The Sun. — London, England, 1846-04-29 00:00:00

RAILWAY COMMITTEES. (YESTERDAY.) GROUP XIV. SOVTZ-ZASTERN AND BRANCHES. The examination of Mr. Fearon (continued from our After noon Edition of yesterday—All the directors and officers re mained, although the name was changed. The company was, in affect, the same company under a different name. The first formal advertisement of the South-Eastern Company came out in July, 1535. When they went before Parliament, the Brighton part of the Scheme was abandoned, and in 1836 the Bill was obtained. When the shares of the South-Eastern rose to a premium two other pro jects started tip and opposed it. One of these was a line from the Greenwich Railway to Gravesend, but it was thrown out. The ori ginal object of the company was to accommodate North Kent, and, tinder any reverses that they sustained the idea of that accommoda tion was never abandoned. Mr. Vignoles's plan first assumed a distinct form in 1844. It was at first only to Chatham, and then it was advanced to Ramsgate. It was only in the present year that the extension to Dover was proposed. He did net con template say London terminus last year. By Mr. Sergeant WILANGHAM—Captain Pringle, who was the en gineer to the company, in his examination before the committee in 1836, stated that he objected to that part of the line running be tween Gravesend and Maidstene, as the chalk cuttings between those points were very heavy. The principal landowning opposition to the line was between Gravesend and Folkestone. There was also a strong opposition between Gravesend and London. When they made up their minds about the South-Eastern line, they considered that the Gravesend line was out of the question. The CHAIRMAN here intimated that the Committee were of opinion that the question of priority ought not to be considered by them as a matter of material importance. It was a point that should unques tionably meet with due consideration, but it appeared to him that the question of the respective merits of the two projects wasof infi nitely more importance, and was th e p o i n t on which the Co mmi ttee bad more particularly to decide. Witness in continuation--Cannot say whether Mr. Vignoles had a plan for a bridge over the Medway under the b considerationteoferthoges bridge wardens at the time that Mr. St p Ason p roposed the river by a ferry. Is sure that the idea of the bridge did not ori ginate with Mr. Vignoles, and Mr. Cubitt had spoken of it eight years ago. The original capital of the company was 1,4013,0001. The Committee adjourned until one o'clock to-morrow. GROUP XVI. .11.1.T0N BRANCH. The etitarildaran s id er ation of this a p branch was resumed to-day by the Com mittee of Group XVI ; Sir Charles Douglas in the chair, with Lord Pollington, Mr. Loc khart, and Mr. Blewitt pres en t , when Mr. Annul called Mr. Drone, who testified to the advantage o f h av i ng a station at Alton, s t ating that it would bring the inhabita n t s seventeen miles nearer tha n by the way of Winchester. He believed that the carrying the line «-,,., Alresford would be difficult, and was no t likely to be effected. The bulk of the people were decidedly in favour of the Alton Branch. To Mr. LneKtlanT, the witness said, that the turnpike-road was as goo d as any in England. but it was bad for engineering difficul ties, there being a considerable rise to the summit of Windmill Hill, six miles one way, and four the other. Mr. Horne stated that the traffic was much greater at Wiglield than at Farnborough, and the formation of this branch would bring a great trade from Alton, which is the busiest place the witness knows for its size, and certainly the population was very con siderable. Mr. Crowley, called by Mr. AnsTIN, confirmed his previous evi dence with respect to the advantages this line was likely to produce. It would reduce the carriage of coals from 12s. 9a. to ss. 9d. per ton, and would increase the number of private inhabi• tants, 94 Alton was situated in the most beautiful part of Hants, but parties were prevent e d f rom settling there by the dearness of fuel and the heavy co s t o f b u il d i ng materials. Sand cost, for r in t s o t s a . nc r e i 20s. There a waggon load ;it ght, with this line, be brought fo would be a saving ten per cent . in lime, seven per and cent. in paving stone, five per ent. in timber fro m London. id In the journeys to London, too, each passenger woul db b adly s ave off for conveyance that nearly one half the ex pense ; .and the population were so many people were obliged to keep their own g igs and other carriages. The advantage was shown also in the circumstance of there being upwards of 3,000 waggons loaded w with agricultural produ ce , wl.ich en tered Alton yearly, and if this line were made, the Alton breweries refight be enlarged Indefinitely, and would be able to compete with those in London. The proposed Direct Portsm ou th b ranch to Go claiming would carry the inhabitants several miles round to the me tropolis, and then there would be great delay i n th e f ormation of that i l l , even if the Bill for it were obtained, while by this line they trould obtain the accommodation in two years. To Lord POLLINGTON-31r. AUSTIN replied, that there were se ',ferret places of no more importance than Alton which had terminal branches, and instanced the Steyning, Horsham, and Bognor branches of the Brighton line as examples. The traffic on the line had been increased fivefold since the opening of the Guildford branch. Railway accommodation would be afforded to Godalming, but it would be at great cost, that of malting a line 19 miles long through what appears to be quite an impracticable country. Mr. Locke, the engineer, stated that the primary olject of this line was to accommodate Alton, and was projected at the request of the inhabitants of that town. The line to Farnham was It subsequent thought, and occasioned by the difficulties of the country not being at all con' emplated in the first instance. He had tried the country to the south of the Hogsback, but found it impracticable. There was no coin parison between the country from Farnham to Alton, and that from the latter race to aodalming, the latter district being exceedingly hilly and difficult. Reports ha t been male iu August of last yea - , and In January of t is, in which the directors of the South Western Company had stated their intention of pursing the prject. He took a survey of the ground through Alresfo:d to Winchester. and had t iken sections of a line, he having originally designed a line to Salisbury, but that had afterwards been ' hued. This Al on lino would be of great advantage to A lrosford, but it would be difficult for railway purposes, as there would be II long gradient, of one In sixty, and a tunnel would he required. The pro'ongation to Win chester would be of no advantage whatever, and if made must ba for local purposes solely. tie was acquainted with the Dire t Portsmouth line, and certainly conceived that it would not be an alternative line, and that it would not give the same accommodation to the country, the gradients being altogether different. Ile believed that a railway could not be made at all between Alton and Liphook, the country being so hilly that within three or four miler oat of Petersfleld there was a difference of not less than four hun dred feet in the level. This branch took the natural valley of the country, and was a natural branch of the South-Western line, and. was likely to contribute to its prosperity. The CHAIRMAN wished to be certain as to the continuation to Win chester, and he referred to the evidence previously given of the indis position of the inhabitants, to which Mr. Locke replied that he could not say anything about the opposition 'iut eertainly from the engineering character of the country, he never should recommend the directors to make it the branch. He felt that lie hail in some way implicated the directors, by having surve} ed the whole of the country, on a much wider basis than was absolutely necessary. He had done this from a desire to thoroughly know the country, and feared that t e had thereby created a prejudice against than ; but there was no in tention whatever to go to Winchester. Sir C. DOUGLAS wished to be satisfied on this point. Mr. Alarm; wished to get Mr. Horne, the Chairman of the Com pany, but being unable to '-et him, so s t a t e d that he was authorised to assure the Committee that the , 'e was no such intention, and sug gutted that that assurance should be placed on the record of the report of the Committee. To Mr. LOCKHART —There was no separate estimate of the coot of the line to Farnham, but he believed the land there was, if anything, cheaper than that further south Mr. Anwrist here put in a statement of the traffic respectively of Farnham and Alton, by which it appeared that the iliqnb:A* .1 passengers for the former place was 87,000 annually, and the produce in money 6,000/. ; of goods there were 21,000 tons, producing nearly I,Bo^/. From the latter the passengers were 94,000, the more: paid by them 8,7001.; goods, 39,000 tons, and the produce in money 5,0801. The room was cleared at this point, and on the re-admission of Strang - s, Sir CHARLES DOUGLAS intimated that the Committee had as yet come to no decision ; bat that they were prepared to pass the pream• ble on leaving out the words, "and Alton, in the county of South ampton."' Mr. Hitt, Q.C., said that they were prepared to submit evidence as to the traffic between Alton and Farnham. Mr. Horne was then called, who stated that he had been engaged with the South-Western Company eight years, had been in the traffic department five years, and daring the last two or three years had been specially engaged in supplying the directors with information on that subject. lie produced the estimates of traffic, in which it appeared that the coach passenger. paid 5,5321., and the money obtained from private vehicles was 9,2631. Os. 90. There were 4,363 passengers between Winchester and the Farn borough station, the coach making one journey each day, and carry ing, on an average, six passengers, which, at INA. per mile each, would give 605 t. 3s. between Farnham and Guildford, half-yearly. There was a coach between London and Alresford, going up one day and down another, the produce of which was 3021. I ls. 6d. half yearly. In addition there was a coach between Alresford and the Farnborough station, which produced 6051. 3s. half-yearly. This doubled gave the Income of the branch en the usual rate of estimate. and made 3,0251. 15s. between Alton and Farnham for coach passengers alone. This, he coneeived, a very low estimate. To Mr. LOCKHART the witness replied that the ti affic by private vehicles was taken by actual observations, made from October 20th to liovember 2d, and in one or two stations begun on October 27th and continued till November 9th. The observations were made close to the toll bar. To Mr. HILL—The 'Witness stated the mode in which the traffic was taken, which was in the usual manner. The passengers between .Alton and Farnham In private vehicles were on the average 84,472 In the year, one-half of which only he took for the railway. These would produce, at I%d. per mile, with a distance of nine and a half miles, 2,85'1. 9s. Between the Alton and Wachfleld station there were 13,910 passengers, the half of whom would pay for travelling nineteen miles 9651. lie. Id:, making a total, including the coach traffic, of 8,7551. 15s, Id. For parcels and mails there would be about 4001. He assumed the number of parcels would be 40,000, and giving half to Alton, the revenue would be about 8001. The mercantile traffic was taken in the same way as that of private vehicles, viz., observation, and without any Of the increase usually allowed for railway, giving to each horse only 15 cwt., though the common weight was a ton, there was a tonnage of 12,688 of mer chandise. Alton and its neighbourhood takes 10,000 tons, the revenue from carrying which would be 1,1871. 10s. Of lime, slate, and other similar articles, there were between 5,000 and 6,000 tons, reve. nue about 6001. Live stock, &c., 40.51. 16s. Bd. For carriages and horses, 1601., making a total 14,9151. 15s. 10d., that for the whole of the branch being 24,0231. 11s. 11d., leaving for the portion between Farnham and Guildford 9,3071. 16s. lid. The observations had been carefully made, and the estimates were low; the traffic on the Guildford station had become fivefold of what had been antici pated by Its promoters. - To the CHAIaMAN—The witness replied that the Alton portion would give considerably more than 41. 