The Sun. — London, England, 1859-04-28 00:00:00

ELECTION MEETINGS. FM'SBURY. Last night Sir S. M. Peto addressed a meetinr , of electors assembled at the Manor Rooms, Stoke Newington, Mr. Moreland in the chair. The hon. gentleman in the course of his observations stated that a deputation had waited upon him and pro mised him 1,000 votes if he would support a bill founded on a similar principle to the Maine Liquor Law, but he refused to give any such pledge. (Hear, hear.) He liked temperance, but he did not think that any number of persons had a right to force others to adopt their peculiar views. (Hear.) He would not oppose the introduction of such a bill, but he would not support its second reading. He was in favour of a large extension of the fran chise, but he was not prepared to adopt the prin ciple of universal suffrage. If returned, one of the things which he should particularly look after was economy in the public expenditure. He was for strict non-intervention in foreign politics, unless the interests and honour of Eugland were affected, and then he believed that every one of them would be prepared to make sacrifice s t o ma i n t a i n th em . (Cheers.) Mr. Fox inquired whether the hon. candidate would support Lord Palmerston or Lord J. Russell, in preference to the present government. Sir M. PETO said he should not offer a factious opposition to any government ; but he was a Libe ral, and should certainly wish to see a Liberal Go rernment in power. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BEALE asked whether Sir M. Peto would support the ballot ? Sir M. PETO said he voted for the ballot, and although from what he saw in Finsbury he did not believe it was necessary there, he considered from what he knew of the counties and agricul tural boroughs that the ballot would be a benefit to them. (Hear, hear.) The hon. baronet was asked some other ques tions, to which he gave satisfactory replies, but no resolution was passed in his favour, as it was consi dered it would not be fair in a meeting which was open to all the electors, and which, therefore, might contain some persons who were opposed to Sir Morton, that it should pledge itself as a whole to support him. The hon. gentleman addressed one or two other meetings in the course of the night. SOUTHWARK. As the day of nomination approaches the exer tions of the candidates increase. The canvassing is proceeding with an indefatigability which would lead to the impression that neither of the three competitors feels perfect confidence that he is not the one who will be left behind in the race. Sir C. Napier's friends assert that he will head the poll by a far larger majority than he did at the general election in 1857 ; and Mr. Locke's committee insist that their promises up to the present time exceed the total number of voters polled by Sir Charles on that occasion ; while Mr. A. Pellatt's friends are equally certain that if he is not at the top he will be very far removed from the bottom of the poll on Saturday. Meetings continue to be held nightly in all parts of the borough, each can didate performing a sort of itinerant pilgrimage, and addressing his friends, or those whom he would wish to be such, now at Blackfriars ; in an hour or BO after perhaps in Horsleydown ; and within the space of a third hour, probably in the far distant locality of Bermondsey or Rotherhithe. Last night Sir C. Napier held three such meet ings ; Mr. Locke three, and Mr. A. Pellatt two ; but on behalf of the last-named gentleman there was a sort of supplemental meeting of journeymen coopers, held at the Ship and Camel, Dockhead, at which the services which Mr. Pellatt was enabled while in Parliament to render them by causing the withdrawal of the clause from an act for regulating merchant shipping which proposed that no ship should carry other than iron water tanks were discussed, and a resoluion come to undertaking to return the favour by uniting in his support at the present election. - At Mr. Locke's principal meeting, which was held outside the China Hall Tavern, Deptford Lower road, the honourable candidate addressed a very crowded audience, a considerable proportion of which escorted him to the place appointed in a torch light procession, headed by a band of music. He called attention to the enormous sums subscribed by the Tory party—Lord Derby, £20,000 ; the Duke of Buccleuch, he knew not how much ; the newly created peers, as it was generally under stood, £lO,OOO each ; and the Carlton Club, an amount that was almost fabulous. All this money was to be employed in corrupting electors, or by putting the Liberal candidates to unnecessary ex penses to influence the elections. There was an instance in the proceedings of that day. The nomination for Marylebone took place, and it was supposed up to the last moment that Sir Benjamin Hall and Mr. Edwin James were not to be opposed. But at the hustings up rose two young gentlemen and proposed Lord Stanley. Well, Lord Stanley was nominated and a poll was demanded, the only result of which would be to put the Liberal can didates to a most unnecessary expense. But that was part of the system. (Hear, hear.) There was every probability that in a few days war would be waging in Europe. He hoped we should not en gage in that war except for the interests of Eng land. (Hear, hear.) Russia, it appeared, had now interfered; and when we saw these despotic governments engaging in the dispute, it was clear that the object of the war could not be that in which we sympathised—the freedom of Italy ; and he trusted, therefore, that this country would ob serve a policy of strict neutrality. After referring to his general votes in the House of Commons on public questions, he said he had refused to put his name to the back of the Watermen's Bill, which had come down from the Lords to the Commons, because it proposed to take away the rights of many of his constituents without giving them compensa tion ; and he held that the watermen, if their means of employment were interfered with, were as much entitled to compensation as the proctors in Doctors'- commons. An ELECTOR—How about the combination law ? Mr. LOCKE—The Combination of Workmen law had been passed, and the effect of it was to declare the law to be what several of the judges had held it to be. In reply to other questions, he said that he considered the Coalwhippers' Bill out to be re enacted. He was in favour of opening the British Museum and the Crystal Palace on Sundays, but not during the hours of divine service. On the motion of Dr. M‘MußpocH, the following resolution was unanimously passed :—" That we, the electors of Rotherhithe, true to the principles of reform, recognise in Mr. John Locke the able exponent of our views and the stanch advocate of our local interests, and we pledge ourselves in the intervening time before the election to exert our• selves to increase his majority and place him tri umphantly at the head of the poll," GREENWICH. A meeting of the electors of ibis borough took place on Tuesday night, at the Union Tavern, Bal last-quay, East Greenwich, for the purpose of meet ing Mr. Montagu Chambers, and of hearing f rom him an exposition of his political sentiments. A considerable number of electors were present,. and Mr. Chambers was loudly cheered on hi entering the room. Mr. Whiteway took the chair. Mr. CHAMBERS th e n addressed the meeting, and, after some preliminary remarks, he said it had been asserted that he was unfriendly to the watermen, but nothing could be further from the fact ; and he said that the manner in which, in his legal position, he had fought for the watermen in their struggle with their powerful opponents, the Pier Company, was a convincing proof, as it appeared to him, that the statement was not true. He was not a nautical man, but he be lieved that he had gained some reputation in conducting what were called running down cases, and he was always anxious to assist by every means in his power the men working on the river, and to help them to carry out their manly - sports of rowing at regattas, as he believed that it was in a great measure owing to the manly feeling that was engendered by these sports that this country owed its naval superiority. (Hear.) He had also, when in Parliament, with the assist ance of that ga ll an t o ld sa il or , Si r C. Napier, pro cured th e expung i ng o f a c l ause f rom a bill that had been introduced which certainly very mate rially affected the p r i v il eges o f th e wa t ermen work ing on the river, for it gave a right to any one to ply and carry people for hire. He went to Sir G. Grey, who was then the Home Secretary, and upon his showing him the impolicy of the clause in ques tion, he consented that it should be removed. (Hear, hear.) Although, therefore, some malignant people had represented that he was