The Express. — London, England, 1853-04-21 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF CONIMCWS.—WEnmEsDAi,Antn. 20. The rtrameza took the chair at 12 o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. had Just sat down. The lime. gentleman proceeled to read from a petition, which ho had formerly presented to the beim, statistics illustrating the est. nt of drunkcane‘e ir. dm.tland ; for instance, one statement beirg that 41,000 persons had env_re I one public-hou,c in one day. Ile tug g.-sled exceptions in the appt:eation of this particu:ar part of the bill to small country places, otter:. there might be only one general piece of business for groceries and spirits. Mr. CItAUFURD thought that the magisuates of Scot land had 'already to a great extent the power of restraining mutely of the evils pointed out. Mr. DUNLOP thought that the magistrates must be made, by compulsory posers, to exercise a better discretion than they had so far exhibited. The great evil Was that people could Rotor wh slaty into a grocer's shop ut.der pre tence of gettiug grecerits, and that thus the shame which would follow tippliog habits was to a great extent pre vented. Mr. FF.RGUS—Free trade had nothing to do with this bill, the question was eatirely one of police. Cheere.) Ile, theretote, called upon the hon. gentleman (Mr. Mackensie) to persevere with this proposal to legislate against grocers' shops which e , toted whisk J. The LORD ADVOCATE.—The evil attainst which this bill was directed was the national sin of Scotland—a sin which overshadowed all the other social evils of that coun try. lint it was a moral evil, and this bill would not, he thought, reach the root of the evil. It would, however, be rfl etual to a great extent, so far as this clause went, and he could not, therefore, refuse his assent to that clause. Mr. L HEYWORTH was glad as a teetotaller to see such a bill introduced. The soli was not only a moral evil, it was a physical evil, awl as we legislated against poisons by limiting the sale of arsenic wo should legislate also Against the solo of intoxicating drinks. Something far more stringent than this hill wail wanted ; but it was the thin end of the wedge, and he would live in the hope that the time would come when the House of Commons would legislate in the spirit of the Maine legislature. (Laughter.) Mr. STAPLETON approved of the bill, and would vote as a free trader without supposing that ho was being in any respect inconsistent. In answer to some taunts against his inconsistency, Mr. lIUME sued he would go farther against this evil then the hen. gentleman opposite (Mr. Mackenzie.) He would vote for the introduction of the Maiuo liquor law. (Great laughter.) Mr. JA)IE9 14 GREGOR would heartily support the hon. member for Liverpool. . . - Mr. SOTIIERON moved, that is the ease of the London awl South Western Railway (Basingstoke and Salisbury Branch). petit.en for a bill, the standing order, No. 151, be dispensed with; and that the petition for the hill may be presented to the house, notwithstanding that more than three clear days have elspeed since the Mlle was endorsed by the Elusion of Petitions for Private Bills; und that es the presentation of the said petition, the report from the Standing Orders Committee thereupon be read. and that leave be given to bri in the bill, notwithstanding enure then three char days have elapsed votes the said report from the Smutting Orders Committee has been presented ; and that Mr. Francis Scott and Mr. DAbby S.ym.ur du prepare and bring it in. The presentation of the petition, he s od, had been omitted by accident. The motion was agreed to. Ou the motion of Mr. CRAUII - Rll. the oiler for the second reading of the Ardrossus It iilway Bill was dis chad. O the motion of Mr. Witavos, the following numbers were nominated the 'the sonnsittio oo Wl.ichwood bar vest Rill—Mr. Watson, Colonel North, L,rd Sey mour, Mr. Granville Ilerei-utt, the Marquis Chaialoa , Mr. Lang ston, and bre members to be added by the Committee of Belt ethos. PUBLIC BUSINLsS. PEIIIIONS PUESENTED. orENINO 0; 7,1;,(.:;;;iL.Fti..;;:i11:.: SUNDAYS.— By Mr. FORBES, tram Wesleyans of Liveresol, and work ing men of Evertoa, Liverpool; Mr. DUNLOP, from minhter•, oili.,..brarers, and members of the National Scotch Church, Regenneguare ; against. Aiim Is.. tote UV JIM,' PLILLIAMENT.—By Mr. LOCK• HART, from the Presbytery of Selkirk, agaiust. A IToRN ETA' CESTIVICATEDI'vv.—By Mr.SMOLLETT, trout solicitors and agents practising in the Sheriff Courts, Dumbartonshire, in favour of the repeal of. CLERGY RESERVES SILL.—By Mr. FORBES, from Presbytery of Peirpost, against. TAXES ON KNOWLEDOZ.—By Mr. J. MACGREGOR, from the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge at Bexley-h. ath, in the canary of Kent. against. MAYNOOTII.-117 Mr. DUFF, several, from the county Of Bwr, pines. F 10711411 UNIVERSITY TESTS.—Bv Mr. lIASTIE, from v place in Seotleud, for the n peal of the Test Act in Scotch universities OCCUPATION or ROME RT THE FIZENCII.—By Mr. ELIOTT LOCK 11.41tT, from Gelashiels, in reference to the occupation of Rome by the French troops. Posture lint see (Stantceu) GILL. —By Sir 0. MONTGOMERY, from inhabitants of the burgh of Peobles, in favour of ; Mr. A. HASTIE, from licensed victuall• to, awl the inhabitants of Glasgow, against ; from dissenters of the Total Abstinence Seiciety, in hewn of ; Item the Free Church Abstainer. Society, to the seine effect; Sir JAMES ANDERSON, from the magistrates and town comicil of Dunfermline, against; from the minis ters and office bearers of the parish of Dunferwliue and the Second United Presbyteries Congregation, Stirling, in fa vour of; also o from the inhabitants of Dunfermline, against; Mr. HASTIE, from tho St. George's Free March ministers and office bearers, and from the inhabitants of the Bridge Mar, in favour of ; Mr. DUNLOP, from the ministers and office bearers of the Free Church congregations of St. Theron Greenock, and of St. Luke's Siberton. havinstrect, and ilolyrood, Edin burgh; Mr. FORBES, from Glasgow (6), Melrose (4), St. Bossed], Earlston, Bowden, Galashiels, Presbytery of Selkirk, and from almost congregation in Edinburgh, in femur of ; Mr. SMOLLETT, from inhabitants of Kirk infilloch, from ministers and 'office bearers of the esta blished church of Scotland in Ilelensburgh, Kilmarnock, Old Kilpatrick and Marylon, against ; and from the minis ten and office bearers of the /gee Church congregation at Shanden, Old Kilpatrick, and Maryhill, in favour of; Mr. G. DUNCAN, from the parish of St. Clement's, Dundee, and from the free St. Andrew's church, Dundee, is favour of. Mr. ELLIOT suggested an: amendment to the bill, for the purpose of preventing the sale of spirits in toll-houses. Mr. DUNCAN supported the suggestion. Mr. MACKENZIE did not sec how this point affected this clause. (Hear, hear.) Mr. 11. DRUMMOND attributed much of the drunken habits of Scotland to the excessive and superstitious ob servance of the Lord's Day in that country. (" Oh, oh," and cheers.) Upon restrained the people from recreation and walking out of doors, you forced them into drinking in their houses. Every Saturday night 30,000 men got drunk in O'issg.iw, and lay in a perfect state of insensibility until the Monday morning. (Great laughter.) Legislation would not meet this evil. Common sense only would meet it. The higher classes must set • good example of graceful and rational amusement on the Sabbath. (Hear, hear.) They must find some better way of going on than " tithing anise and cummin, cud forgetting