The Sun. — London, England, 1852-05-28 00:00:00

co nntY he represented, for the poor-law rating was so c - ", and umatistantory. --f.,y 11 , A I::Lit.. - 1 nr•- 44eY e .too • have so'iet systeunatieltis actfi)rui oYsl•e:n 11, • troit,,„A They had therefore adopted the.' system ot 10,1/1 -- -hand rating, and although the Hoe. Baronet, the 'heather for Leurionderry, had sail thAt it svaa attended with_ e ach' expenEe, yet hem believed that the cesspiteers f° t , c ue thensseivee greatly relieved by it, and it 1 , 8 1" them every satisfaction."He would further re the House -that n - Committee of 1-Lin•mrattle re nThers sat on this q liaison, and that Committee re- D attleale3 a just ann uniform syseetn of valuation all , aver Ireland to be taken under the coginz *nee of some r I: 6 P Pe tabk officer, and not under the authority of the oor.t a Guardians. The present measure was there- Lore ta +V. „ tee carrying. out of that report, nod he therefore t e ar ,wAY supported it. 'tr . NORREYS said the Hon. MEMber had forgot .o state , that in 1846 a Bill was introduced and passed • e nneequence of the recommendation of that 02 bapratee, and which had proved a complete failure,. The esent measure was ten attempt to remedy the evils en tailed , th e ley that measure, tut as it was changed tit*? whole e tt r e uc systems of valuaaon in Ireland, he would impress a le the Noble Lord, the Secretary for Ireland, the-pro ittz'tettY of not proceeding with it this session; as but few - B i g t Members could be present, to join in the discussion t e l . f r e - ,* Re mentioned that the average scale of prices - "Posed to be taken by the measure for the purposes of laln ation. was too low. ;Lord NAAS explained that the scale of agricultural ri ljr Tl was taken from the return of the prices of such ;avenueProd was at 40 markets for the last three yours, which the average prices of 6,000 markets. av erage DENHAM NORREYS maintained that the --- e' er age prices taken were below what these returns le a-°w ed, and, as a proof that they were by far too low, Z.!. Gri ffi th, the officer, who took the scale of valuation belcee in 1846, had stated, that his scale was 25 per cent. „ow the average pr i ces , but the scale of price s now t'oten was 25 p er cent . below his. Mr, NAPIER sa i d that t h e measure h a d b een intro ducede last sess i on o f P ar li amen t by th e l ate G overnment, t ba t from the late period of the session at which it was troduced, it was f oun d ne ce ssary to postpone it. , aring the progress th a t Bill made, some objections ha ring been made to it, and the great object had been in framing the present measure to obviate those objections. The objections which ,had now been ra i se d did not at all affect th e principle .of the measure, and he thought, tierefore, that the better ti me f or argu i ng them would f t been when th e measure went into Committee.-- e ,!tlr, hear.) The first objection was, as to the ex ince• Now, th e great portion of that expense was ;.. n urred i n consequence of appea l s, while the greater ether of those appeals were not followed out. In Tip perary' the expenses of appeals amounted to about-20. - a cre, hut out of 533 appeals lodged there for-the eeettiber sessions, only 12 were persisted in , th e , and only hash trifling alterations were made. These appeals. th g been made, the valuation had to be assessed, so p a t all the expense of that was thrown away by the ap e;!ls not being persisted in. That expense was, how eetr, got rid of by the present Bill, which was founded bulge principle of a uniform valuation for the whole of t e 'd• under the tenement system, taken so far as lands cure concerned, on a scale of agrinultural prices, averag erroc° 1 4 years to 14 - years. T hat he conceived to be N e fairest system that could be adopted; and, while in te e " ki tteeethe Government would bs ready to listen to teettsuggestions. He hoped the +House would now con mt° the Bill being read a second time. t al r ;e B ' C RAWFORD said that this was the best thou `ton Bill ever introduced to that house, and if to : o h_ were objections in detail, they could be ditpesed of th et r, mittee. One of the advantages of this Bill was, (?xpretewaitt Upon one uniform principle. He begged to % hope that it was still the intention of the Ge ern ment t lev erages ° bring in a Bill to settle the question of Col ete i r i t Terence to agricultural prices. consider e d C VDON- supported the amendment, as he for ward "tie Pf'ried at - which athe Bill was brought. Irel an d 48 not being an opportune one. Members for b e w ere likely soon to leaver for -Ireland, and this ae4, B ° , be thought it would not be fair to: those Hon. i te hiers to p roceed with this Itlill in their absence. th e "L"' WHITESIDE said that the House was asked in nlonth of May to abdicate its l'unctions, because Hon. thcembers for Ireland were a b out to leave this country htreland. The Bill was mood and sensible—under it ation of land would be made at three farthings ell acre,ve whereas the valuation (lost 4d. an acre. No ~ho objection had been urged agt,inst the Bill. i t 'll% GROGAN supported the Bell, and suggested that co uld be quickly got through at a mornin g sitting. e Ptain JONES objected to morning sittings of the It tnie, at whi c h h e t h oug ht a pewit deal of b a d Legis senre took place.. He suggested that the Bill should be et si, h teSelect C omm i ttee . YOUNG was favourable ito the Bill, and Bug _Que. m . that it s h ould b e persevere d , i n . ga te e t t,Y. SCULLY obj e cted to lueity legislation in re. itier the question involved in the measure before the. Peet,ac. He contended that this Bill had a political Ba wl end he believed it would have the effect, if its de a eatesrwere carried out, of disfranchising thousands of hhi t Fie objected to fixing the rate of valuation upon ettae ! er average than was warranted by the facts of the late' and he contended tho valuation under the poor ta,_,Ptinciple was not a just one. ,There was, howee er, it ' r- 1411 the Bill, and he should, therefore, suggest at aetVeferred to a a Select Committees, in order to its being 47,,,coraplete m easure . to re l N AAS was glad to hear tient there was, in fact, objectio n to the principle of the Bill before the trve if the arguments of his two Hon. Fr i en d s op - jittteheawere to have effect, it would. amount to this, that Z:Znould not attempt to have a uniform legislation in thetniat4"--(Elear.) Re was not pledged to the details of Could measure; and if it could be shown that the clauses 1114 lie b e ado amended,, be should not object.. Cha t, . .ought it right to say that- he intended, if pos er oarry the Bill that session. 4.f er a Lew words from Mr. CLYeIMENTS, The Rouse divided, When here appeared—. For the Second reading „,„ 89 Agai nst i t •-• 6 •• ••• ••• Majority —B3 on PATENT tele the order LAW AMENDMENT BILL. of the day for reading this Bill a second Vett COWANei, tv suggested that it should be referred to beta t C ommittee.. Amongst other results of the mean te rfe htee prerogati ve o f the Crown would be much in toaated with. By th e 17th sect i on certa i n official per- D osa ges were to be appointed commissioners fcir the par leesectf a dministering the law. The duty of these com et, toners Would be to appoint an examiner or examt teeresr!° whOm every application for a patent should be 'tet e He wished, to know was it wise that such-an et,ntive Power should be referred to any subject e ano lad i :or what his position? He objected, also to the le ad beeause it would transfer from the Courts of Scot eeeti'.--aild Ireland also—to Westminster Hall, all pro preeinge arising out of letters patent. The Bill farther heats to extend, by a tarries of payments, the law of ;rots to the three kingdoms.; as well as the Channel snap, but omitted the colonies. • On all these grounds Of ," k u 0 1 1 ght it would be better to defer ithe consideration t he Bill to the nest session. . • WARLEY said that great evils resulted from the :snit sys tem , :and, therefore, there ;ought to be an es t eration in t h e l aw. H e was i n f avour o f sen di ng t h e hill t o a Beltet Cemtnittce, and having preczical men exannieed.—(n-ur. hear.) The class of•witnessea exe- Mined Odom the Committee of the Lords was eueh as could give the most valuable itiformati oil. I; seemed to him that the patent laws should bo assimilated to the Principle of copyrieht. 1 Bhould mike no matter whe ther a man impressed the image ot his mind on iron, wood, or paper; in , either Cate, his invention should be Protected. In France, Belgium, and the United States, It man could secure protection ' for less than 101.; why ahottlO not thesntne be the_ case i n this country ?--( Wear.) 4... Mr. BROTHERTON thought that sending this Bill a Select Committee would have the effect of post ipollilag it to another session. He had been assure d by "OEN' influential constituents that they approved of the 1141, and he, therefore, was prepared to support the EC.. e° , ll M ci r t . e r STUART say that his view did not at all• correspend with that of the Hon. Member for Fins *Jury (mi . waiday), i n a ssimilating this law with that sa~however, had not b een etently investigated . cect n: was not prep are d to ahro lyriglit. The subject, sate th e o f this country; and it struck hint that, betweenasent s tate of the law and the ex tre the presen. 1 1. rile remedy pointed out by the Hon. Member for many intermediate points which N I " there were u (m t . Stuart) particu hoht well be considered. Bill, the effect of objected to the 27th clause ° owtatrhos‘ for discoveries re k r lob would be to annul all re war d s d Hon. Friend (Mr. tleittt„t lie iMplored of his - *e at ex) not to press through Rightwith might s h ß t Bill is i e a a s the,fra fruitful °f ait etsicn . If he did, the result case of wills, ° Yelice as the amended law the til. th, and i n mes e. sue h W as also hurried through wi • the land, were le a -56chof which the cleverest lawyers hi th e ally as regarded the construction He itleir e -re i te b° Ped hia Right Hon. Friend would ofn wills.o tresist Air; il e , 4 ,,,Select Committee. a nn „ should kn 'd it was right the ___ ow th at th' said he same Bill 04 was before both l a la was substantially t h last session. It receiv e d the s ouses of Parliament in t wher e a greatareful consideration of thee House of Lords, The Bill t h e d eal of evidence had been taken last year. be c om mons, and was es , • 11 cli nle down to the House of 8 - 'es 4 s l i tt en 43e l Lit back to the Lords; and, he should . say, h • 41rI ng to d • had lasted a few days longer, instead of th e I eat with the measure just now, it would be th e 2a;trhofithe the With the exception of af ause• there was not a single clause or prove tne ga l . th encl atl had against which the Hon. and Learned e urged an objection. On the contrary, Il ene n. and Learned Gentleman had amused the bet 4: t y t ith . long dissertation on the subject of wills, ea eept tloWills and patents had to do with each, other, order h eee a t both subjects happened to stand upon the et "h for t • • ho (Sir. Henley) was utterly th e a I°6B to to-ni g ht , hear.) Jae_ comprehend .