no friend to the watermen, he defied them to show any one un friendly ac t on his part, or s h ow an, instance in which h e had given them th e cold shoulder. (Cheers.) H e m i g ht also tell th em that he, him_ . self, was by descent l a sailor, and although he would not at that moment state the name of his ancestor, who was cons id er ed to have di s ti ngu i shed himself in the service of his country, he would inform them that he was a true English sailor, and passed fifty years of his life afloat. (Cheers.) Mr. Chambers then proceeded to state that he had always done everything in his power to benefit the town of Greenwich, and h e said that he had ren dered all the assistance he cou ld to carry out the sc heme for the erection of docks, which h e b e li eve d would be highly beneficial to the town ; and he was happy to inform them that, according to the rules of Parliament, the bill would be taken up i n the next Parliament at the stage at which it was dropped, 4nd he hoped he should assist to carry it into law. (Hear, hear.) In his address he had stated clearly what his political opinions were ; and with regard to the Reform Bill that had been introduced by Lord Der`-y, he was opposed to it because he thought it was not of a character to be satisfactory to the coun y. (Hear hear.) Mr. Bright, in one of his speeches, had very cleverly said that the effect of that bill had, however, been to constitute the House of Commons into a society for the diffusion of information among the people upon the important subject of Reform, and he quite concurred with him that it had had that effect. (Hear, hea r .) In his (Mr. Chambers's) opinion one very great defect in the bill was that it did not declare that the proper mode of voting was by ballot. (Hear, hear.) The Government, by their proposition to disfranchise all the dockyard servants, were clearly of opinion that they were liable to some coercion, and yet at the same time they did not adopt the only method th a t wou ld Five them the opportunity of recording an honest independent vote. (Hear, hear.) H e (M r . Cham bers) did not believe it was true that these honest re spectable men permitted themselves to be in fluenced in the manner described, and he believed that it very frequently happened at an election that when they were expected to go up to the poll and vote in a particular manner they did exactly contrary to what was expec t e d o f t h em, muc h to the disgust of th e par ti es w h o soug h t to o b ta i n their votes unfairly. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Still, however, the Government evidently thought they were liable to be coerced, and with this view proposed to disfranchise them, and this admission he considered a very strong reason in favour of the ballot. (Hear, hear.) He would now allude to his present position in the borough, and he could assure them that it was a very agreeable one, and that he had strong hopes of success. (Cheers.) A certain party had got up the parrot cry of his " dividing the Liberal interest," and some persons had asked why he came there. This was a cry that was only raised by the parties connected with a certain club not far from Pall-mall, who sought to get all the boroughs of England tinder their control, and to have no members returned for them except through their recommendation, and who were merely puppets, who moved according as they pulled the strings. (Hear, hear.) As to dividing the Liberal interest, his reply to that was, first catch your Liberal interest, as Mrs. Glasse said, " First catch your hare." (A laugh.) His motto was, first come first served ; and as he had served this borough as their representative on a former occasion and defied any one to say that he had ever given any vote that was not in favour of Liberal principles, he considered that he was en titled to their confidence, and had an undoubted right to come forward again and offer himself as their representative. (" Hear, hear," and cheers.) He had also been twice applied to by his friends to come forward upon the occasion of a single con test taking place, but he had declined to do so ; but it was perfectly well understood that he in tended to become a candidate upon the occasion of a general election taking place. He never desired to intrude into the borough, but upon the occasion of a testimonial being presented to him, which was a proof of the opinion that was entertained of him and his political conduct, he might state that it had been subscribed to by the very poorest as well as the comparatively rich among his constituents ; he was earnestly applied to to become a candidate, and he had done so. (Cheers, and a cry of " You shall go in at the head of the poll.") During hls canvass he had been received in the most flattering manner, and many who were formerly his political opponents were now friendly to hin. (Hear, hear.) It appeared to him that the borough of Clxreenwich had a very important duty to perform on the pre sent occasion, because it was in their power to show that a member could be returned for a large and extensive constituency without expending an enor mous sum of money, which was a strong argument used by the opponents of reform for not taking away any of the members of the small boroughs. An offer had been made to return him free of expense, but he considered he had no right to put his hand in their pockets for such a purpose, and he was ready to pay all legitimate expenses, and he left the electors to say, by their votes, whether they con sidered him a fit man to represent them or not. (Cheers.) Mr. SANDERSON said, as one of the parties con cerned in the dispute that took place between the pier-owners and the watermen, which had been alluded to by the hon. candidate, he thought it right to inform the meeting that although Mr. Chambers certainly acted most ably as the counsel of the watermen, when they took him his fees, which amounted to £7O or £BO, he returned them the wholo of the money. A resolution that Mr. Chambers was a fit and proper person to represent the borough in Parlia ment was then proposed and carried unanimously, and the meeting separated. The general impres sion is that Alderman Salomons and Mr. Uhambers are sure to be returned. WOLVERHAMPTON. On Monday evening last a meeting of the friends and supporters of the Right Hon. C. P. Villiers and Sir R. Bethell, the candidates for the represen tation of the borough of Wolverhampton in the next Parliament, was held in the National School room, Coseley ; Mr. David Green in the chair. Mr. VILLIERS, after referring to the various mea sures of a more or less liberal nature which the Conservatives had of late years conceded to public opinion, said they had to bid a little higher this year for favour, and they had found, as they were told, that one of the engagements with which they took the Government was to bring out a Reform Bill. (Cheers.) Now that was not an easy matter for Con servatives to do—(laughter)—and it required all Mr. Disraeli's astuteness to devise a scheme that would satisfy Reformers and not offend his own fol lowers. (Laughter.) Well, it was perhaps no argu ment against a man eminent in many things, that he did not succeed on eveiToccasion, and Mr. Disraeli's Reform Bill was certainly not one of his successful productions. It was a Reform Bill certainly, but the part of reform was hardly apparent in it. (Laughter.) The bill was introduced by way of doing something in the line of reform, and so it did ; but when reformers came to look at it very closely, and pull it about, it was found to be doing something the wrong way—it went backward as much as it went forward—what it gave with one hand it took back with the other. They pretended, no doubt, to liberalise the county constituency, but as they knew well, when they shut out freeholders from voting who resided in a borough like that they took away from the county more that was liberal than what they gave. (Cheers.) Now he must admit that there were several dodges of this kind in the bill—and that the Liberal party were right in being suspicious of the whole concern. (Hear.) They saw it was not straightforward, and therefore Lord John Russell, who was rather eminent as a doctor in those cases, was called in—(laughter)— and he prescribed a resolution—(renewed laughter) —which put the subject to the test, and the result was, as they knew, very adverse to the authors of the bill. (Cheers.) However, he should have been glad if a dissolution could have been avoided, and he thought it ought to have been avoided. (Hear, hear.) He thought the Government ought to have amended their bill ; and as everybody professed to be reformers, it was a sign of bad workmanship in the house that a bill, meeting the requirements of the country, should not have passed this session, and the whole country should