the weightier matters of the law." Hr. ALEXANDER HASTIE protested against this argument of the hon. gentleman (Hr. Drummond), and the representations on which it wu baud. But he admitted that a great deal too much whisay wee drunk in Scotland. The amendment, after some further discussion, was then withdrawn, and the clause passed. Clauses 2 to 5 were agreed to, after some verbal amend ments made in them. Mr. MACKENZIE said that, in consequence of a com munication which he had received from the hon. gentleman the secretary of the treasury, he would postpone the excise clauses. viz. 6,7, and 8. Clime 9 was agreed to. On clause 10, which prohibits grocers sending out mere then one gallon, Mr. COWAN suggested six gallons; but the clause, as it stood, was agreed to. Clauses up to 14 were agreed to. On clause 14, Mr. MACKENZIE said that, by the clause as it stood, he was informed that a new offence was created (or which there was no punishment provided by the law of Scotland. Ile proposed, th .refore, to leave out against the said re cited act and this net," and insert, at the end of the clause, " nod every per.on so offending shall for every such offence forfeit and pay the penalties hereinafter mentioned, that is to say, for the first off, nee the sum of five pounds with the expenses of conviction, and in case such penalty and ex penses shall not be paid within the space of fourteen days next after such conviction shall have taken place, the offen der a' all be imprisoned for a period of one calendar month unless he shall sooner pay such penalty and expenses; and for the second and every subsequent offence, the offender shall forfeit the sumo( WI., with the expenses of conviction ; and in case such penalty and expenses shall not be paid within the space of fourteen days next a ft er such second or subsequent conviction shall have taken place, then the offender shall be imprisoned fur a period of two calendar months, unless he shall sooner pay such penalty and ex penses ; aad it is hereby provided and declared, that the several penalties and terms of imprisonment may be miti gated by the court ; provided always, that by such miliga tion such penalties and terms of imprisonment respectively shall not be reduced to leas than one-fourth thereof." INDIA.—Mr. FEILDEN, from the Blackburn Com mercial Association, praying for certain refusals in the future government of that country, which shall render it inadmissible for the Hon. Fait India Cumpany to continue cultivators of the soil, manufacturers of produce, or traders in articles of commerce, and that thty shall ne longer be allowed to receivii by hvpothecatiun any produce, nor be pur chasers thercof, in conaucting their financial operations ; and that they be eismpelled equitably to adjust or annul the' land tax, and to expend, at least, 10 per cent. of their annual es venues in public works of utility, such as roads, bridges, tanks, irrigation, rite., to facilitate the growth of cotton and ' other produce of vast importance to the interests of the public at large. RETSESENTATION OP DROGHZDA.—By Mr. DI'CANN, signed by the mayor and 496 inhabitants of the county of tie town of Drogheda, comprising the hifinential merchants and traders of the town, praying fur an additional member to represent its several commercial, manufacturing, and shipping interests in parliament. TERMINABLE On the motionolgiTh;licAiliaisasi.ir,On the part of Mr. J. B. Snerit, returns were ordered showing the amount of annuities fir lives and for terms of years 'remand in each of the years ending the sth day of January, 1852 and 1853, end the amount of capital stock cancelled in each of the said years on account of such terminable annuities; and of the amount of the annuities for lives and for terms of years which have (*wit in each of the said years, ending the sth tiny of January, 18a t and 1853 (in continuation of Parlia mentary Paper, Nei. 6.57, of Suasion 1861). POOR LAW. Mr. VERNON moved for returns of all applications made to the poor law board, according to the provisions of so much el the arm 13 and 14 Vie., e. 37, ac relates ti pre ventiog the holding of vestry or other meetings in churches ; such return to specify the application..granted and refused: of all cases where, under the provisions of the said set, lands or premises have been taken on lease or porchased, and sal, a or 'gauges have been effected for the purpose of obtaining buildings suitable for vestry meetings; of all ca-es where the poor law commissionen have given authority for motiey to be borrowed for such purposes, and charged to the poor rate ; sad, of all appointments of vestry elerks ander the said act. TILE IMPORT DUTY ON SOAP. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he wished to make a statement in regard to ea error in the customs resolutions which had been printed that morning, for which he bad to take the blame on himself. In these The clause as amended was ■greed to. The other clauses were agreed to. On one of the schedules Mr. 9IACKENZIE proposed an alteration, the effect of which was to prevent hotels, inns, and public-houses, from selling epirits to be consumed elsewhere, and public•houses from being opened at all on the Sunday. Mr. HUME objected to all these interferences. He thought the people were able to take care of themselves ; and if they were not, they could not take care of them by act of parliament. He would not oppose the motion, but he greatly doubted of its effect. It east • slur on the people of Scotland, and was a confession that they could not regulate their ronduct without restraint. Mr. J. ANDERSON said that all these police regulations were to be judged of by experience. By the shutting up of beer-houses in England great good but been effected. He had no doubt that great good would result from extending the same principle to Scotland. (Hear, hear.) Mr. COWAN slid that a happy change had taken plies in Scotland recently, in consequence of the opening of places of refreshment. (Hear, hear.) Mr. HUME bore testimony to the great moral improve ment which took place in London from the same cause. He thought that it was far better to increase places of ra tional amusements for the people than to endeavour to make them moral by restraints and restrictions. (Hear.) The schedule, as amended, was agreed to. The other schedules were agreed to. Mr. MACKENZIE proposed the following new clause: —Every offence committed against this act shall be tried and determined, and all penalties incurred under the authority of this act shall be recovered and applied in the manner, and before the courts, and subject to the conditions pro vided in the said recited act of the ninth year of George IV., for the trial of breaches of certificate, and for the recovery of penalties. The clause, with • slight addition proposed by Mr. Dcwi.or, was agreed to. Mr. ARCHIBALD HASTIE proposed a new clause, the object of which was to give the magistrates in wile mastery boroughs the same power as was now possessed by roynl boroughs. Mr. MACKENZIE opposed the clause, and Mr. Deg- Lor supported it. The committee divided— For the clause Against it The house then resumed. ELECTION COMMITTEES. melte ihns it was proposed that hard seep should be charged 16s. a ewt., soft soap Its., and Naples 16s. • cwt. These figures were prepared by him before he had the op portunity of submitting to the government the proposition of abolishing altogether the ezeite duty oa soap, and after it had been determined to submit that proposition to par liament. From the multitude and pressure