The Express. — London, England, 1848-04-22 00:00:00

ions and mislead you, s prepared. and will be .does of t►e press rd watches over yow l , retching them in the parliament will soon eta and wishes can mperial pledges mu* hat more do yin re. ..ing in thousands ? It reed. Remember that eedom; by it you may men! we are on the Irder for ever ! sus, his duty." pie to beware of the ma to evil deeds, kustrian constitution ne following is the i into one body, with :lavonia, Siebenbergen, nces.-2. The division ts at present.-3. The nviolable.-4. The Etna nd sea forces, and the *sties of every demerit). made with the sanction nt.-6. The attribute owing rewards belong onot be extended to of the parliament. —7. ed publicly in open ial to be by jury. The All projects of laws are 'd by the Emperor.-9. lament annualty,and he interval.. He has the t.-10. Freedom of re sad public meeting, is 'aura laws.-11. Entire 12. The free exercise of Christian. and Jews.— this eye of the law, .d by his peers.—li. tigers will be resti ve power in in the hands Two houses of parlia .alitications for members large landed property Emperor. Members of roan all claim", in order :ed.-17. The two houses 1 receive petitions.-18. nth houses, particularly ixation, finance, and the Lw will be framed for the The low of election is by the tirA parliament. an only be proposed by a an article in which of the formation of a try to which the ma is to be entrusted, the leclared the necessly f the public debt of .t this known in a note en. The same journal it of ministers which cen occupied with ,ing armed force for securing th- metallic s preparation and give rally for carrying out ' the forthcoming con- mending the removal Fiquelmont and Count t lloyoa from the com: manic Diet, on the Cith, without delay a coca in forces and the tenth tein. Prince Charles of chief of the ith and Bth ' committee of fifty" has H.) Poles to pass through ve sent the Baden de in order to urge the a decided step in main ig-Holstein. e arrested at Mannheim fter one of them, belong lad killed a tradesman's ber of persons were dis iblic for Germany. The I during the entire night. Struve are still actively publican movement, but the Frankfurter Journal rer, are contradictory. It f;a:ette that several mod of Kinzig have for republicans. According has fled to Schaff d in vain to induce the troops to retire from the , where Hecker stated he abled. The burgomaster arrested. The Freiburg e republican corps which, as been wandering about the evening of the 16th hood of Huningen. The Ina, Frenchmen, and Poles, distinguished part in the relation of Mannheim has ig that the franchise shall lerman of 24 years of age his residence, no matter of e may be a native. The erly of the interpretation nrnittee of fifty to the word Sing to the state) ; an is contended, will deprive ms (who are settled out of ✓ tight to co-operate in the in fatherland. eit tiny of the 18th states that n the 18th that Hecker, at cans, had penetrated into the ith the German legion, from to Rhine at Grosahuningen, iet by the advanced force of iwitzerland, under the colli ded that a number of etnis over:ninent have propagated he dispersion of the "troop s" ight of Struve. Numerous t, Thiengen, and Oberlanch 'hizett,) have taken an oath epublic ; but it was resolved resent in insurrection. sequence of the proposal of ch has been unanimously =burg will number DON e German parliament, Mae ,urghers and inhabitants, and attained their majority, will lug at elections. The pro contained in the following rman in Germany shall be tly the mode of election must that every German, without erty, or religious profession , ec tor. By this arrangement are ten thousand additional Chalk adds that it will surely ist acknowledgment that all vilego of voting to Dr. Rieper it him their representatii.e at oxliament. ---- 13 THE DUCHIES, ---- Hamb to the ev - eaing of ndsburg urg, in Holstein, of the armistice having been con has been repeatedly mentioned 'talk. Such, however, is not kely to take place but we may o hear of another battle. Dia lace amongst the Danish troops battalions }lto e been sent from ler amongst them. The Duke at Itendsburg on the 17th by evening the town was inutile. 'rince Radziwill had left natal Itendsburg, and General cd there to take the command the prince, of the Prussian It had also gone to Rendsburg. in preparation at Rendsbutt ming members from Schleswig lent. The prov i s i ona l govern martial law in the duchies. A held at ltendsburg on the 18th, le commanders of the German when an ultimate decision Air o shall have the command in A detachment of Prussian cavalry had been taken by railway from New Munster on the 18th to Rends berg, and 3,400 Prussian infantry were to start for the place on the 19th. 1,300 men of the 12th regt. b i d arrived on the 18th at Hamburg from Berlin. The following is given as the list of the Danish T aan-of war now in active service: ghe e; Galathes, 20 gene? Natters, 20 guns ; the Flora lo p u the St. Thomas, 25 guns ; the Mercurius, 2.5 guns slot 81. Croix, 2.5 guns ; the Gefion, 46 guns ; the Thetis, 46 io ns; the Delphinen schooner ; the Pilen schooner ; the Neptune cutter; the Heel* steamer, 200-horse power, go osed; the Geiser , steamer, 160-horse power, armed ; the Skirner steamer, 120. horse power, armed ; the ?Stir warner, 80-horse power, armed ; besides a flotilla of gun beau, armed with two guns, 60 and 40-pounders each. The gooli government has besides-6 line-of-battle ships of 6t popguns, 15 frigates, ssehooners, 2 steamers. and 85 large ad smell gun-boats, which can be put into active service in gam 14 days to three weeks. 2.5,000 mariners in all, in time of war, stand at the government service. MADRID, APRIL 15. I am able at the present moment to give a more authentic account of the diplomatic corresp?ndence, which has recently passed between our minister and the Spanish government. Mr. Bulwer 's note was sent to the Duke of Soto mayor on the 9th. The purpose of that note was, sot to let pass so remarkable a change in the condi tions under which England has hitherto supported the throne of Isabel 11. as that which has taken place since the dictatorial pow& voted to the govern ment, and the consequent suspension of the Cortes, as if such a change were a matter of perfect indifference to the English government. It being necessary to break silence, the language used by our repre sentative was plain and firm, but as far as possible from the tone of arrogant pretension to dictate the internal policy of Spain which the go vernment affects to resent with such emphatic indig nation. In fact, he represented that the object of England, in helping to establish the throne of Isabella, and to defeat the pretensions of Don Carlos, was that Spain might enter into the full enjoyment of those free institutions which England has been mainly in strumental in promoting throughout the world, and which it is the great guiding principle of her foreign policy to create and support. In contributing to bar Don Carlos from the throne, and to extinguish his claim, it was fur from tie intention of Eng land to lend a hand towards s Isabella,p a system of military despotism under such as had now been established. If that military despotism arose merely from the necessities of the moment. and if there existed any prospect of its being speedily removed, and succeeded by a return to a constitutional form of government, the case would be different. However deplorable, it might be tolerated in consideration of the urgency of the case. But he perceived with regret that, by removing the heads of the progresieta party, without instituting any form of trial, or assigning am grounds for the presump tion of their guilt, by banishing and imprisoning those into whose hands power would naturally be transferred in case the Queen should, according to the practice of representative governments. think proper to change her advisers, the government were not only exercising an arbitrary and absolute power, but establishing a necessity for its continuance, under the auspices of the same political party. The choice of her Majesty lay no longer between the present minis ters and men fitted by their social and parliamentary ' position to succeed them; but between the present ministers and the multitude. This was not merely a suspension of the constitution, which England had helped to establish and agreed to support ; it was sap ping the very foundations of that constitution ; aad it was impossible that such a course could be viewed with indifference by Great Britain. Such a state of things was perilous in the extreme, forcing the people to resort to insurrection to obtain that translation of power which was peacefully provided for by the constitution, and removing the hands into which the translation could be safely effected. The abolition of the constitution was sought to be justified by preparing the alternative of anarchy. And if under the present state of things the existing government should by chance succumb in the struggle which had thus been brought on between themselves and the people, anarchy would in all probability be the result. It was fearful to contem plate the consequences of a successful insurrection. Not only was the throne of Isabella in jeopardy, the the personal safety of the young Queen and the royal family was endangered. It