The Sun. — London, England, 1852-02-18 00:00:00

,11 With respect to the contemplated Bill it was to give , permanent satisfiction, it trust epoly a r• medy tb the great evil of event of security f. r the deposits. Let the Government have the entire reenonsability, and appoint, the officers of the banke, fie would not. however, have them dispense with the local trustees. rever a bank was established, he would have the clergy, the gentry, and the merchants of high character in the loeala y asked to give their voluntary attendance to the superintendence of the affairs of the bank—they should not be responsible, but the officers who received the money across the counter ' should be held responsible, and should give adequate security, and a sufficient number of inspectors should be appointed, who should transmit reports to London by every post as to th e proceedings of the bank. . The dit- I ference betweete2l. 15s. per cent _ which the depositors "were willing to accept, and 31 per cent., which the Right Hon. Gentleman received on the 30,000.0001. de posited in the Bank, would give a margin of 10s. per cent., which would defray all the expenses of this addi tional machinery. If the Hen. Gentleman who intro duced the motion interpreted the promise of the Chart tailor of the Exchequer in the same way as h o did, he would urge hi m to rest contented with that promise, end withdraw the motion. Mr. P. SCROPE thought that nothing was more im- Portant than putting the savings banks upon a sate foundation, and ho trusted the Right Hon. Gentleman Would really fulfil that undertaking. Mr. S. CRA.WFORD said that his constituents had suffered greatly from the non•security of saving.; b inks, and the Government were much to blame for not having, in the four years just past, provided some measure of security. The working classes felt that their interests had b;-en neglected in the matter. Ile thought there could be no rod security while there was a divided re sponsibility. The Government should either take the whole responsibility upon themselves, or make the trus tees legally responsible. He would support the motion of the Hon. Gesaleman- Sir H. WILLOUGHBY thought it most desirable that there should be a real, legal, and substantial ie sponsibility established, and not a nominal one. Mr. GRA. CT AN placed very little confidence in the Ron. Member's (Mr. Herbert's) statements, unless he brought in a Bill on the subject. Mr. DISRAELI said his Hoc. Friend had brought forward his resolution less with a view to local objects, than in reference to the whole system of savings banks iii the kingdom. The importance of the subject could not therefore be exaggerated, especially when it was re collected how very much the condition of the working classes was influenced by such institutions. At the same time, however, though he held his Hon. Friend perfectly justified in bringing forward the motion under discus sion, after the frank statement of her Majesty's Govern ment that there should he legislation on the subject, and from the tone of the Right Hon. Gentleman, he (Mr. Piaraeligathered early legislation—he trusted his Hon. Friend would not, under the circurnstaecee, press the Houle to a division. • Mr . HERBERT would not, under the circumstances, divide the House. The resolntion was accordingly withdrawn. I NVESTMENTS AND INDUSTRY OF THE HUMBLER CLASSES. Mr. SLANEY then moved for a Standing Commit tee, or unpaid Commission, to consider, suggest, and report from time to time, measures to remove legal and other obstacles which impede the investments and in dustry of the humbler classes. The direction of the investment and labour of the people was of the first consequence. In remote antiquity both were directed to useless monuments—in the middle ages to fortresses an d f e udal palaces; in modern times to pic tare -galleries and public gardens. At a later period a new light broke in on the world, when the middle Classes invested their savings in a manner useful to themselve and beneficial to their country. At the pre sent time it was more than ever necessary to remove all obstacles to the investment of labour. In the last cen tury the Duke of Bridgewater devoted his large fortune and his great abilities to the construction of canals. T • El le was almost the first investment in which the middle classes were permitted to join. After this and in the Present day came railways, in which 300 millions were invested within the last twenty years. But as this source was now saturated with capital, it became neces sary to relieve every other source that was open for the ; l ame purpose. During the war there was the public t°an, which for twenty years absorbed millions of capital which might as well be entirely lost or sunk as it were in the sea, and which was not for a moment to be com- Pared in point of benefit to the country or to the in 'resting classes with railways and with canals. At this moment there was an accruing capital in the country of 75 millions a year, and it therefore behoved Parliament to liberate all useful and advantageous sources of inveat anent by affording every possible facility to the invest- Meat of labour. At present there were three portions Of the law which stood opposed to such invest men tie The reports of the Committees which he (Mr. S.) had obtained specified these difficult ies. The part nership Person law was the main difficulty, inasmuc h as each a under its provisions was liable to the l oss of his way property in case of failure. Then in the event of -w • y dispute occurring among the shareholders or part- Il e", there was no chance of a decision being obtained Unless they went into the Court of Chancery. This oUrt amounted in fact, to a denial ofjustice. The rule of the of Chancery besides, was that redress could only '?.e obtain e d t h rough t h e dissolution of the partnership. 4.t Was bad enough, therefore, for the rich, but it was • worse for the poor. The law as it stood prevented the Investment of large masses of capital in useful enter prises, and deterred intelligent men from seeking to pro mote the public benefit in connexion with their own ad vantage. A commission was appointed in 1837 to in quire into the subject of unlimited partnership; and the late Lord Ashburton gave very striking evidence against that law, The partnerships of almost all other coun tries were founded on limited liability France, Rolland, America, enjoyed such a law; England stood alone in retaining the law of unlimited lia- Some years since her Majesty was em- Powered to grant charters of limited liability by Orders in Council; but these charters were so clogged w ith condition s a nd s o b ur dened with heavy fees that they became, in point of fact, impracticable of obtainment. This difficulty was severely felt by several benevolent individuals who sought to establish common lodging -4:llses and other useful institutions for the poor. The arter for lodging-houses cost no less than 1,2004 ree times the cost of an Act of Parliament; but if had not been obtained, the whole fortune of the par te% would be liable. The Committee, of which he (Mr. . 11 ; 3 3 7 ) was chairman, had accordingly recommended a r e onction in the cost of obtaining these charters, and urther facilities in their acquirement. There was another advantageous object which might be effectually c ui ltrri e d aa out if there were adequate powers, by the g a g and poorer classes, such as roads, bridges, and 7, r , 4 - works, water-works, and other local matters. At 7 a :sent there were at least fifty acts to that effect, but he " .4 r. Slaney) saw no reason why one general Act should ziet b e • efte ., Passed to comprehend all these Acts, as was the een ; In respect to agricultural improvements, enclosing et t , tn ,°ns, &c. The third head to which he called the th e -11 ; 4 ° 11 of the House was the desire that existed among tierveticlustrious classes to form co-operative societies U g themselves for their own advantage and benefit. a t L .had received information as to the "people's mill " to s ee ds, which he was informed was in a most satisfac rtiger,edition. The poorer classes should bo encou aoetea_°Y affording them every facility to form these pla, — "t• But as the law stood, they were one and all e r i d 4 Under the unlimited liability law of partnership, flu e t he Court of Chancery in prospect. The copse was, that no rich man could assist them if he w a ` e , se disposed, without incurring the same risk as 1 1 4 1 . flcurred by the company. All they wanted was 111,1 y limited to the amount of capital subscribed by Tch individual, and as c tribunal to settle their uprePaudtes. At present a dishonest contributor could of partnership in bar to a downright robbery fl any such society o r company, and there was e remedy as against him. What he (Mr. Slaney) 74, d for, therefore, was—first, a committee or a zamlvs.i.. to inquire into and suggest amendments in With alVrtaa' secondly, a law of limited liability, combined of ttFto of the present cost of obtaining charters incorporation in the thirdly, p ermission any sum they toreightdl'arties possessing capital to lend months, upon the by choose for not less than twelve fits of the undertaking t a. j c t i n ° ll of a portion of the pro claim being proportionable to i 4 y_fthich it was lent, their of la i r ' others. There was a nave desire on the part masses of people to 4 isete permission to use their b e li e as f att e d its employ in their own nirli without the restrictions that m e r ey much given . a7 I LS-at present. In proportion Be Ze humbler classes to this effeet, ea of t would this country be rendered. America more g aslights in street riots, as rad of i "ntney) had been informed there was n e o rir e he of the eittinction of the most ln as shares, which were the People People were shareholders in the gaswerks. hold post of Bilston it was the same—working men e a ; ° ,,q 0 . large proportion of the g p re s t:en as low as 54 by Act of Parliament for the pe r . h o a — cf encouraging them to becom e shareholders. He u pe r d , ,therefore - , the H ou se would agree to hi s motion. the LABOUCHERE• was not dispos ed to undervalue e oujeot o f t h e proposition, or to refuse. the Hon . ea st nab er a great tribute of respect. He quite agerereed . moveday obstacle that could be removed ehould b .0 from the way of the investments of the sav in gs or the w sh,sn w orking-classes but he also thought that they piL l uiti rather be advised to lay these savings by than to p"vvesthem where they might be tempted by large b a 1 . 