of business it had escaped him to strike the soap duties out of the resolu tions that were laid en the table, but the intention of the government was that the duty on the importation of soap should cease altogether when the 'miss duty ceased. (Hear.) PUBLIC HOUSES (SCOTLAND) BILL. The house went into committee on this bill ; Mr. Boo nate in the chair. Mr. CRAUFURD suggested that as there were a great number of amendments which had only been printed that morning, the consideration of the bill should be postponed for a short time. Mr. F. MACKENZIE said a great many of the amend ments were mere matters of form. &elan bow difficult it was for an independent member to get • day, he thought it would be a little bard if he were not allowed to go on with the bill. On the first clause, Sir H. DAVIE moved the addition of words, the effect of which would be that persons at present having licences should continue to hold them during their lives. Mr. F. MACKENZIE said the hon. member seemed to think that grocers had a vested interest in their licenses, whereas it was competent for the justices to take them away. What he wanted was to put a stop to the system of servants and the working-Blames drinking spirits at grocers' shops, instead of takiag any change which might be due to them. He hoped his hon. friend would not per severe in the amendment, which infringed the principle of the hill. Ile thought that to combine a grocer's shop and a tippling shop was • very great evil. Mr. J. M'GREGOR supported the amendment. He was in favour of a law for regulating public-houses in Scotland, hut he thought that it should be done by the magistrates of the town. He regretted to say that Sunday was is general day for drunkenaess in Scotland. Mr. EWART said, no one could doubt the desirability of removing from Scotland the stigma that now attached to it of being • drunken country, but he doubted whether that could be effected by this bill. The first clause was to pre vent persons from dealing in groceries and spirits at the same time, which was againq the principle of free trade. Mr. CUMbIING BRUCE thought it was pushing the doctrine of free trade rather ten far to say that this clause would interfere with it. If they adopted the amendment they might as well throw out the bill altogether. Mr. HUME was sorry he was not in the house when the seco n d reading was agreed to, or he should have proposed a different course. Government was about to appoint a committee to consider the whole system of licenses, and he suggested that this bill should be postponed with a view that the inquiry before the committee should be extended to Scotland. 1 hey might apply the bill to large towns, but if they applied it to country towns, and did not allow poem' shops there to sell spirits they might cause great inconvenience, and he believed would cause many to have recourse to illicit practices. Mr. F. MACKENZIE said the committee would do no good, htClll5O it was not the licensing system he complained of. There was a select committee appointed many years ego which took evidence, and if the hon. gentleman would read that evidence attentively, he would find that the witnesses tre , re unanimous in condemning the present system. The present hill was founded on the report of that committee. Ile did not want to interfere with the trade of the grocer, who did not sell his groceries to be consumed on the pre mises; and why should he not sell his spirits not to be con sumed on the premises ? Mr. WORTILEY hoped the house would cot be disposed to accede to the suggestion of the hon. member for Mon trose, to delay this measure. The hon. member said it was not the practice of thinking in grocers' shops that caused the people to be on drunken. but from their drinking in their private houses; but where did they first taste blood ? Where did tie Cl'l'd at t the tint taste of spirit- insteol (.1 the halt poney si C in rreere in ,at ti:c grnser's hoop? This L.. 1 w-s not to p ter , t . t t h e grocers Prom selling spirits, but to prevent them living consumed ma Cis psalm. Mr. COWAN agreed with the right hon. gentleman who Sir J. TROLLOPS brou g ht of the com mittee of selection, naming the members to serve on the committee% to try petitions relating to the elections fur Berwick, Hereford, and Maidstone. MAYO ELECTION. Lord H. VANE brought up the report of the select com mittee appointed to try the petition ceupplabrism of an un due return for the county of Mayo. Tbe eammittee re- Mathat George Henry Moore, Esq., sad Here Hanley as, Esq., were duly elected to saw as haiststs of the shire for the county of Mayo. The ammiditeo tip reported that it appeared by the evidence that there bed bees agreat abuse of spiritual influence on the part odds' great body of the Roman catholic priesthood at the lot ghettos for the county of Mayo. JUDGES' EXCLUSION BILL. _ _ -----.. On the motion that the house go into committee on this bill, Mr. H. DRUMMOND said he came down to the house intending to move that the Speaker should leave the chair this day siz months. (Laughter.) But, objectionable as he thought the bill, he had resolved to let it pass through com mittee ; but he should give notice of his intention to move the rejection of the bill on the third reading. The house then went into committee and the various clauses were agreed to. Oa the schedule being put, HUMR moved, in order that the Recorder of the City of London, after the present parliament, Huai, during his continuance in office as inch Recorder, be incapable of being elected or sitting as a member of the House of Com mon., the words " Recorder of London" be i nser t e d i n th e schedule.! Mr. J. S. WORTLEY said that if the words were in serte fyingdth in th rese e scnt hedu ecord er. le it would have the effect of disquali e p R Mr. Ht ME said he did not intend that. Altar some conversation, Mr. HUME said he would move the insertion of the words in the schedule, and if necessary bring up a clause preserving the right of the present Recorder. Mr. J. S. WORTLEY, after cApressing his acknowledg ments to the host. member fur Montrose for his disclaiming any desire to affect him (Mr. Wortley) personally, acid that, painful as it was to him to address the house on a matter personal to himself, be did not think he should be doing his duty to the house or to the office which he held, as well as to his constituents, and whose rights it was proposed arbitrarily to abridge, if be did not state what were the duties of the office, the holder of which it was now proposed to exclude from the house. There were in the schedule other judges, who, like the Recorder of London, were not included among the superior judges, and the introducer of the bill only intended it to apply to superior judges. The principle of the bill was not in qu , lion to el ,y, and, if it were, he mhouM shrink from taking any part in the diseutsion on it, and he should take no part in a division on the present question if one took piece; but ice was auxitnui to draw th e attention of the house to the distinction which existed between this office THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 21, 1853. sad those to which his noble friend had alluded in intro ducing the bill. The principle of the bill was to exclude all judicial officers wh,sc duties were so absorbing that they could not attend to the duties required by their offices and to their duties in this house; and also that their position was so ex ilted, that it would depreciate their dignity if they sought to be returned by popular elections or