The Sun. — London, England, 1860-07-04 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. ROUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.) ROYAL COMMISSION. The Royal assent was given by Commission to the following bills . Public Improvements. Bank of Ireland. Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction. Petitions of Right: Bankrupt Law (Scotland) Amendment. Teubury and Bewdley Railway. . Letterkenny Railway. Cork and Limerick Direct Railway. Montrose and Bervie Railway. Coln River Water. London. and South-Western Railways (new line to Bris , tol and Exeter Railway at Exeter). Cilgwrgan, Bettws, and Tregynou Road. Royal Naval School. Cardiff Water. Wexford Free Bridge. Blyth Harbour and Dock. London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway (Croydon to Balliztin II ill) . Consett District Water. Watfortb. and Rickmansworth Railway. Dublin and Drogheda Railway. North British Insurance Company. Morayshire Railway. Sovereign Life Assurance Company. Egleston Roads. Bolton and St. Helen's Road. Inverness and Ross-shire Railway. Auchterarder Common Muir. Symington, Biggar, and Broughton Railway. Portailown, Dungannon, and Omazh Junction Railway. Doncaster and Tadcaster Road. Dialey and Hayfield Railway. London and Blackwall Railway. Salisbury and Yawl! Railway. Upper Mersey Dues. North and South Lanarkshire Roads. Buildings Improvement Company. Dorset Central Railway (Extension of Time). Hereford, Hay, and Brecon Railway. Mid-Wales Railway. • Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Carlisle Railway, and Port- Carlisle Dock and Railway, and Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and Dock Companies. Stockport, Disley, and Whaley Bridge Railway. Avorgavenny Improvement. Marchburu, Kelso, and Lauder Road. Oswestry and Newton Railway (additional capital). Leeds Township. North British and reo4les and Jedburgb. Railway Cone pany. Swansea Harbour Trust. Central Wales Railway. Oswestry and Newtown Railway (Branch Railway, &c.; Their lordships then adjourned during pleasure. The Lone CHANCELLOR took kis seat on the wool/lack at five o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Ness and Beauley Fisheries; London and North- Western Railway (No. 2) ; Burnham Tidal Harbour and Railway; Sudbury, Melford, and Clare Railway; London, Chatham, and Dover Railway; Caithness Road, Egham, and Egham, Manchester, and Milford, Mid-Sussex, and Midhurst Junction Railway; Deviation Petersfield Rail way ; West Cork Railway ; Epsom and Leatherhead Rail way, and Hayling's Railway bills were read a second time. The Epping Railways (Dunmow Extension), and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Bills were read a third time and passed. LORD DE FREYNE'S ESTATE BILL. The standing orders were dispensed with in order that this bill might be proceeded with. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES BILL. _ _ The re-committal of this bill was moved by Lord TEYN. HAM. Lord CHELMSFORD said he would oppose the mo• Lion for going into committee on this bill, as it was unjust that publicans should be forced to use any particular ma chines. He concluded by moving that the bill be re-corn. mated that day three months. Lord T EYNIIAM supported the bill. He thought it wag the duty of Parliament to see that justice was done to the public. The LORD CHANCELLOR disapproved of the bill The amendment Ivao carried, and the bill postponed. REPLY TO ADDRESS. The Lord Steward of Her Majesty's Household brought up her Majesty's most gracious reply to the addresses of their lordships on the Berwick Election Commission and the Mozambique questions. The answers were ordered to be entered in the journals. MASTERS AND OPERATIVES BILL. Lord ST. LEONARDS, after presenting a petition nu merously signed in favour of this bill, moved the second reading, and stated that the great object of the measure was to create courts of conciliation with a view to prevent or put a stop to strikes. The noble lord was so indistinctly heard in the gallery that only a few disjointed sentences were heard. He was understood to say that the provisions of the bill would not directly prevent such a strike as that whieh recently occurred in the building trades of London, for it would be hardly possible for any council of concilia tion to settle such a dispute as that, but the object of the measure was to bring together masters and operatives, and if that could be accomplished it was hoped and believed that a good feeling would ensue between them, and that those strikes which had lately happened, and which they so frequently witnessed, would not take place. When their lordships contemplated the great misery which resulted to the workpeople themselves, and the loss which was occa sioned, by those strikes, they might well try to find out some remedy. These strikes had already caused a loss to the country of several millions of money, and the suffering and misery brought upon the families of the operatives were much greater than it was possible to conceive. Let them consider the matter in another light. The masters and operatives might be said to be partners in the same concern, but the latter were partners without any liability. They took their share of the profits in the shape of wages, and they incurred no risk as to loss. The wages were a part of the profits made by the fair use of capital, and if a strike took place, the capital of the concern was in danger of being lost to the employers. It would be impossible to pass a law which should, so to speak, settle a strike, because the operatives, if they did not conspire, might combine together to better their position; but there being at present no court to which masters and opera tives could appeal to settle their disputes, , no, opportu nity could be given to prevent strikes taking place, and therefore he would repeat that the provisions of this bill were framed in the hope that the masters and operatives would be brought more frequently together, and be made more acquainted with each other's wants. (Hear.) The noble and learned lord then gave a short description of the machinery of the law existing in France, and was under stood to say that it worked well. The council was elected by vote, and no man had a right to elect who was not 25 years of age, he must also have worked at his trade for not less than five years, and have resided in the district for a specified term ; and, further, the persons to be elected must be of the age of 30 years, and able to read and write ; and the Emperor had reserved to himself the right of appoint ing the president and vice-president of the council, which when organised remained in office for the space of three years. Every dispute must be brought before the council. The operation of the law had had a wonderful effect in France, and had produced much good feeling among all parties. (Hear, hear.) A committee was appointed to in quire into the subject in 1824. They sat 36 days, and exa mined 122 witnesses, and they recommended that courts of arbitration should be established extending to all trades. In pursuance of these recommendations, Parliament subse quently passed the sth of George IV., cap. 96, which was at present the existing law of the country, and by which power was l b e.'ven to the magistrates to consider and decide disputes between masters and workmen. The act of Parlia ment, as it now stood, gave both to masters and operatives the option of going before a magistrate, and asking him to decide their disputes for them, and it also gave the option of choosing any other form of arbitration they might think praper. If a decision were once arrived at all the powers of the act could ha enforced to give effect to it. Thus their lordships would see that as the law now stood they had it in their power, by their own free will and without the slightest coercion, to resort to arbitration. [A NOBLE Loan—Then what is the use of this bill 19—IIis noble friend asked what was the use of this bill ? and the answer was, that the present measure had been introduced, be cause the act of George IV. had become a dead letter. It provided only for a single dispute, and not for disputes as a whole, so that in every difference that arose between masters and workmen it was necessary to appoint a new arbitration. What both the masters and the workmen de- Aired was that there should be some properly constituted court of arbitration to which they could have recourse in the event of any dispute arising, and the present bill car ried out that object. One great objection to the act of Geo. IV. was that it expressly prohibited any interference with wages except with the consent of b th parties, and that it only applied to contracts pending or completed, without at tempting to affect future contracts. The act passed as an -adjunct to the Combination Act, but it had fallen into dis 11,*, and was a t thi s momen t pos i t i ve l y and absolutely a dead letter. Wh a t svas more extraordinary was, that