The Sun. — London, England, 1846-07-25 00:00:00

I thipl‘ • you bi rY for Lt g ate; ons sta bbed I by the Rea 1' of base Lforesaial sergeit rade , ""- ce to il l. srit, C. , rjroo rill IVA high °. grea ter' in Yerl st take waste s 9 public ye said liVing bereV er v e been ,h e c°l3r COI' the In , he 1 bv `'" • wiarlY n o o f i s ture ..., i n g frOP . 19 0211e'l w hich t ips; 1 1 ,: s e r $ 4fiNe 4141-ERIAL PARLIAMENT. Th e ). HOUSE' OF LORDS, July 24. I t o mit t , .ktCnatrcEt.L , R took his seat upon the Wool °clock preeis,ly, when there was rather a endanee of Peers. ' t , G , II A II . AND GLOUCESTER (STONE tard R',-,'USE JUNCTION) RAILWAY. isr,RAFFORD reported to the House that the cde of the 13 irminghatn and Gloucester (Stone -111,11„etion) Railvvav Bill h ad not been proved. "'-''SziAGE FIiONI THE COMMONS. sin Q-Igers !ruin the House of Commons brought up 0( ) , • 't AND ST. , ISAPII AND MANCHESTER he p DIOCESES BILL. ‘itPh part of POW IS moved that the Bangor and St. ,444:1(1 r iartchester Dioceses Bill should be passed. kaAlisprs,(l,l,l • of said, that on a former occasion L 'ltte °Piton that the consent of the Crown was "ts es arY to the .• f the Bill but on spedting t ki r tain N 1), p as ' in l" c opinionthat it Odbs„, 1. 42 Liras, he found tht m et•d the Bill till the per -0.4 of P QIIL " P"ne h therefore os h er Majesty could he got, ant e , 13 '''°ble Friend to consent to the postponement ticouslisteitie,:rxp;st't.i A LI, DEBTS BILL. . _ 'TBELL presented several petitions from of 11 'orcester and Stafford in favour of this ) 44 0) . LtitchiS.,:RATES OF THE CITY OF LONDON. ~,.”.„1101.1GHAM said he had a petition to lay on n t ,"," 44 tlips' table complaining of one of the greatest hleta; ( l , 3 to whica th e citizens of London could be 4, 1 01 , that the magistrates entertain questions 4", t hey had no more right to entertain than tZe pt . " to enter - th Lordships' ' houses aid seize their t d'' That practice hall prevailed not only in t till h e to Westminster and the borough of South when he held the great seal, called the at-. k l ° ) Lo rd Melbourne, then Secretary of St ate tor the qartraeht, in who se d e p a rtment it properly t o L 'i l leation. He (Lod Broug,ham) wrote a ate ) ` els Lordship recapitulating this gross s : r oa ,tt called on hi m ser i ous l y to represent to L'u,restlstra.tes of th e . city of Westminster in I : et, for he bad no jurisdiction over the L tart- °l' the City of Lendon.—(Hear, he c ar.) o,lBtrates permitted pen in n to come be,cr! taalte their complaints the abs -nFet o . f the cee a , ; ll ° would illustrate the evil which it was of by the followinat fact :—A Noble lo ttitt r l e ula, who at one time held a very high office ttlae:ollthaer_ al:l:fortunate marriage, and his widow fell d treatest pecuniary distress. The Prince Reent k a °l ly s h e . t !k sum of money, and she received in sums a week. She had formed such tier h us b and ' s death as to entirely p_reve_nst. 0!11: hal 811 ° 1 of money being entrusted to her h d ki l ds - lZ w as placed in the hands of two of his 1\ ble . Nis h ,_that House, in order to secure its proper dis klo out whenever she wanted money she went be N: sitting magistrates. He read the reports ,Th _ e Otlihewspapers himself, and stated that the two Noble to l 6 ) , ttl Possession of a fund which was b,,! Public, and that they refused w t as o give a it to 4 1 : 1 4 ‘ kept it for their own purposes, and Y(tip Iflayor of London, to whom . she told Instead of senditif• her about her business, said, 01 0 1- I . t ° be believed, is it'to be endured, that these two Nt.',ords should take this miserable . opp u o n rt o u r n t i u t n y a of S!it), 4 lt tg themselves at the expense of . an . f . ': - --(Hear.) Ile called the attention of Noble ltl4 l o the fact, but they considered it not worth their tO contradict it, though it was very generally be elsewhere, and, in fact, he had heard it even lately In the present instance the petitioner had been 4"di v sentenced to pay 20L, and to be i mpr i sone d , ,: pt to hard labour fur two months. He appealed, gbrought up on an habeas corpus, when it was he had been ill ega ll y i mprisoned and fined. Nrist hat Ulan had s u ff ere d t h e pun i shment, and there no redress for him even if he brought his Otie W ould be decid e d th a t b e h a d on l y acted i n h i s theeharaeter. He (Lord Brougham) considered s e corporation magistrates were most per- At ti Lott to say the least thing offensive, were most '011 1) Lo the first principles of justice. l' l l ittc,.„ (2ll .lGE-1 AND VISCOUNT HARDINGE. 4th CHANCELLOR read letters from Lords Hardinge, which stated that those Noble V I ; marn ec unicated the vo t es p asse d by th e i r Lord -45.1 co °llBe to the officers and men under .lqtali.l-riland, wh o were great l y grat ifi e d b y Vtkitill' co nferred upon them. The letters They Nei/ d ated the 10th and the 25th of May. ed to be entered on the journals of the House igti lt 4 tlis m . SUGAR QUESTION. -4 exi, - ,, u GH4.1.111 said that he would on Monday o ~as petition against the proposed Sugar . ~so e iQia tetition was from his venerable friend, I );,l t ltti. t "°n, the president of the Anti-Slavery ( 14 4 ttk ) ,., tj tlf tli " I ,IiAM begged to state that in conse rrstp,ll„- q e:cl 4 ponement of the sugar duties from to his in the House of Commons, he should r ota li o s ttee of his motion respecting the sugar 041 130, 11 day till Tuesday next. 'to L ars n - { 4lB AND WAsHFIOUSES. 4 442 1 ;, 4 ' v tt ' s 0 1 LANSDOWNE presented a_petition a, - `e 0n 4. 4, e ,r and burgesses of Cork, praying That any "flls, - _"'s Subject which had reterence to England 1„, 11 4kir 4 ,,u1d be extended to Ireland. AY BILLS NOT COMMITTED. ktil he NLEy moved, in addition to the motion ;,; 11 3 mader d the other evening, for a return of all Zi'th of ,railways which had not been committed on e tar!a nte °I CLARENDON conceived that the agree lsh of .., irlto the other night would be sullicieot to the information which his Noble Friend RAILWAY GAUGES. lA.stat. , a d of CLARENDON brought in a Bill i fo a r „b 41 4. I°4 of the railway gauges, which was rea Aft 13. I 11" C° A . L.WHIPPERS' BILL. kdiki Ps 4diaou Ws ra re e ad a third time and passed, and their d. MP' a t e " ( M B OF COMMONS, July 24. t.'l)44liElt took the Chair shortly before Four 46 11 1 , O i tti p e°N °R DoN was introduced by Mr. Fitz- I 4 and and the Hon. W. Cowper, and took the I, l ep ti ;pills seat upon his re-election for Roscommon. 4 ' 1 4 ' I) ° I JLETT took the oaths and his seat for St. . ge r "na of Mr. W. Praed, deceased. tik'4et LORDS' AMENDMENTS. 4414,ereldtu: amendments to the following Bills were a „ nd agreed to : Oa and Coatbridge Waterworks. L''ttztrlllPrOVeMent. 4: "eashire Railway (Deviations and Branches). lekhail way Extensions. tile s6e ld and Sheffit- ld and Manchester and Leeds ' _ A malgamation. k t ktqb, s 4 i. , l ll4 , Bury St. Edmund's Railway (Norwich &c. Lighting, 84c tt°,eit Waterworks leb.„4YldUu A ) ` a nd Bury Manchester and Leeds Rail :l4algaraation 4 Ya c 414 Brighton . and London and Croydon Rail ti tisrdida.tion krirlt,l, ti 4 1 11 „t 1 Brighton Railway (Wandsworth Branch). vvoteester, and Woverhampton Railway. mtel„aburY Y Municipal and Police. kC P ° 'd Ch ster Junction Railway Xtensio__ Deviations a e VgiviebitheYa'uthsl3 andasnde ma ). Junction Railway I t v r y e , L nd ine C s) h . est.r `lto "tiDearne Improvement. 1ti 45 41 1w . SECOND READINGS. 4 e t i t l e,,lt's Estate Bill was read a second time, and Q'he obe cmmitted. THIRD READINGS. 1)11 blin Cemeteries Bill and the Tramore Em- Lit en t Bill th e •• were read a third time and passed. 04 otion of Viscount NORTHLAND, the re- It ed re Dublin, Belfast, and Coleraine Railway was Monday next. 4 0 1*. ',4 ) b t: e ) presented consideredon a petition from the Rev. Itt '3l ° , in NEB diocese of Dublin, complainin g of t 6 the by the Archbishop of the same, for be ll, Rl : v ilvangelical Uuion. He also presented al o t he t r petitions from Ireland, complaining of the tl , ‘Ministers' Money," and playing for its repeal. t ORD presented a petition, numerously • C A F "tZ t ; , t'Y the gentry and clergy of the county . of Ti i thegreat advantage which had representing - t ( t ) iat the he co i u l n o t u y se the Public Works Bill, and would e a cause the recommenda- LIZ its t Committee, in 1835, to be acted upon. 11 1 ,°x• MEMBER also presented a petition, signed the Pr congregation of Warrington, pray -141 Ri' l aholition of capital punishments. . itt 112 t d petition from a native of •Et • Mien e a re mdent i F eland iti tha service of the Raja Ivi a vlite 1 , 6 Pug that the . House Prajnb H• - would order an uUtin. of his master, whom„ 41 1c1 borne down by means of bribery and Sir G • GR},•„. NESS OF THE HOUSE.. BU tti ol ,d th e VC: 8 44 it was the intentionNoble t mach e that as t Lord of the Treasury, on;.oconcuay, s o () after ti me a t at , Public business did not no h F t that a s a t the commencement a the session,p occupy 41 1 3 8. 3 t e "1 public business should commence at - .aur FLU stead of five o'clock, as heretofore. N I% 1 1014;17P GING IN THE ARMY. Ira)) , Esti t4k ' htto gave notice, that motion for 6, mates h k,o uitnittee of Supply on tne . It ke e dt should propose that flogging in the army 4t elY abolished. T ) qa l% Iltrv-YUBLIC EXHIBITIONS. l ia••. -1 s *l l ' ll, moved fer a return of the number of )I t .,te n ~!; Visited the British Museum, the Tower, and ' 1 11.7, or ,•'°llrt Palace, in 1844 and in 1845, with the op p 'ner J'Fertaining whether there was a su N:M f r l o Blti ng th.ose exhibitions to allow of their b m e er l" .n n o. t Petra el aye to seven in the evening in summer. Al i to kti t iao N h e ms • s iii o lot • . gave norm/tea notice that he would post -1("n concerning the Administration of Jui utland till Monday. lt ST• JAMES'S PARK. ktk t h t c ,,ra, seeing the Noble Lord, the late Presi tt "Lk " °oda and Forests, in his place, wished to tl * te ,', a reference to St. James's Park, whether any L ° eert,i as to ti:li""4ti°ll *admission had been adopted, tx ti, LT , a parties from the park? . trtte.ti th at C OLN said that no instructions had been ), eote, effect during his time in office; on . the con ittleaiss;l‘3rable relaxation had been made in the rules 6)1:--,--(IIear, hear.) , L u tti (,21.1, eleven that the petition of Govind Row te ti t ‘ o v , 3 ' tu tt , tl May 25;h), shuutd be piiiited.