The Sun. — London, England, 1859-03-30 00:00:00

NORTHAMPTON RACES. (THIS DAY). [BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.] LATEST BETTING. EARL SPENCER'S PLATE. 100 to 12 agst Actwon 9to 1 agst Zitella 9to 1 agst Tiara 10 to 1 agst Bellona 12 to 1 agst King-at-Arms 15 to 1 agst Tightfit 20 to 1 agst Newstead krrived—Madame Ristori and Queen of Scots. Very t here. *ONE"' MARKET AND CITY NEWS. CITY, Two O'CLOCK. l i The demand for money continues active, bat the uirements of the commercial community are lily supplied at previous quotations, the re likes of the bankers and brokers being still 'ttedingly abundant. Until the bills due on the of the mouth are paid the increased inquiry tiiced during the last few days will probably be Ilstained, as, in addition to the capital required that purpose, some heavy instalments have to Provided for in connection with the new deben- of the East lndian Railway Company and er undertakings. The settlement of the half -1 lithly account in foreign stocks and railway fires has also stimulated the demand for accom ildation at the Stock Exchange, but the charge loans on Government securities is still very Berate. the Foreign Exchanges yesterday afternoon . bited a slight advance in the rates on Amster and Hamburg. England £32,000 was withdrawn from the Bank yesterday for transmission to the Con lit. 41 e Silver Market is less active, and bars have Bed to 62-Z-d. per ounce standard. ,! 2 • the Liverpool Cotton Market yesterday, 1 1 ess was moderately active, and 'B,OOO . bales e sold at very full rates. The Railway Share 'lzet closed steadily, and prices were unaltered. e meeting of the Ottoman Railway Company been held this day, when the chairman, Sir M. 4 henson, gave a satisfactory explanation of the 'ttia n and prospects of the undertaking. It tars that the first section of the railway was i proceeded with in a vigorous manner, and it c hop e d that the line from Smyrna to Ephesus qd be completed. by the autumn. The accounts ed the total sum received to be £204,584, and balance in hand £45,398. The report was ged. aiough the demand for silver has partially led, it is generally expected that extensive Lances will still be made to India; and thus a proportion of the gold arrivals will be led to the Continent, where sufficient supplies per can alone be obtained. siness at the Stock Exchange continues in a unsatisfactory state. Speculation is checked I le uncertainty felt with regard to political • The Reform Bill here, and the Italian Lion abroad, still agitate the chief markets of I Pe, as it is impossible to tell what turn affairs take, and the operators are consequently un led how to shape their speculations. Consols 1 1 at 951 foi money and account, and 951 to the May settlement. The Government per continues to make small investments on be the savings banks. India Loan Debentures Ala steady, at 981, , ; and Exchequer Bills at L to 355. prem. 11 Illness in Foreign Securities is rather inactive; 41 , however, in most instances, are slightly 4 '. Turkish 6 per Cents. being 93 to 931 ; ditto, Loan, 79t0 791 ; Dutch 21 per Cents. have roved to 65/ ; Sardinian to 82, and Mexican to LBussian 41 per Cents. hive receded to 991; lew Austrian Loan is 1 dis. to par. mess in the Railway Share Market has been ' A few of the principal undertakings have dealt in, but the variations have not exceeded Per cent. Caledonians declined ss. ; Eastern ties, Great Northerns, and North Westerns, South Western and North Eastern, Berwick, 4 ved 55., and Great Western, Midland, and 4 British, 10s. Foreign lines are exceedingly quiet. Loin- Venetian realise 91, 9 1 , and the New shares, the Colonial Market prices remain steady. Western of Canada, Geelong and Melbourne, Grand Trunk of Canada brought former rates. Indian are firm at 1024. The Debenture are quoted to 1 prem., and the New Shares t prem. 1 t -Stock Bank and Miscellaneous Shares con `very inactive. London Chartered of Australia provincial of Ireland brought former rates ; i tic Telegraph improved 10s. ; and Peel River brought former values. ( 8H FUNDS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK Lt. Consols Annuities stock ) ebentures .‘ 98k 1 for Account '"` 95/ March. June. Ne o 32 r Bills, £l,OOO, 2d. & lid —3s c ,5 0 hall, lid. OF FOREIGN FUNDS AT ONE O'CLOCK, 4 4 3 per Cent. 2ll - - - - - ' 4 , 1822, £ St., 5 per Cent — ° 41 per Cent. ' li ar, 5 per Cent B2 i 6 per Cent 921 31 ° Account : 93 o New Loan Dividends on the above payable in London. Exchange, 12 Guil. 21 per Cent 65 i TWO O'CLOCK. Consols, Money' 95 I F Consols for Account (April 7) .... 95 Ditto, May 9si 6 RUSSIA AND AUSTRIA. 1 1 ,t s tter from Paris says :—lt is evident to me i l ,tussia is about to balance accounts with ' l ll, The Government mainly contributed abolition of the Russian Protectorate in ioanubian Principalities, and the St. Peters (Cabinet is resolved to pay it in kind. At ilt Prince Gortschakoff speaks of the necessity 4 structinc , a " golden bridge," across which F rench Government can retreat with honour, ilen the Congress is assembled he will doubt il%e very different language. He will agree with Walewski in thinking that the Austrian :torate in Italy ought to be abolished, and Perhaps, propose that the neutrality of its ilt States shall be guaranteed by the Powers. Ikustrians refrain from expressing any dis tOf Russia, but it is evident that they place at confidence in her. R uss i a and France will less endeavour to make Austria " eat dirt," 1, 1 ,km convinced that she wo u ld r ather go to ran submit to any great h um ili a ti on . By a kin of the 25th inst. we learn that the pre ‘'e censure for newspapers and pamphlets has introduced into Tuscany. This odious measure he attributed to the influence of the Austrian went, and probably with justi ce . It was ed that the whole edition of the pamphlet any and Austria," had been confiscated at Dee, but we learn from Turin very many of it are in circulation. An officer, a native trthern Germany, writes from the left bank of i t leino that there is no European nation which t represented in the Austrian army. There are 100 Hanoverian officers and GO Mecklen rs, but Prussia, Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and fly are less strongly represented. Since the pthe Crimea there have been but few English tench officers in the Austrian army. ( 1 q 01' GOLD.—The quotation of gold at Paris It a t p ar , and the short exchange on London is 25 . 10 Sterling. On comparing these rates with the Eng -114 price of £3 17s. 102 d. per ounce for standard gold, es that gold is about 3-10ths per cent. dearer in t han in London. By advices from Hamburg the 1 gold is 423 per mark, and the short exchange on t .li 4 , is 13.24 per £ 1 sterling. Standard gold at the Mint price is therefore about 6-10ths per cent. till Hamburg than in London. The course of ex- P, at New York on London for bills at 60 days' sight l't 1094 per cent., which, when compared with the re between the two countries, shows that the ex is slighly in favour of England ; and, after making ,ee for chrages of transport and difference of inte '4s present rate leaves a trifling profit on the impor (l gold from the United States. weekly returns of the Lombardo-Venetian i I L Y continue to show extraorelinary;results, not only . 4 5 increased traffic consequent on the state of mill eparation, tut to a still greater extent from the ,' development of the line. For the week ending the mt., the figures, as compared with those of the pre -sa.r, presnt an augmentation of 105 per cent., of which Venths are attributed to regular operations. Share{ Railways. Amberg., Notting. Boat. and Eastern Junction Belfast. and Ballymena Bir., Wol., and Str. Val Birk., Lane., and Chesh Junction Blackburn Blyth and Tyne Bristol and Exeter Caledonian Chester and Holyhead Cork and Bandon Cork, Blkrock,&Passage Cornwall Do. A A roves. no div DoB until6p.c.per an hasbeen pd.toß Dublin andßelfastJunc Dun.,Perth,& Abr.Junc East Anglian Eastern Counties Eastern Union A Stock Do. do. B Stock Do.Nw.A.(lte.E.U3ds) East Kent East Lancashire East Suffolk Do Edinburg and Glasgow Edin.,Perth, & Dundee Forth & Clyde Junction Furness Glasgow & South Westn ,Great North of Scotland Great Northern Do. do. A Stock Do. do. B Stock Gt. South.& Wstn.(lreld) Great Western Do. Str.Vl.Rail Gua.Stk Irish South Eastern Lancaster and Carlisle Do. Thirds Do. New Thirds Lancashire & Yorkshire Do. do. F £l6 Do. do. Z 9 shares Do. West Riding Union Do. Southport London and Blackwall Do.Newiss.at £slosp.sh Stock Lon.,Brighton &S . Coast Stock London & North Westn 121 Do. Eighths Stock London& South-Westn 25 L'derry & Coleraine 25 L'derry &.Enniskillen Stock Man., Shef., & Lincoln 10 Metropolitan Stock Midland Stock Do. Birming. & Derby 60 Mid. Gt. West. (Ireland) 25 Do. Shares 100 Neastle and Carlisle 25 New., Aber., & Herefd 10 Newry & Armagh (def.). go Newry, Warpt., & Res Stock Norfolk 50 Worth. Counties Union Stock North British Stock Nor.l, , lv.Rail.&Dk. Stk Stock Do.A Stk.— Arec.no div until 6p.c.hasbeenpdß Do. B Stock North-Eastn.--Berwick Do. do. G.N.E.Purchase Do. Leeds Do. York North London N. &S.Westn., Hampstd and City Junction North Staffordshire North-Western No. & Sou. W. Junction Oxford, Wor.,& Wolver Peebles Portsmouth Rhymney Scottish Central South. N. E., Aber. Stock Do. Scottish Mid. Stock Shropshire Union Sittingbourne & Sheer South Devon South-Eastern South wales SouthYorks.