The Sun. — London, England, 1859-08-12 00:00:00

LMPERIAL PARLIAIMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS-(YESTERDAY). The LORD CHANCELLOR. took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. Viscount DUNGANNON presented a petition from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Edinburgh, praying that the Medical Acts Amendment Bill might not be passed this session. Lord NORMANBY presented a petition from the Superintendent of Police, against the ninth clause of the Police (Boroughs and Counties) Bill. Lord WODEHO USE presented numerous petitions from Aylesbury, Brighton, Newcastle, and other . places for le c ii he s larT e of m gal e T w E it S h ß " U d ß ec inr e e i sen w td s a m p te e . r t : t* to the same effect from the Seotch Reformation Socie t y. PRIVATE BUSINESS. On the motion of Lord REDESDALE the Warrington And Southport Railway Bill was read a third time and Passed• CONSOLIDATION FUND APPROPRIATION ACT. This bill passed through committee. STAMP DUTIES BILL. This bill passed through committee. MILITIA. PAY BILL. This bill also passed through committee. INDIA LOAN BILL. . On the motion that the house go into committee on this bM, The Dnkeof ARGYLE said he was anxious to address a few observations to their lordships on this bill. The lath mutiny broke out, and was suppressed before any troops could. be despatched from this country. The sum provided by Par liament for the military expenditure in India during the coming financial year 1859-60 was 12+ millions ; w and al though it appeared that the reduction, compared ith last year, was only 2+ millions, it was in fact 4+ millions, as would be seen when the losses on Indian railways, and other sources, of expenditure were taken into consideration. Thus, although 12+ millions was the sum voted to cover the expenditure, three millions were for compensation, and restoring the balance of expenditure, 9f millions was thd actual deficit of the present year. Ex cepting the expense of the mutiny, which of course was an exceptional circumstance, and which seriously affected the finances of India, they were, at the commencement of the mutiny, in a state which must be considered satisfactory. It was also very satisfactory to find that, notwithstanding the mutiny, there had been no falling off whatever in the revenue of that country, and although such a circumstance might appear surprising, yet it certainly was a fact. Before he resumed his seat he wished to protest against the statement that our Indian empire had been acquired by a settled and deliberate policy of annexation. It had, on the contrary, been acquired by the close contact which existed between the advancing civilisation of the west and the de cay of the eastern race. The noble lord then referred to the steps to be taken as to reducing the military ex penditure. The necessary steps would be to make a complete disarmament of our native troops. He did not say it would be necessary to remove all the small arms, because that would be impossible, but we could insure that not a single gun should be cast in India, and from what we had seen in the late mutiny, we knew that without guns native troops were useless. He could not say the Government would be able immediately to reduce the military expenditure to the scale on which it existed before the mutiny • but of this he felt certain that , until the military expendi ture could be reduced to a very great extent, it would be impossible to establish the revenue of India on a sound and solid basis. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH would not follow the noble duke through all the topics through which he had travelled: if he did, he should occupy their lordships the whole of the short period the session would last. He con fessed the expectations that had been held out both of reve nue and of reduction seemed to him alike over sanguine. He did think it most hard upon the Indian government that it should be compelled this year, of all others, to pay five mil lions towards the commercial speculations of gentlemen who had projected railways ; and he hoped that in all future guarantees the Government would be placed in the position merely of a banker to receive the subscriptions of the share holders. Many years ago he had cautioned the public against the danger that must arise from the system of guar antees ; . and he prophesied what had since turned out to be the fac t, namely, that if they guaranteed railways at 5 per cent. it would he hopeless to expect that it could borrow at a lower interest. No doubt the present financial state of India was very lamentable ; but he cautioned the Govern ment against imposing new taxes ; it would be far better to increase temporarily the old ones, to which the people were accustomed. lie thought the step of sending out Mr. Wil son as Chancellor of the Exchequer was an extremely wise one. He had himself projected a similar arrangement 30 years ago ; and it was certainly most desirable that a states man should be substituted for a lawyer as a member of the council. If Mr. Wilson or any other gentleman went out in the proposed capacity he would not be able to do much unless he had able assistants. He would have to educe order out of chaos ; for it was impossible to imagine anything worse than the state of things that he (the noble earl) remem bered when he was in India. The new financial moister would have to teach the officials not only habits of business but of obedience, which would be a far more difficult task. He (the noble earl) strongly deprecated the reduction of the great civil salaries. Such a measure would bring about a revolution of the worst kind ; for it would bring about a re volutionin that class of men. At first, gentlemen, who went to India generally incurred debts ' - and it was only to wards the end of their career that they could hope to amass anything like a competence. To reduce their emolu ments would cause India to be governed, not, as now, by young men, but by old ones. Hitherto it had been the youth of our civil servants that had rendered our :adminis tration of India so vigorous ; and the change would be a moat undesirable one. Besides, before their salaries were raised to their present scale, there had been more than sus picions of the probity of our officials. The existing salaries, therefore, meant youth, energy, and probity. The Chan cellor of the Exchequer in India might make great and im portant reductions in the native establishments connected with the different departments. He (the noble earl) had read with disgust the demands which had been made for those establishments ; and he had no doubt that an ener getic Government might effect great reductions in that re spect. Many years ago he had called for a return which showed that the native establishments connected with:cer tain departments were more numerous than the army. It was absolutely necessary that the:military expenditure should be reduced, and he could not understand why the Government had not taken immediate steps for that pur pose. There must, however, be a diminution in the num ber of officers as well as of private soldiers, otherwise their efforts at economy:would be vain ; but he believed that up to the present time there had been no reduction in that re spect. It was absolutely necessary to have a great Euro pean force, and he felt certain that what was moat politic would be Ist) the most economical. It was desirable that they should create a balance between the local and the Royal force, and between those two combined and the native troops. He would begin by diminishing the native force to the extent which it at present exceeded the Euro pean. That would give a reduction of from 90,000 to 95,000 men. He confessed he had been surprised to find that at this moment we had in India, in addition to our 100,000 European soldiers, no fewer than 194,000 or 195,000 native troops, besides 80,000 police, making a total native force of 265,000 men. He would not look gloomily at theltiture of India. It was the noblest em pire that had ever been acquired by man —or, at least, it might be made so under proper management. It was to the eternal honour of this country that in less than a hun - dred years it had been won ; and it was perhaps still more to its honour that during the last two years it had been maintained. (Hcar, hear.) . He trusted that the Govern ment, discarding every consideration but the public in terest, would enable us long to retain it, and would confirm it to the benefifeithe people of India. (Cheers.) Lord LYVEDEN complained that under the present system there was a total want of responsibility for the ad mmistratiOn of India. Who could say, for example, who had been to blame for the mismanagement which had caused the insubordination which had lately taken place in the European troops. Did the fault lie with Lord Clyde or with Lord Canning, or with whom ? No one could tell. He could not see why they should not make these Indian loans an imperial question. By so doing they would save millions, and he did not believe they would lose anything. To that complexion must they come at last, and why not at once, thereby saving the difference in the interest. He did not believe that this country would ever be induced by any consideration to abandon India; and he therefore regretted that the Government did not 'bake up its mind at once to guarantee the loans. He (Lord Lyveden) could not agree with the noble earl that it was impossible to effect any ma terial reduction in the civil salaries. He could not see any thing in the rndian service why it should require any greater scale of payment than that in the other colonies. He could not see why gentlemen *passing from Ceylon to Mardas should be enabled to exchange comforts forluxuries. The Indian ervice was