limited period. The fact to be proved-- Ithat on which the purchas is safety depends—is a negative one, namely, that there is no subsisting set- Cornea derogating from the power of the vendor to dispose of the property. Now this cannot be presumed, for proved it cannot be, until two generations—mercifully fixed by lawyers at sixty years have passed away ; and unless the legislature shall declare that the ac tual bodily possession of au estate for some defined period shall of itself form an absolute title—a declara tion which would be fatal to settlements—we do not see how a less title than sixty years can be safely ac cepted by a purchaser. Nor would any register of deeds, even sixty years after the registration of all deeds had been rendered compulsory, prevent the ne cessity of investigating the title for the same period as at present—viz., the average duration of human li fe, though it might perhaps occasionally prevent losses from fraudulent or accidental concealments. But such losses are really very rare. Mr. STEWART in the same lecture gays, " I have heard it stated by ex perienced professional men, that for ninety-nine good titles there is only one bad." And Sir EDWARD SCGDEN, in his late edition of his work on " Vendors and Purchasers," says, "that the present expense as to titles is, in 49 cases out of 50, superfluous." Never theless, we say distinctly that, with or without a re gister of deeds, and the adoption of all the other improvements recommended by our real property law reformers, there will be no material diminution of ex pense or increase of facility in the transfer of land while the power to entail land on an unborn genera tion exists. Let us put the case practically. The Lancashire newspapers a few weeks ago contained long accounts of the meetings and festivities on the occasion of the Earl of STAMFORD and Watuteseyos attaining his majority, which took place in the various localities in which Ins estates lie ; and it appears that this young nobleman " comes into the possession of estates stated to yield a gross income of 100,000 t. per annum ;" and his lordship s agent said " the estates were unencum bered, and free from entail." Now his lordship may of course sell or otherwise dispose of any part of his land at pleasure. He is in possession of the title deeds, and could there be a present registration of his title, and there was no power by law to limit land to unborn children, any transfers of his vast estates might be made with the greatest facility. But sup pose his lordship, now twenty-one years of age, should upon the occasion of marriage or otherwise make a settlement of his estates on his unborn child, either by a conveyance of the whole or a part of the property, or by a covenant to settle the whole or a part,—which settlement as the law stands need be known only to the family and the family lawyers,—and some forty or fifty years hence should, forgetting or disregarding tho settlement, sell some of his estate absolutely, how is the purchaser to ascertain the title he will receive except by in quiring—first, whether his lordship succeeded to the estate as absolute owner; and secondly, whether he has himself made any settlement of the property? Such inquiries, if truly answered, would disclose the fact that he had a qualified and not an absolute inte rest in the property affected to be sold. Or to put another case : Suppose, on his marriage, his lordship should settle one portion, perhaps an in considerable portion, of his large landed property, upon his unborn son or sons, but should remain dur ing a long life absolute owner of the residue, and fifty years hence should sell part of that to which he re mained absolutely entitled; the purchaser knows by repute or from information that there is a settlement, and he must inquire for, see, and inspect that settle ment to ascertain that it does not comprise the land he has bought. Here we see the inquiry and inves tigation must extend over the whole period of a long life. Again, suppose the nobleman referred to, having the power at the time, after the birth of a son to settle his estate upon that son as tenant for life, giving interests in remainder to his son's unborn children, but instead of so doing should let his estate descend to kis son, who being owner in fee might sell, yet the purchaser must ascertain that the father during his whole life made no settlement that would prevent his son from selling the property ; and a variety of other possible ways of dealing with land might be stated, as plainly showing th e indispensable necessity, of a lengthened title so long as one generation can settle property on the succeeding generation. Nor do we urge this with any view to damp the zeal of our real property law reformers. On the con trary, we believe that in points of detail they will do much good ; but we would show the real nature and full force of the main difficulty which prevents the free disposition of landed property. MALTA, J kN. 25. Since my last of the 16th upwards of twenty ves sels, mostly English, have been compelled to bear up and return to Malta in consequence of the heavy westerly gales, some of them after being a fort night at sea. The Flamer was to have gone on to Corfu on the 16th with the mails, but was too much shaken by the late gale. The Locust proceeded in her stead. The Tartarus, having had a thorough refit, started on the 17th for Constantinople, on sta tion. The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer Euxine did not leave for Constantinople until the 1 ith. It is said that her consumption of coal is enormous—upwards of forty tens per diem. She took in 450 tons at Southampton and 40 more at Gibraltar, yet before arriving at Malta in 12 days, her coals were all gone, and they were burning all their spare wood. Oa the reception of news from Naples on the 17th Admiral Parker immediately ordered the Gladiator to get up her steam and start for Messina, and the Vengeance to proceed to Palermo. Early on the morning of the 18th the Gladiator towed the Vengeance oat, and both proceeded to their destination. The Vanguard, which was to have sailed on the 16th for Athens, did not start until the 19th, the day on which the Governor of Malta gave his first public ball. On the 19th, the English brig Lord Lambton, which sailed from hence for Cork, when in company with the English schooner Sapphire, Perry, master, THE EIPRFSS, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 4, 1848. also from Malta, off the island of Gaits., on the 14th, encountered a tremendous gale of wind from the north-west, which threw the Lord Lambton nearly on her beam ends, and caused her to leak very much ; the Sapphire also lost her fore-yard. Both vessels came to an anchor on the south side of Oalita to re pair damages. They remained until