had seats in this house. Another groand token by the supporters of the bill was that the judges were in the service of the crown, and were appointed by the crown. He could show that the Recorder of London did not come within any one ef those three character.. The argument on the question he should now leave to the house, nor should he, as he had stated, take any part in the division, if one took place. Mr. III:ME urged, that the ground on which be went was the iocompatibility of the duties of Recorder of Lon dun cod a member of that house. By the act establishing the Central Criminal Court, sessions were held 12 times a year, and they gen , rally lasted a week or more, so that one fourth of the year was talon up. Ills objection was, that ju•licial duties were sufficient to occupy the time of any judge. Sir 0. ORE' should vote against the amendment, and he intended to vote against the third reading of the bill, thinking, as he did, that the principle of exclusion had been carried far enetioh. Mr. WIIII'ESIDE wished te Fay a few words with re gard to en amendment which he had proposed to the samo effect with *void to the Recorder of Dublin. Whatever arguments might be urged to justify the admission of the j Kee:ruler of L I . e did nut think he should hear any J jtertiflea•ion with regard to the Recorder of Dublin. The 'j right hon. ?sir lemoir (Mr. Wortley) said that the appoint. moot of the ILcurder of London was not made by the crown; but under the Municipal Corporation Act it was provided that the Recorder of Dublin should be appointed by the crown, and be believed part of his salary was paid :deo by the crown ; so that the argument of the right hon. gentleman as to the independence of the Recorder of Lon don did not apply. T:.e Recorder of Dublin had besides a very eat( naive jurisdiction and had much to do: he revised the jury list., heard poor law cases, and presided in a small debt court, in which a vast number of c .ses were tried, and all Cilia besides his duly in the criminal court. It would he difficult to say that such an officer could attend in that house compatibly with his other duties ; and there was a marked distinction between the Recorders of London and Dublin. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL would not say a word on the principle of the bill, but as regarded the amendment proposed, he thought it was pushing the exclusion of judi cial functionaries a great deal too far. Ho could not see why on the Wine principle all recorders should not be ex cluded, as they performed exactly the same functions as the Recorder of London, although his position was consi dered more dignified. As had been said by his right hon. friend (dr. Wortley) he was similarly circumstanced as other members, who as serjeants and Queen's counsel dis charged the functions of judges on circuit. Would the bon. memlrr for Montrose exclude all Queen's counsel and eerjeants from the house ? If he did, he would exclude the elate of the profession, and although some night think that the exelushn of lawyers from that house would not be a bad thing, and although they did perhaps add to the amusement of the house, still there being some members of the legal profession might add to the information of the house on professional subjects. (Hear, hear.) He could understand the cogency of an argument which had been urged against superior judges, such as the Master of the Rolls, laving seats in that house, and which was that they might be involved in legal discussion with other lawyers in inferior position to themselves who might differ with them, and that this would tend to lower their dignity. But that objection did not apply to criminal judges. As the line must he drawn somewhere he thought it would be safe to draw it at the !mint of the Master of the Rolls. With regard to the incompatibility of the duties of the Recorder of Loa don and a member of that house he must remind the hon. member for Montrose that other gentlemen claimed exemp tion from some of their duties as members on account of their official position, and some on account of their age. He had heard the hon. member himself claim exemption from election committees, and would that be a reason for sayifig he was not as fit as anyone to have a seat in the house ? and there was no one who would not regret that that he should be so excluded. He admitted that the Re- corder of London while he was sitting at the Central Crimi nal Court could not attend a committee on a morning sit ting of thf house, but the inconvenience must be balanced against the convenience of having a zertain class of mem bers in the house. He should strenuously oppose the amend ment. Mr. LABOUCHERE urged that the question of incom patibility in a member to discharge his duties was for the constituency to decide. As to the general question, he took the same view as his right bon. friend the member for Morpeth, and he believed that the principle of the exclusion of judges from parliament had been pushed not only far enough but too far; and he believed that the debates had lost by the exclusion of the judge of the Ad miralty Court, as there were often questions of public law on which he wu competent to give infor mation. If it was pushed further to the exclusion of the Recorder of London, it must be extended to all Recorders, and they would thus deprive the house of the assistance of many eminent lawyers. He should be glad if the bill did net pass through the house, and he should op pose the amendment. Mr. ATHERTON contended that the tendency of the bib to limit the right of choice in constituencies ought not to be carried too far; and although he agreed in the exclu sion of the superior judges, yet the line must be drawn somewhere, and if the Recorder of London was excluded, he did not see where they were to stop, and why all Re corders, chsirinen of quarter sessions, magistrates, and all those who were of the judiel4 due beyond the limit of the; superior judges, should not alio be excluded. He should apple the amendment. . . . Visconnt MONCK observed that the best mode of testing a practical question was by experience ; and he thought that the manner in which the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Stuart Wortley) and the Recorder of Dublin (who had been chairman of the committee which had decided the important question between the broad and narrow gauge) bad dis charged their parliamentary duties ought to satisfy the committee that no inconvenience had been occasioned by the present arrangement. Mr. HENLEY cordially agreed with the principle of the bill, but should be sorry to see it extended beyond the line drawn by the noble lord by whom it had been introduced. He thought it would be desirable for the hon. member for Montrose to postpone the contest upon this question, and to bring up a disuse on the subject on the third readir.g. Otherwise he would greatly endanger the measure itself. (Hear, hear.) Sir R. INGLIS objected to the bill, but be objected still more to the proposed clause, which by the way had pro ceeded from an hon. gentleman who had always supported measures to extend the eligibility of his fellow citizens, without reference to property or creed. (Hear.) Mr. HUME assented to the suggestion of Mr. Henley, and withdrew his amendment. (Hear, bear.) The next office named in the schedule was that of the Official Principal and Judge of the Arches' Court of Can terbury. Lord HOTHAM, in reply to some observations of Sir G. Grey at an earlier period of the debate, remarked that the Arches Court was one of