the highest paid in the world. The first salary was £4OO or £5OO, whereas in the English civil service it was not above £lOO. From the beginning it was a competency, and in the end it was opulence. He did not think that probity necessarily resulted from high salaries. On the contrary, if high salaries led men into luxury of living they might have exactly the contrary result. Lot& ELLENBOROUGH denied that there was any luxury. Lord LYVEDEN—Tasat depended on what the noble earl thought luxury . ; but the Indian service was luxurious com pared with the colonial. He thought that there might be a much larger number of uncovenanted servants. The reduc tion must begin at home. They should commence with that gigantic job the Indian Council, which might be reduced to six heads of departments The real reduction, however, must no doubt be in the military expenditure. He had been considerably astonished at the increase of native troops during the mutiny, and he was glad to find that that force Mrin the p rocess o f reduction. With a proper police they avel h e ter greatly reduce the number of troops ; and there ether ways in which they might diminish the duties r& vluired from the troops. He could not understand for in stance why such large sums should be carried about in bul lio n with a military guard. Why not establish a system of branch banks' Wilson to India, h t e y hae reourd to the intended mission of Mr. was to be a Chancello r of e the rta Exchequer.i r n verlf that d was t ha that hh the ease, he doubted the e er, He only iraa g i Pr e Q P riet Y of sending out such an offi ua that Mr. Wilson was to take a s i t :nation in the gall er y, and • Governor- Ge tonal. As a financial councillor report to the e great use but th e y ough t not services might be of ver dy -reduction.' Mr. 'Wilson would to expect any very Bpe 1 ' and he' might experience have a great deal to leant t considerable o • • lay if he were charged with the invidio us pposition, espe-ci task of re _ , m a ar i es . He (the noble lord) hop e d, ducir4 uld be armed with however, that Mr. NV pson - wo sufficient authority, and that he would be backed by the Governm en t at home. He could n of think that taxes like the succession duties might not be tuposed, because the natives had been more used to under the i r own princes than under such im posts our rule. They h been told that it was impossible to in governor of Madras had the land reN , enues ;` but the la te all modesb sic_ needed i n doing that by 'the best" o f reducin g the tax. -He thought therefore that they mig ht y look t o th e ly than had lately been our future o f India' More' sanguinely y 'habit ; bait he hoped that i n time to come but eat • o ur eastern possessions t glory gr w, aalth.• (Hear.) "he Earl of ELLENBOROVGH did not express any u opin ion as to whether the reduction of the ditur e raigl if be immediately effected. He did t hin k, c la i t in ) ever, t 'hat Op native troops in India might o nce be i nished to tho number of the Europeans. The hill ten passed through committee. RESE. EYE VOLUNTEER FORCE OF SEAMEN BILL. The I h Iles of SOMERSET, in moving the committee 021 this said, that after the full discussions which had taken place on importance of a naval reserve force, he was sure that an* provision which could possibly add to the naval reser yes it of the country would meet with their lordships' ap proba fish . The present bill emanated from the report of a comm ifisk m, but only dealt with one of their several recom . menda t lot s r as it was thought that it would be inconvenient to mix tt 3 ther different subjects in one bill. The bill was con fi ned t o the one point of a naval reserve force, and inrits form 80m• rhat resembled a measure previously brought in relating to a naval coast reserve ; but in its intention it was very different. The previous measure dealt with those fishermen and others on the coast who were naturally un willing to be taken away from the country, and, therefore, though they might be made available for manning gun boats and other small craft, were not available when a fleet required to be manned. Consequently, it was thought desir able by the commission that another force should be created, and it was believed that by offering to seamen a small sum by way of retaining fee, and a pension after some years ser vice, they would be willing to enrol themselves, go through a drill; and be ready on a sudden emergency to man the fleet. So far as experience went there were some grounds for believing that this measure would be effectual for its purpose, because the Naval Coast Volunteers had been en rolled to the number, hewas told, of 6,000 or 7,000, of whom 5,000 were well tr a ined and as efficient as any other men in the navy. Still, the necessity for a greater number led to the introduction of the present bill, which proposed to give 15 a year and the pay of seamen during 28 days drill to such as enrolled themselves. These sailors might go to any part of the world they pleased, so long as it was known where they were to be found. There would be no objection to their going to distant places, for if war broke out sailors would be wanted not only here but in other parts of the world. The plan adopted in the bill was an experiment, and, as such, powers were only taken in the bill to make regulations. The excellence of the plan would of course depend on these regulations, which would be made by the Admiralty, communicating with the Board of Trade, shipping masters, and persons best able to suggest what re gulations would be most likely to bring in the seamen in the manner wanted. What was desired in the first instance was that a beginning should be cautiously made. This was no party question, for all persons were equally anxious that some measure of this sort should succeed. It had been ex amined with great care by the commissioners, by whom it was almost unanimously agreed to. Mr. Lindsay had drawn up another and a valuable report, and to many of the sug gestions due attention would be paid by the Admiralty. He would add that the present measure by itself was not all that was required for producing a good reserve. Another important measure was the training of boys in training schooli, so that in a few years they would become good sailors. That measure he thought would be wise, but it would require great consideration, and it was thought bet ter no to mix the questions up together in the present bill. When the plans which he had mentioned should be carried out, he did not doubt but that we should have rendered ira pressnt unnecessary if it were still possible, and, moreover, we shciuld have a better body of seamen than under any system of impressment. As he had said, this plan was only an experiment, but he had sanguine hopes of its success, and no efforts would be wanting on the part of the Govern ment to render it effective in providing a sufficient reserve of seamen. The 'Earl of ELLENBOROUGH approved the measure, and thought the country was indebted to the commissioners for their valuable report. He had, however, one apprehen sion as, to the working of the measure. If only men who were engaged in the coasting trade or upon short voyages were engaged there would be no difficulty ; but if men who engaged under the provisions of this measure were permit ted to sail upon long voyoges they would not be forthcom • ing when wanted. He wished to know whether the act was to be limited to sailors engaged upon the home coasts or whether it would apply to all sailors. The Duke of SOMERSET said the bill did not provide either way upon that point, which would have to be dealt with by the regulations. His own impression was that it would be unwise to limit the distance to which sailors should be allowed to go. The 'Earl of ELLENBOROUGH suggested that at least each sctilor who went upon a long voyage should only do so upon condition of providing a substitute to appear for him in case of need. The hill then passed through committee. The following bills were then passed through com mittee :—Government of India Act Amendment, In closure Act Amendment, Stock in Trade Exemp tion, Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Continuance, Corrupt Prac tices Prevention Act Continuance, Poor-law Boards (pay ment of Debts), Charitable and Provident Societies, Weights and Measures Act Amendment, Turnpike Acts Continu ance, and Dublin Police. MEDICAL ACTS AMENDMENT BILL. -- On the order of the day that this bill should go into com mittee, Lord DUNGANNON said the parties interested in this question had not had an opportunity of stating their case, and he moved that the bill be committed that day three months. The LORD CHANCELLOR remarked that the bill did not involve any new principle. Lord KINGSDOWN said there had been no opportu nity of investigating the subject, and one portion of the measure had actually been thrown out this session. After some farther discussion the bill passed through committee. WAKEFIELD ELECTION. _ _ _ Earl GRANVILLE stated that a conference had taken place with some members of the House of Commons respect ing the appointment of a commission of inquiry with regard to the recent Wakefield election, it being necessary that both houses should concur in the address to her Majesty for that purpose. He moved that their lordships agree to the address. After a few words from Lord REDESDALE, the motion was agreed to. MILITIA LAWS AMENDMENT BILL. This bill was read a third time. INCLOSURE BILL. This bill was read a second time. EUROPEAN TROOPS (INDIA) BILL. The Duke of ARGYLL having moved the second read ing of , this bill. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH rejoiced that her Ma jesty's Government had come to the conclusion that it was necessary to have a local army of royal troops in India. That army should, in his opinion, be of sufficient amount to maintain self respect and to make itself respected by others. As regarded the recent mutiny of British troops in India he could not help regretting that the Indian Govern ment did not at once explain to the men the real state of the case, believinc , that if they had done so, what was so lamentable would not have occurred. It was necessary not merely to act with justice towards the troops, but to make them understand that you did so. The bill was then read a second time and passed through committee. PEERAGES IN ABEYANCE. Lord REDESDALE called the attention of the house to the subject of peerages in abeyance. The noble lord said he regretted that the change of Government had prevented any step from being taken in the matter; but he was still of opinion that the question was one requiring considera tion, and that something should be done to prevent an un necessary occupation of the time which should be devoted to judicial business. Their lordships adjourned at ten minutes to 8. HOUSE OF COMMONS—(YESTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at 2 o'clock. NEW MEMBER. Mr. BENTINCX took the oaths and his seat for the borough of Taunton. PETITIONS. Petitions were presented in favour of reading the Word of God in schools in India ; for the repeal of the duty on paper, for legalising marriage with a deceased wife's sister, for the postponement of the improvement of the Serpen tine, &c. CATHEDRAL AND COLLEGIATE CHURCHES. Mr. W. EWART moved for a return from the Ecclesi astical Commissioners for England of every payment made to them since the Ist of August, 1857, on account of any suspended stall or stalls in the cathedral or collegiate churches of England and Wales (in continuation of Parlia mentary paper, No. 338, of session 1857).—Ordered. CHAPTERS. On the motion of Mr. N. EWART a return relative to grants, and reductions allowed since 1857, to the several chapters of England and Wales was ordered. ANNUITY TAX (EDINBURGH). Mr. HADFIELD, in the absence of Mr. Black, moved the following, which was ordered :—Address for returns of the number of summonses raised against persons for pay ment of annuity-tax in Edinburgh from the 10th day of August, 1857, to the 10th day of August, 1859 ; of the number of persons arrested during the same period ; of the number of persons imprisoned during the same period ; of the amounts for which each person was imprisoned during the same period; of the number of arrestments of bank ac counts, rents, or other monies during the same period ; of the number of cases of poinding and sales during the same period ; of the highest and lowest amount for which indivi duals have been prosecuted during the same period; of the highest and lowest rents upon which assessments have been levied ; and, of the names of public buildings assessed and amounts paid by each. ARMY STAFF. Captain VERNON gave notice that next session he would draw the attention of the house to the staff of the army, with a view to its reduction. THE DEPUTATION OF MASTER BUILDERS. Mr. E. JAMES asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he had any objection to state to the house the object and the result of a conference held with him by a deputation of the Central Association of Master Builders on Tuesday last, upon the subject of the builders' strike and the nine hours' movement. Sir G. C. LEWIS said that a deputation of the master builders had an interview with him at the Home-office a few days ago, for the object, as they stated, of making an explanation of the causes of the difference between them and the workmen. They showed reasons for the course they had adopted, and expressed an opinion that the House of Commons, Or her Majesty's Government, should take some part in arbitrating between them and the workmen with a view to effect some amicable arrangement. He re plied that the House of Commons was unfitted, to interfere in the way proposed, and that the executive Government could not exercise any such function; and, therefore, he held out no hope to the deputation of their wish being car • tied out. STEWARDSHIP OF THE CHILTERN HUNDREDS In reply to Mr. GRIFFITH, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he did not consider that he should refuse the Chiltern Hun dred, merely because a petition was pending against the re turn of a member, because the House of Commons would view with jealousy the interference of the executive with one of their body. CLEANSING THE SERPENTINE. In reply to Sir J. PAXTON, his i nten ti on elean to s p m ro o ce th ed e with the plan of Mr. Hawkesley Mr. FITZROY said it was s for is entirely gentleman then would be su ffi cient. The right ho n. . Ser pentine, and the estimate of £17,000 voted by the house occasions. re peated substantially the statement he had made on previous adj ent of the Mr. CONINGHAM moved the ournm Some irregular discussion ensued, and. house in order to afford Mr. Stephenson an opp ortunit y of stating his views to the house. After some remarks by different hon. members, Mr. STEPHENSON said that he considered there had been a great deal of unnecessary alarm in reference to the state of the Serpentine. Supposing the water to be impure. how were they to remedy it ? He saw the other day that lime was thrown into the lake, the effect of which was to kill the large fish who preyed on the smaller, and th ere f ore i n t er f ere d with an important agency supplied by nature for keeping the water in a whole some condition. The object proposed by Mr. Hawkesley was to create an artificial stream, and he considered it would prove effective. After a few words from Sir J. Paxton, Mr. E. James, and Mr. V. Scully, Sir M. PETO expressed his conviction that the plan would be effective in purifying th e water, which could be rendeTed safe for bathers at a n expense of £.500 or £6OO. The motion was withdrawn and the subject dropped. CHINA AND JAPAN. Lor i L RUSSELL laid on the table the correspondence relative to the special mission to China and Japan. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE FOREIGN SECRETARY AND THE BRITISH AMBAS SADOR AT NAPLES. In reply to an HON. MEMBER, nui said it would net be advisable at present to lay on Lord J. BUS the table the correspondence that h a d taken, ilace between himself and Sir James Hudson, rela- tive to the affairs of Italy since - the conference at Villa franca. BOROUGH OF DEVONPORT. On e motion of Mr. BAIRD, a writ for the borough of Devo ..rt, vacant by the resignation of the Right Hon. James " ilson, was ordered. MILITIA RIOT AT KINSALE. In reply to Mr. AurroTT, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL for IRELAND ex plained that after the riot the militia regiment was removed from Kinsale, and it was proposed to transfer them to this country. It appeared from the report on the subject that the constabulary acted according to their orders, and were not opOn to censure for the part they took during the pro ceedings. The Lords' amendments to the following bills were con sidered and agreed to, and the bills were ordered for third reading to-morrow :—lmprisonment for Small Debts, Law Ascertainment Facilities, Westminster New Bridge. CHARITABLE TRUSTS ACT CONTINUANCE BILL. On ihe motion for going into committee on this bill, Mr.;NEWDEGATE, after some general remarks, said that a petition had been presented to the house from a number of respectable Roman Catholics, praying that they might be protected by the house from the charities of their ancestors being diverted to purposes different to those for which they were originally intended, through the interference of Cardinal Wiseman and his bishops. He contended that this bill entirely set aside the law of the land with reference to Roman Catholic charities, and that the residence of Cardinal Wiseman in this coun try, in his present character as legate of the Pope, was un constitutional. The conduct of that person and his bishops was most arbitrary, and they desired to divert from legal jurisdiction a large number of her Majesty's subjects. He would instance a case in which, after a Roman Catholic, priest had succeeded in getting a chapel erected, some pseudo bishop like Dr. Brown might seize it, and two years must elapse before the priest could get any redress. He would always resist any attempt like the present to deprive Roman Catholics of that supervision to which other chari ties were subjected, and concluded by moving that the bill be committed that day three months. Mr.; SPOONER seconded the amendment. Mr.IHENNESSY supported the bill. Mr. BOWYER complained of the unwarranted intro duction of Cardinal Wiseman's name into the discussion, and the abuse which had been heaped on him by the hon. member (Mr. Newdegate). He had promised to bring in a bill on the subject, but he was prevented from doing so before by circumstances which he could not control. However he was now prepared with a bill, which he hoped would be read a first time this evening, and which he trusted would prove satisfactory to hon. members. He de clined to follow the hon. member into his statements, which'were a series of blunders. After some observations by Mr. V. SCULLY and Mr. KINNAIRD, Sir G. C. LEWIS defended the course which he had pursued in reference to the present measure, and the with drawal of the bill he had introduced on the subject in con sequence of there not being time for the other house to give it that full consideration to which it was entitled. That bill was drawn up in consequence of a petition presented to the house by a number of Roman Catholics. The bill alluded to by the hon. and learned member for Dundalk, which he said was prepared, but which, of course, could not be considered, till next session, would, he trusted, be of a character to con ciliate all parties, and during