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

special general meeting, to be held within six months after the passing of the Act, at which meeting three fifths at least of the shareholders shall be present, to declare either a'.lv or by proxy that the company shall be dissolved, f u ll compensation bring paid to all landowners and others for any loss which they may sus tain by the operations of the company. The Hon. Member made s, veral inetfec:ull attempts to speak upon his motion, and at Lqtgth sat down. An HONOURABLE MEMUER presented a petition from the inhabitants of Kelso ag ainst the Kelso branch of the North B r iti s h R a il w ay C o mpany. FRIENDLY SOCIETIES. Mr. MUNiiti;,,; notice of his int , ntion to move for a return of all friendly‘ societies certified by Mr. Tidd Pratt, particularly of that which called itself " Odd Fellows "—(Laughter.) IMPROVEMENTS IN WESTMINSTER. Sir DE LACY EVANS, seeing the Right ►ion. Gen tleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his place, wished to inquire whether the sum of 10,0001. (or security for the same) had been deposited in the hands of the Government, on or before the 31st day of January, 1846, the period required for this payment by the Commissioners named in an Act for the Improve ment of Westminster, which received the royal assent on the 31st day of July, 1845. If the question was answered in the negative (namely, that the said deposit bad not been so made), whether the Government intend to take the improvements so much required in that part of this city into their own direction ; or wnether it way be now considered an open question, on which such portion of the public as may be anxious to promote these improvements, may make propositions on the subject to Gov. rnment ? The CHANCELLOR, of the EXCHEQUER could not give an answer with reference to the course of con duct intended to be pursued by the Commissioners. Sir DE LACY EVANS then moved for a return ahowing the number of houses in each square, street, place, lane, or other locality of the parishes of Saint George's, St. Ja:nes's, and Saint Martin's, in the city of Westminster, of the value of 101. awl upwards, or of chambers of the same value, the owners of which have been exclude 1 from the last registered list of voters for the election of Members of Parliament in the said city, by reason of neglecting or omitting payment of poor rates or assessed taxes within the limited period at present required by the Parliamentary Reform Act.— Agreed to. THE MILITIA. Dr. BOWRING wished to know whether the Go vernment, in the course they had pursued towards re organising tho staff of the militia, had any ulterior design of re-establishing the militia? Mr. SIDNEY lIERBERT, in answer stated that it was only the intention of the Government to fill up such vacancies as may have occurred in the staff of the militia. VOTES OF THANKS TO THE INDIAN ARMY. Sir R. PEEL—Sir, the motion which takes prece dence this day of all other motions, and which I am en titled to bring forward, is that of which I gave notice immediately on the receipt of the intelligence of our re cent successes in India. I am about, Sir, to make a motion which, interposed as it is between discussions of great political importance, leading to much eager and angry controversy, and great differences of senti ment and opinion, will, I know flout past expe rience, meet with a perfect and unanimous concurrence. I am about to make a motion which will enable the re presentatives of a great empire, proud of their military skill and valour, to unite in acknewledging the protective hand of Almighty God, the giver of all good, but at the same time to express their exultation in this ex ample of heroism, which has maintained, and even raised the military character of this country. —(Hear, hear.) I am about to make a motion which will enable us to pay the tribute of cordial gratitude to the generals and the officers, and to the men who have been concerned iu the victories that have been lately achieved on the banks of the Sutlej :Cheers.) It will enable us also to min2le with our ad miration for their skill the expression of manly, but seartfelt sorrow for the loss of their comrades, who have tacrificed their lives in the defence of their country, and in the maintenance of their Sovereign's rights. The r - , 50 ., lution which I shall move will convey the grateful ; t a llow . edgements of this House for two spleial;d victories, achieved within a very limited period, an d a l so i n a limited space, but I have felt it to be m y duty not to in torporate our thanks for these vii:;tories in one resolution, )ut to move that for each victory the separate icknowledgements of Ode House be presented to the [ndian army. It 'nas been my good fortune since he month of February, 1843, upon five separate occa ions, to pror!:ise to this house that the thanks of the Donpnon, of England should be conveyed to the Euro ean and native army for their exertions in the service )f their country. At the termination of the Chinese war, I proposed the thanks of the House to the army, and on different occasions I have moved the thanks of he House for victories achieved in that part of the ;lobe, but the repetition of those acknowledgments n no degree tend to dim their lustre. The rational gra itude must, and ought, to keep pace with the advance )f national achievements, and our acknowledgement of every achievement adds lustre to our national honour. sir, I propose to make two separate motions, one in ac mowledginent of the distinguished and gallant conduct )f . Sir Henry Smith and the division under his corn nand, and the other conveying an equal acknowledge • vent for the glorious services rendered by the army tnder the command of Sir Hugh Gough.—(Cheers.) the louse, no doubt, recollects that on the termination if the battles which already entitle the Indian army to kir best thanks (I mean the battles of Moodkee and ?erozgee), the army with whom we had o contend displayed great military skill, to ;ether with that undaunted and characteristic iravery for which they have been so long distinguished, totwithstanding the reverses they had met with on the .Bth and 21st of December, collected on the banks of he Sutlej in considerable force, and protected by a towerful artillery. They established themselves on the ight bank of the Sutlej in considerable force, retaining iossession of the bridge, by which they were enabled o pass from the north to the south side of the river. rhey established on the left bank of the Sutlej an en renched camp, and by constant accessions to their force hey were enabled to collect au army of not less than 15,000 men, supported by seventy pieces of artil ery, of great range and heavy calibre. They not fly did this, after the battle of Moodkee, in the face of he British army, then under the command of Sir Hugh lough, but also detached a force of not less than 20,000 nee of great skill and courage to conduct an operation gainst the city of Loodianah, from which our forces were tecessarily withdrawn at that time by other duties. ['hey did this not merely f o r th e purpose of investing or occupying tte city, but also with a view to threaten iur communi c ation and intercept the arrival of our artillery, which was then advancing towards that int with a reinforcement. In order t o p revent hat most skilful movement, Sir H enry S m i t h vas deta c h e d by Sir Hugh Goughce, and Sir Hen E lardinge, who reserved th e i r fors for the purpose o ry f cur defeating th e f ormidable enemy that threatened u communication with the rear, and by that means sf ransfer the seat ofgeneral . war from the neighbourhood Ferosiepore. It as intended that Sir Henry Smith, sefore he attackedforces under the command of the Seikh leaders, not the than 24,000 strong, with GO pieces of artillery, should aststaelc. the division at Loodiana— and that desperate actiothne result g o l f it under the command Gf Sir Henry Smith— y, the capture was the com plete discomfiture of the enem disorganisation of his Wiu„ c l a e pture of all his guns, the and the flight of that army, with the severest army,los across the River Sutlej. These operations were des ' er , much precision—(llear, hear)—all these op with without exception (be they described by whom t-h—esv, may), are described with such fulne ss an d such beautiful clearness, and the Housse must he so familiar with every one of them, that I will not attempt to weaken the effect by attempting the description over again. All that I can say is, that the hand that held the pen wielded it with the same success as it wielded the sword. --(Hear, hear.) But the House and the country know only of the successes of Sir Henry Smith ; and I will now speak—with confidence that it will be to his honour—af the interruptions and checks which he re ceived. There cannot be an uninterrupted success in war ; and I like to see the man who recovers from tem porary disappointment, for it adds to his real glory. It is unwise to conceal reverses for which he is not re sponsible, and I will endeavour to present to the Hour. the reverses which took place before that battle in which he was so successful. In the accounts which we have only recently rmsived, there is no .account of the diffi culties and disappointments encountered by him with the same spirit with which lie afterwards achieved the victory. It is because those difficulties were so encountered that he is so well entitled to our thanks. On the 21st of January, and in the battle which was fought on that day, Sir Henry Smith did meet with that which some persons would consider a reverse. He was encountered before he could effect a junction with Colonel Wheeler and the five regi ments which were at Loodianah ; and in the absence of all intelligence, he encountered the enemy, tttid wa s exposed to a serious loss. Now let me - seed to the House in what manner he extricatd himself. In writing on the 21st, after having succeeded in relieving Loodianah, he says that he bad effected that operation, but it was under circumstances not so favour. able as those which he had before. In the letter of Sir Hugh G ough he says that ;he enemy were moving Parallel Villagesto"They i n their , each of w was , capable o f b eing The enemy rmed into an frsnt entrenched hich position. was moving on roads, and I wss moving over sands. He was in a d vance beyond the right flank of tlis E li t o iro o u penei a eollns, with a numerous array of infantr and un. r nou , cannonade of thirty-fiv y e gun g s of very large, calibre, and, as usual, they were right well served. My o w b j h e i c , t h b o e v in g to unite myself with the force at Loodianah, in sight, for it wag very I expected to appear clock, I moved parallel to the enemy, resolved to laitttualek the moment the Loodianah hrce reached m e , so _. pressed upon him that the effect was considereble! prepared t o f orm a line upon this wing of thgehetnelatawyiasseven regi .reashiwith the ments, with their guns, being at ri g ht e h force. line I was about to attack w insin that Now, we were under the impression,ithc' position the enemy might obtain, it would not b y e ateve y r difficult matter to overpower them, but these atver whelming numbers were of such superiority as )ve t r. their guns, I had no alternative but to throw back my line on its right, forming a small line on the hypotti neuse of a right angle—that is to say, the two divi,ions of the enemy's army formed two sides of a right angled triangle," Sir Henry Smith being placed between them on the shorter line. I will make the matter more clear by reading an extract from his dispatches.—(hear, hear.)—He says, " the enemy thus had me encompassed with a powerful force, and I, therefore, gradually with drew my infantry and cavalry in the direction of Loo dianah, in the man time expecting to see the approach of that force of the army, being one regiment of cavalry and four regiments of infantry." That was the force at Looodianah. They then made a vigorous attack. The ground was very sandy, and therefore dill : wait to move in. " The enemy," he says, "moved on me in the neighbourhood of Loodianab, but my wing moved with as much steadiness with the cannonade as if they were on parad e — (Ch eers )— na ti ve as we ll as B r iti s h.' (Loud cheers.) The movements of the cavalry were under Brigadier Cureton.