The Sun. — London, England, 1862-04-04 00:00:00

, - • . IMP E RIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS—'YESTERDAY, ae LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. THt REVISED CODE. Petitions against the Revised Code were presented by the Bishop of WORCESTER and several other peers. IRISH LAW COURTS. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE complained that a return he moved for on the sth of August last, and to which no objection was offered, had not yet been made. It related to the courts of law in Ireland, and he had been informed that as the return had not been made previous to the pro rogation of Parliament last year, it had been looked upon as a lar*cd order. He wished the return should be made forthwith, and if it should be necessary he should move an address to the Crown to that effect. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Norwich Corporation, the Ross Turnpike Trust, and the Tranmere Improvement bills were read a second PROTECTION OF INVENTIONS AND DESIGNS 18(32 BILL. This bill was read a second time. EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN BILL. This bill pusecl through committee. MARINE MUTINY BILL. This bill also passed through committee. AUSTRALIAN COLONIES GOVERNMENT ACT AMENDMENT BILL. This bill was read a third time and pass e d, IRON PLATED SHIPS. The Earl of HARDWICKE rose to ask tho First Lord of the Admiralty what number of iron plated ships were afloat and building, and what was intended to be done with the chips of the fleet that are built of timber. Tho earl commenced his remarks by referring to the into naval action that had taken place in America, in which the contest between wood and iron vessels had been most indisputably settled. Ho did not think there was any occasion for alarm, because he considered that the navy of England was in as good a position as any nation in the -world. He thought the time had arrived when there ' steal(' be no more nibbling at the question on the part of the Government, but that it should open its jaws wide and swallow the whole at whatever cost, and for the future that none but iron ships should be constructed for the purposes of warfare. The late en gagement between the Monitor and Merrimac had settled the question. As far as regards cruising ships, they could still be constructed of wood, adopting, of course, all the modern improvements; but, as for men-of-war, they must be made of iron. The navy was very different from the ships of the merchant service, where everything was sacrificed for speed and stowage room, but that was not coin ansan-of-war where strength was everything. A question' would naturally arise as to what was to be done with the stock of ships now on hand ; that would have to be settled, but the thing that appeared to him certain was that the time had now come for the cessation of constructing ships of wood for purposes of warfare. It was to give the noble lord an opportunity of stating the opinion of the Government on the subject that he laid the motion under the attention of their lordships. The Duke of SOMERSET, having thanked Lord Hard wicke for having brought this subject before the house, stated what steps had been taken by the present Govern moat to build iron vessels since 1850. The late Govern ment had proposed to build two iron-plated vessels, but from infcrmation subsequently received he had advised these two to be increased to four—viz., the Warrior, the Blac z Prince, the Defence, and the Resistance. Not being contented with these vessels, the Government had ordered the Valiant to be built on improved principles, for, as the whole system was in a state of uncertainty, there were ne ceesarily defects in the first experiments. At the present moment we had four iron ships afloat, another to be launched in August, and five wooden ships in course of plating, two of which will be launched in the autumn and three in the ensuing spring. Not satisfied with this, he had caused experiments to be made with Captain Coles's cupola, the results of which, both in regard to the revolv ing of the cupola and its power of resistance to very heavy firing, were entirely successful. A vessel of this class of 2,000 tons, and drawing only 20 foot water, would be shortly laid, as money had been taken for the purpose in the esti mates. At the same time it was intended to apply the principle of the cupola to wooden vessels, and these, he believed, would be the best vessels we could have for the defence of our coasts. There were now building six different kinds of iron-plated ships, but he was not satisfied with any of these, as the means had not yet been discovered of making the iron plating contribute to the strength of the vessels. In reply to Lord Hardwicke's question, he stated that we had the frames of five line-of-battle ships, seven frigates, and eight large corvettes in progress, and these frames could be easily adapted to bear iron plates. Of our present wooden vessels we could easily cut down 20 line-of-battle ships, and by fitting them with iron plates adapt them for the de fence of our coasts and the Channel, still retaining a fleet of 40 ships to oppose to any wooden fleet which might be sent to attack us ; and if it were necessary to fight iron ships against iron ships we were able to meet any navy in that arm. In regard to the question of expense, he did not think it would be so great as anticipated, neither did ho think the inferences drawn from a recent engagement as to the invulnerability of iron ships, especially in the face of the vary great improvements being made in the speed of ships and the force of artillery, correct. He then entered at length into the merits and defects of the Merrimac and Monitor, pointed out the alterations which the new system of iron •plating would introduce in our navy, deprecated un due precipitation in building vessels of iron, confessed that we ought to refrain from building more wooden ships, and concluded by slightly touching upon the propriety of not discontinuing to build forts, as the arguments drawn from the t ecent contest on that point were by no means conelu- Lord MALMESBURY, having thanked the Duke of omerser for his valuable statement, Their lordships adjourned at 20 minutes to 7 o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS-YESTERDAY. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. - - The house was rather full, but not so crowded as is usual en Budget nights, and contrasted strongly with tho appear - once which it presented last session on the night when the Chancellor of the Exchequer made his Financial Statement. PRIVATE BUSINESS, The following bills wore read a third time and passed : —The Cirencester Districtßoads, and the Dollow and Kil moro Commons Inclosure. PETITIONS. Several petitions were presented in favour of an amend ment of the Irish Poor La w, for the reduction of the duty, against t he modified Revised Code, a g ains t the un conditional abolition of church rates, a g ainst the Local As sessment Bill, &c. GREAT GRIMSBY ELECTION. The following members, nominated to serve on the elec tion committee appointed to try the petition against the return of Mr. Chapman, were summoned to the table, and the committee obtained leave to :sit to-morrow at twelve o'clock :—Mr. Egerton :(chairman),7Mr. G. G. Glynn, Sir A. W. Buller, Mr. Liddell, and Mr. Long,field. HOPS. On tho motion of Mr. LOCKE, returns of the quantity of British hops oxiorted from the United Kingdom were ordered. MEXICO. Mr. S. FITZGERALD gave notice that he would draw attention to our relations with Mexico after Easter. MONUMENT TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. Lord LOVAINE asked the First Commissioner of Works how soon it was expected that the monument of the late Duke of Wellington,in St. Paul's Cathedral, would he finfiled, and whether the surplus of the sum voted for the duke's funeral would be sufficient to defray the whole cost of the work. Mr. COWP ER said that an order had been given for the making of the model three years and a half ago, and he supposed the artist was preparing himself for his work' by Preliminary study. (Laughter.) UPPI4R STEPHEN-STREET, DUBLIN. Sir E. GROGAN asked the Secretary of State for War why the ground at the corner of Great Ship-street and - Upper Stephen-street, in the city of Dublin, War-office purchased several years ago, is per mitted to remain for so long a time in its present ruinous and allayidated state ; if it be still in contemplation of the War-ofneo to build an a dditi on to the Ship-street Barracks on that ground; and, if so, when the works will be com menced. ADJOURNMENT FOR THE EASTER RECESS. In reply to Colonel PA.TTEN, Lord PALMERSTON said that it was proposed to ad journ on Friday, the 1 1th, or Monday, the 14th, accord ito the state of business, and to re-assemble on Monday, the 26th. THE 1113 - D GET The house saving gone into committe e o f wa y s a nd nicans, Tho CHANCELLOR of the Ex c ,, 11. - E Q i! the st f ,rward his financi al statement. it, saida-UthtEß brought rnent he was about to submit was of a simpler character than those which . he had &li v en(' on recent previ`) u sion3. Nevertheless, it WAS not be intentir m ~, s confine °enn himself to the mere balanee - s heet of the year, but would lay befoTe hem a fall and imp artial view of the general financial condition of the country. Referring' to the expeTt. ditto° of last year, he had estimated it at V 3 5 . 