was far from the practice, of the government of England to dictate the internal policy of her allies. But she could not behold with indifference those free foreign insti tutions, which she had made considerable sacri fices to establish and confirm, brought to the verge of ruin by the exercise of that arbitrary policy which the had contributed the blood and treasure of her peo ple to avert. Under these circumstances he earnestly counselled the Spanish ministers to return without lass of time to that constitutional course from which they were daily diverging more and more, with such imminent danger to the throne and country. He ad shed them to assemble the cortes again, and to ex pose before the legislative assembly the reasons of the vceedings which they had thou"ht proper to adopt for the maintenance of public order. Thus, perhaps, it might not yet be too late to rest their administra tion upon a legitimate base, and to restore security to the country. But he warned them that if they continued to hold their present course, which was nothing more tor less than the most unmitigated military despot ism, the throne of Isabella 11. would forfeit those titles to the active support of the English people, which had hitherto been admitted ; and that if the unex tinguished Catalonian insurrection in favour of the Count of Montemolin should assume later a formidable aspect, the present Spanish gore rnment could enter tain no hope that any future assistance would be fur nished to it by England, such as had been given against Don Carlos. Scch was the tenor of Mr. Bulvrer's note, which was not only justified by the instructions which he had received from Lord Palmerston, but accompanied br an extract from his lordship's despatch (written tefore intelligence had been received of the Madrid insurrection and the consequent proscriptions) sug gesting the necessity of reminding the Spanish go vernment of the understanding upon which England mpported the throne of Isabella. The ministers held a cabinet council upon the night tithe 10th, to consider the reply which should be re tuned to the note of the English minister. The wrath of Gen. Narvaez was boundless. The leading high moderados being consulted, fooled the dictator to the top of his bent. The answer of the Duke of Sotomayor was in harmony with the universal indig nation of the moderados. Instead of justifying their conduct in Spain, the ministers drew a picture of the miseries of Ireland; and resenting , in the moat vehe ment language, llritish interference with the domestic concerns of the peninsula, advised us to mii.d the chartists and repealers, who would no doubt give us serif enough at home. What answer would a Spanish minister get who should venture to read the govern ment of her British Majesty a lecture upon the state cf the United Kingdom ? He would be told to mind hisbosiness. And such was their answer to the Eng lish minister in a like case. Mr. Bulwer, entirely passing over the outrageous petulance of this production, sent a second note, in which he stated that the parallel drawn between England and Spain did not exist, in fact ; that Spain had never contributed to found the throne of Mum Victoria, or to prevent it from being robverted by civil war, nor had in any way helped to establish the British constitution, and much less entered into a compact with the British government for the maintenance of that constitution. like grounds, then, upon which an absolute ZtiProcal parity was sought to be established ween the two governments, did not exist, and, 0011 0equently, all reasoning drawn from such pie t!!ael must tall to the ground. He, therefore, con that the answer returned to his previous ante __ would not prove satisfactory to his government ,lbe government received yesterday the officia l acknowledgment of Isabel 11. as Queen of Spain,' by the court of Bavaria. The scarcity of silver is such that the discounting th lwa tlmiL ask 10 per cent. for changing the notes of rhe wife of the ex - m i n i s ter Escosura sent peti tions to the Queen as d Maria Christina, demanding oludieate, to prey that her husband might not be lest to the Philippine Islands. Both petitions have morainal ry nel unanswered . Mendizabal , who has not spokeaez for 12 years, called on him yes rniglYt be request that Esmura's place of exile entthreaatties what t f chaneed to the Canaries. Nareaer answe re d h m e an had denied to the arge n t of his political tunds he would now gr a n t CO y the intercession of an adversary, and requested Mendizabal to communi cate the commutation of her husband's sentence to the Canaries to the Senora Escosura. This lady is the mother of five daughters, the eldest of whom is only ten years old. The family, notwithstanding the high employments held by its bead, is in extremely re duced circumstances, a fact fir from dishonourable to the colleague of Salamanca. Yesterday passed without any disturbance, not withstanding the alarm which prevailed. A univer sity row, of no political importance, has taken place at Zaragoza ; the provincial news from other parts give no note of disturbance. Baralt and Acevedo were set at liberty yesterday. The Clamor says, I know not on what authority, that yesterday a courier arrived with despatches from the French Provisional Government, demanding the expulsion of the Duke of Montpensier from Spain. MALTA, APRIL 11. The man who deliberately murdered a poor woman at the village of Segguci, was tried yesterday, and only sen tenced to two years' imprisonment. As there was no evi dence to prove premeditation, that is to say, nobody was pro duced to whom he had expressed an intention of killing the woman, and asked to come and see the performance, it was considered in the light of determination of blood to the head, and had a less punishment than a fellow who stole some fowls and was condemned to imprisonment for life! The Maltese laws, as they exist, are disgraceful. The trial of Antonio Aszopardi, for the murder of Marian Grasso, the Sicilian, took place on the 10th. He remived the usual murdirer's sentence—imprisonment for life. Bernardo Sultana was also tried the lame day for the murder of Carlo Vella. Contrary to all precedent, he was found guilty " unanimously," and in consequence sentenced to be hanged. The governor, new that one is actually caught, should make an example of him ; it he doea not, he can never hang another man without murdering him. The Admiral, Sir L. Curtis, finding that the Volcano was not in sight at noon on the sth, sent the Locust out to look after her. She fell in with her about 25 miles from Gum, quitelight, having consumed nearly all her coals. They came into port at 2 30 cm. of the 6th. The Volcano had been compelled to put into Oristano Bay, and the island of St. Peter, in Sardinia, from stress of weather. So feeble is the steaming power of this vessel that she is stated to hove been spun round like a top by the force of the wind. This time she was only ten days from Marseilles. Toe Osmanli screw steamer arrived the same day from Liverpool. The French ship Louqsor arrived on the 7tb, bringing us the first account of the revolutionary movements on the con tinent, and the settlement of the treaty between America and Mexico. The blalta Mail publishes the following from an authentic source Important Information.—ln the month of June next, the Bombay mails will be closed in London on the let, instead of, as at present, on the 3rd, and will be conveyed by steam direct to Marseilles, touching at Gibraltar. The mails despatched through France will be closed in London as heretofore on the 7th of each month, and on reselling Marseilles will be put on board the English steamer (which leaves Southampton on the let) there wait ing, and thence he forwarded to Alexandria, touching as heretofore at Malta. The same route homeward is to be adopted. Ne alteration is intended to be made as regards the Bengal mail, despatched on the 20th and 24th of each month from London. It is as yet uncertain whether the Provincial sm.l Oriental Company, or her Majesty's government, will convey the Bombay mail. This would certainly be a novel way of expediting the Bombay mail, especially if the boat from Southampton should happen to be fifteen days going to Marseille*, five to Melte, and another five to Alexandria. It is looked upon here as au invention. On the Gth, in consequence of a notifieation from the American consul of the death of the late president, John Quincy Adams, all the veleta of war had their colours halt mast. The French connate also had the tricolor half- mast. By the French steamer Leonidas, there arrived on the Bth from Naples the Marquis Nicola Santangelo, ex.mi nistar of the interior at Naples, and his brother, the Cava lier Santangelo. It is said they will co hence to England. Some more Jesuits from Civita Vecchia, some of those ex pelled front Rome, also arrived by the same steamer. Three English line-of-battle ships entered Naples Bay u the French steamer was leaving, and saluted the town. The engineer department is putting the Martell° towers on the coast in a state of defence. and erecting telegraphs upon them, to correspond with the palace signal station. Several other Martell° towers are to be erected. ',tun received from Constantinople state that Sulieman Pacha, the ambassador of the Sublime Porte at Paris, hail arrived at Constantinople by way of the Danube. The Hon. M. C. Ashburton was hourly expected from London to fill Lord Cowley's place until the arrival of Sir Stratford Canning. ALEXANDRIA, MARCH 20. In consequence of the political manifestations of the Italian, French, and Austrian population here, his Excel lency liosrew Bey has addressed the following circular to the consular body .