--(Cheers.) He said, "It was the most perfect thing I ever saw, and one which I could not expect."—(Hear, hear ) Now, Sir, difficulties were such that it is plain that the successful termination is to be attributed to the skill, valour, and high character of this commander.—(Cheers.) It was necessary that all his energies should be used, and he has proved, by his use of those energies, hew faithfully he has served his country—nothing could make him despond.—(Loud cheers.) Sir, of' the battle itself I will not speak. The victory was complete. It is so we ll d esc ribed by the Gallant Commander that I will not go further into it. And, Sir, _ what have b een th e serv i ces o f that Gallant Officer ? These events add a new lustre to his name.—(Cheers.) He was at the capture of Monte Video. He in the was at the capt ure —at the attack that was made on Buenos Ayres. He served Penin sular war ; he was at the battle of Vimiera. and at the battle of Corunna. Ile was at the action of Cuidad Ro d rigo . a nd at Torres Vedras. H e was a t th e batttc of Salamanca, and at the battle of Vittoria. He was at the battle of the I'3 renees, the battle of Toulouse ; he was at New Orleans, and at Waterloo.—(Cheers.) Sir, what a series of gallant services —(Cheers) — and how rejoiced I am to find that there should be an opportunity through these signal services, of bringing before the view of a grateful country a long life of military exertions such as these. After he had achieved that signal success, for which we are about to give him our especial thanks—after he had driven back the enemy across the river, he instantly re turned to join his commanding officer, Sir Hugh Gough. He arrived on the Bth, two days before the signal victory was gained under Sir Hugh Gough, and Sir Henry Hardinge. For his services, for the victory which he gained on the 28th, I propose that there should be a distinct and separate vote, and that there should be another vote for the other, net more glorious, perhaps, but more important victory which he afterwards gained. But, Sir, again I will not weaken the effect which the recital of that victory, as detailed in the dispatch of the gallant officer by whom they are written, by any attempt to detail their contents. But I will say this of the fellow -countrymen of the Generals of that gallant army—l will do them the justice to say, that they are familiar with them.— (Cheers.) Sir, it is right at the time to do justice to the bravery of the enemy with whom we had to csntend. After the successes gained over them on Dec. 18 and 21, they had so far recovered that undaunted courage which had distinguished them as to come again into the field, and to expose them selves again to the force of the British army. Sir Henry Hardinge, speaking of them, says—" Such was the bravery of the enemy, that they took the bridge which they had formed, and in the middle of the river disdained to seek for quarter." Sir, I will not enter into details of the battles on the tenth. The House is aware that our gallant army obtained a complete and signnl victory over the Seikhs whose loss was enormous—that after the ex hibition of great talents they were driven across the Sutlej in great nun:hers, and that the British army, crossing at places lower dawn the Sutlsj, and crossing at the point at which the battle was fought, birthed with the forces which had so crossed, and marched towards this capital of' the Seikh territory. Sir, thus in a period not exceeding seven weeks, from the day on which the incursion was made into our territory, the enemy have been signally defeated in every action in which they encountereL In every action the British were successful. T an those engage ments not more than onothir - Europeans, but the exam- of the forces were ;le they set was worthily fol lowed by the native t ....00p5. Four .uceessive desperate battles have been ',ought in which the British name has been sustained by .:ne commanders and men of every regiment— —and without any imputation on the British arms. We were not influenced by any grasping desire. The attack was made upon us in a time of profound peace. Those who took no part in the engagements have, since the defeat of their countrymen, frankly admitted what was the object which they had in view; they thought that they could overthrow the British army in consequence of their artillery, and formidable infantry and cavalry. They expected to be enabled to over come the two detachments of the British force which were sta tioned at the two extremes of the line—Ferosepore and Loo dianah—and having overpowered them, to have been en abled to march into Delhi, and that' a successful attack would have shook the allegiance of the Indian soldiers and our own European troops. That was the object they had in view. There was no breach of truce, but they admitted that if they were defeated by the British, that they would receive con solation, because their army was mutinous, anti that they should not regret their dispersion and annihilation by the British. Sir, for successes so gained, in consequence of conflicts so boldly conducted, I cannot doubt there will be an universal expression of gratitude on the part of this House.— ( Cheers) There is nothing, Sir, to sully the glories of those victories. 1 do hope that that which has been effected will long be a state of quiet and peace. There will be, as the re sult, a general conviction of our power —a conviction of the superiority of the British arms that will assure us a long en joyment of that state in that country, and the application of all our efforts to the improvement of the native resources of India. —( Hear, hear.) Anticipating that this may be the last war—hoping that it may be so, and that we may now direct our attention towards the improvement of the resources of that country--in that anticipation this House will, I am sure, refer to some events and some circumstances which may fill the heart of every subject with joy and gratitude.— (Cheers. ) Sir, the two commanders of that army, the Governor-General of India and the Commander-in-Chief, have, through these operations, set the example of cordial concert and harmony.—( Hear.) There was an entire forgetfulness of themselves.—(Cheers.) And it is this circumstance which has greatly contributed to these successful and glorious results.—(Cheers. ) All p unct illi os were sacri ficed.—(Cheers.) Sir Henry Hardinge consented to serve as second in command.—(Cheers.) There was net a suggestion offered by Sir Henry Hardinge which was not joyfully accepted by the Commander-in-Chief. Sir, anticipating that this may be the last occasion upon which I shall have to perform even the gratifying duty of proposing a vote of thanks, and return ing public acknowledgments for victories in India, and a public expression of my admiration of the bravery and gallantry of our India army, I will, with the permission of the House, refer to some documents. Since I entered the House I have had put into my hand a letter from Sir Henry Hardinge to a private friend, which was not, however, intended to meet the public eye. I have only seen it since I came into the House. But it does describe with such clearness and force the conduct of the British army that I cannot refrain from reading it to the House. The letter eulogised the valour and heroism of the foe, and added, if the country of the writer required it, he could have wept over their slaughter. Frequent attempts, the writer continued, were made to induce the sepoys to desert, by offers of inct eased pay, but he was glad there were not three deser tions during the whole of the campaign, while the discipline of the army was so perfect that the trade of the British districts remained throughout undisturbed.—(Cheers.) Sir, continued the Right Hon. Baronet, the example set by these gallant officers, who thought not of their personal interest or safety, but whose thoughts were exclusively directed to their coun try's honour and the safety of the army, demands the highest admiration.—( Loud cheers.) Sir Hugh Gough, in speak ing of a young officer, relates acts of devotion, which I am proud, through the medium of the British House of Commons, to publish to the world.—( Hear. hear.) Sir, while we are awarding that praise, let us not forget the example set by that Commander-in-Chief, who thinks fit se to praise those under his command.—( Cheers. ) On all occasions there was the most perfect understanding and discipline ob served ; and it was that example, no doubt, that influenced the conduct of the men acting under their command. I am sure, Sir, the House will permit me, whilst giving utterance to these expressions of gratitude, to mingle my feelings of deep regret at the loss, the serious and sorrowful loss, that has been sus tained.—( Hear, hear.) I had on a former occasion to lament, and enlist the sympathy of this House, when referring to the memory of the gallant General Sale, who was known to most of us, and not alone known, but admired and beloved—( Hear, hear)—and now, Sir, I have to lament the loss of several officers of the most gallant bravery. The first I will name is Sir Robert Dick, an officer long distinguished for his great personal bravery.—(Hear, hear.) He entered the service in 12, accomp an i e d t h e army to India in 1807, where he was present_ at the taking of Moodk ee . I n 1809 h e accompanied the Peninsular likewise lio n os th e 42d expedition, and commanded the second batta comaama so present at the battle of Salamanca, where he length he hasa;latd rig°. He Regiment , during the siege of Cuidad Rode likewise battalion of the 42d Regiment ; but at gallant 'ten, bravely fallen. On the same day fell Lieutenant-Colonel r ' Li eutenant-Colonel Taylor, son of another ._( Hearf the 20th Light Dragoons, who also fell gloriously there, whn, , in an t d ho c s h o e b e r r isaantAvlaicsi r S i h h a o v w e many there are es, lost friends and relative,, with bound up. Sir, almost dail whom a l most their lives were one, e rssaa., it is my lot to meet with lant son—l allude to Lord Fife r ' curtune to lose a gal plore the loss o f a gallant youn°Y Somerset , wh o h at to de. would have supp or t ed the honourgofinhains, _who, had he lived, I• wish I could do justice to my own ffeethlres name. Sir, ma ny of the illustrious men who have distineas, by namin g in this glorious victory, but the list is age Lreendt themselves that I should prefer the injury of omittinggthem .lhitoegar)—; Hear)-- rather than read the entire list to the House. Sir, w - h e e t n he i view the names of those who have taken a distin guished part in these single victories —when 1 see the names of Sir Henry Smith—(Hear, hear)— of General Packe, and many others, I recollect with satisfac tion that those illustrious men received their military creden tials under the auspices of the Duke of Wellington.—(Cheers.) Sir, it does add, in my opinion, a new lustre to his immor tal renown—(Cheers)—to see men who have been brought up in his school, and who have profited by his experience. —(Near, hear.) Sir, I aim • ld speak with equal praise of those who have not hadthe immediate benefit of having served under him. Those officers in the Company's service who may not have been brought up under the immediate command of the Duke of Wellington, have still had an opportunity of profiting by the memory of the victories which he achieved in India.