1 1 • Though he agreed with the principle laid down 1 4 1 4 , 1 :_llon. Friend very much, he doubted the sound ', ,° t his Hon. Friend's •e r a syed , •conclusions on this point. lie ba n k tne contrary, that a just system of savings' , ess B , which would be proposed in the course of the Ao r 11 , would be the best source of investment for the "gs of the working-classes. At the seine time he ea s oe h i , es , opinion that there should be no restricti on t o th e tment of such savings, and that they ought to be :_ue et: ther e f ore, to apply i t for their advantage i n what _ a: form they pl ease d. ll e c ould riot agr ee w i t h the 6 0 Positi on of his Hon. Friend for a Commission or (a anitte e to investigate and suggest alterations. It was 4_ hole of the Government to consider the t i de ul n ,_ question. But he had an opinion, con "pg the great changes that had taken place to th e commercial relations of the we lid, at the h to b e w 010 q ues ti on o f partnership ought eyeutuall o adopt the well and carefully investigated. Whether it would Prudent principle of limited liability _ a ?, he owned that his opinion was averse to any treat p sa „' c r e t , nge in what had hitherto been the law and thegl_ were this country. His Hen. Friend had stated th e e o w na lr i e three great obstacles to the investments of .Parttiteersh"r claws. 'roe first was the present law of What had recently • co• apera JP- With respect to working associations and societies he had not been unobservant oh q uell) for taken place. He knew there was a Sq. establishir. I , if ther e t,,cce societies. He should be o- 'tie work w , re any impediment thrown in the way Una of thereingeclasses with re,pect to the great exten wsociationsi but, at the same time, he wished to see them under proper regulation and restric tion. lie had looked into the law on the subject, and he I found the Joint-Stock Companies Act imeoseti the great ! est onstacles to the duo working and proper extension of these societies. If the Act only had relstion to this point, he should have himself proposed an alteration in its provisions. But he found, if he did so, it would be necessary to go a step further, and to give positive en couragement by such legislation as would alter the prin ciples of the law ot partnership, and enable such associa tions to sue and be sued. He gave no opinion on that point, but he must say it appeared to him a grave step -for Parliament to take—that of giving sanction to prin ciples of that description. lie was most anxious-to hare the question fairly considered by a Commission, and when the labours of that Commission were ended, for the improvements or alterations they might recommend to be adopted; or, if no alteration was expedient, then to con sider the question settled. The next complaint was as to the expense of charters. The complaint, he was happy to say, was in course of diminution, and he should be glad to assist in further reducing an expense which he admitted was too great. With regard to the other modes tit disposing of savings, he believed he need not go into that geeetion. There was one mode of investment of savings—the acquisition of laud—which ho was glsd to see was gaining ground among the working-classes. He rejoiced to see this feeling, and he weuld readily give any other facilities that might be needed to promote and fseilitate it. He admitted the Joint-Stuck Companies Act required alteration. It had done some good; but it must be admitted it was cumbrous in its machinery, and did not in sumo cases effect its purpose. He believed that great improvements might be made in the law of part nership, but he thought a Commission from the Crown would be better than a Committee; and he hoped, there fore, his Hon. Friend would be satisfied with the assur ance which had been ;iron on the subject, and not press his motion. Mr. MOFFATT would remark that the!evidence before the Committee was in favour of a limitation of liability, as it existed in most continental countries. Mr. HE ADLA NI agreed with the Right Hon. Gentle. man in his expressions of sympathy fur the labours of the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury, and he hoped he might congratulate the country that something practical would be die result. After the statement from the Right Hon. Gentleman that a Commission should be appointed to investigate the question ht, would not go into it, but ho must say the law as it stood was most de fective, and required amendment. At present the Court of Chancery was the only court to welch share holders could resort to bring their directors to account; and even if they did succeed in that court, the expenses were so heavy as to make a resort to that court an act of improvidence. He was glad to hear the whole subject was to be investigated, ss he could not but anticipate great benefit from the inquiry. Mr. J. A. SMITH did not believe that anything would be more dangerous to the best interests of the working-classes than an attempt to direct their invest ments to objects which, though pecuniarily productive, must be at the same time attended with considerable risk and probable harm. The want of a tribunal to re fer to in disputes inter se was the grievance put into the first place by all the witnesses examined before the Committee last year; and this being so, he begged to direct the attention of the Government to it with the view of suggesting a remedy. Mr. COBDEN would not refer to the establishment of a legal tribunal to settle disputes among partners. There was no doubt a want of such tribunals, but that question he would leave to legal men. The other ques tion--that of limited liability—was a question for com mercial men. As far as regarded liability of partners, he had not been able to discover any valid reason why we should be different to all the rest of the world, and have unlimited liability instead of limitsd liability. Why should railway companies have privileges which were denied to smaller joint-stock undertnkings? He con sidered working men laboured under great delusion in supposing they could have larger profits if they combined the characters of labourers and ca pitalists. It would be found that labouring men got more profit in a concern managed by one capitalist, than they would get if they were partners in the concern. But at the same time he was for giving working men all reasonable facilities for carrying on their business in the form of co-operative associations. With respect to the question of limited partnership, ho thought great good would arias from allowing persons to put a sum of money into a working concern, and making them only liable to the extent of that amount; whereas, under the present law, if a person did advance money in the character of a partner he became liable to discharge the debts of the concern, as Lord Eldon said, to his last shilling and his last acre. Many clever men would be induced to embark money in business if lia bility was limited. It had been said that the public would be deceived by limited liability on the part of some wealthy partner; but this argument would not stand the test of investigation. In America, he be lieved, it was the practice for houses to publish their partners and the amount each advanced. The creditors thus knew what they were about, and how far they were justified in giving credit. He could not see any objection to such a system in this country. He believed if the system was adopted it would be the means of diffusing capital. Tee great want at present was sntlieient means of diffasing capital. As the law at present existed it stood in the way of trans actions between man and man—between the marriage of skill and capital. Leave parties tomato their own bar gains, they would manage better than any law could do for them. If you had limited partnership and full pub licity of the terms, the public would have no reason to complain if they lost their money by undue confidence and credit. What was wanted in this country were means of spreading capital, and of bringing it into profitable ope ration. All who had given evidence against the principle of limited liability had given an opinion, bat no reason, for their evidence. He feared these parties gave a pre judiced or an arbitrnry opinion. He considered capitalists took a wrong view of their interest in this qutstion. By the present law capital became dammed up, and when it did overflew the restrictions, it did so only to inflict de vastsdon and ruin on other interests. He considered the proposal to refer the question to a Commission was the best possible suggestion, end he htptd, therefore, his Hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury would not press his motion, which only carried the question into a more vague field. Mr. SOTHERON said the real point was to obtain from the House some means of adjusting disputes when they arose, not as to the mode in which savings should be invested. Mr. E WART thought the question for consideration was, whether a limited or an unlimited liability was best? He bad no doubt that the Commission proposed by the President of the Board of Trade would have a practical efftict, arid he trussed that it would conduce to the pros perky of the country. Mr. T. BARING would not have trespassed on the attention of the House, but for the observations of. the Hon. Member for the West Riding. The Hoe. Member thought that the House ought to decide in favour of limited liability for commercial partnership, smelled prejudged the question which the proposed Commission would have to decide, by asserting that the great mass of the merchants of the country were in favour of the view he himself had expressed. The question was a very difficult one, and a great deal might be said on both sides. The Hon. Member had reterred to the evidence taken before the Committee, and had asserted that he bad found all the opinions given by those whom he had called the great men on the other side of Temple-bar unsupported by a single argument. But when the Hon. Member talked of the arbitrary dictation of employing capital he should have recollected that tie was touc h i n g upon rather a tender point, and ought not to have forgotten that he himselt had belonged to a so ciety which had prescribed the use of capital for par ticular purposes.