—" Circular.—Cairo, March 20, 1848.—Mr. Consul.General,—The manifestations relative to the events which have lately occurred in several countries of Europe which have taken place at Alexandria by the foreigners ye aident in that city, the Egyptian government is glad to ob serve, have been generally made in a decent and moderate manner; but their renewal,and above all the cha ra ct er of pub licity which they will not fail to take, in multiplying,may have inconveniences which it is the duty of the local authority to prevent and forme. The nature of the privileges apper taining to strangers, as well as the limits of their rights are determined by treaties • the government of his highness cannot exceed them, and in respect to the conventions which regulate the conditions of the residence of strangers in Egypt, he considers himself authorised to call for the strictest and most perfect observation. The government re. quires of you, sir, to explain these principles to your country men, and intimate to them that a constant application is due, not only to the good understanding which has always existed between them and the local autho rities, but also the perfect security which every body enjoys in Europe; and I am expressly charged to request you to use your influence and your au thority over the people belonging to the trition which you represent, to the intent that for the future they may im. plicitly obey the regulations in regard to strangers, and pay all due deference to the laws of the country.—l have the honour to be, sir, &c., HOMEY, BEY. The greatest calm reigns in all our commercial affairs, and all our produce has fallen. G,OOO ardebs of beans have been sold at 36 piastre*, and 1,000 quintals of cotton at IGO. The following prices are nominal:—Wheat, 50 to 5.5; barley, 32 to 34 ; Indian corn, 30; linseed, 05 to 75 ; sesame, 120; gum, 400 piastres. SMYRNA.—A caravan of twelve persons, carrying sixty thousand piastres, coming from Bergerac to Smyrna, was stopped by eight armed men about ten leagues from Smyrna. The robbers fired upon the caravan, killed two, and wounded two others. They plundered it of all the money, and got clear off. An armed party was sent after them from Smyrna, with what success is yet unit, own. Another party has since been plundered near Kouldh, by the Zeybecks, who robbed them of near two hundred thou sand piastres, but did not ill-treat them. Trade of all kinds is completely at a stand. COLONIAL. THE LATE ItiltDEltS IN CHINA AND CONDUCT 01' SIR JOHN DAVIS. The Manchester Commercial Association some time since made a representation to the Foreign Secretary of the necessity existing at Canton for greater protection to the British residents. Subsequently to the correspondence, in telligence was received from members of the Manchester Commercial Association, then at Canton, of the murder of a number of their employee, whilst on an excursion into the country. An important feature in the case was, that, on search being made for the missing parties, by a few of their friends, it was ascertained that several of them were probably alive, not having up to that time been murdered, but only placed in confinement in a small village ; and limier these circumstances a number of British merchants, formed into a volunteer association for the protection of property (there !King then no military force at Canton), prepared to rescue the prisoners, but were restrained by the orders of the British consul, who required that they should wait till troops arrived. On the arrival of troops it was found thtt the prisoners, though then murdered, might, it was fully be lieved, have been saved, had there been no interference with their friends. The punishment of the offenders was demanded by the British authorities, and four Chinese, said to be the murderers, were put to death without trial, for the offend, a British military niece hang presort to wit ness the carrying into effect of the sentence. It is, unhappily, an established fact that in China substitutes for the gallows can be bought as readily as substitutes here can be had for the militia, and there being reason to believe that, in this case , several of the real murd e rers were escaping punish ment by that means, a deputation from the merchants of Canton was sent to Sir John Davis to represent this suspi cion, and to request that he would not allow the military to be present, because it would be acknowledging as a sub stantial measure of justice what in reality was only a sham. The Manchester Commercial Association have letters from Canton to show that at this interview the conduct of Sir John Davis was of a very remarkable character; and the following correspondence, which has taken place betweenithe president of the association and Lord Palmerston, in their endeavours tore prese nt the facto of the ease and bobteeain better protection for life and property at Canton, has n publis Manchester Commercial Association, ire Sept. 25, 1846. To Lord Palinerston.—My Lord,—The directors of this association, by letters received from China per the last mail, have been solicited to co-operate in calling the attention of her Majesty's government to the serious outrages which have been recently committed against the persons and pro perty of British subjects in Canton by the native popula tion, and to point out the necessity which exists of guarding against a recurrence of similar di edi b the prence of a British ship of war in the i m mate sturbances neighbourhood. The association, h owe ver, judging from w hat has already t ra nspired in the' public prints, doubt not that your lordship is in possession of full eetails, and that the matter receives your careful consideration. They therefore only deem it necessary, as parties having a deep personal interest in the subject, to express their anxious hope that her Majesty's government will adopt immediate British to afford greater security to the lives and property of subjects m the Chinese empire.-1 have, &c. (Signed) J. ASPINALL TC ItX Ell, President. Foreign-office, October 1, 1846.—T0 J. A. Turner, Esq.— Sir,—l am directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 22, 1848. fao ressipt of the Mkt liethl the 25th ultimo, signed by you Oa behalf of the Mandlestrair Commercial Association, refer- Vag to the late distuthuntim at Canton, and requesting that further protection may be afforded to her Majesty's subjects residing in China; and I am to state to you, in reply, that her Majesty's government will not fail to take such measures in this respect as will ensure, so far as it is in their power, a full protection to the lives and properties of British subjects. —I em, &c., H. U. ADDINOTON. Manchester Commercial Auatiation, July 9, 1847.—T0 Lord Palmerston.—My Lord,—On the 25th September, 1846, I had the honour to address your lordship en behalf of the members of this association, with reference to certain disturbances which had taken place at Canton, whereby the lives and properties of British subjects In that part of China had been placed in the utmost peril. To that communication, and your lordship's most satisfactory reply thereto, dated the first of the following month, I beg most respectfully to refer your lordship, and I regret extremely that the present position of affairs at Canton renders it ne- 1 canary that I should again address your lordship on the same subject. We learn, however, that during the period which has elapsed between the date of the correspondence above adverted to and the commencement of the recent hostilities, the British residents at. Canton have been obliged to rely almost solely upon themselves, associated together as armed volunteers, for the protection of their lives and the large amount of property entrusted to their charge. The I knowledge of this fact has again given rise to the molt serious apprehensions in the minds of several members of this association, having large interests at stake at Canton ; ' and they are the more alarmed in consequence of the in creased ill-feeling which they are informed bee been mani fested by the lower classes of the Chinese population towards the English since the recent military opera tions against Canton, the military force stationed in the neighbourhood being, from its small numerical strength, quite inadequate to the magnitude of the duty as signed to it, as would at once appear from the commander• in-chief having gladly availed himself of the services of the armed volunteers before alluded to. I would, in conclusion, state, that neither the ageociation which I represent, nor my self personally, entertain the least doubt that your lordship's vigilance has already been directed to the subject, nor that your lordship will take such steps as the exigencies of the case demand. It would, nevertheless, be a source of the greatest satisfaction to us, and would tend materially to allay anxiety, should we learn directly from your lordship that prompt and decisive measures had been adopted by her Ma jesty's government, to afford due protection to the lives and properties of British subjects at Canton.