appeals, and therefore he had ventured to think that it was a " superior court." Sir G. GREY said that if they excluded the judges of the ecclesiastical courts, there were stronger reasons why they should go further and exclude the recorders; but he did not agree that those judges ought to be excluded, and consequently he had objected to the addition to the bill of recorders. (Hear, hear .) Besides the judge . of the Arches Court, the schedule went on to mention the judges of the Prerogative Courts of Canterbury and of York. Now Mr. Granville Harcourt bad sat in the house for a long time, and he (Sir 0. Grey) thought there was no reason for that prepare]. Lord HOTHAM said that when he had consulted a pro fessional friend on the subject, that gentleman said to him, " What will be said, if, while including the judge of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in your bill, you should leave out the judge of the Prerogative Court of York—and be a Yorkshiremao, too ? " (Laughter.) He (the noble lewd) saw the force of that remark, and felt that he had no other alternative. Mr. H. VERNON should oppose the bill on the third reading, but imuonuch as he believed his father had no in tention of again seeking a seat in the house, he should be abeolved from being actuated by any personal motives. Mr. Serjt. MURPHY thought the fact that there were five bills before the house for the reform of the Ecclesiasti cal Courts was a reason why they ought not to exclude the judges of these courts at present. When these courts were reformed, filar judges might be excluded by • clause in the bill. Lord HOTHAM was surpriied to hear such a remark front the hon. and learned gentleman, inasmuch u commit tees of the house had over and over again recommended the exclusion of the ecclesiastical judges, end as clauses to that effect had been introduced into all the bills on the subject. Mr. V. SMITH should vote against the bill on the third reading. Mr. MALINS said that if they judged of the ecclesias tical courts by the extent of their jurisdiction, they were superior courts. Another criterion was the character et the advocates practising in them. They were attended by all the civilians, and by the Queen's Advocate, who was one of the law officers of the crown, and ranked before the Attorney and Solicitor-General. (Hear, hear.) He thought, therefore, that if Vice-Chancellors were ex cluded from parliament, there was no pretence for admit ting the ecclesiastical judges. lie had no other opportunity of expressing his opinion on the principle of the bill, be cause he had been unable to attend the morning sittings of the house on Wednesday. (Great laughter.) Tho remainder of the schedule was then gone through, and the committee reported progress. COUNTY ELECTIONS POLLS (SCOTLAND) BILL. This bill as amended was considered, and ordered to be read a third time. Zfte ervreiio. COCKEItMOLTII ELECTION COMMITTEE. Mr. C. BERKELEY moved that the evidence taken be fore this committee be laid upon the table. Agreed to. The house then adjourned shortly before nix o'clock. SAVINGS BANKS 111EFALCATIONS. Somo most serious defalcations have just been discovered at one of the savings banks in the Isle of Wight, by which the poorer classes will be defrauded of their hard earnings to the tune of about 8,000/. It appears that the entries of deposits have been falsified, by which means defalcations to the above amount have been tlTQcted. It is time that government should prevent these crud robberies of the poor and saving chases, or the di•writion to be fru;nil wilt be materially di , clarar,-d. If pie nr.• is lne,Ll invest their savings in e,t.thlishments under government auspice., the government should render such investments secure, b appointing auclitOrs to periodically visit sayings banks and audit their accounts. 1 TO CORRESPONOENTS. A dee , nd lididdn of " Tho I;:press," containing the tame evening', G.zette," is puhtiehed every Taetday and kridny ate.; in time der oat. • tvtILIPMCIVS intended fne w The Frrress,"lACiol% Evening paper, tau q te at ate tltiea, 10, Sauvcric-street, by Two o'olock un the day of paLlicstioa. MOH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. rue DAT—MOIII.Ir. Ob. 7 . Afternoon. 04 33m. lu.sostes—Morning, On. im Atteracoa. la. 174 n. LONDON, THURSDAY, APRIL 21. MR. GLansToses five hours' speech has been fol lowed by the publication of two folio documents, covering fifty pages of paper. The one gives " the Resolutions to be proposed by Mr. CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER"- the other glories in the title of " Expository Statement to accompany the Resolu tions." Like most Parliamentary speeches and nearly all Parliamentary publications, these supplements to the financial statement are unwieldy and unattractive, yet there is within their compass a large number of points on which the public cannot be too completely informed. Every page has its leaning more or less on national well-being, and unless they are all thoroughly mastered by the House of Commons and the country, the dis:ussions about to hinge upon them may bo taken on false issues, and the results be less beneficial than might otherwise be the case. The first nine pages are devoted to the Resolutions on the Customs, and show what articles are to be benefited under this branch of the new arrangement. On the general wisdom of this portion of Mr. GLAD STON es scheme there can scarcely be two opinions. Ours has already been given. To lead off the state ment, we have an alphabetical list of 116 articles now charged with duty, and hereafter proposed to be admitted free. This rescue of more than a hun dred things from the claws of the Custom-house Officer will cost only 52,5941. a year; whilst in the list we have a number of articles the free import of which will be highly beneficial in various ways. The catalogue, amongst the rest, in cludes several kinds of tbod—all furniture woods (with four exceptions)—pictures and frames—and bricks and tiles. Next comes the new scale of Tea Duties ; then the list of articles of food on which duties are to be reduced, including butter, cheese, eggs, and apples. The catalogue of other products on which a lesser tax than heretofore is to be levied follows, and then we have ranged—also alphabeti cally—the things to which simplification is to be ap plied by the levy of fixed instead of ad valorem duties. In the long string of articles to be affected by the proposed customs reform we find many items under which not one penny of revenue has been netted, yet which have heretofore been kept in the list of things chargeable. After Customs we have its brother impost the Excise, under which is given in formal shape the change to be effected in Licenses. These changes will affect all dealers in coffee, tobacco, and snuff—in other words, all grocers, chandlers'-shop-keepers, and cigar shops. The new duties are to be levied upon the principle of letting off the humble shopkeeper more lightly than his wealthier rival. Hereafter a 101. housekeeper is to have a license to sell coffee, tea, cacoa, chocolate, and pepper, for I is . Gd. a year, but for every pound additional rent he is to pay Is. ad ditional license duty. Thus the chandler's shop in a back street in Whiteehapel or Bow may have to pay one pound a year for license to sell tea in pennyworths, whilst the great dealers in King William-street or the Strand paying their 2001. or 300/. a year rent, will have to pay 101. or 15/. a year for leave to carry on their larger and more lucrative trades. The same principle