8 7 5 ,0 00; but be then slated that there would be issued of Exchequer balances betweon 1:200,000 and 000,000, They had amounted to : £278,000; but they represented money spent, awl were not provided for in the ways and means. They were provided by anticipation fur the respective departments until they were provided for in the coming year by the house. - Tho real expenditure of the year was in fact much greater than the estimate by means of supplernentarY grants in 1851 and 1862, principally in reference to the despatch h of troops to Canada and a small amount for China . tA the actual expenditure of the past year was nt i or ` m :_ !, o :o. Comparing this expenditure with that of for £69,)77,„Lit being that in 1859-60 the expenditure vies 1° , a difference between that year and th e preseut year of zr 0 , 90 ,000. The total expenditure of the time. iv - 0 year 1860.61 was £72,504,000, and that of 1861-62 was £70,838,000, being a difference of £1,666,000. Turning to the revenue, he stated that last year it was £;`•x,670,000, and there would have been a deficit of £1,1':4,000, and w ith the supplementary grant s it wo uld h ave am ounted I to £1,489,660, but deducting the suppiene alai grants there was a small surplus of £3 ,000. Com paring the revenue of 1860-61 with that of 1861-62 it appeared that in the former year it was £70,380,000, and in the latter £69,671,000, being a decrease of £609,000, but from circumstances connected with the financial year it was, in fact, £809,000. This must be considered satisfactory when it was remembered that in 1801-62 we had parted with three items of revenue—by reducing the income tax a penny in the pound, making a loss in three quarters of the year of £850,000 ; and the paper duty had been abolished, the loss of duty on the last six months of the financial year being £665,000; while no malt credit had been taken up, as was the case in 1860-61, to the extent of £1,122,000, which had not been available . in 1861-62. There had been a loss in this latter year, as com pared with 1860-61 of a sum of £2,627,000 ; so that after de ducting from that the real decrease of revenue in the last year of £809,000, there had been an improvement in our sources of r evenuo last year of £1,828,000. In the face of a diminished trade with America, which amounted to £12,609,000, oar exports having sunk from £21,667,000 to £9,058,000 ; the depression arising from the want of cotton ; and after a harvest which, though good in quality, was de ficient in quantity, there had been an increase in our sources of revenue of a sum of £1,828,000, It was not the fact that the revenue had not increased but was in reality declining. In the Customs, on the first three quarters of the last year there was an increase of £468,000, but in the last quarter there had been a decrease of £lOO,OOO. Although tho gross revenue had fallen off £609,000, yet the Customs had ex ceeded the estimate by £464,000, the stamps by . £130,000, taxes by £lO,OOO, the income tax by £15,000, and the mis cellaneous by £Bl,OOO. Tho Crown lands bad fallen off by £5,000, and the Post-office by £lO,OOO. In the Excise there there had been a falling off amounting to £456,000; there had been a loss on spirits, hops, and paper—in the latter case partly from the repeal of the duty and partly from drawbacks. Referring to the estimates, he stated that of the China indemnity, which was placed at £750,000, the whole receipt had been only £478,000 up to September, but when the two quarters due in March were paid there would be a gross receipt of £658,000. There had, however, been an arrangement by which an addition was made to the compensation paid to the merchants in anticipation, which by so much (that is, £193,000) would diminish the receipts to the Exchequer. The whole sum actually received this year would be £266,000 from this source. The expenditure for the coming year was thus estimated—For the interest of the public debt, £26,280,000 ; the consolidated fund would stand at £1,900,000; the army at £15,300,000, and the mili tia at £700,000. This included a charge of £700,000 for Indian effectivos, which appeared for the first time in the estimates, and deducting this, the amount of the estimate would stand at £15,270,000, as compared with £15,481,000 last year, being a diminution of £275,000. The navy was estimated at £11,800,000 as compared with £12,276,000 last year. The miscellaneous estimates were estimated at £7,819,000. The revenue departments were estimated at £4,750,000, the packet service £916,000, and a vote for China would be asked of £500,000. The total estimate of expenditure was £70,040,000. The estimate of revenue for the coming year ran thus .—Customs, £23,550,000; excise, £18,340,000; stamps, £8,625,000; land and assessed taxes, £3,180,000; income tax, £10,100,000; Post-office, £3,650,000; crown lands, £300,000; miscellaneous, which included for the first time a payment for Indian effectivcs and non-effcc tives, £2,275,000, and the China indemnity, £170,000 The estimate of total revenue would be £70,190,000 against an estimated expenditure of £70,040,000. The question, therefore, arose whether ne w t axes were t o b e i mpose d. 'Not many months ago he had entertained the hope of being able to remit taxes, but subsequently there appeared a proba bility of heavy expenditure, and there was the prospect of additional taxation. In looking to our resources everything was favourable, except that portion of them which de pended on America. So far as trade was concerned there had been an improvement for our exports to America which in September were £483,000 were in October £709,000, in November £739,000, in December £860,000, and in January £1,253,000. But it was in reference to cotton that anxiety must be felt, and the prospect in that respect was not im proving; But looking to the state of trade with France since the treaty had come into operation it would be found that whereas in the six months between September and February, 1859-60, our exports to France were £2,196,000, in 1861-62 they amounted to £6,910,000. There had been an exceptional export of corn to France of about £BOO,OOO or £900,000 in value in 1861.62, and deducting this the real amount of increase was £3,039,000, although the gross in- , crease had been £3,895,000. There had been also another I increase from this source, for there had been an increase in foreign and colonial exports, in connexion with the treaty, amounting to £4,572,000, so that the real increase in Is6l - was over £10,000,000. In the single article of woollens there had been an increase from £134,000 to £1,181,000. This was to be taken into consideration in connexion with the increased good feeling between the two nations, for which result it was not necessary again to congratulate the author of the treaty, whose services would become matter of history. Referring to the question of a surplus, he showed that if he bad one it would have been demanded of him ; but even looking to the important question in volved in the supply of cotton, the Government had come to the conclusion to do without a surplus and to impose no new taxes,' reserving to themselves the privilege of taking the necessary stops to meet any exigency which might arise. As to the remission of taxes, it was plain that there could be none on the figures which he had brought forward. Nevertheless ho must refer to demands for re mission which had been made on the Government. It was urged that the duty on spirits should be reduced, that the sugar duties should be modified, that the malt credit should be remitted, that the small duties charged on imports and exports should be removed, and also that some alteration should be made in the duties on wine, and that the hop duty should be repealed, As regarded alterations ho pro posed to make, it was proposed to lower the duty on play ing cards, and the duty on what was called the Inventory Duty in Scotland. It was proposed with regard to Foreign and Colonial Bonds or Loans to make a charge of 8 per cent., which was charged now on loans in this country, and there would