The Sun. — London, England, 1846-03-04 00:00:00

IrtirV Vbitton SUN OFFICE, Seven o'clock, RAILWAY COMMITTEES (THIS DAY.) Sub-Committee No. 3. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) • SOUTH UNION. The object of the Bill sought to be obtained by this Company Is the construction of a line of railway between the Manchester and Bir mingham Railway and the North Staffordshire Railway. The pro jected line is intended to commence at Colton, a point on the Trent Valley line, and to run to Roughly, a point on the ,North Staffordshire Railway, both in the county of Stafford. The length is thirty-two miles, and the estimated cost is 700,0001. Messrs. Dyson and Hall are the agents, and Mr Gravatt is the en gineer. The formal proofs were gone through, and then the Committee took a number of petitions alleging a number of non-compliances with the standing orders. , Mr. VENABLEs appeared for Mr. ►alter Hyde, whose petition con tained a number et allegations which were entertained. The Committee reported that the standing orders had not been complied with as respected the crossing of a turnpike road at the eighth mile of the projected line, inasmuch as the cross section was pot properly shown upon the plan, not being numbered and other wise speciticially pointed out as required by the standing order on the subject. Various other allegations of a similar character were sustained, but they were too trivial to be reported in detail. The engineer in explanation said that the plans were so badly printed as to be almost illegible, and quite unfit to enable him to reply satisfactorily o the questions of the Honourable Chairman. Had the plans bet n better printed, many of the allegations would have fallen to the ground. Another alegation sustained was, that two miles of the proposed lines had been omitted, a whole sheet of the plan deposited with the clerk of the peace at Stafford being absent. The CHAIRMAN decided that upon the general merits of the de posits on the 30th of N member last they were altogether inaccu rate, and that the standing orders had not been complied with. Tue deposits were worse than worthless, being calculated to mis lead instead of giving information to the public. In the course of the day the Chairman made some pertinent remarks upon the mode in which witnesses gave their evidence. He complained of the looTt manner in which questions were put, and the very careless way in which they were answered. Facts were gabbled over in a sin gular way, and so little respect appeared to be paid to them that it was very difficult to understand them. He trusted witnesses would for the future be examined in a better manner, so as to enable the Committee to be able to put a proper value upon their statements. The Committee took no other case, and at four o'clock adjourned until twelve o'clock on Friday next. Sub-Committee No. 5. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) MACCLESFIELD AND LICHFIELD. tr . This case, which stood over from yesterday, was next resumed, and the accuracy of the datum point was proceeded with. It was contended that the levels, from which the datum point was taken, were incorrect, and that there was no datum point, it being described as taken from the pier of a proposed bridge, to be constructed over the contemplated line, whereas there was no pier shown on the maps, and that the term " pier" was improperly used, a "pier" being a building between the arches of a bridge, or work projecting into a river or sea. A model of the bridge was then produced by the engineer who took the trial sections, who proved that he could not find the part described as the "pier" froze which the datum line was taken. On the part of the promoters of the line, - . . Mr. Lock, engineer to the line, was called, who distinctly stated that no fair engineer would have any trouble or difficulty in finding the pier in question, as the bridge, being a single span, the piers of coarse would be the buildings on either side, from which it sprung. On cross-examination, he admitted that the more usual term was " abutment pier," when talking of the buildings next to the shore. Several other engineers were called, who gave similar testimony to the last witness, among whom was Mr. Donaldson, professor of architecture to the University College, London. - • .-•- • • • Mr. Clarke was called next on behalf of the promoters of the line, to prove the accuracy of the levels taken, but Mr. G. P. Bidder, proved from the fleld-book of Mr. Clarke that an error of 16 Inches existed. The agent for the Bill then solicited a postponement for the purpose of re-taking the levels, which was opposed by Mr. Burke, and the Committee ordered strangers to withiiraw. On our re-admission The CHAIRMAN said that the Committee had decided that the standing orders had not been complied with, inasmuch as the datum horizontal point on the line was not correctly described. Sub-Committee, No. 6. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) vrror LONDON IMPROVEMENT AND EXTENSION. This was an adjourned ease from last week. The CHAIRMAN said that the Committee would be obliged to report non-compliance with the standing orders on two points ; first, on the ground that the plan which had been deposited at the Private 8111-office was not exactly the same as that which had been deposited with the clerk of the peace, and, secondly, on the ground that certain notices had not been served in Line time. The standing orders were in . all other respects compl:ed with. NORTH UNION (NORWICH BRANCH). The promoters of this Bill seek to construct a branch from the main line at Blackrod to the town of Horwlch ; length two and a quarter miles ; estimated cost, 28,7001., which is provided for by the orOnal funds of the Company. Engineer, William Conithard, Esq.; Parliamentary agents, Messrs. Gregory, Faulkner, and Co. ; and the solicitors, Messrs. Woodcock, Part, and Part, Wigan. Decision postponed to enable the promoters to produce some ne ceßgary proof. :ZEDS, '7072,X, AND MIDLAND ?UNCTION. The object of this Bill is to shorten the means of railway commu nication between Leeds and York, now 31% miles, to 25 miles, and to accommodate in its route the towns of Tadcaster and Aberford. The line also passes through extensive fields of coal and of agricul tural lime. The length Is 164 miles; the estimated cost 340,0001., and the amount subscribed 260,000/. The engineers are Ilessrs.Vignoles and Leather ; the Parliamentary agentA, Messrs. Gregory and Co. ; and the solicitors, Messrs. Terry and Watson, Bradford ; Mr. Cariss, Leeds and Mr. Hodgson, York. Standing orders complied with. THE MANCHESTER. AND HYDE. The promoters of this Bill seek to construct a line of railway from the Manchester and Birmingham railway, at Ardwich to Hyde throngh Gordon and Denton. heleugth is about sia miles, the estimated cost is 130,2501. ; the amount subscribed, 112,400/. The engineer is J. W. Buck, Esq., the Parliamentary agents, Messrs. Dorring and Co., and the solicitors, Messrs. J. and W Heron, Manchester. Standing orders complied with. Thu CoMmlttee then - adjourned, at half-past four o'clock. 1M PERIAL PARLIAMENT, (THIS DAY.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. BEQUESTS FOR PIOUS AND CHARITABLE PURPOSES BILL. Sir R. H. INGLIS (in continuation from our Afternoon Edition) urged that the Bill being nugatory of the policy which had ever been adopted by the English Government, it should be at once negatived by the House. Mr. O'CONNELL said, that with !regard to the case of Caldbeck, in Ireland, which had been cited as one where undue influence was exercised, he had to state that the Rev. Dr. Meyler had not the smallest personal interest whatever in the legacy. The lady in question had lived for thirty years with her brother, and had, from the earliest period of her life, declared her intention of leaving her property for charitable purposes. A contest afterwards arose, the case went into court, and when it was tried the judge held that the will was good. After such a decision he svoned ask was it fair to cite that case as one of undue in fluence?—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman then thanked the Noble Lord for having brought the question before the House, and exhortedhim to persevere with it. He considered that they ought not to have one law on the subject fir Scotland, another for Ireland, and a third for England, but that these laws ought to be looked into, and a sound and a ra: tional Bill introduced to correct these errors. The law ought certainly not to remain as it was, and the relaxation of it should be for the purpose of faciliting the granting of bequests for religious purposes and for acts of charity. Did they at present get too much for such purposes?—(Hear, hear.) Whatever difference of opinion might exist on religious questions, they were all agreed on the necessity of a religious education to the rising generation ; hence they ought to grant every reasonable facility on the subject of bequests. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said he could not allow the present discussion to pass without say ing a few words. After the most anxious consideration of the measure before the House. he could not consent to its second reading. According to it they were called on to re peal the 9th of George 11., and to substitute this new law, and the grounds for this course were set forth to bathe report of the Committee that had sat on the subject of bequests of the kind stated. Now he had looked through that report, and he found an errorin its very beginning,where it was stated that the law of George 11. was a law of mortmain. This was not the fact. There was this distinction between a mortmain Act and the Act of George 11., that the former related to the principle of property being held by corporate bodies in perpetual succession, and the latter pro vided that certain restrictions should be placed on the making of gifts for charitable purposes. it was curious to trace the history of the struggle between the ecclesiastical body and the Legislature on this subject. The ecclesiastical body devising meanito evade the statutes— and the Legislature devising fresh means to hinder the mis chief as it arose.gOne of the acts of the clergy was tot Ake land for long terms of years, and this was provided against by the t2d of Edward 1., which made these contracts void. The clergy then adopted the plan of bringing feigned actions against the parties, and so obtaining possession. That was also provided against, but it gave rise to an ordinary re covery which, until a very short time since, was used as a means of conveyance of property. The clergy then made that distinction which even now prevails in our laws. They distinguished between the use and the possession of land, allowing the parties to remain in possession while they received the profits them selves. The 15th of Richard 11. made the Act of Mortmain apply to the use as well as to the possession of lands. Th e clergy then endeavoured to obtain a sort of qualified profit Ly making charges for various ceremonies, and these charg es I t l i e e re __l)a yable from the land. That was provided against by 23d Henry VIII,, which provided against superstitiou s uses and customs, and that Act remained in force until the th and Bth Wm. 111., hich vested in the Crown alone the Power of all owingp ci e u r i so rt r d il v to receive land by mortmain. The Committee had in He had refeerod to the the object of the Act of 9th George 11. reven ts t t e: a f, and the preamble distinctly set forth that it was tolp to be arising from persons willing away their propert y applied to charitable pur poses after their death to the detriment of their heir at law. That law provided that any gift of that nature should be executed twelve months bef ore o t t le u lleath of the party and date of its signature. registered within six months from reference to real pro- The Legislature considered thatiu:iitwhoe worldly-minded persons •,nerty, which is land, that weak to associate their /night be acted upon by a feeling of vanity value with some public or charitable oundations. The their cons id er ed that they might be acted upon w h en were enfeebled, and their bodies broken down by sickness,mindsy to part with their property. That danger did not extend with so much force to personal 'property, for in that case there vas no local, visible, or permanent character connected with it. Upon looking over the report, he had not been able to discover anything, either in the report itself, or in the wit nesses examined, to justify env alteration of the present lave Among the witnesses examined was the Bishop of London ; lie was in favaur of a relaxation of the provisions of the ex ] stint , law to the Established Church, but to no other religious jnst!tution, Mr. HODGSON and Mr. MATHEWS considered that no altere'tho was necessary in the existing law. Mr. C . s e -I .ILLER gave his most cordial support to the measure intreluced by his Noble Friend. He could not see why such a num.'W of safeguards should be thrown around landed proprietors, e'ne- none around those of personal pro perty, when they, co.