The Express. — London, England, 1851-02-25 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS.—MONDAY, Fr.s. 24, TM Lama CMAJICTLI.OII took hi. seat at 6 o'clock. CRIMINAL LAW. Lord CAMPBELL, after preeerdiaa some petitions from Rootlaad oa the subject of biuwlary, laid on th• table a bill for the iniprovement of the criminal law, which was read a first time. COUNTY COURTS. Lord BROUGHAI;:ta ie;l that, in addition to the return from the queen's Bench which he had preeented the other night, he had now to present a return from the Petty &m -ettle* of eases removed by certiorari from the County Courts to the Courts in Equity, by , Abith it appeared that in 1849 there had been MY write of that character, and in 1850 21, twu-tlairds of which applied to the County Courts. THE MINISTERIAL CRISIS. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE—My lords, as there la no business before us I may take this opportunity of moving that this house at its rising do adjourn to Friday next. In making that statement I feel that, however imperfect and 'monk-tent any eommuaicativa which it is in my power to make may be found to be relating to the present position of affaira., any information given or communication made to the other house of parliament should in substance he made also to this house ; but in doing so I confine myself simply to a statement of farts as I understand them to have oc curred. My lords, on Friday last, in consequence of divi sioas whichhad recently taken place in the other house of parliament her Majesty a "eremite communicated with each other. Front domestic circumstances I wan not one of the number on that occasion—hut they communicated with each other, and on that day liar Alajosty was led to believe that it was probable her servants would resign an the day following. Eurly . on Saturday morning I came to town, and such resignation was respectfully and unani mously tendered loy her Majesty's servants to her Majesty. In the course of the same day, the noble lord whom I see opposite war, as I am informed, invited to attend at the palace, and a proposal was made to him to construct a govenunent. 1 am informed that the noble lord stated that he was nut thee prepared to form one ; and, upon that communication being made, recourse was had to other persons ' mid more particularly to my noble friend lately at the hea d of the government, and he was requested to re constract an administration). My lords, this is the present state of affairs. All that it is in my power now to state to your lordships is, that my noble friend lately at the head of the government, has, upon reflection, thought it to be his duty towards her Majosty and the public, to attempt the re-construction of another administration. Beyond this, I have nothing to my. I amok as the organ of a government which, in fact, exists no more ; but which is in office nominally only; and of which I am only the re presentative as lung as it so continues in office, and for the purpose of making this communication. (Hear, hear.) 1,m31 sr.t N LEY—My Mole—Nonie of your lordships will, I am sun', he disposed to offer any opposition to the motion of the noble niarquis that this house shall adjourn —at any rate, with reward to any business of importance—to a later day. My lords, I will not attempt to offic any comment on the statoment shirk has Icon mole by the noble mar quis; eireunistuneo II as the country now is, it is impossible that a complete reselatioon of what has occurred can take plaee, and it ...odd not be consistent with my duty to offer any osplanation, which must neremarily be ot an imperfect character. I will only say, my Ion!,, that on Satunlay I hail the honour of a lergthened audience with her Majesty, itloot I laid Is fore her fully snot mores-mostly the whole of my vi, ws on the state of the country and the present pos'i tiom of parties. Soothing could exceed the gracious cons deer onion, and, if I may use the wont, kindness of her Majesty throosighoot the whole of that audience; but of what passed at that interview —either what advice I hum bly tentlensl, or what was stated by her Majesty—l think at the present moment I should ill requite. the confidence and foe 'air which was reposed in me if I were to set' a abode wool. (Cheers.) When the time shall come at which this political crisis shall have passed, I shall be prepared to state fully and unreservially to your Lordships and the country the whole substance of the advice I humbly tendered, and the course which, all a public man honours) by the Clottil , lonct of her Majesty, and a privy councillor, I felt it my duty, on that occasion, to recommend. (Hear, hear.) 'I he Manion of LANSDOWNE--After the forbearance which the noble lord has exercised, outpost. ably it would 1e improper to deprive him of an opportunity of stating fully when the proper time has arrived that which he may onmsiolo r most colorise to his own humour and the interests of the public. In the meantime, I beg to say that I have stated nothing node than that which I have been strictly 106,riaml. (Hear, hear.) MAILRIAUE AFFINITY BILL. The Fairl of I. 0 ERMANS odd that he had • motion for to-morrow (chi.) evening, which would not involve any party . efinUilenitiona, namely, the sieond mailing of the ?damage Affinity ; and aa he should he unwilling to bring it (award in the almienee of the Lord Chief Justice, who would on \Turku...lay proceed on his circuit, he would beg the noble3rqui• to piaitpolie the adjournment until to, ninriow (the, day). . . Lord e4;iritm.l:and the Archloi4lop of CAN Tr. aa caT having roneunvd, Th;frlarqurr of LANSDOWNE amid he would accede to the wi.hrw of the noble lord, toUNTY 41/URI'S VATF:NSION BTLL. lord BROUGHAM pritrimcd the introduction of this bill until Humbly oral. TOE NNW VIICE-CIIANCIRI,LOR. lln tho motion of Lon! I. t'.. the bill for the ap philitmolit nl• a new Vice-Chancellor woo n•od a melon, tone ; intl. the mantling under hating been disie•nstd nab. the 101 l went throegh committee, and nat. ordered to le r. ad a third time 4►mmrow. ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPROVEMENT BILL. Thi. bill ICI.. f;ntit;lTlntin; rekrred to_ a wkrt IVnllllllt 11.1•. Their lorddliju adjourned at a quarter before sit o'clock. MOUSE OF CONINIONS.-MONDAT FEL 24. The Si' tle4 the clutir th.• uutal hour. PRIVATE BUSINESS. Strrinn lir (N. Bala rmil ; Briton Ferry, ilmks, and Railway ; Cameron's Coilhmok Stearn Coal and Swansea nut Louglior Itailway; Christehureh (South wark) l'ari.h , European and American Printing Tele graph Company, &r.; Gnat Wl , lllll ItailWay (arrange menty with f..(1 . 