have been thrown into confusion by a general election. (Cheers.) Looking, moreover, to the state of affairs on the continent, he could not think it was either right or wise to dissolve the parliament. The only advantage was that it gave him the opportunity of visiting his constituents, which he was always happy and ready to do. (Cheers.) Upon the subject of reform, he was bound to tell them, that great differences existed amongst liberals in the House of Commons. He thought himself that the condemnation of the late House of Commons was carried too far by some. He would not for any party purpose say what he did not think, but he thought that, though there were considerable defects in the constitution of the house, yet they did not require any sweeping mea sure to rectify them. He should wish to see them amended, but he thought that when ascertained they should proceed carefully though surely. He desired to see extensive reform, but he was bound to say there were few great reforms that under great pressure the house would not yield. But the house, in his opinion, ought to act spontaneously in harmony with the wants and opinion of the coun try, and not always require a great agitation to exact what was right to be done. He thought this greatly arose from the county constituencies being too agricultural, and from the small boroughs being too many. (Cheers.) He thought those small boroughs should have one or both of their members transferred to large and intelligent constituencies, either by adding to the number of towns now re• presented, or giving the franchise to places unre presented. (Cheers.) He thought that when this was done, and the householders or occupants of £lO value should be admitted into the county consti tuency, the opinions of the county members would be brought more into unison with the feelings and interests of the entire community than they were at present. (Cheers.) The right hon. gentleman then spoke of the propriety of admitting the working classes to the exercise of the franchise, using the same arguments as on previous occasions. His opinion was, he said, that no people as a class should he excluded from the political franchise, and should at once be admitted, when exhibiting the intelligence and independence requisite to exer cise it with advantage to themselves, as well as for the good of their fellow-countrymen. (Cheers.) He believed the opinions of this borough were reasonable on the subject of reform. He had been in London within the last few days, and found that the views held in this borough corresponded much with the views held in other places. When Parliament met, therefore, they might, no doubt, agree on some reasonable course to be adopted on that subject. He feared, however, that a question of graver importance would require their attention even before reform, or even before the assembling of Parliament—that was the ques tion of peace or war. There was great anxiety and excitement now in the metropolis owing to the news which had lately arrived. He was happy, how ever, to think that if there was war on the continent that, so far as he had been able to collect the opi nions of the leading men, it was one that England would have but little to do with. (Hear, and cheers.) The parties engaged in the struggle, which it was probable would soon commence, were those whose objects they were obliged to question—their past history cast great suspicion on what they now pro fessed—and inasmuch as no English interests were at present involved, and as he trusted this country would never sympathise with despotism in any shape or form, he hoped there would be reasonable and just ground for keeping entirely aloof. (Cheers.) With the cause of the dispute they were no doubt pretty well acquainted. The_ opposing parties were France and Austria, and the dispute had arisen respecting Italy. s far as he knew, France and Austria had been agreed for the last eight years in subjecting Italy to the dominion of their armies. The armies of both nations had been in occupation of the centre of that country, where neither had any right to enter; but by means of which force every thing like liberty or the free expression of opinion had been entirely suppressed, and it was only now that a dispute had arisen between these two nations, who were equally regarded as oppressors by the people at Rome. The leading men of this country, however, would probably regard a strict neutrality on the part of .England as the proper course to be pursued, and he believed that the people generally would endorse that opinion. (Cheers.) Mr. Villiers, after alluding to the great questions that would engage their attention in the next Parliament, concluded by referring to the emi nence and ability of the hon. and learned gen tleman, Sir Richard Bethell, who had come forward to solicit the suffrages of the electors in the place of their late respected member, Mr. Thornley, and sat down amidst loud applause. Sir R. BETHELL, on rising to address the meeting, was greeted with the same cordial reception which had been manifested at previous meetings at which the right hon. gentleman had addressed the electors of this borough. He considered there was hardly ever a period more unfortunate for an appeal by the ministry to the people of England than the present particular crisis. They were all aware to a certain extent what was the nature of the controversy be tween the two great contending hosts. His right hon. friend Mr. Villiers had stated with great ac curacy the nature of the impending struggle, and undoubtedly it was difficult to determine which of the two contending parties to prefer. On the one hand there was Austria, which had oppressed the whole of Italy with an iron rule—(applause)— while on the other there was the great French na tion (ground down by the despotic sway of a most absolute monarch), which in 1849, when there was a rising in Rome to redeem Rome from that ter rible sway which still exists there, and when re publicans had got possession of the country and were about to establish a better form of govern ment, sent down its armies and besieged Rome, drove out the advocates and friends of liberty, and re-established that most terrible form of ecclesias tical despotism. The only consolation, if it were proper for any friend of humanity to entertain such a thought, would be that the might of the one des pot and the might of the other would be opposed to each other, and that they might possibly mutually crush each other, and that in the weakness of the two the lovers of freedom and of civil and religious liberty in Italy might obtain those glorious privi leges which they were so nobly contending for. Let them, then, that being the true state of affairs, inquire whether there was anything on the one side or the other to call for the interference of England. He (the speaker) would say undoubtedly not. So far as France was concerned, so far as Austria was concerned, it was utterly impossible to have anything in common with the views of the one or with the views of the other. It was undoubtedly true there was the little king dom of Sardinia, in which there was unquestionably the tree of civil and religious liberty planted—(ap plause)—and with that kingdom they would desire to sympathise. If she had been content to develop and promote her institutions, and had not given way probably to feelings of revenge, and called on the French nation in the hope of revenging herself on the Austrians for the defeats which she suffered in 1848, if it were poseihro ;ntlepri tiuence, one would have liked, and this a strong Government might have done, to have said to Aus tria, you shall withdraw your armies from the rest of Italy, you shall permit Italy to establish a differ ent Government at Rome, and to have full liberty to do so ; but they were aware that for these 40 years past, whenever a gleam of freedom had shone over any part of Italy, it had at once been put out by the iron tread of an Austrian army sent for that purpose. He earnestly hoped, therefore, that it would be the unanimous opinion and the united voice of all the electors of Wolverhampton, that in the event of such a war between such parties, Eng elahnederso.u)ghLtetto them ha thank t n h o part whatever. theirinsular (Lo id k God for they possessed ; and when those great combatants, position, as well as for the other advantages which neither of them having any feeling whatever of sympathy with the real interests of the human race, when they became exhausted, then England might probably interfere, and compel something to be done by treaty and by remonstrance that might produce some good out of the evil, and might make the condition of the exhausted combatants minister to the purposes of truth and justice. Having thus made known his opinions upon this subject, in which it gave him great