— I have, &e. (Signed), JAMES A. TURN ate, President. Foreign-office, July 14, 1847.—T0 J. A. Turner, Esq.— Sir,—l am directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th inst., representing, on behalf of the Manchester Commercial Association, of which you are the president, the insufficiency of the protection afforded to British subjects at Canton. Lord Palmerston directs me to state to you in reply, that if the association have been informed that the lower classes of Chinese at Canton have manilested increased 'Meeting towards British subjects since the successful and brilliant termination of the recent operations in the Canton river, the information which has reached the association is exactly the reverse of that which las been received by her Majesty's government from persons who have the most reesut knowledge of the facts, and on whose accuracy and correctness her Map sty's govern ment place entire reliance. Iler Majests's government have reason to believe that, at the time when the last accounts came away from China, the behaviour of the common people at Canton towards foreigners in general was much im proved, end that commerce was proceeding without interruption and with security. With reward to the Bri fish and other residents at Canton, they are better protected now than they have been at tiny time since the withdrawal of our force after the conclusion of the treaty of Nanking; because while, on the one hand, the Chinese have bad a practical proof that the ordinary garrison of liong-Kong is able, at any time, and without waiting for reinforcements from India, to enforce, if necessary, at Canton itself, a de mand for redress, on the other hand, various local arteries meats have been made at the factories, which have much diminished the causes and chances of collision, and have in creased the means of the residents to make a successful de fence ; and while the occasional presence of a war-steamer opposite the factories must give support to the residents, the recent expedition will F ive the uovernor of the town addi tional motives for exerting . the civil authority and military power which he possesses, in order to keep the lower classes in check, and to prevent those outrages upon British subjects which would again expose him to receive inconvenient de mands, and to be compelled to make humiliating concessions. —I am, &c., 11. U. ADDINGTON blenchester Commercial Association, March 16, 1848. To Lord Palmerston.—My Lord,—On the 'Lsth September, 11846, and 9th July, 1847, I had the honour to address your lordship relative to certain disturbances which had take. Iplace in Canton, and on both occasions due reference was lessee to the urgent necessity which existed of affording bet ter security for the Eves and properties of British subjects in that portion of the Chinese empire. Your lordship's reply to my first communication was caiculated to tranquillise the minds of those on whose behalf it had been my duty to ad dress your lordship, inasmuch as adequate protection was promised therein, and nu doubt was entertained that it had actually been provided, until the recurrence of disorder' becoming known in England, I was called upon a se cond time to apply to your lordship, and on that occasion I ventured to direct attention to the con tinued insecurity of British interests at Canton, and the increased ill-feeling with which foreigners were viewed by the Chinese population. To those statements your lord ship saw fit to take exception, and doubtless your official in formation led to the conclusion that this association had been misinformed as to the posture of affairs in that quarter. Unhappily, my lord, the disastrous and melancholy intelli gence conveyed by the mail of the 30th Dec , 1847, from China, has fatally realised our worst apprehensions. Three gentlemen connected with members of this association have been savagely murdered, officials have been stoned and in i stilted, and the lives and properties of others have been placed in imminent danger. la directing your lordship's attention to this matter, I would not he understood as attri buting blame either to your lordship or any other member of her Majesty's home government; but I respectfully sub ' mit that her Majesty's representative in China is not wholly I free from censure ; as I am informed, by correspondence in the hands of this association, that there was not any military I or naval force at Canton at the time of the outrages referred to; and also that had not considerable delay occurred in rendering assistance, the lives of four of the parties murdered I might, in all probability, have been saved. In addition to which I am requested to notice that when some of the gen tlemen most deeply interested in the trying occasion, alluded to, waited upon her Majesty's plenipotentiary for the pur pose of making certain representations on the subject, they were not only coldly received, but treated with paeitere in dignity. Under these circumstances, the association again moat earnestly solicit your lordship's interference in obtain ing adequate protection for British subjects resident in China, and due consideration for just representations ad dressed by them to her Majesty's plenipotentiary on that station.-1 have, &c., .1. AIPINALL TURNER, President. Foreign-office, March 25, 1848.—T0 J. A. Turner, Esq.— Sir,--I am directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of the letter which, as president of the Manchester Commercial Association, you addressed to him on the 16th instant, with reference to the murder of six British subjects in the neighbourhood of Canton, in the beginning of last December, and lam to state to you in reply, teat this lamentable loss of life did not happen from any want of pro tection which it was possible for her Majesty's government or for her Majesty's officers, 'political, naval, or military, in China, to have afforded, butwas the consequence of the great imprudence on the part of the unfortunate gentlemen them selves, who exposed themselves unnecessarily to a danger of which they seem to have been previously aware ; and Lord Palmerston cannot but regret that the leading resident mer chants at Canton did not exert that influence which they must be supposed to possess over the younger members of the British community at that station, in order to persuade them to ab stain fora time from excursions into places in the country in the neighbourhood of Canton, where it was well known to those leading merchant., that peculiar circumstances had for the time created a very hostile feeling towards British sub jects. If the British merchants at Canton, instead of making unfounded complaints against Sir John Davis, had done what they might have done in this respect, the lament I able event which forms the su b j ect of y our letter would probably not have occurred.—l am, &c., 11. 1.7. ADDINGTON. Manchester Commercial Association, April 7, 1848.—T0 Lord Palmerston. —My lord,—l have the honour to acknow ledge the receipt of your lordships letter of the 25th ultimo, with reference to the recent murders at Canton, from which this association regret to learn that your lordship attributes that unhappy occurrence to the temerity of the British resi dents rather than:to any want of foresight on the part of her M jetty's representative on that station. O this point the associa tion are reluctantly compelled to d n iffer from your lordship. The correspondence adverted to in my last com munication, clearly states that no protection such as had otnh,is.asisocd proitonedolnlbeyohuarlfloorfa.hthipe, Bwriantisaht reside s e s : ta l e a a t e4 C a b n ) ; hand at the period of the outrage, and that, bad the case been otherwise, the lives of at least some of the parties referred to' might have been saved ' • and also that several days elapsed betore any e ffi cient as sistance could be rerdered. These' facts appear to have escaped your lordship's notice. With reference to your lordship's observation as to unfoundedcom plaints against Sir John Davis, the association are not aware of the existence of any evidence to disprove the statements made as to his unbecoming demeanour to those members of the British community who waited YDOII him in his official capacity on the occasion alluded to. In conclusion, my lord, I have only to repeat the expression of my sincere regret at the melancholy event which we have so much cause to de plore, and have, &c., " J. ASPINALL TraseEß, President." 'Ube Court. Lord Ashley arrived at Osborne on Wednesday on • visit to her Majesty and Prince Albert, and had the honour of joining the royal dinner party. Lord John Ituesell arrived at Osborne on Thureday, and returned to town that afternoon. Yesterday morning her Majesty and Prince Albert attended divine service in Whippieghem Church, and re ceived the sacrament. (From kat night's Gazette.) WHITEHALL, APRIL 18.—The Queen has appointed Lord P. J. H C. Stuart to be her Majesty's Lieutenant and Sheriff Principal of the shire of Bute, in the room of the Marquis of Bute, deceased. ARRIVAL OF JRNIST LIND IN LONDON.