The Sun. — London, England, 1859-02-18 00:00:00

I IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT ROUSE OF LORDS-(YESTERDAY). The LORD CIII.NCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. Lord CRANWORTII presented a petition from Berk shire, complaining of the decision of the Lords Justices with reference to the trusteeship of grammar schools, and praying their lordships to pass a law to remedy the griev ance. Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY presented a number of petitions from Stockport, Halifax, and other places, pray ing that dissenters might be allowed to administer trust funds of grammar schools. Lord BROUGHAM presented a similar petition. THE lONIAN ISLANDS. Earl GREY asked the noble earl the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the accounts which had appeared in the newspapers respecting certain changes in the constitution of the lonian Assembly, recommended by Mr. Gladstone, as Lord High Commissioner to the lonian Parliament, were authentic—if so, whether Government approved of them, and whether there would be any objec tion to lay the whole of the correspondence on the table of the house ? The Earl of CARNARVON said die account that had appeared in the newspapers of the message and resolutions sent by Mr. Gladstone to the Government were perfectly authentic and correct. The noble and learned lord also asked if the message had the sanction of the Government, In answer to which he would say, that when the difficulties had first arisen in the lonian Islands his noble friend at the head of the Government had proposed to Mr. Glad stone that he should proceed thither to inves tigate on the spot, and that gentleman at or ce acquiesced, and in a short time afterwards took his dar ture. On reaching the lonian Islands he had executed his task with the greatest ability. He had transmitted to this country the result of his investigation, and he had con sidered it advisable to make certain recommendations, that would be put into effect at once. The report of Mr. Gladstone had received the fullest consideration of the Government, and they completely concurred in all that had been done. With respect to the last part of the question, that the Go vernment would lay the papers before their lordships he re gretted that he could not give him an answer in the affirma tive. The whole of the correspondence so closely related to the questions before the lonian Assembly, that nothing could really be more prejudicial to their deliberations than to publish them at the present moment. So soon as the Assembly have pronounced their decision in refusing or accepting the propositions, there will be no un willingness ox the part of'the Government to lay the whole of the papers before Parliament. Earl GREY—Then I give notice that on Monday next I shall move an address to the Crown for the production of the papers, in order to raise the question and to give the Government an opportunity of more fully explaining their grounds for refusing to prod.uce the papers. The Earl of DERBY said it would be most impolitic t o produce the correspondence. He should, therefore, decline both at the present moment and on Monday next, to enter into the discussion of the question. After a few words from the Earl of ELLENBOROUGH and Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY, the subject dropped. LAW OF PROPERTY AND TRUSTEES RELIEF AMENDMENT BILL On the motion that this bill be read a third time, The Earl of DERBY objected to one of the clauses, which he thought would injuriously affect Crown land bonds. Lord ST. LEONARDS defended the clause. After a short discussion the clause was expunged, and the bill was read a third time and passed. CROWN EXCHANGES. The Earl of DERBY laid on the table a bill for enabling the Crown to exchange a living for a living now in the hands of a subject. At that time h e wou ld not go i nto the question whether a bill ought not to be brought in dealing with this subject generally, and enabling the Crown to make these changes without a special act of Parliament ; but, no doubt, much might be said in favour of such a plan. In the present case the exchange was manifestly in favour of the Crown, which would be a considerable gainer in point of value of the living to be recovered by it. The occasion for the change arose out of the fact that a lady had consi derable property near the Crown living, and was desirous of greatly improving the church there, and of erecting schools in connection with it. This lady was the owner of the ad vowson of the living now to be exchanged, and she desired therefore to give her advowson in exchange for the Crown living. He introduced this as a public and not as a private bill in accordance with former precedents on the subj ec t. Lord BROUGHAM thought there ought to be a general measure on the subject. The bill was read a first time. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS-(YESTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. __ NEW MEMBERS. _ _ Mr. Alderman SALOMONS took the oaths and his seat for Greenwich, and Mr. LEVER for the borough of Galway. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a second time and ordered to be committed :—Malden and Sheen Valley Drainage, North and South London Junction Railway, Victoria Sta tion and Pimlico Railway, and West London Railway. The Atlantic Telegraph Company and several other bills were read a first time, and in a number of others it was de clared that the stonding orders had been complied with. The following bills were considered and ordered for se cond reading :—South-East and West London and Dul wich Railway ; North Staffordshire Railway ; Ruabon and Denbigh Railway (Llangollen Section) ; Llyfni Vale Railway ; Thames Embankment and Railway. Colonel W. PATTEN moved that the select committee on standing orders have power to report on the cases re ferred to them in respect of private bills originating in the House of Lords, notwithstanding the petitions for the same shall not have been presented to this house, which was agreed to. PETITIONS. Several petitions were presented for the removal of unne cessary restrictions on the shipping trade, in favour of the repeal of the duty on paper, and of Dissenters being allowed to act as trustees to grammar schools and other foundations when not excluded by the will of the founders. NEW WRIT. _ _ On the motion of Sir W. H. HAYTER, a writ was ordered for the borough of Marylebone, vacant by the re tirement of Viscount Ebrington. THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE AND SUPREMACY. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE gave notice of his intention to move that the resolution agreed to in reference to the oath taken by members of Parliament should become a standing order of the house. Mr. GILPIN gave notice that on an early day he would move that the Government traffic in opium in India should be discontinued. THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION—THE INDIAN , &c. Col. SYKES asked the ARMY Secretary of State for India, whether extra batta would be given to the troops of the suc cessful Persianexpedition, having reference to the privations and inconveniences to which the force was exposed on board ship, particularly the native portion of the force : Whether the recommendations by Brigadier-General Jacob, dated Bushire, July 13, 1857, of certain officers and men for the Victoria Cross, is to be carried into effect : Whether the civilians who have distinguished themselves in a military capacity during the mutiny in India were to have any specific mark of the approbation of her Majesty's Government ? Whether the report of the Commission on the re-organisation of the Indian army would be laid on the table of the house ? And, whether, as the maintenance of a standing army un der the Crown, independently of the annual Mutiny Act, involved a constitutional question, time would be given to the house to consider any recommendations in the report be fore they were carried into effect ? Lord STANLEY said, with reference to the first question, that it was not usual to grant such an indulgence as that to which he referred, except on the recommendation of the Government of India, and no such recommendation had been received. With regard to the second question, no such report as that alluded to had been officially received from India ; and as to the next question, no list of civilians who• had distinguished themselves in India had been received. He would lay the report referred to on the table, and as re garded the last question, he considered it would be most impolitic for the Government to take any step without affording an opportunity for the expression of pub lic opinion on the subject. (Hear, hear.) BALLOT IN NEW SOUTH WALES. Mr. DILLWYN asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether a bill or act, establishing the ballot at elections in the colony of New South Wales, and passed by the Legislature of that colony, had been sent over by the Governor for the Royal assent ; and, if so, whether such assent had been given ? Sir E. B. LYTTON said that the subject was under the consideration of the Government. REAL ESTATE INTESTACY. Mr. LOCKE KING, in moving for leave to bring in a bill for the better settling the real estates that the object of hi s bi ll was to orfeinndte:rtautenis,fosainud the law in reference to real estate, away with the anomalies that at present ex and to do ed. The h on . member then cited some cases whic in h . came under his own observation, to show the was s ustic9 in opera tienpriansaeid of the present law. It he ne go c i i ture, but that he intended by his bill to abolish some that he utterly denied, and indeed how this law could be done away with not see The bill in no way interfered to prevent testators' leaving ) their property to their eldest sons if they wi s h e d to do so, and it merely applied to those cases in which persons died without having made a will. Having quoted the opinions of eminent jurists in favour of his vifws, he stated that in bringing forward this measure, which merely proposed to deal with freehold estate in the same Way as the law did in regard to personal property, he did not wish to injure the House of Lords; that he had no hostility to that august body ; but that was a stale argument, and was not one that should inducethehouse to reject the measure. Ile denied that ho had any wish to introduce the French law, for he consi dered that law as most repulsive in some points. He believed that the people of this country were anxious to be freed from the feudal law, and that they were in favour of the present bill. He concluded by moving for leave to bring in the bill. Mr. lIADFIELD seconded the motion. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL proposed that the bill should be laid on the table, in order to enable the house to see how it could deal with difficulties which he considered to be insuperable. He would not, however, offer any oppo • sition to the introduction of the bill. _ ~Lord HARRY VANE said he also would o ff er n . opposition to the introduction of the • bill, wlueh, li w oze t z, e cnsidredwould make such an altera tion as dev eloped in the speech of the hon. mover, and he denied tha t there was any desire on the part of the public for a dn., After a few change in the existing law. in support of then l s f rom M r . M ELLOR an d M r. H LDPIELI motion, Leave was then given to bring in the bill. NE WSPAPERS. Mr. AYRTON moved foro leave to bring Ma bill to repeal certain acts and part s srelating to newspapers, pamphlets, and other publi catio ns, founders, and reading-rooms. Adtu rrnd to printers, type to ugh there was no op position to the bill, yet he wished ge rn o r t t i ke a few remarks, as it was the wish of the right hon. knoeman opposite that the objects of the bill might be made vni als . of The subject carried him back many years in the l t egislation, for the statutes which he wished to repeal were h of evil times, and it was necessary to discover how e gr°w 2 l l- 1 , laws were placed on the statute-book. As early th e--e" reign of Queen Anne , the Ministry imagined that Y th e pe riodical press was injur io us to the interests of the Stat e - - p- that publicity was given to documents which they thought seditious, and it was deemed necessary that the House of Commons should take steps to redress what was imagined to be a great public 'grievance. He said ho saw, as he looked JAW the prey (I that by, and him' Wit whatever was written, however temperate and learned it might be, if it was adverse to the opinion of the Govern ment and the House of Commons, was regarded as a wicked and seditious libel, and anything which touched on reli gion or the Established Church was an impious and blas phemous publication. Such was the opinion entertained of publications which now would be thought as innocent and perhaps as dull as anything that could be read. The House of Commons was agitated to an immerse degree be cause a publication contained a translation of a State paper of the States-General ; it was said to be, wicked and sedi tious, and a committee was appointed to inquire into the matter, and a bill was passed placing heavy duties on paper, on newspapers, on pamphlets, and it provided that every publication should be registered in an office of the Govern ment ; and that was the origin of the system of registration which was kept up to this day. Attempts were made to enforce the principle on authors, but as the Government could not make up its mind whether it was better that the names of authors should be made known or not, that was not done, and the law remained in the state he had described until the close of the last century. At that time this country waslhreatened with an invasion, a hostile expe - dition had landed in Ireland, and England was said to be full of sedition, and the Ministry assented to another law, in which registration was carried on in the minutest form ; the owners of every newspaper were to declare whether any foreigners were interested in those papers, so that they might be prevented from making them the instru ments of hostility to the country. An act was passed which, though repealed, contained provisions which now formed part of the present law. In 1799, the Govern ment brought in a bill which, in an apologetic tone, spoke of conspiracies at home and abroad to subvert the Govern ment; stated that further powers were required by the executive to prevent men from reading the public journals, unless with a license from justices of the peace. There was one exception. for alehouses were pri vileged places for the reading of public journals. That was a moral restriction ; it was productive of much evil, by associating literature with drunkenness, and the tapster was made the guardian of literature, and it became a practice to resort to the public-house for the purpose of reading the public journals. Even type-founders, and all persons re motely connected with printing, were brought under the grasp of the Government, and required to have licenses in order to carry on their callings. One would have imagined that such enactments would has, e died out in time, but they remained in existence, and the only difference now was that the law put the power of moving in the crown instead of in the hands of the common informer. Such laws ought not to be left dormant on the statute-book, leaving it inthe power of the executive to revive them whenever they chose. One would have imagined' that the constitution of the country was sufficiently protected against its supposed enemy; the press, but when the war was ended, and men's minds were capable of examining into the evil results which had been produced by that war, and they began to discuss whether it was not necessary to have reform in Parliament, the Go vernment of 1819 took the alarm, and considered whether it would not be necessary to enact new laws, and put further restrictions on the press. At that time there may have been, and he believed there were, many publications so extrava gant, that it might have been right to have repressed them by the arm of the law ; but instead of the Government pro secuting journals and pamphlets injurious to the state, they endeavoured generally to lay greater restrictions on the liberty of the press. Carrying out this design, they intro duced another measure, requiring that any person publish ing any newspaper or pamphlet should give security on their recognisances and two sureties for the printer and publisher, who were amenable to the amount of £3OO in Lon don and £2OO in the country, if the work contained any seditious or blasphemous libel. Two years after measures were taken in mercy to mitigate the penalty on conviction, but the pressure on publications was increased by making the security, which was £3OO in town, £4OO, and that which was £2OO in the country, £3OO, and the security was extended not only to seditious and blasphemous libels, but to what was considered in a court of law private libels, and this enactment was to be used as a protection not only to the state, but to private individuals who thought themselires aggrieved. This was the extreme measure, but the trade of printers and publishers was put on a different footing to others, and you could only justify such a course by the exigency of the times, or else to say that every person em ployed in literature was a public delinquent, a common " barrator," who ought to be restrained in the exercise of his calling. Some time after this, when Parliament had been reformed, an agitation was raised to relieve current literature from the difficulties imposed on it, in consequence of the enormous taxes to which it was subject, and the re strictions from which it suffered. After a struggle of many years the taxes in question were diminished, direct taxes were repealed, and at last a measure was introduced by the right hon. gentleman the member for the University of Oxford, by which he proposed to repeal all the provisions of the law which had been passed in connexion with or in relation to , the collection of the duties, and esp ecially that enactment which comprised all the restrictions in the shape of registration and the requiring of declarations to be filed in a government office with regard to the ownership of public journals and pamphlets. But when the measure was discussed, objections were raised as to the expediency of remitting what was called the protection against the abuses of the press. The then Chancellor of the Exche quer, finding that he would only have a fiscal measure im peded by questions of a political character which would lead to discussion and debate, consented to withdraw the provisions repealing the existing law, and confined his bill to the revision of taxes, and left the provi sions in question on the statute book. The object of his (Mr. Ayrton's) motion was to sweep away all those statutes, and to submit newspapers and pamphlets to the general law