&Riv.Dun Do. do Staines, Wok., & Wek Stockton & Darlington Do. do. 1855 Do. do. 1858 Stockton & Hartlepool Taff Vale Do. Preference, No. 1 ThamesHavenDk&Rail Vale of Neath Waterford & Kilkenn Waterford & Limeri West Cornwall W-end Lon. & Cry. Pal Do.A.—Arecv.nodiv.till 7 p.c. has been pd. to B Do. B West London Do. let Class Dcf. 2d Class 12. ;0 13.14 Stoek Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock; Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock 16/. 1813 4 Stock Stock PREFERE. Share) RAI 'ways. 25 Blythe and Tyne 1( per c. pref. (issued at 250) Stk Eds. & Exet.4p.ct. Stock 20 Do. do. do. Shares tock Caledon £lO, 4i per cent 12.10 Do. Quar. Shares, No. 2. Stock Chester & Holyhd, 54 pc Stock Do. do. 5 p. ct . StotCork & Bandon, 54 p. c. Dun. Perth,& Aber.Jun. E.Angn. Class A 7& spc Stock Do. do. Class B 6 pc Stock Do. do. Class C 7 pc .. Stock E. Conn. Ex. 5 pct.No. l Stock Do. do N 0.2 Stock Do. New 6 13er ct. Stock Stock Eastern Union, 4 per ct. Stock East Lane. 6 per ct • 5 E.& W. York. Jcn. fifths Stock Eclin.&Glas. 5 pc shares St o ck Edin. Perth,& Dun. 4, pc. , Stock Furness, 5 per cent Stock Was. &S West. , x a. spc Stock Greiff , Northern, 5 p. ct Stock Do. 5 pnßedm.,lop.c.pm Stock Do. 44 p. c. do. do. 100 Do.sp.c. Rerlm.,s pc. pm 10 Gt. /0.. of Scotld, Ist pf Stock Gt. Sn.& W (Ireland) 4 p. ct. pref. Stock 50 Great West. (Berke and Hants) Ext. 5 p.ct. Do. Redeemable, 4,1 Do. Redeemable, 4 p. ct. Do. Irredeemable, do. . Do. 5 p. ot. Redeem.Prk Do. Birm. Pref. Shares Gt. West. Ches. 8 p.c.pf shares Do. do. 5 p. ct. pref Do Binning. guar. stock I Do. Chester guar. sh are s Do. do. do Do. do. do. Lan. & York 6 p.c. stock Lon4Brlff.spc. gu. No.l Do. pref., 5 p. c ...No. 2 Do. New qua., 6 p. et— Do. do. 5 p c. No. 4 iLon.&N.W.Cov..StNur eaton, 5 p. ct. Lon. &S. W, 7 p.ct. stock, late 3d shares , Londondy & Cole, i she Londondy.&Bnnis 4 sh Man.,Sh., & Lin., 6 p. ct Do. E 6 Do. 3} per cent. Maryport & Car., 4 p.c. IDo. 4 per cent Do. Mid. Con. 6 p. c. Stock Do.Con.Bris.&Bir. 6 p.ct Do. 44 p. c. pref. stock Do. with option till 1860 Do. Leic. & Ilit.pref. st. Newport. Aber, &c. pret.s p. c. redeem, at 5 p. c. n m Do. Perpet, 6 p. c. with option till 1866 Norfolk Deb. 4 p.c.shares Do. sp. c. Ext. Stock,lB46 Do. 54 p. c. Pref. do. 1847 Do. Way.rsti. Ex. Sk 1847 North British, 5 per cent Do. New, mut. 5 per cent Nth. Dev.Rail.dr Dek.Co. N-East. irred. 4 p.c. Deb. Do. Berwick, 4 p. C. Pref. ,Do. do. do. Do. Leeds, 6 p. c. No. 1. Do. do. Quarters, 1846 180. York, H. & S. Purch North Staffordshire Ox. Wr. & Wol. 6 pc. Ist g Do. do. do., 2d gua Do. 41 p.c. Db. stk.in perp Scottish Central, new pt Scottish N.-Eastern deb Do. 31 per c. pref. stock Do.Aberdeen.gua.6 pc. Do. 7 p. c. pref. stock. South Devon, Ann. 10s. Do. Fixed 41 percent. South Eastern (Reading Ann., 1.0.6 ) Do .4/ per cent Do. Fixed 41 p.c. Ist is 1 Do. New do., 2d issue South Wales, ;eta. 4 p.c Do. 41 per cent S.-Yorkshire, 4 p.c. gua Stockton and Dar. 5 p.e Do. 6 per cent Waterford & Kilkenny, 6 per cent. IS DAY.) RDINAEY SHARES AND STOCKS. 6 6} 71 8} Paid. I Closing Business Price. 62 64 .32 85 - 92i 84i 893 i 4 6 84 9 16 16 594 60 45 47 30 32 13 15 92 93 72 73 27 27 93 94 10 10, 103 104 86 88 132 134 105 106 58i 59 56 58 83 87 111 1* A 11. 12i pl 94 95 id I 67 69 112 113 Olt . 5 1 1 d 92i 93 38 881 2 1 101 1014 I 74 76 60 62 34 Yd 604 61 921 13 1 I} d 47 i7l 70 17 102 .104 4i li d 14 14i 7 8 13i 34} 7 5 d 110 112 26i 27 84 85 46 48 3a 24d 39 40 7CI /Of 60 66 64 66 65 70 6 6i 2 3 6 6i SRAIE Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock' Stock Stock Stock Stock 10 Stock Stock Stock 1 100 100 100 100 all all all all all all all all SHARES. Paid. I Cirrl'oein.g 49 31 0 97 1103 105 98 lOl 112 116 108 112 114 116 112 114 129 131 82 84 71 73 110 112 , 117 110 110 112 103 105 63 65 11 11i 96 98 87 P 9 88 90 100 102 9 101 161 171 9 10-1- 72 74 181 191 9 9 14 1 41 1140 142 1118 120 160 165 123 125 1 1) 70 72 139 141 101 103 - I i P 94 96 91 10 111 111 9 9i 111 113 97 98 t }di i d 31 2 31 123 125 118 120 99 101 lot lot 24 241 102 ICI 102 104 32 4 21 53 58 LINES LEASED AT FIXED RENTALS. Railways. Bedford and Bletchley! Buckinoliamshire Clydesdale Junctlon..l Colchester, Stour Val) 141Lincolnshire , g. 6 p .e . • E Union,llarwicliShs. Do. Woodbridge... Gls.Barr.SzNeils,Drct.' Ln & N.W. iLn N.V, Caledonin E.U.&E C !Gt.North.l lE.Counts.l Caledonin Do. Gt. West Yk.N.&Br Yk.N.Md. Do. Do. S. East Do. Peto &Co Do. Norfolk , Do. LN W&M Stk.& Dar Midland . E. Counts. Do. Do. Do. New..........., Gloster& Dean Forest Hartlpool.Dek.&Rail.l Hull and Selby ...... Do. Shares Do. Shares London&Greenwich 1 Do. Preference Lon.,Tilby.&Soutend Do. Barking Shares Lowestoft, g - ua. 4 p. ct Do. 6 per cent Manc.,Buxtn. & Matk 1 Midsb.& Redcr,g.6p.c Mid. Bradford Pit Stk ' Newmarkt.,BuryEx ) guaranteed 5 p. c. 5 Northn. & Eastn. 5 p.c.' Do. do. 6 per cent D o. Fixed 5 per cent Preston and Wyre. Do. Shares A. Roystn,Hitch.,& Shep, Shf. R oth.&Gol, p;,sp.c. Slinawsbry& Hereford ' South Staffordshire .. Wear Valley, "g. 6 p.c.] Do. do. Wilts and Somerset Wimbledon& Croydn ! IDo. L&N w hz L.Yk. Do. ;Gt.Norlh. Lan.& Yk T Brassay !McClean . IStk.& Dar 'Do. !Gt. West iL.&Brgtn DOCKS. Share Docks. ' , tock Commercial Stock; Do perCent.Pref.Min , StocklEast and West India 1 Stock' Lon don Stock St. Katharine Stock Southampton Stock Victoria 20 Do New Paid. Leasing ! Closing' Business Co.'s. Price. Done. 98 100 102 104 17 18 142 144 41 41 1109 111 64 M 115 120 93 94 2i. 11 96 98 i iP 57 59 137 140 9i 90 99 8 9 1091 54i I Paid Closing 1 linDonesinees Price. 100 - 100 - 100 - 100 - 100 - 100 - 100 102 104 16 Stock Stock 25 Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock 2 1 61 20 Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stockl 12 12 Stock Stock 12i 12i Stock Stock Stock stook r I I Stock Stock Stock Stocl: Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock Stczk Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock 10s. 1.0.6. Stock Stock Stock Stock Stock 25 25 1 Stock! 100 100 all 100 lob 100 100 100 100 100 100 141 16 100 all 100 100 100 100 100 100 16 13 4 83 Is, 174 all all 100 all all )1W 100 100 100 100 all 10 THE SL IV, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 30, 1859, Railways. Paid. ) Y.P.T. g. i tot" Share I l 100 18 Atlantic & St Lawrence Leased at a per cent.. Bom.,Baroda&Cent.lnd I all 13& all gu. 6 percent. po Do. Addit. Capital A Do. Do. B Buffalo and Lake Huron Do. New Buffalo,Brant&Godrich 6 p. ct. bds. 1 Aug., 1872 Do. do. 1 July, 1873 Do. do. 1 June, 1874 Clcutta.&S.Eastrn.Lim. Cape,Eastn. Proy.(Lim.) Cape Town & Dock Scrip Central Oude (Limited) Ceylon Guaranteed 6p.0 Demerara Eastern Bengal.gu.sp.c East Indian, ;u. 5 p. c Do. C Shares Do. E Shares Ext Do. Jubbulpore D 0.4.1 p.c. Bds. pay.'s9 G eelong& Mel.guit.s p. Geelong Corporation 6 per cent. Bonds Grand Trunk of Canada Do. 6 p.c. Deben.,pay.'7B Do. 6 per cent. Pref. ... Gt.lndiaPenin.gua.sp. e . l Do. New, gua.s per cent. Do. do Gt. S.of Ind. Lim.—Scrip guaranteed 5 per cent. Gt.W. of Canada Shares Do. New Do. Bonds pay. '76,with ept. till '6O Do. do. '73 till '6O Do. do. 73 without opt Do. 54 p. c. do. '77 do Madras, guar., 44 p. c Do. do. 5 per cent Do. 4/ p. c. Extension Do. Third Ex. gua.s.p.s Do. Fourth do. Melb. Corp. 6 p.c. Bonds Newßrunswick&Canda Ry.&Land(Lim.)g.6pc Class ACapitl. share.. Do. do. Land d 0... Do. do. B. Capital do. Do. do. Land d 0... Northoflndia Tramroad, Limited, Scrip Oude (Limited) Scinde Do. Do. New Do. Punjaub Do. Indus. St. Flo. bx,";" A St. Andrews & Quebec ,Trinidad(Limited) Scrip i i d id 64 7 2 4 2 100 100 190 16} 1 1006 85 90 82 86 80 84 )ar 'lOO 100, 1. ':f. 0, 2a. 6d. 2 all 5 100 all 17i 20 Stock] all all } 100 4 $P 10r2* Idi 103 I ip !91.- 20i Sto. Stock 100 100 35 37 75 77 93 94 101 102 par ip. 20 2° 201 100 I 100 100 100 2s. all 15 15i St 4}d k 3 105 1 ail all all all all all 103 105 1103 105 97 99 1:1 18 19 20 1 181 I Stock i 20 21 P id i d p i I i d par Id parj 4 1 1021 [94 1 16 151 81} 17f 191 / IMPERIAL PARLIAIVIEN T. HOUSE 01? COMMONS—(This DAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at twelve o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Border Counties Railway Bill and the Border Union Railway Bill were considered as reported, and ordered for third reading. Purdy's Disabilities Removal Bill was read a second time. PETITIONS. Petitions were presented praying that measures might be taken to prevent the opium traffic with China ; against the Ministerial Reform Bill; against rating Literary Insti tions ; against the Local Assessments Bill; and against military salutes to religious processions. QUEEN'S COLLEGE (IRELAND). Mr. BEAMISH moved for a copy of the correspondence which has passed between the presidents of the Queen's colleges in Ireland and the Irish Government, in reference to the residence of the presidents in their respective colleges. --Agreed to. NATIONAL EDUCATION. , On the motion of Mr. KIRK, the following returns were ordered :—Copy of the minute of the Commissioners of the Board of National Education in Ireland, dated the 7th of August, 1848, dismissing William Kenealy, then master of a national school at Churchtown, county of Cork, for hav ing written an anonymous inflammatory placard ; together with the letter or letters of Mr. Gould Adams, J.P., and