be created a system of supplemental li censes running fur three days, during fairs and markets, for publicans. As to the spirit duty, there had been a falling off last year below the estimate ; but as it was proved not to have arisen from an increase of illicit distillation, but from a diminished power of consumption combined with the increased sobriety of the people ; it was not preposed, therefore, to deal with tho spirit duties. With regard to the sugar duties, being classified duties, they were unequal in their pressure ; but tho difficulties of removing this clas sification were such as to preclude any such change with outpre p a ar eo ea m t p o le a te sse in n r a iry a in eo to mm th i e tte s e u f b o j r ec th t, e a p n u d rp h o o se w . would be to the malt credits, no such case, in his opinion, had been made out as t o j ustify any change, revesepneciallyf as any alteration wou ld deprive the 51,300,000 a year. As t o t h e minor duties u° on o imports and exports, they entailed an amount of labour in collection which gave them a claim to repeal; but they amounted to £182,000 a year, and with a surplus of only £150,000 it was not possible to deal with them, besides which they afforded the means to the Board of Trade Of obtaining valuable statistical information. Still he was willing to grant an inquiry into the subject. With regard to the wine duty, comparing the two last years of the old system, from 1858 to 1860, the mean deliveries in those years amounted to 6,552,000 gallons, bringing in a revenue I of 11,697,000 ; and in 1861-62 the deliveries wore 9,732,000 I gallons, being an increase of 3,180,000 gallons, and the re venue under the reduced duties was £1,105,000, being a decrease of £592,000, showing a favourable increase at least in the trade. But on the whole it was determined to retain what was called the alcoholic test, but altering and modify ing it, by reducing four scales to two, admitting all wines from 18 to 26 degrees of alcohol at a duty of ls., while from 26 to 42 the scale would be raised from 2s. 5.1. to 2s. 6d. ; and above 45, an additional duty of 3d. on every additional rise of strength. The financial result would be that there would be a net gain of £15,000 a year to the revenue. As to the hop duties, it was not possible to part with duties which yielded £300,000 a year on the average. It was, however, proposed to do something i n th e way o f comm utation; by readjusting the sy s t em o f b rewers ' licenses and including in them a charge for the hop duty; while, at the same time t , relief would be given to smaller brewers in respect of the charge for their licenses. In this way the revenue would get nearly as much duty a s now, while it would cause a complete free trade in home and foreign hops. There would be a general average addition of 3d. on each barrel of beer brewed to the charge for the licenses of brewers, though in the case of smaller brewers it would be smaller in amount per barrel. The customs and excise duty on hops would be repealed from next September. It was also proposed, as regarded private brewers, to exempt from license all brewing carried on by the labouring classes. In all cases where the house occu pied by a private brewer was more than £2O a year, or in the case of a farm above £l5O a year, there would be a license charge of 12s. 6d. ; below those amounts there would be no license. The financial results would be, that whereas the receipts from hops and brewers' licenses were now £345,000, the receipts in future would only be £300,000, Tho right hon. gentleman then proceeded to take a review of the financial results of the last three years. The impression that the public expenditure was growing, he argued, was erroneous, for that of last year was less than that of the year before, while in the year ensuing there was a decrease 111 , the estimates of over £700,000, a lth oug h man y items of ~, Peenditure were included in the estimates which had never be ni ncluded before; and putting those items out of cal , the actual diminution was £1,700,000. Still the attention level of or ve fe: it xPendituro was such as ought to meet with comfort and satisfaction a higher level than could be borne with y on o d w i l ti en of finance. The growth of with a sound by the people, or than was com patibleexpenditure was part' the gr , wing wants of the country; then to a sense o r :7 to hinnascurity which had prevailed in The country; next to the the establishments 0 8 f , and lastly, to special and expenditure of other coa n s ile aje c° of : I llencies. which had demands which had arisen out spaa n i 7 up. There was a fearful racp aenditure going on aili oDgst tho nations of the world, I: rano( ) ire the last 20 years TIM SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVgNING, APRIL 4, 1861 had added 250 milli:ars to her debt, of which 180 millions was not attributable to war expenditure. Austria and Russia had added to their debts, and the financial year of 1861 alone had added to the state debts of ail the gre.,t countries 200 mil lions of money. We had not added to our debt, bug among extraordinary expenses, there was the cost of the war with China, which had been £7,054,900. In the last three years, what might be called war expenditure, including China, New Zealand:and the despatch of troops to North America, was £8,600,000. Showing the state of our extraordinary expenditure and the extraordinary resources, such as bal ances in the Exchequer, which had been used to meet it, he pointed out that the Income-tax had risen since 1859 by 3 millions, and including the spirit duties and other imposts, there had been taxes imposed exceeding five millions. The taxes reduced amounted to over four millions, the amount imposed being more than a million of taxes over those re duced. The extraordinary resources were now at an end. Altogether about 11 millions had been devoted in the last three years to extraordinary expenditure, of which six mil lions had been met by extraordinary resources, and five millions by taxes drawn from the people. As regarded the revenue of the last three years it had increased since 1858-59 by over four millions in 1861-62, showing an ave rage increase of one million per annum derived from ordi nary sources. We had passed through exceptional years without going into the market for loans, but all other ex traordinary resources were now exhausted, and to meet casualties which might occur, it was only to ordinary sources of revenue we had to look, and any difficulty which might be anticipated was only to be met by the application of the principles of true and strict economy. He con cluded by proposing a resolution relating to the alteration of the wine duties. Mr. HUBBARD said that as the income tax for last year was L 11,000,000, and this year it was estimated atLlO,OOO,OO O , it could not be an unimportant matter to the Government that the tax should be levied upon something like equ itable principles. As the right hon. gentleman had said nothing on the subject of the present inequalities of the tax, he should take the earliest opportunity of asking the house to pronounce an opinion upon the proposition which ho would have to submit to it on the subject. Mr. BUXTON said that as ono of the fraternity affected by the changes proposed by the Chancellor of the Exche quer, he thought it right to say that they were left very much in the position in which they stood before. As the re presentative of a Kentish borough ho had no doubt the pro posal made by the right bon. gentleman with respect to hops would tend greatly to the prosperity of that borough. Ile looked upon the proposal of the Chancellor of the Ex chequer as an admirable compromise, which, while it would not increase the obligations of the brewers, would tend ma terially to the benefit of the hop growers ; and he must at the same time congratulate the Chancellor of the Exche quer on having brought down the country gentlemen to the level of common brewers. (A laugh.) Mr. CRAWFO RD considered the proposal of the Chan cellor of the Exchequer as a fair and honourable one, and it was equally honourable in a gentleman affected by the scheme to get up in his place and express his approval of it. Ho 'believed the proposal of the right hon. gentleman with respect to foreign wines was also a fair one, for the class of wines to which the alcoholic test would have to be applied would be limited in its supply in this country. As the re presentative of the West and East Indies and the Mauri tius, and of the refiners of sugar, he must say that nothing could be more fair to those interested in respect to the sugar duties than the proposition of the right hon. gentleman, that they should have an opportunity of coming before a select committee