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

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING [Continued from our first page.] 1 Mr. Wilms—a greater radical, he supposed, did not "he was well inclined towards the rresent Go rnment. With Mr. Cobden as commercial traveller and enipotentiary in foreign affairs—(laughter)—with Mr. fright taking the out-door department, with Gladstone and Gilman inside, the firm was doing a roaring business." (Great laughter.) Well this firm had, like many others, drawn some very long bills ; theyhad drawn on an acceptor whom they (the Opposition) could not trust ; they had been speculating a little too largely, end he thought that this time next year it would be seen that the roaring business was not one which the people of this country, generally, or at all events the payers of direct taxation,wanted. (Cheers.) On the occasion to which he was referring the hon.member for Birmingham, after a speech of great eloquence and power, which was no doubt calculated to produce a great effect on the minds of the seven or eight thousand persons who heard him, came at last to his peroration. Ile told lie audience that he said what followed with an unfaltering voice. How it happened that his voice did not falter after such extraordinary calumnies and misrepresentations he (Mr. Hardy) could not imagine. (Cheers.) He said, how ever, that his voice was too honest and unfaltering for courtly ears—that he did not address the court. What schemes in the hon. member's mind must those be which were unfit to be addressed to a constitutional monarch ? (Opposition cheers.) What schemes must he be brooding over if his honest ♦oice could not be heard by that Sove reign who had been ready to hear all voices ? (Renewed cheers.) The hon. member reminded him of what was said of the Earl of Kent in King Lear : " He cannot flatter, he, An honest mind and plain—he must speak truth: An they will take it, so ; if not, he's plain. These kind of men 1 know, which in this plainness Barbour more craft, and tar more dangerous ends Than twenty silly ducking observants That stretch their dudes nicely." The honourable member went on to say that he would not address the aristocracy, because they were so wrapped up in luxury that tfiey would not listen to From what class did the aristocracy of whom the hon. gentleman thus spoke mainly spring ? When did a man cease to belong to the people and become an aristocrat ? Why, the greater proportion of the aristocracy had sprung from the class to vsnela the hon. gentleman belonged. They did not love their country less because they had titles —they had done much for liberty, and they had knitted together rich and poor in an indissoluble bond, in spite of the agitationof the hon. member among those classes whom he affected to represent. It was the combination of the rights of the Crown, for which the hon. member said he was too honest, with those of the aristocracy and of the people which was the foundation of the constitution, that constitution which the hon. member was endeavouring to destroy. (Cheers.) The hon. member was dragging after him a Government many of whose members were, he be lieved, as much opposed to his schemes as ho (Mr. Hardy) was. Ile regretted this for the sake of the honour of public men—he regretted the insincerity which had prevailed throughout the house on this subject. No man valued a seat in that house more dear than he did, but he should consider himself degraded and disgraced if he wore on that account to withhold his opinion of the schemes of the hon member for Birmingham, who was dragging down the Mi nistry towards an abyss from which there could be no re turn. (Hear, hear.) He appealed to hon. metnbers oppo site who had grown grey in the service of their country not to be influenced by the declaration that the rejection of this bill would be regarded as a vote of want of confidence. The hon. member for Salford (Mr. Massey) ought not, he must say, to have proposed.to refer the bill to a select committee without due reflection. (Hear, hear.) He might hive an ticipated that the noble lord (Lord J. Russell) would have regarded its adoption as a rejection of his bill. The noble lord himself might well have felt great difficulty in con senting to the appointment of a committee to examine so crude and immature a handiwork as that on the table. With all the thought and experience of years to aid him the noble lord had only produced a miserable abortion, having yielded himself up inhis old age to those who sat behind him, ap parently because he had not the courage to resist them. What they (the Opposition) wanted was that property, wealth, and intelligence should have their due place in the representation, and that one class of society should not be put in such a predominant position that it would be able to override all the others ; and he trusted that the house would not allow itself to be led away, but would combine heart and hand in maintaining the just influence of the monarch, the aristocracy, and the people combined. (Cheers.) Sir G. C. LEWIS said a considerable portion of that de bate had turned upon the statistical returns relating to the representation which had been laid upon the table by the present Government. Now when the Government undertook last autumn to frame a Reform Bill, it was their desire to ascertain the best data that could be obtained for so im portant a measure ; and, accordingly, they framed instruc tions, which were sent round to the country overseers through the Poor-law Board. Those instructions were framed with deliberation and care, and the returns on the table were, he believed, correct and complete so far as they could be made so from the rate-books. .The rate-books were the only basis on which such returns could be founded ; it was not possible to institute a new valuation of the country and to obtain the results within the time for which they might be used for the purposes of legislation. Therefore the Government could only address themselves to the digestion of the facts recorded in the rate-books. He be lieved those results were accurate and complete for the pur pose of legislation. The hon. and learned member for Mary lebone (Mr. James), in his somewhat tesselated speech, said that the Government had made serious errors both in the framing of the returns and in the inferences they had deduced from them. He (Sir C. Lewis) maintained on the other hand that the returns were substantially correct, and that the Government had committed no errors in the infer ences drawn from them. He was glad that a committee had been appointed ley the other house to inquire into the accu•• racy of the returns, because he felt that it was a matter that could be more satisfactorily investigated by a committee than in a debate in either house ; but he was perfectly satis fied the result would be that the returns deserved the confi dence the Government placed in them. The hon. and learned member bad alluded to the case of Finsbury. If the hon. and learned gentleman would look at the notes at the bottom of the rage he would find it stated that the returns of St. Luke's and Islington, which formed part of that borough, did not contain the number of persons occupying tenements for which the owners were rated instead of the occupiers ; it was expressly stated, and yet the hon. and learacd gen tleman founded a charge of inaccuracy on that omission. It would be seen also that Kingston-on-Hull and Norwich were similarly situated, and these were the only three places where the omission was to be found, and the amount of it was stated in the return. But what he (Sir C. Lewis) held was, that the total of error was not sufficient to affect the general result. Then the hon and learned member said that the ret urn did not include thou i ta:lamas fur which the rate was compounded for and pail by the landlord. He, on the contrary, asserted that it did contain an accurate account ~f all occupiers, not of all tenements Gr houses, but of occupiers whose rates were compounded for. Then there was a deduc tion of 20 per cent. fur female occupiers and unoccupied tene ments, which was in all probabilicy correct. The hon. and learned member said the number of persons whose rates were compounded fcr below £lO and above £6 would necessarily appear on the register, but that argument was fallacious. There was no reason to suppose that a greater number of occupiers below £lO whose rates were compounded for would find their way on the register than did now of occu piers above £lO. This was shown in the returns in regard to Liverpool, where those rated above £lO numbered 39,730, while the total number of electors on the register was only 14,000; and the Tower Hamlets, where the number of re gistered electors was 28,000, while the number of occupiers rated at £lO and upwards was 67,859. Ile might mention many more examples, but these were sufficient to show the fallacy of the hon. end learned gentleman's argument that every person occupying a tenement rated above £6 and be o•.r £lo,whose rates were compounded for, would not poten tially, but absolutely be upon the register under the new bill. Then it must be bet se in mind that changd of resi dence and other circumstances which tended to reduce the number of electors as compared with the number of occu• piers qualified by the rating value would be greater under £lO than above, and with a £6 franchise ho would under take to say that the addition estitnatel by the Government was the full maximum, and a maximum which would be liable to serious deductions. The hon. member for Leomins ter had also described the returns as fallacious, and had par ticularly adverted to the column containing the gross rental as not exhibiting the clear annual value. By the word " fallacious," in reference to returns, he should understand it was intended to convey that they were intentionally ntis stated. If that was what the hon. member intended to infer, nothing could be further from the fact. (Hear.) The wish of the Government in obtaining these returns was to supply the most accurate and reliable bases for legislation, and they believed they had done so. In the vast majority of cases the first column in the rate book nom which this account had been made up exhibited the rent actually paid by the tenant. There might be some instances in which the entries were made in the wrong column—but, generally speaking, he was assured by the poor-law audi tors, In reply to a circular he had sent to them on the sub ject, h , that th e return in this respect might be depended on. The 01 . member f or Leominster had referred to somewords he (Sir C. Lewis) had used in regard to the feeling of the country, and remi n di ng him that he had said it was incum bent on these who proposed a Reform Bill to state what was the evil that required to be remedied, and to show that the remedy suggested was adequate to meet it, called upon him to explain the policy which had dict a t e d the introduc tionPn of the present measure. He accepted that challenge. (H ear .) The object of the Reform Act of 1821, and of the countless motions for parliamentary reform made in the House of ,Commons before the passing of that act, was to remedy the following evils, viz.