pleasure to find his col league, Mr. Villiers, concurred, he could now only hope that those opinions would meet the approval of the electors of this borough. Now let them look a little at their own domestic state of things. His right hon. friend had referred to the ostensible cause of the dissolution which had led to the pre sent meeting. Unquestionably the ostensible cause had been the rejection of the Govern. ment Reform Bill, and his right hon. friend had said, with great reason and truth, that that bill was not only a mockery, but that it was a thing which was in reality intended to serve and promote an end different from that which its title would seem to imply ; in fact, that it was no reform mea sure at all. The Government bill was constructed with great art, nay, (said the hon. speaker) it was constructed by its chief author with the deliberate avowal that its chief purpose was to roll back the tide of reform, and to accomplish some object through the medium of that bill which should re store power to the Tories, and place them in the same prominence in which the Liberals were placed by the act of 1832, the moment that by that act the voice of the country could be heard. This would have been the effect of the bill ; but the device, although cunning, was too transparent to admit of concealment. It had been properly deified by a certain eminent statesman in the House of Com mons the other night as " a thing too cunning by half," and the result of that subtlety was that the bill crumbled beneath the first touch ; and when the resolution was applied to it in what he (the speaker) considered was a most just a n d f a i r sp i r i t —(hear)—because, as they were aware, the resolu tion defined two things which must be essential conditions in every real reform question, and the resolution accordingly put to the Hirise of Com mons was, was it or was it not their deliberate opi nion that there should be a reform bill that did not seek to accomplish those two purposes ? But, said the hon. gentleman, they were aware that the Mi nistry endeavoured to escape from the contest upon the merits of the resolution by pretending it was a work of faction, of intrigue, and of party; but if it were so, he (the speaker) never saw any resolution less likely to accomplish the end, for if the Minis try had only dealt with it as they did with the suggested resolution upon their India bill, if they had only agreed to take the sense of the House of Commons upon it, all the present disgrace would have been saved from the turmoil attend ing a general election. Could there possibly Ministry in im ist have be en anyt hi ng more dishonest on the part of t mdi iT ea to tel immediately profess afterwards one courseaband abandon and it thenan and almost advocate another ? Why were they to have confidence in Lord Derby, or Lord Derby's Go vernment ? Did they suppose that a man could change in an hour ? Who were Lord Derby and the present Conservatives ? Why, said the hon. gentleman, they were the legitimate heirs and the direct descendants of the Tories of old. With whom was it they had fought the great battle of free trade ? With Lord Derby and .bis confederates. (Hear, hear.) Did they believe they had converted them in reality. (Cries of "No, no.") Did they think they had rescued them from the darkness of paganism ? No, said the speaker, they were unwill ing converts, and they still retained about them much of the old leaven. (Applause.) He could not, therefore, looking at past events, say that he was disposed to place implicit confidence in Lord Derby. Why did Lord Derby dissolve Parliament but be cause he believed it was elected under peculiar cir cumstances at the time of the China war? and he thought he could so manage the election as to give himself an unfair majority; therefore it was that he refused in his Reform Bill to attack these nomina tion boroughs. Why did he refuse to attack these small constituencies ? Let general rumour, which he (the right hon. speaker) believed was in this in stance perfectly correct, answer the question. It was because he knew that by the raising, by the Carlton Club, of a fund of £BO,OOO, or, as some per sons had said, of £lOO,OOO, to which the current report was that Lord Derby himself had contributed £20,000 down, that that money might be so judici ously applied by travelling emissaries throughout these boroughs that the elections in the country might be unduly and improperly influenced. Now, he could not think it was a right thing, or a be coming thing, nay, he was sure it was not a consti tutional thing, for the Premier of this country, if it' were true—for of course they knew nothing but by report—to encourage the creation of a fund for such a purpose, and himself a peer of the realm, forbidden to interfere with elections, to subscribe to that fund for the purpose of unduly tampering with such elec tions. The voice of the people should be freely ex ercised without any undue party or private influence whatever. In this state of things therefore he was unquestionably most desirous that the voice of the people should be heard, and they should speak out in a most unmistakeable manner as to the policy which it was advisable to pursue, both in our foreign relations and in the carrying out of mea • sures for our domestic amelioration. Now, as in regard to foreign matters he should express their true policy in one word-=-" Peace," so with regard to domestic matters, if he were to choose one word to express their policy it would be " Progress." (Cheers.) They were to go on war d an d no t to fall back, neither were they to stand still. They had gone onward since the year 1832, the era of the Reform Bill ; they had gone onward with accele rated rapidity since the noble efforts of the electors had compelled the adoption of Free Trade, and he said let them go on in improvement. But then he thought that the party of progress was not the party of Lord Derby—(hear, hear)—he thought the party of progress was the great party that brought in the parent of all the great liberal measures—the Reform Bill of 1832—and he conceived therefore that the true interests of the country would be best committed to the hands of the reformers, not refus ing to the Conservatives the great merit of being watchful observers of what was done by the Libe rals, not refusing to them the exercise of their meritorious office, which was to see how others were going on in their movement, and to check them, propose obstacles and suggest difficulties to them when they appeared to be going too fast. But unquestionably the true policy and the true inte rests of this country require that its helm should be held by a man who was convinced that the country must, in the American phrase, still " Go a head," and not by one who supported a retrogres sive policy. (Hear.) Now a good many things re main to be done with which, he feared, the wars and rumours of wars would interfere. A good deal, he, said remained to be done both in the way of domestic and social improvement ; but if it should please God either that England should not be mixed up in the war, or that the war might soon come to an end, these were subjects to which unques tionably the representatives of the boroughs would have to address themselves. (Hear, hear.) There was much to be done in the improvement of the administration of the law, and he wished the public voice to be more effectually heard respect ing the management of public accounts, and the mode in which the revenue was collected and ad , ministered. He wished to see the way in which the accounts were rendered to the country simpli fied, but above all he wanted the day to come when the Government should not belong to a few aristo cratical families—(cheers) —whey high honour and place and political power should belong to superior ability and be regarded as the rightful inheritance of talent ; and unquestionably when this came to pass the mode in which the ordinary duties of Go vernment were administered and in which places were distributed would be altered, and,as he humbly thought, greatly , to the benefit of the community. (Cheers.) After alluding to the subject of church rates, Sir R. Bethell discussed the question whether it was right and proper that political liberty should be extended to the working classes. He said he admired much an expression which had fallen from Mr. Villiers—that he would not agree to any man being excluded from the franchise on principle. That was the true principle on this subject. The meaning of the phrase was that political liberty ought to be extended to all on the fulfilment of cer tain conditions. They were personal conditions, the only conditions absolutely requisite for the use and proper enjoyment of the boon, to be conferred. For what use would it be to give a man a beautiful instrument to be employed