The Sun. — London, England, 1859-08-19 00:00:00

e:: __ MR. COBDEN AT _ROCHDALE. MANCHESTER, TIITJRSDAY NIGHT. To-night Mr. Cobden again addressed a large concourse of electors and non-electors of Rochdale on the subject of Parliamentary Reform. The meet ing was held in the pavilion in which the soiree took place place on the previous evening, and there could not have been fewer than between 3,000 and 4,000 persons present. The Mayor of Rochdale again occupied the chair. Mr. Cobden and. Mr. Bright on entering were received with vo ciferous cheering. The CHAIRMAN having introduced the business, Mr. COBDEN stood forward to address the assem blage. He said,—Gentlemen, I am more distressed and disappointed than I can express to find myself hoarse to-night from the effects of our last night's meeting, so that I am almost afraid I shall not be able to make myself heard by you ; but I will, at all events, reserve so much of my voice that if there should be any point on which any one here, whether he be elector or non-elector, desires to put a question to me I may be able to answer him. I consider my self as now occupying the position in which I should have stood if I had been present when you so gene rously elected me without having an opportunity of questioning me, and, therefore, if there is any topic on which any person present is desirous of eliciting information I shall be glad to impart to him all the knowledge in my power. I understand this has been announced as more of a non-electors' than an electors' meeting, although I believe it comprises men of both those denominations. You are happy in this borough in having less of that jealousy and distrust between differe n t c l asses th an , un f or t u nately, prevails in other places. The very fact that we are now presided over by your worthy Mayor shows that in the eyes of the first magis trate of your borough the non-electors hold the same rank in the social scale, and also in political capacity, as any other class of the community. I think I have a fair right to consider myself at home in addressing an assembly of non-electors, for I can conscientiously say, not by way of boast, because there are many politicians just as sincere as myself in that respect, that I have never entertained a political view or cherished a political principle which has not embraced the well-being of the great mass of the people as its fundamental rule and axiom. I need not hesitate to tell you that in this I have not been guided by an exclusive regard for any parti cular class of the community, but because I hold it impossible to promote the permanent welfare and prosperity of any section unless I carry with you in the career of advancement the great mass who form your working classes. (Cheers.) Indeed, any policy that has for its effect the promotion of the prosperity of the great body of the people cannot fail in the end also to benefit all above them in the social scale. We have promised to discuss on this occasion that question which I believe is of most interest to the non-electors of this borough— namely, Parliamentary Reform. It is a good sign to find so many of the working classes and non electors now taking an interest in that subject, for I should despair of my country and think there was little chance of our preserving the institu tions on which we pride ourselves unless the great body of those now unhappily deprived of the elective franchise were pressing forward and anxi ous to elevate themselves to the dignity of free citizens. I will begin with a few words on that which lies at the foundation of all questions of organic change—the suffrage. I am inclined to think that we Reformers have erred in times past in dealing with reform rather as a compound than as a simple question. We have always " lumped" three or four things together and advocated them al in one measure. I believe it would be wiser to deal with them separately, commencing with the fran chise, which must carry with it as a consequence the establishment of the other points of our Reform Bill. I once heard Mr. O'Connell in his humorous way illustrate the erroneous policy we have fol lowed. He said, "If you want to get through a gate way with a waggon where there is hardly room for one horse to go, it is not wise to put on four horses abreast, because it will only be still more difficult for them to pass." (Laughter.) In any future at tempts at reform you should have one bill for the extension of the franchise, then another for the ballot, another for the shortening of Parliament, and another for the redistribution of seats. My opinion is that the franchise being the one on which all the rest depends ought to be disposed of first. My views on the franchise have been pretty fre quently given during the last 20 years. I don't think I have gone so far as somebody in this as- sembly. (A laugh.) I have, however, gone much further than many of those with whom I find myself acting in the House of Commons. I have always voted for household suffrage. You have many ad vocates of that species of franchise, and also of man hood suffrage in your borough. Now my idea is, that whether you get manhood suffrage or house hold suffrage, or even something less than either— as is very like to be the case in the first instance— some step in advance as regards the franchise will at all events render future progress in the same direction and also towards the attainment of other branches of reform, muck more easy than it would otherwise be. We have got to a deadlock now on the ques tion of the franchise, it must be dealt with, for all parties in the House of Commons have come to this —that while the whole of them have agreed to some measure of reform, there seems to be hardly power on the part of either side to carry any sufficient bill. Therefore, in the interest even of Parliamentary government, as well as for the bene fit of the people at large, it is most important that the subject of the suffrage should be grappled with especially, and as I hope also generously. But I won't disguise from you who are non-electors that in dealing with this question we have to argue it before a tribunal which already possesses the fran chise, and it -would not be human nature if we did not find those who are the present depositories of political power, a little bit jealous and reluctant to diffuse their privilege over a greater number of voters, thereby lessening, as they imagine, the in trinsic value of the suffrage itself. (Cheers and a laugh.) It would be very much like somehedy who has a pretty strong glass of wine allowing some body else to come and water it. (Laughter.) There is no doubt that the extension of the franchise to a large body of the working clssses would be re garded by the present constituencies as in some degree weakening their power and endangering, their interests. Now, I have always been a prac tical man, and even in advocating the repeal of the corn laws I found that no progress was to be made till I took up the landlords an the farmers' views of the question, and tried to reconcile them to the change by showing them that they would not suffer any harm from it. So, in urging an extension of the suffrage, I should always present myself before the existing electoral body with such arguments as I could discover to prove to them that they would not sustain any injury from the introduction of a large portion of those who are now outside the pale of the constitution ; my first question to the present constituent body would be this—" What interest have you, the middle class, which the working classes have not equally with yourselves P" You cannot separate the interest of one from the interest Of the other. The question then is, "Are we sure that if we let in a large infusion from another class they will see their own interest in the same way as we see ours ?" People are generally quick-sighted as to their own interests, and fortunately there is this in the constitution earthly things, th at if a of human society, and all man doesn't pursue his own i n terest, but does wrong, he is s oon rem i n d e d o f it by the damage he inflicts on himself and on others. (Cheers.) I don't think there is much danger likely t o arise from a large enfranchis ement of working men, owing to the probability o f their following their own instincts and taking an unwise view of their own inte rest. But I would ask the middle c lasses now enjoying the franchise whether th e may not involve themselves in some difficulty and danger if they.keep shut out from the electoral pale that vast majority of the community which h as now no share in the suffrage. The working classes and those who are not allowed to vote amount to from four to five millions of persons. Well, I say to those who have the franchise, take into partner ship a portion of those now excluded from that right, and do so, if from no other motive but the