—the representati on of de cayed an. 3 almost uninhabited towns and the non-represen. tation of populous counties and large manufacturing t owns. Those who recollected the Reform Bill debates would re member that it was Schedule A, which disfranchised the nomination boroughs, that the attention of the house and of the country was principally directed to, but little atte. tion being paid to the places upon which the electoral fret chise was proposed to be conferred. The result was that though the plan was a comprehensive one, public attenti , n was turned rather to the disfranchising than the enfran chising part of it. The £lO suffrage was accepted at the times creating a sufficiently popular franchise ; but very little contest took place upon that question, and those who proposed amendments in the House of Lords upon other points, accepted that portion of the measure without opposi tion. It was material, in considering the present bill, that they should knO - w what had been the effect of the c. rin:;e in the suffrage made by the measure of 1831. - Up 11 the table of the house there was an account (No. 129) wl ich would en able the house to form some judgment IQ o• this point. .It appeared that the total number o f voters in the E boroughs in the year 1830 --that was the year before the nglish Reform Bill—was 168,375. The number of registered 1 electors in 13 33 , the first re g ister after the Reform Bill, was 250,234, showing that the increase produced by the Reform Bill had been 81,859. But, to make the compari son fair, they should take only those parliamentary boroughs which existed both before and after the Reform Act, omit ting all the new boroughs that were created by that act an I the small boroughs that were wholly or partially disfran chised. Taken in that way the numbers would stand thus : The number of voters in 1830, the year before the Reform Act, 162,640, and the number in 1832-3 201,794, showing an increase of 39,154. The house would see that the opera tion of the Reform Act in increasing the total number of voters was not very considerable. Under the non-reformed system there were many places numerously represented by scot and lot voters and otherwise; and in those places the operation of the act was considerably to reduce the number of electors. Scotland under the old system might be de scribed as one gavot nomination borough, and the change there had been very considerable ; but in Ireland it was less so, the Act of Union itself having to a certain extent been a reform act for that country. Therefore as to the number of voters add- I, the effect of the Reform Act of 1831 had been much less than many persons supposed. In forming a judgment of the bill now proposed they should look to the effects of the act of 1831; and it was by doing so and com paring the period since 1831 with the previous period that he grounded h a great degree his support of the measure, believing the time had come when it was advisable that some further progress should be made in the same direction in which they advanced so largely in 1831. He would not go into a repetition of the admitted effects of the Reform Act. They knew that many attempts bad been made to legislate since then, but there was scarcely a department of legisla tion as to England, Ireland, Scotland, the colonies, or In dia, that had not undergone a solemn and important charge. The lugubrious prediction of fatal consequences—conse quences infinitely more calamitous than any that were an ticipated by the opponents of the present bill—which were indulged in, had not been verified by actual experience in respect to legislation ; and with regard to the internal state of the country—the relation in which the different classes of the community stood towards each other—could any one who remembered the.period anterior to 1831 doubt the more sound and solid condition of the community at the present time as compared with what it was then ? (Hear, hear.) If then there was a more firm and close union of classes, greater loyalty to the Crown, and a more wide and general diffusion of wealth than existed previous to 1831, could any one say that that act had not had a beneficial tendency ? (Hear.) With regard to the closer union of classes, which had been the unquestionable result of the Reform Act of 1831, let them not underrate its importance or lightly cast aside any measure the tendency of which was to bring within the pale of the constitution a large number of per sons who were now excluded, and give them an interest in good government. (Hear, hear.) Many hon. members present hid no doubt read the last volume of an eminent French historian containing an account of the downfall of the first Napoleon, and every one who had done so must, he thought, come to the conclusion that if it had not been for the detestation with which the great body of the French people regarded the wars in which the ambition of their Imperial ruler had involved them—if it had not been for the almost universal unpopularity of the Emperor on that ground, an unpopularity which extended even to the army; for generals and marshals of the Empire participated in the feeling—if the population of Paris had not looked upon the Allies as their liberators from an almost insupportable ty-, canny, it would have been impossible for the allied armies to have captured Paris or dictated the terms they did. When they were looking out for security against invasion; when they were called upon for large estimates to fortify their shores, far-sighted politicians would not overlook the enormous advantage which for the purposes of repelling invasion was to be derived from the joint action of an united people. (Hear, hear.) And it was his firm conviction that nothing would tend more to promote union of classes—as the Reform Act of 1832 most powerfully tended to produce that result—than a measure framed in a similar spirit, and within the limits that wisdom and prudence dictated. There arras another reason—another circumstance—which weighed powerfully with him in recommending to the house to choose the present as a fit moment for passing this measure, end that circumstance was the absence of any political agitation or irrational outcry for reform. Ho had no doubt that the policy of hon. gentlemen opposite was to alter nothing, to remain motionless as long as they could, to wait till a popu lar opinion grew up as strong as that which existed 30 years ago, and then, when they had no option, to legislate under coercion. That, no doubt, was the legitimate policy of the party to which the hon. gentleman who last addressed the house belonged, but he must be permitted to' say it seemed to him that those who wished that a safe and prudent mea sure should pass the house, ought to rejoice that they could now debate the subject freely, that there was no pressure from without upon them, that they could act without poli tical unions, or without any of those associations which ex isted in 1831, without those thunders in the Times which became in that year proverbial. He regarded this Reform Bill on the whole as a precautionary measure, as one intended to guard against evils now admitted, and which increased every year. The bill was divided into three portions, each of which could bo dealt with separately by the committee. It had been studiously framed so as not to embarrass it with subordinate and irrelevant matter, but to invite in a distinct form the decision of the house on the three main subjects on which every reform bill must turn—namely, an enlargement of the county franchise, an enlargement of the borough franchise, an enfranchisement of boroughs, and a transfer of seats. He could not understand the objections to this measure, which at one moment were that it was a revolutionary measure, at another that it was insignificant. He confidently maintained that if any person examined this bill he would come to the conclusion that it dealt with all the important and the most important parts of the subject, and that it dealt with them in a clear and decisive manner. There might be other subordinate questions which might fitly deserve future consideration, but the bill which aas now before the house exhausted all the important parts of the subject. The hon. member for Marylebone said the bill was defective, because it did not propose any revision of the system of registration. The system of registration was now founded on Acts of Parliament distinct from the Reform Bill. IS might be desirable that it should be amended, but that could be done more conveniently by a separate measure. The hon. member likewise argued that the bill was defective, because it did not contain a lodger franchise. That was a matter rather for consideration in committee than en the second reading of the bill. 