in his trade if he did not know the value of it, or was not qualified to handle it ? Why the gift world be altogether use less. On the same ground would political liberty be an evil, if it were given to any class not having sufficient intelligence and independence pr o p er l y it. Tho great i fri.ll,lee bat wepn th e reformers and the Ministry of Lord Derby was this, and he begged his audience to mark it. The Ministry said—" There shall be no political liberty extended to any class below the £lO h ouse h o ld ers ; we never will go lower; that shall be the ne plus ultra, that shall be the impassable line." Now, un questionably the Reformers diff ere d from that— (hear, hear)—their great purpose would be to have it established that there was no such impassable barrier—their view was that as men grew up in the country in independence, in material prosperity, and in intelligence, so, from time to time, should the question of the franchise as it existed and of the further degree to which it might with propriety be extended be taken into consideration. (Cheers.) That the meeting would see was the philosophy and principle of progress—proceeding on all occa sions according to the capacity of the recipient of the act. (Hear, hear.) And so it was in religious instruction. They might just as well take a lisping child and tell to it some of the more recondite doc trines of religion as admit a party incompetent to use the franchise with security within the pale of the body of electors. He hoped, therefore, the meet ing would see in his right hon. friend and himself a perfect accordance of opinion on that subject. He heartily wished that there existed the same simi larity of opinion everywhere. They would have had no Lord Derby or Lord Derby's Ministry to com plain of, if the great body of the Liberal members of Parliament were not in the condition denounced in Scripture of " a house divided against itself." (Cheers.) This want of unity was a thing to be la ol h n r e s i t hr leader.o h themu wishedht They h as e a to avowed m mented—it was a thing which h e h o p e d wou ld i n some degree be remedied by th e present election. For himself, feart:idsn however, rs rightson particular h e a notratnoi enduc. friend, a de partisans speak also ol foc if elected, go to Parli amen t as t h e representatives of those great liberal opini ons on w hi ch the weal and prosperity of th e coun t r y depend e d, an d h e earnest l y hoped that enough o f independ en t men wou ld b e found in the House of Comm ons t o compel unani mity, and t o g i ve t o th e country the benefit of a great, a united, and a refo rm i ng G overnment. (The hon. and learned gen tl eman sat down amidst loud cheers.) Resolutions in favour o f b o th can did ates were carried with enthusiasm. would,yi!aehyd that the MANCHESTER. A fourth candidate appeared yesterday in the person of the Hon. Capt. Denman, R.N., who was the associate of Mr. Locke in the unsuccessful at tempt to oust Messrs. Gibson and Bright in 18f 2. He now seems to come forward with assurance of support from the Conservatives. It was announced yesterday morning that he would meet his sup porters at noon, and the result was a meeting of about 1,500 persons in the Corn Exchange. Mr. S. HEEL'S was voted to the chair amidst loud cheering. He said the present proceedings were rather suddenly determined upon, but some step ap peared necesssry to she* that the electors of Man chester were not to be ridden over by the league, as heretofore—(cheers)—a s well as to provide a suit able colleague for Mr. Turner. (Renewed cheering.) Captain Denman had appeared before this consti tuency on a former occasion on liberal principles, but his great recommendation to his (the chairman's) mind was, that he came forward then and now in opposition to the league. (Cheers.) Mr. W. H. PRATT moved a resolution to the effect that Captain Denman was a fit and proper person to represent Manchester. (Great cheering.) He expressed his firm conviction that Messrs. Turner and Denman would be elected. Mr. F. PERCEVAL seconded the motion, which was carried with great enthusiasm, only seven or eight dissentients appearing. Three groans were given for Mr. George Wilson. The Hon. Captain DENMAN shortly afterwards entered, and was greeted with most enthusiastic cheering. He said th a t w h en h e l e f t Manchester in 1852 he told the electors that if wanted again in the same good cause—(cheers)—they had only to summon him. (Hear.) Although defeated in 1852, he received nearly 4,000 votes ; and he was only 1,500 behind the gentleman who was supposed to be the great favourite of the constituency. If he could, with a fair prospect of success, again assist the elec tors in striking a blow at the domination which had so long oppressed this city—(cheers)---he was ready to go heart and so u l i n t o th e contest. (Loud cheers). As upon the last occasion, so now, he stood entirely independent of party. He was a liberal in the real and honest sense of the word—liberal in his desire to see all despotisms, no matter where, knocked on the head and put down. (Applause.) The Reform Bill of 1832 —drawn by his father, then Attorney. General— (applause)—was a liberal measure on sound prin ciples; and all such measures were truly conservative. (Applause.) He was in favour of an extension of that measure, which would preserve in its integrity our glorious constitution, and at the same time extend THE SUN, LONDON; THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 28, 1859, the right of voting to every intelligent working man who wished to obtain it. (Cheers.) He was not prepared to support the ballot. (Cheers, and some groans.) Public opinion had put down duel ling, and he believed it was checking, and would put an end to, the existing evils of intimidation. He was prepared to support any reform measure that would settle the question to the satisfaction of the people of England. (Applause.) He would put an end to the compulsory payment of church rates by dissenters. (Applause.) As to the threat ened war, he thought that England should stand aloof from all entangling alliances ; but as our great object should be to secure peace as soon as possible, we should observe an armed neutrality, so as to be able to maintain our own power and safety against any attacks. (Cheers.) He was ready to relin quish the appointment he now held, if he thought there were fair prospects of support from the elec tors ; but he could hardly be expected again to relinquish an appointment upon the ground of a hope that was not likely to be fulfilled. (Hear, hear.) In the present state of things he did not feel able to support any existing party, and his motto would be " Measures not men." (Cheers.) Captain DENMAN subsequently rose and said, that having been informed by the chairman of the all but unanimous adoption of a resolution in his favour before he entered the room, he was ready to state that he was a candidate, and would go to the poll. (Loud cheers, followed by " Three for the navy.") Mr. C. E. CAWLEY moved, and Mr. PEEL seconded a motion pledging the meeting to use its utmost endeavours to return Capt. Denman, which was passed almost unanimously, awl the meeting shortly afterwards terminated. The executive committee for the return of Mr. Turner announce that having observed symptoms of coalition with Mr. Hey-wood's friends on the part of Mr. Bazley's committee, they will give every assist ance in their power to Capt. Denman's committee. Hitherto there has not been much excitement in the city, but it will no doubt be greatly augmented during the few days that remain for the contest. DOVER. On Tuesd-y evening Mr. Bernal Osborne ad dressed a large and enthusiastic meeting of the electors of Dover, held in the Maison Dieu Hall, at which upwards of 2,000 persons were present. Mr. OSBORNE, who was greeted with much en thusiasm, said,—l stand before you a candidate for the borough of Dover on clear and distinct princi ples ; I have expounded my creed—(hear, hear) — and it is not too much for me to ask—What are the principles of my opponents ? (Hear, hear.) They come to this constituency of Dover, which has al ways respired any man who asked for their votes to explain his principles—(hear, hear)—and to this day you are almost in ignorance of what they pro fess. For the life of me I cannot find that Sir H. Leeke professes any one principle. Probably, having before his eyes the promises of Devonport, and no doubt remembering the proverb of a certain French cynic who held that " we promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears," he comes to Dover and tells us that it is impossible for him, in his situation, to promise anything. (Hear.) He goes on to allude to the magnificent fleet he introduced in his other speech—(hear, and a laugh)—and then informs his hearers