The Sun. — London, England, 1859-02-25 00:00:00

' IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS—(YESTERDAY. ) AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. Mr. CAIRD moved the following resolution :—" That it would be advantageous to the public interests that Go vernment should ascertain and publish periodically the agricultural statistics of Great Britain, in so far as they relate to the extent of acres under the several crops of corn, vegetables, and grass." He contended it was most desirable that the information in question should be collected with the census, and presented in that form to the, public. Then there were no .difficulties in obtaining this information that could not be surmounted, and they could obtain the estimate when the crops were being gathered. If the Government would only take up the subject earnestly, they would be sure to succeed, and they could enlist the police as an efficient agency in obtaining the necessary . information,whichwouM prove most beneficial to the agriculturist, the merchant, the banker, and the shipowner. The necessity for securing all the information they could on the subject was most im minent. They might be on the eve of a continental war, and it was a fact that the source from which they derived one fourth of their supply was dried up. He meant America, from which country he did not think they would receive any more corn, or other grain, till August next. _ Mr. GARNETT said that from personal knowledge of the subject he had no apprehension of any injurious result from collecting the proposed statistics, and he would second the motion. Mr. PHILIPS opposed the motion, which he thought would do injury than benefit, in consequence of its being an affectation of accuracy where accuracy could not be ob tained, and therefore likely to mislead. Mr. HENLEY said he was sorry the hon. member in tended to press his resolution. The word periodically might apply to six months or seven years. He could not see the use of the motion as now worded. But there had been during the last few years several compulsory schemes which had proved failures. Such a resolution as that would lead to no practical result, and that being so, there was no use in putting it on the journals of the house. It would, if acted upon, rather indispose than conciliate the minds of the farmers, and there was no body of men in the kingdom that could offer more passive resistance if so disposed. (A laugh.) It was a mere abstract resolution, and could not lead to any practical results. (Cries of " Divide.") Mr. BALL said all the farmers wanted was to be let alone, and if the motion were persisted in and acted upon it would only produce nominal or fictitious returns. Mr. WILSON said that they were spending £3,000 a-year for agricultural statistics in Ireland, and also money for the same purpose in Scotland ; but it was admitted on all hands, that unless the system was extended to the whole kingdom, that expenditure, which was now going on yearly, was useless. The house should come to some re solution either to complete the system or discontinue it altogether. (Hear, hear.) He should support the rootion. Mr. PACKE said that the returns, if made, woultr only; prove delusive. Mr. BASS said that it was necessary, desirable, and of the greatest importance to ascertain the agricultural statis tics of Great Britain. The house' then divided, when there appeared— For the motion Against it Majority —ll The motion was consequently lost. SHERIFFS. Mr. GRIFFITH obtained leave to bring in a bill to regulate the expenses to be incurred by persons serving the office of High Sheriff in England and Wales. TRIAL BY JURY IN SCOTLAND. On the motion of Mr. DUNLOP, leave was given to bring in a bill to amend an act of the 17th and 18th years of her Majesty, for allowing verdicts on trials by jury in civil causes in Scotland to be received, although the jury may not be unanimous. ROMAN CATHOLIC OATHS. Mr. JOHN FITZGERALD moved that the house do resolve itself into a committee to consider the Act 10 Geo. IV., c. 7, in relation to the oath thereby required to be taken and subscribed, instead of, the oaths of allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration. Having referred to the legis lation of last session, by altering the oaths taken by mem bers of the Established Church, and to the admission of members of the Jewish persuasion to Parliament, he said he simply proposed that the Roman Catholic members of the house should be placed in the same position as other gentlemen, when they went to the table for the purpose of taking their seats and oaths. 'Were he to follow his own views he should abolish altogether the obligation of taking oaths, and substitute a short declaration of allegiance to the Crown and Constitution. It was only right that all mem bers should be placed on terms of civil equality. There was not equality at present, for the Roman Catholic oath con tained matters and statements which made the Roman Catholic member feel that he was placed in a position of degrading inferiority. The oath, last session, was confined in terms to the oath of allegiance, and it separated the de claration against the Pope or other foreign princes having dominion within the country. But the Roman Catholic oath, beside the declarations of allegiance and abjuration, contained two other clauses, which, if he obtained a select committee, he hoped, by means of a bill, to have the power of expunging. He would now call the attention of the house to the oath as it stood in the Emancipation Act. The first clause was, "and I do further declare, that it is not an article of my faith, and I do renounce, reject, and abjure the opinion, that any princes, excommunicated or deposed by the Pope, or under the authority of the See of Rome, may be murdered by their subjects, or by any person whom soever." The second clause to which he wished to draw attention was as follows, " And I do swear that I will de fend to the utmost of my power the settlement of pro perty within this realm as settled by the laws." There was a third passage - followed by the clause, " and I do solemnly, in the presence of God, profess and testify that I make this declaration in the ordinary words and sense of the oath, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatever." There was a fourth pas sage to which he would refer hereafter. This oath was to be found in the Emancipation Act of 1829, one of the authors of which was Sir Robert Peel, and the reasons which in duced Sir Robert Peel to introduce that oath into the bill were to be found in a memorandum contained in his memoirs lately published. The first clause of the oath he proposed to expunge altogether. It was absurd to suppose that any member of the house believed that princes deposed by the Pope might lawfully be murdered by their subjects. On behalf of the Roman Catholic Church, he declared it was an insult to suggest that such opinions were entertained by the Church or by Roman Catholics. The clause pledging Roman Catholic members to defend to the utmost of their power the settlement of property as by law established, if taken literally, would preclude Roman Catholic members from voting on any question that altered the laws of the country as they wer e a t th e ti me o f th e E manc ip a ti on A c t. (Hear.) Sir Robert Peel said the words of the Act of Settle ment had a special meaning. In 1662 by the Act of Settle ment, the Roman Catholics were obliged to give security in relation to property ; but surely, then, it was not now neces sary to retain any such conditions in the existing acts as those contained in the Act of Settlement. Since 1829, the Roman Catholics had become larger possessors of property in Ireland. In a debate in the Irish House of Commons, it was asked—Would it - be safe, in the event of admitting the Roman Catholics to Parliament, to give them a power in relation to property ? Now, nothing could be m ore un founded than the apprehension that it would not be safe to give them power in relation to property. They had now got that power, and no one would say that they had made improper use of it. He would refer the house to an extract from the speech delivered by Sir Robert Peel in 1829, when he brought in his measure for the removal of the disabili ties that affected the Roman Catholics. The hon. and learned • member here read the extract, showing that it was the opinion of Sir Robert Peel that there was no danger to be apprehended from the admission of Roman Catholics to seats in the Legislature. Sir Robert Feel, in that speech , laid it down as his opinion that the Catholic oath was suffi ciently binding to secure all the interests of the Church, without imposing any further restrictions upon them, and that they should not be fettered in their right of free dis suasion, or in their right to sit and vote according to the dictates of their conscience in Parliament. Thus Sir 11. Peel said he did not see that there was any ground for apprehending that he would vote, speak, or act in any way to militate against the interests of the Church. He (Mr. Fitz gerald) would now read th a t pa r t of the oath in which the Roman Catholic solemnly abjured all itemts intention of hin that could at all have a tendecy to injure of g the Establi s h e d Church. Sir n Robert Peel had no apprehpision, when he proposed the admission of Roman Catholics to Parliament, that the Church would be in any danger from the adoption of such a step, and the Roman houseCathli would oe agree with a t the him that the oath taken by a nature t o allay any feelings tableof the house was of of alarm that th e R oman Catholics cou ld in anysense contemplate a d es i re t o sub vert the E s t a bli she Hd wished to re f er th e house to that Passage e e Roman Catholic oath wherein he declares, in relation to the oath of abjuration—" I make this oath without mental reservation or equi vocation." Now, it had been by a distinguished states