of heavier license fee for larger trades is applied to dealers in tobacco, manu facturers of tobacco, maltsters, brewers, and soap makers—for whilst the duty is taken off soap the makers of that help to cleanliness are to take out licenses as heretofore. Three lines are enough to contain the best morsel of the Budget—the pro posed removal of the Soap tax; following which comes the proposed change of the duty on spirits -the tippler's tax; then the new scale of duties on licenses to let horses tor hire, rang ing from a for one horse or one carriage up to 351. for 20 horses, and 51. for every additional ten horses. What may be called the Cab Tax stands next on the ' list. This is henceforth to be one pound a year for the license, with five shillings a week more during its continuance. The vexed question—that rock-a-head of the Budget, on which Mr. GLADSTONE has played off his obstinacy, over which discontent is now brooding and on which the foes of the Cabinet are building their hopes and basing their calculations—the Property and Income Tax comes next. We printed the Resolution on this subject yesterday, and have published our opinions on the tax again and again during mouths and years past. Next follow the Assessed Taxes on servants, horses, and carriages, of which we also spoke at length yesterday. Dogs come in here, and about them one word may be said. At present the majority of dogs, be they what breed they may, pay usually only the lowest duty. It is notorious that thousands of people keep dogs for sporting purposes which are entered generally as mongrels, and escape for Bs. each. Who is to swear to the pedigree of one of these quadrupeds ? What tax-gatherer troubles himself to decide on the purity of canine blood and breeding ? Henceforth every dog, except greyhounds (about which there never could be a mistake of character) is to be charged at 12s. This will be, therefore, a practical increase of taxation. The shepherd, who wants 'fowler for real work, is to pay an extra im post for his dog, and so also with the dowager Lady TOM NODDY, and the spinster Miss SPINES, for their respective King Charles's, Fides, poodles, and pugs, to say nothing of all the black-and-tan wonderful Billy., who kill their forty rats in thirty minutes. On all these the,tax will be raised to an even 125., and instead of losing the 10,0001. a year that he talks about under this heading, Mr. GLADSTONE will make money by the change, if his collectors are not negligent. After dogs, the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER deals with the Heraldic wares, putting the respective taxes of 21. 128. 9d, 11. 6s. 4d., and 13s. 2d. respectively, as the rates at which the gentle vanity of or and argent, gales and azure, in all their various ingenuities of shield or ensign, quartering. and elaborations, may be alone legally " called, used or worn by any person." The long list winds up with the weightiest of its contents—Land Tax Redemption and the Stamp Duties. Under the latter we have the concession to Lord ROBERT GROSVENOR and the Attorneys ;—a seeming rather than a real concession to Life As surers,—the new and good plan for using penny postage heads as the only needful and legal receipt stamps upon payment of money—and another valu able proposition that a cheque may be legally drawn at any place distant more than fifteen miles from the place where such cheque is made payable to bearer on demand, provided the cheque bears a penny label stamp. Heretofore such docu ments were illegal, unless stamped as bills ; hereafter a man may in the country write and date cheques payable to bearer by his town banker, if he first affixes a penny Queen's-head stamp on the paper used—writing across it. Consi derable sums will accrue to the Exchequer from these two new and sound plans. At present—as all men in large trade know—hundreds of thousands, we may say millions sterling, are paid by cheque and otherwise, and no stamped receipts demanded or given. The coat of the old receipts; the bother and the trouble, about getting stamps, stood in the way of a hat the law required to be done. Hence the comparatively insufficient revenue from this source. Hereafter, all that will be needful to make a legally binding receipt, will be the affixing of a penny adhesive stamp on any piece of paper, and the writing across it the receipt. Tho old duties ranging from 3d. on sums of 5/., gradually up to 10s. on larger sums, were practically evaded three times out of four. Money was paid by cheque. Hereafter a receipt for any sum, from 2/. up to a 1,0001. or more, being made a legal document by the' penny stomp—and penny stamps will assuredly be used in myriads. A cheque signed across the affixed head by the receiver, will be a stamped receipt, and the custom should and u ill undoubtedly be, henceforth, to require the penny legal receipt. Mr. GLADSTONE tells us be shall lose 155,0001 a year by this reform of re ce ipt stamps, Instead of this, it would be a safe wager that be gains money, instead of losing it, by the change. The reduction of stamp tax on policies of life• assurance is more nominal than real. On small policies—that is, policies up to 5001.—the charge is to be 6d. for every 501. insured. At present the lowest stamp is half a crown. So that if a man now insures a hundred pounds on his life he pays—say premium 13/. 35., and du:y 2s. 6d. ; making 3!. os. 6d. By Mr. GLADSTONE'S plan he pays exactly two shillings less, or 31. 3e. 6d. This is all the relief he would get, for on life policies the tax is paid only once. It is in fact a stamp tax on the policy, and not an annual tax on the life--differing in this vital respect from Fire Assurances, which pay a shamefully high tax year after year as long as they last. When a man insures his life, the mental question is not whether he can pay the 3/. ss. 6d. when ho takes out the policy, but whether he may venture to mortgage his future, as it were, to pay 3/. 3s. annually as long as he lives. It is not payment number one that is the difficulty—not the two and sixpenny stamp on the hundred pound policy—but the vista of annual payments that are to attend each year of his existence, that makes up the sum of the act of proper self-sacrifice he proposes to commit. Any endeavour to extend assurance is admirable, but this stamp proposition of Mr. GLADSTONE sa vours somewhat more of clap-trap than reality. All taxes on prudence ought to be abolished, but ped dling with them, as in this case, is vastly like wast ing resources under mistaken—not to say false—pre tences. In this case the price of the experiment is put down at 29,0001. FRANCE. PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING. In the Sardinian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday the President of the Council of Ministers presented a bill, demanding a credit of 400,000 f., for a loan to be made to the Lombard emigrants, who had become Sardinian citizens, and whose property had been sequestrated by the Austrian government. A telegraphic despatch announces Marshal St. Arnaud's arrival at Lyons. He was to go to Chalons to-day, and is expected in Paris to-morrow. The Military Council of Revision, presided by General itissert, has rejected the appeal of Colonel do Sercey, against the sentence of five years' imprison ment passed on him by tke court-martial. The appeal of l'errichard, the man who, after being un justly accused of the murder of the Archbishop of Paris, was sentenced to transportation as an in surgent of June, has also been rejected. An action for libel brought