The Press. — London, England, 1854-04-01 00:00:00

298 dividends on the Three per Cent. Reduced, Three and-a-Quarter per Cents., and other stocks, which fall due at the close of the present quarter, and, in addi tion, has brought himself under engagement to pay off other stocks, amounting to between 2,000,0001. and 3,000,0001. sterling. The liabilities of the Govern ment will thus be at least 10,000,0001. at the close of the quarter, and it is quite clear that the Chancellor will require to overdraw his account. There are, of course, different opinions as to the propriety of the Government being continually under obligations to a commercial institution even as respects the credit of the thing, since it looks as if the Government were getting embarrassed, or else that the various specifics for meeting commercial and monetary ailments had not proved quite so infallible as their discoverers had prognosticated. When the ability of the Bank to ac commodate the Government to the extent required comes to be considered it becomes, however, a much more serious question. The returns, however, afford c lear evidence that all the means of the Bank of England will be required to meet the requirements of the mercantile community, the business of the Bank in discounts and advances having been aug mented during the week between the 11th and 18th ult. by upwards of a million and a half sterling. It is to be regretted that whilst there is so much pressure in the commercial world the Government should be compelled by their necessities to step in, and compete with the public for the accommodation which the Bank may he able to afford, and which should be mainly given to the mercantile community. Yet such is the position in which the commercial world is placed by the reckless presumption of the Chancellor of the Ex , ,,bequer, but it is the penalty which it has been repeatedly warned it would have to pay for the privilege of having so brilliant a financier as the right hon. gentleman. The question is of great importance, and its solution is looked for with interest, the general opinion being that the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be compelled to borrow of the publio after all; and who will say that if he had taken the advice or regarded the warnings given last year, when his financial resolutions were under discussion, that it would not have been better for his reputation and the country at large? As it is, he has succeeded in involving the country in a sea of financial difficulty, and has not the merit of having carried out successfully even one of his many financial crotchets.—Herald. A MEMORIAL TO THE LATE BISHOP OF SALISBURY, testifying the reverence and affection in which he was held by the clergy and laity of his diocese, was determined upon at a recent meeting, and a com mittee appointed to carry out the object, of which Earl Nelson, Earl Bruce, the Right Hun. Sidney Herbert, M.P., Major-General Buckley, M.P., Mr. H. C. Sturt, M.P., Mr. T. H. Sotheron, M.P., Mr. G. W. Heneage, M.P., Mr. J. Floyer, M.P., Mr. H. K. Seymer, M.P., and other gentlemen are members. THE COMMISSIONERS whom Lord J. Russell in tends to appoint under the new Oxford University Bill are the Earl of Ellesmere, the Bishop of Ripon, Mr. Justice Coleridge, the Dean of Wells, and Sir John Awdry. THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT announced to the Ministries of England and France that no letters of marque will be granted by the United States, the Fe deral Government having formally declared that acts so contrary to international law will not be tolerated on the territory of the Union. MARCHWOOD POWDER MAGAZINES, in Hampshire, which have been for some years out of use , are to be again occupied. A small military force will imme diately be established there. These magazines are constructed to hold about 24,000 barrels of powder. They are situated close to Southampton Water, into which a small pier runs for landing and embarking gunpowder. Mr. Duncan, of the Ordnance Depart ment at Portsmouth, has been appointed storekeeper to the new establishment. THE BOARD OF Currows have released a Spanish cutter, Ingram, which was seized in the river off Ro therhithe, on Saturday, by the Thames police, with some anchors and chains concealed in her cargo of guano, on the payment of a small fine and expenses for an infringement of the Clearance Act. TWELVE HUNDRED DEATHS were registered in London in the week that ended on Saturday, showing a small increase on those of the previous week, when the number was 1,188. The rate of mortality that has prevailed during the last fortnight is slightly be low the corrected average. THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY have been granted 5001. per annum by the Government, to ena ble them to provide themselves with apartments ade quate to a public exposition of their numerous charts and maps, and thus to increase the usefulness of the society. THE RESIGNATION OF MR-BAINES, President of the Poor-law Boa• d, was announced on Thursday. Respecting the causes which led to this determina tion on the part of the right hon. gentleman, we find the following statement in the Times : " Mr.llaines having, with the approval of the Cabinet, prepared a Settlement and Removal Bill, confined in its operation to England and Wales, and having introduced - _ THE PRESS, and explained his measure to the house, unexpectedly found that, without his concurrence, or indeed any consul tation with him, Lord Palmerston had given a pledge to extend the measure to Scotland and Ireland. The origin of so singular a misunderstanding ueme to be rather obscure. When the pledge was given there