which affected all other publications. There was no principle on which one publication which was longer or shorter than another, which cost 3d. or 6d. as the case might be, should be made the subject of exceptional legisla tion. He found in the statute book, without these special enactments, ample protection for all kinds of publications. The law of copyright required that every publication, long or short, even if it were limited to a single sheet, should be delivered, within a definite time, to the trustees of the British. Museum, or the publisher would be fined. It was also re quired that the owner of any publication, for which it was desired to obtain the benefit of copright, should register it at Stationers'-hall. These laws afforded sufficient means of ascertaining who the proprietor of a publication was; and there were various enactments directed expressly against criminal publications. There was one statute by which the authorities were enabled, whenever any publication was ad judged to be a libel, to have all the impressions of it seized, so that it could no longer be circulated, to the injury of society. There was another statute for the suppression of obscene and improper books, passed two sessions ago. These laws-were sufficient to reach the case of criminal pub. lications. But the statutes to which his motion referred, whilst they were most inconvenient and injurious to pub lishers, failed to accomplish the object for which they were passed. They were only a restraint upon honest men. They were passed to enable the re v e nue t o b e collected, and when the duties were taken off, the statutes should have been allowed to fall into abeyance. The Commissioners of Stamps and their officers should have no more to do with them. But in 1856, a member of that house, the late hon. member for Tewkesbury, moved by a high sense of morality, and, in fact, taking upon himself to be the guardian of the public morality, addressed a remonstrance to the Commis sioners of Stamps, pointing out that in the borough he re presented publications were issued which he thought cal culated to demoralise the people, and against which he re quired the commissioners to enforce the law. Upon this the Commissioners of Stamps submitted the question to the law officers of the crown. He (Mr. Ayrton) invited the Government, in a former session, to lay on the table of the house the case submitted and opinion given by the law officers of the crown, but the late Government met him with an official stereotyped answer, that it would be contrary to usage to disclose such matters. But the Commissioners of Stamps themselves afterwards printed a circular, stating they had been advised by the Attorney-General that it was their duty to enforce the law. The consequence was that many persons in the country were obliged to take great trouble and seek out their friends to become security for them ; some had to travel a hundred miles to find the proper person before whom they were to appear; and the greatest vexation and annoyance was inflicted on the printers of pro • vincial journals, whilst in London there were others who understood the true position of the case, and took no notice of the circular they received. One person, in order to put the decision of the commissioners to the test, published what was called the Free Press, which was purposely thrust on the commissioners' notice; they were reminded that ac cording to law it was a newspaper, and asked why they did not prosecute it. There was some mystery about the Free Press; it was inspired by persons of very curious tempera ment : in fact, it was a kind of hornets' nest, and the com missioners answered in a very dignified manner that they would deal with the Free Press as seemed to them meet. But the law made pamphlets as well as newspapers sub ject to registration, and obliged them to give security to the crown. Some one sent a pamphlet to the commissioners, and asked why they did not compel the publisher to register that ? The commissioners endeavoured to avoid these in convenient questions; but when theylet slip the fatal remark that they could not say whether pamphlets should be re gistered until they had perused them, a host of pamphlets were sent up for their perusal. The controversy came to an end by the commissioners declining to answer the last letter. It appeared then that the commissioners of stamps or excise had it entirely at their own discretion either to enforce those laws or not. Now, he asked whether they were the proper authorities to deal with such a matter, or whether these stringent provisions ought to be kept on the statute-book for the mere amusement of those gentlemen, long after in the exercise of their duty, as watching over the revenue, they had ceased to have any connexion with the press ? For allthese arrangements were intended to secure the revenue, and when there was no longer any tax on these publications, it was right that the interference of the commissioners, whose functions only related to taxation, should be brought to an end. This was the object of his bill. The obnoxious sta tutes he wished to repeal were not only perfectly idle and useless for any good purpose, but they were positively mis chievous and injurious. The general law of the land was amply sufficient for the prosecution of libel, or to oblige any man, after having once been guilty of an act tending to a breach of the peace, to give security for his good behaviour. But the existing statutes treated honest and honourable men, ethnogsaegisntagtointes should h re o s ul p d ec::b re le business, aled. as though they were co mmencing a criminal undertaking, and he thought it time The SOLIC I TOR-GENERAL Pe said the hon. member had referred to some statutes which were perhaps not to be called obsolete, as they were still amongst the modern enact tmheinntgss o w f in th oh e realm, alm , but whi c h were i nten d e d for a state of of that house l on ger existed No doubt many members entertainedt a di ff erent opi n i on from that of the hon. memb er as to e necessity for them at the time they were first enacted, bu t with nil him as to the utter NvaitaC,lT would be of one opinion necessityehar enactments n ae t n af enactmentso e r n t c s o n os t fu i net such n o as g es them at the present day, Hear, He did not com mit himself to the abolition(ofall t 1 s t a tutes; but there were a great maney no of fi cer of the crown could b© willing, or even, he m i g ht say, ev er would be willing, to put in force; there rema i ne d on the statute book thre ats of penalties and imprisonment against those who should disregard those enactments, whilst practically they were disregarded every day, and yet never were any of those threats put in execution. Now, he took it to be a sound principle that whenever a statute contained penalties that never would be enforced, it would be well to repeal that statute. He did not, therefore, offer any o p po _ sition to tho introduction of the hon. gentleman's bill. When it was introduced they would see the enactments t o which it was intended to apply. Several of those to which the hon. member had referred, ho agreed with him that it would be desirable either to repeal or greatly to modify, but there might be some which were still useful, and which it was desirable to retain; this might be considered when the bilthvas laid on the table. THE EDUCATION GRANT IN SCOTLAND. Lord MELGUND moved that the annual vote of money for education in Great Britain should henceforth be divided into two votes, one vote to be taken for England, and ano ther for Scotland. He urged that the condition and circum stances of the two countries with regard to popular educa tion wereso dissimilar, and the distribution of the grant in Scotland itself was so far from being uniform, comparing the districts of sparse population with the great towns of Edin burgh and Glasgow, that it was expedient to afford the Scotch members an opportunity, separate from the voting of the general grant, of discussing the application of that 9g the Sallt WlllOl 4119#44Cfl §1794441 Qin I THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 18, 1859. of the peculiarities of the case was that in Scotland there was a system of local taxation for the support of schools. Mr. A. SMITH (Truro) expressed a hope that the esti mates would be furnished separately, not only for Scotland, but for each of the different religious denommations, so as to show what portion went to the Established Church, how much to the Free Church, and how much to the other churches or religious bodies in either country. Mr. ADDERLEY said the hon. member who had last spoken would be as much entitled to plead for a separate vote for the Scilly Isles as the noble lord for a separate vote for Scotland; indeed, the Isle of Man, which had a separate legislature, and where that legislature had, much to its honour, imposed a tax on the inhabitants to provide for edu cation, and imposed a fine on every parent who would not send his child to school, had much more reason to ask for a separate vote. There would be no difficulty in doing what the noble lord asked, so far as the office of the Com mittee of Council on Education was concerned, but the noble lord's object might be more easily attained, if he wished to get information about the distribution of the Parliamentary grant, or to give S co t c h mem b ers an oppor tunity of bringing the state of education in Scotland under the attention of the house. The noble lord him