'He would only remark that the objection did not come with a good grace from a gentleman who complsined of the bill as too largely extending the franchise. To talk of the lodger fran chise as a gentlemanly franchise was a chimera. Ile be lieved that those who obtained vttes under the lodger fran chise would to a great extent be persons belonging to the working. class, who had been flitting about front one lodging to another. A large part of the speech of the hon. member for Leominster was occupied with an argument against any extension of the borough franchise; but, as he understood the right hon. member for Bucks last session to say, Lord Derby's Government was prepared for an extension of the borough franchise, awl that since the division which had taken place on the p rev i ous bill t h e i r v i ews h a d c h ange d , they no lon ger h e ld the principle that the I 'lo franchise and was fixed. Ther c t To th e h on. gentleman was in complete ' antagonism with the lead er o f hi s par t y on the principle of maintaining the borou g h f ranc hi se unchanged. The right hon. member for Bucks, i n b r i ng i ng forward his billo of last session, stated his belief that according to his bill there would be an addition of 500,000 t o th e constituency, but he gave no, tatistical data upon whi c h th e calculations were founded, founded, and it was his belief that that statement of the right hon. gentleman was mere conjecture. At all events, the present Government did not believe that their bill would add a number approaching 500,000 to the existing consti tuencies. - According to the best calculation he was able to make of the probable addition to the borough electors, he did not think that it w ould be much a b ov e 160 , 000 . lie thought that the calculation of his noble friend when he in troduced the bill, that the increase would be 190,000, erred on the side of excess. The next point was the county fran chise. There was a return moved for by the hon. member for Surrey, which stated the number of persons rated at £lO and under £5O to be 415,000. That was the maximum, which the addition to the county constituencies could not exceed. But it was necessary to make very large de ductions in order to arrive at a probable estimate of the in crease. In the first place he deducted 15 per cent. in respect of female occupiers, non-payment of poor-rates, insufficient residence, and double returns. That gave a deduction of 62,327. Then it would be observed that the remainder iacluded those who were entitled to vote as freeholders, copyholders, and leaseholders who were rated between those two amounts, and on the best calculations they were able to make that number was not less than 50 ?er cent., which would make a deduction of 195,411. That made 2.57,000 to be deducted from 415,000, which left an estimated addition to the county electors of 157,779. Adding that 'number to the borough constituency, they obtained a total of about 321,000, and putting the addition to both the county and the borough constituencies at the highest estimate, the ad dition by the present bill would be short 400,000. He had stated that the increase in the number of the borough elec tors by the original Reform Act was not great. With regard to the county constituencies the original Reform Act pro posed no change, except as to copyholders. It contem plated substantially the retention of the old constituency, but a clause was introduced in committee, known as the Chandos clause, which gave a vote to occupiers paying a rent . of above £5O, and that was the only enlargement which the county franchise underwent. The next object which this bill had in view was the disfranchisement of c h e a r d t ai n beenbomroaudgehs tha a tt i h t is nhe m t e r aa an a s r f e er w o a f a s d e e a fi ts cien A t in co t m ha p t la re in - t spect, and undoubtedly it did not go the length that the bill of 1831 did. B ut the circumstances of the country with regard to small boroughs were entirely altered since that period. At that period there was a considerable num• I ber of boroughs that were close in the strictest sense of the word. They had Icarcely any voters, and what they had were absolutely dependent on the patron of the borough. He would call the attention of the house to the condition of a few of these boroughs. In Banbury the number of voters was 18 ; in Bramber, 17 ; in Buckingham, 13; Caine, 19; Gatton, 7; Launceston, 17; MalmesburY, 13 ; Marlborough, 11 ;and St. Michael's, Old Sarum, Win- °heater, and Yarmouth, 7 voters a piece. There was no borough at present in the condition that those boroughs were in at that time. At present there were small boroughs under the influence of one or several persons, but there was not a single borough in which, where there was a strong popular feeling, the electors might not if they thought fit exercise the franchise in the choice of a representative. The four smallest boroughs in England were Arundel, Ashbur ton, Honiton, and Lowth, and the electors on the register of those boroughs were 951. The house would see that no thing could be more delusive than to pat on the same foot ing the nomination boroughs of 1830 with the nomination boroughs of the present day. Her Majesty's Government thought it best not to propose disrcanchissment on a largo scale, and in selecting the places for disfranchisement they followed the example of the bill of the late Govenament, of which they had heard so much of late from gentlemen who he should have thought would not have been great ad • mirers of it. They had followed the principle adopted in that bill of drawing a line of population, and of disfranchis ing one member of all the boroughs beyond that line. There were strong grounds for adopting that course, and one was that although it included 25 boroug'as, there was, for the most part a remarkable uniformity in all the boroughs be low the line of a population of 7,000. In order to explain that he would call the attention of the house to the Sour boroughs which in 1831 had more than 6,000 and less than 7,000 inhabitants. These were Devizes, Chippenham, Hunt ingdon, and Ripon. Those were included in the list to be disfranchised. Devizes had in the register of last year, omitting freemen, 337 electors ; Chippenham, 375 ; Hunt ingdon, 335; Ripon, 313. He would now take four boroughs having a population of from 4,000 to 5,000 inhabitants. Those were Leominster, with 385 electors ; Richmond, 338 electors ; Harwich, 316 ; and Totnes, 314. Therefore there was a considerable uniformity of character with regard to the number of electors in the boroughs below the line of 7,000, notwithstanding the diversity of their popula tion. It might also bo perceived that amongst the boroughs returning one member there were several as large, at least having as name) , electors as those that returned two mem bers. These, included Liskeard, with 437 electors; Laun ceston, 430 ; Liershane, 380 ; Thirsk, 449 ; Reigate, 388 ; Honiton, 283 ; Thetford, 217 ; Wells, 257 ; Andover, 247 ; and Knaresborongh, 266. The result, therefore, was, that with regard to boroughs having a population of less than 7,000, there was no remarkable diversity, and it might be considered a fair and equitable measure to place them all on the same level of returning one member. But then the hon. member forMarylebone said, there was an absurd re sult to which this rule led, inasmuch as there were some towns with a larger population than 7,000 which had a smaller number of electors than those which were below 7,000, and the inference which he appeared to draw was, that they ought to have taken as a test of disfranchisement, not population, but the, number of electors. But if that test had been taken, they would have been told that pre cisely the same absurdity existed with regard to popula tion, and they would hale been asked why they did not take the population instead of the number of electors. Whatever rule was laid down it would be open to the same objection. Besides it must be borne in mind that the object of the bill was to alter the number of electors ; and no ar gument could, therefore, be alleged against the scheme of disfranchisement on the ground of the present number of voters in any of the partially disfranchised towns. On the whole he was satisfied that the house would find, when it came to discuss the details of the measure in committee, that there was no alternative which it could adopt in preference to the principle on which her Majesty's Government had prepared their sohedule. The main groundupon which that schedule was to be defended was that there would be no considerable unenfranchised place left ifter the passing of this bill. No doubt there were unrepresented towns with a population larger than some towns which returned mem bers, but judging of each on its own merits he was satisfied that there was no place not included in the Govern ment list for which a case could bo made out on any ground of public policy for giving it a member. It would no doubt be said that there were many towns to which additional members ought to be assigned. They would be asked, for instance, why they did not give a third seat to the Tower Hamlets, or a second to Salford ? If those constituencies stood alone he should not be prepared to deny their claims to more members. But they could not be taken as isolated communities. The Tower Hamlets were a part of the metropolis, and the question was could they consider the metropolis as a whole to be inadequately