selfish one of being secured in the possession of the power you hold. Your electoral system is now standing on so narrow a foundation that it is h ardl y safe to reckon it standing at all in the event of cer tain contingen c i es w hi c h may one day arise. What have we seen abroad, when Louis Philippe, the last King of France, was strongly urged by the reformers of that country to double its electoral body, which only included some 250,000 voters. He refused- to comply. He continued to govern France through that small minority of voters, and so one evening, when we were sitting in the House of Commons, the telgraph flashed the news from Paris that the Government of Louis Philippe had been overthrown, and a republic proelaimed in its stead. While the buzz of conversation ran round the house as this piece of intelligence passed from member to member, I remember well seeing my friend the late Mr. Hume, who sat beside me, go across to Sir Robert Peel to tell him what had occurred. Sir R. Peel was then on the front seat of the Opposition side, having been repudiated by the large party he had lost by previously repealing the corn laws. When Mr. Hume went beside him and whispered to him the news, I remember his immediate answer was this, " This comes of trying to govern a country through a narrow representation in Parlia ment, without regard to the wishes of those outside ; and it is what this party behind me wanted me to do in the matter of the corn laws, but I would not do it." (Cheers.) We stand here on a different basis. Instead of 250,000 we have about 1,000,000 voters. But recollect this—that while France had been a constitutional country then only about 25 years, we have been governed upon constitutional maxims for centuries. Recollect that it is our boast that the people here do rule, and have ruled for many ages ; and, taking into account our great pretensions in regard to the freedom of the subject, and comparing our present state, having but 1,000,000 voters, with the state of France 12 years ago with her 250,000, I declare that our case is less defensible than that of Louis Philippe at the period I have named. Our representation is, no doubt, when contrasted with our pretensions, an enormous " sham." (Cheers.) And remember there is no security in " shams," because they are very liable to be upset by any sudden reality, such as that which was witnessed in the streets of Paris at the epoch I have described. (Cheers.) I can imagine such a thing as our hearing some day within the next five years of the hurricane of revolution again passing over the Continent of Europe. We know what the effect of that was in this country in 1830. Well, if, owing probably to some circumstances hap pening in India or elsewhere (for we are not with out our outlying dangers), there were such a crisis, very great excitement prevalent in this country, and great sufferings, discontent, and consequent disaf fection, I can imagine such a great change coming like a thunder-clap from the Continent and throw ing up elements in England which might produce innovations far greater than anything which any of us now contemplate, and which would make the men who will have to settle this question look back with regret to the present tranquil times, and lament that they had not, as prudent statesmen, dealt with it in days of political prosperity. I am therefore choosing the most homely and common sense counsels in advising the present possessors of political power to grapple with this subject when the people are in a good temper and contented. We have seen another change on the continent. We have seen the great mass of the people there sometimes throw themselves into the scale in favour of some one great man or great party, and though it is not a thing very likely to happen in this country, yet I can well suppose that in any nation, if you exclude five•sixths of the male adult population from elec toral rights, and proscribe them for generation after generation, they might be disposed to avenge them selves on the privileged classes by turning the scale in favour of some other part of the community who, as they might think, had stood against their op pressors. These are not mere whimsical fancies, but considerations which ought to weigh with thoughtful men. But we are met by the bugbear that our working classes are not fit to be entrusted with the franchise. (A laugh.) The saying is, "We believe they would injure themselves." (Re newed laughter.) Now, it has often occurred to me in my travels to ask " if the people are not fit to take care of themselves who are to be trusted to take care of them ?" (A laugh.) I have put that question to myself in many countries, whether the people are governed as they are in Russia or in Aus tria, and whether they are ruled as they now are in France. " Where," I have said to myself, "am Ito find a resting place ?" How will you ever establish a system by which the people will be well governed unless you come to this conclusion,—that they must be left to govern themselves. Ido not profess to go to any of these countries for a rule for our guidance ; there is another remedy for this dif ficulty as to the people's ignorance. (A Voice—" Go to America.") Well, I have been there, but we must deal with this as an English question—(cheers)--in a practical spirit, and not as an American question. I have not, however, any objection to illustrate what I was about to say by a reference to America. In that country they have generally a system of universal suffrage ; but it does not prevail every where, and until lately the franchise was not so widely extended as it is now. I saw it recently stated in a New York newspaper that 30 years ago the suffrage in the State of New York was not more popular than it is now in England. In various of the American States you have a great variety of franchise—in some parts universal suffrage; in others a tax-paying suffrage ; in others, again, household suffrage ; and in others still, a property qualification; but the tendency everywhere and always is to widen the basis of the franchise, and increase the number of voters. The principle is now everywhere admitted that they must come to manhood suffrage for the whole white population. But the point I wish to arrive at in regard to this alleged ignorance of the people is this—that I have found in America that everywhere the question of education lies at the foundation of every political question. Everywhere in America the influential and wealthier classes advocate education for the people as the means of enabling them to govern themselves. (Cheers.) Their reasoning is this— the people govern for themselves ; they govern us as well as themselves, and unless we educate the people our free institutions can't possibly exist. Their maxim, in fact, everywhere is, "Educate, or we perish." The consequence is that the influen tial classes in America devote themselves to the instruction of the whole community in a manner and to an extent of which no country in Europe can have any idea. I lately visited, during my travels, places where, when I was in America 24 years ago, the Red Indians were still encamped. Now there are to be frequently found in those spots flourishing towns, and I discovered among all those new communities that school-houses were the largest and most conspicuous buildings ; that even while the streets were unpaved, and most of the citi zens were dwelling in wooden tenements, there were large brick or stone structures run up, each containing eight, ten, or twelve large rooms, and every room from the floor to the roof was filled with children, all receiving, without a farthing of charge to their parents, as good an education as could be given iu the time to the sons of the mid dle classes in England. (Cheers.) I have no hesi tation in saying that this system of education in America has gone hand in hand with . the extension of the elective franchise, and that the strong and pervading motive with the citizens of that country in instructing their youthful population is to enable them to exercise the political power they possess for their own benefit, and that of the entire com munity. (Cheers.) Now, one advantage I exp ec t t o see accrue from a wide diffusion of the franchise in this country is, that there will be an increased at tention paid by those who fill influential places to the promotion of national education ; and if this should have the effect of drawing different classes together and inciting them to a common effort to raise the moral and intellectual condition of the great mass of the people, I know of no better result that could be produced by any measure than that which will emanate from an extension of the suf frage. (Cheers.) There are questions, however, connected with our taxation which some people think could hardly be safely left to be decided by a largely augmented