man, relation to that oath . m ,T a l l i c a l a, t he knew of no oath that could be devised to bind a if that oath could be said not to be sufficiently conscience, e submitted bri gd . , should he be that those three oaths should be successful in inducing the house to P _ Ett _ n b ill ot n o o n w th to e subject. It might be said that the house O'o uj'l proceed to disturb the Act of Settlement" 1829 ' but he begged to su bmit to the house that the ac t of 1829 was not afinal settlement of the question—(hear) —and to state that Sir R. Peel, when he brought forward his measure of 1829, had not any communication whatever with the Roman Ca tholic leaders of that day on the subject, nor with any o f the Roman Catholic party. It had been said that certain securities should be given by the Roman Catholics ; b ut the late Lord Castlereagh, when a similar oath was propoosed, by way of security, said it was one of the greatest farces that could be to propose such restrictions. That was the opinion of Lord Castlereagh. He (Mr. Fitzgerald) would assume that there existed in 1829 fears that were not realised —and the feelings of Protestants respecting Roman Catho lics were very different then to what they were at the pre sent time in this country. The Roman Catholics were then viewed at a distance, and there undoubtedly was then a great party in this country opposed to them, at the head of whom was the late Lord Eldon. They were not, however, now deal ing with the question of 1829; they were dealing with the state of feeling 30 years later. It was said that the house would be inundated with Roman Catholics, should they be admitted into Parliament, and that they would have at least 100 of them in Parliament, and that the Roman Catholic constituencies would send in member' who would prove hostile to Church and State ; but since then what was their e xperience of 30 years ? There w ere , f or i ns t ance 654 mem bers new in the house, a n d of th a t number there were only Roman Catholics, in place of 150, who it was said would be returned to it. (Hear, hear.) Of those 31 members no t one was returned for Scotland, and one only was in th e house for England. Now,how were they dist r ibut e d ? From Protest an t Ulster there was not one Rom an C a th o li c member in the house from Catholic Munster, there were twelve Protestants and eleven Roman Catholic m em b ers ; and from Catholic Connaughtand four Roman Catholic there were ten Protestants Roman Catholic counties the c onstituencies sent two Pro testant members to the house. thellead now go through the four oaths, and he t rus t e d h h or f e would no rmpet him to bring in a bill to expu nge th ree admission of the Roman C a th o li cs to the lthem. Since the they had always voted in favour of the c i v il and religious s libertiesgio a u o f their fellow-subjects ; and he would put to the house : whether the Roman C a th o li cs, as a no t voted in favour of every measure caleal l a y ted , had a d va nce the interests, of the people of this country i an d whether they had not voted for the Municipid Reform Bill, for the r epeal of the Test and Cor poration - Bill, for the Reform Bill, and "though last, not least,'!, for the admission of the Jews to Parliament ? Of the 1,500 who fell at Almai 800 were Irishmen, and upon all occasions they had never shrunk from the ditty or been disloyal to their flag, or the Queen, or to the Con stitution. They had had a rebellion in 1848, and the most efficient agents in putting it down were the Catholic clergy. At a recent civic banquet in Dublin the Lord Lieutenant had taken occasion to express his acknowledg ments for the great assistance the Catholic clergy rendered to the Government. During the last 30 years they had had many Roman Catholics filling the highest offices in Ireland, and it would be slander to say that on any occa sien they had been unfaithful to the Queen or Constitu tion. He did not think any security was required against their disloyalty. Those fears which had been expressed in 1829 had proved entirely baseless. In tho colonies, since 1856, every obnoxious oath had been abolished, and the present practice had the sanction of all well-thinking persons. He would refer to Canada. Was such an oath required there ? It was not ; and Catholics and Protestants mixed together in the Assembly on terms of perfect equality. It was the same in Australia, and now in no portion of the empire but at home was any peculiar oath required. The ground he took was this—that Roman. Catholics had a right to be placed on terms of civil equality with their fellow-citizens. (Hear.) He held that principle so valuable, that he should bring this motion for ward again and again till it proved successful. His present application was, that the house should go into committee in order to enable him to introduce a bill such as he had men tioned. The whole of the oaths he had stated ought to be expunged. As long as there was a separate oath they stood apart as a separate body. He wished for entire poli tical unity amongst all the members of that house, and that was the sole object he wished to accomplish. He begged to move that this house do resolve itself into a committee, to consider the act 10 Geo. IV., c. 7, in relation to the oath thereby required to be taken and subscribed, instead of the oaths of allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration. Mr. FAGAN seconded the motion. Mr. ADAMS saw no reason for this motion, because he looked upon it as a breach of faith as regarded the compact entered mto when Catholic emancipation was granted be tween the Irish Catholics and the Parliament of this coun try, and he doubted very much whether the Irish Catholics were, as a body, favourable to this motion. If the fact were otherwise, why was not the table covered with petiti ons i n support of the motion of the right hon. gentleman ? Mr. FORTESCUE, as a Protestant member, rose to ex press his entire concurrence in the motion of hi s r i g ht h on . friend (Mr. J. D. Fitzgerald). He denied th a t th e oa th i n ques tion was a bargain or a compact obligi ng th e R oman Catholics not to ask for its repeal in after years. As a P ro t es tant magistrate, he felt ashamed of being obliged to put the oath in question to Roman Catholic friends, when they were called to the magisterial bench. 11r. WHITESIDE said the argument of the hon. gen tleman went against all oaths, which were always re garded as having a binding effect, even in Pagan times. He regretted that this motion had been brought forward at this time, or indeed at any time, and he thought it would be wise in Roman Catholic gentlemen to allow matters of this kind to remain for ever buried in oblivion. He deprecated this effort to get rid of an obligation under whichthe hon. gentleman and other members of the Catholic body were enabled to obtain a position in that house, and places of distinction out of it, and which they willingly as sented to. He appealed to every honourable gentleman, whether it was to be supposed that those who benefited by the carrying of the question of Catholic Emancipation should now turn round, and repudiate those very argu ments which Grattan and Plunket had used to induce Parliament to accede to the passing of that measure. (Bear, hear.) The right honourable and learned gen tleman then quoted passages from the oath which had been proposed to be enacted by Grattan, and which he said was of a more stringent character than the oath which was introduced into the bill which was passed. In his speech in 1813,. Mr. Plunket said the oath proposed to be taken by Roman Catholics went to deny that they acknowledged the spiritual and temporal authority of the Pope within these realms. He therefore answered the objection of the hon. and learned gentleman by saying that Grattan and Plunket relied upon an oath which was substantially the same as the oath which had now to be taken, so far as the Church was concerned. Why, again, should any gentleman refuse to respect the settle ment of property ? (Hear, hear.) Sir R. Peel said the words, the settlement of property," alluded to the set tlement made by Charles 11. in 1660. The Roman Catho lie, said R. Peel, on being relieved from his disabilities, was bound to acquiesce in the settlement of property, and to respect it, and it was for that reason he said that the words were introduced into the oath in the bill of 1829. The noble lord (Lord John Bussell) was opposed to any alteration in the oath after the settlement of the Ca tholic claims, which, ho remarked, after a struggle of so many years, had been effected. The right hon. and learned gentleman then quoted further from the speeches of Sir R. Peel, as to the importance of the oath introduced in the bill of 1829, and said, that if the argument had been then used, the oath was dcomparatively little moment, and the Act of Emancipation would not have been passed. As to the power of excommunication on the part of the Pope, he believed that that eminent personage, if he still pre sided at Rome—(laughter)—although he did not now pre tend to the power of excommunicating princes, he did still exercise that power as regarded private individuals. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member for Cork (Mr. Fagan) had ad mitted that the oath he had taken as a Catholic had re strained him from doing or proposing certain things as regarded the Protestant religion. Now a similar feeling, he knew, operated .in the minds of many other Roman Catholics as well as on the hon. member for Cork, and this conscientious feeling sustained the opinions which had been expressed by Grattan and by Plunket, and justified the confidence they expressed in the respect with which Roman Catholics would regard that oath. It had been said that the Roman Catholic) people of Ireland and the clergy never assented to the oath, Now after the passing of the Roman Catholic Relief Bill, the Irish archbishops and bishops assembled in conclave, and issued a pastoral declaring that the Government was entitled to their confidence and affection who had passed that bill, and raised the Roman Catholic people from their prostrate condition. There had been no compromise of the interests of the Roman Catholic people, nor was there any thing in the oath which could not be fairly and conscien tiously taken by Roman Catholics, even according to the testimony of the Roman Catholic clergy. He opposed.it, not in any spirit of bigotry, but on this distinct ground, that in his opinion the oath contained a record of the con ditions upon which emancipation was granted, and, whether it was or was not efficient for the purpose for which it was destined, it was the cordial recognition by Parliament of the grounds upon which emancipation had been carried. He trusted the oath would not be disturbed by those who wished to preserve religious peace and tranquillity. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said the view he took on this question was, that he wished the house to reflect whether it was not fit from time to time to consider the oaths which were taken, for the purpose of seeing whether there were any parts of them insulting to a section of the house, or whether there were not portions which ;might be re altered without removing any security whatever. Every body must admit that if there were parts of an oath by which members bind themselves in that house, by which men holding office bind themselves on entering their ap pointments, which were liable to objections, it was not wise on the part of the legislature to retain those objectionable parts. (Hear, hear.) TM right hon. gentleman opposite (Mr. Whiteside) seemed to think that his right hon. friend (Mr. Fitzgerald) had wantonly and uselessly introduced the subject to the attention of the house; but the same principle was introduced last year. In the case of the Jews Bill, the Jews had no objection to renounce James 11., and the person falsely calling himself James 111., or any of his descendants who might be living and ' might attempt to disturb the throne of Queen Victoria ; but it was not for the sake of the Jew that they left out all those parts of the :oath.l They left them out because, as Protestants, they thought they were unnecessary. They thought it was somewhat of a profanation to come and make an oath which was a mere mockery and applied to things that did not exist, and accordingly they did shorten the oath with the very general assent of the house. That task having been successfully accomplished, his right hon. friend said, " You have done this, but there is still a part of your fellow-subjects who take an oath to portions of which they strongly object." With the view he took of the subject, and seeing that this question must be deter mined, not by 31 Catholic members, but by the whole 654 members of the house, he was not in the least degree affected by the argument started by an hon. and learned gentleman who spoke early in the debate, and which was assented to by the right hon. gentleman who spoke last, that there was a compact on the part of the Roman Catholics. Were it a compact or no compact, still nothing was to prevent the Legislature altering an oath, if theycould make it a simpler oath, one by which they could bind themselves to all that was requisite, but without any confusion or ambiguity. There was no reason why the wisdom of Parliament should not make such an alteration. When the act of 1829 re ceived the Royal assent in Parliament, both Sir R. Peel and the Duke of Wellington stated over and over again that they might have pursued one of two courses—the one was to negotiate with the Roman Catholics ; to ask what oath they were willing to take; to what securities they would bind themselves, and to frame the measure upon the result of the negotiations thus made. But Sir R. Peel said that was an unwise mode of proceeding; that there was another mode which was this, that Parliament should con sider the whole subject, and at the same time consider what was due to the Roman Catholic people of this country, and what was due for the real security of their Protestant institutions, and frame a measure accord- That was the principle on which they framed house.—(h ear , thei r measure an d presente d i t f or t h e approval o f the hear)—and surely that did away alto gether with the idea of any compact with the Roman Ca tholics. (Hear, hear.) No w th en , l e t th em , as P ro t es t an t s , it consider whetherwas wise to keep those f o u r ar ti c l es o f his the oath to which right hon. friend had alluded. The right hon. gentleman slightly over the first the a. k.ttorney-General passed rather they abjured the doctrinele t c h of the oath, to the effect that migh a t ,t princes deprived or excom municated by the Pope ; anabzhdeposed or lawfully mur dered by their subjects ht hon. gentleman quoted a passage from a sp eec h of e s ri Robert Peel, inwhich he said that to ask the Roman Catholics, ltohaotf Baht it offensiveanartic faith, that heretics might bemurderedri, it should be omitted. But if it was omit passages which were offensive, 16 he must call the time to atten tion of the house to another passage in the oath Roman Catholic member is required to declare thhwilticre a is not an article of his faith and ho does re j e2t a nd abjure thedoc trine that princes e xcommunicated by the Pope might be lawfully murdered by their subjects or by a n y other person whatsoever. He maintained that it was quite unnecessary to call upon any Roman Catholic to swear that he abju re d such a doctrine; and if it was unnecessary, then it was no security, and was only a gratuitous insult which they ought not to keep in the oath unless there be some valid reason. Then, again, the Roman Catholics were called upon to swear they would defend to the utmost of their power the settlement of property as established by law in these realms. He thought this was a very needless declaration, but it was quite unimportant whether it was left in or struck out. The next article was as follows :—" I disavow any intention to subvert the present Church Establishment, as settled by law in these realms." This he thought was certainly framed to reconcile the opinion of Protestants in the year 1829, when the oath was copied, or made up or copied from former oaths ; but he did not see why they should not be a little wiser than the Protestants of 1829. He remembered per fectly well,(on that occasion, being summoned to a meeting at the house o f Si r F ranc i s B ur d e tt, w h ere f or 14 y ea rs they had' be en d e f en di ng th e cause o f t h e R oman C at h o li cs . the They were a s k e d t o conrdefithether they could assent to proposal of the-Government of that day; and he re membered L or d Al t h orp left that meeting, charged with a message to Sir Robert Peel, to ask for some change • in the THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 25, 1850. bill with regard to the disfranchisement of the Roman Catholic freeholders, and he came back to them with an answer to the effect that Government had encountered so much difficulty in obtaining assent to that measure that every part had been so settled that it would be very dan gerous to alter it in its passage through Parliament. They agreed with that assertion of Sir Robert Peel, for they be lieved he had made the best terms he could under the cir cumstances ; but he did not believe that either Sir Robert Peel or the Duke of Wellington shared at all in the fears existing at that time, and he certainly thought it was quite unnecessary for them to share in those* fears at that time, and say that because there were persons who had unde ' fined and unnecessary fears thirty years ago it was neces sary to entertain them now. But the clause was also objec tionable for the good reason that a person who was in the high capacity of a legislator, and was called upon to act in everything affecting the highest interests of State, ought not to be bound down with respect to the particular course ho may pursue. In his opinion, they ought to leave all these questions to the discretion of the members of the house. (Hear, bear.) But the matter became much worse when it was not an oath to be taken by all the members of the house. If it was necessary to guard their Ohurch Establishment, and it was not safely guarded without the imposition of an oath - , let every member who went to the table take that oath. (Hear) The Attorney-General for Ireland had paid a well-deserved compliment to the hon. member for Cork (Mr. Fagan), who declared that he felt himself bound by his oath not to give a vote directly tending to the subversion of the Church Establish ment. As they had improved last year the form of oath, so they should this year act similarly as regards the Roman Catholic oath, by striking out everything obviously superfluous, totally unnecessary, and, above all, what was in the nature of an insult to their fellow-subjects. Mem bers of Parliament ought to be able to come forward and vote as their consciences dictated, and they ought to de pend on the freedom of discussion, truth, and the general interests of the country, rather than on the phrases of an oath. (Hear.) . After a few words from Mr. NEWDEGATEt Mr. MAGUIRE said the oaths imposea upon Roman Catholics implied degradation. and ought to be abolished. The right hon. gentleman the Attorney-General for Ire land called upon them not to open old sores ; but he would tell the right hon. gentleman that it was those degrading and insulting oaths that kept open the running sores, and that it was idle for the right hon. gentleman to attempt to gloze them over by any salve or plaster. (Laughter.) . Mr. WALPOLE wished, before they came to a division, to state why it was he should vote against the motion . He had listened to the debate with some degree of pain, because he thought that, after what had occurred last session, they had done with