The Sun. — London, England, 1860-02-28 00:00:00

fit 4 Another was that at all the great commercial ports training Ships should be placed for boys, some of whom should af terwards enter the navy, and others of them be at liberty to join the merchant service. When the Admiralty came to consider those two suggestions it ap peared to them that they would have to do something more than place a vessel at each of the large ports—that they would have to attach to each of those vessels a d n a small brig have or yacht in which the lads should g o to sea, o pp or tunities for practice in seamanship. U cir cumstances he had thought it would b e welltonr t hea pdea use before they adopted in the large com mercial ports a system of training schools such as had been recommended. But, in the meantime, he had thought it desirable to try the ex periment on a different scale —namely, to have training s hips stationed at Portsmou th and P lymouth for boysummer s, with small vessels attached, so that during the whole the lads might be going out to sea, and rendering themselves really efficient seamen. He believed that would be the right course to adopt as a commencement, and the Admiralty had accordingly decided on giving practical effect to it. Another recommendation of the manning commission related to sea men gunners. and certainly nothing was more important than good naval gunnery. The Admiralty had made ar eamgementa for giving increased pay to seamen gunners, had appointed gunnery lieutenants and instructors of gun nery, so that they had done everything they could to give effect to the recommendations of the commission. The com missioners had reported that the supply of provisions to the seamen was too small, and the Admiralty, acting upon the suggestion, had increased the quantity issued to the men. Free grants of bedding and clothing were now also given, the practise having been begun by the late Board of Admi ralty, in accordauee with the recommendations of the com mission. With respect to the suggestion that the seamen should be paid at shorter intervals, that question required some consideration, which it was now receiving ; but all these men who had entered the service during the present year had received the bounty, which, perhaps met the views of the commissioners, that an allowance should be given to the men at a time when they most required it. With re spect to warrant officers the commissioners recommended that certain alterations should be made, and that pensions should be granted to their widows. The Admiralty thought the propositions were just, and had acted upon them. So also with respect to petty officers, —they were to receive an allowance upon being promoted. The number of marines had been increased by 2,000 men last year, and by 1,000 this year, thus raising the force from 15,000 to 18,000. It war not desirable to increase the force too rapidly, because of the difficulty of drilling a large number of recruits. He next came to the coastguard, the importance of which force he fully ad mitted. That force had been increased this year by 500 seamen, and the number of seamen would be continually increased as the landsmen serving in that body were pen sioned off. He had next to refer to the great question of a naval reserve. That reserve at present consisted of the coastguard, of the Royal Navy Coast Volunteers, and the new reserve force created last summer. There were at pre sent in the coastguard serving on shore only about 3,200 seamen. In the district coastguard ships about 1,800 more, making a total of 5,000 seamen fit for service at sea. In the Royal Naval Coast Volunteers there were of men who had been drilled and were ready for immediate embarcation in case of emergency about 6,600. It must be remembered, however, that in creating the new force many men had been attracted to it who would otherwise have joined the Coast Volunteers. The scheme of a naval reserve was one at tended by many difficulties, and required the combined ac tion of the Royal Navy and the mercantile marine. He had been told by those well. acquainted with the commercial marine that it the Admiralty trusted entirely to naval offi cers to raise the force they would fail, from the suspicions that would be entertained by the merchant seamen. He, being desirous to avail himself of the assistance of masters in the commercial marine, applied to the Board of Trade, and the officers of that department had exhibited great zeal and taken great pains to promote his object. The regulations which had been drawn up had, he believed, been generally approved, but he had felt it his duty to make certain restrictions. Thus he had restricted the entry for the present to able seamen. He had been told if he wanted 30,000 men it would not do to restrict the entries to able seamen. He admitted that statement, but if it had been announced that on a given day the Admiralty were prepared to receive all who might choose to enter,—whether able or ordinary seamen,—the number might have been too large to allow of the whole being drilled at once. He had therefore thought it beat in the first instance to confine the entries to able seamen, and if they succeeded in getting good men the force would become popular, and they could take more volunteers as they were able to drill them. The liberality of the Admiralty and of Parliament had created the sus picion of the sailors. For many years schemes of a reserve had been in agitation, but the objection always was that the country walild pay the bounty, but would not get the force. Last year the offer of £6, and pay while serving, was made, and the force only to be called to serve upon occasions of great emergency. He quite agreed with the noble earl that no Government should use the reserve, except in case of a &eat national danger or critical emergency. The particular emergency could not be defined beforehand, but before the men of the reserve could ho called upon to embark there must be an order in Council and a special pro clamation addressed to the reserve. Thus the men in that force could only be called upon to serve after a decision of the Cabinet ; and under circumstances which made it almost certain that Parliament, if not then sitting, must be immediately as sembled. At first, however, seamen thought the terms were too good, and were suspisious that as soon as they had joined the Government intended to ship them off to China. There was no ground, of course, for such doubts, and as to China that was the most popular station just now. Indeed, had he had five times the number of ships to send to China, he would have had no difficulty in manning them. The new scheme only came into operation on January 1, and, despite its restriction to able seamen, the natural sus picions of the men, and the difficulty of all at once under standing the arrangements, he believed about 40 or 59 were entering every week, and if that wont on Air a short time longer the country would have the nucleus of an efficient reserve. The noble earl had suggested that the reserve ought to be formed of sailors who had served 10 years in the fleet, their places being supplied by bringing in other men. This, however, would greatly injure the efficiency of the service, for the men who had beer 10 years afloat were some of the best men in the navy, and could not at present be spared. Perhaps hereafter, as the service increased in po pularity, this plan might be resorted to, but at present it was necessary tl proceed gradually, otherwise the country would be committed to a large outlay and the efficiency of the navy might at the same time be greatly impaired. Under the system he had adopted none were entered but able seamen and those who were likely to be really effec tive. It had been objected that men were required to be doubly approved, first by a shipping master and then by a naval officer. To some extent that objection was well founded, but if you tried to raise this reserve by naval officers alone the men would not join. It was found necessary to deal with merchant sailors by those to whom they were accustomed. The responsibility of accepting or rejecting any men must rest, of course, on the naval officer, but arrangements had been made by which the naval officer now attended along with the ship ping master, so that, although a double approval was still necessary, only a single attendance was required on the part of the men. The noble earl complained that 22 days' training was quite inadequate. The same complaint had been made respecting the 28 days' training to which the militia were subjected. It was true that the naval reserve would not be made so efficient as if they were trained for several months, but it should be remembered that the coun try did not want to engage these men entirely, and that the object was not to draw them away from their present em ployment, but to retain their services on an emergency at a moderate cost. As able seamen only were admitted into the reserve, be did not thi n k it i m p oss ibl e .t o t ra i n them in gun ndy. e a ry a andk e them efficient for the Royal service in 22 Having recently attended sonic gunnery practice, he was told p that a gr ea t many w h o took art in it had only been i n training for a b ou t th ree weeks. and not to weigh yet had become very e ffi cient. This objection, therefore, ought with their lordship s an d lead them t o . condemn the system. The noble earl had spok en o f the des i rab i l ity of connecting the reserve force with a seamen's fu had fund. No doubt, it would be desirable, but the commiss ion expr essed their opinion that the object aimed a t wou ld be better attained by means of a fund voluntarily supported. seemedlle (the Duke of Somerset) thought that, as these m en already, they would perhaps imagine that some f urther hold upon them was to be established by a comp ul sory pay ment. It had beeu thought better, therefor e, notom ll up any such fund with the new force, but to leave it for voluntary adoption whenever a good scheme could be laid down. The Merchant Seamen's Fund, it would be remem bered, had become bankrupt, and great distrust would therefore exist on this point. The noble earl said there was at present no sufficient instruction for officers or men on board the coastguard ships. Every district ship, how ever, had one or two gunboats attached to it, and during most of the year these boats were sent met along the coast, and excellent practice was thus afforded. There was great difficulty in securing all the advantages which could be wished for in this way, with a due regard to economy. The estimates this year were very heavy, but the chief amount was taken for men, and the more men introduced into the navy the wider the basis for a future naval reserve. He had thought it bettor to begin cautiously in the formation of a reserve; but if it continued at its present rate of increase, some 40 or 50 men joining it per week, and if sailors got rid of their suspicions that they were about to be entrapped, and found that they would be called out only on some national, emergency, he hoped before long that they would join it still more freely, and that it would become a valuable and reliable force in case of need. (Hear, hear.) The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said that about 14 years ago he was a member of a commission which had to consider the state of the Merchant Seamen's Fund. They found it in a bankrupt