those F°rao who h a d t a k en i h e most active part in strikes were thems e lves wholly unacquainted with its existence, and with the net aro of it pointed by and the tbe li a enactment. In 1858 a committ ee was ap °use of Commo ns t o i nqu i re i nto t h e sub ject, y r e had arrived at from the evidence laid before them, they courts of conciliation° conclusion that the establishment of cial, manufacturin g , a'nuleere particularly in large cemmer beneficial. They further recommended districts, would be most by which that an amendment of the present act, enabled to appoint arbitratersniwasahtesedn mastery and operatives were ecessary, that if the ,athre members should court of arbitratien were establis interested, and be chosen in equal numbers by the th it the tribunals themselves should sit for les period. t tai : l uthority In addition the committee recommended a certain to license should be given to the Secretary of State fortthahe Home De partment, upon an application being m a d e to h . boards of this description, and that immediatellm, li cense being granted, the board should be veateLurtohnpea to decide all questions relating to contracts which migh wer brought before them. On making these recommendatitob° the committee expressed the opinion that the creation recommendations ouch courts was calculated to promote a more friendly, understanding between the employers and employed. A , third committee had sat upon the subject in the House of Commons during the present session, and they arrived at a similar conclusion after sitting for eleven days and examin 1-tv4 1-11 - t ( ing futattati Wiitosisei. 1 üby ropott ,. o sl, 4 t 4 r 01.) al on the establishment of courts of conciliation, more especially in manufacturing and mining districts, would be beneficial, and that they would tend to prevent strikes and promote a friendly understanding between the employe s and em ployed. The committee further expressed their concurrence in the present bill, which was submitted t) them by the House of Commons,. and recommended that it should re ceive the legislative sanction of Parliament. In introducing the bill in their lordships' house, he had been solely ani mated by a desire to promote an amicable feeling between masters and operatives, and to prevent the recurrence of those strikes which entailed such lamentable consequences. By this bill the court of conciliation could be established without a license from the crown. The council was to con sist of not less than two masters and two workmen, or more than ten masters and ten workmen, and a chairman. The powers of the council were those set forth in the sth of George IV., cap. 96. The council could not entertain any case unless both master and workman expressed their wil- lingness to submit to its arbitration. The petitioners for the license were authorised to proceed to the appointment of a council of conciliation and arbitration from among themselves within 30 days of such grant of license. Each person, being 21 years of age, belonging to the trade, hav ing a license for a council, and being an inhabitant house holder, or part occupier of any house, warehouse, counting hous,, or other property, might demand to be registered, and had a vote for the council, and might be elected there to. The noble and learned lord concluded by moving the second reading of the bill. Lord BAVENSWORTH moved as an amendment that the bill be read a' second time that day six months. He founded his objection to the measure on its interfering with the existing relations between masters and workmen, and because it proposed to supersede the law now in force. The act of 5 Geo. IV. had been by no means so inoperative as the noble and learned lord represented. The bill came up to their lordships' house from the House of Commons re commended by a strong expression of public feeling. He regarded with suspicion the report of the committee of the House of Commons on which this bill was based, and he contended that the subject was one which required a great deal more consideration before their lordships attempted to sanction anything like the novel system of legislation which they were now asked to approve. What was wanted was a fair and impartial tribunal, and the present bill would not give that. The proposed constitution of councils of conciliation was most defective, and, in his opinion, was open to grave objections. Being composed of antagonistic elements, their lordships might rely upon it that those would not work well. Besides the appointment of a chair man of those councils would be a matter of great difficulty ; and instead of those councils being councils of conciliation, he believed they would be count is of wrangle. He believed that the magistrates in petty sessions were a better court of appeal, and would give more satisfaction in deciding mat ters of dispute between masters and men, than courts of conciliation to be chosen in the manner which this bill pro posed. But there was a still graver objection to the bill ; and it was this, that it would be necessary to have separate courts for almost every class of trade, as it was not pos sible that one class of artisans could adjudicate properly and with satisfaction for men who belonged to a totally different trade. By passing this bill they would constitute a number of small parliaments elected by universal suffrage. nen the bill made no provision for the expenses of carry ing out the act, and the elections which were to take place under it. The magistrates would object to the ex pense being thrown on the county rate, and he believed the Chancellor of the Exchequer would equally object to their being borne by the Consolidated Fund. That some improvement might be made in the existing law he did not deny, but the effects of the existing law, great or small, whichever they were, would not be remedied but aggravated under the machinery provided by this bill. He therefore moved that it be read a second time that day three months. Tho Earl of DERBY said his noble friend had stated various objections to the machinery and provisions of this bill, but at the same time he stated that the existing law was disposed to give a favourable consideration to any mea sure that professed to obviate the mischievous consequences which arose out of disputes between masters and men. The present bill was recommended as to its principle by the high authority of his noble and learned friend, and the unanimous opinion of a select committee of the House of Commons. At the same time his noble and learned friend himself pointed out several provisions of tke bill which would re quire to be amended in committee, and his noble friend who moved the amendment showed that the measure was liable to many serious objections. He should therefore, not wish ing summarily to reject a bill of this kind, vote for the second reading ; but unless it were altered in committee, so as to meet the objections to which it was liable in its pre sent shape, he should be sorry to see it read a thaird time. Earl GRANVILLE complained of the loose phraseology of the bill, and it was quite obvious that it could not pass as it was drawn. He agreed with the noble earl, however, that as this was a measure in which the working classes took a great interest, it ought not to be dealt with in a sum mary way by rejecting the second reading. He should therefore suggest to the noble lord (Ravensworth) that he should withdraw his amendment, and move, instead, that it be referred to a select committee. The LORD CHANCELLOR said if this bill became law he should rejoice indeed that he was no longer Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench, for the greater part of its time would be taken up with motions for writs of manda mus, prohibitions, and certioraris arising out of this mea sure. (Hear.) The bill would not work at all. It would produce " confusion worse confounded." He agreed with his noble and learned friend in all he said about the strike, and in his views of political economy, but he entirely dif fered from him in what he said regarding this bill, which could only lead to mischievous results. Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY said that he should not object to the bill being referred to a select committee if the noble and learned lord really thought that the bill would come out of that committee an efficient bill. But if such a course only held out to the working classes expectations that could not be realised, he put it to their lordships whether it would not be more honest as well as better to reject the bill at once. (Hear.) Lord RAVENSWORTH said he should withdraw his amendment, and move that the bill be referred to a select committee. After a few words from Lord ST. LEONARDS the bill was read a second time, and ordered to be referred to a select committee. NEW ZEALAND BILL. The Duke of NEWCASTLE, in moving the second read - ing of this bill, said it did not arise out of the disturbances which took place in the colony of New Zealand, although he believed the passing of the measure would tend to put an end to those disputes, which were so much to be re gretted. The southern part of the island was practically in possession of the English settlers, and the number of acres which they held was 7,000,000. The natives pos sessed 26,000,000 acres, a great part of which was utterly valueless and unavailable in their hands. Now the settlers on the one hand felt straitened for the want of more land, and the natives on the other hand were jealous of their independence, and were afraid that they ware to be absorbed. He believed that the claims of both parties might be reconciled by the establishment of an independent council, to be composed of not less than three or more than seven members, for the transference of these lands which the natives were willing to dispose of. By the Constitu tion Act, which passed seven or eight years ago, the na tives could only deal with the Crown in this matter, and up to the present time there existed no machinery by which the lands could be transferred. The object of the present bill was to provide such machinery, and he believed it would give satisfaction to all parties. Lord LYTTELTON believed that the object of the bill was a good one, but he still looked upon it with apprehen sion, as he thought the General Assembly of New Zealand would be apt to look with jealousy on the new council. lie thought the feeling of the General Assembly ought to be eonsultod on the measure. The Duke of NEWCASTLE said the bill hail been in troduced with the concurrence of the colonial governor. and he had every reason to believe that it would not be distaste ful to the colonists. The bill was then read a second time. The Endowed Charities Bill passed through committee. The Local Beards of Health, &c., Bill passed through committee with amendments, and was ordered to be re ported on Friday. The Inland Bonding . Bill and the Criminal Lunatic Asylum Bill, after some discussion, in which Lord DEN MAN and Lord WODEJLQIJSE took pill, also passed through committee with amendments, and was ordered to be re ported on Friday. • The Spirits (Ireland) Act Amendment Bill was read a third time and passed. Several bills from the Commons were read a first time, and their lordships adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-CYBSTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at a quarter past 12 o'clock CENSUS BILL. Several petitions were presented praying for tho omis sion from the bill of the clause relating to the profession of religious belief. MINES REGULATION AND INSPECTION BILL. The house went into committee on this bill, and resumed at clause 10. Mr. AYRTON moved the following amendment to in sert after rule 15:—Rule 16. 'Where the persons em ployed in any coal mine, colliery, or iron-stone are paid by the weight, measure, or gauge of the coal, ironstone, or other material gotten by them, such coal, ironstone, or other material shall be truly weighed, measured, or gauged accordingly ; and it shall be lawful for such persons, at their own cost, to station a person :at the place appointed for such weighing, measuring, or gauging, in order to take an account thereof, and to ascertain the correctness of the weight, measure, or gauge employed therein." Mr. RIDLEY considered that the terms of the amend ment were not specific enough, and suggested the addition of the following words—" on behalf of such person by whom he is so employed." After some conversation the amendment of Mr. A XATON Was adopted, and the clause, as amended, was agreed to. Clauses 11 and 12 were also agreed to. On clause 13, Mr. Ayir ro x, vi moved the following amendment WEB SUS, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY di, MO, " Page 6, line 1, after respectively,' insert 'provided always that such special rules shall be suspended in the manner provided in the fifteenth section of this act, for the period of fourteen days, before the same are transmitted to the Secretary of State.' " The amendment was agreed to. Mr. CLIVE moved the following amendment : " rage 7, line 3, leave out after accordingly' down to and including established' in page 8, line 4, and insert in case of the death, incapacity, or refusal or neglect to act of any arbitrator under this Act, another arbitrator shall be appointed in his place." The clause with the amendment was agreed to. On clause 20, Mr. CROOK moved the following amendment :—" Line 39, leave out serious ;' and after injury,' insert which shall be of such a nature as shall have prevented the per son or persons injured from returning to his or their work at such mino or colliery before nino of the clock in the morning of the next following working day." The amendment was adopted, and the clause as amended was agreed to. Mr. SULLIVAN moved that the chairman report pro gress, as it had been u derstood from the Government yes terday that the Irish Tenure and Improvement Land bill should come on first to-day. Mr. ROEBUCK protested against this course being adopted. This was a private day, and the Government had no power to make such an arrangement. Mr. CARDWELL stated that an endeavour had been made to induce the gentlemen interested in the bill now un der consideration to postpone it, but without success, as there were a large number of gentlemen in town waiting to see it disposed of. Mr. SULLIVAN withdrew his motion. Mr. VIVIAN moved an amendment, the operation of which was to make the operation of the bill perpetual, in stead of limiting it to five years. After some discussion the motion was agreed to. The remainding clauses of the bill were agreed to with verbal amendments. Mr. H. B. SHERIDAN moved the introduction of an amendment in the preamble making the provisions of this act applicable to limestone pits. The amendment was negatived. The bill was reported with amendments to the house. INCREASE AND IMPROVEMENT OF LAND (IRELAND) BILL. The house went into committee for the further considera tion of this bill. The clauses from 38 to the conclusion of the bill were agreed to with verbal amendments. The CHAIRMAN reported the bill with amendments. The remaining orders of the day were then postponed. fair thing that these old offices, having taken their promo tion at the time they did, should find themselves no better off when they arrived at the rank of general officers. Mr. S. HERBERT would entirely assent to what the hon and gallant gentleman had laid down, assuming this to be a question of bargain. If a bargain had been made, it ought not to be set aside ; and if justice required that these officers should have this increase of pay, they ought to have it. The amount involved *as not such as to cause any difficulty, for it was only the dif&rence between paying 9s. 6d. a day and 255. a day to seven old_officers. There was no consideration, therefore, which could bias his mind upon this case, except his sense of duty, and the fact that upon examining the claim, he did not think it was justified by the facts. The hon. and gallant officer had said that these officers went on half-pay fof the benefit of the ser vice; but he (Mr. S. Herbert) did not see what that had to do with the matter. Of course it was optional for them to accept that arrangement, and when they accepted it they did so, not for the sake of service, but for their own sake. They went on half-pay, receiving at the same time a step of rank ; they had been brevet majors, and they became sub stantive majors. An example of this had occurred of late years, when some officers, NI ho had got brevet rank for ser vices in the Crimea, accepted the substantive rank of majer instead, and thought it was a good bargain for them to go on half-pay with that step,expecting of course to exchange back on full pay,and so realise the benefit of it. But they did so at a time when the lists were full, and the small room for promotion that existed made it difficult for them to get back. The old officers referred to in this motion had made a more ad vantageous arrangement, for whilst they went on half-pay at their own request, they were not to suffer tho disadvan tages attached to half••pay with regard to the provision for widows. It might be said they were not married men at that time, but they were not then too old to have wives, who would be entitled to pensions. The rule had been laid down that no man was to be deemed fit to rise to be a general officer, with certain advantages, unless ho had served six years as a rank and file officer; and a man could not become a colonel unless he had served a certain r eriod as a lieutenant-colonel. It was to ensure the effi ciency of the higher rank of officers that these rules were made. But it was now proposed to make an exception in the case of these half pay officers, who had never served since 1826. For these reasons, acting on the best judgment he could form, he had declined to accede to their request; and now, with regard to the hon. and gallant