the recess Government would direct their attention to the subject. Mr. SPOONER supported the amendment, and said that, while he assured the house there was no intention on his part of depriving the Roman Catholics of any of their charitable property, he felt bound to offer the present bill his most strenuous opposition. The Continuance Bill had been granted for two years in order to afford Roman Catho lics an opportunity of settling the matter at issue between themselves, but they had not shown any disposition to do so, and for their sakes he was desirous to bring their trusts under the beneficial operation of the act. He condemned strongly the assumption of ecclesiastical titles by the Ro man Catholic clergy, and considered the Attorney-General was neglecting his duty in not prosecuting such assump tions. (Loud laughter.) Mr. P. O'BRIEN opposed the amendment, The house divided, and the numbers were— For going into committee Against Majority.... .... —23 The house then went into committee. On. clause 1, Mr. NEWbEGATE appealed to the Home Secretary to altar the bill into an act for suspending the Superstitious Usages Act. Sir G. C. LEWIS declined to accede to the proposition. He proposed some verbal alterations, and the clause as amended was agreed to. The other clauses were also agreed to, and the house re sumed. On the motion of Sir G. C. LEWIS, the bill was then read a third time and passed. DIVORCE COURT BILL. The house went into committee on this bill. Clause 1 was agreed to. On clause 2, Mr. E. JAMES moved the following addition :—" After ' Judge Ordinary alone, ' insert Provided always that such court does and shall hold a sitting for the disposal of the business'of the said court for not less than three consecutive days, at the least, once in every fortnight from the 2d of November to the 10th of August in every year, except dur ing the periods allotted for the attendance of the judges upon their circuits, or for the ordinary vacations.' " He said that under the existing act only certain judges were eligible to sit with the Judge Ordinary in the Divorce Court, and the consequence was an accumulation of 180 matrimonial causes. His object was to secure greater expedition in the proceedings of the Court. After a few words from the ATTORNEY-GENERAL, the amendment was withdrawn, and the original clause was agreed to, as well as clause 3. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that with the con sent of Government he proposed to omit clause 4. In reply to Mr. D. GRIFFITH., Mr. DEASY said that the act would not extend to Ire land, as both Protestant and Catholic in that country was opposed to its introduction. After some remarks by Mr. BOWYER, Mr. V. SCULLY, and Mr. DEASY, the clause was omitted. On clause 5, giving the judges of the court power to sit with closed doors, Mr. E. JAMES moved the omission of the clause. He said the power proposed to be conferred was not possessed by any other judges in the country. It was true that in the Court of Chancery, where there was a case involving delicate family details, it was suggested by the judge that it should be heard in camera, but he had the authority:of a learned friend, in extensive practice in the Equity Courts, for asserting that the practice was I .objectionable. Having adverted to the case of 1 the trial of Home Tooke, when Mr. Perry, the proprietor of the _Morning i Chronicle, was taken inte custody for con tempt of court n publishing from day to day the proceed ings in that memorable trial, after an insruction by the judge to the effect that the evidence should not be published until the close of the trial, and to the conduct of the press, which, at the request of Lord Camp bell, abstained from making any comments during the trial of Palmer, he contended that the effect of sitting with closed doors would be attended with most injurious effects. In the first place it would excite a prurient curiosity on the part of the public, and perhaps, as had taken place in other cases, garbled accounts of the proceedings would be published, and for which no one would be responsible. He called on the Attorney- General not to press the clause, and he was sure the house wsuld not sanction its adoption. (Hear, hear.) The ATTORNEY-GENERAL defended the clause, as being calculated to repress morbid curiosity, and to act beneficially in regard to suitors in the Divorce Court. Mr. AYRTON supported the amendment, and strongly denounced any secret tribunals in this country, which he characterised as being suited only to the chancery of Austria or the Court of the Pope of Rome. Mr. BRADY and Mr. H. BERKELEY supported the amend meat. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said the eommunication to the judge would be made by the plaintiff. He was sorry for some of the observations which had been made in the course of the debate, as, for instance, when the hon. and learned gentleman the member for the Tower Hamlets in sinuated that a difference would be made between the rich and the poor. (Hear.) Let the house decide the matter as it thought proper, but he hoped that such remarks as that would be avoided. As the clause was inserted at the sug gestion of the learned judge, he should be obliged to trouble the house to divide on the subject. It was not asked that the Court should sit literally with closed doors ; for the pro ceedings would take place in the presence of the bar, of the jury, and of the solicitors of both parties. Mr. J. LOCKE opposed the clause, and said that while the words of it gave the Court power to sit with closed doors, if public decency demanded it, the Attorney-General had supported the clause on quite another ground, viz., the annoyance which publicity would cause to individuals. He hoped the house would not pass such a law ; for if they did they could not stop there, but must extend it to all the other" courts, to some of which, in fact where the pleadings would show what the case was to be, it was far more applicable than it was to this court. At the suggestion of Sir M. PETO the ATTORNEY •G}Erna • RAL eventually withdrew the clause; Clause 6 was agreed to. On clause 7, Mr. E. JAMES moved the omission of the clause which proposed to give the Attorney-General the power of insti tuting a preliminary inquiry in undefended causes, so as, to prevent collusion. It would create a great deal of de lay and additional expense, and it did not give the Attor ney-General the power to ask the petitioner, or any one else, a single question to be answered upon oath. (Hear, hear.) The clause was altogether useless. The judges of the court had the power now to call the petitioner and co-respondent before them, and examine them as to whether there was colluston.,_ . but the Attorney-General had no power of the kind, and this clause did not give him any. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said many cases where the petition was based on a charge of adultery were unde fended, and the court only anew what it was told by the petitioner. Great danger therefore existed that divorces would be obtained on fictitious evidence, and also by means of collusion. Many persons thought, therefore, that some officer should be appointed to assist the judge in undefended cases where there was no one to contradict and defend the case. Such cases it was proposed to refer to the Attorney - General. In many of these cases it would be easy for the Attorney-General to • see whether it was a sincere and true case or not. He thought that in this class of cases the help less position of the judge, of which every one was conscious who had heard one of those undefended cases, would be greatly relieved by such assistance as it was now proposed to give him. This clause was considered particularly valu able by the House of Lords, and especially by those mem bers of it who had been engaged judicially in inquiries of this class, and who were consequently well aware how fre quently these cases were got up by means of collusion. He thought this arrangement would frequently prevent the judge from being imposed upon, and he hoped the commit tee would adopt it. Mr. MELLOR said the clause provided for the reference of these matter to the Attorney-General, but it made no provision for any regular course of procedure before him, and he was not aware the Attorney-General at present had the power to examine witnesses upon oath, or to obtain any other information than that which they obtained from the witnesses willingly. Mr. AYRTON explained that what he had intended to say at an earlier period of the debate was merely that per sons of distinction were more opposed to publicity than persons in humbler spheres. To that opinion he still a dhered. (Hear, hear.) The double investigation now proposed would be costly, and in many other respects ob jectionable. The Attorney-General would be obliged to delegate the powers now proposed to be conferred upon him to some one else, as it was impossible he could make these inquiries himself. The Court had the power to exa mine parties, with the view of preventing collusion, and when the Court had tried to do this and failed, it would be time enough to ask the house for further powers. The clause was negatived without a division. Mr. E. JAMES moved to insert after clause 6, the fol lowing clause :—" The Court, after a final decree of nullity of marriage, or dissolution of marriage, may inquire into the exiftence of ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlements made !rit the parties whose marriage is the subject of the decree • and may make such orders, with reference to the 1 applic 'Hon of the Whole or a portion of the piOperty settled;, either or the benefit of the children of the marriage, or of their spective parents, as to the Court shall seem fit." Th ATTORNEY-GENERAL considered there would