of the house and having their case heard and inquired into. Ho offered his congratulations to the member for Rochdale and the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the successful result of the French treaty. This budget might be termed by some an immoral budget, seeing the facilities it afforded to card players and for tippling at fairs —(a laugh)—but, upon the whole, he believed it would give satisfaction to the country. Sir S. NOR THCOTE said the best wish that they could express on behalf of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was, that this would be the only budget which ho would have to bring in on this occasion; but the right hon. gentleman's expressions showed that he felt little at ease as to the retro spect of affairs. The house had already voted £5,200,000, and had spent about £4,608,000, leaving about £500,000 more out of what had been voted. They were now told that they were to have another vote of £500,000, and with that he understood the whole expense of the China war was to be concluded. The first question he wished to ask the right hon. gentleman then was,was he correct in this view? He also wished to know the grounds on which the right hon. gentleman estimated the Excise. As to the Customs be had taken a very sober and moderate estimate, and he thought the right hon. gentleman had rather understated the sum it would amount to; but with regard to the Ex cise revenue, the right hon. gentleman estimated it at more than it produced last year. He wanted to know on what principle the right hon, gentleman expected the Excise this year to exceed the amount of the two last years, seeing that he did nothing to increase it; indeed, the reduction of the hop duty would diminish rather than increase the revenue in this respect. Mr. BALL wished he could join hon. gentlemen in congratulations which they had expressed in reference to the budget of the right hon. gentleman, for the right hon. gentleman in that budget wholly overlooked the interests of the agricultural classes of this country by declining to reduce the duty on malt. The right hon. gentleman says he cannot spare any portion of the duty in the present state of the finances of the country. Well, he did not think that this was an omission to the case put forward by the agricul turists for a reduction of the tax in question. He did not think that the result of the commercial treaty with France would tend to perpetuate peace between that country and England. (Oh, oh.) Well, that was his opinion. The right hon. gentleman could not understand the " bus " that was heard in the house when ho proposed to impose a licence duty of 12s. 6d. a-year on those who brewed their own beer at home. lie could tell the right hon. gentleman that that Luz was the expression of surprise that ho pro posed to add to the pressure upon the agriculturists, by im posing this new licence duty for brewing their own beer. Mr. DODSON would offer his sincere thanks to the right hon. gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) for the way in which he proposed to deal with the hop duty. It would bo a relief not only to the hop grower but to the con sumers of beer, and of all concerned in the growth and man facture of hops. He must also observe that the proposal as regarded the licence of brewers was a fair one, and that ho had no doubt it would not be objected to by them. He would repeat that the proposal of the right hon. gentleman with respect to the reduction of the duty on hops would be a benefit to the consumer, because it would necessarily lead to the greater use of hops in the manufacture of beer. Up to June last it was supposed there would have been less than half a crop of hops. Several bitter ingredients it was proved before the committee, were introduced into the making of beer, and while the legitimate articles used in that manufacture were taxed the deleterious ingredients were admitted duty free. He thought the abolition of the duty on hops would give great satisfaction. Sir W. JOLLIFFE also thought the commutation of the hop duty would give great satisfaction to the country. As regarded the income tax he knew that the present mode of levying it gave great dissatisfaction, and that it operated especially as a g rea t pressure on the agricultural interest. Sir J. PAXTON ventured to say, with regard to the budget, that the statement of the right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer would bo received with satisfaction in stlany respects. He (Sir Joseph Paxton) had a very strong opinion last year of the advantages that would result from the commercial treaty entered into by this country with France, and to his knowledge, great exertions were making in that country to carry on an enlarged trade with this country. There was, however, a general reduc tion taking place in the amount of the manufactures in this country, and looking at the very small amount of cot ton now on hand, he was very much afraid that the present financial year would not be as prosperous a one as that which they had just had. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in reply to Mr. Hubbard, said that it would be competent to him to move any resolution on the subject of the income tax be thought proper in committee. Mr. HUBBARD intimated that he would adopt that course. The resolution proposed by the Chancellor of the Ex chequer was then agreed to. The house then resumed. SUPPLY. On the motion that the holm do go into Committee of Supply, Sir J. PAXTON expressed a hope that the house would not consent to go into supply at that late hour, and parti cularly so after the long discussion which they had had on the Budget. Mr, A. SMITH also objected to the house going into Committee of Supply at that late hour. Lord PALMERSTON hoped the houso would not object to going into supply. Tho house then went into committee. THE NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. On the motion that a sum of £32,647 be granted to her Majesty for the decoration, &c., of the New Houses of Par liament, Sir H. WILLOUGHBY wished to know whether this large sum of £32,000 was likely to be continued every year. Mr. COPPER, in reply, said he thought that in future years they would require to come to Parliament, and that no great reduction could be looked for in the vote. Mr. AYILTON said that last year they had a discussion in the house about the merits of four of their kings,namely, Charles 11., George 111., George IV., and Willi am IV., in whose honour, and to commemorate whose mem ory,four statues were proposed to be erected as part of the decora tions of the house, and as to the four best kings that this country .had ever been reigned over Iy. (A. laugh..) He should like to know what two kings in their histcsey were equal in merit to George the Fourth and Will iam the Fourth (Laughter.) Sir M. RIDLEY could not but submit that the Commis sion which had been appointed to inquire into and direct the decorations of the Houses of Parliament had not exer cised that right discretion which it seemed to hint they should have done in directing the decorations, in relation to considerations of high art. If the public moni :y was to be voted for works of art, it should in his opinion, bo voted for works of art of the highest order. There was doubtless ahinadant talent in tho Country; but genius, w Bich was comparatively rare, ought to have been sought out. He found that a sum of £6OO was set down for each statue ; and he certainly did not think the sum too much for a highly finished one ; hut when he saw worts that could only be regarded as inediocie, he considered that the vote ought to be reduced. He should therefore move that the sum of £1,600 set down in the vote for two statues be struck out. After a few words from Mr. A. SMITH, Mr. WIIALLEY wished to know why the period of Oliver Cromwell was not to be celebrated by the statue of the Protector of England being erected in some part of tha house. Mr. COWPER said, in reply to an hon. member, that oil was in use in some of the passages in the hous.), but the contract would terminate in six months. The right hon. gentleman then went en to to say that previous to last year money had been voted for four statues out of twelve to form what was called the Royal Gallery of Statues in that house ; and last year votes of two additional statues had been agreed to by the house. The first of these two last statues would be that of King William 111. (Hear, hear, from hon. members on the back Conservative benches.) The other would be that of Queen Mary—not that Queen Mary which the hon. member for Peterborough would ob ject to—but Queen Mary, the wife of William 111. Ho thought the history of England could not be better illus trated in that house than by erecting statues