gentleman's motion, he would frankly say that he did not think the House of Commons was a proper tribunal to decide this question. General PEEL said that for his own part his judgment was quite as free from bias in this matter as that of the right hon. gentleman. He had never known these officers or heard of any of them until their case was brought before him when he held office. But ho had no doubt whatever that they were entitled to be placed in the same position as that in which they h id reasonably imagined they would be placed. He thought it would be far better to let the officers have the committee they asked for. It was a bad bargain for the country, but they ought to keep it. Colonel SYKES said it appeared to him that Government had not kept faith with these officers. A good case required only a plain and complete statement, and the very elabo rateness of the argument of the right hon. gentleman (Mr. S. Herbert) showed that his case was a bad one, If the gallant colonel pressed his motion he should go into the lobby with him. Colonel DUNNE was always unwilling to submit a mili tary question to a select committee of that house ; but as the present and the late Secretary for War had given diffe rent opinions, what were they to do ? The house then divided, when there appeared— For the motion Against it Majority --11 The announcement of the numbers was received with cheers by the Opposition. CADETSIIIPS IN THE ROYAL NAVY. Captain ESMONDE moved for a select committee to in quire into the present system of nominations for cadetships in the Royal navy. He said he believed there was a general impression in the country that her Majesty's navy was in a great degree, and especially as regarded the middle classes, a sort of close borough. He believed that there was not sufficient publicity attached to the nominations. A hon. friend of his moved at the commencement of the session for a return of all nominations to cadetships to the Royal navy from 1821 to 1859, showing by whom they were made, and from that return it appeared that the whole number of no minations was 1,019, of which 12 were by the colonies, 14 by the Royal Naval School, 248 by flag officers, and there remain9cl 745 to be accounted for, they being made by the board. Ho by no means asserted that there was any abuse. If there were no abuse there was no reason why the com mittee should not be granted, and if there were an abuse the committee would discover it, He had a precedent for the course he was taking. At the commencement of this session the member for King's County moved for a com mittee to inquire into the present mode of nominating and examining candidates for appointment to the civil service. The Secretary for the Treasury opposed it, but said he wished it to be distinctly understood that Government opposed it because the inquiry was premature. That did not apply to the system of appointing cadetships. The hon. member for Sheffield said the object was to find out what the system was, and the noble lord at the head of the Government thereupon said he had no objection to the appointment of the committee. His object was precisely the same, and he trusted, therefore, that the committee would not be refused. Lord C. PAGET said he had heard no complaint of the present system of nominations. Many gentlemen had asked him, and he had told them how nominations were made. He believed the Admiralty had always been ready to con sider the claims of officers and others who were solicitous to get appointments for candidates. He was quite aware that the opening of the nominations of cadetships had a great many things to recommend it, and he was bound to admit that he himself had brought the matter before the house. He believed it would be advisable if by some means or other a system of limited competition for nominations should be introduced into tiaeWvy. He bad thought a great deal over the matter, as had 'the Board of Admiralty, and it was attended with considerable difficulty. If they were to have competition, it was necessary, of course, that they should have a very high class of education. They knew very well that an examination of a parcel of boys 12 years of ago in arithmetic was no test of what a boy would come to in after life. The Duke of Somerset had intro duced competition in the appointment of cadets to the marines, and if it should succeed there they might consider whether that system could not be applied to naval cadets. P9tiVrer,arci to the engineering depa r t men t a l so th e B oar d drA f ainirra l lt Y y had issued a regulation that there should bo a competitive examination of the factory boys. There were many inconveniences attending a competitive examination of candidates. How should they, for instance, with such a system, deal with the claims of the colonies for cadetships ? Were they to have half-a-dozen boys sent from Australia or Canada for examination, one of whom might be successful, and the remainder have to be sent back disappointed ? Now with regard to the claims of old officers, the only boon held out to them was the hope of putting their sons into the navy ; and would it not be a hard ease that they should be excluded from direct nomination ? That would be a great act of injustice towards those officers, and a great act of impolicy. The proportion of naval cadets who were nominated by old officers was three-fourths. He did not think that the gallant officer had made out anyctfse for in quiry. So far as regarded the patronage, if he were to con sult his own feelings, he shoull be glad to get rid of it, He (the noble lord) was satisfied that no committee that the house could appoint could deal with the subject so well as the department to which it naturally belonged, and he hoped therefore that the motion would be rejected. Mr. LINDSAY found from a return which had been placed in his hand that out of 1,019 nominations between the year 1854-9, only 12 had been bestowed on young men from the colonies. The argument of the noble lord on that score did not therefore amount to much. lle (Mr. Lindsay) had never asked for but one appointment, and that was for a san of General Niel. It was refused him, but at the re quest of Mrs. Niel he repeated his application. It met with the same result, and he would never ask for another nomi union. He perceived that of the 1,019 nominations 745 had been distributed by the board, and he should like to know on what principle they acted ? Lord C. PAGET—Three-fourths of them were service claims for merit, Mr. LINDSAY nevortholess thought that the explana tion which the noble lord had given was unsatisfactory, - - and if no better one was offered ho should Yote for the inquiry. Mr. TAYLOR also supported the motion. Mr. WHITBREAD said that the object of the proposed inquiry was merely to ascertain what the existing system was, and not because any case had been made out against it. It was not pretended that the appointments were jobbed away, or that the boys who received them were not the sort of boys who ought to have them. Before the hon. and gallant gentleman asked the house to, agree to his motion he ought surely to have sketched out some better plan than the oneJhat already existed. Mr. LOCKE said it was very well to have a list of can didates, but what the house wanted to know was on what principle persons were taken off it to receive the appoint ments. The Government could have no objection to the motion if their system was straightforWard and above board. Mr. BEAMISH expressed a similar opinion. Sir F. BARING said it was quite without precedent to ask for an inquiry without first making out some case to justify an examination into the practice of the Executive Government ; but he (the right hon. baronet) had not yet heard a single word to explain what the object of the com mittee really was. If the house wanted any information as to the number of appointments given to the sons of naval or military, or India officers, they could easily obtain it by moving for returns ; and he (the right hon. baronet) had no hesitation in saying that those officers might obtain appoint ments for their sons without any interest whatever beyond their services. Of course cases might occur of the failure of an application; but it was obvious that that must neces sarily happen if it was made at a time when the list was already crowded with good claims. He for ono could cer tainly could not agree that the appointments should be re served for the sous of officers only ; for he thought it would be a treat evil to shut the door against tho admission of civilians. The house then divided Ayes NOcs 81-57 LIEN FOR PREIGLIT. Mr. M. GIBSON obtained leave to bring in a bill to faci litate the unshipinent of goods, and secure the shipowners' lien for freight. MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL CHURCH BILL. Mr. MASSEY obtained leave to bring in a bill to enable the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England to apply cer • thin funds towards