1% ore to the purchase, &e. of the Wilts, Smerms, and Weeruouth Railway.); Killarney and Valencia Railway; London and Blarkwall Railway (trim London and Illaekwall Exten.ion Railway to Tilbury, Ste.); Manchmter Watervfork. ; :tlanetoster improvement ; Maryport and Carli.le linilwry; Midland Railway (pur slime of Leeds and Bradford - Railway and inecea.e ~f capital); Richmond and Lancaster Turnpike Wind (western district) Continuation of Term. de.; Sheffield and Mos 'sop Road ; Sub-marine Telegraph Comminy between Eng land and Frans; Tenterden mml Woudebureb Roads ; Wividiscouilie Turnpike Roads, Bills. NEW _ Mr. SMITH C 111111.1.1 trtuk the oaths and hi, seat as inandner for North Staffordshire. NEW WRIT. On the /notion of Mr:ltTry.itanew writ wa• ordered For a aseinher to serve in parliament for the borough of liarirkh, in the mom of Sir J. C. Ilubhunae, who ha axe pted the Chilternilurulreils. INCOME TAX. Mr. COWAN ow notate that, in committee of war and mturt., hr ohould more that the income tax be Riper maletl by a filed rate on all trades and prof Winne. RESIGNATION OF MINISTERS. ..... rrhe following appeared in a Second Edition of last even ing's Express] : Lou) J. RUSSELL'S EXPLANATIONS. The time had now COmr for trailing the ardent of the day, and the benches, both ministerial and opposition, which had liven gradually tilling since four o'clock. presented an unusually thronged and excited antivenins.. The . least incident was wired upou, and one is hit II created • roe lerous burst °filtering and laughter was the entrance of Mr. M. liDti who walked up the house and inadsertently (sweatie r,...) tatelown in Lord J. (Lumen's usual seat At live o'clock, Lord J. RI.SSELL rose, and amid the moat breath ier+ earner, addressed the house as follows:—Sir,—On Friday evening List I peurdsed the house that I would, on this day, state the na.euns that induced me to propose on that evening an adjournment of the Committee of Ways and Means to the present time. I now rise to acquit myself of that engagement. The house will remember that immediately after the com mencement of the session • mot Lin was made by the hon. member for Buckinghamshire calling upon her Majesty's man mere. in tak e i mme di ate measures fbr the relief of t he dis tress prevailing among the owners and occupiers of land. Every membered this house, and every person in the country =tilt base considered that that motion was emotion to take out of the hands of her Majesty's present government, the emaduct of the measures which it is the duty of a government to propose. 'the honourable member fee Bucks took a perfectly parliamentary course OS that subject. He stated that he had in vain appealed to the government during the previous session, and that be now had no resource but to appeal to the House of Coltman,. I do not in the slightest degree cora plainest the course, adopted by the hon. member, I merely wish to state whist mast be the effect in the view of every one, if that motion had been succeedul. Two hundred and silty nine members of this house voted for that motion, and two hundred and eighty-three against it, and, therefore, the majority of theme present consisted of only fourteen members. Nom, sir, upon • question of that kind brought forward in hostility to the government at the very commencement of the semion, the Chancellor of the Ea iskequer having given notice of his intention to bring for ward the financial statement of the year, • majority of only It roust tend to weaken WIT government. it being impossible to carry on the business of the country with so small a majority in the House of Commons. But it appeared to me, that although the majority was small, yet that if there was a determination on the part of all the members forming the majority to main tain those principles of commercial polici which in effect were in q u esti on on t h at d ay , at that union might have made up f or the set a Incas of the majority, and that the government might have conducted sucavalully the a ff airs of the count r y. But en the 20th February a motion was mad. with raffsid to a certain question of parliamentary , reform ; and on that question, though in a thin house certainly, there being scare...4y more than • hundred members present—the go vernment was beaten be a majority of two to Oqt. Now, sir, if that had oceurn-d in ordinary circumstances, I might have thought that it was owing to the thinness of the house, and to those who were in favour of the Motion having brought down a considerable number in support of it. and that probably on the discussion of the bill, which must have been introduced founded upon that motion, there would have been a majority fn accordance with the views of the government. But in thopircum stances in which we were placed, I did aonsittar, that though honourable gentlemen may have actesksnWily with i • view to the particular question before the hollow, a. not at all with reference to the result upon the ,minWy I did think that, though that being their intentligea art v iews, yet is effect having the whole of the fikimcial and other mea sures before us, and the probability, as I am inclined to think and belie ye there was, that on those other measures and on other incidental questions we might meet with defeats--(hear, hear)--I came to the conclu sion that the government was not in a position to conduct satisfactorily the business of this house during the present session. (Hear, bear.) I thought that it was for the public interest that if that was the case the house should not be called upon to go into discussions of our financial measures, and to form decisions on those questions, when it was pro bable that the government would not be able to go suc cessfully through the session. I thought likewise that it wu a dangerous and very disadvantageous thing for the country that a government should continue liable to defeats from time to time, having but a very small majority at any time, and carrying on therefore but a lingering existence during the great part of the session yet to come. I therefore assembled the other members of the cabinet, and stated to them that in my opinion the best course we could take, as a ministry, was to tender our united resignations to her Majesty,and to leave her Majesty free to form another administration. (Hear, hear.) Sir, my colleagues in the cabinet concurred with me in that opinion. (Cheers from the ministerial side of the house.) One very important member of that cabinet, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Lord President of the Council, was at the time absent in the country, and I did not formally tender our resignations on that day (Friday) to her Majesty without having first cow-ulted him. Therefore it was that I asked the house to consent to an adjournment till to-day. (Hear, hear.) Early on the following morning the Marquis of Lansdowne came to town. He met me at Buckingham Palace, and stated that he concurred with me entirely in the view we had taken. I thereupon proceeded at once to lay before her Majesty the unanimous resignations of the members of her administration, which resignations her Her Majesty was graciously pleased to accept. ... „ Majesty wail also graciously pleased to inform me that it wail her intention to send immediately to Lord Stanley, and to. entrust him with the charge of forming a new government. Later in the day—in the afternoon—l was requested to go again to Iluckingham Palace, and, on arriving there, I was informed by her Majesty that Lord Stanley had stated that he was not then " prepared to form a government. Iler Majesty then asked me to me I dertake the charge of reconstructing a government that might be able to obtain the confidence of the House af Commons. Sir, I thought it my duty, in these eircurn stances to attempt the tusk her Majesty was graciously pleased to impose upon me. And I assured her Majesty that I would