166. per cent. dividend on the outlay, the difbrence being occasioned by the inhabitants of the Alton district being traders, while those of the Farnham were agri culturists. If the line were made only to Farnham the per centage would be less than now stated. Sire. DOUGLAS here intimated that the Counsel need not pursue the matter further, and the room was cleared. On the re-admission of strangers. the Chairman declared the preamble to be proved, and the Committee then adjourned. GROUP XIX. The Select Committee appointed to consider the merits of the Bills Prised within this morning, in con-m4ftitt.ezi-1r01d'4117:.4.-14; Lord Barry Vane in the Chair. embled at the usual ho.ur this D TAT:qvrow .4.1\731 11 came, The CHAIRMAN said, none of th 1132.31°13-14.wp,, _ upon vfer e the iin Standing Orders' Committee, before,' gwenhtiortehni town, and he could not therefore ascertain f they had considered the question relatingt:eth aTIY or them whether mittee, therefore, wished the Learned Counsel ' "Pita'. The om the particular points they raised, and then on both side to state they would take the Opinion of the Speaker upon them. Mr. OSBURN, on behalf of the opponents of the BM, said that the Canal Company had power by thei r fi rst Act to raise 420,0001. by shares, and 150,0001. by way of mortgage, or by shares ; but by a sub sequent Act, the power to raise the latter sum was limited to 100,000/. Now, only part of the works authorised by the first Act had been constructed, and for that purpose the parties had raised the 100,0001. by mortgage, and 71,0001. by shares. They had only power now, then, to raise 349,0001., if they had power to do that, and there fore the parties were not in a position to show that they had funds in haul sufficient to construct the proposed works. Mr. WELLS, on the other side, admitted all the facts stated by his Learned Friend, but directed the attention of the Committee to the aircurustsuice that the second Act did not repeal the power in the first, to raise the 150,0001. by shares, but only limited their power to raise by mortgage 100,0001. That power, he admitte had already been exercised, but under the first Act they had still power to raise amongst themselves, in addition to the 349,000/., the sum of 50,000/., and these two amounts would mere than cover the estimate for the proposed works. Mr. OsßvxN contended that the power to raise the 150,0001. In the first Act was optional with the canal proprietors ; they were either to raise the money amongst themselves, or to raise it by mortgage, but they could not raise it in both ways ; they had already elected, under the second Act, zhich limited the sum to 100,0001., to ra i se it by mortgage, and they could not now raise a penny more. The Committee consulted the Speaker on the point, but neither the Committee nor the Speaker being able to decide upon. it, the Com mittee determined upon submitting the case for the decision of the Attorney and Solicitor-General. The Committee, Xherefore, ad journed till to-morrow, and in the meantime the points were to be Put into the shape of a special case for the opinion of these Learned Gentlemen. This Com GROUP XXVII. Lemon in the chanaitteeir r e - assembled to-day at the usual ho u, Sir Charles 2103ILTTI SIT.ILVF ORDS.II7.IZE (THREZ LINES). The nation n idenee on these linos was procee Mr. G. P. Matlaetr Nero c rr , i of showing the results sta't:illine4 by Mr. Wordsworth, 'tied with, and with the view also the Injury which the lttoh. close of our report yesterday, as sustain by the construction oftiz lit gentiern.ut named. "Woods would During the croes- examination, fines. Mr. Sergeant MURPHY Intimated to the co had been made to counsel for Mr. Wood, th tnmnatittee t 23 at a proposal quite willing to leave to any member of the the Pre rooters wsrc party appointed by them, the amount of cornpensalOntte:, or to any they shou/d pay for the injury, if any, that gentiem ' t. anY ' wh ' ell att.wonitt sustain by the lims passing along his factory. Mr. Townsend said that such a proposal was an i unit, R 3 it inn_ piled or raised a question whether there would be a.' inquiry or not and the fact was so appare n t as t o p l ace the matter 'coe yond doubt. ' The cross-examination of this witness occupied thet - greater part of the day. Mr. 'M. Sstrrn, on the part of the inhabitants of ?Leek, who pre sented a petition against the Chnrnet Valley line, cross -examined this witness at considerable length, with the view of wing that the Lichfield and 3facclezfield (projected) line would air( ,rd better ac commodation to the district than the proposed line. The allegations of several other petitioners were Ms - ;ri gone into, and the Committee adjourned till twelve o'clock to-n ;row; GROUP XXLX. BOSTON, STAMFORD AND BIRMINGHAM, (STAMFORD TO WISBECH) LINE. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.); Mr. TALBOT then called evidence. Mr. Ward was examined, and stated that it was his ( pinion that the line would be injurious to Wisbech and its vicinity. Mr. Morgan examined—He believed that it would 1 e extremely injurious to Wisbech to have a railway without a 1 arbour line. If a proper harbour line were made, the corporation of Wisbech would not, in his opinion, object to the railway. All the objection of the corporation rested upon the want of a harblur line on this railway. Mr. DANIELLS having offered a few observations in reply, the room was cleared. On our re-admission, The CHAIRMAN said he was instructed by the Committee to an nounce that they had agreed to the preamble of the Bill, but would require the promoters to bind themselves to introduce a Bill next session to effect a junction between their line and the harbour of Wisbech, in case of the samenot b t gin th g e e ß ffe e There was a question relating upone r company.which the Committee adjourned. edriordblyevanelsoth, GROUP XXX. CILDTBRXDGZ AND OXFORD. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) The witnesses no t being in attendance, the further Consideration of the Bill was postponed till to-morrow at twelve o'clock. The Committee then adjourned. GROUP XXXVI. The Committee to s t h e or lh y em ate t r hi o s ne gr o o ,c u l p oc o k. of Bills hatveembbeersenarreef—err3erdr: met rn thismrn Bernal (Chairman), Mr. Mangles, Hon. W. Bagot, Col. Conolly, and Viscount Somerton. The following is the list of Bills submitted for their consideration:-- 1. Wakefield, Pontefract, and Goole, and Port, &c., of Goole. 2. Goole and Doncaster. 3. Wakefield, Pontefract, and Goole Askerne, and Oakenshaw Branches). 4. Hull and Barnsley Junction. 5. York and North Midland (East Riding Branches). 6. Malton and Driffleld Junction. 7. Newcastle and Darlington Junction (Thirsk and Malton Branches). _ The first Bill in the list being unopposed was referred to Mr. Greene, the Chairman of Committees, there being no petition against it. The second Bill (which was unopposed) was deferred, it not being yet passed the Standing Orders' Committee. There was a petition against it, but no one appeared to support it. No. 3 was also postponed on account of the opposition of the pro prietors of land not being ready. No. 4 was sot taken on account of its having been thrown out by the Standing Orders' Committee. No parties appeared for No. 5. There was a petition against No. 2 branch, but no one appeared to support it. No. 6 was postponed till Friday. V 7 AIOEPIEED, PONTEFRACT, AND GOOLE (NZETIII.Er, ASZERN, AND OAHENSHAVI BRANCHES). The Committee intimated their intention of first preceeding with this Bill. The usual formal proofs having been given, Mr. LEMON, the agent for the Bill, stated that it was not until within the last hour that the promoters had been informed that they would have to encounter opposition to their project, which they had heretofore reason to believe would be unopposed. Labouring under this impression, they had abstained from employing counsel, and he shoild, therefore, with the permission of the Com mittee, state the nature of the line. In the last session of Parlia ment a Bill was passed for making a railway from Wakefield, through Pontefract, to Goole, on the Ouse. The branch which they ought to make was proposed to form a junction with the Hull and Selby P.ailway, shortly after leaving Doncaster, and would proceed in nearly a direct Ilse to Knottingley, on the Wakefield and Goole, and would, therefore, by the aid of the Methley branch, form this line to the Midland Railway, and afford the most direct commu nication from Doncaster and the eastern parts of England to Leeds, and the north-west of England. Askerne was a favourite watering-place of the middle manufac turers of the West Riding of Yorkshire. By the London and York and their line, Carlisle and the towns of the north would be six miles nearer than by the present railway conveyance. Persons coming to Wakefield by the North Midland had to proceed to the Normanton station, and to retrace a great portion of their journey, in order to reach that town, but they proposed a branch of a quarter of a mile in length to the Midland, to obviate this inconvenience. Mr. CARROW opposed the Methlay branch on behalf of certain Inha bitants of Pontefract, who had petitioned against it, on account of its passing through the park and race-course belonging to the town, by which the inhabitants would be deprived of a means of enjoyment which they had possessed from time immemorial, and becattse this might be obviated by a slight deviation of the line. Mr. LEMON said the park had not been used ter a race-course for ten years, and as it was situated in a low swamp, he was justified in saying that the people of Pontefract did not wish to retain it for the purpose of recreation. Besides the railway company proposed to purchase ten acres of land in a higher and more pleasant part of the town, and quite as contiguous to it, in lieu of that whi ii it would be necessary to take for the purpose of the railway, which had been agreed to by the trestee9, and the company had purchased the ten acres of land, and were ready to lay it out for the purpose of a park, and further to subject the land which they required for the line to the payment of land-tax, poor-rates, &c., which would bring the town about 701. a year. It was not, however, until another line from Doncaster to Pontefract was proposed, that the trustees, thirty-six In number, seemed desirous to get rid of the arrangements which the promoters of the r iilway had made with them. Even so late as the 9 0t: - . instant the trustees confirmed the proposition, on condition that certain clauses were inserted in the Bill, and a pathway made ior a short distance along the line, to all of which the promoters agreed. Mr. Moxon, aldermen of Pontefract, and one of the Bank trus trees, was then called, and examined by Mr. LEMON—lie said he was the second largest proprietor of land in the town. At a public meeting of the trustees in October last, at which plans were submitted to the consideration of the promoters of the line with respect to the purchase of land in lieu of that required byt lie railway, they agreed to and confirmed on the 20th instant. After the land required for the railway was taken, the race-course, or park, would he quite as long as the race-course at Doncaster. The laud, which was halt bog and half arable, was not worth mme than 501. an acre. .