discussions on these oaths. He had good reason to hope when they settled the form of oath to be taken by Protestants—that when they converted three oaths into one—throwing out of them all superfluous and obsolete expressions which diminished its sanctity—that all would be settled. The question then arose also with respect to the Roman Catholic oaths, it was debated, and decided by a large majority, in which the noble lord the member for the City of London voted. The noble lord argued the question on grounds which would be equally applicable to taking any oath. He said the house had no right to dictate to any member the course he should take on a particular mea sure ; but the question they had to discuss was not the form of oath now, but was there a good reason to alter that im posed in 1829, by the late Sir Robert Peel, the author of that measure which admitted Roman Catholics to that house, and which was looked upon as a condition of that admission ? (Hear, hear.) Unless they had strong reasons for doing so, they would alarm the Protestant mind in this country, they would do away with that which was considered by them as a security. If there was nothing objectionable in it—and Roman Catholics had taken it from 1829 down to the present—if they said the oath was to be done away with, the people of this country might say that they did so because Roman Catholics objected to take it. (Hear, hear.) "Well, then, if that be so, and if they declined to swear, in the words of the oath, that they will defend property as settled within this realm—that they will not disturb the Church Establishment as settled by law, nor exert any influence to disturb or weaken the Protestant religion—and he was not going to say they had any such intention—but the inference would be, that they wished to do so, and so considered by the people of this country.• When Roman Catholics were admitted into that house, they bound them selves not to do so ; and he was of the same opinion as the noble lord the member for London, when he said that, when questions were settled after much deliberation and long discussion, it was not wise to reopen them again. If they altered the oath in one instance, they must do so in another ;.• and, for the sake of peace and tranquillity, it was better to leave the oath as it was. He relied on the state ment made by the author of the oath, he relied on the wise maxim .of the noble lord, that when things were settled they ought not for the sake of peace to be disturbed, and for these reasons he should oppose the motion. M. V. SMITH said he was favourable to the motion of his right hon. friend, as he was anxious that the special obligation imposed upon Roman Catholics by this oath should be done away with. Mr. SPOONER looked upon the present motion as another step in the direction of the destruction of the Pro testant religion of this country. The house then divided, when the numbers were — For the motion 122 Against it Majority The result was received with cheers at the Opposition side of the house. _ _ The house went into committee on the resolution, which was to the effect that the chairman ask leave to bring in a bill to repeal the Roman Catholic Oaths Bill framed in 1829. On the question that the resolution be agreed to, the committee again divided, when the numbers were— For the motion Against it Majority for the motion —l6 The resolution was then :agreed to, and the house re sumed, when the bill was brought in. THE ARMY. Sir B. Hawes, accompanied by Sir W. Armstrong, who was admitted to the honour of: knighthood at her Majesty's Levee on Wednesday last, visited Woolwich Arsenal yesterday morning and trans acted business with Col. Tulloh, superintendent of the Royal carriage department. They were received within the. Arsenal gates by Col. Wilmot, superin• tendent of the gun factories ; Capt. Gordon, prin cipal military storekeeper ; and Mr. J. Anderson, inspector of machinery. It is rumoured that the appointment of Sir W. Armstrong as engineer to the War Department for rifled ordnance is the first step , towards the improved arrangements" about to be issued for carrying out with greater efficiency and economy the duties of the manufacturing de partments of the Arsenal by civil officers in the place of those of the Royal Artillery, as at present. The subject is at present under the scrutiny and in vestigation of some of the members of the House of Commons, and will be brought before the house, together with other important matters connected with the Royal Arsenal during the present session of Parliament. One of the extraordinary breech loading weapons invented by Sir W. Armstrong, a 12-pounder, which was received a few days ago at Woolwich as a sample gun, was yesterday morning brought on Woolwich-common for driving and theoretical firing practice by a detachment of Royal Horse Artillery, in command of Adjutant Everitt, when a large proportion of the officers of the garri- son were present. The most stringent orders are observed to prevent the near approach of civilians or any examination of the piece by strangers, under the impression that so valuable an arm of warfare may be illegally imitated and manufactured in coun terpart. During the few days the gun remained in store at the Arsenal even the officers of the establish ment were refused permission to inspect it. After the detachment exercise"yeeterday the gun was re turned to the Horse Artillery square, where it was subsequently housed in a temporary wooden shed erected to screen it from the public gaze. A gentle. man who was detected in the act of taking a pencil sketch of the gun was immediately arrested and called upon to forfeit his unfinished production, which he most reluctantly yielded up to an officer present. Mr. Warry, the armourer sergeant of the 3d depot battalion of Chatham, having succeeded in making one of his breech-loading cannons on a much larger scale than that formerly brought under the notice of the authorities, a trial of the new gun took place at Brompton barracks yesterday morn ing for the purpose of subjecting the new invention to a severe test. The length of this breech-loading cannon is 16 inches over all, and 14 inches -from the breech to the muzzle. Its weight is 111b. ' ex clusive of the carriage, the gun itself being of brass, and, together with the mechanism at the breech, of beautiful workmanship. With this cannon ten rounds can be fired per minute, being as fast as two men can load and fire it. The balls used yesterday were the ordinary Enfield rifle bullets and Captain Norton's paper-coated conical balls, the latter pre senting many improvements over other rifle bullets. With this cannon 10 balls per minute can be fired at an object at a distance of 2,000 yards with the greatest accuracy of aim, as was fully demonstrated in the firing which took place yesterday. The most valuable improvement in this breech-loading cannon is, that the firing takes place by percussion, each gun being fitted for a percussion cap, whereas in thebreech-loading gun invented by Capt. Armstrong the charge is fired in the old-fashioned manner adopted in firing brdinary cannon, and where Capt. Armstrong's gun fires about one round per minute, Mr. Warry's breech-loading gun has fired 10 rounds per minute, which rate of firing can be maintained as long as the ammunition lasts. By a simple contrivance, which has been invented by Mr.Warry since the last experiments were made, the cartridge is cut, the nipple pinned, and the breech closed, all by one motion of a small lever placed on the left hand side of the gun, so that it is almost impossible for the gun to miss fire. After the most rapid firing the interior of the gun is always found to be perfectly cool, the opening at the breech admitting a current of air immediately each charge is inserted. It is intended to apply Mr.Warry's prin ciple to an ordinary 32-pounder gun on board ship when it remains to be seen whether the invention will be found to answer as satisfactorily in the case of large guns as it does in the smaller kind of cannon FRENCH REPUBLICAN DEMON ' STRATION. Last night a public Meeting, convened by the committee of French proscrits, known as the " Commune Revolutionnaire," was held at Fitzroy Hall, Little Portland-street, Oxford Market, in commemoration of the second French Republic of the 24th of February, 1848. About 250 proscrits of all grades, and of both sexes, and almost entirely French, were present on the occasion, the building being filled in every part. The interest manifested in the pio - eeedings of the evening, even by children, was something _remarkable to witness ; and on every countenance the bitterness of exile seemed to b softened by the hope that out of the impending European -crisis some relief for their sorrows and sufferings might at length arise. It is proper to add also that the greatest decorum and mode ration characterised the speeches that were deli vered by the several speakers, which were also filled with genuine expressions of sympathy for the oppressed of every despotism. The proceedings commenced at nine o'clock, wl, en the chair was taken by a French gentleman,whose name was not communicated to the meeting, but whose impressive language immediately engaged the attention of his auditory. He reminded them that this was the eighth annual occasion on which they had met in exile to commemorate the Revolu tion of February, 1848, which they all had so much reason to extol, and the overthrow of which by the very man whom it had elevated from an inglorious expatriation to supreme power, they had so long and still so bitterly deplored. The object of their meeting there that night was to keep alive in their memories and in their hearts that revolution, which must ever be dear to them for the purity and devo tion which it called into action ; but that was not all that was incumbent upon them at such a time. It was their duty, each according to his own powers, to assist in the concentration