the 16th, the gale continuing with unabated fury, when the wind, veering round, formed strong eddies, which drove the vessels towards the shore. The Lord Lambton slip ped from two anchors and cables, and got clear of the land, bnt the Sapphire having parted her small bower cable, the heavy strain upon the beet bower upset her windlass, and the vessel was thrown upon the rocks, and soon became a complete wreck. The master and crew hrd only time to save their clothes and the log book. They got safe on shore at Cialita. The Lord Lambton, which saw the disaster, hung round the island till the following morning, when she ran io, took the people on board, and bore up for Malta. The American screw corvette Princeton, left for Mes sina and Palermo on the 21st Her Majesty's transport Blenheim left on the 21st with the right wing of the 97th Regiment R. 8., for Jamaica. On the 20th the English brig Thor burn, .1. Huntley master, arrived here from Gibraltar. On the 17th, in lat. 38.30 N., and long. 6.49 E., took on board Capt. Manning, the mate, and four seamen belonging to the schooner Monarch, of Lon don, which had foundered near that spot. The Monarch had left Ipswich on the lath of October, and put into Falmouth, which port she left on the 16th of December for Genoa, with a cargo of wrought iron. She had experienced dreadful weather, and on the 13th, when near Minorca, had one of her crew washed Overboard, and drowned. There is a report about town, which I have every reason to credit, that after the receipt of the late news from Sicily, the Neapolitan and French consuls resident here went to visit the Prince and Princess of Capua, at Menu. There is something in this un• usual act which is now puzzling the noddles of all the political coffee-house gossips in the place. On the 24th the merchants gave a ball in honour of his Excellency the Governor. About 600 were present. The investigation ordered by the governor into the fact of the bread which he found short of weight, on visiting the civil {hospital, terminated on the 19th. On the 20th, Mr. Thornton, the auditor of accounts, who had been ordered to undertake it, presented his report to his excellency. What that report is has not yet transpired. Mr. Thornton has been appointed to investigate another affair of a more extensive pecu latory character, discovered by his excellency in the Hospital of Invalids at Floriana, when he visited that institution unexpectedly last week. The treatment of the poor old creatures has always been bad, and the food so vile that nothing but sheer hunger has induced them to eat it. And yet the government contracts are for the beat of provisions ! The governor may do all that is possible for man to do to correct abuses, but until every department has an English man to direct it, it will be all labour in vain. An English brig, the Rhoda, H. Williams, master, ar rived hero on the 24th from Store, in Barbary, and reports that on the 13th there was a dreadful tempest at that place. In addition to the English steamer Scotia, the Maltese brig, Margarita, and two French • brigs were also totally lost ; the crews are all saved. The French steamer from the Levant,.due on the 23rd, did not arrive until the 2Sth. The one from Alex andria has not yet come in. The Ariel arrived during the night with the Bombay mails. considering the time of year. At the tame time they avoid expressing any opinion respecting the general design and details of the building. u they consider them to be subjects on which the judgment of architects and builders should be founded after reviewing the various facts relating to such buildings u come before them, amongst which facts they consider those which have been di‘climed at the present inquest may probably be regarded as of an important character." The inquiry then terminated. ME TEA DUTIES. —ld reply to a deputation from Liverpool, that waited on Lord John Russell on Wednes• day, urging a r.duction of the duties on tea, his lordship stated— _ . . . . --- He felt constrained to dissent from One of the naolutions of the meet ing reprvented by the deputation, vie. , "That this meeting is of opinion that no direct loss would accrue to the revenue Irma a oon snerable reduction of the duty on tea; but that even if itemporary deficiency were to arise, the considerations of • social and mond cha racter inseparably connected with this gnat question ate of para mount importance to those of a mere ducal nature." The argument here used had been applied in the instance el the reduction of the rate of postage, but the result in that case hardly justified a repeti tion In the instance now under discussion. The motive, on the part of the executive, which led to the pasta.ge reduction partook an ' questionably more of • moral end social than of a merely financial nature; that reduction wee made, too, at the time when the revenue of the country could comparatively well afford it • and though 'cry great advantages to the community had arisen front the measure, the revenue had as yet Lilted to realise the expectations on that score which were fanned of it by its more sanguine friends. He thought it not knowable that the desired re duction in the tea dudes would be found to produce a somewhat similar result, for the two questions were wallet, and were sup ported, to • great extent, by similar arguments ; and while he was prepared to admit that the consumption of tea would greatly increase If the tax upon it rendered a more accessible than at present to the public he must guard against being supposed to acquiesce in the extent ' of the consumption assumed by the members of that and a late deputation. However, it was in its financial aspect merely that the subject would have to be considered by her Majesty's First 'dinkier and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and it would be far them, being responsible foe the revenue of the country, to sec if any meatus could be hit upon whereby the question could be safely dealt with. REPEAL OF THE WINDOW TAX.—A vestry meeting of the parishioners of St. Ann, Westminster, for the adoption .1 measures to effect this object, was held yes terday. Mr. Sampson, one of the churchwardens, was in the chair. —Mr. J. George, in proposing the first resolution, observed that there being now every probability that the go. vernment were really about to bring forward a measure of unitary reform, and that as every attempt at unitary im provement would be futile unless they secured to the people a sufficiency of light and air, the present was a favourable opportunity fur lapin pruning upon ministers the propriety of repealing this odious, oppressive, and unequal tax. He would state a few instances of the operation of this tax, for the purpose of showing that it was imposed without any re ference to the value of property, and fell with the greatest severity on the poor occupiers of the inferior houses. A house, No. 8, Cross-street, Westminster, having 29 windows, and the net annual value of which was 4.51., paid 101. 