„. By the COMMITTEE—The people would he benefited, instead of ❑jured, by the railway. More than 300 acres of the park would re nain untouched. Cross-examined by Mr. Caar.ow—The Commissioners and the in habitants of the town had the "right of stray " in the park, but the ten acres of new land would be more useful than the old. Mr. J. Ilarris, the engineer to the branch, was then called—He said the line was the best that could be laid down. A line to the south of Pontefract would not have been so advantageous, as it could not have been made without a " circumbendibus" of too severe a character. He endeavoured to avoid the park, but found it Impossible to do so without injuring the line. The north of the park would be also disadvantageous for a railway, as the curves would there be severe also, and the works heavy, CABROW said he was instructed that Mr. Blythe, an engineer, could prove that the line might be taken either to the north or south of the park without injuring it, but as he was under examination in another Committee, he was then unable to call him. Captain Laws explained the difficulties and dangers of junctions on a curve with main lines on which a considerable number of trains were constantly passing and re-passing, and explahted„ by reference to the map, that if the Methley branch did not proceed through a portion of the park, that it mast of necessity join the North Midland, 33 a curve would be a serious disadvantage. Mr CAtutow applied to the Committee to adjourn until to-morrow, in order that the witness whom he had mentioned might be able to attend. DECISION. The Committee intimated that he had not shown that the public would derive any benefit by a deviation to avoid the park, or that they were opposed !o the project. They, therefore, considered that the preamble of the Bill had been proved. The Committee, after proceeding with the clauses, adjourned until to-morrow. STANDING ORDERS' COMMITTEES. HOUSE OF LORDS. - - --- The Committee on standing Orders met this day, according to adjournment, at the appointed hour. The Lords present were the Earl of Shaftesbury (in the chair), the Duke of Richmond, and Lord Hawarden. OMAGH, DUN. GANNON, ARMAGH, AND BELFAST RAILWAY. This case, which was adjourned from a previous day, after having been under the consideration of the Committee, was further post poned until Thursday next. DUBLIN AND KINGSTOWN EXTENSION RAILWAY. This case which came before the Committee for proof, that the parties had complied with Lord Wharneliffe's order, next occupied the attention of their Lordships. The necessary evidence having been given, Lord Shaftesbury intimated that the Bill had passed. Their Lordships rose at live o'clock. LAW INTELLIGENCE, BAIL COURT, April 28. THE QUEEN V. ROBINSON. In this case it appeared that the defendant was a clergy man in the Established Church, and that a true bill had been found against him by the grand jury at the Oxford Assizes upon a charge of perjury. Defendant's Counsel contended that the case was one which should properly have been brought to trial at the civil side of the Court, and now moved by certiorari for a rule to that effect.—Granted. COURT OF EXCHEQUER, April 28. In this Court a case was called on which involved a bond debt to the amount of 2,0001., and the Court having been occupied until one o'clock in hearing the arguments for and against making the rule absolute, the defendant's counsel intimated that there was a probability of the parties coming to an arrangement, and the case was stopped. THE ART-UNION OF LONDON. - - - - (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) Mr. GODWIN continued to read the report. The engraving due to the subscribers of the present year, " Jephtha's Daughter," engraved from the painting by O'Neil, was finished, and would be speedily sent to press. A series of outline engravings illustrative of ." Gertrude of Wyoming," would also shortly b e distributed, in addition to the last-mentioned print. For the ensuing year a pair of engravings, by Mr. C. Roll s and Bfr. F. Heath, after pictures by Mr. Uwins, R.A., " The Last Embrace," and "The Neapolitan Wedding" were nearly completed ; and the Committee had also, with a view to future arrangements, placed in the hands of Mr. Lightfoot Mr. Frost's "Sabrina" to be engraved, and they hail also obtained permission from Mr. Maclise to engrave his prize cartoon of "The Spirit of Chivalry."—(Cheers.) For the premium of 5001. o ff ere d b y the Committee for the I:.`qt original picture illustrating British history, twenty eight _cartoons had b een sent in, and after due con sulerai`ton the Committee decided that the author of the cartoon " Queen Philippe interceding for the lives of the Burgesses' of Calais," was best entitled to receive the commission,. provided he w ere f ound competent to execute the painting... Oe opening the l e t ter accompanying the car toon, the art Will; seen to be M r . H . C. Sellons, to whom the Committer hat! awarded a premi um i n 1843, for his illustrations of " Th e Pil gr i m ' s P rogress. " The painting' when compl e t e d , would engraved for the S oc i ety. The Committee had also arranzOi to engrave in outline reduced drawings of the following eari`oo7" Saxon t. Que n Elizabeth at K bY en A i l lw r. Or Ce"fl t by Mr. Zeigler. " Howard visiting a Prison," Armitage. " Non Angli fled Angli," by Mr. y G. "Alfred surrounded by his Family," by Mr Salter. "The Welcome of the boy, King 'Edward VI." by Mr. E. Corbould.—(Cheers.) " The Seizure of Roger Mortimer," by Mr. Noel Paton, and " Spencer reading the Faerie Queen to Raleigh," by Mr. Marshall Claxton. The Committee, with a view of en coetraging gem-engraving, had offered premiums of 60L, 301., and 151. for the best cameos in profile by British-born artists of a head of Minerva in the collection of bronzes in the British Museum, to be cut in onyx of not less thizu two strata, and one inch in length. Eight cameos were in consequence submitted, and. the committee had the pleasure of awarding the first - and second premiums respec tively, to Miss Elena Pistrucci, tif the Royal Mint, and Mr. Henry Weigale, of St. Jeanes's-street. The re port commented at some ler..gtl t on the proceed ings in Parliament respecting tht legality of Art Unions. The reserved fund was stated to. amount to 1,9461. I`?s. The amount expended in works of art was 14,7441. 15s. 6d., and with other expenses, moue ted to 16,9331. 7s. The amount set apart for the purchase of works of art was 9,7sol.—(Cheers.) It would be impossible to crowd into our columns the remarks upon. the present position of Art Uniots introduced Tinto thir, admirable report; suffice it, therefore, to sta.';e, that it exhibited in the clearest manner the short-sightc d policy which would put down the Association, In der the plea that it might foster a spirit of gambling. It showed that much good had arisen from the support given to the line arts, and the dissemination of admirable, prints at a price which put them within rea eh of the humblest indi viduals. r ch ' ee h r e i : v r ! ading of the report IV f 3.9 received with hearty unanimously.carried ford ll° GL report b e adopted, which having .; been duly seconded was NTEAE, in an admit able speech, moved that the The Duke of CAMBRIDGE begg apologise to the meet ing for the delay which he had mus s ad considerably beyond the hour fixed by his being able At_ The fact was, it arose entirely from his own mistake, far he thought that he was to take the chair at one o'clock and not at twelve o'clock ; but the chair had been most abl y filled by his Noble Friend, and he was only sorry to have interrupted him in the con tinued exercise of its duties.—(Applause.) A vote of thanks to the committee and to the honorary secretaries was then moved, and carried with acclamation. The drawing was now about to begin, and his Royal Highness rose to - retire, but before he left the chair, Lord Monteagle moved a vote of thanks to his Royal Highness, and expressed the very great obligation the Art-Union and the promoters had been laid under by the Royal Family in their patronage of the fine arts, and by his R o y a l Highness, both in his place in Parliament, and in his office as chairman. His ROYAL HIGHNESS replied, and warmly assured the meet ing that he would do all in his power to further the interests of the Art-Union, and use his utmost influence for its being permanently legalised and established. He hoped that by next year they would have got over all the difficulties which were at present in anticipation.—(Cheers.) B. B. Cabbell, Esq., was unanimously requested to take the chair. The drawing was then proceeded with, and the following are the names and prizes, in the order in which they were drawn : E. P. Zuel, Great Yarmouth ... .£5O John Murphy, Dublin ("Youth at the Stream") ... Bronze H. J. Steadall, Croydon ... ... 50 T. L. Robertson, Fredericktown ... 100 Dr. Bloomfield, 4, Davy-place, Poplar ... 50 James Price, Bank of England ... 50 H. Fulton, Glasgow .. ... Bronze R. Rice, Lymington 50 Captain Logan, Junior United Service ... 80 J. B. Cooper, Liverpool ... 70 H. Green, Fakenham 50 W. J. Broderipp, Raymond-buildings ... ... 60 J. Hall, Bloomfield, Staffordshire ... • • ... 50 S. Vale, Coventu •• ••• ••• ••• ••• 150 George Smith, Whitechapel Distillery ... ... Bronze W. Harvey, 'Westminster ... ... ... ... Bronze John Gill, Eye ... ... ... ... ... ... Bronze John Robert Hanbury, Spitalfields Brewery ... Cameo C. Baker, Stockworth ••• ••• ••• ••• 70 H. E. Jordan, Reading ... ... ... ..„ 70 D. IV Arthur, Cork ... ... ... ... ... 80 Thomas Skayo, Islington . , ... ... ... 60 F. Bennie, Mortimer-street ... ... ... ... 70 Mrs. Haine, 21, Portland-place ... ... .. 50 Miss O'Callaghan, West Indies ... ... ... 70 John Wilson, Brixton ••• ••• ••• ••• 70 F. Fardinando, West Ham ... ... ... ... 300 Mrs. M. Wood, Reigate ... ... ... ... 70 Geo. Lancaster, Thirsk •• ••• ••• ••• 60 J. Gibbon, Gray's Inn-square ••• ••• ... 50 E. Chitty, Guildford ... ... ... ... ... 60 E. L. Betts, Tavistock-square John Van Voorst, Paternoster-row ... ... ... 50 J. Brittan, Birkenhead ••• •• ••• ••• 200 J. Dudley, Mornington crescent ... ... ... 200 Miss Black, St. John's-w00d... ... ... ... Bronze A. A. Heikleham, Norfolk ... ... ... ... 30 W. D. Reddish, Whitehead ... ... ... ... Bronze W. H. Lee, Montreal ... ... ... ... ... Bronze J. E. Killick, St. James's-street ... ... ... 50 J. W. Green, Hackney-road ~. ... ... ... 80 Mrs. Col. Herr) , ... .. ... ... ... Bronze J. L. M'Farquhar, Kensington-terrace ... ... 60 Mr. King, Newmarket ••• ••• ••• ••• 100 Miss Kelton, Great Marlborough-street . . ... 80 Mrs. J. Davis, Stourbridge ... .. ... ... Bronze Miss Belgrave, Uppingham ... ... —.— 60 F. J. Bladen, Regent-street ... .. ... ... 300 Edward Hardcastle, Hampstead ... ... ••• 60 A. Buttimer ... ... ... ... ... ... Bronze W. A. Cleaver, Croydon ... ... ... ••• 60 A. Iladley, Vauxhall Bridge-road ... ... ... Bronze Mr. J. Pyme, Walling-green Mr. W. Moffatt, St. Ann's lane ... .. ... 150 John Taylor, Windsor Castle ••• ••• ••• Bronze C. Davy, Yarmouth W. Bousden, Clapham ... ... ... ... GO . . Miss Chubb, Atherstone 100 V. Smith, Ashbourne BronzyWm. Daly, Tralee ••• ••• 60 Henry Abbott, Christchurch 80 IL Se - ton, Bamborough .. ••• ••• •• • 60 A. Macallum, Camden Town —. ... .. Bronze Mrs. Evendin, Tunbridge ... ... ... 100 .1. W. Douglas, Cockburn-road ... ... ... 60 Edward Gardner, Stamford-hill ... ... ... 70 11. G. Boodington, Fulham —. ... Bronze J. C. Elliott, Northampton ~... ... ... 150 Hugh Mackey, Old Broad-street ... ... ... 50 . ::,lis, Morris, * Kensington ... ... ... .. 60 0. Hudson, Cambridge ... ... ... ... 80 A. Atwood, Great Church-street ... .. ... 70 C. Gibbs, Gravesend ••• ••• ••• .•• 70 John Barber, Regent square F. Menshendel, Bread-street .John Anderson, Edgware . ... ... ... Bronze , . K. Morrison, Enston Railway Station ... ... 60 ( '. Tucker, Feversham ... ... ... ... BO W. Cockshott, Clitheroe ... ... ... ... 80 F. Wright, St. John's-wood ... „. ... ... 7D Rev. F. E. B. Willisfird . . ... ... .. 80 11. J. Birch, Kennington ... ... ... ... 50 11. Millar, Preston ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• 70 J. C. I'eake, Southampton ••• •• • ••• Bronze l:. J. Coming, Holloway ... ... .. ... Bronze J. P. Temply, Bolton ••• ... ... ... Bronze f:..1. Kinaltry, Gloucester-street ... ... ... 50 Fifty other names were afterwards drawn, to each of which ,as allotted a statuette of Narcissus ; and thirty more, who were each to receive a silver medal of Sir Christopher Wren. As it was now approaching close upon the hour when the theatre was to be given up, Mr. GoDwIN was sure the meeting would excuse him for including, at the Chairman's suggesting, three votes in one motion, which was—that the thanks of the meeting were .lue to Misses Weigall and Ward, for their services iedraw mg ; ti the scrutineers, Major Tory and Mr. Farratt ; and to Alfred Bunn, Esq., for granting the theatre on that occasion. The motion was passed with great acclamation. The thanks of the meeting were voted to the Chairman, and the assembly separated. TUESDAY NIGHT'S GAZETTE. WAR-OFFICE, APRIL 28. 10th Light Dragoons-Major A. F. Bonham, to be Lieut.- Colonel, by purchase, vice Wallington, who retires; Captain G. A. F. Quentin, to be Major, by purchase, vice B on h am ; Lieutenant W. A. Hyder, to be Captain, by purchase, vice 11'Donough, who retires; Lieutenant Sir T. Munro, Bart , to be Captain, by purchase, vice Quentin, April 28. 2d Regiment of Foot-Lieutenant C. E. Thornton, from the 56th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Mainwaring, who ex changes, April 28. 