condition, through the miscalculations of those by whom it had been established • but the earnest desire of the commission and of die Government which then existed was that the fund should be re-established on a better footing. He, indeed, when occupying the position now held by the noble duke, had gone so far as to conceive the design of a hospital fur merchant seamen, which should show that they, as well as the sailors in the Royal Navy, were their country. of th e t en d eres t care and solicitude on the part country. (Hear, hear.) As regarded the measure for the establishment of this naval reserve, he confessed that he never expec ted great things from it. He Juld always felt that pe rsons would be disappointed who hop ed by its means to b e able at all times to lay their hands upon a certain number o f men o e r service in the Royal Navy, men w f er because the beatabsent on distant voyages, imminent. In and were not at hom e when m point of fact, however, ther e was at r w as such ties i ea n ci t t h ed is . country a reserve which had not b een duly appreciated. People fell into two errors in speaking of the mercantile mar ine. Some thought that, in the event of war, the whole of t h a t b o dy of men, consisting, accordi ng t o some ealcu.a 2 tions, of 200,000 or 300,000, would be available far service lu the navy, while others supposed that no sailors Would be available, except those who actually engaged to serve. N o „. the tact was this : — T here was at . all times in the U nited Kingdom a very considerable body of merchant seamen un employed, the number varying according'to the senson. That would form the reserve force of her Majesty's navy in case of war. The moment there arose a reasonable appre hension, and long before a declaratio n of war, merchants were af raid to send their ships to sea, and of course did not need hands. The men were compelled to find some service, and, being unable to do so in merchant ships, they were of necessity forced to seek employment in the Royal Navy. The number of men unemployed at the commencement of the next war would be infinitely greater than at the com mencement of former wars, because, in consequence of the very narrow balance between our naval force and that of the _l!t French it would be impossible, at the beginning of the war, to keep up our convoys to enable merchants to make their voyages. The navigation of the -seas by merchants would be stopped, and a great many men employed in the naval service would then be disposable here for her Majesty's service. The same thing would occur in every part of the world, for the merchant would be afraid of putting his ship to sea unless he could receive a great degree of protection from men of war. Therefore the men of the merchant service in different districts abroad would be available for service in the Queen's ships in the same districts ; and, even if the proposed naval reserve should fail, still he ' thought there would be that reserve which he had just now alluded to, and of which no circumstances could deprive this country. He must say that the account given by the noble duke of the prospects of the naval reserve was a great deal better than he had expected ; and, considering that the Admiralty had confined themselves in the first instance to accepting as volunteers able seamen, he had no doubt, recollecting how comparatively few were the numbers of that body, they might congratulate them selves on having established a system which would produce on paper a respectable force. He was, however, under the apprehension that, in consequence of the men being engaged in distant voyages, the number available in war would not be so great as he should desire to see. There was one thing he would venture to recommend, and that was the Admi ralty should consult Lieut. Brown, who was a perfect mas ter of this subject. He would likewise advise them to have at all times in their possession an account of the number of seamen actually in this ccuntry. The number, of course, varied at different times, but there should be no week in which the Government should not be aware of the total force of the seamen in the country. He congratulated the coun try on. the efforts made by successive Boards of Admiralty to improl, e the condition of the seamen. There could be no doubt that the country had acted with great wisdom, libe rality, and benevolence towards the seamen, and he trusted that the jealousies and suspicions entertained by the latter would gradually cease to exist, when the seamen observed, as they must of necessity soon perceive, the kind manner in which they were dealt with by successive Boards of Admi ralty and by Parliament. (Rear, hear.) , 'ORDNANCE SURVEY OF RAILWAYS. The Earl of PO WIS asked the Under-Secretary for War what provision was made for marking on the complete sheets of the Ordnance Survey new lines of railway as they were opened for traffic ? The Earl DE GREY and RIPON replied that officers went about the country from time to time to survey different lines as they were made. The reports of those surveys were sent to the office at Southampton, and then the plates from which the sheets were printed were altered by laying down the new lines. Surveys were being continually made, and the stock of printed sheets kept on hand was extremely small. Their lordships then adjourned. .s HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(YESTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. NEW MEMBER. Captain STACKPOLE took the oaths and his seat as mem ber for the borough of Ennis. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were considered and ordered for third reading :—Blackburn Gas, Silverdale and Newcastle Railway, and West Middlesex ater. PETITIONS. Several petitions were presented against the uncondi tional abolition of church rates ; in favour of the reduction of the malt duties ; against the proposed system of licensing eating-houses and coffee-shops for the sale of wine ; in favour of the repeal of the duty on paper ; for the reduc tion of the duty on tea and sugar ; praying that the income tax might not be imposed on incomes under .E2OO a-year ; against the highways bill, &c. MR. GLADSTONE'S MISSION TO THE lONIAN ISLANDS. Mr. MAGUIER. gave notice that, on an early day after the Easter holidays, he would move for the production of any papers in the possession of Government in reference to this matter. 'THE SERPENTINE. Mr. COWPER gave notice that to-morrow he would move for the appointment of a select committee to inquire into the best means to be adopted for cleansing the Serpen tine. (Hear, hear.) ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION (IRELAND). Mr. VANCE moved for a return of all annual salaries paid under the Irish Ecclesiastical Commission, with the names of the recipients and the situations they hold, and the number of years' service in every instance ; and, de tailed account of the income and expenditure of the Com mission for 1858.—Ordered. THE STATUE OF RICHARD CCEUR DE LION. • In reply to Mr. HANKEY, Mr. COWPER said that some unavoidable delay had arisen in reference to the erection of this statue. WINE LICENSES. Lord E. THYNTEasked the Chancellor of the Exche quer whether magistrates would have any control over licenses to sell wine granted to confectioners, eating-house keepers, and others in towns, boroughs, or rural districts, and, if not, what remedy was proposed against those per sons if they kept disorderly houses or harboured persons of bad character ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said tho most satisfactory answer he could give to the question would be a general one. Before he would ask the house to come to any vote in regard to this matter, he would laf on the table of the house the whole of the regulations which the Government proposed to introduce in respect to licensing eating-houses. It was certainly most desirable that magistrates should have a power, not only with reference to granting licenses, but that facilities should be atlorded them of enforcing the law against persons who conducted their business in a disorderly manner, CHINA. In reply to Sir J. PAY INoToN, Lord J. RUSSELL said that he hoped in a few days to be able to lay on the table of the house the papers in refe rence to China, to which he had alluded on a former occa sion. THE CEMETERY AT CLAPTON. Sir DE L. EVANS asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he had given or intended to give his sanction to the establishment of a cemetery at Clap ton, which was not only within the prohibited distance, as defined by the Burial Act 15 and 16 Victoria, bit adjoined a populous district; and if so, what had caused the viola tion of the spirit and intention of the statute to be ad visable. Sir C. LEWIS said that the Government had not given their sanction to the, establishment of the cemetery in question. LICENSING PUBLIC-HOUSES. Lord 1 7 ERM 0 Y asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he had any intention of altering the existing sys tem of licensing public-houses, any further than what he proposed to do by his budget. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that several years ago there had been a committee of the house on this subject, but the question had been left open under the supposition that it would be dealt with by the Legisla ture. However her Majesty's Government had no in tention to introduce a bill to deal with the sub ject at large. The changes that would be effected by the introduction of wine into this country as an article of po pular consumption would be very important as regarded the habits and morality of the community. However, some time must necessarily elapse before the alteration took place. THE TREATY WITH FRANCE. In reply to Mr. HORSMAN, Lord J. RUSSELL said, with respect to the 11th article of the treaty with France, which had reference to coal, that the French Government would modify it if the Government of this country had any desire for it, which, however, was not the case. FOREIGN WINES, Mr. BENTINCK asked the Secretary of State forFo- reign Affairs, as her Majesty's GovernMent, in considera tion of their undertaking to obtain the reduction of the duty on French wines, had soicited from France the promise of prospective concessions in favour of this country, whether the contemplated reduction of duties would not confer similar advantages upon Spanish wines; and i f so, whether Mr. Bu chanan had received instructions to urge on the Government of Spain the propriety of making a corresponding conces sion in favour of the trade and commerce of England. Lord J. RUSSELL was understood to say that Mr. Buchanan had not received any such instructions as those alluded to by the hon. member. CUSTOMS ACT. . . . . The house then went into committee on this Act. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said ho rose for the purpose of submitting to the committee the resolu tion in respect to the wine duties, which stood second upon the list. The first resolution had been voted in conformity with the usual practice, without discussion, on the night on which it was originally proposed ; but of course it would be competent for any hon. member if he thought . fit to raise a question on that first resolution hereafter. He considered this a very important resolution in our commercial law—the most important indeed which in the whole course of his parliamentary life ho had had to deal with. He did not conceal from the committee the sense he had of the extreme difficulty of taking any step for taking off the wino duties. The truth was that tho present system had continued a very high duty, enforcing a severe pressure for many genera tions, with considerable variations in detail—to whichthere was but one single exception, Mr. Pitt's treaty, that ever proniised any substantial change with regard to access to wine by the great body of the people. The effect of that sys tem had been to produce a state of things so artificial and exceptional, that it was impossible to devise any means of escape that would not be attended by considerable difficul ties, and be open to serious objections as regarded the stage of transition. He had no doubt, however, that they should arrive at some satisfactory solution of the difficulty wh en that transition stage was accomplished, though no doubt not without encountering very considerable inconvenience on the way—(hear)—and now he would answer the question of which the hon. baronet the member for Stamford (Sir S. Northcote) had given notice with respect to the method of it ascertaining wasd inten the ed top ordinary apl teh strength tem. Hen wines, eed and noty sathe they scale had no official data properly so-called as to the , strength of wines. The alcoholic test, though many persons took it to be a simple novelty, was a test which had been in daily operation for a very considerable time. The object of that test as now applied was to ascertain what was wine and what was not wine, because any fermented liquor which contained a greater degree of alcohol than 40 per cent. proof was not admissible as wine into the ports of this country, and it was the duty of the Customs to ascertain that. But instead of simply referring to books in relation to the subject in view he had thought it best to col lect from a great variety of samples which were believed to represent the general course of trade as to the efLict of the strength of wines in different classes ; at the same lime he could not cull these samples official, and they were perfectly ep3n to dispute. lie proposed that a portion of the lighter wines should be admitted into this country at a duty of ls., and the remainder at ls. Gd. A . portion of the lighter wines Of the Peninsula, Italy, Spain, and the Mediterranean would be also admitted at a duty of ls. Gd., while a considerable portion of the Sicilian and South of France wines would be As to the reasons of the Government for negotiating this treaty with France, and proposing these resolutions to the house, they were actuated by the wish to have the most convenient uniform duty on wine. He need not say that it was also lately necessary to have something more than a mere nominal duty, because the principle of the wine duties lay at the very root of nearly one-half our direct taxation 'The Government felt it necessary to propose a plan which should offer a prospect of admitting to our markets cheaper t tirHE S UN, tONDON, TtTESDAir EVENING; FEBIZTIARY 28, 1860 sorts of wines, at a ratenot exceeding ls. per gallon. Though that appeared a very low rate, it was not, as regarded those wines, a low rate at all. But what the Government thought was this, that it was the highest rate of duty they could fix compatible with an _extensive entry of those wines into the ports of this country. (Hear, hear.) Then be came to the question, could we afford a uniform rate of Is. a gallon ? He believed that would entail a fiscal sacrifice considerably greater than that he had prepared to make. But that was not the question. Were the sacrifice considerably more he was of opinion it would be wise to face any disadvantage so that they should give a full and fair support to this measure. They proposed that wine which approached to the strength of 40 per cent. of proof spirit should be liable to a duty of 2s. per gallon. The effect of that would be that while he proposed to tax British spirits at some thing over Bs. per gallon, proof spirit in wine would be only taxed at the rate of 55., although the proof spirit contained in wine was an important element in the composition of .wine, yet it was only an element. There was a very considerable spirit in beer. If you take a gallon of beer, and look at the amount of malt duty upon every gallon, they would find that the alcohol contained in the beer was much more lightly taxed than that in spirits pro perly so called. The reason they could do that was because the competition in spirits was an indirect competition. The large amount of between £11,000,000 and £12,000,000 was now levied on the article of British and foreign spirits ; and, in fact, they had placed the 2s. duty as low as they dared. With that duty at 2s. they had no fear of illicit distillation. The committee would see, therefore, that if they were to have a plan to meet the great exigencies of the case, it would be necessary unfortunately to adopt a varying scale of duties. If it were possible to apply the principle of an ad valorem scale it would be the best of all, but the simple answer to that was that he did not think any minister of finance or the head of any revenue department could take the responsibility to administer under such a principle. If they had a very low rate then the temptation afforded to defraud would be so great that the law would become im practicable. Then the scale which he proposed had some degree of reference to value. Under it the higher priced wines would pay higher duties, and the lower priced wines would pay a lower duty. There were some wines of a very weak alcoholic character, and some which from their high flavour were of very considerable value. Putting this out of the question, the alcoholic test would vary a good deal in accordance with the value of the wine. As regarded the test itself, all these tests were open to a certain amount of objection, and Parliament had found it necessary to adopt a system of classification. So as regarded sugar, it was divided into three or four different classes, and as the hy drometer told the strength of the wine, he apprehended there would not be any danger of fraud or inconvenience except such as might be readily faced. Another important point was the drawback upon wines. He was of opinion, and he hoped the house would be of opinisn, that as a general principle nothing could be worse than to allow a drawback upon articles subject to customs dutiete though, of course, there might be exceptions. He would ask the house to remember what had been the course of recent legislation. It had been a mitigation or a removal of duties in every case where it could he attempted on a scale calculated to produce legitimate effects, and the result had invariably been a benefit to the dealers in the articles. Do not let it be supposed he begrudged to dealers that'eTo fit, for that increase of profit in trade proved the exten sion a the trade ; therefore when legislation had been in one uniform coarse, he must say he held that as a general rule nothing could be weaker than to claim the return of duty upon stocks in hand, inasmuch as those stocks were not on survey, and thus there would be an opening to extensive frauds. It was true that with respect to wine, it increased in value by long keeping. But on the other hand the value of old winos would depend upon the duty, while the new wine would be chiefly consumed by that class who could not compel e with the class who consumed the old wines. He did not believe there ever was a time when these considera tions told more than they did at present. Ho believed that all houses in the wine trade who sent round circulars put in low prices to make them attractive. They were what were called the cheap houses in the trade, and he himself received a circular from one of those houses which offered him old pot at £2 10s. per dozen. Now he believed that that woul d re got be worth 6d. Itss from the change of duty. Therefore from all these general grounds there was no rea son whatever for allowing any drawback upon wines in stock. At the same time, though there was no justreason founded upon general grounds for such a course, there did happen to be a specific or partial arrangement under which a claim on the ground of good faith might be thought to have arisen. In 1839 and 1840 there began a negotiation with France for a reduction in the wine duties, and that was continued for one or two years ; before that was over a negotiation began with Portugal; and those were followed by negotiations with Spain. In consequence of these nego tiations there was produced a paralysis in the wine trade, and the dealers made an application to Sir R. Peel's Go vernment for relief, and Mr. Goulburn, who was then Chan / cellor of the Exchequer, though objecting to allow draw backs upon wine in stock, did think there wore special rea sons in the common interest of revenue and trade, for mak ing an arrangement, and it was founded upon the belief that there should be no drawback except in the event of a nego tiation being followed by a commercial treaty, and that would keep the trade in a healthy condition, whereas there had been a great falling off from the expectation of the treaty. Therefore the Treasury in 1843 passed a minute which was perfectly distinct and definite in its terms, the effect of which was this, that all persons should be allowed to make claims for drawback upon certain wines in their possession upon certain conditions, in the event not of re duction of wine duties, but of a reduction under a treaty. The conditions were these, that in any act which might be passed on the conclusion of a treaty for reducing. the duties on any foreign wine, provision should be made for allowing dealers a return of duty upon all such as were in bond, pro vided a stock equal thereto should be found in the dealer's possession when the duty was reduced, and that the wine so found, and iu respect of which a drawback was claimed, had been paid within two years, if Portuguese and Spanish, and six months if any other foreign wine. The Government found this minute in existence in 1843. It attained its object and , restored confidence in the trade, by placing it again in its natural condition, and so it wont on till all idea of the com mercial treatry was abandoned. The minute was, later in the year, extended by order of the Board of Excise to all wine the dealers might have in their possession at the time of reduction of duty, limited to the quantify upon which they had paid the duty in the terms of the minute, and proof of identity of wine was no longer required. The whole matter thee passed out of view. In 1852 it was sug gested that it would be satisfactory to the trade if they were permitted to commence acting again under the minute of 1843, and accordingly new directions were issued from the Board of Inland Revenue that they might conform to the original minute of 1813, but the extension of that minute was withdrawn. The order of the Board of Excise of 1843 was expressly cancelled in 1852. The Government found this minute in existence. It was quite true that dealers in wine had suffered none of the inconvenience which attended former treaties. There was no protracted delay, no publi city, and nothing to interfere with the regular action of trade. But without entering into these considerations, which might be thought to partake of the nature of special plead ing, he might state that as the