constituency. Now, lam of opinion that in that respect too the country would gain from such a measure. I believe the tendency of legislation in our fiscal affairs, as the result of a more widely extended franchise, would be very much to promote the prosperity of our commercial system. What is it that some people are afraid of ? They say if you give the - vote to the people they will tax property, and they will relieve themselves of taxation. I cannot follow the subject into all its details, but I am not at all alarmed at this threat, even if all that is predicted in that direction should be fulfilled, and if the votes 1 1 of the people removed to a large extent the taxes that now press upon articles of consumption, such as tea, sugar, paper, and other articles, taxed at our customs and excise offices, still I do not believe that would prove injurious to the country, If the working people who are added to our electoral list should instinctively replace a large portion of our indirect taxes on property or income, it would have a beneficial effect on the commerce of this country, and the working classes urged, you may say, by their natural instincts of selfishness, would in fact be carrying out the most enlightened principles of political economy. (Hear.) I do not know any result of the extension of the franchise that would be more likely to benefit the upper class as well l t a h r e g e el o y llsarn as the lower, if I may use the term, than a chang e in our fiscal system, which would very fer that thosepaidptiontofhienwipoorsitisintlgiactlasarsees7awnd remove • ti.a revenuenisn thefeao income and property. I there educrat fore see in education inorance a greater change prospective transfer r. i;, for the people, and in the of improved coul ration . I cannot see that the working class would be injurious to the other do that which power, l e i : classes l, ry itiok o of t y h t e o c deal munity. I am sometim vo e i s i old that the class, if if they had the lam not afraid of that par ticular with it something like . trades unions, mea sures through Parliament that shoud ben r e e fi e t ticular classes. Well, have had classes in possession of the power of le gislating before now who have used it for their own advantage. We had the Corn Laws passed by the landowners, the Navigation Laws passed for the benefit of the shipowners, the timber duties passed for the benefit of the timber merchants, and sugar monopolies for the benefit of the West Indians. We have had classes in this country who have usurped political power and applied it to their own selfish purposes ; but the progress of enlightenment, and the continued discussion of these question has shown that this process of selfish legislation is, after all, only suicidal to those who follow it, and that the best interests of all are consulted by those mea sures which deal fairly with the interests of all. If the matter came to be fairly discussed between the enfranchised working men and those above them in the social scale, I don't think they would be likely to come to any conclusions on these ques tions that would be likely to prove inimical to the rest of the community. I always fall back upon this consideration—that when we have taken into partnership a large section of the working class as electors, we shall all be interested in seeing that they get all the information we can possibly give them on these subjects. (Hear.) The law of self preservation will be always at work, and we shall through the newspapers, through our addresses and our schools, be constantly trying to bring up the intelligence of the working class, if that be ne cessary, so as to enable them to fulfil their duty as electors without any of those dangers of which some people (though lam not) are afraid. With regard to the particular measure with which we shall probably have to deal I am very sorry to say that I don't think the country or the House of Commons is in the mood for a very strong measure of Parliamentary Reform. I know not whether to blame the House of Commons or the country. I rather think there is quite as much agitation about political reform in the House of Commons as in the country. It has got into the House, and they don't know what to do with it. (Laughter.) It is bandied about from side to side. All parties are professing to be reformers. Everybody is for an extended franchise, and upon my honour I think at heart nobody likes it very much or cares much about it. I think it best to speak frankly, whether or not it excites cheers or be acceptable, and I am sure that is the course which a Rochdale au dience will always approve. (Cheers.) When I was travelling in America my friend Mr. Bright, was making some of the most elo quent speeches that ever have been delivered by a human being in this country—(great cheering)—in favour of a large measure of Parliamentary Re form ; but I did not gather from the newspapers that there was much spontaneous combustion in the country to help him in his efforts. An American friend of mine, a great admirer of Mr. Bright's elo quence, said to me, " Ah, you and Bright made a great mistake; if you are going to be political re formers you ought to have gone for reform before you repealed the Corn-laws, because now everybody is well fad, and get plenty of work and wages, and they are all turned Tories." (Laughter.) . Ido not go so far as that, but it must be said, in looking back for the past forty years, that in almost all cases of great political excitement, when reform was the most popular with the masses, it was at a time of great manufacturing distress, when provisions were dear, labour scarce, and the people discontented with everybody and everything about them. On the contrary, there is no doubt that by the measures which I hope without vanity I may say Mr. Bright's name and my own, and the names of many others here are associated, we have put an end to those occasional periods of starvation. We are not driven to subsist upon cabbage stalks and garbage, and there is generally plenty to eat, but I should be sorry to find that my American friend was so far correct that the people of this country, because they were well fed and generally in receipt of fair wages, are therefore indifferent to their political rights. It must be admitted that there has been rather an unusual quiescence with regard to this question of reform, and I may tell you candidly that those who advocate it in Parliament find it very difficult to get admission to the electoral pale for those outside, unless they are knock ing pretty loudly for access. (Hear, hear.) Still I say this is a time when statesmen ought to deal with the question, and, if there be one atom of sense, one grain of wisdom among those privileged classes—they would really the end come in and deal with those questions effectually, they won't lose another session without agreeing to such a large measure of Parliamentary reform as shall carry us over at least the next 20 years. Lord John Russell has given notice of his views, and pledged himself, as I am informed, to a measure of £6 rental in boroughs and £lO in counties. In a borough like Rochdale I suppose £6 rental would give a very large addition to your electoral list, be cause, owing to the higher rents in such a town, the £6 householders would include a very large proportion of the working class. But if you go to the smaller places in the rural districts and to the farming villages and small towns generally, the £6 rental would not add largely to the constituency, and I believe in Scotland and Ireland it would have a very slight effect. Altogether the £6 rental would not, I believe, double the present constitu ency. I have not had an opportunity of investi gating it, and probably it would not be easy to do ; but I am told that if the franchise were extended to the £6 rental, it would not add a million to the present million of voters. I have heard some people say it would not add more than 500,000 or 600,000. I have heard, but I cannot believe it, that amongst the colleagues of Lord John Russell there is some idea of a resistance even to this moderate measure ; but I would ask those noble lords and right hon. gentlemen whether it is worth while disturbing the franchise at all if they don't go thus far at least P Next year it will be 30 years since the first Reform Bill ; that bill added one million to the electoral body ; we have waited for 30 years, and now it is considered extreme to add another million. Out of the 6,000,000 adult males in this country, 5,000,000 have no votes, and then if we aro to go on no faster than these additions, it will take four times 30 years before all the adult males of the country are entitled to vote. Nobody, I should think, would consider that travelling at too fast a rate. (Cheers.) I do not say that it is necessary that we should get it all at once, but gradually, and as we haven