7th Foot-Lieutenant H. W. W. Wynn, to be Captain, by purchase, vice Lord J. Butler, who retires; Ensign 11. Charlton, from the I s t F oo t, to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice W. Wynn ; April 28. Bth Foot-General Sir G. Drummond, G.C.8., from the 49th Foot, to be Colonel, vice General Sir H. Bayly, de- ' ceased, April 24. Captain F. S. Holmes, to be Major, by pur chase, vice Roper, who retires ; Captai n A. C . R o b ertson, from the 34th Foot, to be Captain, vice Dickenson, who exchanges ; Lieut. W. T. Granville to be Captain, by purchase, vice Holmes, April 28; Captain E. G. Daniell, from the 55th Foot, to be Captain, vice Granville, who exchanges, April 29 ; Ensign W. H. Herrick, from the 66th Foot, to be Lieute nant, by purchase, vice Grenville, April 2s 13th Foot-K. R. Murchison, Gent., to be Ensign, by pur chase, vice Frere, promoted in the 24th Foot, April 21. 15th Foot-Gen. Sir P. Riall, from the 74th Foot, to be Colonel, vice Gen. Sir M. Disney, K.C.B. deceased, April 24. 21st Foot-W. T. M'Grigor, Gent., to be Second Lieute nant, without purchase, vice Dickins, promoted, April 28. 24th Foot-Lieutenant-Colonel R. Brookes' from half-pay Unattached, to be Lieutenant-Col one l, vice 11. D. Towns [ hend, who exchanges, receiving the difference; Captain H. ! Paynter to be Major, by purchase, vice Marsh, who retires; Lieutenant E. Wodehouse, to be Captain, by purchase, vice Paynter; Lieutenant E. J. I. Fleming to be Captain, by purchase, vice Leslie, who retires, April 28; Ensign A. I. [ Frere, from the 13th Foot, to be Lieutenant, without pur , chase, vice Rutledge, who retiree, April 27; Ensign W. Selby [ to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Wodehouse ; Ensign J. i Daubeny to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Fleming ; E. S. Bull, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Selby, ' April 28 ; E. G. "fibbed, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Daubeny, April 29. 32d Foot-Lieut. C. Richardson, from the 89th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Philipps, who exchanges, April 3. 84th Foot-Capt. C. F. B. G. Dickenson, from the Bth Foot, to be Captain, vice Robertson, who exchanges, April 28. 35th Foot-S. F. Blyth, Gent., to be Ensign, without pur chase, vice Cuming, promoted in the 24th Foot, April 28. 36th Foot-C. H. Carew, Gent., to be Ensign, without pur chase, vice Fortescue, promoted, April 28. 49th Foot-Major-General Sir E. Bowater to be Colonel, vice General Sir G. Drummond, appointed to the Bth Foot, April 24. 55th Foot-Captain W. T. Granville, from the Bth Foot, to be Captain, vice Daniell, who exchanges, April 29. 56th Foot-Lieut. E. M. H. Mainwaring, from the 2d Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Thornton, who exchanges, April 28. 65th Foot-Captain 0. B. D'Arcey, from half-pay Un attached, to be Captain, vice W. S. Cook, who exchanges. April 28. 68th Foot-J. B. Digby, Gent., to be Ensign, without purchase, vice Hawker, promoted, April 28. 71st Foot-L. Brown, Gent., to be Ensign, without pur chase, vice Newman, promoted, April 28. 73d Foot-Staff Surgeon of the Second Class N. S. Camp bell, to be Surgeon, vice M'Bean, appointed to the Staff, April 28. 74th Foot-Major-General, Sir A. Cameron, K.C.8., to be Colonel, vice General Sir P. Riall, appointed to the 15th Foot, April 24. 75th Foot-R. Barter, Gent., to be Ensign, without pur chase, vice Ke a t s , p romoted; Paymaster J. Nicholson, from the 84th Foot, to be Pay master, vice Eddy, who exchanges, ApBr4iitirFoot-Paymaster G. U. Eddy, from the 75th Foot, to be Pay master, vice Nicholson, rho exchange, April 28. 89th Foot-Lieut. J. L. Philipps, from the 32d Fo t be Lieutenant, vi ce Richardson, whe excha n ges, Apreo., to 02d Foot-Lieut. A. Stewart to be Captain, without pur chase, vice Sir W. Macgregor, Bart., deceased ; Ensign E. P. Mann, to be Lieutenant, vice Stewart, March 30 ; A. J. Ro bertson, Gent., to be Ensign, vice Mann ; Assistant-Sur geon H. Downes, M.D., from the Staff', to be Assistant-Sur geon, vice Millengen, appointed to the Staff, April 213. Rifle Brigade-H. S. H. Cornewall, Gent., to be Second Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Addington, who retires, 22 ,cs :ril l : is s ii.,, t g niGNWiN.a,:ntesis, S. Tyler, withoutli fltnye Regiment, e ß pgGui e merg purchase,ne i eh r ntna,tesv,nei purchase, April Fi b A c April 28. 3d West India Regiment-C. H. Martin, ("lent., to be vicueNliA.372.ricArcofiti,Enp.r_orriatieodr, A li p . r b il roo 2B k . es, t d April from t . : : °tl e nt 6 o 9 pQ th u're ß h e a g se i: i ee . c k 2E Li Murphy,.noi Cumming,genp p o willi G n p e t e n r d, t 'P t :: othebe RoyalE En sign, - Beutnengta, itoNbaetivLeielnntfeannatnr3t,-,Ctoolobneeml, awjoitrhionutzu:r inn ehas y e in , t April he E 2 a 7 s . t BREVET...-Capt. P. Gordon, of the Iltl a Re g iment of Indies,Surgeon J. A. D. NT tan, from the 73d Foot, on of the Second Cla to l, vice Campbell, totl4tt HOSPITAL od STAFF.--Surgeon s Ap Alw ril .ux 3 - . {,e appointed to the 73d Foot; Assistant-Surge on J. C. Millin gen, fr m o - the 92d Foot, to be A ss i s t ant -Surgeon to the 1 Forces, vice Downes appointed to the 92d Fo o t, April 28. OFFICE OF ORDNANCE, APu IL 27. Ordnance Medical Department-Tempor al y Assistant Sur gem.'Mille r, Esq., jun., M. E. S. Protb,eroe to be Assistant Su a r n g d eo . .n, April 18. comminions by the Lord Lieutenant . High Steward of 15 i rlc y c ic u i d uie b n, r . i , gh w t.. Esq., J. Hall, Esq., t o b e Wigton Regiment of Militia -W. Kirkcudbright and . C. Maxwell, ax t S ; w L Ae ie lbi ti e t rEc en rciegl ant i" l VYj k 11? e '41114 r . eh 2 8 . A. Gordon. ent., to be to be Lies atenant, vice A. ceased ; Ensign D. Hannay Stewart, Esq., to be Majzire,utveincae Lieutenant, v D ic . e S . A te . w A ar n t d , e r rs es o i n g , ne d d e! M'Donald, deceased, March 31. StirlingCommissio , D nb am y t b h a e rt L op or , d e Liaicekrouteaniman, a fir , KillroSB Militia ant of the County of Clack- THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING APRIL 29, 1846. J. Christie, Esq., to be Captain, vice E. F. Erskine, deceased, April 22. Commissions by the Lord-Lieutenant of Ayrshire. 115th, or Prince Regent's Royal Regiment of Ayrshire Militia—T. Davidson, Esq., to be Captain, vice R. M'Der ment Fergushill, resigned; P. Warner, Esq., to be Captain, vice W. Rankin, resigned ; Ensign R. M ac k ay t o b e Lieu tenant, vice T. Davidson, resigned, April 8. BANKRUPTCY SUPERSEDED. Joseph Quarton, grocer, Stamford-bridge, Yorkshire. BANKRUPTS. Charles John Bond, tailor, Blackheatb, to surrender May 8, and June 12, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Whit more, official assignee ; Englekeart, Great Knight Rider street, Doctors'- commons. Hannah Waldeck, chemist, Nelson-square, Blackfriars road, May 5, at two, and June 9, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Alsager, official assignee, Birchin-lane ; Bevan, Old Jewry. James Laws, grocer, Broad-street, Golden-square, May 12, at two, and June 9, at half-past one, at the Court of Bank ruptcy. Edwards, official assignee, Frederick's-place, Old Jewry; Burn, Great Carter-lane, Doctors'-commons. Charles Pulling, potato salesman, Hay's-wharf, Tooley street, May 12, at half-past two, and June 9, at two, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Edwards, official assignee, Frederick's place, Old Jewry ; Maples, Pearse, Stevens, and Maples, Frederick's-place, Old Jewry. Alfred Birchall, share broker, Manchester, May 14 and June 14, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court. Hob son, official assignee, Manchester ; Reed and Langford, Fri day-street, Cheapside ; Sale, Worthington, and Shipman, Manchester. James Hampson, iron founder, Manchester, May 14 and June 11, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court. Hob son, official assignee, Manchester; Copp oc k, Cl eve l an d- row , St. James's, or Coppock and Woollam, Stockport. Thomas Crewdson, stockbroker, Liverpool, May 7 at eleven, and May 29, at twelve, at the Liverpool District Court. Morgan, official assignee ; Gregory and Co., Bedford row, London ; Green, Brunswick-buildings, Brunswick-street, Liverpool. Owen Hughes, linen draper, Holyhead, May 15 and May 29, at twelve, at the Liverpool District Court. Cazenove, official assignee, Liverpool; Sweeting and Byrne, Southamp ton-buildings, Chancery-lane, London ; Roberts, Carnarvon ; Curry and Co., Liverpool. George Leather and Charles Wetherell Wardle, earthen ware manufacturers, Ma' 14 and June 18, at eleven, at the Leeds District Court. 1 oung, official assignee, Leeds; Sud low and Co., Chancery lane, London; Shackleton, Leeds. Edward Hill, hosier, Stourport, Worcester, May 11 and June 8, at one, at the Birmingham District Court. Bittleson, official assignee, Birmingham ; Pritchard and Ingram, Stour port; Rawlins, Temple-row, Birmingham. William Perry, iron founder, Wolverhampton, May 9 and June 6, at eleven, at the Birmingham District Court. Whit more, official assignee, Birmingham ; Bennett and Thorne, Wolverhampton. John Parsons, edge tool manufacturer, 'Wolverhampton, May 8, and 13, at eleven, at the Birmingham District Court. Christie, official assignee, Birmingham ; Motteram and Knowles, Birmingham. [Dividends, &c., in our next. j MARKET INTELLIGENCE. (From the London ...Yew Price:Current of April 28.) SUGAR.—To-day West India Sugar of all kinds was sought after by grocers and refiners; a largebusiness was transacted considering the indifference and smallness of the show, and the rates paid were 6d to is. per cwt. above those of Friday, for brown, yellow, and grey kinds. REFINED.—To-day Relined goods of all sorts were pnr chased with eagerness by the home trade, and further ad vanced rates were paid, brown melting lumps selling at 64s 6d to Gss, brown grocery 65s 6d to 663 and standard lumps 66s Id to 67s per cwt.—indeed, tha market has been nearly cleared. Bonded Crushed Sugar has fallen in value, 33 to 33s 3d per cwt. having been taken for several parcels of first quality for forward delivery. MAURITI I:S.—This afternoon Mauritius was in extensive request, and the parcels offered at auction, amounting to 10,987 bags 28 casks and 36 barrels were readily disposed of at an advance on former rates of Is per cwt. EAST INDIA. —This afternoon yellow llavannali Sugar was purchased with less freedom, 1,565 chests at auction mostly found buyers, but rather under former rates. Cocoa.—There has been little desire evinced to operate privately in West India, and none has been submitted to public competition ; former rates are not obtainable, and the stock is a large one. Foreign is dull of sale, and 184 bags Bahia at auction were taken in. FOREIGN. —This afternoon Bengal Sugar met with in• c p i l ie ic a e s s ed attention, exhibiting an advance and 2;4nBeoeof i bags s at auction were all sold at Mor.AssEs.--In West India a goodp pert cwt. business has been trans acted, and at prices rather above those previously current. low to fine b;inging 20s 6d to 24s 6d per cwt. Bengal Treacle has met with more attention, and the parcels sold privately were at folly former rates. COFFEE.-'Phis afternoon Mocha Coffee was purcha,ed with caution, and two parcels offered at auction, amounting to 629 bales, 98 1 x; bales were only in part sold upon rather lower terms. _ _ SPinrrs---There has been a strong desire shown to pur chase Jamaica Rum of all descriptions, and the rates offered have been ld to 2d per gallon above those previously current, but business has been checked by the small supply at market. Leeward Island is much wanted, and prices con tinue on the advance. In Demerara a good business has been transacted, and at improved rates. Calcutta has been extensively dealt in, and higher rates are paid Although Brandy can be obtained upon lower terms, still the purchases made have been limited in all descriptions. Fine Geneva fur home consumption is wanted at 2s 8d to 3s, but the common export sort is dull of sale at 2s ld to 2s 2d. British Corn Spirits have been purchased with caution at lOs 6d per gallon nett cash. INDIGO.—The quarterly sales of East India have termi nated. The quantity of Indigo disposed of at this sale has been much greater than was to be expected from the pre viously depressed state of - the market. SALTPETRE.—To-day three parcels of Calcutta, amounting to 2,093 bags, were offemd at public sale; there was little desire evinced to operate, and the whole was taken in at barely former rates. OILS.