- 911 t44O)J° IIB NMENT OF THE HOUSE. 010494 Pi Su Q, caw, is waif agreed fl ,ar red. Id have rationa,ny leaa beca use otect no gees e s '' D A ca . ,ur 00— DER• TILE SUN, LONDON, SATtritDAY __MORNING, JULY 25, 1846. should persist in their course of placing the statue in the proposed po .ition. Lord MORPETII said that his private opinion, which officiel responsibility could not altogether separate from him, was that he had certainly some misgivings upon the subject.—(. tear, hear.) When he succeeded to office he found that the preceding Government had given their consent to the parties who wished to erect the statue. and he did not therefore feel disposed to take the pleasure of her Majesty again upon the question. He wished that the subscribers could persuade themselves to accede to the offer which had been made previously by her Majesty's Government, but he did not think himself warranted in interfering in the subject. He would merely state that in a letter which had not been laid upon the table of the House, from Mr. Burton, it was stated that having examined the structure of the arch he was of opinion that it was sufficiently strong to support the weight of the statue, but he added that in his opinion there would he seine difficulty in raising a statue of the weight of thirty or forty tons to the Neigh I proposed by the c•minittee. This is all, said the Noble Lord, I have to submit to the House.—(Laughter.) Sir F. TRENCH would state the real nature of the case. None of the committee had any objection to the pro posed site—they only objected to the cost, and which side it should be upon; but the cost was &sided upon and her Majesty's consent obtained a year before this objection was made. The next course to adopt was to determine the nature of the memorial, and it was agreed that the money subscribed by the public should be devoted to the erection of an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellineton on that arch. They afterwards found it impossible to adopt any other course than the one deter. mined upon, as they were virtually appointed to effect that i object. The Queen gave her consent/through Lord Mel bourne to the site; a deputation of the Committee then welted upon the Duke of Wellington to announce their decision, and to congratulate him that he would have opposite his window the great tribute which the public of England intended to erect to a loyal servant of his country. On the Ist of June her Majesty re ceived the chairman of the committee, and gave her consent. On the 6th of June the whole of the sub committee went as a deputation to the Duke of Wel lington, on the matter of placing the statue in that position. On the 22d of June, and on the 3d of July, the letters which had been referred to appeared, written by a nobleman whom he was proud to observe had never attended the committee at all. It was part of the duty of the sub-committee to submit the plans which were proposed for the statue in ques tion, and as soon as her Majesty had given her consent to its being placed on the arch on Constitution-hill, they were so submitted, and the opinion then expressed was, that this was the best position for it. When the design for the statue now agreed was offered, and her Majesty's consent was obtained, a meeting of the general commit tee was called, which was very frilly attended, there being no less than twenty-six members present. The result was, that after a deliberation, the proceedings of the sub committee were confirmed, there being but one of the members who objected to the statue being placed on the arch. He would ask the Hon. Member who so much objected to the proceedings of the sub-committee if it was right to charge that committee with indecent proceedings, or with exceeding their duty. They consulted the feelings of the general com mittee, and considered their duty was nothing but to carry ir.to effect the wishes of the public. He considered the House of Commons was not a fit place to make such an application as had been made that night, but it should be made to the committee that was ap- pointed on the 3d of July, 1839. He would take the liberty of calling the attention of the House to the opi nion of a Noble Lord on this subject, who was quite as competent to give an opinion as either the hon: mover or seconder of this motion. The Noble Lord to whom he referred was the Earl of Aberdeen, who stated, that after her Majesty had given lic,r consent to placing the statue on the arch in the Green-park, and after the committee had taken steps to give validity to this by a resolution, be considered the question settled. Was it to be supposed that the sub-committee were obstinate. for it was impossible for them to take any other course ? He hoped the House would not commit the gross injus tice of doing that which he did not think they had a right to do, and which would be a great disrespect to the Crown ; her Majesty, having given her solemn pledge, ought not to be called upoa to reverse it. He hoped the House would not come to any such resolution as the one proposed, and which, he thought, would be a gross in justice. Mr. EWART then rose, but was for some time im perfectly heard. He maintained that, first of all, the subscribers ought to have been consulted ; next; the opinion of the architect, the gentleman who constructed the arch, ought to have been taken ; and, as much as any, the sense of the country ought to have been attended to ; for he thought that if that were considered, the gentlemen on the committee have attained no very en viable immortality. Sir R. H. INGLIS wished to state his single difficulty. It was that her Majesty had been pleased to give her consent, and yet this House was to ask her to withdraw that consent. But he believed that when her Majesty gave her consent it was given when no plan was laid before her Majesty exhibiting the statue as it was pro posed to stand. If so, the question was still open to the House. If the decision of the intelligent community of London—if the opinions of the Members of that House were taken seriatim—the vast majority of the community, as well as the Members of that House, would be in fa vour of not placing the statue where it was proposed to be erected. In conclusion, he suggested that the pre sent works should be at once suspended, and that the Government should be at the expense of carrying out one of the other plans, and thus obviate what he could not help thinking would be a great monstrosity. Mr. F. FRENCH said that the Committee would of course have to administer the moneys of those who had subscribed towards erecting a statue to the Duke of Wellington on the arch, because the greater part of the money was subscribed for that purpose. But he had no objection, if the proposition should be satisfactory to the House, to lay the opinion of the House on this subject before the committee.—(Cries of " Hear, hear," and " No, no," in the midst of which the Hon. Member re• sumed his seat:, when Sir GEORGE GREY rose and said, he hoped the Hon. Gentleman would see, or rather infer, from the manner in which the motion had been entertained by the House, that they were averse to the placing of a statue upon the arch; and he (Sir G. Grey) must confess, after reading the correspondence to which allusion had been made, that he had a very strong objection to the pro posal of the committee—(Hear) —but until the Hon. Member had submitted to t'ae committee a statement as to the feeling of the House on the subject. He (Sir G. Grey) would not say that he would advise her Ma jesty to withdraw her consent to the erection of the statue on the arch, At the same time he must say that he should advise the House to listen to the proposal of the Hon. Member as to submitting a proposition to the committe.—(Hear, hear.) Sir F. TRENCH accordingly again rose and said that the Right Hon. Baronet had truly interpreted his feelings on the subject. He should indeed entertain the deepest regret if the statue were not allowed to be placed on the arch, and he would beg to say that if the statue were placed on the arch in the manner proposed by the Committee, it would be, in his opinion, one of the most magnificent ornaments to this great metropolis. (Hear, hear, and great laughter.) He sincerely thought so, and he knew that there were a great many Members of the House who participated in that opinion.—(Hear, hear.) His proposition at present was, that the House should delay expressing its opinion on the subject until he had au opportunity of stating to the committee what appeared to b 3 the feeling of the House on the subject.—(llear, hear, and No, to.) He should be able to do that in the course of two days, and he hoped that the Hon. Member who had proposed the motion would, under the circumstances, withdraw it for the present —(Hear, hear, and Divide.) Lord MORPETH said, that if the House consented to the withdrawal of the motion, he hoped that it would be understood that the Government would be empow- ered to stop all the works.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. BERKELEY— Mr. Speaker, with such an understanding, I have no objection to withdraw my motion, provided I have an assurance from the Noble Lord that the whole of the works are stopped—(Hear, hear)—and that they shall not bo allowed to proceed with the statue until this Rouse has expressed its opinion on the subject.—(Hear, hear.) Lord MORPETH—I think it is perfectly fair that the works should be entirely stopped till the com mittee signify their assent to the proposition that has been made, and till this House has an opportunity of deciding upon their resolution.—(Hear.) An HoN. MEMaER beggeol to ask the Hon. and Gal lant Member whether the committee had not pledged themselves to erect a statue which should be satisfactory to the public? Sir F. TRENCH—They were required to erect a statue which shuuld be satisfactory to the Treasury, and the Treasury are now hostile to it.