undertake it, though I was perfectly aware of the many difficulties surrounding ouch an ' attempt. The house will, I think, agree that I should only add to those difficulties and be at the ',ante time acting most improperly if I were to state anything further on this oceas ion. (hear, hear.) I have only, therefore, to request the house, without pasting to any discussion or to any judgment as to what has taken plate, to adjourn until Friday next, when I trust some definite result will have bees come to ; and that I shall be able to say either that I have succeeded ur that I have abandoned the task that I have undertaken. In either case the house will then learn what is likely to be the re. suit. (Hear, hest.) I beg, Sir, now to move that tide house eln adjourn till Friday next. (Cheers.) Mr. DISItAELI, who ruse amidst cries of "Order," sad other symptoms of impatience, said I feel it my duty, after the statement of the feeble lord, to occupy the attention ofl the house for a moment. It is most true—and, indeed, a matter of public notoriety—that Lord Stanley has had an audience with her Majesty, and when he shall receive her Majesty's gracious permission to state what transpired at that audience, he will do so publicly and in a constitu tional manner in his place in parliament. But there is I one observation which fell from the noble lord I feel it my duty not to pass unnoticed. When the noble lord states that Lord Stanley stated to her Majesty that he was not pre pared to form an administration— Lord J. ItUsSELL—Not " then " prepared. (Cheers.) Mr. DISRAELI—Not " then" prepared to form au admi nietration. the correction of the noble lord does not affect what lam about to state. I must express my conviction that when the noble lord said that Lord Stanley stated to her Majesty that he wax not then" prepared to form an ad ministration, he made a statement to the house which on further re Setting he will, I think, acknowledge was not founded on what actually occurred. (Hear, hear.) Lord JOHN ItUSSELL—After what the hon. gentle man has stated, I will only say that Lord Stanley will no doubt at the proper time when he shall think fit to do so, and have received the permission of her Majesty, state what really occurred. My belief is, that the statement which will then be made by Lord Stanley will bear the construction I have put upon it. Mr. ROEBUCK—I have one observation to make as to the extraordinary statement which the house has just heard. We are about to adjourn till Friday. The noble lord is about in the meantime tee endeavour to reconstruct his' cabinet. The noble lord may fail, and then, with out the House of t'ommons having the alighteet opportunity to express any feeling of its own, her Majesty will be obliged— I may so use the phrase without disrespect—to send fer somebody else to make an administration, Now, I do hope that the noble lord who has hitherto as the leader not simply of a great party in this house, but as heading and representing a great ponciple, that he will not forget in all the proceedings which are about to take plate that that principle is now in his hands—that in a great measure what will hereafter take place as to the great principle of financial arrangement in this country will depend on the proceedings he may pursue ; and on him will be the respon sibility if we have again to tight the bottle of free trade. (Cheers.) s- The niotinn that the house at its rising do adjourn till Friday was then put and carried ; and in a few minutes atter the house adjourned at 20 minutes post •5. NAVY ESTIMATES FOR TILE YEAR 1831-52. An estimate of the Rums; required to meet the ex ovals.% which may he incurred in the Naval Department in the year 18.11,52, showing the increase and decrease us com pared with the sums voted (or the preceding year, under the following heads; viz.: lISTRACT. Required ta be Last vote must tor the tor Me service of the year Anancial year IR.M..V. inso.st. 3% to seamen and marines £1,433,723 £1,344.070* Vietudis for ditto Admiralty-office Giueral Itegister and Record office of Seamen (transferred to Board of Trade) Scientific branch tier Majesty's establishments at home . tier Majesty's .. . abroad .... Wages to artificer, &e., em- - ployed in her Majesty's esta blishments at home Wages to artificers, &e., em ployed in her Majesty's esta blishments abysmal 35,956 Naval stores, &c., for the build ing and repair of ships, &c 812,193 New works, improvements and repairs in the yards, &e 299,389 Medicines and medical stores Miscellaneous services Total for the effective service £4,213,871 Half-pay to officers of the navy and Royal Marines Military pensions and allow- slur; 488,442 Civil pensions and allowances 159,589 Total for the naval service £5,684,0.59 For the service of other depart ments of the government Army and Ordnance Depart ment* (conveyance of troops) 143,200 Grand total 't Abate : General Register andftecord-ollice of &wizen (transferred to Board of Trade 9,772 t 49,703 134,5V1 23,713 339,839* 27,680• 175,698.. C 4,354,015• 751,206 490,34.5 167,086 C5,772,652* 135,700 9,772 E 5,898,560 Net decrenao E181.093 Registration of Seamen 0,712 L 171,321 F. BARING. WILLIAM COWPER. Admiralty, Feb. 14, 1851. • These sum* include the votes on the supplementary estimate for the Arctic searching expeditions, eke. (1850-51), amounting together to 55,9291. t See Parliamentary Paper, dated Mayl7, 1850, N 0.356. N.B. The old store and extra receipt moneys have been paid over to the Exchequer, instead of being reserved as 1" credits in aid." THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 25, 1851. EVERY SATURDAY AFTERNOON WILL RE PUBLISEED, THE EXHIBITION EXPRESS, I. bra of a Tyro MENG Paw. fligi w OF ~.... ' ibe \ °ma •"*1 • rA4 MOW 7 1. Of anahr.. ! ii. tine. Mrs' ' . 4 Zo Aerograms pearl _ Tlisowormous avatar of , Moweehoil_ _. dm Arthoorolei 1 art Itahitellea of the Wetted _ WNW WM. tied re erreaketery nprepetetim is the prior—se paper mildowily law, amt with unbeaten eciopeiherdm swoosh to grasp sad earei r al the for Mowing exposition with Moms worth of 20 ea meat the proprietors of the EXPRESS have determined oyes bream, every' Saturday - eiftersalL - a Scotia Meet If did paper, te the (Mint aad Wert iatwillarn relative ro Os. lahnlOab toember with e our of Mbar matter ="blethe muktoode of honors Wended either es and to ismealtrossidteudiemotortes, members of pr.wbtli leseeliwg etehm ellliiiloll9. almii et eihibitas, rival* of ealitimas sod the on lemur awl odder drele of them who am to he the herbs& ot tUm ow auf ram* re soetrrpoit Mariop the krifeerweing Ow seme of Largay alma Modem lot uterine to evorptldag relative ta dm Napeoldem die drab aiwit we Myr puma mum and will, meteors, Waal MUM to WI amseat meats to literstme, edema., Wert llie;try day inapt estamisy Me peke of the EMPIEUI will be Threspesse, es herskara. Ile grat value of tloo - 1 Menideat to adoettioero iiiiiE&S u a medium snot All odwertieratests Root be at the offloo fn Whit/friars at or before rtikt is Ilto evralog of sub Friday, to swore ionettloa In the ember IN OW I.U.wlog day. oSes, 14, Boovetio-otfoet, Tleotostatet. Vie Qlpreogi. TO CORRESPONDENTS. dvertimeneets 'shaded for "TM Elora.," Landow Lasing paper, awn Mat the alike, tu, Boueerie•etreet, by Two o'clock us tbe day of pabboatfou. MGR WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tars D.r—Sloraing. 