The Sun. — London, England, 1852-03-24 00:00:00

before they could repeal it they must be prepared with some subetitute for it.—(Hear, hear.) Well, then, he was at a loss to utederstaad what tax could be suggested which the people would accept as a substitute for the malt-tax, for there was a large class who advocated the tax on the ground that it had the effect of diminishing drunkenness, and they certainly would oppose its abolition —(dear, beer.) The hop-tax, how ever, was not viewed in that light; it was a tax in fact upon the wholesome beverege of the poor man, and having had some experience in the House of the difficulty of carrying large questions. he could tell those who advocated the repeal of the tax they must per severe, in spite of the temporary difficulty which it might impose upon the Government.—(Elear.) lle therefore hoped this motion would be pushed to a divi sion, and then the poor man would see who were his friends and who were not.—(Hear.) Mr. FREWEN was quite satisfied with the answer that had been made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and under those circumstances he should not put the House to the trouble of going to a division.—(Hear.) Mr. BASS admitted that a good deal of distress bad prevailed of late years amongst the farmers of Kent and Worcestershire, bat it did not result from the growing of hops, but of wheat, and he recommended them to devote more attention to hops than corn. He denied that the use of gentian bad increased in proportion to the recent increase in the consumption of bitter ale, as was alleged by one Hon. Gentleman who bad taken part in this debate.—(Hear, hear.) After a few words from Sir E. FILMER, the motion was withdrawn. FOREIGN REFUGEES. Mr. M. MILNES rose to move for an address for copies of the correspondence between her Majesty's Government and Foreign States, respecting the protec tion afforded to refugees (in continuation .of the corre spondence already presented to Parliament). The Hon. Member said, that at the commencement of the session he had applied to the Noble Lord who had then been at the head of the Government for the purpose of ascer taining whether he intended to lay before the House the correspondence between the British Government and the Governments of certain foreign States with respect to foreign refugees; and the Noble Lord said that he would produce that correspondence, and it had accordingly been submitted to the House. Those papers concluded with a dispatch of Earl Granville and certain communi cations which had arisen out of that dispatch. The Earl of Westmoreland had stated that Prince Schwart z inberg, at the time Earl Granville's dispatch bad reached him, had been occupied with important business. and that he could not therefore give an immediate re ply. But a short time after the date of Lord Weatmore-. land's letter, it had been stated in the public press that a certain dispatch had been forwarded by Prince Schwartzenberg to the Foreign-office in this country. Now he (Mr. Mimes) thought it very important that that dispatch should be laid before the House, for the tone of it, as it bad appeared in the public journals, was, to say the least of it, of a very peculiar and painful character. He had asked his Right Hon. F, iend the Chancellor of the Exchequer shortly after the accession of the present Government to office, whether he would have any objection to lay those papers before the House, but his Right Hon. Friend was unwilling to produce them, on the plea that the correspondence had not at that time been complete. But he would permit his Right Hon. Friend to say that such a plea merely meant that he did not find it convenient to produce the papers. lle would again ask his Right Hon. Friend whether he had any objection to produce the dispatch addressed to Lord Granville by Prince Schwartzenberg, and any answer which Lord Granville might have made to that dispatch? If his Right Hon. Friend should find it con venient to produce, also, any correspondence which might have taken place on the same subject since the accession of the present Government to office, the House would, no doubt, gratefully receive that addition to its stores of information. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said his Hon. Friend seemed to belong to than school of politics which believed that the essence of diplomacy was mys tery; for he evidently thought it quite impossible that whenever a diplomatic interest was concerned a Minister could give a straightforward answer. His Honourable Friend had some partial knowledge of the correspond. ence to which he bad referred; and he had the other day asked him (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) when he would lay some further papers before the House. He had then told his HOD. Friend that the correspond ence was not complete, but that when it should be com plete he would produce it. He had at present to inform his Hon. Friend that the correspondence was not only complete, but that it was nearly printed, and that when it should be fully printed, which would probably be in a day or two, it should be laid before the douse.—(Hear, hear.) He could assure his Hon. Friend that his ques tion was in no way embarrassing. He could not sup• pose that his Hon. Friend would then press his motion to a division; and he believed that be had himself en tirely fulfilled the promise he bad given upon the subject. Mr. M. MILNES said he did not accuse his Right 800, Friend of having indulged in any mystery in that case. He only hoped that on every other subject the answer of the Right Hon. Gentleman would be equally distinct. Lord J. RUSSELL said he took it for granted that his Hon. Friend would not press his motion to a division after the statement of the Right Hon. Gentleman. The motion was then withdrawn. EGYPT AND THE PORTE. Mr. ANDERSON moved an address to the Crown for copies of all correspondence between her Majesty's Go vernment, her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople, and her Majesty's agent and Consul-General in Egypt, since the Ist day of January, 1850, relative to the at tempted interference of the Sublime Porte in the internal administration of Egypt, by proposing to deprive the Pasha of the power to inflict capital punishment on ca pitally convicted criminals, to construct railways for the internal improvement of and facility of transit through that country, and otherwise, and of all representations made by British subjects in reference thereto. He ob served that the country had a deep interest in the ques tion now pending between the Ottoman Porte and the Pasha of Egypt. It was a favourite saying of the late Mehemet Ali, that Egypt had become the bridge between Europe and Asia. The centre of that bridge was a desert a few years since, but now it was converted into a great highway of traffic, and numbers of camels laden with merchandise, specie, and letters, private, commercial, and governmental, regularly traversed the route. The importance of this correspondence in a po litical, commercial, and social light, the House would readily appreciate; and he might also observe that the distaece between Europe aid the East was by this route shortened about one- fourth in time. Let the House consider the inconveniences which would be felt if all the advantages of this route should be lost to this country. He believed that the British iSeople would never submit to such a state of things; yet, it the proceedings of the Porte were allowed to go on unchecked, ho anticipated that the traffic along it would be nearly stopped, or, at all events, seriously impeded. He would refer to the origin of the pretensions put forward by the Porte since the accession of the present Pasha of Egypt. The latter commenced some rather sweeping reforms, believing that many abuses existed under the former Administration. He found many (State) manufactories established,which be thought of no use; being of opinion that the proper manufacture of Egypt was corn, which might be ex changed for the commodities of other countries. The. Pasha consequently broke up several of those manufac turing establishments and dismissed a number of ern ployes, many of whom were Frenchmen, who went to Constantinople, and there organized a conspiracy, hav ing for its object to deprive the Pasha of the govern ment of Egypt, and reduce that country to the condi tion of an ordinary pathetic. Among other pretensions of government Porte was one which struck at the root of all e i n E g yp t; and that was an attempt to de prive punishments.— ( Pasha of the power of inflicting c a p ital [Tear, hear.) Without such a p ower it would be utterly impossible to maintain subordina tion in the 'count! ) . or to secure safety to life or pro perty. To carry out the objects the Pasha had at heart dissensions had beets industri ously fomented between the different members of his family, which, if further excited must lead to civil war, because those relatives p had ea: t large been 0 e n districts of land, agricultural un der their had. great numbers of al tenantry their control. Emissaries sent to Egypt, and they had created a considerable feelin g of insubor dination by persuading the people that the pasha had no authority, as the Sultan had taken all Power awry from him. It might be asked, wh y coul d not Egypt be Y governed as well by Tu rke y as by the P as h a? u in reply, he would say that he thought the national ho nour of this country was pledged to maintain the present Pasha in the position in which Mehemet Ali bad been Placed from 1841. To show how impotent the Turk ish Government was to protect property and person, he would read an extract from a letter received that day from Constantinople :—" The weak administration of the Turkish Government 88 to affordiug protection to life or property, is made manifest by facts out of number. Even in this capital we are scarcely more secure from murder and theft than persons residing in the provinces; the only difference being, that here the acts are perpetrated during the night and by gangs of organized thieves, whereas those in the country take place during the day and in sight and call of the houses of the victims, and frequently within gunshot of Men who are called guards. At Smyrna two cases cturred not long since of a particularly glaring descrip 'en : tion, viz.: 1. that of thee Dutch Consul, who was taken Atre z Ott of his own vineyard at - 3, Pall, and within call of his `di' ; . house, and kept by the banditti who infest the neigh bourhood of that city until his friends ransomed him fer a Sum equal to about 5001.; and that of Mr. De Youngh, the Danish Consul-General, who was actually taken s , from his house in the centre of a village of upwards of 500 houses, having a so-called military force of 200 strong quartered in it. The payment of a sort of black et mail by the Smyrna merchants to these robbers for per mission to get the fruit and other produce brought there i f s Fax or shipment exempted from plunder is well known." lie also recalled to the recollection of the House the mas s. 