—In Southern Oil prices have slightly given way. In Cod a good business has been transacted privately; holders manifest firmness. Prices do not improve for Seal, although a fair quantity has been disposed Of since our last report. Sperm has been, purchased with less freedom, and there are sellers privately upon rather lower terms. The de liveries of Fish Oil have again exceeded the arrivals, yet prices still shciw a considerable decline, in comparison with those of last year. Cocoa Nut has been sparingly dealt in privately. Of Palm ma ny parcels have been taken, but better rates are not obtait 'able. For Linseed Oil lower rates have been taken. There are sellers of Rape Seed upon lower terms, but few buyers are to be met with. In Olive Oil many purchases hive been made, and holders evince firmness. _ . TALLOW. —The business transacted in Russian on the spot has been extremely limited and prices are going down. There are few purchasers to be met with for forward delivery. but 42s fid to 435. per cwt, duty paid, are the rates insisted upon for the last three months of the year. For A us tr a li a n Tallow a good demand has existed on the spot, and previous rates are sustained. Other kinds have met with attention and brought fair market rates. RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS. BRISTOL, Amur. 28. STOCK EXCANGHE.—The sales are — Bristol and Exeter, New, 9% —Birmingham and Gloucesl er, Quarter Shares (issued 734 dis.), 31% —Caledonian, 6 7-16—Midland, 150 —Welsh Midland, 1%. 31ANCJ JESTER, Aran. 28. STOCK EXCIIINOE.—The sales are—Blackburn, Darwen, and Bol ton, 2 dis.—Buckingham and Bletchly Junction, 34 dis.—Chester and Manchester Direct, 134" dis. — Clitheroo Junction, 1 dis.—Derby and Crewe, 2 p.—Direct Northern, 1 14 dis.—Eastern Counties, 23'/ —East Lancashire (No. 2),. 2 P. — Glasgow and Dumfries, 44 dis.— Goole, Doncaster, Sheffield, &c., 54 dis.—Great Grimsby and Shef field, 5 dis.—Huddersfield, Halifax, and Bradford, 1% p.—Hudders field, and Manchester ]zany M lay and Canal, 44 dis.—Ditto, Extension, 54 Ms.—Huddersfield ant. Sheffield Junction, 41% s p.—Leeds and Thirsk, 5% dis.—Liverpoo I and Bury, 8 p.—Ditto, New Shares, 13( P.— Liverpool and Leeds "Direct, % dis.—Liverpool, Ormskirk, and Preston, 11s. 6d. p.—Liver) mol, Preston, Manchester, and Southport, 11 dis.—Loudon and Manchester (Remington's), 1 14 dis.—Manches ter, Buxton, and Matlock., 1-16 P.—Manchester and Birmingham, 781 —Ditto, Quarters (A), 8% —Ditto, ditto (B), p.—Ditto, ditto (C), 7% —!Manchester and Leeds, Halves, 1734 p.—Ditto, Quar ters, 75i p.—Ditto, Exterslon, 16s. P.—Northumberland and Lanca shire, 17s. dls.—North Stall fordshire, 244 p.—Oldham, Birkenhead, &c., 19s. 6d. dis.—Preston and Wyre, Halves, (B), 13-16 p.—Preston and Wyre Extension, % dis.—Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction, 3s. 9d. dis.—Sheffield and Manchester, Quarters (No. 2), 2% p.— Ditto, ditto (No. 3), % p.—Sonth Eastern and Dover, Halves (No. 4), is. 3d. dis.—West Riding Union, 2p. HULL, APRU. 28. STOCK EiterwiciE.—We have had a rather spirited market to-day in scrip, particulowly Hull and Barnsley. Heavy stock, of which little is offered b ere, was also more inquired after, at much better prices. The sales are—London and Brighton, 64 1 4—Blackburn, Darwen, and F;olton, 21. Bs. 9d.—Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction, 12—Newcastle and Berwick, 203(—Nerth British, Half Shares, 8% —Ditto, Car'dsle, 395. 6d.—North Wales, 15s.—Armagh, Coleraine, and Portrusit, 123.—Bradford, Wakefield, and Midland, 30s.—Chelms ford and Br try, Ils. 9d.—Derby and Gainsborough, 13s. 6d.—East Lincolushi• :e, 13s. 3d.—East Coast, 225. 3d.—Grimsby, Louth, and llonicasti e, 235. 6d.—Hull and Barnsley Junction, 265. 6d.—Hull and Lincoln, '2ls. 6d. —Leicester and Tamworth, 201. 6d.—North Staf fordshire, 41. 12s. 6d.—South Midland, 425. 9d.— Shrewsbury and Binning/ tam, 214 —Tean and Dove Valley, 143.—West Riding Union, 4—York .shire and Glasgow Union, 235. • LEEDS, APRIL 28. Siva : EXCIIANGE.-The sales are -Eastern Counties, York Ex tension , 275. 6d. p.-London and Croydon, 22-Manchester and Leeds Eaten/ ions, 2 p.-East Lancashire, No. 2 (late Accrington), 2 c. p. - Great Orimisy and Sheffield, 4ii dis.-Huddersfield and Manchester, 1 dis.- -Ditto, Extensions, 1 dis.-Huddersfield and Sheffield, 3% c. p.-Le eds and Bradford, 26% p.-Leads and Dewsbury, 2% p.- Ditto, New Branches, Is. 6(1. p.-,Ditto, New Extensions, ss. p.- Livtal ,00l and Bury, 1% p.-North British, New Carlisle Branch, 15s. p.-Ainbergate, Nottingham, and Boston, 255. dis.-Bradford, Wakefield, and Midland, 21s. 6d. dis.-Chelmstbrd and Bury, 17s. ells. - -Direct Northern, 255. dis.-Essex and Suffolk, 15s. 6d.-Glas dis -Leeds and York, 235. dis.-Lelcester and Bedford, 14s. 6d. r ß la irm nd g d3 o wr v . ; L. uweso and r Northumberland ehrnti Dumfries , d 2 i 2 8. , -1. d L i i s virp w eo e l s , t o n rm ia; skirk, and Preston, 10s. p.-Loudon and York, 171. I tis.-Manchester, Buxton, Matlock, and Midland, 2s. 6d. p.- M, msby and St, sffordshire, Knand, Ch eltenham, 17s. 6d. dis.-South Midlands, 6d. dis. - Welsh Midlands, 2 % p; N i n ao g nr t h d a h ►l n Lancashire Western. d dis.-Oxford, Junction,-n and WelshxoripsJ un ction, wdidis.-North reyN oa l r t 7 n s idi t :mien, 1/. Bs.- -- ag Union. 31. 18s.-York and Carlisle, 265. 6d. dis. - Yorkshire and Glasgow Union, 265. 6d. dis. SHEFFIELD, APRIL 28. S Tc'ez Excrials° z. - The sales are-London and -Brighton, 64%- 15s --Ditto Railway , , , ' and Dock. 2-Grand Union (Nottingham to Lynn), ...IL-London and Windsor,' 12s. 6d.-Leeds, Wakefield, and Sheffield, Extension, U. 25.-Ditto, Quarter Shares, ~, : lo_n_ lap Extension, 31s. 6d. ---, -Sibeffield and Lincolnshire, 215.- Sheffield and Lincolnshire Ex- INs - Manchester and Lincoln Union and Canal, 1/. is. 6,1. t il burgh, GI srocz , EXETER, Aran, 28. Sheffield, Buxton, Leek, Potteries and Crewe, 14s. Tr irk Excrusoß.-The sales are-Eastern Counties, 24-Ditto, 1: Extension , 1 7i, - Devon tovil, and D orchester, 1%. STOCIC E GLASGOW, APRIL 27. 2ts.___A xcrresos,-The sales are-Aberdeen, Banff, and Elgin, yr and Galloway, 315.-British and Irish Union, 435.-Cale -Caledonian and Dumbartonshire June- I . I : a n , 303.--Cornwall and Devon Central, 30s. 6d.-East Indian Rail- 1 - -.Y n t 95 - 9 d- - Edinburgh and Glasgow, 721.-Ditto, New, 16%- London, Bristol rthern, 95 5.-Ditto, Lochgelly, 19s. 6d.-Edinburgh and Peebles, Glasgow, and Dumbarton, 19s. 6d.-Edinburgh and 275.-Forth and Clyde Junction, 355. 6d.-Glasgow General Ter minus, 9L -Glasgow and Belfast Union, 345. 6d.-Glasgow, Kil marnock a n d ' A yr, Quarter Shares (5 per cent. guar.), 18/. -Glasgow, Dumfries, and SRII, 27s. -Glasgow and d Dundee Junction, 335.-Glasgow Barbour Mineral, 315.- Carlisle 375. 6d. --Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ardros- Inverness and Elgin, 20s. 6d.-Lanark and Lothians, 40s. 6d.-Larne, Belfast and Ballymena, 125.-Lestnahagow, 425.- e N fi e i w ei l 31 14 -Perth and Inverness, 31s. 6d.-Scottish Central and ----°lllan Julletbri, 26 6d South Midland, 395.-South anti Mid land Junction, 20 g. • ..--- Dunfermline, 355.-Wishaw and , and South ' Wales, 20s. 6d.-Midland, 1461.-Ditto, s.--- Stir'n g and Coltness, 47%. were e l /sT ° — °KE.—Ou Thursday last two boys applied to a ownerwrn of the field gentleman hi the town of Hatlicigb for permission to draw a few turnips from a large field close by, which was readily granted ; but immediately wicked young urchins, not satisfied with helping themselves, ted,ately spread the report that the proprietor wished to have the whole field cleared. Whole families in Benton-street, and some r t i o oi t i l l other parts of the town, who might have known better, rushed lylr.Secretary Gladstone spot with baskets, sacks, barrows, and even horses and carts when ' lad ed ; a regular traffic was kept up for nearly two hours, en there could not be less than 200 present ; but suddenly the others took to their heels and tumbled over the fences in all directions, the r: begged his pardon and deposited their previous loads. How Presented himself, and was amazed at the scene ; mom ' atter will end will be seen ; but if they had reasoned for a mo ent th a t a tke refuse , they might P 1 ded that the good portion of the crop wauld.not h t have cope U Express. are been disposed of at cheap number of shee were penned in one corner eating Mr Brighton. arrived in town yesterday from IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, April 28. Their Lordships met at Five o'clock. SUNDAY TRADING. Lord REDESDALE presented a petition from the parochial authorities of St. George the Martyr against Sunday trading. The Marquis of ANGLESEY presented a petition from St. George-in-the-East to the same effect ; also one against the Charitable Trusts Bill. LONDON AND YORK RAILWAY. Lord KINNAIRD presented a petition in favour of the London and York Railway Bill. THE BUDE LIGHT. The Earl ST. GERMANS presented a petition from what he termed a very ingenious gentleman, Mr. Gurney, praying that inquiry be made as to the eligibility of the Bude light for the new Houses of Parliament. The Noble Earl moved that it be referred to the Committee for Ventilation.—Agreed to. MINISTERS' MONEY. Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition from the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the city of Waterford, praying for the abolition of ministers' money. They repre sented a strong case for the consideration of their Lordships— namely, that while the whole population of Waterford consisted principally of Roman Catholics, personal tax, as they stated, was imposed upon thorn, which, they considered, was fraught with great hardships; and, besides, was wholly unnecessary, as the funds of the Irish Protestant Church were abundantly sufficient, if properly applied, to defray the expenses of public worship in the city of Waterford. SELLING SPIRITS ON THE SABBATH. The NOBLY LORD also presented a petition from several re spectable inhabitants of Tervay, Bedfordshire, praying for a repeal of the law which allowed the sale of spirituous liquors on the Lord's-day. ST. ASAPH AND BANGOR. A NOBLE LORD presented a numerously signed petition from a place in Cornwall against the union of these sees. SCOTCH BURGH BILL. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition against this Bill. CHARITABLE TRUSTS BILL. Lord REDESDA LE presented a petition from the " Mae ter Filers and Seamen of the Trinity House" against this Bill. It stated that James 11. granted certain privileges and revenues to the Trinity House to be applied, amongst other things, to the relief of the widows of those who had suffered shipwreck. They prayed that those revenues might not be placed under the operation of this Act, as they were quite ready to have their accounts inspected. THE PROPOSED RAILWAY BILL. Earl FITZ WILLIAM said they were now about to enter upon the second reading of the Bill that had been introduced for the purpose of regulating all futUre railway Bills. He ap proved of the measure entirely, for he did think it was time to put an end to the disgraceful mania for railways that had existed, and which had been most mis chievous to the country at large. He would now beg to move that there be laid upon the table of the House an account of the total estimated cost of all railways for which peti tions had been presented in this session of Parlia ment, distinguishing between the Bills that had been withdrawn and those that were now pending. It was an absurdity to call these railway Bills private Bills. They should have been dealt with with more extended views, as Bills involving the means of communication with all parts of Great Britain. They were national Bills, and should have been dealt with as such. He proposed some years since to have a general survey of the country, with a viaw to establish a general system of railway communication. The answer that he received was, that it was too late now. He differed from people who thought that if they swamped a great number of the present railway Bills this session they would hear no more of railways for the future. There would always be a great dis position to speculate in railways. They had always been pro fitable investments. He believed it was not too late to take the initiative so far as it could be taken in the matter, by esta blishing a railway department in connexion with the State, something en the principle of the Poor-law Commission. The Duke of CLEVELAND fully agreed with what had fallen from the Noble Lord. Such a motion would have the effect of relieving many from theposition in which they had placed them selves from the fever which seized them in railway speculation. The whole system of railway legislation required a complete change. Nothing could be more frightful than the state of things which prevailed, promoting bankruptcy and gambling to a great extent, yet what had been done had been encouraged by the Government and Parliament. If they looked to the ses sion of 1844, leaving out of view the projects of the present year, they would find that more schemes were brought forward than had been projected from the formation of the first railway up to that period. The present system completely dissipated the finances of the country, as well as corrupted its morals. Last year they had stopped the gaming houses in Pall-mall and Aber places, and he could not see what difference there was between gambling carried on in such houses and that which had taken place in regard to railways. While in the former ease it was limited to a few places, in the latter it had become widely extended. It was necessary, in order to cheek this gam bling, that Parliament should retrace its steps. During the continuance of the undue speculation, many persons who were wholly irresponsible took upon themselves the office of direr:- .ors, not for the purpose of projecting schemes for the benefit of the public, but for the express purpose of obtaining money from the public for their own purposes. Why should there not then be a Board of Works, to whom the plans of new lines .hould be submitted, and who should give their opinion whe t her the railways ought or ought not to be made ?