—Madlle. Jenny Lind arrived at Blackwell yesterday et 4, A.M., by the Countess of Lansdale steamer, from Hamburg. She ap peared in excellent health and spirits. Tom STEELE, " THE PACIFICATOIL"—An evening paper has published the following letter, written by Mr. Steele to one of his most intimate friends, immediately prior to his attempt at suicide :—" Wednesday, April 19, 1848. My dear —,—Tou will, I well know, read this letter of your old friend with deep pain. But when you contemplate the dreary and heart-breaking . present aspect of Ireland, and contrast it with what it was in its majestic peaceful move ment, under the sublime and benign moral sway of my ever deplored friend and leader, august O'Connell, you cannot be surprised that, with a complication of private ills upon me at the same time, the ties of life are with me dissevered, and in disruption for ever. Tne highest aspirations of my nature were, that I should be O'Connell's principal instrument of peace. his ' Head Pacificator of Ireland,' in his efforts for the peaceful, bloodless regeneration of his own country, and for setting an example to other realms, as was nobly proved in England by Richard Cobden and his League, how revolutions may he achieved by the consolidated organi sation of public opinion, and withoutthe pollution of carnage, bloodshed, and convulsion. Before you receive this to-morrow I will have ceased to live. lam quite weary of existence, although, of comae, as a matter of manly firmness, in private society I deport myself as if I were without a care. I shall manage the matter in such • way that there shall be tio cause for the ceremonial of a coroner's inquest and post morferri examinatioa. When a thing of this kind must be done, the more quietly and lets theatrically it is done the better. —I am, with most grateful; feelings for all your kindness to me for so many years, as a private friend and public journalist, my dear affectionately yours.—Farewell for ever! —Tuomas Mitsui." MR. COCEIRANIt'S PAUPER DEMONSTRATION. — The following circular to the poor-law guardians and masters of workhouses within the metropolitan police district has been issued :—" Metropolitan l'elice-office, 4, Whitehall plaee, April 20, 1848.—Gentlemen, — The commissioners of police of the metropolis having obs erved that a printed pc. per is extensively circulated, signed ' Charles Cochrane,' addressed to the inmates of the unions and the workhouses in and around the metropolis, in which it is stated that Mi. Cochrane intends to present a petition to her Majesty's Secretary of State, Whitehall, on Easter Monday, April 24, accompanied by a very numerous assemblage of per sons in procession, the commissioners request you will make it known to those who might be disposed to join such procession within the union of --, that Mr. Cochrane was acquainted by a 1 letter of the 28th of March, is reply to his of the 27th on the subject, that the Secretary of State cannot receive the petition during the Easter week, but it would he received at any other time if sent in the usual way, or with a deputation of only a small number of persons. The commissioners wish It should be made known, also, it will be their duty to en force such regulations as may be required for keeping order and preventing any obstruction in the streets or thorough fares by a procession or assemblage of persons ; and every person who wilfully disregards or does not conform himse lf to such regulations will be taken into custody immediately by the police ; and all peaceable and well-disposed persons should be cautioned and enjoined not to join any such pro cession.—l am, &e., RICHD MATNIII." FIRE AT LimgliousE.—Laat night, about nine o'clock, a fire troke wit in the midst of a large pile of occupiedbuild ings, rerpectively by Mr. Baron Waterstadt, patentee of ships' signal lights, Mr. Taylor, boat builder, and Mr. Horne, sail manulacturer. The premises, which were nearly 100 feet wide, were three or four floors in height. At the time before stated some persons living opposite Mr. Taylor's premises discovered flames issuing from the lower flour. The stock in trade with which the premises was stored was so inflammable that scarcely ten minutes elapsed before the immense pile became wrapped in one general sheet of fire. The buildings for the most part were coin ' posed of timber, and before an engine had time to get to the place, the public thoroughfare was cut off by the flames extending completely over the carriage-road. The inmates of at least half- wdozen houses on the opposite side of the road made an attempt to remove their furni ture to a more distant part for protection, but before they had time to save a single article, the flames fired the roofs, penetrated the windows, and in an instant the whole of the manufacturing premises on which the desolation com menced were blazing away with the greatest impe tuosity, and the houses numbered 5,6, 7,8, and 9, on the other side of the road, were burning with equal violence. After some lapse of time, several engines arrived, and seeing that the flames were travelling from house to house on the opposite side of the road, the firemen directed the full strength of water against them, in the hopes of being able to cutoff the further extension of the flames. Whilst so engaged, the whole of the front walls, roofs, and the re maining flooriags of the factories gave way, and fell with a loud crash into the road. Several firemen had a very narrow escape, and it is not correctly ascertained whether some par ties, who were standing by, have not perished. The persons living opposite, and who witnessed the mass fall, state that it was utterly impossible fur all to have escaped. , The firemen laboured until nearly ll o'clock, when they at length succeeded in cutting off the further progress of the flames, just as they were attacking the house belonging to Mr. W. Baker, the coroner for East Middlesex ; but the fire was not wholly extinguished at a quarter past 12. The total loss will reach to several thousand pounds ; for besides the total destruction of Messrs. Baron Waterstadt, Taylor, and Horne's manufactories, the houses, whose numbers we gave above, all of which were twe or three stories high, are par tially destroyed. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—MEETING AT MANCHESTER. A public meeting was held at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, on Thursday, to consider the connexion between church and state. A member of the Society of Friends, Mr. R. Longden, occupied the chair, and opened the proceedings by saying they were met there to discuss the subject of religious liberty, in which he confessed that he felt considerable interest. He denied that they met there as the opponents of the church of England, but although they had no wish to interfere with their views they did con tend that all men had an equal right to enjoy religious liberty. (Applause.) The Rev. Dr. NOLAN then came forward to move a reso lution to the effect that maa is responsible for his religion to God alone; that religious liberty consists in the free ex pression of this belief, and is the inherent right of all ; that this liberty is violated by the civil government be stowing patronage and immunities on a favoured section of the Christian church, and exempting it from a portion of the fixes, and by bestowing on its chief ministers legislative functions, by the adoption of religious tests as necessary qualifications for the diseiarge of the duties of civil offices, by the appropriation of public property to religious purposes, and by legislating generally on religious subjects; and that the meeting is of opinio n that there cannot be full religious freedom until the con. aezion between the church and state be entirely abolished. (Cheers.) He did net know on what ground the chairman had put him forward first. Perhaps it was on the military principle of throwing forward their light troops first that the main body of the army might more securely advance, or perhaps it was his known political moderation—a man who avoided extreme opinions -- believing only a little more than the five points. (Laughter and cheers.) The com mittee knew iliac whatever allowance might be made for subsequent speakers in the heat and sxcitemect of their proceedings note would be made for the first speaker; his speaking must be necessarily "open and advised." lie was sure that the committee did not shrink behind him in such imminent peril, but they held the meeting and de volved this duty upon him to prove that as the clause of the new act about " open and advised " speaking was not yet come into effect, the gentlemen around him were determined to-night to give them one open, hearty round of it. There was no knowing whether they might have the privilege of " open and advised " speaking again, until Sir R. Peel shall turn out the whigs again, and should come to take off the sagging bill and the state church along with it, and give them liberty both to sp4k and pray as they pleased. (Laughter and cheers.) lie contended that • state church was contrary to the genius of Christianity and the Christian dispensation. If such a connexion were necessary, how was it that for 300 years and for ten generations of men the church could survive and save the souls of many millions of men before it knew what a state connexion could do for it ? If they had only this one argument to base the present question upon, it was suffic.ent. Then again, he asked where did they get their system of economy for a state church from ? They did not get it from the Bible. They did not go back to the great head of the church for this system, but merely to the temporal head of an empire long since swept away... They did not find its history written either in the New or old Testaments, but they found the church vaulting into power to subserve the put posts of crafty politicians, whose object was to make it the slave of the state, little dreaming that the time might come when the state would be the slave of the church. (Cheers.) He knew it was sometimes said when they ap pealed to the New Testament as giving no autho rity for a state church, that our Lord Jesus Christ had no " opportunity " to establish a state church, or he might have done so; but surely it would not be said that he whose mission upon earth was solely to establish a system suited to the wants of men, lacked the power to create the opportunity' Could he not have selected some portion at least of the land of Palestine where a church connexion ENTHRONISATION OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF CAN- might be established, and where to this day a system of epis- VERUCH.V.