-Igiared that the former were but a very small number, w i h ea eeesipared with the latter, and he -was certainly of op . :doff that personal property demanded more protection thpi landed. He con eidered the feelings of mankind ! s fi ,7re quite strong emiough to protect them. Not only the good feeling of man kk.iitinu this country, but tVee desire of family distinction and aggemedilleeeci operated t o wyent those having large pose iseeel9na, • Ang....t00 much for e t i i . ritable purposes.--(Hear, 1 ; his* - esesfeeliege were quite se e e ,:igh for the protection t ze igt:al fain' - without ,tiavill g an y res t r ;;:tive laws, and he ',. therefore thought no s r< `ln -the way o€ in • ' qrstid should be placed irmeni whatever s . granting property foe public pur e- poses . Every ' *ram* of public policy shokld lead them to ' l l#ll away restrictiour felating to real property which were VW applied to persout property. There ought to be no dis- Ilinction ' made what At ox. between these two kinds pf property. . so He thought that nothing could be more beneficial to the Established Church than this facility for leaving property for charitable purposes. The Hon. Member for Oxford thought that the Church was sufficiently supported by the various means of income accruing to it; but, in his opinion. such a belief was erroneous, for he considered that it would be a better principle, if persons, instead of being compelled to subscribe to the maintenance of the Church during their lives, should at once be allowed to lay the foundation of a permanent fund at their death. Let them look at Green wich Hospital and several other institutions of a like nature that he could name. They would see that they were corpo rate bodies permanently founded, and not dependent at pre sent on any enforced contribution, and yet tbey were as well managed as any institution dependent on an income derived from a sort of tax levied on the people. He hoped the House would not postpone the consideration of the Bill, as they would have an opportunity afforded them of considering its details in Committee. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL would oppose the second re a l ing of the Bill, because he considered it impossible to assimilate the laws affecting real and personal property. A direst power was proposed to be given to the testator in the Bill to dispose of personal property to any amount to corporate bodies, which was incompatible with the present law, which forbade any corporate bodies holding land to any amount without special license from the Crown. He considered the proposed measure was, there fore, an infringement of the prerogatives of the Crown, and that this was, therefore, an insuper able objection to the further progress of the Bill. He, for one, would be sorry to give any encouragement, by passing such a measure, to any person to alienate the pro perty which otherwise was inalienable, and to give a power to the Church to receive such. He had very attentively con sidered all the clauses of the Bill. but he was utterly at a loss, from anything contained in the Bill, or the evidence adduced before the Committee, to see anything that would fur nish the slightest grounds for the Noble Lord to call on this House to support his measure. In conclusion, it did appear that this Bill was contrary to the constitution of the country and the first principles of the English law, and therefore he would best discharge his duty by voting against the second reading. Sir JOHN HARMER was in favour of the Bill. Not withstanding the speech of the Hon. and Learned Gentle man who had just addressed them, which he had been much surprised at, he would vote for the second reading—not that he agreed with the Bill as it at present stood, but that it might be considered and amended in Committee. He was sorry to differ from so high a legal authority as his Honourable and Learned Friend (the Solicitor-Ge neral), still he (Sir John Hanmer) doubted if he could show any good legal authority for saying that the law of mortmaim dated from the Conquest. It had its origin at a much later period. He bad a great objection to the law as it at present steed, as it was of such a character as to he continually evaded. The legal adviser of any Hon. Member could easily show him, if he had any bequest to make, how he could evade the present la .v.—(Hear, hear.) IWith regard to laws affecting property, to show that a very stringent law relating to the transmission of real property did not operate prejudicially to a country, he (Sir J. Hanmer) might point to Scotland, where they had an extraordinary law of entail, and yet, though the soil was poor and inferior, the land, not withstanding that law, had been brought into a most supei ler state of cultivation.—( Hear, hear.) The law should be altered by which pious bequests are made, as it was frightful to see the state of the churches in large towns, and this might be avoided if the law was altered. He would call the attention of the House to the state of churches in large towns, and these churches had connected with them gentle men of great talents and ability, whom they paid in many cases rather less than a menial servant. He should be glad to see all heartburnings arising from the state of churches in ' large towns satisfactorily set at rest. In his opinion, the old prerogative of the Crown had little weight at the present day, for the circumstances that had given it birth had en tirely ceased. He would only express his general concur rence as to the propriety of going into Committee on the subject, and he trusted that no superstition of the preroga tives of the Crown would influence the decision of the House. Mr. HAWES said that, in his opinion, when a Bill of this importance was brought forward, some great abuse should be pointed out which would render legislation necessary. Had the Noble Lord who brought forward the Bill established any such necessity? The observations of the Right Hon. Baronet who had just sat down, that the state of churches in large towns was bad, might be perfectly correct ; but he (Mr. Hawes) could only say that the Bill did not in any way facilitate the improvement of their condition. After a Com mittee on a subject of this importance had been appointed, the House ought to be governed by the report of that Com mittee. That report did not recommend the introduction of this Bill, and yet the Noble Lord bad taken a very active part in that Committee, and no doubt subscribed to the re port, which certainly did not point out any particular fail ing in the preset-it law, nor any remedy for it. He owned that he did not think the old jealousy with regard to mortmain was entirely wrong. That which was formerly regarded as dangerous in an ecclesiastical corporation he now regarded as dangerous in a lay corporation. To a lay corporation personal or real property might now be bequeathed to any extent, and he would ask any person who knew the amount cf personal property vested in lay corporations, whether he wished to see any more property placed in their hands. He did not wish to see property accamulating in the hands of either ecclesiastical or lay corporations, and he could not consent to go into the merits of this Bill. He believed the Bill couldnot be amended in Committee, and lie would therefore give his vote in opposition to the further progress of the Bill. Lord EBRINGTON wished to see some alteration made in the law of mortmain, and was anxious for that reason that the Bill should be considered in Committee. He believed that so far from too much provision being made for public charities, that there was too little, and he would therefore wish to see the extension of the powers of bequeathing property for charitable purposes. He would support the second reading of the Bill. Mr. COLQUHON said that in Scotland any person could tell which were the entailed and which the unentailed estates by the difference of their cultivation. When he found the remedy quite as wide as the evil, and in fact producing far more considerable evils, he could not help giving it his most decided opposition. Mr. P. BOR'IHWICK was in favour of the Bill going into Committee. It had been admitt. d both by the Attorney and Solicitor-General and other Hon. Gentlemen who had spoken against the Bill, that the present law required con siderable amendment. If so, then the best course was for the House to go into Committee on the Bill, when those features which were beneficial might be adopted. Lord JOHN MANNERS replied to the objections that bad been made to the Bill, citing several cases of hardship arising from the present state of the law in; support of the reports of the Committee which had been impugned, and in reply to the Attorney and Solicitor-General. With all due respect to those high authorities, he must say, that all their arguments went but against the details of the Bill That being so, let them allow it to go into Committee, and then these might be fully considered and altered, if it was seen necessary for the efficiency of the measure.—(Hear, hear.) If all the evils which the Hon. Gentleman shadowed out were likely to result from the passing of this Bill, how was it that the present law did not guard against them ? When he saw his Hon. Friend rise, he expected to hear him say that the present law worked most prejudicially. The Lord Advocate of Scotland had given his opinion that the law as it existed in Scotland, did not produce any of the evils lo much dreaded by his Hon. Friend. He felt assured that the supporters of this Bill had made out a case for going into committee, and he felt assured. above all, that the present wants of the country were not met by its institutions. He, therefore, with all conddence, asked the House to give him the second reading, fur he assured them that he would persevere in his effort, although he might be defeated this time—yet he would perse vere until he effected some sort of alteration in the present law or carried his measure.—(Hear, hear.) The House then divided, when there appeared— For the second reading Against it Majority SALMON FISHERIES BILL. Sir G. GREY moved the second reading of the Salmon Fisheries Bill.—Postponed till Wednesday next. Sir C. BULLER moved the second reading of the Election Notices clreland) Bill. The Bill was then read a second time accordingly. The Roman Catholic Relief Bill was also read a second time. Mr. GREENE brought up the report on the Treut Works Bill. Sir J. GRAHAM moved for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the Act 7 and 8 Vic. c. 84„ for regulatingthe :con struction and the use of buildings in the metropods and its neighbourhood by authorizing the appointment of a third official referee. Mr. HAWES said that he certainly would not give his vote for the Bill unless he received an assurance that a com prehensive measure would be introduced, extending to the whole Act. He had not conversed with any respectable builder or surveyor who did not concur with him in saying that the only effectual measure that could be adopted would be to repeal the whole Act. He would not oppose the Bill, but he did it on the distinct understanding that the mea sure would be comprehensive. Mr. HUME expressed his concurrence in the observations of Mr. Hawes. He had never known a Bill so fruitful and productive of complaints. He believed that the only way to repeal it, and thus free the metropolis from the pest and plague of this Act. Mr. R. HODSON said, that he hoped the Right Hon. Baronet would consult such persons as could give him such information as would enable him to produce a Bill tor the amendment of the Building Act, at a sufficiently early part of the session as to enable them to discuss the puestion at their leisure. Mr. T. D'EYNCOURT also expressed his disapprobation of the Bill, and complained of its inefficient working. Ile was glad to see that the Right Hun. Baronet was about to bring in a Bill to amend it. Mr. FOSTER thought the Bill ought to be delayed, so that parties might be consulted who were competent to give information on the subject, and a perfect Bill brought in. Mr. PARKER was not surprised at the general expression of feeling against the Bill, as he had always seen it would be a most inconvenient measure. The best course would be to repeal it altogether and bring in a new Bill. Sir JAMES GRAHAM replied to the objections that bad been made against the Metropolitan Act, and said that the measure, when introduced into the House, bad been fully and carefully discussed, so as to make it as efficient as possible. He was sorry from what he had heard en both sides of the House, as well as from private sources of information that the Metropolitan Improvement Bill was con sidered so objectionable. But this was not the point at present before the House. The Bill new before them related to the appointment of another official referee, and to make some alterations in provisions of the Act as it now stood on this subject. The Bill was then read a first, and ordered to be read a second time to-morrow. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned. BRISTOL — and (THIS DA Y BRISTOL, WZDNESDAY,BHY The :half-yearly General of this Company was held this Mee t ing Broad-street, at one o'clock. James Gibbs, Esq., chairman of The SECRETARY read the EXE TER RAILWAY, --_—___ EXPRESS.) BRISTOL, Is t t. L e T t PAST ONZ O'CLOCK.— The the proprietors Tt L, at nh the W bite Lion, boardr was taken by foll owingreport directors. •' The amount of Rent and and Share of T 01 1) stated by a ted the Great Western Railw a y Com p an y to be due tothis" Com pany for the half - y ear endin g on the 13th o f December last, is as follows, viz : Fixed rent of the line from Bristol to Exeter, from the 14th of June to the 13th of De cember, 1845, at 71: 957 /. a ye ar ........• ... £35,978 10 0 Share of tell on 305,599 pas engers, conveyed 9,633,927 miles, at lid. permile... £10,035 610 On merchandise, 59,174 tons 7 cwt. 3 qrs. 10 lbs., equal to one ton conveyed 2,423,766 miles, at id. per ton per mile 2,524 15 2 12,560 2 0 48,338 12 0 " The gross earnings on our line during the year 1845, were very nearly 190,0001. " The arrangements for encouraging traffic by return tickets, and a liberal reduction of fares of passengers and carriage of goods, adopted by the lessees of the lime, have operated the more favourably upon our proportion of toll, as it has not been subject to any corresponding abatement, and does not therefore contribute to the increased ratio of work ing expenses. "After deducting the balance of income-tax, it will be seen that the last half-year's revenue does not justify any present increase of dividend; and your diectors therefore re commend to you to declare the usual dividend of 11. Bs. per share on the 15,005 whole shares, free of income-tax, for the half-year ending on the 6th of April next. " Interest on the deposit of 24 per third share, to the date of the second call (the 15th of J a nu ar y), w ill e remitted to the proprietors who stood registered for these shares at the closing of the books on the 21st of February. "Under the authority of your resolution of the 28th of August last, measures have been taken for obtaining in the present session of Parliamentan Act for constructing a branch from Yeovil to Crewkerne, with a view to secure the traffic from that Fart of Somerset and Dorsdt. " The Bill has been read a second time. The cost of this branch will be provided for out of the capital authorised by the Act of last session. " Agreements for the purchase of land for the branches to Clevedon, Tiverton, and Yeovil, are in ac:ive progress, and in a short time contracts for some of the works will be adver tised. " The difficulty of procuring adequote engineering assist ance during last autumn, precluded greater promptitude in these arrangements, except at an extrayagant expense, and at great risk of their being perfect. " The construction of a branch to the city of Wells has been postponed until the issue of other measure shall be as certained, which have been proposed for the supply of rail way accommodation to that district. The Bill for the North Devon Railway, based on the ar rangements adopted and confirmed by you at your last half yearly meeting, is now before Parliament ; and it is hoped that the acknowledged importance of that undertaking, and the unusual degree of support which it has received from the landed proprietors, will secure its success. " A draft of this Bill, as well as thaa for the branch to Crewkerne, will be submitted to a special general mestin2. "The Bill for for the Cornwall Railway is fully expected to pass into a law bathe present session. The alteratio. a re commended by the engineer, in accordance with the sug gestions of the Committee of the House of Lords, both for general improvement of the line and for facilitating the com munication between the two counties, having called for an increase of capital, your directors could not hesitate to agree to subscribe for your proportion of the new shares in that company, and a resolution will accord ugly be submitted to you to confirm the subscription for 1,500 half• shares, at 251. each. "The opening of the South Devon Railway is still delayed : but the directors of the company confidently expect that a portion of the line will be available for public traffic in the early part of the summer. "'The instalments paid on your 4,000 shares in that under taking, including a call of 10/. per share on the 25th of January last, amount to 140,0001. " The Exeter and Crediton Railway, under lease to this Company, will be opened within the present year; and there is every reason to believe that it will be beneficial to this Company. _ _ " Parliamentary authority for the lease has been given in the Act of Incorporation. The 301. per share remaining to be called for upon your 100/. shares, being reserved for pay ing off the loan notes as they successively fall due, dnd a portion of these being payable on the 21st of the present month, a call has been made for 51. per share, payable on the 18th. "A resolution will be submitted to you to empower the directors to borrow on debenture, the sum authorised by the Act passed in the last sessio n f or cons t ruc ti ng branches. "On the subject of the rejected provisional agreement for a perpetual lease of your line to the Great Western Company at a rent charge, your direetora refer to their special report of the 18th of February; a copy of which has been sent to every registered proprietor. " Mr. Frederick Ricketts, for so many years Chairman, and latterly Deputy Chairman, of this Company, having re signed, your directors have elected in his stead, as their col league, Mr. James Hibbert Wanklyn, of Manchester. " A very short period elapses before you have an oppor tunity of confirming the choice of the board, as, in the room of Mr. Ricketts, he is one of the four who retire by rotation. " The other three are Messrs. W. D. Wills, William Mor gan, and Francis Parker, who are also candidates for re election. " It was heretofore your wish to reduce the number of directors to the Parliamentary maximum of twelve; and as vacancies have occurred. by resignation or death, that object has been kept in view: but recently a desire has been expressed by many of the proprietors to restore tha maximum of sixteen. " In this (proposition your directors readily concur, and it remains for you, if you approve this measure, to elect three gentlemen duly qualified for the office. The statement of account wall show you that the balance in the Bankers hands, on the 31st of Decemberf 1845, was 1,277/. 135.. 3d. The motion for the adoption of the report was being moved when I was obliged to close my parcel. I have the best authority for saying that yesterday deputations from the joint Committees of Manchester and Bristol had a long interview with'the Directors, the object being to arrive at an amicable adjustment of the several matters in dispute. The deputation submitted certain proposals to the directors, which were discussed at considerable length, but were not favourably received, and the parties sepa rated without anything definite being resolved upon. This day, at eleven o'clock, a second meeting took place, when the deputation submitted their ultimatum for the consideration of the Directors. I am informed that the greatest good feeling on both sides was manifested at this interview, but the particulars will not be known till ►he discussion, which will take place aster my parcel leaves Bristol by the express train. SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY. The half-yearly meeting was held, by adjournment, yesterday, at the Royal Hotel, Plymouth. 'there was a very full attendance of subscribers, and considerable interest was manifested in the proceedings. The object of the meeting was to elect directors in place of those who retire by rotation, to appoint auditors, and to transact other general business of the Company. - Mr. THOMAS GILL, M.P., was in the.chair ; 'and among the directors present were Messrs. Gibbs, Millar, Fry, Coll, Hanker, St. Aubym, Woolecombe, John Randle, Barlow, Jones, Shapland, Col. Harris, &c. Mr. Brunel, the engineer to the Company, was likewise present, as was also Mr. Samuda, the patentee of the atmos pheric sy stem of traction. The S ECRETARY having read the notice of meeting, and the resolution of adjournment passed at the pro prmci meet ing, held on Saturday, The CHAIRMAN said, in commencing the few observations shpt he should offer upon the 6bjects of their meeting that day, it was right that he should notice the occasion that had obliged him to postpone the meeting to that day. They were aware that individually he had very important Parliamentary duties to attend to, and he could not, consistently with those duties, have left London in time to have been present, and knowing that there were several important matters to be brought for ward about that period, the directors, who had been similarly situated with himself, thought that the best course would be to postpone the meeting until the present time. He hoped that it had not caused inconvenience to any party ; if it had it would give him pain to have been the occasion of it. lie would new allude to the present financial position of the Company. The directors had made calls, as they were aware, up to the present period to the extent of 351. upon each share, and which amounted to 700,0001. When he last bad the pleasure of addressing them in November, be then had hoped that the directors would have been enabled to avoid making the last call upon the shareholders, and they had accordingly taken measures with that view by advertising for loans of money on debentures at 4 per cent. He had reason to be lieve at that time, and in which opinion he believed most present on that occasion agreed with him, that they would have been able to obtain a sum of money quite adequate to their wants, thus rendering it quite unnecessary to make an other call upon the proprietors for that purpose. Llnfortunat ely from the state of the n.oney market they bad been disap pointed in their expectations. They need nut be reminded, that for some time previous—in fact, during the whole of last summer, railway speculation had acquired a point at which it had never before attained ; in short, it had correctly been stated that railway speculation had gone mad. Money was therefore conceived to be snore 'valuably apprcpriated than it could be in the way he had referred to ; and failing, as the measure they had adopted bad, it would fully explain the reason why they bad made the call in November. He had the satisfaction of saying, notwithstanding the short notice of the call, it bad been responded to in a manner which had served in a great measure to relieve their anxiety lest it should have proved inconvenient. It would, he be lieved, be greatly to their satisfaction to bear the rea sons which had made it necessary to make calls fort money so repeatedly. _ The state of the w o rk s . _ _ had exhibited very considerable improvement, and the expenditure had of course been proportionably large; but he had the satisfaction of saying, although the sum of 700,0 0/. bad been drawn, a portion bad been found neces sary in order to make the necessary deposits with the Ac countant-General for those schemes in which the Company had embarked under the sanction of a public meeting of the shareholders, and that had taken a sum equal to 90,000/. They had done that, with a balance in hand at the close of the year, of between 20,0001. and 30,000/., which showed that they had spent up to this period a sum not exceeding 590,000/. He believed he might say with confidence, and in that statement all his colleagues would join, that notwith standing the largeness of the calls, and no•withstanding they had not yet been enabled to give any public evidence of the progress of the works by any demonstration of the working of the line, yet there was every reason to believe that the undertaking would be completed within the amount of the subscribed capital as described in the Act. The Chairman then entered into a variety of other statement.., embracing the principal featur. s noticed in the report. lie described the nature of the reporta which had been circulated to the prejudice of this line, and the animus of which was quite apparent. He hoped that the line by the