—(Hear.) The lion. Member said he could not imagine an argument against limited liability. Limited liability might be advisable in one country and not at all suited to another. It might do in France, where the spirit of enterprise and capital were limited, and where people would not embark in any speculation without knowing the extent of their liability. But in this country there was surely no want of either capital or of enterprise. Competition in this country had so re duced the profits of commerce and manufactures that he doubted whether a greater proof than that could be af forded of the distribution of capital in this country.— (Hear.) The lion. Member said that he sought to marry capital to enterprise—that he sought to unite the rich capitalist to a speculative better half. He feared the fruits of so illegitimate a union would not be so fa vourable to trade as the Hon. Gentleman supposed. The Hon. Member seemed to suppose that be alone was right, and that nobody else could have reason on their side. His belief was that the question was a very open one, and might well be considered. This result might follow if trade were carried on with a limited responsibility — great companies, like the commercial societies in Hol land.; might spring up and crush smaller traders. Mr. TRELA.W.NY said that the custom of limited with other s responsibility existed to some extent in Cornwall in re latiou to certain holders of mining Shares. The suh ieet was trust personsTdy an important one, and was closely connected Lie d'et anxious that thee labouringdid subjects, such as the law relating to banking. not see any great harm in removing the restric tions compia* they could defeat ot, for people were not obliged to Mr. SLANEY thauitkheddr classes should not suppose not approve. He was particulally of co-operation. c apitalists by adopting the principle the House for their attention, presentedßlAGES. and said he should w Motion accordingly withdrawn, DULY motion. DUTY ON .011- _ . a petition name- CA1 1 : . Mr. AGLIONBY havin g to reduce the rously signed from Newcastle T 3 ne, complaining cf the present tax on carriages, Sir PE LACY EVANS rose, pursuant to notices, move for leave to bring in a Bill to o n carriages. H e p ro p osed to reduce the duty to u 3 t3 ; on four-wheeled carriages with two horsed; to 2/. on four-wheeled carr ia g es with one horse ; and to on toss wheeled ca rria g e:. The Right Honoura ble awareGetle Gentleman n th th e e c,:}uli;itt Chancellor f i ts w hich existed on th e su b- jest of the motiou. o take only one point as an n of instance of the unsatisfact or y nature of the tax, he might carriers let tor hire refer to the duty on four-wheeled number of care throughout the whole kingdom. T h e , 507—tnis year Hanes let fur hire was last year only - 461; and the amount of the tax on them W2S lest year, 3,041/.—thie year, 2.7601 Deducting from that amount ot 2,7601 the expeuce of collection and ether iteuts, he questiened whither the ret produce of the t :x 0 11 ear nageti lent for hire l as t y ear e xceeded 1, 5001 . must be some cause for the falling-off in the amount of the tax from year to year. The tax on carr ia g es lent for hire was 6/. a year. It had been ascertained that the average period for which carriages were lent did not ex ceed three months in the year, so that, in fact, the coachrnaker paid a tax et the rate of 244 tt year on °veil carriege lent fig hire. Atter all, ie wes not the cot:eh makers who paid the tax, it was the public. The tax on carriages lent for hire was the only annual tax on the use of an article mantiCeetured in this country, with the exe ption of that; ou hair powder. He regarded the falling-off in tee amount of the tax at a strong 'saga-_ meta for its ttucoon. For the last 13 years he 'be lieved it had fallen off at the rate of about 10,000/. each year. Such a falling-off had taken place, though the country, with the exception of the agricultural interest, had been in a state of prosperity, and though the population had increased. At present the tax varied from 91. ls. to 11. ss. There were a variety of exemp tions, and there were four Acts of Parliament, with about 50 clauses, relating to the tax. In consequence of the variety of exemptions there were many frauds and evasions Even if the tax Was an increasing e one the frauds it gave rise to would be a good growl's' . for modifying it. The exemptions were intended for per sons of small means, but he had been at the pains to cull from the columns of a morning paper advertisements of phaetons for tole, of the most brilliant description, with wheels not exceeding 30 inches in diameter, which showed that the fashionable people at the West-end were the persons who profited by the exemptions. Then there was the dog -cart exemption, which he believed had been taken advantage of by some noblemen of the highest rank, and even by a member of the epi.copal bench. The exemption was granted on producing a receipt that the carriage only cost 21/. ; and this receipt was often oft , tented. though the price of the carriage was 40/. There were thousands of such cases. The only item connected with the tax which aas on the increase was the exemp tiens. They were now douhle what they were fornielly. lle hoped that the Right Hon. Gentleman would on these grounds take the emitter into consideration, and allow him to introdece the Bill. He believed the re duced rates proposed would yield as much revenue to the Exchequer as that now received. Mr. W. WILLIAMS seconded the motion. The question hiving been put, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was afraid he could not consent to the motion, although he admitted that the state of the tax was not satisfactory, and that the representations of the deputations which had come to him on the subject had been made with perfect fairness. He did not, however, think he would be justified in expecting an increase of the revenue from the reduction of the tax. He had never known a reduction proposed without being told that he knew nothing about it, and that an increase would certainly take place. Last year he was told that his estimate of a loss of 500,0001. on the reduction of the stamp-duties was grossly exaggerated, and yet it amounted iu the first year of the reduced duty to 497,000/. He agreed with the Honourable and Gallant Officer that it was desirable to altsr in some respect the mode in which the tax in question was imposed, but that could not be done without loss to the revenue, or without bring ing in a large class of carriages on which duty was not at present paid. If the rates proposed by the Honourable Gentlemen were adopted, the loss could not be estimated at less than 200,000/. If all the carriages set up by parties, and which were hitherto free from duty, were now, for the first time, to be brought under taxation, he thought such a proposition on the part of his Hon. and Gallant Friend would meet with much more general opposition than support. The financial prospects of the next year were such, there were so many heavy expenses to meet, that he very much doubled whether he should be ab'e to find any such sum of money as was likely to be sacrificed by that project. Under existing circumstances he did not think it would be by any means expedient to introduce a Bill which would endanger revenue to the amount of 200,000/. a year. They ought to see clearly what their probable expenditure for the coming year would be before they should vote away such a sum of money as that involved in the preterit proposition.—(Hear, hear.) Sir G. PECHELL felt much di-appointment at what had fallen from the Right Hon. Baronet the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the more especially as during last session the Right Houourable Gentleman had held out hopes that this tax amongst some others would be repealed. They had been told all along with respect to the window-tax that it could not be given up, but the opponents of that duty had stuck to it until they smashed the window-tax outright, and they would persevere in the same manner with respect to the present. What rendered it particularly odious was the many inducements which it held out to parties to cheat the revenue, and, indeed, those who were the most suc cessful in eluding the law and evading the tax were those is the better ranks of life, who could best afford to pay the duty.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. AGLIONBY also regretted to hear the Right Hon. Baronet the Chancellor of the Exchequer oppose the introduction of that Bill, one sound argument against which had not been adduced. The Right Hon. Baronet had said that the revenue would lose 200,000/. per an num by the measure, but he had not proved that state ment. It might be said the Right Hon. Gentleman had nothing to do with the moral effect of the system now in operation; but he maintained that that House had much to do with the moral influence exercised over society by its laws. Sir DE LACY EVANS, in briefly explaining, said he wished to have the farmers' and town tradesmen's carts exempted, as at present. Mr. W. WILLIAMS said the coachmakers had showed him a calculation which showed that so far from a loss accruing to the revenue from the proposition made, there would be a considerable increase from the adoption of that scheme. He hoped the Bill would be allowed to be brought in. Sir G. STRICKLAND ,;vas glad to hear that the Chancellor of the Exchequer admitted that the coach mukers end the public had a fair claim to the remission of that tax whenever the condition of the public revenue would permit. If they were to legislate in that House on the principle of getting rid of any taxes which affected the moraltty of the people, they would very soon repeal the odious income-tax—(Hear) —than which no more evil producing meesure had ever passed.