—It is now definitively fixed that this ceremony copacy in all its native simplicity might be at work, and to shall take place at Canterbury Cathedral on Friday next. which the heads of oar present system might go for advice The mayor and town council will form part of the proces- and counsel, especially in those grave cases in which it 'night slots, and the day be one of general celebration, as many of be desirable to determine what amount of fine or imptoon. the nobility and gentry of the county, and of the extensive meet should be inflicted on a non-church-rate-paying dis province over which the archbishop presides, will assemble senter ? (Cheers and laughter.) But state churches were at Canterbury on the occasion. The enthronement will take Quite out of harmony with the whole system of Christianity. place between one and two in the afternoon. It is under- ' ere not thew, words written indelibly upon the page of the stood that his grace will consecrate the chapel at St. Autrus- New Testament, Icingdom is not of this world, th e , 1 tine's College oil the 29th and preach a sermon at the Ca- w uld my servants_ fi, ht? That_one sentence was sufficient to thedral en Ole 30th refute all tha had ever been advanced in defence of a state THE CONVICT WILLIAMS.—The Launceston papers received by the late Sydney mail, dated the 18th of Decem ber, state that Zephaniah William , , who was transported for life with Frost and Jones, for participating in the riots at Newport a few years since, has been sentenced to one year's hard work in chains to the settlement at Port Arthur, for attempting to escape with another convict from the colony. At the period of the alleged offence be was employed at a Lavern in Can Diemen's Land on ticket leave. The sinking of a vessel in which they en deavoured to escape to New Zealand led to his detection. Salford, also yesterday (the two last-named being ope meetings), and a fourth meeting was summoned for night. The open-air meetings were held with the view 0 electing delegates to the national assembly, and passed o very quietly. Mr. Mitchell, of the United Irishman, and Mr. Smith O'Brien, were elected. BISSIINGRAM.—Yeeterday, the chartists in this locality assembled for the purpose of electing a couple of delegates to the national convention in the stead of Messrs. Linney and Fussell, whose term of office had expired, and who were expected to render an account of their steward ship. Three or four days since a placard appeared on the walls announcing that en open-air meeting would take place; but on Thursday, the weather appearing likely to be unfa vourable for a grand display of any kind out of doors, a handbill was issued at the eleventh hour setting forth that the meeting would be held in the People's Hall. Not withstanding this, about two o'clock yesterday, some two c musand individuals (the greater portion of whom appeared to have been drawn there by curiosity) assembled upon a piece of waste ground near to Moseley-street. These were harangued fur three or four hours, the language adopted by the speakers being generally of a very violent character; but the proceedings throughout produced nothing in the shape of enthusiasm ' and the whole affair wore the appearance of a very dumb show. The dele gates were elected, and a memorial to the Queen adopted. An imposing-looking paragraph appears in the Tines of yesterday morning, dated " arwick, Wednesday night." This (miys our correspondent) details circumstances so entirely destitute of truth, and is altogether an very much like a " storm in a teakettle" that it is well the public should be cautioned against giving any, even the slightest, ere deuce to such statements. It is set forth that the Warwickshire Yeomanry would be ylaeed under marching orders to Birmingham to watch "expected treasonable movements anticipated from the chartists and disaffected there on Good Friday." The fact is that no " treasonable movements " whatever were anticipated, and existed only in the writer's imagination : the probability is that not more than • thousand thorough-goino physical force chartists could be found in Birmingham ; the popula tion is somthing like two hundred and twenty thousand, and there is • civil and military force equal to put down a mob at least thirty times the number of people that could by any po-sibility be drawn together. It is only proper that such scandalous attempts at exaggeration, calculated as they are to excite uneasiness and alarm, should meet with the cl osure they merit. BRISTOL.--The meeting here was held in the open air on Brandon-hill, a working man named Nicholls pre siding. _There were in the course of the proceedings as many as 3,000 or 3,500 persons present, but it was evident that a very large proportion of them were attracted by curiosity, as after listening to some of the speakers they walked about the hill or watched the sports of some boys who were amus ing themselves upon the outskirts. A memorial to the Queen, praying her to make the charter a cabinet measure, was proposed by a Mr. Newman, seconded by Mr. Rogers, and supported by Mr. Barnett, of London. The speaking was of the usual order, but somewhat more subdued than has occasionally been the case, the majority of the speakers repudiating physical force. The memorial was adopted ' without dissent, but at the time it was put the meeting had ' dwindled to about 1,000 or 1,200 persons. Upon the motion of Mr. Clarke, seconded by Mr. Clifton, Mr. Bartlett was appointed delegate to the National Assembly. Cheers were given for O'Connor and the charter, and groans for Lord J. Russell; and the meeting separated. ehureb. But then it was said again, if there was no defence for a state church in the New Testament there was to the Old Testament and under the Old dispensation. Even sup peeing that the logic were good which argued for the institu tions of an old dispensation, under a new one which had been built on the ruins of the old, and was intended as a contrast rather than a reflex to it, he denied the truth of the assertion. He denied that there ever was a state church under the old dispensation. The Jewish church was a theocracy, and had no parallel in the present state of things. God was the King and everything the church possessed was divinely given, no human power having aright to make the law unless a prophet er oracle spoke it as the will of heaven. (Hear, hear.) He, therefore, who set up the Old Testament as a reason for a modern state church must tube it with all its peculiarities or not at all he must take the whole Jewish economy, and land must be distributed upon new principles. And he was not quite sure the aristocracy would like this. (Cheers and laughter.) He denied, though people did say, " Oh, but there were the tithes," that the present church was at all sustained by a reference to that system. The priests of those days were supported by voluntary offerings of the people, and if the people refused what was the alternative? The remonstrance of God was the only consequence of neglected church offerings in those dare we did not read of Mr. So and.so the priest, and Mr. so-and-so the Levite, going to distrain upon the goods of a man, who, like their chairman, did not choose to violate his conscience by paying church rates, and seeking to imprison him. (Cheers.) It was said that the voluntary principle would not answer; but he asked where had it been tried? The compulsory prin ciple had been tried for fifteen hundred years, and the result had been nothing but • succession of painful and disgraceful defeats. He said it was time then to give the voluntary principle a trial. (Applause.) If the compulsory system was said to have answered any where, where would they find the evidence ? Was it from England? Whence then arose the methodist and other conventicler? (Hear.) Was it from Wales? Why then was it necessary to send a church education commission there to malign her people ? Was it from Scotland % Had we never heard of the Free Church ? (Renewed cheering.) Was it from Ireland Where in that country could you look for the bishops who could take up the words, " Thy kingdom is not of this world, else would thy servants fight ?" Was