- - (Hear, Ce rtainly great er ,. rierable Gentleman had dwelt at Much u the thr ee — r t e , nrttle upon the question of the law of wills measure more immediately before the ce rnett ,eittear, hear.) So far an the 27th clause witetcon it h ad ' nowever, he was perfectly ready to . admit that . reference to a matt-r of the greatest difficulty. It ul ittit be th • - f lin the most pr oper tit this clause was not tamei Pet • w aY but as to whether it could- be amended and p ri , l , i lto an improved shapt, or whether it should be de thesecsf its retrospective effect, and made prOsinetiv.e , s e_ etrt w it. e t r e e e. questions rather for the House to consider in b u e g ttion into consideration; Re was quite ready to take any reasonah . le , understood that with'ch must be t he tame tatwtslaseosueam t.i , me it should dealt with • -3 1 The Hon. lst in some way oz• when.--(Healy), —(ll.earea ember for Edinburgh (M i'. Cowan) . had stated that 4 , ill was an invasion of te th e B . • teat in the event of the C e • s appointed by . 4 ,er Majesty doing certain thing s , t n w er auld teen's prerogative; be an inva iterta,of the Queen's prerogative. That, to, him (Mr' v uleY), however, did not UPPettrto tti . very' logical TTIE mode of preying his case. The Hor. Member teemed to thfiik it hard !hits t,;'. land nod Ireran 1 shrull he de privee of. the privilege of settling tete. owneperrele in their own e .urts. New if this were soe-if there were a pretence for saying that anything of the sort was interele,d—he (Ur. Henley) would readily agree with him. But the • main p7icciple of the Bill—and he was sure the House would agree eieh. him that it watt a sounl one--WS3. that Eegiand. Scot land, and I-sland being a united kingdom, if thete were a patent la win exiettnee, it eught to operate thieugh out . the - kingdsm.—(dear, hear.) That was a main principle of the Bill;' but whether the' machinery for carrying it out was the best and simplest that could be devised, and not espable of impsov ecaent, be should be very sorry to say. If improvements were requisite ' the Com mittee would be at liberty to make th em . With regard to the Commissioners—it being conceded that it was de sirable to have one patent law fur the whole of the United Kingdom—of coarse a machinery must, be set up which would be common to the three, countries. There, then, was the necessity for the Commission, which would be composed of the Maettr: of the. Rolls, one of her Majesty's judges, .and the. law officers .of. the Crown in England, in Scotland, and in Ireland. And as to the reference to be made to the Commis eioners, it a Scofeliman wanted a patent in Scotland, he would refer to the Commissioners in that part of, the Ueited Kingdom; end so with an.lrishman, he would refer to the Commissioners in Ireland. On the other hand, if either thought proper, he could take out a patent in London. Another point, which might be open to consideration, and in respect of which the Bill might perhaps be amended in Committee, concerned the extension of the patent law to the colonies; and if in Committee it should be considered that the preroga tive of the Crown was not sufficiently saved by the Bill as it stood, he was inclined to think. it might be amended by introducing a- clause for that express purpose.-- (Hear.) Most persons desired that the measure should be made as simple as possible, and that was his (Mr. Henley's) . desire, and the desire of her Majesty's Go vernment. It was their great object to simplify the law, to save expense, and 'if possible also to save parties from future litigation. With regard to the difference said to exist between patent right and copyright, he confessed he saw but little. He believed a man could only sus tain the latter by proving his works to he original, and could only sustain the former by proving them to be a novelty; so that in these particulars he thought they wore very nearly analogous. Oh, bet it was sometimes said, you give a man a copyright, and he sets his views forth for the advantage of the world. True, he did set them forth fur the advantage sof the world, and then he set his own price upon _them at the same time.—(ilear, hear.) And it was just the same thing with patent right. He could not, therefore, see much distinction between the two.—• (Hear, lean) Yet many persons of . great practical knowledge had contended that there was a distinction, and that the system of patents ought to be done away with altbgethet. He was not of that opinion, and he hoped, therefore, the House would agree to the second reading of the Bill.—(Hear, hear.) One word with re gard to the expense, which was, after all, a most, ma-, serial question. He befievSd that a patent for the three kingdoms could not at present be taken out for a less sum in fees and stamps—independently of ;the expense of employing a patent agent—than 2501. or 2601. ' By the Bill before the House it was proposed that it should be obtained ata cost of 251, and that of itself was an enormous 'boon. Then if, at the expiraeion. of three yearadoshould be found that the invention was so useful as to make it desirable to extend. the , period of the pa tent, it could be resiewed upon a ferther t ayesment being made: He feared that by the reduction of the patent fees to so low a point h. considerable loss might, he did .not say would, accrue to. the Treasury. [Mr. ATAKLEY—It will be a gain to the public ] But o' course if parties were to nave a privilege they ought toe pay.. or (Hear, hear.) . Still he did nut say it was certain the loss would arise. Teat depended entirely upon the cir cumstance whether or not the' number of patents in creased in consequence, of the comparative cheapness of obtaining them. As to the question put to him by the Hon. Member for Edinburgh, he had throughout ex pressed his readiness and his wish to send the Bill 'to a Select Committee, and he hoped the House wauld con sent tp its second reeding, in order that in a Select Com mittee those amendments might be introduced which were found to be necessary. Mr. CARTER took objections to certain portions of the Bill. and observed, that whatever might be the loss it would entail upon the Exchequer, he die no; believe it would be so great as- the Right.. lion. Gentleman appre hended; fur, according to the schedule of fees, the total amount of the cost for the first . period of the patent would amount to 149/. lle., a sum which, in his opinion, was immensely: too high. Mr. MUNTZ denied that this Bill was the same as the measure of l as t year, and he consid ere d it was as b a d a ' Bill as could possibly he constructed. If ho consented to its second reading, it should be upon tho assurance that the examiner should not have power to decide upon the value and utility of an invention. Frequently seven years elapsed before the utility of a pattern was ascer tained; in his own case, it took that period to convince the public that his invention was a good one. Where, then ' was the use of the examiner? A more important point even than that was the clause which rendered every pattern invalid which had been used abroad. Why, no patent could be maintained under such a clause as that; for they. had only to bring over a vagabond from the other side of the water, who would swear to anything, to swear to that. With respect to the fees for patents, the Government had power to reduce them without legisla tion, and he would advise them to do so, and let the Bill stand over for future consideration. After a few words from Mr. GREENE and Mr. WILLIAMS, _ _ _ Mr. R. PALMER questioned the propriety of their pressing time its stage at the present moment, when little time remained for a full discussion of the subject, a measure which introduced new machinery and new principles into the patent law of the kingdom. It com prised two distinct classes of clauses,, to the immediate passing of one of which into law, if embodied in a mea sure by themselves, he had no objection. This class of clauses referred to the reduction .of fees and the im provement of legal proceedings relative to patents; But the other clauses of thinßill ought not to be proceeded with now ; or at least they ought to know whether the .Government on their own responsibility gave their ap proval to the measure. It was prepared by a. Noble Lord in another place, who declared himself unfavour able to the maintenance of the patent laws,' and hoped for their ultimate abolition, and ho (Mr. Re Palmer) could trace the tendency of that Noble Loid's mind in that respect in the Bill. They ought to know, then, whether the Government on their responsibility gave their assent to a measure of that kind, the effect of which would be to undermine the .. patent laws of the ' kingdom. There were two principles in volved in the Bill which. would have this effect — one was that - which did away with the power of the Citown in the colonies to grant patents there; the other related to foreign.patents and to,English,patents in toreign countries. One of the clauses embodying' this latter. principle declared that the use of a patent abroad would be as tatal to a patent here as. ii it had b ,en used iu,this country. Under that cleu:o it would be impossi ble f,r a 'patentee to catublish his right in a court of justic,, such would be 'the dif6cul:ies of obtaining the requisite evidence from all countries of the world. A second clause, that when a foreign patent relating to the same invention as an English patent shall have expired, the English Sh‘ll expire at the slake time; add a thiid clause pruvidd that patented articles which might not be used in English ships, might be made'in 'foreign ships in British waters; thus giving sin •undue advantage to foreign over British shipping. Besides, the preliminary investigation proposed by the Bill, before granting a patent, would require a large staff. of officers, and expose the patentee