The Express. — London, England, 1853-02-09 00:00:00

int erpreols. TO CORKItSrONONNTS. Mowed MMus of The Part..." eacaixist •1.• Asa enairre • tMsetts." b pebUJed Teat', saJ Frifay Mali; la obrot Sr past. A twevarmr•lstaton.ted Mr "Me Itspress." Leedom 11••• Ase mar, um. be NA tine oak% Ir, browarie.genst. Two *Week as tAe 417 et piablitatim. HIGH WATER AT LONDON HRIDOP. Tim DAT —Minis& WU... -Aftwases, 30.140. Torwatm—lllseales, ti 36a.. .Afisrasse„ 31.31 a. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9. To-mum:ow evening Lord lons Ressete will— it is now understood—explain the views of the Cabi net upon various points, and amongst the rest upon Parliamentary Re for m . A contemporary, npposed to represent more peculiarly the sentiments of Lend ABERDEEN, earnestly deprecates any &wand for the early realisation of those promises of Electoral 14 form which,—with his sanction, — were a few weeks ago held out at the hus tings by such of his colleagues and subordinates n sought re-election at the hands of popular constitu encies. The new Government, it is said, have not yet had time to consider the details of so important a measure. Many minor questions press upon their attention—to say nothing of the Income Tax and National Education—all of which must be postponed, it is averred, should any steps be taken prematurely to lessen the present evilsof direct nomination and whole sale bribery and scandalous intimidation in the elec t ion of members to scree in Parliament. Few people who arc capable of forming an intelligent opinion on the matter will be misled by the vague and unplausible generalities of the Ministerial journal. It would not ' be true to say that any question or questions more pressingly . require to be dealt with than those con nected with the notorious abuses of our present electoral system. And, in point of fact, our contem pones' does not venture in so many words to say so. The sleuneful prevalence of malpractices at the late general election, and the undeniable delinquency and decay of numerous boroughs which, throng favouritism, or some other cause, escaped the pruning knife of 1532, are points that admit no longer of argument or confutation. To persist in leaving—fur may needless length of time—to the arbitrament of a tribunal thus da maged in public estimation, the solution of grave practical questions in which the feelings and rights of the people arc involved, is simply to ask for a renewal of the lease under which all sorts of poli tical jobbing aim be carried on. Suppose for exam ple, that during the approaching session any scheme of taxation or National expenditure were proposed by Ministers, and after prolonged discussion were , carried in the lower House by majorities, consisting' mainly, if not altogether, of the representa tives of the condemned boroughs, what chance would such laws have of durability after the inevitable change in the constitution of the House of Commons should have taken place? The best thing to be done with a bad jury is to dis charge it as soon as possible, and not to suffer the administration of public justice to be damaged by its, do:usive decisions. The mockery of a hearing is worse than a waste of time, its verdict has no moral sanc tion and cannot stand. It is argued by the Times that the Reform Bill of Lord GREY is not a case in point. and we arc gravely assured that its shape and form was the result of forty years' meditation and reflection on the part of that distinguished statesman and his friends. No thing an be more unlike the real history of that celebrated measure. It is true, in deed, that in concert with Mr. Fox and others proposals were made in 1792 by Mr. GREY for an Extension of the Suffrage, and the extinction of some of the rotten boroughs. But in neither respect were the propositions then made similar to,—far leas were they identical with,—thoso brought forward on behalf of the Whig Government by Lord JOHN RUSSELL on the lit of March, 1831. It is well known that the latter scheme was the result of anxious deliberation on the part of a Committee of Five appointed for the purpose, and subsequently on the part of the Cabinet itself. The Committee, it is generally understood, consisted of Lord JOHN RUS SELL, Sir JAMES GRAHAM, Lord Bnoreune, the late Lord DURHAM, and the late Lord Bessonoeow. And so far is it from being a fact that the old project of the Corresponding Society of 1792 was the atercutyped formula adhered to by the Whigs in 1631, that the Committee of Fi v e are known to hare reported to the Cabinet two different plans, the one comprising the Ballot, and the other not,—either of which they conceived would be accepted as a great, improvement by the nation at large. Subsequent toi this report, the alternative plans had to be discussed and couaidered by the Cabinet (of whom two of the members of the Committee were not members), and finally to be submitted for approval to the King. For all this the period was not longer than that which the present Administration now have had for a some what similar purpose. The change of government had taken place shortly before Christmas, not one of the Committee of Five had everbeen in office before, and many of their colleagues in the Administration were as completely novices as themselves. The case is wholly different now. The bill introduced last year by Lord dons RUSSELL, though defective in many particu lars, contained much that was essentially sound and wise. It must confessedly form the stock on which is to be engrafted more vigorous and varied branches 1 than it originally bore. But it needs aot to be planted afresh. Nor are the hands appointed to tend and prune it unpractised as they were two-and twenty years ago. Did the same spirit animate the present Cabinet as • whole which inspired the councils of the Government of Earl GREY, instead of procrastination and pleas for indefinite postpone ment, we should look with confidence to the production of early and energetic measures which would appeal to the moral sense as well as to the political spirit of the people, and which would thereby enable their authors to surmount all obsta cles, and to command success. But we are told by the apologists of a timid and dilatory policy that the country is busy and in good humour, whereas in 1831 it was depressed and dis contented—that then it clamoured for Reform; whereas now it is content quietly to petition. If this be the philosophy of our present PRIME MINISTER, we are driven, however reluctantly, to infer that his long experience of affairs has added little to the stock of wisdom which he possessed twenty' years ago. Lord ABERDEEN was a member of the Tory Cabinet, who, in 1830, refused to agree to any measure of reform. Within twelve months front that short-sighted and infatuated deci sion the conviction that reform was indispensable had become a popular passion. Prayers had given place to menaces, and expostulations to threats. The country was tranquil, rind comparatively