96. 24n. Afternoon, 10b. Sec Teateaaow—Moraing. 10b. 4S Altentoos, Ilb. 270. LONDON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25. AFTER all their vauntings, then, it appears that the protectionists were not prepared to form an ad ministration. According to the statements made by Lord LANSDOWNE and Lord Joint RUSSELL last night in parliament, Lord STANLEY was invited to do so by the QUEEN in the afternoon of Saturday. By his own unqualified acknowledgment, nothing could be more gracious than the manner in which that invitation was conveyed, and the advice which he considered it right to tender was received by her MAJESTY. Lord LANSDOWNE concluded his narra tive of what had occurred, however, by the state ment that " the noble lord intimated to the sovereign that he was not then prepared to form an administration ;" of which Lord STANLEY, in his graceful and decorous rejoinder, took no notice; but contented himself with promising, when the proper time should arrive, to detail fully the nature of the communication he had made to the QUEEN. A statement almost identical in every expression was addressed by Lord Joins to the House of Com inons, and the same important phrase wasu.sed by the Premier that was, and that is to be--viz., Lord STAN LEY intimated to her NIAnsTY that " he was not then prepared to form an administration." Unlike his chief in good sense and good taste, Mr. Ins ,' MIMI hastily and clumsily contradicted the asset , - ; and hinted that Lord Jolts would upon re flection feel that he stated of his rival that 'which the fact did not justify. In reply Lord Jim N. with dignity and temper, declared that having been so informed he had no doubt the account he had given of the matter was accurately true; and with provoking coolness he then added that he was sure Lord STANLEY would concur therein. The want of judgment and of proper feeling betrayed by Mr. DtsnAELt in this affair may well excite the apprehension and distrust of his adherents. For every one except the aspiring gentleman him self must feel that the contradiction thus awkwardly given applied not to the minister but to the Qui: Ls. Nobody will believe that Lords LANSDOWNE and JOHN RUSSELL would venture (even supposing them willing) to invent so audacious a falsehood and attribute it pub licly to the Sovereign. What passed between her MAJESTY and Lord STANLEY could only have become known to them from the lips of royalty ; and upon a point so vital and conclusive, it would seem highly improbable that any mistake should have occurred. Supposing a misconception to have unaccountably arisen, it would have been easy for Lord STANLEY, without entering into particulars, to have guarded himself from accepting Lord LANSDOWNE'S version as in all respects correct, and thus have saved his own consistency in the estimation of his disappointed party, without hazarding a denial derogatory to the Throne. Friday next is but four days off, and he might have asked them to suspend their opinion on the entire transaction until then. But Mr. Dr'tuELl could not contain himself so long. He who for the last two years has been feeding credulous country gentlemen with what Como= used to call "sweet bamboozle," and coaxing them to drop almost entirely the fond epithets of protection, in order to smooth the way to office. for which he assured them that he was "perfectly ready"—he could not afford to wait so long, or to en dmr even for four days the reproaches of his discon solate and disenchanted adherents. He claimed and was believed to be on terms of the most unreserved confidence with Lord STANLEY. Not to be aware of what his chief told the Sovereign would be an acknowledgment that his position in the party was in fact an im-position, and that he had been tolerated as self-elected leader in the Commons rather than trusted in counsel. This was too much to be borne by one whose pride of eloquence and wit has been of late so 'simpered with oblations. And for sake of showing the com pleteness of his knowledge he yielded to the im pulse of the moment, and fell intothc mostlamentable of blunders that any man looking to high political office in this country could commit. To admit by his silence that he was not in the secret of what really pawed at the palace, would, he imagined, have been to admit that he had lost the lead; and to sanction the allegation that Lord STANLEY had owned he was not prepared, when called upon, to form a government, would have been, he supposed, to dissolve the discipline of his party. But what, after all, did Lord STANLEY say? And where, if anywhere, has the mistake arisen? No where, we bClieve, but in the brain of the incon siderate and ambition-blinded member for Bucks. When the story comes to be told we more than suspect it will be found that all we have heard said about her MAJESTY having refused to concede a power to dissolve parliament should it become necessary, is without justification. Had it been so, the duty of any constitutional statesman would have been at once to decline the task, for the performance of which he felt that he was not trusted. No man of spirit or sense would dally with the offer of becoming prime minister upon such conditions, and we will do Lord STANLEY the justice to believe that he is not in this respect an ex ception to the ordinary rule. We know that so far from absolutely declining the task, the tory chief quitted the royal presence under the impression, and with the hope that he would be allowed till Monday following to try what he coulddo. And this isconfirmed by two facts of'equal notoriety, that on the same days* special despatch was sent to `r. GLIDSTONE request ing his immediate return to England; and, what is still more conclusive, that a letter was addressed to Lord STANLEY by her MAJESTY within an hour after his leaving the palace. The contents of this letterwe pretend not exactly todivine ; but certain it is that after its reception no further steps were ostensibly taken to fulfil the task ascribed to him, while other council lors were summoned to take part in the deliberations of the Sovereign. Had Lord STANLEY declared him self ready to attempt the duty of forming a cabinet, it is impossible that a constitutional monarch should suddenly retract the offer thus made. But if, on the other hand, the truth be that Lord STANLEY admitted frankly his unpreparedness to submit the names of an administration, but expressed a hope that, if time were given to send for Mr. GLADSTONE, then supposed to be at Paris, he might be in a con dition to submit a list for her MAJESTY'S approval upon %fonder, then the riddle is easily read. The QUEEN may have speedily come to the conclusion,' that to suspend the whole goveniment of the empire until a courier should be able to find a secondary personage like Mr. GLADSTONE, would hardly be considered a wise or seemly exer cise of the royal discretion. To tell the assembled parliament that they mast adjourn their sittings, and to tell the nation at large that its wants and duties must be suspended until the ambiguous repre sentative of Oxford should be caught and coaxed ' back to England, could hardly