to two suits to establish his right, one before the examiner, the other before the Attorney-General, and then the decision would not be final. He objected also to the provisions relating to the publication of plans, specifications, and drawings, as being inefficient. En tertainieg these objections to the measure, ho should, if there were a division, vote against its second reading. Mr. WALPOLE said; if his Hon. and Learned Friend bad been present when his Right Hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade had explained the object °fele Bill, he would have found that it did not interfere the principles of flee patent; but maietained.that it was a wholesome stimutous to invention. The lion. and Learned Gentleinan especially objected to the clause re lating() to foreign ships, and to inventions the use of which was known in foreign countries or the colonies. With regard to the first, the object was to anticipate f law in reference to foreign ships carryi ng those o differences which arise and become matters Trade had stated i t na tionality with them, whi h Id be ' Alto articles us e d on heird ship, wou eaten . their the Bill was no t owever, that the Ileuree in, paean 110 President of the . Board of to bound theuseofi ,to adopt that provision. With respect cr abroad, he agreed *R i v th en ot t ti 4: 3 ll l)a o t n e . n a t n ed d i L e e t ar he ne e d elo G n e t n e - e r•icnatflu9l cotnseid3eirlel ci tl u sm ire e d n g th ro a a t t th a e nd p provisions were quite independentitfi°ittinhiethmßaatuitnrtehoghbajsreedettrwei inventor and' 2601, to. the of a ßil p l' ate w ei h t ich to lv u th fi e rst d im inish the expense ene f:r p o a ul tent for 'the :I(i)iteheemslarlen next w tre ld stablis b h e r fo e r ve E n o t a d an ti d dio n divisions of the United Kingdom, so as to patentee being oblige.d to take separate patents') Eng land, Ireland, and Scotland. He could not help thinking that the effecting of these purposes would constitute thinking that great benefit to the public and the inventors ; and for the ' o bjection of the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Mentz) to the exa miner, the o bject of that of fi cers function s was to g ive to the law officers of t he Crown an as surance knoWledge, that the inventions p ro : based on scientific pose d to be patented were worthy of te patent. Bat if t h er e was an . the ism, insuperable objection to that provision it cou ld be altered in Committee. He, bpp ttee after Which ihoy Could Ceram' .referred to a Select d adopt the whole Bill or saps then, would allow the_Bill t . o be reed a second time and see whether they woul d d time, and ordered to rote from it the two The Bill was then read. a eecor. be referred to a Select Committee. eele was read a provistos io Which, he had adverted. The Scotch Mills for Flax (Ireland) 15 second time. e‘aeseesitsen BIliL. LAW 'OF WILLS A MEND' '1 t The House havi ng go ne into CsoMini„tee o n this Bill, On the first clause f , Mr. - BETEIELL stated that the alms out O o the state of the law reliltive'to the 'signeture of woe- ran dered some measure of this kind necessary. As the it"v stood at present, no will wa s va lid which , had not the signature at the end er foot' thereof;'' but these word s bad led to as 17111C11 dift3llity an d d. sn b t as h a d tv er Yel lowed the ambiguous phraseology, of at Act of iiiierpretation of which these words were susceptible made the law in this resp,:ct a delusion and a snare. It had been held that if the signature to a call was lint pieced et the cod of the last claus e of i the in netrument teas invalid. The present Lard Chancellor, iviolliug to remedy the evils of the present systea4.and SUN; pith that anxiatta desire to paoateie .tho duo 34 -miraia• rashes of tale I:cee tvbich he e ver dittinguished the: most lewreat i ati e oe-tead - int:aide - 60 flirt' `peeserat Bill, nail a more proper one, in its epee and_Object, eeuld net well be conceived. mind yet, owing to the Meaner in Whielaa.per e ead to t r i e o m n e o v f e it th t e va u s o f f i e irmtileocla,4tv w s ef,b n a l t y wa n s. t likely. ac inalate tually to Multiply and itugreent if. What was wanted was a. for 'tae g uidance of piein and, Bethell) faared . the; • or pl ti a r n y d o rri rd e i r i l s ; a ry bu r t ule t (mr. as portion of this Bill, it it now stood,..viould ouraplicete• rather than simplify. !Instead of repealing tEae drightale enactment, it was‘retaieed, , eccompagiel by a long seta .1 tion which partly. eilatanded `arid partly affected to bs'a remedy for what was !admitted to be a vicious attite "of the law. The Bill, as at present constructed, *provided that whatever might be tho spoSition of the signature, whether "at, or titer, or follOwlug, or under, or beside, or at the end of the will," the instrument should be of no effect Inlets tfie iitana.:,are weee. so pieced as that it should be apparent the testator- meant to - give effect to the writing. The attempt to explain and determine the meaning of theprevious provision with respect to signing was unsucceesful t and it Would be far better to lay down one plain general rule. The best mode of alter ing the Bill, therefore, would be to extract the 'Words in ,question. and to •sulastitute otfiers, not entirely new, but in part adopted front the original clause. The Hon. and Learned Member, after remarking on the imperfect nature of the language too frequently made use of in the law Bills which were introduced into that House, and complimenting theeNobla Seal Learned Lord who framed the Bill for his great learning, stated' that the first clause, nevertheless, was a maze without a plan, and . therefore proposed as an amendment to omit in the preamble the words "as follows," • - and the whole of the first section, and in - lieu thereef insert the following as the first section of the Bilk-a" That so mach of an Act passed in the first Year of the reign of her Majesty Queen. ictoria. hatituleda' An Act for. the Amendment of the Law with respebt to Wills,' as enacts ' That no will shall be ;valid unless it shall be in writing; and executed in manner hereinafteitmentioned (that is to say), it shall be signed at the foot,. or end thereof by the testator, or by some other . parson in his presence, and by his directio,l3; and such signature shall betiade or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of . two or more witnesses present at the same time; and slialitait nessies shall attest and shall subscribe the will in the presence of the testator; and no form of attestation shall be necessary,' be, and the same Ls. hereby Tee pealed: and in lieu thereof be it a and it is hereby enacted that no will shall be valid unless it shall be in writing; and executed in manner hereinafter mentioned (that is to say), it shall be signed by the testator, or by -Berne other person in his presence and by his direction, in such manner as that it shall be apparent that the, testator in tended to give effect bysuch signature to the' writing as his will, and such signature shall be made or-aeknow lodged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the sam e time; and such witnesses shall attest and shall subscribe the will in the' Preeence of the testator, but, no form of attestation shall be ne cessary:' Mr. BERNAL' - said the amendment was a perfeetly new clause, and could not; therefore,. be put in . that shape. Thg course was tcanegative the original clause, and . then make the addition of a new .one. The MASTER of the ROLLS concurred neither in the clause nor the amendment. • It was most important in the law as regarded wide to avoid technicalities and to ; enable persons who made them 'to carry riut'their intentions. The existing law was - framed upon the report of the Real ,Preperty Cdisamisaionera for thepur pose of avoiding te`choicalities;jind' yet it had areated more than had previouslyaxisted. The Real Property Commissioners had put an end ,to the holograPh wills, 'but he thought they Would' have_ amended the.law more effectually it they had recitiired two witnesses to each. There should not be one species of .rule for one instru ment and another for another instrument, as existed at present. Sir H. Jenner Fust had stated to 'him that baskets-full of bonel fide wills were every week, refused - probate at Dectors'-cOmmonss The evil was, therefore, t v h n e ry lioee great.e Bnt,nevertheless,- he doubted .wnether Commons was in a position to amend , h ,, ev il; and tie, submitted ' Whether a Select Com mitte would not ha the lest mode of dealing with the subject.--c Hear,. hear.) The signature of a be an expression w ill was the attestation of . the lame, and th ere He se t g h s ga u nt g ba h rt e t u r t a l l et trahei and d s h f o t n o h u t e l ; 4 , all at te t s h t a a t t o s h b o o u f l dt the: co uld be no difficulty in arriving fit a 'conclusion in re same'by Witneatet. By the amendment a law suit might sno cst required.Nv to ii t w e: as 0 01 11 4 1 -be attired eta every will upon the words " that it shall be apparent that the testator intended to give effect by such signatnre to dub writing," He was 'of opinion, there fore, that the attestation of a will by two witnesses was till that should be necessary. The present forms led directly to fraud. flo had considerable doubts whether it wets requitite that the witnesses should sign in each other's .iires'erico or in the presence of the testator, and be quoted ti eise in which a will was held to be invalid frem excess of caution.. He would venture to say that neither of the law officers -of the Crown had-communi cated with a single lawyer conversant with wills in' courts of justice who would tell them that the effect of the Bill would be such as was anticipated by its pro moters. He believed that the only remedy for the evil complained of would be a simple enactment requiring every man able to make a will to sign such document in the presence of two attesting witnesses. He was so de. sirous of the Bill being referred to a Select Committee that he was disposed to suggest that the chairman should report progress in order to effect that result. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL could not concur in the suggestion of the Right Hon. and Learned Gentle man to refer this-Bill .to a Select Committee, inasmuch as tall a proceeding must necessarily be attended with considerable delay, while numberless wills were being executed every day, the validi t y of which it mi g ht be hard to establish in the present uncertain state of the law. An important amendment was introduced into the law by Lord Liangdale's Bill, in 1837. Nothing cou ld be apparently more clear and simple than the conditions required by. said Bill for legalising wills. The words were that the will shall be signed at the foot thereof by the testator, and that the signature shall be attested by. two witnesses. Unfortunately,. however, these words raised the greatest difficulties in the way, and many d judges in respect of them; the effect of which was geerally that .if, there was an interval of space of an inch or thereabouts between the 'foot of the will and the signature the document was held to be invalid. The Lord Chancellor, folly aware of the evils arising from thei e defectire state of the law in th is respect, st no t o a I after his appointrisent to office in fine(vouring t pp y he Solicitor Ge an effectual remedy to them. neral) had heard with much surprise the :comments.of the Hon. and Learned Member for Aylesbury upon the structure of this Bill, which bad also received the disapptobation 'of the Right Hen. Gentleman the Matter of the Now, he could not but remind the Cora mitteed that the Noble and Learned Lord the author of the Bill wan not only the greatest of living equity lawyers, but that he. possessed the most .extensive experience in the practice and aidosintstratien of , * the law of any man in ekittence. The Noble and Learned Lord' was, also ititimately'acquainted with the subject, and was the 'author Of sore of the most important and useful' Acts to be found -in . the statute-book.--(Hear, hear.) The Noble and Learned Lord in the present. Bill applied himself solely to the.grievance that was to be remedied in respect to the position' of the, signature of the tes tator., add' therefore .provided that it. the. signature be placed at or after, following, or beside the will—that no matter Where theVgnattire of the, testator be placed, the document shall be valid if it shall be apparaut on the face et the will that the testator wished to give effect to it. If the clause was enacted in the way Hon. and Learned Gentlemen proposed it should be enacted, it would come under, the consideration of the Prerogative Court, and then ail the objections would be taken which the Hon. and Learned Gentlemen contended would be overruled by his alteration. He apprehended that the whole of the clatiselas t x it steed in the Bill, from the beginning to the end; was necessary in order to apply a - remedy to those eCiltaennuterated; and whatever might be' the form of words used, he was satisfied without this specific enactment, those words would be entirely insufficient. By the language used in the clause a remedy for certain evils was -uppliedc 'He did not say all the evils of the Act of 1835 w ould be remedied, but certainly m uch of the admitted evil would be -,diminished. Ile would add ono more woad - on another point which had been referred to. The Right liondufable and Learned end Ho nourable alid Learned Gentlemen opposite seemed to think. that the 'statute of 1835 relative to the execution of wills was intended as a guide to persons as to the way they should make,their wills. The great mass of makeis of wills, he would beg to, remind thoso Hon. and Learned Gentlemen; seldom looked to an Act of Parliament in order to- learn the way ao make a' will. Men of education and - property usually took legal opi nion, and the parties tbeyconsulted would no doubt take care that the wills were niadein - a proper forma But he contended that it yeas not:the province of an Act of Par liameat to-teach peOple hew to make a will, but to 'tell courts of justice how to pronounce on 'the execution of wills which .' came under their consideration. The great questiOn was this, thitallaws were not to. guide ordinary men in- the way they should make their wills. That was not -the question or. the .object of Acts of Parlia ment. But the question was, would these Acts of Par• liament enable courts of justice who had to pronounce on wills, to di:dui:dice and to carry out correctly the inten tion of the testator, if these intentions appeared to be dubious? His opinion was, the more simple the language of an Act of Parliament, the better Would be obtained the great object of framing an Act of Parliament-enamely, to guide courts of justice to the intentions of testators. No frivolous orteelinical 'objection ought to be allowed to set nside wills. The clause as it was now framed offered a complete r eme d y t o ev il s under the Act of 1837, and theif clause of th and LearnedM h e on. ens er for Ayles bury were substituted, the effect evils untouched., would be to leave these lice, as now, to It would leave open to courts of just-, we trusted the Committee various constructions ,on the Act. without alteration, would agree to the clause Sir W. P. WOOD said he concurred in expressing gratitude towards th e Noble a n and Learned L or d f or at temptingbeenprolisi to remedyngonahrgo ,portiongrieva orti c o e n t o h f at for a long tim e h a d h it was qaite another question whether the community. Bat p r esent imperfect form, should li e placed Bill in its dhe nn the , book. With, reaped to the objectio n of d statute ire- book..'- that. the Bat had not'een referrei e l Rolay,m he e days sa t o to the Beleat Committee; for if this coprse had been t a ken the. House would have been better prepared to le g t e t ate upon the subject. It was not too late to do this; lOrthe Benkruracy, Bill, a much . longer Bill, had been referred- te a,,Select Committee, and had twee reported, upon in a few.heuas., The present would be pia_ re rly doalt with by a Select Committee in afiow tWo ( - 1 ,- t e. It h a d been ritseeted that this Bill Was a perfect 8;1 i ; `but ha must 'take an exception to that description Of 'ae, Bill. No laws, in'. his opinion, reqiured to be :more iimPle Itud definite than laws by which 'per- LONDON, ;',.• ,1 FRIDAY sons, perhaps, in extremis, were to dispose .of their prooerty,,ween fait--ahoy were not in a • condition to lefer ;to' legal A eta of Parliament, or heal ready access to legal *assistance. - Mist, the first objection to, the Bitriaiiiferthe - grOniid of its . complexity, and the ,tiext, that which hadi refdrehee to the signature. The Hoe. and Learned 61antleman-raight „ have used .4, much simpler and more form; The next objebtion rclated to a series of paragrapha 'which ha Ma. SAO - nished should hare found their way into the Bill. The Hub; and Learned Solicith*General : justified the baser - tioh of the string, of words in question, by saying, if in- . eerted, we shoal not have Ilia difficulties again to over come which had already given so - much trouble: 'But all "those difficultiea arose frorostheseWords—" at the end or foot." Why, /then, was it necessary o hafe these words .at all? If the diffieult chfumstanoes enumerated were not to restrict toe Act;, I why Rift in the.words at •all? His opinion was : that yOn..coud -not make an Act of Parliament too simple, or put it into words too fami liar, so as to be comprehended ,by a ll persons w h o were not legal pertons. Then the. next, objection was rela tive to words inserted, underneath the signature. He hoped the Bill would be referred-to a Select Committee; that it might be put,into a proper shape for the House to pass. • • Mr. WHITESIDE thought this 'an extraordinary argument, considering, that Bill had come down from the House of Lords—Mesta her)--and after careful consideration on the: part Of thumo4 able of the Noble and 'Learned Lords among their Lordships: The Bill went ' first ;directly and affirmatively to the evil complained of as to the position of the signature in the will, and thee; went negatively to declare that none of the bad deci sions which had been•come to on that point should inva lidate any will.—(Hear, heir.) Nothing could more properly carry, out the, objept•of the measure.(Hear.) Mr. J. STUART said the clause called " a farrago, of words" was framed by the most eminent and experienced t o 4 f e tt . i j i . n a n g s e e — oF il Lo -caand -4flear.) To hear e th cl e ui l t a Y w l y7ra Ye i r n a , this called " farrago of words':! was really extraordi amp, and, id not tend, to, the , credit of the debates in the •--atnd agreed to by all House of Qomnsons.-(llear.). The effect of the latter part of the clatise was only to negative a series of bad decisions, founded on an entire - mieapprehension of the objeCt of the Legislature in framing the Act of Victoria. The measnie.. wai supported- by 'sach men as Lord St. Leopard's ' Lord Lyndhurst, Lord C ranwort h, a n d Lord Campbellr-(llear, hear)---and two 'of them,avlho' uritiaiSed the : Bill, ,Were agreed as tei',the nature oflke atnendments.-'--(Hear, hear.) The Pill was to be re ferred to a Select Committee; but if the legal Memberi could not agree in the Poise, why should they in the Committee?-t-(Hear;) After all this, they would have to adopt some authority, end what • could they more pro perly defer to than the highest in the realm?— (Hear, hear.) It must be recollected, that if the Bill were materially altered, it could not possibly pais this session,: which' all agreed'was necessary and 'desi. rable in order to destroy . the .bed decisions that ha& been referred to. _Nothing could be intended by a re ference to a Select Committee bdt its total defeat 'and deitruction,- and - leaving the ih its present' dis graceful state,—(Hear, hear.) • Mr. MULLINGS said the . propesition was to omit • " the words " signed at the -foot ,of the will," the object of which was to prevent ariy fraud from being perpe trated by the adding of anything after the sig nature. ' If the amendment were adopted, fraudulent practices would not be guarded against, and the law would be• left open to all the difficulties that at Prescot existed. • The MASTER pf the , ROLLS said hi s o bj ect i n moving that the Bill by referred TO, Seleet Committee M 6 not to delay its fisesiy.ig,'bund 'obtain- the assistance of the juclgl - ;s, in order thh't might be put in a proper form._ He begged, thbrefOre, to move that the chairman report progress, with the view of the Bill being reterred to a Spieq Committee.... . , Mr. WALtOLE said that to send the'Bill to a Select Committee would be to send it to a Committee of lawyers, who would ail differ .in opinion on the subject. 'He bad not. heard a single argument to show that the Bill would not meet the defects m thelaw of 1837. The Bill would not alter that' law,:bar*onld simply provide that the judges were not to put that forced constructien on the Act which had had the cff..