easy to be unified, during the session of 1830. In the House' of Commons parties had been broken up by the events of the previous year. The Government oecn ; pied itself with small administrative improvements, sad scoffing at the weakness of the independent Liberal party in the Commas, superciliously refused to entertain the question of Electoral Reform. A few months passed away and their power to control or guide had vanished from their hands. The COll - was convulsed with unlooked-for changes, commercial and agricultural vicissitudes clouded men's miuds at home. Disturbance and ineen disrism. instead of tending to strengthen the hands of the Government, served only to distract and weaken the resources of order. And the Reform Bill of lts3l was carried hr a shout which shook the pillars of our ancient system to their very fouoda tem. Who wishes that shout to be heard again ? F.enntss arc among the last people to be moved by any new social impulse, living, as dal , do, out of the contagion of speculation, and caring less than other classes about the most recent news. Hut, when once moved, off they go, quite as fast as other people, and with all the earietstoess that is cherished by an isolated made of life. When our English farmers begin to emigrate, they will do the thing thoroughly, as Irish farmers have done. Their labourers arc esting first, as the Irish labourers did; and here, as in I re land, the employers will follow --oat dribiling away., one or two families from a to: it t ,„,:„ 4 off by hundreds and thousands from a county. The prospects of terming in Australia are such that nothing but ignorance, reiatliy, or want of money for the voyage, can keep English farmers here, when once the facts have penetrated to the rural recesses of our country ; and then will come the retribution on careless and rapacious landlords, asd the final ruin of incumbered ones. The least improved farms will be deserted tirst ; and there will be a large con version of tilled land into grazing and stock farms. Iletore the gold discoveries, and consequent emigra tion, we used to think and say (with some conscious. ness that it wits a hard thought and word) that the existing race of farmers must give place to a better; that men of capital and science must succeed to the old farming class, who had never been properly edu cated for their business, and who had been beguiled by bad laws to implicate themselves with a system which must explode, after having ruined them. In proportion to our sense of the hardness of their ca-c is now oar satisfaction, that a new way to prosperity is opening before them. To such of them as go, we shall heartily wish success, and a fairer chance in their new country than aristocratic law-makers have allowed them in the old. But before they go, wo may as well see whether we cannot induce the wiser and best furnished of them to stay, by affording them that fair field for their labour that other classes have. Several im ' provements in the law are required, and much social organisation, to make the farmer as much master of his own affairs as the manufacturer or the tradesman. His relation with his landlord is a disadvantageous ore—not necessarily from any fault in anybody now living, but from the landlord's own relations with his ancestors and his posterity. We cannot go into the great subject of settlements now, further than just to mention that it is mainly owing to the want of some obvious improvements in our land•laws that the tenant finds his farm in the back ward and uufavouruble state that too many English farms are in, and that all manner of difficulties are in the way of his undertaking to bring it round. This was well understood when, in 1810 and 1850, Govirnment loans were granted for purposes of drainage. Most people think now that it is an unpriucipled and clumsy way of going to work to improve one's private affairs by borrowing capital of Government. Our manufacturers would stare at the proposal of borrowing money to build a factory; and tradesmen, for the purchase of stock. But the case of the agricultural interest is peculiar. They are trammelled by laws which it will take some time to get rid of; and they arc, as yet, unprovided with some facilities which are clearly their due; — that is, necessary to the carrying on of their busi ness, and not within their own power :mss, for two instances, a regular supply of agricultural statistics, and a system of arterial drainage, which should make their own drainage a constant advantage, and not an occasional curse. Pending suchjustice as this, we have offered them a Government loan for drainage purposes; and, as far as we have evidence, the results have been good. We shall learn by ex perience how to do more and better. The boon would hare been immeasureably more valuable if the general drainage had accompanied the facility for private drainage—if, when encouraging farmers and landowners to dig little channels, we had deepened and cleared out our watercourses and rivers. And nobody seems able to give a reason why the loan should bo for drainage only. We may have to wait some time for a system of arterial drainage to be put into action : but there seems to be no reason why a loan for many or all purposes of land improvement should not be decided on during this session of Par liament. There are plenty of estates in England and Scot land that do not want drainage. Some are dry; some are so well placed that the little aid required by nature was granted her long ago, on her own broad hints. But it would be a daring thing to say that such estates may not want u much improvement as many a greasy, soppy lowland, where the grasses arc all sour. On those drier farms the buildings may, as likely as not, beset round the outskirts !le sentinels —a barn here, a shed there, a piggery somewhere else—an the beasts far away from their food—the kinds of food far away from each other, and the farm servants a long way from both. Then, the roads which have to be gone over so often, so needlessly, are pro bably very bad. Farms so old-fashioned as to have many bits of road within their boundaries usually have them very bad ; and then ensues the wear and tear of horses and carts, prodigious waste of time, and not less absurd expenditure of land. Club that land together with that which is occupied by such hedges as are required to grow ash trees, and you will have as much as would amount to a field; and, if you add to it all that is spoiled by the presence of hedgerow trees, it will be a pretty large field. Now, if the tenant finds that he cannot stand the waste of land, of time, of cattle food, of everything, caused by such arrangements as these, and wants to have the build ings concentrated, with a little steam-engine in the midst and tanks below, and little tramways stretching out all round, he asks the landlord to make these improvements, and the landlord asks him to do it. Too often, both are prevented by the operation of our land laws. Why