represented ? He did not say that the house might not on that point re verse the decision of the Government ; but that decision had at all events been advisedly come to. After a full exami nation of all the facts of the case, the Government thought that the metropolis did not require any additional members beyond the two that were proposed to be given to the new bormgh of Chelsea. With regard to the other instance he had named, it was obvious that Salford was virtually apart of Manchester; and if therefore the Government had pro posed that it should have a second member they would have been met with the complaint, " You have given Man chester two new members and Birmingham only one." (Hear, hear.) The hon. member for Leominster (Mr. Hardy) said that these additional members would lead to the adoption of plans proposed by the hon. member for Birmingham, who wished to see the great towns have six or eight members each, which the hon. mem ber (Mr. Hardy) seemed to think would be the first stop on the way to perdition. But the house was too much accustomed to that style of argument. The notion that because they advanced a certain distance on a given way they were bound to proceed to all the logical conse quences that such a step might, in the opinion of those who took an extreme view involve, had been so much discredited and exploded is that house, that it was scarcely worth the hon. gentleman's while to bring it forward agyin. Besides the hon. member who objected to the third member for Manchester or Liverpool said nothing about the long list of third members which Government proposed should be added to the county constituencies. Still, if thehouee should think the representation of any particular constituency insufficient, the question was a perfectly fair one for the house to con sider ; and the decision of the Government might be altered in committee. Before he sat down ho must recur for a mo ment to what he had already stated. It seemed to him that the present moment—being one of unexcited public opinion and being fitted for calm deliberation within those walls, and for veasonable est imate of the measure throughout the country—was peculiarly suited for the consider tion of a wholesome measure of parliamentary reform. He trusted that, whatever might be the fate of the bill, it would at any rate Le fairly met in front, and that the house would have a fair stand-up fight up..n it. (Cheers ) Ile hoped that no attempts would be made to defeat it by interposing delays, by seeking to obstruct it by dilatory motions, or by at tempting to debate other measures at unnecessary length. Although rumours of an intention to adopt that kind of tactic, which he would not dignify by calling it a "Fabian policy," had reached him, he could not believe that any large number of members would combine for the purpose of carrying out a policy so igno'sle, so little suited to the dig • nity or the character of the house, and so little fitted for the consideration.of a measure of such first-rate importance. Although the session had now mt.de some progress, let it be observed that even if the bill should not go into committee before Whitsuntide, the whole month of June would be left for its consideration, and if the devotion of almost every Government night would not be enough for its subsequent stages, it would be scarcely possible to conceive any time sufficient to enable a measure even of its simplicity to re ceive the assent of that helm. If their discussions were finished by July there would be sufficient time for its con sideration by the House of Lords ; and it was, therefore, impossible for any gentleman who looke I at the state of the session to say that there was not ample time for the due consideration of the measure. He trusted, therefore, that all dilatory motions would be avoided, and that the house would give to the merits of the bill its most careful and deliberate attention. (Hear, hear.) Lord R. MONTAGU denied that the Conservative party was bound to give an indiscriminate opposition to all changes or reforms in the constitution. On the contrary, they would hail any reform that was calculated to impart to it new vigour ; but they were no doubt pledged to main oroe eo r t t preparedgn d; main tain that whi c h th e y h a d rece i ve d f rom th e i r ances t ors , an d to resist all revo l u ti onary c h anges th a t m i g ht t en d t o sub destroyt the d eny balance that ot the e the Reform Act o constitution.f 183211 e was not or s u d id v but it did not f o ll ow th a t an ac t w hi c h was a t n time of b t e i n m e e fi s e . ial lf m a igh po t ra b o e n b .o e , n or e o fic t ia o lly set r t e l p e ea in tedany number some distant country, it might be good for him to drain sour but t t i a t n land, a d n d not to followcut down thathishe should thileukd gota ngledon draining t brushwood; i ll his soil was parched and arid, or cutting down his trees till he had no t l e f t hi m a s h elter from the summer's sun. (Hear, hear.) The Reform Act of 1832 was passed at a time of great disquiet. The French King, Charles X., bad been hurled from his throne, and it was sa id that the only chance of safety in this country was to make some concession to popular option. The act could not be de fended on principle, because it was passed merely on the ground of expediency. When the late Mr. Hume proposed, in 1818, a resolution to make the representation more equal to the population, the noble lord resisted that propositionon the ground that it was essential that those who had votes should be possessed of indepenbnce and intelligence; add ing that much corruption would arise from a want of intel ligence, which was necessary in a constituent body. The bon. member for Birmingham also supported the theory of representation according to population. The hon. gentle man seemed as though he could apply to himself the lines of Canning : " Your boasted laws I hate and curse; Bad from the first, they still grew worse; I pant and sigh for universal suffrage." No one proposed to give votes to women 'and children, to paupers and lunatics. But if they had a natural right to the franchise, it was not in the power of legislation to de prive them of it. But the fact was that Liberals shrunk from carrying out their principles. If they took away some members from the towns because they were not large enough, those members ought to be given to the counties which were shown to be more populous than the boroughs. By the present mode they were saying that members of parliament were worth a certain number of votes; thenwhe not have equal electoral districts at once ? He further con tended that the small boroughs always selected the be A members. (Much laughter.) There might be a few execs p tions ; but those proved the rule. The large beroughs g e. nerally elected declaimers—men conspicuous foe their to ng speeches. (Hear, hear.) For this purpose Ledru R A din in the year IS4S, at Paris, said, " By all means aver to 1 re turning men of ability and education." That was tb .e case with the large constituencies ; they liked men of m edio crity, without originality or intellect. (Hear, hea re) The noble lord (Lord J. Russell) was quite right in hiie remarks on this subject. He showed that large constituel• acies had rejected Burke, Macaulay,. and Sir J. C. Hobhor Ise. Tb a ,after was made War Minister, and immediately th 'souses. tuency would have nothing more to do with him. It was true, at any rate, that the constituencies of Bind ingham, Ashton, and Rochdale did not a t the p resent da y return War Ministers. (Laughter.) But e ver y man mho had brought himself into notice was liable to lose his w e e f or a large constituency. Let them look at other coun tries to see the effect of the democratic m ovement. In S 'edney — the Sp e aker resigned in consequence of i ll h e alth, car , sed by the long and noisy brawlings of the assembl y; it ev . as the same in Melbourne, where a Gove rnment onl y went leave it again. Let them loo k at Mexico , into office to and even the United States, where the most violent ou' -rages were se name in France at to preserve the public peace. It w as tb com mitted,;e and vigilance commit tees hat', to be appointed the first Revolution, when the aristearaey were destroyed, and democracy merged into despotism. The bill would give the constituencies such a power. that the house would be swayed by numbers without any' ree ;ard whatever to the importance.of the subject. Ever sin ce the passing of the Reform Bill, hon. members had bet ;ome less honest, and spoke and voted against their own c onvictions. That was shown by the noble lord at the heat I of the Government in his speech last year against the be llot ; and he (Lord R. Montagu) wished the ballot was applied to the present mea sure, for ho believed there would. be only two to vote for it. (A laugh.) At present the vote of a clown had as much weight as that of a Secretary of State, but was that right or was it politic that a man of thought and education should be placed on the same level in t] us manner with a boor. If this bill passed, the names of Conservatives and Whigs would be no more heard of—the floor of that house would become an arena for the struggles of factions, and of scenes like those presented in the Senate at Washington. (Hear.) Mr. H. BERKELEY said hen. members opposite had accused hon. members on his side of the house of cowardice, because they were afraid to speak their opinions and op pose the noble lord. At all events he could promise them that cowardice should not be his.. But before be expressed his own views on the bill, he must say that it appeared to him the most extraordinary thing in the world that they should hear so much eloquence and vituperation from hon. members opposite, when all that eloquence and vituperation was to end in nothing. At the