‘et of leaving a vast number of wills unadMinistered: He did hope the Com. .2niittee would not think itTnedis4iry to delay this benevo ,. 1 lent; measure. , e. 4 The Committee divided, when there appeared— For reporting progress ••• •—• 64 AEiginlst it . : ;;..; ;.. ••• 121 Majority ••• —57 In clause 2, Mr. BETHELL Moved theinsertien of•wordsto make the clause applicable only to..thrit with of porous who should die after the passing of tilt Act. • The SOLICITOR-GENERAL was in favour of the , _ chaise as it stood. Sir P. WOOD•said 'the notign of pending. all to a of Lords was th e moss proposition that could be Solect Committee ' upon coming_down from. the House made to that Home. EVerrbOdYAUSt see thatimmense litigation must arise from the clauses now framed, and he protested against such a system of-legislation. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL for IRELAND de fended the clau4e, and complained. of the objections that were now‘sitarted after the Bill had been so long be fore the House, without any amendment being placed upon the papal.. • • The Willie with the remaining - clauses Were then agreed to, sad the House resumed. :GENERAL BOARD OF- HEALTH BILL. ----- On the order of the day for going into Committne On this Bill, Mr. BROTHERTON moved an instruction that* Committee have power to amend the Public Health .Act (1848).—Agreed to. The House then went into Committee, Mr. BERNAL in the chair. _ _ •• The several clauses were agreed t0; . 80II10,11OW clauses were added, and the House resum e d, - INDUSTRIAL AND GENERAL PARTNERSHIPS ' ' BILL_ Oa the motion of Mr. SLiusty t hi s Bill went through a Committee, the various claims being a greed to without amendment. The .Public Works Bill v., as passed. , read a third time and The Poor Law Beard Continuance (Ireland) Bill was read a second time and orderecl -- be Committed. Mr. BOUVERIE moved th a t Committee on the Burgh Etarb at the House do go into observed that its provisions wore to (Seotland) Bill, and to make rates to repair these h a to enable small burghs Mr. F. M'KENZIE oppose rbours. . that it gave too largo a power the Bill, on the ground palities to tax all vessels enteringto, these smell munici Mr. E. ELLICE supportert these harbours. Right Hon. Gentleman the P eth°,l3ill, and hoped the Trade would explain what the 3 ntent• of the Board of vernmcnt were. e -objections of the Go Mr. HENLEY was not' eetisti - ", c l was placed upon the teeing- ' that a proper check munici palities. Po • • • • veers of these OR at Oat be: . h e . • Committee sheuld be pes,pe a e c i c ur, suggested that the Tee Heusi) divided, when there . For the Cummitteie - aPPaared— - Againet it ... :::.. ~_.... ... 64 • Isbjerity :against the (sere a,— ••• ••• 1 " . . On the motion tor consideree o 7.O tte e ... --42 Ecclesiastical Genes (C r o n i o a r 7 l -‘ - ne'ltmendinent on the Mr. ANSTEY objected to pr urisdietion) Bill. late time of the night, and,moe:r ed Mg with it at that the House do now adOnan., 4. an amendment that -Thu motien was teedrdinglYp — - On the motion for the second °3 tPened. • Bisteops Bill. • - le ading of the Colonial Mr. ANSTEY alio Objected t • '• Bill;es it was an attempt to emro °• Proceediog with that House had no pretence. or right, r, titles to which that The second reading was, afte r e e ' paned till this day. , • • -- Y al e discussion, post- MAYNOcti i; The dropped orders were then, proceeded • the adjourned debat e on Mayneutill'eueeded with, and on Mr. FRESLIFIELD moped th beieg read, slimed that dsy, at twelve o'clock,. at . the debate be re - Mr. WALPOLE prdtested i gftinst • at twelve o'clock, after ' i it had now- b the House sitting two o'clock.. ,Tl+-wo‘ib l 'be ImPessible`en sitting till near the Country tote carried ofi if Merob for the basitiess of come down again in a few honisT o there were obliged to Mr. ANSTEY said the motion had that House. ' d b to provoke the appeal of the 4i e t tt ri een made merely was A kepetition of the farce o r w e e ll,,• Gentleman. It Hon. Members wanted Abe - Mita() to on last. If to have been there at eight o'clock e 4 on they ought Not one of the Ministers were pr esect 4 e ls eday evening. was counted out, elthmigh the MembersW'aen the House tions before the House intimated - thei r • who had way. If If the Goverment would not fix Ttention to give n measure which they believed to b e of vital day to discuss let the Hon. Member for Wdreirckshiro importance, charge of the order..lo put an end to tha peeve the di e, charge FRESHFIELD' hoped it would 1 ' not dull farce. that his side of the House was not e nz i eug ; be supposed discussion brought on at t he earliest possible to have the Mr. KEOGH said the whole course of period. the Hon: Aleniber for Warwickshire had throughout of with their entire approbation e--(A laugh.) () r out met to know what was the conditionof the Governmenta wanted that question. There cat - the Hon.' Member for upon shire; who had jumped through three •hoo or Peeble question . When the House re-assembled at 6 1 1 on the 'where were the `Members of the GoiteriamcF4 o'clock were all ready to declare their hostility to the May noothThey grant, and yet they shirked . the debate in or d er the Derby. Why, the Na tional Club could ow to go to three Members at eight ( Meek, and the 0.0,„ ! muste"nine"r only one Member, when the de bate was ab out to be re sumed. i • . • . Mr. NEWDEGATE,was certainly under the im . sion on Tuesday evenitag that the late whipper_ ihopfres- Whig Ministry, !seeing thee there were th ree Whig i motions on the piper, - wo uld have endeavoured to make and keep a House; but the Ilouse might guess his sur prise when he f'otind . tha t that Right •flore . Gentleman had actually counted out the Lime. H e could assure the Hon. and Learea d Member for Athlone tha t there re was the greatest anxiety to.-bring on the question. .H o and his friends ' were, -however, tenable .to delude the e matey as to their tea ict“ntions., He appealed to the Goverment, as all parties' seem"d willing to bring on the question:, Whether some _ray' might no; be fi xe d for its di;cui-,r,? • The O'GORMAN NATION 'said he could ass , Hon. Members that tee Reline Catholic Memb .re ers were most anxious to have oeclecBti9 lal - -1 discussed, more especially as impwatiohe had been attempted to be cast upon the:yei)gion to which he by the honour to b e l ong Is document s tuck es tbe Hon. Member had referred to . were in eee-tence, be aeereed that they were repudiated by boh the laic y an d the et;clesiastics of the Roma n Catholic re llgion T h ee courteddiscussion, and ,the y e called upon the; dovefneaktdema nd of respond to the of the Hee. M North Warwickshire. i mlee. tor Sir. J. PAKINGTON' hopcd - the y would n ot heled into the di se „, j a 4 on' in a igoicimatal. of a q cP4 .., n - ()waver- IT 14 MAY 28, MESMERIC INFIRMARY. The annual general meeting of the friends and sub scriOers to this excellent institution was held yesterday at Willie'wrooms, King-street, St. Jzmes's, The fatten dance of ladies and -geode:men was no large that it wee found neceseery to adjourn the meeting from the apart ment in which it first as.etinbled into the large ball-rcom. Earl STANHOPE, who w EIS. unanimously elected to the chair, considered it a distinguished honour to be called on to preside over such an assembly, but he sincerely regretted the - chair was not filled by one of his leerned friends, who, from his medical knowledge and expe rience, would be far more wer:y of it than himself. From a very early period of his long life he had taken the deepest interest in all that releated to medical science, to which he attached the utmost importance, as it had for its object that which was moetdraportant to mankind—the . alleviation of su ff er i ng, an d , ac tar as i t was p rae ti ca bi e , 1 tile restoration of health, winch was the greatest Wes sing they r ece i ve d from Providence, and which was in dispensably requisite for the Enjoyment of life. AB soon a . s mesmerism was revived, in this country, in which p e wi n it r tan i t o eo u l s i nat tee g o e t u b, a t e it had slumbered for many years, he became intdialond experimentsho took th a t the e were oppo t rt t u b u o it h y o o s ! a A fte r phenomenon attentively of eao physicaln s i University,,-, eri ri a th d I S I :9 1 en s r , d e e . r o ke . made l P im a p r e s oa ) : . o t s b D o h u i_ c P c i t saw et ; nature, which appeared to him ° eminently entitled to philosophic investigation, from pursuing the inquiry from observation not discouraged the Globe taos 1: icoo newspaper,ns considered d e t h rc a i asn a attendings insane. c a t eoitfbc. insanity. f m in us;;.. eriments o a s t e e:E lunatic asylums in the country would no. be sutEcierf'y rc capacious to hold the patient s . —(L aughter.) The - u he examined the effects of m esmer i sm, the naore-hevv°re as cenvinced ofits reality and tr u th—th e more he studied the Subject, the deeper was his conviction that it was of extreme inipertance and of the utmost practical utility. Having formed that opinion on deliberate reflection, he had no hesitation in avowing it freely, for he always thought the worst and most discreditable species of cowardice was the want of moral courage.—(Hear, hear.) A person deficient in bodily courage might allege that want of nerve, or weakness of constitution, did not enable him or render him unwilling to expose himself to any per sonal danger, but no apology could be made for him who, being thoroughly convinced of any truth, was ashamed or afraid to avow it.—(Hear, hear.) It was' fortunate for the world, fortunate for the honour and dignity of the medical profession, that there were physi cians in this country who, disregarding fame and fortune, and those advantages which were most dearly prized and eagerly pursued, nobly and magnanimously sacri ficed them to the cause of truth.