The Sun. — London, England, 1846-05-08 00:00:00

RAILWAY COMMITTEES. (YESTERDAY.) GROUP IV. The Select Committee appointed to consider the merits of the Bills comprised within this nap re-assembied at the usual hour this mornping, and proceedel with their labours, Mr. W. B. Hope in the chair PETZTIE ALID rarva - srzEss. The business of the dale was commenced with the cross-examlna toe of gr. Joseph Mitchell, the acting engineer of the line, by . Mr. B. Ara:mews, on'behallet" nal-rest North of Scotland Cornpany. — The length of the line fr trl itectiOrtou to Nairn was 111 miles, 3 furlo li n,gs ne , and 5 chains, and from Nairn to Invernes s 15 miles. The would not run right.into Nairn, but there would be a short branch to a ccommodate the main traffic of about 7 milesin length. From this point of junction to Itedgorton there would be only a single line of rails, with the exception of a short distance, Athol Valley, where there would be a double line of way. The highest elevation of the line, which was about the station at Inverness, was 1,450 feet. The Caledonian line had an elevation of 1,050 feet, and the Sheffield and Manchester an elevation of 800 feet. From In verness to a point near Nairn, - a 'distance of ten miles, they ascended 596 feet on gradients of 1 in S 4 for seven miles, 1 in. 200 for two miles, and lin 144 for one mile. They, however, adopted the alter native line, which increased the distance. The line descended till it reached the Tinder river, where it ascended. here there was a euree of three furlongs radius, the gradient of the curve was 1 in 100. The bridge at this point was 1 in 331, on a straight line crossing the river, and 1 in 100 alter crossing it of five miles, hree furlongs, ' and ten chains in length. The tota l ascent from the ItiOth lle Coming from Perth, and going northward for the first 29 miles, was 1,123 feet. From this point to Inverness they were on an ascending gradient of 1 In 147 for 6 miles, 1 he 73 for miles, lin 104 for 8 miles. There was always a good deal of snow, rain, and mist at this point. There would be 15 stations o the whole !e. Bet Ween Inverness and _Nairn_Nairnthey woulil _pot occur more frequently ''than at other petitions of the They would be equ ,lly di v ided throughout the whola Icon- From Eight to Nairn there would be four stet ons. templated running four passenger tra ins, two Sunday trains, and one goods trains each dap. The mail coach from Pert ri h to In verness was often sent round by the coast in winter, in c o seuence. of the contractors finding it more profitable to send the bags on horse back, and sometimes I n conse qu ence of the roads b ein g stopped up with snow. The Edinburgh and Glasgow incline of lin 42 was worked by an expensive stationary enefee ; - and this otaervatien applied also to the Lickay incline on the Birmbigham and Gloucester. The line termi nated at ItellgOrt.oll, svliere irjoinett a branch . et the Scotch Midland. He did not know whether it was contemplated to make tho Scotch Midland at this relitit a double or 'single line. He was aware that a meeting of sharelteiders adverse tp further progress of the Bill had been held in Aberdeen, but he had been Creditably informed that it was got up by the Great North of Scot/and Company. To make the line a double one it would require 203,5611: more than his estimate. The estimate for the Great North of Scotland, with double lines, would be 10,562,0001, and of the Perth and Inverness, and Aberdeen, Banff, and Elgin ,10,816,0001. " The capital of the line from Aberdeen to Perth was 1,,500,0001. The Perth and Inverness; and the Aber deen, Banff, and Elgin, had'Bl miles more of - rail to make than the Great North of ,Scotland. The price of the Scottish Midland from Perth to Redgertou would be 50,0001.;which would have to be added to the 10,816,000/. His estimate for Working a double nee was 401. per cent., and a single from Nairn to Elgin 331. per cent. On re-examination fie said the Great North of Scotland included in their system two Unlatches to Frizerburgh and Peterhead, which he had not taken into considetation in making the comparison he had just made. Ha understood ,the Great North of Scotland line was to be amalgaranklci with the Aberdeen and Perth Company. whose shares were at an enormous 'discount, while the Great North of Scotland shares-wera not rateable - at ; and lie was app re that, in the present state of the money ma rket, if the two were hensive united, it would be some time before the lines would be opened for traffic. What. he ' meant by - his gradients being favourable was that they could be worked by an ordinary en ,ine. There were many gradients already In existence of a Sim milradients ar charac ter worked by ordinary engines: But-many of his g which were considered objectionable might be avoided altogether, It was not that a coach could not get along the Highland road that the mail was not run sometimes he winter, but because' the mail contractor found they made more profit by sacrificing the passengers and running the mails with horses, which they had in large numbers for posting in summer, while in winter they would be kite wee it not tor the mails. The detail. of his estimates agreed with 31r. Gibbs's. His own prices were somewhat h gher, while they were much higher than what he was lathe habit of paying. The highest point of the Great North of Scotland Was about six hundred feel. • Mr. Erringtep, who is associated with Sir. Lock as an engineer, was the next witness called.—lle said he had, in conjunction with his partner, ex3inineAl tie rouse of the proposed line, and he could confirm the evidence of Mr. Mitchell in every respect. From the nature of the country, the Weeks were of reniark ably small magnitude. The gradients were good, there were few curves and slope', and only one tunnel of494ayarde long ; andd - from the experience he had with estimates made outemeeon , Mr, Mitchell's Principle for Scotch lines he had no hesiasttionewhatever in saying the work could be completed for the sum given in by Mr. Mitchell. There Was no doubt that a sub stantial contractor could be got, without difficulty to undertake the works upon Mr. Mitchell's estimate ; indeed, he had works under his control which were being executed at much lower prices. He bad no hesitation in saying that the trains coal run over the line notwithstanding what had been said about the gradients at the rate of 38 miles. an hour. It would not take more than 3,0001. a year to obtain the power on the Perth and Inverness, with its severer gra diants and plains, that was proposed to be used by the Great North of Scotland , while, at the same time, there would be a saving of I Is. 2d. per .tau onn the through traffic. In a through old a circa tioue line, thaone Unit had the cad, or last link of the line, would have power to decide which way the passenger traffic should go ; and he was afraid no regulations,cnuld be made which should insure fair play to both companies. The best way was to leave the last link In the hands of the through line, because there could not be any doubt that the local ought to be subservient to the through/Me. With proper precautions, it was al most impossible that ailing could be obstructed with snow, for, in fact the power of the railway was used for keeping it clear in snowy weather One by Mr. Arsrue, he said he was decidedly of opinion that sooner or liter a direct line would have to be made, and certainly thought the.tlarough line ought to be made before the coast line. 'there certainly were some gradients of no ordinary character on this lines but this was all a matter of einense. They were not such as could not be worked by an ordinary powerful engine. • The Committee adjourned shortly after four o'clock. GROUP V. —__ .. This Committee met to-clay at half-past twelve o'clock, Colonel Fox in the chair. POUT'S AND CLYDE =NOTION. ———— This, the last Bill in the group, was taken up this morning. There is no opposition to the scheme, the object of which is to con nect the east and west of Scotland in a diagonal direction to the north of Glasgow. Mr. Lowe appeared for the promoters of this line, which he stated commenced at the Stirling terminus of the Scottish Central Railway, and proceeded up the valley of the Forth, crossing over in the dine tibia of killearn and Drymen, and terminating at Alexandria, in the valley of the Leven, near to the point from whence the river issues from Lochlomond. The line was 30% miles in length, and presented no engineering difficulties, the curves and gradients being generally of a favourable character. It would be of great service In supplying a very important and improving district of country with coal and lime, and taking their produce to profitable markets, while it would, from the fine scenery at its western terminus, in the neighbourhood of Lochlo• mond, be attractive to tourists. There was only one tunnel 240 yards ong. The steepest gradient on the main line was one in 100 ; on the branch of the main line one in 93. The shortest radius of a curve two furlongs. The estimated expense of the whole line was 350,0001. Evidence was then taken in support of the statement Of counsel, when fife Committee declared the preamble to be proved. The clauses were then gone through, and agreed to, when the Committee adjonrned. GROUP VI. • DUNDEZ AND PZETN. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) The Secretary, having returned from the House of Lords, informed the Committee that the clause in question would be struck out of the Bill wh4ii it reached the Lords. Mr. Sergeant MIIIIPIIY proposed another clause to the same effect, which wont,' avoid the technical objection that might be raised in the Lords.—The clause was agreed to. The postponed clauses of the Bill were then gone through, and unanimously agreed to. The Committee then adjourned until Monday. GROUP VII (Continued from oar Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) EDINEURGN AND NOE.TNE'IN (LOCH- Gr.,1.1.1: AND Lzsiar. EXTENSXON). Mr. CLAIM opened the case for this Bill. He said that he would be agile to prove by evidence that this line was one that would be of unquestionable public advantage. It was oily five miles in extent, and would afford a much shorter communication through the town of Dunfermline, as well as giwat facility of goin to and from Kirkaldy, whence there was a great quantity of coal imported. The Learned Counsel then proceelel to call evidence. Mr. Smith, examined by Mr. CLAIME --The proposed extension would he of great advantage to Leslie, where there were from 4,000 to 5,000 tons of coal consumed annaally. There were eight flax wills in work in the neighbourhood of Leslie. Cross-examined—These mills were half a mile or less from the village of Leslie. Did not consider the road from the bridge over the Leven to Leslie as a good level read, though be understood that there land been a good d ea l of money expended ou it. All the mills about Emile were in the valley of 'Leven. • Atter some further evidence in corroboration had been heard, the Committee adjourned. GROUP VIII The Select Committee appointed to consider the merits or the Bills sompriied within this group met at the usual hour this morning, Mr. B. Hawes in the chair. EDINBIT7I.C.I.II AND LEITZ: ATMOSPDEMIC. The wbo'a of the day was occupied with evidence to show that the proposed line was unnecessary, inasmuch as the existing Edin burgh, Leith, and Granton line was amply sufficient to accommodate the traflie of the district. The Committee adjourned at four o'clock. GROUP Xi. The Committee assembled at the usual hoar this morning, 31 Henley eitalrman. Aimpax.r. AND .TUNCTION, AND EDINBURGH AND 23ATAG.A.TE. The time of the Committee was occupied the entire day in geing through the several clauses of these two Bills, all of which were agreed to. The Committee at its rising adjourned until Monday, the 25th inst. Mr. AUSTIN then called. Mr. Geddies, who was giving general evi dence in support of that tendered by Mr. Christie yesterday, when The CHAIRMAN interfered. This was generalevidence, which they had had already before them. What was wanted were the particu lars On which the tables were to be founded. He thoui ht it would be better at once to adjourn, and have the tables put in, when any evi dence the Promoters of the Bill thought best calc Lated to prove them might be submitted. The Committee, in consequence of this, adjoitrue 1 till to-morrow at twelve o'clock. GROUP A m eb je NORTH IVINT DISTRICT (SOUTH.. - EASTERN LINE). The Committee to which the lines traversing the North Kent dis trict are referred, met to-day at twelve