is little doubt it was under the impression that the President of the Poor law Board had consented, while it is now very clear that he had not. The Home Secretary not being able to state the occasion, or to produce the document in which this supposed consent was communicated, is said to trace his own impressions on that point to the statements of the Irish members at his interview with them. This, certainly, would be a singular channel of communication to be relied upon in a very important matter between a Secretary of State and the head of a great department ; but, if we are rightly informed, the Irish members themselves are lilt aware of having pretended to convey Mr. Baines' opinion on the subject. That gentleman's concurrence, therefore, has been taken for granted without his authority, and even without consultation ; and, after he had publicly committed himself upon a carefully elaborated scheme, he found it suddenly hampered with a pledge involving a serious amount of alteration, and risking the success of the mea sure in any form. Front first to last here is a series of errors, and worse than errors." From the report of parliamentary proceedings it will be seen that Mr. Baines has withdrawn his resigna tion, at all events for the present. GOLD-MINING OPERATIONS IN NORTH WALES have been regularly commenced within the past week. At one place four of Berdan's machines have been put up, two of which are at work, and are alleged to be crushing quartz at the rate of a quarter of a ton per hour, the yield of gold from each ton averaging more than an ounce. TENDERS have been delivered during the week for the navy contracts for hemp, but at such high prices that the Government did not entertain them. IT is stated that Mr. Gladstone has made an arrangement for " floating " all his new Exchequer Bills on very advantageous terms. THE LORD MAYOR entertained her Majesty's Mi nisters and a very numerous and distinguished party to dinner in the Egyptian-hall of the Mansion-house on Saturday evening. THE HoN. CAPTAIN BLacxwoon, who was charged to deliver the British ultimatum to the Czar, returned to London on Saturday evening from St. Petersburg. Captain Blackwood arrived at St. Petersburg on the 13th of March and delivered his message, waited until the expiration of six days, and on the 19th began his homeward journey, reaching London about ten o'clock on the night of the 25th. THE NEW ACT admitting foreign ships to the coasting trade, which received the royal assent on the 23rd ult., is now printed. It repeals certain sections of the 16 and 17 Vict., c. 107, and enables her Majesty to exercise retaliatory powers as pro vided in the same act.. It then enacts that every foreign ship in the coasting trade shall be subject to the same rules and regulations as British ships. Foreign ships employed in the coasting trade are not to be subject to higher rates than British ships. With respect to passengers, it is declared to be ex pedient to provide for the safety of passenger steamers, and declares that every foreign steam vessel carrying passengers from one place to another, on the coast of the United Kingdom and the Chan nel Islands, shall be subject to the provisions of the Steam Navigation Act, 1851. The coasting trade is thus now thrown open to foreign ships the same as British vessels. A MIXED GAUGE is now in course of formation on the railway between Basingstoke and Oxford to complete a direct narrow-gauge communication be tween Southampton and the north of England. THE REV. MR. PEROWNF., M.A., the censor of King's College, has been appointed by the council to the new professorship in English History, and to the lectureship of Modern History, vacant by the resig nation of the Rev. J. J. Brewer. THE COMMISSIONERS OF CUSTOMS have given notice of their intention immediately to commence taking stock of all the goods at the bonded warehouses throughout the United Kingdom, in conformity with the clauses in the Customs Consolidation Act re quiring a repetition of that process every five years. All goods which have been in bond for five years, and which shall not be cleared or rewarehoused within one month, will be sold, and the proceeds carried to the account of the Crown, to abide the owners' claim. PERFORATED POSTAGE AND RECEIPT STAMPS have now been supplied to the provinces. MESSRS. STURGEON AND SONS, the hay-contractors for the troops, have published a letter stating that they have presented petitions to both Houses of Parliament, praying for an immediate examination of the bay returned to them by the Victualling-office, and of the whole of that which they had pressed for the Government. They assert, with the fullest con fidence, that neither water, nor filth, nor any rub bish will be found in a single bale. This petition was presented in the Commons on Tuesday, but re jected on account of informality. SATURDAY, RETURNS relating to matriculations in the Univer sities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Dublin, the Queen's University in Ireland, and the several Scotch universities, have lately appeared. The number of matriculations are :—at Oxford, 402 ; at Cambridge, 430 ; at Dublin, 279. The rate of duty on each is 205., making a sum total of 1,1171. No duty is paid on matriculation at Durham, London, the Queen's University in Ireland, and the universities in Scot land. _ _ _ _ __ . _ THE branch railway from the London and Brighton line to the Crystal Palace was opened on Monday. This railway diverges from the main line near the Sydenham station, and ascends the hill on the sum mit of which the palace stands, terminating in a large and convenient station, which, by means of a glass