be di culties in vesting such powers in the Court, but he thong, t, if an arrangement as proposed could be made, the result ust work beneficially. Aft some conversation, the clause was agreed to. Mr. CRATJFURD moved the following clause, which was agreed to :—" The right of appeal to the House of Lords, given y the fifty - sixth section of the recited act, shall ex tend t all sentences and final judgments on petitions under the Legitimacy Declaration Act, 1858." The bill was ordered to be reported as amended. The house haying resumed, the report was made, and the bill read a third time and essed. SALE OT GAS BILL. The house went into committee for consideration of the Sale o Gas Bill as amended. Some further amendments were made; and the bill was reported, read a third time and passed. THE BOROUGH OF WAKEFIELD. In t e sitting of the House of Commons, on Wednesday, a moti n was made and agreed to that an humble address be pr ented to her Majesty, praying that she would be gram sly pleased to direct that a Royal commission do issue to inquire into the alleged corrupt practices in the borough of Wakefield at the late general election, but the address could not be presented without the concurrence of the Loxds, and a conference with their lordships was ac cordingly requested. Their lordships having signified their assent; the following:menabers were accordingly nominated to represent the Commons as members of the conference, namely, Mr. Forster, Sir George Grey, the Solicitor-Gene ral, Mr. Griffith, and Mr. Bailie Cochrane. These hon. membOrs accordingly proceeded to the Conference Chamber, and there met the appointed peers. On the return of the members of the Conference to the Commons, Mr. , FORSTER. appeared at the bar of the house, and reported that their lordships had assented to the Commons' request that they unite in the presentation of an address to the Crown for the .issue of a commission. ATTORNEYS AND SOLICITORS BILL. On the motion that the bill as amended be considered, Mr. ,KNIGHT rose, and was calling attention to the provisions of the bill, of which attorneys and solicitors had to complain. and which were the concoction and production of the Law Sobiety, sitting in Chancery- lane, when an hon. member moved that the house be counted. "The count" accordingly took place, and there being only 28 members present, the house adjourned at half-past seven o"Clobk. THE FORTIFICATIONS OF ANTIVE.RP. " Has .Belgium a right to fortify Antwerp ?" Such is the somewhat curious thesis which is now in discussion between the press of Paris and the press of Brussels. The Patrie and the Constitu tionnq incline to the opinion that fortifying the harbour of the great Belgian seaport is very like an insult to France. This is so extravagant a pre tension that. we should have thought it an unmean-; ing impertinence of certain individual writers, if the Belgian Government had not appeared to take a different view of it, and published in the Inde .vendance Beige a semi-official reply. At first sight it appears impossible to understand that France can see cause of umbrage in a neutral Power performing its duty by keeping itself in a position to make its neutrality respected. France might be supposed to see a pledge of peace in every new stone put upon the rampart of Antwerp, and every new protection added to its harbour. So far as the records of his tory extend, the soil of Belgium has been the cock pit of Europe. Every town recalls to mind some one or more great sieges. Every name suggests the turning point of some great war. Every district has given place and title to some mighty battle. Dig where you will, you may turn up the bones of Austrians, and Spaniards, and Dutch, and French, and English; look where you may over those rich flats, you will see towns that remind you of old bloody histories, such as Namur, and Mons, and Ghent, and Bruges, and Liege. Walk or ride hither and thither over the well-tilled flats, and you will find yourself passing corn districts and villages bearing such names as Landau, Ondenard, Fontenoy, Jemmapes, Malplaquet, Rarailies, ani Waterloo. The topography of Belgium is but a jumble of the histories of European slaughter. Fertile to its own sons, and affluent in rich Flemish towns, it is a place of • Ilood to the stranger. It has been walled up by general consent ever since 1831. No more fighting is to be allowed on those premises. The Belgian Government is just now repairing the wall. It might have been expected that France would look on approvingly. A comfortable house holder would certainly say "Well done" to his neighbour if he saw him repairing his dilapidated shutters and putting a new chain to his door. France does not intend to break into the house; France has no design upon the silver forks ; France does not intend to steal into the plate closet in the dark, or force away into if'on a sudden. Why, then, do those writers whose names are supposed to carry an authority which certainly neither the wit nor the. wisdom of their writings would alone de serve come forth to tell us that France is not af frighted, but afflicted, at the repair of the Antwerp fortifications ? It is a question difficult to answer. Perhaps, after much meditation, we may, how ever, guess at the cause of solicitude to our allies. It is a sensitive regard for England and her safety which dictates this jealousy of the Belgian defences. True friendship is always suspicious. France sus pects Belgium of a secret intention of conquering England. All the sayings of the old Napoleon are being now coined into proverbs. The Great Em peror declared that Antwerp was by its situation " a loaded pistol pointed at the heart of England." Las Casas' Reports of the Conversations at St. Flelenare now' the Sibylline book in which France reads her immediate destiny. The French are re membering that Napoleon chose Antwerp ai the central point where the chief arsenal for the sub jugation of England should be established. The Independ-4;tee.Belge refers its French opponents to the archives of the French War-office for details of the plans by which Napoleon made Antwerp the greatest naval station on the Continent, and by which he proposed to extend its harbour and forti fications to most gigantic dimensions. We read in Las Cases that Napoleon even attributed his over throw to the pertinacity with which he adhered to his design of keeping this ." pistol charged against England," for it was his disinclina tion to part with Antwerp which prevented, his concluding a peace at Chatillen, He . in tended, he said, to have made it by sea a point whence a mortal stroke could be dealt against his great. enemy, and by land a fortress . strong enough to receive an army in case of defeat, and to sustain a year of open trenches. The Belgians in sist that they are not about to do nearly as much as this ; but France is suspicious and afflicted. France is affectionately unwilling that Belgium should - retain in her hands this " pistol charged against the heart of England," and that she should keep so firm a grasp of it that no one can take it from her. She might make a bad use Of it. She might .let it off, .and England might be severely hurt. To England this fortified harbour must be a perpetual menace ; to France the land fortifica tions are a perpetual insult—to put up bars and bolts and to lock street doors is an imputation upon the honesty of the neighbourhood. Surely it ought to be sufficient for Belgium to know that France has no intention of making any attack upon her ? It is true that the old Napoleon, in the same con versation in which he told Las Casas that Antwerp was to have a province, a little kingdom, added " France without tl.e frontier of the Rhine and Antwerp was nothing ;" but we are not to under stand that France is going to work out her Sibyl line book all at once, and Belgium ought to be con tented with the word of a French Emperor, and not to take these impertinent precautions against France, or to make these offensive demonstrations against England, the ally of France. It leads to bad results to doubt what Napoleon 111. says. Francis Joseph doubted the peaceful intentions of the Em peror, and lie was 'punished for his incredulity by . a war---a war which we are now come to under stand had no other purpose than to punish Austrian incredulity - . " Raze your fortifications, and I will spare you; build up defences, and I will test them." So. the Belgians, if they are well advised, will draw' the . charge and blow out the priming from that pistol so'dangerous to England. Of course we are greatly obliged to our careful and watchful friends. We should hardlyhave dis coVered the danger if they had not pointed it out so forcibly. Nor, • indeed, now that' we are made to see it can we tell how to avoid it. The Belgians Will, if we join in this remon strance, toll us, probably, that France, whom no one threatens; and who can never require to put on armour, tuiles for aggressive purposes, has fortified 'Paris , that Cherbourg, which was the twin brother' to Antwerp in the love of Napoleon the Great, has been only lately Completed; that we English, who have never known a foreign invasion since the time of Williath the Norman, are fortifying our chief outputs ; and that the advantages which Napoleon -saw in fortified Antwerp are equally valuable to the' natives of the country. iu which it is now the only great fortre,i , ;. We confess we should have some difficulty in meeting these arguments. They would possibly also urge that the word of an Em ipneorrotral of m dents teaches how immediately .France falls into consistent e t h ri e e s w o o f r word r o e f c e a_ aFZiainced its, at her periodical spasm of re p ublicanism the first thing she does is to move an arm y into the Low Countries and besiege Antwerp. They will tell us, also that these,defences are not against France:or against England, but sminst all the world ;. that Beloiurn builds her fortifications as a herald buckles on his-sword,. not dreading an attack: from a civi lised enemy, who would of course respect his sacred character of a guaranteed non-combatant, but as a defence against any chance brawler or robber ; and the Indepenclance Beige does urge that if a Belgian fortification is en insult, a Belgian army must be a mortal offence. We must confess that, with all kindly appreciation of the interest taken in us by • our Parisian friends, we cannot see chat we are aggrievecL or that thev'are insulted by these Ant werp fortifications.