the report of Head Inspector Butler, and of all other docu ments and correspondence having reference to the said minute : And, of the verdict of the jury in an action for libel, brought by William Kenealy against Durham Dunlop. and James Baxter, and tried at the Kilkenny assizes on the 13th day of March, 1859. ' TRIAL BY a TURY (SCOTLAND) BILL. Mr. DUNLOP, in moving the second reading of this bill, stated that the measure which was thrown out last night in the House of Lords was quite distinctive from his mea sure. The jury system in Scotland was different from the English system as regarded unanimity. Five years ago he introduced a bill providing that a verdict might be received from nine jurors out of twelve, and this system had been found to work very well in Scotland. The object of the bill introduced into the House of Lords was to apply this system to England ? but it hid been rejected on the ground that the feeling in this country was favourable to unanimity. Ina case of difference of opinion it was the majority that gave way to the minority, or if the majority were not induced to .rive way, the minority being generally cr o t c h e t y men, i t led to the jury being locked up. Now the object of his bill was, in the case of Scotland, to alter the six hours allowed for delibera tion to three hours, and he hoped that the house would con sent to read it a second time. Mr. MONCRIEFF agreed that in most cases, where after long deliberation, a verdict had been given by a ma. jority of nine to three, the same result would have occurred if the time for deliberation had been shorter. The present system in Scotland which had existed for five years gave rise to the risk of jurors anxious to get awayby a particular train to give way to the minority, and though it was quite right to empanel a jury for a sufficient time to provide for due consideration, he considered that:three hours was suf ficient for the purposes, and he was sure the bill would be productive of great benefit. The LORD ADVOCATE assured the hon. gentleman who moved the second reading of the bill, that he had earned by the change which he introduced in the jury sys tem four or five years ago, the gratitude of the people of Scotland, and he (the Lord Advocate) was prepared to give his cordial assent to the measure now under consideration. The question before the house was not whether or not an unanimous jury was the most appropriate for the trial of causes, but whether the time for confining jurors for deliber ation should be further limited, and the change proposed met with the approval of the Lord Justice. General. Mr. JAMES said he had moved for certain returns in reference to the bill which was discussed in the other house, but they had sufficient security by the observations of those who hays spoken on this question against any evil arising in Scotland from the change now proposed. But he was of opinion that to extend the system of Scotland to England would be decidedly bad. Mr. EUCHANAN remarked that the prejudices of the people it Scotland were in favour of a bare majority in juries, and he thought the introduction of a system, pro viding that a majority of three-fourths should return a ver dict, wculd be a desirable change in the law. Mr. HACKIE said he had introduced the system of three-fourths of the jury giving a verdict in civil cases in New South Wales, and the change had worked exceedingly well. Mr. MELLOR said the unanimity in civil cases was more apparent than real, and ho should have been glad to have had an opportunity of discussing upon the bill which was introduced into the Lords, of the means of giving the jury a method of escaping without a violation of their con scient 0118 opinions. Mr, COWAN thought that it was time, in the nineteenth century, that they got rid of the present practice of compel ling a jury to return an unanimous verdict. Mr. S. WORTLEY said his present opinion was against any change in the law of England of unanimity in criminal cases, but he believed that some change might be made in the law in relation to juries, to get rid of the absurd sys tem of starving and freezing. He thought that if they gave refreshments to jurors they would be much more likely to agree in their verdict. The bill was then read a second time. LAW ASCERTAINMENT BILL. • Mr. DUNLOP moved the second reading of this bill, and explained that its object was to provide for the settlement in Scotland of different points of law requiring the opinion of foreign courts. . Mr. SIALINS believed that the bill would have a mom beneficial effect. Mr. J. D. FITZGERALD thought this measure if car ried out would be a substantial improvement of the law. The LORD ADVOCATE also expressed his approval of the principle of the bill. Mr. BOUVERIE considered that the bill was much too general drawn. The power proposed to be given might be advantageously applied to the superior courts, but the bill as it stood would extend it also to courts of inferior juris dic'tion.. _ The SOLICITOR-GENERAL quite agreed in the ob. jection, and pointed out other defectr in the details of the bill, but expressedhis concurrence in the principle. After a few words from Mr. DUNLOP in reply r the bill was read a second time. [LEFT SITTING.] FROM THE GAZETTE OF LAST NIGHT. FOREIGN-OFFICE, MARCH 26. The Queen has been graciously pleased to appoint Thomas Fellowes Reade, Esq., now British Vice-Consul at Tangier, to be her Majesty's Consul at that port. FOREIGN -OFFICE, MARCH 28. The Queen has been pleased to approve of Mr. August Carl Gurapert as Consul at Bombay for the Free Hanseatic city of Bremen. BOARD OF TRADE, WHITEHALL, MARcu 28. The Right Hon. the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade and Plantations have received a de spatch from her Majesty's Consul at Puerto Rico, again calling the attention of the masters of vessels trading with that island to the necessity of their being provided with a manifest, whether of cargo or ballast, certified by the Spanish Consul at the last port of departure, or, in the ab sence of the consul, with a certificate from two merchants, declaring that such certificate has been given in the absence of any Spanish Consular agent. The infraction of this regulation will render the master of a vessel liable to a fine of 100 dollars, which will be strictly enforced. COMMISSIONS BY LORDS-LIEUTENANT. County of Cornwall—Win. Coulson, Esq., to be Deputy- Lieutenant. Prince Albert's Own Liecestershire Yeomanry Cavalry —Cornet Duncombe Steele Perkins to be Lieut., vice Gough, resigned ; Richard Pretyman Apthorp, late Captain 14th Light Dragoons, to be Cornet, vice Story promoted ; Au gustus Charles Johnson, Gent., to be Comet, vice F. H. Beaumont, promoted. Worcester Regiment of Militia—George Garde, Gent., to be Ensign. Royal Ayrshire Rifles—James Montgomerie, M.D., to be Surgeon. FOREIGN RAILWAYS. Antwerp & Rotterdam Ardennes 41. Si Bah.&S.Fran.,Lim.7p.c. Belgian East. Junction' Beziers to Graissessas Carmeaux Mine & Rail Dutch Rhenish Eastern ofFrance Euphrates Valley Great Central of France Gt. Luxem., Con. shs Italian Junction Lake Constance & Bale Lierre and Turnhout Lombardo Venetian Lucca & Pistoj a, 5 p.c.pf Lyons and Geneva Maria Antonia Do. do. New Namur and Liege Do. do. 6 p. c. Pref Northern of France Do. New Shares Norwegian Trunk Pref Ottoman, g - ua. 6 per cent Paris, Lyons, and. Medit. Paris and Orleans Recife& S. Fran. (Pern.) gua. 7 p. et. (Lim.) Riga and Duniburg Rome and Frascati Royal Danish Royal Swedish Do. 7 per cent. Pref Sambre and Meuse. Do. 5i per cent. Pref Southern of France West Flanders Do. 54 p. c. Preference W. & N.W. of France Western of Austria Western of Sl,vitze land Wiesbaden f }a t I 1t 2 5 41 cl 28 261 61 7 11 iipl 84 8 20 Roil 361 374' P 9 10 33 34 53 65 1 a _971 20 - 21 - 5 6 9 91 23 24i Do 8 per cent. Pref Zealand BRITISH MINES. Share( Mines. Paid. 9 1 t Closing Business Price. Done. Alfred Consols (Philack) 2.11.10 6 7 20 ritish Iron Condurrow (Camborne) 2O 10 Devon G. Cons. (Tavist ) 1 465 475 East Bassett (Illogan) 3O 215 225 Great South Tolgus l7s 14 18 G.WhealAlfd.(phillack) 11.18.8 21 31 21 G. Wheal Vor (Helston) 91 1 Lady Bertha is ad 1 1 North Frances (Illogan ) 81 71 8 North Wheal Crofty 7.9.4 5 7 N.Wh'l Basset (Illogan) nil. 91 101 Par Consols (St. Blaxy) 11 14 15 Porkellis Unit. (Wend.) 9 Sortridge Cons. Min. Co. 6s - SouthCaradon(St.Cleer) 21 46 5 475 South C. Brea( Illogan). 2 21 3 S Wheal Fran. (Mogan) 18.18.9 200 210 5 Tamar Silver and Lead Mining. Co 4l 14 2 10 Tin Croft 9 4 41 UnitedMines(Gwennar) 40 - Vale of Towey (Caren) 12s 6d 1 West Basset (Illogan) ll 2t 23 W. Caradon (Liskeard) 2O 771 821 Wheal Basset (Illogan) 5l 190 200 Wheal Buller (Redruth) 5 130 140 Wheal Edward (Call.) 5l 21 3 Wheal Kitty (U. Lelant) 1.7.2 11 12 Wh'l Mary Ann (Menhe) 8 47 49 Wh'l Trelawney (Lisk.) 41 30 32 FOREIGN MINES • 20 Australian 1 1 Bon AccordCopper,Lim. 10s par 1 p 35 Brazil. Imp. (is. at £sp.) 27 1 11 20 Do.St.Johndelßey,Lim. 15 11 12 5 Do. Land and Mining Co. all 11 2 1 Clarendon Consols Min- • ing Co. of Jamaica ... - d 40 Cobra Copper al l 36 38 36 Copiapo l6 10 12 1 DimMoun.Coplefing.Co all 2 Fortuna 20 General all 23 25 3 Linares all 9/ 10 . 1 5 Lusitanian 1 Mariquita all - I 1 New Granada all 1 N.RhineCop.of S.Aus.L 10 1 p 20 Pentgibaud Silver, Lead Mining and Smelt all 4 5 5 Port Philip 1 30 Santiago de Cuba 164 111 28.2.81 United Mexican all 21 2 COLONIAL GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. Share Securities. Paid. Closing Busines s Prices. Done. Can.Gov.6p.c.Ja. & July 100 115 116 1151 1 Do. 6p.c.FbArAug. 