should not the conditions of the Government loan be enlarged so as to include this case ? Why should it not enable the owner or occupier to plant woods, to reclaim bogs, to improve his stock, to undertake anything in the way of his business, as long as he can give ample security for the repayment ? We cannot see why, if the plan of a land improvement loan is admitted at all. And there is no use in objecting to it till we have made land as free a commodity as any other. Another thing we must do. We must supply the' farmer with intelligent labourers. He can choose his own stock, and see that his farm horses are well bred and trained; but he has no such choice about the human assistants who are to do his work. The menu- , lecturer and the tradesman can command a certain amount of intelligence and fitness, in their opera tives and shopmen, and can supply their places with better, if they do not suit. It Is otherwise with the farmer. If the men have not been to school, they are the elodpnles that the world has made game ot', from Saxon times to Suaxsemaz, and from Suatis eitsm to to-day. If the boys do go to school, they come out, after five, seven, or nine years, barely able to spell out a chapter in the Bible, sad clumsy alike with the pen and the pitchfork. The girls, too, would have known something about dairy work, if they had been mercifully kept from the inefficient school: but, as it is, they know nothing about anything. Boys and girls have fairly lost several of the best years of their lives, and now have to begin to learn what would have come easy to them in their child hood, but is now stiff and hard. There mast be an end of this. Throughout the rural districts there mast be good industrial training connected with book teaching provided fur erery child. The opera tives of our towns study mechanical and =theme- I tical books in the evenings. The time must be brought near when oar land operatives will be studying agricultural chemistry in the evenings in stead of boozing at the beer-shops, or snoozing in the chimney-corner—where there happens to be such a thing—or poaching in the covers. If we effect these improvements, with certain others, quickly enough, we may retain a gaod many farmers who will otherwise certainly go. It has not happened, as croakers foretold, that wheat-growing has ceased, or largely declined, in England, after the repeal of the Corn Lass. That danger is much greater from other and newer causes, —gold and emigration. The farmers are fast learning that there is glorious justice to Agriculture in the valleys and plains of Australia; but they may still cling to their old homes, if we are prompt enough in securing real justice to Agriculture here. MORMONISM IN SOUTII•MPTON.—The Mormons have a nuniiitr of disciples in Southampton. Their place of meeting is at the bottom of the liigli-street. The preach ing for intellectual incapacity and religious extravugalice is on • level with that of the ranters. The Southampton Mormons have a sort of religious dance, during which the lights are extinguished and &Sang. re are secluded. The dance sounds onside like the trawl of soldiers. It appears that this sect believe in the anahaptist doctrine of the ne cessity of baptisin4 adult converts by immersion. The place where they (the neophytes) are baptised are the pri vate baths at West gaily, where, at this time of the year at least, the member. of the Great Salt Lake fraternity are secure from impertinent curiosity mid molestation. Oa Sunday night last the Mormon elder or priest baptised five poor women. The thermomet.r doting the ceremony was wisely down to the freezing point. There is a belief amongst them that no bodily ill can result from the ccre mmy of baptism, no matter what is the state of the con verts health or the temperature of the weather when the ceremony is performed. cCIDENZ THE HON. HENRY l'EPYS.—This young gentleman, one of the youngest s me of the late Lord e;iiancellor Coat:than', met with rathir a severe accident whilst hunting near Aylesbury on Saturday last. Mr. Pepys's horse fell, and the young gentleman aislocated his ctrl ir 11010 and fractured his wrist. Mr. l'opys is going on very favourably, THE, BXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 9, 1853. INSURRECTION AT MILAN. OPT SQpXAILINI lIILZONATIL) PARIS, WZIPXISDAT MORNING. An insurrection broke out in Milan on the 6th in three districts. Five men have perished, but order is re-established. Advice' from Basle (Feb. 8) state that Milan is still closed. and it is thought that the fight has re commenced. A proclamation from Martini is posted up. AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA. (sr rut PARIS, TUESDAY Einnizsa. The commercial negotiations between the Vienna and Berlin cabinets are terminated. M. de Bruck awaits. in Berlin, the authorisation from the Austrian government to sign the treaty of commerce concluded for twelve years. The dispositions of the treaty are favourable, on the whole, to free trade. FRANCE. PARIS, TVISDAT EVIBNING. The Carnival is at it height, and the Boulevards have been completely encumbered all day with masqueraders, spectators, and the principal proces sion of the Bmuf Gras. The Emperor and Empress appeared this afternoon on the balcony of the Tuileries, and were cordially cheered by the populace. The official journal, in republishing in a conspicu ous manner the article from the Pays relative to the arrests of suspected correspondents, declares the in tention of government to tolerate no longer the sys tem of misrepresentation and abuse which dishonour a part of the foreign press. M. de ltovigo and M. de Mirabaud have been set at liberty to-day. Numerous arrests have been made in Ardeche and other parts of the country of persons charged with singing seditious songs. Several coffee-houses in the departments where tho Republicans and Socialists have assembled have been closed by order of the authorities. The Moniteur contains a report on the financial situation of the empire drawn up by the finance minister, M. Bineau, by order of the Emperor. As might have been anticipated, it represents the situa tion as satisfactory in every respect. Figures are exceedingly malleable, when marshalled by a single hand with a view to support a plausible statement, and not to stand the shock of immediate patia mentary scrutiny. The report sets out by stating that the accumulated deficits of former years left to the charge of the Treasury up to 1832 amounted to 631,832,631 fr., and a leading feature in the state ment is the admission made subsequently, that this aggregate deficit, the constant subject of anxiety to French financiers, will at the end of the financial year 1832 be 738,368,336 fr., that is to say, aug mented by upwards of 107 millions. The explanation given of this increase I will notice presently. The budget of 1852, as settled by the dictatorial decree of March 17th, showed an estimated deficit in round numbers of 54 millions, which by