The Sun. — London, England, 1860-04-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL 24, 160. [Continued from our first page.] cal Mr. Wilson—a greater radical, he supposed, did not exist—said "he was well inclined towards the present Go vernment. With Mr. Cobden as commercial traveller and plenipotentiary in foreign affairs—(laughter)—with Mr. Bright taking the out-door department, with Gladstone and Gibson inside, the firm was doing a roaring business." (Great laughter.) Well this firm had, like many others, drawn some very long bills ; theyhad drawn on an acceptor whom they (the Opposition) could not trust ; they had been ' ,peculating a little too largely, and he thought that this time next year it would be seen that the roaring business was not one which the people of this country, generally, or at all events the payers of direct taxation, wanted. (Cheers.) On the occasion to which he was referring the hon. member for Birmingham, after a speech of great eloquence and power, which was no doubt calculated to produce a great effect on the minds of the seven or eight thousand persons who heard him, came at last to his peroration. lie told his audience that he said what followed with an unfaltering voice. How it happened that his voice did not falter aft* such extraordinary calumnies and misrepresentations he (Mr. Hardy) could not imagine. (Cheers.) He said, how ever, that his voice was too honest and unfaltering for courtly ears—that he did not address the court. What schemes in the hon. member's mind must those be which were unfit to be addressed to a constitutional monarch ? (Opposition cheers.) What schemes must he be brooding over if his honest voice could not be heard by that Sove reign who had been ready to hear all voices ? (Renewed cheers.) The hon. member reminded him of what was said of the Earl of Kent in King Lear : " He cannot flatter, he, An honest mind and plain—he must speak truth: An they will take it, so ; if not, he's plain. These kind of mea I know, which in this plainness Harbour more craft, and iar more dangerous ends Than twenty silly ducking observants That stretch their dudes nicely." The honourable member went on to say that he would not address the aristocracy, because they were so wrapped up in luxury that they would not listen to him. From what class did the aristocracy of whom the hon. gentleman thus spoke mainly spring ? When did a man cease to belong to the people and become an aristocrat ? Why, the greater proportion of the aristocracy had sprung from the class to which the hon. gentleman belonged. They did not love their country less because they had titles —they had done much for liberty, and they had knitted together rich and poor in an indissoluble bond, in spite of the agitationof the hon. member among those classes whom he affected to represent. It was the combination of the rights of the Crown, for which the hon. member said he was too honest, with those of the aristocracy and of the people which was the foundation of the constitution, that constitution which the hon. member wassendeavourin,g to destroy. (Cheers.) The hon. member was dragging after him a Government many of whose members were, he be lieved, as much opposed to his schemes as he (Mr. Hardy) was. He regretted this for the sake of the honour of public men—he regretted the insincerity which had prevailed throughout the house on this subject. No man valued a seat in that house more dear than he did, but ha should consider himself degraded and disgraced if he were on that account to withhold his opinion of the schemes of the hon member for Birmingham, who was dragging down the Mi nistry towards an abyss from which there could be no re turn. (Hear, hear.) He appealed to hon. members oppo site who had grown grey in the service of their country not to be influenced by the declaration that the rejection of this bill would be regarded as a vote of want of confidence. The hon. member for Salford (Mr. Massey) ought not, he must say, to have proposed.to refer the bill to a select committee without due reflection. (Hear, hear.) He might have an ticipated that the noble lord (Lord J. Russell) would have regarded its adoption as a rejection of his bill. The noble lord himself might well have felt great difficulty in con senting to the appointment of a committee to examine so crude and immature a handiwork as that on the table. With all the thought and experience of years to aid him the noble lord had only produced a miserable abortion, having yielded himself up inhis old age to those who sat behind him, ap parently because he had not the courage to resist them. What they (the Opposition) wanted was that property, wealth, and intelligence should have their due place in the representation, and that one class of society should not be put in such a predominant position that it would be able to override all the others ; and he trusted that the house would not allow itself to be led away, but would combine heart and hand in maintaining the just influence of the monarch, the aristocracy, and the people combined. (Cheers.) Sir G. C. LEWIS said a considerable portion of that de bate had turned upon the statistical returns relating to the representation which had been laid upon the table by the present Government. Now when the Government undertook last autumn to frame a Reform Bill, it was their desire to ascertain the best data that could be obtained for so im portant a measure ; and, accordingly, they framed instruc tions, which were sent round to the country overseers through the Poor-law Board. Those instructions were framed with deliberation and care, and the returns on the table were, he believed, correct and complete so far as they could be made so from the rate-books. The rate-books were the only basis on which such returns could be founded ; it was not possible to institute a new valuation of the country and to obtain the results within the time for which they might be used for the purposes of legislation. Therefore the Government could only address themselves to the digestion of the facts recorded in the rate-books. He be lieved those results were accurate and complete for the pur pose of legislation. The hon. and learned member for Mary lebone (Mr. James), in his somewhat tesselated speech, said that the Government had made serious errors both in the framing of the returns and in the inferences they had deduced from them. He (Sir C. Lewis) maintained on the other hand that the returns were substantially correct, and that the Government had committed no errors in the infer ences drawn from them. He was glad that a committee had been appointed by the other house to inquire into the accu.- racy of the returns, because he felt that it was a matter that could be more satisfactorily investigated by a committee than in a debate in either house ; but ho was perfectly satis fied the result would be that the returns deserved the confi dence the Government placed in them. Thehen. and learned member had alluded to the case of Finsbury. If the hon. and learned gentleman would look at the notes at the bottom of the rage he would find it stated that the returns of St. Luke's and Islington, which formed part of that borough, did not contain the number of persons occupying tenements for which the owners were rated instead of the occupiers ; it was expressly stated, and yet the hon. and learned gen tleman founded a charge of inaccuracy on that omission. It would be seen also that" Kingston-on-Hull and Norwich were similarly situated, and these were the only three places where the omission was to be found, and the amount of it was stated in the return. But what he (Sir C. Lewis) held was, that the total of error was not sufficient to affect the general result, Then the hon and learned member said that the return did not include those tenements for which the rate was compounded fer and paid by the landlord. He, on the contrary, asserted'that it did contain an accurate account of all occupiers, not of all tenements or houses, but of occupiers whose rates were compounded for. Then there was a deduc tion of 20 pet cent. fes female occupiers and unoccupied tene ments, which was. in all probability correct. The hon. and learned member said the number of persons whose rates were compounder' fcr below ..£lO and above £0 would necessarily appear on the register, but th at argument was fallacious. There was no reason to suppose that a greater number of occupiers below £lO whose rates were compounded for would find their way on the register than did now of occu piers above £lO. This was shown in the returns in regard to Liverpool, where those rated above £lO numbered 39,730, while the total number of electors on the register was only 18,000; and the Tower Hemlets, where the number of re gistered electors was 28,000, while the number of occupiers rated at £lO and upwards was 67,859. He might mention many more examples, but these were sufficient to show the fallacy of the hon. rnd learned gentleman's argument that every person occupying a tenement rated above £6 and be ow £lo,whose rates were compounded for, would not poten tially, hut absolutely be upon the register under the new bill. Then it must be home in mind that change of resi dence and other circumstances which tended to reduce the number of electors as compared with the number of oscte piers qualified by the rating value would be greater under £lO than above, and with a £6 franchise he would under take to say that the addition estimated by the Government was the full maximum, and a maximum which would be liable to serious deductions. The hon. member for Leomins ter had also described the returns as fallacious, and had par ticularly adverted to the column containing the gross rental as not exhibiting the clear annual value. By the word " fallacious," in reference to returns, he should understand it was intended to convey that they were intentionally mis • stated. If that was what the hon. member intended to infer, nothing could be further from the fact. (Hear.) The wish of the Government in obtaining these returns was to supply the most accurate and reliable bases for legislation, and they believed they had done so. In the vast majority of eases the first column in the rate book from which this account had been made up exhibited the rent actually Paid by the tenant. There might be some instances in which the entries were made in the wrong column—but, generally speaking, he was assured by the poor-law audi tors, in reply to a circular he had sent to them on the sub ject, that the return in this respect might be depended on. The hon. member for Leominster had referred to some words he (Sir C. Lewis) had used in regard to the feeling of the country, and reminding him that he had said it was incum bent on these who proposed a Reform Bill to state what was the evil that required to be remedied, and to show that he remedy suggested was adequate to meet it, called upon iiim to explain the policy which had dictated the introduc tion of the present measure. lie accepted that challenge. (Hear.) The object of the Reform Act of 1831, and of the countless motions for parliamentary reform made in the House of Commons before the passing of that act, was to remedy the following evils, viz.