'acre of the Christians at Aleppo not long since. With Such a state of things let the House contrast the safety Q q , , : and security which existed in Egypt, and then decide whether there was any good reason for transferring the do of that country to Turkey. He regretted in say that there was a general idea prevailing that the gfltea 4 ,l ) asha was not supported in a manner consistent with 'the guarantee which this country had given, and in con %a elusion observed, that though people had been talking of ‘ e ye . a French invasion of this country, they might possibly • see, unless due attention was bestowed on the matters he bad submitted to the House, a French invasion on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and on the banks of • the Nile. . _ The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated that the motion of the Honourable Member really had reference to one of the most important and delicate Points of foreign politics, 'namely, the relations, between arkey and Etopt;, and he, could Auer!) the lionowitble . hationsinharthe'coadusit of tile Pe gent Voienuovitt • '~ ~ ~l i THE SUN, and, he was bound to say, of the last also, in reference to this most important question, was not at all influenced by the information to which he had referred. Ir the Hon. Gentleman thought that the contending claims between Turkey and Egypt had only for their foun dation e. conspiracy of discarded workmen from Egypt, he could easily understand from what. sources the Hon. Gentleman obtained infertnetion of that description; but those claims were founded on existing treaties, on the interpretation of those treaties, on the laws of the country, and on traditionary interests of the utmost im portance. It was impossible for the Government to ac cede to the motion. which, if adopted, would lead to the production of a variety of information referring to ne gotiations now pending. The attention of the Govern ment of this country was of course directed to the settle ment of the mutual relations that should subsist between Turkey and Egypt, with a due conviction of the great importance to the interests of this country, and of the world generally, that those relations should ho cetab fished ou a proper and legitimate basis. He felt it hie duty, therefore, to oppose the motion of the Hon. Gen tleman, and be did so on the intelligible and simple ground that the transactions to which he referred were in an imperfect state, and that it would hive a most iu jurious effect on the public service if those papers were produced. Lord J. RUSSELL entirely agreed with the Right Hon. Gentleman that this was a subject of the highest importance and delicacy, mid thought he was quite right in opposing this motion. He thought the Hon. Gentle man who made this motion was mistaken as regarded the guarantee of England. This country was a party to the settlement of Egypt as an hereditary pashalic in the family of Mehemet Ali, bat by no means guaranteed the conditions on which the relations between the Sultan and the Pasha should subsist. The interference of this country was a matter of the utmost delicacy. We were on the most friendly terms with the Sultan and with the Pasha of Egypt, and we might therefore not only give counsel generally, but might even advise the Sultan to allow the Pasha the power of inflicting capital punish- , ment, without reference to Constantinople, if we thought proper to do so; hut, at the same time, such inter ference could only be received as the counsel of a friend, and only by being couched in the most conciliatory terms could such advice be well received. He could not but think that the production of these documents would tend to prevent the success of the object in view, and that it would be better to leave the matter in the hands of the Executive. No man was better fitted than our Ambassador at Constantinople to manage such affairs, and if instructions were given to him by the Government at home they would be faitufully executed by that distin guished person.—(Hear.) Mr. HUME said that in 1839 we dispatched to Egypt 50 sail-of-thesline to conquer' the Pastes and to place Egypt under the Sultan, with the guarantee of England and France that certain powers should be continued to . the Pasha. There were documents in which it appeared that the. Sultan, while he was speaking in the fairest and most flattering manner, was preparing troops to over whelm Egypt, but England stepped in at the risk of the peace of Europe and carried by force of arms success to the Sultan, on the condition that certain rights should be secured to the Pasha. He regrettei to find that there appeared to be an intention to destroy the treaty in guaranteed; but, as the Right Han. Gentleman said the production of these documents would be injurious to the public service, ho trusted his Hon. Friend would with draw his motion for the present. Mr. MILNES did not believe that the Noble Lord the late Foreign Secretary would ever consent to the inter pretation of the treaty, that England was to guarantee the independence of Egypt—(Hear, hear)—that it would necessarily enforce the maintenance of it; but he be lieved the Noble Lord and the public sense of diplo macy in England agreed that the parties to that ar rangement were morally bound by every means in their power to support the Pasha of Egypt in just end independent authority.—Hear, hear.) At the same time, he must say it was hardly fair to look upon this cpestion without considering in some degree that the edict lately put forth by the Sultan was a very great advance in the civilization of that part of the world. Since that edict hail been pro mulgated, not only had the Christian people living under the dominion of the Suit in been treated in a totally different manner from that in which they w.re before treated, but the principles of goof goverment had been established to a great extent. If the Pacha of Eg> pt could so put his case to the Ceurt of Constantinople as to make it appear that he would only allow capital puni.hment to follow on a just trial and fair conviction, he did not believe that the Sultan would deny to the Pacha the power which her Gracious Majesty committed to the lianas of the governors of our own , colonies. With regard to the question of railroads, he could not conceive that the Sultin could ever have seriously contemplated the prevention of such a great improvement in what might still be considered his own dominions. He be lieved that the present Pacha had the real welfare of Egypt at heart, and would try to improve his country by solid and practical reforms; and, it the questions between him and the Porte were left to the mediation of Sir S. Canning and Mr. Murray, he (Mr. Mllnes) believed that they would be satisfactorily arranged. Mr. ANDERSON, in reply, said, that after the ob servations of his Right Honourable Friend, he could not think of pressing this motion. As to the delicacy of the question, however, he must say that no such delicacy was shown in 1839, when the Pacha had the Sultan prostrate at his feet. The Hon. Gentleman who had last spoken had referred to the mediation of Sir S. Canning and Mr. Murray, but there was a general opinion that they did not pull well together, though in his (Mr. Anderson's) opinion, Mr. Murray was pulling the right way. The railroad that was wanted in Egypt was the railroad be tween Cairo and Suez—the other was entirely for the internal improvement of Egypt; but the Pacha could not make either of these railroads unless he had the permis sion of the Porte to do it. He believed that never had there been a Pacha of Egypt who had effected so much practical good for his country as the present. He bad remitted taxation to the amount of 1,500,000/. sterling, and bad relieved the people from the bondage they were in by allowing them to go to any part of the country they pleased. With respect also to capital punishments in Egypt, ho found that during the three years preced ing the reign of the present Pacha the number was six teen per annum, while during the three years afterwards it was only seven. The motion was then withdrawn. THE TOWN OF ENNIS. The O'GORVIA — NM An 6Nthenroso for the pur pose of calling the attention of the House to the subject matter of the petition presented from the town commis sioners of Ennis. The Hun. Gentleman said that the gentlemen from - whom the petition emanated were com paratively personally disinterested, and that their mo tive in addressing that House was to obtain, through its medium, protection from the deep wrong inflicted on the poor of the town of Ennis. The river Fergus ran through the town, taking its source about eight or nine miles above it. A loan. was obtained by the proprietors in the neighbourhood of the town for the Board of Works to effect the drainage of the lands near the river; but, instead of commencing an outlet to facilitate the exit of the water, at the instigation of the gentlemen named in the petition, they deepened the river near its source, and thus, by collecting all the water superabun dant on the adjacent lands, created a facility for inun dating the town of Eonis.