supplementary credits has been carried up to 103 millions. From this amount M. Bineau deducts 37 millions for credits annulled, and nearly 38 millions for excess of receipts above the estimates, of which 28 millions and a half are from indirect, and 9 and a half from direct taxes. He thus reduces the "probable" deficit of 18.12 to 28 millions. But he arrives at this result by the fami liar and convenient method of mixing up fact and hypothesis, so as to make it impossible to check the conclusion. The budget for the financial year 1832 is not yet closed. The supplementary credits of 49 millions have been already opened, and there may yet be more. These credits are spoken of in the present tense, and are facts. Thu credits an nulled are spoken of iu the future tense, and belong to the domain of hypothesis. The report says the credits that "will be " annulled "may be esti mated" at 37 millions. The average of credits an nulled during the last ten years has been 44 millions, but it is admitted that this year they will be lees considerable, "because the necessities of each parti cular service have been more accurately calculated." The large increase in the revenue for 18.52 is dwelt upon at great length, and, in fact, the only plausible ground for the assertion so confidently made that the' finances are in a prosperous state, rests upon the' hazardous assumption that the revenue will not only maintain the improvement of last year, but go on in creasing. The indirect taxes, that is to say, the stamp and registry duties, customs, tax on drinks, post-office revenue, proceeds of tobacco monopoly, and some few others, produced, in 1848, 827 millions; 1847, 823; 1848, 681; 1849, 707 ; 1830, 743 ; 18.51, 744 ; 1832, 810. 1846 was the moat prosperous year of Louis Philippe'. reign. In 1847 the revenue diminished a little, but in 1848 it fell at once 144 millions. It is curious that this falling off was just about the amount pro duced by the famous tax of 43 centimes, and M. Billet's grounds upon the fact the remark that the legislature should carefully proportion taxation to the tax-paying capability of the people, because, however, ingeniously a new tax may be laid on,:if it bears more than a fair proportion to the national re sources the proceeds will be illusory. What the Finance Minister obtains in one way he will lose in another. M. Bineau, however, in his anxiety to proclaim the benefits accruing to France from the coup d'etat speedily loses sight of this doctrine. Not content with the fact that the indirect revenue for 18.52 falls short by only 17 millions of that of 1846 he proceeds to argue,: that righ•ly oonsidered, 1852 was the best year of the two. Ho says that in the interval taxes to the amount of G 9 millions have been reduced or taken off, while the augmentations have been only 50. The balance of 19 millions he carries to the credit of his own financial year, and by this process of reasoning makes out that upon a fair comparison the revenue of 18.56 was two millions less than 1832. In thus stating his case, he obviously assumes the very principle he had just discarded, for, as new taxes check consumption, and, therefore, often fail to increase the revenue, so the diminution of taxes increases consumption, and therefore does not necessarily diminish the revenue. The one proposi tion is a correlative of the other. Upon the above fallacious argument M. Bineau triumphantly ex claims, " Your Majesty will observe what a happy thing it is to see the public income thus arrive in the first year of your reign to the point to which it was brought by fifteen years of peace and prosperity in 1846 . The increase for 1852, as compared with 1831, is 86 millions, and people who do not look upon the matter through ministerial spectacles are perverse enough to think and to say that if, with this enormous and exceptional augmentation in the receipts, there be yet a large deficit, the financial situation having regard to pro bablo contingencies, is the reverse of satisfactory. With regard to the budget for 1833, voted by the Corps Legislatif on the Bth July, 1852, the estimated deficit was 34 millions. Subsequenly this deficit has been increased by supplemental credits to 52: millions. The minister thinks he may, without " an excess of confidence, " venture to anticipate that this budget will nevert heless be balanced without a deficit. Part of his argument in support of this view has really no bearing whatever upon the sub ject. Referring to the Senates.* Consultum enacting that the budget shall be voted by ministries, and giving the emperor power, without consulting the legislature, to transfer crc :its voted for one ministry to another, he observes that the emperor was of opinion that this system, while giving more freedom .r action to the government, would afford as many guarantees for economy as when the representatives of the people were called upon to regulate the mi nutest detail of the administrative service. Then, betraying a finance minister's misgiving, he says: " This object, sire, will be attained, but upon the condition that, except in very extraordinary and ex ceptional cases, supplementary credits shall altoge ther disappear." 'rho power of transferring funds from one ministry to another will render the annul lation of credits in almost all caeca unnecessary, and, per contra, there should be no supplementary credits. If this rule be attended to he says, with great solemnity, the budget of 1853 may yet close in equilibrio, for the 52 millions acd a half of deficit now appc.ring will in peat measure be covered by increased receipts. The first branch of the argu ment amounts to this truism, "If you don't exceed your income you will not get into debt.' M. Bineau Mrts timidly, as if he were announcing a doubt scovery of his own, that supplemental credits are bad things, but he is far from expressing an ex pectation that they will not be granted. His lan guage is rather that of • man who foresees that his advice will not be followed, and tenders a vain re- monstrance beforehand to cover his own responsi bility. It is yet very early in the financial year 1833, and supplemental credits have already aug mented the deficit more than 50 per cent. It re 9uires an "excess of confidence " in M. Binean's influence to stay the extravagant tendenaes of the government to believe that no more of these supplemental credits will be asked for. The other ground for hoping to extinguish the the deficit is founded upon the expected increase in the revenue. Now the budget of 1833 estimates the produce of the customs and indirect taxes at 803 millions and a half, or within 6 millions and a half of the actual produce of 1852. Nothing, then, but a very large progressive increase upon the re- 1 ceipts of an extraordinary year—a year which we are already told was more prosperous than the best of Louis l'hilippe's reign —can realise the expec tations of the minister. The receipts of last month have, he says, exceeded