fail of a • rather absurd : and tho QUEEN, although she may have been unwilling to give a peremptory negative to the proposition when orally made, unquestionably acted with her usual judgment in speedily apprising Lord STANLEY of her sentiments on the subject. Small comfort all this, however, to Mr. InsusELt. If Without Mr. GLADSTONE no protectionist cabinet could even bo named to the QUEEN, it must be clear to whom Lord STANLEY meant to delegate the office of leader in the House of Commons. But how com municate these ungracious and ungrateful tidings to the man who, while Mr. GLADSTONE was still a free trader. invented " the country party," as it is called, land who made it out of dross and rubbish all that it is? Did Lord STANLEY shrink from prematurely revealing his real purpose to his too faithful lieute nant? Or did he think it prudent to be sure of Mr. GLADSTONE, before he ventured to chasser Mr. Dlsttar.u? THE Globe states, " that the most eminent of the freetraders has expressed his regret at the retirement of the cabinet, and given Lord lons RUSSELL to understand that the liberal government, in the event of its reconstruction, might count on more uniform support than it had hitherto received from the large section which follows the gentleman we allude to." We have inquired, and find that there is no founda tion whatever for any such statement. The thorough liberals appreciate Lord Jour RUSSELL'S promise of an extension of the suffrage; and perhaps they may account for past supineness in circumstances having caged his lordship in the same ca binet with not a few timorous and super annuated politicians. But the reconstruction of a cabinet leaves the statesman charged with it, the full power to lay down the principles on which that cabinet is to be conducted. The parties he looks to, the men he selects, indicate to the public how far or how zealously the ministry is to advance in the path of progress, of retrenchment, and reform. Until the great liberal party sees some fresh reasons fur according trust and support, we doubt very much that any of them would be so silly as to abandon ' their salutary influence by any premature or gra tuitous mortgage of it. And so fur arc we from deeming the guess of the Globe to be a happy one, that we should say, a new cabinet reconstructed out of the mere ruins of the old, and with no infusion of liberal strength or youth, would be far indeed from receiving any augtnenta tion of uniform support. The whip, if they intend to remain at the head of the liberal party in this country, must learn, not to bestow patronage, but to share power. They must give over the universal policy of a liberal aristocracy making a tacit bargain with the illiberal aristocracy, to share parliamentary and political influence be tween them, to the utter exclusion of the people. We have a sample of this in the Bedfordshire election. This was a brave and resolute attempt of independent men, with intelligence in their heads, and self-respect in ' their hearts, to turn representation into a great and serious realit y . And in this their righteous and noble effort tley met with no support from the whig magnates of the county. For years the small freeholders of Bedfordshire have supported the 11E8st:tr. family and the lies- SELL candidates. But no sooner are they com pelled, and in self-defence too, to choose a man for themselves, than all the whigs in the county cut a connexion that has done them in its time such "yeomen's service," and leave the inde pendent liberals in the lurch, as if there had never been any political sympathy between them. No doubt a more appropriate candidate for Bed fordshire than a Buckinghamshire tenant-fanner— able, and worthy,and honest a man as Mr. Hort:Term: is—might have been found: and if the whigs claim to lead in the liberal politics of that county, it was their duty to have found one. But no—that tbey would not do; they proposed abiding by and adhering to some secret agreement, or paltry arrangement, or family understanding that its representation is to he divided between Lord DE GREY and the Duke of BEDFORD; and, as the duke's nominee was in parliament, they were content to let Lord 1)E GREY return Colonel GILPIN. This is had enough. But they go much further and much worse; they insist on the liberal party generally being bound by this purely whig un derstanding ; and when the liberals won't submit to be so practically disfranchised, the whigs treat their nomination of a candidate as a sort of a piece of dis orderly impudence to be punished with contempt and defeat. Parties in Bedfordshire are, under the existing franchise and paramount influences on either side, tolerably equally poised. There are on the registry about 4,000 voters, a majority of whom are probably liberals. But give the least impetus to liberal opinions, and that majority would largely increase. Now what greater load impetus could be given than a struggle for independence? The whigs, as whigs, cannot return two members; but asrea Ily liberal politicians they could do so easily enough. And it is bmause they prefer to preserve their narrow distinctive character rather than to heartily join with the popular party, that the representation of Bedfordshire is a nullity. But not only is it a nullity—the liberals arc misrepre sented or unrepresented. Mr. Ittsrrscs Itt'ssELL represents the whigs, as Colonel GIL,'IN will now the conservatives. But the IMO It freeholders of Bedford shire—the electors by tenure" on whom Lord JOHN RUSSELL, in words, lays so much stress—being neither whigs nor tones, but something higher and better than either, have no influence in the legislature. It was against thisstatc of negation, to which family arrange ments had reduced the small freeholders,that the inde pendent men of Bedford, of Dunstable, and of Luton rose. H ad they, in their rising, been aided by the whigs, Col. GILPIN would not have now been member for that county. It is therefore owing to the whigs of Bedfordshire that Protection has now another sup porter in the House of Commons, and free trade another opponent. (If the 4,000 electors, not many above 2,000 polled; whilst in South Notts, where the pure whigs acted better, the whole number on the registry was polled within twenty. Two-thirds of those who did poll voted' for Colonel Ohm, the other third for Mr. HOUGHTON. Yet, notwithstanding this small number of total votes, and the disproportion of those given to Colonel Gitelx, a majority of votes in the county town of Bedford were recorded in favour of the Tenant-' Farmer; and in the other two principal towns of the county—Luton and Dunstable—Mr. HorcuroN was equally well supported. Whilst amongst the agri cultural labourers, his advocacy of cheap bread—to them life's rent and stern reality—rendered his cause enthusiastically popular. For the first time in Bedfordshire farm servants became interested in a county election, and not without reason. For in it they saw on the one side selfish landlordism doing its worst to again reduce them to a high priced and small-sized loaf; and on the other, an intelligent tenant-farmer and independent trades ' men supporting their right to have, unintcrrupted,at least by human laws, sufficient, wholesome, and, ' above