100 113 115 Do. 6 p.c. Mr. k Sep . 100 113 115 N.8.G0y.6 p.c. Ja. &July 100 1111 112/ 112 Do. Bp.c.ApAt Oct. 100 - N. S.W. Gov. sp. c. Deb. 100 103 104 u eb s. . G r t e . de p e c r j a an bl ez e, j l u B i 7 y s 1 1 00 00 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 21 i 1121 NovaScotir Gov. 6 p.c. St. S.A D VictGov.6p.c.Jandauly 100 JOINT-STOCK BANKS. Closing I Duk es . Shareßank. i Joint-Stock Paid. price. Done. AgradellnitedSe - Ilceßk Australasia Bank of Egypt Bank of London Brit. Col. Bk. & LoanCo 1 British North American Chtd. Bank of India, kc City Colonial Com. Bark of Canada Commercial of London Eng., Scot., & Aus. Ch Gen. I3k. of Switzerland Lon.Char.Bk.otAustral. London and County London Joint Stock London & Westminster Nat. Prov. of England Do. new 08 70 244 25 45 47 1} Id, 62 64 i 100 100 20.11 100 151 18} National Lank New South Wales 23} 231 Orient. Bk. Corporation Ottoman Bank Provincial of Ireland Do. New 47 49 South Australia . Do. New Union of Australia.. Do. New Union of London Unity Mutual Western 13k of London 211 211 Ali 20y1 MISCELLANEOUS. Share Miscellaneous. 10 Anglo-Mexican Mint 00 Atlantic Tel. (Limited).l 25 Australian Agricultural 10 Australian Royal Mail . 10 'Berlin Water Works 10 Do New, issued at £5 dis 50 British American Land 50 Brit. & Irish Mag.Tel.A. 20 Do. B, 7p. c. till 1862 20 Do. C 00 Canada Land. 10 Chan.lslands Tel.(Lim.) tock Cop.Min.otEng.&Striltg 25 Do. Preference 74 per ct 5 Crystal Palace. 5 Do. Preference 20 Eastern Steam took Electric Telegraph 5 Eng. & Aust. Cop.St.Co 10 Europ. &Ind.Junct.Tel 9 Europ.&Am.Stm.(Lim ) 20 GLlron ScrewCol.(Lim 15 Gen. Steam Navigation 20 London Discount • 4 Lond.Gen. Omnibus Co 10 Mediter. Electric Teleg 10 Med. Exten. Tel. (Lim ) 25 National Discount Co._ 10 Netherlands Land 10 Do do 6 DoBp.c.Pref.,iss.at ldis )0 N. lir.&NovaScotiaL and 1 N.B.Australasian (Lim ) 20 North of Europe Steam 1 Oriental Gas 1 Do. New Shares '5 Peel River Land & Min 10 Pen. & Oriental Steam 10 Do. New 20 Red Sea & Ind. Telegr 10 Rhymney Iron .5 Do. New 10 Royal Mail Steam 1 Scot.Austrin.lnv.(Liin ) 5 South Australian Land 1 Submarine Teleg. Scrip 1 Do. do Registered Tr.kLn.Co.of.Upr.Can 10 ,Van Diemen's Land all all all 15a. all all Pa i d. Closing 1 sines d Price. n edons 13 14 220 250 32 34 I ; 21 4 35 37 19 21 14 15 t2O 125 9 10 24 25 11 , 11 5 51 [O2 104 1 i d 11 1 5 6 I I 1 li I i I 1 city par 21 3 83 85 13 14 p 23 6 f 7 24 • 1 62 64 1121 125 36 37 8 U BANKRUPTS. Joseph Stenten, corn dealer, Thorpe Common, York shire, to surrender April 9 and May 7, at ten, at the Coun cil-hall, Sheffield. _ James Tressam Burke, hat manufacturer, Frederick's place, Old Kent-road, April 8, and May 5, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Joseph Faulkner, baker, Liverpool, April 8, and May 3, at eleven, at the Liverpool District Court, William Cave, builder, Millwall, April 13, at one, and May 10, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Thomas Andrews, builder, Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire, April 8, and 28, at eleven, at the Birming ham District Court. John Pearson, grocer, Maryport, Cumberland, April 6, at twelve, and Mays, at half-past eleven, at the Newcastle upon-Tyne District Court. SCOTCH BANKRUPTS. Ezekiel Hill, boot and shoemaker, Dumbarton, The Rev. Henry John Quartley, Linlithgow. Wingate and Fleming, calico printers, Glasgow. Peter Smith, draper, Arbroath. William Smith and Son, manufacturers, Cupar-Fife. James Morrison and Co., pastry cooks, Glasgow. COURSE OF EXCHANGE.—.YESTERDAY. Amsterdam Ditto Rotterdam — 11 1G 11 16/ Antwerp Brussels - -25 12 25 171 ,ar - - 51 P ,amburgh 'aria Short. 13 5; 25 2-.; 13 st. 25 10 Ditto Marseilles — 25 27/ Frankfort on Maine. • —117 k Vienna Trieste Petersburgh — 351 Madrid Cadiz — 49. Leghorn — 29 g 0 Genoa — 25 40 Naples Palermo — 120 Messina l2l Lisbon Oporto Rio Janeiro New York - • • 25 30 25 32} 118 11 10 11 15 36 49a 491 29 90 25 45 40 121 121. 62 53 E.I. Co's bls. House big. 603 Calcutta, Co.'s rupee 26 244 Bombay ditto Madras ditto — 26 24 East India Company s Bills drawn, from the 26th ult.. __ _ _ the 17th inst. Bengal £2l6 13 4 Madras 0 0 0 Bombay, £1,034 6 8 Foreign Gold in Bars (Standard) per oz. £3 9 Mexican Dollars Silver in Bars (Standard) „ 0 5 21 The steamer Teviot is expected to reach South ampton to-morrow, with £76,285 in gold, and the heavy portion of th e Australian mail ex the Oneida. A further sum of about £263,000 in Australian gold is now due the Copenhagen having been at sea 94 days, and the Water Nymph and Royal Bade 86 days each. In the Court of Bankruptcy yesterda7 a trade assignee was chosen under the bankruptcy of Richard Bed ford Allen, insurance broker and underwriter of Lloyd's. The liabilities are widely estimated at from £lO,OOO to £60,000, while the assets amount to only £7OO. The bank rupt has absconded. IMPERIAL :PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY). The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. Lord CAM PBELL presented a petition from Haverford • west, complaining of the exclusion of Dissenters from ad ministering trust funds of grammar schools: The Duke of SOMERSET presented similar petitions. SECOND READINGS. On the motion of Lord REDESDALE the following bills were read a second time :—Falmouth Docks and Harbour, Much Wenlock and Severn Junction Railway, Norwich (City) Water Works. THIRD READINGS. The following bills were read a third time and passed : National Fire and Life Assurance ; Price's Patent Candle Company; and Trinity House cf Leith. THE ITALIAN QUESTION. The Earl of 31ALMESBURY—My lords, I beg to offer a short explanation on the subject of a report which appears in some of the papers, of what I stated last night with re spect to the Congress. It is very seldom that any of your lordships have cause to correct the reports which are made of your lordships' speeches, for they are almost always ren dered with an accuracy that is most extraordinary. But, my lords, it is reported that I. stated last night that on the 18th of this month, the Russian ambassador called on me and gave me notice that his Government would propose a congress of the Five Powers. Now what I said was, that on the 18th inst. the French ambassador called on me and informed me that the Russian Government intended to pro pose a congress ; and that upon this statement, made to me by the French ambassador, we anticipated the intention of Russia, and sent a proposal to St. Petersburg, on the basis of which the proposal of Russia to us was formed. I think it is right to make this statement, because it relates entirely to a matter of fact. (Hear, hear.) [This explanation has no reference to the report in Ile Sun, which gave the noble lord's words correctly.] JURIES IN CIVIL CASES BILL. Lord CAMPBELL movd the second reading of this bill, in a speech of great length, but as scarcely a single sentence reached the gallery perfect, it is only possible to give a very meagre outline. The noble lord commenced by alluding to the smallness of the attendance, and admitted that there was a very great attraction elsewhere (referring to the speech which Mr. Gladstone was delivering in the other house) — but he contended that the bill was one of great importance. He did not propose to interfere with the unanimity of juries in criminal cases, with regard to which the present prac tice undoubtedly worked well. At the worst it only led to . the acquittal now anti than of a guilty person ; and it would be far better that 10 guilty men should escape than that one innocent one should be condemned. But with regard to civil trials, the case was very different. In criminal in dictments there was seldom more than one issue sub mitted to the jury ; in civil suits there were often several ; and their lordships must bear in mind that a wrong decision involved not a mere failure of justice, but a positive wrong to the party in whose favour it ought to have been. Now the principle of unanimity was of comparatively recent in troduction. The common law went back to the reign of Richard the First, and trial by jury went to the time of the Anglo-Saxons; but in the reign of Henry the Third there was a case in which a verdict found by 11 of the jury only was received. There was a still more remarkable case in which there were only 11 jurors, 10 of whom found a ver dict which was held to be good. In the reign of Edward the First there were two modes of dealing with a refractory jury. One was " compel/ere concordiam," by keeping the jurors "sine cibo et potu" till they agreed. The other was to add other persons to the jury so as to raise the number on one side to 12 ; for at that time it was held with regard to petit juries, as it was held with regard to grand juries, viz., that it was only necessary for 12 persons to concur in a ver dict. In later times the number of the jury was restricted to 12; an arrangement for which the old writers gave some rather singular reasons: They said that jurors were 12 be cause there had been 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles; because there had been 12 stones in the high priest's breast plate ; and because there were 12 judges ; to which Lord Coke