—(Hear, hear.) At d when they have witnessed the victories of the battle of the Sutlej, they will recollect a lesson that was taught by men who had served immediately under the Duke of Wel lington ; and therefore, though they have not served immedi ately under the Duke of Wellington, they have still had the benefit of his experience. In the battle of Assaye, the ex ample of his moderation—his valour and devotion to the inte rest of his country—his regard for all, whether European or otherwise, is one which is worthy of emulation. It is possible at this moment—indeed it is more than probable—that the Noble Duke of Wellington has reserved for him in another place an opportunity of bearing his grateful and wil ling testimony to the merits of those gallant men. It will be his 'consolation that, through his example of valour and military skill, his patriotism, and his devotedness to the interests !of his country, even when we shall have lost him in the ordinary course of nature, will be imitated by brave and worthy men, capable, like him, of maintaining the honour and reput a ti on o f t h e country. T hese men will be the bul warks which will never fail us against our enemies, and who will always, like the Duke of Wellington, be prepared to make every effort in a just cause, and yet to set so glorious an example of forbearance, enduring ,valour, and desperate and reckless eonrage, when circumstances of a desperate nature require the exhibition of such a quality. And I hope, that through a succession of men whose principles are formed in such a school, this example will descend to posterity, and in a righteous cause render this great and glorious country im pregnable against the assault of an enemy. I must now con filde by moving that the thanks of this House be given to Sir Henry Siiith, and to the troops under his command. Sir JOHN CAM HOBHOUSE said that he considered it a very great distinction to be permitted to second the mot ion of the Right 1i0n,13 - (wow, auct he Limed the Howse that, after the able and affecting appeal made by the Right Hen. Gentles , man, it would be superfluous in him to do more than in a very few worsts explain what the House had to consider when it paid this tribute to the Gallant General hod the troops under his command. Genetal Smith, as the night Hon. Baronet said, hal, bY this action, maintained the glory and cheratter of this country, and by this great achieve ment had conti ibuted to the subsequent success which is to form the subject of a second motion for a vote of thanks this evening by the Right Hon. 13arocet. He would take the libel ty to observe, that never in the annals of Parliament 1311.! it the good fortune of a Minister to propose tWo votes of thanks on the same evening on two such splendid victories as the present. While that Gallant Officer spoke of the deeds of those who were under him, he made no allusion to his own exploits, thereby showing that his modesty was equal to his valour. It was, as the Right Hon. Baronet, had stated, in his right hand he held the sword, and with the same hand he also held the pen. As was said of a great character of antiquity— Eadem animo scripsit quo bellavit." Allusion had been mad e t o the Governor-General, and perhaps he (Sir J. Hnbhouse) might be excused for saying a few words with respect to that Right lion. Gentleman. It was a great consolation to the Members of that House to dwell over the statement of the Right Hon. Baronet with respect to the Go vernor-General. They had mingled with him in discussion, and he had won the esteem—however, he might have differed with them in opinion—of those with whom he had, happily for them, ever come in contact. There was something like Roman grandeur in that Right Hon. Gentleman step ping from the floor of that [louse to command great and mighty armies, and performing deeds which were sufficient for a life, and to immortalise any man. Sir Henry Hardinge, from the 17th December up to the time they were speaking, had performed exploits and achieved con quests that would illustrate the life of any commander. —(Hear. ) He hoped, with the Right Hon. Gentleman, that this might be the last triumph which they should have to record. lie could not help concluding by saying, whether it was the last or not, they should still remember with gratitude and pride that an officer so well known for his abilities in that House was equally distinguished in the field, and that he more than up held the renown which he previously obtained. He most cheerfully seconded the motion of the Right Hon. Baronet. The SPEAKER then read the resolutions, which will be found in another column, under the head Parliamentary business. Mr. C. RUSSELL said the House would remember that on the last occasion the House passed a vote of thanks to the army in India for the victories at. Moodkee and Ferozeshah, a petition was presented by the Hon. Member for Durham (Mr. Bright) from the town which he (Mr. lbws , ll) had the honour to represent—Reading—and that a very just rebuke was conta►ned 111 that 'petition on the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of her Majesty's Government. He had received a request from the inabitants of that borough, through its mayor and magistrates, that he would express their regret, and he might add their shame, that such a petition should have been presented, and the assumption that it emanated from them. They had carefully examined that petition, and found attached to it the names of many women and school children, together with the names of many persons who were hardly able to write; and besides, several of the signatures were forged, and many of those whose names were attached to the petition had indignantly denied that they had signed them, showing that this was another instance of palming fraudulent petitions on the House.—( Cries of "Oh ! oh I") He had been re quested to discharge a duty imposed upon him by his constitu ents, and he trusted the House would allow him to do so. He had been requested to state that there was no town in her Ma jesty's dominions more cordially rejoiced at the victories achieved by our arms in India, and more desirous to concur in a tribute of praise to the gallant troops by whom those victories were obtained. It would be presumptuous in him to attempt to swell the just panegyric which had been passed on the gallant army in India. He had held a commission in that army for many years. Sir ROBERT INGLIS entirely agreed with the latter part of the speech which his Hon. Friend had just delivered. He congratulated the Hight Hon. Baronet on the opening por tion of the dispatches, which ascribed to Him to whom alone praise is due, the glorious result of our arms. He wished to follow up l'ne opening remarks of the Right Hon. Baronet, ar „peCially to call attention to the dispatches of Sir Hugh Gough. The Hon. Baronet then briefly alluded to the dis patches which had been transmitted after the victories of Blen heim, the Nile, and Trafalgar, which all equally acknowledged the interference of a superintending Providence in obtaining the victory, and the Right Hon. Gentleman instituted a com parison between those dispatches and a recent dispatch of Sir H. Gough. Lord JOHN RUSSELL would take this opportunity of expressing his cordial co operation in the vote of thanks which had been proposed by the Right Hon. Gentleman. He had never known au instance where a vote of thanks had been pro posed with greater feeling than had been evinced by the Right Honourable Gentleman on the present occasion. Perhaps he might be permitted to say there was no person connected with Sir Henry Hardinge, either by political ties or private friendship, who could feel greater gratification than he did at the issue of the recent transactions, and the high honour which he had obtained. Let him say further, with respect to Sir Hugh Gough, that he was glad to see a native of Ireland add another laurel to the wreath which Irishmen had wrought. He felt great satisfaction at the glory which the British arms had obtained ; their achievements had been altogether un equalled. The disordered state of the Punjaub rendered it necessary for a prompt interference of the British army. From the manner in which Sir Henry Hardinge had con ducted the affairs committed to him, there was no doubt he was entitled to the highest distinction. If the utmost prepa ration had been made with a view to suppress the disturbances in the Punjaub, there could not have been a more brilliant series of successes than that which had attended our arms on a sudden call. He begged leave to express his cordial concur rence in the motion. Sir DE LACY EVANS entered into a general defence of the military operations which Sir Henry Smith had thought proper to adopt in the recent conflict on the banks of the Sutlej. He did not think there existed a victory on record, which equalled this brilliant achievement. He knew full well what were the effects of unjust criticisms, both on officers and men, and therefore would refrain from entering into any par ticular details. He knew of no achievements in the annals of history which equalled in brilliant execution that which had distinguished the brief career of the Governor-General of India. Sir Hugh Gough has been the successful Commander in-Chief during two wars. and he believed that there scarcely existed an example, with the exception of the illustrious Com mander-in-Chief of the English army, when in the space of two years so many gallant victories had been obtained. Sir H. DOUGLAS did not precisely agree with the Hon. Baronet in regretting the sacrifice of human life which had occurred in the recent battles, as without that sacri fice the victory would not have been achieved. The Hon. Baronet then read a letter giving a geographical description of the scene of action, and the natural difficulties which the face of the country presents to the march of troops, as well as the many other difficulties arising from other causes which the British troops had to encounter, and concluded by declaring that a more tremendous or crowning victory for the future peace of the country had never been achieved. Mr. BROTHERTON said that, but for the speech of the Hon. Member for Reading, he would not have risen to say one word upon this subject. But lest it might appear like pusillanimity upon his part if he gave a silent vote upon this question after that speech, he had risen to say a few words in delence of those principles of peace of which he was an advocate, and which he was always ready to vindicate. He had been waited upon a short time ago by a number of friends, who requested him to present a motion to this House which might not appear to be in accordance with the wishes of the House, and as he did not wish to do anything that might have the appearance of at tempting to interfere with the unanimity of the House, he had declined to have anything to do with it.—(Hear, hear.) At the same time he should say that his heart was as warm and his gratitude as full as that of any other man, for the conduct of those who had achieved acts ler the general benefit of the country.—( Hear, hear.) But he did not wish to mix up war with the name of religion, for he looked upon war as the greatest scourge that ever a country could be visited with, and, therefore, he did not think it right for this House to implore the ble3sing of God on such acts. Lord HOTHAM said he hoped he should be pardoned by the House if he availed himself of the opportunity which his seat in the House gave him for offering a few observations on this subject ; and he promised they should be few, for it had already been disposed of in a masterly and brilliant manner by the Right Hon. Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury. These proceedings in India had been characterised by the most con sumate ability and skill, and nothing could be more satisfactory than the conduct of the troops. It was also gratifying to know that the gallant officer who had achieved so much honour for himself and the British arms, Sir Henry Smith, had had the advantage of having served fiv e y ears un d er t h e comman d of the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula, where he dis played a remarkably quick perception, ardent zeal and devo tion, and the most undaunted resolution—( Hear, hear)—and to those qualities might be attributed the signal success which has carried his efforts in India.—(Cheers.) With these few observations he begged to say that this proposition was one which had his most cordial approbation and support.—( Hear. ) Mr. HUME said, that before this resolution was passed, and passed he hoped it would be unanimously, he wished to say a few words. He was sorry that the policy of war had been introduced into this question, for they had now before them merel' a proposition of the Government.—( Hear, hear.) He would also wish to say a word in reference to the native troops. 't he Right Hon. Baronet opposite had stated that two thirds of the army in India consisted of native troops; and he (Mr. Hume) would say, that he had had some experience of them in a small way, and he could add that no men in any army were more remarkable for their bravery, loyalty, and fidelity.