—( Hear, kear.) This, in his opinion, would prevent the promulgation of futile projects, and consequently render essential benefit to the community. At present, parties might take a map of England in their hands and project a line through any part of it which had not a railway; and they might do this, although persons possessed of neither influence nor capital, and totally unconnected with the locality for which they proposed a rail way. Landowners ought not to be allowed to oppose projects simply because they passed through their land, if it could be proved that they would confer benefits on the country, but they ought not to be at the mercy of engineers and solicitors in country towns.—(Hear, hear.) The Government ought to bring in a new Bill with respect to railways, and appoint such a tribunal as the one he suggested ; they would then have good railways instead of bad ones, and would put an end to all those bubble schemes of which they had heard so much. But if they did not adopt some such plan, they might rest assured that such projects would increase instead of diminishing. Lord AIONTEAGLE said it was his intention to call for some further information bearing on the question. It was not always they could get an estimate of the cost of construction of railways; and even when they only got a list of Bills, they did net get at the root of all the mischief, because such a list would not contain those projects on which money had been paid and expended, but which had not come before the consideration of Parliament. The documents he wished for were these :—he would wish to have a list of all the motions for Bills that had appeared in the Gazette ; he would wish for a list of all the Bills of which notice had been given at the Private Bill-office; an account of all the capital _proposed to be raised and to be borrowed ; and, as the most important of all, an account of the number of shares issued in order to raise this capital. His object was to show the House the necessity of putting an end to this system of gambling. Lord CAMPBELL rose to speak to the motion, when The LORD CHANCELLOR proceeded to put the motion. Lord CAMPBELL still insisting upon addressing their Lordships, The LORD CHANCELLOR—WiII the Noble Lord allow me to put this motion ? He can, then speak on the second motion. The motion was then put and carried. Lord CAMPBELL—I am very glad that we are able to jog on a little in our business. It certainly is not, however, owing to my Noble and Learned Friend. The part of the House in which he sits is generally the most irregular quarter of the House. The LORD CHANCELLOR—I have no authority, like the Speaker of the House of Commons, to call Noble Lords to order. If I had, I have no doubt 1 should have occasion every day to call the Noble Lord to order.—( Laughter. ) Lord CAMPBELL—I know my Noble and Learned Friend has no power to call Noble Lords to order, but he has the power of preventing disorder. The most disorderly quarter of the:House is that which is nearest the woolsack.—( Laughter.) The Noble Lord went on to say that he thought there should be a railway department in connexion with the Government. The loan appointed last year had failed, because their powers were not defined by an Act of Parliament. He trusted that the suggestion thrown out by the Noble Lord would meet with the serious attention of the Government. The Duke of W ELLINGTON—The Railway Board of last session was appointed in consequence of the proceedings of a Committee of the House of Commons, and a report of the House of Commons. Its powers were limited in consequence of that report. It was a measure imposed by certain private transactions which came before Parliament, to enable the promoters of these transactions to carryinto them execution. The Noble Lord m i g h t b e right ; Parliament did not, per- . haps, give suf f icient power. Lord BROUGHAM thought the Government could not have done worse than getting up a report, but the Board of Trade was materially crippled by it. He agreed with the Noble Lord behind him that a Board should be formed, for not only a railway department, but for all private Bills. He looked upon the manner in which such things were conducted by our continental' neighbours. He was perfectly satisfied that the decisions of such a Board in every instance would make the law, and they would have constant and economical, but, above all, right and just decisions. It was impossible that the Committee at present sitting on railway Bills, could satis factorily perform their duties. It was better done in that House than in the Representative House, from their Lordships being a more judicial body; still it was not performed in the way that it ought to be done. He hoped that some such salutary measure as that he referred to would be adopted.—( Hear. ) Lord ASHBURTON perfectly agreed with the Noble and Learned Lord, and with the feeling expressed by their Lord :hips, that the whole system of railway legislation should be altered, and some responsible and efficient Board appointed. He hoped that they would not have to wait much longer before the Government did something in the matter, or if they did not, he trusted that a Committee of that House would consider some plan for meeting the state of things complained of. The Board suggested by the Noble Duke should be constituted so as to command the respect of those whom its decisions would affect. But he apprehended that it would not, be cause they had an instance in the Poor-law Commissioners— men of respectable position and influence—being made an ob ject which parties, whom their decisions affected, treated with considerable obloquy. He was afraid that such a tribunal would not meet with the approbation of the public. If the Committees, in deciding on the Bills submitted for their con sideration this session, paid particular attention to the amount of capital invested, and to the wants of the districts through which they were designed to pass, he believed that no projects save those required would pass into law. He could not sit down without expressing his strong conviction that the mea sure brought forward by the Government was loudly called for, and would effect great good. Lord BROUGHAM said, although the Noble Lord abused roads, be (Lord Brougham) could state, that they had been really improved during the last four or five years. The Earl of DALHOUSIE said, he conceived the House would not wish him to express any decided opinion on the question hofore the House. He wi shed, however, to ad dress a few words, calling attention to the fact, that his Noble Friends about him, and his Colleagues in the other House, were not responsible for the absence of any measure forcontrolling railways In the very first session after her Majesty's Ministers obtained power there was no appearance of a number of railway Bills at all, but in the next session, when there was likely to be a great demand for projects of that kind, her Majesty's Govern ment took the subject into their consideration, and in the very first week of that session a Committee was appointed on the subject on the motion of the President of the Board of Trade. The subject was minutely gone into by that Committee, and their report, after fully entering into the subject of railways, and their superintendence, recommended that a department of the executive Government should be entrusted with a certain preliminary authority on railway Bills, before their coming into Parliament. The Committee recommended that that department should be entrusted with some authority, and should report on the desirability, or not, of such Bills ; and in their recommendation the province of dealing with these Bills was assigned to the Board of Trade. He need not re mind their Lordships that at that time there was an extreme degree of jealousy on the part of the representatives of the people, and not less jealousy on the part of their Lordships, against any assumption of control over those projects by the Government ; and, therefore, the Committee distinctly laid down the powers which should be given to that de partment—exactly what they should inquire into, and no more. He had the honour of being placed at the head of that department. He could state, with perfect confi dence, that no labour was spared on his own part, and on the part of those who acted with him, to discharge their duties in a proper manner, and with satisfaction to the public. It would be impos , ible for the gentlemen entrusted with the discharge of this duty, to have applied themselves to it with more assi duity, industry, or integrity, than they had; but they could not dare venture to go beyond the line laid down as that which limited their duties. For this limit they could not blame either the House or the Government. If there limits were to be enlarged, good and well ; but until they were, no blame could be attached to the Committee. He had now only to say, that a Committee had been appointed for the purpose of inquir ing into the subject, and he had no doubt the result would be such as would enable this House to come to some final deter mination upon the subject. In conclusion, he had only to say that there could be no objection to the returns moved for by the Noble Lord ; but there might be some difficulty in getting some of them. Lord WHARNCLIFFE said that having been brought in contact with this subject in some measure, he would wish to say a few words. He did not find fault with this Committee going somewhat beyond its limits. He rejoiced that there ap peared a growing conviction of some organisation for control ing the operations of that part of the public business. He thought that such organisation could not be effected without some considerable difficulty, arising from the constitution of their Lordship's House. He thought it desirable such an or ganisation should be made. The motion was then agreed to. MESSAGES FROM HER MAJESTY—VISCOUNT HARDINGE AND LORD GOUGH. The Earl of RIPON brought two messages to their Lord ships which were then read. " Her Majesty having taken into her consideration the services of Viscount Hardinge, Governor- General of India, upon the banks of the Sutlej, and in the Punjaub, and being desirous of conveying some marks of her favour to Lord Hardinge, and the two next heirs male of his body, recommends your .Lordships to adopt some measure for carrying the same into effect. Her Majesty having taken into her consideration the services of Lord Hugh Gough, Governor-General of the army in India, upon the banks of the Sutlej, and in the Punjaub, and being desirous of con veying some marks of her favour to Lord Hugh Gough, and the two next male heirs of his body, recommends your Lordships to adopt some measures for carrying the same into effect." The Earl of RIPON said that on Thursday next, he would move the consideration of the subject. THE RAILWAY DEPOSITS BILL. The Earl of DALHOUSIE moved the second reading of this Bill. He hoped there would be no opposition to the second reading. Lord CAMPBELL was willing to give every assistance to the Noble Lord. He, however, wished to call his attention to the 17th clause, which gave great power to the chairman of those Committees. If a chairman was to make a false return, or falsify the minutes, there was no redress, as the Bill at pre sent stood. This was an important point, which he wished to point out for the consideration of the Noble Earl. There ought to be a review of such proceedings by the competent Court, ere the publication in the London Gazette was made absolute. It was most desirable that a tribunal should review, and have the power to reverse any decision that a chairman should falsely re turn. That granted, he agreed that advertisements inserted in the London Gazette should be a final authority as to the calling of the meeting, and the resolutions it had come to. He trusted the Noble Earl would consider the matter between that and going into committee on the Bill.