- Of course, it is very anpleasant to have a loaded pistol pointed at you I ►y any one, but it might be in more formidable 1 lands than those of Leopold.—nnes. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. MIDLA.ND CIRCUIT.—WARWICK,, .AUG. 10. NISI PRIUS COURT. (Before Mr. Justice Erie .) ADAMS V. SMITH. Mr. Macaulay, Q.C., and Mr. Willis were for the plaintiff, and Mr. Elers for the dc:fendant. The solicitor for the former was Mr. J.. 'll. Baker, and Mr. Britton for the latter. The act:ion was brought by Miss Adams, who sued in the na• me of her father, against Mr. James Nemo Smith P.n. the recovery of £lOO. The declaration stated eaat defendant had assaulted the plaintiff, and ender tvoured to kiss her. To this the defendant pleaded 7 let guilty. Mr. Macaulay, in opening the case, said the present action was brought by a young woman only 20 years old, against the defendant, wh o was a married man, a member of the legal prof) sssion—(laughter)—in fact an attorney in Birming ham. The action was brought against him in the . name of the young woman, and was for a v( my gross and unmanly assault, rendered more. pr trticularly so by the cir cumstances and the relatic n in which the defendant stood to her at the time. The young lady was tha daughter of Mr. Adams, ai i upholsterer, in Birming ham. She was engage to be married to a Mr. Showell, a brother-inTaas -of the defendant. During the intimacy of Mr. Showell, which was discon tinued by the plaintiff's parents, he succeeded in seducing her. When her state was discovered, about this time last yeltus, she was in great distress of mind, both on ace,oant of that and also on her father's persistence in his refusal to sanction the marriage. Mr. Showell, it seemed, at that time still wished to marry her, but he was afterwards induced to change his mind. 'Whether this was under the influence of Mr. Smith or not he (Mr. Macaulay) could not say, but judging from what they would see of Mr. Smith's conduct it was not at all impro bable. On the 3d of August last year, being in this distressed condition. and being also distressed as to the intentions of Mr. Showell, she was at Aston-park with two or three friends. Mr. Smith met them, shook hands with them, and appeared to lay himself out for a conversation. He told the plaintiff that he had some information to give her concerning Mr. Showell, and thus induced her to leave her friends. He then conducted himself in a very disgraceful manner. It was suspected that he, knowing her fallen state, went for the purpose of causing her to commit some impropriety with him that might give ground for the non-fulfilment of Showell's contract, because he (Mr. Macaulay) found in the text of of a very disgraceful affidavit the de fendant had made, for the purpose of bringing this case to trial, that she was a light woman—a cha racter which there was no doubt he (the defendant) was desirous of bringing about for her. The young lady rushed away from him, came back to her friends, told them, and afterwards told her mother. Her mother gave her the bad or good advice to go and make the matter known to the defendant's wife—(laughter)—and, by way of making things more comfortable at Mr. Smith's house, she went. (Lend laughter.) Mrs. Smith was not at home, and she saw Mrs. Showell, Mrs. Smith's mother, and to her, in the presence of the defendant, she told all the circumstances of the event of the previous even ing. Mr. Smith's revenge was to go down to the shop of Mr. Adams, who very shortly kicked him out. (Laughter.) On this Mr. Smith brought an action for assault. He came to Mr. Adams's shop to state that the plaintiff had aspersed his charac ter to his mother-in-law, and he then demanded an apology and £5, or said he should bring an action for slander. Mr. Adams, however, not considering him worth fivepence—(laughter)—turned him out. Mr. Smith then brought an action for slander. After this ridiculous conduct on the part of Mr. Smith, Mr. Adams thought it his duty to bring the present action. The venue was first laid in Mid dlesex, in order to have the case heard as soon as possible. Nemo Smith made application to have the venue changed to Warwick. Mr. Adams made an affidavit that the man. Smith had been sold up, and had nothing with which to pay damages, and therefore he (Mr. Adams) wished to withdraw the action. In return Mr, Smith made an affidavit. In the first place, with regard to his circumstances, he said—" I am in receipt of an income derived from my profession, and am not without reasonable pros pects of being aisle to pay the costs in this action." He further said, " The plaintiff bears a bad charac ter, and has no means of her own wherewith to pro secute this action." This passage very considerably aggravated the offence. He hoped the jury would give such damages as would stimulate Mr. Smith's business efforts, and that his " reasonable prospects" of paying the cost would be realised. (Laughter.) ( The following witnesses were then called : Miss Mira Adams, the plaintiff, said—l am 20 years of age. The lefendant, Mr. Smith, is an attorney, practising at Birmingham. On the 3d of August, last, by permission of my father, I went to Aston Park with my sister and a friend. I got ' there between six and seven o'clock. Saw the de fendant between eight and nine. The defendant is the brother-in-law of Mr. Showell, who was en gaged to me. I shook hands with him, and asked him how his wife was. He said, " Oh, grumbling, as most women do." (Laughter.) He said he had somthing to communicate to me, and asked me to walk with him. I did so, and he pro ceeded to converse about Mr. Showell. In a short time I said, " I must return, or my sister will miss me." He said, " Mira, I must have a kiss before you go," and then he seized hold of me. I said, " You ought to be ashamed of yourself; you are a married man." He said, " Who sees ? What the eve dses not see, the heart does not grieve for." He held me tight around the waist. I tried to re sist, and he behaved indecently to me. He did not succeed in kissing me. I got away, and went to my sister. I went back with my sister and Miss Charlton. I complained of Smith's conduct to them, and also to my mother when I got home at 10 o'clock. By my parents' desire, I went to see Mrs. Smith, the defendant's wife, at Mrs. Showell's. I did not see Mrs. Smith, but I told Mrs. Showell what had happened on the previous evening. Mrs. Showell requested me to stay till she sent for Mr. Smith, " for," said she, "he is such a liar, nobody will believe MM." (Laughter.) He came, and sit ting on the chair-back for a short time, said it was a lie. I said if it was, it was on his part. Mrs. Showell said she wished his neck had been broken rather than she had seen him again. I said I thought it was a planned job between him and Mr. Showell. He said it was a lie, and added, "Go along, you wretch," to me. Mr. Smith afterwards came t o my father's shop. He said if I did " not write a letter and acknowledge my fault, and gave him £5 by to-morrow, ho would"---Without allowing him to finish the sentence, my father ordered him off the premises. He did not go, and then my father got hold of his shoulders and pushed him down the show-room, saying, " Go along, you vagabond ; you tried to ruin my daughter." He resisted, and father then turned him out. Cross-examined—l and my friends were walking about the park from six till nine. I do not re member that we spoke to any one but Mr. Smith. lam not a frequenter of the park. It is two years since 1 was at the Soho Pool. Was 30 yards from the dancing platform when I met Smith. Did not walk with a Mr. Farker, and never had done. In re-examination the plaintiff was overcome by by emotion, and the judge requested an usher to suppost her as she left the witness-box. Phcebe Adams, the plaintiff's sister, was then called, and corroborated that portion of her sister's evidence which referred to events occurring in her presence. In cross-examinat ion she said thei r ob pet in going to the park was to ascertain if Mr. Showell was inconstant. (Laughter.) Miss Charlton corroborated. Mr. Benj arnin Thomas Adams, the father of the plaintiff, was the : called, and stated th e p ar t h e took in turning Mr . Smith out of his shop. This being the plaintiff's case, Mr. Elers addressed the jury for the defence. He said his client would be called to , contradict the whole of the plaintiff's statement, and it would therefore depend on the.amount of credence to be placed on his testimony whether their verdict was given for the plaintiff or defendant. The amount of damages, £lOO was ridiculous. It was not pretended that the defendant committed an aggravated assault, but that he had simply attempted to kiss the pl a in ti ff. The following witnesses were then called : James Nimo Smith, the defendant, said—On the day in question I was passing through Aston Park abo u t e i g ht o ' c l oc k , on my way to a friend's house. When I was near the dancing platform I saw the plaintiff and her two friends. Shook hands with the plaintiff'. The two friends moved off, and the plaintiff began to cry, saving, " Have