that Dover has a fine harbour, but that it ought not to be a " tidal harbour." Ido not know how he can pre vent that. Admirals can do a great deal—(a laugh) —but I am unable to imagine how he can prevent that. And, mind, he promises to do nothing. (Hear.) He then goes on to say that as he was walking through the town in the course of his can vass he was much struck with the squalor and wretchedness which met him in some of the back lanes. I think he might have been as much struck with the squalor and wretchedness of Devonport, and that if he wanted to do good he might have stayed there and have done it. (Hear, hear.) But this is literally the whole of the declaration of principles made by my opponent, and he comes before a constituency like Dover and calls that an exposition of his political sentiments ! I dismiss the senior candidate fof the present and come to his coadjutor. If we know but little of the politics of Sir Henry Leeke we must do Mr. Nicol the justice to say that we know somewhat more, although a very little more, of his. Mr. Nicol tells us that 22 years ago he stood as a Protestant for the town of Youghal. It is rather a vague kind of recommendation, standing as a Protestant, and it reminds me of the charity boy who, being examined, and asked what his god fathers and godmothers did for him, said they took his sins upon them, but that he was to be drawn for the militia. (Laughter.) BUt upon what does Mr. Nicol standhere ? Not upon his Protestantism. If I know anything of the matter he stands as a director of the London and County Bank. He is going to " makr thing." pleasant" to certain gentle. men, and I understand that one of the persons can vassing for him is the solicitor to the London and County Bank. Several of the shareholders, how ever, are not pleased at this. This establishment has already obtained some notoriety, not in relation to the Protestant interest, although connected with Ireland—(a laugh)—and the shareholders are not desirous of encountering fresh troubles. (Hear, hear.) But why are either of these gentlemen here P Why, in default of an exposition of their principles, do they come before you ? Captain Carnegie has published a letter, and what does Captain Carnegie say ? That Sir John Pakington told him he had "no option," but must come to Dover. Why was Captain Carnegie dismissed ? Not because he would not go into Parliament—because he offered to go to another seat. " But," said Sir John Pakington and Lord Derby, " you have no option ; you must go to Dover." " No," returns Captain Carnegie, " I will not go to Dover, because I cannot succeed there except by trying means I will not condescend to adopt." (Loud cheers.) A board seems to have been put over the Admiralty like that which is frequently seen at the Horse Guards—" Wanted a few stout recruits." (Laughter.) In the Admiralty are wanted a few juvenile members of Parliament of whom junior lords may be made. Sir Henry Leeke, we know, has " no option ;" and that, per haps, is the reason for his appearance. (A laugh.) Admiral Leeke, K.C.B. K.H., comes here with still another order round his neck—the order of the " millstone." " Admirals rush in where captains fear to tread." I was amused the other night in the House of Com mons to hear Sir John Pakington, with a Pecksni ffian and Pharisaical piety—(laughter)—talking about the " honour of our public men." He said in the house of Commons, but it was before this was found out—(a laugh)—that the honour of our public men is "not what it used to be." I echo that sen timent. (Hear, hear.) The honour of our public men is not what it used to be; and I will defy any man to put his hand on a period of our history when a First Lord of the Admiralty is found com pelling his officers not to serve the State in their profession, but, as a sine qua non, to go . to a borough and get returned as its representative in Parliament, although told that such a return could not be pro cured by fair and honourable means. (Loud cheers.) We have heard some talk of " reconstructing the fleet ;" but we have another job before us—we must first reconstruct the Admiralty. (Hear and laugh ter.) This kind of proceeding at the Admiralty is no new thing. In 1853 a committee of the House of Commons sat to inquire into the dockyard ap pointments and the practice of the Admiralty during the election of 1852, when Lord Derby was last in office ; and the report of that committee shows how foul were the transactions that took place in the dockyards, and how great the compul sion put on men to make them vote, from the use of the Admiralty for electioneering purposes. When I succeeded to the Admiralty I found the dockyards in complete disorganisation from the power that had been used by the Government in making ap pointments ; and what did Ido ? (Hear.) I per suaded Sir Charles Wood to issue the following order : " My Lords have therefore determined to transfer the re sponsibility of the first entry of all artificers and labourers to this officer in each yard, and trust that in so doing they will have his active co-operation in watching closely that no workmen be admitted but such as are in all respects the best to be obtained fo r h er M a j esty ' s service. " That was my part in endeavouring to put an end to intimidation and bribery in the dockyards. (Cheers.) But what does this Government propose in 1859, while this order is still in force—for they dare not abrogate it whatever they may wish. The Governm en t o f 1859 came down to the H ou se of Commons with a bill which proposed to disfran chise all those dockyard men. (Hear, hear.) You have all probably seen the Queen's Speech ; but , although I had seen it, I was un til last night in some difficulty to find out why Parliament had been dissolved. (H ear , h ear. ) S ir John Pakington last night at the Mansion-house gave a reason, and it is the first I have yet heard given. Sir John Paking ton, like the frog in the fable, swelling if not into the dimensions, yet with the spirit of a bull in a china shop, said that " The last Parliament was a China Parliament, and therefore it ought to be broken." And that was the reason given at the Mansion-house for dissolving Parliament on the eve of a Reform Bill and a European war. B u t what else is given ? Why, we have lived to see the Queen's speec h —which we all know is no t t h e Queen's speech, but the speech of her Ministers-- onlyters— made the vehicle of election squibbing, T thing it tells you is that the Parliament is dissolved to enable the people to express their opinions on the state of public affairs. (Hear.) Nothing is said in that speech about confidence in the Minis try ; and, if only for one minute, let us pause to see how that Ministry is composed ? I venture to say that there never was a Ministry which, with one or two exceptions, was so ranch below 'par in all the qualities which the people of this country are accustomed to respect in its Ministers. There is the Lord Chancellor, who is called "the keeper of the Queen's conscience." And how has he kept the Queen's conscience? There has been nipped in the bud one very significant little job, which I take upon myself to say was one of the most un blushing things which ever proceeded from a Lord Chancellor. (Hear.) We have heard almost nightly in the House of Commons that he has been flooding the bench with magistrates of his way of thinking. So much for the Lord Chan cellor. Then, we have a Foreign Secretary who, we are told, is "necessary to the peace of the world." But all that can be said for the Foreign Secretary is that he speaks French better than he writes English, as his despatches testify—(a laugh)—and what has he done ? Why, of all the unfortunate diplomatists we have ever had commend me to Lord Malmes bury. (Hear, hear.) He has been jockeyed by Russia in the proposed Congress, and is weak enough to let this be seen and to complain of it—(a laugh)—yet Lord Malmesbury is necessary, for sooth, to the peace of the world, and. Parliament is dissolved to keep him in office. Then we have a Board of Trade under the control of two ex-soldiers, with the Earl of Donoughmore, an Irish peer, of whom very little is known, except that he has fre quently fits of th e gou t, and that his speeches are "inaudible in the gallery"—(a laugh)—as presi dent. That is the constitution of your Board of Trade. I have nothing to object to his vice-presi dent, Lord Lovaine. And how have they carried on matters in the sister country ? We have heard some thing of Irish jury packing, where men are chosen on a jury not with a view to the merits of the case, but according to their religious opinions, and or dered to stand aside if they happen to be Roman Catholic. (Hear.) Yet the Government, finding they are losing confidence in Ireland, and fearing that the elections will go against