close of the debate, the second reading was to be agreed to without a division. He found himself as a Reformer placed in this position. He could not agree to consider this as a Reform Bill. (Hear, hear.) It had no pretence to be considered a Reform Bill in the common acceptation of the term. (Hear, hear.) But it was a progressive bill, and therefore he was com pelled to give it his support. (Laughter on the Opposition benches.) While he did so, however, ho protested against its being considered a "finality" measure, or a settlement of the question for the next 20 or 25 years. (Hear, hear.) The bill might be called a progressive measure, but, as a Reform Bill, it was a most infinitesimal dose, and he ac • cepted it like a globule from a homoeopathic practitioner— he swallowed it without the slightest belief that it would do him any good. (Laughter.) The measure appeared to him deficient in those points which ought to have been attended to in any bill professing to deal with the question of Re form. The first was the extension of the suffrage. The bill made a class of men voters who were less calculated, if that were possible, to withstand intimidation and corrup tion than the present constituencies. (Hear, hear.) While at the same time it withheld from these new voters the only protection which would enable them to act independently. (Hear, hear.) He objected to this measure on precisely the same ground in that respect as Lord Macaulay obe jetted to the bill of 1832, because it did not give the poor voter the protection of the ballot. The second deficiency was the absence of any interference with the nomination boroughs. The noble lord in this part of his measure had not shown due consideration for the high character which het had won for himself as a reformer; and for his own part he repudiated the excuse made for him by the hon. member for Birmingham, that he could not expect to carry more than he proposed, as unworthy of the charac ter of the noble lord. Had he thrown himself more heartily upon the country, and gone farther in dealing with these nomination boroughs, he would have been supported. For his own part he agreed with Lord Macaulay in thinking that if these boroughs were to be maintained at all, it was better that an old mound, or four old walls like Gratton or Old Sarum, should return the members than that 150 per sons should be demoralised by being converted into a voting machine to keep up the show of an electiorg- The third point in which the measure wa, defective was its failure to deal with the tribunals of that house, appointed to try elec tion petitions. No system had been a greater failure, or cculd more urgently require alteration. The different con clusions come to in the reports of the election committees was enough to make any one hold up his hand in surprise. Different committees came to totally opposite conclusions from apparently the same facts. The noble lord had passed that subject over entirely. He must say also, after briefly touching upon these points, that the party which had given its support to the noble lord—that was the most indepen dent section of the Liberal party—was placed in a most painful position. (Laughter from the Opposition.) They were placed in anything but a pleasant position when they looked at this bill, and thought of the bill brought by the right hone cable gentleman opposite, and which they assisted the noble lord to throw out. (Cheers.) The supporters of liberal measures in this country, looking to the former acts of the noble lord, haciplaced their full confidence in him, and looked upon him as the man who was to obtain for them a still larger share of political power. And now he would ask the hon. gentleman whe ther they were not in a position to say—" What went y; forth to see ? " The distinction between parties 'in that house was abolished, and they must all go to the country together as a jolly set of Reformers. (Laughter.) That was felt from site end of the Country to the other, and he could say that there was no particular feeling towards the bill, except that the people were willing to accept it as an instalment of what was due to them, since they found they could get nothing better. For the noble lord's own sake, would it had been more worthy their acceptance. The noble lord, he grieved to say, after having commenced his career in Brobdigneg, was ending it at Lilliput. (Cheers and laughter.) The noble lord, however, was deserving of all thanks and praise from the party for whom he had done sp much. His morning of life was full of promise, and his noontide was not less brilliant; but his evening sun was setting in dark and watery clouds. The claims which the noble lord had upon the gratitude of the country it was im possible to forget, and the only regret that his name would hereafter excite would be, that the end of his career did not stand out 'as boldly and as nobly as its commencement. (Cheers.) Lord ROBERT CECIL hoped the house would be cau tious before they transferred political power into the hands of a class not prepared for it. If they did, the step would be irrevocable and the consequences irreparable. (Hear.) Mr. M. MILNES thought the measure quite consistent with the ancient constitution of this country, and those great principles which in that house had been so ably advo cated- by eminent statesmen on former occasions. He wished the bill to go into committee, and when it did he should move a clause giving the suffrage to members of Universities, Inns of Court, and other scientific and learned bodies. (Hear, hear.) If by the proposed enlargement of the suffrage respectable and' intelligent artizans were sent into that house he for one would be glad to welcome them —(hear, hear)—and he was sure their opinions would be heard with respect and received with deference. (Hear.) He did not believe that the bill was likely to effect any very great change. He would accept it simply as it stood, be. lieving that it would tend to the develoisment of the political education of the country, and that no danger could arise from it, he would give it his cordial support. (Hear.) Mr. PE &COOKE dissented from the doctrine laid down by the right hon. gentleman the member for Buckingham shire, that minorities should not be represented in that house. The object of the constitution was to obtain the representation of every class. (Hear.) He believed the Reform Bill of the right hon. gentleman was a mistake, being based on uniformity of suffrage. Such language was not the language of the British constitution, and should not be held by a great conservative party. The great fault of the present Reform Bill was, that it substituted a uni form suffrage of L 3 for a uniform suffrage of £lO. For his own part he wished to see as great a variety of suffrage as possible. Mr. THOMPSON trusted that the bill would become law during the present session. Mr. NE WDEGATE said that when the house went into committee he would propose that the schedules of the bill for 1851 should be adopted. If this proposal was not adopted he would vote against the third reading, and if the bill was sent up to the House of Lords he hoped it would be rejected by them. The measure would not extend the coukty constituencies in the same way that it proposed to extend the borough constituencies. Mr. BLACK moved the adjournment of the debate. Lord PALMERSTON expressed his readiness to assent to the motion, and observed that, as several orders stood; for discussion to-morrow, and as it was not desirable that the debate on the Reform. Bill should be resumed at the fag-end of the evening, ho should suggest its adjournment until Thursday, when he hoped it would be brought to a close. (Cries of "No," and laughter.) He could not help thinking that to seek to delay the progress of the bill was hardly a worthy mode of dealing with a great question with respect, to which it was announced that no division was to be taken. (Hear, hear.) If the case were other wise, and it was proposed that the second reading of the bill should not be acceded to, he could, of course, under- ~~~`: , APRIL 24, 1i,60, stand why hon. gentlemen should desire that the debate should be prolonged. Mr. DISRAELI thought the noble lord acted wisely in assleittingto the adjournment of the debate until Thursday. As to whether it could conveniently be brought to a close on that day the noble lord was, of course, as good a judge as any hon, member on the Opposition side of the house could be supposed to be, inasmuch as those who sat on the same side as the noble lord had hitherto taken the chief share in the discussion. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) The noble lord did not, he was sure, when he spoke of delay mean to make any personal or party allusion; but he must remind the noble lord that he seemed altogether to misapprehend th e character of a discussion which he (Mr. Disraeli) had, Ile believed, commenced about six weeks ago. (A laugh.) He had then stated, for his own part, and on behalf of those with whom he acted, that they would not object to the second reading of the Bill, but in making that state ment he had by no means intended to express his approval of the measure. All he wished to imply was simply that in assenting to the second reading they were willing to con sider the subject of the reconstruction of the House of Com mons and the principle on which that reconstruction should proceed. He, therefore, desired that the noble lord should clearly understand that, in speaking on behalf of himself and his friends—the noble lord could, of course, answer for his own—(a laugh)—he did not seek for delay, but by a full discussion of all the principles involved in the Bill so to prepare themselves to deal with a question of immense im- portance that when they went into committee upon it the mind of the house and the country might be fitted to grapple with it as it deserved, and that hon. members might not be then compelled to hunch into serious and lengthened discussions, but, having cleared the way by pre liminary debate, might be enabled to proceed with greater facility than would otherwise be the case. lie, therefore, begged the noble lord not for one moment to imagine that delay was the object of the Conservative party, while, of course, it would bo presumptuous on his part to touch upon the question of what were the wishes in the matter of the supporters of the Government. (Laughter.) He and his friends desired, in short, not delay, but that deep and deliberate investigation of a great subject which was in accordance with the freedom of discussion by which the Parliament of England was characterised. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BENTINCK had on a previovs occasion protested against the practice of the two front benches making arrangements as to when a debate should close. He had flattered himself, from the feeling then expressed, that should the attempt ever be repeated he should be able, with the support of a large number of independent members, to put a stop to a practice alike irregular and unconstitutional. He was surprised the noble lord should again have made a proposal of that kind. He had several times attempted, but in vain, to catch the Speaker's eye ; and he conceived he should only be exercising the indisputable right of an inde pendent member if he did his best to prevent the debate from being brought to a termination till he had had full and ample opportunity—(laughter)—of expressing his opinion on the measure before them. The noble lord appeared, also, to have fallen into another mistake ; he had assumed, be cause he had settled it with the right hon. member for Bucks, that there would be no division on the second read ing. It was not in the power of any member to say that no division should be taken. lie concurred entirely with the right hon. gentleman when he said, on behalf of that side of the house, that what they sought was discussion, not delay. The noble lord's objection to a full discussion and his anxiety that it should close, seemed to indicate that he be gan to doubt whether the measure of his Government had gained much credit since the discussion began. (Hear.) Lord J. RUSSELL denied that his noble friend had in tended the front benches to agree as to the debate coming to a close. He had only put it to the consideration of the house whether it might not think it convenient the debate should terminate on Thursday. There was a very great convenience in members knowing when a debate was likely to come to an end. Of another observation of the honourable gentleman he must take some notice. He stated that his noble friend had assumed from what had passed in this discussion that there was to be no division against the second reading. The debate had lasted three or four nights; and it would certainly be usual, and due in courtesy, not only to the Government, but to the house, that if any hon. gentleman intended to divide against the second reading some notice should be given of that inten tion. (Hear.) It should be publicly known, or many mem bers might be absent in the country, or, if in London, might stay away from the house under the conviction that no division would take place; and then a division might be taken by surprise when least expected. This was not usual even as to measures of minor import ance, and certainly not on a measure so important as the present bill. The hon. gentleman had a perfect right to express his sentiments at any length he thought proper; but, according to the practice of the house and by courtesy, if a division was to be taken, some notice of it should be given. Lord C. HAMILTON agreed with the noble lord as to the inconvenience caused to distant members by sudden changes in the course of public business. He thanked the noble lord for laying down a rule, which in one case he cer tainly forgot. Mr. FELLOWES protested against any understanding being entered into that the debate should close on Thurs day. KNIGHTLEY denied that the members on the Op position side of the house were responsible for the frequent delays of the bill before Easter for other business far less important. Mr. SCULLY said that no Irish member had yet been heard in the debate, and if any Irish member spoke late on Thursday he ought not to be charged with 'causing delay, or raising a factious Opposition. It was not a mere English bill, for the decision on it would be conclusive as to the bill for Ireland; and every one was interested when his neigh bour's house was on fire. (Laughter.) He approved the principle of the bill—an extension of the franchise ; but if a division were taken against it, he would not bind himself to declare that the measure was satisfactory to the country. Believing as he did that the suffrage could hardly be ex tended too far, ho would vote for the bill, but he must pro test against its being considered a final measure. (Hear.) The debate was then adjourned till Thursday. REPEAL OF PAPER DUTY. The Paper Duty Bill was considered as amended. CUSTOMS BILL. On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER the house went into committee on the Customs Bill, but dissatisfaction being indicated by hon. members the right hon. gentleman immediately moved that the chairman re. port progress. The Chairman was accordingly ordered to report pro greys, and the house resumed. SUPPLY. The report of the Committee of Supply was brought up and agreed to. BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY BILL, The ATTORNEY. GENERAL moved the committal pro forma of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill, with a view to the introduction of certain amendments. The bill passed through committee. LANDLORD AND TENANT (IRELAND) BILL On the motion of Mr. CAIiI»VELL the second reading of this bill was postponed. REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS, &c. (SCOTLAND.) This bill was read a second time. REFRESHMENT HOUSES, &c., BILL. The adjourned debate on the second reading of this bill was postponed till Monday next. COMPANIES BILL. This bill passed through committee pro forma. FISHERIES (SCOTLAND) BILL. This bill was read a second time. The Petitions of Right Bill as amended, was considered. CHURCH-RATES ABOLITION BILL. Mr. DILLWYN (in the absence of Sir J. Trelawny) moved that the order of the day for the third reading of the Church-rates Abolition Bill have precedence of notices of motions upon Friday next. The motion was agreed to. The house adjourned at a quarter to one o'clock, BANK RETURNS. The Bankers' Magazine furnishes the returns of the cir culation of the Private and Joint-Stock Banks in England and Wales for the four weeks ending March 19. These returns, combined with the circulation of the Scotch and Irish anks for the same period, and the average circula tion of the Bank of England for the four weeks ending the 7th of March (the nearest date furnished by their returns) will give the following results of the circulation of notes in the United Kingdom, when compared with the previous month A Feb. 11, iMareh 10, 1860. 1860. rlncrease.lDecrease. Bank of England... Private Banks Joint-stock Banks.. 21,735,265 2 0 ,717,800 3,40-1,381 3,376,819 2,977,034 2,940,330 1,017,465 127,562 30,704 Total in England. 28,21(3,050 27,010,919 Scotland.... 4,124,606 4,001,977 Ireland 7,353,741 7,201,462 1,175,731 122,C29 149,282 United Kingdom 39,695,030 38,217,3881 1,447,64 And as compared with the month ending the 12th March 2 1859, the above returns show an increase of £300,406 in the circulation of notes in" England, and an increase of £791,426 in the circulation of the United Kingdom. On comparing the above with the fixed issues of the seve ral banks the following is the state of the circulation : rhe English private nks are below their fixed issue The English joint-stock banks are below their fixed issue.... £356,027 Total below fixed issue in England.... £1,384,143 The Scotch banks are above their fixed issue .. £1,252,706 The Irish banks are above their fixed issue .... £849,968 The average stock of bullion held by the Bank of Eng land in both departments during the month ending the 7th March, was £15,162,331, being a decrease of £178,522 as compared with the previous month, and a decrease of 11,721,508 when compared with the same period last year. The following are the amounts of specie held by the Scotch and Irish banks during the month ending the 10th March : Gold and silver held by the Scotch banks £2,624,584 Gold and silver held by the Irish banks 2,746,601 £5,371,185 Being 1. decrease of £70,418, as compared with the previous return, and an increase of £398,544 when compared with the corresponding period of last year, FEARFUL ACCIDENT ON TILE GREAT XORTHERX BAIIII7-21 Yesterday morning the ten o'clock express train from London to Manchester, on entering the Hat field Station met with a fearful accident, through a portion of the train being thrown from the mcta's, which, we regret to state, was attended with fatal results, two persons being killed from the frightful mangling of their bodies, and others more or less injured, besides great destruction of the company's property, Four passenger carriages of the train were literally smashed to pieces, and a number of coal-trucks belonging to a coal train which was passing on the up:lin — c at the time, with WI - lielt the 9xpress came into collision, were much shattered, and the coal scattered in all directions. One of the deceased persons was a first-class passenger, Leslie Pym, Esq., a magistrate of Bedford, and a member of the well-known family of the late Francis Leslie Pym, Esq., of Rad well house, near Baldock, and Eaton-place, Brighton, who, it is asserted, had come direct from there