o'clock, in Room No. 0; present, Mr. Protheroe, chairman, Lord Emlyn, Mr. J. O'Connell, and Mr. Grogan. Mr. Sergeant WEANGFIAM proceeded in his address to the Com mittee in support of the North Kent case. His observations referred chiefly to those engineering details which have been already fully given in Mr. Vignoles's evidence. In conclusion, the Learned Ser geant urged on the Committee the necessity of not en trusting the important district cf North Kent in the hands of a Company which was impoTerished by its gigantic speculations and schemes, and which, having another line of access to the termini of the ',forth Kent line, could not pocsibly feel so mach interested In accommodating the puhic as c a t company which possessed that lino alone, and which knowing that it was their all, would leave no means untried to secure the patronage of the public. Mr. pu t In said, that with the consent of the Committee, he would put in a letter front the Lords of the Admiralty, assenting to the passage of the Seuth-Lastern clXtinerdeVt.tloirothneghaGdmreiesaniwunichufPaanrky.such Mr. Sergeant WILANGH document, as the proceedings in both cases were closed, and more especially as he did not consider that portion of the South-EaStern line as having been actually brought before the Committee. TheAf After r C a n u a ni m e s idac lia h d e e r ci a d u e c d n t c h n a t t h t e h e p a d r o e t u o f me th nt e c H ou o l n d . n ju o em t be te a rs dm fo iLed n . g Committee,pe ThccilA i , A ikr anniurnced that the Committee would give its de cision at half-past three o'clock to-morrow. GROUP XVIII. SOLIEZSETSHXME IVIZIMAND. This Committee resumed its sittings this morning, at 12 o'clock, Mr. B. Denison in the chair. Mr. Sergeant KINGLAKE commenced by cross-examining Mr. Hill, the engineer. On his cross-examination, Mr. Hill admitted that an original prospectus, stating ,he capital of the Company to be 150,0001., and describing the proposed route of the railway, which was then surveyed to a considerable extent, had been published without his sanction or authority, before the line was surveyed by him, or any estimates made of the probable expense. Ile could not remember going into any details with reference to the amount of earth-work or tlie ;Lumber of bridges. He merely walked over the line for two days. The only report that he made to th e directliirs with reference to this preliminary survey was, that the sum of 320,0001. (the sum proposed by tt e directors), would be rather a low sum, as the gradients and cuttin,gs would be severe. In the estimates before the Committee he had estimated the total amount of earthwork at 1,590,194 cubic yards ; a this quantity there were 154,525 cubic yards of limestone cutting, al 3s. fid. per yard; 98,560 yards of freestone at 3s. ; 204,020 yards of at mixture of freestone and marl at Is. 6,1.. per yard ; of hard clay there would bo 242,465 yards at is. 3 d ixed marl m w ith gravel and stones at is. 4d. p er yard ; there woul,d be 290,215, and 292,579 ya rds of common earth which he laad estimated at IS. 2d. per yard. He had made six borings, in order to determine the several kinds of earthwork. The slopes would not be more than Ito I. There were six miles of an ascending e.adient of a bad character. Ile did not know of any existing rair.vay with a worse gradient considering - the length ; there was a descenting gradient of three miles of 1 in 104. Captain Mortreott, R.N., was then examined ou behalf of the pro mote-s. He knew several lines where the gradients were more severe thari the present one. The Hartlepool Railway had a gradient of one in thirty for two milers in length. There would be no danger if proper ca re were taken in working a single tine. He was =violated with the working of the Taff Vale Railway, which was a sin& line of rails. He did not consider it absolutely ne cessary to the safe working of tile line that there should be an electric telegravh along it. He had estimated the cost of con struction at about 20.0001. less than the estimates of Mr. Hill, and could obtain respowirte parties to complete the works for the slim which he had estimated. Mr. Miller, C.E., ha examined the sections of the line. He did not think, although of an inferior character, that they would be of serious inconvenience. ife was workiue, a line himself with a gra client of one in forty-two, and found no difficulty. • Mr. Lewis, a contractor ,for the construction of railways, proved the general accuracy of the Estimates of earth and bridge work fur nished by the engineer. Mr. Burge, a contractor, Also proved the same, and would be very happy to undertake the contracts on the terms mentioned in the estimates. Colonel Coles, a magistrate ill Somersetshire, and a director of-the company, was the nest_ witness called, who proved t hat the directors had endeavoured, a,s much as possible, to meet the wishes of Mr. Somerville by changing the roucta of the railway, he being a peti tioner against the Bill. This witness closed the case of tire promoters. The Committee then adjourned till. to-morrow at twelve. GROUT' K-XX- This Committee re-assembled to —y at the usual , hour. Present, Lord Charles Wellesley (chairman), and the other Members. AYLESBURY AND T11.1.1V121 Zo"I3'NCTION Mr. W. Clarke, examined by Mr. Wrta..s•—Carried on business as a carrier and farmer at Lutes. There was is,o traffic of any importance east or west to Oxford and Cambridge. Cross-examined by Mr. WADDINGTOX—TI, is railway from Cam bridge to Oxford would not injure him. Mr. E. Chase, examined by Mr. Wttis—Werts a surgeon, residing at Luton. Knew that Mr. Byce and other later ‘ plait manufacturers were of opinion that this line (the Cambridge anti OxfOrd) would de no good to the town. Mr. WADDINGTON cross-examined this wanes* —Was not aware that Mr• Byce was a member of the provisional -zom mittee of the Oxford and Cambridge Railway. Did not know that influ ential gentlemen of the town were members also. Mr. Francis Field was examined by Mr. CALcitini T, and corrobo rated the testimony of the preceding witness. Mr. J. Bartrum, examined by Mr. CaLcaarr—Was a straw-plait manufacturer at Dunstable, and was brought in colter with Bir mingham, London, and othet large towns. None of his description of manufacture went to Cambridge or O xford, and the opinion of the people of Dunstable was decidedly aga inst the railwar; between these towns. After hearing some further evidence to the sam e effect, the Com mittee adjourned at four o'clock till to-morrow. GROUP XXXVII. The Committee met at twelve o'cloek yesterday, Lord SeyraolV in the chair The Committee deferre , burned at a quarter past O'clock. to-morrow, and ad- ( MOM' XLIII. EAST AN'S) WEST TORIESHIE,E. The Cemmittee on tbds 'Bill met again to-day at twelve o'clock, in Room 33, Mr. W. Mi les, c hairman. engineer .to the Company, was called and examined The line was easy of construction, ve C ry . I — k lit and gradients most favourable. The by yM e estimate for making then ne was 20,0001. He was satisfied that the 1 ‘ r jrG. cuttings Grainger, Hue could be constructed for that amount. After some further evi dence the witness was crovs-examined iniss, being By Mr. Blass—Had the line gone further north before coming towards Kriaresbisrough,. lie;did not think they could have avoided Knaresborough without great inconvenience. ' Could not tell how m any houses they, would. pull dawn at Knaresborough. He had not taken any account of Ile value of the property which would be required ; that was no; part of his duty as engineer. By avoiding Knaresborough the lengt b of the line would be very much increased.l After a lengthened cro es-examination of this witness, the Commit tee adjourhed to twelve o'clock to-morrow. GROUP XLIV. LXVELZPOO'L, 'AILANCIZESTZIZ, A7.ZI) NEVJ-. CASTLE-U2'oll-TYNE TUNCTXON. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) Mr. Robert Steptiensorn was then called, and gave evidence corro borative of that of Mr. llawkshaw. He had examined the plans, &c., and could speak to their correctness. He totally denied the as sertion made in one of the allegations of the petition of Sir W. Law son, that the plans were incorrect. The Committee declb red the preamble of the Bill proved. L.aiwcasuraal AND NORTH IrOZILSHIRE. This Bill, it will be remembered, forms but a part of the same pro ject as the Liverpool, Miuuchester and Newcastle, the two being in fact but one line. The Committee, therefore, In passing the preamble of one, also passed that of the other, and it was determined to apply to Parliam - eut for leave, to unite the two, and pass them as one Bill. It must be re membered, however, that part of each Bill has been abandoned, the two having originally been competing lines, but by uniting them and discarding parts of each, the present apparently perfect project has been formed. Having disposed of these Bills, the Committee proceeded to the ease of the GROUP XIII. The Coltrmittee that to-day at twelve o'clock, Slr W. Clay in the ehair. Members present, Earl Jermyn, Lord Shelburne, Mr. Cur teis, and Mr. P. Ainsworth. GLASGOW. D137. 4 /1.7.T.L1T15, C astmmemz. The evidence on behalf of this line was resumed. Mr. Blythe was recalled and briefly examined On the estimates for constructing the. line. Mr. Millet', civil engineer, examined.—Re agreed with the evi dence of Mr. Blythe. The line was laid down in the best way to Atilt the convenience of the country. He estimated the working or the line at 33 per cent. on the gross receipts, the Ayrshire Company Agreeing to work it at the rate. The line, by this arrangement, could be worked more economically than by independent arrange _ . unents. Crose-examined by Mr. Hon —lle calculated in the arrangements he proposed that the whole scheme would be traversed four times each way daily, with about six passenger carriages to each train. Ile could not give the average width of tlse line throughout. The scl.eme was substantially cuth as last year, only shorter at each end, a portion having beenoff at Cutnnock and Carlisle. Last year the line was classed as a competing line with the Caiedoni m Medway, but it was so clamed against his w expeditiouslythen admitted that the DurnfrieS line would take pas etesers as as the Cale donian line, and, therefore, that the former was the ose v that ought to be made. The Committee , however, did not alopt this iew, as It was considered the Caledonian was bet t e r for natioaal objects, as di rectly connecting the north with the south. The Caledonian scheme, if perfected, he admitted would all the advantages of the present WilheMe, with the exception of g the portion between Curnuock and DumfHes.' The CHAIRMAN asked if the promoters had any traffic tables to put in. showing the receipts expected from the different pelts of the line ; that - was the exeected traffic on the Dumfries and Cumnock portion. the Carlisle and Dumfries portion, and the two branches separately' Mr. TALBOT sa id they were sot prepared with those tables at present, but should the Commite witnesses satisfied with the evidence aftady given, they had more eto call, who would furnish the details. Mr. Coexerax said that the case of the promoters had been placed before the Committee on the supposition of there being uftictent local traffic to warrant the construction of the line. It had been brought forward on its own merits. chat there Was such traffic as was alleged. he, on behalf of the Caledonian Company, totally denied, and maintained that the Dumfries line could not he worked .vithout taking away a considerable portion of the Caledoni an traffic, to the great prehelice and loss of that company. It had been proved that year that the. through traffic would be more than sufficient to pay for the construction of one lin vested by time latter cot I, a a n n d y„ give a fair interest in the Capital in- The " 11,04 a was of opinion that if the promoters of the Cale donian scheme oonsldered that their case materially depended on the roe'lltio7t of local traate, away and that the conOanv on the Dumfries line mp.etslepead oh the taking Portion of the CaledonianthroUgh traffic, then the Committee wonit the room-to be cleared and decide upon the point raised as to the derailed traffic tables being furnished: Mr. rat - 110T lead not the slightest objecton . whatever to sup plying further evidence on local triftk , slap id the . ComMittee - le: require it, but he was n o t then prepsa with effect tthleatothe ln h tree quire d . Mime - Tv/is given the tables would b e got ready,. cml meantime he would go on with the farther evidence, which. with that already prep, the tables would be founded. Mr. Cocginntit trusted the tables would furnish precisely t' Puffer sources from which traffic was expected, as he innetapiar vie& te.warrant the construction of such a line, l'ed N=lan tat Finned it would only lead to a ruinous compete_ - tton companies, that would end. In an amalgins; ''ctions •• , e double eepital Invested, would lead to rates , ...