6s. 9d. for window duty ; while the Carlton Club, which had 103 windows, and was rated at 1,2891., paid 321. is. 4d. Thus the poor man's house paid 33, while the club of the aria. tocracy paid only 21 per cent. No. 31, Peter-street, West minster, paid '2131 per cent. •, Sir It. Peel's mansion in Whitehall-gardens only 41. F. Beasley, the proprietrr of a house in Lancaster-court, was charged 191 per cent., while the Duke of Wellington, for Apsley-house, paid but 14 per cent, window tax. No. 21, St. Ann's-court, rated at 221., was assessed for windows 51. 14s. Id. No. 14, Schocquare, rated at 1171., was charged exactly the same amount. This inequality was consequent upon the amount of the tax being regulated by the number of the windows instead of by the value of the house, and to avoid the tax in the houses inhabited by the working clones every window which could air being thus excluded disease was en gendered. Farmers and occupiers of land under 2001. a year in value were exempt from this tax; but surely if any elan of persons were better able than others to bear the partial de privation of light and air in their dwellings it was those who breathed the fresh air of the open country while at work, certainly not those who were employed all day in close TO6OlB and factories. Then, seam, Ireland did nut partici pate in this burden at all. He did not wish to impose addi tional taxes on the Irish people, but the legi-lature should remember that there was such a thing as justice to England, and it was scarcely eon•istent with that justice that because the English people were loyal, patient, and enduring, they should have to pay taxes which those who were turbulent were exempt from. A great authority on the subject, Dr. Southwood Smith, had stated that typhus kills more people in this country every year than fell at the battle of Waterloo; and he had also laid it down that typhus might be removed from infected localities—even though poverty, low diet, and almost filth prevailed—by the introduction of fresh air. The window tax, by excluding air and ligh', was injurious, not only to the physicial but the mural condition of the people, and n govamment could ex pect to gain credit for sincerity in respect to sanitary reform unless the removal of that tax was made a preparatory step in their plan. He understood some persons advocated the repeal of this tax for the purpose of removing the restrictions on the Ininchise. He had no such aim ; his only object was to fit the burden to the back, and to make property contri bute to the burdens of the state in proportion to its value. It might be said this war tax must be retained to enable government to add to the national defences. A more unfounded and senseless alarm than was sought to be created on this point he had never heard of. The best defence against invasion was to enlist the sympathies if the people in favour 01 the g ,vernment by making them happy and contented.—A resolution Embodying the views the speaker had expressed was then submitted, and, having been seconded ' by Mr. Roger., was carried unanimously; as was another ' proposed by Mr. Ashby, and seconded by Mr. Tyrrell, for petitioning the House of Commons for the immediate abaft ' don of the tax.—A committee was then appointed to obtain • the signatures of the inhabitants to the petition, and after a vote of thanks to the chairman the meeting broke up. REPEAL OF TEE WINDOW TAX. Last night a meeting of the rate-payers of the parish of St. Paul, Covent garden, took place at the Vestry-room, to adopt measures for the abolition of the window tax. Mr. George Beck, the churchwarden, in the chair. Mr. T. Cuff moved that a petition praying the immediate repeal of the window tax be presented to the House of Commons, and that the members for Westminster be r, quested to support it. The motion was carried unanimously, and thanks bang voted to the chairman the meeting separated. THE FRENCH BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.—The sub nribers and friends to this charitable institution dined toge ther yesterday, at the Freemasons' Tavern, for the pur pose of celebrating the sixth anniversary of its foundation. The great utility of this society consists in its affording relief to those natives of France, who, being attracted to this country by the hopes of gaining a livelihood, often find themselves wholly disappointed, and, become destitute. The actual amount of relief in money and food during the fifth year of the society's existence was 6ZII, including a many of the e Preac h of zn em igran ts. mr a n y en c t re t t 3;ll l . e f t o o r in tr . h erchantstrade t n i : I and others established in London, that they subscribe Jibe ' rally to the institution in common with the King and Queen of the French, their sons, and several of the nobility of that nation, including the French ambassador, Prince Louie, &c. LONDON AND COUNTY JOINT-STOCK BANKING COMPANY.—The annual meeting of proprietors took place yesterday at the London Tavern. J. G. Frith, Esq., presided. In opening the proceediogs, the chairman observed that he believed the report of the directors would prove satisfactory. It was unnecessary to draw their attention to what had passed during the last six months in the money market, but he wan glad to say that the bank during that period had been in a very easy and comfortable condition, and had been able, besides supporting itself, to render assistance to its neighbours ; although, at the same time, their accounts were not increased. He believed that 240,0001. had been the amount of the falling off in the general issue of privatebanks within the circle of their influence, out of the parliamentary limit of 1,300,0001. The secretary then read the report, which was as follows Your directors, in presenting to the proprietors their annual report, can refer with much ratisfactioa to the continued prosperity of the I bank. The extreme monetary preteure of the past year, imposed upon your director. the mentally of great caution ; they felt that a Tarpon. ' !Shinty rested upon the Lento and County bank to grant with liberality the banking accommodation required by its numerous con nexions; and they trust that the extensive interests comprised within the range of its branches were relieved by the free, but pru dent use of the large resources at *their disposal from the inconvenience en generally fell throughout the united kingdom. During the severity of this pressure your directors weee called upon, owing to the failure of a private bank at Abingdon, to offer their aid to that important town and neighbourhood, which was