—(Lauhter.) The motion was then withdrawn, and the subject al• lowed to drop. WAYS AND MEANS. The order of the day was then read for going into a Committee of Ways and Means. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved that the sum of 4,000,0001. should be granted out of the Consolidated Fund fur the use of her Majesty's service. Motion agreed to. HALIFAX AND BOSTON MAILS. On reading the order of the day for going into a Com mittee of Sueply, ➢lr. P. MILES rose, in pursuance of the motion of which he had given notice, to move for a Select Com mittee to inquire into the circumstances connected with the granting of the pre-sent contract for the conveyance of the mails from England to Halifax and Boston, end also into the circumstances connected with the granting of any new, or the extension of the existing contract for the same purpose. Although the Great Western Steam boat Company were in the habit of bringing letters and treaties for the Government, hitherto they had not re ceived a farthing of compensation, and he for one thought this was most unjust. It had repeatedly been pointed out to the proper functionary of the Government, that the contract fur conveying the mail ought to be con c;'.,'ded to that company ; and the late Government decided, just before going out of office, that no other contract should be signed until Parliament had had some opportunity of expressing an opinion upon the subject, but the present Government had disre garded this promise, and another contract had lately been entered into. What rendered it more important however that the matter should be inquired into was, that letters brought by the Great Western Company were always delivered in Liverpool, and he, therefore, begged to move the amendment of which he had given notice.—(Hear, hear.) Captain BERKELEY seconded the motion, because he thought monopolies of every kind ought to be done away with. The contract for conveying the mails to America ought to be thrown open to all the world, and he thought a company managed with so much spirit and 4 energy as the Great Western §tvgga-beat conPau de served encouragement at the hands of her Majesty's IGovernment. The cot =try was justly proud of the Great Western Railway, and they ought to be no less proud of the Great Wes ;ern steam-ship —(hear, hear.) Well, then, let it be b( erne in mind that the company who had built; that vessel was the first to prove that the Atlantic might beovercin ne by the power of steam; and during the Canadian insurrection they afforded con siderable service to this couna sy in conveying and bring ing Government dispatches. Then, again, it was by the celerity of the Great Wet done steam-ship that the Right Hon. Baronet, the late Premier, was enabled to announce to the House, before quitting office, that the Oregon question was settli d, evil his announcement was confirmed by the Great Bri emin, another vessel belonging to the Great West raSteam-boat Company.—(llear, hear.) Ile thought, then, under thsse circumstances, the of the patronage of the Go vernment, e bestowed upon them in a better way than by giving them a co n tract for carryin g companyanddeistecrovueldds noton the Ainelican mails.--(Hear, hem) It must be borne in mind, too, that besides doing great services for the Government, the company bad done much to promote and advance the mechanical ;science of the country. They it was who first practice fly developed the screw system ; and he thought, at a 11 events, they were en titled to a hearing if they did not participate in the pa tronage as htwas the party who made nt. tro A n i a r e : T G o o f u th t e u G u o ß ve isT rn the present contract fur the col iveyance of the mails to America, he felt it incumbent upon him to say a few words. He should endeavour to show that the contract so made was the best for the public service. In 1839 steam navigation across the Atlantic was first esta blished, when Government advertised for parties to contract for carrying the imails to America, and as Messrs. Cunard were the only parties prepared to enter into such a contract, it was of course conceded to them. They were to provide three vessels, of three hundred horse-power each, to perform journies out and home, once a fortnight, and the Government agreed to pay them a compensation or 55,0001. per annum. It was subsequently found, ho vever, that these vessels were not sufficiently powerfe to navigate the Atlantic, and another contract was entered into, by which it was agreed that Messrs. Cunard should provide five vessels of four hundred horse-power, which should be so built as to be made available for the service of the country in times of war. Shortly afterwards another arrange ment was made for the conveyance of the mails to the North American colonies, and it was this arrangement which induced the late Government to think it would be better to send the mails via New York instead of Boston. He said that the contract of 1641, not only required the conveyance of mails to North, America twenty times a year, but gave the Admiralty power to require Mr. Cunard to put on vessels and double the number of mails for the year within nine months after notice. Shortly after this, a discussion arose as to the best method of conveying the mails to the North. American colonies, and in 1845, a proposal was made by the United States of America to carry the mails overland to the colonies of the north, and it was thought better to have the mails carried by way of New York and not by Boston. He said, then, these mails had been regularly carried, as we 11 during the winter months as when the season allowed of more certain voyages. The Government, however, instead of remunerating Mr. Cunard to the amount to which he was entitled by the contract of 1841, which should have been 180,0001., cut him down to 145,0001. for forty-four voyages a year. It had been stated by the Hon. Gentleman, that the cost was 4,500/. a voyage.—(The Hon. Member from the other side of the House "It was 4,5001.") He (Mr. Goul burn) would tell him what the original cost in whole was—it was 3,2901. But the proposal made by the other companies was severally 3,7501. and 5,0001. a voyage, so that, measuring Mr. Cunard's merits by the ii mount of remuneration given him, his superiority was st iblished by that, as well as by the uniform regularity and asiduity with which he had discharged his duties. It had been asked why the Government had not ac cepted the tender of the Great Western Company, and kept open two routes to North America ? But he (Mr. Goulburn) would ask any gentleman, whether a Govern ment, maintaining a double line of mails, would not have exceedingly increased the expense to the country ? But, besides, that company proposed to give up running early in November, and begin again only in April. Mr Cu nard, on the contrary, against the anticipations of the Admiralty, had faced and overcome the difficulties of running across these seas during the winter months. One other object was looked to in establishing this mode of conveyance—that provisions were made for a time of war as well as of peace, so that the mails might run at all times. This establishment, he said, owed its origin entirely to the activity of the colonists of Nova Scotia and the neighbourhood, and he, for one, should have been sorry to do anything against the zeal and the energy of these colonists. Lord CLEMENTS moved that it should be an in struction to the Committee to consider the advantage of the mails to Halifax starting from the western coast of Ireland. He said there was a gross neglect of Ireland. In Lord Grey's time the only admiralty station in Ireland had been removed, and since that time a route connecting the western coast of Ireland and North America had been asked and as often refused. He thought, then, that it would tend much to the conciliation of Scotland, and to a closer union between America and this country, if a railway crossed Ireland to the west coast, conveying the mails that way to America. Mr. CHRISTIE said that he thought one very strong point with the Hon. Gentleman who had brought for ward the motion, and of which the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Goulburn) on the other side of the House had taken no notice, was, that this contract had been signed two days after the late Government had tendered their resignation, and were holding office only till another Government should be formed. This had been brought before the House at the time by a question, and the pre vailing opinion then was, that the contract would not be signed till a Government was formed ; and indeed, the Noble Lord now at the head of her Majesty's Govern ment gave his assurance to the House that the contract would not be signed till further consideration had been given it. He hoped that some explanation of this would be given by some Member of the late Government, and also that a Committee would be granted to the lion. Gentleman the Member for Bristol on the subject. Mr. GOULBU RN begged to exp l a i n t h a t ever ythi ng but the actual signature to the contract was done in this matter before the resignation of her Majesty's late Ministers. _______ Air. SPOONER said, in answer to the remark, that Mr. Cunard was the first gentle man that bad traversed the Atlantic in the winter time ; that the reason was, that he was the only gentleman that had been paid for doing so.—(Hear, hear.) The fair way would have been to offer to both companies remuneration for the carriage of the mails. The public did not complain of the manner in which Mr. Cunard had carried out the terms of his contract—every one must admit that he had carried it out in a most satisfactory manner.— (Hear, hear.) The public, he contended, should be made cognisant of the terms of all contracts of this description.—(Hear, hear.) The Government had kept all this matter in the dark, and of that the public had a right to complain. He had no doubt that his Right Honourable Friend had done his best to wards securing the ablest contractor for the carriage of mails ; but he had at the same time deprived the public of competition.