ordinary locomotive mode of traction would be opened to Teignmouth in May, and as shortly afterwards as practicable to Newton. A variety of questions were then asked the Chairman, anti satisfactorily answered ; they were principally in refer ence to the atmospheric system of traction. Mr. C. STEPHENS, of London, made some observations, with a view of ascertaining the probable loss to the Com pany should the system which they proposed trying prove a failure, and should the undertakings to which any had lent their support not answer the expectations of the promoters. He had every confidence in the directors, but he asked these questions as a commercial man, to test the value of his pro perty and the nature of the contingencies to which it was subject. The CHAIRMAN repli,d that the greater part of the iron for the whole line was purchased and paid for, and they had contributed to the other undertakings from the certainty of their paying. Mr. SAMUDA then entered into' a variety of details prov ing the excellence of the atmospheric system of traction. The retiring directors were then re-elected, as were the auditors, and a vote of thanks having been given to the Chairman, the meeting separated. The following is the ENGINEER'S REPORT : " Gentlemen,—lt is with great regret that I have again to report to you up on th e general state of the works, without at the same time congratulating you upon the completion and opening of any peition of the line, although I feel that no exertion has been wanting on my part to attain that ob ject, and that the delay has arisen from a variety of causes to which such works are always liable, and which are be yipd the cnnt ine rol, and to a great extent beyond the foresight anyer. " Upon that part of the line nearest to Exeter, which we had hoped to have opened last summer, the works are not what can at all be termed, in an engineering point of view, either heavy or difficult of construction, nevertheless at almost every point we have been dependent upon circum stances over which we have had no control. " Under the provisions of the Act' almost every step has been subject to the jurisdiction of Government departments and private interests to adopt our works, which has involved frequent and harassing delays, and the successive stages of the work have, moreover, bean always dependent upon the weather and the season, against the efftct of which in postponing certain portions at one time and interrupting the supplies of materials at others it has been impossible to proceed. In the hopes which I at one time entertained of an early completion of this portion of the line I calculated upon the ordinary effects of these causes. In th ese h o p es I have been disappointed, and having made the utmost exer tims in my power, I could only share in your disappointment in the results. These disappointments are, however, I trust, now draw ing to a close, and we now maysafelycalculate upon opening the line to Teignmouth, and probably soon after to Newton. " These delays in the completion of the works have given riot to numerous and somewhat industriously circulated reports of difficulties and serious impediments, which have no doubt added to the anxiety and disappointment of those interested in the success of our undertaking, but I am happy to say that the connexions of these reports has been almost in re verse ratio of their number. " No difficulties except those productive of delay have occurred in the slightest degree affecting the stability of the works or the ultimate successful working of the line. " It would be impossible to refer to the numerous sources of alarm which have been suggested, and therefore it is im possible to meet them in detail, but I believi you will be satisfied with my assurance, corroborated as it mus t b e by your own frequent personal inspection of the pine—that all those works between Exeter and Newton, to which the attention of the public has so frequently been drawn as ex posed to injury from the sea, have been constructed sub stantially, have resisted successfully that to which they are exposed, and are well calculated to afford a perfectly safe, convenient, and I may add agreeable road for the public. "No part of these works have ever, during their construc tion, suffered more than ordinarily occurs to all works ex poeed to the action of water, and rails are laid for nearly the whole length of that part so reported, and promises to be as good and as substantial a railway as any that have yet been constructed. "In the employment of a new system—l refer to the at mospheric—delay s will unavoidably occur, and in my desire to profit by the experie nce of the C ro yd on R a il wa y, I h ave intentionally, and I think wisely, postponed some matters of detail, which has caused a considerable delay in the comple tion of this part of the machinery necessary for an opening. The success of this system upon the Croyclim Railw .y has fully confirmed me in the view I entertainedof its applica bility tl this railway, and I deliberately repeat my opinion that I entertain no doubt Whatever that you will be perfectly satisfied with the result. " The delay which I have referred to in the fixing of the ma chinery, has induced you to consider the propriety of running passenger trains for a period with locomotives. This can be done with perfect facility, and will not interfere with the completion of the atmospheric apparatus. Arrangements will be immediately made for effecting this object. " Upon the rest of the worl:a of the line to Plymouth the works are in a much more forward state than appears to be generally supposed—a considerable portion will be ready to receive the permanent way in the summer, and the whole, except at Plymouth itself, is proceeding very satisfactorily. "At Plymouth, as you are aware, we are waiting the deci sion of Parliament upon some proposed improvements on the line.—l have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your most obe dient servant, "L K. I3RUNEL." DIRECTORS' It hrORT. Your directors submit to the shareholders the usual state ments of account for the half-) ear, ending 3ist December last, which show that the receipts and disbursements to the 31st June, amounted to— Receipts,£32l,o66 19 0 And for the half-year ending 31st December, 237,432 0 0 £558,498 19 0 Payments, £272,127 8 3 And for the half-year ending 31st December, 248,814 13 7 Leaving a balance of £558,493 19 0 " Of the above balance 23,8251. were in deposit with the Accountant-General, and 13,731/. 17s. 2d either in bankers' hands, or invested in securities, at the date to which the ac counts are made up. "In considering the financial position of the Company to the close of the year, it is necessary to observe that the in creasing progress of the works within the last six months has called for an enlarged scale of exy enditure. and rendered it imperative upon your directors not only to make calls upon the shareholders as rapidly as the provisions of the Act of Incorporation would admit of, but also to make the amount of their last call greater than any which had preceded it. "From a desire to avoid as far as possible any pressure upon the proprietary, your directors advertised in Novem ber last, for loans on debenture, at 4 per cent., but which however, owing to the mania for railway speculation, the evil of which was then beginning to be felt, they regret to state they were not successful in obtaining to an amount at all commensurate with their wants, and no alternative was then left but to follow the course which they reluctantly adopted. It is gratifying to state that this call was in ge neral responded to by the shareholders with the greatest punctuality. "In regard to the several projects for lines in which the CoinpatiLis interested, and for which Bills are now before Parliament, your directors have no further information to convey than that which was communicated in their report of the 30th August, and in the proceedings of the special meet ing of the 11th November. With the exception of the Ash burton and South Devon Junction, and the Exeter, Topsham, and Exmouth Railways, all of them are still before the Committee of Standing Orders. " It would now be the duty of your directors to allude to the state and progress of the works upon the line, but as a detailed.report has been prepared by your engineer, they be lieve that they will best consult your wishas by referring you to that document for the desired information. " Whilst they cannot but Partake of the general feeling Of disappointment which they regret to find is so prevalent at the delay which has occurred in opening the line between Exeter and Newton, that feeling would have been greatly increased did they not feel conscious that no want of atten tion or of exertion on their part has been instrumental in causing that delay, and that it is to be attributed to circum stances which they could neither have contemplated nor pre vented. They have the satisfaction of believing also, that how ever disappointing the delay may have been, it will yet, in the greater perfection and security of the works, ulti mately prove advantageous to the interests of the Company. " Your directors cannot be surprised that the attacks with which both the South Devon Railway and the atmospheric system of traction have been so perseveringly assailed, should have induced many persons to suppose the one to be very defective and insecure, and the other te have proved a total failure. But they believe that it would not be difficult to trace the exaggerated statements and perversions of fact which have constantly appeared in certain publications, to insidious attempts of parties inte rested in decrying the one and suppressing the other. Your directors would not however have deemed it necessary to bestow any notice on such mis - statements, but for the op portunity which it affords them of expressing to the share holders their undiminished confidence in the atmospheric system of traction, and of assuring them that the prejudice which has been raised against that part of the line which passes over the sea beach, is entirely destitute of truth: of this the public will themselves shortly be enabled to judge. " Confident as your Directors continue to be of the succes ful working of the atmospheric system, the unforseen delays which may occur, where many of the minor but necessary de tail: are still experimental, have suggested the expediency of taking the advantage of the Emily summer traffic by running passenger trains with a locomotive engine on the line as far as Teignmouth. Your directors consider that this may be done, not only in. expensively and with little or no interruption to the pro gress of the atmospheric arrangements, but with considerable advantage to the Company. " In conclusion your directors have to report that the Great Western Railway Company have appointed Mr. George Jones to be a director in the place of Mr. W. S. Jacques, deceased. " I« conformity with the 88th clause of the Act of Incor poation, the following directors retire by rotation, but are duly qualified for re-election :—Mr. Gill, Mr. Cole, Lord Connelly, and Mr. Fox. And it will be the duty of this meeting, under the 108th clause of the Act of Incorporation, to proceed to the election of two auditors for the ensuing year. " THOMAS GILL, Chairman. LONDON AND WESTMINSTER claim to greater i mportance and BANKING COMPANY.—(THIS DAY.) higher ay w e were m , a t present (Continued from our Afterno on Edi t i on.) Mr . TITE proposed the Adoption of the report. H e f e l t that there ges than ent himself; who ou 1 d , 1 to ashen' he ou g ht, per h aps give way ; but as he had ventured at their last me e ti ng to su4; to est that the directors should alter the form in which th e accounts d usually app ared, and to give such a statement in the one they had published, he telt that he might be permitted to propose the adoption of the report and accounts which had been submitted to them. Ile begged to thank the directors, on behalf of the proprietors, for having adopted that suggestion, because ke thought that a favourable result could not tail to ensue front the publication of a clear and simple statement of their affairs, and that such an " exposure "—if he might use the term—would do more than anything to destroy any unfavourable impres sioa which might exist in any quarter, with respect to their esta blishment. If such impression did exist, he n• as convinced that the statement which the directors had put forward would destroy it, because it showed how large a sum had been invested to meet un expected contingencies, and how large a sum they had in hand.