the repairs of the cathedral church of Manchester. The first order of the day was then called, and the house resolved itself into a committee on the Attorneys and Soli citors' Bill, when an hon. member moved that numbers be taken, and Mr. Massey, the chairman of the committees, having counted the committee found the number present to be 33. The chairman then vacated the chair, and the Speaker having re-entered the house again took the num bers, and finding them to be 34 only, the house immedi ately adjourned at a quarter past eight. = :THE PACKET SERVICE COMMITTEE. The following is the supplemental report in re ference to the Galway contract : " 1. Since their first report was presented to the house, your committee have been compelled to re• sume their inquiries into the matter of the Galway subsidy, in consequence of a document having been transmitted to the chairman, a document purport ing to be a copy of an agreement for the payment of a large sum of money for procuring that subsidy in the event of its being obtained. The result of these inquiries your committee now lay before the house. " 2. It appears that in the month of March pre ceding the sailing from Galway (June 19, 1858) of the Indian Empire, the first vessel of the Lever line of packets, Mr. Lever became ac quainted with Mr. George O'Malley Irwin, a member of the Irish bar, who was a native of the county of Galway. Mr. Irwin professed great in terest in the success of Mr. Lever's undertaking, and on the 19th of May, 1838, Mr. Lever addressed to him a letter, in which, after offering to make him a present f £5OO on obtaining a specified sub sidy from the Government and the Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland, for the trial trip of the Indian Empire, he adds—' I also wish to say that if you obtain me a subsidy of £150,000 per annum for the conveyance of the United States mails to and from this country, I will present you with a sum of £lO,OOO in addition.' _ _ " 3. This undertaking was subsequently reduced into the form of a regular agreement, to which Mr. Thomas Knox Holmes, member of a firm carrying on business as parliamentary agents in Westmin ster, was admitted as a party jointly with Mr. Irwin. "4. The original of that deed, executed on the 2d of June, 1858, was produced to the committee. By this deed, which is printed in the evidence, Messrs. Irwin and Holmes, ' on the one part, under take to use th e i r b es t efforts, and to exert all their influence with their friends and others in order to promote a subsidy from the Government, or from any persons having the po wer t o o bt a i n or gran t such subsidy from the Gove r n men t i n f avour o f th e said John Orrell Lever, in the matter of his pro jected undertaking for establishing steamboat com munication between Galway and America ; and in the event of such subsidy being obtained, the said John Orrell Lever on the other hand undertakes to pay to them, the said George O'Malley Irwin and Thomas Knox Holmes, at the time the same is obtained, the following sums of money,' namely, £lO,OOO if the subsidy were £172,840 (the amount anticipated, on the same footing with the Cunard contract, if a weekly service were fixed on), or a corresponding proportionate sum if the subsidy were less or more on that amount. The sum was to be payable on the joint receipt of Messrs. Irwin and Holmes, and the agreement was to be binding on Mr. Lever, though he should at any time ' part with or assign his interest in the undertaking to a company or otherwise.' " 5. A corresponding agreement as to the subsidy for the trial trip of the Indian Empire was exe cuted at the same time. "6. Some time after the Galway contract had been granted, at a yearly subsidy of £78,000, for a fortnightly service, Mr, Lever not having made any payment to Messrs. Irwin and Holmes, a suit was instituted against him for payment of £5360, as the sum proportioned to that subsidy due under the agreement. This action, though originally raised on the sole instructions of Mr. Irwin, was afterwards authorised by Mr. Holmes. " 7. In defence, Mr. Lever put in a plea of fraud, to the effect that he had been induced to enter into the agreement by false and fraudulent representa tions on the part of the plaintiffs ; and under an order of the judge a statement of particulars of fraud' was lodged, setting forth that Messrs. Irwin and Holmes had falsely and fraudulently repre sented themselves to have great influence with members of the Government and other persons, which would be of service in procuring the con tract, on the faith of which representation he had undertaken to pay the money stipulated for in the agreement. "8. This action was set down for trial, first, on the 31 of February last, and again on the 14th inst. ; but on both occasions it was withdrawn, contrary to the remonstrances of Mr. Irwin, by the instructions of Mr. Holmes, on the ground, as stated by him in his evidence, of anticipated legal difficul ties, till the Galway packet contract should have been approved of by Parliament. The suit is still undischarged. "9. A separate action has been raised by Mr. Irwin individually against Mr. Lever, not founded on the deeds of agreement above-mentioned, as to procuring a subsidy (although these were produced at the trial), but for alleged services in the forma tion of the company. This action was tried on the 12th inst., when a verdict of £l,OOO was found against Mr. Lever. Your committee have obtained short-hand notes of the trial, and they desire to call the attention of the house to following observations of the Lord Chief Baron, before whom it took place I very much doubt whether any action had is maintainable at all, in point of law, in respect of services of this sort. I do not un derstand what is meant by a man's selling his sup posed interest with any member of Parliament or any member of the Government, In point of law it appears to me to be a temptation to corrupt prac tices. These very bargains would lead to all pos sible mischief in public and political life.' " 10. Messrs. Irwin and Holmes deny that any false or fraudulent representations were made by them to Mr. Lever, and there seems to your com mittee no ground for supposing that any corrupt means were resorted to by them in carrying out their part of the agreement; but undoubtedly the largeness of the sum stipulated, together with the fact of its payment being made conditional on suc cess, and the nature of the plea stated in defence, appear to your committee to lead to the inference that the exertion of undue influence could not have been excluded from Mr. Lever's view when ho en tered into it. " 11. However that may be, your committee are at all events clearly of opinion that that agreement is in itself deserving of the strongest reprobation ; and that the allowance of such undertakings would present a temptation to corrupt practices, and open a door to evils most injurious to the public service. " 12. If, therefore, Mr. Lever, who entered into this agreement, were himself the contractor under the Galway contract, your committee could not doubt that the house should withhold the moneys necessary for carrying it into effect. The case, how ever, does not present itself in that simple form. At the time when the agreement of 2d June, 1858, was entered into, Mr. Lever was substantially the owner of the Galwav line ; but the company which he was then engaged in forming, and associ a ti ng with himself and his immediate friends, was not actually constituted till the September following, when the articles of copartnery were executed, and the first directors thereby appointed, these articles being subscribed by seven individuals, holding 7,150 shires, of which Mr. Lever held 5,000 ; since then many new shareholders have become proprietors in the company. Mr. Lever now holds shares to the amount 'if about one-fourth of the whole stock, and he has been throughout, as he is now, one of the directors. The company took over from him, at prices agreed ow, the vessels held by him; and besides 250 free shares presented to him in consideration of his per sonal services in getting up the company, they al lowed him a sum of £27,700 for his 'interest in the line, concessions, privileges at ports,' &c., which sum does not include preliminary expenses,' for which a sepirate charge of £13,901 is entered in the company's balance -sheet. The board of direc tors, however, do not appear to have been aware of the transaction between Mr. Lever and Messrs. Holmes and Irwin, and they have goneTorwarcl in making preparations for the performance of their part of the contract under which, on the requisition of the Government, the first vessel is to sail on the 26th of the present month. "Your committee have thus stated the facts which been proven on their further inquiry. Of these facts they were ignorant when they made the recommendation contained in their former report ; but having now set forth the whole case, they deem it most