all, because to them the cause of all, cheap ' food. No wonder that in such a contest, labour in Bedfordshire looked with interest on Mr. HOUGHTON and shrank in despair from Colonel GILPIN. Why, let a general election come, and Protectionist Squires will be mobbed and pelted off their canvass by the very peasantry, who, as Sir JAMES GRA/TAM says, kat,ic the reason why ;" their bread is cheap and abundant. On behalf of Mr. IforcnroN there was no attor ney canvassing far and wide—no squires galloping after unwilling tenants—no parsons quietly influ encing at home weaker parishioners. The number of votes unpolled represents that burst of independent feeling on the part of the small freeholders which is swamped, neutralised, and destroyed by landlordisns and by aristocratic arrangements in almost every county in England. Lord JOHN RUSSELL, last week, pro fessed sympathy with that part of the electoral body. Why,then, did he oppose Mr. LOCKE KING's most mo derate measure for adding to county constituencies a franchise that would have restored independence to them? For while the small freeholders predominated in county elections, soantyrepresentation wasthe pride of tho country. It is only since voting by tenure was swamped by voting by coercion, that county re presentation has become a disgrace to the morality and intelligence of the nation. The remedy for this Whig infidelity and elec tion by family arrangements is through a large extension of the suffinge. No hesitating, ingenious, or skilfully devised enlargement will now do. We must have such an increase as will grasp the great body of the British people; as will give to every honest laborious man in the empire a voice and an interest in the constitution ; as will render the divi sion of counties by lords and dukes, by Whigs or tones, bygone tales and contemptuous reminiscences ; as will present to the QUEEN the intelligence, not the aristocracy, of the country, as ministers. The country has decided and settled the great question of cheap or dear bread. Yet, so distinct is the country from its representation, that what the country has settled the representation endangered. And in the presence of so hwardous an ano maly in politics as this, there is, there can be, but one security. It is extended suffrage. By means of the franchise to make the country and its representation identical. Now is its opportunity—now its time. With it everything may be accomplished; without it, nothing great can be done. Fur, like its authors, the Reform Bill is used up. Here then is a cause in which all liberals can unite—on which "to close our ranks;" with Sir JAMBS GRAHAM if he choose to join us and become one of us; but careless of him, and indiffe rent about him, if ho hesitates or refuses. To ex tended suffrage let all our faculties be bent. For, it gained, the rest follows. It denied, the working classes here will be driven, by their social isolation, and by their expulsion from the realm of politics, into that terrible evil of our age—socialism, as they have been in France and Germany. The alterna tive is, then, Franchise or Socialism`for the working classes. Bistro' MURRAT's chaplain still continues to dis tinguish himself at Chigwcll. The chancel rebellion still endures; the church is still shut up; the Eccle siastical Commissioners have turned surly and stopped the supplies, refusing any longer to bC the puppets in the hands of Mr. GODDARD. He, however, still stands out, resolved to assert the dignity of the priesthood. It appears that he has been much annoyed by the impression that sundry of his parishioners have manifested a tendency to giggle at his mummeries, and two or three Sundays since he was seen to rush surplieed, but hatless, from the schoolroom where he had just been performing service, much after the fashion of the Cornish parson on the announce ment of a wreck. The bewildered flock natu rally suspected a rubrical reason for this unlookcd for occurrence, and wondered what was to turn up next, but the mystery soon developed itself in the prompt hailing and bringing to of a couple of quiet-looking labourers, whom the vicar accused of presuming to laugh, to the disturbance of public worship. Some influential neighbours came up at the moment, and mom mended that the matter should be permitted to drop. Not so his reverence; and, in default of a policeman, he proceeded to take evidence himself, when the case for the prosecution unfortunately broke down on the testimony of those persons who happened to sit next the supposed culprits, and who said that they had conducted themselves with becoming gravity ; more perhaps than the scene demanded. The real offenders were not to be found, and these labourers who had thus been stopped, eross-examined, and threatened with police, turned out to be inoffensive and imper turbable worshippers. This sort of persecution is probably part of a plan to reduce the number of attendants, and so purge the chancel of its lay contents. And it promises to be eminently successful, in which case the bishop may keep in his courtly pocket the guineas which it is said. he means to dole out of his pay for an enlarge ment of the church; and Mr. WILLIAM Corrox may cheek that " Mardi= California" wherewith the plan of a new church usually afflicts him. By-the-lye, one of the Bethnal-green churches is not yet finished. Let Mr. COTTON bestow his bank notes there, and dedicate the chunk, in honour of his Holiness of ExEtEn, to Saint Judas Iscariot. FRANCE. PARIS. MoNnxr EVENING. Everyone remarks to-day that the weather is cer tainly republican, if nothing else, for the anniversary of die 24th February has been feted by a sun of May. Accordingly all the public haunts swami with holi day people, who care, most of them, not a half-penny whether the government be republican, monarchical, or imperial, so long as the sun shines upon their prosperity, peace, and leisure. Some of those who have special reasons for honouring the day with a peculiar observance met, to the number of some hun dreds, this morning at 10 o'clock, in the square of Notre Dame, with crape about their arms, and pro ceeded to attend the funeral mass in the cathedral for the repose of the souls of those who fell at the barricades. Afterwards they proceeded in a procession to the Column of the Bastille, and flung their crowns of " everlastings " over the palisade:4round the lase, giving a tnple cheer for the republic. Then they dispersed peaceably. Later, 120 repre sentatives of the Mountain sat down to a din ner, which is indeed the social way of honour ing socialism. So far this dreaded anniversary is gone off as quietly as possible. The consignment of I the troops to barracks ceased yesterday, but detach- ments remain with arms piled in the courts, ready for any event which should disturb the public repose. M. Emile de Girardin. with characteristic eccen tricity, produces in the Prcsse an article written on Feb. 23, 1848, which breaks off in the middle of a sentence. "My pen had reached this point," says M. de Girardin, "when, at four o'clock, M. Sallan &mire, deputy of the ('reuse, came rushing in and told me the Guizot ministry had fallen." A publication has appeared to-day which possesses singular interest in relation to the revolution of