—(A laugh.) Under these circumstances, the petitioners prayed the House to insist on the Commissioners of the Board of Works completing the work they had undertaken. He had, year after wear, impressed this matter on the late Go vernmeait, 'and believed that the Right Hon. Baronet near him had, at last, been disposed to meet the whiles of the people of Ennis to a certain extent. What he asked tram the Chancellor of the Exchequer was a loan, to be advanced on the security of the tolls of the town of Ennis, an arrangement to which he had no doubt that the owner of those tolls (Colonel Wyndham) would assent. The Hon. Gentleman concluded by moving that the Board of Works in Ireland be directed torch with to proceed with the completion of the drainage above the town of Ennis. Sir C. WOOD said, that he had on former occasions pointed out , to his Hon. Friend that, before anything could be done practically in the matter, it would be necessary to have a Bill passed under which local Com missioners could be appointed for administering any loan that the Government might make for the desired purpose& The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said-he had only had an opportunity that day of reading the petition enforced by the Hon. Gentleman opposite, but it appeared from the petition itself that the fault of the non-progress of the works rested not with the Board of Works, but with the proprietors of the locality, who had refused that second assent which was required by. the Arterial Drainage Act. The Hon. Gentleman should appeal, therefore, rather to those proprietors than to the Chancellor_ of the Exchequer. for the improvementth pro prietors O'BRIEN said, that the reason why the pro _rs had refused their second assent was, that the Bo ar€lof Works had expended the first grant allowed remu nerate them to tirely futile that of the Fergus in a manner so en 7 a _ v e proprietors saw it would not remu had arisen under the s de voting his attention to the in : s a h u g b i e j . ect, and Mr. isTArIER d () Tee their money. r lament to observed, that the greatest confusion Aot. He had been s theom some simplyeetin g oafndthintelligible hseaxaetctifted.—(llear.) , • measure whichh e h awhvooepueldd prepared before these works to be satisfactorily thestate-. been ‘ pursued enable Mr. GROGAN expressed talent just made by the Right Hon.isanetedtiE"" Irish estimated ney General, fir under the system th at had en ' 4 Attor ney late great hardship had been inflicted uehannthe landed proprietors. In almost every case expense of these works had been greatly exceeded, and in some cas.s the amount had been nearly trebled. The O'GORMAN MALLON briefly replied. Until that evening be had never beard a word about the mode of settling the question by bringing in a Bill, but now that that course had been : suggested be looked upon his object as accomplished, and intimated his intention of introducing a Bill at us early a period as possible. Thh motion was then withdrawn. BORNEO. Mr. HUME moved an address for a copy of a letter from Mr. Robert Burns to Viscount Palmerston, dated Singapore. th e 28th d a y o f June, 1851, with its en closures, complaining of the obstructions and discou ragements he had r ece i ve d to his commercial affairs in Borneo at t h e h an d s o f h er Majesty's Commissioner and Consul-Gener a l t o t h e S u ltan end independeLt chiefs commer cialf proceedingsofßorneo, while prosecuting his lawful in that country; together with a copy had no o oany answer thereto. He believed his Hon,. Friend near him (Mr. Drummond) was anxious to take that op portunity r J. Brooke, of renewing an old debate with reference to that - his :presentbumtohiOnbfhg to assure his on• Friend tion, but was merely fair already product- a. There would reference . tolithatcries in continuation dame renewing the old debate herweaTld be ample means for Mr. DR,L'MMOND. saidwhat‘'l.. • son, Friend's putting repotttod notices oil the palm WEDNESDAY which were not literally true, and implied censures, on the merit of which the House had no means of forming a judgment. For instance, the Hon. Gentleman set down to his notice that Mr. Burns was " prosecuting his lawful commercial proceedings," whereas, in point of fact, he was propo4ating mischief et the instance of the society which was 'assisting the Hon. Gentleman near him. It unfortunately happened when that gen tleman, Mr. Burns, foil into the hands of these 13cr ❑eari pirates, and lest Ida ship and his head in conse• quence, that he also last d portion of his journal, which showed pretty clearly the nature of the " com mercial proc;•edings" in which he had been engaged. He had not the slightest objection to enter on this debate whenever his Hon. Friend chose to bring it on, but he did object to the repeated insinuations which these repeated notices of motion bore upon the face of them. It certainly was surprising that the Hon. Gentleman, who was esteemed as a man of general benevolence and kindness, should be possessed of this monomania, that there was nothing so delightful as blackening the cha racter in that House of one of the most deserving public a -milts that the country ever had. Mr. HUME denied that he laud any other object in view than to obtain legitimate information, and he asked the House whether there was one word of insinua tion or rcflaetion upon the character of any man in the notice which he had moved for? The motion was then agreed to. Mr. HENLEY obtained leave and brought in a Bill to enable her Majesty to carry into effect arrangements made with foreign powers for the apprehension of sea men who desert from their ships, which was read a first time. On the motion of Mr. FREWEN, a Bill was brnugh in and read a first time, to promote the buildindo churches in benefices that have no church, and to pre. vent the union of benefices above a certain value. MANCHESTER AND SALFORD EDUCATION SCHEME. Mr. M. GIBSON moved that the following Gentle men' be nominated a Select Committee on Manchester and Salford Education:—Mr. Milner Gibson, Mr. William Miles, Viscount Melgund, Mr. Monsell, Mr. Bright, Marquis of Blandford, Lord John Russell, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. lieald, Mr. Cobden, Mr. Cardwell,. MK Fox, Mr. Ker Seymer, Mr. Brotherton, and Mr. Child. Mr. PETO objected to the composition of the Com mittee as proposed, upon the ground that certain parties who took a great interest in tee question of education, and who ought to be represented upon •it, were not re presented at all. He might briefly state that there were four groat parties who took a deep interest in this gm tier. First, there - were those who conceived it to be the office of the Church to educate the people. Next, there were those who relied entirely upon the voluntary sys teni. The third were those who took it to be the duty of the State to inculcate secular education; and:fourthly, there were those who combined all instruction, and would give a mixed secular and religious edtication to the people. On the part of those who advocated the volun tary principle he begged to assure the House that that party had been in earnest—that they had done the work committed to them to the best of their ability, and that the country was greatly indebted to them for what they had accomplished.—(Hear, hear.) He would not further detain the House than to express his dissent from the, appointment of the Committee as at present prOposed, and to give notice of his intention on a future occasion to move the addition of new names. Mr. M. GIBSON admitted the justice of the claim that those to whom his Hon. Friend referred should be fairly represented upon the Committee. Perhaps, however his Hon. Friend was not acquainted with the views of some of the members of the Committee. He had submitted to the Government the name of one gen tlen3an who, ho hoped, would have been acceptable to those who were in favour of a voluntary system of education ; but that name bad been obj,cted to, end the name of Mr. Heald had been substituted for it. He should not object to the appointment of his Hon. Friend in the place of Mr. Heald, or, if the Committee should be increased in number to beyond fifteen, he should not object to the addition of one or two gentle men holding the views which his Hon. Friend had in dicated. He suggested that the Committee should be allowed to pass now, and that his Hon. Friend should give notice of his intention to move some additional names. Mr. HEYWORTH thought it very desirable that the friends of the voluntary system should be represented OD the Committee. Mr. WALPOLE, who was but imperfectly heard, was understood to represent that there was not a single Uember of the Government upon the Committee, and to suggest that the nomination should, for the present, be postponed. _ _ 31r. HINDLEY concurred in recommending that the appointment should be postponed ; and this coarse las ultimately adopted. On the motion of the ATTORNEY-GENERAL for IRELAND, the following members were added to the Select Committee on Outrages (Ireland) : Mr. O'Flaberty, Mr. Scully, Mr. W. Gould, and the Solici tor-General for Ireland. On the motion of Mr. G. A. HAMILTON, on the part of Lord R. Grosvenor, the following Members were added to the Select Committee on Ventilation and Light ing the House :—Mr. Stephenson, Mr. Locke, and Mr. Henry Fitzroy. The Report on Supply was then brought up and re ceived. The Indemnity Bill, as amended, was considered, and ordered to be read a third time on Thursday. The Copyright Amendment Bill was ordered to be recommitted on Friday next. ST. ALBANS DISFRANCHISEMENT BILL. Tho Report on this Bill having been brought up, Mr. BELL said he did not mean to oppose the recep tion of the report. He thought he had done as much as could be expected from him under the circumstances. He only wished to say that ho hoped the crusade against St. Albans would not terminate with the disfranchise ment of that borough, because, if it did, instead of being of service, the measure would only excite dissatis faction in the minds of the public. But if her Majesty's Ministers would take advantage of the information which they bad received through the St. Albans Com missioners, and would, b e f ore th e dissolution of Par liament, Ijiit.g in a Bill which should more effectually check corruption than any Act that had hitherto been passed, he felt certain that it would give great satis faction to the public, and would deserve the_ respect and support of every honest man in the kingdom.