—the representation of de cayed and almost uninhabited towns and the non-represen tation of populous counties and large manufacturing to wns. Those who recollected the Reform Bill debates would re member that it was Schedule A, which disfranchised the nomination boroughs, that the attention of the house and of the country was principally directed to, but little atte. - tion being paid to the places upon which the electoral fran chise was proposed to be conferred. The result was that though the plan was a comprehensive one, public attenti , n was turned rather to the disfranchising than the caftan chiling part of it. The £lO suffrage was accepted at the time as creating a sufficiently popular franchise ; but very little contest took place upon that question, and those who proposed amendments in the House of Lords upon other points accepted that portion of the measure without opposi tion. It was material, in considering the present bill, that they should know what had been the effect of the c ant;e in the suffrage made by the measure of 1831. Up ii the table of the house there was an account (No. 129) ,‘ i ich would en able the house to form some judgment 112 ~ this point. It appeared that the total number of voters in the English boroughs in the year 1830 —that was the year before the Reform Bill—was 163,375. The number of registered electors in 1833, the first register after the Reform Bill, was 250,234, showing that the increase produced by the Reform Bill had been 81,859. But, to make the compari son fair, they should take only those parliamentary boroughs which existed both before and after the Reform Act, omit ting all the new boroughs that were created by that act an 1 the small boroughs that were wholly or partially disfran chised. Taken in that way the numbers would stand thus : The number of voters in 1830, the year before the Reform Act, 162,640, and the number in 1832-3 201,794, showing an increase of 39,154. The house would see that the opera tion of the Reform Act in increasing the total number of voters was not very considerable. Under the non-reformed system there were many places numerously represented by scot and lot voters and otherwise; and in those places the operation of the act was considerably to reduce the number of electors. Scotland under the old system might be de• scribed as one great nomination borough, and the change there had been very considerable ; but in Ireland it was less so, the Act of Union itself having to a certain extent been a reform act for that country. Therefore as to the number of voters added, the effect of the Reform Act of 1831 had been much less than many persons supposed. In forming a judgment of the bill now proposed they should look to the effects of the act of 1831; and it was by doing so and com•• paring the period since 1831 with the previous period that he grounded in a great degree his supp6rt of the measure, believing the time had come when it was advisable that some further progress should be made inthe same direction in which they advanced so largely in 1831. He would not go into a repetition of the admitted effects of the Reform Act. They knew that many attempts bad been made to legislate since then, but there was scarcely a department of legisla tion as to England, Ireland, Scotland, the colonies, or In dia, that had not undergone a solemn and important change. The lugubrious prediction of fatal consequences—conse quences infinitely more calamitous than any that were an ticipated by the opponents of the present bill—which were indulged in, had not been verified by actual experience in respect to legislation ; and with regard to the internal state of the country—the relation in which the different classes of the community stood towards each other—could any one who remembered the period anterior to 1831 doubt the more sound and solid condition of the community at the present time as compared with what it was then? (Hear, hear.) If then there was a more firm and close union of classes, greater loyalty to the Crown, and a more wide and general diffusion ofwealth than existed previous to 1831, could any one say that that act had not had a beneficial tendency ? (Hear.) 'With regard to the closer union of classes, which had been the unquestionable result of the Reform Act of 1831, let them not underrate its importance or lightly cast aside any measure the tendency of which was to bring within the pale of the constitution a large number pf per sons who were now excluded, and give them an interest in good government. (Hear, hear.) Many hon. members present had no doubt read the last volume of an eminent French historian containing an account of the downfall of the first Napoleon, and every one who had done so must, he thought, come to the conclusion that if it had not been for the detestation with which the great body of the French people regarded the wars in which the ambition of their Imperial ruler had involved them—if it had not been for the almost universal unpopularity of the Emperor on that ground, an unpopularity which extended even to the army; for generals and marshals of the Empire participated in the feeling—if the population of Paris had not looked upon the Allies as their liberators from an almost insupportable ty ranny, it would have been impossible for the allied armies to have captured Paris or dictated the terms they did. When they were looking out for security against invasion; when they were called upon for large estimates to fortify their shores, far-sighted politicians would not overlook the enormous advantage which for the purposes of repelling invasion was to be derived from the joint action of an united people. (Hear, hear.) And it was his firm conviction that nothing would tend more to promote union of classes—as the Reform Act of 1832 most powerfully tended to produce that result—than a measure framed in a similar spirit, and within the limits that wisdom and prudence dictated. There was another reason—another circumstance—which weighed powerfully with him in recommending to the house to choose the present as a fit moment for passing this measure, end that circumstance was the absence of any political agitation or irrational outcry for reform. He had no doubt that the policy of hon. gentlemen opposite was to alter nothing, to remain motionless as long as they could, to wait till a popu lar opinion grew up as strong as that which existed 30 years ago, and then, when they had no option, to legislate under coercion. That, no doubt, was the legitimate policy of the party to which the hon. gentleman who last addressed the house belonged, but he must be permitted to say it seemed to him that those who wished that a safe and prudent mea sure should pass the house, ought to rejoice that they could now debate the subject freely, that there was no pressure from without upon them, that they could act without poli tical unions, or without any of those associations which ex isted in 1831, without those thunders in the Times which became in that year proverbial. He regarded this Reform Bill on the whole as a precautionary measure, as one intended to guard against evils now admitted, and which increased every year. The bill was divided into three portions, each of which could be dealt with separately by the committee. It had been studiously framed so as not to embarrass it with subordinate and irrelevant matter, but to invite in a distinct form the decision of the house on the three main subjects on which every reform bill must turn—namely, an enlargement of the county franchise, an enlargement of the borough franchise, an enfranchisement of boroughs, and a transfer of seats. He could not understand the objections to this measure, which at ono moment were that it was a revolutionary measure, at another that it was insignificant. He confidently maintained that if any person examined this bill he would come to the conclusion that it dealt with all the important and the most important parts of the subject, and that it dealt with them in a clear and decisive manner. There might be other subordinate questions which might fitly deserve future consideration, but the bill which was now before the house exhausted all the important parts of the subject. The hon. member for Marylebone said the bill was defective, because it did not propose any revision of the system of registration. The system