Government found there was a considerable portion of the wine trade who haducted upon the minute as it stood, and ready to produce their books to show they had so acted, they thought it right to propose to the committee to allow the drawback to those who had con formed to the minute ; although he had told many of those gentlemen that they enjoyed extreme good fortune, for he had no doubt they would lose nothing at all by the altera tion in duty, but that they would in a great many cases pocket the same money twice over. But inasmuch as they had acted under a contract, he hoped the committee would confirm that contract, though he did not propose that they should go in the slightest degree beyond the terms of the minute. As to going beyond the terms of the minute, and allowing vague demands to be made upon the public purse, he thought that such demands could not be justified by the spirit of the letter of that con tract, and he thought it would be the duty of the Govern ment to offer a firm resistance to any such demand. The first part of the resolution he had to place in the hands of the chairman declared that the wine duty should imme diately fall from 5s 9d a gallon, to 33 a gallon, and the next allowed a drawback on exportation up to the 31st of March, 1861; the third gave a drawback to dealers in wine who had complied with the provisions of the minute of the Tree bfs aua closingl c r i k y o , fd accordingt dated ea ed rwt t ie h nf e e tt 2 dho 4 uet t th h yeadt July,ffae resolution,rle l an B t ce i or3b, whiched and taNvtee ecra a e f ri3v t d e : r daae that came the gallon furtheraf l o l r o a n f a u n r d drawt further- the sum at which the new duties might be finally fixed. In reading the resolution he should propose that the chair man should stop at the figures 2s. 9d. per gallon, which wore immediately before the scale p rescr ibi ng th e alcoholic test. The effect of that would be to put before the commit tee the arrangement which was to take place immediately, and to postpone for further consideration that which related to the final fall of the duties. An opinion might exist that whatever change should take place in the wine duties should be entire and at once. The Government were aware that there were various questions of convenience connected with the course of trade which would be best served by an ar rangement of that kind. To traders, no doubt it would have boon convenient that the change should have been complete and immediate ; but the objections to that course were greater than its recommendations. The first objection was one of revenue, and he thought to make the change so great by a single stroke would inflict on the revenue a loss in the first instance, and for a little time very much more serious than it would have to bear according to the plan proposed by the Government. But besides that, he confessed he did not think ho could venture upon so hazardous an experiment with a due regard to the interests of the consumers. (Hear.) They must consider what was the state of the stock of wine in this country. There had been no notice given to enable the grower and the manufacturer of wine abroad to make any preparation whatever for this change. They had had no notice whatever of the probability of the English market being opened to them till within the last few weeks, and though the stocks in this country were sufficient for the change recommended, the Government did not think they were more than sufficient—they were certainly not sufficient for the full and entire reduction of the duty, which the plan o it f N t av h bo e ul eiG toi o a v ne e tl r n auka i n el y e s n op t u mree l d t a i ud m ede a i t t e i 0 1 y ,nra c hl o e n eex t e e pn n ot i ri p nt l a a etn t i ed otna a gt n hr d 7sw t b ey e res c ai l ri i : a i change tt bein.all probability th a t a ddi t i on wou ld no t b e a l arge one. It sliencgohntabreedduocutbiotedn was e th th e e p r r t o h p e ei p .o e n ri e o , d bu l t io at l i T r d ese fi n x t ed it s fo e r em th ed e c otw l n e ee a w r nh t i o tchh h e in h i rs t that aa and d a fi moderate . the l d b v e ar a i l o lo n w s poedibhets he had th oug h t it Those necessar w y e to comment, and he would now beg leave to move as the first resolution, "That following n lieu o f dutiesthe charged and allowed on the all e Kingdom, d a r ar a rt g l e b l de e: t k uh s el o eco f rnn, e i e n n s ot t ni o o t h u ; I I p n to o hr w e_ inelu.,i viz.:—Until the 314 d ta a t y ion ef i I 1 o March,the United 1861, e arl Wine of and from sauticohn ;gallon Wi until o n n e such3tshg. e; NNVv7iinlihe3s3lnss;white, the Foreign Countries—Red, the t exp ortedarch, 1861, gallon, inclusive, drawbacku s 3s.; ve, 00 fnl:e3eesxs. exportation rt allowance wine; and with an allowance of drawback tolicm ( se of s or dealers , r 1 as ships' stores, but that no drawback be ,ranted on on. wine who have complied with the provisions of them w • of the Lords of the Treasury , dated the 7th July, 1813 as b td . to " the foreign wine which they have had in stock on the — , F o 1860, on the conditions of the said minute, at the rat e a 9d. per gallon." The resolution having been read from the chair, Mr. H. BAILLIE said before it was agreed to he hoped that more satisfactory information would be given to the committee by the right hon. gentleman as to the mode by which he intended to supply the deficiency in the revenue. In asking that question he assured the right hon. gentle man that he and those who sat on that side of the house had no objection to the remission or reduction of excise duties, and the encouragement of trade; but there was a time for all things, and they thought that when there WAS a large and admitted deficiency in the Exchequer this was not the proper time to make such hazardous experiments as those proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The financial statement of the right hon. gentleman was founded entirely upon the supposition that his deficit would be between nine and ten millions, whereas he (Mr. Baillie) was prepared to show that it must be at least £3,000,000 more than he had estimated, and it would be necessary for him either to retain the excise duties he proposed to lower or remit partially, or to impose an additional income tax to make up these £3,000,000. The Government and the right hon. gentleman were about to enter into a war with China, for the extraordinary expenditure of which they estimated only half a million this year That estimate was already proved erroneous, having mounted up to £850,000. The best way to judge of the real and probable expenditure of the Chinese war this year would be to take the facts connected with the Persian expedition in 1856. That expedition was fitted out at Bombay, and consisted of 4,000 Europeans and 8,000 native troops. From the time they landed in Persia until peace was ratified at Bagdad in May, 1857, that expedition was on duty five months and a half, and the extraordinary cost was £2,195,728, or, inround numbers, £2,200,000. The Chinese expedition preparing in the three presidencies of Bombay, Madras, and Bengal, was to be compssed of pre -1 cisely the same number of troops, but with this difference in the composition of the expedition, that there were to be 7,000 Europeans and 5,000 natives, and consequently the expense of the commissariat would be greater. He had no hesitation in saying that six months in China with such a force would cost a million more than the Persian expedition, 0rt3,200,000. As to any indemnity from the Chinese, it was out of the question, as the Government of China had no money. He trusted that means would be found to provide for this extra expenditure. Mr. CRAWFORD rose to express his belief that the al coholic test by means of which the wine duties were proposed to be collected would be found entirely unsuited to the pur pose. It would depend on the skill of the manipulation, the accuracy of the instruments, and even the, state of the a tmosphere, and one gaiger might return a wino at Is. 6d. ' the gallon duty in London, whilst another might put it at ls. in Liverpool, the first representing it 15 and. the second only 14 degrees of strength. Classification had been found to fail in tea, and a uniform duty was 'established ; and in the case of sugar the question was a constant source of dis pute between the Customs and consignees. With respect to the drawback, the dealers understood that they were to receive a drawback of 2s. 9d. per gallon on all wines in stock, provided they complied with the Treasury minute of July, 1842, but they complained that when the Ist of April, 1861, arrived they would be deprived of their right by the operation of a subsequent minute. The CHANCELLOR of theEXCHEQUER wishedthat the point alluded to by his hon.'friend might be reserved. Mr. C RA.WFO RD was rejoiced to receive this intimation, and trusted that the hesitation which it evinced on the part of his right hon. friend had arisen from what he had heard that day from the deputation. -Sir S. NORTHCOTE said, with reference to the draw back, that the dealers were prepared to abide by the minute, but they complained of its ambiguity. They believed that the minute of 1813 was to a considerable extent revoked by the subsequent oneeef 1852. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER explained that the minute of 1852 only revived that of 1843, and the ono last issued was sent to every dealer in the trade. The order of 1813 was revived by that of 1852, at the request of the trade. Mr. H. BENTINCK was afraid that the result of the proposition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer would be to introduce the practice of adulteration of wines upon a greater merle on the continent. With regard to the importation of French wines he believed they would not bear carrying, and thet they were hardly drinkable e ven i n F rance it se lf. He only hoped the merits of the budget would be thoroughly understood throughout the country, and that the labouring population would at last see who were their real friends. (Cheers.) He contended the budget was nothing but a sequel to the proceedings of the hon. member for Birming ham and his friends, who in 1846 succeeded in passing mea sures extremely beneficial to themselves under the disguise of a wish to benefit the whole mass of the population. He trusted they would have an opportunity for ample discus sion as to how the deficiency caused by the budget could be made up., At present they had had no explanation upon the subject, but merely a series of assertions as to what would be the result of the proceedings of the right hon. gentle man. Mr. CROSSLEY had been very much pleased by the statement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer with regard to the r e d uc ti on o f th e w i ne d u ti es . H e th oug ht th right hon. gentleman had clearly shown that such a measure would improve directly the position of the middle classes of the country, and eventually the position of the labouring population generally. Sir E. GROGAN must enter his protest against the plan of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in reference to the re duction of the duty on wine. The general feeling of the tratle was that there should be a uniformity of duty, and that the alcoholic test was likely to lead to injustice and dis putes. This was the opinion of a meeting of the trade held so lately