—(Hear, hear.) In his experience of them, he could say that in many instances bribes had been offered, but in no case had any of them been known to desert.—(('h. , -'s..) llc was sorry that the forms of the House prevented them from taking_ notice of them in the w a y d eserve d, b u t h e truste d t h at the East India Company would do their duty by them,—( Hear, hear.) With regard to what had been said about the grasping character of the Governor-General in India, he could only say that in the present case not the least honourable trait in the c_l_ a s r e i dr VOTE unanimously no. pp E THANKSEL tnis unnecessary favour T o o f SIR i t . conduct of Sir Henry Hardinge was his forbearance.—( Hear. ) The SPEAKER then put the question, and the House de clared with any A o N bs D erv S: HUGH i ß onson the motion which H fo E r N m ß e Y to llA tr ß ou D b l le N G th E is I am about to lay before it, and which proposes that the th an k s o f t hi s House sh ou ld b e given to Si; en,Cl Hardin ge an d to Si r H ugh Gough. Th e H on. and Gallant stood m? if he th oug h t that I meant e to ier must have mi sun d er - Smith bad sustained any reverse. am mply that Si r H enry in deserved compliment for th e action whichp e r s e t c a e n delsit anxious to pay a late de cisive action. So far from intendi ng to apply the term verse ," I said that he had extricated hi mse l f from his diTfificu"ltriee's with singular dexterity, and that justice had not been done to his conduct. I was most anxious to show that previously to the glorious victory which he subsequently gained, he had ex tricated himself from great difficulties, without any supportor reinforcement, with consummate skill. With regard to the Hon. and Gallant Officer Sir Hugh Gough, I shall to-morrow have the satisfaction of communi eating, to his son that her Majesty has been gra ciously pleased to confer upon him the honour of the British Peerage, for the gallant example he has set.---(Loud cheers.) I trust that his family will be prepared to accept for him this distinction which he so strongly deserves. I may, perhaps, be allowed to take this opportunity of bearing public testimony to the valour shown by the Prussian Prince Waldemar ; and I may also be permitted to place upon the record of this debate, the words which my Gallant Friend, Sir Henry Hardinge, speaks of him. lie says that the army was ho noured by the presence of Prince Waldemar of Prussia, and two noblemen of his suite. They were present at Moodkee, Ferozeshah, and also at a third action. They did not con tent themselves with a distant view of the action, but were in the middle of it, and exposed to every danger. I may also be permitted to supply an omission its not having borne sufficient testimony to the conduct of General Gilbert. Their is in the course of these dispatches the highest testimony borne to the conduct of this brave commander, and also to all the other officers who were engaged on the day when the late battle was fought. Sir H. Gough speaks of General Gilbert in the highest terms, and says. that he has not words to express his gratitude to him, not only for his zeal and activity, but also for his intelligence. And I have referred to this document, in order that we might have the opportunity of placing also on the record of this discussion the opinions of more competent judges than we are in these matters. Sir DE DACY EYANS said that either he had iraper. A I! fectiy expressed himself, or he had been misunderstood, with reference to some expressions which he had alluded to as having dropped, from the Rhlht Hon. Boronet oi the subject of the motion for the vote of thanks to Sir Henry Smith. He did not maintain for a moment that the intention of the Right Hon. Baronet was other than that which was obvious to the whole House. He mere l y, as a professiona l min , o bj ecte d to a wort', of which he, in that. capacity, might be more cognizant of than the Right Hon. Baronet. The Right Hon. Baronet had communic , ,ted that thu honour of the peelage was to be confeired on Sir Hugh Gouoh, and he did not in the least doubt that the announcem 6 ent was gratifying to the House; but he wished to say that, on his part, his gratifi cation would be great if he had communicated that the British Peerage was to be conferred upon. Sir Henry Hardinge. His Honourable Friend, the Member for Montrose, had alluded to the moderation of the Governor- General, in his operations, and seemed to dcubt whether ho hail not been too moderate. He ( Sir De Lacy Evans) con ceived that no part of the conduct of the Governor-General was marked by more wisdom, jud g ment, and sound policy than his conduct a f ter t h e l ate victory; and he believed that the line of conduct adopted by the Governor-General , would be most conduci v e t o th e permanent power o f the British in ' India, and to the well-being of the people mho were more or less connected with us. He wished also t) call the . atten tion of th e H ouse to another circ umstaree. Sir Hugh Gough had, in his dispatches, ih the warmest and most set terms, alluded to the brilliant conduct of no less than twelve brigadiers in his army, and particularly to the conduct of brigadiers Stacy and Cuerton. He confessed that be did not see why the precedent of the names of these twelve gallant . officers being insert e d i n th e vote of thanks should not b e admitted. In this case the ordinary rule might be departed from, and the names of men so di st i nguished might be i nserte d in the vote of thanks. He would call the attention of the House to the fact, that d ur i ng t h e last war, no less than fif ty briga diers had been included in the Parliamentary thanks, and yet these twelve gentlemen were to be an exception. Sir R. 11. INGLIS said that he wished to refer for one moment to the generous suggestion made by his Gallant Friend opposite. That suggestion would have come with grace and propriety from any one, but the suggestion of the honour to be conferred upo n Si r H enry Hardinge came from him very appropriately. If the Right Honourable Baronet should, in his discretion, think fit to make such a recommendation to her Majesty, it would meet the grateful thanks of the House.— ( Hear, hear..) The conduct of General Thackwell should not, on this occasion, remain unnoticed, as his conduct during the late action had been peculiarly deserving of admiration. Sir R. PEEL—This subject has alreldy been spoken of, but in . order to prevent th e poss ibi lity of any d ou bt u p o n it he felt it necessary to say that before these dispatches had been one single hour under the consideration of her Majesty, she intimated her wish that the honour of the British peerage should be confer re d u p on Si r Henry Hard i nge an d Sir Hugh Gough. With regard to that gallant officer Colonel Taylor, before these last dispatches reached England it was determined to make him one of her Majesty's aids-de-camp, but the account of his death had intervened. The motion was then unanimously agreed to. THE ORDERS OF THE DAY. Sir JAMES GRAHAM, after a few words which did not reach the gallery, intimated his wish that the orders of the day should be postponed until to-morrow (this day). He should move the first reading of the Preservation of Life in Ire land Bill at five o'clock. INTERMENT IN LARGE TOWNS. Mr. MACKINNON said that lie wished to ask the Right Hon. Baronet the Secretary for the Home Department whe ther he was prepared to take any step on the motion he (Mr. Mackinnon) was about to make ? fie brought the subject forward at the suggestion of the chairman of the Committee appointed to take the subject into their consideration. Last year that House came to a resolution that the nuisance of in terment in' lar.l-e towns deserved the serious attention of the Legislature. He was ►.ow induced to apply to the Right Hon. Baronet to ascertain whether it was the intention of her Ma jesty's Government to take any steps in accordance with the re commendation of the Committee of the House, the recom mendation of the Commissioners, and the resolution which the House came to on the subject during the last session of Parlia ment ? He would ask whether, in the event of his bringing forward this motion, it would have the countenance and sup port of the (love! cement? He would wait for the answer of the Right Hon. Baronet previously to proceeding with the motion. 'sir J. GRAHAM said that the House would remember the resolution alluded to by the Hon. Member, which was carried in opposition to his (Sir J. Graham's) strong remonstrances on that occasion. He certainly did admit the great importance of the subject, and he was bound to say that he was prepared to take some steps on the motion for leave to bring in this Bill. He should cordially support his lion. Friend in the introduction of this measure, and give it every consideration in his power, and do his best to aid him in preparing the measure, and to further any suggestions that might be made on the subject. He was happy to receive his Hon. Friend's assurance that he was now going to take the right course, and bring forward a substantive measure with regard to this subject. Mr. MACKINNON said that, after the observations that had fallen from the Right Hon. Baronet, it would be unneces sary for him to call the attention of the House to the measure, and to enter into any diacu sion upon it. Ha would only say that be felt great difficulty, as an individual member of that House, in bringing forward a measure of this great importance. He was in a very peculiar situation in being compelled, as a private individual, to bring forward this motion, but he had recommendations from nearly every town in the kingdom, pressing him to come forward with this proposal, and he would, therefore, endeavour to do the best he could. He was sorry to see that a feeling had gone abroad in this country,that it was the opposition of the clergy which prevented the Right Hon. Baronet from entering upon this subject. He was satis fied, from what he knew of the clergy generally, that as a body they were anxious to promote this measure ; and he confessed that one of the chief inducements which had led him to bring forward this measure, was to exonerate the Church and the clergy from any attack, in consequence of certain observations which had gone abroad. This opposition did not originate from any of the legitimate members of the Church, for he believed that one of the reasons which had prevented the carrying of this measure before, was the great difficulty in legislating upon it. The only way to make a Bill on this subject effective would be to enable every town to apply to the Privy Council by petition, and to allow a sort of inspector, who would see that the nuisance should be abated. He hoped that the first and second reading of this Bill would be unop posed, and after the second reading it could be referred to a Committee, who in the course of their labours might be able to submit many valuable observations en the subject to the consideration of the House. Under these circumstances, there fore, it was unnecessary for him to enter into further particu lars. There were Hon. Gentlemen present who could assist him in submitting this Bill for the approbation of that House. He should also have the assistance of some of those Hon Gen tlemen in Committee, and by that assistance he trusted to en able the House to adopt such measures as would seem neces sary to carry out that important subject. The Hon. Member concluded by moving that leave be given to bring in a Bill to do away with the practice of interment in the metropolis and in large towns. Mr. lIUME considered that some step was absolutely ne cessary to be taken on the subject. The great difficulty in legislating on such a question as this was the Church. He re collected that, in 1805, the Spanish Government framed a decree, after a Committee of Inquiry had investigated the matter, that no int erments should be made in walled towns. The Government and the House bothered themselves often with matters of very little importance, while they refused to forward measures like the present, that were imperatively required. Sir JAMES GRAHAM would not offer any opposition to the introduction of the Bill, but would reserve himself to a very early stage of its progress. It was not requisite to go into the main question then, only he would say that the Church was not the only interest that was concerned in the present Bill, as the Dissenters of the metropolis, and other large towns, had burial-grounds within their precincts. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. LECTURE AND READING-ROOMS. Mr. DUNCOMBE rose in pursuance of a notice he had given to ask leave to i n t ro d uce a Bi ll to amen d an A c t passed in the 39th year, Geo. 111., cap. 79, commonly called the Correspondi ng A ct. By i ts prov i s i ons , l ec t ure and reading rooms we re requ i red to b e l i cense d by a magis trate, or else any person receiving or paying money at the door was liable to a heavy penalty. 'f his was provided in the 15th clause of the Act; and, according to this, there was scarcely a single lecture-room, reading-room, or mechanics' institution, in the country, that was not liable to a penalty of 201. for receiving money at the doors. A case happened last year at Hull, where a person, for standing at the door of a lecture-room and charging money for admission, while a lecture was going on, was fined twenty pounds. The decision of the magistrates on this occasion was brought under the consideration of the Court of Queen's Bench, when the infliction of the penalty was affirmed. The Court decided that the penalty ought to be paid. There was not a single lecture room, reading-room, mechanics' or literary institution in the country, not licensed by a magistrate, that the door-keeper of, for charging money for admission, was not liable to a penalty of 1001., and those who paid the money to a fine of 20/. He had recently moved for a return of all rooms in the counties of Middlesex and Surrey, which were not licensed, but it had not been produced. When it was, it would be seen that very few were free from the penalty. ie restricted the returns in order that there might be less trouble in furnishing them. There were often Shakesperian readings in the Argyll-rooms, and every party who officiated there in taking money or in paying could be subjected to a fine.—(Hear, hear.) Not only was it so here, but every house in London that permitted a lecture, or discusssion, or any public meeting to take place, was subject to the same penalty. The case which had occurred at Hull had impressed upon his mind the necessity of bringing tho ',unmet under the consideration of Luc nouse, oruer w protect institutions where lectures emu readings took place, and also to protect benefit societies, which were placed in a very awkward position by the operations of this law, the clauses relating to corresponding societies inter fering with the operations of the latter; and the object of the Bill he had prepared was to do away with the restrictions of such societies by the operation of the corresponding clauses of the Bill now inexistence, and to remove the penalties inflicted The Hon. Member concl uded by asking leave to in troduce the Bill. rooms. under the provisions of the present law, relatin g to unlicensed The ATTORNEY-GENERAL would not offer any opposition to the introduction of the Bill. The Honourable Member had stated several grievances under the existing law, but as it stood he (T he Attorney-General) wasdi na considered it served in many instances f or the great protection of the public. Great dange r mi g ht ari se if the law requiring the thelicensing ee t Bill a closely,n would roomsofand h reregulate his conduct in r e l a ti on to the Bille would see e wwhaeyth with. H e wou ld watch it was obj ect i ona bl e or accordingly. At present he would not pledge himself to any particular course. Mr. HUME said the great protection of lecture-rooms was publicity. If any person was free to enter, the re cou ld b e no danger in any thing that might be done withi n . Th ey had WATSON, got rid o f many o ld things, and they sho u ld get rid of these penalties among th e rest. He hoped they would have f ree trade in d e b ate as we ll a s free trade in o th er things.re which we inaudible in the gallery, A ln in an D s u we s r . toomsoßEe said d s t e h rv a a t ti t o h n e s 3 Bill did not apply to Ire land at present. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. THE PORT OF LIMERICK BILL. Mr. J. O'BRIEN postponed the motion of which he had given notice, respecting the port and harbou r of Limerick. IMPRISONMENT OF FACTORY GIRLS. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE rose to call the attention of the House to a petition presented by William Scott, chairman of a public meeting held at Dundee, complaining of the illegal treatment and imprisonment of six factory girls. Judging from the alle eations of the pet h ition, e had rarely known a case of greater ardship. Four out of the six girls were fatherl ess an d un protected, and in the present case fthey were opposed by many leading persons in Dundee, manu acturers, great and powerful merchants, bankers, and shipowners, and others engaged in trade and commerce—many of thern great and liberal men— great free traders, too, who bad subscribed 6001. to the Anti- Corn-law League.—(Loud cries of H ear, hear," from the Protectionists.) It was against these powerful parties that he asked for justice on behalf of these poor girls. The oldest was 20 years of age, and the youngest was between 14 and 15, and they had been in the service of the Messrs. Baxter, of Dun , dee, ever since they were nine years of age. During that period , not one of them had been guilty of the slightest offence or ne g lect till then. And what did it amou n t to? It appeared that . those girls were earning from ss. 6d. to 55, 91. per week ; and NU, APRIL 3, 1846. one of the flats or stories of the f'actory, having obtained a rise of wages, they asked for the same; the amount additional ;ought by them, being but 3d. per week. The request not having heen met, on the 27th of October these girls left the factory at the dinner time, and did not reern that evening, though they should have returned at twn o'clock. The next ri - leenieg they returned to work at the usual hour. About five o'clock that day, they were apprehended by four men, and taken to a pri late office, where they wer e k ep t till near l y t we l ve o ' c l oc k. nstead of then being taken before the public Court and examined, they were taken to another private efflee, at which there were present but one magistrate, and Mr. Baxter and his overseers. They were told to sign a paper, and two of them, who could write, did 33, while the other four attached their mark. They were then taken before the magis trates, and being shortly examined, after Mr. Baxter had whis pered something into the magistrate's ear, they were sentenced to 10 days' imprisonment, with hard labour. In all similar cases of this kind, for leaving work for any number of hours, the usual penalty was to deduct a fine equal to the wages of the time lost and half as much more. But instead of deducting the fine of one and a half time, these girls were sent to hard labour for 10 days. And what said Mr. Baxter to this ? He said that combinations and strikes prevailed, and that something was necessary to keep them in check. But because this was so, was Mr. Baxter to take the law into his own hands ? Through the exertions of an Hon. Member near him ( Mr. Hume), the combination laws had been repealed, and these parties had a perfect right to combine and strike if they thought fit; and admitting the rules of the factory to be such as re. presented, the only penalty that ought to have been inflicted was the taking :one and a half wages for the time lost. But this abstravtion out of the miserable wages of ss. 6d. per week did not suffice. But they also complained that not a single person was allowed to approach them while in confinement, to prepare them for trial. One of the girls had a brother, and when they were before the justices he tried to get in, but was not allowed. One of the other girls had some sisters. Two of them came to the door of the justice-room, and asked for permission to see their sister, but they were repulsed from the dour, and told that it they did not go about their business they , would be tried and imprisoned too. Was that a fair trial, he would ask ? He , would ask the question of the Lord Advocate. Would' he say that this was a fair trial ? He was certain that the Lord Ad vocate would do no such thing. The Messrs. Baxter stated that cases of a similar character had occurred before in Dun dee. He (Mr. Duncombe) had made inquiry, and he had as certained that no factory girl had ever before been imprisoned under the same circumstances. Imprisonments, indeed, oc curred when sailors deserted from ships about to sail from port, because in that case a distinct contract had been broken, but here there was no contract. The penalty for leaving the factory was the fine of a time and a half, and if they intended to leave altogether they had but to give a week's warning before they did leave. He asked again what sort of law was this ? The Messrs. Baxter stated that they pt titioned on the same even ing, and got a warrant, on which the parties were apprehended. That was not according to Act of Parliament. It was not according to Act of Parliament that a petition should be sent to the magistrates by a servant—that servant merely stating that such petition had emanated from such and such parties. The Act of Parliament said that the magistrates or justices of the peace should be authoriseel to grant warrants on complaint made on oath by the parties with whom the servants had con tracted, but these girls had had no contract at all with the Messrs. Baxter. They had entered as servants from week to week, and there was no considerable doubt on the minds of legal gentlemen whether the Act did not apply only to servants employed and en gaged by the year. He (Mr. Duncombe) could nut find that the sax-spinners were included in the Act, but Gentlemen from the manufacturing districts, and he saw many around him, could inform the House, whether in any one instance one of their factory operatives could be taken before a magistrate under circumstances like these. He was sure that they could not cite one instance. He would say that this was a most monstrous and cruel sentence, for it was notorious that these girls were selected and picked out from the rest, because they were father less and unprotected. One of these only had a brother, and yet he had been refused admittance into the justice room. He had a statement in his hand of the miseries endured by the mothers of those girls who were existing by their labour, but he would not detain the House by referring to it. A complaint was made to the Lord Advocate of Scotland, and he instituted an inquiry into the circumstances. If the Lord Advocate would give him the result of his investigation, what was called a precognition, he believed, in Scotland, he would be willing to forego his motion for a Committee, but the Lord Advocate said that although he was willing to give up the names of the justices—to give up the warrants and the other papers connected with the apprehension of the girls—yet he could not give him his own investigation, because such a course was altogether unprecedented. The Messrs. Baxter asked for every inquiry • and as the Lord Advocate refused to give hire (Mr. Duncombe) the papers he required, he would give the Messrs. Baxter the opportunity of disproving the statements he had made. He therefore moved for a Select Committee to inquire into the allegations in a petition from Dundee, com plaining that Jane Bennet and other factory girls were illegally imprisoned. Mr. DUNCAN begged to second the motion. He believed that when the investigation should have been gone into, it would be found that the Messrs. Baxter, in stead of being the cruel and oppressive masters they were represented to be, would be found to have uniformly acted 'in the most kindhearted and liberal manner towards their work-people. The Honourable Member also brought a charge against the justices of the peace in Dundee. If this Committee was not granted, an impression would go abroad among the working classes that the case was prejudged, because