—(llear.) The Chancellor of the Exchequer had admitted that the pro posed tax was one which ought to be taken into con sideratioe ; and therefore, havine full hope in the sense of justice and wisdom of the Hight Hon. Gentleman, he would ask his Hon. and Gallant Friend not to press his motion, as the hest mode of protecting the object he had in view. Sir J. WALMSLEY thought the Chancellor of the Exchequer would be giving more general satisfaction if he took taxes off people who . walked, instead of those who rode.—(Laughter.) After a few words from Mr. ELLIS, Mr. G. THOMPSON said he would support the mo tion of the Hon. and Gallant M em b e r when it was taken up in connexion with anoth er s u bject nearly allied to it —namely, the duty on c arr i ages p l y i ng for hire, and post horses—a motion r e l a ti ve to w hi c h was t o be shortly be fore the House.—(Hear.) Until then he hoped the question would not be pressed. The question was then put, Sir DE L &CY EVANS said as it was the only way had of taking the sense of the House on his proposi tion, he would divide.—(Hear.) The House then divided, when there sneere d — For the motion 24 Against it e , 59 Majority against the motion —35 STAMPS ON RECEIPTS. Me. IIEADLAM moved a resolution to the effect that " in the opinion of the Howe the present stamps upon receipts should be abolished." The Hon. Gentle man said there were the most conclusive reasons for be lieving that that tax was one of which the payment w as constantly evaded. In the year 1823 the amount pro duced by the tax was 185,0001.; while in the year 1849 the amount so produced was only 185,0071.; and in the year 1850 it was only 153,768/.; so that the tax nth. peered to have , gradually diminished since the year 1823, in spite of the great increase in the population and in the commerce of the country since that period. That dimi nution, therefore, was solely to be attributed to the fact that evasions were more and more practised in the pay ment of the tax. It also appeared that the present law upon the subject was made an instrument of extor tion, and that persons who had neglected to comply with its provisions became the victims of unprincipled intriguers. Now he could conceive nothing more calculated than such a system to bring the tax gatherer into general disrepute, and to make taxa- tion unpopular throughout the country. In the year 1848-49, for the recovery of a sum of 19,8481. under that head there had been instituted 119 prosecutions, and that fact offered a striking proof of the vexatious opera tion of the system. The practice of evading the pay ment of that tax had become universal, and, in fact, the employment of a stamp on a receipt was regarded as a want of confidence in the individual to whom it was ten dered. He believed it would be easy to devise some sa tisfactory mode of replacing that tax if it were abolished. According to the opinion of Baron Parke it was doubt ful whether a crests cheque was a valid security; and as cross cheques were a great convenience to parties en gaged in mercantile pursuits, he thought the Chancellor of the Exchequer might very advantageously give vali dity to those cheques by imposing on them a stamp of one penny. Then, again, there was a law which ren dered :my person within twenty miles of London drawing a cheque on a London banker liable to a penalty of 501.; and what would be more natural than that such a cheque should be made ent state of the law upon legal , by the _imposition of a penny or twopenny stamp. , There3could_ be no diili culty in devising convenient r substitutes for the present most objectionable and inefficient that subject; and he, there fore, ho p ed that the House would have no hesitation in a g reeing to his motion. The CHANCELLOR of the E XCHEQUER said he was afraid that if he were to asse nt to the repeal of that tax upon the ground stated by his lion. Friend he should requirements of the assigned public service. No reason had been by his have very few taxes left to meet t he Hon. Friend for the remission of th e stamps on receipts, except that gentlemen did not like to pay them. But if was every tax which was liable to the sa me ob j ection repealed, any Chancellor of the Exchequ er would find u it impossible to meet the bills drawn upo n him. e confessed he could not see how the payment of the stamp by the person employing it, could reasonably be consi dered as a reflection on the person to whom the receipt was presented. He should further say that, on looking through the list o f our t axes , h o could not think that was they were one of th ose w hi c h ought first to be remitted. If P' t ) a ' t t h o:d g o e p u t er t a h l e e p m e p in i c ,) i . p ie le en o t f o r:p in e d al i i r n ee g t e t v a e x r a y ti t e a e x of which th e , unit of indi rec t ne xa e t u i t, on vv o a n e ly ev . ad G ed e , ne tl r i e en lly th s e p y ea s k ho ie u g, ldbe driven t o be must say that h e ilea received no complaints about this tax. He confessed he thought that 120,0001. or 150,000/. might be much batter spent fa upon wh g at e g se r - ou d nds they would peopleasta stump, ehree couldi n the n h o a t b s i e t other tax than this one. Member said, be induced by an alteration in clues now without not w h a d t er h i a v d e been ststed by the Hon. Gentleman he dia l more than they had done heretofore. From to stamp suggested. much encouragement in eo a f He hoped that the House would concur with him s ne otiving the resolution. : itnght t het l eh e ,e re c a ou e rcs ti e on of some Mr. AGLIONBY would support the proposition of the llor. Member for Newcastle, for an alteration in the present mode of taxation. The Chancellor of the Ex ciacqtpr had com-litted crreat fallacy in saying that the intention of his Hon. Friend was tae procure a re. mission of taxatipn.. His Un n . F r i e nd asked not for a lrerniSsion of taxotior, but for suclian alferation'in the existing duties as in his opinion would bu a great con venienca to the public, while at the same time it would be likely to increase the revenue consi&rably. He would ask the Right Hon. Gentleman himself how often he had evaded this tax? Ho would venture to say that a stamped receipt WAS not given once in a hundred timer. If, however, they cs:ablishcd a uniform ld. stamp, like the Queen's head upon letter!, no on would object to pay it, and the revenue would be considerably increased. Mr. BROTHERTON said it was quite evident , in.the :. present mode of givin g rec ei pts, th at t h e re venue was decreasing, although th e population was increasing— (Hear.) He thought that a un if orm penny s tamp would be far more productive than the present stamp duties. There was a growing feeling in the country in favour of such an arrangement. Colonel THWIPSON said that as far as he was con cerned he was always in tho habit of requiring stamped receipts, and or giving the same when they were de manded. Mr. lIINDLEY concurred in the suggestion of the Hon. Member for Salford. The House ,then divided, when there apPearea — For the, motion ••• ••• 28 Against it •• ••• • 61 Majority against thl motion ••• —33 Mr. MOFFATT' moved for a terics of returns relating to sugar, emigrants, the West Indies, the property and income- , .ax, and British spirits, all of which were agreed to. S TO With AUSTRALIA. Welton t A o Mr. F. FRENCH, pursuant to his n otice for copies of contracts MIL entered kl into con veyance of these mail s , sa i d that since he had placed ir s notice on the paper, h e aseertaiaed that the con tract entered into with this for the gentleman was only a provisional one, as it depended upon Mr. Wat ton being in a condition to perform his en gagements. The Government had proposed that there should be only c ommunications every second month with Australia by the Cape. H e thought that at this time they ougat to have more frequent communica tions. He complained of the Government having en tered into a provisiowl contract with a g"ntleman of no experience. If he were rightly informed the contract was to commence from the 3d of April next. Now, al though Mr. Walton was in treaty for two vessels, he was not as yet in possession of either of them. This gentleman depended upon this contract for the getting up of a company that would enable him to perform his undertaking with the Government. If Mr. Walton be even enabled to carry on his voyag e as far as the Cape, it was very improbable he would be able to extend it as far as Australia. Mr. COWPER said, that with regard to the condi tional contract of Which the Hon. G enticrimn had spakaN, the simple fact was that the tender of Mr. Walton having been accepted some time ago, it becam e necessary that articles of agreement, should be framed ; but the docu ment had not yet been signed, and could not be said, therefore, to have a legal existence. As soon, however, as it was signed, the Admiralty would be happy to pro duce it. He was surprised that the Hon. Gentleman should have brought these charges against a company of which he could know nothing. Mr. FRENCH—There was no company. Mr. COWPER had been informed that there was company, and that they had applied to the Board of Trade for a charter of incorporation, and been provision ally registered. He had also been informed that they had actually bought two of the best screw -vessels in the country, on account of their great speed and capability oF satisfactorily performing the work. He could assure the Hon. Gentleman that the Admiralty had only taken the simple course of calling for tenders, of accepting the lowest, and of giving t h is person who sent in the lowest tender every facility th e y required for the execution of their contract and the performance of the duty which they agreed to undertake. The motion for copies of the contract entered into with Mr. Walton for the carriage of the mails to Australia, and of the tender made by the Screw Company for the carriage of, the mails to the West Indies and the Brazils, was then agreed to. IRISH REFORM BILL. Sir W. SOMERVILLE brought up the Parliamen tary Representation (Ireland) B i ll, which was read a first time, and ordered to be