—(Hear, hear.) They .... _ might be reviled and ridiculed—they might become ob jects of censure or misrepresentation, but their names would be transmitted to posterity with the honour to which they were justly entitled, and they would have the satisfaction of knowing that truth would ultimately prevail. They' read in the Holy Scriptures of what would, he was convinced, be fully cx- empfified in mesmerism—" Great is truth and stronger than all things. It endureth, and is always strong—it liveth and conquereth for evermore." Mesmerism has to contend, not only among members of the medical profession but also among the public, with such invete rate prejtniico that, in one case that came siithin his own personal knowledge, it had actually obstructed the course of justice. This was a somewhat curious case. About nine years ago a young woman applied to him to be mesmerised, as she was obliged, in consequence of being subject to epileptic attacks, to leave her situation. He foul i her so susceptible, that in a quarter of a minute she f"S11 into a deep mesmeric sleep. In returning from the house he was informed—but later than he ought to have been—that she had had ano th er fit o f suc h v i o l ence that it continued for several hours, and the strength of four men were required to hold her. He visited her im mediately, and found she had been seized with tetanus or lock-jaw. Taking hold of an instrument which happened to be at hand,—a kind of ripping chisel—he used it as a lever, and wrenched her jaws open. He was shocked at the operation, and still more at the noise, which seemed to indicate that the jaws had been broken. By making a few mesmeric passes she opened her jaws without any difficulty. In that year he was obliged to remain con stantly in Londoh, so that the opportunities he had of mesmerising her were few and far between; Int he had the good fortune of restoring her to health and of seeing her return to service. Some years afterwards she en tered the service of a person in the metropolis, who, for a very trifling cause, got into a very violent passion, end seized her by the throat. The excitement made the girl frantic, and her epileptic fits returned. Complaint was made to a magistrate, who thought the case so Serious that, instead of summarily convicting, he sant the party before a court of justice. The young woman was afterwards cured by his friend Dr. Elliot son. When she was examined on the trial, she stated correctly what took place. She wits asked, among other foolish questions, on cross examination, whether she was ever exhibited as a mes meric patient, and she truly denied that she ever was. She was then asked whether she was quite sure she wes awake when her master committed the assault, and also when, where, and by whom she had been mesmerised. Great surprise was shown when his (Earl Stanhnpa's) name was mcntione3. The case came on before Mr. Law, the late Recorder, and the result was that the un fortunate person was treated as an impostor and nee suited. Now, the opponents of mesmerism had not only shown a disgraceful want of candour, but, in some in stances, had been guilty of the most flagrant injustice. He alluded to the case of a labourer in Nottingham, whose leg was amputated without feeling any pain while in a mesmeric sleep. The medical men of Londcn met to consider tee case; not knowing the individual, and not being able to cast the slightest re proach on his veracity and honour, they re presented him as an impostor. Now he said it was infamous to represent any man as an impostor, be he peasant or prince, without full and substantial proof. —(Hear.) The folly of the charge was equal to its ma lignity. Did these medical gentlemen not know that, even if he had endeavoured to act the part of an impos tor, though his spirit might have been willing, his flesh might have been weak? It they supposed it pessiblo by any extraordinary effort he could suppress all manifesta tions of pain, such as groans, shrieks, and cries, still there were other indications which would show whether be felt tho operation. He was well aware that the same effects were produced by chloroform, and he also know that all persons were not susceptible to mesmeric influ ence; but this he contended, that when that influence could be exerted, it was much safer than chloroform; and in that be was confirmed by all candid medical men w ho had examined into the subject. When it was said by their opponents that mesmerism was the effect of the imagination. he asked whether insensibility to pain could be the efisct of the imagination? If so, it seemed to him rather extraordi nary that the imagination should be brought to apply when people suffered from ',violent toothaches, or from other excruciating pains. Even supposing mesmerism did excite the imagination, what objection could there be to its use, if it relieved psin and cured disorders? But he denied that mesmerism was connected with the imagi nation. Then it was said there was collusion in mes meric eater tsants, that the experimenter had a confede rate who exhibied various antics before an audience at his desire. Now, he should like persons who entertained that opinion to read a very curious and interesting. who madeja series of experi mentspamphlet by Dr. J. Wilson, on the brute creation, including wild and domestic animals, some of which were ferocious iu their nature, end might be supposed least suscecitible of mesmeric influence. Could it be said these animals were moved by the imagination, or that there was any collusion between them and the mesmeriser? But then it was said, " What is your theory—how is all this explained?" Now, he did not think they were t called upon to explain the theory. It was sufficient a ; t s say that the practice of mesmerism was efficaciouss tßhey he should like to ask these medical gentlemen if could explain the theory exhibited in the animal and vegetable could they give a evident they could not do so. g , A s ain e e eed sleep? All of a numhbercorfeapthioenn.omletnt:vaa: Satisfactory reason why opium fe--- In one of Molihro's causes which produced that e r ludicrous light. knew the effect of the drug, but none pro could discover the plays this subject was treated in avh y Latin, Quare opium Pelt dorhur • c ?" "Why does opium Ono of the characters wised in his own bad produce sleep," and the other replied, " Qaia est. in ea virtus dormitiva," " Because it had soporific quality."—(Laughter.) Though ho was not able to explain the manner in which mesmeric influence passed from the mesmeriser to the patient, yet there was every reason to believe that the immediate effect en the patient was produced by the invigorating restorative power of nature—vis mediccirix naturce—for it was very truly and candidly stated by a physician that he did not earn disorders, but only enabled nature to cure them by remov ing the obstructions that were i n the way. As d ho i u n sa a nds street that near had Holbornbee n affected o, f ac ts were stubborn things, he would menti on t w o tra tradesman, m mesmerism.an o of lie someisitet e see , about thirteen years of age, h a d a paralytic,w tion of the spine—he was unable t o raise his head, aff3e., and v when lifted slightly up in bed he f e ll b ac k on one hid the other like an inanimate object. In twenty e or from Dr. Elliotson'e first visit ho rose from his minutes walked across the room, and, as the father bed a n d served to him on a subsequent occasion, Dsr truly ob had almost raised his son from the ra r, Pai oton The next case was that of a lady, eminent le.--(Cheers ' ) high station, and still more eminent for h from her and exertions in this cause, who had her benevolence blindness who had been afflicted by cured a person of Now, could eith er o f those cases cured be c it for t 6 years. nary process at all, still l ess i n so short by the ordi instructive collectio n of cases b y their ort a time? The Mr. Capern, showed that mesmerism Worthy secretary, in no lets than fourteen different had been efficacious which could not ba treated diseases, some of rules of art. lie rejoiced to'findby the ordinary htsd made such progress in sat that mesmerism establishments had been fort 3 country; and also that kingdom for the assistance T - ed in venous parts of theh extremely valuable. He had to those to whom it would, be the meeting with so long a ci d' to apologise for feltd"ltinwinags a duty which he owed to .h lECOUnie. but he to ex press the conviction which :ma t nil the country study and ex perietce, Aen, after many years. a ° , ortan t entertained on this most 1 P and valuable ohject. Dr. ELLIoTSoN then annual m read the following port: "tile committee of the London Mesmeric Infistrtary rejoice in being able to c , me.ratnifio the donors and sub scribers . —Zeupon she increa se d' suppo rt of the ch a r it y b y public—;he the 1, e increased confi den ce of the sick and their friends in the benefits of tnesni crLai, and upon the cer tinuance of proofs of the alleviating one and remedisl powers of of the greatest blessings ever . vouchsafed ton"4"ritl ", The conviction of the truth of mes merism, of the truth of i its ,henowna, and its alleviating and re medial towers, has spread most 'extensively since we la " met. To doubt the mesmeric produciion of sleep resto ration and sleep-waking, and their dispersion ; clif,ireigldify, ; mesmeric tractior ; .../ 11 " I 'l ration of sensaeon I cata lepsy, end relaxation; the mesmeric abol_ formerly ucknown effects of reetele cry stela, we a ut a er and substances in the mesmeric smite, end in the ' c L n '11.1 7 state of some persons who here teen in the .. th t aw. "C. state, and even in some who heee never bece •J a • merited, is no lender. regarded as a mark of eaaaciSy .' and superiority, nut excites surprise, and causes an trn divielusl to be considered ignorefie net; absurd. E ven such pheuomene. at the mesmerie excitement of dis tinct cerebral organs, the sympathy '.of sensa tions and ideas, and a certain eegree of clairvoyance, are generally admitted, and their admission' no longer subjects us to the imputation of credulity, or exposes us to ridicule. Fourteen years ago mesmerism was de clared in London to be destroyed for ever, utterly ex tieguishee, and cure to be never heard cf again except as a tale that was told—illustrative of the ignorance, weakness, and folly of a few individuals who had ruined their reputation irrecoverably. But now mremerism is one of the ,C 3 m cbiec top:of , conversation, end is alluded to as a fact in publications of every description. The sale of mesmeric books is very large, and has increased asto nishingly of late, and Mr. Bailliere informs us that the demand for the English quarterly journal of mesmerism, the Zoist, far exceeds the demand of even last year. The medical journals sneer at mesmerism, and vilify us less frequently than before; and, though they continue to keep all our splendid facts from the eyes of their readers, to whom it is their duty to make all:these facts known, it is evident that they are conscious of being in an awkward position, behind the present day, and near an overwhelming necessity of acknowledging the truth