on his way to Nasal Grove, to arrange some matters in relation to his late father's burial. The following are the particulars concerning this deplorable accident, gathered on the spot, as ascer tained from disinterested persons, eye-witnesses to the dreadful catastrophe :—About half past ten a.m. the ten o'clock express train from London, consist ing of seven carriages, including a guard's-van, was entering the Hatfield Station at its usual speed of not less than 40 miles an hour, and as it was pass ing a number of plate-layers eagagcil in laying an angle line abreast of the engine -sheds close to the toot-bridge, the engine is supposed to have broken one of the upward rails of the down line. The en gine and. tender and two carriages passed safe over, separating from the rest of the train, which swerved with such violence as to cause some of the rails to give way, and, in conse quence, the break .a an and four carriages left the rails, and ran off the road to the down-platform, where one of the carriages came to a stand, whilst the others, headed by the engine, tender, and two carriages (which kept upon the metals) ran on further, passing the station at a frightful velocity, striking against a coal-train pass ing on the up-line with such alarming violence as to knock out the sides of four of the trucks, and scattering the coal to the di s ta nce o f about 150 yards, and continuing their headlong course until after they passed the level crossing, about half a mile distant, where the carriage in which was the unfortunate Mr. Pym capsized, and the others were smashed to pieces, presenting a complete and hor rible wreck. The engine and the forward portion of the train ran about 130 yards farther on, when the engine came to a stand. When the accident first occurred, a piece of the broken rail flew up and knocked down one of the plate-layers, inflicting terrible injuries, from which he expired about three hours afterwards, at the Red Lion Hotel, Hatfield, where he had been promptly conveyed. Poor Mr. Pym was discovered lying on the right hand rail of the down-line, frightfully mutilated, his body being literally ripped open. Strange to say, he was found breathing. He was conveyed as quickly as possible on a door to the Red Lion Hotel. On his way thither, two or three minutes after the oc currence, he was understood to say, " Bob, Bob, be quick and immediately ceased to breathe. An other passenger, the Rev. William J. Tweddle, said to live somewhere in Surrey, and described as a Methodist preacher on his way to preach a sermon at Oakham, was found to have met dangerous in juries. Immediately underneath hs ear was said to he a terrible gash, with other cuts about the face, both his thighs badly bruised, and one leg much cut, besides other contused injuries on other parts of his body. He was placed under medical as sistance without delay, and conveyed to London in a, precarious state. Thomas Williams, one of the guards, was slightly injured, and although the other passengers received no material injury, still many of them were contused or scratched by the flying of the debris with their hats smashed, and their clothes in some instances torn. Alto gether . it is astonishing to all the beholders that more life was not sacrificed, and which can only be in the least accounted for by the impedi ment of the coal train, as they described the scene as being of a most alarming nature. The road was much torn up in places from where the acciden t occurred to the telegraph station, a distance of 210 yards. - The inspector of the line, Mr. Williams, who was a passenger in the next carriage to Mr. Pym, escaped with a slight shaking, and in conjunction with Mr. Coote, the Hatfield station-master, acted with great promptitude in taking the necessary steps to prevent trains from arriving from the North or South, as both lines were obstructed with the debris. A telegraphic despatch was forwarded to London, and medical assistance, in addition to that procured in the town, together with a large addi tional staff of workmen, were soon upon the spot. About one o'clock, after great exertions, the up line was cleared, and traffic was then resumed over that line until about seven last night, when both lines were again in working order. The driver and fire men escaped unhurt, but Ward, one of the plate layers, is said to have had a miraculous escape. The account given by the company's officials does not materially differ from the above, and the only explanation they state they can give as to the ac cident is, that one of the rails was found broken. The list of killed and injured, as far as have yet been ascertained, are—Mr. Pym, dead; George Venables, platelayer, dead; Thomas Williams, guard, slightly injured; and others slightly injured, names not known, who, after two hours' delay, resumed their journey. Inspector English, of the Rural Police, has charge of the books and valuables found in the possession of Mr. Pym. MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, April 23 The April adjourned Quarter Sessions com menced this morning at the Guildhall, Westmin ster, before Mr. Bodkin, assistant-judge; Mr. Payne, deputy; and the following magistrates : Baron de Bliss, Mr. Goodhazt, Mr. Burslem, Mr. Gould, Mr. Rankine, Mr. Bavlis,Mr. Hogarth, Mr. Beetham, M r . H. H. Harwood, and Mr. Healey. The calendar contains the names of 66 prisoners, 69 of whom are charged with felony and 7 with misdemeanour. The Assistant-Judge delivered the charge to the grand jury. Mar - tin Schmidt, 33, a Prussian,who availed him self of his right of being tried by a mixed jury, , was indicted for stealing ten i 5 notes, £8 in cash, and a coat, the property and money of William How, his master. The case stood over from last session. Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Orridge were counsel for the prosecution. Mr. Ribton defended the prisoner. This case lasted the greater part of the day, but the facts r e lativ e to the charge lay in a very small compass. The prosecutor was a gentleman, living at 52, Queen's-gardens, Hyde Park, and the pri soner was taken into his service as in-door servant and butler. He absconded from his situation a few days after he had entered upon it in Feb ruary, and the money, notes, and property, men tioned in the indictment, were missed, the notes having been abstracted from a despatch-box kept in Mr. How's library. Four of them were traced to the prisoner, he having changed them, and when he was taken he was wearing a coat which had been stolen from his master's wardrobe. One of the notes was changed by the prisoner's wife, who was subpoenaed for the prosecution, but she was not ex amined on her proving that she was his wife. She had given a different name, Egener, and ex plained that that was the real name of the prisoner, but that he had adopted that of-Schmidt because he was a political refugee and a deserter from the Prus sian service, and could not, therefore, follow his ordinary avocation, which was that of a Conti nental courier, in his own name, through fear of arrest. The result of the trial was a verdict of guilty, and the jury recommended the prisoner to mercy, on the ground of a good character he had received, but they very soon withdrew that recom mendation on hearing what the police-constable in the case, Gordon, 336 A, had to say of him. He had, it appeared, obtained many situations by means of false characters ; he had committed robberies at every one of them; in one case he stole over £lOO worth of plate; and had robbed and plundered about 12 servant girls of their savings, by showing them a sham bank-book, in which a tolerably good round sum appeared entered to his credit, and pro mising to marry them. He had seduced several under that promise, and one of his victims proved pregnant, and was now on the streets. The Assistant-Judge said this was a case in which the public interests wet edeeply involved, and the court would not be doing its duty if it did not pass a sentence which would remove so dangerous a person as the prisoner from society for a lengthened period. Persons who got confidential situations by false characters were of the very worst class of offenders, their only object being to rob and plun der, and the sentence upon the prisoner was that he be kept in penal servitude five years. Frederick Fraser, convicted last session of steal ing two coats, under circumstances fully reported at the time, was brought up and sentenced to 12 months' hard labour. Mr. M'llonnell was for the pro:ecution ; Mr. Diekie for the prisoner. John William Ratcliff, 40, a clerk, was indicted for feloniously embezzling various sums of money which he had 'collected as rents for and on account of Henry Vincent Wing and another, of , Gray's Inn-square, his employers. He pleaded guilty. The total amount of his defalcations exceeded £lOO, and he had been in the receipt of 255. per week, and had been in his situation, with an un suspected character, for seven years. He had made every reparation in his power, by admitting all the wrong he had done, and giving every information to his employers. Mr. Francis was counsel for the prisoner, and addressed the Court in mitigation of punishment. Mr. F. If. Lewis was for the prosecution. The Court sentenced the prisoner to 12 months' hard labour. John Cotter, 58, and Charles Roleda (alias Brummy), 45, were indicted for stealing two rolls of cloth, value £B, the property of Philip Leveson, a clothier in Prescott- s t ree t, Whi tec h ape l , f rom his shop-window, by taking out a square of glass, and William Barnett., 22, and Jacob Belasco, 57, dealers, in Petticoat-lane, now Middlesex-street, were in dicted for feloniously receiving the same. Mr. Metcalfe prosecuted, Mr. M 4 Donnell defended Cotter and Barnett, Mr. Best defended Roleda, and Mr. Daly defended Belasco. The jury acquitted