chance of getting it; though if the present Government should falter in the measu7e shadowed forth by Lord John Russell it will be most suicidal and unwise. Assuming, at all events, that this question of the franchise will be dealt with, there is another question to which I attach the utmost importance—the ballot. lam of opinion that the ballot is sure to follow the exten sion of the suffrage. (Cheers.) There are about 230 men now in the House of Commons pledged to the ballot, and the effect of the first election under a Reform Bill would inevitably be to carry it. (Cheers.) The extension of the suffrage, therefore, natually would lead to the ballot. lam for keep ing the question separate from other questions, and I have always advised the Ballot Society in London to confine its attention to this matter alone. Since I have been home I have been asked a dozen times —what do people think of the Ballot in America ? Why, nobody says anything at all about it there. It is so perfectly understood by 99-100ths of the community to be the very best way of taking votes that people think no more of discussing its advan tages than of discussing whether they shall button their waistcoats in front or behind, or whether they shall mount a horse on the right side or the left. There are not two sides to the question, and nobody ever thinks of debating it. Everybody admits that the ballot is the most convenient, peaceful, and moral means of taking votes ever de vised. In ordinary cases voting goes on with as much tranquillity as the course of proceedings on a Sabbath-day here. People go to the polling-booth as quietly as to their places of worship, they de posit their vote, nobody interferes with them ; no body cares to know how any man votes, nobody questions his right to vote just as he likes—and, when that is conceded, nobody has any interest in opposing the ballot. (Cheers.) I quoted last night a passage from a letter written to me by an American gentleman, in which he says, " Having been for 50 years in close intimacy with the machinery of parties, and in active participation in the conduct of elections, I never knew a vote bought or sold, nor one which I had any reason to believe to be bought or sold." Those are the words of a gentleman who is at the head of the Democratic party in America; and the reason is this, that the constituencies are so large that it would be quite futile to attempt to carry an election by bribery, just as it would be impossible to carry one in that way at Manchester or Leeds, or any other such large town. Considering, then, that we are 28,000,000 of people, ought we not to have all our constituencies much larger than they are ? (Cheers.) I know not how we are to keep the House of Com mons within its present limits if you are to give votes to all persons entitled to them, unless you enlarge the constituencies. This brings me to the redistribution of seats. In any new Reform Bill you will have to give a considerable number of new members to large places like Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds, and, of course, Rochdale will come in. (Hear, hear.) In my opinion it would be the most convenient and the fairest plan if you divided your large boroughs into wards, and gave to each ward a member. Instead of lumping two or four mem bers all together, as the represeneatives of the whole town, you should divide it into four wards, say, and give a member to each ward ; and as in most towns there are quarters which are inhabited chiefly by the aristocracy and others chiefly inhabited by the working classes, in this manner you would secure the most complet-i representation of all the various classes in a town. I have often observed THE SU N, LONDON, FRIDAY " EVE NING, AUGUST 19, 185 g. that where constituencies have only one member there is a greater tendency to maintain a higher cha- ratter and greater public spirit. There are more contests, and the line of demarcation more strongly marked. Where there are two members people get tired of contests; they say " Let us agree to vote one and one," and there is a general acquiescence. This a bad state of things, because political contests are of the greatest advantage in the maintenance of free institutions. (Cheers.) I don't intend to say anything about short Parliaments; they have been short enough lately—(laughter)--and to all ap pearances will continue to be as short, unless our legislators deal with this question of reform in such a way as to give a predominance to some one party in the house. I have always advocated a return to the rule of triennial Parliaments. Short leases and frequent reckonings are more likely to maintain the character of the representatives of the constituency. (Cheers.) I could enlarge much longer on these topics if time permitted, but I am to be followed by several gentlemen, and by one in particular, to whom if we ever do get a Reform Bill the country will be mainly indebted. (Cheers.) The hon. gen tleman concluded his speech by expressing his grate ful acknowledgments to the electors and non-electors for his unopposed return, and sat down amid loud and prolonged cheering. Mr. FENTON then moved, and Mr. SHEPHERD, a non-elector, seconded a vote of confidence in Mr. Cobden. After a few words from Mr. S. CRAWFORD in support of the resolution, Mr. BRIGHT then addressed the meeting, and on rising was greeted with prolonged and hearty cheering. He said,—l was very glad that during the speech delivered in this place by Mr. Cobden last night he announced his intention of speaking more at length to-night on the question of Parlia mentary Reform—(hear)—for, notwithstanding that some men may think that this question has not re cently excited the attention which it merits, I think every thoughtful and logical man will admit that after the settlement of it has been promised by not less than five Administrations within the last few years, I may fairly assume that there is some necessity for dealing with it, either in the re cent condition of parties in the House of Commons, or in the temper and resolution of the people with regard to it. If we turn back only to the month, I think, of April last we shall remember that there were held in this country in one fortnight far more than 100 public meetings, most of them of great magnitude, at which a bill called a Bill of Reform, introduced by the Government of Lord Derby, was unanimouslycondemned,and resolutions were passed, on the whole, demanding more extensive changes than those which have been discussed to-night. (Hear, hear.) I am not, therefore, one of those who are willing to admit that the people do not care about this great question. I admit, of course, that we do not see it discussed in a hurricane of passion, and surrounded by all those bitter animosities amidst which the question was treated in the years 1831 and 1832. As a far larger number of the people are now enfranchised there is a general admissionlon the part of even the most obtuse of our opponents that there must be a still greater enfranchisement. We have none of the opposition to contend with that we had then, and there is not the necessity now, which could not be avoided then, of tumul tuous assemblies, of revolutionary speeches, of in surrectionary movements, of menacing demonstra tions before which the oligarchy of this country quailed, and in the face of which they were unable to deny a considerable and beneficial measure of re form. But there are people still who tell us that the country is so well governed and that the people are so well off that a very little need be done, a mere sop to a few of the discontented, and that a measure very little in advance of the old measure will sa tisfy any demand which exists. They tell us that the people are so comfortable that it is of itself a proof that the country is sufficiently well, nay, ad mirably well governed, and that it is a good rule in politics, as in many other things, to let well be well, and not to disturb anything for fear we should find ourselves worse. (Laughter.) Now, I am speaking here to a meeting composed of several thousands of men who were not born, as it were, with silver spoons in their mouths—(laughter)—except it be a blessing—and I hold it no mean blessing in a free country and with a fair field—that men are born to earn their living, to make their fortunes, and to build their hopes upon their own industry, their own intelligence, and their own virtues. (Oh !) But, whether men are well off or not is in some de lgree a question of comparison, and, speaking as I am to thousands of men who have nothing in the world but their own skill and their own industry to depend upon, lam willing to undertake the task of showing that which is great and good and pros perous among the people of England springs from the people of England themselves, and not from any peculiar virtue or intelligence in the oligarchi cal