their opponents were rich men, and they themselves were poor. lie (Mr. Duncan) had often acted as justice of the peace along with the gentleman who had tried this case, and lie could only say that no kinder-hearted gentleman, or more just magistrate, existed. He was also intimately acquainted with the Messrs. Baxter, and he had great pleasure in assigning the best motives to all their actions. Previous to his leaving Scotland a meeting had been called of the working classes in Dundee, which in that petition was stated to be a meeting of the inhabitants. A deputation from that meeting called upon him relative to the trial and sentences upon these girls. He (Mr. Duncan) stated, that as it had been a judicial investigation, he had no right as Member for the Borough to take cognizance of it ; but with regard to one part of it, he felt that it was his duty to call the attention of the Lord Advocate to it. That portion was the refusal to admit the re latives of the girls into the justice-room. The Lord Advo cate instituted an inquiry, and he found that that order did not emanate from the Court, did not emanate from the justice, but arose solely from the ignorance of the door-keeper. He (Mr. Duncan) intimated to that deputation that the Lord Advocate had taken measures to prevent any obstruction of the same kind again, and he trusted that this would prove sa tisfactory. He held in his hand a letter from one of the par ties interested in the case, and whose name was adhibited to the petition of the girls—that person's name was John Craig ; and to the same person he had, as he had already stated, written on the Bth of February. The first notice that he had of the matter not being settled was the presentation of a peti tion from the inhabitants by the Hon. Member for Finsbury on the other evening. He had also written to the Lord Pro. vost, and he had received a communication in reply, stating that the Messrs. Baxter and the justices concerned in the case were men incapable of abusing their power. Then it was stated that the Messrs. Baxter were great shippers, and that they exercised an influence over the smaller merchants of Dundee, and that, therefore, they weuld find individuals to ad vocate their cause. He (Mr. Duncan) had as warm a feeling for the working classes as the Hon. Member for Finsbury had. It had, been also stated that these five girls had none to advo cate their cause. Now, how stood the matter? He held in his hand an extract from the books in the Messrs. Baxter's office. He found that the girls, whose live names were in that petition, had been in the employ of the Messrs. Baxter for many years, and that their ages were not, as stated by the Hon. Member for Finsbury. He found that the girl Miller had entered on the 4th of April, 1837, and that she was then registered thirteen years of age; that Barnet entered in Sep tember, 1838, and was thirteen years of age ; that Roys en tered July, 1838, and was thirteen years and five months; that Downie, the leader, entered in 1836, and was thirteen years of age ; and Conolly, November, 1837, and was thir teen years of age—so that not one of them was under 20i s ears, Downie having been upwards of ten years in their employment, and none of them under seven years; and with regard to wages, he found that in the seven years of 1841,1842, and 1843, they had had constant work allowed them, when three-fourths of the worke rs were go i ng idl e . The Messrs. Baxter had 2,500 workers in and around Dundee. They had 1,500 in this very work, and on the evening when these girls left, because an advance of wages which they had asked had not been allowed them, thirty-four out of thirty-seven girls in the same room left in a similar manner. He would put it to Hon. Gentlemen connected with the manufacturing districts of England whether this state of things ought to be allowed to pass unchecked. On the motion being put, Dr. BO WRING said, that although a fine-minded man might be ready to inquire into and remedy any case of distress, yet, he was hound to bear his testimony to the character of the Messrs. Baxter in the conduct of their establishment. Not withstanding this, however, he thought that every facility ought to be granted for the relief of the working classes. The LORD ADVOCATE had received a communication on the Bth of November, and in consequence of that com munication, he thought it is duty to inquire whether a crimi nal prosecution should be instituted against these parties, and it was in consequence of that inquiry, that he found that the information received was liable to objection, and might be used against the parties who gave it. It oozed out on that inquiry that this objected information was likely to be used against the parties, and that nothing could be more detrimental against the administration of public justice, and the Lord Advocate ; the public prosecutor, was bound to protect the parties from the consequences of the information which they had given. For the general interests of society this information should be kept back. Each of the.. 3'":7 aullued, but. he would he culuailAing a mimic:Lion of his duty If he gave any opportunity to the parties who appeared to wish for a conviction. On that inquiry it certainly appeared to him that the parties to this petition aught not to be suffered to pro ceed. The point to which he had to direct his attention was not as to the facts alleged to the petition, but as to whether there had been any offence against the statute. It certainly did appear to him that no such offence against the statute had been committed. At the time this warrant was granted, which was on the 27th of October, and on the morning of the 28th, no evidence was adduced to justify the prosecution. The Court had been held in a room which was not legally entitled to the freedom of the Court. There was another point, for it ap peared that a sister of the party to the prosecution and the sheriff of the county had determined that she should not be heard. He was of opinion that it did fall within his province to issue a vote on that subject, and to require the attention •f the officers to the complaint. It appeared to him that no suf ficient grounds had been found in the inquiry for a criminal prosecution. It appeared that on the very night of the im prisonment, a brother of the girl had applied for the liberation of his sister, but had given no sufficient reasons for her release. The officer himself was satisfied that there was no ground for criminal proceedings. The parties were perfectly at liberty to allege a petition and institute proceedings. He admitted that the parties might have a right of action, but he would submit to the House whether their interfering in the matter would not clash with the claim of the one party or the defence of the other. He thought it would be much better, then, for the House not to take any step in the affair at all. Lord DUNCAN, as one of the magistrates of the district where the occurrences had taken place, wished to say a few words. He had made it his duty to inquire into the facts of the case, and in the outset he might state he had received a communication from Messrs. Baxter, who expressed their regret that any officer in their employment should have been guilty of ill-using some of their• workpeoplc, and praying that their own conduct might be fully and fairly inquired into. Their factory had frequently been in spected by the public officer appointed for that purpose, and their mode and manner of conducting it . had been frequently spoken of by that functionary in terms of praise. He was instructed to contradict many of the allega tions contained in these petitions, and he was sure if the Hon. Member who had made the present motion would make in quiry into their character, he was sure he would be con vinced that these gentlemen could never have been guilty of the conduct imputed to them. Mr. AGLIONBY neither knew the petitioners nor the Messrs. Baxter, but he thought, as nobody who had spoken either on one side or the other, appeared opposed to any , inquiry into the matter, they had better grant the Coin mittee. The Learned Lord must have been mistaken when he supposed their interfering in the matter would be clashing either with the claim or the defence of one party, because on looking over the petition, he did not find any indication of the intention of the parties to have recourse to a court of law. But the parties alleged matters which a tour of law could not take cognizance of, and this, in his opinion, was an additional reason why there should be inquiry. Without expressing arty opinion whether the magistrates were right or wrong, the petitioners stated sufficient to justify the appointment of the Committee ; and he, for one, must give Lis support to the motion of the Hon. Member for Finsbury. Mr. DUNCAN ai:ci tiie LORD ADVOCATE here explained. Sir J. GRAHAM said that the conduct of the girls was entirely a secondary question. He by no means denied the tompetency of the House to inquire into the allegations of the petitioners, out While he admitted the right of the House to do so, he did not think that it was a proper way to deal with judicial questions.—( Hear, hear.) He would lay that down as a general rule, and he thought it would be attended to by the Hon. Member for Cockermouth. He begged the indul gence of the House, while he explained to them the law and practice in Scotland with reference to cases of this description, which was quite distinct from the law and prac tice of any other part of the United Kingdom. The advo cates of Edinburgh appointed a portion of their body, men of the most distinguished practice at the Scottish bar, to whom, as a st•nding Committee, questions of this kind were referred- For instance, if the petitions of the girls in question had been presented, complaining of the alleged injustice, and they sued in farina pauperia, the matter would be sent to the Standing Committee, who assigned counsel and agents, and those girls, humble as they were, would have ample means of obtaining justice before the Court of Sessions. But having stated thus much, he must still vote against the motion for a Committee, because he did not consider it a proper mode of satisfying the parties in question. Mr. HUNIE would vote for the Committee, principally on the ground that the public would conclude that the House had refused the inquiry merely on account of the poverty of the petitioners. He had no doubt of the respectability of the Messrs. Baxter!, and the misconduct of the girls was admitted in their own petition, and were it not for the ground thus stated he should oppose the appointme n t of a Committee. Mr. DUNCOMBE replied. The Right Hon. Baronet, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, had ad vised the girls to go to law, but what funds did ss. 6d. per week afford them. The respectability of the Messrs. Baxter had been talked of, but if they attempted to do in Manchester or Stockport what they had done in Dundee, there would be little less than a revolution amongst the people. Mr. Stuart, the factory inspector, had also been quoted as evidence in favour of the respect a bilit y an d ki ndl i ness of those gentlemen ; but the education House and bo t of h et e n h eeir country igphetooprl might judge what care they to o k o f th e when four i n out theirof theem employment, m en t were petitioners, who have actually obliged to subse t r e i n be their marks i ns t ea d o f years , their names.' lie contended that the trial was not a fair one—that it was carried on with closed doors, and it was no wonder that the poor girl had been noisy in demanding admission into the room. The trial was not a fair one in England, if it was in Scotland. He maintained that the conduct of the magistrates, and those who acted in unison with them, had been most tyre nous and cruel towards these poor • girls. He hoped that the House would show to the country that there was still a court of redress where the poor could have justice done to them ; he hoped, therefore, that the House would grant the Committee for which he had moved, and he would undertake to prove before them the truth, if not of all, yet of a greater part of the allegations contained in the petition. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and a division took place, when there appeared— For the motion Against it 63 Majority against the motion —2s Upon our re-admission into the gallery, we found Mr. L. O'BRIEN moving for returns of the total amount of public money ( whether derived from local funds, or from funds voted by Parliament,) which had been paid for services as a Crown witness, or for other services, to a man named Robert Reily, alias George Reily, alias Robert Alexander, alias George Rowan, alias Hugh O'Neil, who was sentenced to transportation as a vagrant at the late Spring Assizes for the county of Tyrone, specifying the service for which such monies had been paid, the department, and the public officer, by whom such payments have been made, and the period of time during which such payments had been made. Sir J. GRAHAM said he had no opportunity of receiving any communication from Ireland, since the Hon. Member had given notice of his intention of making the present motion, and he had no knowledge whatever of this particular case, but he would say that the Government would consider the employ ment of spies for the pnrpose of creating crime as a most flag rant outrage.—(Hear, hear.) And he was fully aware that the Government had communicated to the commanding-officer of the police, in Ireland, Col. M'Gregor, that any such em ployment of persons would be one of the gravest possible offences; and until there was a case fully established, be could not possibly believe that there was any truth in allegations made with respect to this subject. In conclusion he would say that he had no possible objection to grant the wished-for return.—( Hear, hear. ) Mr. GRATTAN said there was a very prevalent idea throughout Ireland that the Government did employ persons in the capacity alluded to. Need he remind the Right Hon. Baronet of the case of ihinrone, of the cases of Parker and Brophy. There was also the case of a dismissed policeman, who, passing under the name of Molyneaux, under pretence of paying a visit to England, was said to have gone to the west of Ireland for the purpose of swearing ribbon men. There was also the case of Casey, in the county of Longford, who was discovered by the merest chance to be placing a ribbon docu ment in the p cket of a countryman. There was another point to which he would allude, namely, to the corps called the Detec. tives, who were in the habit of dressing themselves in the clothes of women, and so far had this practice been carried that the sources of benevolence were almost dried up, for before charity would now be administered the question was " Please Ma'am are you a policeman."—(Great laughter.) Mr. B. ESCOTT wished to ask the Honourable Member for Limerick whether the law of Ireland permitted the poor to be transported for vagrancy. Mr. O'CONNELL and Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN submitted that several cases of transportation had occurred for the crime of vagrancy. Mr. HUME said he did expect to have heard from the Government some explanation of the charges which had been made, especially when charges had been made and parties names mentioned. And if such a state of facts existed, could they wonder at the social state of Ireland—( Hear, hear )-- and that at a period when they were called upon to adopt coervive measures. Why, if such a state of excitement existed in Dundee in consequence of the imprison ment of a few factory girls, what ought to be the feelings of the Irish people at such conduct, no matter by whom counte nanced? If such demoralising procedings be allowed, could they, he would again repeat it, wonder at the present state of the social system in Ireland.—( Hear, hear.) He did hope that he would hear some explanation of these facts. Sir J. GRAHAM said he believed that the Hon. Member could not have heard the statement which had been made to the Member for Limerick. He would again repeat that he had received no communications from Ireland, and that he had no knowledge, as yet, of the facts which had been stated by the Hon. Member for Meath. The motion was then agreed to. Mr. O'CONNELL moved for a copy of any report sent to Government by a stipendiary or other magistrate, or by any police authority, of any attack made, ot*leged, on the house of Mr. P. B. Ryan, or on himself, in the year 1845. Also of any attack made, or alleged to have been made, on the house of the said Mr. P. B, Ryan in the month of March, 1846. Also, a return of the discharge of the said Mr. P. B. Ryan by the Insolvent Court. in the county of Tipperary, and a copy of the schedule filed by him on that occasion. Sir J. GRAHAM intimated that he had no hesitation in at once acceding to the motion of the Hon. Member. Mr. O'CONNELL said that his object in moving for a copy of the schedule, filed by Ryan, was to see the return of property which he then stated he was possessed of. He had no recollection that ever his Noble Friend—( Laughter)—had been chairman of the Catholic Association in 1828. _ EVICTION OF TENANTS IN GALWAY. Mr. S. O'BRIEN moved that an humble address be pre sented to her Majesty, to inform her Majesty that the atten tion of this House has been directed to a case of ejectment of tenantry which has recently taken place at a village named Ballinglass, in the county of Galway, in which it is stated that not less than 61 families, comprising 270 individuals, have in one day been expelled from their habitations, under circumstances the most cruel and most heart-rending, and to pray her Majesty that she will be graciously pleased to give directions that the stipendiary magistrates, and other officers of the Irish con stabulary, who are in the habit of reporting to the executive outrages committed by the peasantry of Ireland, or such Commissioners as her Majesty may be pleased to appoint, be required to furnish to her Majesty's Government such au thentic information respecting the facts of this case as they may be able to collect upon the spot, and that such reports may be laid before Parliament at as early a period as possible. He (Mr. Smith O'Brien) said, that after the debate which had just taken place, on the motion of Mr. Thomas Duncombe, relative to the six factory girls, he hoped that the House would indulge him while he directed their attention to this case of ejectment. An account of the case had recently appeared in the newspapers, and, in consequence of the sensation which it caused, Dr. Gray, of the Freeman's Journal, who, he believed, was a gentleman incapable of doing anything inconsistent with the highest principles of honour, sent down a reporter to obtain accurate information of the circumstances. 'That report he would take the liberty of reading to the House. It was drawn up, he would confess, in rather strong language.—(The Honourable Gentleman then produced a copy of the Freeman's Journal, from which he read the report in question.) The cases of ejectment excited considerable interest amongst the Hon. Members present. Having concluded reading the extract, the Hon. Member went on to say that he knew nothing of this but from what he had written in the papers. He had beard much about the state of the Seikhs ; but he would ask whether they or the Irish were in a state of the greater wretchedness. The . Irish people had been called bar- SOK Lnein bc Iltai Dar lax's than to live in this state. He would ask what could be ex pected from people who were treated in this way. He would withutt that, d aet tl oughtaha n e vdi G le ow r o d v t st e i r n b m aesT e c n hce or t e te anr i ie n noe s ndw t : h u : t it e e whetherlba sinquiryclass c ofi nt p i l n weu t oda o pes de t t h bhi i in reading the Addre ss t o h er , o t n w oi , sr o ta p l r r s e ak e a n l s a ns a n ao n d ew t t s i which eme he had given notice. Sir JAMES GRAHAM said that the Hon. Gentleman who had moved that address, had stated that he knew nothing of the correctness of the statement he had read in a newspaper, and that he also knew nothing of a letter that had appeared in contradiction of them, and those were the grounds upon which that address had been moved. He believed that a better order of things was about to exist in Ireland as regarded the conduct of landlords, and that, even if that statement were true, he be lieved it was rather the exception than the rule. But if the Bill now before the House should not be carried into law, he did not see how the conditition of the tenant would be rendered better, or how the deplorable clearance system could be prevented. There was an inquiry now in progress on the subject, and it would be superfluous to make this address, as they would in quire into the real facts of the case. It would be only justice to the parties concerned that the House should suspend this measure. He was in the hope that the report which had been just read was an exaggerated one; and even if there were some truth in it. the result of the inquiry would show how far it might be relied on. After a few words from Mr. CALEB POWELL, Mr. S. O'BRIEN said that he hoped the Hon. Gentleman did not mean to say that he took any unfair advantage of Mr. Gerard, because if the speech before the House were incorrect, there would no doubt be a demand for an inquiry, and therefore by bringing forward this motion he did not conceive that he did any injustice. With respect to the out ' rages in Ireland, his statement had been made with no desire to obtain popularity amongst ruffians and murderers, for on more than one occasion he had exposed his life in the endea vour to suppress such crimess He wished he could impress on Hon. Members, that it was not by coersive measures that they would redress the fatal condition of Ireland. The motion was then withdrawn. HIGHWAYS IN ENGLAND. Sir JAMES GRAHAM moved for leave to bring in a Bill for the purpose of Amending the Acts relating to the Highways in England. In making this motion he was perfectly aware of the deficient state of the law upon that subject. The House was aware that the sum levied for the maintenance of highways in England is 1,600004 par annum, and many parishes supported their own highway!. In an Act formerly passed power was given to different districts to unite and divide for the purpose of maintaining their high ways. That Act had not been attended with any general benefit, and the object of his measure was to finder rules and regulations compulsory in certain istricts. certain He would not long detain the House, while he detailed the or thraae chinery by which he inten ded to work that aystem. For purpose o making the Act perspicuous and particular, he had brought together all the existing laws with respect to highways, and had consulted the provisions contained in them all. He proposed to forte a Board of Commissioners, to whose management all the highways in England should be re ferred, and that the present existing trusts, to the number of 15,0i.0, should be formed intodistricts under the control of the Commissioners. He proposed that one superintending officer should be appointed in each district, whose salary is to be fixed by the board, and subject to their dismissal. r Each parish or township is to be represented at the district by haywardens. These haywardens are to have the regulations of the highways in each district. This board is to appoint two paid officers, one a surveyor and the other a superintendent. These district boards are to meet four times in the year, and they are to have an annual meeting, to which the accounts are to be submitted, and estimates for the succeeding year brought forward and agreed to. He proposed, as already there were auditors appointed under the Poor-law, that those au ditors should audit the accounts of these district boards; and that the accounts so audited should be forwarded to the En closure Commissioners, and reported by them to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to be by him laid before both Houses of Parliament. Powers were also given in the Bill to change parish rating into union rating, but it must have the unanimous consent of every one of the hay-wardens. Otherwise the mode of laying on the rates could net be altered. The district beards had the power of appoint ing sub-commissioners, and to raise rates by an imposition of 10d. in the pound in each rate; but that on no occasion should they have the