printed and read a second time on Friday, the 27th of February instant. SCOTCH REFORM BILL. The LORD ADVOCATE brought up the Parlia mentary Representation (Scotland) Bill, which was read a first time, and ordered to be printed and read a second time on Friday, the 27th. The LORD ADVOCATE also brought up the Law of Evidence (Scotland) Bill, which was read a first time, and ordered to be printed and read a second time on the 7th of March. The House adjourned at Eleven o'clock. PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS. (From the 'Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.) TUESDAY, FEB. 17. The following Railway Bills were ordered to be brought in : Lancashire and Yorkshire and York and North Midland. Manchester, Buxton, Matlock, and Midlands Junction. The undernamed Railway Bills were presented, read a first, and ordered to be read a second time : Worcester and llecreford. Great Western (No. 1). North Staffordshire (Nc. 2). STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE. Burntisland Waterworks, and Basingstoke and Salisbury Railway—st an di ng or d ers no t di s p e nsed with. The undernamed Bills were reported as having standing p Lo u n n d if o r n ics C a o n rp d o t ra ia ti x o i n v orders dispensed with : C. Town Waterworks. Newmarket Railway. Great Western Railway (No. 2). York and North Midland Railway. Wolverhampton Junction Railway. That the Committee on this and the three preceding Bills do examine, in the first place, how far such orders have been complied with, and do report the same to the House on the report of the Bill. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS• (From the Votes acid Proceedings of the House of Coons ) TUESDAY, FEB. 17. Motion made, and CARRIAGE bring in a Bill for S. the red uc ti on of the Duty on Question p u t, 66 That leave be gi to . ven Carriages." The House divided:— DTI: n O uni ll p l h T e Y : Bell, Jacob Al d. E . lleadlam, T. E. Bennet, Philip llindley, C. Clay, James Stuart, Lord D. Thomas Collins, Thomas Johnstone, James wakleY, ~ ~V• Cowan, Charles Newport, Viscount William s+ II• W. Duke, Sir James O'Connor, Fear •us WY"' TELLERS. Duncan, George Pechell. Sir G. Feargus ir Da LaCy French, F. . Pinney, William S, 24. Evans, S Bail, Sir B. Renton, J. C. AglionbY, 11. A. SRcushohleutiteldC,llPVtiaintham MAJ--------ORITY—NOES, f'9. L o e Yi Butt, r oo , d, o J r a ci m ß e s Somerville,s o Bagshaw, John Baring, Sir F. T. William Inglis, Si K. stanton, IV 11. Brocklehurst, John Lewis G ' kland, Sir G. , eorge C; Stile Brockman, E. D. Littleton, E. R. Stewart, Admiral Brotherton, Joseph Loveden, Pryse Smith Vernon * Thicknesse, .It A. Brown, W. Mahon, Viscount Thompson, Colonel Child, Smith Manic, Fox Thompson, George I B 3e o r y i rjo ' lt i .:l liral Cowppr, W. F. Alilligan, Robert Craig, Sir W•G• lidoncrei _ . ir, James Townshend. Captain Cubitt, William M 'rris, David Trelawny, J. S. Dawes, Edward Napier Joseph WalnisleY, Sir J. Duncuft, John . • e , John Wilsan, James Dundas, Sir D. Peel, Sir Robert S T t i a: rifliecilyd,, Thomas B. nis woo d, sir Charles theron,ir W. Ellis, John Rice, E. R. Wood, Bir W. P. Evans, William Rich, Wood; wyvill, Marmaduke Fordyce , A' D. &rope, G. P. Frostun, Colonel Seymour, Lord TELLER.. Grey, Sir G. Ilayter, W. G. ilatchell, John Smith, John A. 1.1111, Lord Marcus , Georg RECEIPT STAMPS. p S u T t A , MPS. and n this House the present Stamps imposed upon Receipts should be abolished." . The House divided : MINORITY —AYES. 28 . Bennet, Philip Ha 11, Sir B. Tyrell, Sir J. Blewitt, R. J. Hindley Charles Wakley, T. Clay, James Hodgson, v . zr " That in the opinion of ivaimsiey, Sir J. Motion made, Davies, D.A. Hutt, Willi am ', • w a wa, J. T. Cowan, Charles Kershaw, J am " Williams, W. Dic Quintin Wynn, IL W. Duke, Sir J. Morris, D ated -6 Mulli n Duncan, George gs, R. TELL IRO. East, Sir J. B. Kenton John a. lin di am , Thomas E v ans, Sir De Lacy Stuart, Lord Dudley Aglionby, Henry Gwyn, novel Thicknesse R • A. _........: MAJORITy...i sT Anson, Colonel . . French, IP. NOES, GI. BagshaW, John Grey, Sir (4. Smith, Vernon Baring, Sir Francis Grosvenor, Lord . Smollett, A. Bass, M. T. llatchell, J ohn - R. Scenerville. Sir W. Bell, Jacob Heywood, ja m Stansdeld, W. R. Berkeley, Admiral Howard, Sir e l Stanton, W. 11. Boyle, Colonel . Lewis, G. C. Stewart, Admiral Brocklehurst, John Loveden, Prys e Sullivan, Michael Brockman, E. D. Mahon, Viscount Thompson, Colonel Brotherton, J. Maule, Fox Thompson, George Thornely, T. Towneley, John Craig,ce o o l e v k p b e u Cockburn, Sirt 1 , 11,v S . Sir A. G. A . . - mm. oi Milligan, tiicchre j il ff, ,T J. ata. e 3 Townsheud, Captain Dawes, Edward Parker, John Trelawny, J. S. Deedes, W. , Peel, Sir Robert Wilson, James Denison, Edmund Pigott, Francis Wood, Sir C. Duncuft, Jobn Pilkington, Jame s ~,,Woocl, Dandas, Sir David Pinney, William "YVIIII. Marmaduke Ellis, John Power, Dr. Evans, William . Rich, Henry TZLLEIB. Fordyce, A. D. Rushout, Captain HaYter, W. G. Freestun, Colonel Salwey, Colonel Hill, Lord M. ---- DEATH OF MR. ALDERMAN Du Nzr , NEWCASTLE. I —The Newcastle Guardian announces the Or sudden death of I melan- George Thomas Dunn, Esq., of Bath Rouse. Thi s choly event happened on Thursday evening was last, at Mr. Dunn's residence in Newcastle. Mr. Dunn was in his 67th year, and du•zing the last twenty years one of the most active and conspicuous public men in the north of England, his services 'being chiefly connected with the corporation of Newcastle and the medical charities of t the ow n . 1 Wa M' have cured rADVERTISEMENT.] 101/ Y 0 , 8 PI a galpitatior , of the Heart and Shortness of Breath--J Word, of t'ne Ist European and Bengal Fusileers, Lahure, had suffered Pir three years from a palpitation of the breast, g at difficult; of breathing , a d iseased live r , and an oyerflOvr re of blood tc, the chest, to such a degree that he vomited consider able qu an titie4. His case was consid ered hopeless, h av i n g baflle4. the skill of severa l eminenti medical men, who gave hi m up as past all human aid. Wilt s , t lingerin g i n this condition he v.as advised to try Holloway s Pills, and solely by their nie,ans he has been effectually cured, and his health completely 1 re-established.—Sold by a ll vendors of medi c i ne, and at Fre ilessor Holloway's Establi s hment, 244, Strand, London. DETERMINED SUICIDE. ---On Saturday morning, i at a quarter before one o'clock, when Mr. U i Bennet ntox, land lord of the Windmill , cor ner of i t-street and Upper Ground-street, Blackfri ars, went nto his skittl e - groun d to see that all was safe there, he found hi s potmau, William Shrimptoat, aged 31, suspen ded b y the ne ck , and life quite • eat suet.. Twice before the unfortunate man had made an attempt on his life. Ho, had _ be_en_ .drinking a great deal, I and at eleven o'clock he took oil his neck-tie and threw it 1 Q 1 : 1 thli tap-room fire, sAying he wattled it uo more. TO THE SECRETARY OF THE BRADFORD I REFORM ASSOCIATION. - (PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY.) Sir,—On goriday the 16th, thzi 11:55.'; important soh: j..:ct wee the Militia ILII. Its principal vaiao is that it is a move. Whether t+ii.! det..s.ils are geosl or bad, is a question subordiaate to this. In the dread of giving offence to the French usurpation which has taken possession of all minds, the Government must not be pressed by inconvenient questions. It must be al lowed the benefit of the assumption, that like the parrot in the fable, it " thinks the more." A subaltern on picquet would be broken, if in corresponding circum ,etannes relating to his charge, he hadnot hieenea ready to mount, and ai3 divisions, told off to meet all possible ,contingentiies of the enemy's appearing in front or fl ink, or as 1. remember being laughed at in my picqueting days for taking particular precautions to secure, in rear. It would be of small avail to him to plead, that nobody, told him which way the enemy was coming,— that it was impossible fur him to know twelve hours beforehand what the enemy would do twelve hours afterward:,—that he wasteady- to encounter any enemy that gave aim fair notice and time to bridle up, but for anything else he could not be responsible. A court martial would snake "no bones" of such a man, but double him up as the Emperor of Russia was to he done at the Peace Society. And so it will be with the exist ing Goverement or any Government. They must bo men entirety unfit for their places, and only waiting the enemy's next wove to prove it, if they have not cut and dried the orders to be issued and courses to be takee, in any and all of the events likely or unlikely, which may by possibility turn up next week and the week after that, on the, great chess-board of the world. Distinct aluaien was made in the course of the de bate, to the rep rt from the correspondent of al emi nent Daily Newspaper,that the French army is ordered to hold itself in readiness for a movement on the a2l; and intimation uttered, that the most probable objacs was a point on Belgium. A report is only a report; but, as before, an officer is broken who receives a report and is not in reasonable readiness for its proving true. There will be no good till a sergeant of dragoons is a member of the Government. The speech of Lord Palmerston, was such as only England c.:n produce. No touch of unfriendlieess to ancient colleagues, but simply a desire to aid the general object . . When the effects of a sad mistake have tnen obliterated by change of circumstances, as may happen in a fortnight, a powerful Desdemona may set tnings right again. Which everybody would be glad to see. - A Government is not to be embarrassed with imper tinent questions; and there are certain questions which it is impertinent to expect to be answered, before the neces sity arrives. But Government and the community are not identical; and the public may ask questions and discuss among themselves. The Government is not a Lee agent; it is, in hunting phrase, " mobbed" by men whose advice, if followed, would have brought the Chasseurs de Vin cennes by this time to Charing-cross. Is the system to be acted on, of having no allies and abandoairg all out works, trusting to the