them, have in creased the salaries paid to Roman Catholic chap lains. So, while on the one hand they are persecut ing the people, on the other they are encouraging the priesthood by giving them additional money. But all is of a piece; the unfortunate publicans might have complained for ever as to the billeting of soldiers upon them. But there came a general election, and on the day Parliament was dissolved the publicans found that instead of getting lid. per day for the billeted soldier, they would get 41d. (Hear, hear.) On Monday night Lord Derby comes down to the house and declares that war is immi nent, and that it will be necessary to have this country prepared, so that it may keep an armed neutrality, and on Tuesday he dissolves Parliament ! Why, if Parliament was of any use at all, it was of use in such an awful state of the world as this if only to control Ministers. We have already been almost involved in war from Lord Malm esbury's well in tended: blundering. The Foreign Secretary tells the House of Lords that he offered to guarantee Sardinia, if France would join him, against all attacks of Austria in case Sardinia disarmed ; and it is only a mercy that France did not accept the offer. If she had, we should have doubt less found ourselves involved in a war, and the prosperity, blood, and wealth of this country sacri ficed without our knowing the reason until we were called upon to pay the bill. Yet the Government, with some such dreadful contingency looming in the future, takes upon itself to dissolve Parliament. (Hear, hear.) You will be six weeks without a Parliament ; the Government of the country acts on its own responsibility alone. But I will ask the constituencies how they are satisfied with such a state of things. How are you satisfied with an " armed neutrality," but with no check upon Mini sters ? God knows how soon we may find ourselves involved in a war without the constitutional check of Parliament upon the Government. (Hear.) I say that this act alone—a Ministry for party pur poses dissolving Parliament in the face of such a state of things as now exists in Italy and upon the continent, would in other times have served for and demanded impeachment. (Loud cheering.) One word on foreign affairs. I agree with the words of Lord Aberdeen, that " when war ceases to be a necessity it becomes a crime.") Without scanning too accurately the designs of Sardinia, without in quiring too microscopically into the motives of France, I sympathise with Italy—(cheers)—as an individual, I sympathise with these 25,000,000 who are beneath the iron heel of irresponsible despotism —but as the representative, as I hope to be through your assistance—(enthusiastic cheering)—of tax paying Englishmen, I will never advocate a war of propagandism. (Cheers.) Chai ity begins at home; and I will have no hand in plunging this country into a war for anything but an occasion of self defence. (Prolonged cheering.) I sympathise with Italy from the bottom of my heart, and wish her patriots God speed ; but at the same time I will never call on you to support me in urging on Government any measure which shall plunge this country into a continental war, least of all a war in defence of despotism and tyranny. (Loud cheers.) The natural alliance of this country, let who may be on the throne, is France. (Hear, hear.) Our natural alliance is not with monarchs, empe rors, or presidents, but with the French people. (Loud cheering.) I wish to see that alliance and that good understanding which have existed be ween France and England kept up—(hear, hear) — but not even to purchase that alliance would I be a party to a continental war. (Hear.) So much, gentlemen, for foreign affairs. You are called on, in common with other constituencies, to give your opinion on that point, and I hope if you send me to Parliament I shall in this respect be faithfully re presenting your feelings. (Cheers.) The hon. gentleman concluded by expressing his conviction that the opinions he had expressed were shared by Sir W. Russell, and resumed his seat amid loud and prolonged cheering. HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK. (From the Registrar -General's Report.) The total deaths registered in London in the week ending last Saturday were 1,126, and exhibit an increase on those of the previous week, which were 1,084. In the ten years 1849-58 the average number of deaths in the weeks corresponding with last week was 1,069; but as the deaths returned for last week occurred in a population which has increased, they can only be compared with the average raised in proportionto 9t t ht h eh a aa t nve i t n rha c e r g e e as r ea--tenamely, with 1,17 5 . Hence it appears th a t the deaths of last week were less by 4 num ber which would have occurred if of Themortality deaths had ad from prevailed. e vai 1 d scarlatina and diphtheria rose . again last week from 51 t o 79 ; 15 from - diphtheria occurred in sub-districts as follows:—h :—St. Paul, Hammersmith, 1; John, Mar Ib l ; Christchurch, Marylebone, 1 ; S Park, 1; Sou t h Hackney, 1 •ristchurch, e o George,n ; e g net , s ' s y tHolborn, 1 • London City , N ort h -wy, North-west 1;. e, Hackney-road, n 2 ; R y-road, 1; Ai' ile-end Old T own East, 1 , St. James, Bermond sey, 1 ; Rotherhith e , 1 ; WoolwichDockyard, 1 ; and Lee, 1. Only four deaths occurred from diarrhoea. In Camberwell at 16 and 17, Queen's-terrace, Dreate-street, three girls, all belonging to different families, died between the 16th and 20th instant from " fever with dysentery." One ®f the inform ants stated that the water was impure. Three persons died last week from intemperance. Eight persons, of whom two were men and six women, died at the age of 90 years and upwards. Three of the women died at the age of 95, and one at 96 years. Mr. Druitt, medical officer of health for Hanover square and Mayfair sub-districts, writing on April 18, makes the following communication :—" At No. 15, Woodstock-street (Hanover -square sub-district), six deaths have occurred in 10 days—viz., a fem of a ty le : phthisis ; four children in first floor back, measles and scarlatina ; one child in second floor back, from the same, or diphtheria. The house large, l airy, not overcrowded, but of the date 1720, and in a neighbourhood where the drainage is all bad, unless quite new. The basementiniswpherievhadtehde with sewer smell at times, and so is t s h a e . bsuascpk_ suspicious o: a :h er e fi d o i o o r d. ben i e .h a o th ro th is e rooms e cg l hr o io s lu e d t nred i n n the centre of the house, used by about 15 persons. But there is no evidence yet of the en trance of sewer air into the rooms in which the children died. The chief thing c to complain of is ceilingsthat close w hi oh smelle even ad theun c eao most t, s state of walls and paLidasatrwtiseaenkstshteillbpiretrhssistoif. e respectable and well in all 1,699 children, were registered boys an and n 8 ng weeks of the years In the 10 corresponding the average nu height of thebaromet number was 1,649. 1849-58 London. nd girls,on At the Royal Observatory, erinthe Greenwich, 2 t 9 h . mean 6B n. The barometrical readings from 29.34 in. on Wed nesday to 29.72 in. on Saturday. The mean tem perature of the week was 41 deg., which is 5.9 deg. below the average of the same week in 43 years (as determined by Mr. Glaisher). The mean daily temperature was below the average throughout the week, and on the first two days the extent of depression was more than 8 deg. The thermometer in the shade ranged from 28.5 deg. on Tuesday, the lowest point attained in the week, to 56 deg. on Friday, the highest point in the week. The entire range was therefore 27.5 deg. ; the mean da - ly range was 20.9 deg. On Friday the range was 26.3 dog. The mean temperature of the water of the Thames was 47.7 deg. The difference between the mean dew-point temperature and air tempera ture was 9 deg. The mean degree of humidity of the air was 68. The wind blew generally from the' north or north-east. No rain was measured by the gauge. MURDEROUS ASSAULT IN THE QUEEN'S PRISON. Yesterday afternoon Mr. Combo, one of the magis trates of the Southwark Police Court, with Mr. Nokes, the second clerk, attended the Queen's Prison, at the request of Captain Hudson, the governor, to investigate a serious charge of assault committed by Mr. Francis George Hare, commonly called Captain H are , an i nma t e , on Mr. Henry Augustus Prince, also an inmate, confined in the first-class portion of the prison for debt. The in quiry took place in the governor's room, in the pre sence of Lieutenant Evison, the deputy-governor, and Mr. Charles Colwell, the chief gaoler. The complainant, whose face was much dis figured, and who appeared to have been much in jured, said that he was a gentleman, and at present confined in that prison for debt. About eight