—(Hear, hear.) A most dangerous precedent had been esta blished, and he hoped that the House would grant this Committee, for the purpose of making a full inquiry into the matter. Mr. GISBORNE said that his commercial consti- tuents highly disapproved of the conduct of the late Go vernment on this subject. The Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Goulburn) had no doubt given a most satisfactory answer to the Hon. Member for Weymouth (Mr. Christie) as to the signing of the contract, but he had not, in the course of his observations, exculpated himself from the charges of unfairness and injustice which hed been brought against him. If the late Go vernment could show that they had acted justly, the public would of course be satisfied; but be was afraid that they could not. Under these circumstances, he hoped that the present Government would grant the in quiry asked for.—(Elear, hear.) Mr. MARK PHILIPS said that as this subject created a great excitement out of doors, he sincerely hoped that a Committee might be granted, for the pur pose of justifying the conduct of all parties concerned, and showing the public that no unfairness had been committed. He believed that the commercial interests of this country were greatly indebted to the Right Hon. Gentleman, the late Cancellor of the Exchequer, for the manner in which he had exerted himself in obtaining for the country the earliest possible means of communica 'ion with the United States, but he thought that he had acted very prudently in establishing a monopoly in favour of Mr. Cunard. He was most anxious that the Com mittee should be granted, that the whole question might be fully and fairly inquired into, so that the abuses, if any such did exist, might be removed.—(Hear, hear.) In voting for the appointment of the Committee, he by no means meant to throw any discredit on Mr. Cunard, or any otter r party.—(Hear, hear.) Sir R. PEEL hoped there wo uld be no opposition e w d them would signed, th e whatever to the appointment of this Committee.— (Hear, hear.) The late Govern ment were of opinion that Mr. Cunard was entitled to the late c ontract; indeed he (Sir R. Peel) felt confident that if th e late Govern mentmem have bs ei l i d e of d le i f ti t h. e o ffi iGi c : e dv e before trhnemcconnt t t h rt e ahca c tt o n n foo t t r u a bo c ew t e as n signed by the shabby asked y ar o f ovecrtwn. would therefore Government, b , ep theyap appointed.—(Hear. n wouldte dhh._oped r a (iia have e bcen guilty of a most thath e a. the r Committee ) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, after giving a brief history of the circumstances connected with the granting of the contract to Mr. Cunard, said that he felt that that gentleman was the ablest person with whom the Government could have contracted for the conveyance of the mails to the United States, but he was by no means opposed to the a pp oin tment of a Com mittee, which would afford the House an op portun i ty of inquiring into the whole of th e circums tances. —(Hear.) He (lid not wish to say a word calculated t o annoy the South-Western Company; t he y were fully entitled to stand well with the public ; they were th e fi rst to con struct large steamers to cross the Atlantic, and they had made at their own cost a great experiment lately with the splendid steam-ship the Great Britain. It was the duty, however, of the Government to make the best bargain they could for the public. He was so satisfied with the course the Government had taken that he should be the last person in the world to object to such a Committee as moved for by the Hon. Member. The adoption of such a course at the present ti me wou ld lead, however, to the stoppage of the supplies, and he hoped, therefore, that the Hon. Member would not press his motion. The motion was accordingly withdrawn. ABUSES IN THE MILBANK PRISON. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE moved, pursuant to notice, that the petition of Mr. Edward Baker, presented on the 12th of June, complaining of certain abuses existing in the Milbank Prison, be referred to a Select Committee. ,He did not propose to enter iate the Weg4ti946 of the peti tioner. The petition contained a number of charges of cruelty and misconduct against the Governor of the prison towards the persons confined in that prison. These charges could, he thought, be all substantiated, if a Select Committee were appointed to inquire into the subject. One of the charges was that the prisoners were sentenced to seven days' confinement, upon bread and water, for opening their bibles and reading therein during the time of divine service. Another case was that of a prisoner who was sentenced to receive 100 lashes for ewting a cat on the wall with a pair of scissors; and that, in consequence of this corporal pun ishment, he had been confined for a period of ten weeks, during which he was not allowed any religious instruc tion, nor was the chaplain allowed to visit him. In the former case the Governor had exceeded his duty by confining the prisoner for seven days, for by the regu lations of the prison he had only the power of confining a prisoner for three days. As to the second case, the prison regulations regarding corporal punishment, it was ordered that no whip should be used except such as had been approved by the prison inspectors, and which had their seal upon the handle. In this case, however, the night before the punishment was to take place, the governor sent out for a lash of double the weight, which lash he had wound round with wax-cord, which in creased the severity of the punishment to a considerable extent. There was also the case of a prisoner who was confined for twenty-five days, and kept on bread and water, till he died a mere skeleton. Four suicides had been committed, and twelve prisoners had attempted to commit suicide. but had been prevented in consequence of the vigilance of the warders. There was another practice to which he would call the attention of the House. The governor was in the habit of raising a false alarm of fire, and a hundred and twenty persons have been called up out of their beds in the depth of winter for what is called " fire practice;" and this was in the habit of being done for the purpose of entertain ing the dinner friends of the governor. There were also charges of favouritism, and numerous others, which into. An would not then detain the House by entering An inquiry into these charges ought to take place, and it would facilitate the solution of the problem of the best method to treat the criminal. He said it advisedly, and in his place in that House he was prepari d to prove every charge which was alleged in the motion. Sir G. GREY said an inquiry was made already by the Government into the facts, and the charges were re ported not to have been substantiated. There had been only four suicides out of 11,000 persons who had been committed, the whole convict population that were sentenced to be transported passing first through Mil bank. He would promise to lay before the House the report, and it the House did not consider that report sufficient, he would agree to any inquiry the Hon. Member chose. Mr. HUME said, after the frightful atrocities which were daily coming to light from the Andover Committee, his confidence was exceedingly shaken in persons who were possessed of authority. He would, therefore, re commend the adoption of the suggestion of the Hor. Member. Captain PECHELL would recommend his Hon. Friend to persevere, for the public would not be satisfied, after the charges that had been made, that an inquiry should be delayed. Mr. SPOONER considered that the Hon. Member would come with a stronger case to the House if he would consent to the suggestion. Mr. AGLIONBY said he hoped no delay would take place. An inquiry should be made, and not postponed; the characters of public servants were involved, and that rendered investigation imperative. The former was conducted in the walls of a prison, with no one present to represent the accuser, and it was alleged that answers were put in the mouths of the witnesses, and that their answers were stopped when they seemed to imply the truth of the charges. The public would never be satisfied unless there was a full and searching investigation. _ _ _ Mr. WART said, that only one side of the case was referred to the inspectors, and consequently the investi gation was of little use. He considered that a geod case was made out for an inquiry, and he should support the motion. Sir R. INGLIS said that the Right lion. Gnntleman the Secretary of State, merely stated that the House was not yet in a condition to pronounce an opinion on the subject, and merely asked fbr a brief delay till he made inquiry into the allegations. He thought such a course was the proper one under the circumstances. He would support him. Mr. B. ESCOTT supported the motion. He thought the inquiry should be granted, as it was a very fit sub ject for the House to investigate, and he could not un derstand why it was refused. _ . Mr. CHRISTIE would vote for the inquiry without hesitation. The report referred to by the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State ought to have been laid on the table before this. He hoped the Right Hon. Gentleman would grant the Committee. Mr. HENLEY opposed the motion. If the House went into inquiries of this sort there would be no end to them. The course proposed by the Right Hon. Gen tleman was the proper one under th• circumstances. The House then divided when there appeared— For the motion Against it Majority - The House then went into Committee of Supply. BRITISH MUSEUM. Sir R. INGLIS proposed that the sum of 45,406 L be granted to defray the expenses of the British Museum. Mr. HUME said that the present was a large sum, compared to what was formerly granted to that esta blishment. He thought there should be a responsible board of managers to superintend the outlay of so large a sum of money. There was no establishment in the country where so large an amount was granted without some control on the part of this House, yet this board was wholly irresponsible. The trustees consisted of three classes of high official men, and he asked if the present system was not one extremely objectionable ? The board was composed of too many individuals, and the result was, that the management fell into the hands of a few individuals. In 1836 a Committee sug