defence which is to be made by somebody or other in the citadel? This is the distinct theory, of the most dangerous set of counsellors, and the least capable of taking care of themselves or anybody, else, that have appeared in any country. Belgium, is a Yorkshire speaking French, and was esta blished into an independent kingdom with the direct interference of the English Government and people. Is there a treaty or is there not? The Government dare not say. It would bring a torrent upon them, they are not prepared to face. And if there is a treaty, is it to be scraped out by the point of the sword of the first suc cessful insurgent in France? The position of the Bas gians is Coil. They are much divided among themselves; for a large numerical portion are Catholics, who must do as the Pope tells them, and the Pope is a card in the hands of the ruler of France. It is the same game which, if let alone, will be played a few months hence in Ireland. But for all this, they are disposed to resist, if they resisted with any chance of ultimate support. Their strength, on a wide estimate, may be reckoned at a hundred thousand men; who of course are not going to expose themselves to be destroyed by the superior forces of France, without the prospect of somebody coming to their assistance. They count something on Prussia, but more on England. They want to know whether Eng land will assist them or not. That is to say, whether England will assist before they have given way to the French force, or after. They want to know, for in stance, whether England will move three battalions of the Foot Guards as a first ivatalment by rail to Dover, as an intimation of a readiness to help in oc cupying Antwerp, or anything else that might be agreed upon, which may be in time this week, but not next. They do not want to know whether Fog land will bluster, and talk of the cowardice of the Bel gians, in a Council called the day after the mischief is done. On all this, the Government may be uttering secretly; but: they dare not in public. The party who are bent on bringing a foreign force to London, would go into fits. They have intimated in the House in ex press words, that an occupation of Brussells shall not be a cause of war. They are working in their vocation, which is to help the French to Brussells. Tories mean time are silent; biding their time to raise the cry of "Incapables." It is as well that somebody should show, that at all events they went to the bottom with their eyes open. On Tuesday, the longest debate was on a proposal tending to relax the laws of partnership, conveyed in a motion by Mr. Sianey. Mr. Cobden's speech carried all before it; and the probability is that something will finally he done. In which expectation the motion was withdraw:.. I am, Sir, yours very sincerely, AN OLD REFORMER, Blackheath, 18 Feb. 1852. REPRESENTATION OF EAST KENT. On Monday the nomination of candidates for the rt.- presentation of the eastern division of Kent tuck place on Barham Downs. The rival candidaks were Sir 1:rook W. Bridges, Bart., and Si: Klward C. I),:ring, Bart., each professing Conservative p:incipler; the for mer, however, having put forward his claim to the suf frages of the people upon the avowid deterrmoation to aivccate the repeal of the Act for the endowment of Maynooth, the latter having expressed hitruelf in less decided terms on that subject. Mr. LUSHINGT9N (formerly M.P. for Canterbury)pro posed Sir E. Dering as a fitting person. Mr. J. ABBOT, a tenant-farmer, seconded the nomina tion. Sir N. KNATCHBULL, Bart., proposed Sir Brook Bridges. Viscount MAIDSTONE seconded the nomination of Sir Brook Bridges. The candidates addressed the electors, and on a show of hands Sir Brook Bridges was declared to have the majority. A poll was then demanded on the part of Sir E Daring. The polling will take place on Thursday and Friday, and the official declaration of the result will be mtde on Monday. THE LADIES' GUILD. :Do Tuesday evening, the 17th inst., the Right Hon. Viscount Goderich presided over a lecture delivered be foie a highly-fashionable and overflowing audience at this institution, 4, Russell-place, Fitzroy -square by Mi. Woud, one of the managers. the lecturer dwelt on the leading feature of the guild, viz., its providing re munerative and suitable employment for ladies without requiring them to descend from their rank and station as gentlewomen. He also showed that the society was not in the remotest degree eleemosynary, but self-sus taiiing, requiring only the ordinary business support of customers or loans, well guaranteed by the partners, at five per cent. per annum. The Ornamental Works Com pany constitutes what may be called the mercantile base oroperations of the guild. This company deals in all ornamental articles suitable for ladies' work. The la bnirs of the fair executants are at present concentrated exclusively on Wallace'a patent, a process of almost uni versal decoration in glass, which has been in successful operation for upwards of two years, and which is now handed over to the guild as a gift by the patentee, Miss Wallace, a lady of family and fortune. The presence of numerous beautiful specimen!, the handiwork of the Wks, was a very powerful argument in favour of the in stitution, and before the meeting closed, orders poured in on the clerks from every side, as well as tenders of other effective support and encouragement. The lecturer sta:ed it was the intention of the society to establish a hope, conducted on satisfactory principles, for ladies cooing from the country, and desirous of availing them selees of the advantages of the society. A vote of thanks hiiing been passed to the Noble Chairman, and ano ther to the lecturer, the company separated about half pelt ten o'clock. ROYAL COLLEGE OE SURGEONS.—THE HUNTERIAN GIATION.—The annual meeting of the members of the Royal College of Surgeons of England was held at the in stitution, Lincoln's Inn-fields, on Saturday afternoon, to hear as oration in honour of the celebrated John Hunter. The 111'0 theatre was filled long before three o'clock, the hour appointed for the commencement of the proceedings. Dr. South, president of the Royal College, took the chairln, and yas supported by the Bishop of London, Sir R. H. glis, Jut., M.P., Sir C. Bell, M.P., the Venerable Archdeacon Hale, Sir Charles Aldis, William Cotton, Esq., D.C.L., Mser. ll ran sby Cooper, Mr. Howell Morgan, Mr. Propert, and reral gentlemen of high eminence in their profession. Pro ar , fessor Luke, of Guy's Hosp ital, was the orator for the Many and at the conclusion retired am idst loud applause. of the gentlemen present afterwards inspected the Hunterian collection,:and much admiration was called forth by a s plendid bust of the late Professor SamueliC oo p er, by Mr. J. the eminent sculptor, as well as by a bust of the late Professor Liston, both of which have recently been presented to the college. LONDON NECROPOLIS AND NATIONAL MAUSOLEUM. —EXTRAMURAL INTERMENT.--A measure under the above title is now before the House, to incorporate and enable a company to establish a national cemetery, with avenues, catacombs, and colonnades, at Woking, and to convey corpses thereto by the S ou th-Western Railwa the Ey aor f l r interment in land to be purchased for the purpose o f of s It is proposed to contract with the London a n nd So prop e uth y - W es t e rn Railway for the carrying of bodies irl constracted carriages, and for the conveyance and return o f mourners and attendants, on the follon without g terms re : —For the t h e use and haulage of the hearse carriage, wi gard to 1/. ; and for the conveyance of num b e r of corpses in it , actual mourners and attendants to and from the cernetry first-class, each person, 6s. ; second-elass, 3s. ; thirn.ol as „ , 2s. It is also proposed to convert the railway arches at Waterloo-station into deposit sad reception places for Les ior hearses corpses, and carriages. F R LTRICIDE AT LEED.--Mr, Alexander Crawford, described as a gentlemen in the police-sheets, is in custody; in Lols, charged wit h having murdered his broth ,M r. S a muel Crawford, a solicitor, who officetshaerdeeieneaßeatinikwe-sertnrteetto, Leeds It seems that a few days ago the irisoner's house in Green - mount.terra l ce, lolbeck. Samuil, at the time was intoxicated and quarre some. The pr i sm er attacked the deceased (after some h . g le h ne lV , o u r d n s t ) i 1 , , kneeled him down and used him with great vio l by the interference of a lady and ge Th prevefted io ur o,how ever, which deceased hatsits tamed wer lu eS ' o ll' eeriou e s that u died on Tuesday morning. .LITERA.TURE. RUTTI GARNETT. 3 Vols. Colburn. This is an historical tale of the time of Charles the ' Sconcl, so frequently selected for romances that it is somewhat difficult t o p reserve t h e or i g i na lit y necessary !.(3 interest the reader. The present work, however, Is not deficient in novelty and variety of events, an.. though the often evoked shades of King, the Cavaliers, and the P ur it ans appear on i ts pages, yet they . are mingled w ith new i ncidents and I'h lpo e ts murder of of Titus characters. It is strictly historical. Sir Eiroondbury Godfrey, and the Oates alid . hiS accomplices are introduced. Th ere i s an alluSion in one page to the authoress, else it would not be easy to_believe that a lady would select such individuals for description as the denizens of "P ug and Punch-bowl Alley." The hero, Hubert Garnett-, although a Puritan by education, is not distin-, guished by the usual sternness and self-conceit of his sect, but he is shown to much advantage by the side of his hard-hearted and unforgiving u nc l e and the idle and dissipated courtiers. The title of the work is somewhat incorree, as Ruth Garnett does not occupy such a prominent place in the tale as her friend Ellen Godfrey, the daughter of the un fortunate Sir Il3mondbury. The Character of Ellen is far superior to that of Rath, while she is not less attractive then her companion. The authoress is evidently well acquainted with the scenes and events of the time she describes. A W 0 _IIAN' S JOURNEY .ROUND THE WORLD. Office of the National Illustrated Library. This is an unabridged translation from the German of Ida Pfeiffel. No one cm fail to be interested by the accounts of the rem•zrkable person before us. It must have been au irresistible determination to be come acquaiotel with the world that could have induced her to brave so much danger and privation. Not only did she visit the renowned city or the crowded capital, but her footstep: have been through the deserts of Asia and the wastes of Russia. She penetrated to Tahiti and China. It is impossible to convey an idea of the amount of information that may be obtained by a steady parusal of this work. It is written in a simple and forcible manner, with no attempt at display and no intention of vain-glorying THE LIFE OF .IAOU-KWANG, LATE EMPEROR OF CHINA. By the late Mr. Charles Gutzlaff Smith and Elder. There is a melancholy interest attached to this book, inasmuch as its author and subject have both passed from the world. The former, already distin guished for works on Chine, died while this last pro duction was passing through the press. 