self, or any other representative of Scotland, could give no tice of a discussion on the subject whenever they thought proper ; and any res o l u ti on or bill they might propose would be duly considered. But the tendency of a separate vote would be to introduce a diversity of system between Scot land and England, which was very undesirable. The heri tors' tax in Scotland, by which all landowners of £lOO a year were obliged to pay towards the support of parochial schools, being very inadequate for present requirements, was rather to be considered as an endowment, and the school system in Scotland, as in England, mainly rested en voluntary contributions, aided by the parliamentary grant. If the noble lord had any plan in view, it would probably be as suitable for England as for Scotland. Some of the other distinctions made between the educational system in the two countries were equally fallacious, as there were many rural districts of England, also, which received very little of the grant. He apprehended, also, that if the vote for Scotland were taken separately, it would create an erroneous impression that Scotland was unfairly dealt with, since the general expenses of the central office in London would be charged in the English vote, and if another cen tral office in Edinburgh were to bo established, it would be a great waste of the public money. Mr. BUCHANAN said he understood the right hon. gen tleman to say that there would be no practical difficulty in separating the Scotch from the English vote. He thought it would have been much better if the right hon. gentleman had conceded the request. He wished those grants to be done away with for two reasons—first, because the system was exceedingly expensive, and based upon unsuitable ma chinery ; and secondly, because the schools were essentially denominational. It was most desirable to ascertain the working of the system year by year, and he believed the fullest information on the subject would be attended with the most beneficialosults. Mr. BLACKBURN was of opinion that the same prin ciple ought to be applicable to 'both countries, and hoped the Government would maintain the rule which had hither to been acted upon. Mr. BLACK. trusted the house would consent to give the information sought for. He believed the people of Scotland were desirous of educating their own children, and hoped that eleemosynary grants would be altogether given up. Lord DUNCAN suggested the propriety of distinguish ing the amounts appropriated to England and Scotland re spectively. He understood the information could easily be obtained, and if his suggestion were acted upon the difficulty which now existed would be put an end to. Mr. DUNLOP thought it would be most injurious to separate the two grants, and could not consent to give up the assistance now afforded until a national system of edu • cation should be established. Mr. W. WILLIAMS said Scotland had no ground of complaint, as she had a fair share of the educational grant. If ase ate vote should be taken there would be a contest year after year for a larger amount. The LORD ADVOCATE said that in the civil service estimates, under the head " Education,' . ' an explanatory statement was given, containing the precise sums applicable to the grants both in Scotland and England. Lord MELGUND having replied, the motion was put and negatived. JURIES (IRELAND) BILL. Mr. J. FITZGERALD obtained leave to bring in a bill to consolidate and amend the laws relating to juries in Ire land. ANNUITY TAX (EDINBURGH, &c.) BILL. Mr. BLACK moved for leave to bring in a bill to abolish the ministers' money or annuity tax levied within the city of Edinburgh, the parish of Canongate, and the borough of Montrose. The odious impost was the cause of so much acrimonious dispute that he trusted Parliament would agree to its abolition. The LORD ADVOCATE did not object to the motion, but intimated his intention of opposing the bill at a future stage. The motion was then agreed to. REGISTRATION OF COUNTY VOTERS (SCOT -LAND) BILL. Sir E. COLEBROOKE, in moving for leave to bring in a bill for the amendment of the law for the registration of county voters in Scotland, observed that the bill was sub stantially the same as that the principle of whieh had re ceived the sanction of the house last year. He had, how ever, endeavoured as far as possible to meet the objections entertained by some hon. members opposite relative to points of detail. Mr. BLACKBURN thought it most extraordinary to provide a mode of registration before, under the new Re form Bill, they knew the parties who would be entitled to registration. The motion was then agreed to. NAVY.—SEA SERVICE. On the motion of Sir F. BARING, a return was ordered of the number of men voted for the seaservice in each year, from the year 1815 to 1858-59 inclusive, distinguishing boys, marines, and coast-guards. ENDOWED SCHOOLS BILL. On the motion of Mr. DlLLwltrr, the order for the se. cond reading of the bill was discharged. MARRIAGE LAW AMENDMENT BILL. On the motion that the Speaker leave the chair, for the house going into committee on this bill, Mr. HOPE said as it was quite clear the bill would be carried through the house, he should not oppose the motion. Clauses 1 to 4, inclusive, were agreed to. On clause 5, Mr. PULLER said the effect of the clause would be, in certain cases, to make bigamy the law. If a man married his deceased wife's sister in England, he might go to Ire- land and marry another woman, for the present bill did not apply to that country. The clause was then agreed to, and the bill was ordered to be reported. Mr. Locke King, Mr. Ayrton, Mr. J. Fitzgerald, Mr. Black, and Sir E. Colebrooke brought in their respective bills, which were read a first time. The house then adjourned at ten minutes past seven. LA TV INTELLIGENCE. —Feb. 17. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH. Sittings at Nisi Prius at Guildhall, before Lord Campbell and Special Juries.) Lord Campbell, on taking his seat on the bench this morning, announced that Mr. Untbank, of the northern circuit, had been appointed Master of the Court of Queen's Bench, in the room of the late Mr. Bunce. HODGSON V. NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY COMPANY. This was an action to recover damages for injuries sustained through the alleged negligence of the defendants' servants. The defendants pleaded not guilty. Mr. Phinn, Q.C., was for the plaintiff, and Mr, Temple for the defendants. The plaintiff was a bricklayer and plasterer, in the employ of the Hull Dock Company, and it ap peared that while he was engaged in pointing an arch over the defendants' railway at Hull, some trucks came along, and broke down the scaffolding on which he and several other workmen were standing. The plaintiff was precipitated to the ground with great violence, and his kneecap frac tured in three places ; the result being that he would probably have a stiff leg for 'if*, and be unable to pursue his ordinary calling. The defence was that there had been no negli gence on the part of the defendants. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff— damages £B5, in addition to the £l5 which he had received from the defendants. SECOND COURT. (Before Mr. Justice Erie and a Common Jury.) FARRELL V. CHILVER. This was an action for false imprisonment. Mr. Edwin James, Q.C., and Mr. Powell, ap peared for the plaintiff; Mr. Sergeant Ballantine and Mr. Simon for the defendant. The plaintiff, who now resides in Northampton street. Islington, had been for 23 years in the Irish revenue police, but having attained the rank of sur veyor or gauger in the force, he was compelled to leave it in August, 1857, on account of bad health, brought about through an accident sustained in the service. The plaintiff then appears to have placed himself under the care of Dr. O'Reilly, the surgeon of Jervis-street Hospital, Dublin, as also under the surgeon of the Hardwick Hospital, in the same city; but in both instances Farrell's condition— that of a morbid state of the nervous centres— was declared incurable. Thereupon plaintiff came over to England, and remained for some time at Liverpool, seeking in vain for beneficial advice. Failing to obtain that he left for London, and was for some time under treatment by Dr. Grady, of the West London Institution. That gentleman found him afflicted with a softening of the anterior lobes of the brain, and discharged him with a cer tificate as incurable. Subsequently to this the plaintiff appears to have sought the advice of the defendant, the well-known surgeon of Burlington street, Piccadilly, partly with a view of obtaining an . eminent medical opinion, and partly because, having ascertained, through the porter at Suther land House, that Dr. Chilver was the medical atten dant of Lord Derby, he was most anxious to obtain the certificate of a gentleman in such a position preparatory to the plaintiff's presenting a petition to) the Treasury for a pension. Accordingly, on the 21st of October last, the plaintiff called upon the7defendant, and having obtained an interview with him, the plaintiff proceeded to describe his condition, at the same handing to the defendant the certificates of Dr. Banks, of Merrion-square, the physician to the Irish Inland Revenue Department, of D r. who h. a o d lte att i e l n ly d , e a d nd hi o m f , t as he w ot e h ll er a m s e d h i i c s a testimonials on leaving the Irish police. The defendant, how ever, seems to have been at once seized with the