Government of this country. (Cheers.) What is it that we owe to the Government, and what is it that we owe to ourselves ? Looking back for 60 years, we shall find that for 22 years of that period, from 1793 to 1815, when you had . no power, and when we who are on this platform had no power over the Government of this country—when the Government was an absolute, undisputed, and un controlled oligarchy, all the vast resources of Eng land and her population were employed in costly and sanguinary war for an object which now we know was not accomplished, but has been entirely reversed, and which, if it could have been perma nently secured, could have brought not one atom of good to any single working man of the toiling mil lions of this kingdom. (Cheers.) I will not ask you to listen to any lengthened description of that long - war. I might tell of the sufferings of your citizens who entered the military service, of the suffering of your manufacturers, your shopkeepers, and the millions of your artisans. Suffice it to say that it is written on the page of history, and no sophistry can ever erase it, that that was a period when free dom was unknown in England, when there was spread among the people of every class but the con sumer of taxes a suffering and a misery such as never existed in modern times before, and such as it was utterly disgraceful to our country that it could exist at all. (Oh.) Many here can look back to the time of the conclusion of that war; everybody here knows who has read of those times that, starting from 1815, the peace and plenty which are supposed to attend the cessa tion of war—the plenty, at any rate, was long in wasa n d thata periodup o t f o a l l B m 2 o 6 s , t and, u nv i e n r co ming—(a laugh) —and s d a e l e d d s t c o o n l t B e 3 n 2 t ,. t erells\o much had the capital of the country been wasted, so enormous ly were taxes in creased, so grievous was that fiendlike infliction which was embodied in the clauses of the Corn Bill, so frightful were the consequences of the policy of the preceding 22 years, that I will under take to say that all the burning words which orators have ever used utterly fail to describe the calamities which that war had entailed upon the people of this kingdom. (Hear, hear.) You know that hundreds of men were tried for sedition and insurrection under one form or another ; that con tests were incessant between workmen and their employers ; that many men were transported for offences into which their sufferings of necessity drove them ; and that some even finished their career upon the scaffold or gallows, who, had it not been for the evil system of our laws and Govern ment, might have lived out their natural term of life in honour of aelrdgt3 tiy2h,name aaa a tm: nny improvement mnec credit, anphtnhretdoech\r,e\esv .mRh) ocealfnneoctd,r Coming reputation inm m n Bite n i hte g i oglet h l htt t pdiaela h otemsNi a Ntsi : )ien ' me e d:e l t ii e ootlt f rdh t wtrte a hehirin n eeel hbp a r eea i rsdai unblemish eddobpmdeoe been e iwsecl p nipoo e oenna e recheda p velita l euti e Nroois, , oyefin a onto r enl. bv i lm s asoh t seefF n i sr: g tovholhr , Nef, htedi a sytoawi-ulsi Forty-four our people ru b pe relve; becomeie years believe, e, evidentmh a a _ n e l e y i na fm ee m di r the since aes the a e l aphasaet rltla gradual t f latter hep the portion n t o i edu o s n npstee o ren f yi that sa iali yide, the o e ir p ny l e l t rising into a better state than that which they occu pied before. They are better fed, they are wonder fully better clothed, they are far more sober, they are far more instructed, far less bar barous, far more kind to each other, and to all classes of the people they are more moral ; and there is about them more of everything which marks a steady and high hope—a per manent improvement in their condition. (Hear, hear.) But, let me ask you, is it the exclusive and class government of the country which has brought all this to pass ; or does it spring from the industry, and the growing comfort arising from that industry, which we observe among the people ? I am not about now to slay the slain, and recapitulate the glories of that victory in the fight fbr which I bore such part as I was enabled to bear—l mean the victory by which the principle of free trade was established for ever in the legislation of this king dom—(cheers)—but I may say what I think all wise men admit, that if it be true that since the abolition of the corn laws nearly £20,000,000 worth every year—not in the 13 years, but every year, £20,000,000 worth of corn of various kinds, of cattle and of various articles of food, which before were mainly prohibited, have come into this country, surely somebody among our 30,000,000 of popula tion must have hada better filled cupboard, a better spread table, and greater health and comfort in the enjoyment of life. (Cheers.) But he would be a very bold man who said that we owed free trade to the oligarchical Government of England. We fought for free trade as though we were wringing some act of justice from an enemy of our country. It was a battle of many years ; it lasted nearly as long as the fabulous siege of Troy, and, as you know hundreds of thousands of pounds were subscribed and spent in the prosecution of that great contest. Take another source of well-being in this country during that period—namely, the extension of the system of railways throughout the United Kingdom. I have sometimes endeavouredto make acalculation, not of the money which has been expended, for there has been great waste, but of the money which has been saved to the commerce and the people of Eng lund by the introduction of our railways. And I believe that it would take, according to our old sys tems of conveyance, an annual sum equal to the in terest of the national debt to accommodate the traffic which is now necessary in the conduct of our affairs. But the Government did not make the railways. (Laughter.) There are great lords, and I am afraid great commoners, who resisted the introduction of that system, and Parliament, in stead of giving facilities, made everything as costly as possible when anybody wished to make a rail way. Railways are the offspring of the intelli gence, industry, and capital of the nation, not of the intelligence or the patriotism of your Govern ment. (Cheers.) There is another source from which many persons think we have derived great good—the extension of our colonies and the dis covery of gold in Australia and California ; but, whatever be the amount of that good, it has come from the energy and industry of the people, and not from any special virtues of our Executive Go vernment or Parliament. But before free trade, extension of railways, colonial extension, and gold discoveries, in my opinion the people have gained most in every way from the long duration of peace from 1815 to 1859. With the exception of two years in the period before 1815, you worked when you got work; you had wages when you could get them, but the capital of your employers and your wages were year after year more and more ab stracted and diminished by the guilty evpenditure caused by the wars. During the last 44 years the cost of your Government has been less, probably by one-half, than it was during the war. During those 44 years you have worked, you have received wages, your employers have created and accumu lated capital, and I believe that the long duration of peace more than any other thing has been the cause of that universal and most gratifying im provement which we find among all ranks of people. (Cheers.) All these things the Government has not done. It has permitted among us a large amount of personal freedom. For the last 30 years we have been free to talk, to write, to meet and pass resolu tions, to demand whatever we thought the Govern ment ought to concede. But in all this the Govern ment has permitted, not because it liked it, but be cause, as the people became more intelligent, more organised and determined, the ruling classes found it less safe to withhold these things than in past years. Suppose that during the 60 years of which I have spoken we had had peace, and that the in - telligence and industry of the people had been as sisted by a wise and just Government, don't you think there would have been a still greater improve ment in the condition of the people, and should we not have presen. ed to the world a spectacle of a free and a prosperous nation such as Europe yet never saw ? (Cheers.) I hold that our Government has been far behind the just sentiments of the people, and it has been somainly because your Government has been in the hands of a small class who fancied that they had interests opposed to the general in terests of the nation. I was speaking the other day To a member of the House of Lords, one of the most eminent of its members, and one of the most con scientious of