'We here meet with instruction of an agreeable, and also au important nature, for the new world so lately brought under our notice in the far east is certainly one of the most peculiar in its customs and remarkable in its transactions. The Emperor, whose life is here epitomised, appears to have been a very good and up right man ; at the same time we are distinctly in formed, that he gave no evidence of talents or supe riority of any kind to render him v% orthy, in a mental point of view, for his exalted station. His career was a miserable struggle to fulfil the simple dictates of a straightforward mind, and at the same time to keep to the rules of the absurd etiquette which prevailed in his court. The extraordinary style of the nation is demonstrated in the following proclamation of the son of the departed : " We have received from our late imperial father, his Majesty, who has just gone on his journey, our bei ng and support; enjoying a great nourishing anxious care, as high and boundless as /leaven. lie called to-day the council and ordained that we should be regarded as the heir-apparent. We received this decree in anguish and tears, for we still hoped that, by the utmost and eon stunt care of his pers o n, and a temporary cessation of his burdensome care, hi s v i g our and health might be preserved. We had baiely received his last commands and regards %hen his malady increascd in force and violence to the utmost, and he mounted the dragon, and became a guest on high." THE LIFE OF GENERAL WASHINGTON, Written by Himself. Edited by the Rev. C. Upham. Office of the National Illustrated Library. The principal thing to remark in this work is the fact of its being something different from usual in its construction. It is by Washington himself ; not his autobiography but his memoirs and correspond ence, as prepared by him for publication, are here given to the public, together with several original letters. In thus bringing forward a remarkable character of the past to speak for himself to posterity, the editor of this work has better accomplished the purpose in hand, and thereby has better claims on our approval, than if, by throwing in his own opinions and endeavouring to parade his own ideas, he had proved himself ever so accomplished an author. All admirers of the American hero must rejoice at such an opportunity of personal history. THE SONG OF THE SHOPKEEPERS. They tell us a war-cloud is gathering yonder, Whose shadow now lowers o'er liberty's sun— In its sulphury shroad there are lightning and thunder— The tread of the troop, and the flash of the gun. Above it the vulture—like eagles are screaming, And threaten to rend us with beak and with clew: For tha banquet of blood ara their guilty eyes gleaming, While hirelings echo the robbe,-hurrah. Then let ahem come on! Come every one— Two-headed, and Russian, Imperial, and Prussian— Though long have our swords peaceful slept in the sheath, And we've scorned the black laurels of war and of death; We're the sons of those heroes in scarlet and blue Who fought at Trafalgar, who won Waterloo. We are told to be silent—bare sons of the shop— What to us if the nations be trodden like grass? What to us if the despots wring every drop From the hearts of their poor tortured helots? Alas! Be selfish and silent—be sympathy dumb— Beware how you tempt them—beware to provoke; Or those tyrants in league and in vengeance may come And bend every bold Briton's neck to the yoke. Ha! let them coma on! Come every one— Two-headed, and Russian, Imperial, and Prussian— Though long have our swords peaceful slept in the sheath, And we've scorned the black laurels of war and of death; We're the sons of those heroes in scarlet and blue Who fought at Trafalgar, who won Waterloo. From our ploughs, and our pastimes, our loves, and our labours. If they force us but forth to the red field—ha! ha! The roll of our drums and the ring of our sabres Shall be loud as their own in the charging huzza. We fear not the issue—we fear not the strife; The bayonet's cross, and the death-dealing gun— Far dearer to us than our peace or than life Is the proud holy freedom our fathers have won. Then let them coma on! Come every one— Two-headed, and Russian, Imperial, and Prussian — Though long have our swords peaceful slept in the sheath, And we've scorned the black laurels of war and of death; We're the sons of those heroes in scarlet and blue Who fought at Trafalgar, who won ViratYNEerloo. MA REID. Feb. 17, 1852. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert walked yesterday in the garden of Buckingham Palace. - His Royal Highness Prince Albert rode out on horse back yesterday morning, attended by his Equerry in Waiting. In the afternoon his Royal Highness, at tended by Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. A. Gordon, vi sited the British Institution, in Pall-mall. The Royal Family took their usual exercise yester day in the garden of Buckingham Palace. The Queen had a dinner party yesterday at Bucking ham Palace. The company included his - Serene High ness Prince Nicholas of Nassau, the E a rl and C ountess ady Foley, B a - G ra nville, Earl of Strafford, Lord and L ron Hadeln, Baton Roggenbach, the Dowager Lady L y tt e lton, and Miss Lyttelt on. of S t i a r k W ing ill t is h m e fiCr'sitlsoiststinagAfo.;a hadthe honour yesterday miniature of his Royal Highness Prince o A f rt m hu o r u , n b t y E co ti mm ln d of her Majesty. Marchioness of Douro in her gcumbe has relieved the The Countess the Queen. Lord Elphinsto duties as Lady in Waiting to Water park in his duties as Lord Berkeley Drummond hawslinel\iVevaeitdingk . no has relieved Lord Water his duties as Groom in Waiting to her A deputation and 3 Major - General aj es Ormsby ty Gor Gore in Lowman Ar, consisting of Mr. Masterman, M. Mr' Hicks, Mr. R Low Remembrance;, Taylor, er. Deputy ilarrison, Mr. Deputy H. Taylor, Mr. L Mr. Dakin, the City Low, a in, had an and M r. Banning, the City Architect , interview with Sir George Grey yeste rday - , at the Home -office. A de nut%ti Clay, ~,9") consisting of Mr. Baines , M.P., Mr. H ALP , mr. Collinson ( Warden. of the Trieity - house , Messrs. Alder, Estill, and 13olton (Eider Brethren ditto), and Mr. Wilson (Secretary), had en interview with the Right Hon. Henry Laboucnerc yesterday, ut the Board of Teeth', Sir Alexander Spearman had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his cilicial residence in Downing,treet. The Hon. A. Kinnaird, Sir Elward Buxton, M.P., Sir Harry Verney, M.P., Abel Smith, E sq ., R. Ilanbury, Esq., the Rey. W. W. Champneys, end the Rev. Ilugh Allen, forming.a deputation from the White chapel School, had an iutei view with Lard Seymour yesterday, at the office of Works and Public Buildings in Whitehall -place. Mr. Somers, M. P. for S li go , had an interview wi th Sir George Grey yesterday, at the Home-office. THE COMMON LAW PROCEDURE BILL.—The Bill brought forward by the Lord Chancellor on the common law which has just been referred to a Select Committee , c°ll - as many as 174 clauses. LORD TRURO, There cannot he the slightest doubt or question that ) l trio Bar—the euitore, and ti le great body of legal re , foreasrs—eiquld el glesilY ere th e , removal of Lord Truro from the office of Lord Claanceller as the army, the colonists, and the public in general would see the t ' ' removal of Earl Grey from the Colonial-;office. Notwith standing his ungenial nature and froward humour, Earl Grey is an active, and often a u3eful, partisan in the ' llotn eof Lords. Though a very unfit man to be a Cabinet Minister, ani most specially auk to bo Colonial Minis ter, Earl Grey possesses qulekeess, tartness, and a cer tain species of irritable vigour, . occasionally useful in Party warfare. But the Chancellor, whether iu court or in camera —whether in the Cabinet or the House of Lords— is neither useful nor ornatreeital. lie eneumberis the Cabinet—stops the progress raid stream of justice—a n d dams up the wholesome current of law reform. Useless in council—mischievous in debate, ponderous, perplexed, empty, and turgid, Lord Truro is, nevertheless, - pee sussed with the curious conceit that be alone is practical i in — u tti t a if t Lsr t alone hue hue responsibility—that he alone has j auriferous monain i ts " et p e n oi d 8 — a d e e h I ' 'e t r h , e an a t i l e tUat w a e l i ft }.' h s a c t u cl t r, h ies is from his pregnant lips i, filled with absolute wisdom. The harm so pomp was and inene a personage is likely to do will unfortunately survive his tenure, of - office, it -will even survive that of his colleagues, should th , y . unaei rnouily resolve to get rid of him by throwing such a dead weight of legal lumber entirely overbeerd the frail barque which carries th , -ir unprosperous fortunes. flow Lord John Russell is to get on with such a Chancellor wo cannot for the lite of us see; and supposing a Cabinet round•rebin to he elready signed or ti road enough gh th ;o against the Noble mei Learned Lord, where its Se c tli : ; ta u lyi l t t ) h .