of what they have so violently, coarsely, and obstinately denied, and of reporting mesmeric facts as regularly as others. Although the mana gers of the Royal College of Physicians, of the Royal College of Surgeons, and of the Royal Medical and Chi rurgicol Society, still refuse to purchase mesmeric works, it is known that the members of the two latter bodies continually ask for the Zoist, and the desire can Oct much longer be disregarded by those who ought to know better, and to have more feeling for the sufferings of their 11 f e ow -creatures The spread of the conviction of the truth of . mesmerism is shown in the additions to our list and of donor s b • su scribers. Since the last annual meeting, we have had 47 new donors, besides anonymous contributors of mites to the donation-box, and 38 new subscrib ers . Five e only of our former subscribers have resigned, four to continue thei expressing their regret at their in abilityplaining that a case of sr subscriptions, and the fifth corn was not cured off-h an d at at Vitus's dance that she sent us donations were best owe d few i n was sittings. Several of the cures having be en consequence of mesmeric effected n donors, without any connexion the families of the Mr. Bailliere, whose daughter's with th e i n fi rmar y. will, I trust, be recorded . recovery from typhus I has sent us, in conseque nce of it,nfiv the next Z o i s t, her hands. Mr. Kingdon, wh o has e guineas th roug h la the great benefit - which he derived from in th e Z o i s t while recovering from a severe accident, hey sentnmesmerism Miss Jane Preston, who was assiduously ns 10/. Mr. Janson, has evinced her gratitude mesmeriseda y by us with 151. The increased confidence of the sick e their friends in the alleviating and remedial power s an d mesmerism is manifested on every side, and is strikingly ngi; shown by the numercus applications for admission to our infirmary —far more numerous than we have the means of satisfying. They are now aware that mes merism exerts a powerful influence, not over nervous affections only, but over the diseases of every organ, and over diseases of every description—upon inflammation, structural as well as functional diseases, enlargement, ' change of texture, ulceration, &c.; and that it not only socthea but invigorates. Some v, no are believers in its blessings are still shut out from them by the gross superstition of its Satanic nature. This preposterous absurdity will continue till education b: cones what it should be, end points out to those upon whom it is bestowed that all around us is nature—all governed by universal and unerring laws ; and that mesmerism, like everythieg else that man does, must be natural, and not a supernatural affair. It may be worth the reflection of the superstitious that we have 12 divines on our lists, the greater part of them clergymen of the Church of England, one a doctor of divinity and formerly a professor in the University of Oxford, and et the head of them, an archbishop—his Grace the Archbishop of Dublin—who did not for a moment he sitate to become one of our vice-presidents. Another anti-Satanic argument is, that above 50 ladies appear on our list. Continued proofs of the assuaging and reme dial powers of mesmerism pour in upon us on all sides. The Zoist teems with them from every quarter—num berless others are occurring daily which ate not re corded. Since the last meeting 154 patients have been treated at the institution-20 were not improved at all— but the greater part of them attended too short a time for mesmerism to exert its power. Thirteen of them nttended but two or three times, and among them were cases of epilepsy, blindness, and consumption-19 were slightly improved, and the greater part of them left us before there was any chance of a care ; 39 were much improved, so much that they did not think it worth while to attend any longer, though wo should have wished them still to persevere f o r some weeks; but persons in ell ranks, and of all ages and education, are disposed to impatience, and the poor have but too many causes of inability to attend an insti tution daily for any time; forty-tv:o have been cured; thirty-four are still under treatment; and of these ten are already greatly improved, and some have not been with us long enough for benefit to be expected. It must be remembered that the majority of our cases aro chronic—that - most of them have defied medical treat ment, generally, at the hands of several practitioners— and that many are certain of receiving no amelioration from any kind of non-mesmeric treatment." After describing numerous cases the report proceeds to state that the receipts for the year have been 437/, 9s. 6d., and the expenses 4371. 10s. Id., being eel over our receipts; but the society has 8841. 38. 9d. in hand. It then states—" We may, therefore , consider ourselves very prosperous; but we are nisei( us to extend the benefits of mesmerism—we aro anxious to be able to mesmerise a much larger number of patients, and to have an hospital in which patients may reside, as the sick cannot obtain the advantego of mesmerists in the ordinary hospitals. Twenty names on the list of donors and subscribers are those of me dical men. We know tile advantage of ordinary medi cal treatment; we have the same good opinion of all well-established practice as our brethren, and give cur patients the full benefit of it. The difference between us is that we employ mesmerism in addition to the means used by them, knowing that mesmerism cures diseases not at present cured by ordinary means, and assists all the ettabliehed methods of cure. The general . healing power of mesmerism appeals to be that of assisting na ture to throw o ff disease, whatever that disease may be —to aid the vis medicat natures. Tee lease of the pre sent house will expire at Christmas, Iced we are d* roue of taking such further measures in this respect as msy be necessary. We are bound to express cur warmest thanks to the ladies who kindly compose the ladies' committee. They meet weell!y, and one or more visit the house every day. Their presence, their suggestions, an d general assistance are invaluable. Nor can we conclud e withaut expressing ou r sense of Mr. Capern's value. let s devotion to the bv ssings cf mesmerism, his untiring zeal, his benevolence; modesty, and disinterestedness aro beyond all praise.' Mr. M. MILNES, M.P., in movies the adoption of the report, said h e regarded mesmerism not in any s i on al or limited point of view, but as aproees -1 portion of the kingdom of nature, demanding th e i nt every intelligent man and the appreeie ' erest cf student of nature and history—(Cheers. ...hen of every the Mesmeric Institution load been .) lle believed and prudently conducted. It teas n wisely established such an institution in the present 0 easy matter to form about mesMerism. He was dis state of public feeling circumstances connected with mesmerism, to think there were explain the great difficulty it had esa3 erisna, which might ingitself ass science, and estab'. to encounter in assert careful of receiving evidence ashing itself in a nation so gene rally were. The fact of their its the English people a rule defining the ph • not being able to lay down of mesmerism Ysiologicul and psychological pro pertiescove.Ted with so much e in had led to mesmerism beta,* impoeture and falsehood. Owing to scientific oeive, mesmerism asinen refusing from prejudice todrue a science, it had been delivered p as a prey to the impostor whose exaggerations andde lusionsfinite an clear and dc g as to the reelmysterious agent being arrived at. character ß of e thisufident the institution would do a vast deal e was of go o d, because it was in the hand f o ' as self-sacrificin da ° body of men as ever stood forward to demand gthe public sympathy.— (Cheers.) grea t mistake and a e lie believed it was a dangerous error to use mestserism for the mere purpose of experiment and amusement, and hoped that so dsn gcrone an instrument would only be employed by per suns well acquainted with i ts real effects. nn "I . - A. J. Emus seconded the motion, and said the report alluded to the fact that mesmerism was once con it was a matter of notoriety that con sidered dead. Indeed, a certain well-known coroner presu r med he had sat on its body, end even s i"tEartavg, dug iitle an insignificant Lancet.—(Laughter., But would not say wtts a glorious . apotheosis of its ribing2 be _ ng. (Et like a piacenix, i ear, hear.) but like a sort of beatified then put and carried. The motion was et observed that Mr la Mi'nes had said The Cu.slugA- imposition .. . i. the which was practised by a good deal about mesmerism. Now, he denied that imposition means of possible is purely medical cases, for they were to be was i l y medical men. Ha supposed the lion. judg e- ust have alluded to those psychological Gentleman to . . on which he had abstained from saying any phenorn ,n GB they were not, never were, and never would th- for • tof inquiry by that institution; but, at the b e the object . ''ho did not wish to be understood as throw. same ti m e, doubt on the reality of those phenomena. ing any Mr. J. C. LUXMORE moved, end Mr. A. M.AJENDIE ded that Profesaor Do Morgan, - • e professor of mathe secn 1 /CS in University College, be elected vice-president mofatthe society, v,hich was agreed se. Air. J. JANSON moved, nod Mr. J. B. PARR IM se conded, that Dr. Ashbourno and Mr. W. Topham, who retire from the committee, be re-elected, and that Mr. Khne and Mr. Wiln rforce be elected on the, c -.nunitt,e, in the room of Mr. Chandler and Mr. Robertson, who are unable to attend.