gratefully ac cepted, and a branch bank has been estatamberi at that place, which promise. to be a valuable acomeion to the businera of the company. Your directors are gratified in being able to state that the tosses in. , 1 curred by the batik during the past year have been unusually small, and although, in common with other banks, the financial statement show. a considerable reduction in the amount of customers' balances —arising not only from the general depression of trade, but from in. vermenta induced by the low prices or public securities—let the in ' creased current rate of interest has enabled your directors to report • I profit nearly equal to that of last year. Your directors therefore I can recommend to the proprietors that n dividend at the ' rate of ti per cert. per annum (free of income tax) be declared for the poet half.year, and that, after payment of ex penses and providing for bad and doubtful debts, the balance of b 641. lie. 3d. be carried to the guarantee fund, w'ich will then amount to 23,6161.65. W. Hawes, Esq., your late chairman, retired during the pert year; and W. G. Thomson, Esq., has been elected to a rest on the direction. The directors refinng from the board by rotation are W. Cory, EN.; J. W. Deacon, El.; and C. Tabor, Esq., who have earth given notice of their intention to become candidate. for re-election. J. Donkin, Esq., one of your auditors, also retires by rotation, and being eligible for re election, offers him self accordingly. Your director. regret that your other auditor has been prevented from attending to the recent audit by a family be reavement, and suggest that a third auditor should be appointed. ILLATCI SHUT. D. A . 4. CL £ a. 4. To Capital ... ..... 200,030 0 0 BT naah Inlsand . . 266,6 2 810 Basersi-il Fund.... 24,761 11 9 flecuritleadiscountisd CS.4OIOSTS . balances, bills, to. .. ... .1,100,W 1 3 60 •••.. • • .... 1,225320 1 0 Bank prambua, falls- Netprofitfurthehalf- hold and lowhold. 7=7 16 10 year. afterparment uf e 9,781 15.. toxin. Preliminary ex penses, expenses of teresttoemmuners. 6,883 11 3 maablishme a pur chasing branches.. 18,814 14 1 £1,457X4 7 0 £L4.57,354 7 0 Profit and Lc To half Same cif %i -deal,. at warm. EtaolB 0 0 Balance carnal to Guarantee Fund.. 884 11 3 le Account. By net profit for the Wilcox ..... .f,6.810 11 3 £8,883 II 3 .4',6.1332 11 3 In reply to some observations from Mr. Hambledon with regard to the branches, and the extent to which the 'Talent was to be canted, Mr. Cooper said that they did not incur fresh expense for every branch they took, but made them pay for themselves. He defended the policy of adding fresh branches to the original concern, which he considered the best way of promoting the interest of the company. The did sot go into districu where people had 601., 101. or 1001. placed to their credit; but did buaincss principally in a smaller way. They had, to speak in a familiar way, but few eggs in one basket, and those they found . very profit able. Then, he thought, that when objections were made, it should be recollected that though they were perhaps sixty miles off, they were within a few hours' journey from each of their branches. There were many advantages connected with the branches; for instance the company had obtained great credit throughout Kent in making advances for the hop duty ; and he thought that if they continued the system they would make the bank conducive to the interests of the proprietors and of great benefit to the districts in which the branches were placed— In reply to an objection to the prelimiasry expenses, which Mr. Hambledon considered somewhat excessive, Mr. Cooper observed that the amount was very small when they consi dered that it included the purchase of county banks, by which he did not, of course, mean the purchase of the pre miers, but simply of the goodwill. In their arrangements of the kind, however, they were only following the example of all other banking companies, and he thought that they were fully impre:sed with the necessity of keeping their speculations within proper bounds. The chairman then proposed, and Mr. Wheelton seconded, that the report be adopted. It was carried unanimously, as was the next reso lution declaring the dividend, which was seconded by Mr. Johnson. The formal resolution, by which it was agreed that the balance of the profit and loss account should be car ried to the guarantee fund was then carried, which was fol lowed by votes of thanks to the chairman and directors, and the auditors. Mr. Abraham J. Valpy was then elected an additional auditor, in accordance with the recommenda tion of the directors, and the two other auditors re-el, Ord. A ballot then took place, and Mr. William Cory, Mr. J. W. Deacon, and Mr. Clement Tabor, the three directors retiring by rotation. were re-elected. Some complimentary votes to the officers of the company concluded the proceedings. - - - - MIDDLESEX HosPITAL.—A quarterly court of the governors of this institution was held yesterday at the hos pital, the president, the Duke of Northumberland, in the chair. The annual statement of receipts and disbursements showed the ordinary income to have been, by minuet sub scription, 2,1661. 4s. fel., making with dividend and other items, 5,9401. 14e. 7d. The extra income was, by balance, 2311. 4s. 2d. ; donations, 5431. 45. 6d.; legacies, 7001. ; by sale of stock, 3,0001., making with other items the total receipts, 11,0051. Ss. ad. The ordinary expenditure, in chi ang 1,0141. 13s. for repairs, and 1,8571. 85. for wages and salaries, had been 8,5611. ss. 60., which exceeded the ordi nary income by 2,6111. lls. id., but which left a balance out of the entire receipts of the year of 1,2921. 19a. 7d. ; out of the Samaritan fund, of which there was a balance of 1201. 4s. 52., there had been 971. 