`••- -11 3 7 which e~ , , nterest would be SAerilleed. lie hosed the Ws, tables would be f by toenerrow morning, as the 'Whole rate at 164 " cliclaereicAl 41), question of traffic under consideration. ' • After-sera& versation pro and con. to the same effect, it NW &slimiest. mittee, in compliance with Mr. Cockburn's Le ..,-*lniffeeti • the details of traffic should be male otit, to `e su fag, and that, in the mean time, evidence N: 3 e points Off which the tables would be based. THE SUlsi l LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING. MAY "8, 1846 YOU*. AND CAIIiISLE. - it will be remembered, was agreed to, be taken next to the Liverpool and Manchester, the Bill having been read on the 25th of February, Leinir, earlier than any of the other Bills except the Liver. pool and Manchester. The Bill was opposed by the Yorkshire and Glasgow Union, a com peting line. There was no opposition on the part of the landowners. Mr. Murphy and Mr. woolridge appeared for the promoters of the Bill; Mr. Talbot, Mr. Sergeant Wrangham, and 3Mr.• Pullen for the Glasgow Union. Sir. Pease, a large coal-owner in the district to which the York and Carlisle will give: accomModation, gave evidence at great length on the advantages to the collieries that would ensue from the making of this line. The examination, cross-examination, and re-examination of this witness occupied the Committee the whole day, and at four o'mock they adjourned till to-morrow. STANDING ORDERS' COMMITTEES. HOUSE OF .LORDS. Their Lordships met this day at the usual hour; present, the Earl of Suaftestatry (in the chair), the Duke of Richmond, Lords Devon and Redes(lale. The business upon the paper was exceedingly heavy, but before; their Lordships reached the Railway Bilis, the Earl of Shaftesbury had to adjourn the Committee, in order to attend the Appeal Committee. LONDON AND SOUTH ESSEX RAILWAY COYLPANY.-THE LONDON AND BLACKWALL RAILWAY.-WINDING UP. A very numerous meeting was held yesterday at the Lon don Tavern, of the scripholders in , this Company, to con sider the draft of a Bill to be laid before. Parliament, in pur suance of the resolutions of the Houses of Lords: end Com mons. I. N. Daniels, Esq., in the chair. The solicitor read the marginal notes of the Bill, from which it appeared that the objects proposed to be accom plished by the Company was to form a railway from Step ney, in 'connexion with the,London and Blackwell Railway, to . Burnham, on the river Crouch, in,EsSix, with branches to Tilbury and Southend. The capital was fixed at 900,0001., to be raised - by - 18,000 shares of 50/. each. The greatest amount! to be called for was . fixed in the Bill at 101., and that there should be three months , between each call. It alio provided that' all the operetions.neeessary for effecting the junction with the Blackwell Railway at Stepney should be carried on . under this superintendence of the engineer of that Company, and also contained a clause authorising the sale of the .proposed line to the ,Blackwell Company, if it should be considered advisable. The 01.kauta.,- . 4 hey ie 6 proposed- a resolution to the_effect_ that the meeting approved 'of the Bill, submitted to their con sideration, and that , the directors be requested totake such measutes as they deemed most advisable to promote the for mation Qf the 4tne, - A SCRIPHOLDELt, 'Thanked what security the directors would afford that the residue of the "calf of 5 per Cent: for defraying the incidental Parliamentary expenses would be paid, in case the Bill were to be thrown out 1-. The!CHAnbiAle' replied the directomentertained no doubt but that they would be enabled to defray those expenses without pressing upon the scripholders.. Mr. Surrom _thee proposed, and, Arr. T. seconded au amendment to. the effect, that the meeting delsireethat the chairman should state specifically from what source the di reeters propose to raise the money. A long and rather stormy discussion ensued between the supporters of the original motion' and the amendment; when Dr. BOWRING rose to order. He thought if such doubts as seemed to pervade the minds of some of the gentlemen who had spoken prevailed generally among the scripholders, the best course to follow would be to at once abandon the undertaking., The directors were most anxious to promote the interest of all connected with the Company, but he con sidered that their efficiency would be considerably impaired if such doubts as those were to be allowed to pass without comment. Some gentleman here said, they meant to cast no imputa tions personally upon the directors. A SHAREHOLDER wished to inquire how many applications for shares had been made to the directors, and how many had been allqtted? The CHAIR-MAM said, the number of shares to be allotted vas 18,000, the applications were 64,756, and the number allotted was 14,587, and of those latter some had never been taken up. The SHAREHOLDER inquired why nearly 4,000 shares had b e en thus kept back ? CHAIIWAN said one of the reasons, and the principal, w as, t, hat out of this 64,756 applications the references of a large nomber were found to be fictitious, and the Committee thought it better for the respectability and interests of the Company to refuse those as well as many others. The Seta ar.noLDEri said he considered the keeping 4,000 shares for the Provisional. Committee and the Directors was rather too much. If more had been allotted generally, the expense upon. the holder of each share would be only 155., instead of 205.. 6d. In reply to iirr. Wilson, the CHAIRMAN said the manner in which the directors proposed to raise - the money for the par liamentary expevses, would be upon their own responsi bility.— (Cheers. ) After a lengthened discussion, in - which Mr. Wilson pro posed a resolution, uroing in forcible terms the winding up of the undertaking, whic,'l he eventually withdrew, a poll was taken, and the chairman and scrutineers retired, and after an hour's absence returned, when they declared the numbers to be— In favour of continuing the scheme Against it At the first blush this would indicate a continuance of the scheme, but the sessional orders require three fifths c•f the scripholders to be in favour of" going a head." The majority who voted at this meeting was less this proportion, however by 180, so that cons quently the scheme is to be" wound up.' PRODUCTION O F COAL IN THE DIFFERENT STATES OF EUROPE. After iron, there is certainly no produce of the mineral kingdom which exercises a greater influence bn our com mercial relations than coal. The following is a statistical sketch of the produce of that article in the different countries of Europe: — England possesses the richest veins of coal, both as regards quality and quantity; they form a line from south-west to north-east. In Northumberland and Durham, from the Tweed to the Tees, coal abounds; at Whitehaven, in the hills of Cumberland, in Yorkshire, and in Lancaihire. The most abundant mines are in Wales. The consumption of coal in England and in exporta tion is so great, that it has often been asked if the mines would not be exhausted ; but, according to calculations made in proportion to the present consumption, they could not be exhasted under 1,500 years—the yearly consumption in Great Britain is 20 to 21 millions of tons. The exportation increased in the following •propor tions :—ln 1830, 505,421 tons ; in 1832, 588,450 tons in 1834, 621,256 tons ; in 1836, 1,101,000 tons ; in 1838, 1,413,800 tons ; in 1840, 1,621,300 tons ; in 1842. 2,120,000 tons ; and in 1844, 2,410,000 tons. The number of miners exceeds half a million. English coal is to be had in every part of the civilised world; there are deposits at Rio Janeiro, at Odessa, at Archangel, and at Constantinople. France does not produce enough coal for her own consumption, and is obliged to- import. She possesses 250 mines, of which 182 are worked, and which ren• dered in 1844 72,000,000 cwt. of coal, to the value of 21,000,000 f. (840,0001.) The produce is decreasing, as in 1815 they only rendered 17,000,000 cwt. ; 40,000 men are employed in the mines, and traffic belonging to them. In 1842, the importation of coal, into France, amounted to 16,711,328 cwt. France imports her coal from Belgium, England, and the Prussian provinces on the Rhine. Spain draws hut slight profit, from her abundant mines; the principal mine i s i n th e Sierra Morena ; the produce is not known. They import but little. In some of the principal Spanish ports, there are depots of English coal for the steamers. In Portugal there are depots at Figuierla, at Coimbra, and near Oporto. The principal mines of Italy, which produce annually from 140,000 to 150,000 cwt., are in the Savoy, and near Genoa. The others, scattered over the Peninsular, are ' of very little value, and there are depots of coal in the principal ports. Belgium possesses immense mineral riches; in this ionren t i to country production increases„:. In 1831 the produce 8 1 4 0 ,2 5 3 0 2 ,40200 has tons, n . oa value ll l u A me 4 i 4 noef t s h the b e To x ui p ite o r r se t i a xi i i millio nsansingleamounted m f I amounted to 42,800,000 cwt., and in 1544 it realised n (600,0001.) and the Rolland 'o Switzerland, though rich in the county of Limberg. They . ' metals, has very Tiie little l coal, England, Belgium, in n u 43 mine o a and d an i m y p v o a r l t l s ie a i n q t u h a is n t c i u ty un f t r r o y m i s E a n t g u lO o n e t provinces. efell; produced 514,969 cwt. 8 -it Norway has no coal mines: In Russia the production of coal does not ()weed 800,000 prod s . I t seems that between the Don and the Dnieper, and in Siberia, there are rich coal mines, and the Government are now taking measures to tura them to account. alunark has one insignificant mine at Bornholm, and imports nearly all her coal from England. her of her mines. The annul produce rich in coal mines, but the produce is not iu pr,nortion Kith the . Austria at least I'7.ooo,ooo'c' a p roduce o r: coal in up, d 9,000,000. Of this amount in, 18.43 not "exceed Styria, 1,000, 00, Carinthia and B o b ern i, k produces zo.att one-hall; 0 31.0!.avia,2,000,0 0u 0 n 0 t ; Austria, 1,500,0 00 ; the distriCtS he oast Ir:rids (Kiisten-land), Irung44, - - 090,,P° 000• the' • rd every Small quantity. of.ogrago, a little more than 500,000; 60,000; Galicia, ;3,00u; iorn a y, 4 the mineral ia their are veins of monarchy. In Bohemia h rth districts of Klattan, along the river Beraun, in the neighbourhood no of Prague. Coal mines exist in nearly every prevince or 3 t Pisen, and Rakovitz, to the .P Nl3 I'aILTTCTIESTETZ. (881Z175- LEY JUNCTION). The examination was continued of witnesses to show the traffic likely to be male by the accommodation offered by the line passing over the coal-field, when Messrs. Jeffcock, Brown, and Rhodes gave evidence similar to what was elicited yesterday. Mr. Lee, resident engineer on the Shaffield and Manchester, stated in his examination that the length of the Barnsley branch was nearly eleven miles, and that it started from the Sheffield and Manchester line, 29 miles from Manchester, through a junction with the Midland Railway to Barnsley. There were two tunnels of 500 yards, and 440 yards on this branch, and the gradients were rather steep, being one in 95 for 8% miles, rising towards Pennystone, there being a difference of 515 feet in height between the two ends of the line and overcome in something more than 10 miles; but the natural line of the country was such that a line to the west could not be laid out with more favourable gradients. The estimate was 330,0001. for tbe whole expenses of the completion of the line, which he considered would be valuable as a through line between Manchester and Goole and Hull. In giving his evidence on the Worsborough branch, Mr. Lee stated that this was a branch from the Barnsley Junction, nearly 5 miles in length, terminating at Worsborough-bridge. The gradients on this branch would be heavy by going down lower than they did on the main line, so that there would be a gradient of 1 in 60 for 3 miles, and 1 in 100 for the remainder, and with heavy trains they would require an assistant engine. There was one tunnel on the line 990 y ards lout. The estimate for the branch, including land and all other