notion that his visitor was nothing better than an impostor. He asked the plaintiff where he lived, and where he came from. The plaintiff told him, mentioning, amongst other residences, that he had lodged for a short time in a public-house at West minster. Then, " Oh, oh 1" said the defendant, " I kupyr PA About you, Y9TI arc Art impostor, and have come here to obtain money on false p retences." The poor plaintiff only answered to this by calling attention to his certificates, and requesting the doc tor to read them. An inspection of them, however, only served to strengthen the conviction. of the de fendant, for it turned out that in one or two of them which had been copied out by third parties, there were several false spellings--in fact, on the faee of them there was evidence that they did not proceed from the parties purporting to have signed them. That, however, was only true of one or two of the certificates. The defendant, then, having before his eyes the frequent narratives published in the newspapers of parties obtaining relief by false cer tificates, and probably also influenced by the nervous manner of the plaintiff, called in a policeman, and communicated his suspicions regarding the plaintiff to that functionary. He then invited the police man to take the plaintiff to the station, and make inquiries respecting his antecedents. This the policeman refused to do, on the ground that the defendant did not seem to be able to show that the plaintiff had done anything. On that the defen dant resolved to give the plaintiff in charge, and he was accordingly taken to the Vine-street sta tion. After a while .he was followed there by the defendant, who, after some conversation with the inspector, charged the plaintiff withhaving gone to him (Dr. Chilver) " upon some supposed unlawful purpose." The plaintiff then gave his testimonials and certificates to the inspector, and subsequently, after about half-an-hour's detention, he was al lowed to go forth. The plaintiff called upon the defendant the following morning by , appointment ; but defendant refused to see him, saying that he (Dr. Chilver) continued of the same opinion with respect to him as on the previous day. In order to meet the allegation that he had gone to Dr. Chilver solely for the purpose of obtaining that gentleman's certificate, with a view to influencing the Treasury, and that there was no intention , on the part of the plaintiff of taking advice as to his possible recovery, it was shown that the plaintiff, on the occasion of his interview with the defendant, had in his pocket half notes for £3O, besides £4 in sovereigns. He was therefore in ample funds to pay any fees that the defendant might be entitled to. The defence on the record was that the defendant did not give the plaintiff in charge at all. All that had been done was, in the exercise of a proper caution, to request a policeman to take the plaintiff, as a suspected character, to the station, and make inquiries as to his antecedents. This part of the defendant's case, however, completely broke down, on the testimony of the policeman who had taken the plaintiff into custody. It only remained, there fore, to address the jury in mitigation of damages, on the supposition that the plaintiff had visited the defendant solely for the purpose of procuring his certificate gratuitously ; secondly, on the ground of the false spellings in the certificates held by the plaintiff; and thirdly, on the circumstance that the plaintiff had suffered little or no inconvenience from his detention. The jury found for the plaintiff—damages, £5O. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. (Sittings at Nisi Prins in London.—Before Lord Chief Justice Cockburn and a Common Jury.) LUDFORD V. AIRMAN AND BELL.-TRESPASS. This was an action to recover damages for tres pass in seizing the plaintiff's goods under two executions against a Mr. Judkins. Mr. Huddleston and Mr. Griffith appeared for the plaintiff, Mr. Skinner for the defendant Bell, and Mr. Carnock for Aikman. The plaintiff's case was that Judkins formerly carried on business at 98, Fleet-street, selling gas regulators and sewing machines, which were patent articles. At the latter end of Dec., 1857, he sold his business and stock to the plaintiff, who had previously had dealings with him. Th e p r i ce was £123 55., and the plaintiff gave his bill for the amount. The bargam was reduced to writing, it being part of the terms that the plaintiff should take the premises in Fleet-street for a year, Mr. Judkins reserving to himself the first floor. The plaintiff afterwards brought a considerable quan tity of other property upon the premises. On March 25th the defendants, with a person named Overall, an officer, went to Fleet-street, and seized the whole of the property, under two executions against Mr. Judkins, for £l4 7s. 3d. and £6l9s. ld. The things were removed the next day, and retained until about the middle of April, when after some inter pleader proceedings they were returned. In the course of the plaintiff's case terms of set tlement were agreed upon between the parties. Mr. Skinner said as Mr. Aikman was an officer of the corporation, it might be as well to state that there was no reflection upon his character ; and as regarded Mr. Bell, though himself an attorney, he had on this occasion "acted only as clerk to some othei• attorneys, and did as he was directed, so that there could be no imputation upon him. Mr. Charnock said Overall was an officer him self of the corporation, and Mr. Aikman had nothing to do with the transaction. A verdict was entered by consent for the defen dant Aikman, without costs, and against the defen dant Bell—damages £5 ss. COURT OF PROBATE AND DIVORCE. (Before the Judge Ordinary.) WALLIS V. WALLIS.-CRUELTY. The petitioner in this case was the wife of a gun. maker in Jermyn-street. She was married to the respondent in 1843, and had four children. She charged him with striking her on the face, locking her in her bedroom, depriving her of her clothes and jewels, using threats and other acts of cruelty. These allegations were proved by her own evidence and that of servants and other witnesses. Mr. W. Barry and Mr. E. Hanson were counsel for the petitioner, and Dr. Spinks for the respon dent. The learned counsel adduced no evidence for the defence. Sir C. Cresswell said that issues were frequently raised in that court that were of far greater social importance than any of those questions of contract or debt which juries had so often to decide. It was not the policy of the law to grant separations on trivial grounds, or from any mere incompatibility of temper. Husbands and wives might make each other as wretched as they pleased provided they only kept hands off, and refrained from threats from which violence might reasonably be apprehended. His lordship having summed up the case, The jury found that the respondent had been guilty of cruelty. POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—Feb. 17. MANSION-HOUSE.—Willia m Leech and Wil liam Connor were brought b e f ore th e L or d M ayor, charged with having attempted to pick pockets in Gracechurch-street. W. Smith, constable 572, said that on the pre vious evening he was in Gracechurch-street, when he observed Connor beckon Leech to follow him. He watched them and saw them try the pockets of several ladies. They then proceeded along Fen church-street, and again tried the pockets of gentle men and ladies, Leech generally screening Connor, while the latter was "operating." Leech—When you saw me try the first pocket as you state, why did you not grab me at once ? Witness—Because I thought I'd wait a little longer. (Laughter.) The gaoler—Connor has been here before. Smith—Both prisoners gave false addresses. The Lord Mayor sentenced them to twenty-one days' imprisonment each, and ordered some silver found upon them to be appropriated towards their maintenance while in gaol. Henry Campbell, 24, was charged with commit ting a similar offence in Gracechurch-street. The charge was clearly proved by Edwin James, assistant to Messrs. White, grocers, 63, High-street, Borough, who said that the prisoner 'knocked him down when he seized him. Witness had lost his situation through being detained when he gave the prisoner into custody. The Lord Mayor —I am sure your employers will not discharge you for that. Make my compliments to your masters, and tell them that you were only doing your duty to the public. The prisoner was committed for six weeks, with hard labour. GUILDHALL.—A summons against two gen tlemen of the names of Church and Smith, late di rectors of the "London Starch Company (Limited)," charging them with conspiring to defraud an in surance broker of Manchester, of the name of Brad ley, of bills to the a moun t o f £9,000, was part heard and adjourned, the defendants being admitted to bail in their own recognisances, without being per mitted to cross-examine the only witness put for ward. BO W - STREET.