sending o rra t i e n . s T c t h o e r C no power of levying more t h an t h ree rates i n t h e rate of :Is. 6d. p ei He proposed that the hi g h way rate s h ou ld b e co ll ecte d i n the m t m o m t h i s e s i d o n i s e t r r t h s a w d haelrse i o the p a ow e e r provements were proposed, in ord er t o report on th e expedi -swoafy a ste p downo expedi ency of such improvements. These were the leading points of the measure which he now wished to introduce, and he would conclude by stating that the Bill would not include South \Vales in its operation, and hoping that the House would allow him to introduce it at once. Mr. V. SMITH did not consider that this measure would be one of what may be called pecuniary relief to the holders of small tenements in the different districts, because, by the pre sent Act, they had the power of obtaining that relief themselves. The object of the Bill seemed to be to make that compulsory which was now voluntary, and he doubted much whether the farmers would not complain of the appointment of a paid ' surveyor. Sir J. GRAHAM—It has never been tried yet. Mr. V. SMITH—They tried to get vestries, and they re fused to section surveys on the score of expense. He (Mr. V. Smith) had ventured to suggest the very principle which the Right Hon. Baronet was now adopting in the debate last year on the motion of the Hon. Member for Sheffield for an inquiry into the peculiar burdens of the land. There was one statement made by the Right Hon. Baronet, which he could not look on with the same friendly eye, he meant the erection of a number of fresh districts" There were few districts now in which they would find persons willing to undertake the office of haywardee. Sir J. GRAHAM —They e acdu° meet only four times a tear. Mr. V. SMITt be t i o mer they met the less objectionable this clause w ou ld n working; but, at the same time, he (Mr. Smith) would ukl thought that the board of guardians, who were i n th e habit v of the poor, would have been the person s t o have made rating the for distribution of the highway rates. He thought one of the best portions of the Right Hon. Gentleman's measure the appointment of an auditor, because there were at pre sent constant complaints that many of the charges on the highways ought to have been added to the poor -rates. He thought that the Right Hon. Baronet ought to direct his at tention to the general system of rating in England. This Bill would be attended with another considerable advantage, because it would do away with the necessity for temporary amendments. He trusted, as he had already stated, that the Right Hon. Baronet would turn his attention to thesystem of rating in general, because it was at present so very defective, and because no improvement would be undertaken under it. The rating of such tenements was particularly obnoxious. He trusted the Right Hon. Baronet would introduce further measures of this kind, and, despite the very exciting topics which were at pre sent before the House, that he would carry them through in the course of the session. Mr. HANDLEY had heard something respecting an addi tion to the usual rate of 2s. 6d. in the pound, that went to the effect of enabling the overseers to borrow money. To this he had some objection. But there was another alteration which had been proposed, and that was to assimilate the highway-rate to the poor- rate. This was such an alteration as would mate rially interfere with the general administration of the local finances, and, therefore, he conceived that it would require more deliberation than the Right Hon. Baronet was inclined to give to it. Sir J. GRAHAM conceived that the position of the Hon. Member for Oxford was quite untenable, for, instead of its being a loss, he expected to make a large pecuniary saving—in truth, of no less a sum than 1,600,0001. He had had consider able experience in the working of this principle, and in his own county had been fortunate enough to induce the parties in authority to act upon the principles which he was now propounding. The consequence was, in the course of the ensuing seven years there would be a saving of 93- per cent. in the year. According to the account of the Hon. Member for Oxford, the present rate imposed for highways was half-a-crown in the pound; but instead of there being an addition on that rate, there would be a relief for it. On these accounts he trusted the House would consent to allow him to bring in a Bill ; and as the quarter sessions would have the power to regulate any informality or irregularity, to rectify abuses, that no objection would be offered to the introduction of the measure he had proposed, especially when it was recol lected that the highway rate would be considerably reduced. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. IRISR ELECTIONS. - • - Mr. MACARTHY alluded to certain returns which had been presented to the House of the number of individuals thut had voted in the Irish elections. In the election for Dublin, the number polled was stated; to be 6,213, of whom 70.2 came ander the letter N, and the whole number of electors that had polled in that election in Ireland was 17,410. He him self could bear testimony, that all that had polled in the late election for Cork was 348, although the number of the popula tion was far different. His object, then, was so to alter the law for taking the votes, as to enable every individual to express his opinion. Under the present system, so little was there a probability of fair play that most of those who came under the letter N refused to register at all. Under these circumstances he hoped the House would give him leave to bring in a Bill to remedy these defects. Leave was given to bring in the Bill. PLYMOUTH GREAT WESTERN DOCKS BILL. This Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be com mitted. RAILWAY DEPOSIT BILL. This Bill went through Committee.—Report to-day. HIGHWAYS BILL. This Bill was brought in, read a first time, and ordered to be printed. POLLING (IRELAND) BILL. This Bill was brought in, read a first time, and ordered to be printed. 'f he remaining orders of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at a Quarter to One o'clock. LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAIL- WAY COMPANY. A meeting of this Company was held yesterday, at one, Richard Hill, Esq., in the chair, for the purpose of sanction ing the several Bills before Parliament, for making branches to East Grinstead, to Dorking, from Croydon to Wands worth, to give the South-Western Railway another Bill to make a branch to Bognor and Little Hampton from the Brighton and Chichester Railway, and others to Steyning, Eastbourne, Sleaford, and New Haven. The meeting was also called ito confirm the amalgamation of the Chichester and Fareham and the London and Croydon Railways with the London and Brighton scheme. Another point was to make the meeting called for the 2d April special for the ob jects for which it was called. All the proceedings for the branches, the first of which had passed Parliament on its merits, and the proceedings on the rest, were confirmed. In putting the amalgamation of the London and Croydon Companies, the CHAIRMAN stated that the reason why the design for this purpose had not been carried into effect was, that a difference had ensued respecting the arrangement of the board of directors of the combined Company. The board of the Brighton Company were desirous of introducing a clause, by way of rider, into the Act for amalgamation, which should provide for an election of the joint directory, but it having been shown by the observation of one of the Croydon proprietors that under the Bill there must be an election at the first general meeting after the amalgamation, the design of the clause was dropped. It was agreed that the Bill should proceed as it now stan ds before Parliament: Thanks were voted to the Chairman, and the meeting separated. LONDON AND CROYDON RAIL WAY COMPANY. A special meeting of this Company was held yesterday at the station at London -bridge, at twelve, to take into con sideration the amalgamation with the London and Brighton Company, and for sanctioning the proceedings of the Com pany in endeavouring to obtain Bills for branches to Deptford, with wet docks and other works, and an extension to , v vr e i a e t h i o n eras t h c e o n n s i e d n e s r u e e d d t o o respectingarg arse, an t d b t e h a n t u i m t h sh er oul o ci f Dor ki n g from Epsom. These were confirmed. d ir A ect c O o r n s be reduced to ten. The matter was ultimately left to the discretion of the directors. - - • - • The expense of the line to Deptford was calculated at, 33,0001., if made on the atmospheric principle. With respect to that principle it was a satisfaction to the directors to state that their confidence in it was not at all shaken, for, although several accidents bad occurred to impede the completion of the working of the engines and the pratical efficiency of the railway, still the directors looked forward to a prosperous application of the invention. It was ultimately agreed that, with a reservation as to the number of the directors, the amalgamation with the Brighton Company should be completed, and thanks being voted to the Chairman, the meeting separated. COMMITTING PRISONERS.—We hare before alluded to the practice of committing prisoners over the assizes, to quarter sessions for trial. We have been favoured this week with the following statement on the subject, which we re quest our country magistrates to peruse with care :—" In the time of Baron Wood, when at the Stafford assizes, he held that the assizes being a GENERAL gaol delivery, ALL prisoners in custody at the time were entitled to be tried; and those against whom no bills had been preferred (being reserved for the quarter sessions) were all ordered to be dis charged. Commitments for trial at the next quarter ses sions (which are not frequent when assizes may intervene) are, therefore, deemed irregular.' " It is really high time that this unjust and illegal practice were put a stop to, for it involves in point of fact A FALSE pirnisoxmrsT, and tends to subject many an INNOCENT mall to needless Pain and loss. As to the question of expense, it has 'IP r,igh s t!,o c u e s , connexion with the matter at all, which is one of umere and not of money. A magistrate has no right, I n o a u t r t . e r o T f h N e •o l l volition o,n orders d to e rs d delay the snc i; trial trial of shall aplil t u n kt e et r hp f e g o l :r ac a r g erann, v igtue.. : out more delay than is necessary to ncarereyt it is most ,ti eii preposterousts ivade that A , c t c o i n ' I l e ' anr whosel anien t b n cds -ritoaisintlny guilty of their violatiOn ter ..Y0 tingha n Retie the t laws, ? should . til.i.emselves be as Moore, was delivered by course of lectures on SOUTHWARK LtihTeLp•ofteAti.RyiurlNTSZl,TiUTlON,—The firA, of a Mr. C. Brown, at th Institution,. teurreci nna7btiel (tsllui.eitsoneur.eaarti Missoie crowded t d p.i e li:o d .:aenrcs audience Wednes melodies. For the ver t y .o e:l t c o ie l i . i ia t v r e el i t , d ee e l i l it a ig vu of pi t i h o o f se se : l ii i l e nr i d e i .r i t c i c i s t o o.nh i h i e. L ena sylurles hh,iotoatrrniia,:igde-, fromdlili a:illustra tions, ' : : ll wtie e hcinlie. e onl as csgwo e aln a tim i Ti l i d hettnte b secto r eel i pers l 'e l r i a a ' i l i o e ' y o e f f c l o i l e i r execution, it was evident it has subiect was announced for nextN l beenr [A D VERTISEMENT.] E ue ß a T sly sE cu 3 l E ic N a T te A nother lecture in continuation of the HOLLOWAY'S PILLs.---So ex t tra — or r d r i E n: themso wonderfulin perlstancgtextraordinary are FEMALE tCOMPLAINTShobIO,,, ivirtues ANeDr Holloway's Pills that agreainany titled ladies an' others are pur arge a manlier et taken tfeeit,n,Avlhe when ,g 1 centring er quantities to o o distribute iho s tot system and t f i a d m e i l o l n es s . ti t T u hj , i ti e in i ( o e t v o e , n vo o oi n a i e . o i l lifi d ts , o a r t atititilslieretaasmt), of f ha uf t e 7l o i r et a h n i; other time, a few doses of this fine medicine will always produce the desired effect, when every other remedy has failed.—Sold by all me dicine dealers, and at Professor Holloway's establishment, 244, Strand, London.