of the several sovereigns of the country in it. But the hon. baronet (Sir M. Ridley) objected to the expense, on the ground that they wore going to erect medieval statues—but they were not going to do anything of the kind. They were going to erect statues similar in character to those in St. Stephen's Hall, which ho looked upon as creditable to art in this country. Sir M. PETO said they ought to have a statue from one of their best artists, of the Prince Consort—(hear, hear) — as he was sure such a mark of respect to his memory would give great satisfaction to the country. (Hear, hear.) Sir W. RIDLEY said, in the entrance hall the statues of Pitt, Grattan, and Burke were as bad statues as works of art as ever were produced. They presented no speech, they presented no mind, they presented no thought ; and ho was of opinion that the money had been wasted which had been so spent. He would not, however, press his amendment, and with permission would withdraw it, and it was with drawn accordingly. Mr. CAIRD said he was of opinion that a Scotch sove reign should be introduced. (A laugh.) Mr. WHALLEY said ho had expressed no opinion with respect to a statue of Oliver Cromwell, though that was an event in their history which ho thought should be illus trated. Thero was a fresco in the House of Lords which he objected to—that of St. Augustine baptising a Saxon Ring. People would imagine that that was the first intro duction of Christianity, whereas it had been introduced 500 years before. After a few words from Sir J. PAXTON. Mr. COWPER said the Victoria Tower was intended for the reception of records. The racks were intended to bo fire proof. The House of Lords was encroaching very much on the space, but at present only two rooms were filled up out of 64 rooms in the tower. He would not enter into the his- torical discussion raised by the hon. member for Peterbo rough as to St. Augustine. It was an historical fact that was presented in that picture, and while an inference might be drawnfrom it, it was an interesting fact. As to the statue of Cromwell, he should be very glad to see a statue erected if the money was voted. The vote was agreed to. On the next vote of £5,400 for the maintenance of British embassy houses abroad, Mr. MONSELL drew attention to the embassy house at Constantinople. He found a sum of £2,000 set down for keeping the house in repair; and that there was in the vote a considerable item for a clerk of the works. Why need they fool surprise that repairs were constantly needed when they found that a clerk of the works was constantly kept to look after the house. He disapproved of such a system, and moved that the proposed vote be reduced by £l,OOO. Mr. COWPER, in defending the vote, said if economy were to be studied, it would be far more advantageously so under direction of a clerk of works attached to the embassy than by trusting to a foreign architect. The committee then divided, when there appeared— For the amendment Against Majority against the amendment —27 The CHAIRMAN then reported progress, and the house resumed. COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS (IRELAND) BILL. The house went into committee on this bill, when clauses I and 2 were agreed to. The remaining clauses were agreed to, and the house resurns d. MOVEABLE PROPERTY (SCOTLAND) BILL. This bill was read a second time. MARKETS AND FAIRS (IRELAND) BILL. This bill, as amended, was considered and agreed to. SUMMARY JURISDICTION (IRELAND) BILL, This bill was read a second time, INDIA STOCK TRANSFER BILL. The Lords' amendments on this bill were agreed to. SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM BILL. This bill passed through committee. CHANCERY REGISTRATION BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. BILLS OF EXCIIANGE (IRELAND) ACT (1861; AMENDMENT BILL. Mr. VANCE obtained leave to bring in a bill to amend the summary procedure on Bill of Exchange (Ireland) Ac (1861). PUBLIC ACCOUNTS. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved that the resolution (31st March) relative to public accounts, be read ; that the said resolution be a standing order of this house. After some discussion, in which Col. French, Mr. Hen nessy, Col. Dunne, and Lord H. Montagu took part, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER proceeded to nominate the committee as follows—Sir F. Baring, Mr. E. P. Bouverie, Sir S. Northcoto, Mr. Peel, Mr. Glyn, Mr. Cobden, Sir H. Willoughby, Mr. Howes, and Mr. Walpole —which, after some discussion, was agreed to. THE THAMES EMBANKMENT. Sir JOHN SHELLEY, in moving for a return of the estimated expenditure to carry into effect the provisions of the Thames Embankment Bill, distinguishing the cost of the filling-in and the masonry of the embankment, the gross amount of the compensation for wharfage and river frontage, the cost of each approach to the embankment, and of each of the other streets and improvements men tioned in the bill, including compensation and all other expenses; also the coat of the low level sewer, the length of the embankment and of each street, together with a plan of the embankment, streets, and improvements, said that he understood the return was to be objected to, but he could not understand the reason why. Ho thought the amount of the expenditure fo7 the embankment ought to be stated to the house, and also the various items connected with the undertaking. He believed the scheme would not be carried out for a million and a half. Mr. CRAWFORD seconded the motion. Mr. COWPER said the information required by the hon. member was already before the house, and as the bill, which was to be read a second time on Monday, would havo to go before two committees, who would inquire into all details connected with the undertaking, this was all that was ne cessary. He objected to produce the return. After a few remarks from Mr. Cox and Mr. ATIITON, the house was counted, and there not being 40 members pre sent, the house adjourned at a quarter past two o'clock, THE HENDON TRAGEDY. Upon inquiries at the Middlesex Hospital yes terday afternoon, the reporter ascertained from Mr. Marshall, the house surgeon, that the wretched young man, James Lawrence, the alleged murderer of Anne Cox, and the attempted murderer of him self at Mill-hill, Hendon, on the morning of Satur day last, was progressing favourably, notwithstand ing the unusally exten.iive injuries sustained, which renders his case a remarkable one. Mr. Marshall stated that he was admitted to the hospital shortly after the dreadful occairrence with a compound com minuted fracture of the upper and lower jaws, to such an extent that. they were literally smashed to pieces, the tongue 'much lacerated and cut up, the pallet bones broken., a portion of the base of the skull smashed, all the side of one cheek blown open, and in fact the whole of that lido of the face shat tered, and suffering from severe collapse, from which however ha was soon recovered, and his pro gress had been remarkably favourable ever since. o h at rogfe danger. o He is At present there appears to be every probability that he will entirely recover, but this is only an as sumption, inasmuch as there is a long course of dis cyet before he can be pronounced u perfectly sensible, and up to the present time has evinced an anxiety to recover, and persists in a statement to the effect that Anne Cox shot herself in his presence, which so distressed him that he shot himself immediately afterwards. Mr. Marshall, however, thinks it impossible that he could have shot him se lf b e fore shooting the girl, as wasstated in some of the journals on Monday last, but that he must have shot himself last. Although inclined to be tolerably communicative, no one is allowed to speak to the unfortunate man ,more than is absolutely necessary, it being of the utmost im portance he should now be kept as quiet as possible. [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Ointment and Pills.— Gout, Rheumatism, Sciatica.