ex penses would be 150,0001. In answer to a question about the ad ditional expense of working a linewith steep gradients, the witness stated that on the Sheffield and Manchester line, where there was a gradient of one in 100, the cost of locomotive power was 6d. per running mile, which was one penny less than it was in Lancashire. Mr. Locke, the engineer, gave evidence corroborative of the pre vious witness. He believed that a junction between the Sheffield and Manchester and the North Midlands would be one of the most important lines in existence of the same length, and that no other locomotive line would effect this but the line to Barnsley— a town which had a great deal of traffic, and mostly to the westward, which had been altogether neglected by the existing lines of railway. This finished the evidence for the present scheme. The Committee arranged on taking the Midlands branch to ElSicar to-morrow, and then adjourned. GROUP XL. LEEDS AND TOILE 'JUL! LW AT. The C{ , mmittee resumed this day. Mr- Stafford O'Brien (chair man), Lord Norreys, Mr. Bright, Mr. Sheridan, and Mr. Dugdale took their seats at twelve o'clock. Mr Cope's crass-examination by Mr. lIILDYARD was continued He stated that the North Midland Company were not aware until the third weak of the o iservations he was making, when they dis missed some of his men. If a train professed to start at a certain hour, and arrived at its terminus a quarter of an hour later, Mr. Cope set this down as a quarter of an hour lost. There was no frost during these three weeps of observation, as far as his memory served hint. Mr. Unzerang endeavoured to invalidate this witness's statement w'th regard to loss of time on the North Midland, by affirming that the returns given in by the wiimss did not tally with ltradshaw's tables of the same date. The Ist of April w.a taken as an example, on which day Mr. Cope allowed 9 hours 19 minutes for seven trains from York to Leeds. The Learned Counsel did not, however, controvert this fact, but maintained that the time advertised by the Company for starting ineant only the time when the doors were closed. Witness, however, urged that even that was no excuse for the Company's not delivering their freight at the time they a , ivertised. Witness farther begged to correct a statement he made yesterday. He had stated that the traffic on the Wetherby line was 50 per cent. greater than on the Tadcaster line. lle now begged to say that it was 100 per cent. greater. Iin,DYARD closely questioned the witness as to the amount of traffic between York and Wetherby, and as to the means of convey ance, whether by public carriers, or by private waggons, but witness having obtained his information through agents, would not give any evidene on the point. The traffic between Wetherby and York he estimated at about 3bol. ; between Wetherby and Leeds at about 1,2501 ; 2,5501. as the whole revererevne_ from traffic of goods between York and Leeds ; 5,5251. as sult derivable from cattle. 78,604 persons pass between Wetherby, York, and Thorp- Arch. ut a question or two that were Mr. Sergeant Wir..siss having p answered to his satisfaction, Mr. Cope stated, in reply to Mr. HARDT, that 85,4641. might very fairly be assigned as the total amount of Verde between Leeds and Vork by way of Wetherby. Mr, Bartsgs called Mr. James, superintendent of police in the Borough of Leeds,Who gave evidence corroborative of the alleged delays en the York and North Midland. Fie had latterly sent wit nesses by coach at assize time to snsure their attendance. Toe Leeds N M Ir. lA:am:to —Witness admitted that he was a shareholder in th and York Railway. lie had known the Court to be delayed for half-an-hour. To Mr. Itoatas — lNT ui ne ar f tl as. es id that an additional train would evic. and taeds 'Railway COM ea, but his testimony was have obviated these irre solely si i i i oi e L it yl Ac c h. all nar el e b te y r. mr. Bub, Mr. Bateman, civil engineer to : the 'T P o a f il a Y P ' f w ?P r s o Altness admitted that by the To V Leeds and York Bill they codd 11 , ,t unite with the LeedsDewer3 of the Brad ford, with the N 7 , ~ orth allilland, with th, Leeds ' and nor,Brad- Indeed, and Church Fenton, with any of the lines inwhich air. rested, although he had originally Hudson WAS inte junctions. entertained the idea of such Mr. , .II ILDTARD now Submitted to the admis sion ought to prove fatal to the' Bi t i before them, inasmuch as it e Committee that this proved that the line was not laid out in the best way for the public benefit. : Mr. &antes urged, on the contrary, that his Le bound to go on with his cross - exam in ation of the witnen. arned Friend was Mr. Littorano did not object to this. but distinctly intimated that he by no means w alved.the objection he had taken be should, on the termination of his cross-examitiatf and added, that o again request t he sense of the Committee blithe point he had raised. 31r. ALEXANDER urged on the Committee the saving of time raise sght be effected if th ey would give their decision on the point that might I by Ids Learned Friend Mr. Tlihiyard, as, otherwise, he should enter upon a lengthened cross-examination of the witness on behalf of '3lr, Fountain Wilson, as would also - his Learned Friends; Mr. - Sergeant Wilkins and Mr. Knowles, en behalf of the Companies for whom they were engaged. r. BAtNEs .sul)mitted that the line was the best of the three before the M Coinrnittee, and wished to call Mr. Cabin to prove this fact. Mr. HILDItARD, to save the time of the Committee, was ready'to admit that this was the best line of the .three, but contended that, even after this admission, the point must still be decided against Mr. Baines, by the admission of Mr. 13atenaan, that . the line was not so ' good as it might have been. ' •, Mr. Ilildyard continued to address the Committee for some time II the subject, and was followed by 31r. KNOWLES, who, as the representative of large landed•proprie tors, had important interests to protect. The Learned Gentleman maintained that the interests of private individuals were noting to be sacrifteed to a scheme which was.imperfect through a of jealousy towards Mr. Hudson. Mr. ALEK ANDER next addressed the Committee, on behalf of Mr. in by such a. ruse. . Dir. listisigi was snre tilt' Committer • - ' • -would not be Influenced by out by his Learned Friend (Mr. Al6tarider), and argued that if he showed his line was an integral line, and' htVolved such a degree of public accommodation as to outweigh the objections lif his.competi tors or of the landowners, the Committee were bound to all O w -him to Proceed with his 11111. Mr. ilnan the Committee a railway were bon it or whether they Imo cOnternitkr thitt the;TAint fit.issue for tho• decision.of was whether parties applying for powers to construct n to show that their line was merely a good one Fountain Wil on, in a similar strain to that of the Learned Counsel who had preceded him. '. Mr. Sergean t WitatiNs opposed the objection raised by Mr. Hil yard. and added that it' the atitassion of,Mr,lltidyard was accepted, all three of the liaeS mast be thrown overboard, but hi was Preparod to prove, in drect contradiction of Mr."Plifyarrys' adniimion, pv argv. meat°, that tho Leeds and Yii.rl, - .. ling,was tlte best of the-three. .11e was.preparcd to prove that it 3vas thti . kierat of the thrce, , and lie had too many ilealiiigi with the enalssarl'es'of 'the Great King to be taken s...{..s.aminatiori-witich bad been throwa the thr,ati of prololLNd ores were not compelled to prove that it was the best that could be constructed. The Learned Gentleman further ex plained by denying that he h - the Leeds and York line ad, de facto, admitted the superio rit y of • over the North Dlidiand. There are coal mine in Erzgolairge, in the valleys of the Eger and the Biela, and at tie foot of the Riesengeberg, from Sehatzlar to Land4ron. _ _ _ The principal mines of Moravia are in the district of Brunr, near It.ssitz and Oiluvan, and the coal near the mouth of the OJer is of a superior quality. In the Archduchy there are mines near Wiener, Neustadt, Klingenfurt,,Grunbach, and Gloggnitz; in Styria, near Leoben, andlohnsdorf; in Carinthia in the valley of the Lavan, and - in the neighbourhood Of Prevail; in Dal matia in Lordbardy, in the districts of Como and Pavia; in Tyrol, near Haring, and in Hungary, in the Carpa• thian Alcuntains. . In 1844, Austria exported 773,065 cwt., of which 703,262 cwt. were sent from Bohemia by the Elbe to Saxony, 25,433 cwt. to Turkey, 23,210 cwt. to South/n . l Germany, and 20,542 cwt. to Prussia. Prussia possesses 540 coal mines, giving employment to 25,000 workmen. The produce, in 1844, amounted to 53,600,000 cwt., or a value of four and a half million dollars (675,000/.) In 1841, Prussia imported 3,865,944 cwt, principally from England. Her exportation was 6,903,473 cwt. to Holland, France, and Poland. In Bavaria the produce is not what it might be; there are 40 extensive coal mines, principall; in her Rhenish provinces; the produce is about 1,200,000 cwt. In Saxony the mines are worked with zeal; the pro duce ammints_to about 4,000.000 cwt. There are extensive mines near the the forest of Thuringen. The Grand Ducy of Baden possesses some valuable coal mines. In the Duchy of Brunswick there i 3 scarcely a mine. In the kingdom of Hanover there are coal mines which occupy more than 1,000 workmen, Wurtemburg is poor in this respect. The Grand Duchy of Hesse, tbc Duchy of Nassau, the Grand Duchies of Mecklembourg and Olembourg do not possess coal mines. In the Electorate of Hesse there are some valu able mines, producing annually about 900,000 cwt. Generally speaking, the production of coals in Europe is susceptible of being greatly developed, especially in some parts of the Austrian dominions. It is true that during the last few years much has been done, but there is still much 'more to do. The produce of coal in Europe amounts annually, on a rough calculation, to 120,000,000 florins, or 12,000,0001. sterling.—Lloyd's Awt•ian Gazette. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, May 7. In the absence of the LORD CHANCELLOR, the Earl of SHAFTESBURY' took the Chair at Five o'clock. SCOTTISH FREE CHURCH. Lord CAMPBELL said he had petitions to present of very great importance to the country, from certain inhabitants of Edinburgh and Paisley, praying for the interference of the House in a matter in which they were deeply interested. They said that there were certain religious questions in Scotland which excited great disagreement, and that members of the Free Church were not allowed to purchase lands for the erec tion of ehurtles for any purpose. They were quite ready to give reasonable remuneration for any land which might be required for the erection of churches ; but in some cases, where one great proprietor held the whole of the land in the parish, they could not obtain any quantity of land whatever. If such were the case, he thought t was a reasonable ground for the interference of their Lord lips, as they had interposed and given their sanction to an nvasion of private property in the case of railroads, where he companies merely sought permission for travelling with Treater faciltty from one part of the country to the other. This was a case of infinitely greater importance, and if the pe itioners made out their case, he should feel no difficulty what sver in assenting to the principle they had adopted, and sup sorting a Bill for making it law. FACTORIES BILL. Lord REDESDALE presented a petition frill) the Dissent ng ministers of Wigan in favour of the Ten Hours' Factory Bill. CHARITABLE TRUSTS BILL. The Earl of CLARENDON presented a petition against he Charitable Trusts Bill. THE PORT OF LIMERICK. The Duke of BUCCLEUCH laid on the table certain sapers relative to the improvement of this harbour. The Marquis of LANSDO iVNE presented a petition from he mayor, aldermen, ani burgesses of Limerick, prat) hug that steps might be taken for the improvement of the harbour of ;hat town. Lord MONTEAGLE presented several petitions in favour 4 the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle, the Midland Counties, tud other railways. THE OFFICE OF HIGH CONSTABLE. The Duke of BUCCLEUGH presented a petition from the city of Westminster against certain provisions in relation to that city and liberty in the Bill proposed for the regulation if the office of high constable, and praying to be heard by their agents and counsel against the Bill. The Duke of RICHMOND stated it was not his intention to press that part of the Bill. CHARITABLE TRUSTS BILL. Lord COTTENHAM presented several