—(Hear) hear.) Mr. WALPOLE said that the Noble Lord who was lately at the head of the Government was, in point of fact, to move the second reading of his Qorrupt Prac tices at Elections Bill tomorrow (Wednesday), which Bill was founded, almost word for word, upon the St. Albans Disfranchisement Bill, and .he begged to say that it was the intention of the Government to support the Bill, and endeavour to pass it. <Hear. hear.l Mr. HUME hoped the Government was sincere in their declaration that they intended to support a measure for the effectual suppression of bribery. For himself, he did not believe that it could be altogether put an end to; but he thought the best means that could be adopted JO that purpose was the introduction of the ballot—(Hear, hear)—and he intended, therefore, to test the sincerity of Hon. Members on the subject by proposing a motion to that effect. The report on the St. Albans Disfranchisement Bill was then received. The Consolidated Fund (8,000,0001) Bill was read a third time and passed. The all to Consolidate and Enlarge the Acts relat ing to the Appointment and Pay of Parish Constables wvs brought in and read a first time. The House adjourned at Half-past Eight, o'clock. PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS. (From the Votes and Proceedings of the Rouse of Commons.) STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE. TUESDAY, 'MARCH 23. The following Bills were reported as not having standing orders dispensed with : Waterford Free Bridge. Haw Bridge and Roads. Dudley Waterworks. Great London Drainage. The undernamed Bills were reported as having standing orders dispensed with: Eastern Counties and Newmarket and Chesterford Railway PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. .From the Votes and Proceedtium of the House of CommoitS) TUESDAY. MARCH 23. • - SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE MINING DISTRICT Companies, Eastern Union Railway. North and South-Western an d Brighton and Dover Junc tion . Rmlwey ( Wandsworth to Croydon). Middlesbrough and Guisbrough Railway. That the Committees on this and the three preceding Bills do examine, in the first place, how far such orders have been complied with, and do report the same to the House on the report of the Bill. Dumfries and Maxwelltown Waterworks. TO THE SECRETARY OF THE BRADFORD WATER 00-aPANY BILL Order for Second Reading read; Motion made, and Ques tion proposed, " That the Bill be now read a second time :”- Amendment proposed, to leave out the word " now," and at the end of the Question to add the words " upon this day six months :" - Question put, " That the word 'now' stand part of the Question." The House divided:— , BinTORITY—AYEB, 75. Anderson, Arthur For'dyee. A. p„ . 31illigan. Robert • Anson, General -' ` Forstei, A.l.'•' ' ,` Mundy, William Armstrong, R. B. Fox, W. J. ,; •Ogle, S. C. Baring, Henry B. French, F. 'Patten, J. W. Baring, Sir Francis Geach, Charles Pendarves, E. W. Bass, M. T. Glyn, G. C. Pilkington, James Bell, Jacob Greene, Thomas Seholetield, William Berkeley, C. L. G. Harris, Richard Seymour, Lord Bright, John Henry, Alexander Smith, John B. Brotherton, J. Heywood, James Strutt, E. Brown, W. Hume, Joseph Tennent, R. J. Childers, J. W. Hutchins, E. J. Thicknesse, R. A. Clay, James Jackson, William Thompson, Colonel Cobden, Richard' Johnstone, James Thompson, George Colehrooke, Sir T. • Jolliffe, Sir W. G. Trelawny, J. S. Copehand,itilderman Kershaw, James Vivian, J. H. Cowan, Charles Langston, J. IL Walmsiey, Sir I. Davie, Sir IL Lemon, Sir C. Wawn, J. T. Dawes, Edward Littleton, E. R. Willcox, Brodie. Drummond, Home Lockhart, A. E. 'Williams, John Duncombe, T. Long, W. Wilson, Matthew Ellis, John Lushington, C. Wrightson, W. B. Elliot, J. E. Mackie, John Wyvill, Marmaduke TELL EA.II Thontely, T homas Matheson, Colonel Yilliers,Charles Foley:J. IL Sir in D James Lacy 31 1J:C G Il g a e g r h , , J W oh . n T T. F E vararnesr, REFORM ASSOCIATION. (CONTINUED ON MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS.) Sir —From what occurred in the House of Commons on Monday, it is clear. that the Government have, as 5r,030 of the daily papers expressed it, snubbed the Volunteer Rifle Corps." Like Louis Napoleon, they do not want a National Guard. I think therefore that any man who agrees with the gallant Member for West minster in believing that Volunteer Corps are a more powerTui defensive armament than a Militia, may law fully vote against a Militia altogether if his constituents wish it, so long at lea's!, as circumstances do not point to the necessity of its being called out in addition to the Volunteers. ISIAJORITY—NOES, 89. Adderley, 0.1 3 • Freestun, Colonel; MAtMsell, T. P. ' C 11 Milos, P. W. S. 31ilnes, R. M. Arkwright, Gorge Viscount Moleswor th,Sir W. Galway, i Mngs. Bailey, Joseph Gaskell, J. AI, Baillie, H. J. Nugent, Sir Percy Gooch, E. S. O'Connor, FearguS Baird James Archdall, Captain Fr nil e l w e e r n , A , .. 8. . Goulburn, Henry Bankes, G. Perfect, Robert BBaratems=nT,'T. W. Barron, Sir H. Gwyn, Howel Pigott, Francis Barrow, W. 11. Hall, Sir B. Powlett, Lord W. Pugh, David John C Renton, C. Bridges, Sir B. Burghley, Lord Hayes, Sir E. Ricardo, Osman Henley, J. W. Scott, Captain Herbert, 11. A. Chaplin, Carew, W W I . 3 J . J. Wild 3 3 a r a r ( cl i 9 , I T I T. B C .. C ce Christopher, ll h ei a ,r, rt ek Q s r li i lr s : Gn F . . r lt. an c A I 1 . , .Scott, F. i ll ias ami tie lt , o A n, re L li o i r b d al C d . u li nn i joo l ipw ! di , ea L , eroysdri, Charles P. . E. S. . Scully, Francis Sidney, Alderman Smythe, George Spooner, itichard Stafford, Augustus Cocks, T. S. ' ' Hudson, G. Stanley, Edward Codrington, Sir W. ' Inglis, Sir R. H. Start, 11. G. Conolly, Thomas Keogh, William Sullivan, Michael Duckworth, Sir J. Knox, Colonel Thompson, Alderman Duncombe, 0. Lennox, Lord A. VeseY, Thomas Duncuft, John Lygon, General Wall, C. B. Dunne, Colonel Mackenzie, W. F. Wynn, H. W. Du Pre, C. G. Mahon, Lord Edwards, Henry Manners, Lord C. TELLERS . Forbes, William Manners, Lord G. Best, John Fox, S. W. L. Masterman, John Knight, F. W. The fol . . Viewing the question in a military light only, it can hardly be denied, that the Volunteer Rifle Corps are things of slower growth, as depending on the gradual accumulation of the popular feeling, while the Militia are 80,000 Men summonable to arms by an Act of Par liament. In addition to which, the first are to find themselves, while the other must be paid for at the price of regular troops; for it is a doctrine with me, that to take a man perforce, is to take from him the value of what a man can be had for by money. And further, the first are likely to much exceed in number the others; while their proposed mode of arming is better calculated to meet the apprehended exigency. There is, not, a man in England who better knows the comparative value_of a Volunteer force and a Conscrip tion than the Member for Westminster. 1 And this leads to another criticism on what was col lected to be the intention of the Government with re. spect to such Rifle Corps as in consequence of previous leave obtained, or.other causes, are not to be " snubbed." It was announced that &condition was to be, that they were to be armed with rifles of the Government'. F ate. tern. This will only make a job for the Government's gun-niskers. and cut down the zeal of the Volunteers. The Government might as well intimate that gentlemen going partridge-shooting. must be armed with a Govern ment model. Half the enjoyment of the thing, is in the trying of one maker's plan against another's. The whole theory and practice of small arms are at this mo ment in a state of flux and uncertainty, out of which it is probable something as yet comparatively unknown is speedily to come. Nobody but the Chinese, at such a moment, would nail down the Volunteers to the use of an " approved model of the Flowery Empire." You will not suppose me insensible to the weight of the reason urged for the proposed regulation,—the ad vantage-of having balls of the same calibre. But there is no reason that may not be outweighed by a stronger. It is of incomparably more importance that a Volunteer rifleman should hit with two out of three of the twenty balls he might expend in a campaign, and that there should be two Volunteer riflemen where there would otherwise be only one, than that they should be furnished with balls of the " flowery" model. It is among the records of the German corps of riflemen sent to America in the Revolutionary War, that some of the men re turned their ammunition at the end of the war minus six or oven shots; but it is shrewdly intimated, that these six or seven shots might be traced in a corresponding diminution of the American executive. It was my chance to see specimens of the Landwehr in Paris in 1814; and it is not impressed on my recollection that their rifles were of anything like a Government tnodel. Some of them struck me as so diminutive, that it was presumable the Landwehr acted in the spirit of the in struction of the Spartan mother, who said " Take a step nearer." How the Landwehr youth kept himself provided with ammunition, there was not opportunity rigidly to inquire ; but I presume that when he had composed or sung his song of "Fatherland," and' made libation as ho might to the fraulein beyond tho Rhine, he employed his leisure hours in casting from time to time a score of bullets by the help of a mould he 'carried in the butt of his rifle, using such lead and powder as was to be obtained from every ammunition waggon that distributed cartridges to the army. Something was said in the House, of the slights thrown by some of the regular generals upon the Volunteers of 1801. Your regular general is not always what Jeremy Bentham would call " all-wise." If letter of mine to you should come to the eyes of any of the Volunteer Corps, I can tell a story upon that subject. There was a regular general who made himself conspicuous in Par liament by attacks on the Volunteer Corps and their commanders, and particularly on an Alder man of Loudon whose civic occupation happened to have been the chemistry of pastry. And now see what a judgment fell upon him-- It was my fortune, in obedience to the direction of a superior, to bring to that general an officer of regular troops in full uniform, summoning him to surrender, and whom he sent away in rather a rough manner. A few hours afterwards I brought to him another fashion of negotiator,—one of the Voluntarios Patrioticos de Buenos Aires,—in precisely the jacket which those who saw the English Volunteers will recollect, blue with red in the seams,—bat of the rest I speak not; beyond a distinct notation that his nether man was cased in corduroy and he had a cast in his eye , which lest m a y possibly even yet help to iden tif y the meritorious citizen i n h is peacetu l ret r e at. You will not disbelieve me wh en I say, that at the sight of him, all Colonel Birch rose b e f ore my eyes . And to this not very perfectly so t- up member of a V o l un teer Corps, did our general surrend er t h e Church o f St. Domingo and eretn. It was a judgment all of us that w e r e th if there ever was one. And so shall it be with more regular generals, that lau g h at V olunteers. On Tuesday th e princip a l subject was a mot ion on the it removal of the H o p N ot hing was said of the re moval of the duty on foreign Hops; t hough this was stated to be - virtu a ll y prohibitory, exce pt when there is an extraordinary f a il ure in the Engl i s h c rop. It may be collected therefore, that the object is to get rid of the duty on home-grown hops, and l ea ve the duty on foreign. If ther e was t h e conviction at B ra dford which . I wish . there wa s , th at ypu deal in fore i g n hops and everything else that can be brought . c h ea per from abroad, will lcktir:re Marsh f ,llienBsesl2f. you would have c ons id erable objections to ma ke to this. But am afraid f r i ends are not yet u p to that mark. For the present, th e li on has been let i n , an d no take good doubt I am, Sir, yours very sincere l y , Baheah, m ca AN OLD REFORMER. ELECTION INTELLIGENCE. COLERAINE. Lord,Naas was returned on Monday without opposi tion, c!.B Mr. Wilson K-nnedy did not demand a poll. CHURCH STRETTOZT, TIJEBDAT.