2s. sd. gives to 356 patients on their being discharged. The total number of patients had been 11,791. The report stated that the cleanliness of the hospital had been carefully attended to, but that until the alterations proposed in the budding report, which would be submitted to the meeting, neither cleanliness nor ventilation could be car ried to the perfection desirable for the health of the patients ; nor till then could the views of the board, with respect to the introduction of an improved system of nursing, to which the committee had given their especial attention, be carried into effect. The nurses were still deficient is point of number, which defect could not be remedied until further accommodation was provided. The number at present was lose than that of any other hospital. Improved ventilation was also kept in view in the alterations proposed by the building report. Many circumstances had concurred to I reduce the medical school to a low ebb, but the weekly board would hereafter recommend measures calculated to improve I it. The report and financial statement having been adopted, and officers elected, Mr. Hawes brought forward the building report, which stated that the committee had arrived at the conclusion, (1.) that the arrangement of the hospital is capable of great improvement, and that it does not afford proper or sufficient accommodation fur the present establishment of nurses, and quite precludes the introduction of a superior clue of nurses or sisters; and (2.), that it is badly supplied with baths, sculleries; and other conveniences necessary for the good conduct and the healthiness of the wards, and is, generally speaking, ill-ventilated And it was the opinion f the architect, that by a judicious alteration of the present building, extending to the upper floors improve ments similar in character to those recently completed in the basement, it is possible greatly to improve its ven tilation, materially to improve Stafford's and Northum berland wards, the most confined in the hospital, to re-arrange the centre of the building, whereby the accommodation provided for the resident officers would be improved; to find ample space for rooms far superior nurses, without diminishing the effectiee power of the insti tution; to provide extra bathe, sculleries, and conveniences for wards at present without them, and to remove those now most objectionably placed; and to introduce fire-proof a &insets and landings on each side of the building, besides many minor improvements it is impossible to mention in detail—which improvements would cost leas than 12,0001. Mr. Hawes contended that it was against the object of the charity, and the wishes of the subscribers, to continue an nually adding to the funded property of the hospital, which now amounted to 114,0001., when such important improve ments were required, even supposing, which he contended would not be the case, that they would have to sell stock to the whole amount. After much discussion on the subject, some gentlemen thinking it would be better to rebuild the hospital throughout, it was resolved that the report be adopted, and referred back to the committee, to inquire into the best means of carrying it out, and of raising the requisite funds. Thanks having been voted to the noble chairman, the meeting separated. MARINE SoCIETY.—The annual meeting of the members of this institution, which was established in 1756 for the equipment and maintenance of distressed boys for the royal and Indian navies, merchant service, &c., was held yesterday at the office in Bishopsgate-street. The pre sident of the corporation, the Earl of Romney, presided. The report described the affairs of the corporation to be in a very satisfactory state ; 315 had been admitted during. the past year, there having remained from the previous year 98. Last year there were sent into the royal navy 3d, the Indian navy 46, and into the merchant service 271, making a total so provided for since the first establishment of upwards of 48,000. The total receipts, incleding donations, subscrip tions, &c., amounted to 7,7611., and deducting the expendi ture, a balance of 921. remained. The vice-presidents and members of the committee, &c., having been elected, the meeting separated. AIM'. VATS OF SPECIE.—The Patrick Henry arrived at Liverpool yesterday from New York with 22,500/. in specie on freight. The Mary Woods, arrived from Valparaiso, brought 120,000 dote. INQUEsT, YEtiTERDAY.—ALLECIED REFUSAL OF RELIEF AT ST. Leon's WORKHOUSE.—Before Mr. W. Esker, at the board-room of the workhouse of St. Luke, Middlesex, to inquire into the circumstances attending the death of John Haskins, aged 64. After the Coroner and jury had viewed the body of the deceased, which was in a very emaciated condition, Mr. Baker said he had received a letter from one of the guardians, as follows :—" Dear Sir, I regret to have occasion to write to you, but a muse of duty to the poor and the public urges me to do so, to inform you that, on Thursday , last, a great number of the outdoor poor of the parish of St. Luke, attended the relieving-officer's office in the workhouse-yard, City-road, for relief, and that many of them were kept there, that piercing cold day, from 9 or 18 o'el xk in the morning until 9 o'clock at night, and, after all, several were discharged without any relief. One poor man, whose name I am informed was Haskins, at nine o'clock at night, became ao exhausted with cold and hunger, thee be dropped, and was obliged to be taken into the workhouse, and next morning, at nine o'clock, was a corpse. On the evening of that day (Friday) was the weekly meeting of the guardians, and it was (as I am in formed) discussed there as to the propriety of holding ' coroner's inquest on the body, and ultimately agreed to pass it over and take no further notice of it. Now, sir, I leave it in your hands se to the holding of an inquest on the body of the poor man, whose death it appears to me, as far as I can learn, was hastened on by the cruel treatment of keeping him en many hours waiting in the cold without food—a disgraceful cruel system, which ought to be put a stop to. It' an inquest is held, and it is found there was no neglect, let it be known to the public, and the parochial officers canner , ated from all blame, If on the contrary, let the guilty parties have their full share of the odium such conduct de-mews. —Yours respectfully, RICHARD WARD, a guardian of the poor.—P.S. If an inquest is not held it is my intention to send a statement of the occurrence to the public preen"— Mr. J. Courtenay, medical officer for the workhouse, stated that the master had reported the case to the board and they bad directed him to make a post ',torten' examination of the remains of the deceased, who was seen shortly after his ad mission by Mr. Lambert, a surgeon acting for witness. Mr. Lambert found the poor man in a sinking state, from an old asthma, rendered worse by the inclemency of the weather. Stimulating medicines were administered, and the old man was carefully attended to, but he gradually sank, and ex-' pired on the following morning at ten o'cleck. Oa a post marten' examination he found the abdomen presented a healthy apearance. There 'was not much in the stomach, except what had been given him after his admission into the workhouse. He attributed death to no , ural causes, aggro. voted by the severity of the weather.—J. Rinsley, a pauper, deposed that he was admitted into the workhouse on Thurs day evening last. He first Saw the deceased between 10 and 11 o'clock on that morning, when he was brought into the waiting-room by two men, apparently in a most helpless state. The poor man was very cold, and shivered a good deal. The witness described the rate of the waiting room, which he said was paved with asphalte. There was no fire grate in it, and only two forms for the pauperslto sit upon.