all the prisoners except Roleda, who was found guilty, and upon whom sentence was deferred, in order that a series of convictions might be put in against him, as he Is its well known in the prisons, and also to the police. THE PENRITH MURDER. Thomas Sowerby, alias Tommy Grey, who stands charged with the wilful murder of a Jew, named Simon Manassa, or Levi Davidson, at Penrith, on Easter Monday, made a confession of his guilt on Saturday. From the evidence adduced before the magistrates, it appeared that on Easter Monday night the deceased, who had been staying a few days at a common lodging-house at Penrith, was drinking in the Grey Bull Inn, where also was the prisoner. The deceased left about 11 o'clock, rather " fresh in drink," and went in the direction of his lodgings, where, however, he was unable to gain admittance, as the lodging-house keeper feared that he would quarrel with a Scotchman, who was sleep ing there, and who had insulted the deceased in the afternoon by asking him what trade he was. The deceased left the door, and returned in the direction of the Grey Bull Inn. The prisoner left the Grey Bull Inn half an hour after the deceased, in the same direction as he had gone. About half-past 11 a young man named Atkinson saw the prisoner walking down the street arm-in-arm with a man, supposed to be the deceased ; and about three-quar ters of an hour later saw the prisoner coming over a stile which leads to the field where the deceased was found, nearly dead, the following morning. Near that place, in the corner of a field, was a " hogest," or shed for sheep and young cattle. The substance of the prisoner's confession is that he met the old man, who asked him if he could find him lodgings for the night, as he had been locked out from the house where he had engaged a bed. The prisoner said lie could do so, and took him to some out-houses further up than the place where the murder was committed, but they could not there make themselves comfortable, so they went to the " hogest." The old man could not get up over the calves on to the hay loft, and thereupon began to call the prisoner names. They got into the field where the murder was committed, and the old man brew his stick at the prisoner, who seized him and buttocked " him, and when he was down took the old man's stick and struck him several times over the head. The prisoner did not think then that he had done him any very material mischief. He left him lying, and ran across to the town, passing over the style where he was seen by Atkinson and the young girl who was with him. If this statement be correct, the act would not appear to have been premeditated. Both the prisoner and the deceased were of very excitable temperaments. COUNTRY MARKETS COLCHESTER-APRIL 21. • A tolerable supply of wheat, and for the beat samples Is advance barely obtained on last week's prices. Mirley comes scarce, and dearer. Beans and peas were the turn in favour of the seller. Wheat, white 50s to 56s Beans, Mazagan.. 32s to 36s I red 46s to 52s Middle & small 36s to 42s Barley 36. to 50s I White peas 36. to 38s Oats 2os to 28s 1 Grey.. 32s to 38s CHELMSFORD-APBIL 19. There was a fair supply of wheat; generally the trade was good at a rise of is per qr over late prices for the best sorts ; inferior at late rates. Oats and barley fully 2s up. Beans and peas firm at last week's prices. Wheat, white 44s to 57s Peas, Partridge .. 40s to 41s red 43s to 51s White 408 to 42s Barley 34s to 44s Boiling 4os to 43s Chevalier ....38s to 48s Dun 35e to 38s Grinding 21s to 33s Beans, Tick ....40s to 43s Malt 60s to 668 Harrow Ticks 43s to 46s Chevalier 63s to 68s Mazagan 37s to 39s Oats 28s to 37s KIRKA: Here to-day we have kind of grain. Sales brio: .LDY—APRIL 21. had very small supplies of ever =lc, at fully is higher. Wheat Barley Oats First.... 48s Od 38s Od 27s Od Second .. 52s Od —s Od 30s 6cl Third .. 56s Od —s Od 33s . COAL MARKET—APRIL 20. UPrice• of Coal per Ton at the close of the mar . a. d. Walla End. • St. Cuthbert's Hartley 15 0 , Wylam l6 0 , Russell's Hetton 21 9 Thorpe South Hartlepool 21 0 Carway and Duffryn Malting 23 0 Walls End. Kelloe 2l 9! lletton. 22 6 Ships at market, B—Sold, 8. CAPTURE OF POACHERS ON THE NESS.—It has been known for some time that poaching has been systema tically practised by night at the mouth of the river Ness, and that sea-trout and foul salmon—evidently the produce of a net and coble-fishing—were freely offered for sale in the town and neighbourhood. This was a state of matters which the renters of the water, the Ness Angling Club, determined not to put up with, so they laid their plans for a capture, and were rewarded on Thursday morning by complete success. A few spirited members of the club, aided by Sergeant Macbean, of the police, and some of his men, secretly watched both sides of the river, and captured two men in a boat in the act of fishing with a net from 40 to 45 yards in length.—lnverness Courier. [ADvEnxismmENT.]—Holloway's Pills and Ointment.-- - Asthma, Coughs, Colds.—These complaints of the chest come on with alarming frequency while the weather is unsettled. At first the symptoms are readily remediable by the joint in fluence of Holloway's remarkable medicaments. While taking the Pills as freely as the constitution will comfortably hermit, the Ointment should assiduously be rubbed at least twice a day on the chest and between the shoulders, till a thick rush comes out, when the violence of all symptoms will gradual y give way, the breathing become longer, and the oppression less. No medicines are more efficient in chest complaints—none can be used with equal safety and certainty. Both Pills and Ointment are accompanied by very clear and simple directions for using them. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—Among the numerous extraordi nary cures without medicine effected by Du Barry's deli cious health-restoring Revalenta Arabica rood of indiges tion (dyspepsia), flatulency, constipation, nervous, bihous and liver complai n t s , coug h, as th ma , consum pti on , and debility, the following, are not the least remarkable "Athol-street, Perth, May 2, 1842.—Thirteen years' con h' indigestion, and general debility have been removed by P Barry's excellent Revalenta Arabica Food.--James Porter. No. '24,814, the Rev. Thomas Minster, cure of five years' nervousness, with spasms and daily vomitings. From till Venerable Archdeacon of Ross.—No. 32,836. " Threeyears excessive nervousness, with pains in my neck and left arm, and general debility, which rendered my life very miserable , has been radically removed by Du Barry's health-restoring food.—Alex. Stuart, Archdeacon of Ross, Skibbereen• In tins, at Is. 6d.; 11b., 35.; 21b., ss. 9d.; 51b., 125.; nib" 265. The 101 b. and 121 b. tins carriage free, on receipt of post office order. Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-street, London; Fortnum, Mason, and Co., 182, Piccadilly; Abbis, Gracechureh-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 63, and 150, Oxford" street ; 330 and 451, Strand ; 49 'and 60, Bishopsgste' street ; 85 Tottenham-court-road. Also at Dublist Bewley and Draper ; at Edinburgh, Raimes and Cc'; at Liverpool, Nixon and Thew; at Manchester, Sharp all' Scott ; at York, Raimes, Blanchard, and Co. ; at.Soutt ampton. Randal ' and Son BIRTHS. BROOKE.-At Fern Lodge, Kensington, the wife of the Rev. Stopford Brooke, of son. HOPE.—On the 21st inst.; at Arklow House, t" Connaugh place, Lady Mildred Beresford Hope, prematurely, of daughter, who only survived a short time. Ross.—On the 21st inst., at Chatham, the wife of Lieut." Colonel A. Ross, It.E., of a son. MARRIAGES. Cunzow—HEATTICOTE.—On the 19th inst., at Melkeba ta parish church, the Hon. Henry G. Roper Curzon, milt son of Lord Teynham, to Harrie t An n e Lovell , youngest' surviving daughter of the late Rev. Thomas Heathoote? of Shaw-hill House, Wilts. PALMER--GREEN.—On the 20th inst., at the Oaks Church, Leicester-forest, Robert Heyrick Palmer, Esq., of tin Middle Temple, to Susan, Georgiana, eldest daughter or Edward Mortimer Green, Esq., of Charnwood House, Leicestershire. DEATHS. GRIFFITH.—On the 18th inst., at his residence, Steril e ° George Griffith, aged 72. HOTHAH.—On the 14th inst., at York, Captain Georg° Hotham, R.E. NOBLE.—On the 21st inst., at Woodford, Richard No ble ' Esq., of the Indian Navy, aged 24. OWEN.—.OR the 19th inst., at Carmarthon, the Rev. Jere miah Owen, aged 92. ilo fo SHEARS.—On the 22d i ns t. , Daniel T. Shears, 8 649 Bankside, Soutwark, aged 78. THORNBER.—On h the 21st inst., at Poulton-le-Fyldet a Thornber, Esq., J.P., aged 85. , hire, VENABLES.—On the 21st inst., at Cookham, Berkshire George Venables, Esq., aged 67. __......... LONDON : Printed and Published by MURPO YO V II : of No. 112, Strand, Print er , a t The Sun Office, No' Et: and, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the c,nuil t i Middlesex, Tuesday, April 24, 1860. MEM BA * Partici amine tl Intere llepos Without The in Forms C B TICK May 1, a for issue They on all oc When th, rive Shi price of Tn a; SI 'lin_~ The . 31 POR3IA The S June Ist The (U or PR A.) nay, 28th Other littgg or Scasou issitec Ticket, be had f Exeter-1 Ticket: also play usual The Ject to t CHR •-/ Ki ion.—El ?o'clock .'rom li t James's Mr. J. FS LA- A RG dil Conduote Perot N added to T HE This Est elegance With the EVENII direetior tion of , Doors or punctual WE RUE an, charge fc forDeL 40, Moor Card p note pap stamped forwarde R TH( Barrels Cases showing valuable of food Agent appoints JOSEF A Pan RU] WI be the n lIERNI effects, body, w Moe-Ma and eta during truss, w cumfere Bent to A Sin A Dont An Uml Post ofßce. P EL, for \Tar the Lei anti ine Price T EI 3 Pon 11 DEB COM D v digea Icon Cure the benet Deeii 'om • flatul k‘ve Joly Piet( Mai Pref, the 17.12 indi; Cure "erp hers• eons Dr. aln enla Carr r~