as Saturd a y la s t. A uniform duty would very greatly simplify all the transactions of the trade, whereas the alcoholic test would require a great deal of skill and nicety, and would occupy in each case about half an hour. Mr. B. WOODD read the general order of 1852, and said ho could not agree with the construction which the Chan cellor of the Exchequer put upon it. It was xot a revival of any order which was issued exproprio mote by the Trea sury itself. It was the duty of the supervisor to have de livered this order to any one obtaining a licence, which had not been done. The trade thought naturally that the same words had the same meaning in 1852 as in 1343. The order was reissued word for word in 1852, and ho had no doubt on the subject. The present proposal of the Chancellor of Exchequer held out a premium to fraud, because it was ut terly impossible for any exciseman to identify wines in stock so as to say whether they were wines bought within two years or not. Mr. M. MILNES said it was an illustration of the fluctuating nature of opinion in that house, that when the question of the reduction of the wine duties had been dis cussed in previous years with considerable ability by an hon. gentleman who was then his colleague, it excited very little attention. (Hear, hear.) He had no special private reesens for doing so, but he thought it was only due to Mr. Oliveira that he should recal to the house the great assiduity with which that gentleman brought forward this question year aft er y ear . (Har, hear.) He need not remind them of the labour and expense ern ' ployed in getting up the facts and illustrations which he placed before the house. (Hear.) He little thought that he was then sowing the seeds of this great financial mea sure. He (Mr. Manes) considered that the alcoholic test was the very worst that could be selected. The effect of it would necessarily bo to introduce into this country the worst and most acidulous kind of wines, and keep out those better productions of the Peninsula, the stronger and haler wines of `pain and Portugal, which would accommodate themselves to the taste of the British public, and most ma terially carry out the designs of the right hon. gentleman. He thought that the Government appeared to be about to deal unjustly with the present holders of stocks of wine. There was something repulsive to his sense of justice in the fact that the right hon. gentleman should talk of dealing with it as a matter purely of contract, to be carried out with the strictest legality, and not as a question of justice to be dealt with liberally. It would only be just to the holders of stocks of wine to treat them as they would have been treated in 1843 had the treaty then been carried out ; and if they were to have been no losers by that treaty, why should they be so new ? (Hear, hear.) Why draw such a distinction between 1843 an d 1860 ? There ought also to be the greatest liberality in dealing with the question of the identity of st oc k s . Many memers of the trade had ceased keeping stock•beoks, evhich was winked at by the officers, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer would do well to abstain from requiring the production of any such merely formal documents; and bleontent himself with the production of the pass-book, regularly drawn up, and accompanied by duplicate certificates supplied to the trade by the Inland Revenue, and by them transmitted to the Excise. .The right hon, gentleman would be no loser by this plan, and he would do justice to the persons whom he would wish least to injure, viz., those wine merchants who had small stocks in trade. The larger merchants who could bear any lOss without the least injury to themselves had been more correct than merchants holding smaller stocks. The latter had been, he would not say culpably negligent, for they had been encouraged in their negligence by sfficers of tho crown. He proposed that after the words " 2s. 9d. per gallon" these words should be inserted, " or by such other process as might prove satisfactorily to the Commis sioners of Inland novelette that such stocks have been ac quired before the let of February, 1860." Mr CAYLEY, who was very imperfectly heard, was understood to suggest that our beer should be adinitte.l into Francs at: a rate of duty proportionate to that charged eier us on wines imported from thence. Mr. DODSON said the duty upon beer imported into France was about equivalent to the duty upon French wino imported into this country. A duty upon wine of 6s. a gallon was equivalent to a duty of ls. per bottle. The duty upon wine was about one-fourth or one-fifth of the value of beer. The right hon. gentleman had said that his budget was one to sweep away the last remnant of protec tion, but the duties levied upon wine should not bo made so as to establish a protection to the foreign pro ducer. (Hear, hear.) Thu CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he was afraid that be might be accused of disrespect to hon. members, if lee did not at once address one or two remarks upon the points to which they referred ; at the seine time, he did not think when they were in committee on a parti-. cular vote on the Customs Act, it was the proper time for considering all the questions which had been put to him, and particularly as to the expenses of the war with China, inasmuch as when they were in a committee of supply they would be enabled to deal with that question. The questions of one or two of the hon. gentlemen who had last spoken appeared to him to be more germane to the subject now be fore them, than leaving reference to malt, hops, and i heer. With respect to the article of beer, he did not think that in the official correspondence there had been any mention made of that aitiele ; it was mentioned by the negotiators at Paris, but it was not thought advisable to introduce the article suggested in the treaty. If they had endeavoared to weigh in opposite scales, the advantage given on the one side and the advanta g es received on the o th er , th ey wou ld h ave broken down, and have failo I altogether. Therefore, there was that reason why they should not have persevered as to the admis sion of English beer into France; for if they had founded a demand for the admission of. English beer into France, upon the reduction of tlee duty upon French wines, it might have been justly asked, what duty was going to be levied on French wines ? be cause th e F renc h d uty on b eer was now etensideyably less, according to value, than the English duty on wine,. and would continuo to be after the proposed change had been carried into effect. The French charge on beer was 2d. 2-sths per gallon, or about 18 per cent. on the ordinary value ; and in regard to the wine duty here, it would be 40, 50, and even 100 per cent. He perfectly agreed with the hon. gentleman that it would be inexpedient and unfair to put a higher duty on malt, which was the produce of their own soil, than upon wines which came to them from abroad. But with respect to the dif ferent qualities of light wines, he thought it wo u ld b e im possible to draw a clear distinction between the rate of duty on wine and beer, but it would be on the lower class of wines which would come into competition with beer. The hon. member for Dublin had said that if a graduated, scale were good, why should it not be applied immediately ; but he did not think it necessary to give the same facilities for the ion (Auction of eheap wines until the plan should come fully into operation. The gradual scale wouldritot apply to .the iuterneetliate period, but after that period was worked out, then they should leave recourse to the graduated scale. Then, as to the subject of drawbacks, he denied the justice of the system of drawbacks generally, .as they had been taken of late years, but they should be conformed to the che e r of cases in which the ieentilleation of the goods was practicable. That could be done under the Excise, but not disposal e ioie r: pi( l it e oil r leti t t ti l ic i eo e ehf Ci eci s :s i l i i r lit m og l i r rig. s ao . et sftth ' i l t(eh) . l h yie e ( Treasury minute of 1843 placed Wine ureter reeelations sinter to those of the Excise. What ) Exchequer) should I o ll t L e i h d o c n confine onb t o feuvtt i h n eoer a efx k tacth e gor aenr a letiEearftcaoctnh. return feeoegrT o , ufhteandreiudet‘ return .5 v.nrfli ennie would e member frgpg Pontefract. nS themselvestt e t tf o or at t chht the The hon. gentleman proposed that they should be prepared t eao t o a suu n l rdnn course their no oo ;s cosweatnllohueci under rl that rttth H tdhhi uen e e tgy ( sh. t p h :e uencsiChancel lorfspecific The his trinepotermsaurl td trade was not going to be losers, but large gainers by his proposals, and they recognised the enormous benefits that would result from the change. The stimulus whielmould be given to the trade would largely increase the profits. The Treasury Minute was perfectly explicit, as to the re duction of the wine duties, and the letter accompanying it recognised no such distinction as that represented. The Government was at liberty to revoke their own order, and they had sent round that revocation to the trade, and by that they intended to stand. He should like to know how the half million deficit would be made up if ho agreed to this suggestion. Mr. MONCKTON MILNES explained, and said that his right hon. friend was in error when he said the present merchants would be no losers by hi s b u d ge t , b ecause they would have to give up to their customers the benefits that would flow from the operation of the Government scheme. He thought the course pursued by Government was one of summary injustice. He was in the hands of the house on this matter, but if he found any support he would take the sense of the house upon it. Mr. BALL thought the question of the malt duties was immediately connected with this question. Before consi dering the claims of wine merchants they should consider those of the farmers in respect te the malt duties, which was the most oppressive of all duties. The hon. member stated the process of levying this duty, every stage of which, he contended, was vexatious. During the discussion of these minute details, protection had been ridiculed, but although he had submitted to free trade he held now the same prin ciples with regard to protection which he had always held. During the last seven years free trade had not given to the poor a cheaper loaf. The poor were deceived and betrayed. It was said pass the corn laws, and there would be no fluctuations, but had not that also proved a fallacy ? He believed that just the result that had at tended the repeal of the corn laws would attend the ope ration of this budget. It would break many a man's heart. The manufacturers had damaged the agriculturists and shipping trade, and now they were going to damage other trades. The assertion that this change would benefit them would prove a fallacy as other assertions of Free • traders had done. On the subject of malt he meant to divide the house, and he felt he was justified in so doing. There was no class so oppressed as the agriculturists, and his ap peal to the right hon. gentleman was to give them relief from the malt tax. The right hon. gentleman was going to allow the foreigner to introduce barley, and that would teach foreigners by and by how to malt, but there was no end to the mischief this budget would inflict upon the country, and he might truly say to the right hon. gentleman,— ' " You rob Peter to pay Paul, And tax the Briton to serve the Gaul." Mr. BASS did not feel very sanguine as to the advantages te be derived from repealing the duties on French wines, but let the Chancellor of the Exchequer reduce that on malt and he was certain not to be a loser. The right hon. gentle man said the other day that there were many hon. members in the house free traders, who were not for free trade with out some exceptions. Now, he was for a free trade in itself, and he believed he was the first brewer who ever said so. It was well known that all the great brewers were entirely opposed to it, and his opinion was, that no other connected with the trade would make a similar declaration. If the wines of France, and Spain, and Portlgal were to be ad mitted into England, if spirits were to be imported from Holland and from America, where he understood it was sold at Bd. the gallon, if new houses were to take up this trade, why not give the same advantage to English beer. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member for Liskeard, the other night, quoted from a blue book the manner in which wines were adulterated in this country; but a similar practice existed in France. From the same authority it would be seen that Spanish and Hungarian wines were often sold as French wines, and under the new order of thi ngs h e h a d no doubt whatever that such wines would be introduced to this country as French wines. He read the opinion of Sir Emerson Tennent, given before that committee, when he said that if they reduced the duty on wine, they must, as a matter of necessity, reduca the malt tax. Mr. VANCE, as a representative for a city celebrated for its manufacture of spirits, wished to say a few words, and begged in the first instance to express his regret that the hon. member for Derby did not make the speech he just delivered in the course of last week. Had he done so many hon. members would have voted, he had no doubt, in a dif ferent manner. He complained that the measure proposed by the right hon. crentleman would have a serious effect on the spirit and wine trade of Ireland. Colonel SYKES thought the proposal of his hon. friend was just, namely, that those who could prove that, within the last two years, they had paid duty upon their stock of wines, should be entitled to a drawback, and in support of that principle he should give his vote in support of the pro. position of his hon. friend. (Hear, hear.) Mr. WHITESIDE said it would be well to inquire what was likely to be the consumption of French wines in this country. Now, on that question, ha thought the best evi dence they could have was that of Sir Emerson Tennent. The right hon. and learned gentleman quoted from the evidence to the effect that Sir Emerson Tenant in his com munications with the French authorities, had heard that it was a delusion to suppose that if the duty were taken off the people of England could be induced to drink the light wines of France. He then went on to state on the authority furnished to him that the opinion of the Emperor was that it would be well if the Bordeaux merchants would consider what they were about to do ; and it was distinctly stated to him on the highest authorities that the low wines of France would not be held in esteem by the people of England. Illeo HENLEY considered the question at present was, whether French wines were to be admitted at 3s. per gallon duty. He had heard the Chancellor of the Exchequer say that he was against the principle of a drawback. He had not heard, nor did he understand what the loss to the Exchequer would be by the right hon. gentleman's scheme, as pointed out by the hon. member for Coventry. If the scheme was to be carried out, he would take that opportunity of saying that he would not do any thing to weaken it. (Hear, hear.) He thought it was weak enough as it stood. (Hear, and laughter.) He could not conceive how persons would consent to pay 3s. per gallon for those wines —(hear, hear)—but inhis opinion they would have to pay at a rate not of 35., but of os. 9d. The right hon gentleman said that wine m erc h an t s wou ld not b e in jured because they might have a stock of wines on hand when the reduced duty on French wines would come 'into operation ; but for his (Mr. Henley's) part,.he could not see how they could escape. Ho did not think there ought to be any money granted by the Exchequer unless an equitable claim were made out; and, for his part he did not see that any equitable claim had been made out, nor did he hear of any thiog of the sort. (Hear, hear.) Mr. M. MILNES hoped he would be permitted to amend the proposition which had been submitted, and to propose it in a more distinct manner, as follows, viz. :—" Or who can prove by any other process to the satisfaction of the Com missioners of Inland Revenue, that such stock has been ac quired, and duty paid on it, two years before the 10th of February, 1860." Lord J. RUSSELL would not now enter at all into the question of the wine duties; but ho must confess that the proposal of his hon. friend the member for Pontefract seemed to him to be the loosest 'proposition he had ever heard. (Hear, hear.) Here there were three rules which required a drawback. His honour • able friend said—" If you observe these rules you'll have a drawback, or you may not." Now, if that was to be the erect, how could they expect any conditions to be observed ? And they might say to the House of Commons —" You have done wrong in granting this large sum of money—you did not know how much it was ; but you have granted it to some, and you must grant' it to others." Every one might be at liberty to come and say—" I hive not observed these rules ; but I have a right, and you are bound to grant me a suns of money as a drawback." His, hon. friend said the assent to that proposition might cost £600,000, but whether it would cost £600,003 or £60,000 was not the question. One could not say whether the stock ou hand was the stock of ono year or of two years. He thought his hon. friend could not maintain such a proposi tion. Sir F. KELLY said if the right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer would take the grammatical construction and plainpommon sense of the minute and the order, and not rely upon any construction such as might be put upon these docume n t s b y a spec i al pleader, he believed that he must come to the conclusion that the drawback should be allowed to all wine rnerckants who had an equal quantity of "such wine" as that they had paid duty upon, though it could not be proved - that it was identically the same wine. Mr. WOODD referred to the words "and of a like de scription," and contended that these words could not possi bly apply to the same wine. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER observed th4,there were two questions before the committee. With regard to the point raised by the hon. and learned member opposite, he proposed that the committee should pass the resolution as it stood for the present, if they were agreed that parties were to receive a drawback who had complied with the minutes; and then, if any doubt were entertained as to the terms of those minutes, the committee would be better able to decide the question when they had not only the minutes, but the orders that were made upon those minutes, before them. (Hear, hear.) The question ra i se d by the hon. member for Pontefract was an entirely different one. Ho wished the Government to allow a drawback amounting to £600,000 to traders who had not complied with the excise regulations, upon a principle, it seemed, of generosity. [Mr. Milne s —" Of juz -, tice."] What his hon. friend called justice was the granting of a favour to parties to a contract who had neglected to observe the terms of that contract. The mischief did not stop there, for the same indulgence might be extended to timber, silk goods, gloves, currants, raisins and figs, to an extent which would break tie back of a richer Chancellor of the Exchequer than he was. Mr. MILNES said that there were persons who had complied witl► the spirit of the order, had submitted their accounts to the excise officers, and entered them in their cash-books, but had only omitted to observe the form of keeping a stock book, from which they had often been pre vented by the obstacles thrown in their way by the 'excise officers. The,CIIANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that rig one case of such conduct on the part of an oxeise officer - had been verified, and he was not able to believe that such cases occurred. The stock book ayes the only evidence, and the only security which the trader was bound to preserve.. Mr. BENTINCK sail he shoal support fhe hon. mem► ber for Pontefract if he went to a division. It was obvious that to expect justice, patriotism, or go d feeling from her Majesty's Government was a perfectly hopeless undertak ing. There was no attempt to convince except hymajorities. Sir E. G ROGAN said that ho had presented a petition only the other day from merchants and traders in the wine business, who complained that the officers whose duty it was to carry out the minute had refused to verify and cer tify their stock sheets. Mr. LAING said that cases of omission were excep tional. The rule was to keep a book. After a few words from Sir M. FARQUHAR, the commit tee divided : For the amendment • 72 Against it Majority ----111 The resolution was then agreed to. The C II ANC E LLO R of the EXCHEQUER moved the following amended resolution, viz. : Resolved, that on and after the let day of January, 1861, the following duties shall be charged, viz.:— Wine of and from Foreign Countries — the gallon White Lees of mteli Wine „ Wine the growth and pro duce ,f any British posses sion, and imported direct from thence— Red the gallon White Lees of sucl► Wine „ Containing less following rates • spirit, verilic Sykes' Hydro] : 18 deg. s. d 1 0 1 0 1 0 26 deg. 8. d, 1 6 1 6 1 6 than the of proof k'd by 'meter, I 40 deg. 0. d. 2 0 2 0 S. d. 