gested the propriety of forming a responsible board; and, with the exception of the raising the salaries of the officers of the institution, which amounted altogether to 19,0001., no other recommendation of that Committee was attended to. He thought a change should take place in this system. He was really at a loss to know what branch of the Government to address on the sub ject, but he hoped the matter would be taken up, for the public would require that a responsible tody be ap pointed. On Tuesday and Thursday the Museum was open only to private parties. That was the system of exclusion carried on ; and he wished to know why a public institution should be open only to private parties. The public servants were compelled to attend on those days, and he thought that while the public money was ex pended every well conducted person ought to be admitted. It might be said that it was for the benefit of artists. He had inquired of artists, and he was informed that they went on all days whether the Museum was attended or not, so that this excuse was invalid. There was another point which required attention, and that was whether the Museum should be open after five o'clock. The experiment was tried, but it did not suc ceed, for only seven persons per hour entered after that time, and yet nearly 60 persons were required to be in attendance. If he had the power the Museum should remain open on Sundays, for it would afford a means of amusement to the artisans, which would keep them from the gin-shop. During the hours that the gin-shops were open, he would open the National Gallery and the British Museum in competition. The artisans were fond of going to the country on Sundays, but on rainy days they had no resource but the gin-shop, unless they adopted such measures. He would no longer detain the Committee from. more important business, but would earnestly press what he had said on the attention of the Government. In the year 1843 no less than 247,929 persons went over the establishment, and in 1845 no less than 685,858 persons went over it. So large an attendance required more and better attendance than was at present employed He regretted, however, to state that the number of visitors to the reading-room had decreased, as well as the number of artists who used to attend. He did not make these observations from any unwillingness to give the money, but he certainly conceived that when so large a sum was expended, it ought to be made as useful as possible. He therefore recommended to his Hon. Friend the course which he had pointed out, in order to effect the saving he had wished. Mr. EWART entirely agreed with the tenor of his Hon. Friend's remarks, but he did not mean to address his observations to the whole establishment, but simply to the library. On the continent any man might enter a public library without any restriction, and receive the greatest civility from the librarians. In the British Museum the rules were, that before any person could go to read in the room, he must be introduced by some per son of respectability, or high rank. Any recommenda tion from a public man was the only satisfactory reference, and the only one which would ob tain admission for the applicant. Such a sys tem existed nowhere but in England. He would also ask, what was the use of the number of duplicates of books ? Could they not found another library at Westminster with them, and so afford in creased accommodation. He would say no more, as be had publicly called attention to what was a public evil. Sir R. H. INGLIS said, that the complaint made by the Hon. Member for Montrose was, that there was no responsibility for the expenditure of this large sum. He begged to say, that the responsibility existed with the trustees, and it remained with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to see their recommendations carried out. The Hon. Member also said that the management should be vested in a Board of Management ; but that, be thought, would not be a vise course, nor would it lead to a better system of management than now. The Honourable Member had also said that the Museum was only open for three days a week, but this was not the fact. It was really open for five. days. There were certain days open to the general public, while Tuesdays and Thursdays were open for artists and men of science. He thought it was of great advantage to the public that these parties should have the opportunity of pursuing their studies in quietness, which could not be the case if large bodies of people were passing through, and •therefore it was a wise and proper arrangement to have three days for the public, and two for those engaged in arti s ti c a nd scientific pur suits. With regard to children, it had been objected that they should be denied admission under eight years of age ; but as some limit must be made, he thbught that age a reasonable period of limitation. Before that age, there was some danger of damage being done, unless children were well looked after. The Hon. Member who last addressed the House (Mr. Ewart) complained of the way in which the library was managed, and the difficulty of parties not being admitted without a pass. He (Sir 11. 11. Inglis) believed that in Paris passes had to be ob tained before parties could be admitted into the public library. Mr. EWART said that he had been repeatedly in the Paris library, and no pass whatever was required. Sir R. LNG 141,5 they linked to Ow howl the House, at its rising, should adjourn until Monday next. Mr. COWPER presented several petitions from various places against the violation of the Sabbath by Sunday trading THE SUGAR DUTIES CONTINUANCE BILL. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER having rose to move the order of the day fur a Committee of the wh , Ae House 4,11 this Bill, Lord G. BENTINCii rose and said—l take this op portunity of xtating that I shall postpone the motion of which I have given notice till Monday next, when the sugar duties will be brought on. The SPEAKER having left the chair, and the House having resolved itself into Committee on the Bill, and the clause as to the limititstion of the period of the Bill, Lord GEORGE BENTINCK sail he would move, as an amendment, that the word " July" be substituted for the word " September." The effect of this amendment would be to make the temporary Bill an eleven months' instea , l of a monthly Bid, a.:A it would have effect until July, 1847. His object in moving this amendment was not to obstruct the Government in any way, but to facilitate their movements, and nut to interfere in any way with any permanent measures that they miglit think fit to adopt. At the same time, if, upon further ref, , etion, her Majesty's Ministers should think tit to defer till another session the permanent settlement of the sugar defies, it would give them an opportunity of doing so, end he could assure the House that it would be a great relief, and nothing more than an act of justice and mercy to the merchants engaged in the sugar trade, if th,y should afford them this small respite for the measures proposed by her Majesty's Ministers.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") The appre hension as to a fatnine in sugar was far more visionary than the apprehended famine in corn.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) He took the liberty of stating on a former evening, that no lese than between 40,000 and 50,000 tons of sugar were annually produced in the Mauritius ; since that statement, the mail bad arrived from India, bringing intelligence that no less than 60,000 ton might be expected to be pro- duced there in the present year, and 72,000 would probably be produced in the Cape of Good Hope. The Noble Lord having said that it was not his intention at present to enter at any length into the subject of the sugar duties, concluded by moving the amendment. He would propose to extend the period named in the Bill, sth of September, 1846, to the sth of July, 1847. On the amendment being put, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that ho did not intend, at that period, to go into the general que tion of the sugar duties. He would merely state that everybody, and every communication which her Majesty's Government had received upon the subject, all concurred in this,' that it was desirable that the sugar question should be permanently settlement. He was sure that all persons, whether tbey went further than her Majesty's Government, or whether they did not go so far upon this question still argued in representing the set tlement of the sugar question as an important consi deration. He did not believe that anybody, either in the H , ,use or out of the House, believed that the question of the sugar duties should be suffered to stand upon the present basis. He thought that the proposition of his Noble Friend the Member for Lynn would defeat his own purpose. He could assure the House that the Government intended to go on with the mrasure they proposed, and he trusted that they would be able soon to bring the question to a permanent settlement. Sir a INGLIS said he did not intend to go into the general question of the policy of the present sugar duties. He must say that in his opinion there was nothing in the proposition of the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn which would at all interfere with the ultimate decision of Parliament, or with the proposition of the Noble Lord at the head of the Government. By adopting the amendment of the Noble Lord, the House would have time to deliberate upon the ques tion, and the trade would be protected from the sudden interference with the existing duties. The proposition of his Noble Friend might do good in this sense, but it could not do harm in the sense of her Majesty's Ministers, if they had a triumphant majority, which they anticipated, but with respect to which, he believed, they were grossly deceiving them selves ; his proposition could not vitiate that triumph at all. And, besides, if they acceded to it, they would have until July next a similar amount of revenue front the importation of sugar to that which they had derived since July last. No man believed that the sugar duties ought not to be con tinued as a _ source of revenue, and as the - proposition could not possibly do harm, he should give his support. Mr. LABOUCHERE repudiated the idea that the Government were swayed at all by the expectation of a triumphant majority on the measure brought forward by the Noble Lord the First Lord of the Treasury. All they wished was that the subject should be fairly discussed, and that a decision should only be come to after mature deliberation ; and therefore they had no wish to prejudge the question, but if they passed a continuance Bill for a year instead of a month, as proposed, the question would be left open, and the greatest uncertainty and derangement to trade could not fail to ensue. In fact, he believed nothing could be more fatal to the commerce of the country and to the interests of the West Indian planters if an impression was conveyed abroad that Parliament was disinclined to enter, in the present session, into a serious consideration of the duties, with a view to the final adjustment of those. duties. Any one who had watched the condition of the country for the last five years, and the uncertainty in which that commerce was placed by the unsettled con dition of those ditties, must be aware that no question stood more in need of a permanent and final adjustment than the sugar duties.