— James Bateman, master of St. Luke's workhouse, said the deceased was brought there on Thursday night in • most exhausted state, and he sank in a chair, and was unable to speak t for some time. w. one Stimulants to wer v e er apple m d, and t ev w e i a L ou ' e ng e and he died next morning. —The jury then returned a verdict that death arose from na tural causes, and added the following addenda to their decision :—" The jurors cannot retire from their duty without expressing their opinion that the death of the deceased may have been aggravated by the severity of the weather, and that it was accelerated by his being obliged to remain without relief in the waiting-room of the relieving officer of the pariah of St. Luke for a period of eight or nine hours on a very inclement day, until he was admitted into the workhouse." be Court.. Sir 11. E. F. Young has arrived in town from the Cape of Good Hope, and had yesterday an interview with Earl Grey, at the Colonial-office. Lord Kinnaird had an interview with the Right Hon. E. Strutt yesterday, at the office of the Commiisiouers of Railway, in the Board of Trade. The Ecele•iastieal Commissioners for England had • general meeting yesterday, at their office in Whitehall place. The Postmaster-General had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Wednesday, at his official residence in Downing , street. Deopatchcs from the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, and also from the governors of the West India Colonies, were received yesterday at the Colonial-office. THE ACCIDENT AT THE EUSTON STATION. Yesterday the jury empannelled to investigate the death' of Charles Gedge and James Hickey, two of the labourers killed by the tailing of a portion of the new build ings at the Huston-square terminus of the London and North-Western Railway, re-assembled before Mr. Mills at toe Parcel-office. Mr. 'life begged permission to state, in reference to the relative strength of columns built on the brick-flat and brick on-edge principle, that subsequent to the last meeting of the jury en experiment had been made on two piers built on the respective plans, 2 feet 3 inches high. The result was that the pier built on the brick-flat principle was crushed with a weight of 30 tons, while that on the brick-on-edge principle required 3.5 tons to crush it. Mr. Mills, the deputy coroner, said, that the opinion of Mr. Hocking having been committed to writing, he would now read it to them, premising that as it was given by that gentleman in his official capacity, under the same oath of fidelity which bound him on all occasions, it would be unne cessary to swear him to its truth. The deputy coroner then read a' follows am of opinion that the minuses, or some of them, failed under an impulse derived from the seaffald, acted I.lfloll by the movements of the workmen; and the failure of any one would, under the circum stances, necessarilyinvolve thatof all the rent, and of the superatructure, the weakness which aulmi ttad of failure from, urn an impulse being more attributable to the unindurated state of the cement used in builduar the columns ; and that the columns broke under an impulse which, as I believe, they might have borne safely if the °meet had attained the Mated induration which it is capable of attaining. (Signed) MIRIAM liss.xu o u, Office of Metropolitan Buildings. In reply to questions, Mr. Hooking stated that he held it to be impossible that the pedestals could have failed, unless the columns had first given way, even though the former were run up with mortar and the 'ewe with cement. Had the cement been properly indurated he believed the columns would not have given way under anything short of a crush ing pressure. It was possible to leave erected a scaffold which would not have touched the brickwork at all ; but this would have required so large an amount of care and bracing and involved such extravagant expense as to render it scarcely practicable. Circular columns built of brickwork were necessarily faulty to a certain extent, owing to the ne cessity of cutting and breaking up the bricks in order to fill up the interstices which must otherwise occur; and until the cement or yielding materials used in the cor.structioa had attained the hardness of the bricks themselves, there was always some degree of danger to be anticipated. Had the work in question been carried on during the summer ' months instead of in November, no doubt a sufficient degree of induration would have been induced. Mr. John Braithwaite said be was an engineer, and had during an experience of nearly forty years paid great per sonal attention to every description of brickwork. He had heard the evidence adduced, and was prepared to give an opinion thereupon. lie slid not think with Mr. Reeking that the original failure was in the columns, but was of Mr. Tite's opinion —viz., that the pedestals had first given way. The mischief he had no doubt began when the outer columns were unduly loaded with the upper wall. The public were chiefly to blame in the matter, for however quickly works were proceeded with, it was never fast enough for them. Had the pedestals been built of solid atone witness did not think the accident would have happen , d. The Deputy Coroner said he thought the little matters of detail on which the jury had exhibited so laudable a de sire to inform themselves were really not of much importance after the statement made at the opening of the inquiry by Mr. Hardwicke, who came forward in the most candid mann ,r and admitted that the works had been carried on a little too fast, and that owing to the dampness of the seuouthe cement had cot become properly indurated. Mr. Hardwicke : I said that owing to the cement rot being properly indurated the columns were more liable to lateral pressure. The Deputy Coroner: Exactly so. It did not appear, however, that the works had been pressed on very violently either by the directors, the architect, or the contractor ; indeed, it was worthy of remark that the men employed by the latter were paid by day work and not by piece work, as usual when works were executed in a great hurry. Into whatever details they might enter, the question appeared to him to be, not whether the columns were wrong, or the pedestals wrong, or the upper wall too heavy, but simply the unindurated state of the cement, of which they had had most satisfactory proof. All other mat ters, he considered, they might dismiss from their minds. Mr. Wakley, he could inform them, was of opinion that the cement was not sufficiently set, and that the time and season was not such as to warrant works of a similar character being carried on in so great a hurry. He did not think that the scaffold had anything to do with the