by Count de Morny and others against M. Cabrol, managing director of the Decazeville iron works, and M. Darius, editor of the Moniteur Industrie!, was tried yesterday by the tribunal of correctional police. This is one of those cases which may not be reported according to the law of the empire. Itis to be collected from the judgment that the alleged libel was an article written in the Moniteur Industrie! by M. Cabrol, in which he ques tioned the truth and honeaty of certain statements in a prospectus of the Mining and Iron Com pany of Aubin, of which Count de Morny is one of the directors. The Court was of opinion that although the article complained of was libellous sin its nature, it was pointed only against the authors of the prospectus, which did not appear to have been drawn up by the directors of the Aubin Company. On these grounds a verdict was given for the defen dants, and Count de Morny and his partners were ordered to pay the cost. It is said, in explanation of several of the recent arrests in Paris, that the London refugees had de vised a scheme for raising a loan for revolutionary purposes, and that a list of persons thought likely to contribute, was found upon the person of one of their emissaries, Every body named in that list was then arrested and searches were made at their houses. This would account for the arrest of many respectable tradesmen who have recently stood entirely aloof from politics. It does not appear that the loan pro ject has met with much encouragement. Very few of the domiciliary visits have led to any result, and most of the prisoners against whom nothing more could be alleged than that some of their exiled fel low-countrymen remembered them as republicans, were speedily released. A painful sensation has been produced at Agen by the appearance of an advertisement for the sale of the house belonging to M. Baze, the ex-represen tative and questor of the National Assembly. M. Haze was the leader of the bar at Agen, where he was much respected. He is still in exile, having declined to make the humiliating declaration without which none of the victims of December 2 can return to France. M. Magne, the Minister of Public Works, lately attended a sitting of the Council of State, to give some explanations relative to the Grand Central (Bordeaux and Lyons) Railway. He spoke in glow ing terms of the advantages ot the project. The com pany, he said, had undertaken, at its own risk, to , make at least 230 kilometres out of the 900 kilome tres, of which the whole line, with its branches, will consist, while the state made no sacrifices to obtain this result, and was not bound to grant any subven tions such as had been given to the Northern, Lyons, and especially to the Strasburg companies. It appears from M. Magne's speech that this railway will be constructed upon the German system, which has been studied for the purpose by French engineers, who have furnished plane for curves and gradients, according to which the cost of construction will be greatly diminished. Arnoult's patent wheels, used on the Sceux railway, will be adopted to prevent the trains from running off the line. It is said, by the way, that the North ern Company is in treaty with the proprietor of the patent for leave to nee the Arnoult wheels. M. Vauchelet, the historical painter, has been com missioned to decorate the imperial carriage to be used at the coronation with allegorical paintings. A decree, issued yesterday, reducing the duty on white marbles imported from Italy, will be a great boon to French sculptors. Hitherto the heavy cost of the material prevented all artists but those of the first class from executing their designs in marble, unless they received government orders. It is now hoped that private individuals of moderate means will be able to buy marble statues and busts. Despatches have arrived from the Gomer steam frigate, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Romain Desfossds, commanding the naval division in the Levant. The Gomer, after having visited Rhodes and Cos, had proceeded to Salamis to join the French squadron. At this Bourse to-day the market for government securities was dull. The following are the closing prices :-For money : Three per Cents., 80f. 50c. ; Four-and-a-Half per Cents., 103 f. 50c. For the end of the month : Three per Cents., 80f. 3.5 c. ; Four and-a-Half per Cents., 103 f. 50e. ; Bank Stock, 2,735 E In the Railway Share Market, the advance of yes terday was not maintained, with the exception of Paris and Rouen shares, which again rose 12f. ; the other lines declined from 2f. to sf. each, stading as follows at the close of business :-Northerns, 915 f. Orleans, 1,052 E ; Paris and Strasbourg, 852 f. 25e.; Paris and Lyons, 942 E 50c.; Paris and Rouen, 1,132 E; Lyons to the Mediterranean, 817 f. 50c. ; Western of France, 784 f. 50c. ; Rouen and Havre, 534 f. 50c. ; Bordeaux and Cette, 650 f.; Caen and Cherbourg, 638 f.; Dijon and Besancon, 583 f. 30c. -Amsterdam, Wednesday : Integrales, Two-and-a- Half per Cent., 644. Spanish One per Cent., 241 ; ditto Three per Cent. Interior, 43 1-16. Austrian Mctalliques, Five per Cents., 814. Belgian (Roths child), 52. Mexican Deferred, 261. Granada Two-and-a-Quarter per Cents., 221 ; ditto Deferred, 111. Ecuador, 41. American Bank Shares, 4 11-16. Brazilian, 100.-Antwerp, Wednesday: Belgian Four-and-a-Half per Cents., 981. Spanish One per Cent., 231 ; ditto, Three per Cent. Interior, 42Z.-Vienna, Wednesday: Metalliques, Five per Cents., 944. Letter 8., 1071. Bank Shares, 1,418. Exchange on London, 10.30. Silver, 94. SPAIN. Madrid letters of the 14th confirm our telegraphic intelligence as to the composition of the new minis try, and report the want of confidence with which it was regarded in the capital. Formed with the greatest difficulty, and denied the countenance of influential politicians, it was believed that it would by no weans conduct to a solution of the crisis into which royal absolutist cravings and quasi-royal job bing in public affairs had brought the state. It was • sai that the new ministers were resolved to aban don the schemes for mutilating the constitution which were devised by Bravo Murillo, and cover ly pursued by the fallen cabinet; but no value can t. attached to this statement, as the Lerundi administration appears to have a policy to seek. M. Mai • iat zde la Rosa was offered the presidency of the cabinet, but refused. MM. Pidal mud Rios Hosea also declined General Lersundi's advances. HOLLAND, CHANGE OF MINISTRY IN HOLLAND. (ir SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH) BRUSSELS, WI lINESDAY. The Dutch cabinet has resigned. M. J. It. Thor.. becke, Minister of the Interior since 1849, replaced by M. /teenen, burgomaster of Amsterdam ; and M. Xijevelt by M. Hall. EXCITENIENT IN THE PARLIAMENT. BRUSSELS, ressosy. During the sitting of the Second Chan Mer rater. day a committee was appointed to examLe the con. vention between the Dutch governuo nt and the Ilandeltuarschallij, the great trading company of Holland, similar in some respects to oua own East India one. liemn VAN DORN then rose and urged tin necessity of postponing the order of the days in ord , r to t 'lse into can. sidcration, on account of the importalice of tit, subject, the organisation of the lioman catholic church in Nether lands. concerning which he had addressed s. ,e• questions oe Wednesday last to the government, who laid be fore the Chamber several documauts apperten.iug to the subject. Mean VAN HOEVELL observed that the goectument had taken its position on