February, and will form a valuable addition to the historical documents illustrating the birth of the re public. This is a pamphlet from the pen of M. Edouard Lemoine, entitled " The Abdication of Louis Philippe, recounted by himself," composed after conversations with the ex-king at Claremont, where M. Lemoine visited him in October, 1849. The first chapters of this brochure are given in the Journal des Debats. The Assemblee Nationale publishes the petition which was to have been brought to the Assembly by a Bonapartist mob on the 22nd. It is couched in respectful terms enough, and begs the Chamber to reconsider its vote on the dotation. The 2lfoidteur of this day announces the following diplomatic changes, by decree of the President of the Republic :—General Aupick, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Sublime Porte, to be ambassador to England; M. de Lavalette, to replace Gen. Aupick at Constantinople; M. Walewski, minis ter plenipotentiary at Naples, to be ambassador in Spain ; M. Adolphe Barret, minister in Por tugal, to replace M. Walewski at Naples ; M. de Sludges, minister in Sweden, to be minister in the United States ; M. Marescalchi, first secre tary of embassy in London, to replace M. de Sartiges in Sweden ; M. d'Andre, envoy extra ordinary and minister plenipotentiary in Saxony, to go in the same quality to the Netherlands; M. de Solignae-Fenelon, minister at the Hanseatic Towns, to replace M. d'Andre in Saxony; M. Forth-Itouen, minister in China, to be minister in Portugal; M. Bourhoulon, secretary of legation at Washington, to be minister in China; M. de Saint-Georges, secre tary of ligation at Rio-Janeiro, to be resident mi nister at Brazil ; M. de Talleyrand, first secretary of legation at St. Petersburg, to be first secretary of embassy in London; M. Serurier, secretary of lega tion at Brussels, to be first secretary of legation at St. Petersburg ; M. de Damremont, secretary of le gation at Munich, to be first secretary of legation at Berlin; M. de Sampayo, secretary of legation at Stuttgard, to be in the same capacity at Brussels; M. Gauldrie-Boileau, secretary of legation at Dres den, to be in the same capacity at Washington ; M. Lallemand, second secretary at St. Petersburg, to be secretary of legation at Dresden. The chief political news is the announced judicial inquiry into the projected Bonapartist demonstration ' on the 22nd Feb. M. earlier has lost no time in communicating to the public this intention of the government, as the result of an interview which the prefect had with the President yesterday. Apropos of the proposition of M. Croton, M. ehambolle states in the Ordre that in answer to the solicitations made to the Prince of Joinville to allow his name to figure among the candidates for the presidency in 1852, he replied in these words: " Supposing your anticipations realized, my resolu tion taken, and the choice of France lighting on my name, be assured that I should engage my honour to observe religiously in all extent and rigour the oath I should have sworn." The legitimists have set on foot a subscription for propagating u widely as possible the Duke of Bordeaux's manifesto. General AtipiCiiins arrived in Paris from Con stantinople. Admiral Romain-Desfosses, successor to Admiral Trehouart as commander of the French naval station in the Levant. hoisted his flag on board the steamer Chaptal, at Brest, on the lith. M. Sain Bois-lc-Comte announces, in a letter to a mercantile house at Havre, that the government of the United States had given reparation for the illegal seizure of French brandies at San Francisco, by turn. inF off the head custom-house officer. fhe director of the National Museums, Neuwer. kerke, has given orders for the removal of an eques trian statue of Henry IV., and other works of art, from the Palace of Fontainebleau to the Louvre. Mrs. Howard, with whose name the l'arisian pub• lie has grown so familiarized, is announced in the papers to hare died On Saturday night, in consequence of a miscarriage. PROPERTY AND LNCOME TAX. A return showing the amount of property assessed •edcr schedules C, 1), and E, of the Property sail Income Tax Act, for the year ending sth April, 1815, and the years ending sth April, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1848, 1847, 1848, 1849, and 1850. Tears ending 1815....1 1843.... E ~~: a ~~:::a 1848.-1 istr....l iiii::::1 Schedule C. &hid ale D. £30,048,619 27,909,793 it:34il:6:li £61,287,635 63,021,904 56,627,161 65,406,733 150,888,091 60,867,494 60,068,090 66,701,896 64,977,566 £14,142,673 9,417,463 10,992,253 10,700,478 10,993.631 11,235,798 11,408,627 11,740,518 11,127,444 28,501,078 25,b&i,b~ 9 28:005:019 26,13255 1849- .1 2416;991 1860„„; 26,310,970 Tnii Poor OVVICE PAcirr EtEatlcit.--Test.y a parliamentary paper was printed, frees which it appears that the total charge for the paeket service of the post °face, for the years 185142, will be 809,496/. The last vote for the flasasial year, which will taxed, expire. wee 784,2361. Schedule E. SPAIN. An occasional correspondent a-rites to us as follow" from Madrid, under date of the 15th instant : The following incident illustrates forcibly the amount of civilisation in the Spanish capital. Madame Frextolini received the intelligence of her father's death last week, on the day upon which she was engaged to appear as Deademona, in the opera of " Ottllo." Will it be believed that, notwithstanding the pressing solicitation made by the singer that she might be excused from appearing on the stage under circumstances so afflicting, Madame Fres:cilia was menaced with the forfeiture of her contract unless she complied strictly with her engagement ? Will it be believed that the subject+ of her moat Christian Majestycould sit out an opera in which the prime donna was forced to sing on the same day on which she received the news of her father's death ? The audience had not the excuse of ignorance, be cause they applauded their victim at momenta when she seemed unable from grief to go on with her part. Such IA exhibition turns a theatre into a bull-circus ! GERMANY. Our correspondent writes as follows : BERLIN, Fan. 22. The dispute at Dresden continues apparently without there being the slightest chance of its termination. According to the ministerial journals of this city Baron Momently' per sists in his opposition to the fresh proposals of Schwarzen berg, and a return to the slab. quo ante, March, 1848, is represented as the aim of the Prussian prime minister. The Deutsche Refornse declares the 1/resden conferences to be useless and fruitless, and recommends the return to the old form of the Diet, us the sole minus of restoring harmony and union between all the powers of Germany. The go vernments of Hanover and Wirtemberg appear to have roc commended this measure in very strong language: and the governments of l'ilecklenhurg and Oldenburg have pro tested in still stranger language against the whole Austrian policy. It is, of course, useless to consider what the state of things would he if the Prussiau opposition should prove successful. Success has in no single instance re wiirded the laborious efforts of the I'IVSSiILfI diplomacy, I might almost say from the days of Napoleon; and after the glaring defeats