—William Chart, a Post-office letter carrier in the S or southern district, was charged with delaying the delivery of letters. Mr. Peacock, the Post-office solicitor, said that the misconduct with which the prisoner was charged had been discovered by mere accident by another letter-carrier, named Smith, in whose house at Clapham-rise the prisoner lodged. They were in the habit of taking their meals in the kitchen, where their letter-bags usually hung on a Wednesdaypeg behind the d o o r . O n Smith de sired his wife to go to his bag and put into it a re ceipt for a registered letter. By mistake she went to Chart's bag instead, and found there 13 letters, which she handed over to her husband. He at once took them to the Southern District-office, and gave them up to the inspector, Mr. W. Edwards, who caused them to be deliv ere d by another letter-carrier named Cave. These letters should have been. de liYered 9 14 . tilt? M ltb, And 4thin4t, Cve, though a stranger to the beat, had no difficulty in finding the addresses, and delivering all the letters. The prisoner said he must have put the letters there by mistake, and forgotten to deliver them. It was not wilfully done. Mr. Peacock feared this was carried on exten sively, and in all cases where it was discovered the Post-office authorities thought it their duty to make an example. Mr. Hall—l think you are quite right. . The prisoner was committed for trial. A decently-dressed man, who bore the name of Thos, Case, was placed at the bar before Mr. Hall, charged with picking pockets at Exeter-hall. A young married lady, Mrs. Catherine Melville, residing in the neighbourhoood of Regent-square, stated that she was leaving the hall about ten o'clock, after the breaking up of the great United Kingdom Alliance Meeting, when she distinctly saw the prisoner withdrawing his hand from the pocket of an elderly lady in the crowd. She imme diately collared him and held him till the arrival of a police-officer. She saw part of the lining of the lady's pocket brought out by the rapid movement of his hand, and she observed that he passed his hand behind him—apparently to some confederates who were surrounding him. The lady said she had not lost anything, and declined to attend; and the prisoner said, " You are mistaken—l was only eat ing a biscuit." - Sergeant Simms, F 9, deposed that on hearing a cry of " Police" he hastened to the spot, and saw the prisoner in the custody of the female witness, who held him firmly . by the collar. He apprehended the man on suspicion of picking pockets, and found on his person two pocket-handkerchiefs (one silk one), a lady's glove, about 9s. or 10s. in silver, &c. He merely said the witness was mistaken. A piece of biscuit was found in his pocket also. Mr. Hall—Really, the witness, Mrs. Melville, displayed a great deal of courage on the occasion, and is highly to be commended, Was the prisoner known ? Sergeant 'Simms had seen him often in the Strand, but knew nothing against him. The prisoner, however, gave a most unsatisfactory account of himself. He was a glazier and painter, but could give no reference to any one who had employed him. He had lived three months in Southampton, but did not know the name of the landlord or the street where he lived. Mr. Hall—There must be inquiry: Prisoner—No ; I'd rather you settle it at once. Mr. Hall—l shall not. You are remanded for a week. LAMBETH.—Richard Horsley, a waggoner in the service of Mr. John Graham, of Brooke's Wharf, Upper Thames-street, and William Heath, a lad in the same employment, were charged with having caused the death" of James Gates, a little boy six years old, by driving their waggon against a truck on 'which the little boy was seated, and thereby in flicting such injuries on him that he died in two hours afterwards. Horsley admitted that he was very drunk while driving the waggon, and both prisoners were com mitted for trial for manslaughter. John Myers, alias Lazarus, a Jew youth', of 16 years of age, was finally examined before the Hon. G. C. Norton, on a charge of stealing a watch from the person of an assistant undertaker, while attending the funeral of Mr. Hartley, the engineer at Greenwich, at the Nunhead Cemetery, on Mon day afternoon last. From the evidence it appeared that there was a large concourse of people congregated to see the remains of the deceased deposited in their last rest ing place, and that while the prosecutor was en gaged in assisting the mourners to get into their carriages, the prisoner snatched the watch from his pocket. He was, however, at once seized, and dropped the watch, but was taken to the station house. At the former examination the prisoner ex pressed a great anxiety to have his case disposed of at once, under the Summary Justice Act, and this led to the belief that he was an old stager, and dreaded inquiry. This turned out to be the fact, for the constable informed the magistrate that the name and address given by the prisoner were not correct, and he had in attendance a constable who would speak to his character. Police-constable Clark, 108 M, said, he had known the prisoner for some years as a young thief, and the associate of notorious thieves. He had him in custody himself, and was aware that he had been in the custody of other constables, and had fre quently been committed to prison for picking pockets and other offences. In conclusion, the witness said that the mother of the prisoner kept a common brothel in Surrey-street, Blackfriar's-road, and the prisoner had been brought up there. The prisoner was committed to prison for six months, with hard labour. WANDSWORTH.—John Cox,a short, thickset, and powerful-looking man, who was described as a gardener, was placed in the dock, before Mr. Day man, charged with brutally ill-treating his - wife, Mary Cox. _ The complainant, a very respectable-looking woman, whose face was covered with scratches, de posed that the prisoner was her husband, and they lived in Frederick-street, Wandsworth-road, Clap ham. She had been married 12 years, and had had three children by him. On Tuesday last he came home to dinner the worse for liquor. The cloth was laid and everything was ready and comfortable for him. Without any cause on her part he immediately took up the remains of a loin of pork and threw it behind the fire in the grate. He then took up the paint pot and commenced plastering the furniture with paint. She caught up a table to prevent him from destroying it, when he dragged it from her and beat her with it in a most brutal manner. He also scratched her face as it now appeared, and threw her down violently; The next morning he got up and made very fair promises that he would not do it again, and that he would go to his work. He went out, and she was compelled to remain in bed in consequence of his violence the day before, as she was very ill. Instead of his going to work, he returned home in a more violent temper than he was on the day before. He was in a worse state of intoxication, and threw a quantity of hot cinders upon her while she was lying in bed. He then dragged her violently out of bed, and made an attempt to strike her. The police were called, and she gave her husband into custody. For the last two years and a half lie had continually ill-used her. He had been repeatedly drunk, and in fact he had not been sober for a long time. Mr. Dayman—What have you to say to ill treating your wife in this way ? The prisoner —If I have done wrong lam sorry for it; I'll take care not to do it again. Mr. Dayman—lt is my duty to take care it shall not happen again for some time. The prisoner —I won't drink any more. Mr. Dayman—l shall keep you from it for a month. You will be imprisoned for one calendar month, with hard labour. The prisoner was then locked up. ATTEMPTIXG TO 81100 T A WIFE. At the Birmingham police-office, on Tuesday, be fore Mr. T. C. S. Kynnersley, a labourer, from Burton-on-Trent, named William Ledbetter, was charged with attempting to shoot his wife with a pistol. The prisoner and his wife have been separated for several months, and the latter came to Birming ham to reside. She had been living for a fortnight past with another man, at a house in Montague street, Great Barr-street. On Saturday night last the husband found out where his faithless wife was stay ing and went to the house. After upbraiding'her for her vile conduct, and trying to induce her to return dome, which she refused to do, he intimated that he ad purchased a brace of pistols, one of which he in tended for his wife and the other for her paramour. He also said that he meant to go to America. On Monday morning the prisoner again went to his wife's residence, and seemed in a very excited state. He stayed but a short time, and then went away. He returned a third time about four o'clock the same afternoon, and met the prosecutrix with a neighbour, named Mrs. Garrison, in the garden. A few words passed between tham, and the prisoner asked his wife to give up to him her " marriage lines." She refused to do so, and he suddenly took a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at his wife. With great quickness she seized hold of the weapon, and a desperate struggle_ took place between them for its possession. They both fell to the ground, and the pistol fell from the prisoner's hand. The prosecutrix took it up and threw it some dis tance away. It was picked up by . Mrs. Garri son , but fortunately the cap was knocked off the nipple during the struggle. Both then got up, and the prisoner exclaimed, "Never mind, I've got another." The prosecutrix ran into Mrs. Garrison's house and the prisoner attempted to follow her, but was prevented by Mrs. Garrison's father and mother. It was feared that the prisoner, who was under the influence of liquor, would endeavour to carry out his murderous intent, and a constable was sent for. On the way to the station the prisoner said to the policeman, "What should you say if I had got one for you?" He was afterwards searched, and in his pockets were found three cartridges, some