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 20 2 0 2 0 2 0 The res , .lut ion having been put, Mr. FITZGERALD said the alterations which the right hen. gentleman had resolved on increased the objections he felt to the proposal, because as the resolution was now pro posed it was equivalent to a virtual preferential duty on French wines. While the highest strength chargeable with the ls. duty was only 15 degrees, a very small quantity of French wines. would have come in at that duty; and it would have consisted of the lowest and weakestdescriptions; but he would give the house the result of actual experiments made by two or three importers during the last week. All the sherries averaged from 32 to 33 per cent. of alcoholic strength. Marsala, a Sicilian wine, averaged 33 per cent., and port from 33 to 40; so that all the wines from Spain and Portugal would be charged the highest rate of duty. On the other hand, Medoc had 17 per cent., Chateau La Tour 18 per cent., and the average of more than 200 clarets of the years 1856-8 was 18 per cent. As therefore the right hon. gentleman now proposed his resolution it would be, he re • equivalent to a differential duty in favour of French as against Spanish and Portuguese wines; and it looked like an artifice to get rid of our covenants and agreements with the Peninsular governments. Again, if there was one point upon which the wine trade were agreed it was the impracti cability of carrying out the alcoholic test. The right hon., gentleman said it might be applied in half an hour; but 40 or 50 pipes were often received in a morning, so that the committee would see what a serious hindrance to business even a test that took only half an hour would prove. Why in F aris, were such quantities of wine were daily brought into the city, the test was not once applied for weeks and months together. In the first place it required a degree of skill hardly less than that of an analytical chemist, and its results were most uncertain and contradictory. A short time ago three pipes of port, of the same vintage and the same price, were sent, one to London, another to Leith, and a third to a port which he (the hon. gentleman) did not re collect. In London the pipe was admitted; but at Leith it was refused on the ground that it had above 40 degrees of alcoholic strength, and was, therefore, prohibited. At tate third port the wine was at first refused, but a dispute aris ing, the test was gone through again by another officer, and it was admitted. The result would therefore be that, the test having been found impracticable, France would de mand admission for all her wines at the Is. duty, and then all other countries would request the same favour; whereas the right hon. gentleman had himself confessed that it would be madness and folly to let in the strong wines for less than 2s. per gall on . I n d ee d , i t would take at least six times the contemplated consumption to repair the loss to the revenue if such a thing were to happen. It would even pay to buy up inferior French wires to brandy them to the full strength, to import them at the Is. duty, and to distil them in this country. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said there was some truth in the assertion that the wines of the colder vine-producing countries were less strong than those of the south; but the house did not as yet know what was the difference, because owing to our vicious system' of duties the Peninsular wines had grown to be of such an unnatural strength that few even of gentlemen in the trade had any knowledge of their original quality. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentleman said that no wines but the wines of France would come in at the low duty, but the wines of Germany would also come in. What had the Government done ? They had placed in this scale the condition that wine in bottle should pay 2s. a gallon whatever might be its strength, but that was not conceived in the spirit of esta blishing differential duties against France. He was confi dent that France would feel as great an interest in the ad mission of the wines of the south as of any wine which she possessed. We really did not know what the natural state of the wines of Europe was, because they were very rarely seen here in their natural state. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentleman said the test proposed was impracticable, and I that the trade were of that opinion without one dissentient voice. He, however, believed the trade did not hold the language of the hon. member. If the hon. gentlemanwould refer to the arguments used by the trade, he would find that where they said the scheme was impracticable, they ex plained the expression by stating that it would be cumbrous in operation, and would cause delays. When the hon. gen tleman said it would entail an enormous expense by establishments at small ports, he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) answered him by saying there would be no ne cessity for any establishments at small ports. Neither was the hon. member accurate in stating that it would require men of a higher class than the present custom-house officers for conducting these operations. The present head of the customs had declared that in the course of a short time, under the measures proposed, the department would be able to dispease altogether with the class of landing-waiters, who were the most costly officers the customs possessed. The wine trade certainly had not represented to him that they would sustain any amount of inconvenience such as to interfere seriously with the course of their transactions. With regard to the test of the strength of wines, rules would be devised which would enable the customs to deter mine how many oases it was necessary to take in order to test the ordinary strength of the wino. The hon. gentle man came down to supply the lack of information on the part of the Govern men t, an d h e t o ld th em th a t well-in. informed and practical men had acquainted him that full bodied wines of strong quality could be purchased abroad at 2d. or 3d. a gallon. [Mr. FITZGERALD —I said nothing of the kind.] The hon. gentleman was totally wrong, it he supposed that any wine fit to be imported here could be brought to this country for 2d. a gallon. Wine of any strength, however coarse, could not be brought here—as he had been told by gentlemen who represented the trade—at less than about twelve times the price stated by the hon. member. Mr.. FITZGERALD explained that what he said was there might be a coarse wine bought in France at a sum such as he had stated, and it might be worth the while of parties to mix that with a very large portion of brandy and bring it in here at the rate of Is. duty solely for the purpose of distillation. Mr. T. BARING begged to observe that where there was a graduated scale for an article which came into consump tion without any subsequent process, they taxed it, not ac cording to its value here, nor according to its general con sumption, but they taxed it arbitrarily, and, he thought, differentially in favour of France. If they took all the wines of Spain and Portugal nothing could come in at this one shilling duty, and what must be the resuit ? That in order to get this wino in at a low duty it must bo diluted before it arrived here. Where they introduced an article_ for imme diate consumption they ought not to adopt a scale of this kind. They should adopt one uniform scale. The. CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought that from the remarks of the hon. member he had probably not heard the statement which ho (the right hon. gentle man) had made at an earlier period of the evening. The hon. gentleman wished to know why the strong wines were to be taxed at 2s. and the weak wines at ls. The answer was as simple as possible. If the Government placed the tax high enouph with reference to strong wines to protect us against risk as to the spirit revenue, then they would de feat entirely the main purpose of this great change, which was to introduce the weak wines at the lower duty. It ap peared to him that if they were to protect the spirit duty, and make an experiment in the introduction of the weaker wines, they should have a sum which went down as low as ls s and as high as 2a. A change had taken place in the prac tice of the wine trade. It had become necessary, in conse quence of the oidium, to brandy the wine more, and that might have led to some uncertainty in the application of the law. Sir S. NORTIICOTE wished to have some explanation why the scale had been lowered from 18 to 15 degrees. He did not think that the proposed system would be imprac ticable, but it would be cumbrous and inconvenient. The result of the proposed system would be, that the fine clarets and hermitages would pay the least duty. Lord A. CHURCHILL observed that alcohol, having a greater s taken f avit, fell to the ottom of the cask ; so that wine taken from the top of the cask would be weaker by some degrees than that taken from the bottom. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCEEQUER said the difficulty suggested by the noble lord was met every day. In point of fact, the practice adopted was, that the customs officers drew partly from the top and partly from the bot tom of the cask. His hon. friend asked him what effect this would have on the revenue. Before they got out of com mittee he should be obliged to make a statement of the re sult, but as far as they had gone they would bo rather gainers. His hon. friend said that,the hermitages and fine clarets would pay the least duty; but the fact was that these fine wines were excessively rare products, not of products but rather of vineyards. Generally it would bo found that the stronger were also the dearer wines, and, therefore, the scale as far a s it wen t would fall gradually, but he was far from saying that it was to be recommended as an ad vatorein scale. Me. CRAWFORD wished to know whether the new duties would take effect to-morrow (this day). The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER believed it was not the intention of the committee to continuo any differential duty in favour of Cape wines after the new scale came into operation. They would pay, like other wines of the same strength, for the protection of the spirit revenue in England. He felt it his duty, unless the committee should be of a different opinion, to take care that the same rule was acted upon in the present case, and that the 3s. should be taken to-morrow (this day). The CHAIRMMN, on being appealed to, said that the resolutions would take effect as soon as the house in com mittee had pa sse d them. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that was also his own impression, though upon making inquiry he had been told otherwise. The usual course, however, would be followed, and the now duty would take effect im mediately after the resolution had been reported to the house. _ After a few words from Mr. NEWDEG ATE , The resolution respecting spirits was agreed to. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER then moved the fourth resolution, providing that the duties and merchandise uponim thecuerntaitiend i g i o i o n d g s d , wares, m sh a ll cease and determine, a list of 43 different articles bein anexed to the resolution. p o charged ted i o Mr. NEWDEGATE hoped t he n right hon. gentleman would net go on with the list that night. Ile moved that the chairman should report progress. Sir W. i*IILES suggested that it would be much better not to take the other articles specified in the treaty of com merce until immediately after the house should have de cided -vhether it would take off the duty on paper, with regard to which also the hon. member for Hertfordshire (Mr. Puller) had an amendment respecting the prohibition of the export of rags from France. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said care would be taken to make some arrangement by which the house would not commit itself on that subject. All he asked was to go on with this resolution and the list now until they came to some article on which a difference of opinion might arise. Mr. NEWDEGATE then said ho would take objection to the first article in the list, " agates and cornelian;." (A laugh.) He would not, however, trouble the house with a long speech on the subject. Mr. SALOMONS wished to know whether, if the house passed-this resolution for admitting articles named in the French treaty, we should be open to receive the same articles from all arts of the world without any equivalent ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the resolutien proposed to the house did not limit the articles admitted to those coming from France; it took no cogni sance of their origin, but left the import o p en f rom a ll the world. (Hear hear:.) Mr. D. GRIFFITH said this answer was not consistent with the statement of the right hon. gentleman the other day, that the giving of certain facilities to France did not imply their being extended to German goods. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the hon. gentleman bad mistaken the purport of his answer. What ho had stated was that, under the treaty, it would be perfectly competent to the House of Commons, if it thought fit, to la c y higher duties onQerman or any other goods than on the k teach goods ; the French treaty would not forbid it. He did not object to report progress if there was any bona fide objection to the articles iu this list. Lord PALMER ETON took this opportunity to appeal to the hon. gentlemen who had motions standing for next day (Tuesday) to waive them, and allow the discussion of these resolutions to go on. The hon. member for Berkshire stood first. Captain VERNON, being thus appealed to, said he give way, though his motion was one of great ecnnmercial importance, and he might bring it en afterwards *upon going into committee of supply. Lord J. RUSSELL said it might be convenient to the hon. member for Bridgewater (Mr. Kinglake, who was not in the house) to be informed that the motion of which he had given notice for next day —namely, 011 Q for the produe- tion of copies and extracts respecting Savoy—would not be objected to by the Government. Mr. NEWDEGATE said he had no objection to the house now resuming, in order that the resolutions which had been agreed to in committee respecting the wine duties might be reported. The house resumed. PACKET SERVICE (TRANSFER OF CONTRACT) BILL. This bill was read a second time. PETITIONS OF RIGHT BILL. This bill passed through committee. MEDICAL ACTS AMENDMENT BILL. This bill was read a second time. WEAPONS OF WAR. On the motio n of Colonel Du NE, a return was ordered of all sums of public money which -since the year 1852 had been allowed to private persons for the purpose of enabling them to make experiments, in order to improve weapons of war. The house then adjourned. P.4RLI4MENTARY DIVISION- HOUSE OF COMMONS.--FEB. 27. CUSTOMS ACTS. :n the Committe.)—Motion made, and Question proposed, " That, in lieu of the duties and drawbacks of Customs now charged or allowed on the articles undermentioned, the following duties shall be charged thereon, on importa tion into the United Hingdom, vie.:— Until the 31st day of March, 1861, inclusive. Wine of and from foreign countries s. d. Red the gallon 3 0 White the gallon 3 0 Lees of such Wine With an allowance for drawback on exportation until the said 31st day of March, 1861, inclusive, of 3s. per gallon on such wine exported or used as ships' stores,, but that no drawback be granted on lees of wine ; and, with an allowance of drawback to licensed dealers in wine who have complied with the provisions of the min ate of the Lords of the Treasury, dated the 7th July, 1.843, on the foreign wine which they had in stock on the 10th Feb ruary, 1860, on the conditions of the said minute, at the rate of 2s. 9d. per gallon." Amendment proposed,at the end of the pro' used Reso lutiot, to add the words " or who can prove by any other process which shall be satisfactory to the Commissioners of Inland. Revenue, .that such s t oc k o f w i ne has b een acquired and the duty paid within tyro years before the 10th day of February, 1860."—Qu.estion put, "That those words be there added."—The Committee divided: Ayes 72; Noes 183. AYES —72. Ball, E. Fitzgerald, W. S. Ogilvy, Sir J. Baring, Thomas Gard, R. S. Packe, C. W. Base, M. T. Gavin, Major Pakenham, Col. Beecroft, G. S. Gore, J. R. 0. Papillon, P. 0. Bentinck, G. W. P. Graham, Lord Wan. Parker, Major W. Black, Adam Greenall, G. Paull, H. Blake, J. A. Grogan, Sir Edward Powys, L. P. Bov ill, Wm., Hamilton, Major Rogers, John J. Bowyer, W. Hassard, M. D. Seymer, H. K. Brooks, R. Hornby, W. H. Stanley, Lord Butler, C. S. - Horsfall, T. B. Stracey, Sir 11. Cairns, Sir H., Jervis, Captain. Sykes, Col. W. H. Cayley, E. S. Kekewich, S. Taylor, Colonel Clay, James Kelly, Sir F. Thynna, Lord B. Cobbett, J: M. Kennard, C. Torrens, R. Cobbold, John C. Lygon, Hon. F. Trefusis, Hon. C. H. Cubitt, Ald. McMahon, P. Valetort, Lord . Darner, L. S. W. D. Maguire, J. F. Vance, John Dawson, R. P. Malins, R., Vernon, L. V. Dickson, Col. Miller, William Whiteside, Rt Hu J. Duke, Sir James Monsell, Rt. Hn. W. Whitmore, H. Dunne, Col. Mure David Willoughby, Sir H. Edwards, Major H. Napier, Sir C, TELLERS. Ennis, John Newdegate, C. N. Milnes, R. M. Farquhar, Sir M. O'Donoghue, D. Thimberstone, P. S. NOES-183. Adam, W. P. Finlay, A. S. Packe, G. H. Adderley, C. B. Fortescue, C. S. Paget, C. Anew, Sir A. Freeland, H. W. P age t, L or d A. Akock, T. Garnett, W. J. Paget, Lord C. E. Arnott, Sir J. Gibson, T. M. Pakington, Sir J. S. Atherton, W. Gilpin, C. Palmerston, Visct. Ayrton, A. S. . . Gladstone, Capt. Paxton, Sir. J. Bagwell, J. Gladstone. W. E. Peacocke, G. M. Baillie, H. J. Glyn. G. G. Pease, H. Baines, E. Goldsmid, Sir F. Peel, Sir R. Baring, Sir F. Gordon, C. W. Peel, F. Baring, Thos. Geo. Greene, Capt. J. Peto, Sir M. Baxter, W. E. Greenwood, J. Philips, J. IL Bazley, Thomas Gregory, W. H. Pilkington, James Beale, Samuel G regson, S. Pollard UrquhartW Beamish, F. B. Grenfell, C. P. Pritchard, John Beaumont, W. B. Grey, Rt. Hn. Sir G. Pugh, D. (Cornier.) Biggs, John Hadfield, Geo. Puller. C. W. Blackburn, P. Hankey, Thomson Ricardo, J. L. Botfield, Beriah Harcourt, G. G. V. Ricardo, 0. Brady, John Hardcastle, Jos. A. Ridley, G. Bright, J. Headlam, Thos. E. Rothschild,BaronL Bristow, A. Henley, J. Brocklehurst, John Henley, Lord i Russell,Peil, W. Lord J. Browne, Lord J. T. Hervey, Lord A St. Aubyn, J. Bruce, C. L. C. Hodgson, K. D. Salomont,Alderma* Bruce, H. A. Hope, G. W. Salt, Titus Buller, Sir A. Howes, Edward Scholefie, d, W. Buxton, C. Hutt, W. Selater-Booth, 0. Byng, Hon. G. H. C. Ingham, R. Selwyn, C. J. Cardwell, Rt. Hn. E. Jackson, W. Seymour, Sir M. Carnegie, Hon. C. James, Edwin Seymour, H. D. Castlerosse, Viet. Kerrison, , Sir E. Shelley, Sir J. V. Childers, H. C. E. Kershaw, J. Sheridan, R. B. Clinton, Lord R. Kinglake, Serj. J. Slaney, R. A. Clive, George Kingecote, Lt.-Col. Smith, J. B. Close, M. C. Laing, S. Smith, Augustus Colebrooke, Sir T.E. Langston, J. H. Smith. Sir F. Coningham, Wm. Langton, H. G. Smollett, P. Cowper, Hon. W.F. Lawson, W. Stackpole, W. Copeland, W. T. Leatham, E. Stansteld. J. Craufurd, E. H. J Legh, G. C. Steel, John Crawford, It. W. Lindsay, W. S. Steuart, A. Crossley, Frank Locke, jos. Stuart, Major W. Dalglish, Robert Locke, J. Thompson, H. S. Davey, U. . Lowe, Rt. Hon. R. Upton, Ge nera l Denman, G. M'Cann, J. Villiers, Rt. Hon. O. Dent, John Dent Mackie, J. Watkins, J. L. V. Dillwyn, Lewis L. Mackinnon, W. A. Watling - ton, J. W. Disraeli, Benjamin Manners, Ld J. Whitbread, S. Douglas, Sir C. Marshall, W. White, Luke Dunbar. Sir Wm. Martin, J. Willcox, B. M. Duncombe, T. S. Matheson, A. Winuington, Sir T. Duncombe, A. Mellor, John Wise, J. A. Egerton, E. C. Miles, Sir W. Wood, lit 1111. Sir C. Egerton, W. Mitchell, T. A. Woods, Henry Evans, T. W. Montgomery, Sir G. Wyndham, Hon. H. Ewart, William Morris, D. Wynne, C. G. Ewart, J. C. Noble, J. Ewing, H. E. C. Northcote, Sir S. H. TELLERS. Fenwick, Henry Onslow, Guildford Brand, H. B. Fernley, Lord Osborne, Bernal Knatchbull-HugesS COUNTRY MA -RIBTS. COLCHESTER—Fm 25. There was a short supply of wheat ; generally the trade was firm, at about last week's prices for best sorts. Film malting barley was dearer. Beans and peas is per quarter dearer. Wheat, white 44s to 50s I Beans Mazagan..32s to 36. red 38s to 46s 1 Middle & small 36s to 424 Barley 36s to 46. I White peas 36 a to 83 s Oats 2 os t o 28 s 1 Grey.. 32s to 38. NORTHAMPTON—Fins. 25. At this corn-market wheat was in middling supply, wi th a tolerable trade, at about th e ra t es o f thi s daY as a' night, prices ranging from 44s to 48s for old, and 40. t• 46s for new. There was a slow business passing in barle7, malting 36s to 40s, grinding 28s to 32s per qr. Oats in limited show, with a languid sale, quoted at 25. to 28s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 47s to 50s ; new, 453 to 475. Rye, —s to —s; malt, 665 to 68s ; flour, 31 a to 34s per sack. STAMFOR The supply - of all kinds of ruled fah for wheat and barl at late rates. Wheat ....42s to 45s Oats.. 2os to 31Is White do 46s to 508 Beans 4os to 42s Barley .. ..36s t o 44s I Ditto, old ........46s to 48. D---FEB. 25. grain small, but the market lay. Oats dull. Beans were LEICE STE R—FEB. 25. There was a middling supply of wheat to-day, s fair attendance, and trade firm. White wheat, 47s to 62s —red, 42s to 48s per 36 stone; a very fair inquiry for fine barley, grinding, 30s to 335; malting,:37s to 43s per qr. ; oats, 28s t o 34 s per 24 stone. Beans—old, 628 to new 42s to 46s per 38 stone. Fine flour, 33$ I Seconds, 31s I Thirds, 29s per 20 stone. &M—FBB. 25. of wheat on offer to-day, tolerably good. Trade ruled ree, with a fair demand. Barley, grinding 25sa 30s Oats, old, .. 24s to 27. Now do . .23s to 281 Beans. ...42s to 4$ Beans, new 41. to 44s a, 31s to 33s per 20 steno. NOTTINGH. There was a good suppl: the condition of which was brisk, at full prices. Oats sci White wheat, new, 45s to 5 Is Red do. 42s to 49s Old white 50s to 56s Red do. 44s to 50s Barley, malting 38s to 44s Super. flour, 35s to 39s ; CHELMSFORD-FEB. 24. A good supply of wheat, and the best samples were at is over the full prices of last week ; and damp parcels were firm. Spring corn as before, except drybeans, which were is up. • Wheat, white 40s to 52s Peas Partridge ..37s to 3tte red 38s t o 45s White 37s to 30s Barley 30s to 37s Boiling 37s to 40s Chevalier ....32. to 42. D un 32s to 35. Grinding 21s to 26. Beans, Tick ....39a to 41s Malt 60s to 66s Harrow Ticks 41. to 44s Chevalier 63s to 688 Mazagan 36s to 38s Oats 22s to 32s KIRK LDY-FEB. 25. Here to-clay we had gpod supplies of wheat and oats, but small of barley. Sales were ready, at about late rates. Seed barleys Is up. Wheat (N). Barley (N). Oats (N). First.... 42s Od 30s Od 21s Od Second ..:473 Od 38s Od 26s 8d Third .. 50s Od 418 Od 29s Od Wheat (0). Barley (0). Oats (0). First. !.. —s Od —s Od —s Od Second.. —s Od —s Od —s Od Third .. —s Od —s Od —s Od BIRTHS. SUFFIRLD.—On the 23d inst , at Gunton-park, the Lady Suffield, of a daughter. DE MORELLA.—On the 26th inst., at 81, Eaton-square, tho Countess do Morella, of a son. WEnnnu.—On the 27th inst., at 16, Nottingham-place. Regent's-park, Mrs. A. Webber, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. DrxoN—G ILL.—At St. John's Church, Windsor, William l'onton Dixon, to Jane 'Wallace Gill, second d aug ht e r of Dr. Wm. S. Gill, of Pentonville, London. DEATHS. ADA:V.—On the 24th inst., at Polmont, Stirlingshire, Jag. Graham Adam, Esq., merchant, Glasgow. D'EvEraux.—On the 25th inst., at 47, Hertford-street, Mayfair, General John D'Evereux, aged 82. JAILMAN.—On the 26th inst., at Hadley, Middlesex, Tilts. Jarman, Esq., of Lincoln's-inn, aged 60. NOYES.--011 the 26th inst., Henry James Noyes, Esq., of Sunuingbill, Berks. late of the 26th Cameromans. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Ths Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct o 1 the Savoy, in the comity of Middlesex, Tuesday, February 28, 1860. ~.:.1;*- ) 41,4 I I