—(Hear.) Then, again, the sub ject would be soon brought before the, House by the Noble Lord (J. Russell). Strangers wer e then ordered to withdraw, and the House divided, w hen there appeared— For the ame ndment Agains t i t a gainst the amendment Majority THE WELLINGTON STATUE. • ---- - On the motion that the order _of the day for going into Committee of Supply be read, Mr. C. BERKELEY said that he could assure the House that in bringing forward the motion of which he had given notice, be should follow the example of his Noble Friend with regard to the brevity of his observations. lie was sorry that the subject had not been taken up by a Member more influen tial than he was, but , considering the im portance of the subject to the public at large, he had no hesitation in bringing it under the consideration of the House, A number of individuals, with the most praiseworthy in'entions, had subscribed large sums for the purpose of erecting a testimonial to the Duke of Wellington. A site was required, and the gentlemen of the Committee, without consulting the majority of the subscribers, had decided upon placing it upon the arch at the top of Constitution-hill. Several remonstrances were addressed to Lord Melbourne, but without any good effect. Now he knew that his Noble Friend opposite would tell him that his motion was too late, but the papers on which it was founded were not moved for by the Mem for Oxford till June 29, and they were not in the hands of Members till the 11th July. Now he was not going to follow the example of his Noble Friend whom he saw behind him.—(Loud laughter.) It was impos sible to imagine anything more inartistical or in worse taste, and he would trouble the House with a state ment of Mr. Decimus Burton's opinion on the subject. (The Hon. Member here read some extracts to the effect that the arch presented an appearance far too meagre for the des gn, and was exceedingly inappropriate.) All the architects that had given their opinions on the subject had expressed themselves in the strongest terms against the proposal. There happened to be one of the most distinguished foreigners in this country lately —an Italian gentleman—and he was per fectly astonished at the monstrous proposition, and concluded by saying, that if the plan was carried out the statue and the arch would most assuredly fall. — (Hear, hear.) Now he (Mr. Berkeley) must say that he gave the Noble Lord, the First Commissioner of the Woods and Forests, very great credit for doing his best considerableihuithis s matter.predecessor weightTi n The officee letter tash e hadlo usequally e writteng andoo d e u t h g e h H t le e t t o wt eor ulof have d not trouble the How's by reading the Noble Lord's letter ; but Lord Canning, ,said in his com munication to the Committee, -:. that, whilst in the name of her Majesty he was quite prepared to permit the placing of the statue on the arch he at the same time considered it his duty to state that her Majesty's Government hoped that the Committee would act in compliance with the many remonstrances which had been presented to them against the proposal, by desiring from placing the statue on the arch, and that every eminent architect and artist who had been con,ulted on the subject decidedly condemned the proposal to erect a statue of so colossal a size as was intended tD be placed on the arch.—(Hear.) In answer to that communication of Lord Canning the Duke of Rutland said that the Committee had refused to re consider their design, and they insisted upon carrying their monstrous proposition into effect, , —(Hear, hear.) Well, then, he (Mr. Berkeley) considered that the House were called upon to interfere in this matter.—(Hear, hear.) The arch on the top of Constitution- hill afforded a thoroughfare to one of the most crowded parts in the metropolis ' and itwas also one of the entrances to the palace of the Sovereign of this country. That arch was also built at the public expense, and the House of Commons had a right to say that such an in terference was attempted to be made with the arch as ought not to be permitted. He should, therefore, propose " That an humble address be presented to her Majesty praying that her Majesty will withdraw her consent to place the statue of the Duke of Wellington upon the arch at the top of Constitution-hill."—(Hear, hear.) Mr. H. BAILEY, in rising to second the motion of the Hun. Gentleman, the Member for Cheltenham, did so with the greatest brin' eatestplea f s o u r r w e a , rd bec s a u u e s h e he m ha o d . doe, but he had delayed doing so until certain letters were laid upon the table of the House. He must say that the proposition of the subscribers to the statue was most monstrous.--(Hear and laughter.) What he wished to impress upon the attention of the House was, that they were about to erect a monument in honour of the greatest hero this country had ever produced, being manufactured of imperishable materials, and he believed it would form the greatest colossal statue in the world. It was calculated to remain for ages and ages yet to come, not only as a monument of the great man it was intended to represent, but as a monument of the bnowledge and taste of the fine arts existing amongst the people of this country in the age in which they lived, and it was, therefore, highly de sirable that the monument should be made as perfect a it ro,sibly could he —(CriPs of "Hear, hear.") Knowing, as the Committee did, the opinion of distin guished personages, and the opinions of scientific men, 1 1 9 thought it amoiyhst 41clevot that rho Committee wMeh the British Museum was open they would find it wa% open for a greater number of hours in the year than nny other in Europe. He could also inform the House that 65,000 persons had read in the library last year, a trreater number of p.Tsons than had read io any other library on the Continent. It was a gratifying fact that not only the visitors but the readers of the library had increased greatly during the last few years. The former, according to the returns, had increased three fold the last six years. In speaking of foreign libraries, and the access given to them, it ought to be observed that there were secret police inside of them to watch over the proceedings going on, whereas they had no such thing as police inside of the British Museum.— (Hear, hear.) He begged leave to apologise for occupy ing the House so long in the explanation he had made. Mr. P. BORTHWICK said, in speaking of the readers of the Paris library as compared with the British Museum, they ought to bear in mind that Paris was a much smaller city than London. He considered they might adopt, with advantage, the liberal arragements of the French Government. Sir D. NORREYS wished to remind the Hon. Member who last spoke, that the Paris library was only open to the public for two days in the week. Mr. BORTHWICk, in answer to that, would inform the House that he knew from his own knowledge that the library was open every day for students and those who wished to read. Sir D. NORREYS thought a Museum of this kind ought to be a truly national institution and embrace within it specimens in every department of science and art, bosh national and historical relics, and specimens of architecture. An Hos. MEMBER said he saw there was a sum of 10.0001. put down for the purchase of old books, now he wished to know what this was for? Sir IL H. INGLIS replied that the parties who had charge of the library had made an elaborate report to the trustees, in which they pointed out its deficiencies, and amongst these deficiencies the library was sadly de fective in its stock of old books. On the fact being communicated to the Treasury, they generously agreed to devote 10,000/. a year for purchasing collections of old books to supply the deficiency. The vote was then agreed to. NAVY ESTIMATES. Mr. WARD said, having been so short a time in office, of course, he was not then in a position to make any ela borate statement upon the navy estimates ; but the ob • servations lie had to make, which must necessarily be few, he should confine within the narrowest possible limits. He would commence by stating the position in which the estimates stood. Th e num b r of men which had already been voted was 40,000, and for the purposes of wages, victuals, and naval stores, three votes, amount ing in the aggregate to 20,900,0001., had already been agreed to. Now the gross expenditure for the year was estimated at 70,664,4431., deducting from which the cre dits of the year, would mike 70,476,9151. to be voted for the service of the year. The number of men he had already stated at 40,000, being 27,500 seamen, 2,000 ap prentices, 5,500 marines afloat, and 5,000 ashore. The tetal vote for wages was 1,032,852 E, which, after deduct ing the credit, would leave a sum of 32,0001. The sum required for clothing for the service of the year was 10,294,720/., being an increase of 5,177/, on the vote of last year, notwithstanding the number of men was the same ; but the fact was, the credits of the present year was considerably less than those of last year.