---( Hear, hear.) Lord WHARNCLIFFE wished to call the attention of the Noble Earl to one other point. It was in reference to the 19th clause of the Bill, which required that the parties pro moting a Bill should return the number of shares issued. He thought it right to be extended so as to be of a more perma nent character than was embodied in the Bill, there being at present no mode by which the parties most interested in a Bill could lessen the amount of reserve shares, or the manner in which they were issued. The Earl of DALHOUSIE said that with respect to the limitation of the Bill, he thought it would be better that it should be restricted to two years. With regard to the point respecting the registration of shares, he was desirous of its being carried into effect. In passing the Joint Stock Companys Act of last session, the object was to obtain a full account of the shares issued in the formation of companies, and other particulars in reference thereto. At present the Standing Orders' Committee also required information as to the shares taken up, and the returns were he believed generally accurate, at least he did not think there was much trickery. These points however would have his best attention, though he con.idered a chairman would hardly rule the falsifying of the returns, as his proceedings would be subjected to the closest scrutiny. Still, in order that every precaution might be taken against such a contingency, he would consider the means of remedying it. The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Thursday next. COMMONS ENCLOSURE BILL, The Commons Enclosure Bill was read a second time. Their Lordships then adjourned till Thursday. HOUSE OF COMMONS, April 23. The SPEAKER. took the Chair at Four o'clock. BRIDPORT ELECTION. The Clerk of the Crown appeared at the table to amend the return for the borough of Bridport, by inserting the name of Mr. John Romilly for that of Mr. Baillie Cochrane. Mr. 110311 LLY then took the oaths and his seat. Mr. GEORGE HOPE moved that the Committee, of which he was chairman, should have leave to proceed with the Bills in their Group No. 4, without requiring their com pliance with the resolutions proposed by the Hon. Member for Finsbury. Sir G. CLERK said he was not prepared at present to accede to the motion, and proposed that the discussion should be ajourned till twelve o'clock to••morrow. Mr. HOPE objected to the discussion being adjourned to another day, on account of the expenses it would entail on the promoters of the different lines comprised in Group 4. After a few words from Sir A. Leith Hay, Mr. Greene, and Mr. Gisborne, Mr. HOPE consented to withdraw his motion. SECOND READINGS. The following Bills were read a second time, and ordered to be committed, viz. : Charing-cross Bridge, and Frilford (Berks) Inclosure. REPORTS. The following reports were brought up, the amendments and alterations agreed to, and the Bills ordered to be engrossed, viz.:— Ashburton, Newton, and South Devon Railway. Glasgow, Garnkirk, and Coatbridge Railway Extension. Edinburgh. Leith, and Granton Railway Amendment.. Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock Railway ( Harbour Branch). Colehester, Stour Valley, and Halstead Railway. Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway Extenson (No. ). Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway Extension (No. 3). Harwich and Eastern Counties Junction Railway and Pier. Edinburgh and Northern Railway (Pettycur and Perth Har bour Branches an ,t Deviations). North British Railway (Hawick Branches). Eastern Union Railway ( Ardleigh to Colchester). THIRD READINGS. The following Bills were read a third time and passed, viz. Taunton Gas. Eastern Union and Hadleigh Junction Railway. Maldon, Witham, and Braintree Railway. GOLLON INCLOSURE BILL. Sir JOHN W ALSII moved the second reading of this Bill. Gollon was a piece of land which would be greatly benefited by being inclosed. The cottagers and other occupants of the place had been opposed to the inclosure, but were now satis fied that if the lands were inclosed their condition would be im proved. ___ Lord WORSLEY opposed the second reading, on the ground that the cottagers had exercised the right of common for up wards of 60 years, and their rights ought not to be done away with. He had given notice of his intention of opposing the Bill, so that the attention of the Government might be drawn to it, the Bill being in opposition to the resolutions and principles of the general Act passed last session of Parliament. If the present Bill was carried, the provisions of that Act would be done away with as far as the inclosure was concerned. He assured them that he only opposed the Bill on public grounds. After a few words from Mr. ESTCOURT and Mr. M. SUTTON, Colonel WOOD hoped that some amendments would be in troduced into the Bill in reference to the principality of Wales, for if not the whole of the principality would be thrown into confusion. Mr. M. PHILIPS was of opinion that a vast amount of good would follow from this Bill, and it would also, no doubt s be desirable to remedy the defect with regard to Wales. Mr. AGLIONBY was of opinion that this Bill, though a private one, had now attained the importance of a public o ne , and therefore he w o u ld say a wor d or two upon it. It was de • sirable to have a special clause inserted in the general Act. He did not oppose the Bill before the House. He wished to have the expenditure in such cases materially reduced. The Bill was then read a second time. Major BERESFORD presented a petition against the Cornish Coast Railway. Another HON. hIEMBER presented a petition against the Yeovil and Dorchester Railway. Mr. W. PATTEN moved—" That it be an instruction to the several Committees on Railway Groups, that in all instances in which railway companies propose to take powers of amalga mation with other companies, either by sale, purchase, lease, or otherwise, the rates and charges of such com panies be revised, and a new maximum imposed ; and that they specially report any circumstance which may have in duced them to allow such maximum to exceed the minimum of rates and tolls actually charged and received by the respec tive companies at any previous period ;—that they also append to their report a schedule, containing, under the various heads of traffic, the minimum of rates and tolls previously received, and the maximum which it is proposed to allow the companies to take under their Bill. STANDING ORDERS' COMMITTEE. Mr. ESTCOURT brought up the report from .hisCoyn rnittee, In which it was stated that on the St. A lban s Railway the Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, and t h e Birming ham and Gloucester Extension several Rills. brought down Railway Bills, Messengers from the Lords the standing orders had not been complied r ith. LORD HARDINGE AND LORD GOUGH. FROM HER MAJESTY. t h Sir R. PE EL appeared bar of the House with a Mes sage-as follows :—" Her Ma jesty,The SPEAKER into consideration the great and brilliant taking f r oin A h l e E r S s S la A ie G st r E y e . d t a h t e Message services perfor med herby Henry Viscount is F ce o u r n ee t s, H a a n r d din G ge o , ve L rn ie o u r: Lieu tenant-General of General of India, in the course of the rec nt hostilities which have taken place on the banks of the Sutlej and in the Punjaub, is desirous to confer some signal mark of her favour for those and other distinguished merits of the said Henry Viscount Hardinge, upon him and the two next surviv ing heirs of his body ; and she recommends to her faithful Commons the adoption of such measures as s h a ll b e necessary to accomplish that object." Sir R. PEEL then brought up the following Message, which was read by The SPEAKER—" Her Majesty, taking into consideration the great and brilliant services of Hugh Lord Gough, Lieu tenant-General of her Majesty's Forces and Commander of the East India Company's forces in India, in the course of the recent hostilities which have taken place on the banks of the Sutlej and in the Punjaub, being desirous to con fer some signal mark of her favour for these and other distin guished merits of the said Hugh Lord Gough, to him and the two next surviving heirs male of his body, recommends to her faithful Commons the adoption of such measures as shall be necessary to accomplish that object." On the motion of Sir R. PEEL, her Majesty's most gracious Messages were or d ered to be taken into consideratism on Mon day next. MR.' SMITH OBRIEN. Mr. ESTCOURT brought up a report from the Committee on Group I I of Railway Bills. The Clerk read the report, which stated that at one o'clock this day the Members comprising the Committee on Group 11 of Railway Bills were present in the Committee-room, and that Mr. Smith O'Brien did not attend within one hour, the time appointed. The SPEAKER called on Mr. Smith O'Brien. Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN rose and said—Sir, I presume that the object of this House, in calling upon me, is to give me an opportunity of making an explanation to this House. I feel obliged for this opportunity, but I have already stated my views and intentions fully and finally in the correspondence .which has passed between myself and the Committee of Se lection. I do not think it necessary to add anything to the matters contained in those l e tt ers , nor am I desirous of with. drawing anything from the substance contained in those letters. The Hon. Member here withdrew. Mr. ESTCOURT said that he wished to state the grounds on which he should ask the t upp,irt of the House to a motion which he should make, and to state to the House that, con sidering those circumstances, and the motion he was about to make, this ells the most painful duty he ever had to perform. He thought he would be justified in the eyes of the House in making that statement, for so long as he held the situation which he then held, which has been since the Committee of Selection had been instituted by that House, this was the first and only time he had ever been called on to perform a duty similar to the present one. On the 12th of February last that House framed certain resolutions, and amongst them was one to the effect that the Committee of selection should form certa n Committees of inquiry into the merits of railway Bills. The Committee of Selection by a resolution of this House were ordered to give ample notice to those Members whom they might choose to select, which notice was not to be less than fourteen days. The Committee accordingly thought it would be expedient to frame such a resolution, that they might be able to give the notice required, and before the Easter recess it was given to the Hon. Gentleman, who was one of those selected. He received notice that on the 27th of the present month his attendance would be expected so early as the 3d of April ; on that day he wrote a letter to me, as Chairman of the Committee, and in it he enclosed a copy of another letter, whick was addressed to me, when a similar summons was received by the Hon. Member; and the reason given for so doing was that he (Mr. Estcourt) might, by referring to it, know his reasons for refusing to comply with the summons, stating that he had not seen any reasons since. That letter was written to change his opinions. He received that letter on the 3d of April ; that was on a Friday. The first sitting of Committees of Selection was not until the Tuesday following, the 6th of April, and, of course, he could take no measures on receipt of this letter until he had an opportunity of submitting the same to his colleagues the Members