—A vacancy having taken place in the representation of the southern division of Shropshire by the appointment of Viscount Newport to the situation of Vice- Chamberlain in her Majesty's Household, an election was held in consequence to-day at Church Stretton, by the High Sheriff, Robert Burton, Esq. _ Sir BALDWIN LEIGHTON, BART., proposed the Right Hoe. Viscount NeWport. having JOHN Rt cg, Esq., seconded the nomination. No other candic6te appeared, The HIGH SHERIFF d eclared that the Right Hon. Orlando George Charl es Bridgman, common l y ca ll e d Viscount Newport, h a d b een duly elected.--(Cheers.)! NEWPORT t h en addressed the electors, an d the proceediogi terminated With a vote of thanks to the High Sheriff. . DEARTH ON TRCONTINENT. Accounts come in fr om a ll parts of the suffer i ngs o f the poor in consequence of d earth of grain and potatoes , from Posen ' Westphalia, G re i s, the Tyrol, Casse l , Ni e - derlausitz &e. In Posen th ere are regular ban d s o f robbers, driven on by hung er , so that cavalry are obliged to patrol the roads to protect t ravellers from attack. I n Westphalia, beans boiled with roots have superseded bread and potatoes with the poor. In Wermeland and Oestland (Sweden) recourse has already been had to straw and the bark of trees for food. In Naumberg, a mother has drowned her two daughters and then herself, in despair at the approach of starvation. In the neigh bourhood of Dantzic the failure of the potato crop has induced several landowners to turn their attention to which is at presen t very ' said to conta i n f rom 30 to 36 per cent. more saccharine matt er than beet-root; if sltivate ß d us h s s ia r n e; p i o t ta is to the etle so-called true, this would be worth the attention of the company about to manufacture,beet-root sugar in Ireland. , osuro l t Hollow e y , ' s [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Declaratio n of a Dutch soldier who fought at Waterloo, cured by H o ll oway's Ointment and h an ad d their origin in imperfectly healed woun d s received in the battle Pills-," Ointment I' have j. de cured Swartmlnb f lic e ly ve s r ta al te t i li c a e of Waterloo. The pain was infinit e , and I was confined s o o r a s wh Pills e h t o my bed always during the harvest months. I have now for two years been enjoying the best of health, solely in consequence of using Holloway's Pills and Ointment, which cured me in a very short time ; in gratitude for which I pub lish this testimony. (Signed) J. de Swart, of Lent, on the Vossepels,,near Nymegen, Holland, Oct. 4th, 1849." Sold by all Druggists, and at Profes s or Holloway' s Establishment, 444, Strand, London. " CURSING" A MAGISTRATE it Y . A CLERGYMAN.-- A most extraordinary , novel, and exciting scene was wit nessed at the Flordon station, on Saturday evening. When the Ave o'clock train from Norwich arrived there, the pas sengers were much surprised at seeing the Rev. Mr. Moore, the curate of the parish, standing in the passage of the station-house, dressed in his canoni ca l,. It was, however, soon understood that he was waiting there to " curse " a neighbouring mag i s trate, who was exp ected by the tra i n ; and who had given him some presumed o ff ence. W hen 'th e aci tollowi ng s i gn ifi cant notice appears in t he i n di v idual alluded to WAS g ivin g u p his ticket to the station - master, the reverend gentleman thus addressed him—" I London Gazette of last evening. We trust that we may re- inflict a curse upon this man. I curse you ; I curse you r gard it as au earnest o f a future and continual vigilance wife • I curse your chi ldren ; I cur se all you have—may checking the advan ces , or attempts to advance, made by , ! your 9 children be fath erless and va g a bonds, and beg th eir the emissaries of Messrs. Wiseman, Swift, and Co .: - " Lord bread," &c ~&c. ; an d thuste went on until the " curse d man" Chamberlain's office; Mardi 23.—Notice is hereb.y given, drove off. . We understand that the matter has been laid that the presentation to the Queen at the Levee, o n Tuurs- before the . bishop; andthat the reverend ge ntleman, in day, the 2 6th of February l ast , o f t h e V ery Hey. Mre•nsignore default'of flnding sureties to keep the peace, was committed Seale, is cancelied, that title having been mg:laq WitheUt , on Saturday night to the Cas t l e, by EdWard Howe; Egit— the required autlaority:!..-,Fiera/d, - - •' " ' i Norwich ltierourY• LONDON, E VENING, MARCH 24, 1852. SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY. TIMES.—The late Board of Admiralty has delivered itself of a posthumous defence. With very considerable confidence Admiral Berkeley rose in the House on Mon day evening and performed the part of commentator on the figures which the new Secretary recited. This re markable division of labour between those who pre pared the estimates and those who adopt them, enabled the Gallant Member to discharge himself not only of an exculpatory address, but of a severe invective against his late censors in general, and the "public press" in particular. With a modest announcement that he proposed to " ray something in favour of the late board," Admiral Berkeley reviewed, first, the case of the Megmra; next, the subject of the "preserved meats;" thirdly, the performances of the Admiralty in the trans port of troops to the Cape; and, finally, the general re sources of the navy as organiz-d by the late board for the purposes of national defence. With what success he conducted his argument we can soon qualify the reader for deciding. " I will begin," said Admiral Berkeley, " with the case of the Megmra." This " case," as will be easily recollected, was constituted by the notorious fact that the steamer in question not only broke down or became disabled between Dover and Plymouth, but was so laden as to make her prospects for the voyage anything but desirable. And what, upon these points, was Admiral Berkeley's defence? " I think," said he, "that this has been satisfactorily settled by the late First Lord of the Admiralty, and Ido not think that many more words, if any, are necessary on the subject. I conceive that the answers of my . Right Hon. Friend has sufficiently disposed of the infamous stories which have been invented about that vessel." This is what - Admiral Berkeley said about the Megmra—this and no more. It is a pity he should have forgotten that before a defend-' ant can gain a suit he has to convince other persons be sides himself. If the Gallant Member really thought the case "disposed of" in' the opinion of the country, it was somewhat superfluous that he should take it up again to " begin with." If he wished to impart his own convictions to others, he should , have done something more than merely endorse the imperfect apology of a fellow defendant. The case, as we have observed, involved two points—first, the break down, and, secondly, the interior arrangements of the vessel. As there is no kind of doubt about the former casualty, the latter must furnish the subject of Admiral Berkeley's allusions in speaking of the " infamous stories" in circulation. To some of these stories we contributed considerable currency, and we are bound, therefore, to maintain their credibility. It was alleged that the vessel was so overladen and encumbered with heavy ordnance stores as to present a scene of indescribable confusion, and to make it highly improbable that the troops could be lodged with reasonable comfort. For these statements we relied,fienoes . other sources of in formation, en she communication of a. correspondent -who' published the evidence of his own senses with the authority of his proper signature. The Rev. William Buller, rector of the Holy Trinity, Dorchester, avowedly actuated by motives of public duty, informed the country through our columns that he had been an eye-witness of the embarkation of the Rifle Brigade on board the Me gmra; that " the store-room and stowage" (we quote his own words) " were filled with Ordnance stores, so that no place remained for the arrangement and proper disposition of the baggage and belongings of the 700 soldiers;" that " Government, at the sacrifice of men and officers' just claims to consideration, had made the ship answer a purpose for which it was never intended ;" and that, in his belief, "much wanton and un necessary misery" must inevitably be inflicted on the troops, even if the consequences did not involve the "risk of lite to England's best and bravest sons." These were the facts positively and publicly stated by a gen tleman who witnessed the embarkation, and who, we must presume, had some personal interest in thus ascer taining the truth. We leave them to be compared with Admiral Berkeley's second-hand apology, and to carry their own weight, observing simply, that nothing is yet known of the Megfere's ultimate performances, though we are aware that her passage to Madeira corresponded as nearly as possible with her passage to Plymouth. As regards the " break down" of the vessel, which Mr. Buller describe& as "putting into Plymouth much dis abled, with a depth of water