our statesmen. We were discussing the very question of Parliamentary reform in refer ence to Lord. Derby's bill, and he made this obser vation to me, " Up to 1832 the Government of this country was the government of the aristocracy. No man, of course, can deny that ; and I think the Go vernment have been better since the Reform Bill, though whether it will be better still by going fur ther in the same direction is a question about which men will form their own opinions ; but I have no doubt that a further change in that direction is in evitable." If, then, the government before the Re form Bill was a government of the aristocracy—if since that bill it has been less absolutely a govern ment of the aristocracy—if since then the course of legislation has been more just and liberal—if the physical condition of the people has improved, and their temper towards the Government has become more kind and more in harmony with the Govern ment—l ask you, as sensible men, whether you have not laid a foundation for our demand for ano ther advance in that direction ? (Cheers.) - What interest have we who stand. on this platform in overturning any institution which is advantageous to the country, or in making a change which shall even endanger the prosperity which is as much to us as to any other man or class of men in the na tion? The people do not want to seize the whole power, or to exclude anybody else from their fair share in the Government. What they want is, that the Parliament of England. should fairly and advantageously represent all classes, from the highest to the lowest. (Cheers.) What are we to do? You have a Government which is pledged to reform. In that Government there are men honestly anxious that a Reform Bill, and a good Reform Bill, should be carried. It is our interest and it is our duty to give them our honest and energetic support. We are doing that to-night. (Cheers.) Thousands are here assembled to whom the law has hitherto said, " You are not competent to take part in even those simple deliberations which end in a return of a member to Parliament ;" thousands are here to-night who have led their lives in a state or unremitting industry—who from morn till night, from youth to gray old age, have fulfilled honestly and scrupu lously the duties which devolved upon their condi tion ; thousands are here to-night who look forward to something better than they now possess and en joy, and are stimulated in their daily and hourly exertions by the hopes and aspirations which ani mate their souls. Shall we repudiate, shall we re ject or neglect the hopes and interests of the mil lions of our fellow-countrymen who are represented by the thousands I see before me ? Let us make up our minds that we are not only people of the same country, brethren of the same soil, living under the same Government, but that we are all men in common—that the highest interest of every poor man is the same as the true and highest interest of every rich man ; that the Government shall be a just Government, faithful to its trust and to its re sponsibilities, dispensing that which is equal fairly among all classes of the people. (Cheers.) If we believe this, as I do firmly believe it, let us become as though our interests were the same. Let us petition, let us resolve. (Cheers.) Let us, by re turning suitable members to Parliament, where we have the power, by the creation and organisation of opinion, show to our fellow countrymen and the Government that we know what it is we want, that we comprehend the justice of that we demand; let us support the members of this Government, all of them, if they be in favour of a real and substantial measure of reform ; let us, between this and Febru ary next, unite with our countrymen everywhere in such an expression of opinion as shall convince Parliament that, whether they like the ques tion or not, the people of England like it and, liking it, are determined that it shall be settled at an early period in a manner consistent with justice, and with their true and universal in terests. (Cheers.) The resolution was then carried unanimously, and the proceedings terminated. EADTERTISEMENT.II- Pr -EPPS's (Honmeopathic Chemist) COCOA.— lhi eparation is sold by the prin cipal grocers at atls. esteemed6d. per lb , in lib., }lb., and packets. Each packet is labelled cc James Epps, Homeco- pathic chemist, London." {ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway' s PillsandOintnin Youth.—The onward march of time can never b ear r e es t te7d, and youth must be succeeded by maturer years, but its bloom and health may be prolonged by strict attention to the laws of nature, by regulating the T aitstion and main taining the blood in a state of purity. Not ingaecomplishes these ends with so much certainty and precision as Hollo way's preparations, which are famed throughout the whole world for improving the digestion, strengthening the sto mach, and regulating the liver and kidneys—functions essential to good health. In nervous temperaments, where 'the stomach is irritable, this ointment rubbed over that organ never fails to relieve the dist ress i ng f ee l ings, to invi gorate the nervous system, and give youthful tone. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—To the hectie, the consumptive, the dyspectic, the emaciated, and the debilitated, Du Barry's delicious health-restoring Revalenta Arabica rood restores sound lungs, perfect digestion, refreshing sleep, and ner vous and muscular energy without any of the uncertainties, annoyances, and ruinous expenses incurred by medicines, cod liver oil, or visits to distant climes. We quote a few of the many thousand cures effected by this delicious food. Cure No. 39,618—Dr. Wurtger, of consumption. Cure No. 54,812—Miss Virginia Zeguers, cured of consumption, after her medical advisers had abandoned all hopes of recovery. Cure No. 3,9o6 —Thirteen years' cough, indigestion, and general debility have been removed by Du Barry's excel lent Food. James Porter, Athol-street, Perth. Cure No. 51,618--Miss Gallard, 17, Rue du Grand St. Mi c h ae l , P ar i s, was in the l as t stage consumption, of which two sisters had died, and given up by her medical attendant, when, as a last resource, her father gave her Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica, and in about three months she was perfectly free from cough, expectoration, nocturnal perspirations, and every other symptom of this dreadful disease, and is now p er f ect l y well. Cure No. 46,270—Mr. fames Roberts, timber merchant, of thirty years diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver dera ngemen t , par tial deafness. C ure No. 52,087 Field -Marshal Duke of Plusknow, of gastric inflammation of the stomach. In tins, at ls. 6d. ; 11b., 3s. ; 21b., ss. 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, Graceehurch- s t ree t ; 4, Ch eapside ; 63, and 150, Ox ford street ; 330 and 451, Strand ; 49 and 60, .Bishops , •ate - street ; 85, Totte n h am - court-road. Also at Dublin, Bewley and Draper ; at Edinburgh, Raimes and Co. ; at Liverpool, Nixon and Thew ; at Manchester, Sharp and Scott; at York, Raimes, Blanchard, and Co. ; at South ampton, Randall and Son, THE SERPENTINE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir, We had intended not to have troubled you again on the matter, but we must continue to do so until we find that the letters sent to you for inser tion are based upon something like facts. Sir S. M. Peto appears to be very indignant at our venturing to contradict a statement made by him, upon a matter not of opinion but of fact, and one, too, in which we are directly concerned. We have known Sir S. M. Peto for many years, and we can honestly say that no one has a higher appre ciation of his great talents than we have, so long as they are exercised in his own vocation, but we can not help thinking that to take his opinion upon a question of water supply is somewhat like calling in an eminent medical authority to decide on a point of law. The question at issue between us is this :—Sir S. M. Peto, " who resides near the Ser pentine, and who has a business establishment near St. James's Park," states that the concrete bottom of the lake in St, James's Park is pervious, and that the water filters through the concrete bed, and is pumped back again into the lake. We, on the other hand, who sunk the well, fixed the ma chinery, filled the lake, and are still pumping into it under contract for the Government, say that this statement is not correct, and we have given our reasons for this assertion in your paper of the 13th inst. Now, independently of our to be presumed better opportunities of knowing the exact state of the case, it must: be observed that Sir S. M. Peto has not been publicly supported in his statement by one single individual, while public opinion, ac tuated by public common sense, cries aloud against the