of registration was now founded on Acts of Parliament distinct from the Reform Bill. It might be desirable that it should be amended, but that could be done more conveniently by a separate measure. The hon. member likewise argued that the bill was defective, because it did not contain a lodger franchise. That was a matter rather for consideration in committee than on the second reading of the bill. lie would only remark that the objection did not come with a good grace from a gentleman who complr.ined of the bill as too largely extending the franchise. To talk of the lodger fran chise as a gentlemanly franchise was a chimera. He be lieved that those who obtained votes under the lodger fran chise would to a great extent be persons belonging to the working class, who had been flitting about from one lodging to another. A large part of the speech of the hon. member for Leominster was occupied with an argument against any extension of the borough franchise ; but, as he understood the right hon. mem b er f or B ucks last session to say, Lord Derby's Government was prepared for an extension of the andatwa nakt was taken tgfihox p ene l yid a sn c .m e o o lwTo n hint t ehg h rec e trfh p h, er r ee e ll v det in o tdeh u ehe s r opo b i h pnpl e tea i l r ertn ithy v aa i e t \ t v h s e h s a l d o f r c h a a n n e g h e i d s e , borough fran c hi se, an d that since the division which had o n n was t h e in r i n o : ;1 e l e ot complete antagonism with the leader of his party on tho principle of maintaining the bor oug h f ranch i se unchanged. principle right hon. Member for Bucks, in bringing forward his bill of last session, stated his belief that according to his bill there would be an addition of 500,000 to the constituency, but he gave no statistical data upon whi c h th e calculations were founded, and it was his belief that that statement of the right hon. gentleman was mere conjecture. At all events, the present Government did net believe that their bill would add a number approaching .500,000 to the existing consti tuencies.7According to the best calculation he was able to make of the probable addition to the borough electors, he did not think that it would be much above 160,000. He thought that the calculation of his noble friend when he in troduced the bill, that the increase would be 190,000, erred on the side of excess. The next point was the county f rau . chiso. There was a return moved for by the hon. member for Surrey, which stated the number of persons rated at £lO and under £5O to be 415,000. That was the maximum, which the addition to the county constituencies could not exceed. But it was necessary to, make very large de ductions in order to arrive at a probable estimate of the in crease. In the first place he deducted 15 per cent. in respect of female occupiers, non-payment of poor-rates, insufficient residence, and double returns. That gave a deduction of 62,327. Then it would be observed that the remainder included those who were entitled to vote as freeholders, copyholders, and leaseholders who were rated between those two amounts, and on the best calculations they were able to make that number was not less than 60 per cent., which would make a deduction of 196,411. That made 257,000 to be deducted from 415,000, which left an estimated addition to the county electors of 157,779. Adding that number to the borough constituency, they obtained a total of about 321,000, and putting the addition to both the county and the borough constituencies at the highest estimate, the ad dition by the present bill would be short 400,000. He had stated that the increase in the number of the borough elec tors by the original Reform Act was not great. 'With regard to the county constituencies the original Reform Act pro posed no change, except as to copyholders. It contem plated substantially the retention of the old constituency, but a clause was introduced in committee, known as the Cha.ndos clause, which gave a vote to occupiers paying a rent of above £5O, and that was the only enlargement which the county franchise underwent. The next object which this bill had in view was the disfranchisement of certain boroughs and the transfer of seats. A complaint had been made that this measure was deficient in that re spect, and undoubtedly it did not go the length that the bill of 1831 did, But the circumstances of the country with regard to small boroughs were entirely altered since that period. At that period—there was a considerable num ber of boroughs that were close in the strictest sense of the word. They had scarcely any voters, and what :hey had were absolutely dependent on the patron of the borough. He would call the attention of the house to the condition of a few of these boroughs. In Banbury the number of voters was 18 ; in Bramber, 17 ; in Buckingham, 13 ; Calne, 19 ; Gatton, 7 ; Launceston, 17 ; Malmesbury, 13 ; Marlborough, 11; and tit. Michael's, Old Sarum, Win chester, and Yarmouth, 7 voters a piece. There was no borough at present in the condition that those boroughs were in at that time. At present there were small boroughs under the influence of one or several persons, but there was not a single borough in which, where there was a strong popular feeling, the electors might not if they thought fit exercise the franchise in the choice of a representative. The four smallest boroughs in England were Arundel, Ashbur ton, Honiton, and Lowth, and the electors on the register of those boroughs wore 951. The house would see that no thing could be more delusive than to put on the same foot ing the nomination boroughs of 1830 with the nomination boroughs of the present day. Her Majesty's Government thought it best not to propose disfranchisement on a large scale, and in selecting the places for disfranchisement they followed the example of the bill of the late Government, of which they had heard so much of late from gentlemen who he should have thought would not have been great ad • mirers of it. They had followed the principle adopted in that bill of drawing a line of population, and of diafranchis- ing one member of all the boroughs beyond that line. There were strong grounds for adopting that course, and one was that although it included 25 boroughs, there was, for the most part a remarkable uniformity in all the boroughs be low the line of a population of 7,000. In order to explain that he would call the attention of the house to the four boroughs which in 1831 had more than 6,000 and less than 7,000 inhabitants. These were Devizes, Chippenham, Hunt ingdon, and Ripon. Those were included in the list to be disfranchised. Devizes had in the register of last year, omitting freemen, 337 electors; Chippenham, 375; Hunt ingdon, 335; Ripon, 343. He would now take four boroughs having a population of from 4,000 to 5,000 inhabitants. Those were Leominster, with 385 electors ; Richmond, 338 electors ; Harwich, 316 ; and Totnes, 314. Therefore there was a considerable uniformity of character with regard to the number of electors in the boroughs below the line of 7,000, notwithstanding the diversity of their popula tion. It might also be perceived that amongst the boroughs returning one member there were several as large, at least having as many electors as those that returned two mem bers. These included Liskeard, with 437 electors ; Laun ceston, 430 ; Horsham, 380 ; Thirsk, 449 ; Reigate, 388 ; Honiton, 283 ; Thetford, 217; Wells, 257 ; Andover, 247 ; and Knaresborongh, 266. The result, therefore, was, that with regard to boroughs having a population of less than 7,000, there was no remarkable diversity, and it might be considered a fair and equitable measure to place them all on the same level of returning one member. But then the hon. member for Marylebone said, there was an absurd re sult to which this rule led, inasmuch as there were some towns with a larger population than 7,000 which had a smaller number of electors than those which were below 7,000, and the inference which he appeared to draw was, that they ought to have taken as a test of disfranchisement, not population, but the number of electors. But if that test had been taken, they would have been told that pre cisely the same absurdity existed with regard to popula tion, and they would have been asked why they did not take the population instead of the number of electors. Whatever rule was laid down it would be open to the same objection. Besides it must be borne in mind that the object of the bill was to alter the number of electors ; and no ar gument could, therefore, be alleged against the scheme of disfranchisement on the ground of the present number of voters in any of the partially disfranchised towns. On the whole he was satisfied that the house would find, when it came to discuss the details of the measure in committee, that there was no alternative which it could adopt in preference to the principle on which her Majesty's Government had prepared their schedule. The main groundupon which that schedule was to be defended was that there would be ne considerable unenfranchised place left after the passing of this bill. No doubt there were unrepresented towns with a population larger than some towns which returned mem bers, but judging of each on its own merits he was satisfied that there was no place not included in the Govern ment list for which a case could be made out on any ground of public policy for giving it a member. It would no doubt be said that there were many towns to which additional members ought to be assigned. They would be asked, for instance, why they did not give a third seat to the Tower Hamlets, or a second to Salford ? If those constituencies stood alone he should not be prepared to deny their claims to more members. But they could not be taken as isolated communities. The Tower