in her which her crew had been engaged the whole night pumping out," we re marked at the time that it would be unfair to make too much of an accident, except in so far as it might exem plify a general condition when taken in combination with other accidents of a similar kind. It was not simply because the Megmra became disabled, but be cause other Government steamers had fared little better, that attention was drawn to the fact. Oar argument was wholly derived from general results, as contrasted with general and reasonable expectations. We observed that whereas enormous sums had been lavished on the completion of our steam marine, its first performances, when put to actual test by the war at the Ceps., had been very uupromising. "It was said," asserts Admiral Berkeley, " that the Admiralty were so ignorant of what they were about that they could not convey troops from England to the Cape." Nothing of the sort was said. What was said was, that considering the smallneis of the exigency as compared with the magnitude of our establishments, the actual proceedings had been far from satisfactory. We said that though steamers were only required at intervals of two or three months to take 700 or 800 troops at a time, these voyages were seldom or never well performed, and that the Vulcan had done worse than the Megmra. It will be in everybody's re. collection, indeed, that this vessel was reported to have been absolutely lost, and in point of fact she is again considerably overdue at this very moment. The Hellespont screw-steamer left the Cape on the 28th of December and arrived at Plymouth on the 31st of January; the Bosphorus left on the 3d of February and arrived on the 3d of the present month; the Windsor, a sailing vessel of Mr. Green's, left on the 9th of January and arrived also on the 7th inst.; bat the Vulcan, though she left the Cape on the 2d of January, has not made her appearance . yet. It the requireinenta of a Ketir war so tax our steam resources that one vessel must be made to do the work of two, and all are left behind by private merchantmen, what are we to expect when heavier demands come upon us? This is the question which was asked, but which Admiral Berke lty omitted to answer. With respect to the general efficiency of our naval . defences, Admiral Berkeley not only asserted, but "staked his existence" on the fact that " though the Admiralty did not make any fuss about their proceedings, they could during all the- time of the outcry have covered the Chan nel from the North Foreland to the Channel Islands with a fleet of steamers, within signal distance of each other, in the space of 24 hours." Such is the Gal lant Admiral's tardy declaration. We have not the smallest desire to question a statement which will be remarkably re-assuring to tho country at large, and which will doubtless be remembered to some effect in the debate on Ourdefeeces, bat we really think the " late Board" might have judiciously made a little more "fuss" on this special occasion. We can only say at present that not only the public, but the members of the service itself, seem utterly unable to comprehend where this fleet of steamers was to come from. Admiral Bowles, though formerly in office, "had not the least idea of such a thing." Admiral Napier was evidently quite as much in the dark. - Yet, somehow or other, it seems these invisible steamers, with their invisible engineers, seamen, and gunners, and all warranted, we presume, not to break down, were to start forth in scores at a telegraphic signal. This is, indeed, a " naval reserve" worth talking about, and the more substantial the vision is the better will the country be satisfied; but, as the " late Board" kept the secret so very effectually, and have only disclosed it gratuitously after all, they cannot be surprised if the public take some time to "realize" the fact. HERALD.—There are some statements which pass simply from their audacity. They make such a bold onset, that the auditor is pushed some steps backward before he has time to recollect himself. Of this class was an assumption that several leaders of the new Oppo sition agreed to put forward in the first debate under tne new Administration in the Commons—an assumpticn, the boldness of which was chiefly manifested in this— that it took for granted that the present House of Com mons, being born in July, 1847, could have no know ledge of what took place - in the previous House, between May, 1846, and Jut 0'1847. Let Us show what we mean by citing two or three passages from Vireo 'of the prin cipal speakers in that night's debate. To begin, then, with Lord John Russell. The Noble Lord; in that de bate, used these words:— " The Prime Minister says, 4 I cannot propose mea sures to the present Parliament, because I should be in a minority.' That is not an unusual position ; but Mi nisters who have said that have usually said, It is im possible for me to propose those measures with any prospect of success in the present Parliament. I must advise the Crown to call another Parliament, and to that Parliament I must submit the measures I think right for the country;' but the proposition of the Noble Lord at the head of the Government, and the proposi tion of the Right Hon. Gentleman to-night, is this— , We are in a minority ; we mean to conduct the whole business of the country with that minor it y ; we mean to go through the session, and when the session is over wae mean to exercise our own discretion whether we shall di sso lve Parliament or not—it may perhap s be dissolved in December, and then we shall propound the measures we think necessary. " It appears to me, I own, that. here is 1104sonstitue tional precedent, that there can be n o constitutional pre cedent, for such conduct as this." Next, Sir James Graham came to the Noble Lord's aid, with an exactly similar statement. Noble " I had the pleasure of heari n g the N said Ear at the head of the Government iu a late speech of his, when he said—' I know that I am in an undoubted minority in the House of Com Mons, and I appeal therefore to the forbearance of the House.' I deny absolutely that in the whole course of our Parliamentary history such an admission was ever made by any Minister, or that any such appeal for forbearance was ever asked.—(Cheers.) I challenge any one to point out any such admission, or any such request, as that mado by Lord Derby.—( H ear, heat.) I say that a due homage to the representative system is at variance with such a request—(Hear, hear) —and that our representative system would be brought into disrepute if a Government so situated continued in office, or suffered Parliament to sit an hour longer than was necessary to provide for the safety and defence of the country." And then, thirdly, came another ex-Minister, Mr. Gladstone. He said: — • „ I have any fault to find with the Right Hon. Gentleman's speech, it is that he seems disposed to avoid re cognising that there is somethingimproper and irre gular to the constitution in the existence of a Govern went which' is in a minority in the Commons." And again:— " The point which I desire to bring before the House, and on which I wish the discussion to be concentred, is, that this House_noust ti , btain in form and subatence -art assurance of tho intention of the Govern n 0 to advise the Clown to dissolve Parliam en t as a wn ai the Poi- ness necessary for the circumstances of the moment shall be dispatched." __ _ Note I;ere we have three men of the first class as poli ticians agreeing in a statement which utterly "ignores" (to use a modern phrase) the whole Parliamentary history of 1846-1847. In 1841 a new Parliament was summoned. The first thing it did was to dismiss the Melbourne Cabinet; and to carry Sir Robert Peel into office by a majority of 91. That majority was subsequ en tly a li t tl e increased, and it is a fact, altogether beyond dispute, that in that Parliament, which sat from August, 1841, to July, 1847, Lord John Russell could never reckon more than 270 to 280 supporters; while the Conservatives, elected by the people expressly to put him out of office, were above 360 in number. In June, 1846, Sir Robert Peel, having introduced a lamentable and fatal division into the racks of the Conservative party, was ejected from office, by a momentary coalition, exactly similar to that which has just overthrown Lord John Russell. His Lordship speaks with some bitterness of the Pro tectionists who voted with Lord Palmerston on the militia question, and thus caused his ejection from office. It is convenient to him to forget that in 1846 he himself managed to climb into office by a pre cisely similar vote. He pushed Sir Robert Peel from his seat, and regained the Premiership for himself, by voting with Lord George Bentinck and the Protection ists, to destroy the Freo Trade Government of Sir Robert Peel. And now, forsooth, he makes it a charge against some of the Protectionists that they pre ferred Lord Palmerston's Militia Bill to his own! But to return: Lord John Russell was sent for in 1846: precisely as Lord Derby was sent for in 1852, be cause, the existing Ministry being overthrown, the Sovereign saw in him the best apparent hope of a new Government. He accepted office. Had he a majority in the Hotise of Commons? Not far one single moment. Yet this never disturbed him. He knew that he had only —as Lord Derby has now—some 260 or 280 pledged supporters in the Lower House. But this did not dismay him; for he calculated, and he had a right to cal culate, that the remaining 360 or 370 Members would never combine, at least for the present, to throw him out br office. He went on safely, but without a majority. He did not dissolve. On the contrary, he carried Par liament all through the business of 1847, existing, all the while, on the forbearance of the majority. In a word, he did then for more than twelve months that very thing which he now says it is unconstitutional for Lord Derby to think of doing for one-third part of the time. Is it not strange that such statements as these can be made—depending, evidently, on men's entire forgetfulness of what occurred only five years ago ? Every one, when reminded of the fact, can remember perfectly well that a Whig Government existed in Eng land from June, 1846, to June, 1847 ; although during the whole of that time there were anren d Whigo t knt e House C-113 OMODS so many as 280 wßadicals o i in the aggregate. And