petitions against the Charitable Trusts Bill. Lord STANLEY presented a petition from Lancashire to the same effect ; also a petition from the same place against the sale of spirituous liquors on Sunday. CO RN-LA WS. Lord ASHBURTON moved for the returns of some papers with reference to the corn-laws, which he thought would facili tate the progress of that measure when before their Lordships. He was not at all wishing to open up a discussion about the ex• sediency of passing such a measure. If they did pass it, he wished them to do it with their eyes open, as it was one in which not only the ag-icultursl portion of the community was interested, but in fact every class in thy country. The motion he had to make was for the purpose of ascertaining the quantity of corn in bond. The last time they had a return, the amount of wheat was 1,200,00 quarters, and the quantity of flour was about 700,000 or Buo,ooo barrels. He had also to move for a return 3f every hundred pounds' worth of tithe received under the Tithe Commutation Act, from the passing of that Act down to 1845. He hoped there would be no objection to such a motion. Lord BROUGHAM , entirely concurred with his Noble Friend, and, differing from him as he did on other matters, he rejoiced to be able to agree w.th him on this. —( Laughter. ) He was undoubtedly of opinion that the 'emit of the measure hat would shortly come before their Lordships would have the effect of lowering the price of grain, inasmuch as a much greater quantity of grain would be introduced into the English market. He had no desire; however, to anticipate the dissen sion that would arise on that measure, and he would, there fore, postpone any arguments which he had on the ques tion till the proper time arrived. He would, at the same time, express a hope that their Lordships, who were appointed to inquire into the burdens on land, would lose no time in laying their report before their Lordship., believing, as he did, that a more important report had never been laid on the table of their Lordships' House. Earl FITZ WILLIAM thought it would be desirable for their Lordships to have a statement similar to that which was asked for by the Noble Lord (Lord Ashburton), of the corres ponding periods, as far back as the time when the last Corn Bill but one (1828) passed, and he should move an amendment to that effect. Lord ASHBURTON said that in the last year the quantity in bond was 430,010 quarters ; the year before that 2.!0,000 ; the year before that 245,000; then 124,000; then 132,000; then 257,000; and so on up to the year 1838. Lord BROUGHAM suggested that it should be ascertained whether corn was at such a price as to be importable at the time these returns were made. Lord ASHBURTON said that the- returns were from the months of October and December in each year, when the farmer held most of his corn in hand, arid at that season ct , rn was exported from abroad for this country. The corn dealers on the Baltic found all the ports between their country and ours shut against them, and consequently their supplies came to the British ports. EarI.FITZ WILLIAM said there never was so great a quan tity in bond as at the present moment. It was now better than four months since this measure was first introduced into Parliament, and he would leave it to their Lordships whether the real nature of. the meaaure had not been well known two months before that time; so that there was a period of six months since this measure was first brought under the notice of the public. during which time no merchant in his senses would take a single quarter out of bond. The Duke of RICHMOND wished to correct his Noble Friend the Earl Fdzwilliam in one point. It was well known that the British farmer never brought his corn to market until it sv in the best condition. Now, it was also known that - English turn required sumo titrie to be laid up, acct the influence of frost, to bring it into condition. The late season had been unusually mild, and there was, in con sequence, never a greater quantity of corn in the hands of the farmer than there was at the present moment. It was always kept up in the hope of obtaining better prices, and there was in fact at this particular time a great quantity of grain waiting for disposal. He did not think the Bill would pass, but if it did pass, he would do all he could to protect those farmers who had large stocks of wheat on hand. He must protest against thine .Ne bie Lords who said that the question was settled. He did not think so. He could not believe that Noble Lords on the oppo site side could an suddenly turn round, or that those on the other side, who had advocated a fixed duty, would now give it up in favour of the Bill before the other House. Lord BROUGHAM did not think the question settled, but whether settled or not, he would give a little advice. He 'could strongly advise those who had large stocks on hand to bring their wheat to market as if it was settled.—(A laugh.) Earl GREY differed with the Noble Duke. He believed that the farmer) were suffering greatly through this delay. They would be exposed to this deluge of foreign corn, from the importation having been dammed up for six months, instead of the market receiving gradual supplies. The suffering of the tanners hail arisen from the want of foreign wheat to mix up with the produce of last harvest, which was generally of an inferior quality. It could not be ground unless mixed up with old or foreign wheat, and the state of things had been such that the n ecessar y supply of fereign wheat was not forthcoming. In the north of England the wheat of last harvest was generally inferior in quality, and millers were pre vented from grinding it from want of foreign wheat. It would have been a great advantage to the country if the ports had been opened in November or December last. Lord BEAUMONT was anxious that there should be no delay in producing those returns. He hoped next week to be able to lay on their Lordships' table the report of the Coin mittee of which he was Chairman. At the same time he hoped that whatever might be the result of that measure the labours of she Committee would not be altogether lost. The motion was then agreed to. RELIGIOUS OPINIONS BILL. The B hop of EXETER consented to postpone the mo tion of which he had given notice for to-day, until Monday next. DR. REID'S VENTILATION. The Marquis of CLANRICADE wished to know whether there would be any impediment in the way of allow;ng Mr. Gurney to have some part of the new Houses appropriated to him, for the purposes of ventilation, that their Lordships might be able to judge of the plan proposed ? The Commissioners had not yet made ther report upon this subject. Lord CAMPBELL complained of the serious annoyance caused to their Lordships by Dr. Reid's system of ventilation; that annoyance became worse and worse every day. When he entered their Lordship? House that morning he could scarcely breathe the air, and he only wished that Dr. Reid might him self be compelled to breathe it for two hours. Thus he ( Lord Campbell) knew that it ias utterly impossible for that gentleman to make the air worse than he had already made it. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said that Dr. Reid had acquired great reputation as a ventilator, rld he apprehended that their Lordships would have no obj-ction to accede to the very reasonable request of that gentleman, viz., that he should be allowed the use el one room in the new louse of Lords, in which to experimentalise. WESTERN AUSTRALIA BILL. Lord STANLEY moved the second reading of this Bill. For several years there had been no indications of a wish for a change in the Government. In 18:29 that colony was founded, and, with the exception of 1837, there had never been any wish for a change. Since that period, however, there had been an indication of a wish for change. ' Earl GREY could not help expressing his surprise and rem' at the principle of the Bill, which had just been introduced by her Majesty's Government, and he still more regretted th e opinions of his Noble Friend who had just sat down. In the course of last session a very important debate had occurred in the other House of Parliament, during which the Right Hon. Baronet who held the weighty office of first Member of the Government had propounded the doctrine that the colonies had better be left to the Government themselves ; that, with some raodificat'ons the principle of representation ought to be in troduced into all our dependencies. especially New Zealand. If this was true with regard to New Z , gland, it was more espe cially true with respect to Western Australia. His Noble Friend had said that until within a few years nothing like a sentiment of discontent had been evident in the colonies. Bnt that such discontent did exist now was allowed. He trusted, therefore, that no measure would be allowed to become law without first consulting the colonists themselvee. Unless means were taken to put the colony on a proper and popular footing,. it would be impossible to develop the resources of the colony in , the way that was desirable. Lord LYTTELTON thought that time should be allowed for due deliberation. If they legislated hastily on the matter, it might be the cause of more evil than was sought to be reme died. At least they ought not to take any step that would in crease the expenses of the colony, without consulting those who were resident there. Earl GREY remarked, that popular forms of govern ment had been carried out with great effect in Nova Scotia, New Brunswi lc, and many of the West India islands. The Duke of RICHMOND said the horrible state of things that prevailed in Auaralia ought to be met with a remedy. If the Government was not prepared with a measure to remedy those evils by the end of the session, he, as an independent Peer, would consider it his duty to move fer a Select Commit. tee to inquire into the whole aftaira of the colony, with the ob ject of prov iding , a remedy. Lord LYTTLLTON said the subject had occupied the attention of the Government for a considerable period. He was not, however, prepared at that time to announce any de cision they had come to upon the subject. The Bill was ß then read a second time. AILWAY DEPOSITS BILL. The Earl of DALHOUSIE moved the third reading of the Railway Deposits Bill. The Bill was then read a third time and passed. FRIENDLY SOCIETIES BILL. Earl ST. GERMANS proposed that this Bill, which had been beought rip. From the other. House, should be read a second time an Monday next. The Bill was then read a first, and ordered to be read i a second time on Monday next. STATEMENT OF THE ABBESS MIECZI:~LAWSKA. The Journal de Debate inserts the following answer from the Polish priests at Rome to the second denial by the Rus 3ian Government of the truth of the recital of the Abbess Mieczislawska, which we have published. The answer to it is transmitted . to the Ddbats by the Count de Monte lembert : " ANSWER TO THE ADDITIONAL NOTE DATED FROM ST. • PETERSBURGH, MARCH, 1846. " The venerable nun, whom it pleases the author of the ad ditional note to call 'the woman Mieczislaweki; never as sumed the title of Abbess of the convent of Komi°. We defy the Russian diplomatists to cite from among the numerous per Sons who have seen and conversed with her since her ar rival within the Prussian territories, a single witness worthy of credit wtio heard her take this quality. In the first decla ration made before the Archbishop of Posen, two months before the publication of the article of the journal the Third of May, she took her true title of Abbess of Minsk. The error into which the journal, the Third of Vag, had fallen, was rectified in the next day by that journal and lay the Univers. Thus vanishes the first part of addition num ber 1. Remains the title of Abbess : of Minsk. The author of this second note is forced to confess that, in the.first note, it was Carefully concealed that in the said town of Minsk there did exist a convent of Basilian nuns, and to acknowledge that the mother Makrena did not arrogate to herself an im aginary title. Thus is confirmed by the admissions of Russia herself the existence of. this convent, the reality. of -which has been wilfully denied - ;—thus is cotstfrined the testimony of the old inhabitants of Lithuania, and particularly - that of the Sisters of Charity at Wilna, as well as that of the Marquis de Narp, an officer who was in the service of the French army in 1812, now resident at Rome, all of whom attest the fact from having been eye-witnesses of it, Driven to speak of the convent of Basilian nuns at Minsk, the