accident. It might have had some trilling effect ; but his impression was, that the true cause of the accident was to be found in the fact of the works having been carried on in too great a hurry at a bad season of the year. The Foreman said he had been desired to ask whether any provision would be made for the families of the deceased parties ? The Deputy Coroner said that was a question he could not answer. The law of deodands was now done away with, and power of action, in cases of death where blame was attributable to any party was given to the relatives. The jury here retired, Lad 'after remaining in deliberation nearly an hour, they returned as their verdict, "That Charles Gedge and James Hickey were killed by the falling of a portion of a certain building situate at the Euston square station of the London and North Western Railway; and that the fall was caused by the non-induration of the cement w ithl w hich certain portions of the building were erected during a wet and bad season of the year; and the jury add to this verdict an expression of their opinion that due caution was net taken in the erection of the building, IRELAND. Duntrx, FEN. 3. The special commission has been out one calendar month, and its labours are ended for the present The lesson it has taught has been a severe and painful one ; and all who witnessed its proceedings, and the effect produced on the minds of the peasantry, as re flected in their outward bearing, are of opinion that the teaching of the commission will not have proved unprofitable. Fifteen executions within one month I leave an impression not easily to be effaced. And I then the num b ers and promptitude of the cloud of 3 approvers turning round on their victims and swear ing away their lives for money, even overlooking the closest ues of kinship, have dissipated all ideas of re liance on confederated guilt. This is one of the best results of the commission. When agrarian conspi- racy is at an end the disgraceful crimes encouraged by sympathy will receive a death blow. ithm the last week the country papers report numerous inquests, in which the verdicts have been death by starvation. In the union of llirr, Rine. County, there have been 77 deaths last week, of which 47 took place in the workhouse. The rush to the out door relief now begins in melancholy earnest. In the Thurles union the list already amounts to 15,000. In the neighbouring union of itoscrea the out-door recipients run close on 10,000. Another of the supposed murderers of the Rev. Mr. Lloyd has died in prison. Others charged with the offence are also ill, and with slight hopes of recovery. Mr. Hickman, crown prosecutor on the Connaught circuit, died this day of influenza. The office, which was a very lucrative one, is likely to be divided be tween four, which will ensure a greater amount of efficiency in criminal administration. Sligo and Lei trim, it is said, will be combined, so as to come under the charge of one prosecutor. SCOTLAND. ACCIDENT AT ST. ANDREW'S.—SEVEN LIVE:4 LOST. —On Friday about raid-day, a brig was observed in the bay, the sea at tne time rannieg very heavy , wind 8 E., and snow. The crew were apparently strangers to the coast, and the vessel drifted west of the bay till about two miles north of the town, where she was brought to anchor in a very dan gerous situation. The li:e-boat was instantly brought to the beach, but the crew of fishermen appoint, d by the town co until to man her refused to do so, when a number of young *careen volunteered, who, with the assistance of a number of the town's people, leapt to the middle into the water, and, after nearly half an-kour's work, got the life-boat afloat, when an effort was made to reach the vessel, but the wind and sea being m very high the seamen were, after a bold attempt, compelled to return to the shore. By this time the snow fell very thickly, and the night closing in the vessel was lost sight of from the shore, and nothing further passed till about half past 7 o'clock p.m., when a boat wee east ashore bottom up on the West Sands. Next morning, the sea had fallen but the weather was thick, and the vessel could not be seen till about 11 a.m., when she wu again visible. The life-boat was now manned by her own crew arid captain of the Coast Guard, when there was no danger in making the vessel, and it reached her. She proud to be the Endeavour, of Mahlon, Jelin Finch, master, but net a soul was on board, both chains broken, a.el drifting about. The fishermen made sail on her, and took her to Dundee in safety. The crew, consisting, as appears from the ship's articles, of /even hands, hail lett the ves , el in their own boat, and in endeavouring to gain the shore she had swamped, and ell hands perished. The vessel sailed from Setharn on 24th current, bound to Malden with coals , . The fishermen should have used every possible exertion to go off to the vessel when she was first seen—the conaceneece of her not being reached has been, that they are now entitled :o sal rage for the vessel, while human life to a great extent has been sacrificed. This is the second case of selvage that nu w eaned with the same fishermen within the last 12 6r 18 months.—Nortis Delilah Mail. PROVINCIAL. MAMA*. FATAL APPLICATION OP CHLOROFORM.—AII in quest was held on Tuesday last, by adjournment from Satur day, at Winlat os, about five miles from Neweastle-upon- Tyne, on the body of Hannah Greener, aged 15. John Rayne said the deceased was his niece, She suffered a good deal in her feet, and about four months ago she became an inmate of the infirmary at Neweastle-upon4yne, wlnre she had one of her toe-nails taken off. After she left tl.e infir mary her toes still continued bad. Mr. %agile:en, surgeon, of Whickliam, was called in to attend her, and it was con sidered advisable to remove the nail from the gee .t toe of her right foot. Mr. Meggison and his assistant attended, about ono o'clock on Friday afternoon last, to per form that operation. No one was present when the opera tion was performed but Mr. Meggison, his assistant, and ei•ners. The deceased was seated on a chair near the tire, and Mr. Meggison hay.ng pot something on a pocket hand kerchief, held it to her mouth and nose, at the same time locking at his watch, and feeling her pulse. She appeared to faint, when Mr. Meggison told his assistant to take the nail off, and witness held her leg to steoly her fnet. He took it off quickly. When he was taking it oft the deceseed shook her leg, but did not speak. She mooned after the nail was elf, on which Mr. Meggson dashed weer in her face, when her eyes moved. lie afterwards put eons° brandy into her mouth, and she rattled in her throat. Ile also bled her in the arm and neck, but very little bloat flowed. She sever recovered. When she had the aaii taken off in the e infirmary, some stuff was given to her, as she told wit ness, which caused her not to feel any min.