you seen Ted ?" meaning Mr. Showell. I said " No ;" and she replied, "If he does not do his duty, my father will make him." In the course of the conversatiois we walked about 40 yards. She conversed on the same subject. We then returned, and she shook hands with me, and joined her friends. The defendant then denied all that the plaintiff said had taken place during the interview, and also gave quite a different version of his interview with Mr. Adams. Edwin Showell was then called. lie stated that he was with the defendant when he went to Mr. Adams. This witness, like the defendant, denied the substantial portion of the evidence given by Mr. Adams. In cross-examination this witness admitted that he wrote a letter to the plaintiff stating that hav ing hard that ?Ir. Smith had aspersed her charac ter, he would come forward to defend her; that he had refused to give evidence for her on the trial un less his expenses were paid first; and that he had tendered his evidence for the plaintiff without pre viously- demanding his expenses. The' learned Judge, in summing up, remarked that if the plaintiff's case were true, the defendant had considerably aggravated the offence by the in jurious affidavit which he had made. The father, with a commendable delicacy, had desired to with draw the action in order that the painful circum stances might not be disclosed to the public, but he had been forced by the defendant to proceed, and not only so, but an affidavit containing grave charges against the character of his daughter was given in by the defendant. He put it to the jury to decide whether the plaintiff's or the defendant's version of the affair was the true one, and observed that one would scarcely believe it credible—if, as the defendant alleged, she was, while talking with him, distressed only at the conduct of Showell— that the plaintiff, while walking from the defendant to her companions, a distance of only 15 yards, could have fabricated so wicked a story ; and it seemed the more difficult when there was no motive assigned for her doing so. The jury, after a short consultation, gave a ver dict for the plaintiff, with £5O damages. OXFORD CIRCUIT.—GLOUCESTER, AUG. 10. NISI PRIUS COURT. (Before Mr. Justice Willes and a common jury). CONSTANT V. WILSHER-NOVEL ACTION. Mr. Whateley, Q.C., and Mr. Gray for plaintiff ; Mr. Huddleston, Q.C., and Mr. Phipson for the defendant. This was an action for debt, but the circumstances are peculiar. They will be best gathered from the following evidence : Henrietta Ann Constant said—l am the plaintiff, and live at Loxton, near Coleford. Have known the defendant six or seven years, and in May, 1858, he applied to me for a loan of money. The letter produced related to this subject. (It was signed by the defendant, who styled himself " Your affectionate and constant lover, George." He said he had a good trade in jewellery, with good profits, in Oxford street, London). I ordered my brother to send him £2OO. I produce a letter acknowledging the receipt, returning thanks for the loan, and promising to make good use of the money. (In the letter defen dant said, "He hoped it would not be long before they were settled, for his home wanted a mistress, and he should not long sing the song, I want my Missis.' ") I went to London in May last with my sister, and asked him for the £2OO. He said it was a paltry sum, on which my sister told him it would be the more easily paid. He said he would pay it. Cross-examined—We were e ngage d t o b e married when I lent defendant the money, but that has nothing to do with the matter, That was in Aug., 1857. I never suggested that defendant should go into the public business, or anything of the sort. It was never contemplated that I should give him money to start a public-house. The letter produced is in my handwriting. The letter contained the following passage :—" When I said you should have £l,OOO, 1 thought less than that would have been a poor beginning in the public line. I was willing for you to begin in a respectable way, and I trust we shall be as fortunate in our speculations as in partnership." The letter was dated Jan. 15, 1859. Witness continued—The letter produced (dated 9th of Dec., 1858) is in my handwriting. (It stated that her money was on mortgage, and that was the reason why she had told him he must wait for six months. That was the principal thing that deferred her marriage.) Other letters were read from plaintiff to defendant, containing many tender love passages and expres sions of affection, and hopes that they would live happily in wedlock. In one she said her brother would advance £300., and the rest would be made in the marriage settlement. A letter noticing the sending of the £2OO, said, " I hope it may be the means blessed to us in our undertakin g in business, which will be my sincere pleasure." The lady was a very unwilling witness, and said all this Shad nothing to do with the case. She might have had letters from George, but not about the money. Mr. Huddleston—You had better answer, or I shall have to go into particulars. Witness (eagerly)—Have you got my letters ? Mr. Huddleston—l will not answer that. Mr. T. Constant proved the transmission of the money, and identified the handwriting. Mr. Huddleston, in a humorous speech, said the lady was more " constant" in business than in love affairs, and refused to be coaxed by him. He sub mitted that the money was advanced for the joint benefit of the parties in the contemplation of mar riage. The plaintiff had broken off the contract, which defendant was still willing to fulfil. He contended that the spirit of the letters supported this theory. The defendant, • Mr. Geo. Wilsher, deposed— There was an engagement to marry between me and Miss Constant as early as August, 1857, when I was foreman to a saddler. In 1857 I had an in terview with her at Loxton, and she said if I would start in the public line she would give me £l,OOO. I declined that, and at Christmas proposed to go into partnership with my brother. She agreed to that, and promised to advance £5OO. The match was broken off in Septemb er 1858, and in May last plaintiff called on me in ' Oxford -street, and asked me to repay the £2OO I had received. I said, " I cannot ; I have not the money. Are you not satisfied with getting me out of that situation. and the misery you have caused me by breaking off our engagement ? Do you wish to crush me ?' I said I would repay the money, if ever it should be in my power. I told her I considered it a gift, ad vanced by her for our mutual benefit, or I would not have received it. The business did not turn out fortunately. Cross-examined—Never asked her to lead me money. The jury, without deliberation, found a verdic for plaintiff for £2OO, the amount claimed, with ful costs. CROWN COURT. (Before Mr. Justice Byles.) Elizabeth Holtham, a girl of 14, was charged with maliciously and wilfully setting fire to the dwelling-house of Mr. S. Holder, her master, at Painswick, on the 17th June, the said Samuel Hol der and others being in the house at the time. Mr. Powell proecuted ; Mr. H. James defended the prisoner. The jury found the prisoner Guilty, and sentence of death was recorded against her. She exhibited the utmost unconcern throughout. HOME CIRCUIT.—CROYDON, AUG. 10. (Before Mr. Justice Blackburn.) MANSLEY V. FIELD. This was an action brought by the plaintiff to recover damages for the loss of the services of his daughter, by reason of her seduction by the defen dant. Mr. Lush, Q.C., and Mr. Doyle were for the plaintiff; and Mr. Hawkins, Q.C., Mr. Robi nson , and Mr. Francis were f or the defendant. The plaintiff in this action was a wine and spirit gauger, and the defendant is a tallow•chandler, and they both reside in Lambeth. The plaintiff's daughter, it appeared, was 34 years of age, and the defendant is 50, and the two families were on in timate terms, and were in the habit of visiting each other for several years, and during the lifetime of the defendant's wife he used frequently to joke with the young lady, and say that if his wife were to die he would marry her. The wife of the defen dant, it appeared, did die in 1856, and the inti macy continued, and about three months after that event had occurred the plaintiff's daaghter went to the defendant's house to visit his daugh ters, and he asked her in, and took her into a room where no one else was present, and he succeeded, under a promise of marriage. in seducing her, and the result was the birth of a child in July, 1857. It appeared in the course of the case that the plaintiff did not live on very- good terms with his family, and that his daughter and her mother had left his roof and occupied a small house together, and the young lady obtained a livelihood by making of millinery. The defendant had paid the expenses of her confinement, and had allowed her five shillings per week for the support of the child down to the present time, and it also appeared that another action for breach of promise of marriage had been brought against him. Mr. Hawkins, at the close of the case for the plaintiff, submitted that no loss of service had been made out sufficient to support the present action. Mr. Justice Blackburn said he was inclined to agree with the learned counsel, and he should re serve the point, but should not withdraw the case from the jury. The learned counsel then addressed the jury for the defendant, and he urged that the plaintiff had made out no case to ask for damages, and that under the domestic circumstances that had been proved to exist in his family, it was clear that he had not sustained any damage, and that the proper time for disposing of the question wa- , when th© action for breach of promise of marriage came on to be tried, when the young woman herself would be entitled to receive any damages that might be recovered. Mr. Justice Blackburn having summed up, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff-- damages 40s. COUNTRY MARKET $. MANCHESTER-AuG. 11. The market was moderately attended this morning. Both English and foreign wheat in fair request, at the prices of this day se'nnight. Flour met a very slow sale, at late rates. Oats were ld per 45 lbs and oatmeal 6d to is per load cheaper. For Indian corn the demand was good, at a reduction of is per qr. NEWARK—AuG. 10. There was about an average show of wheat to-day, Lut the attendance was limited. A tolerable amount of busi nes:: was transected, and in some instances Is per qr more money was realised. Several samples of new oats realised 27s per 24 stone. Beans were scarce, with a moderate de mand. White wheat, new, 515 to —s Red do. Old white 4Bs to 54s Red do. 463 to 50s Batley, malting— 38s to 40s Barley, grinding 2Ss to ?,0g Oats, old, Ms to FO5 New do 275 to ' - ; Beans.. 