note gives its history from 1834, and pretends that at that period it was converted into a hospital. This assertion is completely false. In 1835, the convent still belonged to the Basilian nuns, and by the fire which in. that year reduced Minsk to ashes, the convent suffered severely. All the wealthy inhabitants of the town witnessed the mother Makrena, with the sisters . Wawrzecka and Cot/tit : silt, demanding' and receiving contri butionstowards the reparation'of the damages their convent had sustained. It was not until 1838 that it was suppressed by the violent expulsion of the nuns. As to the auginenta tion of revenue and other advantages of which the note speaks, favours still enjoyed by the superior rof the convent transferred from Minsk, there is the same sophistry, the same falsehood as was inserted in the first note. If it be true that the revenues of some convents have been increased by fresh grants, it has been most assuredly only for the benefit ofsuch nuns as have embraced the schism, and not of those who have refused to do so; since these last have been treated as servitors and Prisoners, and as no longer forming a legal community. Besides it is literally, false to assert that any new revenues have been conferred upon religious establish ments since the Russian Government, after having seized their estates and property, has replaced the ample income:, derived from them by very small pensions. Consequently there is an evident falsity in this second part of the first ad dition. No person can be made to believe that the Russian Government, which had seized the property of the convents, can have augmented revenues no longer in existence, that they can have been augmented in favour of nuns considered to be rebellious heretics, and that these grants have• been continued up to the present day. The fact referred to in the addition N0..5 has never been disputed. It has not been denied that some nuns may, on account of the state of their health, have been allowed to return to their Catholic families ;:but it is affirmed that these permissions have all been anterior to the cruel persecutions of 1838. Addition 12.—The note affects to give the names of the superiors of the convents existing in:1839. Here, again, it falls into vo luntary error. Thus, the superior of ! Grodno was not Bai kowna, but blaliszweska; that of `Vitebsk was not Kasi merska, but Kublika ; that of Polock was not Kuleszawka. but Kostrowna. From this let the confidence merited by the writers of the note be judged, when they say that Ma krena Mieczislawska was not Abbess of Minsk. It may be that in 1839 there were only nine convents of Basilian nuns in Russia, for at that period persecution was already old. It must be concluded that persecution had already borne its fruits; for previously there were at least fifteen of these con vents in Russia, viz., those of Wilna, Grodno, Pinsk, Orza, Minsk, Polofock, Witebsk, Novogrudesk, Zyrovice, Slonim, Boruny, Beresweez, Czaswiki, Biala, and Foczajow. These convents were inhabited by 245 nuns, as is proved by the Calendars of the order printed before the persecution. The convent of Minsk alone reckoned 35. If, therefore, there were no more than 55 nuns in all, there would remain only 20 fur the other 14 convents, or one and a halt for each, It is added that no change hal been made in the interior dis cipline of the convents. Nothing, certainly, beyond the re ligious faith and the persons of their inhabitants—the old and the inha been martyr bfalittahnthsabs abveeenbemeoamdentGo r g e i e v o e .R pl u a s c , 9 la to ns, a o s r ch h is a m ve , ised for remaining faithful to their creed. With these ex ceptions, it is true that there has been very little change. The note concludes with two allegations—the first of which is founded on a slight mistake, which it vainly endeavours to exaggerate ; and the second of which, is branded with flsgrant bad faith. It is true that the Governor of Minsk was not named Uzakoff. The mistake arose from the similitude between the two names Suzkoff and TJzakotl, and not Usrakoff or Souchkoff, as the note, with a view to delude, wishes to represent. It was in truth General Suszkoff who was Governor of Minsk at the time of the persecution. It may be easily imagined that the ear of the Abbess, or of those who took down her testimony, may have misappre hended the sound, It will be easy to appreciate the declara tion which the note attributes to General Suszkoff, when it is known that this personage is a man - of cruel and despotic character, sent at that period to Minsk precisely to be the executor of those pitiless orders against the Catholics, whom it was determined to force by whatever means to apostatise. In the second place, the note joins irony. to falsehood, in affirming that the Princess Euphrosnia Giedymin, who brought to life in 1838, died at Roile more than six hundred years a W go. e inform h earned author of the note, that Christina Clara Giedymin, who took the name of Euphrosina on becoming a nun, was visitrese gene ral of the order of Basilian nuns; that she is the person designated under the name of mother-general—a title which was gives to het according to custom—and that she it was who perished miserably when she was being conveyed to Siberia. It will be seen that the author of the note is little versed in genealogies, although he pretends to have consulted them. It will not be out of place to make him acquainted with that of the nun whom he persists in calling the woman Mieczislawska. Makrena blieczislawska be longs to a distinguished family of Poland, allied to the princely family of Wistgenstein. She is the daughter of Joseph Mieczislawski and Anna Jagiello, daughter of Casi- Mir and Hedwige. She was born at Stokliszki, the estate of her parents, in the ancient palatinate of Troki, in 1784. She is not the only member of her family who has suffered for religion. One of her .brothers, Calixt Mieczislawski, who took the name of Onnphrus on entering the order of St. Basil, was, on his refusal to forsake his religion, put into a I cart, and so tightly bound, •that he perished on the way to Smolensk°. Two of his companions, Szozerbvriski and Cbryanowski, died with him in the same cart; and a fourth, Zolkowski, expired on arriving at Sinolensko. We will add that mother Makrena entered the order of St. Basil at the age of twenty-three, in the convent of Biala, of which her maternal aunt, Isabella Jagiello, was Abbess. Several n eb io e nt r h e s m a e f i t n e e r d w , ar a d n s d sh p e e t r s f - en onn t to ed th a e lm c o o s n t v e en n t tb o e f sheß er was esw i t n ie s a k, of where th a establishment u n til the moment when the abbess K ulesza, having become infirm, Makrena took her charg e tor three years, and suc cee d e d h er as a bb ess at her death hi 1823. In her quality of a bb ess, elections destroyed one abbesses cf Wiln a an d by one the a ll egat i ons o f t h e a dditi o nal note, and we deliver the new er rors w i t h w hi c h - it i s filled, as its most crue l con demnation, to the indignation and contempt of all upr i ght e p e r z e . sen n t .e at h t a h v e e d estr and impartial minds.—Rome, April, 1846."` MELANCHOLY DEATH OF CAPTAIN DUFF, RM.— I The painful duty has devolved upon us of recording the death of Captain Duff, Resident Magistrate of Roscommon, which took place on Saturday last, the 2d instant, under the following melancholy circumstances :—He was proceeding with some friends through the lawn of Hermitage, in the county of Longford, lately the residence of .his deceased brother, George Duff, Esq., when he received a kick on the right side from a horse, led by one of the party, whichcaused instant death. What renders the circumstance peculiarly distressing is the fact, that he had gone there from Roscom mon, for the purpose of arranging the affairs of his only brother, above alluded to, whose death took place only five weeks since.--Dublin Evening Post. THE CHOLERA.—In a late number we stated that the . Asiatic cholera had spread through several o f the p rovinces of Persia,' and had given rise to great mortality in some of the principal towns. It is reported to have extended from Bokhara across the Persian' frontier to Herat and Meshid, thence south of the Caspian to Tehe ran, and still further south to Ispalian. Recent accounts from Odessa state that it has crossed the Russian boundary, and has appeared at Tiflis, taking a course northward between the Caspian and Black Seas while, according to the latest intelligeuce from Riga, it has broken out at Orenburg in the I.Trallan raining district, crossed the 'olga, and appear e d on the Europeans side at Kasen, about 12,000 mites from St. Petersburgh. If these accounts are to be tru , ted, the disease has taken a somewhat irregular course, in a direction west by north; and it does not appear to have followed the banks of great w ietzt,:ari:Lirtihtintat-nntidprir rivers as in the former irruption of 1828-30. 'the disease which r lt ac r l e i . ed : England in 1831, prevailed in Pers'a for seven years, from 1823 to 130. It app. ared at Orenburg for the first time iu 1823; and 'was confined to thla quarter for a period of five years. It reappeared at Orenburg in 1829, and Its prevalence and fatality in this province ta -fo zu tt laaul Aux the- 26th of October of that year. Alt,TifthAavhere it is again reported to have of one-tenth dhpi.aorrwtngoe were eth attacked Inhabitants died. broken out, the mortality from the former epidemic was so grel, that three-fourths of those who were attacked perished. We shall take care to report any further information whit% may TOrtoll us respecting the progress of the maiacty.—lfodicol Gate*. COMMITTEES ON RAILWAY BILLS. Lord REIiESDALE then moved the resolution of which he had given notice, " That the Select Committee appointed by their Lordships to name the Select Committee for the cowl derat ion of opposed private Bills should notiname any such Corns mittee on any opposed railway 13111 alter Alo ulav , the 20th July There would be great difficulty in obtaining proper and efficient committees after that period, to sit upon Bdls and give them due attention. Their Lordships were also aware that acme o: the most important Bills were those that came up at the latest period, and that was the case with those that were most op pos.:tel. It was desirable to secure good committees, and a fair and proper time for the consideration of Bills before them, and he thought every person must be fully aware that the time that was allowed by this resolution for the ;till consideration of those Bills was such as ought to be allowed in such matters as railway lygislature. He had, therefore, selected the 21th July as the day beyond which no committee should be named for sitting on railway Bills. Their Lordships were aware that a Committee named on that day, might very properly it be yond the end of the month, and on some occasions in the other House they had listed for a longer period. He, therefore, did net wish to name a later day. He had consulted that with Noble Lords, who were best acquainted with the arrangement a that House, and they entirely concurred with him on the desirableness of selecting the day he had named. He, there fore, begged to move that no Select Committee for the con sideration of opposed private Bills should be fixed after the 20th July. The Earl of WICKLOW said that the motion appeared to Jai a very unjust one towards the public. 