—Agreed to. The Rev. G. SANDBY moved, and Mr. C.IINDERROOD seconded, a resolution of cordial thanks to the ladies " of the committee for their important te ; ' rv.ces, wllich was carried by Acclamation. me, Jorrw Amon. moved, and ProFessor be' M. , 1) ---ONALD se conded a motion, that the committee A t e arrangements for taki ng emPi " red to m enoth er house for the purposes of the institution, or ;or renewing their interest in the present house, which ra g i A vote of thanks to the ano treed to. ,_ t Noble Chairman concluded the business of the muster g, ST. JAMES'S In 1. A Tith :7 - Tb e G er man Theatrical Company arrived at th e S t. K athar i ne ' s - w harf early yester day morning, by the General Steam Navigation Qompapy , mail Agana-ship Ocean, from Rotterdam. EVENING, s ation like the present. Ho sug ges t e d to the douse and the Hon. Gentleman to put an end to the discus-ion, and to tie come dsy when they met at the usual hour. Mr. HOR,SMAN thought th e matter ought to bo set tied before they adjourned. The Reiman Catholic Mem hers were now, after the speech of t h e li on. Member for North Warwickshire, most anxio us t o h ave the question fully discussed, and it was only fair to them t h at an op portunity should be afforded them. The Government might well say that the question could not, with shy convenience to public business, be now discussed, or they ought to fix early sittings every day until it was dis posed of. If not, let the order be at once discharged. Mr. EDWARDES wanted to know what grounds the Hon. Member for Athlone had for stating that the Hon. Gentlemen who hid motions before the adjourned de bate, would postpone them? Mr. KEOG-iI rose, but was met with cries of " Order," " Chair," and cries of " Youghal." Mr. ANSTEY also rose, but could not obtain a hearing. Mr. PORTAL said, if Hon. Gentlemen opposite were sincere, they would at once assent to his proposition. He proposed that they ought to divide at once.—(Oh, oh.) Mr. SCULLY said it was most unfair to ask his side of the House to go to a division, when only two Roman Catholic Members had spoken on the subject. Ho thought the Government cught to give them an entire day to discuss the question. Mr. ANSTEY rose amidst cries of " spoke." He merely wished to explain. The Hon. Member for Lam beth distinctly stated that he would not stand in the way of the House resuming the debate. The Noble Lord the Member for Middlesex had also agreed to give way. Mr. SPOONER was unwilling to put the House to any inconvenience. It was said ho did not wish to bring forward the question, but he distinctly denied that. If the Right Hon. Gentleman would assure him that they would give him a day, he would postpone it to any day they might fix. If not, be would take the sense of the House new on the sitting at twelve o'clock. Mr. WALPOLE had hoped the question would have been settled on Tuesday last, and the Government had not now a single day to spare to get through the ordi nary business of the session. The motion, be must say, was neither brought forward by, nor encouraged by, the Government, and they had nothing to do with the mo tion beyond what any individual member had—namely, to pronounce an opinion, and he denied the right of any Hon. Member to call upon the Government to give a day on the eound that it was a Government question. He hoped it any day could be fixed that the debate would then be brought to a close, but at present he certainly could not name any day. Mr. H. HERBERT had a motion on the subject, and he certainly would not press it, although he did not hesitate to say that the object of that motion was to quash an idle and mischievous motion, that ought never to have been brought forward in that House. He did not think there were ten sincere men in that assembly but that nearly all of them ware heartily sick of it. Mr. REYNOLDS said the only sincere Member in the House was the Hon. Member for Halifax, who said that his constituents were deeply interested in it, and he was anxious to be able to tell them that he had voted for the inquiry into Maynooth. He congratulated Hon. Gentlemen opposite on the dissolution of partnership between the lion, Member for North Warwickshire and the Government. To repeat the phrase of the Right Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Eechequer ap lied to the late Sir R. Peel's Government, the present position of affairs was nothing less than "a re-organised hypocrisy." The Irish Members did not want to divide —they wanted to speak, and they would put the op posite party on their trial, and convict them of rank , and unadulterated bigotry and hypocrisy. If the Com mittee was granted to-morrow they could not :let, and he was then entitled to call it a rank unadulturcd hy pocrisy. Mr. MILES regretted the tone and temper the de bate had assumed. The Government was placed in a peculiar position. They wanted a day, and if the mat ter was postponed to the end of August, a day must be had. The Protestant feeling of the country required ite, fie proposed to postpone the debate till that day, and then let the Government be prepared to name a date. The question must not be blinked, and the country required that it should be fully and entirely dis cussed. Mr. FRESHFIELD consented to withdraw his mo tion for the meeting of the House at twelve o'clock, which was agreed to. On the motion that the debate be adjourned till five o'clock, Mr. ANSTEY objected, until the Ministers had made up their minds whsa day should be fixed for resuming the debate. Strangers were ordered to withdraw, but at the suggestion of the O'GORMAN MAHON, Mr. An stey's opposition was withdrawn, and the motion was agreed to. A new writ was ordered for Huntingdonshire, in tho room of George Thornhill, E,q., deceased, and The House adjourned at Three o'clock. COTJRT CIRCULAR• OSBORNE, THURSDAY. Owing to the unfavourable state of the weather, her Majesty aud the Royal Family were unable to leave the house yesterday morning. There was no addition to the Royal dinacr party. Her Royal Highness the Duchea of Kent visited the Duchess of Gloucester yesterday, at Gloucester House. Mr. J. Bailey, M.P., had an interview with the Earl of Derby yesterday, at his official residence in Down ing-street. A deputation, consisting of the Duke of Richmond, the Marquis of Granby, Colonel Wood, Mr. Guthrie, and Sir lie Lacy Evans, M.P., had an interview with the Chancellor of Exchequer yesterday, at his official resi dence in Downing•street. A deputation on the subject of emigration bad an in terview with Sir John Pakington yesterday, at the Colonial-el - Lice. The deputation consisted at Sir W. Verner, M.P., Mr. J. Evelyn Denison, M.P., Mr. Wynd ham Geoid, M.P. Messrs. Robert Brooks, William Walker, P. W. Flower. F. R. Gore, C. M'Lechlan, J. R. Morrison ' G. H. Donaldson, J. C. King, R. Fano De Salis, J. Leslie Forster, J. A. Jackson, Joseph Suther land, James Levick, Charles Stirling, W. Fanning, Henry Moor, Captain Starley Carr, and Major Mercer. Mr. Charles Wilshere had an interview with Mr. Se cretary Walpole yesterday, at the .Home-office. A deputation from the Sanitary Committee of the town of Worthing had an interview yesterday with the General Board of Health, at their offices, Whitehall. The deputation consisted of Mr. W. 11. Dennett (Chair man of the Committee), and Messrs. Collett, Roberts, Cortis, Harris, and Hardinghatn. Mr. • Peers Williams, And Mr. Christopher Tower, had an interview on Tuesday with the C h ancellor of ththo'Exchequer. General Love transacted business yesterday at the Home-office. • A denudation about Presbyterian marriages in Gib r•lltar had an interview yeSterday with Secretary Sir John Paltington. The deputation consisted of the Re ,, . Adam Cairns, Mr. E. Ellice, Mr. J. Fergus, and Mr. C. Cawah. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. PORTVIOUTII, THURSDAY.—The Queen, 116, Captain Wise, sailed from Spithead this afternoon for Plymouth, to be paid down. The Conflict, 14, Porew-sloop, Commander Jennir Ce , :ing), was paid off hue this day. Lieuteqapt Swine, of,the Wao/wich division of Royal Marino, tried by court. martial for conduct arising out of the affair which I(.d to the court-martial on Captain Hewktiy, of the seine corps, has been acquitted. ' The Superb, 80, Captain Purcell, is ordered to Sheer nesr, to be paid ofF. She will sail when the wind is favourable. The Basilhk, 6, poOdle-sloop, has bsen put in com mission hero this day by Comm ander the.lion. Francis Egerton. She has been taken to the entrance of the !aorta dock, and will be taken in when the Tiger comes out, to have her bottom exami.ned and a slight defect renac.dicci. APPOINT3IENT7S. WOOLWICH, MAY 27.—Comma odors—Thomas Miller (1847), to study steam at Woolwich Dockyard, vivo Lieutenant H. M. Elliot, passed; Henry Harvey (1841), to the Penelope steam-frigate on the West Coast or Africa station, vice Billyar, prormoted. Lieutenant Henry Hutment (1842), to the Encounter steam -"loop at l'ortsmouth, vice Curtis, promoted. Surgeon Archibald J. Little (1845), to the Basilisk steam-sloop at Portsmouth ; Assf.starit-Surgeon Daniel W. Stephens, 111.). (1848), from the Highflyer steam sloop, to the Basilisk. Clerks—A.lexander Jeffreys (18.-15), to the Blenheim, GO, screw ste:.m guard-ship, at Portsmouth; J. J. Stevens, to the Ferret, 8, sloop,at Devoripart. The Blank Eagle steam-vessel, Master Commander John E. Pettey, left Woolwich at four o'clock eat. to-clay for Portsmouth- DIAMOND DUST. (From Eliza Cook's Journal.) Ho who possesses a susceptible heart has an inex haustible mine of sweet emotione.. To form an opinion of human nature from a perusal of history, is like judging of a fine city by its sewers and cesspools. Self-indulgence takes many forms., and we shouldbear in mind that t here ma y be a sullen sensuality as well e as a gay one. th© horizon. c u nning after ha pp iness is onl y chasing Kindness pains more than cruelty when it is given instead of love. Many men have the materials of happiness placed within their reach, but not one in I tau knows how to ma nufacture anything out of them ex x-;ept ennui. A pre sentiment of coming glad'riess is the summit of terrestrial iolicity. Love can excuse anything except meanness, but mnn ness kills love, sad cripples even natural affection. LIGHTING THE NEW VICTORM-STBEET, WEIITMIN sTEIL—After months of delay and a great deal of public remonstrance through the press paid otherwise, during which time the above thoroughfare ltz,s become almost im passable to the stoutest pedestrian , after dark, in cense quence of the numerous robberies autZt. assaults taking place there nightly, the Westminster Iniprovement Commis-, sinners have at last commencedon e m opera each sid tions to light it been up, and two rows of gas lamps, a e, have placed on the ground, and will be fixe d as soon as the wea ther permits, as it is intended to have the mains run up and I w a a id y o h n as w tii t n h de th rg e o l n e e ast a p t o h s o s ro lb u le gh lo r ss e-la of j in t g im , nd e a . The carriag e- several beds of new granite been placed over it, so 'that when it is li g hted thorouE it will'be pe rfect as a leading ;ha are to Belgravia and Chelsea. G OLD IN ADERDEENSHIRE.--it it stat ed h as been disco vered in the limestonequaries that gold at Auchiries, five miles from Fraserburgh, and that , gel luine e .... m iv e or ta t l h ha i3r s b itis el aka:llse:lf. , . 321 d , Pr,onounced to b e • 1852. r I