Hamlets were a part of the metropolis, and the question was could they consider the metropolis as a whole to be inadequately represented ? He did not say that the house might not on that point re verse the decision of the Government; but that decision had at all events been advisedly come to. After a full exami nation of all the facts of the case, the Government thought that the metropolis did not require any additional members beyond the two that were proposed to be given to the new bormgh of Chelsea. With regard to the other instance he had named, it was obvious that Salford was virtually apart of Manchester; and if therefore the Government had pro posed that it should have a second member they would have been met with the complaint, " You have given Man chester two new members and Birmingham only one." (Hear, hear.) The hon. member for Leominster (Mr. Hardy) said that these additional members would lead to the adoption of plans proposed by the hon. member for Birmingham, who wished to see the great towns have six or eight members each, which the hon. mem ber (Mr. Hardy) seemed to think would be the first step on the way to perdition. But the house was too much accustomed to that style of argument. The notion that because they advanced a certain distance on a given way they were bound to proceed to all the logical conse quences that such a step might, in the opinion of those who took an extreme view involve, had been se much discredited and exploded in that house, that it was scarcely worth the hon. gentleman's while to bring it forward again. Besides the hon. member who objected to the third member for Manchester or Liverpool said nothing about the long list of third members which Government proposed should be added to the county constituencies. Still, if the house should think the representation of any particular constituency insufficient, the question was a perfectly fair one for the house to con sider ; and the decision of the Government might be altered in committee. Before he sat down he must recur for a mo ment to what he had already stated. It seemed to him that the present moment—being one of unexcited public opinion and being fitted for calm deliberation within those walls, and for a reasonable estimate of the measure throughout the country—was peculiarly suited for the consideration of a wholesome measure of parliamentary reform. He trusted that, whatever might be the fate of the bill, it would at any rate to fairly met in front, and that the house would have a fair stand-up fight upon it. (Cheers.) He hoped that no attempts would be made to defeat it by interposing delays, by seeking to obstruct it by dilatory motions, or by at tempting to debate other measures at unnecessary length. Although rumours of an intention to adopt that kind of tactic, which ho would not dignify by calling it a "Fabian policy," had reached him, he could not believe that any large number of members would combine for the purpose of carrying out a policy so ignoble, so little suited to the dig • nity or the character of the house, and so little fitted for the consideration of a measure of such first-rate importance. Although the session had now made some progress, let it be observed that even if the bill should not go into committee before Whitsuntide, the whole month of June would be left for its consideration, and if the devotion of almost every Government night would not be enough for its subsequent stages, it would be scarcely possible to conceive any time sufficient to enable a measure even of its simplicity to re ceive the assent of that house. If their discussions were finished by July there would be sufficient time for its con sideration by the House of Lords ; and it was, therefore, impossible for any gentleman who looked at the state of the session to say that there was not ample time for the due consideration of the measure. He trusted, therefore, that all dilatory motions would be avoided, and that the house would give to the merits of the bill its most careful and was echanges boundesor deliberate att en ti on . (Hear, hear.) the oo Lord R. MONTAGU d en i e d th a t th e C onservat i ve party indiscriminateret foorignisvaina tnheoonetitutton.o n opposition n t t contrary, all r 3 ,, they would hail any reform that was calculated to impart to it new vigour; but they were no doubt pledged to main tain that which they had received from their ancestors, and to resist all revolutionary changes that might tend to sub vert or destroy tke balance of the constitution. He was not prepared to deny that the Reform Act of 1832 did great good ; but it did not follow that an act which was at one time beneficial might be beneficially repeated any number of times distant times. If a p erson were to settle in some country, it might bo good for him . to drain sour wet land, and to cut down his thick tangled brushwood ; but it did n o t f o ll ow that he should go on draining till his soil was parched and arid, o trees till he had n o t l e f t hi m a shelterfrromutttinheg down his sun. (Hear, hear.) The Reform Act of 1832 waummer's at a time of great disquiet. The French King:Car passed c had been hurled from his throne, and it was said that the only chance of safety in this country was to make some concession to popular opinion. The act could not be de fended on principle, because it was passed merely on the ground of expediency. When the late Mr. Hume proposed, in 1848, a resolution to make the representation more equal to the population, the noble lord resisted that propositionon the ground that it was essential that those who had votes should be possessed of independence and intelligence; add ing that much corruption would arise from a want of intel ligence, which was necessary in a constituent body. The bon. member for Birmingham also supported the theory of representation according to population. The hon, gentle man seemed as though ho could apply to himself the lines of Canning : " Your boasted laws I hate and curse; Bad from the first, they still grew worse; I pant and sigh for universal suffrage." No one' proposed to give votes to women and children, to paupers and lunatics. But if they had a natural rig& to the franchise, it was not in the power of legislation to de priVe them of it. But the fact was that Liberals shrunk from carrying out their principles. If they took away some members from the towns because they - were not large enough, those members ought to be give7x to the counties which were shown to be more populous than the boroughs. Ily the present mode they were sayin ; that members of parliament were worth a certain number of votes ; thenwhy nbt have equal electoral districts at once He further con tended that the small boroughs alway s selected the best members. (Much laughter.) There might be a few excep tions ; but those proved the rule. The lard -e boroughs ge nerally elected declaimers—men conspicuous for their long speeches. (Hear, hear.) For this purpose Ledru Rollin in the year 1848, at Paris, said, " By all in eans avoid re- turning men of ability and education." That was the case with the large constituencies ; they liked men of medio crity, without originality or intellect. (Hear, hear.) The noble lord (Lord J. Russell) was quite right in his remarks on this subject. He showed that large constituencies had rejected Burke, Macaulay, and Sir J. C. Hobhouse. The latter was made War Minister, and immediately the consti tuency would have nothing more to do with him. It was true, at any rate, that the constituencies of Birmingham, Ashton, and Rochdale did not at the present day return War Ministers. (Laughter.) But every man who had brought himself into notice was liable to lose his seat for a Large constituency. Let them look at tither countries to see the effect of the democratic movement. In Sydney the Speaker resigned in consequence of ill health, caused by the long and noisy brawlings of the assembly; it was the same in Melbourne, where a Government only went into office to leave it again. Let them look at Mexico, and even the United States, where the most violent outrages were com mitted, and vigilance committees had to be appointed to preserve the public peace. It was the same in France at the first Revolution, when the arietoeraey were destroyed, and democracy merged into despotism. The bill would give the constituencies such a power that the house would be swayed by numbers without any regard whatever to the importance-of the subject. Ever since the passing of the Reform Bill, hon. members had become less honest, and spoke and voted against their own convictions. That was shown by the noble lord at the head of the Government in his speech last year against the ballot; and he (Lord R. Montagu) wished the ballot was applied to the present mea sure, for ho believed there would be only two to vote for it. (A. laugh.) At present the vote of a clown had as much weight as that of a Secretary of State, but was that right or was it politic that a man of thought and education should be placed on the same level in this manner with a boor. If this bill passed, the names of Conservatives and Whigs would be no more heard of—the floor of that house would become an arena for the struggles of factions, and of scenes like those presented in the Senate at Washington. (Hear.) Mr. H. BERKELEY said hon. members opposite had accused hon. members on his side of the house of cowardice, because they were afraid to speak their opinions and op pose the noble lord. At all events he could promise them that cowardice should not be his. But before he expressed his own views on the bill, he must say that it appeared to him the most extraordinary thing in the world that they should hear so much eloquence and vituperation from hon. members opposite, when all that eloquence and vituperation ' was to end in nothing. At the close of the debate, the second reading was to be agreed to without a division. He found himself as a Reformer placed in this position. He could not agree to consider this as a Reform Bill. (Hear, hear.) It had no pretence to be considered a Reform Bill in the common acceptation of the term. (Hear,' hear.) But it was a progressive bill, and therefore he was com pelled to give it his support. (Laughter on the Opposition benches.) While he did so, however, he protested against its being considered a "finality" measure, or a settlement of the question for the next 20 or 25 years. (Hear, hear.) The bill might be called a progressive measure, but, as a Reform Bill, it was a most infinitesimal dose, and he ac cepted it like a globule from a homoeopathic practitioner— he swallowed it without the slightest belief that it would do him any good. (Laughter.) The measure appeared to him deficient in those points which ought to have been attended to in any bill professing to deal with the question of Re form. The first was the extension of the suffrage. The bill made a class of men voters who were less calculated, if that were possible, to withstand intimidation and corrup tion than the present constituencies. (Hear, hear.) 