o'clock on Tuesday evening he was in Mr. Pitcher's room, No. 6 by 3, when he heard a Mr. Gray call out " Prince, Prince !" Witness went down stairs to him and met the defendant, who is called Captain Hare. He said, " Prince, I want you in my room." Witness told him he hoped it was not for a row. He answered, " No, I have a little business with you, that is all." Wit ness went to his room, and as soon as he was seated the defendant handed him a paper, requeiting him to sign it. On looking at it, and perceiving that it was for an indefinite amount, he refused to have anything to do with it. The defendant said that it was only for £6, when wit ness a lt ere d it to that extent, and was about to sign it, when the prisoner said he had spoiled it, and demanded him to fill up another, and sign his name to it. Witness refused to do so, when the prisoner hit him on the side of the head, and knocked him off on the floor. While on the floor he felt a pressure below his face, and, extricating himself, he jumped at the door, which he found locked, and the key out. While he was at the door he was pulled back by the prisoner, and thrown on the floor, when the blows were repeated, and feeling faint, he called out for protection. The prisoner said, " Oh, - you," and kicked him on the hips so violently that he thought he had broken his legs. He told the prisoner so, but instead of desisting he struck him on the eye, when it bled profusely. He and his companion then lifted him up, and after assisting him to wash the blood off they left the room. As soon after as possible he communicated with the governor. Mr. Combe asked the prisoner whether he wished to cross-examine the complainant, or ask him any questions ? He replied that he was called upon so suddenly that he did not know what to ask. He should like to consult his solicitor before he did so, if his wor ship would adjourn the case. Mr. Combe told him that it was a serious charge, and required thorough investigation. He should therefore adjourn the hearing until a future day, to enable Captain Hare to have the assistance of his legal adviser. The parties were then escorted to their respective rooms in the prison. COUNTRY MARKETS. NEWARK-APRIL 26. At to-day's market there was a moderate show of wheat, which sold at 3s to 4s per qr more money than last week, with an improved demand. In barley little doing, grinding at late rates, malting at full prices. Beans in small supply, and is higher. Other articles unchanged. White wheat, new, 44s to 53s Barley,grinding..2BB to 303 Red do. 4OB to 47s Oats, old, 2Bs to 30s Old white 4 43 to 53s New do 26s to 30s Red do , 3BB to 435 : Beans. 44s to Os Barley, malting 38s to 42s Peas ....—s to --I MARKET HARBOROUGH-Apra 26. - - There was an average show of wheat to-day, which sold at an improvement on last week—viz., 39s to 44s ; barley at high rates, ranging from 30s to 38s per qr.; oats, 28s to 34s per 24 stone ; beans, 40s to 46s per 38 stone. MELTON MOW At this day's market the and the trade ruled firm at descriptions of grain unalteri Wheat ...40s to 468 I Oats.... 304 to 35s White do .44s to 50s Beans 44s to 46s Barley .38s to 42s Ditto, old ........46s to 60s IRAY-ApRIL 26. ow. of wheat was improved, to 4s per qr higher. Other NEWCASTLE—Aran, 26. A fair supply of wheat, and there was an improved feel ing in the trade, all good qualities realising is to 2s per (Jr over the rates of last week. There was not much doing in barley, and prices were without change. Oats a small show, and is dearer. Beans moved off slowly, but for ra ther higher rates. Wheat 40s to 45s Oats.. 2Bs to 32s White do .. 44s to Ms Beans 44s to 60s Barley ..... 38s to 42s Beans, new —s to -a BRISTOL—APRIL 26. We had fair supplies of all descriptions of grain to-day, and wheat met a good sale at fully 38 per qr. over previous rates. Foreign wheal, Inquired for, but the high prices asked checks business. Oats in better demand, at is per qr higher. Flour 2s per sack dearer. Barley at full rates. Peas dull, without any change in value. COAL MARI (Prices of Coal per Ton ai .ET—APRIL 27. the close ef the market.) Walls End. s. d. Wylam l4 0 Haswell Gas. l2 0 Holywell 14 0 R. d. South Hartlepool. 16 3 Kellos l7 0 Braddyll's Hetton . 16 6 Thorpe Trimdon Hartlepool 17 3 South Relloo_ 16 6 Hetton .. w lB 0 )4 40—Sold, 37. Walls End. Haswell .... . 18 6 Gosforth 15 6 Harton .. i 15 6 Ships at market LOCAL SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL- APRIL 27. -•- The market was quiet throughout the day, and rices closed considerably lower, but ste a dy. Mi dlands, 9 4 6-- -Birkenheads, 61 I—Leeds Northern W e s tern B 11/ I—North British, 52 63 —Great of Canada, 15—Grand Trunk of Canada , 7i 2—GreatWestern, 521 3-- Eastern Counties, 10 13-16-Chester and Holyh ea d s , 481 9 —Sheffields 35 Caledonians 74—Lancashire and York shire, 87i 81--London and North-Westerns, 88 I—Dutch Rhenish, 6f 6 dis.—Dovers, 18 13-16 i—Berwicks, 83 4-- East Lancashire, 86 87. MANCHESTER APRIL 27. There was a good business doing most of the day, and prices closed at the lowest rate, the market being rather excited. Eastern Counties, 101—London, 90—Leeds, 89—Dovers 18 13-16—Midlands, 971 61 1-,—Sheffields, 36 —Great Western, 534. BIRMINGHAM-APRIL 27. There was a dull business done to-day in thi s mar k e t. Prices were generally lower, ow ing to the news relative to the war. Great Western Birmingham Guaranteed Stock closed at 9l—Midland 4i per Cent. Prof. Stock, at 10ll — South Staffords, 101 f. DEATH OF A VENERABLE NONCONFORMIST.—The Newcastle Chronicle records the death of (probably) the oldest nonconformist in the United Kingdom—viz., the Rev. William Turner, who was for 59 years minister of s congregation at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Ere he retiredfrom his pastoral duties he established the Literary and Philo. sophical Society, and the Literary, Scientific, or Mechanic? Institution. He also witnessed in full operation the In firmary, which he had laboured to found. He was the means of establishing many other institutions of minor im portance, though of much usefulness. The venerable minister died on Easter Sunday, at the residence of his daughter, in Manchester, in the 98th year of his age. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and pills.— Temperature.—The great vicissitudes of temperature in March and April are proverbial for producing rheumatism, neuralgia, and other painful disorders of the nerves and muscles. To relieve this particular class of complaints Holloway's remedies are daily adding to the celebrity- ac corded to them for their unfailing success during the last twenty-two years. Rheuinatism, whether acute or chronic, spinal affections, diseased joints, weakness of the limbs, and scrofulous swellings, are soon relieved, and ultimately cured by these purifying preparations, which simulta neously remove impurities and subdue pain. They not only expel the local ailment, but perfectly restore digestion, and assimilation so necessary to life. They cheer the spirits and ensure good temper which is dependant on good health. BIRTHS. GRAHAM.—On the 19th inst., at Killarney, the wife of George Brisco Graham, Esq., of Kildare -gardens, West. bourne-park, of a son and heir. HEALE.—On the 27th inst., at Highfiold, Huts, Mrs. 11. N. Heale, of a son. InoNs.—On the 26th inst., the wife of the Rev. Wm, J. Irons, D.D., vicar of Brorapton, of a son. Peckham, Mrs. Charle s M oser, of a son. Mo SEll.—On the 26th inst., at 6, Devonshire Villas, Queen's road, MARRIAGES BEALE—BLAKIRTON.---On the 26th inst., at the Church of St. Mary. Magdalene, St. Leonard's-on-Sea, Lionel S. Beale, M. 8., F.R.S., of 61, Grosvenor-street, London, to Fanny, only daughter of Peyton Blakiston, M.D., F.R.S., of St. Leonard's-on-Sea. CIIADWICK—LosAcx.—On the 26th inst., at St. George's, Hanover-square, Robert Chadwick, Esq., 14th Light Dragoons, younger son of Robert Chadwick, Esq., High Bank, Prestwich, Manchester, to Caroline Matilda, only daughter of the late Melville Charles Losack, Esq., Royal Artillery. DEATHS. ASPERNE.—On the 26th inst., at Tulse-hill, Ann Eliza, relict of the late Timothy Phillips Asperne, E sq , of Streatham. BuLLocK.—On the 25th inst., at St. Leonard's .on-Sea, Alice, wife of John Bullock, Esq., of 47, Inverness-ter race, Kensington -gardens CARNEGIE.—On the 24th inst., at Leamington, Miss Jane Carnegie, third daughter of the late Sir David Carnegie, Bart. GRIFFITII.—On the 24th inst. at Bishopstrow, Wilts, the Rev. John Wickham Griffith, rector of Bishopstrow and of Pertwood, Wilts, aged 64. SPENS.—On the 25th inst. at Edinburgh, Major-General Andrew Sp ens , Bengal Army. VINCENT.—On the 26th inst., at Canal Bank, Forest-hill, Mr. Samuel Vincent, of 10, Rood-lane, city, aged 70. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex,,Thureday,tApril 280859. „