not the soil of Ireland stained with the tears and blood of a persecuted people, persecuted to support this ini quitous principle? Wherever state church had peen planted, there had liberty been prostrated at the foot of the priest, and men had succeeded in doing what the present whig government would fail to do in civil matters, the crushing of " open and advised speaking." Ought we not to feel this system of high churchism a degradation put upon us? Might not the priest of that sect claim, in virtue of his office, the ear of royalty Were they not members of the highest court of appeal in the land, and were not the men who denounced the dissenter as under the uncovenanted mercies of God, judges of the land in that respect, and was not Harry of Exeter, in fact, the custodier of their liberties % Such being the fact, were they going too far in saying the state church was a violator of their civil and religious li berties? (Cheers.) In conclusion, Dr. Nolan alluded to the news which bad been received (by electric telegraph, he said) of Mr. Milner Gibson's resignation of his post as Vice-President of the Board of Trade—an announcement which was received with loud cheers—and said that they could not, having gone so tar in this great work, go back from it without branding their names with eternal oh ame. Should some of them, in the prosecution of it, be charged with "open and advised speaking," he hoped that amongst their friends on the jury would be found some like honest John Rylands, of Warrington, who in the cast of Mr. John Edward Taylor, was not to be intimidated, when open speech was as unfashionable as the whigs wish to make it now. Having strongly appealed to the meeting to maintain their principles, he resumed his sent amidst great cheering. The Rev. D. R. STEPHEN! seconded the motion, and Mr. VINCENT afterwards addressed the meeting, which carried the resolution unanimously. THE CHARTIST MEETINGS. Yesterday the " simultaneous meetings," ap pointed to be held on Good Friday, to elect delegates to another chartist assembly, passed off very quietly in those places where sufficient interest was felt in the question to secure any meeting at all. It will be seen by the following that our correspondents have supplied reports from the large manufact..ring towns, which we add to these coming from metropolitan districts: TOWER HAMLETS.—Yesterday afternoon about 5,000 persons assembled on Bishop Bonner'e-tields, Bethnal green, for the purpose of electing four delegates fur the Tower Hamlets. The candidates desirous of the honour were stated to be Mr. Shaw, Mr. Sharp, Mr. Drake, Mr. Williams, Mr. Wilson, Mr. May, and Mr. Duncan.—Mr. Drake, in an energetic speech, supported the charter, and denounced the new gagging (Crown Security Bill), but far the present would not recommend fighting.— Mr. Shaw expressed his firm determination to promote the success of the charter.—Mr. Wilson also spoke in leach tory terms of the charter.—Mr. Sharp, a member of the Irish Confederation Society, said if he was returned to the convention, he would be prepared to propose a motion in the assembly for the adoption of some ulterior measures for the proper organisation of the people, ready to act on a certain day. He was rejoiced that the Irish repealer* had united with the chartists in endeavouring to obtain their rights, and the most ready way to accomplish that was to see that they were effectually organised.—Mr. Williams next addresaed the meeting, and delivered a lengthened detail of the persecution he experienced at the hands of the Whigs, and his incarceration in Newgate. He had all along been a republican, and in the event of the legislature not conceding their just right he was prepared to advise them to adopt republican principles. But there was nothing like organising themselves, and, if they could not afford to buy at once a pike or rifle, let them get up clubs like those at public houses, and, by paying two pence a week, they would soon get the necessary implement. --Mr. May, in briefly expressing his warm support of the charter, also declared himself to be a republican, and he was determined, if returned to the convention, to sit there till dragged out by the government.—Mr. Duncan having spoken, the Chairman proceeded to the election of the dele gates, and declared that Messrs. Sharp, Shaw, William', and Drake were returned, the two former having the precedence of taking seats in the convention. WESTMINSTER AND MARYLEBONE.—The spot selected for the election of delegates for Westminster and Marylebone was Cumberland-market, Regent's. park. At three o'clock, the time appointed, there were about 300 pee -1 sons present, a majority being boys. About half-past three o'clock, a van was brought into the centre of the market and taken posmeion of by the leaders of the affair. A chairman having been appointed, Mr. Vernon, of West minster, was nominated as one of the candidates, hie recom mendation being that he would " always be found at the post of danger either in the council or the field " —Mr. Savage, in proposing Mr. H. Childs, of St. Pancras, as another candidate, begged to state he was not Mr. Mean Childs the returning officer for the Tower Ham lets, or the sol icitor of Swithin'e-lane, but an honest hard working man, who would not shrink from doing his duty if elected.--Some confusion here took place upon the platform, which the Chairman informed the meeting was caused by a youth who would insist upon proposing Mr. M'Grath as a candidate, although he (the chairman) had told him that Mr. Isl'Grath would not stand if elected. If the meeting, however, had no objection to bear the youth, he had n o ne.—The youth said he always understood the principle of democracy was to hear everybody, but he could not call those democrats who refused to allow him to speak. He was certainly a youth, but he knew more of the prin , eiples and had done more for the charter than the nsidth•roota—(loud laughter)—who were now springing up to reap the ' , merit of what the old chartisu h.d done. What they wanted in the national assembly were tried men, like Mr. M'Orath, not mnsheroons, who were afraid—(laughter)—and although the gentlemen in the van did not wish him to do so, he should insist on proposing Mr. M'Grath. (Cheers, and cries of " No.")—A chit/tin,' wearing the tri-colour, green, white, and crimson, adopted by the chartists, said that having promised Mr. M'Grath that he would support his election if proposed as a candi date, he seconded his nomination.—A show of hands was then taken, and Messrs. Vernon and Childs declared elected. —The Chairman said the neat business was of considerable importance. It was to elect two gentlemen to till the va cancies that might be caused by the despotic hands of the government being laid, which was likely, upon their representatives, Messrs. Vernon and Childs. Messrs. James Braney and Churchill were nominated sod elected to till the " posts of danger," should the original members of the national assembly be ar rested by the government on their first assembling, as anti cipated. The movers and seconders of these gentlemen made most violent speeches, condemning the conduct of the " base and traitorous " government, calling upon the chart isle of London to form themselves into a national guard like the chartists of Aberdeen ; sad applauding the conduct of Father Kenyon at Templederry tor hurling defiance at the government.—Mr. Brassy and Mr. Churchill (the latter a gentleman just arrived from France) addressed the meeting, stating what they would do " if the gentlemen they suc ceeded were sacrificed."—Several other speeches were made, and the memorial to the Queen adopted by the convention having been submitted to the meeting and carried, three cheers were given for the charter, and the assembly, which never at one time exceeded 1,500 persons, dispersed. The whole of the S division of police, under Superintendent Fer guson, were in the Albany-street station-house, but their services were not required. BENNINGTON-COMMON.—During the whole of the afternoon a number of persons continued to assemble on and in the neighbourhood of Kennington-common, in the expec tation that one of the general " simultaneous meetings" of the chartist' was to be held ; but up to five o'clock none of I the speakers who usually appear and take part in each meet ings in the metropolis =eking their appearance, and no in dication of any meeting taking place, the idlers and stragglers who had been attracted to the spot by the mmoared display began quietly to disperse. " During the whole of the day," says a correspondent, " the common presented a scene of the most disgraceful character, there not being lee than 700 or 800 of the lowest thieves and vagabonds congregated there. Gambling and other most dugraeeful prongs occurred, and rendered it impossible for any re spectable person to cross the common. On Good Friday there has been for years a large assemblage of persons here, but on no occasion has there been seen such an immene number of pickpockets and thieves as were present yesterday no doubt drawn together in the expectation of reaping a little harvest,, had the rumoured. meeting taken 1 , 1 ; THE MINT. pub. office Flak LtvEttPoot..—A numerous meeting of chartists was held on the North Beach yesterday, but the peace remained undisturbed. MANCIIESTER.