of thought and energy, and, if necessary, of material means, by which they could be restored to the exercise of the rights of which they had been dispossessed, and to the country from Which they had been shamefully driven. To that great end he urged them to give their minds, and in the 'meanwhile would assure them that success was far more possible than ap peared to them now. (Cheers.) In conclusion the chairman announced that M. Felix Pyat would address them. M. FELIX PYAT accordingly ascended the tribune,_and was greeted with cordial and long continued cheering. Silence having been restored, he proceeded to deliver a discourse, the subject which Was Le Bonaparte et L'ltalie, and. which, for upwards of an hour, was listened to with breathless attention. It would be impossible, of course, to attempt to do more than offer our readers a general sketch of a speech which embraced such an infinitude of political points,- and entered into anticipations of the future on almost all possible hypotheses; but it was upon the great European question which now stands for solution, that the orator made the deliverance of the French nation to depend. He opened by pointing out at once forcibly and grandly, that it is idle to look to Louis Napoleon as the future de liverer of Italy. To the Italians he would be just what he had been to the French—a master. The French nation were, in fact, on the eve of another 2d of December ; but it was a European 2d of December, which had been foreseen and predicted ever since the former one, as they had in vain sounded in every ear. In France the coup d'etat cost them a republic ; in Europe it might cost them more—their country. Bonaparte would not free Italy, but would expose France. That was not exactly a prophecy. Alas ! it was a souvenir. At the rate at which the Empire was going, if France did not stop the Emperor, Europe would. M. Pyat then proceeded to examine the leading points of the understood aims of the French Government in Italy—the suppression of revolution, the evacuation of the Austrians, the secularisation of the Roman Government, and the federation of Italy under the presidency of the Pope. These he soon showed would not remove the permanent causes of discon tent which rankled in that unfortunate country, and which nothing short of a national restoration could effect. He looked upon war as a result not to be questioned, and contemplated its consequences thus, in the concluding words of his speech :—" Ah ! if there be a mortal pain in exile it is to foresee the misfortune which we cannot prevent ; it is to have ' no other means of warding it off than to foretel it; it is that in the moment when France has need of all her children and of her most faithful citizens, we shall be unable to make a vow of our lives to serve her, or of our deaths to save her. May our eyes close far away from her rather than look upon the horror of such a day. It is a last word, a word of affliction deep as is our love. For if once the sword be drawn, we have only to gather in silence, and to await in anguish worse than death the event of a war which must be mournful in either case : victory, and the oppression of Italy by France ; defeat, and the invasion of France by the kings. Orsini was right on the 14th Jan." This speech was loudly and repeatedly applauded; and for graphic power, the judicious and telling use of ridicule and satire, and lofty and touching elo quence, has probably seldom been exceeded. Mr. JOBSON, who described himself as the author of a history of the French language, then moved a vote of thanks to M. Pyat, which was seconded and supported by M. Picquet, M. Becker (a German), and M. Bonnin, and carried amidst loud applause. We must not omit to mention that the trium phant return of Mr. Edwin James for Marylebone was mentioned by Mr. Bonnin, in connection with his spirited defence of Dr. Bernard, and elicited a perfect hurricane of applause. The " Marseiliaise" was then sung, and the pro ceedings .closed at midnight, with a vote of thanks to the chairman. STORNOWAY.--THE GULF STREAM. Lieutenant Chimmo, F.R.G.S., of her Majesty's steamer Seagull, has just delivered a lecture in the Town Hall, of Stornoway, Sir James Matheson, Bart., M.P. in the chair, principally on the aneroid barometer, the newly-discovered - element ozone, and the effect of the Gulf Stream on the Hebrides. On the last subject he said : " All atmospheres - are guided by currents of the ocean. The currents bring with them their warm vapOurs, which temperate and heat our atmosphere. As a building is warmed by the vapours arising from boiling water, so are we indebted to the va pours of a comparatively hot water for the mildness of this place. That current to which we are par ticularly indebted is the Gulf Stream, those waters which have a temperature of b 0 degrees, originating in the Indian Ocean, passing round the Cape of Good Hope, brought across the equator by the S.E. trades, launched into the Gulf of Mexico, whence they take a course for the western shores of Europe, and their warm and pleasant atmosphere is wafted to us by the prevailing south and south-west winds. This warm vapour, meeting the colder atmosphere natural to our coast, is condensed into rain, and hence the great quantity of rain in the island of Skye, which during the last eight months has mea sured 32 inches, and in the month of December 7,1 inches. - The hills of Skye, 3,000 feet high, attract these rains ; but in Lewis, which is comparatively level, not near the quantity falls, hence the supe riority of the climate and hence its mildness. " In St. John's, Halifax, you, south of the har bours are frozen in since November or December last. They do not enjoy the warmth of the Gulf Stream ; it is deflected to our shores before reaching theirs, and passes close to the Banks of Newfound land, meeting the cold and chilling waters of the Arctic regions. Do you not, then, consider your selves a much-favoured people ? aad although you may have heavy rains with these warm winds, yet I cannot find any bad effects ' • you roam about in your wet clothes all day, and I have known many of you come out of your fishing-boats at night and turn into your bed with your wet clothes still on you, and in the morning your clothes have been still wet. Now this must convince you what a healthy atmo sphere you must inhale to repel these effects ; you could not do so in any other place. I should like to put one of you in wet clothes for a night in London, Manchester, or Glasgow, and the next morning would show you the difference of climates ; you would have cold, sore throat, rheumatism, and everything that is disagreeable. Rheumatism is rather pre valent here ; but I have taken the trouble to make minute inquiries, and I find it exists only in those persons who confine themselves to their houses and rooms, not to the sailor and the farmer who breathe a pure air, but those who sit over a large fire, and shut their doors and windows, the cool air outside condensing the warm one inside (which may be seen on the = glass), is inhaled, and you breathe your own artificial atmosphere instead of a pure and naturally healthy one; hence your pains and aches; I would, therefore, strongly recommend more out-door exercise, if you wish to enjoy a life free from troubles. I can assure you all that lam a living illustration of what I have been endea vouring to convince you of. During a residence of two years in London, I was seldom without a sore throat, cough, cold, or some other disagreeable dis order. I havelbeen eight months in Skye and the Hebrides, and although I have been frequently wet through on hills and in boats, I have not known what either a Gore throat or cold is, and my health has visibly' and wonderfully improved. This stream, which brings you a warm, mild, and healthy temperature and climate, is, one of your greatest blessings; it is an atmosp ere peculiar to yourselves, containing benefits which many cannot enjoy." Lieutenant Chimmo then explained at some length the properties of the ozone, and the means of detecting its presence in the atmosphere, He also expressed a hope that Stornoway would be selected by the Board of Trade as a suitable place for erecting an aneroid barometer for the use of fishermen And sailors. BLEACHING AND DYEING WORKS. Mr. CROOK moved for leave to bring in a bill to place the employment of women, of young persons and children, employed in bleaching works and dyeing works, under the regulations of the factory act. Mr. KIRK opposed the bringing in of the bill. Mr. MACARTNEY also opposed the motion, as likewise did Mr. TURNER. Mr. LABOUCHERE said that it was exceedingly un desirable to interfere with voluntary arrangements of masters and servants. His disposition was, at least at present, very strongly to vote against the introduction of the bill. Mr. HENLEY quite agreed with the rule, that masters and men should settle their differences ; and unless a very strong case was made out, he should not consider this an exceptional case. Lord J. MANNERS thought that further timo ought to be given to the masters, to see whether they would carry out the recommendations of the committee. Mr. PEASE and Mr. GREER opposed the motion. The house then divided— For leave to bring in the bill Against it lOB Majority against.. —7B ALLEGED RELIGIOUS PARTIALITY. _ _ Mr. COGAN moved for a return of the names of the members of the board of superintendence of each county prison in Ireland, specifying the number of Roman Catho lics on each board. The hon. member stated the reason of the motion to be the paucity of Roman Catholics on these boards, where it was of importance that some of those in authority should bo of the same religious faith as the majority of prisoners, which necessarily, in the majority of instances, was composed of Catholics. Lord NAAS would be prepared to show at a future time that the superintendence of the prisons was of an entirely satisfactory kind. (Cries of "No, no.") The first portion of the motion was useless, as the names were already on the table; and as to the religious faith of the individuals, no record was kept, and he did not know from what source the return, if ordered, could be made. Mr. H. A. HERBERT would remind the noble lord that the returns could be furnished by the secretaries to the grand juries. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL forIRELAND said that a more ungracious attack could not be conceived than that which had been made on the conduct of the Govern ment in reference to Roman Catholic magistrates. They were ready and anxious to make such appointments when they could find proper persons to fill the office ; and when the Marquis of Donegal, who was himself a member of the Whig party, had lately, in his capacity of lord lieutenant of the county of Antrim, recommended that a Roman Catholic gentleman should be named a magistrate for that county, the Lord Chancellor for Ireland had at once made the ap pointment. In reference to the motion itself, he would only observe that there were no means of compelling any gentleman to make known what was his particular reli gious profession. ' Mr. GREER said the facts of those grievances should be put before the house, so that hon. members might have an opportunity of forming an opinion respecting them. He hoped his hon. friend would persevere in his motion. Some discussion took place, in which Mr. Hassard, Mr. M'Carthy, and Mr. Timothy O'Brien took part. Mr. WALPOLE said the appointment of the Board of Superintendents was made by local authority and not at all by the Government, who had nothing whatever to do with such appointments. The hon. gentleman wished the Government to give a return with the characters of the members comprising the Board of Superintendents, and to specify who were Roman Catholic and who were Protes tant members. For some reason it was alleged that the Board was not constituted in a satisfactory manner, but he would put it to the house whether such a return was ever before moved for? (Hear, hear.) The Government could not enter into the merits or demerits of the Roman Catholics and Protestants composing the Bbard. The report was that of the Inspector-General. He therefore hoped the hon member would not press his motion. Mr. COGAN having replied, the house divided— For the motion. Against it 84 Majority —49 INCLOSURE OF LAND. The Inclosure of Land Bill was read a second time and ordered to be committed. The other business on the paper was disposed of, and the house adjourned at one o'clock. WARNING TO YOUNG LOVERS,—Master Thomas Jones, of the mature age of 19, and Sarah Ann Leresche, aged 16, both of Birmingham, had " engaged" themselves. But the young lady's papa unkindly forbade the acquaint ance. Thomas, however, hied to Worcester, and procured a licence. The young lady packed her boxes, borrowed £9 in her father's name, and got safely away from home. But, alas for the lovers, telegraphs and detectives were in requi sition, and just as they were proceeding to church, in bridal attire, they were apprehended, conveyed before a magistrate, and remanded—Miss Sarah on the charge of stealing her father's goods and obtaining the £9, and the lad with re ceiving the stolen property. On Friday the prisoners wore brought before the magistrates, when greatly to the satis faction of a crowded court the charges were dismissed. — Wolverhampton Chronicle. FATAL ACCIDENT TO A WOULD-BE RAREY.—An inquest was held on Saturday last, at Calver-hall, Branth waste, on view of the body of Willi am G arne tt, o f Calver, when a verdict of "Accidental death" was returned. The deceased had been to Cockermouth horse fair with a young horse, and in going home, or soon after his return, he un fortunately took it into his head to show his fellow-servants, a le Rarey, how tractable and quiet the animal was which he had in c h arge. He first crept between its fore -legs, under its belly, and having performed these and other manceuvres, with success, he very foolishly ventured so far as to creep betwixt the hind legs of the animal. Ife passed through safely, b u t , j ust as hewas rising, the horse, with sotnrue c f k oot h , i p m ush on ed t hi he m he o a ff d, a an li d ttl k e i r l ' e a a v, h a imn d o v n fith the the sp o o t t h ._ er Ctimberland Packet. NEW WORK ON AGRICULTURE.—We understand that Mr. W. W. Fyfe, the editor of the Dorset County Chronicle, has in the press a work entitl e d, " Agricultural Science Applied in Practice." From what we know of Mr Fyfe We .venture to prognosticate that the work will com mand an extensive Weekly Messenger Feb, 21, 1859, THE NAVY. A court-martial was held on board the Royal Albert at Berehaven on Friday, the 18th inst., for the trial of Lieut. A. Helby and the officers and crew of her Majesty's late brig Wizard for the loss of that vessel on the Roancarrig Rocks in a heavy squall of wind and rain on the night of the Bth inst. The court consisted of Rear-Admiral Sir C. Fremantle, K.C.8., commanding the Channel squa dron ; Capts. Forbes, of the Renown ; Ommanney, of the Brunswick; Houstoun, of the Orion, Willcox, C. 8., of the Victor Emmanuel; Paynter, of the Racoon ; and Price, of the Royal Albert. Mr. C. Pritchard, secretary, officiated as judge-advocate. Lieut. Helby was assisted by Mr. K. L. Suther land, paymaster of the flagship. After a lengthened trial the court sentenced Lieut. Helby to be admo nished for error of judgment, by putting the helm to port on a cry from the lookout-man from for ward, saying "Port, port ; hard a-port," instead of keeping it to starboard, as he had already ordered it to be done. The rest of the officers and men were fully acquitted. The President of the Court, on re turning Lieut. Helby his sword, said -he had much pleasure in doing so, and that he left that court without any stain on his character as an officer or seaman. Her Majesty's screw steam transport Himalaya, Capt. J. Seccombe, embarked at Portsmouth, on Wednesday, the 2d battalion, 13th Foot, previously enumerated in The Suva — excepting that Paymaster Brown embarked in lieu of H. L. Carter, and Capt. Cobbe and Lieut. J. C. Conington,who did not join. The Himalaya shipped a mail yesterday morning, and sailed at 1 p.m. for the Cape of Good Hope. Commodore Drummond having forwarded a re quisition to the Board of Admiralty for an increase of labourers in Woolwich Dockyard, 35 extra hands were taken on yesterday, and an additional 20 are to be engaged to-day. The following ships were yesterday taken up by the War Department as store transports,—namely, the N3reid, for Sierra Leone ; the Lady Shelburne, for Colombo ; the New Great Britain, for Algoa Bay ; and the Koh-i-noor, for Bermuda. Her Majesty's screw steam frigate Termaf ant, 25, Capt. It. Hall, which was placed in No. 7 Dock at P or tsmouth, on Wednesday, to stop a small leak in the vicinity of her stern-post, and remove the impediment which prevented the proper shipping of her screw, had a portion of her inner stern-post stripped, caulked, and recoppered. A piece of iron bolt was found in the " seat" of, her screw frame. She was removed out of - dock yesterday at high water and steamed out to Spithead, where she will take in her powder and shell, and afterwards be in spected by Admiral Sir G. F. Seymour, prior to her crew being paid their advance and the ship sailing for her destination—West Coast of Africa. The Bullfinch screw steam gunboat yesterday made a trial at the measured mile in Stokes Bay of Philps's propeller, which, comparatively speaking, is at present a failure, as compared with the corn mon screw. The Fire Queen paddlewheel steamer was yes terday taken into No. .7 dock at Portsmouth to stop a leak in her bow. The new naval cadet training ship at Portsmouth (the Britannia, Capt. R. Harris) was yesterday officially inspected by Admiral Sir G. F. Seymour, K.C.8., G.C.H., whose term of command at Ports mouth expires on the 28th inst. At the close of the inspection, and on the gallant admiral leaving the ship, he cordially shook hands with Capt. Harris and his officers, expressing his entire satisfaction with everything he had witnessed. Then, turning to the cadets, and wishing them " good bye," he said that he trusted that while they were in the Bri tannia they would continue to deserve the same good accounts which he had always received about them while they were in the Illustrious. DR. BUNTING'S NEW SYSTEM OF HORSE-BREAK ING.-Dr. Bunting had the honour of appearing before her Majesty, the Prince Consort, and the members of the royal family, by command, on Thursday, the 17th inst., for the purpose of displaying his new method of subduing- horses. The exhibition took place at the riding-school, Bucking ham Palace, under the superintendence of Mr. Meyer. One of the royal carriage horses was first put into the break, 'and her Majesty and,his Royal Highness expressed their entire satisfaction of the' simplicity of the construction of the machine, as well as of its great utility. A horse be longing to Colonel Mountjoy Martyh, 2d Life Guards, on which every previous effort to tame had proved unavailing, was then exhildited, when Dr. Bunting, without the use of straps, induced the animal to lie down, get up, follow him, curve, pivot, and stand on a sort of platform. This exhibi tion elicited the warm approval of the royal party, and the horse is now, we understand, rendered so perfectly tractable as to be ridden with the greatest ease. The doctor operated upon one, of the royal ponies belonging to her Majesty, without the assistance of the break, with which - her Majesty - and the Prince also expressed their great satisfaction. Many of the nobility and others interestea in the management of horses have_ since witnessed the advantages to be derived from the use of Dr. Bu.nting's invention, a t M r . E as t' s s t a bles, White Horse street, Piccadilly, and from the simplicity and inexpensive nature of the machine