—These maladies are always more or less connected with disorder or disease of . the ; hence the facility with which th e y yield dtoigHegotilfe organsow ay'sremedies. Temporary alleviation responds immediately to the prop3r application of this wonderful ntPained or inflamed part, whiwhita the Pills i O n i t e r n m a e l n to the ly t reduce the digestive functions to order and arrest all inflammatory tendencies. Nervous invalids , will derive ease and consolation from the influence of thee if) medica ments. Holloway's celebrated Ointmentiand Pi' Os present el y Hugh :means of preserving tin) health or u prooting diseases which have assailed the bo at a trifling' outlay accident) luzurY, iwl9lozwe, yr Oho . causes, TILE CIVIL lre1.1?, IN AlliPßTCil. modore Dupont in time for the last mail, in the hasAs of the federal foreQs, Priashi i surrounike, t1I? afPrevoro.k.nt of ilte, Mt , : , r.rrot . N)lTrve the iilriee trtailo by "WASTTINGTON, 7STA - .71cT1 2 1 . ;•7;.: `,"';2! r,-)1 Last Tuesd:7 mei las the embarketioe C Hein ztlerean's corps commenced at Alexandria, and by 2 o'clock in the day about 8,500 men were on their way to Old Point Comfort, Fortress Monroe. They were carried in 12 large river steamers, some of which tugged scows for horses and artillery. On the previous Sunday, as I related in my letter by last mail, the aspect of the troops after the march and rain storms of the day before was not very cheerful, and the want of organisation which was observed by my companion could not be disputed. But it was wonderful to see how speedily they had got all right again. Monday was fine, and the good weather restored the spirits of the men. The regiments embarked in the best spirits, and as the swarming masses of human beings sidled off into the stream, moved by the great beam of the er gine, they with ringing cheers again and again evinced their enthusiasm. There is, however, one great de fect in the American army which will no doubt be remedied if field operations continue. The unparal leled luxury and excellence of the transport depart ment in horses, mules, carriages, harness, and ex penditure have not secured its efficiency because the drivers are not an organised military body. In the United States there is no power, unless the Presi dent orders it, to enrol men for the baggage and commissariat trains under martial law. " Team sters," as they are called, are picked up at a great cost—from 15 to 20 dole. a month—wherever they can be got, and are attached to the various regi ments, instead of being under one head responsible for the carriage of all the army and its stores. The drivers are under little or no control, and their superiors have neither authority nor strength enough to keep them in order. Time and labour are frittered away, and idleness is indulged in by the lazy men whenever they can find oppor tunity. For four days I was amused by watch ing a group who had settled down in a field—one of the open places of Washington—near at hand, with waggons, mules, &c. They made a regular bivouac, lighted with watch and cooking fires, fed their mules from the hay in the cart in which they slept at night, smoked their pipes, and were as jolly, they averred, as " sandboys," wherever those beau tiful youths may be, till some passing official espied them and broke in on their Elysium. But, with all this, and with other drawbacks in the absence of an organised and trained staff and in deficient provi sion for details, which will be found out in the field —the army has, as long as it has help by sea or river sufficient powers of locomotion. It will scarcely be credited, however, that there is no system for sup plying men with ammunition when engaged with the enemy. There is no small arm ammunition train, nor pack mules to carry it. An officer, to whom the deficiency was pointed out, said that " they did not expect men to be closely engaged for more than 15 minutes. When they had fired away all their am munition they must only retire and let other regi ments come up and take their places." The way in which the men were embarked:onTuesday was rapid and orderly. The quays of Alexandria present faci lities for the purpose, and the large steamers can lie nearly alongside. A host of tugs is massed in the stream, and from the capital a forest of masts appears to spring out of the Potomac. For the first time for many months white sails gleam against the wooded banks or stud the stream. Gen. M'Clellan was in the town, at the electric telegraph office. Tho ever-active, hard-working Duke of Chartres was dashing about with orders, and the roads from Alexandria were crowded with waggons, cattle, horsemen, and soldiers. The camps are left stand ing, so that as the regiments march in from Fairfax and Centreville they eau take np their quarters in the tents. The headquarters are temporarily re moved to a house on the hill which rises at the back of Alexandria, crowned with the Seminary, and the staff has nearly all moved out there. On going through the camps again, the contrast be tween the drenched muddy soldiers of Sunday and the fine bodies of men on parade was very re markable, A general was handling four fine regi ments on an open plain near the Seminary with vigour; he never gave them Et moment's rest—chang ing line of contiguous battalion columns at quarter distance, changing front to the right flank, deploy ing on centre, advancing and retiring in line of quarter distance column at deploying distance, changing front on the flank of first line, &c., and the men marched well and quickly without much noise in the ranks and very steadily. They do not throw out points, and the simpler commands are given by mounted buglers in attendance on the General. This was a portion of Sumner's division, I should think, but all the camps and regiments are so changed no one can tell where he will find any of his former acquaintances. We had seen one of these very regiments at parade on Sunday, with some 150 or more men short, owing to their falling out on the road. These men had now all returned to the ranks. On Wednesday the embarkation of the Artillery of M'Dowell's corps d'armee commenced, and eight batteries were got on board. This will be a very powerful force, and will be commanded by the Ge neral in person. They are still embarking the rest of the Artillery, and some regiments ; bat until the transports which have gone down to Fortress Mon roe have landed their freight and returned it will not be possible to despatch the bulk of the force. A constant current of tugs and steamers runs up and down the Potomac, and a whole fleet of small pro pellers and paddlewheel river boats is lying off the Navy-yard and below it. The politicians believe the Federal flag will wave in Richmond in a fort night from this time. Mr. Sumner and others are of that opinion, and will be disappointed if there is any greater delay. However, it does not seem quite feasible. The two corps which are going will number about 90,000 men, and they must take stores and supplies of all kinds with them. As far as I know, there has been no change made in the programme of operations sent over by last mail. They aro keeping a bright look-out at Fortress Monroe. All eyes are straining for, all thoughts are turning on another sortie of that tremendous destroyer, the Merrimac. Neither the fortress nor the Monitor could save the flotilla of wooden vessels from destruction, nor the camps "T?' from being shelled. Mysterious movements are going on about Sewall's Point and Norfolk, which attract attention, but nothing can be made out. At night small vessels steam out of Norfolk, appear near the Rip Raps, are fired at, and retire. From the front here there is nothing new. The recon naissance made by General Stoneman on this day week did little or nothing to add to the knowledge of the enemy's position. His force, which consisted of the sth United States Cavalry, 6th United States Cavalry, 3d Pensylvanian Cavalry, the M'Clellan Dragoons, and 57th New Yoik Infantry (no guns), only got as far as Cedar Run, which the Confede rates were burning, and which they tried in vain to save, encamped on a ridge for the night, and fell back on Manassas in the morning, having heard that the enemy was preparing to cut them off. There was some very insignificant skirmishing across the stream. Blenker's division remains at Fairfax Court-house. Centreville and Manassas are held by some 15,000 men. The controversy about the wooden guns continues, but it is pretty well estab lished that there were a number of dummies in the embrasures. However, General M'Clellan is so strongly sustained by the President, and by the regular officers, by th e D emocra ti c party, and by the moderate men in the country, that ho can afford to be indifferent to further attacks till time has been afforded him to do some brillant action and vindicate the good opinion of his friends. Although i in many viole n t assau lt s are made by nuendo, and out of Congress, no specific charge has been preferred by any responsible body, and General Burnside's express declaration in his despatch from Newborn, that he has endeavoured to ca rr y out the instructions he had received from his chief, has strengthened General M'Clellan's position, and is considered good evidence that he is a guiding mind, and has a plan of operations embracing the whole country. I.s.ve heard evidence v , 11ic.. 1 116 ads me to think the recant combination. in the Wcst and those in the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers were planned if not_carried out by him. From all sides