— ( Hear, hear.) In fact, the perspicuity of their financial statement was much to their credit. The usual dividend of 61. per cent, was exceedingly satisfactory, and they might congratulate the directors and themselves on there being no probable chance of its diminution. No doubt the directors had exercised a wise discretion in proposing the payment of the usual amount, instead of devoting a portiou of the proceeds to the payment of a higher diva rend, but if they had proposed 71. per cent. instead of 61, csrrying 6,0001. instead of the sum pro proposed to the reserved accou it, he should have felt more fatisfled —(Hear) —but as he had said, he had no doubt the directors had excellent reasons for not proposing such an alteration. The motion having been seconded, Mr. JosiivA Waracea wished to make a few observations before the chairman put the motion to the meeting* In the first place, he wished to congratulate the proprietors on the splendid statement which had been submitted to them by tile directors, and which re flected great credit not only on them, but on the mat avrs and others. —(Bear, hear.) lie had no idea of the wealth and power of the hank until he entered into all the particulars connected with it. Ile happened to possess one of the first reports, and as he hail taken some trouble to compare its statements with those in that now submitted to them, and as he thought it could not but be interesting to the meeting, in order that they might perceive the great progress which had marked their establishment from its commencemeut, he would state the re sults of his investigation. The capital in 1834, which was the find year in which any statement was published, was 182,000/., when to 1846 it had increased to 80...,000/. The deposits in 1834 were 180,0001. ; in 1846 they were 3,590,0001. That was a very large sum to have reached in that short time. The profits in 1834 did riot ex ceed 3,5401. ; in 1t46 they amounted to 66,344/. They had no re served fund in 1834, but in 1846 they had a reserved fend of 88,300/. —(Cheers.) He observed also that the g ross or net profits made by tile bank during the 12 years it had been established amounted to 496,1751., out of which the proprietors had received 4 07,9361. In the shape of divelends.—(Hear.) Thai was a startling result in so short a period, and showed the great degree of public confidence be stowed on the bank, and the unremitting attention of the directors and other oflicers to their atrairs.—((;keers.) Ile also observed that in 1845 they had splay one branch, which was in Westminster ; they had now five, and he found by the Natikeiv' :Almanac that in 1835 the bank had no country agents, whereas at the present moment not less than 150 local banks and branches were connected with them.— (Cheers ) tie found also on inquiry that whilst 111 1835 only 20 clerks were required, the services of 117 were required in 1846. (Hear, hear.) lie did think that as these things showed such rapid and extraordinary progress in their undertaking that they could not fail to be interesting, and that they would not objet to hear them. But there was one thing which struck hint very forcibly, whether during this rapid increase of prosperity and business, and c mse querely increased labour to the directors any additioaal remuneration to that originally agreed had been voted to them.—(hear.) It did seem to him that they ought to give their attention to the subject, as that increased labour required additional remuneration.—(Hear.) In 1831 tile directors declined to receive any remuneration whatever, and in 1835 a sum of money was voted to them in consideration of their services. Ile would make no farther comment on the subject; but he could not help anxiously inquiring whether any addition had been made to that sum commensurate with the addhional labour which the rapid increase of the business of the bank had imposed upon them ? The Chairman had stated that an increase of directors was contemplated. He was glad to see Mr. Chapman one of that body, because he had known him and his wealthy connexions for several years, and he did not think a better selection could have bcon ma le.—(Heer, hear.) Me hoped th it the dlrectere-in making any additions to their body, would sleet gentlemen from that body of merchants of which Mr. Chapman was a member, because he believed, that by doing so, they would add to the influence of the bank, and consequently promote its prosperity Mr. LEVY would have no objection to receive 71. per cent., al re commended by Mr. Tite ; but, as the directors were of opinion that they ought not to pay more than 6 per cent., he should support their determination, because he had the greatest faith in their discretion. If they had a sufficiently reserved fund let them have the additional sum which they proposed to add to it, but the di rectors were the best judges, and they were in favour of paying no more than the usual per tentage. The subject of increasing the remuneration of the clerks in the bank ought to be left in the hands of the directors, as he • .considered that the proprietors had not the opportunities of testing their respective merits as the directors. However, he could state that the ttepartment of the bank 'in which he principally transacted business was as well, and perhaps better, conducted, than any other bank hi the kingdom.— (Hear, hear.) The directors must excuse him if he referred • what was, in his estimation, a " sore place."—(Laughte7.) Now .he did not like the election of Mr. Chapman to t office of director. Ile was, no doubt, a very respectable man, t red if he had been canvassed, he, perhaps, should have voted for hit. ; but he regretted (and the more so because the Chairman wa ao Liberal to the backbone)—(Laughter)—that the proprietors had not been consulted in the election of Mr. Chapman, sr of any other director—(Hear, hear)—and he hoped wi en a vacancy again occurred in the direction that they would be p pealed to. He did however not mean by this to detract from I 0 merits of their directors, for lie believed that a more competent body, than the one which presided over their affairs, could not be found—(Hear, hear)—but he wished the power to be vested in the proprietors, as he disliked a " home list," and as they had elected Mr. Chapman, they might elect anyone else they pleased. A PROPRIETOR. expressed his willingness to second any motion which might be submitted to the meeting embodying the sentiments enunciated by Mr. Levy. Mr. fun rose to order. The only motion before the meeting was for the adoption of the report. Mr. LEVY declines to put his sentiments iu the shape of a motion. as he considered that thy suggestion he had offered would have the desired effect. The CHAIRMAN explained that the right of electing directors was vested in themselves by the Act of Incorporation ; and that the prac tice of tilling up vacancies, which occurred between the annual meet ings, had been continued since the establishment of the Bank. However, they were at liberty not to confirm the report. A rotatory principle was adopted by which three of the directors went annua ly out of office, and the proprietors might propose directors during the six weeks before the lstof March. There was no " house list," but they acted on a home'principle for the benefit of the under taking. MIT. DONALDSON expressed his satisfaction at the way in which the accounts were made out, and congratulated himself on having been the dist to recommend the adoption of the improved plan. The right of electing directors should be vested in that body, and while they had confidence in the directors there was no necessity for the proprietors to meet to fill up any vacancies which might occur. When the principle was abased, they might take steps to effect a change. A PROPRIETOR considered that they ought to meet twice instead of once a year, in order that they might have the pleasure of hearing such satisfactory information as that afforded by the directors to-day oftener. The number of directors originally intended was 24, but they never had a greater number thon 16 or 18. The present number was 13. Now as the busines of the bank ha 1 increased they ought to have an an additional number, Last year the profits amounted to 51,0001., this year to 66,3441. ; showing an increase of 15,343/. 19s.—(Hear) :h was highly satisfactory, and showed that the directors had performed their duties in an efficient manner. He considered that as they had in a measure superseded irivate banks, they ought to devote a -portiox of their pr .fits to charitable purposes. By the visitation of Providence many disasters had occurred, such as the late fire at Quebec, the famine in Ireland, &c., the effect of which would be materially reduced by their contri buting a small sum out of their large profits to the sufferers. Mr. LEVY—That would take away our V. per cent. with a ven geance. Mr. BROWN said, witk regard to the suggestions which had just been made, he thought that the proprietors had better follow the usual course of private bankers, which was to give money iu their individual capacity. He did not find that the Union Bank or any other joint-stock bank had made any grant from their corporate funds. Then, with respect to the matter of the directory, he thought any increase in the number of directors, the usual meetings were quite sufficient for making any alteration. He would suggest that some attempt should be made to get into the clearing-house. If there was plenty within and peace without with the Bank of England, he thought it would be better to extend those peaceful relations with other banks, and he would suggest that some attempt should be ma :e to accomplish that otij. ct. The CHAIRMAN said that persevering attempts had been made to become members of the clearing-house, but all they could at present do was to knock patiently, at the door until they did, as he was sure they. ultimately would, obtain admission. Then with regard to the suggestion respecting charities, he did not wish it to go forth to the shareholders that their money was appropriated without their consent to purposes to which they were not strictly applicable. He did not, however. wish it to go forth to the christian public that the directors did not sometimes smuggle a portion of their cash for the relief of misfortune and unexpected calamity.—(Laughter and cheers.) Mr. KEMPSTEAD begged to express his thanks for the manner in which the business of the bank had been conducted, and to move a vote of thanks to the directors for their conduct, and to include in that vote the name of Mr. Chapman, who, although young in the manage ment, was eminently entitled to the respect and good-will of tile shareholders. He mute coincided in the opinion that the directory ought to he increased. He found that there were now thirteen direc tors, among whom the sum of 2,5001. were divided. The motion having been seconded. Mr. LEVY said, that he thought it would be better that any pro posal for enlarging the directory, and for increasing the compensa tion for the services of the gentlemen now constituting the board, should come from the board itself. He thought that they were gentlemen of too high character to be liable to any false supposition respecting their motives. He was sure they would not be mealy-mouthed.—(Loud (Laughter.) When they wanted money they had not hesitated to ask for it.—(No, no; nothing has ever emanated from the board.) — All there was a whisper—( Laughter) and there were always fr ends ready to put a whisper into circulation and give it effect.—(Cries of "No, no.") Air. WARREN objected that there were insufficient statements of the expenses of the branch banks, and proceeded' during the expression of much disapprobation, to stat e that he had understood that an advance of from 1,0001. to 2,0001. had been made to the managers of the different banks, and he was not surprbed at it when he saw the elegant mansions which were engaged for those branch t=anks; but he thought this altogether unnecessary when he observed the little business that was dome at those lor anch banks. He thought that whenever a vacancy in the direction occurr«l, a special meeting ought to be convened, so that it might be filled tip by the votes of the shareholders. Mr. 'PITH had read of a man of one idea, and there was an illus tration of the tact in the present instance. He had heard the gen tleman who had just sat down make the same speech three times over within the last fortnight, and always with the same result, and that was, that he concluded without a seconder. And with regard to the suggestion of an alteration in the direction, so that each and all should be subjected . to exclusion from office for a twelvemonth, it was both inconvenient, inexpedient, and illegal. Front the nag of the solicitor he was convinced that such was the case. He thought that the nomination of new directors was most p-operly left in the hands of the directors themselves, and if the increase of the number of directors was necessary, he beloved that they were the best judges of the matter. If there was to be any increase in the compensation given to them, he for one was quite ready to give his cordial assent and support to any motion which had that ob ject.