'While at the same time it withheld from these new voters the only protection which would enable them to act independently. (Hear, hear.) He objected to this measure on precisely the same ground in that respect as Lord Macaulay ob jected to the bill of 1832, because it did not give the poor voter the protection of the ballot. The second deficiency was the absence of any interference with the nomination boroughs. The noble lord in this part of his measure had not shown due consideration for the high character which he had won for himself as a reformer; and for his own part he repudiated the excuse made for him by the hon. member for Birmingham, that he could not expect to carry more than he proposed, as unworthy of the charac ter of the noble lord. Had he thrown himself more heartily upon the country, and gone farther in dealing with these nomination boroughs, he would have been supported. For his own part he agreed with Lord Macaulay in thinking that if these boroughs were to be maintained at all, it was better that an old mound, or four old walls like Gratton or Old Sarum, should return the members than that 150 per sons should be demoralised by being converted into a voting machine to keep up the show of an election. The third point in which the measure was defective was its failure to deal with the tribunals of that house, appointed to try elec tion petitions. No eyetam had been a greater failure, or cculd more urgently require alteration. The different con clusions come to in the reports of the election committees was enough to make any one hold up his hand in surprise. Different committees came to totally opposite conclusions from apparently the souse facts. The noble lord had passed that subject over entirely. He must say also, after briefly touching upon these points, that the party which had given its support to the noble lord—that was the most indepen dent section of the Liberal party—was placed in a most painful position. (Laughter from the Opposition.) They were placed in anything but a pleasant position when they looked at this bill, and thought of the bill brought by the right hone irable gentleman opposite, and which they assisted the noble lord to throw out. (Cheers.) The supporters of liberal measures in this country, looking to the former acts of the noble lord, had placed their full confidence in him, and looked upon him as the man who was to obtain for them a still larger share of political power. And now he would ask the hon. gentleman whe ther they were not in a position to say—" What went ye forth to see ? " The distinction between parties in that house was abolished, and they must all go to the country together as a jolly set of Reformers. (Laughter.) That was felt from tne end of the country to the other, and he could say that there was no particular feeling towards the bill, except that the people were willing to accept it as an instalment of what was due to them, since they found they could get nothing better. For the noble lord's own sake, would it had been more worthy their acceptance. The noble lord, he grieved to say, after having commenced his career in Brobdignag, was ending it at Lilliput. (Cheers and laughter.) The noble lord, however, was deserving of all thanks and praise from the party for whom he had done so much. His morning of life was full of promise, and his noontide was not less brilliant; but his evening sun was setting in dark and watery clouds. The claims which the noble lord had upon the gratitude of the country it was im possible to forget, and the only regret that his name would hereafter excite would be, that the end of his career did not stand out as boldly and as nobly as its commencement. (Cheers.) Lord ROBERT CECIL hoped the house would be cau tious before they transferred political power into the hands of a class not prepared for it. If they did, the step would be irrevocable and the consequences irreparable. (Hear.) Mr. M. MILNES thought the measure quite consistent with the ancient constitution of this country, and those great principles which in that house had been so ably advo cated by eminent statesmen on former occasions. He wished the bill to go into committee, and when it did he should move a clause giving the suffrage to members of Universities, Inns of Court, and other scientific and learned bodies. (Hear, hear.) If by the proposed enlargement of the suffrage respectable and intelligent artizans were sent into that house he for one would be. glad to welcome them —(hear, hear)—and he was sure their opinions would be heard with respect and received with deference. (Hear.) He did not believe that the bill was likely to effect any very great change. He would accept it simply as it stood, be lieving that it would tend to the development of the political education of the country, and that no danger could arise from it, he would give it his cordial support. (Hear.) Mr. PEACOCKE dissented from the doctrine laid down by the right hon. gentleman the member for Buckingham shire, that minorities should not be represented in that house. The object of the constitution was to obtain the representation of every class. (Hear.) He believed the Reform Bill of the right hon. gentleman was a mistake, being based on uniformity of suffrage. Such language was not the language of the British constitution, and should not be held by a great conservative party. The great fault of the present Reform Bill was, that it substituted a uni form suffrage of £6 for a uniform suffrage of £lO. Fur his own part he wished to see as great a variety of suffrage as possible. Mr. 'THOMPSON trusted that the bill would become law during the present session. Mr. NE WDEGATE said that when the house went into committee he would propose that the schedules of the bill for 1851 should be adopted. If this proposal was not adopted he would vote against the third reading, and if the bill was sent up to the House of Lords he hoped it would be rejected by them. The measure would not extend the county constituencies in the same way that it proposed to extend the borough constituencies. - Mr. BLACK moved the adjournment of the debate. Lord PALMERSTON expressed his readiness to assent to the motion, and observed that, as several orders stood for discussion to-morrow, and as it was not desirable that the debate on the Reform Bill should be resumed at the fag-end of the evening, he should suggest its adjournment until Thursday, when he hoped it would be brought to a close. (Cries of "No," and laughter.) He could not help thinking that to seek to delay the progress of the bill was hardly a worthy mode of dealing with a great question with respect to which it was announced that no division was to be taken. (Hear, hear.) If the case were other wise, and it was proposed that the second reading of the bill should not be acceded to, he could, of course, under- stand wily hon. gentlemen should desire that the debate shouldre-prOTOriged. Mr. DISRAELI thought the noble lord acted wisely in assenting to the adjournment of the debate until Thursday. As to whether it could conveniently be brought to a close on that day the noble lord was, of course, as good a judge as any hon. member on the Opposition side of the house could be supposed to be, inasmuch as those who sat on the same side as the noble lord had hitherto taken the chief share in the discussion. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) The noble lord did not, he was sure, when he spoke of delay mean to make any personal or party allusion ; but he must remind the noble lord that he seemed altogether to misapprehend the character of a discussion which he (Mr. Disraeli) had, he believed, commenced about six weeks ago. (A laugh.) He had then stated, for his own part, and on behalf of those with whom he acted, that they would not object to the second reading of the Bill, but in making that state ment he had by no means intended to express his approval of the measure. All he wished to imply was simply that in assenting to the second reading they were willing to con sider the subject of the reconstruction of the House of Com mons and the principle on which that reconstruction should proceed. He, therefore, desired that the noble lord should clearly understand that, in speaking on behalf of himself and his friends—the noble lord could, of course, answer for ' his own—(a laugh)—he did not seek for delay, but by a full discussion of all the principles involved in the Bill so to prepare themselves to deal with a question of immense im portance that when they went into committee upon it the mind of the house and the country might be fitted to grapple with it as it deserved, and that hon. members might not be then compelled to launch into serious and lengthened discussions, but, having cleared the way by pre liminary debate, might be enabled to proceed with greater facility than would otherwise be the case. He, therefore, begged the noble lord not for one moment to imagine that delay was the object of the Conservative party, while, of course, it would be presumptuous on his part to touch upon the question of what were the wishes in the matter of the supporters of the Government. (Laughter.) He and his friends desired, in short, not delay, but that deep and deliberate investigation of a great subject which was in accordance with the freedom of discussion by which the Parliament of England was characterised. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BENTINCK had on a previovs occasion protested against the practice of the two front benches making arrangements as to when a debate should close. He had flattered himself, from the feeling then expressed, that should the attempt ever be repeated he should be able, with the support of a large number of independent members, to put a stop to a practice alike irregular and unconstitutional. He was surprised the noble lord should again have made a proposal of that kind. He had several times attempted, but in vain, to catch the Speaker's eye ; and he conceived he should only be exercising the indisputable right of an inde pendent member if he did his best to prevent the debate from being brought to a termination till he had had full and ample opportunity—(laughter)—of expressing his opinion on the measure before them. The noble lord appeared, also, to have fallen into another mistake ; he had assumed, be cause he had settled it with the right hon. member for Bucks, that there would be no division on the second read ing. It was not in the power of any member to say that no division should betaken. He concurred entirely with the right hon. gentleman when he said, on behalf of that side of the house, that what they sought was discussion, not delay. The noble lord's objection to a full discussion and hilt anxiety that it should close, seemed to indicate that he be gan to doubt whether the measure of his Government had gained much credit since the discussion began. (Hear.) Lord J. RUSSELL denied that his noble friend had in tended the front benches to agree as to the debate coming to a close. He had only put it to the consideration of the house whether it might not think it convenient the debate should terminate on Thursday. There was a very great convenience in members knowing when a debate was likely to come to an end. Of another observation of the honourable gentleman he must take some notice. lie stated that his noble friend had assumed from what had passed in this discussion that there was to be no division against the second reading. The debate had lasted three or four nights; and it would certainly be usual, and due in courtesy, not only to the Government, but to the house, that if any hon. gentleman intended to divide against the second reading some notice should be given of that inten tion. (Hear.) It should be publicly known, or many mem bers might be absent in the country, or, if in London, might stay away from the house under the conviction that no division would take place ; and then a division might be taken by surprise when least expected. This was not usual even as to measures of minor import ance, and certainly not on a measure so important as the present bill. The hon. gentleman had a perfect right to express his sentiments at any length he thought proper; but, according to the practice of the house and by courtesy, if a division was to be taken, some notice of it should be given. Lord C. HAMILTON agreed with the noble lord as to the inconvenience caused to distant members by sudden changes in the course of public business. He thanked the noble lord for laying down a rule, which in one case ho cer tainly forgot. Mr. FELLOWES protested against any understanding being entered into that the debate should close on Thurs day. Mr. KNIGHTLEY.denied that the members on the Op position side of the house were responsible for the frequent delays of the bill before Easter for other business far less important. Mr. SCULLY said that no Irish member had yet been heardin the debate, and if any Irish member spoke late on Thursday he ought not to be charged with causing delay, or raising a factious opposition. It was not a mere English bill, for the decision on it would be conclusive as to the bill for Ireland ; and every one was interested when his neigh bour's house was on fire. (Laughter.) He approved the principle of the bill—an extension of the franchise ; but if a division were taken against it, he would not bind himself to declare that the measure was satisfactory to the country. Believing as he did that the suffrage could hardly be ex tended too far, he would vote for the bill, but he must pro test against its being considered a final measure. (Hear.) The debate was then adjourned till Thursday. REPEAL OF PAPER DUTY. The Paper Duty Bill was considered as amended. CUSTOMS BILL. On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER the house went into committee on the Customs Bill, but dissatisfaction being indicated by hon. members the right hon. gentleman immediately moved that the chairman re port progress. The Chairman was accordingly ordered to report pro gress, and the house resumed. SUPPLY. The report of the Committee of Supply was brought up and agreed to. BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY BILL. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the committal pro forma of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill; with a view to the introduction of certain amendments. The bill passed through committee. LANDLORD AND TENANT (IRELAND) BILL On the motion of Mr. CARDWELL the second reading of this bill was postponed. REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS, &c. (SCOTLAND.) This bill was read a second time. REFRESHMENT HOUSES, &c., BILL. The adjourned debate on the second reading of this bill was postponed till Monday next. COMPANIES BILL. • This bill passed through committee pro forma. FISHERIES (SCOTLAND) BILL. This bill was read a second time. The Petitions of Right Bill as amended, was considered. CHURCH-RATES ABOLITION BILL. Mr. DILLWYN (in the absence of Sir J. Trelawny) moved that the order of the day for the third reading of the Church-rates Abolition Bill have precedence of notiees of motions upon Friday next. The motion was agreed to. The house adjourned at a quarter to one o'clock. Feb. 11, March 10, 1860. 1860. Increase. Decrease. Bank of England 21,735,265 20,717,800 1 , 017 , 465 Private Banks 3,504,181 1,376,819 127,562 Joint-stock Banks 2,977,034 2,946,330 30.704 Total in England 28,216,68 01 27,040,949 1 , 175 , 731 Scotland. 4,001,977 122,(129 Ireland 7,353,714' 7 204 462 149 , 282 United Kingdom 39,693,0301 38,217,388 I 1,447,64 And as compared with the month ending the 12th March 2 1859, the above returns show an increase of £300,406 in the circulation of notes in England, and an increase of £791,426 in the circulation of the United Kingdom. On comparing the above with the fixed issues of the sew.- ral banks the following is the state of the circulation : rhe English private banks are below their fixed issue The English joint-stock banks aro below their fixed issue Total below fixed issue in England £1,384,143 The Scotch banks are above their fixed issue £1,252,706 The Irish banks are above their fixed issue £849,968 The average stock of bullion held by the Bank of Eng land in both departments during the month ending the 7th March, was £15,162,331, being a decrease of £178,522 as compared with the previous month, and a dec rease o f £1,721,508 when compared with the same period lass year. The following are the amounts of specie held by the Scotch and Irish banks during the month ending the 10th March : Gold and silver held by the Scotch banks £2,624,584 Gold and silver held by the Irish banks 2,746,601 • £5,371,185 Being a decrease of £70,418, as compared with the previous return, and an increase of £398,544 when compared with the corresponding period of last year. BANK RETURNS, The Bankers' Magazine furnishes the returns of the cir culation of the Private and Joint-Stock Banks in England and Wales fer the four weeks ending March 10. These returns, combined with the circulation of the Scotch and Irish Banks for the same period, and the average circula tion of the Bank of England for the four weeks ending the 7th of March (the nearest date furnished by their returns) will give the following results of the circulation of notes in the United Kingdom, when compared with the previous month FEARFUL ACCIDENT ON TILE GREAT NORTILER.V RAILWAY. Yesterday morning the ten o'clock express train from London to Manchester, on entering the Hat field Station met with a fearful accident, through a portion of the train being thrown from the metals, which, we regret to state, was attended with fatal results, two persons being killed from the frightful mangling of their bodies, and others more or less injured, besides great destruction of the company's property. Four passenger carriages of the train were literally smashed to pieces, and a number of coal-trucks belonging to a coal train which was passing on the up-line at the time, with which the express came into collision, were much shattered, and the coal scattered in all directions. One of the deceased persons was a first-class passenger, Leslie Pym, Esq., It magistrate of Bedford, and a member of the well-known family of the late Francis Leslie Pym, Esq., of Radwell House, near Baldock, and