—(Hear, hear.) The third vote, which was for provisions, showed an increase of 34,533/. upon the vote of last year, but this could easily be accounted for when they con sidered the rise which had taken place in the price of provisions. —(Hear, hear.) The fourth vote, which was for what was called " The General Registry and Record Office, " showed an in crease of 28,0001. ; but the results which this institution had produced were so gratifying that he was sure the Committee would not begrudge it.—(Hear, hear.) This office was ably managed by Lieutenant Brown, and the system of registration had proved a great check upon desertion in the merchant service. In the past year the registration and issue of tickets had been very great, and it was gratifying to think that this registration sys tem would ultimately be a substitute for " pressing' a power which, however useful it might be for the Crown to possess, bad always been unpalatable to the country, while in many instances its results had been anything but successful.—(Hear, hear.) On the fifth vote there was only an increase of 470 L, but on the sixth for moving establishments the increase was 1,115/.—(Hear, hear.) -In maintaining the dock-yards and trans port establishments the estimate was 22,552 E, which showed an increase of 945/. over last year. Vote Bth was somewhat larger, comprising wages for hired hands ; there was an increase of 61,7921.; the total amount being 752,4271. The estimate for last year was 690,0001., and the increase this year arose from the sub stitution of free labour for convicts in the dock-yards. In the previous year there were 2,670 convicts employed, but this year only 800 were employed, 300 of these at Woolwich. Vote 9th was for wages in the establish. ments abroad, and the increase war only 1,7004 In vote 10, was tho principal increase for the year, it was for naval stores, for fitting out of the fleet, and amounted to 1,694,1521. ; the net vote being 1,636,000 E, being an increase of 437,2515/. over the vote of last year. This increase arose from the great activity of the fleet towards the close of last year ; and, under the circumstances, he believed that such an in crease would not appear to have been made before it was called for. Vote 11 was for new works, improve ments, and repairs. There was an increase of 40,460., principally arising from the substitution of iron roofs over the slips, for the old, most foolish, and most dan gerous mode of roofing them in with wood, paper,and tar, thereby exposing the establishments to destruction from a spark, and the country to a loss of millions. The vote also included the construction of sea basins at Davenport, and Portsmouth, at an expense of about 156,500 E, with a view to the accommodation of large steamers ; and a similar work was going on at Malta. Vote 12, he passed by without remark, and came to vote 13, which was miscellaneous objects, pilotage. distressed seamen, &c., and was the only estimate of the year showing a decrease, which amounted to 47,000/. Vote 14, was for half-pay, and showed an increase of 3,700/. Vote 18, was for freight of convicts, being 93,859/., the number of convicts sent out last year being 5,065. There had been a reduction of the charge from 41. to 31. 17s. per ton. The next vote was for the packet department, their being packets to the West Indies, Valparaiso,Hong-Kong, and other places abroad. He said he had now gone very shortly over the whole of the votes. The present Board of Admiralty were not responsible for the votes of the year ; they had been handed over to them by the Board of last year, and they had been adopted. For the future he could not hold out any false hopes of reduc tion. Any reduction would not be desirable, or even possible, so long as the establishments abroad were kept up on such a footing. He thought it would be wrong for England to run the same risk which she had twice run already.—(llear, hear.) The superiority of the country was the same in all but preparation. Wool wich, he said, was the only steam factory which we pos sessed of any size ; and the basins at Plymouth and Portmouth were not completed. He did not think that this country could depend fora large supply of men from impressment. That the country should trust for defence against such a navy as that of America to untrained men, pressed into the service for the time, would be absurd and foolhardy. He thought they ought to recall those elements which were scattered over all the ports of the world, and he wished that another mode should be adopted of treating these gallant men. Much might be done by kind treatment, the training of boys, and by putting down that foolish practice of breaking up the crews of ships as soon as they came h ome . It was a practice he said which no officer in the navy but would scout.—(Hear, hear.) He wished to see those gallant men permanently interested in the service of the Crown. Indeed, he thought the duty of the present Government would be to organise and systematise the elements which had been brought together. The Hon. Gentleman con cluded, by moving the first vote of 245,480/. for wages and maintenance of seamen. Sir C. NAPIER said he had listened to the Right Hon. Gentleman with the greatest satisfaction, and he agreed in nearly everything which had fallen from him in the course of his remarks. At the very moment that they wanted to man their ships of war it was to find min, and the present Board of Admiralty had, by not taking steps to prevent that state of things, fallen into the same careless system that their predecessors had. The Gallant Admiral opposite had told them .the -:other evening that there was no difficulty,in obtaining aeatn?,a to man their ships. He (Sir C I 2apier? rate Gal/ant O ffi cer that he hacthi/iiii lisimrhafirate capta ins of the ships at Woolwich thdi tfityWittettry was the fact. The House of Commons declared themselves perfectly willing the other night to adopt any feasible plan that might be suggested to remedy the present defective state of the naval department, but in consequence of the statements of the Secretary of the Admiralty, they had been persuaded to desist taking any step. It was quite clear that the expenses on the dockyards and stores were most lavish. He felt confident that the expenses in those departments might with safety be reduced at least half a million. Hon. Gentlemen might, perhaps, con sider that statement a very extraordinary one, but he could clearly prove it by documentary evidence. Had not the experimental squadron taught them, during the last two years, that their present system was a bad one. Their men-of-war were of the worst description; they were narrow-bottomed and sharp bowed. In a gale of wind they rolled most fearfully. The Gallant Admiral opposite shook his head, but he (Sir Charles Napier) had got documents to substantiate his statement—docu ments which were signed by the captains of those ships. They bad an instance of one ship rolling 45 degrees in a gale of wind, so that if for instance we were at war in a gale of wind with such ships, they would receive in their bo, toms all the shot of the enemy. It was the most wild scheme in the world, to go to the expense of cutting down those vessels and making them into block ships ; they were perfectly useless. Ile did not think the pub lic money should be allowed to be thrown away on building large screw and steam vessels. Ile had heard that there was a large iron steam frigate of 2,000 tons burden, he did not think it would be worth anything when completed. A few days sir.ce he visited Woolwich dockyards, where he saw a large number of boilers lying about in all directions, some of which were as large as the House of Commons. He thought that there should be a Commission appointed to investigate all the men of war and the steam vessels, and report upon them. He thought that the five Lords of the Admiralty were all working different ways, and they did not know what they were doing. The steam navy of this country was yet in its infancy; the merchant service was not so; go where they would they would find they beat the navy. If this country con tinued to adopt their old course they would continue in their infancy for twenty years longer. Sir G. COCKBURN said that the vessels which were kept in the Channel could be exercised in the sea with out the necessity of their being full manned, but there was no intention of sending them abroad until they were all full manned. It was quite necessary that the marines should be exercised. The present articles were net gadeieut t 9 keep WA WI 0 the We AillY manned. The proposal to cut down the ships to gun block ships originated with a commission appointed by the Government, and not with the Board of Admiralty. These vessels had been put in hand, one of which was ordered to be fitted with the screw, but none of the others were to be opened until that one was completed and found to succeed to the satisfaction of the Government. The screw was far superior to the paddle, which was in the way. There was certainly in calm weather a small degree of speed obtained by the latter over the former, but in all other cases he considered that the screw was superior. Sir CHARLES NAPIER said that what he said was that not one of our steam-vessels was fitted for a man-of war, as their boilers and their w orks were so high that a shot would permanently injure them. What he de sired was that the Government would order a survey of the steam-boat, and report what vessels were fit for war. Captain BERKELEY considered that there had been too much amateur building of vessels for service. The difficuly was to have their men-of-war properly manned; and he, in his official capacity, would endeavour to remedy that defect. Captain PECHELL was not one of those who were accustomed to assert that they had not a good and serviceable navy.