added, "Because there were 12 Caesars." (Laughter ) If the concurrence of a majority was only required of their lordships even in their judicial capacity, he did not see why unanimity should not be expected of jurors. The evils that arose from the present system were very serious. A single wrong-headed or corrupt man in a jury was often able to defeat justice. (Hear.) The manner in which juries were still treated was very remarkable in an age which had abo lished press-gangs and so many other abuses. They sum monedjurymen from their avocations and kept them for days in the court, to their serious pecuniary loss. Then if they did not agree they were locked up without meat or drink, or fire ; and they were forced to endure all this until at least one of them was in peril of his life. The old law with respect to military flogging was that the culprit must be flogged until he fainted before the surgeon could interfere ; and in like manner jurors must be starved until some one of their number was in dangerof his life, before the judge could relieve them. At assizes the strict law, according to Black stone, was, that a jury who could not agree must be put put into a cart and carried about the circuit with the judge until they found a verdict. (A laugh.) Another authority said they ought not to be carried out of their own county, but that they were to be shot into a ditch on the confines of the county. New, if unanimity were required, they must have compulsion ; they could not obtain unanimity without, and if this bill were not passed, he hoped that the old laws to compel unanimity would remain untouched. Recently a case came before Lord Justice Turner and Lord Justice Knight Bruce—it was not a question of law but a question of fact. They heard all the evidence, and when they had done so they were—not locked up without food and without fire, but they each went home, had an excellent dinner, and slept in a soft bed, and ten days afterwards, whea.thay had. talked the matter over, they gave their verdict. If they had differed and had been subject to the jury law, they would have been looked up all night, taken round the circuit and shot into a ditch. He believed that by the present system the consciences of men were forced. It was a struggle whe ther nature or conscience should give way. They did not know what passed in a jury room after the jury had retired, as they did not permit inquiry into that subject; but they had heard of juries tossing up as to which way the verdict should be,-and judges had been obliged again and again to set aside verdicts which were evidently compromises be tween the different members of a jury. A cause came before him lately in which the case for the plaintiff was that the railway company had been guilty ofneg,ligence, and if neg ligence were proved he was entitled to some hundreds of pounds as damages; but the jury/ found a verdict for the plain tiff, damages one farthing. He said to them that that was a strange verdict, and that they must reconsider it. They said they could not agree. He directed them to be locked up, but at length he was obliged to discharge them. He believed that where it was a question of damages cases had been known in which each juror had put down the amount he thought right, and then they had averaged the amounts so put down. A. NOBLE Lonn—That is the practice in Dublin. (Laughter.) Lord CAMPBELL proceeded—One great evil of the pre sent system was, that where juries could not agree, and they were discharged, without coming to a verdict, all that had taken place went for nothing. A trial might last for a week, and after all the expense had been incurred the jury may be discharged without having come to a verdict. On one occasion there was a trial before him which was the third trial of the same cause, and he was obliged to dis charge the jury without obtaining a verdict. He was afraid he should have little assistance from his learned friends, but he would quote some authorities which might perhaps have some weight with their lordships. The first was Mr. Hallam, the historian, who, discussing the system of trial by jury, spoke of " the imposture of requiring unanimity." The next authority he would name was Mr. Forsyth, who asked " why should the perverseness or dishonesty of a single juryman invalidate the verdict of the other eleven ? It remains to be seen whether the Legislature will much longer tolerate such an anomaly." He now came to a very important authority, that of the Common Law Commis sioners, who were appointed by the Crown in 1831. They said, " The jury are not allowed to be discharged unless by consent of the parties until theirunanimous verdict has been returned. It is difficult to defend the justice of this practice. It seems absurd that in cases of a doubtful and complicated nature the plaintiff's success should depend on his being able to persuade 12 persons that one particular state of facts is the true one." They went on to say, " The necessity of delivering an unanimous verdict before they separate fre quently leads to an improper compromise between the jurors. There is reason also to apprehendthat when any of them has been actuated by improper motives it has led to corrupt verdicts." And they recommended that after a jury had been 12 hours in deliberation the verdict of nine might be accepted. In 1831 there was another commission, consist ing of judges and eminent counsel. They condemned unani mously the existing law, but they did not recommend the measure which he now recommended to their lordships. They proposed that the jury should have every comfort, and at the end of a given time if they had not agreed to a ver dict they should be discharged. He brought in a bill by which it was provided that the recommendations of the com mission of 1831 should be carried into effect. That bill passed that house, but it was thrown out in the Commons, and yet strange to say the Commons passed a meas u re ip s i sstma verbs for Scotland. Previous to that time unanimity was required in civil cases in Scotland, but that bill, which was introduced by Mr. Dunlop, had worked well in that coun try, and he had no doubt would work well in this country. (His lordship here read a letter from a Scotch judge, whose name the reporter did not hear, in which he spoke of the great satisfaction which Mr. Dunlop's measure had given in Scotland) That bill provided that juries should be dis charged at the end of six hours, but there was a bill now in the House of Commons which reduced the six hours to three. The Faculty of Advocates were convened to consider the matter, and they were unanimously in favour of the proposed change. They expressed the opinion that Mr. Dunlop's bill had worked advantageously, but they thought that the period of time might be advantageously reduced.. He was told that all his learned brethren on the bench were against this alteration. He should be deeply grieved if that were so. Some of them certainly were of that opinion. There was his brother Erie, than whom a more distin guished judge never sat in iVestminster Hall, who ex pressed to him that opinion in conversation;" but it so hap pened that the following day, at nisi prius, Mr. Justice Erle had to discharge two juries who had not given their verdict, and that circumstance had somewhat changed his views. (The noble lord then read a letter he had received from a puisne judge, as the reporter understood, which was to the effect that he had discharged a jury after they had been locked up many hours, that the cause was tried at a former assize by his learned colleague, and he had been under the necessity of discharging his jury. In another, a special jury case, the jury had also to be discharged.) His lordship concluded by saying that by this bill no refreshment would be allowed to the jury while they were deliberating, but if at the end of six hours they had not agreed the verdict of nine would be taken, and if nine were not agreed they would then be discharged. Lord LYNDHURST said the object of the bill was to change one of the most important fundamental laws of the kingdom —trial by jury. That law had existed in its pre sent form for nearly 500 years, and with ono or two excep tions, and during the whole of that period, had been admired and applauded by the most eminent lawyers who had ad vised the legislature and the tribunals of the country, A very clear, distinct, and satisfactory case, therefore, ought to be made out to justify a change in that law; and it was because no sufficiently satisfactory reason had been adduced in favour of the proposed alteration that he felt it his duty to oppose the second reading of the bill. (Hear, hear.) Hi s noble and learned friend had effected several changes in the law, and had shown himself an advocate for an alteration of the law of Parliament by advocating the ballot. Tho bill had apparently been introduced in consequence of a trial resulting out of a railway accident by which ten persons had been injured. Lord CAMPBELL remarked that he had given notice of his intention to introduce the bill before that trial took place. Lord LYNDHURST—The question for the jury on that occasion was one of extreme difficulty. One of the jurymen differed from the rest, and his noble and learned friend was dissatisfied with that juryman's conduct, and said so in very strong terms. He understood that five juries had tried the