advisable to leave the decision entirely to the judgment of the house, without suggesting any opinion of their own." . - In consequence of the •recent failures there was nearly a total suspension of business in the Leadenhall leather market yesterday. Market hides declined 30 to 40 per cent, 1 .. . P AI2LL4MI?N2 Al Y CO ittAIIiTEES: EMBANKMENT OF THE THAMES. This committee met again yesterday—Sir Joseph Paxton in the chair. Mr. Scott, City Criamberlaiti,who had been exa mined on a former day, was again called, lie pro duced three Acts of Parliament, of the present reign, empowering the corporation of London to borrow £300,000 fbr making certain improvements in the city of London, including Now Cannon street. The coal duties were not specifically men tioned in any of these acts. The rental of land belonging to the corporation in the City was £lOO,OOO per annum, about, £40,000 of which was leasehold property, which would expire in seven years, so that their permanent, income might be set down at £60,000. Since 1832 the corporation had paid £302,480, which went to the credit of the coal meters, whose employment was destroyed by Parliament, and the corporation undertook to pen sion them in order that the experiment of weighing coal might he tried. The expenditure of the cor poration was somewhat as follows in round figures : —Magistrates, about £7,000 ; police, between £9,000 and £lO,OOO, one-fourth of which was paid by the City, and the remainder out of the Consoli dated Fund ; prisons, £6,000 ; Holloway Prison, £5,700 ; Debtors' Prison, £5,400; administration of criminal justice, about £8,000; coroner, £BOO ; Lord Mayor, Mansion-house, sheriffs, keeping up Guildhall, printing and stationery, ut £5,000, which, with some other items, made a total expen diture of about £BO,OOO a-year. Mr, Alderman Cubitt—ln addition to this animal expenditure, the corporation had, during the last twenty years, laid out very large sums of money ; £92,000 for the new prison at Holloway, a portion of which- was paid off recently. They had also paid £B,OOO for the Debtors' Prison, and for the iiew civil courts probably £lO,OOO (which were for the benefit of the whole .country) ; and during the last ten years they had expended £11,600 a-year on metropolitan improve ments—that is, in the improvement of streets still going on in conjunction with the Office of Works. The contribution of £200,000 to the fund for the construction of the Metropolitan Railway was made by the corporation with the view of restoring •the value of their property in the neighbourhood of New Victoria-street, in Smithfield, and in the neighbourhood of the old Fleet Prison, and he felt convinced the outlay would be remunerative. The Chairman requested the witness to furnish the committee with the estimated value of the pro perty to:which he referred. Witness said he was prepared to give the com mittee all the information in his power, and was proceeding to reply to the question put by the chairman, when Mr. Alderman Cubitt objected, saying he was at a loss to know what this committee, sitting on the question of the embankment of the Thames, had to do with an inquiry into the property of the cor poration of London. The room was ordered to be cleared, and when the public were again admitted no decision on the point was announced ; but Mr. Scott was recalled, and in reply to the chair man, stated that the corporation were very favour able to an embankment of the Thames, and twenty years ago they had originated a plan for the em bankment of both sides of the river. Mr. Penrose, architect and surveyor to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's Cathedral, was next examined. He described the nature and character of the strata on which the construction of the sacred edifice rested. He did not apprehend any danger from the sewer proposed to be carried near the cathedral, supposing proper care and caution were used in the construction. An open cutting would be highly dangerous and objectionable. Mr. Perry, a vestryman of St. Luke, Chelsea, was next examined at considerable length in re ference to the efforts which had been made by that parish to secure an embankment of the river from Battersea-bridge to Vauxhall-bridge. The committee then adjourned. CONSENT TO BILLS. The house then proceeded to the House of Lords to hear the royal assent given to .!ertain. bills, and on its return adjourned at four o'clock. The house resumed at six o'clock. TIIE CENSUS. Sir C. DOUGLAS gave notice that on Friday next ho would ask the First Lord of the Treasury what course the Government intended to pursue with respect to the question of religious persuasion in the Census Bill. (Hear.) PAROCHIAL ASSESSMENTS. Mr. WICKHAM asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it was the intention of the Go vernment to carry on the bill for regulating parochial as- sessments. Sir G. C. LEWIS said it was doubtful whether the bill could be proceeded with in the present session. Various objections had been made to the bill, but they did not affect its general principles, and if the measure was to be pro ceeded with this session the only practicable course to adopt was to read it a second time, and then to refer it to a select committee, in order that those objections might be in quired into. EXAMINATION OF CADETS AT SANDHURST. General BUCK LEY asked the Secretary for War whe ther at the recent examination of cadets at the Royal Mili tary College, Sandhurst, 40 having passed an examination fitting them for commissions without purchase, the Com mander-in-Chief informed them only 20 could be provided with commissions without purchase, in consequence of tip Secretary of State for War not putting more than that ber at his disposal. Mr. S. HERBERT said a certain number of commissions were allotted to be competed for at Sandhurst. That of course depended upon the number of vacancies there might be for commissions without purchase, but upon this particu lar occasion it was announced that young mon who had not 3,000 marks should not be entitled to receive commissions, even though they might be among the number of competitors who might otherwise be entitled. It so hap. pened that twenty commissions were fixed upon, and the Duke of Cambridge had announced at the examination of these young men that there would be twenty commissions, but inasmuch as some of those young men had not 3,000 marks, they were not allowed to compete for them. But he was happy to say that since then eleven commissions had fallen in, making altogether thirty-one, and that number had been given away, being rather in excess of those usually given. COMMISSIONS IN VOLUNTEER CORPS. Mr. CAYLEY asked the Secretary of State for War whether it was allowable for officers of yeomanry regiments to receive commissions in volunteer corps ? Mr. S. HERBERT said that applications had been made to him by lords-lieutenant to know whether or not they ought to grant commissions in volunteer corps to officers of militia or yeomanry, and the decision the War-office had arrived at was that which he believed some lords-lieutenant had acted upon. In certain cases the raising of a volunteer corps depended uppn the local influence of some particular person, and though a better officer might very well be found to command it when once formed, yet such an officer might not have local influence enough to raise the corps. Under those circumstances there was no objection to give yeomanry er militia officers who raised volunteer rifle corps leave to hold commissions in these corps, but upon the condition that in the event of the yeomanry and militia being called out for active eervice, they must choose in which service they would remain. GLANDERS AMONG HORSES AT ALDERSHOTT. General PEEL asked the Secretary of State for War if it was true that glanders prevailed to a considerable extent amongst the horses in the camp at Aldershott ; and if so, if he could state what steps had been taken to prevent the spread of it. Mr. S. HERBERT said ho found upon inquiry that glanders was suspected among some horses at Aldershott, and orders had consequently been given to separate them from the rest. SUbsequently a board of officers was assem bled to investigate the matter, and they reported that the horses were not affected with glandcp- 7 (s lugh)—bu the few which wore suspected were removed'. In reply to Mr. BOUTIIRIE, Mr. S. HERBERT further stated that it was not true that some of the horses of the Horse Guards had been placed in a stable from which horses affected with glanders had been removed, without any precautions being previously taken. He had hoard of a case in which suspicions were entertained, but the stable, before being used again, was purified, and the roof taken off. NEW POST. OFFICE AT EDINBURGH. In reply to Mr. BLACK, Mr. COWPER said that no unnecessary delay would take place in building the new post-office at Edinburgh. GUNPOWDER BILL. Sir G. LEWIS brought up this bill, which relates to the sale, &c., of