loose powder, between thirty and forty per cussion caps, and a number of bullets. The pistol was loaded with powder and ball. The prisoner had no second pistol. At the police station he told police constable Darby that "he was sorry it did not go off; they could not give him ' life' for it, and he would do it when he came out." The prisoner's defence was that he had no intention to shoot his wife. He was committed for trial at the ensuing itaizeN,---Bfrming4qm ,Daily Pot. 4 .13.AN11. RETURNS. An Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and Bth Victoria cap. 32, of the Average Amount of Bank Notes, of the several Banks of Issue in England and Wales, ill circu lation during the week ending Saturday, the 29th day of January, 1859. PRIVATE BANKS. Andover. Bank, Andover—Heath and Co Ashford Bank, Ashford—Jemmett, Pomfret, & Co. Aylesbury Old Bank, Aylesbury—Cobb and C 0... Baldock Bank and Baldock and Biggleswade Bank, Biggleswade—Wells, Hogge, and Co. . Barnstaple Bank, Barnstaple—Marshall and C 0... Basingstoke and Oldham Bank, Basingstoke— Seymour, Lamb, and Co. Bedford Bank, Bedford—Barnard and Co Bawdley Bank, Bawdley—Nichols, Baker, and Co Bicester and Oxfordshire Bank and Oxford Bank, Bicester—Tubb and Co. Birmingham Bank, Birmingham— Attwoods, Spooner, and Co. Boston Bank, Boston—Claypons and Co. .. Boston Bank, Boston—Gee and Co. Bridgwater Bank, Bridgwater—J. & J. L. Sealey Bristol Bank, Bristol—Miles, Miles, and Co. Broseley and B r id gnor th an d Bridgnorth and Broseley Bank, Broseley—Pritchards, Boycott, and Co. Buckingham Bank, Buckingham—Bartlett, Par rott, and Co. Bury and Suffolk Bank, Sudbury Bank, and Stow market Bank, Bury St. Edmunds—Oakes, Bevan, and Co. Banbury Bank, Banbury—J. C. and A. Gilbert Banbury Old Bank, Banbury—Cobb and Son Bedfordshire Leighton Buzzard Bank, Leighton Buzzard—Bassett, Son, and Co. Birmingham Bank, Birmingham—Lloyds and Co Bradford Old Bank, Bradford, Yorkshire—Harris and Co. Brecon Old Bank, Brecon—Wilkins and Co Brighton Union Bank, Brighton—Hall, West, and Co. Burlington and Driffield Bank, Burlington—Hard ing, Smith, and Co Bury St. Edmunds Bank,' Bury St. Edmunds— Worlledge and Co. Cambridge Bank, Cambridge--Mertlock and Co Cambridge and Cambridgeshire Bank, Cambridge —Messrs. Fosters Canterbury Bank, Canterbury—Hammond and Co Carmarthen Bank, Carmarthen—David Morris and Saks Chertsey Bank, Chertsey—La Costo and 50n.... Colchester Bank Colchester—Round, Green, & Co.. Colchester and Essex Bank, and Witham and Essex Bank, and Haclleigh, Suffolk, Bank, Colchester— Mills, Bawtree, and Co. Cornish Bank, Truro—Tweedy and Co. Coventry Bank,, Coventry—Little and Woodcock City Bank, Exeter—Milford and Co. Craven Bank, Settle—Alcocks, Birkb ( 13k, and Co Chepstow Old Bank, Chepstow Bank, Monmouth Old Bank, Monmouth Bank, Brecon Bank, and Ross and Herefordshire Bank, Chepstow— Bromage, Snead, and Co Derby Bank, Derby—W. and S. Evans and C 0... Derby Bank, Derby—Samuel Smith and Co .. Derby Old Bank and Scarsdale and High Peak Bank, Derby—Crompton Newton, and Co Devizes and Wiltshire Bank, Devizes—Locke and Co. Diss Bank, Diss—Fincham and Co Doncaster Bank and Retford Bank, Doncaster— Cooke and Co. A, Darlington Bank, Durham Bank, and Stockton-on- Tees Bank, Darlington—Backhouse and Co 89,03 Devonport Bank, Devonport—Hodge and Co 8,37 Dorchester Old Bank and Dorsetshire Bank, Dor chester—R. and H. Williams ,381 East Cornwall Bank, Liskeard—Robins, Foster, and Co. East Riding Bank, Beverley—Bower and Co 49,580 Essex Bank and Bishop's Stortford Bank, ,Chelms ford—Sparrow, Round, and Co 39,128 Exeter Bank, Exeter—Sanders and Co 26,587 Farringdon Bank and Bank of Wantage, Fairing don—Barnes Medley, and Co Farnham Bank, Farnham—John and Jas. Knight 9,800 Faversham Bank, Faversham—Hilton and Co 6,059 Godalming Bank, Godalming—Mellersh and Keen 5,481 Guildford Bank, Guildford—Messrs. Haydon 13,189 Grantham Bank, Grantham—Hardy and Co 25,857 Hereford City and County Bank, Hereford—Mat thews and Co 13,765 Hull Bank and Kingston-upon-Hull Bank, Hull— Smith, Brothers, and Co Huntingdon Town and County Bank, Hunting don—Veasey and Co. Harwich Bank, Harwich—Cox, Cobbold, and Co. 4,229 Hertfordshire, Hitchin Bank, Hitchin—Sharpies and Co. Hereford, Ross, and Archenfield Bank, and Ross and Archenfield Bank, Ross—Morgan and Co 19,682 Ipswich Bank, Ipswich—Bacon and Co Ipswich and Needham Market Bank, Suffolk, Had leigh Bank, Manningtree and Mistley Bank, and Woodbridge Bank, Ipswich—Alexanders & Co 59,800 Kentish Bank, Maidstone—Randall, Mercer, and Co. £9,760 10,694 24,013 25,486 6,610 20,516 30,605 11,992 A,532 23,370 66,549 14,577 9,347 28,274 16,249 24,466 61,801 34,568 26,270 34,702 27,292 11,895 45,495 2,799 14,402 39,696 29,860 20,3 3,106 .4,443 33,276 38,865 6,700 18,836 63,429 6,824 11,932 32,348 27,284 8,000 L 0,314 Kington and Radnorshire Bank, Kington-Davies and Co. Knaresborough Old Bank and Ripon Old Bank, Knaresborough-Harrison and Co 19,368 Kendal Bank, Kendal-Wakefield, Crewdson, &Co 38,404 Longton. Staffordshire Bank, Longton-C. Harvey and Son 5,083 Leeds Bank, Leeds-Beckett and Co Leeds Union Bank, Leeds-W. Williams, Brown, and Co. Leicester Bank, Leicester-T. and T. T. Paget 29,989 Lewis Old Bank,Lewis--Whitefeld and Co 25,589 Lincoln Bank, Lincoln-Smith, Ellison and Co 80,619 Llandovery Bank, Lampeter Bank, and Llandilo Bank, Llandovery-D. Jones and Co Loughborough Bank, Loughborough-Middleton and Cradock Lymington Bank, Lymington-S. and G. F. St Barbe Lynn Regis and Lincolnshire Bank, Lynn Legis- Gurneys and Co. Lynn Regis and Norfolk Bank, Lynn Regis- Jarvis and Co Macclesfield Bank, Macclesfield-Brocklehurst and Co. Manningtree Bank, Manningtree-Nunn and Co 1,690 Merionethshire Bank, Dolgelly-Williams and Son 4,888 Miners' Bank, Truro-Willyams and Co. Monmouthshire Agricultural and Commercial Bank, Abergavenny-Bailey and Co. 28,288 Monmouth Old Bank, Monmouth Bank, Brecon Bank, Chepstow Bank, Chepstow Old Bank, and Ross and Herefordshire Bank, Monmouth- Bromage, Snead, and Co. 7,658 Newark Bank, Newark-Godfrey and Riddell 22,840 Newark and Sleaford Bank, and Sleaford and Newark Bank, Sleaford-Handley, Peacock, and Co. Newbury Bank, Newbury-Bunny, Slocock, and Co 18,422 Newmarket Bank, Newmarket-Eaton, Hammond, and Co.. 16,993 Norwich Crown Bank and Norfolk and Suffolk Bank, Norwich-Harveys and Hudsons 48,361 Norwich and Norfolk and Fakenhain Banks, Nor with-Gurneys and Birkbecks 94,850 Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Bank, Notting ham-Hart, Fellows, and Co.. 8,228 Nuneaton Bank, Nuneaton-Craddock and Co. Naval Bank, Plymouth-Harris & Co .. 21,830 New Sarum Bank, Sarum-Everett and Co. 10,945 Nottingham Bank, Nottingham-Samuel Smith and Co 29,783 Oswestry Bank and Oswestry Old Bank, Oswestry -Croxon and Co Oxford Old Bank, Oxford-Parsons aid Co .. 33,095 Old Bank, Tonbridge, Tonbridgo and Tonbridge Wells Old Bank, Tonbridge and Tonbridge- Wells and Sevenoaks Bank, Tonbridge-T. H. and S. Beeching Oxfordshire Witney Bank, Witney-J. W. Clinch and Sons 10,675 Pease's Old Bank, Hull, the Hull Old Bank ar d Beverley Bank, Hull-Pease and Co. Penzance Bank, Penzance-Batten and Co. Peterborough Bank and Oundle Bank, Peter - borough-D. Yorke and Co. Pembrokeshire 'lank, Haverfordwest-J. and W Walters Reading Bank, Reading-Simonds and Co. Reading Bank, Reading-Stephens, Blandy, & Co 30,560 Richmond Bank, Richmond-Roper and Co. Rochdale Bank, Rochdale-Clement, Royds, &Co 3,031 Rochester, Chatham, and Strood Bank, Rochester- Day and Nicholson Royston Bank, Royston--Fordham and Sons Rugby Bank, Rugby-A. Butlin and Son 10,030 Rye Bank, Rye-R. C. Pomfret and Co ; 10,603 Ross Old Bank, Herefordshire, Ross-Allaway and - MacDougal Saffron Walden and North Essex Bank, Saffron Walden-Gibsons and Co. 28,984 Salop Bank, Shrewsbury-Burton, Lloyd, &Co 12,419 Scarborough Old Bank, Scarborough-Woodall and Co. Shrewsbury Old Bank and Shrewsbury and Ludlow Bank, Shrewsbury-Rocke, Eyton, and C 0..... 32,302 Sittingbourne and Milton Bank, Sittingbourne- Valiance and Co. Boilthampton Town and County Bank, Southamp ton-Maddison and Pearce 12,490 Southwell Bank, Southwell-Wylde and Co. 10,714 Southampton and Hampshire Bank, Southampton -Atherley, call, and Co. Stafford Old Bank, Stafford-Steven son an d C o. Stamford and Rutland Bank, Stamford-Eaton, Cayley, and Co 26,122 Shrewsbury anl Welsh Pool Bank, Shrewsbury- Beck, Downward, and Co Taunton Bank, 1 aunton-H. and R. Badcock 27,186 Tavistock Bank, Tavistock-Gill, Sons, and Co. 7,700 Thornbury Bank, Thornbury-Harwood and Co 8,945 Tiverton and Devonshire Bank, Tiverton-Duns ford and Co. Thrapston and Kettering Bank, Northamptonshire, Thrapston-York and Eland Tring Bank and Chesham Bank, Tring-Butcher and Son Towchester Old Bank, Towchester-Percival and Co 7,583 Town and County of Poole Bank and Ringwood and Poole Bank, Poole-G. IV. Ledgard and Sons 9,118 Union Bank, Cornwall, Helston-Vivian and Co 11,787 Uxbridge Old Bank, Uxbridge-Hull, Smith, &Co 11,628 Wallingford Bank, Wallingford-Hedges, Wells, and Co. Warwick and Warwickshire Bank, Warwick- Greaves and Co. Wellington Somerset Bank, Wellington-Fox, Brothers, and Co 3,085 West Riding Bank, Wakefield and Pontefract Bank-Leatham, Tew, and Co 46,553 Whitby Old Bank, Whitby-Simpson, Chapman, and Co. Winchester, Alrcsford, and Alton Bank, Winches... ter-Bulpett and Co. Weymouth Old Bank and Dorchester Bank, Wey mouth-Elliot, Pearce, and Co. Wirksworth and Ashbourno Derbyshire Bank- Arkwright and Co. Wisbech and Lincolnshire Bank, Wisbech-G iu , neys and Co ................................ 