same questio'n ' and arrived at a fin a l resu l t. Hi s no bl e and learned friend had great influence with juries. He might find some difficulty in cases where unanimity was the law; but if the decision should be reduced to a majority, or to 9 against 3, juries would be almost directly under his influ ence and control. His noble and learned friend was fond of introducing a little pleasantry, for the purpose of enlivening the dulness which pervaded courts of justice. In the case to which he (Lord Lyndhurst) was now referring the jury were summoned into court in the moraine-, wretched, hag gard, pale, exha us t e d ; an d th en i t was that t his noble and learned friend enlivened them with a little history of the law with respect to the unanimity of juries, stating that accord ing to ancient tradition at assizes, if a jury differed th e judge ordered th em t o b e taken round the circuit in a cart and thrown into the next ditch. (Laughter.) That state ment, no doubt, afforded the spectators in the court some amusement ; but it was not a laughing matter to the broken down jury. (Hear, hear.) Now there was no instance to be founqin the history of this country in which a jury had been calmed round in a cart, much less shot into a ditch. (Laughter.) In the year 1368 a case was brought before the Court of Common Pleas from the assizes, in which a verdict had been given by 11 jurymen, one juryman dis senting. The person w h o reported that case appended a note, from which it appeared that in the course of the dis cussion the judges said that, as the jury had not agreed, the judge should have taken them with him in a cart until they had agreed. With regard to shooting'the jury into a ditch, he defied his noble and learned friend to quote any autho rity to justify that statement. The only authority with respect to the other part of his noble and learned friend's statement was the note to which he had just called the attention of their lordships. Blackstone referred to that very note. Any person would suppose from what his noble and learned friend had said to the jury, that the judges meant to inflict some indignity upon the jury. The ex pression was in French, and had been mistranslated by his noble and learned friend and his predecessors. It meant "on horseback, or if not on horseback, or when a person was sick and could not travel on horseba c k in a covered waggon." (Laughter.) In such cases the judge was to take the jurymen along with him in a covered waggon until they came to an agreement. Lord CAMPBELL—In Blackstone the translation is Lord LYNDHURST—The word was C-A-R-R— -(laughter)—which meant a waggon .going on f our wheels and covered with a c l ot h . Hi s no bl e an learned friend had referred to a number of old cases. In the reign of Edward the Third three of these cases were cited by counsel. And what was the answer of the court ? Why it was this—that all the cases had been disproved, and the courts had de cided directly the.contrary from that time down to the pre sent without any exception. (Hear, hear.) He had made some inquiries into the manner in which the law now ope rated, and had found that in 19 cases out of 20 the jury never retired, but came to a conclusion at once. And when they did retire, what followed ? Each juror lefethe box with some impression on his mind, and stated his opinion, and after dis cussion a conclusion was arrived at. His noble and learned friend considered such conclusion somewhat in the nature of a compromise. But such a course of proceeding had not the appearance, character, or the nature of a compromise. No doubt in a certain class of cases something approaching a compromise took place—such as cases of damage, where no certain test existed. But that objection would apply equally as strongly to a verdict by nine jurors as to a verdict by twelve. No nine men could agree at once as to the precise amount of damage, so that no advantage would arise from a reduction in the number of jurymen necessary to give a ver dict. (Hear, hear.) Now, what was the consequence in the case of a jury disagreeing and being discharged ? Nothi ng more than a new trial. And what proportion would such cases bear to the number brought up from every circuit ? Why they did not amount to more than two or three in the course of a year. For a considerable period, as Lord Chief Baron, he sat in London and Westminster, and went circuit ; and during the whole of his experience in that capacity not one instance had occurred of the discharge of a jury. (Hear, hear.) He had presided in Wales ? where the people were not very apt to abandon any opinions they might have formed—(a laugh)—but even in Wales he had known no in stance of a jury holding out and being discharged.. He remem bered one remarkable instancewhichcame before the Court of Comradn. Pleas, where one juryman held out against eleven. That was a special jury case and one of great importance. over which Mr. Justice Dallas presided. It was brought before another jury, and the result was an unanimous ver dict in favour of the opinion entertained by the dissentient juryman, and that verdict was never disturbed. If his noble and learned friend's measure had been in operation at that time, great injustice would have been done. He believed that during the last ten years there had been no instance either in the Queen's Bench, the Common Pleas, or the Ex chequer, of any jury having remained out the whole night in consequence of disagreement ; nor had any such case occurred during that period on any of the circuits, with one exception, and that was in the principality of Wales. (Hear, hear.) An hon. and learned gentleman, Mr. Best, who had written a very excellent article on the subject, stated that he had communicated with one of the most eminent nisi prius lawyers for the purpose of ascer taining what proportion of juries had been discharged in consequence of differences of opinion to the whole number tried, and he said, " I believe that nineteen out of twenty are decided before the parties in court; and of those that leave the court I am persuaded that in not more than one in five hundred cases are juries discharged in consequence of non-agreement. With reference to criminal trials the proportion is about the same." His noble and learned friend had mentioned two or three instances of new trials ; but if the law should be so altered as to allow a majority of 9to 3to secure a verdict applications for new trials would be multiplied to an enormous extent. (Hear, hear.) If the decision depended upon numbers there would be an end to discussion among the jury, for should nine be of one opinion and three of another the matter would' be at once decided. No verdict was satisfactory to the losing party, but it would be infinitely more unsatisfactory if only nine decided againstliim and three were in his favour. Such a decision would promote litigation to an enormous extent. (Hear, hear.) The English jury system was practised and cherished in the United States, where the population was now about equal to that of this country. His noble and learned friend did not propose to extend this change to the criminal law. And why ? What was the object of a jury ? If a majority of 9 to 3 was sufficient for the civil, why not for the criminal law ? Take the case of an indictment for libel. To convict a man and impose a penalty, the verdict must be unanimous. But if an action should be brought in a civil court for the' very same libel, the verdict of 9 to 3 would be sufficient. (Hear, hear.) His noble and learned friend had referred to the opinion expressed by the Common Law Commissioners in 1831, who came to the conclusion embodied in the present bill.—" The necessity for the unanimity of the jury carries with it one most valuable advantage. In the event of any difference of opi nion, it ensures a discussion. Any one dissenting person can compel the other eleven fully and calmly to recon sider their opinion." The principle of discussion was therefore the great principle acknowledged by the com missioner. Since 1831 the subject had been much agi tated among the profession, many pamphlets had been written respecting it, and another commission, appointed in 1855, had come to a directly opposite conclusion from that of 1831. (Hear, hear.) The last commission was presided over by Chief Justice Jervis, and amongst the commissioners were the Attorney-General (Sir Alexander Cockburn), Mr. Baron Martin, and two other learned judges. The commissioners in that report expressed their opinion that a verdict pronounced by a majority only would not give satisfaction to the public, while the con sciousness that a portion of the jury were in his favour would tend to increase the dissatisfaction felt by the de feated party. Every divided verdict would be urged on the courts as a ground for a new trial, and would not un reasonably be entertained as such. But the strongest ar gument in favour of the present system, observed the com missioners, was that by requiring unanimity full and com plete discussion was ensured, the minority being naturally led to resist a conclusion from which they differed, until the prolonged discussion of the subject had led to altered convictions, instead of yielding too readily to the views of the majority, and so purchasing ease and relief from fur ther trouble, as would probably in many instances be the case if, by