—(Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN had done his best to cleanse other bodies from the evil of self-election; and no one had a greater objection to such a plan ; but the deed of settlement bound the directors to the system, and by that means they retained-the services of the most efficient men. The gentleman who had just sat down had displayed a total ignorance of tke whole business of the bank. With respect to the exclusion of gentlemen from office, he could assert that there was only one bank in England which folhiwed that plan —he meant that of Preston—and he believed that a worse clause had never been inserted in any deed than that which compelled that batik to pursue such a course. As to what had fallen from Mr. Warren concerning the indolence of the directors, he thought a sufficient reply had been given by the terms of the report, but he might further state that the directors were responsible for the conduct of the branch banks as well as for that of the principal establishment. Three directors sat every day during worldly.; hours as a sommittec, and once every week the whole board met to revise their proceedings, and he could assure the proprietor that if he inquired more closely be.would find that, instead of the directors being a set of drones, who consumed the honey of the bees, they were very industrious people. The motion for the thanks of the sh•lreholders to the Chairman and directors was then passed unanimously. John Esdaile, Esq., Sir John Kirkland, and John Stewart, Esq., who went out of the direction by rotation were then re-elected. kr. WARREN then proposed that the 48th clause of the deed of set tlement, which allowed the directors the right of electing members of their board in the case of a temporary vacancy, should be expunged, The CHAIRMAN said that the motion wo,ld, if carried, alter the constitution of the Company, and that notice ought to have been given beforehand. - Mr. WARREN said he had inquired of the Secretary whether such notice was necessary or n it, and had been informed that it was not. After some conversation and afLer great opposition, at the request of the board of directors the motion was put, and kith the exception of the mover and seconder, ft was unanimously negatived. Thanks were then moved to Mr. Gilbert, the general manager, and to the several gentlemen who were managers of the different establishments. In seconding this proposition, a SHAREHOLDER said that as this was a day for complaints he should complain also, not of the directors or the chairman, but of the proprietary ; for If the shareholders exhibited as much zeal and energy in bringing accounts to the bank, as the directors had shown, the affairs of the Company, prosperous as they were, would be more prosperous still. The motion was passed unanimously and with much applause. Thanks were then voted to the Chairman with acclamation. Mr. P. M. STEWART begged to thank them for the very handsome compliment which they had just paid him. So long as he held a seat at that board he should always be happy to give his best services to wards the interest of the sharehold. rs. The lien. Gehticman concluded amidst great applause and the meeting seperated. IMPERIAL PA RLIAIIENT. 1101 7 SE OF _LORDS. March 3. VAN DIENIEN'S' LAND. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE again rose and said, that in pursuance of a notice which he had given, he begged to call their Lordship's attention to a petition which was of con siderable importance, both on account of the goat-ter in which it originated, and from the quarter with which the subject was immediately c innected. It was a petition numerously signed by the inhabitants of a colony, well known by its reputation, to himself and to their Lordship, and which was as much en titled as any one of c u r co l on i es t o a re.pectful, a kind, end patient considerati on o f th e i r gr i evances . It was in fact a petition front the inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land, and he need not inform their Lordships that that colony in its locality was one of the most pretty and interesting colonies in her Majesty's dominions ; in its extent equal to Ireland, and con tained a va'.t mass of population. Instead of reading the pe titior, he would pi e'er stating the substance of it, as it was of considerable length. The petitioners stated, that having been at different titnes induced and encouraged to emigrate to that country in the hope and expectation that as no greater number of convicts would be sent to that part of her Ma jesty's dominion, the people of that country would Aeon be come a free and a virtuous people. They had latterly, how ever found, that there was no hope cf their expectations being realised, and that the immense importation of convicts had chpiged the entire face of the country. They stated that when they emigrated they were required to embark consider able capital in the land which they occupied, and that nothing could be more prosperous than their exertions in the cultiva tion of their land. They also stated, that from the year 1834 to the ye.a. 1840, the population had in creased from 12,700 to upwards of 40,01:0, arid the number of acres cultivated from 25,000 to 124,000. The truth of those statements were trite apparent. In this small, narrow, and confined society there were no fewer than 16,000 convicts imported within three years, 13.000 males and 6,4;00 females. The consequence was, that instead of any classification of divisions being made of these convicts, they were sbliged to be worked in gangs of twoand three hundred, to the great terror of the peaceable inhabitants of the place. This had also been the means of increasing crime, and ren dering a large police force necessary. lie did think that on these grounds the petition brought forward by the most respectable persons—the Bishop of the colony —a large number of the landed proprietors, and six out of the eight memhers of the Legislative Council, making in all 1,300 or 1,400 persons, had some claim on the attention of her .Majesty's Government. He begged to be understood that i n w h a t lie had said, with respect to the im provement of convict labour, he did not adopt the opinion— however much he might respect them—of those persons, who thought that t ransportat i on was a punishment unfit for this country, for he was one of those who, in the past and present state of the criminal law, and the present state of crime, thought that transportation was an in dispen.able p un i s h ment . Th ere m i g h t b e a good principle adopted by - the Government. They should either send out so many convicts to one island as would make it a place ex clu3ively for the purposes of the punishment, or they should send out such a limited nuraber as was consistent with the well being of the place, and he would permit the convicts to be received and amalgamated with the virtuous and industrious portion of the community. Now, having stated this, he was bound also to admit the difficulties which surrounded the sub ject. He knew that tl Nobl e L or d , the late Secretary for the Colonies, had directed his attention to the evil, with the view of fir.ding a remedy for it. He (Lord Lansdowne) was confident that no measure but one would, to a con siderable extent, relieve the colony from the amount of crimi nality which was }early poured into it, and be attended with any measure of . success. Under th e present system it was quite impossible tor the police to control or the Government to overawe there, and unless, as he had stated, they were prepared to retain the colony in the manner he had sug,ges: ed, they wou ld no t be doing justice to theinterests of the colonists. The petition prayed that ne convicts should be after that period sent to the colony, but they admitted that others of the inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land thought that a smaller number than were at present introduced would do no injury. They all agreed, however, that the present system, unless discontinued, would result in the ruin of the colony. lie had received a letter which stated that at the present time there were 2,000 persons who had tickets of leave, going about seeking employment, hut were unable to obtain it through the employment of con vict laboer. The Government were bound to attend to this state of things, so as to see that those reformed convicts should not be deprived of the means of earning a subsistence.—( Hear, hear.) Whatever diffieulties might surround the question, they ought to be grappled with, so that a final aed satisfactory settlement of the effeh-s of the colony might be made. Lord STANLEY said that as the Noble Lord (the Earl of Ripon) had but recently undertaken the duties of the Colonial-office, and as the petition mainly referred to a period when he (Lord Stanley) had the direc ion of the affairs of the colonies, their Lordships would forgive him inter fering to give an explanation. He would beg leave to say that the petition involved questions infinitely more important than the welfare of a single colony, for it involved no other than the vital question of the whole system of seconeary punishments.— ( hear. hear. ) Although certain of the allegations of the peti tion were exaggerated, he could not deny that for the last four or five years, much social and pecuniary evil had been inflicted on Van Diemen's Land, from making it exclusively a convict colony. There was one point of considerable weight which the peti tioners had omitted to state, and that was when land was as , aligned to a free settler that free settler was bound to main tain a certain number of convicts. The convicts were Lot sent to the free settler, but the free settlers came to the con viets. In point of fact, that which was imposed as obligation was felt to be a boon, and it was mainly, though not exclu sively, to that system 'hat we owed the rapid advance of the population of that colony. He was far from denying that the number of convicts sent to that colony should be materially lessened.--( Hear, hear.) He would beg of their Lordships to consider the condition in which the Government was placed. lie spoke from a document which was published in feel. He found that in the year 1340, by the system of transportation, every person who received a convict into his service was bound to maintain him. The consequence was that the character of the convicts was much improved. They were admitted into the families of virtuous people, and they were under a aort of parental care. He believed that the system of assignment (although abjectionablo in some respects) was too hastily abandoned. There were many cases in which parties who went over to that colony had parties a-signed to them as servants, who were convic's, bat who also actually stood towards theta in the relation of husbands, brothers and sons. All this was put an end to in 1840, up to which time convicts were sent to Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales from this colony. But in the year 1840 his (Lord Stanley's) successor in office not only put a stop to the system of assignment, but a strong re solution of the House of Commons was passed, to the effect that no more convicts should be sent to New South Wales, aud ever since then Vale Diemen': Land had been the only place where convicts were sent to, and assignment was put an end to. Was this all? It was not ; for in 1841 the House of Commons passed another resolution, to the effect that every facility should be given for the speedy transition of convicts confined in the hulks under sentence of transportation. it was not very easy to establish a system of convict discip line between two parties who were at such a distance from each other that it took twelve months to receive an answer to a letter. It occurred, however, towards the close of the year Isas42., that Mr. .I',onnigue, one of the ablest and most efficient servants that any colony had, was in this country, and a -torn. awn:cation was immediately made to him by her Majesty's Go vernment. The result of their labours was the foundation of a system of convict regulation. It was decided that the con vic:s should be put in gang: to work in various parts of the colony, and that after a tinse they sh.suld be promoted accord ing to their conduct to various stages less and less severe, until they ended in obtaining a " ticket of leave," or a free pardon. lie knew, ;mil it was a fact very disc editable to so great a country as this, that it was not until the last four or five years that we hail been sending out from 3,000 to 4,000 convicts an rurally, while no provision was made fur their religious improve