plan for the Serpentine supply which his sin gular assertion is intended to support. It would be supposed that the able letter of your correspondent " Tyburnian" in your impression of Saturday last would have been sufficient to con vince Sir S. M. Peto that he had made a mistake, and would have induced him to relapse as quickly as possible into silence upon a subject of which he obviously could know but little. As, however, he seems determined to adhere to his opinion on this point, we will inform him that, after a fortnight's cessation of pumping, the lake has remained full ; the difference of level between the surface of water in it and the well being still five feet. This we state as a fact, but if any doubt should exist, let the pumps be stopped, and watch the result. The dis cussion is assuming this position—viz., that of a person endeavouring to persuade the public that a basin with a hole in the bottom will remain full without a further supply. If, therefore, Sir S. M. Peto does not now choose to be convinced, we must • leave this portion of the discussion as it at present • stands. We wish only now to say that, notwithstanding the accusation against us that we force our plans upon the Government, we still think that we have, as taxpayers, a right, as well as a duty, not to allow a useless and wasteful expenditure of public money to pass in silence, while we know of a means of avoiding it. Further, we wish it to be clearly understood that we have taken up this Serpentine question chiefly as a matter of professional reputa tion. We have already shown that the work in St. James's Park is only the first portion of our plans of 1848-57 for the improvement of the condi tion of the public lakes. It is, happily, not a matter of importance to us whether we are employed by the Government or not in this business, but we do think that a change of Government should not be allowed to arrest the completion of a plan proved by experience of one lake to be perfectly successful, and to substitute for it a more expensive and less efficient one. _ We think that, could it be obtained, the opinion of Mr. Mann, who superintended and directed the whole works in St. James's Park, would be of great importance in this question. We are induced to make this remark from having just observed in Mr. Hawksley's report that he claims the concur rence of Mr. Mann in some of his conclusions, from which it might be inferred that Mr. Mann was of opinion that a sufficient quantity of water could not be obtained from the well in Duck Island. We do not think this can be so, because to Mr. Mann is due the merit of originating the idea of this source of supply, from circumstances that came to his knowledge during the progress of the works ; and he had also the opportunity of observing the immense quantity of water pumped from that well, and the large increase day by day as we extended the cuttings made for collecting the water. We feel that we have now done our duty ; we Lave placed the matter in a true light before the Government and the public, and we care not whe ther our plan be carried out by ourselves or any other " contractor," merely remarking that in case we sdould be employed, we are still willing to guarantee thot the supply of fresh water, in stead of filtered, shall be carried out at a less first cost of £5,500, and a less working expense of £7OO per annum. The pui);ic may have a better idea of the quantity we propose to supply by our saying that were it flowing over A weir 12 feet wide it would run 2, 1 , inches deep. We are, Sir, your obedient servants, EASTON, ADIOS, AND SONS. Grove, Southwark, S.E., Aug. 17. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir,—lf Mr. Lilwall and Messrs. Easton, Amos, and Sons are of opinion that they , can obtain the assent of the world to their assertions—the one, that I am a " contractor," and the other, that the payer is benefited by the payee being allowed to design, execute, superintend, and pass his own works and accounts, I am quite willing to let them remain in their present agreeable state of delusion. Nor do I much care to whatextent Mr. Lilwall may endeavour to distort my report for the purpose of satisfying his own mind that I sat in judgment on other gentlemen's productions, or that the " various papers" in question were supplied to me with any such object. It is enough to inform the public that I was called in by the Government to examine and . advise as a professional man possessed of pre ence on the subject, and that the " papers" came into my hands for the purpose of affording the necessary and already acquired information and data as to plans, sections, soundin gs, quantities of water and mud, and the amount a nd expense of the materials and work which would be required, according as my report advise one mode of procedure oranother.should I accord ingly, and with the advantage of aknowledge of facts thus obtained, made my own independent and most careful and unprejudice d investigation, and having reported the circumstances as I found them, and stated what, accord in g to my opinion, would be the proper mode of improving the lake. I had fulfilled my engagement, and had earned my pre scribed fee. I did not know, and was unable to surmise, what would be the fate of my rep or t, an d at that time was in nowise further retained in the matter. Subsequent events have, however, dis closed that my report was not only car e f u ll y con sidered by the First Commissioner, butt o h n a i t t it was i‘iy also laid before other gentlemen of p rac ti ca l and scientific eminence for their views up recommendations ultimately received official accep tance, and then, and only then, Was I called in to prepare plans 'and specifications for the execution of the work. Messrs. Easton, A3llOB, and Sons are also at pains to explain away the imputation of having endea voured to force themselves upon the Government ; but, unfortunately, the long histOrY they have writ ten on the subject is not " brougql down to the latest times." I there fore refer you and your readers to their own bsu sequently printed corres pondence and their more recent proceedings. Messrs. Easton, Amos, and Sons have presenicd the public thr oug h your columns with a most mar vellous comparison (of course in their own favour) between the annual expense of their scheme and mine, upon which I may be permitted a few words. Your already know that I have proposed to supply the Serpentine with a daily quantity of 2,000,000 gallons of purified water. But from Messrs. Easton, Amos, and Sons' printed correspondence it is now discovered that their proposition has become re duced to a supply of only 1,000,000 gallons daily, with a contemporaneous stoppage of the supply of fresh water to Buckingham Palace-gardens and St. James's Park, the lakes in which, according to their present scheme, are to be hereafter replenished from the overflowings of /Ile Serpentine. More over, for the purpose of preventLng the action of a 5-horse engine in Hyde Park, they p ,opose to erect a 30-horse engine in St. James's Park. Now, sir, the sequence of the arrangement; Dr(! - vosed by Messrs. Easton, Amos, and Sons is as'foi, lows 1. The well in St. James's-park is to be made to yield, if it will, and I believe it will not, 1,000,000 gallons per day. 2. 1 his water is to be discharged into the head of tho Serpentine, and to be two months in making its passage to the overflow, during which tune it will have received the washings of 120,000 bathers, and have become clouded with vegetation and effete organic matter. 3. In this condition (and without filtration) it is to be passed into her Majesty's private garden and into St. James's-park. Thus destroying the results which Lord Llanover has beeu at such considerable pains and expense to secure, and giving just cause of offence where it should be most scrupulously avoided. With this treatment of the water in view, Messrs. Easton, Amos, and Sons may well venture to aug ment my estimate of annual expenses by an amount of £5OO which does not pertain to it, and to erase from their estimate of annual expenses many and large charges which ought tobe added to it. Messrs. Easton, Amos, and Sons also choose to place my structural estimate in contrast with their structural e......••• bi estimate; whereas, if my adopted works were to be made on the footing of their proposed work s, my estimate for the constructions would amount to only £8,300. If Messrs. Easton, Amos, and Sons' esti mates be raised to the proper amount for affording 2,000,000 gallons of water per diem for the supply of the Serpentine, plus 500,000 gallons for the sup ply of the Palace-garden and St. James's-park, or in lieu of the latter quantity for providing filter beds near Albert-gate, they will be found to exceed mine by sums I hesitate to mention. This controversy has, I fear, already trespassed beyond its worth upon your valuable columns, bi 4. so far as I am concerned it has now terminated. trust, however, it will not be forgotten that I did not originate it, or tak e any part in it, till I had been made the subject (as I hope I have satisfac torily shown) of personal attacks of a very unwar rantable character. With many thanks for the space you have 613 ; lingly afforded me, I am, Sir, your mos t obedien servant, T. HAwiisLEY. London, Aug. 17. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir,—Your correspondents seem to resolve with some unanimity, to keep me before the Pu iilic relation to this matter, and consequently 1 Tin under the pressure of the circumstances, once 111°r trouble you. St. 1. The level of the water in the grav el under f James's-park is determined by the con ditione_o er its flow to the tidal outlet, and therefore 13°,Yhe can coincide with the level of the water lake. le 2. The quantity of water accumulated in gel may be very large, and consequently require '-' e ‘ : great and protracted effort to pump it out, althouf the inflow upon which alone the continuous snail, must depend may b e v e r y small. The aaleisiti al of the knowledge of this practical and univerrrsB,.„ fact has cost me in the execution of larg e . through saturated gravel many thousand P 0,11,110.. In one very analogous instance—that of the vf 9 0 ria Docks—l made an excavation or well 01 to acres' area into an extensive bed of gravel, near and . communicating with the Thames; the cl u , to tity of water was at first immense, and I he' ; put down two very large engines towitba.neen after, however, the accumulated water ha t ' : , 00 - pumped out, the influx was found to be s° siderable that one engine only, occasionally wor at half speed, was sufficient to remove it. 3. The only mode by which the yield of the well in St. James's-park and the water tightness ef the bed of the lake can be accurately ascertained other fixing a gauge weir at the pumps, and t n° , o gauge weir at the outlet from the lake. I 'Aa'pria objection to furnish competent parties to e u ,. 13- 0 0- tend an experiment of six months' duration 11 to ducted in this manner, but with a full olive of the character of the result. that t" 4. From the published tables it appears inches quantity of water constantly flowing 2. 1 i ": ti vo deep over a weir of 12 feet wide, is net u. V. g ton million gallons per day, but Messrs. is and Company make their estimate, Pu blislie llien the Times, on a delivery of only one ° t heir gallons per day ; for they say ind a ted latest letter to the Chief Commissioner, illia g the 10th of August instant, "We are to obtain this quantity of water (one million gel Ions) for the sum of £7OO per annum"---ttivent, amount set down in their comparative sta,'" - t„ e to although Mr. Hawksley proposes by his esti lll :,. supply two million gallons. When my ferrr:d in ter to you was written, I had only just ar,r'.,, c- to n'S town, and had not then perused Messrs. proposal to the First Commissioner. , dole 5. I dissent entirely from the proposition out this limited quantity of water to the Selio tine, and still more so to the uninviting sug,ese to that the same water is to be used a second tl a b. supply the Queen's garden and St. James s-000 6. It is stated—and my own observation e°olatilie the statement—that the water of the S erPe- t the has no offensive smell (except occasional)Y the extreme head, near the flood opening fr °lll , re- Ranelagh sewer), although it is discoloured "Jtvre movable matter. It seems to me, therefore, tbdsoo- ought either to letter the Serpentine alone , a ll , w ith mit to the discolouration, or content ours e lnality purifying the water. I am quite satisfied AL O - 0 or ment is not prepared to vote the £ BO, ; se the £90,000 necessary to remove the mud , ork° bottom and coat it with concrete, and 1 11 "' e stet's for maintaining a continuous renewal of the vi I am, sir, your very faithful servant, -nTO. S. MORTON 12, Kensington Palace-gardens, Aug. 18° COUNTRY MARKBT&• lA N an C HavEeraSTgEe show ofß—AtiG.lB. There was about wheat "'— the attendance was good. A trifling amowl - t ot was re 6 :f was transacted, and in most instances less mon!" favor °f lised. Oats and oatmeal a slow sale, at prices I. oo f 133°' the buyer. In other articles there was no ment, BOSTON—Auo. 17• sup ply ino c r a In wheat to-day prices were unaltered. ine d ,-- rate, with a slow market. Spring corn. Inaillta— price. 20s to 261 j Wheat 39s to 45s Oats.. .......... 46s 0 0 490 White do 46s to 47s Beans ..........--s tio... Barley 36s to 428 Ditto, old .....• • • BIRMINGHAM—Atro. 18. " aye' A less supply of wheat, and t he trade was rather 810 ito advance on the currency of last week. Barley ill fl p ei. rage demand, at late rates . Oats 6d per quarter ale° jo Beans taken in limited quantities, at former prices' peas there was little doing, but rather cheaper. LOUTH—AuG. 17. A very small amount of business was done to-a O l rot! advance on last wheilyol prices were at no -ast weer, viz., 0] an mixed, 41 s to 44 s per qr. In other sorts nothi n g consequence doing. EDINBURGH GRAIN—Aua. 17. Sales were heavy to-day, and supplies good. a do o. Wheat on the top is Gd d own average Os 7 ' d d o ' Barley on the top 2s 6d d own . averag e 2s -' ~, Oats on the top is Gd u p. .. .. a verage Os 3 " cl c it ) . o. Beans on the top Os Gd d own. averag e 15 uu Averages per Imperial quarter. , Wheat,.....,,,,, £2 5 1 0- 12th Barley 1 10 11 0-12ths Oats 2 7 0 11 42ths Beans Wheat Total Supply and Sales. .1258 qrs 8ar1ey........ 476 qrs Oats .1333 cgs Beans 169 qrs Sold Sold d d :17 4 1 (11 r r r r ig OW—AuG. . The wheat trade was GLASG firm, but sales effected Mt 13 , 3 80 culty. Barley and oats 6d cheaper, and very du ll ' and peas steady, with no change in value. CORK—AuG. 16. . The following were the quotations this morninharkg° wheat, 18s Od to 23s 03; white, 226 Od to --6 Od; Od to 32s Od; oats, Ils 2d to 12s 4d. DERBY SMITHFIELD—Ara. limited ate ; The supply of fat beasts to-day was only best quality in good request, and for inferior a lit eery 11 ,61 Sheep and lambs were in very good supply, a - ' a n us, -, most of which were disposed of. Fat calves nuraer-ratiuo, well sold. Fat pigs were rather scarce, but in de d to I,a A Beef Mutton ... to o 7 d Pork .......... r stoa ° Lamb 7ld —d Rough fat, 4s 9d Pe Hides, 3id to sid ; calf skins, 6d to 60' a iry ma& BRISTOL SUGAR—AUG. 17. aly 0 Our market continues very quiet, and the 0, Eas e 0 0 report arc about 700 hhds Trinidads, at prices -171 about th a buyers. There has been more doing in rum) Privately , but puncheons of Demerara have been sold price kept secret. (NO. 1) KEW GARDENS.—In the succulent h °use it's a o ht, al; American aloe is about to open its blossoms. . beig ° t s t e m, with candelabra-like top, is already 18 feet 195'009 Th e Niaguolia grandiflora is also producing its ta, 3 00 la ol flowers. The recent rain has greatly imp rove(' which is now in beautiful order. BIRTHS. Londo a• ANsnusorr.—On the 18th inst., at Spital-square' - Mrs. Anderson, of a daughter. lace, loll6 ARCHER.—On the 16th inst., at 21, daughter.Glouces park, the wife of Wm. Archer, '' Esq., of a c / 4 ,13., NAPIER.—On the 15th inst., at the Haining, Selkirk, f the Hon. Mrs. Wm. Napier, of a daughter. i f o 0- T B Ay Martha,s theie, rs sea, Henry tm .:_ eive BOn. daughter ay:r. the gßAshyhTe l ..:r 6 am t bo h O nr i n :E_ht s ohs t efeg .. , r:al, a 7d ttahuC daughter. MARRIAGES. Surrey't r ulbo ro_. thei gent' , 0 ii h, S ti r cretary to the Board of O er rd o t n f eo a t n flt 2i c e it e ch l . h a ear t . e l w al3r : l)ll . l9ls so lci:: RIDDELL—RIPLEY.--On the 18th inst., a t St. L t. ' t° formerlylV a m , i y n oo s u t f Westminster, ItiplaY 7 edsStLirdigaAuhVgtahllttnerfaftr;hanan. Riddell, , v - pg. , DEATHS. 11' il 1°144 CHAMBEREA.YNE.—On the 16th inst., at Rocky- ' stone, Edward Chamberlayne, Esq., aged 7 8 . &ph° DERMER.—On the 17th inst. at at 4, Dorset-terrace' road, T. M. Dormer, Esq., aged 53. so p DINNING.—On the 16th inst., at Afavisbusby Jjs near Edinburgh, John Dinnng, Esq. Glot,l; FANSIIAIVE.—On the 7th inst., at Coaley iric 3rag a e ie d cestershire, the Rev. Charles Robert Fanshal/ cborlc- HOLLIDAY.—On the 10th inst., at Stoke-Place' Holliday, Esq., aged 71. A ~, reli c" MACKENZIE.—On the 15th inst., at Bath, , x— e ' J. Mackenzie, Esq., aged 90. ,...biolif REID.—On the 17th inst., at the Bedford Hotel, B ri g Robert Reid, Esq., aged 49. fc the l l ' MOORE.—On the 13th inst , at Porchester, na n-- .L . 11, 5t- ' George Anthony Moore, 'vicar of Talk-on -the'"' fordshire, aged 64. --'- ,get ,(-) -io . 1 1 2 , - LONDON : Printed and Published by MUlt.' - "" slo. vf of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sufis Office , _ t o 0 Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the 0 bliddipripm, Friday, August 19, 1869.