(Hear, hear.) He hoped that the promise given would be persevered in. It gave him great satisfaction to have heard what had failed from the Hon. Member, the Secretary of the Ad miralty, with regard to the manning of our ships; and he hoped that when he found himself under such restric tione as not to be able to do justice to the British sea men, he would at once give up his post of authority. The Hon. Secretary had very clearly explained the amount of votes, but he had not shown so distinctly how he intended to apply them. They had not been told how the ships were to be employed, nor were they told how or what ships were to be employed in the suppression of the slave trade. He knew that great power had been taken away from our cruisers, but he thought that some statement should be made of what had been the successes of our cruisers in conjunction with those of France. He would also wish to know what was to be the policy of the present Board with re gard to the employment of the officers, because, during the late cruize, it had been found necessary to remove from the dock-yard, a superintendent whose express in structions were never to sleep out of the dock-yard. When the admirals complained of the fact, they found it necessary to send to the Mediterranean station to rob it of its admiral. Did they intend to employ admirals and vice admirals to command their fleets, or did they or did they not think them competent to such command? He wished also to know what were their intentions with regard to the present regulations with regard to the car riage of specie, and wa a. it to be allowed to continue upon its present footing? He would proceed to call the atten tien of the House to the complaints of the class of officers called paymasters and pursers. The promises of extra pay or half-pay to those officers held out had not been realised. They were divided into three classes of 35., 45., and ss. per day. The pursers had willingly sur rendered parts of their sea emoluments for the benefit of their brother officers on half-pay, and it was consi dered that, in consequence of that surrender they were entitled to an additional shilling per day. They surren dered MOM. annually, and the Government, so contrived matters, that over 4,000/. per annum remained as balance in their hands. Their arrangements were also so con trived that many of the oldest officers were kept down upon the lowest list of half-pay. He thought that the attention of the Ilouse and Government should be called to this serious grievance, for upwards of 100 officers, of 30 and 40 years' service, had been taken from the high class of pay, and removed entirely to the lower grade, and he had no doubt that such injustice was keenly felt by them. Admiral DUNDAS said what the Hon. Member had stated should have his best consideration. Sir G. COCKBURN explained the circumstances under which the late Admiralty Board had acted in rela tion to the officers whose case had been stated by the Gallant Member, and informed the House that, under the circumstances, they could not have acted otherwise in the matter than they had done. After a few words from Captain Harris, Mr. Henley, and Lord Worsley, Captain PECHELL asked whether the Admiralty intended to pursue the previous policy of keeping cruizers on the coast of Africa, and whether they meant to keep up their present compliment of ships. Mr. WARD, in reply, was inaudible in the gallery. The vote was then agreed to. The following votes were then agreed to. 129,114/. for salaries of the officers of the Board of the Admiralty. 9,5011. for salaries of officers in the General Registry office. 140,0151. for salaries of officers in several departments in the navy. The following votes were then agreed to, without dis cussion:-23,9031. to defray the expenses of naval esta blishments:abroad; 752,427/. for the payment of wages, of artificers, labourers, &c.. employed in the Laval establish ments at home ; 42,712/. for the payment of the wages, of the artificers, labourers, &c., employed in the naval establishments abroad. After a few words from Captain PECHELL, the vote of 436.426/., for the:expense of the naval stores, &c., was agreed to. 126,810/. for the new works in the naval establish ments at home was then agreed to, after a few words from Captain HAuuts and Captain PECHELL, who said he hoped the case of the half-pay cfficers, whose cases had not been properly attended to, would be taken into consideration by the Government. 21,737/. was then agreed to for the purpose of defray ing the expenses of the naval establishments abroad. 71,075/. for miscellaneous naval services was also agreed to, without discussion. After a few words from Captain Peehell, Sir George Cockburn, Sir Charles Napier, and Admiral Dundas, 486,4221., for the pensions of naval officers, was agreed to. 544,567/., to defray the expense of the packet service, was then agreed to, after a few observations from Sir C. NAPIER. 4,411/. (being the last vote) to defray the excess of the. naval expenditure over the last year, was then agreed to. The House then resumed, the Chairman reported progress, and the report was ordered to be brought up on Monday next. COMMONS' INCLOSURE BILL. Lord MORPETH brought up a clause which had been agreed to. The Bill was read a third time and passed. POOR REMOVAL BILL. This Bill was postponed until Monday next. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the house adjourned at a Quarter past One o'clock. COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) ROYAL YACHT SQUADRON INTELLIGENCE. ARRIVALS. JULY, 17. Naiad cutter, John Quantock, Esq., from Ports mouth, and proceeded for Weymouth. 19. Xarifa :schooner, Earl of Wilton, from Plymouth; Wave cutter, Viscount Seaham, from London and Ports mouth • Flirt schooner, Sir B. Graham, Bart., London. 20. Iris cutter, Lord Rodney. from the westward. 22. Resolution schooner, Duke of Rutland, from Brest and Guernsey. 23. Elizabeth cutter, Hon. A. Moreton, from St. Helands. SAILINGS. JULY 21. Kestrel brigantine, Commander the Earl of Yar borough, for Cork, to join the experimental squadron. YACHTS AT AND ABOUT THE STATION. Schooners—Fairy Queen, Xarifa, Flirt, Brilliant, Maud, Resolution, Gem, Zephyretta, Magic. Cutters—Sparrowhawk, Emerald, Peterel, Drift, Avenger, Snake, Nymph, Frisk, Medina, Osprey, St. Margaret, Gany. mede, Turquoise, Albatross, Stormfinch, Duchess, Noran, Spider, Iris, Heroine, Wave, Whim, Elizabeth. On Monday, the 19th inst., at two P.M. her Majesty, Prince Albert, and the royal children, embarked at East Cowes on board the royal steamer yacht Fairy, for Ports• mouth, and thence for London. The Kestrel brigantine, Commodore :Earl of Yarborough,land Brilliant, three-mast schooner, G. H. Ackers, Esq., and other yachts at the station d . as well as the Royal Yacht Squadron House, with flags, and as the royal yacht passed the gß w riE d an °r d e t hhe commenced a royal salute, followed by the min the Duke of were manned. Royal Yacht Squadron battery; the yards of all the yachts gstri INTELLIGENCE. sRofaIBI andford r r Bellingham Graham; Thomas Ralph Howard, the Hon. f jlea la rs , t if f-Fr a °ll X reit' , :n l ags t hn s hFe q :A . ,gr , lLl C iallrn a dlgl p yo2 t fß a N i ka n hVAieni ß l3lst : Loi s Snla t 4l ard, the Rev. Mr. Fawcett, the Rev. Mr. Randolph, the Rev. Mr. Coles, Sir John Packing ton, Mr. Powell, G. H. Ackers, Esq., Captain Lyons, Clement Hill, Esq., Lady Farnham, Mr. Marsham, and a number of other fashionables, have taken houses here : there are also numerous inquiries about houses; still many of the beet houses are not yet let, nor is the town so full as it generally is at this season of the year. The Marquis of Ailesbury, Lord Cadogan, Sir Henry Webster, and the Marquis of Anglesey, are expected next week. Lord Sandwich and family left Cowes Castle this day (Thursday) for town. Lord Feversham had a narrow escape from an infuriated bullock on the Castle-hill on Wednesday; his Lordship was knocked down by it, one of its horns passing through his pantaloons just above the knee; his hands and knees were cat by the fall, but we are happy to say he received no fur ther injury. Two or three other persons were knocked down by it, when the animal was secured and killed in the street. Some notion of the exquisite texture obtained by the aid of the Llama wool may be gained from the fact that, without destroying the waterproof character of the cloth, the Messrs. Nicoll, of Regent-street, have succeeded in making their registered Paletot, for the present hot weather, of a lightness almost astonishing—viz., eleven ounces. ran MEMOIRS OF TAE REIGN OF GEORGE TU SECOND, BY HORACE WALPOLE—Edited by the late Lord Holland, just published for the first time in the octavo form, in three volumes, will be a most acceptable acquisition to all libraries. Known as the son of the ablest Minister the age produced (Sir Robert Walpole), and having many of his nearest friends and relatives members at different periods, either of the Government or of the Opposition, it is impos sible to imagine an individual more favourably circumstanced than Horace Walpole to record the stirring scenes and great events which made the reig n of George the Second so re markable. But to these a dvantages must be added a talent in pourtraying the characteristics of his contemporaries, and a vivacity in describing the scenes in which they figured so conspicuously, in which he is without a rival. In no other work can the reader hope to become so thoroughly acquainted with the features of such statesmen as Sir Robert Walpole, Bolingbroke, Pulteney, John Duke of Bedford, the Pelhams, the Townshends, the Grenvilles, Chatham, Fox, and the other great names that adorned the Cabinet and the Senate... or of Chesterfield, George Selwyn, &c.—politicians, however, who seemed to care much more for the reputation of wits than the fame of senators, though they possessed considerable pretensions to both characters. The Royal Humane Society, . last week, liberally awarded a medal and a handsome pecuniary grant, to Mr. Wm. Haviland, timekeeper at the engine factory of Messrs. Penn and Sons, Greenwich, for having saved two persons from drowning in the Thames, off East Greenwich, on Sunday, thi 21st ult. Mr. Haviland's name is also recorded in the So.! ciety's books as having saved the life of fellow-pasS who had fallen overboard a packet off the Nore , at gni 4 2d September, 18,32, on which Mr. phweed itud mood