which it has suffered during the last three month, it would be foolish to suppose that the same men WllO assisted at these defeats would now gain a victory. It is hopeless ; and Prince Schwarreniterg knows it. His con duct becomes daily more peremptory and insulting. The newest Tendon of his proposie which has found its way from Dresden is, that the executive or central power shall be constituted by Austria, l'russia, and Ilavana—Austria possessing, of course, the presidium-, and the number of votes at present possessed by liavdria in the plenum to be increased to eight or ten. What degree of foundation there is for this story I know net; hut it is printed hp the .Velfdl l'reassiselie, whose information has, in most occasions, proved highly trustworthy. The Dela:rite Ibliirme, whose communications are has to be relied un, has letters from Dresden to the same effect. The two minister; had a conference on Thursday night, which lasted until 12 o'clock, and at which the Austrian plenipotentiary in Dresden and the Austrian ambassador in Berlin were both present. The absence of Count Alvous leben from Buie conferences in remarkable; but it is ex plained by the fact, that a strong difference of opinion exists between him and the Prussian prime minister, a dif ference of opinion which may probably lead to his resign*. tion. The ministers met again yesterday, and were to do so again this morning. The lkidarhr Br:forme of this even ing says that a plenary sitting of the conferences is to take place to-morrow (Sunday) morning, aad that Mantenffel may be expected to return on Monday. Count Alrensleben has resigued his scat in the Uppet Chamber. The Second Chamber did not meet to-day. The Upper Chamber sat in committee on the new press laws. Pan.- ' graph 5, which, in direct contradiction to the constitution, places all publishers, printers, authors, writers, eke., uuder the immediate jurisdiction of the police, was supported in s long reactionary speech by Gerlach, awl was carried by 62 to 55. In the course of the discussion the constitution w as declared by the Left to be nothin: more than an ordinary law. Vincke attacked this expression us an insult to those who had sworn to uphold it. lle considered the constitu tion a treaty of peace fur the purpose of healing the deplore, ble breach of faith which had oreurred in Prussia. Pare, graph G was carried by a large majority. tt requires every publisher of any printed journal to supply the police with a copy of his publication twottysfour hours before it is issued. This doss not apply, however, to newspapers, the publishers of which are required to send a copy to the police the moment the impression is finished, Several other paragraphs were agreed to, including ono preventing military personages and government employes from working on newspapers, &c., without the permission of their superiors, Letters from Kid state that General Bardenfleth (a Dane), is about to, or has already, assumed the cunt:nand of the Ilolstein-Luuenburg contingent for the Genuses federal army. Sad complaints are made of the brutality and general ill-couthiet of the Danish officials. The Vienna official Gazette publishes the deems nominating Count Charles Bun! von Schauenstein, at present minister at St. Petersburg, to the same post at London. COLOGNE, Pea. 22. With the fall of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany has entered a new phase, and that phase is unmistakea bly and absolutely revolutionary. We may regret this, we do regret it; but regrets will not change realities, and all Germany is now convinced that we are on the high road to a general revolution. No persons are more deeply convinced of this than the l'rinces and their representatives at Dresden and Frankfort, and above all, the statesmen of Russia. The seal of fear is imprinted on all that they are at this moment doing. At Dresden they organise an army of 140,000 men, to act as a police in repressing the public spirit of Germany. They are pre paring for a war of extermination against ideas. The men wh o are i n power in Ger many, and especially in Russia, well under stand the danger which they incur : this is why they permit all sorts of measures of public safety, without any inquiry as to their legality or unpopu larity. " After us the deluge," is their only senti ment, as it always is of those who feel that they are lost, unless they can impose on the world. The menaces directed to Switzerland are the con sequences of the same sentiment of fear. 'file people know, they feel, that the day is not fur distant when an insurrection in Germany, no matter in what quar ter it may take place, may have incalculable conse quences, and run throughout Germany like a spark falling on a train of gunpowder. Possibly this spark may come from Switzerland, should fear of danger from this side lead the powers of Germany to make an attempt to re-establish Jesuitical and aris tocratic rule in that country. I have, however, the conviction that the menaces addressed to Switzerland will never be executed. A war with that object would be impossible at the pre sent day with German armies. In Switzerland the material force of our powers, resting on no moral basis, would be broken if it encountered any ener getic resistance sufficient to give our German soldiers time to think. Should infatuation go further, and our princes extend the same policy to France, I am convinced that the German arms, whether Prussian or Austrian, would decline the con test. In 1840 the case was different: France then menaced :Germany. Now, the German armies would be sent to pour out their blood in the interest of Russia. The solemn moment in which we stand I I demands frankness, therefore we say, without 61.- 1 1 eumlocution, that we are convinced tciat an attack OR Switzerland would raise Baden, Wurtemlicrg, Hasse, and nearly all the Rhine, in favour of that country, should its inhabitants resist, but for some time, with energy and decision. But a campaign in France, for Russia, and against liberty and the independence! of Europe, would induce the German regiments to go over to the French with drums beating and colours flying. That is my conviction, and any one who thinks that the German nation is dead and buried is greatly mistaken. A real war against France and Switzerland woukl decide the fate of Europe in a very brief space. But without this war Germany will none the less pro gms towards her future. She has a population of forty millions, who can work and fight as well as any other, and are not usually considered in ferior in intelligence. If at the present day this people fails to rouse itself, it is beeau.se its time is not yet come, because the reaction now IS revelling is as natural as night after day, as sleep after work, espe cially after a work beyond measure harassing, and earned on under conditions the most disastrous ima ginable. Germanyy will have its revolution sines its reform has been reftified, and not until that revolution has taken place will the destiny of the country be ! accon becor day A comp plan lICSA expel be co Dce. *vial The from wen mari mon RUM Dere Van' DTI favm Lind nix The the c imp nu urrai 'Cell meet mun poitti lat io Very neefm CXP ( bill t• rupt, juri. •nd 31. pe bulite fiOntki