—The chartist meetings continue to be held in Manchester almost dilly, but do not possess mach interest. There was one at the Carpenters' Hall on Thurs• day night ; another in Smithfield market yesterday one in Our chief object in taking up the question of 'Mint re form is eventually to make that institution worthy of the age in which we live, and to efface the stigma attached to it, justly or unjustly, on the grounds of incompetency, carelessness, and irregularity. This can only be effected by minute and patient inquiry, and by the introduction of a new system of administratioa ; for, according to the existing plan of inter nal government, laid down we believe by the late Lord Marybomugh, it is not in the nature of things it should work well for the public good. We do not believe there is another example of this kind of government in the whole world, in which each office has independent power and action, and yet is supposed at the game time to be under the rule of a head. Such a plan may look very pretty on paper, as the infantile theory of some sanguine legislator, more sanguine than wire ; but viewed practically, and as men are constituted, it is abortive and absurd. And so, experimentally, it has proved. It allows every man in a measure to do just as he likes; to attend or not at tend just as he pleases ; it gives occasion for abuses and irre gularities of all kinds, ecause there is no adequate power to check or abolish them ; aud, above all, by extravagant largesse. it gives encouragement to negligence , absence, and all the ev ils ' arising from them. Now, we presume the ori ginal intention was, that each officer receiving the public pay should personally attend to his duties, as is ordinarily the case in most places; and that if he were found to neglect those duties, and systematically absent him.elf, there should be a power lodged somewhere to reprimand him. But we ask, is this now the rule of the establishment ? It may be said that, so far as the want of control is concerned, it is more the fault of the system than any indisposition on the part of individuals, which may be correct ; but such an ad mission necessitates a remedy, and it is clear the Mint autho• rides have not been the first to suggest it. To an energetic mind there is a certain degree of pleasure attached to the exercise of power, but to an indolent and easy mind the contrary is the cue ; and hence the sacrifice of authority will be found equivalent to the indolence or in difference of the officer, and the irregularities, again, in exact proportion to his neglect of the power of his effice. Moreover, if custom or habitude has left no more than the mere form or shadow of authority annexed to any particu lar office of check or control, it may be supposed the board by which the Mint is ostensibly ruled would interfere and correct any abuse ; but such, we have reason to believe, is not the care. The esprit de corps is too strong, we presume, to allow the board or individuals to interfere with others of the same rank, and with, perhaps, larger incomes—their jurisdiction extending, 11 at all, only to minor offenders. It may naturally enough be asked by our readers, what, then, can be the use of a Master of the Mint, if he neither controls the expenses nor exercises jurisdiction over his sub ordinates ? In reply, we may say the office has almost fallen into abeyance, and it might be abolished without any detri ment whatever to the public service. The independent power it once had has gone from it, and what share of power it now feebly exercises emanates originally from the Trea sury, or Chancellor of the Exchequer. As a minister the Muter of the Mint is generally engrossed with other impor tant matters; and as a member of the House of Commons he has no leisure to attend to the practical business of the Mint, his chief duties now being to protect the crown from loss by securities, and give the sanction of his name to -üblic documents. As a minister he vacates his the change of the which we on all know has been frequently the case during the last twenty years. Now we can conceive nothing so im politic and unwise as these constant ehiftings and changes in an office which is supposed to be practically concerned in the coinage of the country, the designation being " Matter and Worker " of her Majesty's Mint ; the consequence of which is, that no sooner does one master become acquainted with the outline of his duties, and obtain a general notion of the various operations of the establishment, than he is moved I from the scene, and another is appointed in his place, to undergo the same superficial and elementary tuition. And from this cause it is that disputes and points of difficulty, which naturally happen everywhere, are never decided or settled, because there appears to be no power in the Mint to do so, while the master for the time leing is too little acquainted with the merits of the case to undertake the omponsibility. In lieu of this ministerial 'Bee, we sht,uld nfftr to tlo at tention of the " commission" the propriety of creating a per manent office under the same title—an alteration which would confer a crest benefit on the country, if not on the govern ment. 'the office being now altogether under the Treasury, so would it remain under a permanent officer, and the same security might be enforced as at present, to protect the crown from loss of any kind, connected with the coinage of the country. A situation of this kind, held by an officer selected for energy and ability, would prove of essential service. By possessing practical knowledge of the various processes of the Mint, he could suggest red encourage improvements of all kinds, and adapt that institution to the wants of the age by twinging to beat whatever science and ingenuity may offer ; by a knowledge of the currency and the wants of the people, and all those laws by which money and currency are eguleted, he might became an authority with every Chan cellor of the Exchequer, more to be relied on than mere mercantile Bank directors, who, if not ignorant, are gene rally narrow-minded, prejudiced, and interested. Besides, with a proper sense of economy, and the power to enforce his views, it ia incalculable hew much money he might save to the country. The simple fact that the machixery of the Mint, with one exception, we believe stands now precisely as it stood more than thirty years ago, in spite of all the immt nee strides which skill and invention have made in mechanical science, and in spite of all the efforts made in other countries to simplify and improve the arts connected with coining, is a significant instance of how much essential good might arise from such an office. la the evidence printed in the Mint report, the machinery of the Mint is more than once called " stupendous;" but, on inquiry, we tiud this great, stupendous result originates in three mall steam-engines—one of 30, one of 16, and one of 10-horse power ; so that we must consider the description somewhat exa g gerated. . We should likewise suggest the creation of another office of greet importance to our plan, or the adaptation of one of the existing offices to that end—namely, a comptroller, or superintendent of all the practical operations, who should attend in person, and not by deputy, exercise vigilance and authority, promote discipline and regularity, correct all abuses, and insist upon carefulness, attention, and economy in veiny quarter. By his personal attendance and practical knowledge, he would not only supervise the operations in • beneral way, but daily examine the books, and satisfy him self of the correctness of every transaction. And upon these conditions ben faithfully ful fi lled, we cannot doubt his salary, however liberal, would be amply repaid. In the creation of these offices, we are of course assuming that the present system of contracts be entirely abolished, and that the permanent Minter of the Mint take the work into his own hands, and under his own control and manage ment. This is the idea now predominant, and it ap pears to have also entered into the minds of some members of the former committee. Whether this can be equitably done at once, moats is nor do rather have no of any cerning and seasons Cases, we " I .:;.l"S . ,n ce yesterday no doubt drawn together m toe expeFtaieni of the former committee. Whether this can De egwt. uq had the rumoured meeting taken reaping a little harvest„h done at once, in consideration of extant rights and agree- ieh it migbt r O ng . . "lents, is a question we cannot undertake to answer [ ' pa}'ing LIVERPOOL—A numerous meeting or charters was paying ,robber were held on the North Beach yesterday, but the peace remained nor do we care, for our observations are directed rather to the future than the present. We can :hristiaaity. undisturbed. have no wish to deprive the present offices& page of the MANCHESTER.—The chartist meetings continue to of any emoluments secured to them—oar remarks not con- world, else be held in Manchester almost daily, but do not possess mach corning individuals, but offices and systems—but as times ,sufficicm to interest. There was one at the Carpenters' Hall on Thurs• and seasons concur in a reform of the Mint, as in other ce of a state day night ; another in Smithfield market yesterday ; one is cases, we anticipate any change will be for the public good;