by 8 millions those of Jan. 18.52, but he candidly admits that this is no criterion, because the amelioration of last year did not begin till February. Leaving out of view the extreme probability of further supplemental credits, the existing deficit of 1833 can only be balanced upon the assumption that throughout the current year the revenue will without a check exceed by between 4 and 3 millions monthly that of last year, and this is what M. Bineau without "excess of confidence" predicts will be the case. The Journal de Rouen says: Yesterday, at Paris, there was a report that two gentle. men connected with a lithographic correspondence, which is, however, addressed in the departments only to the jour nals which are the most devoted to the principle of autho rity, had been ted. Vergniaud was mentioned as being one of these two gentlemen. By decree of the Emperor, the Marchioness de Latour-51auhourg has been appointed Dame du Palais, and the Countess Pont-A% agner reader to the Empress. M. Dames Maud has been appointed Secretaire anz-Commandetnents. Rear-Admiral Lapierro has, by decree of the Em peror, been appointed a member of the Council of Works of the navy, in place of Rear• Admiral Dc loffre, who has been admitted into the second section of the general staff. PARIS, MONDAY EVENINO. The Emperor reviewed the troops in garrison at Versailles yesterday. His Majesty and the Empress arrived at the Palace on horseback, attended by a brilliant suite, at one o'clock, and were received by the Prefect of the Seine-et-Oise and the Mayor of Versailles. An immense crowd had assembled, and there were loud cries of " Vive l'Empereur." " Vive l'lmperatriee !" The Emperor wore the uniform of a general of division, and the Empress had a black riding habit and a round hat. Their Majesties did notenter the Palace, but immediately pruemled to the Esplanade to review the cavalry and infantry. The cry of" Vive I'Empereur! Vivo l'lmperatrice ! by the troops was enthusiastic. The Empress bowed graciously to the troops and to the people who joined in the acclamations. The Consultative Chamber of Arts and Manufac tures of Roubaix ha; just made public an interesting letter, written by Mr. Senator Mimerel, to the pre sident of that body, in December last. If M. Mi merel has sufficient warrant for his assertions--and ho speaks very positively—the chances of the esta blishment of a liberal commercial tariff in France would seem to be remote indeed. Paris, Dee. 17, 18. 5.2 - Illy dear President,—lf it should be true, as you .urmise, that Art. 6 of the constitution of January, 18.52, leaves to the Emperor alone the right of making treaties of com• =tree, that, as I have already told you, is not a reason shy trade should be alarmed. Without looking too far forward into the future, we must have confidence in the present, we must have confidence in the Emperor, and this confi dence, believe me, will never be betrayed. Thus it is an nounced that the customs bill, long since submitted to the Council of State, and which menaced more than one of our manufactures is, or will be, withdrawn. The Emperor Is understood to have said his detire was that the customs tariff should not be altered for a considerable time, say ten years, because he wished to see masters and workmen addict themselves to enterprise and labour in lull security. Therefore, while there may be a less stringent guarantee in point of law, we shall, in fact, have • more efficacious protection. Why then should we yet alarm our selves 2 Believe me, my dear sir, if the hand which directs us is firm, the guiding mind well understands French in terests, and I do not kiiiry that there ever was a fiber prospect open to manafacturing industry. You have a proof of what I advanca in the indefinite ejournmint of the treaty of August k 2, relative to our stuffs for panta loons. Recollect that when you came to me in a body to the council-g I, I said to them, as Ido now, have con fidence in the Emperor; this confidence will hereafter be the code of our commercial legislation, and it will have this advantage, that it will deliver us front those continual commissions of inquiry in which my life his been consumed, inquiries which, though they never yet did us any harm, kept us in a state of con stant .oziely. May my countrymen then sleep in peace, and you, my dear President, propagate my good news with the same good will with which I bend them to you.— Your very affectionate A. Mittman. It must be borne in mind, however, that since M. Mimerel's letter, the Superior Council of Agriculture, Commerce, and Manufactures, has been created, and I the organs of the government take great pains to I convey the impression that the council is eminently one of inquiry. The Emperor, they say, is committed to no party upon this question, and is ready to listen to every suggestion. The much-vexed question of the expediency of maintaining the " tours " fur the secret reception of new-born infants, is again agitated. The prefects of the Herault and Dordogne have jest suppressed these establishments in their departments. In the Herault the council general voted the suppression, and the prefectacted upon their vote. In the Dordogne but one receiving house of the kind existed. The prefect decided to close it, upon the ground that, if it re mained open, bastard children would be brought there from neighbouring departments where the " towers " had been either suppressed or were very severely watched. Unless the legislature interferes it is manifestly probable that this argument, becom ing daily more . cogent, will gradually , lead to the abolition of the institution throughout France. The fact appears to have bean lost sight of that the pre fects are exceeding their legal powers when they shut up the towers. An imperial decree of Jan. 19, 1811, never repealed, says in plain terms, "In every hospital destined for the reception of foundlings there shall be a tower in which they may be depo sited." Before 1830 there were 230 towers of this kind is Franco. In the time of Louis Philippe an opinion prevailed that the facility afforded for throw ing the maintenance and education of children upon the state was an encouragement to vice. The ques tion was frequently debated iu the chambers, but the law was never altered. In a memorable debate in, 1839 M. Dupin and M. Lamartine took opposite sides. M. Lamartine warmly defended the institu tion of the towers. He said: Libertinism the most impetuous, the most ungovernable of passions, does not calculate as you suppose. It does nut reflect, and say, " If the state did not give maintenance and education to the fruit of u'y errors, I would abstain from vice." Is it just to society to decline to adept abandoned children ? No. Benevolence is a public as well as a pri vate virtue. Society has its obligations. Property is not a right of enjoyment unburdened with duties. The first of these duties is to succour the helplvii, the wretched—to re pair the faults committed