a constitutional principle, but the Court of Rome bad effected the urgantsation in question, without having fulfilled the promise it had mieie, that is to say, without haying given the Dutch government the re quired notice respectiug the time and mode of carrying out that organisation. Ile (Van lIoevell) considered that the cabinet had just grounds for complaining on that score; and be thought it ought to manifest towards the Court of Rome its sentiments on that point. In such a mini', station the cabinet would be supported by the chambers. (Cheers.) HESE VAN LUNDEN remarked that the du, unicnte laid before the chamber did not contain all that bad happened en the subject. Ile feared that the government had not duly (Inehocrlijk) upheld the interests of the country, or maintained its honour and dignity. (Applause, and cries of dissent, and considerable sensation.) Several members brick addressed the chiaaber amidst considerable agitation, The tditersvEit of Forostox AFFAIRS stated that instruc tions had been forwarded to the Dutch ninhass..i.r at the cow; of Home to complain to the Papul government of its omitting to communie..to beforehand to the Dutch govern ment the time and mode of the establishing of a Roman catholic hierarchy. On the 9th of last mlti', a chapatti% was addressed to the Dutch ambassador, informing him that he bad, at Lis demand, unlimited leave of absence from his post. IlEntt VAN Dow , : then brought forward a motion, to the etLet, that the chamber hiving learned from the go vernment that strong representations had been mode 11 it to the court of Rome, pass fur the present to the order of the day. He then added that his motion had °illy reference to a matter of form, and did nut touch the r. ol (tetanal', viz., ae organisation of the Roman catholic cuur c h i n Holland. On a division, there appeared far the motion, 19; against it, 12 ; majority, 37. TURKEY. Despatches from Odessa state that on the Ist inst. g courier had arrived from St. Petersburg, bearing an imperial order to suspend the military and naval preparations that have been going forwuol for some time past at that place. The Cunstitutirmnel publishes letters from Constan. tinople, of the sth inst., which relate thi. reception of Lord Stratford de Re&liffe at the landing place of Tophana by all the English residents, who, ac- cording to custom, accompanied him to the embassy. When there he addressed a speech to them, in which he said that his sovereign had principally in view to assist the Sultan in husbanding the resources of his country, in order to secure its future prospe rity, by means of better management. He did not attempt to conceal the difficulties which existed at present, and which had been lately aggravated by political complications, but said he hoped they were not insurmountable. He made no other allusion to the pretensions of Russia. Our own correspondent writes: CONSTANTINOPLE, Aran. G. In the present condition of Turkish affairs the English public will probably receive with interest some brief notices of the men who compose the Sul tan's administration. The Grand Vizier, Mehemet Ali l'acha, brother-in-law to the Sultan, originally a midshipman in the flag-ship of the Capoudan. Pacha Papoudsche Ahmet, was selected, in 1827, as page to the late Sultan, advanced gradually to the rank of second chamberlain, and finally, on the demise of his sovereign, having quitted tho seraglio, with the title of Pacha, he entered the army. From that period up to the present day he has occupied with credit and ability several posts of distinction, as Master of the Ordnance, Capundan Pacha Seraakier ; and lastly, on the fall of Ali Pacha, was nominated to his present high dignity. He is amen of courage and energy—in the prime of life— a moderate reformer—attached to England and her - policy. The Grand Vizier's friend- and " ffilus Achates" is Reepik Bey, a man of extraordinary talent and inflexible integrity ; a radical reformer, philanthropist, and advocate for toleration in its i widest sense. President of the Council, Mustafa Pacha, father of Veli Pacha, ambassador at Paris. His early life has much of romance and adventure. Native of a small town near Monaster, he was sent, at the age of eight, to Egypt, where, under the care and patronage of his uncle, Tan Pacha, having been brought up a soldier, he was nominated by Mehemet Ali, at length Pacha, commander of Rosette, subsequently of Mecca, and lastly to the governorship of Candle, where, during a period of 30 years, he administered the laws with wisdom and impartiality, and contributed much to the prosperity and civilisation of that island. Wonderful to say, some five years ago he was suddenly summoned to the capital and deprived of his government, to the grief and dismay of the whole population. After a residence of about two years at Constantinople, ho was at length appointed to his present function, which he has discharged with zeal and ability up to the present day, respected and esteemed by all. Mustafa Pacha is a liberal, or rather, radical re former, and a declared enemy to corruption and abuses. Just, humane, tolerant, totally free from sectarian prejudices, he is equally accessible to Turk and Christian, Jew and Gentile. Moreover, from long experience, acquired in the government of a little kingdom, he is tolerably well versed in all matters relating to state administration. &milkier Mehemet Pacha entered the army on the destruction of the Janizaries, and without patron or protection other than his own acknowledged merits rose from the ranks to his present high dig nity. He translated the French military code—hence the soubriquet of Mutergim—and this has contri buted greatly to the organisation and present disci pline of the Turkish army. He is of a mild, amiable disposition, a good soldier, and a man of prcgress. In 1827, for instance, before the foundation of the Sanitary Institution in this country, and when its utility was altogether disputed, it so happened that the plague broke out among his troops at Therapia. Notwithstanding the little encouragement of the Commander-in-Chief, contending besides with popular prejudice, and with a host of other obstacles ,Mehemet Bey determined to take upon himself all the respon bility of the situation, and having formed an encamp ment on a neighbouring hill, each tent containing not more than three men, ho succeeded in subduing alto- ther the pestilence in less than 40 days, by the usual process of cleaning, purifying, and the isolation of the sick. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rifaat Pachn,has served at the Porte in one capacity or other from his early years up to the present juncture—as Ahmcichi, President of the Council, Reis Effendi, &c. ; was twice ambassador at Vienna in the time of Metternich ; lastly, on the resignation of Fuad Effendi, he was nominated for the third time to his present fuLetions. He is a moderate reformer, of a mild character, versed naturally in political science from long expe rience, and one of their best writers. The secretary of this department is Cabonitz Effendi, ex charge d'affaires in London, and ex-minister at Athens, brother-in-law of Fuad Effendi. Minister of Finance, Mouchlar Bey, ex-ambassador at Vienna; has served long years in the finance de part mea t its Nazir of Topanc, paymaster of t i A.torees, ec.—a man of honour and stiietebt probity, ac. i•. e, in defatigable, and full of talent for his special depart ment ; he has already get tluough much rough waits and contributed effectually to reestablish publi