Eaton-place, Brighton, who, it is asserted, had come direct from there on his way to Nasal Grove, to arrange some matters in relation to his late father's burial. The following are the particulars concerning this deplorable accident, gathered on the spot, as Ascer tained from disinterested persons,, eve-witnesses to the dreadful catastrophe :—About half past ten a.m. the ten o'clock express train from London, consist ing of seven carriages, including a guard's-van, was entering the Hatfield Station at its usual speed of not less than 40 miles an hour, and as it was pass ing a number of plate-layers engaged in laying an angle line abreast of the engine -sheds close to the foot-bridge, the engine is supposed to have broken one of the upward rails of the down line. The en gine and tender and two carriages passed safe over, separating from the rest of the train, which swerved with such violence as to cause some of the rails to give way, and, in conse quence, the break-van and four carriages left the rails, and ran off the road to the down-platform, where one of the carriages came to a stand,-whilst the others, headed by the engine, tender, and two carriages (which kept upon the metals) ran on further, passing the station at a frightful velocity, striking against a coal-train pass ing on the up-line with such alarming violence as to knock out the sides of four of the trucks, and scattering the coal to the distance of about 150 yards, and continuing their headlong course until after they passed the level crossing, about half a mile distant, where the carriage in which was the unfortunate Mr. Pym capsized, and the others were smashed to pieces, presenting a complete and hor rible wreck. The engine and the forward portion of the train ran about 130 yards farther on, when the engine came to a stand. When the accident first occurred, a piece of the broken rail flew up and knocked down one of the plate-layers, inflicting terrible injuries, from which he expired about three hours afterwards, at the Red Lion Hotel, Hatfield, where he had been promptly conveyed. Poor Mr. Pym was discovered lying on the right hand rail of the down-line, frightfully mutilated, his body being literally ripped open. Strange to say, he was found breathing. He was conveyed as quickly as possible on a door to the Red Lion Hotel. On his way thither, two or three minutes after the oc currence, he was understood to say, "Bob, Bob, be quick ;" and immediately ceased to breathe. An - other passenger, the Rev. William J. Tweddle, said to live somewhere in Surrey, and described as a Methodist preacher on his way to preach a sermon at Oakham, was found to have met dangerous in juries. Immediately underneath his ear was said to be a terrible gash, with other cuts about the face, both his thighs badly bruised, and one leg much cut, besides other contused injuries on other parts of his body. He was placed under medical as sistance without delay, and conveyed to London in a precarious state. Thomas Williams, one of the guards, was slightly injured, and although the other passengers received no material injury, still many of them were contused or scratched by the flying of the debris with their hats smashed, and their clothes in some instances torn. Alto gether it is astonishing to all the beholders that more life was not sacrificed, and which can only be in the least accounted for by the impedi ment of the coal train, as they described the scene as being of a most alarming nature. The road was much torn up in places from where the accident occurred to the telegraph station, a distance of 210 yards. - The inspector of the line, Mr. Williams, who was a passenger in the next carriage to Mr. Pym, escaped with a slight shaking, and in conjunction with Mr. Coote, the Hatfield station-master, acted with great promptitude in taking the necessary steps to prevent trains from arriving from the North or South, as both lines were obstructed with the debris. A telegraphic despatch was forwarded to London, and medical assistance, in addition to that procured in the town, together with a large addi tional stiff of workmen, were soon upon the spot. About one o'clock, after great exertions, the up line was cleared, and traffic was then resumed over that line until about seven last night, when both lines were again in working order. The driver and fire men escaped unhurt, but Ward, one of the plate layers, is said to have had a miraculous escape. The account given by the company's officials does not materially differ from the above, and the only explanation they state they can give as to the ac cident is, that one of the rails was found broken. The list of killed and injured, as fir as have yet been ascertained, are—Mr. Pym, dead; George Venables, platelayer, 'dead; Thomas Williams ; guard, slightly injured; and others slightly injured, names not known, who, after two hours' delay, resumed their journey. Inspector English, of the Rural Police, has ch irge of the books and valuables found in the possession of Mr. Pym. MIDDLESEX SESIONS, April 23. The April adjourned Quarter Sessions' com menced this morning at the Guildhall, Westmin ster, before Mr. Bodkin, assistant-judge; Mr. Payne, deputy; and the following magistrates : Baron de Bliss, Mr. Goodhait, Mr. Burslem, Mr. Gould, Mr. Rankine, Mr. Baylis, Mr. Hogarth, Mr. Beetbam, Mr. H. H. Harwood, and Mr. Healey. The calendar contains the names of 66 prisoners, 59 of whom are charged with felony and 7 with misdemeanour. The Assistant-Judge delivered the charge to the grand jury. Martin Schmidt, 33, a Prussian,who availed him self of his right of being tried by a mixed jury, was indicted for stealing ten £5 notes, £8 in cash, and a coat, the property and money of William How, his master. The case stood over from last session. Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Orridge were counsel for the prosecution. Mr. Jtibton defended the prisoner. This case lasted the greater part of the day, but the facts relative to the charge lay in a very small compass. The prosecutor was a gentleman, living at 52, Queen's-gardens, Hyde Park, and the pri soner was taken into his service as in-door servant and butler. He absconded from his situation a few days after he had entered upon it in Feb ruary, and the money, notes, and property, men tioned in the indictment, were missed, the notes having been abstracted from a despatch-box kept in Mr. How's library. Four of them were traced to the prisoner, he having changed them, and when he was taken he was wearing a coat which had been stolen from his master's wardrobe. One of the notes was changed by the prisoner's wife, who was subpoenaed for the prosecution, but she was not ex amined on her proving that she was his wife. She had given a different name, Egener, and ex plained that that was the real name of the prisoner, but that he had adopted that of Schmidt because he was a political refugee and a deserter from the Prus sian service, and could not, therefore, follow his ordinary avocation, which was that of a Conti nental courier, in his own name, through fear of arrest. The result of the trial was a verdict of guilty, and the jury recommended the prisoner to mercy, an the ground of a good character he had received, but they very soon withdrew that recom mendation on hearing what the police-constable in the case, Gordon, 336 A, had to say,of him. He had, it appeared, obtained many situations by means of false characters ;* he had committed robberies at every one of them; in one cape he stole over £lOO worth of plate; and had robbed and plundered about 12 servant girls of their savings, by showing them a sham bank-book, in which a tolerably good round sum appeared entered to his credit, and pro mising to marry them. He had seduced several under that promise, and one of his victims proved pregnant, and was now on the streets. The Assistant-Judge said this was a case in which the public interests weredeeply involved, and the court would not be doing its duty if it did not pass a sentence which would remove so dangerous a person as the prisoner from society for a lengthened period. Persons who got confidential situations by false characters were of the very worst class of offenders, their only object being to rob and plun der, and the sentence upon the prisoner was that he be kept in penal servitude five years. Frederick Fraser, convicted last session of steal ing two coats, under circumstances fully reported at the time, was brought up and sentenced to 12 months' hard labour. Mr. M'Donnell was for the prosecution ; Mr. Diekie for the prisoner. John William Ratcliff, 40, a clerk, was indicted for feloniously embezzling various sums of money which he had collected as rents for and on account of Henry Vincent Wing and another, of Gray's Inn-square, his employers. He pleaded guilty. The total amount of his defalcations exceeded £lOO, and he had been in the receipt of 255. per week, and had been in his situation, with an un suspected character, for seven years. He had made every reparation in his power, by admitting all the wrong he had done, and giving every information to his employers. Mr. Francis was counsel for the prisoner, and addressed the Court in mitigation of punishment. Mr. F. H. Lewis was for the prosecution. The Court sentenced the prisoner to 12 months' hard labour. John Cotter, 58, and Charles Roleda (alias Brummy), 45, were indicted for stealing two rolls of cloth, value £B, the property of Philip Levesot?, a clothier in Prescott-street, Whitechnpel, from his shop-window, by taking out a square of glass, and William Barnett, 22, and Jacob Belasco, 57, dealers, in Petticoat-lane, now Middlesex-street, were in dicted for feloniously receiving the same. Mr. Metcalfe prosecuted, Mr. M'Donnell defended Cotter and Barnett, Mr. Best defended Roleda, and