within its own bosom. if you soziety, you rulers, you the rich, set the example of egotism to the people, what can you expect from them / There are not two mor alities. If you, an indiv dual, in leaving your house on a morning were to find a naked infant lyiug at your doo-, what would you do ? Would you say, "My charity would be a provocative to vice. I will let this child die, unless I am told who are its parents, and uuless it be proved to me that they are unable to support it." And if its mother have made a mark by which to know it again at a distant day, " I will r.loose that mark so that she may never recognise her child." Evidently you would not say this. You would at once raise up, warm, and feed the child; you would preserve the means by which the mother might find it again. Why do you counsel society to do that which you would blush to do yourself. This speech of M. Lamartine was enthusiastically applauded in the chamber. Nevertheless, the Minis ter of the Interior, without warrant of law, autho rised the prefects to exercise their discretion upon the subject, and during Louis Philippe's reign 185 towers were suppressed. In 1t 1>; M. Dufaure wrote a circular to various functionaries in every irkpart ment, requesting them to state their opinion upon the question of the towers. The answers were con sidered by a parliamentary committee in 1819, and iu 1a ; 0 u bill was brought forward proposing their entire suppresr,itio. The council of state thought the pleasure too inhuman, and imrodumil an amendment empowering the councils-general to erect or suppress towers at their discretion. The bill was, however, adjourned, and never became law. A bill, very much to the same effect, is at this 1 moment before the Council of State, and it is one • among many instances of the systematic disrespect now shown to the legislative body that the Prefects of the Herault and Dordogne should have sup- I pressed the towers, while the question, left precisely . 1 es it was at the time of M. Laniartine's speech, is yet , pending. I We read in the Feuille d'Ostende —" M. Kirk patrick, the grandfather of Millie. Eugenie de' Montijo, now Empress of the French, lived at Ostend in the house now occupied by M. Jaques Serruys. M. Kirkpatrick had one of the larg est commercial houses in Ostend at the time when the commerce of 1 that town was at its highest pitch of prosperity." The following are the names of the members com• sing the Consulting Railway Commission :—The Minitter of Public Works, president ; M. Rouher, 1 vice-president; MM. Greterin, Thayer, Heartier, Lemaitre, Legentil, Stourm, Sansou-Davilliers, 'Sontag°, de Boureuille, Chatelus, Le Chatelier, Pierard, Picbert, Bustle, Asril, Combes, and Mary. M. Marechal is secretary. Thu commission meets once a week. ITALY . The Milan Ca:Me of the Ist has an article on tho railroad of Central Italy, from which it appears that a decision has been at last come to in favour of its starting from Pistoia, which already communicates with Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Leghorn, and Siena, and will soon be in communication with Rome. From Pistoia the new line will cross the Apennine, and extend to Bologna along the valley of the Reno, thence branching out to Modena, Reggio, Guastalla, and touching the Po opposite to Borgoforte, where it is to meet the Mantua line, which will connect it with the Austrian railways. Another t•ranch of the I ' central line extends to Parma, Piacenza, Milan, and Pavia, and thence goes to meet the Turin and Genoa line. The total extent of the lino is 210 kilometres (168 miles); it touches at six large cities, connects the three valleys of the 'fiber, Arno, and Po, with the whole of Central Europe, and the Mediterranean with the Baltic and the North Sea. It is to be con structed by a powerful company, numbering among its members Messrs. Brassey, Jackson, I. ell, and Jopling. The capital to be employed amounts to 80 millions of francs. The Genoa Mediterraneo of the 3rd, contains the following : We learn by our private correspondence from Florence that the Austrian troops in garrison at Ravenna and Feria were, on the 30th ult., marching upon Rimini. with artil levy and other wsrlike implements. This movement was ascribed at Fames to a report that the Austrian Hag had been torn dawn at Rimini ; but it was more generally be lieved that its object was to concentrate an Austrian force along the military line of the Cattolica. VW Court. WINDSOR, FEB. 8. The following had the honour of dining with her Majesty yesterd :—The Duchess of Kent, the Princess Addable of llolienlohe ' the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Duke and Duchess of Wellington, the lady in waiting to the Duchess of Kent, the Baroneu de Speth, Sir Henry and Lady St. John Mildmay, and Sir George Canner. The band of the Grenadier Guards attended in the Cutle, and played during dinner. Her Majesty's private band afterwards attended, and performed the following music: Overture, "Trophy" Peleetioa. "Era thsvolo" March, " Fiddler " Beethoven. Iletanee, "Silv.uta" Weber. The Queen and Prince drove out in an open carriage this afternoon. Lord Alfred Paget and Lieut.-Col. lion. A. Gordon were in attendance on horseback. Viscount Hardtop and Sir James - Graham have been invited, and are expected this afternoon. A deputation from \Vbitechapcl had an interview with the General Board of Health yesterday, at their offices, Whitehall, in relation to the Whitechapel Improvement Bill. The deputation consisted of Messrs. 0. Offer, Francis, and Liddle, and were attended by Mr. J. Smith, the vestry clerk. A deputation from the Local Board of Health of Wol verhounuton also had an interview yesterday with the General Board of Health, at their offices, Whitehall. The deputation consisted of Mr. Thomas Walker, Town Clerk of Wolverhampton, and Mr. J. F. Meyrick, surveyor to the Local Board. The Earl of Aberdeen had a dinner party on Monday at his residence in Argyll-street. The company consisted of the Earl of Clarendon, Earl Granville, Earl of Bessborough, Viscount Sydney, Lord Ashburton, Lord Stanley of Alder ley, Lord Wodehunie, Sir James Graham, the Hight Hon. Sidney Herbert, the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, the Right Hon. NV. G. Hayter, the lion. Henry Fitz Roy, Mr. Frederick Peel, and Mr. Clinton Dawkins. Lord John Russell bad a dinner party on Monday, at his residence in Chesham-place. The company present were— the Bavarian Minister and Baroness de Cetto, the Russian Minister and Baronesu de Brunnow, the Swedish and Nor wegian Minister, the Spanish Minister, the Greek Minister and Madame Tricoupi, the Sicilian Minister and Princess di Carini, tho Danish Minister and Madame de Bilk, the Austrian Minister and the Countess Colloredo, and the French Cheryl d'Affaires. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council rat yester day, and resumed the hearing of a petition fur an extension of Heath's Patent. The lords present were—the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, the Judge of the Admiralty Court, Sir J. Patteson, and Sir E. Ryan.: A Cabinet Council was held yesterday afternoon at the Foreign-office, Downing-street. The minis ters present were—the Earl of Aberdeen, the Lord Chancellor, Eurl Granville, the Duke of Argyll, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Viscount Palmerston, Lord John Russell, the Duke of Newcastle, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir James Graham, Sir Charles Wood, the Hight Hon. Sidney Herbert, and Sir William Moles worth. The Council sat three hours and a half. The Marquis of Lansdowne travelled from liowood yesterday morning to attend the Cabinet Council. THE SEVRES PORCELAIN, graciously lent by her Majesty for 'tarty, at Marlborough House, will be removed on Saturday next, on account of tha return of the court to London. The Attorney-General has appointed Thamas Hall Terrell, Ekci., to represent him as counsel in all cases re lating to charities in the Courts of Chancery, the office lately held by Mr. James, Q.C. (MOM LAST NIGMT'S CIAZZITI.) WINDSOR CASTLE, FEB. 7.—Thin day had audience of her Majesty: General Don Manuel de Mendiburn, Minister Plenipotentiary front the republic of Peru. to de hirer his credentials; to which he was introduced by the Right lion. Lord John Russell, her Majeity's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. PRINCE OY WALES COUNCIL CHAMBER, SOMER SST•HOUSE, FEB. 7.—Richard Foster, of Castle, in the county of Cornwall, Esq., has been appointed sheriff of the county of Cornwall. DUCHY OF LANCASTER, FED. 7.—The Queen has been this lay phased to appoint John Talbot Clifton, of Lytham Hall, EN., to be sheriff of the county palatine of Lancaster for the year ensuing. HIGH SHERIFFS FOR 1853. At tho court at Windsor, held on Monday last, present the Queen's Most Excellent Majeoty in Council, the following gentlemen were appointed sheras fur the present year: ENGLAND. BEDFORDSHIRE. Henry Littledale, of K empston- Grange, E.g. BERKBIIIRE.—Head Pottinger Best, of Donaington Castle, Esq. Butailtsuitamsntni.—Abraham Darby, of Stoke Couit, E•q. CAMBRIDGE AND HONTI XUDON.—WiIIi6III Whitting, of Menea end Toone,. Abbey, E.iq. Com ninwm.-I , rancis Baring Atkinson, of Rampsbeck Lodge, Esq. Curs w init.—John Hurleston Lecke, of Carden Park, Esq. Daturrsulas.—Sir John Harpur Crewe, of Calks Abbey, Bart. llsvossuins.—Edmund Bastard Bien Gennys, of Whit leiah Hall, Esq. Bragge, of Sadborow, Esq. llvuuast.—Frederick Acklom Milbank, of Hart, &I. ENskx.—John Gurdon Rebow, of Wivenhoc-park, Esq. GLOUCESTRIUMLUE. —John Raymond Barker, of Fair. ford-p.trk, Esq. flettsrounsutaz.—William Money Kyrle, of Romani house, Esq. Thomu Gage Saunders Sebrigbt, of Lleechwo.id.oark, Bart. limn. Fianci; Colville Hyde, of Syndale-honso, Ospnnge, Esq. LIIICIINTEUSIIIILL—Frederick Wollaston, of Sheraton, Ese. _ . 'Ascot.Nem 'tr.—Joseph Livesey, of Stourton-hall, Esq. MON YoUTll3llllol.—lienry Bailey, of Nasty (Ito, E. Nourot.n.—llauii I Gurney, of North Runeton, NOUTIWUTUNBIIIItII.—Cary Charles Etyma, of Groat Billing, Esq. NOTILUMMERLAND.—WiIIter Selby, of Biddleston, NOTTINOHAMsIIIIIII.—rhUnin Spragging Godfrey, of B.ilderton, therJunsit ann.—James Morrell, junior, of Oxford, E.g. RUTLAN U , :it I nr.—John l'..rker, of Prison, Algernon Charles Relit r Percy, of Esq. Z , OMElVsEr ' Slillt.6.—Francis Henry Dickiubon, of King weaton, STAPPORDSHINIT—Edward Huller, of Daum -ha:, COUNTY OP SOUTHAIIPTON.—John Sudley, of .A.ntt..u honae, hear Winche ter, E.g. SUFFOLK.—The Right Hon. John Lord Ilenthker, of Thornharn-hall. SURRIT.—Thomas Grine% of Norbury-park, Leather head, Esq. Syssmx.—Francis Barchard, of Ildrstcd-place, IVaawicmmuinr.—Sir William Edmund Crsdoer liar topp, of Four Oaks•hall, Sutton C.Ailtirkl. Dirt. WasrismszLAND.—John Wakefield, of Ssdgwick-house, Kmdal, Esq. Wituntasa—Franeis Leybourme Popham, of Lictlecat, Esq._ Woaciatinsisinm.—Chamles Noel, of Bell-hall, near Belbroughton, Esq. Yuxcaxt easter, E►q, Montagu, of Me:ton-oak, Dun- WALES. /M.:GOMM—Richard WllZams Prichard, of Erianell, East Bu cow.—Postponed. CAUNARVUM.—Robert Vaughan Wynne Wii:iam4, of Llandudno, CAILMARTMM—The Hon. William Henry Yelverton, of Whisland-abbey ; . _ CAnnionN.Lewis Pugh, of Aherystwith, Esq. DIINBIOH.—Prirce Wynne Yorke, of Drtfryn Aled, Esq. I'r IN r . — Whitehall Dild, of Llinierch, GLAMOUOAN.—Richard hill tidier., of Ynispenllweb, Esq. MONTGOIIRRT.—John Naylor, of Leighton-hall, FAT Maxiux ant —Thomas Arthur Berne Musty; of la ylan, YENIBROKR.—Adrian Nicholas John Stokes, St. Dotolphs, Esq. Itsortort.—Jonatlian Field, of Evairdraiullwyn, COLONIAL AND LNTERNATIONAL POSTAGE ASSOCIATION. A special meeting of the Society of Arts, nume rously at ended by the public, was held at the rooms of the society, John-street, Adelplii,last evening, " to receive and take into consideration the proposals of Postage 11.1 emt, put forth by the Colonial and International Postage Asso ciation," Sir Jotter BOILEAU occupied the chair, who, in °peeing the proceedings, stated that letters favourable to the views of the Postage Association had been received from Mr. Walter, M.P.; Mr. W. Brown, M.P.; Sir J. Duke, M.P.; Mr. E Bu•ritt ; Mr. Peto, M.P. ; and Sir J. Pukington, M.P. The late Colonial Secretary said in his letter :—" I greatly desire to see a system of cheap postage established between this country and our colonies. AVhen I was at the colonial department, I pressed on the Postmaster-General my opiaions of the great importance of conceding this boon ; I 'maid his marked attention to the point; snd, if I had continued is office, it was my in tention to have used every exertion to effect it. I shall be happy to co-operate w.th your committee in any manner in my power; and I trust the present government may be induced to attach as much importance to the subject as I did. I consider it a great national subject, the interest of which is daily increasing." These preliminaries having been concluded, Mr. G.Yara (secretary to the Postage Society) was called upon by the chairman, and proceeded to read a well-compiled and in teresting paper, which is to tie regarded, in some sense, as a" report " of the society with which he is connected, illus trating the results of reduced rates and uniform systems of postage first in England, and then in the countries where her example in this :aspect had been followed—Russia, the United States, and India—the lesson of these statistics being, that " ocean peony postage' would, even in the financial point of view, "pay" better than the pre sent system. Mr. MOFFATT, M.P., and Captain OWEN followed Mr. Yapp, in addressing the meeting, and moved awl seconded the following resolution, which was carried :—" That it would be sound national policy to abandon, if necessary, even the whole of the present postal revenue derived from the colonies and possessions, which is about 200.0001. a year, in order to promote in no eminent a