gunpoWder. On the clerk at the table reading the title as simply " gunpowder," there was loud laughter in the house. THE PRIVILEGE QUESTION. Mr. DISRAELI said the house was under the 'impres sion yesterday that her Majesty's Government would in- form the house what course they intended to pursue respect ing the report of the committee on privileges-(hear) —and it would be very convenient if the resolutions were now announced, which they were under the impression that her Majesty's Government had engaged to submit to the house. (Hear, hear.) Lord J. RUSSELL said that the resolutions would no doubt bo placed upon the table that night. (A laugh.) He was understood to add that they could not be brought forward before Thursday. GENERAL OFFICERS IN THE ARMY. Colonel LINDSAY moved for a select committee to in quire into, and report upon, the claims of seven major generals to the pay of general officers, who were now re ceiving only the half-pay of brevet-majors, and who ac cepted the substantive rank upon half-pay upon the terms and engagements contained in the Horse Guards memo randum of.the 25th day of March, 1826, and general order of the 25th day of April, 1826. The hon. and gallant gentle man said that the whole question as to these claims rested on the state of the army in 1821. It might be said, as it had been said by the tight hon. gentleman on a former oc casion, that these general officers, when they accepted half pay, accepted all the conditions attached to it, but the con ditions on which they accepted it were those of the memo randum under whi c h certain terms were promised to them, d u l y those them terms o n itwa sfull pa y w undoubtedly they arrived implied at that the e they could get back en f u ll- pay, if the Commander-in-Chief w sition of full rank general. It could hardly bo said these officers went on half-pay at their own request, for they did so owing to the promises which were held out to them, and strictly for the convenience of the service. This was a finan cial question, but the difference was only between Os. 6d. a day and £lOO a year. The late Secretary of State for the War Department investigated this claim when it was first made, and came to the conclusion that they bad a sound claim; he sent it up to the Treasury, but the Treasury de clined to accept that view. in general, the system of un attached pay was not to be admitted, but this was an ex ceptional case. He therefore contended that this case should be investigated by a committee, to see whether the claim was not founded in right and justice, as 113 thought it was. Colonel NOItTII seconded the motion. He remarked that a bargain was a bargain, and whether it had been made for the advantage of the officers, or for the advantage of the country, it ought to be kept. He had fully examined the case, and he thought a great hardship had been inflicted upon these officers. General I3UCKLEY thought the house ought to grant this committee of inquiry, as there appeared to be some doubt about the question. It seemed to him rather an un- SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM. The select committee of the House of Commons appointed to inquire into the condition and capa• bilities of the South Kensington Museum met yes terday for the first time—Mr. Lowe in the chair. The other members of the committee are—Sir J. Shelley, Mr. Beatnish, Mr. Adderley, Mr. G. C. Bentinck, Mr. Blackburn, Mr. Cole, Mr. Alderman Cubitt, Lord W. Graham, Mr. Hanker. Mr. Hutt, Mr. Kinnaird, Mr. John Locke, 31r. J us. and Mr. Stirling. The committee liar I:1- '' arranged their course of proceeding, proceeded to examine Mr. Cole, the superintendent of the museum. The examination during the time the committee sat was directed solely to the cost of the museum to the public as a whole, and the contributions it had received with their value. Mr. Cole stated that the total amount of the area occu pied was 99,280 square feet. The annual cost of the establishment voted by Parliament was in 1857-8 £43,339; in 1858-9, £52,380; and in 1859-60, £57,700. The cost which had been defrayed by the nation for ornamental art examples since 1838, and which had come out of the estimates, amounted to £38,269, and for architectural casts and orna ments, £2,000. The value of the loans since the establishment was £460,000, exclusive of the Koh-i -noor, The total cost of the building, from 1855 to 1860, amounted to £167,805, while the total amount of private gifts was £88,592. The whole value of the loans since the establishment was £467,464. The witness then went into particulars respecting the cost of the different galleries, such as the Sheep shank gallery and others, as well as into the cost of several other departments of the museum, and had not finished this portion of the evidence when the committee adjourned. ROMANTIC SUICIDE. Yesterday morning Mr. G. S. Brent, deputy coroner for West Middlesex concluded an inquiry at the Lord Nelson Tavern, Holloway -road, into the circumstances attending the death of Miss Ann Page, aged 17, who committed suicide, on Thursday ' last, by throwing herself into the New River, at Highbury-vale, in company with a female friend, who fortunately was rescued. The circumstances created the greatest excitement in the immediate neighbouihood. It appeared that the young girls were of respectable families, the deceased residing in St. John-street-road, and the survivor in Coppice row, Clerkenwell. They became acquainted about three years since at a Sunday-school treat, and wore so attached that their greatest happiness was in each other's company. On Monday, the 25th ult., deceased remained from home all night, and between two and three in the morning the father of the deceased in great alarm called upon Mrs. Harding, thinking the two young g i r l s were toge ther. iss Harding, however, was in bed. De ceased had called Upon her friend, and wished her to accompany her on the previous aft ernoon, b ut she was unable to do so. The following was elicited in the examination of Miss Harding :—Deceased returned home on the Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock. It appeared' that she had been to the tailors' ball at Highbury Barn with some woman. She was very fond of pleasure. Mrs Page dressed for the pur pose of seeing the young woman, and deceased was allowed to accompany witness home if she returned in half an hour. Deceased took 6d. away with her, and on getting outside the door she said she would buy poison with it. She had told her mother it was the last time she would see her. They both walked about some time, when they got very hungry, and deceased proposed to buy arsenic for both. They however walked beyond Edmonton, and back to London. On the Tuesday night witness was taken ill in the street, and cried, when a gentleman asked her why she cried ; and on her replying that she was - ill, and without anything to eat, he gave her ls. 3d., which was all he had. They lived upon the ls. 3d. till the Thursday morning. On the Wednes day they passed the day in St. James's-park, calling upon deceased's sister in Oxford-street, where they washed, but had nothing to eat. On the Thursday morning very early they walked to Highbury-vale, and witness asked deceased if she would go home. She replied, " I never will." She then asked wit ness if she would agree to die with her, and after an expression of their love, they joined hands, and exclaiming " Oh, love ! love !" jumped into the water together. She remembered nothing more. Witness had no wish to leave her home, but she could not leave her friend. The jury returned the following verdict, " That the deceased Jane Page committed suicide, but there was not sufficient evi dence before the jury to prove her state of mind at the time of the commission of the act." The pain ful inquiry then terminated—the mother of each young girl was present. The Mysterious Power of the Alagnet is:most beautifully developed by Mr. P. M. HERRING, of 32, Basinghall-street, in his Patent Magnetic Brushes and Combs, which are the remedy fbr grey hair, weak or falling hair, neuralgia, nervous headache_rheumatism, stiff joints, &c. ins Teazle Brushes for cloth, Velvet, &c., are admirable ; they not only clea nse but preserve the fabric in a remarkable manner. The public are cautioned against counterfeits.—[ADVT.] [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Ointment and Pills,_ Consolation for the Troubled.