Mr. Daly defended Belasco. The jury acquitted all the prisoners except Roleda, who was found guilty, and upon whom sentence was deferred, in order that a series of convictions might be put in against him, as he was well known in the prisons, and also to the police. THE PF,NRITH MURDER. Thomas Sowerby, alias Tommy Grey, who stands charged with the wilful murder of a Jew, named Simon Manassa, or Levi Davidson, at Penrith, on Easter Monday, made a confession of his guilt on Saturday. From the evidence adduced before the magistrates, it appeared that on Easter Monday night the deceased, who had been staying a few days at a common lodging-house at Penrith, was drinking in the Grey Bull Inn, where also was the prisoner. The deceased left about 11 o'clock, rather " fresh in drink," and went in the direction, of his lodgings, where, however, he was unable to gain admittance, as the lodging-house keeper feared that he would quarrel with a Scotchman, who was sleep ing there, and who had insulted the deceased in the afternoon by asking him what trade he was. The deceased left the door, and returned in the direction of the Grey Bull Inn. The prisoner left the Grey Bull Inn half an hour after the deceased, in the same direction as he had gone. About half-past 11 a young man named Atkinson saw the prisoner walking down the street arm-in-arm with a man, supposed to be the deceased ; and about three-quar ters of an hour later saw the prisoner coming over a stile which leads to the field where the deceased was found, nearly dead, the following morning. Near that place, in the corner of a field, was a " hogest," or shed for sheep and young cattle. The substance of the prisoner's confession is that ho met the old man, who asked him if ho could find him lodgings for the night, as he had been locked out from the house where he had engaged a bed. The prisoner said he could do so, and took him to some out-houses further up than the place where the murder was committed, but they could not there make themselves comfortable, so they went to the " hogest." The old man could not get up over the calves on to the hay loft, and thereupon began to call the prisoner names. They got into the field where the murder was committed, and the old man threw his stick at the prisoner, who seized him and " buttocked " him, and when he was down took the old man's stick and struck him several times over the head. The prisoner did not think then that he had done him any very material mischief. He left him lying, and ran across to the town, passing over the style where he was seen by Atkinson and the young girl who , was with him. If this statement be correct, the act would not appear to have been premeditated. Both the prisoner and the deceased were of very excitable temperaments. COUNTRY MARKBTS COLCHESTER-ArruL 21. A tolerable supply of wheat, and for the best samples is advance barely obtained on last week's prices. Barley cornea scarce, and dearer. Beans and peas were the turn in favour of the seller. Wheat, white sos to 56s I Beans, Mazagan.. 32s to 36s red 46s to 52s Middle & small 36s to 42s Barley 36s to 50s White peas 36s to 38s I Oats 2os to 2Es Grey.. 32s to 38s CHELMSFORD-ArBIL 19. There was a fair supply of wheat ; generally the trade was good at a rise of is per qr over late prices for the best sorts ; inferior at late rates. Oats and barley fully 2s up. Beans and peas firm at last week's prices. Wheat, white 44s to 57s Peas, Partridge ..40s to 4 18 red 43s to 518 White 40s to 428 Barley 34s to 448 Boiling 4os to 435 Chevalier ....388 to 48s Dun Ms to 38s Grinding 21s to 33s Beans, Tick ....40s to 433 Malt 60s to 66s Harrow Ticks 43s to 468 Chevalier 63s to 68s Mazagan 37s to 398 Oats 28s to 37s KIRKALDY—APRIL 21. Here to-day we have had very small supplies of ever kind of grain. Sales brisk, at fully is higher. Wheat Barley I Oats First.... 48s Od 38s Od 27s Od Second .. 52s Od —s Od I 30s 6d Third .. 56s Od —s Od 33s ET—Arnm 20. the close of the mar Walls End. • d. Russell's Hetton 21 9 Thorpe 21 9 South Hartlepool 21 0 Carway and Duffryn Malting .ket, B—Sold, S. COAL MAILK: (Prices of Coal per Ton at s. (i. St. Cuthbert's Hartley 15 0 Wylam l6 01 Walls End. lielloe 2l 9; Hetton.... Ships at marl CAPTURE OF POACHERS ON THE NESS.—It has been known for some time that poaching has been systema tically practised by night at the mouth of the river Ness, and that sea-trout and foul salmon—evidently the produce of a net and coble-fishing—were freely offered for sale is the town and neighbourhood. This was a state of matters which the renters of the water, the Ness Angling Club, determined not to put up with, so they laid their plans for a capture, and were rewarded on Thursday morning by complete success. A few spirited members of the club, aided by Sergeant Macbean, of the police, and some of his men, secretly watched both sides of the river, and captured two men in a boat in the act of fishing with a net from 40 to 45 yards in length.—lnverness Courier. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Pills and Ointment Asthma, Coughs, Colds.—These complaints of the chest come on with alarming frequency while the weather is unsettled. At first the symptoms are readily remediable by the joint in fluence of Holloway's remarkable medicaments. While taking the Pills as freely as the constitution will comfortably permit, the Ointment should assiduously be rubbed at least twice a day on the chest and between the shoulders, till a thick rush comes out, when the violence of all symptoms will gradual") , give way, the breathing become longer, and the oppression less. No medicines are • inore efficient in chest complaints—none can be used with equal safety and certainty. Both Pills and Ointment are accompanied by, very clear and simple directions for using them. • • --- [AnveitTisEmENT.l—Among the numerous extraordi nary cures without medicine effected , by Du Barry's deli cious health-restoring: iteValenta Aiebica Food ofrindieo - (dyspepsia), flatulency, • constipation, nervous, bibous and liver complaints,. .cnugh,. as th ma , consumption, sad debility,, the following are not the least remarkable "Athol-street, Perth;May 2; 1842.=Thirteen years' cone, indigestion, and general .debility have been removed by P Barry's excellent Revalenta Arabica Food.—James-Porter., No. 24,814, the Rev. Tlionias Minster, cure of tie year s nervousness, with spasms and daily vomitings. From the Venerable Archdeacon, of . Ross.—No. 32,836. " Three year s' excessive nervousness, with pains in my neck and left aro , and general debility, whichrendered . my life very miserablsp has been radically removed by Du Barry's health-restoring food.—Alex. Stuart, Archdeacon of Ross, Skibbereen. En tins, at Is. 6d. •, 11b., 3s. ;' 21b., ss. 9d. ; 51b., 125.; 265. The 101 b. and 121 b. tins carriage free, on receipt of pest' office order. Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-street, Londo n ; Fortnum, Mason, and Co., 182, Piccadilly AMois, 60, Gracechurch-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 63, and 160, Oxford' street ; 330 and 451, Strand • 49 and 60, Bishops street ; 85, Tottenham-court-road. Also at Dube Bewley and Draper ; at Edinburgh, Raimes and C C. . at Liverpool, Nixon and Thew ; at Manchester, Sharp an 2 Scott ; at York, Rabnes, Blanchard, and Co. ; at..Bolltx ampton, Randal and Son 121 b., BIRTHS. BROOKE.—At Fern Lodge, Kensington, the wife of the Rev. Stopford Brooke, Of a son. - HOPE.—On the 21st inst., at Arklow House, Connaug ht.' place, Lady Mildred Beresford Hope, prematurely, of A daughter, who only survived a short time. Ross. On the 21st inst.; at Chatham, the wife 'of Lieut.' Colonel A. Ross, R.E., of a son. MARRIAGES. CURZON—HEATHCOTE.—On the 19th inst., at Melksha ul parish church, the Hon. Henry G. Roper Curzon, °ali t son of Lord Teynham, to Harriet Anne Lovell, young ° surviving daughter of the late Rev. Thomas Heath cote, of Shaw-hill House, Wilts. PALMEIt—GREEN.—On the 20th inst., at the Oaks Churubt Leicester-forest, Robert Heyrick Palmer, Esq., of Middle Temple, to Susan, Georgi ans , e ld es t daughter 0 Edward Mortimer Green, Esq., of Charnwood Ho use, Leicestershire. DEATHS. GRIFFITH.—On the 18th inst., at his residsnce, st o p nel, George Griffith, aged 72. HOTHA3I.-011 the 14th inst., at York, Captain Giorg i) : Hotham, R.E. NOBLE.—On the 21st inst.; at Woodford, Richard Noble, Esq., of the Indian Navy, aged 24. OWEN.—On the 19th inst. , at Carmarthen, the Rev. Jerk. miah Owen, aged 92. SHEARS.—On the 22d inst., Daniel T. Shears, Esq., Of Bankside, Southwark, aged 78. THORNBER.—On the 21st inst at Poulton-le-Fylde, Giles ' Thornber, Esq., J.P., aged 85. VENABLES.—On the 21st inst., at Cookham, 13erkshire,. George Venables, Esq., aged 67. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO yovNi!, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, N°' 112 , Strand, in the Procinot of the Savoy, in the 00 u sitY - Middleat , .z, Tuesday, April 24, 1560. • C TICK :May 1, a for isstu They on allot when th Five Sh price of of Half- The d Shilling The ) FORMA Friday. The S June The 6 The 3 of Plt day,..2Stl Other liners or Seasor be isstlei Ticket he had Exeter-1 C "1 KIT Um—Er lo clock. -rom 11 ti James's Mr. J. W A RO dil eonducte( perol N added to Mission.: ----- TILE This Est. elegance 4 with the EVENIN direction tion of Doors opl punctuall KEG St thus to Diseases tion is at during. th ING'S C( averting, alike for 1 Prepare and 10s. 6 St. Paul'e IMPORT Sin,—l aenges to bare affoz able to sit be very In To Mr. T"'' 3!4, PAT EN'! ma ched I mouth, ar observer( restore p are fixed failing* an tractinz s and being of never c ted Osseo ping Dec colour n injurious health. tb remedied. loured te( Cha , zes s Polytechr SIGH' roe PERSPE Mons, 0 —opposit Non TI. DEBII COMp: ..--~ I I