465 to 50 4 Beans, new —5 to —$ BOSTON—Auo. 10. There was a small supply of wheat to-day, which sold slowly, at no advance on late rates. Little or no bar ley on offer. The trade in oats was slow, at about barely recent currencies. Beans in small supply, and the prices fully as before. Peas dull. Wheat 3Ss to 44s 1 Oats.. 2os to 26s White do 44s to 46s 1 Beans 46s to 49s Barley .. ..—s to —s 1 Ditto, old „ ......—s to —g Averages for the week : Wheat 1,286 qrs., at 43s 8d 8ar1ey......... ~ —B Od Peas Beans Oats B3 „ 255 2d Rye ---• ~ -5 Od BIRMINGHAM—Ara. 11. -•--• An average supply of wheat, and the t ra de rather in active, at about the currency of last week. Barley in im proved demand, at late rates. Fine oats rather dearer, and secondary scrts cheaper. Beans taken in limited quan tities at former prices. In peas there was little doing. LOUTH—Aud. 10. A very small amount of business was done to-day, and prices were at no advance on last week, viz., wheat, Tod and mixed, 41s to 44s per qr. In other sorts nothing of 6.ny consequence doing. EDINBURGH GRAIN—Auo. 10. Sales were heavy to-day, and supplies good. Wheat on the top is Od up..., average is Od down._ Barley on the top 2s Od down .average 2s 2d doWn. Oats on the top is 6d up._ average Os 2d down. Beans on the top Os 6d down. average Os 5d down. Wheat .41s to 51s Oats.... 244 to 30s White do .—s to —s Beans .. 45s to 481 Barley .27s to 38s Peas to Averages per Imperial quarter. Wheat Barley. 1 10 B 9 10-12ths Oats . 1 6 9 2-12ths Beans Total Supply and Sales. Wheat .1146 qrs • - , Sold 873 qrs 4° ' Barley. Oats 917 qrs Sold 646 qrs Beans lB3 qrs Sold 112 qrs -1 c't GLASGOW-Au°. 10. The wheat trade was extremely dull, and sales effected with difficulty at is decline. Nothing done in spring' corn and the market generally inanimate. CORK—Auc 9. The following were the quotations this morning . :—Red wheat, 21s Od to 24s 6J; white, 24 s 6d t o — s Od; barley 300 Od to 32s Od; oats, lls Od to 12s 6d. DERBY SMITHFIELD—Auo. 9. The supply of fat beasts to-day wan only an average one ; best quality in fair request, and for inferior a heavy sale. Sheep and lambs were in very good supply, at late rates. Fat calves rath er scarce , but in demand. Fat pigs were numerous. Beef Mutton ... Lamb .. 7f d to 8d Rough fat, 4s 9d per stone Hides, 31d to sid ; calf skins, 6d to bid. LOCAL SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL—AUG. There was hardly any business doing in this market to-day, and prices were unchanged. Blackburns, 11i 12- -North British, 68—Great Western of Canada, 141 1— Sheffields, 35 6—Caledonians, 81 2—L a n cas hi re an d York shire, 95i—London and North-Westerns, 931 4-1)1,11ch Rhenish, at dis.—East Lancashire, 941 95—Berwicks, 91 2—Midlands, 104} t—Chester and Holyheads, 49 50—' Birkenheads, 751 76—Leeds North ern , 44 45-Eastern Counties, 11 9-16 I—Grand Trunk of Canada, 8 9-16— Great Western, 591—Doven, 22 5-16 j. MANCHESTER—AUG. 11. The prices were steady this morning, and continued so all day, but very little business. Leeds, 951—Shefilelds, 351 • Dovers t 22} 5-16—Trunks, Bl—Newpo r t 6 p er C ent . pre f., 11;—Birkenhead stock, 76. BIRMINGHAM—AUG. 11. . There was a fair business doing, and prices closed at the following rates. South Staffordahires, 10f to 10g-- Great Western Birmingham Guaranteed stock, 75 751-- Midlands, 104 s—Shrewsbury and Hereford, 91—Birming-• ham Banking Company, 27I—Birmingham Canal, NI I Birmingham New Mill, 21 f. "A LIFE FOR A LIFE." By the Author of "John Halifax Gentleman." 3 vols. " The author of this novel possesses the signal merit of being a progressive writer. John Han fax' was a decided improvement upon its predecessors ; and here, in A Life for a Life,' we have again a marked•advanes upon 'John Halifax' The book is signally the best its author has yet produced. The interest is in many parts J/I -tense, and is everywhere admirably sustained. Incident abounds, and both dialogue and style are natural and flowing- Great delicacy in the development of character, and a subtle power of self-analysis are conspicuous in A Life for a Life,' while the purity of its religious views, and the elevation; the grandeur, indeed, of its dominating sentiments, retidek its in fluences, in every sense, healthy and invigorating.'HT4 Press. THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER.—The Hobart Town Mercury draws attention to the bark of the tea-tree which abounds In the forests of Tasmania, as admirably adipted for the manufacture of paper. Nature itself manu factures paper from it of her' wn accord. During the sum mer months, when the trees shed their leaves and bark, these accumulate in the gullies and dry creeks. So soon as they are brought into contact with the water they form of themselves a thick pulp, which spreads itself over the na even surface of the water courses, and which, after it has been deserted by the water, remains spread out into a huge sheet of stiff brown paper. [ADVERTISEMENT.]--EPPs's (Homoeopathic Chemist) COCOA.—This esteemed preparation is sold by the prin cipal grocers at Is. 6d. pef lb., in 11b., ilb., and fib. packets. Each packet is labelled " James Epps, Homeo pathic chemist, London." [ADVERTIS EMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills. — Far below the eruptions, boils, sores, and other excrescenc es that disfigur e th e sur f ace of the body, lea the acrid and corrosive poison which sustains and aggravates them. This virus, which usually lurks in the large vessels springing from the great internal organs, can only be followed to its hidden recesses by a preparation like Holloway's Ointment, whoso penetrating properties are irresistible. Having reached the poison its chemical action immediately destroys or neutralises it. It acts with equal speed and safety, and its cures are radical. The pills, from their purifying effect upon the blood, are a material help on such occasions. They exert the same purifying power over the blood generally, as the ointment does locally. [ADVERTISEMENT.]--Alllo7lg the numerous extraordi nary cures without medicine effected by Du Barry's deli cious health -restoring Revalenta Arabica Food of Indies tion (dyspepsia), flatulency, constipation, nervous, bilious au d liver complaints, cough, asthma, consumption, and debility, the following are not the least remarkable : " Athol-street, Perth, May 2, 1842.—Thirteen years' cough, indigestion, and general debility have been removed by Du 13arry' 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 the 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., 3s. ; 21b., 6s. 9d. ; 51b., 125.; 121 b., 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, 60, Gracechurch-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 63, and 150, Oxford street ; 330 and 451, Strand • 49 and 60, Bishopsgate street ; 85, Totte n ham-court-road. Also at Dublin, Bewley and Draper ; at Edinburgh, Raimes and Co. at Liverpool, Nix on an d Th ew ; a t M ane h ga t er, Sh arp and Scott; at York, Raimes, Blanchard, and Co. at South ampton, Randall and Son. BIRTHS. CURTIS.—On the 11th inst., in Eeeleston-square, the wife of Charles W. Curtis, Esq., of a son. GURNEY.—On the 11th inst., at Nutfield, Surrey, the wife of H. Edmund Gurney, Esq., of a daughter. lIIGHLEy.--On the Bth inst., the wife of Samuel Highley, Esq., of Box-hill, Surrey, of a son. w HiGH Am.—On the 9th inst., at 6, Gloueester-crescent North, Hyde-park, the wife of James Whigham, Esq., of a son. MARRIAGES. BULLER—FORSTER.—On the 11th inst., George Frederick Buller, Esq., the youngest son of Sir Antony Buller, of Pound, Devonshire, to Georgina, youngest daughter of the late Ralph Forster,.Esq., of Jardinfield,in the county of Berwick. Du CANE - GUEST.—On. the 9th inst., at Canford Magna, Richard Du Cane, Esq., eldest son of Major R. Du Cane, 20th Light Dragoons, to Charlotte Maria, eldest daugh tzT of the late Sir John Guest, Bait., of Dowlais, Gla morganshire, and Canford Manor, Dorsetshire. DEATHS. BARRY.—On the 9th inst., at Fylingdales, near Whitby, Yorkshire, Thomas Barry, Esq., aged 62. BknLow.—On the sth inst., at Alverstoke, Hants, the Rev. Joseph W. Barlow, Fellow of Brazennoze College, Oxford, aged 38. ConEN.—On the 9th inst., at 6, Christopher-street, Fins bury, Mr. Hyam Cohen, aged 55. COVENTRT.—On the 10th inst., F. Coventry, Esq., aged 63, Nixox.—On the Bth inst., at Belvidere, Jersey, James L• Nixon, Esq., aged 66. PENROSE,—On the 9th inst., at Langton, near WragbY, the Rev. John Penrose, aged 80. SAVAGE. —On the Bth inst., suddenly, Mr. J. W. Savage , of the Bank of England, aged 34. STAUNTON.—Ou the 10th inst., at 17, Devonshire-street , Portland -place, Sir George Thomas Staunton, Bart., aged 79. --- LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex, Friday, August 12, 1859, THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 12, 1859.