it will no doubt be generally adopted. By its use, the breaking and bitting of colts and other horses, which have hitherto been a work of time, and attended with considerable expense, may be performed in a few-days, and at trifling cost, with the certainty of the most vicious tractable, withkint the adoptionof either violence or punish ment. animal . ale Bunting, rendered perfectly and permanently who has recently arrived from Mofi treal, will shortly take his departure to exhibit his inven tion to the Crowned Heads of Europe. CRIME IN FRANCE. The Court of Assizes of the Moselle has just been occupied three days in trying a woman named Barbier for murder, and a zouave named Closset for complicity before the crime. On the 25th July last the dead body of the woman's husband was found in a field near Einschwiller, and as his head was beaten about in the most frightful manner, and as he had wounds in different parts of his person, it was evident he had been murdered. It being known that his wife had not only long maintained a criminal connection with Closset, but had borne animosity to her husband, she was suspected of the crime. There being no marks of any struggle hav ing taken place in the corn field, it was thought pro bable that the man had been murdered somewhere else and that his body had then been conveyed there. On going to his house a quantity of blood was found in his barn, and numerous agricultural implements in it were stained with blood. One of the woman's neighbours also stated that two afternoons before she had seen the man return home in a state of intoxication, and go to his barn to sleep ; also, that a few minutes after she had heard the woman cry ing out to her husband, apparently in anger. Another neighbour stated that on the same after noon a little boy had told him that in passing Barbier's barn he had heard a noise of people fight ing and killing each ether, but that he (the neigh bour) had not troubled himselflo go and see what was the matter. As no one else, except the woman, had been in the barn at the time, it was considered certain that she was the murderess. With regard to the zouave, it appeared that, not content with carrying on a criminal connection with the woman, he had repeatedly insulted and menaced the man; also, that one day in June last, after abusing him in gross terms, he had knocked him down, and beaten him in a savage manner about the head with a stone. For this assault he was condemned to eight months' imprisonment by the Tribunal- of Correctional Police of Sarreguemines, and he was undergoing that punishment when the murder was committed. But both before and after his con demnation, he made use of language which left no doubt on the minds of his hearers that he and the woman had planned the murder of the man. He often said, " It is certain that Barbier will die either by my hands or those of his wife 1" " Bar bier will soon have to be carried to the cemetery, and it is I who will send him there !" and so on. Moreover, it was ascertained that he had more than once strongly recommended the woman to murder her husbcud, and in order to accomplish the crime with ease, to make him drunk with spirits ; likewise that he had repeatedly exhorted her not to, be wanting in courage at the critical moment. In addition, it appeared that when the man was carried of to prison tfie woman was heard to promise him solemnly that before his release her husband should be dead. The jury declared the woman guilty with extenuating circumstances, and the court condemned her to hard labour for life. As to the zouave, he was acquitted ; but in order that he' might not escape the punishment which he appeared to deserve, the public prosecutor had him tried for having some time ago brutally assaulted his own father, whereby he had been guilty of cutting and wounding. On that charge the jury convicted him, and he was condemned to six years' hard labour. Just before the judgment was pro nounced, the woman confessed that it was she who had murdered her husband, and that she had perpetrated the crime with a log of wood which she had afterwards burned. She also confessed that she and her eldest daughter conveyed the body to the field in which it was found. As some workmen were at an early hour in the morning of the 19th Oct. last going to work at Craon (IVlayenne), they found the dead body of a man still warm, lying in the middle of the road, with a gunshot wound in the breast. He was recognised as one Podenier, a stableman, employed in the town; and on investigation these facts were ascertained :—He and one Robert had on the previous night at a late hour been drinking at a public-house, kept by a man named Charlery. A quarrel arose between him and Robert, and they exchanged blows; Charlcry having interfered, Podenier had a struggle with him also. Whilst the conflict between the last two was going on, Robert went out, and presently after Podenier, having been expelled from the house by the land lord, came up and attacked Robert. The latter, however, ran away, and after he had gone some distance, he heard the report of a gun. It turned out that it was Charlery who had fired it, and had killed Podenier. But, when questioned by the authorities, he said that the man had attempted to force his way into the house, and had actually broken in the upper part of his door ; and that, in consequence, the shot was fired in self-defence. As, however, it appeared that at the moment at which Podenier was shot, he was in the road at some distance from the house, the landlord was taken into custody. Two days back he was brought to trial for manslaughter before the Court of Assizes of the Mayenne. But he protested that he had pulled the trigger of his gun without taking aim, and at the moment he did *so he had enter tained the apprehension that the man was about to renew his attempt to break into the house. The jury, believing his statement, and finding that he had alway borne a good character, acquitted him. The Court of Assizes of the Ille-et-Vilaine three days ago tried a farmer, named Poulard, of La Pongerais, and his son, Jean Baptiste, for murder. An account of the crime alleged to have been committed by them has already been given in the Messenger. At the latter end of September last a young man, named Deniel, who had been in the service of the elder prisoner, disappeared, and on the 11th Oct. his dead body, with the head sepa- rated from the trunk, was found in a field at a short distance from Poulard's house. As the de ceased was known to have had an intimate con nection with Poulard's daughter, by - which she had become enceinte, and to have refused to marry her, and as that man and his son bore to him in consequence, they were suspected of having perpetrated the crime, and they were arrested. The son at once confessed that they had committed the murder. After the indictment had been read, thi young man was interrogated as follows :—" You are accused of having caused the death of Deniel—do you admit your guilt ?" " Yes, I assisted my father in killing him." " State how the thing passed." " On the 15th Sept. we learned positively, what we had long suspected, that my sister was enceinte b y the deceased, and my father abused her a good deal. In the night of the 16th, when Deniel and myself were in bed together, my father came into the room, and making Deniel get up, asked, ' Why have you deceived my daughter ?' Deniel made some reply, when my father seized him, and a very violent struggle took place between them. My father called to me to help him. I did so. We dragged him into another room, and then my father grasped him by the throat and strangled him !" " Was any one else in your room ?" " Yes, my brother Jules, 14 years of age. And in the next room to ours were my mother and sister and our servant." " Did Deniel cry out ?" " Yes, when my father first seized him, he cried Help, my friends, I am dying !' and he twice repeated the same cry when he was dragged into the next room !" " Did you see your mother, your sister, and the servant ?" "No ; there was no light, but they were there !" " Did Deniel make much resist ance ?" • " Yes, he struggled a good deal !" " Did you hold him down when he was dragged from his own room ?" " Yes, I held him by the shoulders." " And what did your father do ?" " He grasped him by the throat with both his hands." " How long did that scene last ?" " I should say about ten minutes." "Did your father say anything during the struggle ?" " Yes, but I do not recollect what." " What did you do with the dead body ?" "We took it to a heap of manure outside." " How did you convey ' it there ?" " I held it by the shoulders and my father by the feet." " What did you do after wards 9' "We made a hole about two feet deep, and buried the body. We then went to bed, but did not sleep much." " And the next day, what did you do?" " I attended to the oxen as usual, and my father unloaded a cart of wheat." " Did the other labourers ask what had become of Deniel ?" " Yes, they asked—and we answered that he had no doubt gone to work on the railway." " How long did the body remain in the manure ?' " Three or four days, but as a bad stench arose from it, my father resolved to remove it. Accord ingly, in the middle of the night we got up, and carried it to the field." "Had the deceased a nightcap on ?" " I did not notice ; but we fetched his hat from the house, and placed it by his side." Did you not also put a knife near the body ?" " Yes, to make it appear that h e had committed suicide." The witness afterwards deposed that becoming alarm], some days after, at the inquiries which everybody, and especially his parents, made about Deniel, the father told witness s brother Jules to go to the field, to find the body, and to come back in appa rent terror. They all pretended to feel profound sorrow when the dead body was discovered. The witness added that his sister had misconducted her self with other men before becoming acquainted