— t o h t e . strong bein b c a ,k r tiebs o ot r ihlem on the bench foolish half over? Yet a man so chance — i d b ei r fl' e o t r , k en l ot : n s t s 7 asetsh,Lei-eorndisTruro must be h th o a o t k a o c r I,llccerloliot, cast b th e a a t il s o o w on ,d . t o l l 7 e t i t u p lgi o o n t impossible t r t i : d e (3iwool sackby the e o a om n f d rnt fi n a e t e l el y a • ms c et o n n st t e r os a si contradict her asless i o il on u n j , e ta s hn t e e d • 'ssautSbitheeitcho,f commence mentmlaawde re form. e a t form. At. the Ca:eir et Councils at which those speeches were agreed upon, Lord Tinto was corporeally present —he protested not against the report of the common law commissioners—a commission which issued when he was Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, but which did not report till he was Chancellor—he protested not against the appointment of the first Chancery commi s .. James Parke-,sion,consisting of Sirs John Romilly, George Turn er , and W. Page Wood, of Mr. Bethel!, Mr. Crompton, end Mr. James. Ho protested not against the commission for extending the inquiry, dated the 31st day of January, nor against the commission appointing two additional commissioners, not of the profession, is sued so late as the 4th Jelly lest. With what face, then, we ask, does the Lord Chancellor now set himself individually up against the recommendations of a commission appsinted by the Government of which be formed a part? There is not one of the Commis sioners, with the exception of the two laymen (and these are both able, astute, and long-headed men) who, irre spectively altogether of the evidence, is not far more competent to deal with the question of Chancery reform than the Chancellor; and yet, against them all—as well as against the Royal Speech—and of the deliberations of sopainmieommberrnstuhbeorCdhinanatceioln lt o h re sets b o i npe his Cbsncellor that ever adorned the woolsack, and how can such as this io w sf a ow s wh n ni e ci v hn e d r hiev b i e fdo f u o ra r ni e l tolerated in the greatest it be tolerated in the most indifferent and, intellectually, the least considerable Chancellor that has sat on the marble chair in our day or within the present century? Of the Common Law Amendment Bill one would fancy Lord Truro would know somewhat more than of the Chancery report ; yet even in bringing forward this Biil, which was, on the motion of Lord Lyndhurst, referred to a Select Committee, it appears that the lynx eye of the ex-Chancellor of Mr. Canning, the Dike of Wellington, and Sir Robert Peel, discovered that the Bill varied from the report, and in so varying would lead in practice to great confu sion. To this statement, all the Chancellor had to say was, that it did not appear necessary to him that the Bill should be referred to a Select Committee, but at the same time that he had no objection t o its being so re ferred. With respect to fees, all Lord Truro could utter was that he vrould consult with the judges, and then make up his mind as to what was best to be done. But two of the learned judges left yesterday for Lancaster, the 16th bring the commission day; and within a week all the judges, withcehe exception of Lord Chief Baron Pollock, who remains in town, will be out on the circuit, not to return to London till the ending of March. Unless, therefore, the judges be consulted instanter, and a deter mination promptly come to, it may so happen that Baron Truro will be out of office before the answers of these learned individuals can be obtained. Thus, then, is a report which Lord Campbell pronounced to suggest more alterations in our procedure than had been origi nated since the time of Edward L—thus is it, we say, stopped in transitu by the torpidity of the Keeper of the Great Seel. Of the manner in. which the Common Law Proce dure and Practioe Bill is drawn, we do not care to speak to-day. But we know the opinion in the profession is general, that anything more slovenly and slip-shod never proceeded from the penny liners in Acts of Parliament, employed by the authorities who job away these snug berths. To be sure the Lord Chancel lor is no judge of style, and knows little of logi cal precision, or the philosophy of language; or legis lation; but one might suppose that a man who has been reading Acts of Parliament all his life, and arguing upon their effect, would not present to the Rouse such a crude and undigested abortion as this bantling of a Bilh But, alas! poor man, what with Cabinet Councils, and Chancery sittings, and two able Lords Justices of Appeal to help him, he is so over worked that he has not time to think of anything bat te lo , se . h eav y gaud roport,ible datiPt whinh t, n ‘l,-c. „et perform. Bat, noterithsLnding the deep devotion of the Chancellor 4 . to innport.nt and essential duties," he cannot make up his mind as to, fees at common law—as to masters in equity—or as to the report of the Chancery Commisionere. _ The Solicitor-General, a scholar, a lawyer, and a gentleman, misunderstood, if he fancied the Chancry Bill could be ready so soon—ou the Premier misunder stood. No wander the honest impetuosity of Lord Brougham could not stand this —no wonder he " talked of the thick and pslpabh3 darkness in which the Chan cellor was enveloped."—Herald. ERRATUM.—In our third trading article yesterday, for " Yet a man so bold and recklelis as Lord Truro," read Yet a man so . bold and rcckleis must be found."-- rival& DRURY-LANE THEATRE. A new farce, ay Mr. J. Maddison Morton, was brought out here last evening, under the title of Too Late for the Train. The principal part was s ustained i by Tilbury, w hose tribulations, on being interrupted i n a projected trip to Croydon by a succession of annoyances, were v e ry amus ing. Miss Coveney , F. Vining, and Selby under took the other characters, and played capitally. The piece passed off with SUCC:I9. t; e o v lc o r placea several l iv e i o n s .t. the aAe detonating EXPLOSION of _DETONATING POWDER. short t a 3 : i time since. g -agent, of King-street, Between the tours of one and two yesterday a mos t fctmhwainirtighneshim as samples, and sub sequently n w g h i powder, e h nigh i d o e v p o l l o v r o a d b l e t h e accident lo ss of sequently findiug them lying about in his • way, he di meted one of his men to put them " outof f e l o i li r r ; h e i p a j s s o i t d n i ee,a purposes,ha C d ro s f e t s several e l the way,"and the man inceutiously enough threw them bin in the cellar. The charges, which into a rubbish powerful, were made up i -n the' for were exceedingly needle-case, and when applied to form of something like a ing were capable of dislodging the purposes of blast- During the week a number of many tons of stone. about Mr. Croft's premise painters had been engaged one of them, named BareL and yesterday forenoon iog some paint, when he '‘ d, was in tho cellar mix'were lying in the eyed one of the charges which rubbish. posing it to bePicking it up, and snp pocket, and at the t a needle-case, he put it into his with the rest o f theme previously ment i one d ho went and Star workmen to dinner, at the Fountain Cheeps pu blic-house Castle -court, Lawrence-lane. ide. I n t h e coarse of the meal Barefield took the charge out of to what it .. his pocket, and a discussion arose as really was. One of the party cut it in half a substance and found it t o contain h the supposed to be brick-d ust. With a view, probably, wie robab n ly, of ascertain ing more satisfactorily its character, another of the corn pany, a man named John Canfield, a waiter, living in the Canal-road, Camden-town, then took up the pieces of the charge and commenced rubbing tham on the tap room table when almost immediate l y th ey exploded with tremendous force. Every man in the room (some half-dozen) was thrown down by the concussion and more or less injured. The unfortunate creature in whoee hand the charge exploded presented a most shocking spectacle. Both his arms, from the elbow joint, were shivered to pieces, an d some idea may be f orme d o f the poor fellow's muthatei conditien from the eircumsteeice that portions of bis hands and fingers were picked up off the floor. He was at once placed in a cab and conveyeti with all haste to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and in the course of the evening it was deemed expedient to ampu tate both limbs above the elbow. He continues in the most distressing state. The police, we are informed, subsequently searched Mr. Croft's cellar, and found the remainder of the charges which had been thr own in the ru bbish, and which they took possession of. HEARTS 7---- ---. AND ALTARS. BY THE AUTHOR OF the peculiar at tractions LADDER Or GOLD."—The new work by Mr. Robert Bell, with its suggestive title of " Hearts and Altars," :s exciting ra an unusual degree of curiosity and attention. Cha-- eterised by remarkable vigour of conception, felicity of v are not its diction, and fidelity to nature, it promises by tractions of the narrative to attain a wider popularity than perhaps, the any previous production from his pen. But, graphic delineations of character, or the vivid pictures of s g o r c e i a e t t e y st w e l i l l i: c h ni gi ; ve such animation to the work its blunders an d i ts mystic associations may produce a ct.ill more n.;werful impression. -Evening P aper. i n o 11 1 ; 1 . t r de void,n! n a ' THE PRESENT MINISTRY.—S3(i it 15 to • i c° ll VinplAte the hetcrogencus nature of our present Ministry - its shortcomings. First, we have a Premier bringing I I i di rec ted ch has bagainst , e r C a a u t 3 lr o l t i c n o ag e frreecsts, .tive law, and yet a dead letter. a post measureme astt r o w ambassador a musing himself at a foreign co masses for the service of the very church court by compeiing his colleagues have been legislating a • , 'whose aggressiolis a Foreign Secretary, whose dcmesqc gain". Then we hay. , circumstances are cer tainly not favourable to Protestant in terests; lastly, we have an Admiraltysecurity, or Liberal blunders are of such a nature that direction, whose tongue. Why should we go f they are on everybody's consistency, weakness, and n further into that mass of in country, has so long slumbered?— Morning under whose spell our Morning Advertiser. COURT OF C OMMON 1 -, * ‘Jourrcm.—Yesterday a court was held for the purpose Waterworks Bill. AO other business was done.