ment. The first step was taken four or five years ago, when an arrangement was made by which each two gene's, containing from '250 to 300. a gang, had the services of a chaplain ; and in order that no difficulty might arise, the governor was directed to place the Protestants aid Catholics in different gangs, so that each might have the benefit of a chaplain of their own per suasion. The Protestant and Roman Catholic Bishops of the place, both gave their approval. As far as they could judge by the reports received during the last four years, the measure now in pro gress answere d admirably. The one great difficulty they laboured under was that at that time the number of tramp .rts increased considerably while there was less opportunity of employment for them. He ad mitted that many financial burdens were thrown on the colony; the secial burdens were also greatly increased in consequence of the large introduction of eo-n--(Cheers)—ameng the free population. But her Majesty's Ministers had taken steps for the purpose of remedying its inconvenience. They hail taken on themselves a larger amount than they had pre viously done of the gaols and police superinten dence, and they had taken another step the bearin g of whi c h wou ld requ i re some li t tl e exp l anat i on . their Lordships were no doubt aware that under the present sys , ein, in Australia, a minimum price was fixed on land, for the purpose of preventing the accumulation of land in the hands of certain capitalists, and for the purpose of increasing labourers in the colony. That system had been found appli cable to the colony of New South Wales, but when they found the amouut of labour to exceed the demand, they were obliged to adopt other means, with a view to meet the diffiehlty. Iu the course of the last session, the- e!ore, they repealed the pro visions of the Laud Sales' Act as far as regarded Van Diemen's Land. The Government found subsequently that the sales of land had fallen to that degree that no revenue was erovided at all, while the police and gaol rates had greatly increased. When their Lordships recollected that from 300,000/. to 400,0001. was paid by the country for the maintenance of transported convicts, it was not unreasonable that. Government should give directions that those convicts should be employed in a great measure in raising the food necessary for their own subsistence. They were for the most part employed in improving the land which had been par tially reclaimed in the colony. By the former law the pro ceeds of land thus improved, ashen sold, were absorbed by the colonial treaeury, arid the Government at home derived no ad vantage, although such improvements had been effected by their paid convicts. They therefor e determined that to con victs who could not find employment in private service, and whose characters were such that they ought to be en couraged, a premium should be given in the shape of land, to be cultivated on their own account. But in reference to the social evils that were complained ot, as affecting such a remote and insignificant colony, he would beg leave to inform their Lordships that this ins , g(,ficant colony was in extent not less than Ireland, yet it sv,s occupied by only about 40,a0J free settlers. So talking of swamping the colony as large as Ireland, with the introduction of 4,000 convicts every year, providieg there was a sufficient superin tendence, was out of the euestion. But if they did not send their convicts to Van Diemen's Land, what were they to do with the sweepings of their gaols, which sent forth on an average every year from four to five thousand male convicts? At the presenr time there were in Vats Diemen's Laud, and New Sough Walese.about 50,000 convicts, of which this coun try had been permanently relieved. —( Hear, hear.) And put ting the question, not in a pecuniary but in a moral light, did they believe it would be possible, unless there were penal set tlements, for felons who had suffered impriconment or punish ment for the violation of the laws, when relieved, to be able to find employment. In this over peopled country it would he impossible for them to get employment, and the consequence would be, they would be driven from sheer necessity to adopt their former vicious courses, and to mix with their former companions, so that the recurrence of criminal practices would be tenfold greater than before. He believed that a penal colony was first calculated to offer a field of employment for such convicts; and he believed in many respects, so far from the well conducted settlers bethig injured in a moral point of view, the contrast between the two classes had a most salutary influence on the character of the free popu lation. The possession of )anti in Van Diemen's Land was easily obtained, and the present system worked exceedingly well. lie apprehended that none of their Lordships would stand up and say that the number of convicts should be mate rially diminished. If they determined on founding a new penal colony, he would ask them how they intended to do so? It teas mucheasier to speak of forming a colony than the actual forma tion of it. They required security, and that the new penal colony should not be in a troeical climate--that it should be destitute of inhabitants—that its toil should be fertile, and that it should be of considerable extent. In kis humble judg ment the motion of transferring our convicts to purely pewit Litanies, would act most fatally to the system of transportation. —( Hear, hear.) They had only this alternative—would they, if they could find a colony, establish a new penal colony, and in vite free settlers thither ? or, would they establish &colony which from its commencement to its close should never be refreshed by the presence of an unconvicted man, but should be a den of pollution and condemnation ?—(Cheers.)_ They could d e H nothing so fatal as that t o the convicts. e would ask, what was the convict to do after the termination of his sentence ? They would be deprived during the existence of their sentence of the society of all virtuous men, and when they were set tree they would be unable to leave the colony. Would their Lord ships form such a colony as that ? Let them take Norfolk Island, for instance, as a colony, into which Lone should be admitted but convicts, it must in a few years become one of the most awful places on the face of the empire. The greatest possible advantages had been conferred upon the colonists, and, in order to enable them to derive benefit from the convicts, those convicts were comp. lied to go through all the gradations of punishmeet under the surveillance of the po lice and magistrates. Under those circumstances he would say that he conceived it would be most inexpedient in their Lordships to comply with the prayer of this petition. Their Lordships would find it rather a curious fact that this country bore no comparison to the state of France in reference to con victs. In France only 8,000 convicts were thrown back upon them, arid yet they complained of it as an intolerable hardship. What then would be thought of it in this country if they had 50,000 convicts thrown back upon them? The Government of which he lately hail the honour of being a member had added a new colony to New South Wales, sufficiently far re moved from the tropics to be healthy, and to this colony a considerable number of convicts were being removed. It was provided that these persona should be removed to an other colony, and provided with food for a limited period with a small portion of land, which they hail the option of culti vating for themselves ; and from the proximity of New South Wales, they could, when their term was expired, go to that settlement and engage themselves in service. Those persons, from the time of their arrival in that place, might be looked on as having obtained a conditional pardon, and when any de mand for labour arose in the neighbouring settlement, they could go to service. These were the objects which the Go. vernment had in view for the amendment of the state of the convicts. There was no subject which had been more anxiously considered by himself and the Right Hon. Baronet for the Heme Department than the present question. They had taken every step that was possible for the purpose of re lieving the moral and financial aystenr. He believed that the moral system depended on the admixture of the convicts with the free populatiee, and also the proximity of some large and important country to which their labour might be transferred. He regretted to say that Van Diemen's Land had not been free from the late mania for speculation ; undertakings had been commenced on burrowed capital, bearing most usurious interes's. When these specu lations failed, property was sold all over the island, and it was to that fact, and not to the presence or absence of convicts that he attributed the distress and depression that hail taken place. He did not deny that the presence of a considerable number of convicts would have the effect of lowering the rate of wages, and that co n s equen tl y num b ers o f free labourers had emigrated from Van Diemen's Land. But there were other causes at work also, for it might be recollected that within the last six or twelve months, a rapid improvement had taken place in the districts of Port Philip and South Australia. In the latter district more particularly, minerals had been opened up to a great extent and there fore, there had been an increased demand for labour ; and the colony was so near Van Dieman's Land that labourers could always have the opportunity of removing there, and, therefore they were not to attribute the emigration altogether to the introduction of convicts, but to the fact that a more re- munerative field was formed for them. Ile — entreated their Lordships would consider before they Trade any serious change in the law of transportation—before they altered or condemned the existing system, and consider what other system they could substitute for it. Let them not condemn ; let them be satisfied to amend whet was defective, but let them not destroy until they had found another that wan more advantageous to the colony of Van Diemen's Land, which had been a petal settlement from the commencement. Let them consider what it was to relieve this country from the immense mass of corruption which would be ever present if a large number of convicts were permitted to remain in it. Let them consider what the chances were which were given those convicts after the termination of their sentence in a country so peculiarly fitted for them. He thanked their Lord- hips for the attention they had paid to him,_ and he sat again requesting them not to effect any c hanges without ea' con•ideration. The Duke of RICHMOND said, that having been a dire r s tor in the Pentoneille Priso n , he was enabled to stat e that te, convicts sent from that prison were received in the colo n y a a,l; the utmost distrust ; and, in fact, it was a drfficult rn for them to obtain employment. Many of them , howea.,. earned for themseives a name as the must industrious inh ants of the colony. s aid it Lord LYTTELTON, in laying papers on the table, to might be expected from him that he would state "I the House on the present occasion what were the intentions of the Government with respect t , i ts elf col ny of Van Diemen's Land. This subject dividea into two parts—that which referred to the morral and.iu_l; state of the convicts, and that which referred to the p venient and financial grievances of Van Diemen's L r EL7 re s compared with other co l on i es . Th e Noble Lord bad et_'_kiej to the probationary c on vi c t gangs , and adduced sever al their which had been forwarded to this country illustrative 01100 beneficial working. That many allegations in were correct, could not be denied, and he hoped thit,;; e se ships would give these their most careful consideration• ii,„t was another material point to which he would alludesiiii;t4 year a dispatch had been received from Sir • s feta the fl at! , urging on the Government the importance of allowing tttni , importation of corn from that colon into this T a ttlei Perhaps he was not exactly in orders n alluding to 1_ present time, still he thought it right to m measure that was likely, along with others lost' might be devised, to 'rove beneficial to the _ d rat He was prepared to admit that the petitioners ha.,..victi grounds of complaint in reference to the Dumber of i r e dhe which were sent to their colony.—( Hear, hear.) f eedP jesty's Government were most anxious to apply some % o wl ention riit —( Hear, hear.) He was enabled to state that the Pe the might entertain some slight hope that, at no distants wool present system would be greatly relaxed. 