comes news of successes; St. Mary's, Fernan dina, and Jacksonville are, as was reported by Com ce,,stuff. ¶tile ilk; ;40 c isTe w o e i ee , es is hourly expected. Gen. Butler left Hilton Head on the 14th for Ship Island. Porter's mortar flotilla has been probably off the mouth of the Misgis.sippi fir some days back, and the attack was to have been made the day before yesterday. At Beaufort all is quiet. The preparations for an assault on Savannah are being completed. The action at New bern is most creditable to the Federal troops and to their General, as it certainly is the very reverse to the Confederates. But there is something going on about Island No. 10 which one cannot quite under stand. On the 17th the flotilla under Commodore Foote engaged the batteries on the island, while Gan. Pope, from New Madrid, made an offensive movement against the forces on the mainland cover ing the island. Night came on before the long range fire of guns and mortars did its work. The bom bardment eias to have been renewed next day, but them are no precise accounts up to the moment of writing of the effect of the fire, though it was stated Pope had repulsed an attack of the Confede rates who tried to cut their way through, and that he had them hemmed in between him and Foote's flotilla, had sunk one of their gunboats, and da maged several others. The position is said to be strongly fortified. Gen. Beauregard had been at the place, and was probably in command. On his arrival he issued the following " Head quarters of tho Mississippi, Jackson, Tennessee, March 5, 1862. " General Order.—Soldiers,—l assume this day the com mand of the Army of the Mississippi, for the defence of our homesteads and liberties, and to resist the subjugation, spo liation, and dishonour of our people. Our mothers and wives, our sisters and children, expect us to do our duty, oven to the sacrifice of our lives. ,4 Our losses since the commencement of the p rese nt war , in killed, wounded, and prisoners, are now about the same as the enemy. " Ho must be made to atone for them reverses we have lately experienced. Those reverses, far from disheartening, must nerve us to new deeds of valour and yatriotism, and should inspire us with an unconquerable determfnAtion to drive back our invaders. " Should any ono in this army be unequal to the task before us, let him transfer his arms and equipments at once to braver, firmer hands, and return to his home. " Our cause is as just and sacred as ever animated men to take up arms, and if we are true to it and to ourselves, with the continued protection of the Almighty, we must and shall triumph. " G. T. BEA:trn2GARD, General Commanding." Bat, if the Confederates do not behave better than they did at Newbern, these are but vain words. Under very great difficulties the expedi tion proceeded up the Neuse from Roanoke, landed below the place on the 14th, passed the night un disturbed in the rain, and next day, after a most fatiguing march, came upon the enemy inside strong intrenchments, and in a formidable position ; engaged them, and after taking some sharp encoun ters routed them utterly, taking sic forts, 54 guns, and five steamers, as well as the city, and suffering a loss of less than 500 men. Gen. Burnside's de. spatch, and the accounts in the New York, 7ribune and Ernes will be read with interest. The opera tion must distress the Confederates most grievously, and places the Federals on their lines of communi cation throughout the country, rendering Golds borough and Raleigh and Norfolk alike unsafe. With the exception of Nashville, however, there is no trace of Union sentiment detected by the Federal iron in the places brought under the sway of the Union. The hoisting of the Stars and Stripes by the authorities at Jacksonville may be taken as an equivocal act, for the flagstaff was cut down that evening. Everywhere the women are said to exhibit the most intense hatred to the Federals, and the recitals of their bitterness would be amusing if they did not prove how deeply-seated, how "national" is the animosity of those who form the minds of the young to the Government which is forcing itself upon them at the point of the bayonet. In New Mexico, the Texans were carrying all before them, and it was admitted that in the action near Fort Craig, on the 21st of February, they had de feated the Federals, taken six guns, and had sur rounded Col. Canby, the United States commander, near that place. On the Tennessee River there have been no moxements of any consequence. The Confederates were assembling at Corinth, on the road from Jackson, Missouri, to Memphis, and at Decatur, Alabama. They have destroyed the rail between Florence and Eastport, and have learnt to keep out of range of the gunboats. They have abandoned their batteries on Acquia Creek, and de stroyed the railroad. As they retreat they carry off the ablehodied men, according to Federal accounts. The Potomac may be considered now open from Monroe to Washington. General Shields occupied Strasburg, in the valley of the Shenandoah, and the terminus of the Manassas Railroad on Wednesday last, after a skirmish with Jackson's rear-guard, which destroyed the bridge over Cedar Creek. Tho magnitude and severity of the action at Pea Ridge are shown by the official returns of the killed and wounded on the Federal side, which General Curtis places at 1,400. It must have b‘cn a picturesque combat, and is well described in the World, Sigel and his Germans behaving nobly, and saving the baggage train and rear-guard by determined hard fighting, against which the wild Texans and In dians, with shot guns, bowie knives, and scalping knives, could not stand. Their batteries ran short of ammunition also, and the loss of the leaders—the so often slain Ben M'Cullough, as well as Mackintosh —accelerated their headlong rout under Price and Van Dorn. The Indians acted as savages—scalping dead and wounded on the field. In Congress the debates on the President's Mes sage and on the abolition of slavery in the district of Columbia still continue. The President is not well ; his incessant labours are too much even for his powerful frame. The White House has been visited by severe sickness, and Mrs. Lincoln is in disposed, and sees very few persons. The weather is exceedingly variable. Last night a heavy fall of rain covered the roads with mud, and drenched the troops in their bivouacs at Centreville. There is a story this morning that Mr, Yancey, disguised as a sailor, was captured in a schooner which was endeavouring to run the blockade on the coast of Florida, and has been taken to Fort Monro© The question of the Labaun is, perhaps, the only one which now exists between the two Go vernments. In all other matters there is a cessation of controversy. The Labuan will no doubt be sent before a Prize Court for adjudication ; and as, to our minds, there is not the least ground for declaring her lawful prize, she will be let go, with an award against the captors for damages. The troops in many parts of New York have not yet been paid for the two months due on the 28th February. NATIONAL 1 7 4RIVORTA 7, To, THE PRINCE CONTORT. BI?ITISll MUSEUM. COUN2RI MARKET )s'. ~, MANCHESTER-APRIL 3. LYNN—Arnm 1. The council of the Socetv of Arts, taking, a deep int , rnst i.tt th_e_, success of the iaopes; . .l to erect the national monument to the Princo Consort, their lamented president, and considering that it is due to all the subjects of the Queen that every individual amongst them, however humble, should have the opportunity of contributing his mite towards this object, have agreed to the following report : " The subscriptions hitherto hive been limited almost exclusively to those of the wealthy and mer cantile classes, whilst a very small portion has been subscribed by the people generally. The nobility and gentry, the city corporations, banks, mercantile firms, municipal corporations, and the like have been addressed by the committee presided over by the Lord Mayor of the City of London. No steps, however, have been taken, nor does it appear that any are contemplated, to make known to each indi vidual man and woman constituting the body of the people, and residing either in the parishes and hamlets of the United Kingdom or in the colonies, the memorial which it is proposed to erect, - nor has 'any opportunity been hitherto afforded them of I adding their contributions to the general fund. If this were done all would affectionately unite with their Queen in raising a monument to the memory of the Prince Ni ho neglected no opportunity to promote their welfare. It is only through very extended parochial and other agencies that the necessary information can be generally given, and the council has, therefore, determined forthwith to invite influential