—Thomas Nathaniel Meggison, surgeon, having been duly cau tioned, and asked if he wished to make any statement, said, Hannah Greener died under my hands on Friday, while under the influence of chloroform, which I had given her fur the purpose of producing insensibility durit.g the operation of removing the tee-nail. She woe suffering from nynchia. She never complained of pain in the chest to me. The pain in her toes might cause her to become thinner. I seated her in a chair, and put about a teaspoonfol of chloro form into a tablecloth, cud held it to her once. A"t.r she had drawn her breath twice she pulled my hand down. I told her to draw her breath naturally, which she dial. and in about half a minute I observed the muscle of the arm become rigid, and bar breathing a little quickened, but not stertorous. I had my hand on her pulse. which was natural until the muscles became rigid. It then appeared somewhat weaker—not altered in frequency. I then told Mr. Lloyd, my assistant, to begin the operation, which he did, and took the nail on: When the 'semicircular insertion was made she gave a struggle, or jerk, which I thought was from the chloroform nut having taken suffi cient effect. I did not apply any more, IG r eyes were closed, and I opened them, and they remained cpen. Her mouth was open, and her lips and face blanched. When I opened her eyes they were congested. I celled fur water when I saw her face was blanched, end dashed some of it in her face. It had no effect. I then gave her some brandy, a little of which she swallowed with difficule.y. then laid her down on the floor, and attempted to nleed her in the arm and jugular vein, but only obtained about a spoonful. She was dead, I believe, at the time I atternieted to bleed her. The last time I felt her pulse was immediately previous to the blanched appearance coming on, and when mho gave the jerk. The time would we. la more than three minutes from her flint inhaling the chloroform till her death. I purchased the chletoforan from Messrs. Dagleish and Ismay, of Newcastle. I have used chloroform from the same place before with good effee*, and with no ill consequences, I did not apply more than a drachm to the deceased—probably lees. One person I gave it to required upwards of half an ounce, at four repetition.% before alto became insensible, and she completely recovered afterwards. I have used it to a person who was very drunk, and had dislocated and fractured his ankle. Two spoonfuls were given in that cue, and they had the desired effect, as he would not lie still without it. Mr. Lloyd, who was pre sent with me in the case of the deeeareed, is a regularly educated medical man, and he also has been in the habit of using chloroform—Mr. Lloyd, assistant to Mr. 111, Fee/i -ron, confirmed that gentleman's statement.—At this point the inquiry was adjourned, and, on the jury re-arose bling on Tuesday, the coroner stated that he had called in Sir John Fife and Dr. Glover, of Newcastle, to make a post-mortem examination of the deceased. Sir John Fife was a medical practitioner of extensive practice and long standing, on whose judgment great re linnet might be placed; and Dr. Glover had paid great attention to the nature of chloroform, ae.d had written several articles on the subject. One of these articles appeared in the Medical Gazelle of December 3, 1847, in is hieh he referred to the recent application of chloroform in surgie el cues by Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh : and he stated that the effect of chloroform on the animal system had been known I r some years ; and he remarked that unless its effect on the human being was different from what it was on animals, as proved by experiments he had himself made, there wan danger to be apprehended from its indiscriminate use. As the subject was of great import ma to the medical profession and the public, he considered it proper to have the epiniou of Dr. Glover of this cue, conceiving that from she attention he had pa;d to the subject it would be of great weight. —Sir John Fife said, I nude a post tauten& examination slime with Dr. eliover. In my opinion the came of death was cutemeion of the knits, and that oongtetien I ascribe to the inhalation of chloroform. Of the power of chlorolerrn to occasion suck congestion no doubt can be entertained, after the experiments of Mr. Wakley, jun., and Dr. Glover on animals. There does not seem to have been anything in the previous condition of the young woman to have pre vented the •urgeon from having recourse to chloroform as means of allaying pain in one of the most painful operations of surgery. Such is my opinion of the effect of chloroform in lessening human suffering, and the small degree of danger attendieg its application in the cues that I have seen, that if I were myself required to undergo an operatioa I would have no hesitation whatever in taking it. I have been using chloroform three or four times a week ever since its efficacy in relieving min was pub lished, and I have never seen bad effects from it. In one instance, that of a woman who had to submit to the removal of a tumour, weighing about 'jibs., and distributed over a sur face a foot moue, Dr. Glover and I administered about eight times the quantity of chloroform that was wed in the case of the deceased. She recovered quickly, and was not worse after the operation than might have been expect& from its formidable character. I have used it frequently la amputations, lithotomy, and a great many severe 'untied' operations, and never knew any bad consequence to arise from it. I attribute the fatal effect of the chloroform in the present instance to peculiarity in the constitution of the young woman. lam doubtful whether it arose front the state of the lungs or the peculiar susceptibility of the nervous system. No effect could arise in the present instance from the ether she took on the 211th of October in the infirmary. I have no hesitation in saying that the fatal issue of this case might have occurred in the hand& of the most prudent and skilful surgeon that ever lived. It sometimes happens that a person will die from the &hock of the operation, within a very few minutes after, and with nothing to show the caws, merely from the shock it gives the system. These cues are rare. I think in such taus the same individuals would be „..- , a influenced in a similar way with chloroform. The same sus-. • . ceptibility of nerve that would render the shock fatal would . render the chloroform fatal. No human foresight, no human' t' knowledge, no degree of science, could have forewarned- - o. andundniantongasippnleyt it in e I.lzenteoicalachlo,rwohfoenrcatheis th op is en au tion e. 00 I ad ha bo ve j; ja; '•,‘q/./