with Deniel. In answer to all this the father could say nothing more than that his son bore to him, and had told falsehoods. The jury declared both guilty, but with extenuating circumstances, and the court condemned the father to 20, and the son to 10 years' hard labour. The court, moreover, condemned them jointly to pay 100 f. a year to Deniel's father,— Golignani. MRS. STVINFEN'S ACTION AGAINST THE LORD CHANCELLOR. Some months ago we announced that Mrs. Swin fen, the successful litigant in the celebrated cause of " Swinfen v. Swinfen," had brought an action against the Lord High Chancellor of England under circumstances which will raise a question materially affecting the privileges of counsel, and which will render the cause one of great legal and public interest. A brief recapitulation of the facts will render the case intelligible. An issue had been directed by the Court of Chancery to try the vali dity of the will of Samuel Swinfen, by which he bequeathed a large estate to his widow. The will was impeached by the defendant as the heir at law. The case was tried before Sir Cresswell Cresswell, then a puisne judge of the Court of Common Pleas, in the spring of 1856, when a compromise was entered into between the learned counsel on both sides, Lord Chelmsford, the present Lord Chancellor, who was then Sir Frederic Thesiger, being counsel for the lady, and Sir Alex. Cockburn, now Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, representing the heir at law. By this arrangement the defendant was to secure to Mrs. Swinfen an annuity of £3,000 a year. Mrs. Swinfen, on hearing that this compromise had been entered into, was exceedingly dissatisfied, and refused to give her consent to carry it out. The matter gave rise to fresh legal proceedings, both in the Common Pleas and the Equity Courts. Even tually the Master of the Rolls directed a new trial for the purpose of establishing the validity of the will. The case was accordingly tried in Stafford shire, and Mrs. Swinfen succeeded in establishing her claim to the property bequeathed by her late husband. Mrs. Swinfen now brings her action against Lord Chelmsford for having, as her counsel in the first cause, prejudiced her rights by the compromise into which he had entered on her behalf. There are several counts in the declaration, which charge the noble defendant generally with having entered into the compromise in violation of his duty as counsel, and in defiance of her expressed will and instructions. Another count alleges that the de fendant was in collusion with Sir C. Cresswell, the learned judge who tried the cause. The Lord Chancellor has put several pleas on the record. He denies his knowledge of any want of authority, and that he had entered into any collusion with the • judge. It is further pleaded that the defendant had every reason to believe that Mrs. Swinfen's interest would be benefited by the compromise. This cause, as originally fixed, was to have been tried at Stafford in March, but in conseirkence of the position of the noble defendant requiring his presence in London, and the great impediment which would accrue to public business from the circumstance that he and other distinguished per sons were compelled to attend a trial in the country, the venue has been changed to London. Under present arrangements the action will be tried in the Court of Exchequer, at the sittings after next term at Guildhall, as a special jury cause. As, however, special jury causes are not taken at these sittings, the consent of the parties must be obtained. The noble defendant has, we understand, intimated that he will afford ever/facility for the immediate trial of the case. Mr. Kennedy, who was counsel for Mrs. Swinfen on the last trial as to the validity of her husband's will, has been retained for her in her action against the Lord Chancellor, whose interests have been in trusted to the advocacy of the Attorney-General. COUNTRY MARICBTS. MANCHESTER-FEB. 24. Wheat and flour were dealt in cautiously, but in the value of good qualities there was scarcely any change. Oats and oatmeal steady, with a moderate business. Beans and Indian corn without inquiry. BIRMINGHAM-FEB. 24. Supply of English wheat large, which sold at the cur rencies of this day se'nnight. In barley no change. Oats again declined 6d per qr., and beans and peas is per qr cheaper. BOSTON-FED. 23. The wheat trade is dull to-day. Millers are looking for lower prices, and the farmers refuse to give way. To effect sales a slight decline had to be submitted to. Oats were 6cl and beans is per qr. less money. Barley and peas as before. Wheat ....35s to 39s Oats.. lBs to 24a White do 40s to 45s Beans, new 40s to 463 Barley 2Bs to 40s Peas .... 4os to 503 Averages for the week : Wheat .2,740 qrs., at 39s 3d 8ar1ey......... „ —s Od Oats 739 „ 22s 10d Rye - 1) —s Od Beans 421 ~ 44s 7d Peas .... 78 „ 39s 104 LOUTH-FEB. 23. The supply of wheat is very plentiful; fine dry samples are held for last week's rates, but the business transacted. is on a limited scale. Barley in gGod demand at high rates- Oats at late rates. Beans rather more inquired after, and rather dearer. Wheat ...38s to 41s Oats . 23s to 2E4 White ..44s to 45s Beans ..--s to -ES Barley .35s to 39s Ditto, old .40s to 4is EDINBURGH GRAIN-FEB. 23. Supplies still large. Sales rather easier, and prices much the same as last week. Wheat on the top Os 6d up average Os 3d down. Barley on the top is Od down average Os 8d down. Oats on the top is Od up... .... ..... average Os 7d up. Beans on the top is Od. down.... average is 2d up. Averages per Imperial quarter. Wheat.... Barley 1 11 5 8-12ths Oats 1 4 3 2-12ths Beans.. Total Supply and Sales. Wheat ...1572 qrs Sold 1161 qrs 8ar1ey........ 1991 qrs Sold 1068 qrs Oats .3266 qrs Sold 2181 qrs Beans 534 qrs Sold 383 qrs GLASGOW—Fna. 23. The tone of our market has somewhat improved, but the sales were few and mainly in retail. Wheat and flour sold at last week's rates.' Marianople brought 235, Ghirka 225, and Danish 225. Barley, beans, peas, and oats were a dull sale, and rather lower. CORK-FED. 23. The following were the quotations this morning :--Red wheat, 21s to 22s Od; white, 2280 d to 23s 9d; barley 12s 9d to 15s Od; oats, Hs 6d to 13i 4d. DERBY SMITHFIELD-FEB. 22. The supply of fat beasts to-day was good, with a full attendance of buyers, and the lait week's prices were fully maintained. The number of sheep was smaller this week, and sold at higher rates. The show of pigs was numerous, and of good quality. Fat and store calves were more scarce and well sold. Beef 6id to 7d Veal Mutton .. Bd to 81d Pork Lamb ....0d to —d Rough fat, 5s 3d per stone. Hides, 4d to 5d ; calf skins, 5141 to 6d. The Lapwing (s.), of and from Glasgow, for In verness, and the Islesman (s.s.), came into collision yester day, between Sands and Campbelton ; the former, it is re ported, sunk, and two men supposed to be lost. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills.-- Bad legs, bad breasts, ulcers, abscesses, cancers, and woundsof all kinds may be thoroughly healed by the appli cation of the Ointment to the parts affected, after they have been duly fomented, or washed with warm water ; the dis charge is not checked at once, for such sudden check must, of course, be always dangerous. Nature is the noblest of physicians, and must not be opposed, but • seconded. All sores are, for a time, the safety valves of the constitution, and should not be closed or healed until they assume a healthier character under the action of this powerful Oint ment, assisted• by a course of the Pills, which assist and purify, the depraved humours of the body. BIRTHS. ANDERTON.—On the 22d inst., at Euston Hall, Lancashire, the Lady Emma Anderton, of a son. HUNT.—On the 24th inst., at Buckhurst, Sunninghill 2 the wife of George Ward Hunt, Esq., M P., of a son and heir. RAMSAY.—On the 22d inst., at 30, Half-Moon-street, the lady of Beville Ramsay, Esq., of Croughton House, Nor thamptonshire, of a daughter. PHILPOT.—On the 23d inst., Mrs. Philpot, of 20, Monta gue-stroet, Russell-square, of a daughter. MARRIAGES MIEDMAY—LEFEVRt. — On the 22d inst., at St. George's, Hanover-square, Captain Hervey George St. John Mild may, R.N., of Hazlegrove-house, Somersetshire, to the Hon. Elizabeth Shaw Lefevre, youngest daughter of the Viscount Eversley. WILKIE—CRAWcouu.---On the 23d inst., at St. john's Marylebone, William Wilkie, Esq., only son of the late W. Wilkie, Esq., of Edinburgh, to Ellen Somina, only daughter of Edward Crawcour, Esq., Wilton-place, 8.0 • gent's-park, DEATHS. ALEXANDER.—On the 24th inst., -at her residence, 12, Hanover-terrace, Miss Joanna Alexander. BAILLIE.—On the 27th Nov., on board the Alnwick Castle, on his passage home, Henry David Baillie, 2d Battalion Rifle Thigade, third son of David Baillie, Esq., aged 22. CATOR.—On the 23d inst., at Heine, county Devon, the seat of C. A. Harris, Esq., Captain John Cator, of H.M.' B 10th Regt., eldest son a A. Cator, Esq., of Woodbast wick Hall, Norfolk, from the effects of wounds received at Inkerrann and Lucknow. DAvisoN. 7 on the 18th inst., Mr. Robert Davison, ship- owner, of 32, Lower Shadwell, aged 69. DUFF.—On the 22d inst., at his brother's residence, 18, Orsett-terrace ' Gloucester-gardens, Paddington, J. B. Duff, Esq., of Arundel-terrace, Barnsbury-park. FROLDE.—On the 23d inst., at Dartington, theVen. R. a. Fronde, Archdeacon of Totnes, aged 89. SANDWICII.—On the. 20th inst., in Curzon-street, the Countess of Sandwich. .40Nnox : Printed and Published by MURDO, YOUNG of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Wee, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex, Friday, February 25, 1859, 8 ,-il Th the *thot cont . ' ravel able Doss' tec4 . Dire 4 solve hr tecen ir ludii me ma fee Tf pli T Ja in aoh; Capi Cap J am Sir Th and 1 riyer Coln clupi earl( Atari t , e Ti the irn Dlon Por I clan Dew take allot the Isi Mir tra ( whi Rtr( I to] r a] of r (111 but nj i ecri, /no prr !0I