persons, representing all the great interests of the country, the Church of England, and other religious denominations, as well as the great employers of labour, to unite with them as a committee to convey this information, and to make such arrangements as May afford to every ono of her Majesty's subjects throughout the United Kingdom and the colonies the opportunity of taking a part, however humble, in promoting the memorial by subscriptions, however small. " The Queen, ' following the movement of her people,' has asked ' to be allowed to take part with them in doing honour to her beloved Prince ;' and the council, believing that the women of England especially will rejoice to work in concert with their Queen, intend to invite ladies to be members of the proposed committee. ' 2, Should more funds be realised than will be required to carry properly into effect the monument ' on a scale of sufficient grandeur,' as stated in the communication made by the Queen's command to the Lord Mayor, it will be for her Majesty, who has already pointed out the character of the intended monument, to decide on the application of any sur plus to some object of comprehensive utility which the Prince Consort had at heart. " By order of the Council, "P. LE NEVE FOSTER, Secretary." In order to give the public generally the utmost facilities for seeing the British Museum during the time of the International Exhibition at Kensing ton the trustees have laid down the following special regulations : " 1. That the Museum, instead of being closed from the Ist to the 7th of May next, be closed on Monday, April 28, and re-opened on the following Monday, May 5. 2. That from the sth of May to the 30th of Au gust inclusive, the reading-room be kept open for readers, as usual, daily, Sundays only excepted; but not later than five o'clock. 3. That the Museum collections, including those parts of the library of the printed books and manu scripts to which visitors are now admitted on public days, be kept open daily, Thursdays and Sundays excepted, from ten o'clock in the morning till eight o'clock in the evening, during the months of May, Tune, July, and to the 16th of August inclusive, but till half• past seven only for the remainder of that month. 4. That during the same months and days the reading-room, and a small portion of the libraries annexed to it, as well as the whole of the north library, with the exception of its western extremity , be open for the admission of the public generally , only from five o'clock to eight. or half-past seven► as before mentioned ; and that from nine to five o'clock none but readers, for the - purpose of study, be admitted to the reading-room, or to any of the libraries, except such of the rooms as are usually accessible to visitors throughout the year on public days. 5. That after five o'clock the reading-room and the libraries generally be not used for the purposes of study. 6. That Thursdays be reserved for cleaning the several departments, and that no visitors, excepting readers, be admitted into the Museum on that day. A. PANIZZI, Principal Librarian. British Museum, March 24. We have had a languid market. The best samples .of English wheat could not be obtained for less money , whdo American was offering at a reduction of 2d per 100 lb, but the demand was slow. Flour 6d to is lower, and also Bloc. Oats and oatmeal in limited request, at late rates. Boars and Indian corn as before. The supply of wheat was moderate, in poor condition , and the truth; ruled at last week's prices. Barley cow wands very full rates. Oats, beans, and peas continue un altered in value. Old white 56s to 60s 1 Barley. 34 s to 36 s Itcd.. Beans .42s to 48s 1 Peas 37s to 39s FOREIGN MAIL PACKET LIST. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southamp ton. April 18, via Marseilles April 12, April 6. e llena April 4. Ifrazil and Cane- Vcrds, by pri , ti an sh d p s ac t k . Cape of Good Hope, via Southampton. April 4. via Marseilles April 12. China, Penang, and A Si s u e g e a n D si o ° r D e, F a lkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton April 4, India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton A pril 4. • via Marseilles April 12. I n di a (Bombay), via Southampton .. April 10, via Marseille April 4. Lisbon April 1, Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton..... April 4. via Marseilles .............. 4. Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo .. U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... April 2. by U.S. pa c k e t .... by Canadian packet,April 2. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Tenerille.. .. April 10. Bahamas, via New York April 10. Mexico. ................................... April 28. All parts of West Indies , including Chili, Peru 1 California, and British Columbia.. , April 14. Despatches ware received yesterday at the Colonial-office from the Governors of Malta, and the Mauritius. Despatches were sent to the Governors of Gibraltar, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Labuan, and Canada. Mrs:sores WATenr,s AND CLOCKS.--" Perfection of meet) a -01,1 m." — i‘lorn int; Pos. t. Gold watches, ti to lf , o guineas; silver wldelles, to 90 liensen's new Illustrated parnplact, free for two stamps, descriptive ofyvery construc tion of watch, enables persons in any Part of the world to Selct with the greatest certainty the watch best adapted to their ha e; Watches sent free and'safe by post on receipt of a rendttance. —J. W. Benson, 33 and 34, Ludgate-hill, 40 and 17, CQIIII2III, 1,911d9u g,(),—gstal4lltalca 1744 • LONDoN : Printed and published by JOHN CHAPLIN? of N 0.112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office, N 0.112 Strand, i n the Precinct of th e S avoy, i n the C o mity of _ 4pril 4, 1862, aho, NEWARK-AT RIL 2. There was a fair amount of business done to-day, with a numerous attondanco of farmers at market. Wheat and barley realised late prices. Other sorts of grain are rather lower. White wheat new, 60s to 63s Red do. 55s to 51s 1 Old white 6OO to 63s 1 Red do. 46s to 56s Barley, malting 32s to 39s Peas,.... Barley, grinding 29s to 31 8 Oats, old, .. Ns to 35; New do 23s to 27 0 Beans 45s to 47 0 Beans, new 44s to -- 4 [[Ss to 545. EDINBURGH GRAIN—APRIL 2. Wheat on the top Is 6d down ...average Os I.d down• Barley on the top is Od up. averago,us 3d up. Oats on the top is Cd down average th ld down• Beans on the top Os 3d down ...... „average Os- 5d up. Total Supply and Sales. l7 Wheat ..1218 qrs Sold' 809 qrs 8ar1ey........ 809 qrs Sold 674 qrs Oats 2166 qrs Sold 1074 qrs Beans 196 qrs Sold 142,qrs CORK—APRIL 2. The following were the quotations this morning :—Red wheat, 22s 9d to 24s 6d ; white, 31s 6d to —s Od; barley 120 Od to 13s Od ; oats, 12s Od to 15s Od. DERBY SMITHFIELD-APRIL 1. There was a good supply of fat beasts to-day, and tho prices were unaltered, with plenty of buyers. The suppli, of sheep was also good, and higher prices were asked. Fat and store calves were a large show, but the demand wa flat. An average show of fat pigs. Beet 6d to 6d I Veal ...... 61d t o '7l, Mutton to .. 71d Sid. Pork Lamb Oct to Od Rough fat, 48 3d per stouo• Hides, 3d to 41d ; calf skins, 5d to 6d. BIRTHS. BERESFORD.—On the 30th ult,, at Londonderry, the wif e of the Rev. William Montgomery Beresford, of a son. COUSINS.—On the 2d inst., at Upper Norwood, the wifo O f Stephen Cousins, Esq., of a son. HOOD.—On the 2d inst., at St. Andries, Lady A. Hood, of a daughter. MILLAIL—On the Ist inst., at Oak House, Enfield, tho wife of Dr. Samuel Millar, of a son. MARRIAGES. D ENISON—KEATOR.—On the 2d inst., at Christ Church , Lee, George Rickards Denison, Esq., of Lee, to -Mill i° Keator, of Park Lodge, Lee, Kent. KENDERDINE—HANNAT'ORD.--On the 3d inst., at Sain t James's, Piccadilly, Isaac John, younger son of John Kenderdine, Esq., Brook House, Stafford, to Emma, the only daughter of Mr. Hannaford, Regent-street. DEATHS. ADLARD.—On the Ist inst., James, eldest surviving so n of Mr. Henry Adlard, oHatton-garden, and Islingteot in his 36th year. BRANDON.—On the Ist inst., at Torquay, Elizabeth, widow of Lord Brandon, and daughter of the late Colonel David La Touche, of Marlay. EDwAuDs.—On the 16t inst., at Clifton, the Rev. John Edwards, Canon of Durham, and Greek Professor in Durham University. Titomrsoiv.—Ou the 2d inst.,_ a t his residence, Wahne r, E Kent, Edmund Thompson, sq., j.p., aged 71 . WHITMOnE.—On the 2d inst., a t Charlton, Kent, General Sir George Whitmore, K. 0.11., Colonel Commandant Royal Engineers, aged 87. WORMAN.—On the Ist inst., at Islington, Ph(ebe, wife of John C. Worrnan, solicitor, aged i 6. YOUNG.—On the 21st ult., at Ventner, Isle of Wight, 1 0- , sina Frances , the wife of Licut.-C olonel IL Young, o' Bedforrl. -°' ~~.--