of the Committee of Selection. On the 6th of April this Committee met, and then he (Mr. Estcourt; laid I , efore them the letter with the inclosures received from the Hon. Member. The Committee of Selection found that the Hon. Member objected to serve on Committees having no relation to Ireland. And they also found that the Hon. Mem ber stated his reason for so objecting. He (Mr. Estcourt) believed that he could not better put the House in possession of the grounds on which the Committee had acted than by reading part of the correspondence which had taken place between himself and the Honourable Member. But first he would draw the attentian of the House to that particular part of the Honourable Member's letter on which the Committee had acted. The Hon. Member said that as long as he continued to serve in that House as:one of the Irish Representatives he would not omit Ireland was placed upon a footing of political equality with England think of devoting his time to the business of this country. Then he went on to say that he had no wish to interfere with the affairs of England or Scotland unless those affairs were in some way connected with his own country. And he added, that he had abstained while in that House from voting on questions of a merely local nature from the same motives. The Committee of Selection had instructed him again to write to the Hon. Member, stating that no reason had been assigned which was in their opinion sufficient to justify them in absolving the Hon. Member from those duties which were imposed upon other Hon. Members. He did write to the Hon. Member, informing him that the Committee could not recognise such an excuse, and they would not, therefore, be justified in exempting him from the perform ance of the duties which commenced on the 27th of April. An addition was made to the letter, to the effect that the Committee would be happy to make any arrangement to delay the Hon. Member's attendance till a later period, if it would be any accommodation to him to do so. That letter he sent to the Honourable Member the next day. and on the following day he received an acknow ledgement from the Honourable Member, in which the Hon. Member stated that his objection to serving on these Committees was founded on the relation which at present existed between his own country and Great Britain, and was in no way connected with his personal convenience. The Hon. Member, therefore, stated that his former communicatioa announced his final determina tion. He ( Mr. Estcourt) had not an opportunity of lay ing that letter before the Committee of Selection till after the recess, and then the Committee felt a sufficient excuse had not been given to justify the non-attendance of the Honourable Member, and they placed his name on the Committee appointed to consider the merits of the Bills comprised in Group No. 11. In ac cordance with the resolutions of the House, Hon. Members were required to make a declaration that they were not in any way interested in the Bills referred to them ; but the lion. Member for Limerick neglected to make this declaration, and on Friday' last he (Mr. Estcourt) reported this fact to the House, in accord ance with a resolution agreed to by the Committee of Selection. Nothing further had transpired after that. He (Mr. Estcourt), had regretted that the Hon. Gentleman, since that last letteste had made no communication to the Committee of Seloctim,, and he had not attended the Committee yesterday. He then found that it was his duty to make that motion, that the lion. Gentleman should attend the House to-day. That motion was founded on the sixteenth resolution of the 12th February last. His next step was to make this determination known to the Hon. Gentleman yesterday. He was, however, disap pointed of his attendance, and he was consequently now com pelled to report to the House the resolution to which the Hon. Gentleman had come, in order that•the House might express their opinion respecting it. The notice of the previous deter mination of the House had been duly sent; he was therefore compelled to bring the matter before them on the present occa sion, stating, firstly, the fact of the H on . G en tl eman ' s net at tending the Committee yesterday ; next, his not attending the Committee to-day, after the order of the House had been made known to him ; and lastly, his not attending on the House to day. Hon. Gentlemen were aware that he (Mr. Estcourt) was not in the habit of frequently intruding:upon them —( Cheers) but he must take this opportunity of assuring them that he and the other members of the Committe e of Selection were deeply sensible of the readiness with which their services were rendered, not only on the ordinary Committees of Private Bills, when, their assistance was not compelled, but also on the more are duous occasions, when their attendance was considered irel.is pensable. He could assure them that those services were duly appreciated both by the country and the House. It should be recollected that these Committees were only tern rosary, to indure throughout the session of Parliament, and there was therefore the less excuse for any Hon. Member throwing the labour which he ought to bear upon the shoul ders of others. This resolution of the 12th of February would compel the Committee of Selection to the unpleasant duty of calling upon other persons to do his duty. He could not sit down without taking that opportunity of repelling the charge that the Members of that House had not done their duty.—(Loud cheers.) He could bear his testimony that the Irish Members had cheerfully, kindly and ably discharged the duties intrusted to them, and he would especially refer to the Hon. Member for Cork—(Hear, hear, and cheers)—who had discharged his duties in reference to the Committees with great readiness and extraordinary ability ; and presented its, his case an example worthy of imitation.—( Hear, hear.) lie must now make the motion, which it became his duty to make, and he was sorry that it should have fallen to his lot to do so. He now begged to move, " That William Smith O'Brien, Esq., having disobeyed the order of of the House, in refusing to attend as one of the Committee upon the merits Of the line of railways comprised in Group 11, is guilty of a con tempt of the House." The ATTORNEY. GENERAL seconded the motion. Mr. 'O'CONNE LL was sure the House would give him the credit of believing him when he stated that he would not rise to advocate the line of conduct adopted by Mr. Smith O'Brien on the present occasion, if that gentleman intended the slightest disrespect to the House. He was quite sure that the Hon. Member had acted from the strongest feelings of what he conceived to be his duty, and he would not lightly de part from it. The House ought to pause before they took any steps on this matter; and there were two grounds on which they should give it the fullest consideration. The first was, whether the Act of Union gave the British House of Commons any authority such as that claimed over Irish Members. There was no common law jurisdiction applicable to the case since 1793. The other point which he would impress upon the House was with reference to the Committee of Selection. Of course, he was not disposed—he was never less disposed than at. the present moment—to say anything derogatory to that Com mittee. Before the 12th of February last, ne stringent measure of that House had been adopted to compel the attendance of Members of that House upon Committees. Up to that time the attendance was voluntary, and, in many instances, it was still voluntary. Now the question was, whether the violation of a power delegated to a Committee was punishable as con tempt. The House had not the jurisdiction of the common lay/ to compel the attendance of Members. The only power was statutory, and :hat statute was the 6th of Henry VIII., by which it was enacted that a Member of the House should be required to attend. If there had been a common law juris diction, that statute would have been totally unnecessary. The penalty mentioned in the statute of Henry wonld certainly not operate now, as it was the loss of the absent Member's wages.—( Laughter.) If there had been a violation of any rule, it was one adopted by a Committee which had been appointed by the House, and could not be considered a con tempt towards the House. He hoped, therefore, that the House would pause before they decided upon the motion which had been submitted to them. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said, he very deeply re gretted that this question had arisen, but it was absolutely ne cessary that the House should come to a decision, and he thought, under the circumstances in which they were placed, by the determination which had been expressed by the Hon. Member for Limerick, that there was no other course for them to take, but to adopt the resolution which had been proposed with very great. regret by his lion. Friend the Member for Oxe ford. That question now assumed a much more serious r o e n. t o a and Learned nsider w whether character then when it originally arose, because it was nor connected with the important considerations which had been tbheer they shortly for wereac d o ci rt r k. e . s i s n e t drerrhtfo: interfere with :House ethntoht e b o y nnl t yo h n e t to consider the further important question fused his obedience to the orders of the n Member ow who submittedh ad re' t 0 House, but they the Hon. and Learned Member for Cork. ' s cers House, who were beyond the House by dependent authority the House over the other !Members. Whether there were riot a • sent a co mmunication to them portion of the Members of that it conetol who had an In' order which sz i b i j c e l e i t h n e o b t distinct be r . from ,rh ' e Hon. the Member authority I, a . sl belonged. Let LweitthththeeHouse refusinghis obedience to any compelled his attendance on Committees on all local interests of the country to consider for one momen t in what position it was with respect to the general question then before it. In the month of February, 1846, it was con' sider e d necessary, in consequence of the pressure of business arising out of the number of applications for railway Bil ls ' that this Howe should come to a resolution by which Com mittees might be formed of all those Members who had bee° chosen by t h e C • Committee of Selection, which was itself estab lished by a resolution of the House in 1839. The Hous e should not forget that in the resolution it had passed, every Member of that House was supposed virtually to have giv er) his consent to their adoption, and the Hon. Member for Limerick was as much a party to that resolution a' any oche' Member from England or Scotland. The Hon. Member that time tone no objection, as he might have done, but sub witted to their resolution, which was passed for the convenien ce of the House, and which bound him as well as every Memb er of that H ouse . Th e H on. M em b er had been chosen by t „, "- Committee of Selection to attend on a particular gre e l i of railway Bill s , an d h e re f erre d the C omm ittee in a l e tt er w hi c h h e sent to them, to a former letter a last session, in w hi c h—h e h av i ng been chosen to serve on a , privat e Bill—h a re f use d to atten d , f or reasons which he tn't. • gave, and whi c h reasons were f u ll y incorporated in the lette r addressed t o th e C omm itt ee t hi s sess i on. There were p arts of that letter which it became imperative on the House to co n " cider, because they were the foundation of the reasons on which the objection of the lion. Member depended. The tr, ch Member stated that he would express these opinions, nlßl had arisen from a long formed conviction, that a British Par liament lge of was not compitent, through want of knowledge people, or cant of inclination, to legislate wisely for Irelann• ter, ( Cheers from the Opp os iti on .) S o th a t th e H on . DI e th° a Member of the Imp er i a l L eg i s l a t ure , a n xi ous t o a dvance interests of every part of the empire, declares that we are in competent to perform our duty, and declares that Irish lation ought to .be confined to Irish Members alone, and _ 9s . fuses to join with us, grounding hi s reasons o n the. as sertion sertion that none but the re p resentat i ves o f the 11 2 0 Lesion should legislate for Ireland. Now, if it Limerick competent for the Honour a bl e M em b er for Isireex for its to decline attending on any Committee, which has not 11 cn object some local interest o f I re l an d , it would be cqua