the system now proposed, the whole re sponsibility of the verdict could be got rid of. After a few concluding observations, the noble and learned lord, who appeared much exhausted by the effort he had made to speak so long, sat down amidst the cordial cheers of the house. Earl GRANVILLE supported the bill. He remarked that in many civil cases a jury was dispensed with altoge ther; the innumerable small cases tried by the county courts, and the most important cases decided in the Court of Chancery and in their lordships' own house, were disposed of ordinarily without the intervention of a jury. One advan tage of the jury system in civil cases, however, was that it caused a great many persons who served as jurymen to receive a kind of practical education, and obtain some know ledge of the law. But it could not be good that after having sworn, so help them God, to give a verdict according to the evidence, they should be forced to belie their own opinions and agree to a compromise. It would be said they did, nevertheless, in most instances, come to an unanimity, but he could not believe it was a wholesome unanimity, seeing how dif f icult it was even for men of trained intellects, and with the best information, to agree in opinion. After having formed opinions on the evidence they heard, and had their opinions strengthened by the arguments of the counsel, they could not become unanimous except on compulsion, which was unsuited to the age in which wo live ; they were often shut up during thewhole night, and their imprisonment was aggravated by their being deprived of food and fire. This was, as Mr. Hallam had justly said of it, a preposterous relic of barbarism; the judges knew it, and tried to avoid such an extremity. Not long ago there was a juror who said he'felt faint, and wanted a little water; the judge said, " I am afraid the law is against you : the law forbids you to be supplied with meat or drink, but as I do not think water is meat, and as lam quite sure it is not drink, you shall have it." (A laugh.) Throughout all continental Europe, wherever juries existed, they decided by the majority. In Scotland the system of compulsory unanimity became so unpopular that they were obliged to alter the law, and give the verdict to the majority,. and it had since acted well. In the colonies, especially in Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales, the same system was going on with perfect success. With the greatest deference for the sagacity and experience of the noble and learned lord opposite (Lynd hurst), he could not think the effect of tho proposed change would be such as had been described. It seemed to him with regard to one point which had b een ra i sed, that dis! cussion among the jurors would be sufficiently ensured by that provisiou in the bill, which required that six hours should elapse before any other than an unanimous verdict could be given, for it was impossible to doubt that. if nine were of one opinion, they would think it worth while to dis cuss the matter with their three fellows, in order to get an unanimous verdict earlier, instead of idling their time away in confinement for six hours. He believed this bill, so far from being destructive of the ancient institution of the jury, was likely to strengthen and preserve it. The LORD CHANCELLOR observed that the noble and learned Lord Chief Justice, who had introduced this bill, was of course a very high authority ; but he thought that on this particular subject his (the Lord Chancellor's) experience was only second to that of the noble and learned lord, who naturally regarded it from the height of the judicial bepch, and desired any alteration which would render juries more tractable, whereas he (the Lord Chancellor) regarded it from his long experience as an advocate. His noble and learned friend (Lord Lyndhurst) was correct in attributing the origin of this bill to the trial alluded to, at which the Lord Chief Justice presided ; for when the jury, miserable and dejected; as they had been so graphically described, came up weary of the night's confinement, the noble and learned lord, after the ----- little pleasantry h e was gu il ty of, exp --- lained to them the pre. sent law as to unanimity, and added that it was his inten tion to bring in a bill in the next session to alter the law on the subject, for he thought in civil cases the verdict might be given either by a majority or by a certain number of the jury, and he should submit some such measure to the legislature. He (the Lord Chancellor) thought it would be extremely desirable that a judge on the bench should not make, such observations, for he was infinaned that in conse quence of the observations made by the noble and learned lord on that occasion, jurors had become very refractory, and they had since on two or three occasions sent down to the judge to know wheth.er the verdict of a majority could be received. The circumstances under which that action originated were peculiar. A crop of actions had sprung up out of an accident on the Great Northern Railway —ten actions were brought against the company. In,the first no trial took place, and the record was withdrawn; in the second there was a verdict for the plaintiff, but a new trial was moved for; in the thi r d case t h ere was also a verdict for the plaintiff, but Mr. Justice Erie, who tried the case, was dissatisfied with the trial, and a motio n f or a new trial was made; a new trial was granted, and the next ca se was • ordered to abid e th e even t of that new trial. The fourth case was tried in the Court of Exchequer, and lasted two days and a half, but the jury could not come to any agree ment, end were discharged. The fifth case was also tried, but the jury could not come to a verdict and were dis charged. The case whi c h was t r i e d by thenoble and learned lord, the Lord Chief Justice, was the sixth of those action". The question was confessedly a most difficult one ; it was whether the company, which had clearly not been guilty of any general negligence as to the construction of the railway or of the carriages, could be charged with an y p ar ti cular negligence in driving an express train, which, going at a very considerable speed, at night, came upon a mass of rubbish that had accumulated in consequence of a landslip caused by a flood, near Newark. In that case the jury were unable to decide whether there was negligence or not on the part of the company. According to his experience a public company generally appeared in court with a considerable weight of prejudice against them. The jury, however, could not make up their minds satisfactorily, but they considered that it was a case in which there was so much doubt that they were entitled to give a verdict which would make each party pay his own costs. This verdict was brought into court to the Lord Chief Justice, and he remonstrated with the jury upon that verdict. Perhaps he was right so far; he might be entitled to point out to the jury that it was a verdict which, if a motion for a new trial should be made, could not stand. He sent the jury back again, but just at the rising of the court the jury came again into court; they then said that they adhered to their verdict, and could come to no other verdict. Now he (the Lord Chancellor) must say, with great deference to his noble and learned friend, that he was bound to receive that ver• diet. The counsel on each side could not insist on that verdict being received, but his noble and learned friend was bound to receive it ; and when he sent that jury back to their room, and locked them up for the night, if there had not been a decision of the courts by which the judges of the superior courts were protected from responsibility in respect of their proceedings in court, he was in very considerable jeopardy of having twelve actions brought against him for false imprisonment. , however, the jury remained there till the morning, and were then discharged; and that was the moving cause of the introduction of this bill. Now, the noble and learned lord had said that the unanimity of juries was not established by the -common law of the coun try. It certainly was not by the statute law, and it had existed nearly 500 years, when it was established by a deci sion of the Court of Common Pleas overturning the bad precedents which had' been going on for some time pre viously. Some deference ought to be shown to such an an tiquity as this, and strong reasons were required to justify an alteration. He had conversed with some of the judges on this subject, and found them uniformly of opinion that the law ought to remain as it was. One judge told him that hav ing been eighteen years on the bench he had only known i wo cases in which the jury was discharged ; and he himself (tee Lord Chancellor), speaking from an experience of nearly 40 years, had no clear recollection of more than one case in which the jury was discharged. That was a case tried be fore the noble and learned lord himself, and one to which his bill would not apply. It was an action brought against the General Steam Navigation Company for running down. A verdict, was given against the company, and set aside for misdirection. On the second trial there were five special and seven common jurymen. The jury retired, and said they could not agree. The noble and learned lord, anxious, as he always was, to obtain a