'there had . . t tbe application from the inhabitants of Pert Philip t• Perw,, ore admission of convicts into their colony. Her Maja at i f 00 8 vernment had the strongest feeling of the necessity to change. A considerable number of convicts bad lat e ,/ g oal transported to Gibraltar, and the system had werke•osioes satisfactorily. Her - Majesty's Government were tum t , telid to extend that system as far as possible.—( Hear, hear' ) god be felt that the subject was one of the grea test moment' .bov e could only my, on the part of the Government, that it , - receive their most seri ou s cons id erat i on .—( H e ar, bearti,,sen Noble Lord, who was i m p er f ect ly h ear d in the te Tdie. / gallery, concluded by stating that the Government wa u o sed/ gladly adopt any measure w hi c h m i g h t b e ca l cu lated to t s ,the the grievances mentione d i n t h e petition presented Pi Noble Marquis. oft bi Lord GREY sa id h e l oo k e d upon t hi s as a suh r jea - . 0 00 greatest import ance , b u t h e did not t hi n k t h a t the ata t t fb s d o made by the petiti oners h a d b een sat i s f actor il y anscrereei Noble Lord oppo s it e . Th e N.,bl e L or d h a d no t den' f or l the charges made by the petitioners, and therefore W e 'd ts deserving of the highest and most serious cons id er atioa, ere House, and the c onv i c t s s h ou ld h ave i mme di ate rel it " t , sal doubt the difficulties in th e way o f d o i ng t hi s were g i lt ; ell°r required much tim e t o d e lib erate upon. H e h a d l o ng beto posed to this system of transportation, and he fully 4'4 the the sentiments expressed upon it in a pamphlet writt et !,, n thel Archbishop of D u bli n . I n t h e pr i nc i p l e o f t ra nsporia! l t i e ref looked for two objects—the first was the vict sent out, and the other was, to relieve this cfa. ;O p , his presence; but the great mistake was in not seeara tl :risbo! objects completely. He believed that the system of P a l c ellr puuishment ° to Oa should be carried on in this country. The great dii" to ult u r carrying on the present system was that in case of aal„ o ° o ld . L tion arising, it was 10 or 12 months before an answer — 11 0 : s received from home to remedy that obstructioat ore' was no reason why the penal labour should not hall s heli t l here, and the conv i c t a f terwar d s sent i nto the cololl' He knew that th e co l on i es d i d not lik e rec eiving s,st m when their sen t ences h a d en d e d , b ut that o bj ec tion .Art o 'ol overcome. He was awar e th at thi s was no t an °Pssei b. to discuss so important a subject, but he could 10 4 fo od: conversation to e,ose without expressing his dissen t gbt el • opinions prevalent that the system of transportation oeti be continued. If the system could be continued /8004 faults it would be a desirable one ; but as it had hee it oir? A r attempted, it had failed to answer all the purposes °l d ilitV;o it had been applied. And if it could not be continneweb• its faults, they had the alternative that ought to adopted long ago—via., of discontinuing it altogetbef,r•ity, After some observations from the Bishop of 0 30 ',.h i . The Marquis of LANSDOWNE rose to exP''''. - s tito7.l would be very glad to learn that it would be found Pt - l ettie" to dispense with transportation altogether ; and he al t , s r s t s; with great pleasure to the admirable address of the ~,^'t a e4 f P Ptelate in reference to the experiment of the r e . d tar, Prison, and he did hope that the amount of crime ea usi ss er' things might decrease, so as to bring it in greater P t with the population. . 1 0 14 After a few word s f r o m L or d LYTTreetost an' Mt of O X F ORD , th e p et i t i on was or d ered to l i e on the to ttir. The Public Work s (I re l an d) Bill was t h e n roa d time and passed. The• Game Bill was then read a second time.we/O °S WEXFORD, CARLOW, AND DUBLIN , RAILW Y. too e ate Lord MONTEAGLE sa id t h at t h e ot h er day " 6 gilt notice of a moven with respect to an Irish Railvssi o :ell Wexford, C ar l ow , an d D u bli n J unct i on ; an d be It At" explain hims e lf t o th e i r Lordships in a -fi tIPS et s e His motion was f or the purpose of facilitate oef. passing of a Bill t h roug h the Standing Orders C' li es iro The motion was that the standing orders in this c ate s a svasssfr pensed with. Th e error w h ic h h a d b een commut` o ese'lle serving of some noti ces en a S un d ay an d a Or,'" g eet o r though it was proved that no hardship was in con s ;:i O Meted on any one. By allowing the Bill to pro merit would be given to 6,000 persons. 0 011 0 Lord REDESDALE regretted he could not c ote' the views of the Noble Baron oppos te, because if th s ite orders were to be of any value at all, they should!). to in this respect. The standing order which i n M o o, , case had not been observed was improper service of a s oli t , that notices had been served on Christmas-day ateeata, and surely if the parties serving them were not lei' op er gent they should know that they were doing an iraP, r „ too tl d i He thought the C o m m it tee h a d come t o a just cenc''',olo ths.re was no case for recommending the parties to the the House for non-attendance to the standing order a s ;oft After a few words from th e Ea r l of SHAF TESI3' The LORD CHANCELLOR said that t h e uotie s s7j et f course, illegal, if served on Sunday, an d t h at , in fateer serious punishment w a s a't ac h e d t o any party to serve such a notice en a Sunday.—( Hear, hear.) bi The motion was then put and agreed to. not gid Their Lordships th en a dj o u rn ed a t a Qaarter'r o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS', March 5' „.1 PETITIONING THE HOLL';E. btfor i ,!,o' Mr. ADDELEY th oug ht th at t h e su bj ec t brag do ' rti by the Honourable Member should bereferrt'd pientel'r•;fo:l mittee on the Cheltenham petition, °because ther eth t eoir s analogy between them. It was right that me mittee appointed to inquire into the :re iiit' i lot in .11anchrister et' Cheltenham petitions should inqnt r ee t , n ,,l subject also.—(Hear, hear.) He was prepared the priviieges of electors had been 13rcan ioo eeff el with in North Staff or d s hi re , an d that .1 it' A the subj ec , . was gerrean to the matt e r ,0 ii ) irrtt to the Committee, an d t h a t th ey oug h t t o in'estifse °jot.' Bill had been drawn up by an Hon. Friend °° t ot t i , IV w hich he beli e v e d wou ld shortly be introduced int ° n i icia ' lis t The Hon. Member th en rea d extracts f rom a Pe etl'ert'ort' House from North Staffordshire, which were to the ora l l a I V although the petitioners had been registered for t e n oi , vi a and although their qualification to vote was well tip , lie ir locality, that 20,000 frivolous objections to their o_ A bf ',or sea el' i served upon them and others ; that they were ses u , te js 'psi i habitant of the county, but that they had been O f ' „Set e sP r chester—(Loud protectionist cheers.) They 11 ; 0 0' yes that they were thus subjected to considerab le d free: l l3e annoyance on account of being compelled to atten e tOrtt; to year at the Registration Courts, in order to p rov e , th ef ts i d 0 0 1 were entitled to be on the register. Having real ie o bos oi sr the Hon. Gentleman concluded by saying tha t on e then present th e p et i t i on, b ut that he should do'" lit °r occasion, when he had a better opportunity. it r i olii' 4 ; Air. WAKL EY said that he did not consider 0 0, 1 , just that the petition should be referred to a Coec• tu .„ ' ( the re cs 6 _ was appointed for entirely a different purpose , '", -- s sl'i t t , 0' that the Hon. Gentleman would not press it, as e it , sid, f ed, Government would feel the propriety of lending by tit ,bs' correction of the system, which could not be clor t e ege thr, r fi e clumsy way which was then proposed. It was a i o esh te 'P way of proceeding, and nothing could be more obje ct in „ Morn' Hon. Gentleman made a motion, and in doq mil", beei s Wakley) felt that he had dealt very hardly with the 3, bad d°' law League. He stated that a man in their o be fore j proved to be a forger and a perjurer, and yet th his est e , 0 0 1 1, man adopted the stateme n t s o f th at man in IsYhtiitleii ga t the House.—(Cries of " No, no !") He (Ai r ' tha t t na liol , i ; observe that if wh a t was s t a t e d of ' the t bee,r correct, instead of bringing the case before 1 , 0 O n i o be; he ought to have been prosecuted; but h e ~.,,a P ° ert t o punished at all. It was their duty to ii l oo ,:ela nc h 0_; him, but in,tead of doing so, they hold out ene tion of e filla; men of a similar description to commit a rer t i ' ere d th b l i i ' t Po f , nces.—(Cries of " No, Do.") lie c oosio i.ate j; , no t man's evidence altogether ought to be reP"` d e sert` the subject ought to be investigated, all,' 01 as r eally yea f * attention of the Government. 0 esl''" pt °e Sir ROBERT PEEL—Sir, I have befor ° i o ° ald i opinion on this subjeet, in reference to the a qttee 1: i l 11 1 0 committee. I stated, yesterday, that a coro r e t l t ner i ts ole ly b, appointed on the point of privilege ; and I fn rren tion s i r , t I thought it would be better if it directed its 1 6600 , ....‘ !lea f, that point, as regarded the Cheltenham F e , to. ri siro t ~,, a dlie ke . c o rs opinion I yesterday pronounced Ino to rn AO . hear.) It is very easy for Hon. Gentleman , t he A ( party.. pita fo f ivy ations about the connexi,n of Ministers dat ion be gi 0 Laas.league, without having the slightest f ( t u t i n a nswe r in jurle d , such—( Hear, he ar)—and, perhaps, unless a, 0 jrso „ I iir, there may be many who would feel incline , :!. ber _ nt lealc, t inferences from our silence. Therefore,.);l`inn, li: b i e ct 0 1 inferences should be drawn, I beg to tell U _ n the l ' i , I ha . % that I cannot recall to my recollection that'•vatue matters i tj' s* l the corn-laws, or any other public or pr , t ed v iol t r Qu a a: ever, directly or indirectly, comm unicat, _,,,...--(1•_, , ora l .A Corn-law League or any member of that _D ..1 7 0 .' Lear bjec tia v i of "Hear.'') With regard to the Anti -C° 7_ u tions,.:„chist r , other society employing persons to get tlo o l n ' y i . e the L ini rer, to the right of certain individuals to . ,.. hig hly_ _ tois e .., can only say if that be so, as it is stated , eg3trontier f° r pet iti° o 3 I understand my Honourable Friend, ii th a tien nr u rn a e s C ° it setshire, to say that he formed his aeg mo ves nif gife and certainly, if the Honourable Gentleman mittee to inquire into these allegations,l $l4ll cep be my support. Honourable BI • Friend, A Finsbury ir ihi: the ) d ° N m N i made an b e a t r r h i o u r n o g n r h n t e N c y t e h a s e s r a w r unnecessary k ?'; hi attack E u f P oe r ° ri r t ' i o t b n h ' e e' l ij ; ostt the whose name his Honourable Frien a. nmp hle ...or , 0 Antu i si c h o ow s r e ans. l e a. o wn n e d L u eo c af t g cuo h e L e ., i i d c He o r r ea n b p t ih l e a u i ugn. nia , s __,, en ce wa e to° r e ';:testitnony of its delivery, and the co ee , t i n . ' If, parties i f .-- :wee' a it the fact of posting a notice of abject' 'were posted too late to reach the i 13e : t oe , a fj it them to meet the threatened oppos per te- ~,rreat accident that it reached hi In Oug ht bad lol l . ) tw' r t h o t a e a n c: u o . e t : r t T I :h a t : I: l i l t : i v itl o c ti ! i e b ie r : ~c e. ai s v c, , , d n ia y n b e y b jection to his vote two day's( after rin . isat t t o er t o - ur 0 bs , to his solicitor. that the in , to S be ir r G ed E uc O ed ilG to E th G e ß f E ac Y ts t t h o o s u c g h h i tl t t h n e th il r a j . le L g t a e t n h t t :: -Ine .e_ l:3 t ° i f it ett i: referred. It must not be confined „ i• i n n Act b/ th t e he il ß u eg tetra t l ti bee n fai lto I p l a e rt s i - e ery v' w .h e o ll braedmecrnombeerebdefowrheen d iffico 0 under discussion, that considerable difficul ty .ting the 'th w b % wthieii,pharmiieigshotnahriissesoidneaoffuttuhree p il er o i ti ? 7res i p e le c i 1 ,33 . 6 0 p : 1 00 1: t e e . 711 ° 4 i t r 'c c ll ! n 't e t° t tb : I T Je ha a t ete p ( e l t w it e i: e n at ha tl d iat ex ti p m er e ie i n n ee a d presented a petition with a view to establish tning minority had been desirous of obviating ~ __ rin , i a doirolo _ thug ht" lrY d h e / : 0 ! likely to arise from the mooting ofth e ,,l cee dinglY , a d ar __,T The i osite, be cau : e to t he 1 rar settlingt hen ,as t h a eme wholemb e r 1 of ri that r., e ip 1 e. now, but the lion. Gentlemen. ON i nq uir, . _ t bs S ,„, could not aa • n on ° :ri g ! nori now before the House. But he legislatio on" still conceived that risition, because he . sant e - Jot' themselves, were desirous of limiting the sent to , n i v. extended to the whole subject. r ose o f • 110 0 ment, and after calls from several P Lord SA N DON and Mr. Disrti.t_ art, of tat-ithe ON. NESDAY EVENING, MARCH 4, 1846.