degree the commerce, education, freedom of communication, and friendly relations between the colonies and po”essions 4'14 the uso,her country." • Mr. SIDE ry succeeded, and called special attention to the circumstauces of Australia, which imperatively required a cheap system of postal connexion with the mother country, and this argument was further illustrated by Mr. Leak. Forster (member of the Legislative Council of Port l'hillip), who assured the association that, although their proposals would be regarded as a novelty in the colony, they would be very warmly received and heartily responded to. A second resolution was then proposed—moved by Mr. Fowles and seconded by Mr. Dillon (both of the City)—to the effect " That this meeting is of opinion that the system of unitorm penny postage already in operation betwei n the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands should he ex tended to the whole of the British colonies and posses , sions." _ _ . In support of this resolution, Mrs. Cittsuotx, who was warmly received., addressed the meeting at some length, speaking to what may be called the domestic avp,,t of the question, and contending that the subject was far more moral sad social than financial. The resolution was cor ned, and after thanks to Mr. Yspp the meeting broke up. MIDDLESEX FREEHOLD LAND ASSOCIA- TION. Last night a public meeting of this association was held se the Vs hits Lion Tavern, Edgewarc-road. Mr. H. N. Boothly in the chair. The SECRETARY (Mr. G. Lcwis,) briefly stated the ob ject of the association, and added that it was a hmentable fact that the humble and industrious millions knew little or nothing of the practical power of the term " freehold," and its political relationship to the suffri.ge. The society, however, presented a plan for obtaining land for the people and for qualifying working m. nas county voters. (Hear.) An estate of :56 acres of land had been purchased at Finch ley, within a short distance of the Colney Hatch Railway Station, and nearly 3,000 shares had been taken. (Cheers.) In conclusion, he stated that the purchases of estates were notconflned to Middlesex. Mr. lisivagn wished to know whether the gentlemen whose lames appeared in connexion with the iis.aciation gave their responsibility as well as their names I The CHatuMA\ Said the presidents of the society were not working members, but the trustees mid committee men were, and not only gave their names but any weight of responsibility they caned. (Hear.) Several gentlemen addressed the meeting, a number of shares were subscribed fur, and the usual vote of thanks to the chairman having been passed, the meeting separated. SIX DATE IN A GRAVE.—An account was given a short time ago of two men and a boy having been buried sic days end six nights in a marl pit at Ecretteville, in the department of the Seine Inferieure, and then rescued. A relation of the affair, derived from the sufferers, is now given in a Rouen paper. During the whole of that time they were withoat food, without water, without light, and almost without clothes ; and they were in such • confined place the, with the exception of the boy, they could not stand upright. Boitard, the eldest man, declares that during the whole time he did not sleep snore than two hours ; but his two companions, and especially the young est, slept more. They sat back to back. Tbey felt no hun ger, and Boitard says that even if they had had provisions, they would not have touched them; but they experi e nced great thirst. On the fourth day they found a little water thick with marl, by digging into the bottom of the pit. It was this water probably which preserved their strength. At first they heard the noise`of the pickaxes and spades above them ; but during the last three days their breathing was so loud as to prevent it from reaching them, and this circumstance naturally increased their agony of mind ; they also feared the miners were digging in a wrong direction. One of them had about SO chemical matches, and • small piece of candle; but though they often tried, they could not, from want of air, cause the candle to burn. During the latter part of the time they became so exhausted as to be unconscious of their position ; but they remember that the boy once cried, as if in a dream, "There is the rope, Boitard! Let us ascend!" Only one of them, Retard, was able to shed tears; and when he did so, the boy con soled him by telling him that they were sure to be rescued. The moment • breath of air reached them they fainted, bet after a while recovered. The first thing Boitard said on being rescued was, "Give me a pinch of snuff!" and be took it with intense delight.—Galignani. . _ THE BastiF-Glas.—The procession of the Bawl- Gras, says Geligrwni, took place on Sunday, in the order of the programme. It was got up with more than the usual display, and was oa the whole an interesting sight. At the head of the procession were two men, dressed in the costume of the Middle Ages. They were followed by 20 drummers and two drum-majors, in the uniform of the Volunteers of the Republic, and thirty-four musicians in the uniform of the Llama Next came a number of wen on horseback in various uniforms, and tome in the costume of the old nobility. These were followed by six Druids, dressed in white, and immediately preceding the Ihruf-Gras, who was escorted by men bearing banuers. The car, which came next, was richly gilt, and was drawn by six horses splendidly harnessed. Old Time, Cupid, Sc., tilled the car, as usual, and it was escorted by men on horse back. The procession attracted large crowds, the day being dry, although cold. The Boulevards were rath;:r dull, very few masks were wen, and there were not, as in some former years, any very dishing equipages. The cu,tom of promenading on the Dimanrhe-Gras appear,' to be wear ing out. tinder the Restoration this was one of the gayest days of the year, and the Paris lions displayed themselves in all their splendour. STRANGE, IF TREE.—We kilted in our last num ber that a considerable quantity of wreck had been re ently cast ashore on the Galloway coast, including a quantity of tallow, which had evidently bt en a long time in the water, as the s.rives which had encircled it were nearly all decayed. We learn from a ship ca;•tain who had just come from the Isle of Man that shout fifty yeah ago a veto. I partly laden with tallow was wrecked near the island, and at a short distance from the spat where the fearful catas trophe lately occarrtd, by which an explosion of gunpowder tad: place on board the ship L;ly. when the vessel was blown to pieces and thirty lives destroyed. It is supposed that the force of the explosion had been felt for some &s -tifler along the shore, and that the tallow casks, which had lain for half a century at the bottom of the sea, started from their re•ting-plate, had risen to the suffice, and been co frit(' by wind, and waves to the coast where they have at last been recovered.—Dumfries Courier.