covered way, communicates directly with the palace. THE ANNUAL BALL for the benefit of an excellent institution, the British Charitable Fund, in Paris, is to take place at the Jardin d'Hiver on the 19th of April, and promises to be one of the most successful that have occurred for many years. A brilliant list of ladies patronesses has been issued, at the head of which is her Excellency Lady Cowley. The stewards comprise his Excellency Lord Cowley, Marquis of Hertford, Marquis of Ely, Earl of Pembroke, Lord Gray of Gray, Hon. Henry Howard, Hon. Spencer Cowper, Captain Courtenay Boyle, R.N., Captain Langford, R.N., Joseph Locke, Esq., M.P., Sae. On this occasion the Emperor and Empress have sent a liberal subscription to the charity of 2,000 f. Xab3 nn Volict. Two CHINESE MEN, named Assam and Kinchee, were charged on Wednesday, at the Mansion.house, with begging. Their case, as stated by Thorns, of Warwick. square, seemed one of great hardship : _ . There were, he said, a great many Chinese in London in severe distress, occasioned by the practice adopted by too many English and American captains, who turned them adrift on their arrival in England without paying them any wages. He had ascer tained that as much as thirty dollars were due to the prisoners from their last captain, who had since left Loudon. After de tailing many similar cases, he produced a letter, received from one of the defrauded sea,nen, writteu in the Chinese character, of which the following is a translation:— " TO THE MAGISTRATES OF THE HONOURABLE ENGLISH NATION. " On your honourable nation's ship arriving iu China for com merce, and your sailors (who ran away) getting on shore, having an insufficient number of men to work the ship, your honourable nation's captain solicited the assistance of Chinese to enable hint to return with his ship to his native country. The wages to be received are clearly specified when the men go on board. But as soon as the ship arrives in London, and has anchored, the captain under various pretences endeavours to lessen the amount of wages due until we have nothing to receive. We beseech von, the honourable nation's magistrates, that you will examine Into the matter, and decide : for we are three Chinese, who have come across the ocean, who day after day are destitute, without money, and without rice to eat. We look towards the east and towards the west, but perceive no road by which to escape from our distressed condition. For no person pities us poor China men. You, venet able fathers, can discover a road by which we can return to Australia, and from thence reach our native land. We earnestly beseech you, venerable fathers, to compassionate us, and examine this our statement." Mr. Thome added that, in another case, he had communicated the circumstances to Lord Palmerston, and had received a reply, stating that, if these persons became chargeable to the parish, the owner and master of the vessel bringing them were liable to repay the amount. lie suggested that the prisoners should be sent to the union, and that the guardians should make their claim for expenses upon the owners, through the American Con sul. Sir R. W. CARPEN said he was aware of the apparent distress among the Chinese in London, as he had disposed of several cases of this kind, but thought it singular that these complaint's should be made to the magistrates after the departure of their ships. All the Chinese that had been before him professed per fect ignorance of English, but lie had found that seven days' im prisonment made them speak English with wonderful fluency. It was his opinion that they were an indolent people, and pre ferred begging in this country to being sent back to their own, for he knew some of them had refused to go back. The prisoners were remanded. THOMAS WILKINSON, a coal-merchant, applied for his certificate at the Court of Bankruptcy on Tues day. His debts were about 6,0001., and there was a deficiency on the balance-sheet of 3,0801. Up to the commencement of the present year it appeared that he had been butler to the Duke of Devon shire: — His Ho•oun said it appeared that be was in a deficiency of 3,0001. two years ago, and since that time had had no resource but borrowing. The balance-sheet disclosed what could not be called other than a reckless system of trading. He was minus upwards of 3,0001. in 1852, and he now owed between 5,0001. and 6,0001. On that ground, though there was no opposition, the court was bound to suspend the certificate. Looking at the situation which the bankrupt had held, it would have been better had he kept to that alone, instead of entering into a trade which he could not properly attend to. The circumstance of hie having been discharged from his situation was one which the court could not take into consideration one way or the other. Judging the case simply from the balance-sheet, the certificate must be suspended for six months from the present date; had he been opposed, probably the suspension would have been much longer. V. hen granted, it would be of the third class ; for there was not the slightest particle of misfortune in the case, as far as the trading went. As the assignees did not oppose it, protection would be granted. AN application was made on behalf of the Preston delegates at the Liverpool Assizes on Monday, asking to have their cases postponed till the next sessions. The principal ground for making the application was on account of the defendants, who were charged with conspiracy, being unable since their committal to ob tain evidence which would strengthen their defence. After a abort discussion, the presiding judge, Mr. Justice Cresawell, acceded to the request.