'I here never had been a session in which a greater number of railway Bills had been brought before the House; and, notwithstanding teat, a proposition was brought forward at an early period of the session which, to a great extent, delayed the progress of those Bills. He perfectly approved of those measures; hut if this resolution was passed the promoters of several railway Bills would be subjected to great expense and inconvenience. No doubt many Noble Lords would think it convenient to lease town before the end of the session. But they had duties to perform, and very important du ies, in attending to railway Bills. It was very true that great injury had been done to the public by over-speculating in railways, but it was also very true that they benefited by such undertakings. How was it possi ble to fix a time after which no Bills were to be taken in tom mittee, when the session would, in all probability, last till August, judging from the great amount of business which was to come before their Lordships. To pass suck a resolution would toe to do a great injury to the public, who would most un doubtedly be benefitted by many of the Bids which would be rejected, because refused a hearing. He swas, indeed, sur prised to find the Noble Lord proposing such a motion, and he expected to have heard some good reasons stated for taking such a course. Lord REDESDALE said that he did not make such a motion for the purpose of saving the labour of their Lordships, but to serve the parties interested in railway Bills, who would, by the course he proposed, know the latest time when they could come before a Committee. This session many Bills had commenced in the House of Lords, and that expedited their progress very much, and he saw no injury whatever by the adoption of this motion. The resolution was th. n put and pased. ABOLITION OF DEODANDS BILL. Lord CAMPBELL rose to move the third reading of this Bill, and regretted to say that intimation had reached him that it was intended to offer considerable opposition in the other House of Parliament to the principle of the measure. It had receives the approbation of the Lord Chief Justice of England, and of the other learned judges, in whose judgment it appeared a most admirable measure. He trusted, if they intended to offer any such opposition, that the Noble Duke opposite would use his influence with the Government to get the measure through the other Howe. The Duke of WELLINGTON had had some communica tion with his Noble and Learned Friend, and quite concurred in the principle of the Bill. Lord DENMAN conceived that no real opposition would be offered to the measure, which was simply intended to abolish a remnant of a barbarous and superstitious practice, and likely to be of great service to the public. The consequences would be inestimable in the preservation of life. Lord'CAMBELL quite concurred in the importance of the ' observations that had been made. He trusted that the prin ciple of awarding compensation to the widows and children of any peison killed by gross negligence would not be lost sight of, and that this Bill would be suffered to pass the other House of Parliament. The LOIID CHANCELLOR conceived their Lordships would have a difficulty in awarding a value to his Noble Friend's hope. The Bill was then read a third time and passed. BURGHS (SCOTLAND) BILL. On the motion of the Duke of BUCCLEUCH. The House went into a Committee on this Bill, The Duke of RICHMOND proposed a clause, exempting Glasgow from the operation of the Bill. The Duke of BUCCLEUCH opposed the clause, which was negatived without a division. The Bills on the table were advanced a stage, and their Lordships adjourned. HOUSE OF , OMMONS, May 7. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock. DIALTON AND DRIFFIELD JUNCTION RAILWAY. Tho report on this Bill was brought up and agreed to, and the Bill was ordered to b' engrosFeri. GLASGOW AND BELF r UNION RAILWAY BILL. lir. DUNCAN moved, that it be an instruction to the Select Committee on the Glasgow and Belfast - !Mimi Railway Bill to hear parties, on the petition of James Ballantine, , against the said Bill, preented by Mr. Duncan on the 2r3th day of April last, and referred by the House to the Com mittee on the Bill, and Counsel ordered, on a copy of the petition being produced, and certified to the satisfaction of the Committee, the petition having been lost, and not entered is the Journals of the House. _ _ After a few welds from Mr. GREENE, who objected to the motion, The SPEAKER suggested that a fresh petition should be presented, which would at once obviate any difficulty respect ing the motion of the Hon. Gentleman. The amendment was accordingly withdrawn. LEICESTER INIVROVENIENT. Sir J. EAST HOPE moved the third reading of this Bill, which wag read a third time mad Passed. WELSH CHARITY SCHOOL INCORPORATION. The Lords' Amendments to this Bill were read and agreed to. BIRMINGHAM AND OXFORD JUNCTION RAIL- WAY. Mr. SPOONER moved the second reading of this Bill, which was ordered to be committed. The Hon. Member also moved the second reading of the Birmingham and Oxford Junction ( Birmingham Extension) Railway Bill, which was likewise ordered to he committed. SOUTHAMPTON PORT AND HARBOUR. The report on this Bill vals brou2ht up and agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be engro‘sed. SALE OF LIQUORS ON THE SABBATH. Several petitions were presented from different places agains' the sale of intoxicating liquors on the Sabbath. TEN HOURS' BILL. Mr. S. CRAWFORD presented a petition from the borough of Rochdale, signed by sixteen millowners, and several manu facturers of the town, in favour of a Ten Hours' Bill. Mr BLEWITT presented a petition in favour of the Ten Hours' Bill. CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL. Sir W. CLAY presented a petition from the Tower Hamlets in favour of this Bat. GUILDFORD, CHICHESTER, AND PORTSMO:t TH RAILWAY (No. 2). Mr. ESTCOURT moved that it be an instruction to the C committee of Selection to fix the first sitting of the Guildford, Chichester, and Portsmouth Railway (No. 2) Committee for Friday, the 6th day of May, and that it b • referred to the Chair man of Ways anti Means, and two other Members, not being those who were ordered to bring in the Bill.—Agreed to. Mr. FORBES presented a petition, praying the House not to interfere with the spiritual independence of the Church of Scotland. CHANNEL ISLANDS. In reply to a question from Mr. ROEBUCK Sir J. GRAHAM said that a commission had been issued for the purpose of making inquiries into the administration of law in the Channel Islands, and that he should have no objec tion to lay the Commissioners' report upon the table of the House. Dr. BOWRING said there was another island to which he wished to call the attention of the Right Hon. Baronet, and he wi,hed to know whether he was prepared to do the same thing with regard to the Isle of Man? Sir JAMES GRAHAM.—No. Mr. AGLIONBY said that in the absence of the Hon. Member for Liskeard (Mr. C. Bu ler), he would give notice that that Hon. Member would, on Thursday fortnight, move for copies of correspondence relating to New Zealand. THE NELSON MONUMENT. Mr. J. COLLETT said he asked a question in the early part of the ses-ion of the Noble Lord opposite relative to ;he state of the Neson monument, and when it was likely to be finished, and he was then told that a satifactory answer might be expected in about three months. Since that period three months and a half had elapied, but the boarding of the monument still remained in the same state. The Earl et LINCOLN answered the question in so low a tone as •to be scarcely audible in the gallery ; but he was u der stood to say, that at the time he gave the answer alluded to, he did expect a satisfactory answer to the question would be given at the time stated, but since then he had not been able to a:- certain what had been done; but he had reason to expect that the work would have been completed within the time stated. TAXATION OF SUITORS. Mr. WATSON moved for a Select Committee to inquire into the nature and extent of the taxation of suitors by the col lection of fees in the courts of law and equity, and tho applica tion of such fees, and the compensations paid to retired officers of those courts, and into the propriety of the continuance thereof ; and particularly to inquire into the orders for com pensation made by the Lord Chancellor to the persons tilling the offices of clerk of the enrolment, comptrollers of hansper, riding clerk, six clerks, sworn clerks, waiting clerks, and others, under the Act 5 and 6 Vic. c. 103, and to inquire into the nature, duties, and emoluments of those officers before the passing of that Act, and their right to compensation dur ing life and for seven years after the death of such person. In making this motion, he said he did so in consideration of the manner in which suitors in the courts of justice were so enormously taxed, and in which the most outrageous compromises often took place. Now, contrary to every principle of justice. there was no suitor in the Court of Chancery and no suitor in any other of the Courts who was not subjected to very heavy taxation. There were no le-s than from 300 to 400 persons who were employed in collecting fees in the Courts of Equity. Some of these fees went to the consolidation fund and some to tie officers in the Courts, but no step whatever could, be taken unless till fees were paid, and it was impossible to obtain redress otherwise. The House would be surprised also to learn that there was no check or control, or scarcely any, over the collectors. Some of them were certainly bound by oath, but there were others who were not. A great many officers were paid by fees only , and the only guarantee with re gard to the collecto r s of these fees w as the honesty of the persons. What he asked for, therefore, was a Committee to in, quire into this system, which he considered a mostobjectienahle one. The next point he wished to call attention to was, whether it was right to tax suitors at all. There might be no fear enter tained that by the abolition of these t axes law would become too cheap, for in this country there was very little chance of that. In the year 1843 to 1844 the fund called the S u it ors ' Fee Fund amounted to 97,0 T;0/. here was also a sum of money amounting to 155,000 . , which was p ai d i n taxes i nto the Court of Chance ry . Altogether there was from 300,0001. to 400,t)00/. paid in salaries to officers connected with the court, and a s um o f 293,0001., which went to th e Conso lidated Fi s nd, arnountine. altogether ict re to upwards of 600,00 4'll),(Md /. of which was a tax upon the suitors, the and the re s t a t ax upon country at large. This was a mon s t rous sum, but what as still more monstr ous , it was collect e d b y persons over whom there was no check, and he asked tl e House for a Committee, to consider whether this principle ought not to be discontinued.—( Hear, hear.) There was one individual in the Court of Queen's Bench w ho held a sinecure of 7,700!. a year, another who held a sinecure of 5,4961. a ye ar; an d there: w ere numerous others, varying from that sum to 2,0001. a year. In the Lancaster Court there was formerly a sinecure of some 2.000/. a year. The office was that of the prothonotary , and it was held by one ) individual from 1791 up to a very recent period. - ever, abolished, and although the fees collected were only 2,3001. per annum at the time it was abolished, a compensation of 2,7001. per annum was awarded to the sinecurist, who w as no less a person tban Lord Liverpool. What was more to be la mented eras, that it was a poll-tax, and no matter whether a man sued for 20,000/. or 2,0001., he had to pay the same fees. The Bill was to give compensation to the six clerks of the Court of Chancery, who had long been considered a public nui-iance ; they received enormous fees, but they were per fectly useless, and compensation was given to them for absolutely doing nothing. They were old officers, to be sure, and some of them were in the receipt of between three and four hundred a year. He was sure the Home would hardly believe him, when he stated that four of these persons were enjoying amongst them the enormous amount of 30,000/. a year.—( Hear, hear.) What could, then, be the meaning of giving such extravagant compensation? Their business itepended solely upon connexion, but that connexion was like an attorney's, it might not last five days, and it might last for ever; but the business transacted was not worth s i x d a y s ' p u r e l ase. The country had a right t?inquire and see how the funds were distributed, and whether the public money was to be wasted in such an extravagant man ner as he had detailed to the House. He would quote to the House an authority upon this subject which he was sure would have weight with the House, he would quote Mr. Pemberton Leigh, who after vainly, for a length of time, endeavouring to get a return from these gentlemen of their emoluments, they having refused them for a lengtn of time, had at last given some lump sums without stating name, or time, or place. Mr. Pemberton Leigh designated the fees which these officers received as an iniquitous tax upon the suitors in Chancery. One gentleman, wt a was eminent in the Court of Chancery, had said that when he was doubtful upon a point of the practice of the Court, he applied to the sworn clerks, and acted directly the reverse of the it advice. One gentleman, in his evidence before the commission, had stated that the fees to !he sworn clerks were a great tax upon the suitors in Chan cery. and the services of the clerks were useless. In fact, one of the offic , rs was a good clerk when he was a lunatic. He would now call the attention of the House to what was called the compensati , n clause—a clause by which the Lord Chancellor was enabled to award compensation to officers in certain cases. At the time of Lord Erskine he had found the fees of those officers so low that he increased them ; but in 1819 the fees of those officers had so enormously increased, that they were entitled to fees on every item on the paper; and Lord Brougham had seen the enormity of these fees to be as glaring in the year 1833 that he told them their days were numbered; but they still remained the same to the present time. One of those clerks who had been dismissed received 5,424/., and 2.00'. a-year for attending for a few hours each day in Ch ,ncery-lane. Another, who retired, was a clerk to a clerk, and he got 472/. a year; and a third, a young gentleman, only 28 years of age, received fees to the amount of 5,2041. per annum, besides a salary of 2,000/., mak ing a total of 7,204: per annum. Again, there was an agent who received for compensation alone 1,778/. per annum ; a waiting clerk received a compensation to the extent of 3441. per annum ; in fact, altogether the compensations amounted to no less than 170,0001. annually. The Lord Chief Justice of England, the highest dignatary of the law, received under 10,0001 per an• num, mid the Noble individual who now held the office refused to receive the whole salary, and only took 8,°301., and yet there were persons, without holding any office, rece i v i ng 7,000.'