verdict, asked the counsel to consent to take the verdict of the seven; but he (the Lord Chancel lor), knowing that the five special jurymen were more likely to take a correct view of the case, declined to that verdict, and the result showed that he was perfectly right, for the case was tried a third time before Mr. Justice Erle, and a verdict was then given for the company, which no one who understood the matter could doubt was a fair and just verdict. The noble and learned lord had shown a glimpse of his motives when he complained that jurors were now more independent than they used to be, and more diffi cult to deal with ; but if the system of unanimity were to be altered, it was to be feared that the judges of strong will would obtain more influence over juries than was desirable. He (the Lord Chancellor) was not for continuing the bar barous restrictions which had been talked of. He thought that the juryinen aught not to be deprived of proper refresh ment, or restricted in the absurd manner that was now pre scribed, because everybody must know that the oath was never administered to the bailiff in open court without ex citing laughter. There were, n o d ou bt, great difficulties and diversities of opinion about this matter. Then they had the opinion of the commissioners of 1853 opposed to that of the commission of 1831. His noble and learned friend did not propose to extend his bill to criminal cases. The commissioners on criminal law differed with his noble and learned friend, for they said that they thought that there should be some alteration in the law which required unani mity in juries, at any rate as regarded acquittals. Was it possible for his noble and learned friend to stop short and say that his principle was a good one for civil cases, and could not be extended to criminal cases ? Many civil cases were quite as serious in their consequences as criminal cases. Take a case of libel for accusing a man of an infamous crime, and a justification pleaded ; that man was as much on his trial for the offence of which he was accused as if he was indicted in a criminal court. Take also the recent case of a lady of rank, against whom an action was brought for writ ing anonymous letters. In that case the trial differed little from one on a criminal charge. In these cases his noble and learned friend's plan of 9 to 3 instead of unanimity in a jury would apply. 'Unanimity imposed on each juryman a responsibility which made him careful in forming his opinion ; and more, it made him important and respectable to his fellow jurymen who did not number him, but were obliged to reason with him in order to bring him to their opinion. It was said that unanimity implied compulsion, but it was only the compulsion of listening to reason. If a jury went out to consider their verdict and there were three dissentients they would refuse to trouble themselves any snore and would give their verdict at once. A striking illustration of what this proposal would lead to had been called to his attention by a noble lord. An action was brought against a schoolmaster for an alleged cruel as sault on one of his scholars. On the jury were three special jurors, of whom his noble friend was one, and nine common jurymen. A strong appeal was made to the feelings of the jury, and surgeons were called to speak to marks on the boy's body, which, however, they said could not be ascribed to the pu n i s h men t h e h a d rece ived ; and they said they should not have objected to their own sons receiving such a punishment if they deserved it. When the jury re tired, the three special jurors were for a verdict for the defen dant, and the nine common jurymen were in favour of the plaintiff. The special jurors reasoned calmly with the others, and brought them to their own opinion, and a ver dict was returned for the defendant. Suppose that his noble and learned friend's bill had been law, they would not have listened to the reasoning of his noble friend and the other special jurors, and the result would have been ruin to the defendant. His noble and learned friend was rather apt to look to Scotland for his law, and he seemed to have built his case on an act relating to juries in Scotland passed in 1854. Now juries in civil cases were not indigenous in Scotland, and they were not introduced until 1815. Sir Archibald Alison had, however, stated that they were con sidered a curse in Scotland, and jury cases had dwindled down to twenty or thirty a year. The act of 1854 w as passed to get rid of an uncertainty which existed in trial by jury in Scotland, and it allowed that, after three hours' deliberation, they might return a verdict by a majority. In criminal cases, in which a verdict was given by a plurality, the number of jurymen was fifteen. His noble and learned friend seemed to admire this system. There was one thing in favour of the unanimity of juries, and that was the confidence it gave to the suitor in their decisions. If a losing suitor, who was of course always dissatisOed, was able to say that perhaps three men on a jury were in his favour, it would shake all confidence in the administration of justice. His noble and learned friend (Lord Lyndhurst) had alluded to the manner in which this bill would operate in new trials. The courts were reluc tant to disturb verdicts on matters of fact, even where they had doubts as to the propriety of Nerdicts. But suppose in doubtful eases it was known that the verdicts were given by majorities only of jurymen, the courts would always grant new trials. With regard to the objection made to dis charging juries without their giving verdicts, all cases wore not,so clear as that juries were able to decide them, and it was no great hardship, when they did not agree, that a suitor should be obliged to resort to another jury for a ver dict. The institution of juries was rooted in the habits of the poopleof this country, and ought not to be lightly disturbed, and he would ask the house whether his noble and learned friend had shown sufficient reasons for changing a system which had obtained for 500 years, and to induce the house to commit itself to an untried plan foreign to the constitu tion and to the feelings of this country. He hoped the house would not be persuaded by the endeavours of his noble and learned friend, instigated as he was by a feeling that juries had become too indepe n d en t t o allow judges to direct them as they. wished, and he did hope that their lordships would stand on the ancient ways, and not suffer an insti tution like this to be tampered with. Lord CRANWORTH said he must admit that his opinion on this subject had fluctuated for some time. It wa s said that his noble and learned friend had introduced this bill on account of what had occurred at a recent trial. That might have been the immediate moving cause ; but his noble and learned friend had given notice in 1854 that ho would propose an alteration in the law. He (Lord Cran worth) wished to call attention to what had been done by the commissions which had inquired into the criminal and common law. The first was appointed in 1831, and they came to the conclusion that the unanimity accordingly. of juries ought n not to be supported, and they moon) 1851 another commission was appointed, theyand canie to a concurred conclusion different to their pred t ec l e a ssors, but they couldsupported, in saying that the present t a ys and they recommended as B cha e nge that if after 12 hours' deliberation a jury could not agree, they should lie dis charged. i The Government n 1854, when he (Lord Cr an , worth) was on the woolsack, introduced a bill to improve the common law procedure, and adopted the recommenda tion of the commissioners. The bill was referred to a select committee of their lordships' house, and in that com mittee a proposal was made not to act on the recommenda tion of the commissioners without extending it to something like that which was proposed by the present bill. The question in the committee was not as to the principle, but whether the majority should be 9, 10, or 11. This was adopted by their lordships' house, but it was altered in the other house, and it came back in so objectionable a shape that the provision was struck out altogether. Then it was that his noble and learned friend said he should introduce a measure on the subject in a future session. He (Lord Cranworth) thought that the deduction from the recommen dation of two successive commissions at intervals of 20 years was that some change was necessar y If such a change was necessary, what ~,could be look e d to as a final change but that proposed by his noble friend ? With re gard to criminal cases, he could not help feeling that the principle must be extended t o them. - The question was whether the doing away of unanimity of juries in such cases would be an unmixed ova ; but in some cases he thought it might be an advantage. It erten happened that jurors in capital cases found persons not guilty because they were oppcsed to the punishment of death. 'I his alteration might remedy that evil. He did not deny that there might be an evil in criminal cases of an opposite character, namely, that where in capital cases juries were not unanimous, the pres sure on the Home-office for remission of sentences would be so great as not to be resisted. It was a question of 58} i OOf 921 101 11 60 1 I Business Done. t -_' ~; 1