41,887 Wiveliscombe Bank, Wiveliscombe-P. and W. Hancock .................................. 5,585 Wolverhampton Dank, Wolverhampton-Goodricie and Holyoake Worcester Old Bank and Tewkesbury Old. Bank, Worcester-Berwick, Lechmere, and C 0...... 61,871 Wolverhampton Bank, Wolverhampton -R. and F. Fryer C Yarmouth and Suffolk Bank 05 , and Haleaworth and 10, Suffolk Bank, Ya rmouth -Gurneys, Birkbeck, c9t MlM M ll MlMlttotllttftitltitt At 3113 9,738 THE REPORT OF THE FACTORY INSPECTORS. The reports of the four inspectors of factories is published; it bears date Dec. 10, 1858. The joint report calls the attention of the Secretary of State to the great extent of working beyond the number of hours daily to which young persons and women are restricted, and of the encroachments upon the time reserved for their meals. Scotland presents a most striking contrast in this respect. Since the last report a considerable improvement has taken place in most of the branches of trade. The total number of machinery accidents in the half-year ended Oct. 31 last was 1,802, of which 880 happened to males and 922 to females ; 31 of these were fatal. The non-machinery accidents numbered 84, and of these 10 were fatal. The total number of informations lodged was 522, and 335 convictions took place- One convict, being unable to pay the penalty of his offence, was incarcarated for two months • his nano is David Sempl e . Th e exper i ence o f near l y a quar ter of a century (Mr. Homer reports) has proved the wisdom of the humane legislation of Parliament for the -benefit of those employed in factories, and the fallacy of the prophecies of its obstinate oppo nents. Millowners have repeatedly told him that the Factory Acts have immensely improved the character, manners, and general condition of the operatives, and facts are adduced to show that they have in no wise interfered with the progress and improvement of trade. That further legislation , especially for the protection of young persons, is very desirable, the report s o f the inspectors go far t o prove, the unscrupulous evasions of some of the imillowners being most reprehensible. Mr. Horner denounces a Mr. Wm. Bracewell, of Barnoldswiek' in the West Riding of Yorkshire, near Colne, in tneashire, as, " by habit and repute, a deliberate violator of the law in regard to illegal working!' Tlae indifference of parents to the educational clauses of the Factory Acts is still to be deplored, and it is suggested by Mr. Redgrave that full-time employment might be made to depend upon the possession of an educational as well as a surgical certificate. Mr. Baker reports that the panic of 1857 is almost forgotten in his district, and that confidence is completely restored. The cycle of good and bad times diminishes as machinery in creases, while the changes from one to the other happen more frepuently as the demand for rave material increases with it. Mr. Baker expatiates on the advantages to be derived from education in geue.ral, and from evening schools in particular. He says :—" What we further want is an extension of that union between the classes of society which is beginning to exert so beneficial an influence- - • not necossarily an association between them, but a directiov of the weak by the strong, a softening of the rudeness of ignorant by the touch of edu cated life, and some inculcation of social economy by those who have risen by its power. There is spring and energy enough, and the warmest synl" pathies and sufficient love of offspring among the working classes to provide for their bodily wants, if these are not rendered lukewarm by too much philanthropy ; but as far as their mental neces sities are conctumed they yet require help and pressure--a pressure more directory, perhaps, than compulsory—t° enable them to kel their own strength, and to manifest a useful independence." COUNTRY MA_IIKETB. BR,ISTOL-FEB. 17. The supply of whmt is fair, but mostly in damp condi tion, and such meets with little attention ; fine dry samples, are held for last week's rates, but the busine ss t ransa cted is on a limited scale. Foreign rather more inquired after for mixing. Barley in &God demand at late rates. Beans offered at is per qr. less money. Oats as before. Indian corn and peas without inquiry. BOSTON-FEB. 16. At the opening of the market supplies were good, but out of condition, and millers seemed indisposed to purchase. In some instances the best selected samples of wheat declined is per qr. Other articles much about the same. The wheat trade has not been so heavy for many weeks. Wheat ....36s to 40s Oats.. l Bs to 25e I White do 42s to 43s Beans, new 40s to 47e Barley ..... 28s to 40s 1 Peas 4os to 50s Averages for Wheat 4,216 qrs. Barley.... „ Oats 547 „ R - If Bens 455 „ Peas .... 72 ~ the week : ; , at 40s ld 33s 8d 23s 3d —s Od 44s 10d 43s 9d BIRMINGHAM-FEB. 17. Supply of English wheat limited, and a decline of 6d to is per qr acceded to. In barley, oats, and peas no change Beans is to 2s per qr cheaper. STOCKTON-ON-TEES-FEB. 16. At the market this morning there was a good supply of wheat, for which the trade ruled rather active, at last week's currencies. Oats and beans readily disposed of, and realised high prices. Averages—Wheat 40s 6d, oats 20s, beans 42s lld per qr. MANCHESTER-FEB. 17. The depression in the flour_ trade has continued unabated since our last report, and very sparingly dealt in to-day, at 6d to is per sack cheaper. With a very fair attendance, there was but a limited demand for wheat, and though prices were , nominally the same as last week there was a difficulty in obtaining them. The finer qualities of oats and oatmeal were fully as dear. Beans were firm, with a moderate sale. Indian corn was without change. KNARESBOROUGH—FEB. 16. There was a small supply of grain to-day, and a middling business at the annexed prices :---White wheat, from 5s Od to 5s Od per bushel ; red, 5s Od to 5s 6d ; beans, 4s 9d to sso d; barley, 28s to 33s 6d per qr. ; oats, 22s to 265. LOUTH—FEB. 16. There was a fair quantity of wheat on offer, and prices for all descriptions gave way fully la per qr. Barley a fair demand, and about 2s over last week. Beans were the same. Oats a slow sale, but fully as dear. Wheat ...38s to 42s Oats.... 22s to 26s White • .46s to —s Beans 40s to 44s Barley .34s to 38s Ditto, old —.s to ---0 EDINBURGH GRAIN-FEB. 16. Supplies still large. Sales rather heavy, and prices much the same as last week. Wheat on the top Os 6d up average Os 8d down Barley on the top is Od up average Os ld up. Oats on the top is Od up... .... average Os 4d down. Beans on the top 4s Od up .. .. average Os 2d down. Averages per Imperial quarter. Wheat • Barley 1 12 1 6-12ths Oats 1 3 8 3-12ths Beans Total Supply and Sales. - Wheat ...1578 qrs Sold 1354 qrs Barley... 1958 qrs Sold 1303 qrs Oats .2822 qrs Sold 1753 qrs Beans 423 qrs Sold 309 qrs GLASGOW-FEB. 16. The weather continues very wet, with strong gales from S.W. This day's market was thinly attended, and with only a retail inquiry for any article. Prices have to be written nominally unaltered. CORK-FEB. 15. - - The following were the quotations this morning :—Red wheat, 17s to 22s Od; white, 22s 6d to 23s Od; barley 12s 01 to 14s 9d; oats, Ils 2d to 13s Od. DERBY SMITHFIELD—FEB. 15. The supply of fat beasts to-day was good, with a full attendance of buyers, and the last week's prices were fully maintained. The number of sheep was larger this weak, and sold at former rates. The show of pigs was numerous, and of good quality. Fat and store calves were morn plentiful. Beef 6ld to 7d Veal 6id to 7d Mutton ... 7d 'to 7id Pork Lamb Hides, 4d to sd; calf skins, 4id to 54d. BIRTHS. BELLASIS.—On the 16th inst., at Northwood House, St. John's-wood, the wif e o f M r . S ergeant Bellasis, of a son. BULKLEY.—On the 16th inst., at 23, Gloucester-square, Hyde-park, the wife of George Bulkley, Esq., of a daughter. GILL.—On the 16th inst., at 20, Adelaide-crescent, Brigh ton, the wife of Captain pundas R. Gill, late of th e 10th Hussars, of a daughter. 3/Amis.—On the 15th inst., the wife of the Rev. Professor Marks, 48, Margaret-street, Cavendish-square, of a daughter. MARRIAGES - - LEVY—LEVY.—On the 16th inst., at the residence o f th e bride's father, 2, Stanhope.-terrace, Hyde-park, Ernest, youngest son of Daniel Levy, Esq., of Hunter-street, Brunswick-square, to Isabella, third daughter of Moses Levy, Esq. MORGAN—MALINGS.—On the 16th inst., at St. Mary Ab bott's, Kensington, W. E. Morgan, Esq., of Abingdon villas, Kensington t o S usanna h Augusta, eldest daugh ter Williani Malings, Esq., of York-villas, Campden hill, W. DEATHS. DALMAHOY.—On the 16th inst., at 69, Queen -street, Edin burgh, Anna Catherine, wife of Patrick Dalniahoy, Esq., W. 8. DICKSON.—On the 14th inst., at 20, Hanover-terrace, Re gent's-park, G. F. Di c k son , E sq., o f A bb ot 's-Reading, Lancashire, aged 72. FORBES.—On the 12th inst., at Brighton, the Lady Geor gina Forbes, wife of the Rev. Gra nv ill e F or b es, rector of Broughton, Northamptonshire, and youngest daughter of William, sixth Marquis of Lothian. FOARD.—On the 16th inst., at 13, Boundary-road, St. John's-wood, Charles Foard, Esq. SEEL.—On the 14th inst., Charles Molyneux Seel, Esq., D.A., Commissary-General, aged 28. WISSENDEN .—On the 16th inst., at 1, Wellington-terrace, Charlton, Dover, Mr. Henry Wissenden, aged 68. 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 Auddienz, Friday, February 18, 1859,