yet we are now told, by three ex-Ministers in succession, that for a Government to think of holding office for even three or four months without having a majority in the House of Commons, is " utterly opposed to the spirit of the Constitution!" Se say Lord John Russell, Sir James Graham, and Mr. Gladstone. But what will men not say who have been turned out of office, and are eager to get back again ? "THE DUTIES OF DEMOCRACY." The following is the last document issued by Maz zini under the above title, and addressed to the Con tinental Revolutionists : " What ought to be at present the mot d'ordre, the rallying cry of parties? All is comprised in one word— Action—action, one, European, incessant, logical, bold, and universal! Mere talkers have destroyed France; and they will destroy Europe, if a holy reaction is not got up against them. Thanks to such persons, we are now in the time of the Lower Empire. By dint of discussing on the future, we have abandoned the present to the first comer. By dint of substituting each his little sect, his little system, his little organization of humanity, for the great religion of democracy, fur the common faith, for the association of forces to make a conquest of the position, we have thrown disorganization into the ranks. The sacred phalanx which ought to press forward always as a single man, drawing closer together at each martyr's death, has become an assemblage of free corps, a veritable camp of Wallestein, minus the genius of the master. At the hour of attack, it fell to pieces on the right and on the left, and was found scattered about in little detachments everywhere, except in the heart of the place. The enemy was one, discussing nothing, but acting always, and it is not by arguing on the best means of cutting and clipping human kind to a fixed standard that the foe can be dislodged. The time has come to speak the truth plainly to our friends. They have done all the evil possible to the best of causes; they would have killed it by excess of love or by want of intelligence, if it was not immortal. I accuse the socialists, and in particular the leaders, of having falsified, mutilated, diminished our grand idea, by imprisoning our law, common for al!, within absolute systems which usurp at the same time power over the liberty of the individual, over the sove reignty of the country, and over the continuity of pro gress. I accused them of having aimed, in the name cf their paltry individuality, at giving positive solutions to the problem of human life, before that life was able to manifest itself in the plenitude of its capacity under the action of these great electric currents called revolutions. I accuse them of having at tempted to produce at a fixed time, from their weak or diseased brains, an organization which cannot issue except from the co-operation of all the human fa culties in action, and of having substituted their so litary I for the collective I of Europe, of having spoken in the name of St. Simon, Fourier, Cabot, or any other, there where the point was to destroy the re vealing agents for the profit of the continued revelations, and to inscribe over the front of the temple, God is God, and Humanity is his Prophet!' For having forgotten Ac tion I For having said:' What France ow es to Europe is the solution ot the organization of labour.' For having slighted the voice of such of her children as called on all dissentient parties to organize themselves on a common ground to bear the brunt of battle—France has arrived, by Rome, at the shame of Dec 2. The whole of demo cratic Europe must now aid France in recovering her position, as she formerly aided Europe. She must above all advance, advance constantly, advance alone, to force France to join her. The movement of France depends at present on the movement of Europe; the movement of Tes sin° and the insurrection of Sicily preceded the republic of 1848. The European iniative at present belongs to the first people which shall rise, not iu the name ot a local interest, but of a European principle. Should France do so, may God and humanity bless France! Should she not do so, let others do so! God has no chosen people. Father of all, he is with all who are ready to sacrifice themselves fur the common weal. From the alliance of nations must spring the initiative ; and there is not, at the present time, a single nation which, spontaneously rushing into the areas, or in nobly resisting, cannot raise the two thirds of Europe. The day in which the democracy militant shall have a government, an impost, a common ground, a plan, an ensemble of operations, it will have conquered. Until then, let it resign itself to M. de Maupas, Schwartzsnbcrg, and Radetsky; lot it resign itself to shame, to the rod, to transportation, and to the gibbet, and let it find its compensation in the perusal of the political novels which its utopian dreamers are always ready to write—they do . not cost much trouble to be written. " March, 1852. " JOSEPH MAZZINI TEE CRYSTAL PALACE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir,—l have read with surprise the report of the Corn ruissiJn appointed by the Treasury to make inquiries on the cost and applicability of the Crystal Palace. The whole bearing of my evidence was iu favour of the plan suggested by me, and admitted by the Commit sion to be the best proposed, viz., to convert the Crys tal Palace into a winter garden; but the only portion of my evidence which has been adverted to in the report is a detached sentence, the meaning of which has been totally misunderstood. If the opportunity which I requested, and which was afforded to others, of making verbal corrections in my printed evidence had been given me, I should have made this sentence clearer; but as it stands now, the sense which has been attributed to it arises from a strange misapprehension. I never would have recommended the conversion of the palace into .a winter garden, if I had not felt convinced that it was for the public advantage, even in an economical point of view. b e t somewhato n t o that izd of Though, in my opinion, the cost of a new building o n the.same scale as the present might re duced, and its plan considerably improved, the mere ex pense of adapting what we have got to the purposes of erectingwinter g a e r n d d e n fi bears up n o e n reasonable edifie e of f proportion o kind and novo. The destruction of the building when its purchase has been so nearly completed would, in my opi n i on, be a wanton sacrifice of property , and th e reference in the report to the possibility of constructing a more suitable edifice at a less expense than would be required for the necessary outlay on the Crystal Palace, is not only a misrepresentation of my evidence, b ut tends to bl in d the eyes of the public to the foolish piece of m o dern Vandalism which thelr eport of the Commission sanct ions. I have the honou r t o be your most obedient servant , JosErs FAXTON. Devonshire-house, March 23. THE mitted without cha e r into the RYSTAL PALA& E. The public were on Monday, for the fi rst time, ad people who popularity and the interest taken in its preservatio n were well illustrate d by the numbers of go i nter ior of this iIIIMCTIEO building, and i ts availed themselves of the privilege thus afforded by the contractors. Daring the day there was not less than 30,000 visitors. • They belonged to every class from the peerage d o wnwards, and a ll seemed g reatl y e impressed with the gran d e ur of the spectacle. Many ex plaining to th em where the mos t pro had a e r v d er ea b g e e e r n ly there before , and their companions mi g ht be h n minent objects of the Exhibition stood. The site of the ' crystal fountain and of the other chief trophies of the nave and transept were all thus carefully indicated. Many seated themselves on benches and quietly contemplated the vast ya regular proportions of the interior, which, cleared of all obstructions to the view, and seen in their unadorned sim plicity, have certainly a very wonderful effect. The 'galleries and the whole area of the edifice from end to end were thoroughly explored, and the troops of chil dren and young people playing about suggested how easily and well so vast a covered space might be adapted for purposes of innccent recreation. Willis's grand organ and the immense mirrors of the Thames Plate Glass Company are now the sole remaining vestiges of the Exhibition. The retention of the organ . is likely to prove a considerable advantage. On Saturday last it was played by Mr. Best, and the performance drew to gether not less than 4,000 people, and induced a sale o. 1,200 otak i pleg. Now that the intariot is empty, musks is heard with much greater effect than formerly, and the performance will be repeated on Wednesdays and Saturdays until further notice. The public ought not to lose the opportunity now afforded them of visiting the Palace free of charge, and judging for themselves bow far they are interested in its retention. In a few weeks henc', unit - Es they bestir themselves, it will disappear almost as suddenly as it arose, to be remembered only as a splendid vision—the phantasmagoria of human in dustry in 1851. HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. Somewhat later in the season than usual, but welcome soon or late, comes the programme of her Majesty's Theatre for the ensuing year. The summer which is before us hardly presents the same inducements to ma nagerial ardour as those held out in the Great Exhibi tion year. We can anticipate no swarms of foreigners crowding across the Channel, nor, still more profitable, legions of provincials flocking up to the metropolis from every nook and corner of England, Ireland, and Scot land. Electioneering tronbles, moreover, threaten to some extent to mar the season, and to break up the gay period when the West-end is crowded, and all the sights and all the sounds of London are in full swing; but we are glad to perceive that Mr. Lumley dismayed by none of these portents, and after all they may turn out to be mere portents, is as usual in the field—vigorous and energetic as of yore; that he has collected all his old eagerd ti o n s f 0 : r a t u h d e t e h n a s t u n e g appears t g o n b . e p E e o r r f troupe around hi m, with considerable and important ad ditions: Its e c n o c u e p ili e te it is wit f h ul a l It has seen the early career and the early triumphs of e