. The First Lord of the Treasury had, on elate occasion. given to two gallant officers who had distinguished themselves in the service of their country, pensions of 2,0001. and 3,000/. whil, many persons ;who had done nothing for it were receiving the large salaries he had mentioned. The House ought to come to some resolution, which would submit this matter to the consideration of a Committee.—(Hear, hear.) It was the brightest morning that ever dawned in Chancery. lane, and to all the clerks in a certain law institution there, for all the flesh and blood, and every human being therein, re ceived a good compensation; and even some of the clerks were to have one-half of their compensation paid to heir friends for several years after their death, in consequence of the loss of the influence and services of those gentlemen to the country. The sale of thi se office., therefore, was wholly illegal, and the persons who held them were not entitled to receive any come sensation. No Bill ever travelled with the same railroad veto city as the Bill in question did through that House. It came down from the Lords on the 29th of July, and was read a first time. On the Mon lay following—the Ist of August— it was read a second time. On the 2d of August it went through Committee, and on the 3d of August it was reported and ordered to be re-committed. The 9th of Augusi, 1842, was a lucky day for the riding clerk, the waiting clerk, and the agents of the House of Commons, for on that day their Compensation Bill passed; and how, let him ask, was this compensation to be calculated? Why, it was calculated upon the produce of the three years during which there was the most extraordinary amount of business trans acted in the Court of Chancery, and when the equity business of the Exchequer had been transferred to the Court of Chancery. The compensation which should be given, according to the Acts he had cited, was to be only two-thirds of their former receipts. The examiner was also to inquire into those re ceipts. Now he asserted no inquiry had taken place, and how was this compensation, extravagant as it was, obtained? It was levied from the suitors of the Court of Chancery; from those who had the misfortune to appear there in order to have justice done them. Why, it was monstrous.-4 Hear, hear.) Four per cent. was hid upon a Bill, without reference to 'he amount of the property sought to be obtained ; after years of anxious and dreary liiigatinn, four per cent. was laid upon the costa of that cause before they were bound to pay a shilling. When he first brought forward his motion, a seduction of twopence a fells took place, which, trivial as it. appeared to be, amounted to 5,0001. out of every 70,0001. One per cent, hail since been taken' off, which also amounted to one thousand in every seven thousand pounds.—( Hear. ) He asked for a Committee to inquire into those matters. He asked the Government to grant that Committee; and if he was asked, was he ready to be unjust to these indi viduals? he would say, he was ready to be so, sooner than to be unjust to hundreds and thousands who would be suiters in the Court of Chancery. lie wished that this Com mittee would be .ranted in order to investigate the matter. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL, in answer to the state ments of the Hon. Member who had just sat down, said his Hon. and Learned Friend had had a great advantage over him, because he, was the assaulting party; and there was always something exciting in hearing a party making a charge, while the - arguments of the party in defence generally fell upon dull ears. He (the_ Attorney-General) could not Lope to make what he had to say in answer to the charges of his Honourable and Learned Friend at all interesting, as it applied to matters of dry law, not by any means interesting ; but still he would make a demand on the time of the House, hut he trusted he would be heard with patieiwe. His Hon. and Learned Friend proposed a Committee on the very same materials upon which the same motion was refused by the House in 1844. New he (the Attorney- General) would say that his Hon. and Learned Friend called upon the House to do an act of gross injustice. It would be very easy to lead the House to the conclusicn that the compensation awarded to those holding those offices was mot mous, in order to excite in Hon. Members the notion that the motion which the Hon. Member for Kinsale proposed to make, was well founded, and ought to be granted. He at once took the lion. Member on that ground. and said that the question was nut whether the existing emoluments for these offices Avere or were not abuses. It was quite immaterial whether the emolument derived from those offices was in proportion to the services rendered by those who possessed them. Those offices had been established a number of years ; they were vested interests, and if they desired to re form them, they were b ,und to give the possessors the fullest compensation. His Hon. and Learned Friend would not consit er it any disparagement if he considered that the opi nions of a better reformer were against him on this subject, In 11312 a motion was made in that House respecting the sine cure offices of tellers of the Exchequer. The abject of the motion was to call the attention of the House to the enormous. emoluments which were derived for services performed by deputy ; and what did Mr. Horner say on that occasion ? He gave it as his decided opinion that in such cases the offices were vested interests, and however far economy was stretched, vested interests were always sacred, and therefore these offices should remain untouched. In those sentiments Mr. Tierney and Mr. Ponsonby clearly concurred, and the motion for the reduction of the enormous e,noluments in the sinecure offices were rejected. Now he (the Attorney-General) was willing to call for the same principle to be applied to this question. The offices of these clerks were established in 1592, and there had been no diminution in the fees from the year 1743 down to the time of the abolition of the offices. It bad been said that Lord Lyndhurst had reduced the fees before they abolished the fees. That was not so. All Lord [este hurst did, was to prevent the sworn clerks receiving attendance fees in cases where no attendance was required. It was quite true, that at the time of the abolition of these offices there were only twenty-five remaining out of sixty clerks, and five or six of these engrossed the greater part of .h.. business. In answer to the objection of his Learned Friend, it was perfectly notorious that the persons who pos. ses.ed three offices were in the eabit of disposing of their business and transferring it to others; and this was so well un derstoed, that every one looked upon the matter as they would upon any other bargain or sale. His Learned Friend said that the sale was contrary to the sth and 6th of Edward VI. and the 49th of George 111. He (the Attornev-General) denied that it was contrary to the sth and 6th of Edward VI. That Act was directed against the sale of offices connected with the execution and administration of justice : but these offices were not of that description. Besides, the offices of the clerks, ac cording to the 4th, sth, and 6th of William IV., were dis tinctly recognised as saleslee. If the Learned Gentleman sits'ea:teosmarnteininctle?rks were who would look to the Ist of Victoria, chap. 30, he would find offices much more closely connected with the administrat:on of justice which were saleable. According to this Act, the seve ral offices referred to, and which were connected with the Court of Queen's Bench, were all saleable. Here there were offices more closely connected with the admi nistration of justice than those of the six clerks, which were d.tinctly stated to be saleable H ear.) (The Hon. and Learned Gentleman then quoted from a The author pam phlet, in which the doctrine was laid down that these six clerks he wrote the g sah h no t yw t o i ntt s he e er l e l sattbh abuse in i s r e c m l w a ah i k m it f g o r tthh c e o es n e i received an enormous salary for absolutely doing nothing.He stated tha%it was a recognised right among the sell hh w a n dd r k nao t r o ti their good will, they had also a right to compensation.—(pro fe ssion hear.) He understood that cheer, he was Hear,meet and it ; he apprehended that fair compensation w o a u s ld r l e s a e tyli to kin which would be commensurate with the former w o f the offise. Many of these gentlemen had receipts nett incomes of 10,879!, 8,0091., and 7,000/., and they should net adopt an arbitrary principle with reference t o compensation. Hear. ) ---f He would wish to call att • on to the information given to the Commons. public by th e H ouse of when Lord Lyndhurst en deavoured to introduce reform into the Court of Chancery. Ueen that oceagions a memorial was presented by the attornies praying for reform practising in th at Court, in this dairar tments and the Lo r d Ch ancellor appointed t a Committee, who . reported upon the necessity of abolishing these offices of the six clerks and sixty clerks, and asked the Law Association to suggest some practical means of doing so. The most careful and mature consideration was given to this Act by the learned persons who were appointed on that Commission, and every clause in this Act received their most careful attention. it was considered ev tremely desirable that a measure of this description should have the attention of the nobleman who had presided for some Sears with gr e at distinction in the Lord Chancellor's Court. Some correspondence had passed on the sub' jest of compensation to the tellers, and he could not do better than read to the House the last two letters which had passed between them on the subject. He had the sanction of Lord Cottenham, and of the other 1 0 lords in the other House, who had made no objection to the Bill. The Bill came down from the House of Lords w.th the unanimouskaanction of that House. If there had been anythil improper in the clauses of the Bill, the Government wet;l' s never have given their consent to it. The Hon. Member . 14' Montrose had stated that he approved of the principle and details of the measure. Every Member of the House W”_ d party to that Act of Parliament The Act expressly prevT*.j that the six clerks should receive compensation to the extentclerks were less than three-fourths of their income, and the other cl were to receive remuneration to an extent not exceeding tbst two thirds of the.r regular income. It was rather important , they should look a little into the matter for the precedents !OIL the course they had adopted. In the year 1836 it was fi rst p ro, posed to abolish the office of six clerks. The Bill was p assed ' and there was a legislative permission granted for the sale and purchase of these offices. By the 6 t h an d 7t h William Iv; , _ cap. 74, the officers were allo w ed to dis p ose of their offices for a • pecuniary consideration, and . they received a slim 0 ' 4,0001. for the reversion of their offices. They e gore pensioned off with the full amount of the tunnel emolument,