—All sufferers from colds, asthma, chest complaints, and shortness of breath, should general system have the ointment well rubbed upon the back and breast twice a day. After diligent friction with s u p t ep f s o i r a fora short time respiration becomes easy, and the circulation calmed local e rem o vaepapnl application tsiotoi impurities nonntoha fne tdi: from voa,irn the tannlea. n kidneys Holloway's pills should be taken while his ointment isbein.. w th il e l s u y s s e t d e , m as w t h h i ez h bo elo s w r e imnerdeiaecshai are invaluable. n v l a n l u i a n b d l e i g . would they exercise the most salutary effect; in fact they regulate they every function of the body, and contribute to keep and body in a healthy date. TEE SO ti IVA'S - I'ERN _RAILWAY EX. TEN O IOX TO EXETER. It is expected that within the next ten days the Government Inspector will pass over the line of this railway, for the purpose of making his examina tion ; and, should he report in favourable terms, the directors intend to open it early in the week, commeneing'Monday, the 16th July. The Exeter Extension will form a continuation of the main line of the South-Western Railway. The latter runs from London to Salisbury, and from thence to Yeovil the ground is covered by the Salis bury and Yeovil Railway, an independent line, but now under lease to the South-Western. From Yeovil to Exeter is a distance of 49 miles, to cover which tract of country the Exeter extension of the London and South-Western line, of which we aro now writing, has been laid down. Thus, as will be seen, it will form a completion of the main trunk line from London via Salisbury and Yeovil to Exe ter. The whole distance, as compared with the route by Bristol, shows a saving of 23 miles; and it is hoped that, when the now line is opened, we shall have third-class passengers leaving Queen-street at seven o'clock in the morning and reaching London a little after two in the afternoon. There will be three tunnels on the line. The first is near Crewkerne, the second at Honiton, and the third at the Black Boy Road. The one at Honiton is about three-quarters of a mile in length, but the others are short. The Honiton tunnel was by far the most difficult to work, in consequence of the nature of the ground, and the immense quantity of water with which the engineer had to contend. These works have been most satisfactorily carried out under the superintendence of Mr. G. Muir, Mr. Taylor's principal agent. They were finished so long since as January last, and have set remarkably well. The injury done to the bridge at Axminster by the late high floods—the highest which have been known in the Axe for 40 years—has been re paired, and engines now pass over the line as before. All the stations, with the exception of the one at Exeter,. are, nearly co m pl e t e d, an d h ave b een built in a substantial manner from elegant designs by W. Tite, Esq., M.P. The engineer to the company is J. E. Errington, Esq.; of Duke-street, Westminster ; but the works have been more immediately carried out under the inspection of W. R. Galbraith, Esq., the resident engineer. Messrs. Drew and Son have acted as surveyors to the company, having arranged the land purchases, &c. The contractor is Mr. James Taylor, of Springfield House, Staffordshire. The late unfavourable state of the weather has im peded the completion of the works, but we are happy to state that much good will result to the public from the delay, inasmuch as all the weak points of the line have thus been tried and the embank ments and other works consolidated. The following are the stations to which we have alluded :—Leav ing Yeovil, the first will be at Stoford, whence the line is continued to Sutton Bingham and then on to Crewkerne, from which town the station is about half a mile distant. Railway accommodation will now be afforded to a large surrounding district ; including Beaminster, Broadwinsor, Merriott, and South Petherton, which were at a considerable dis tance from any railway. From Crewkerne we pass into the valley of the Axe, by Ford Abbey, the beau tiful residence of W. Miles, Esq., to the Chard Road Station, about three miles from Chard to which place a branch will shortly be laid down. The towns of ll minster and Ilchester will be reached in the same way. Continuing the route down the valley, the line reaches Axminster, where there will be a first-class station, accommodating Lyme, Charmouth, Ax mouth, and Seaton, a very extensive district, at present entirely unprovided with railway facilities. Ler . . . .aving the ;alley for higher ground towards Honiton tunnel, the next place of stoppage is near Shute House, the property of Sir John de la Pole, and now occupied by Col. Maberley. This station is named the Colyton Station. On emerging from , the tunnel, Honiton Station, at the head of New street, is at once reached. This is also one of first class dimensions, 'intended to serve also for Sid mouth, which is 10 miles off. The next station will be Feniton, convenient as well for 0 ttery St. Mary, distant two miles, as for Sidmouth. Broadhembury and Payhombury are also adjacent. Then on to Whimple and Broadclist, which will provide for Honiton Clist, Rockbeare, and Aylesbeare. This is the last station before Exeter. At Yeovil, the new station will be erected by the united companies of the Bristol and Exeter, London and South-Western, and Salisbury and Yeovil Railways, who will have an interchange of traffic at this point.— Western Daily Mercury (Plymouth). COUNTRY MARKETS. LIVERPOOL-July 3. We had a pretty fair attendance at to-day's market, but a slow consumptive demand for wheat at a reduction of hl to 2d per cental. Flour difficult to quit, and fully 6d per sack and barrel lower. Oats and oatmeal were at full rates, but a slow sale. Beans declined Gd per qr. Indian corn was at rather less money, bat in free sale. In barley there is no alteration to notice. Peas in good request, at full prices. LEEDS, JULY 3, Fine fresh new wheats must be quoted slightly cheapir than last Tuesday, but the demand is limited. All other descriptions of grain maintain their value. The favourable change in the weather has caused millers to exercise great caution. NORWICH CATTLE-Jumg 30. The show of store cattle to-day was large with nearly 400 Devons. Trade fair, at about former prices. Scots, 4s to 4s Gd ; shorthorns, 3s Gd to 4s 6d ; I r i s h, Si to 4s 6d ; Devons, 4s Od to 4 s d (estimated weight what fat). Fat beasts a small show. Sheep—There were fair supplies of sheep in the pens, but business dull. Fat sheep, 8s to 9s Od per stone ; prime, Os 6d to Os. Pigs—A fair supply. Store pigs 30. to 35a; fat pork, 8s Od to 8s 6d per stone. COURSE OF E XCHANGE.—.YESTBILDIT• Amsterdam Ditto Rotterdam — 11 161 11 171 - , Antwerp Brussels — 25 30 25 35 Hamburgh Paris Ditto Marseilles — 25 35 25 40 Frankfort on Maine — 1171 1171 Vienna Trieste Petersburgh — 35 354 Berlin - 6 214 6 22 Madrid Cadiz 491- 49k Leghorn — 30 35 30 40 Milan — 25 371 25 421 Genoa' Naples Messina — • . Lisbon Oporto Rio Janeiro New York — • • • • THE MAILS. MAILS DUE. Australia, Ceylon, and Mauritius (via South ampton) July 10. Do. (via Marseilles) July 4. Bahamas and Havana (via New York) .. July 5. Canada, &c. (via Londonderry) .. .. July 4. Cape of Good Hope, &c. .. Aug. 1. China, Penang, and Singapore (via S'ampton) July 19. Do. (via Marseilles) July 13. Gibraltar (via Southampton) July 10. India (Calcutta), Ceylon, &c. (via 4outhampton) July 19. Do. (via Marseilles) July 13. India (Bombay), (via Southampton) July 10. Do. (via Marseilles) .. July 4. Lisbon, Brazils, Buenos Ayres, &c. July 0. Lisbon, Vigo, and Oporto .. July 11Ialta, Egypt, and Aden (via Southampton) Julylo. Do. (via Marseilles) July 4. United States, California, &c. (% ia Cork) July 0. Western Coast of Atrica, Madeira, Tenerife .. July 10, West Indios and Pacific, Carthgena, Cuba, &o. July 14. BIRTHS. Bunn.—On the 2d inst., at Fetcham, near Leatherhead, the wifo of Edward Budd, Esq., 104, Westbourne-ter• race, Hyde-park, of a son. Cu 4 orEs.—On the 2d inst., at Lower Clapton, Mrs. T. T. eurwen, Esq., of a son. SKIPWITII.—On the 2d inst., at 2, Lyall-street, Belo • Tave s9,uar e Lady Skipwith, of a son. MARRIAGES. CILIVNIBERS—BEALE.—On the 26th ult., at St. John's - Waterloo. road, Robert Phillips Chambers, Esq., of 22, Chancery-lane, and Camera-square, Chelsea, to Louisa, youngest daughter of Mr. Joseph Beale, of Walworth, Surrey. tV onms—SCHEY.—On the Ist inst., at Vienna, Anthony Worms, Esq., of 27, Park-crescent, Portland-place, to Emma Augusta, eldest daughter of Frederick Ton Schey, 2Esq., of Vienna. A- Austin, II Esq., ag e d 71. EATHS. 1 - 7 sTIN.—On th e 29th ult. Bu ,at xton-road, Stratford, W. B iIINEs.--On the Ist inst., at Ramsgate, Henry Barnes, Esq., of Faversham, aged 55. B IVRRETT.—On the Ist inst., at Forest-lane, Stratford Essex, William Barrett, Esq., of Bell-yard, Doctors'.. Commons, aged 67. Bc 1 0-run .--On the Ist inst., at Holwell Parsonage, Ox. 1. in cdshire, the Rev. Cunningham Boothby, aged 40. BE(y K.—On the Ist inst., Charles Beck, Esq., Victoria-rd. 0 3 d Charlton. Parr LER.—At 17, Upper Southwick-street, Lewis James Bi itler, Esq., aged 67. D 6: 1 ."Ts.—On the 20th ult., John Davis, Esq., of Fisherton T. Jelamere, Wilts, aged 75. Lo rrnozr : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG 0 r No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Run Office, No. 112, S'4.l and, in the Precinct of tho Savoy, in the county TAI &Vases, Wednesday, July 4, 1861,