association t sa'etniccdt afterl ry e l e ra o m el w r i , n n a rh s i s t ee ordfe Ma jesty'sd. Theatre i s th e o l d and chosen home of Italian opera. n a o c n l those notabilities of Italian song who seem no longer to be destined to awaken its echoes ; while the recollec tions of the ballets which it has given to the world—of the queens of the dance who have sometimes reigned in individual majesty—sometimes concluded a congress of terpsichorean sovereignty upon its boards—are all fraught with pleasurable sensations, which we may be excused if we are glad to look forward to again. That Her Majesty's Theatre has a powerful rival to contend with, is, perhaps, as well for both establishments as for the public. Either management is kept on the qui vine. An active and enterprising competition is necessitated. The old beaten ways are felt to be no longer sufficient to fill either house. Novelty in matter and manner is imperatively called for. Artists of continental reputa tion are rigorously demanded, and the result is that the public and the art of dramatic music aro equally bene fitted by competition and comparison. The season of 1852 will, it is announced, commence on Tuesday evening, the 30th of March. The repertoire for the season will include the following brilliant list of operas, to one and all of which the resources of the house will be able to do full justice:— Don Giovanni Norma Nozze di Figaro La Sonnambula Il Dlatrimonio Se- La Favorite greto i II Barbiere Lucia di Lammer-I Semiramide Roberto Devereux Il Giuramento Guglielmo Tell Torquato Tam) Tancredi Roberto it Dia- muir Puritani L'Elisir d'Amore Don Pasquale Cenereutola Ernani La Gazza Ladra Lucrezia Borgia Linda di Chamouni 0 tello La Figlia del Reg gimento _ volo Pietro l'Eremita La Tempests Florinda, and II Prodigo I Due Foscari Of novelties we have two classes—those positively announced, and those conditionally promised. The first category does not comprise more than two works, but they will be found to contain the elements of great ar tistic interest, united in one case with those intrinsic considerations which, although unconnected with pure art, can hardly fail to excite a lively and natural degree of anticipation. We refer to the production of a new grand opera, Casilda, the composition of his Royal Highness the Duke of Saxe Coburg and Gotha, and the brother of Prince Albert. This work, after having been originally produced, as we believe, on the small but com plete stage of the Coburg Theatre, was transferred to the more important boards of Vienna and Berlin, and there enjoyed a success quite unconnected with the pe culiar circumstances of its origin. The reigning Duke of Saxe Coburg and Gotha is by no means a tyro in dramatic lyric composition. More than one of his operas are well known upon the German stage, and we are glad to have an opportunity of judging for ourselves a work which, whatever may be its artistic merits, and we are assured on good authority that they are high, pos sesses other and peculiar claims to our notice. The an nouncement of the work will no doubt excite a consider able degree of curiosity and interest. We have seen scattered notices of the opera in various continental mu sical papers, but without reprodacing their judgments shall wait for the opportunity of fairly deciding for our selves. For the excellence of the ordinary troupe, the chorus, and the orchestra of the Ducal Theatre in the little sovereignty of Saxe-Coburg, we can personally vouch, having had opportunities of seeing both opera and German tragedy performed on the boards of Coburg and Gotha. The second novelty positively promised is an opera, not actually new, but new to this country, by Flutow, entitled Martha, and in which it is truly stated that "Madame Smug has obtained an additional triumph to her many brilliant successes." Flotow is known in this country, if we mistake not, only by one opera—his Ame en Peine which was inefficiently performed some seasons ago at the Princess's Theatre, but which, in adequate as the representation was, made a very con sidereal° impression. Flotow's characteristics are a deep and feeling vein of melody, full of tenderness and passion, and marked by piquancy and originality of treatment, while his orchestral scoring is the work of a consummate musician bringing a strong individuality of taste to bear upon a thorough command of the resources which he possesses. The opera of Martha has, doubt less, beau written so as to develop the peculiar vocal talents of its heroine—Madame Sontag—and as such may be anticipated as a rich and stirling treat. Among the conditional announcement is one that " an opera by the great maestro, Meyerbeer, will be, most probably, produced during the season, written expressly for Madame Sontag." Of Meyerbeer's operas we can never be said to be certain until the curtain actually rises upon them. The "greatf;rneestro" is a very fastidious personage, and, as he does not write for considerations of personal advantage, he can always afford to keep back his productions as long as he pleases, and that is some times a tolerably considerable time. However, we shall be delighted in the present instance to hope for the best; and whether the hinted work be a re-touched version of the long promised Camp of Silesia or a perfectly new opera, the world will be equally delighted to hail it. Don Giovanni is promised, with a cast which will in clude Madame Sontag, Madame Cruvelli, and the new comer, of whom so much has been said and so much is to be expected, Mademoiselle Wagner, from Vienna and Berlin. Madame Sontag will, of course, be the Zerlina, and Mademoiselle Wagner (as we conjecture) the Donna Anna. With any distribution, however, including the three names, the cast will be singularly strong. Besides the actual works which we have mentioned as to be produced for the first time, we are promised, in general terms, " many novelties." The Saxe Cobourg opera and Flotow's work are only particularized as to be amongst the earlier. The company includes all the principal name s o f l ast year with important additions. Madame Sontag we ha ve Italian Opera. Next mentioned..ln herself she ia,evena host, and ever welcome, N ext to Sontag winning torentini, an as bringing back the purest and most brilliant s t y l e the purest and roost brilliant days of the I, , acsrcitally welcomed • F fe ' re th ~, golden old favourite, who Las been latel e y opinions in Italy, and who will be back. Mdlle. Int Bertrand will be Pa risian triumphs, may be expected' to excite a ;till trait), and Mdile. Sofia Cruvell:, fl ash e d ehigchoner with her Pti called up around her by her str o nglyw hich she last Beasol degree of enthusiasm than that inter pretations of Fidelio, Norma Amongst the ladies Menlo. dramatic that we are to , and Lucrezia Borgia. We have not heard her, but Wagner is the new corner. her fame has preceded her to England, and we b eli eve the New German artist a m 1 le rano, with a at,ni cent sop , commanding amount gentlemen of dramatic talent, force, and energy. Tae debut will anxiously tici t d be very ,an pa e , and will excite universal anticipate in To the list of I interest.several additions have been made, Gardoni returns—notwithstanding all the omi nous reports about his state of health. With him we find again Si gnor P ar dini,well -known friends. The two Signor Mercuriali , and Signor Cala sla r i— a l l old an d Lablaches conclude the list of the male company, not believe, been including the new corners, of whom there b ar r e not leas than three—Signor Ferlotti, who has, a favourite during season e the j w " e t know nothing—and Signor Signor Susini, of who m bar tone from Italy. Signor 13"sini, a well-kn appears a f ter his e A ona m m er e i n c t 7 T to b n e r k . no T w h n e n a s b m ov e e s B lis e t ll e e a tti lls r f e o - r no lengt h ened among the conditional engagements is that they come. . . the t ara well known: For t h e strangers we must wait until • r Negrine tenor the conclusion of which of Signo . stated to be d a ily expected. is The ballet was somewhat neglected last season, but t h e a rrangements for the present yea r ere p romisin g and 'W a nt, and include, not only several o f the old favour itesbri as executants, but several nove lties for them to dance in. Mdlle. Cerito has been e n g a g ed, and will appear,we presume, early in the season; and Mdl i le. Gu y Ste p han, as we take it, will open the cam paign in a new Spanish divertissement, entitled El Duende, which will be per formed on the opening evening. Another welcome ballet engagement is that of Mdlle. Caroline Rosati. Among the choregraphic Dii minores we find the names of Mdlles. Rosa, Mathilde, Lamoureux, Emilie, and p as . cales. It seems yet uncertain whether Carlotta Grisi will return, bat her admirers will be pleased to learn that " a proposal for an engagement of two months" has also been forwarded to the lady in question, who is n ow at St. Petersburgh, to commence at the termination of w Italian ballet, compos ed ex p ressl y for the t heatre, is an her present engageme n t at the Russian ca p i tal. Ane nounced for immediately after Easter. The composition will, we presume, introduce Mdlle. Cerito. The opening opera will he Maria de Rohan, intro ducingp Signor Ferlott i . M r. Belle has, we believe, re turnedo f hisofpreorma a P t a p ris r , o se ry h . e i r a e t e h , e a sv n d e aftern t t be r prel i minary i m the i n a p r r y oductie n rehear t o b r e p s r e o l te n ss of 1852, giving pro s s l T s b at tl e s atchtenna lcommences e pro mise of divers events of interest, and of an active and busy year. The competitiou between the houses will no doubt be steady and severe, and we ca.n only express a hope that managerial ta c t an d execut i ve skill will be properly apprecit.ted, an d fully rewar d e d, at whit hewer establish i ment they are d 1 dsp ay.- . Died, on Friday, March 19, at Gwern Vale House, Brecknockshire, after a long illness, John Gwynne, Esq., aged 72, deputy - lieutenant tor Brecknockshire, also justice of the peace for the counties of 11Ionmouth and Brecon. He served througho u t th e P en i nsu l ar war as lieutenant in the • - 14th Light Dragoons, being twice severely wounded, and was present in the three several enga gements—namely, S i . hunanca, Fuentes d'Onor, and Talave ra—for whicl), Ike r e: : CeiVed a thno-bar modal from her Gracias