The Sun. — London, England, 1866-04-18 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 18, 1866. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS.--LAST EVENING. - - The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. INNOVATION ON THE CHURCH RITUAL. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY laid on the table several petitions against any alteration in the ritual of the Church of England. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Paisley Water Bill was read a second time, and the following bills were read a third time and passed :—Titanic Steel and Iron Company, Lowther's Naturalisation, South Essex Railway, and Banbury Gas (Amendments). THE DIVORCE ACT. The Earl of CARNARVON presented a petition from Harlowe praying for a repeal of the Divorce Act, and also against any innovation in the Church service. CATTLE, &c. CONTAGIOUS DISEASES BILL. Earl GRANVILLE moved the second reading of this bill, and szplained some of its provisions, which he said were calculated to make it simple and expeditions in its operation. - The bill was then read a second time. CATTLE SHEDS IN BURGHS (SCOTLAND) BILL. The Duke of ARGYLL moved the second reading of this bill, which was agreed to. COUNTY COURTS BILL. The LORD CHANCELLOR moved the third reading of this bill, which was agreed to ELECTION RETURNS. Lord CAMPBELL moved that a select committee be a ppointed to examine the electoral returns laid on the table with a view to the changes they suggest as desirable or necessary in the right of voting; and to inquire into the conditions upon which the occupation franchise might be lowered with advantage in counties or boroughs of England or Wales. The noble lord, after some preliminary observations, said that with regard to the desirableness of an inquiry of this nature by the house, he thought it only necessary to refer to the identity of circumstances that existed at present as compared with those of 1860. The suggestions that had been made in the latter year had been canvassed then, as at present, as to the possibility of a large constitutional change. At the present time, as in 1860, the house was called on to exercise its power in altering or modifying a measure which proposed to make alterations in the state of the franchise. Having adverted to the policy pursued by Lord Palmer ston in reference to the previous reforms introduced, and to his opposition to anything tending to effect a violent democratic change, he contended that much benefit would result from the inquiry of the committee he proposed. Mr. Dudley Baxter had written a very interesting pamphlet on the subject of electoral statistics, and it appeared that some hallucination prevailed on the subject. The effect which would be produced by the house exercising its functions in reference to this matter would be, that it would throw a light on the actual political position in which the class to whom the franchise would be extended would stand in regard to capitalists. It was very important to ascertain whether the class in question would be likely to be influenced by those who employed them, and whether they were likely to act on their OWEL judgment, or to be operated upon by agitators. If the latter were the ease, tho effect would be one not contem plated by many supporters of the extension of the franchise because it would throw a largo amount of political power into the hands of employers and demagogues. He con tended that a large extension of household suffrage was a measure that required great consideration, and the inquiry he proposed was calculated to secure for the subject that consideration. No doubt those in favour of a large mea sure were desirous of securing a settlement of the question and restoring tranquillity,buthe considered that no measure however comprehensive would secure that result, because popular disquietude arose from distress, the desire of the democratic class to extend their power, and other causes without the control of any act of Parliament. The noble lord by his pledge of 1851 led to the bill of 1852, the bill 1832 led to the bill of 1854, that of 1851 to the bill of 1859, that of 1859 to the bill of 1860, and that of 1860 was the immediate cause of our present complication and embarrassment. It was, therefore, by the error of a single night, which the noble lord would not venture to defend, that a lung series of difficulties, of which no man saw the end, had been brought on the country. By the course which he had taken in February, 1851, the noble lord had invented that extraordinary system of pledges and en gagements, forestalling the deliberative power and action of the Cabinet as to whether at a given time a given sub ject should be presented to the Legislature. In 1852 those pledges forced him to introduce the subject of Reform at a time when the horizon of the land was clouded by recent events in France, to which the revival of despotic power in that country had given rise, and which seriously threatened to compromise the interests of this country. In 1854, again, those unhappy pledges compelled him to bring forward the subject at what every person felt was an inopportune season. Three times the noble lord S had appeared before the public as the author of an important project, and the world had a right to judge him by those projects, and a right to ascertain how far he possessed that which ought to belong to any man who took up the reconstruction of the Constitution—namely, on the one hand conviction, and capacity on the other. Take, for ex ample, his projects with regard to the borough franchise. After full deliberation the noble lord told the Parliament and the public in 1852 that £5 was the proper limit of the borough franchise. In 1851 ho informed them, after the same full deliberation, that £6 was the proper limit, and it was well known that in the present year he had proposed a notherlimit. If the noble lord had seriously been of opinion that the borough franchise should be extended to £5 why did ho repudiate that sum ; and if he was not clearly and de cidedly of opinion that the limit would be safe, why did he present it to the country or to the house ? What security had their lordships that in a few years the borough franchise, now proposed to be £7, might not be fixed at £9 or £lO, or even raised to £l5 ? No inconsistency could be more palpable. It would be a want of courage on his part, he submitted, if he hesitated to say that the incon stancy, the inconsistency, the levity—(laughter)—with which the noble lord during the last ten years and up wards had treated this momentous question ought to de prive him, as it had deprived him, of that confidence of the friends of representative reform. The noble lord, in the years 1848, 1849, and 1850, had with all the power of the Cabinet resisted the annual motion in favour of household suffrage, introduced by Mr. Hume and supported by Mr. Bright. But now the noble Lord did not hesitate to tell the country, according to certain statements which had appeared in the newspaper; that Mr. Bright was his ad 'riser. Earl RUSSELL.—No ; I never did. Lord CAMPBELL—The Press might have misled him (Lord Campbell).—(Hear hear, from Earl .Russell).—But in the speech attributed to the noble earl it was distinctly stated that, recognising the distinguished part which Mr. Bright had taken in the cause of reform, he had thought proper to consult him. He (Lord Campbell) rejoiced that the noble earl now repudiated the passage absolutely, since no climax could be more disastrous than when the noble lord had gained immortnlity by resisting for three years the democratic party in the country he should at last con sent to be th e i r pup il. H e h a d re f erre d to these transac tions to sh ow th at, h owever great the noble lord ' s titles to support and. confidence on other questions, on the question of Reform his authority and d t credit were not such as to debar their lordships froma inquiry which he asked them to grant. If their lordships agreed to his motion he should be happy to transfer the net t of the inqui r y t o his noble friend on the c ross b enches capacity was so eminently sho wn in 1(8601.1 Grey), whose a similar committee. The noble lord concluded w by sub mitting his motion. Earl RUSSELL said that the precedent of 1860,by which his noble friend supported his motion, did not apply. When the Reform Bill of Lord Palmerston's Government was propcsed, it was admitted that the returns upon which the bill was founded were inaccurate, and it was stated that the estimate of the numbers who had been admitted would be found larger than was calculated. It was stated, audit was undoubtedly true, that the valuations and assessments under the poor-law were exceedingly loose and variable. Thos e grounds for inquiry appeared to him to be valid, and a committ ee was appointed, which took a gre at deal li t e va d l i u . abl e evid ence , a l t h oug h it did not think fi t to report. unot quite understand the precise meaning of his noble friend's motion. Certainly he imagined that these electoral rettiroa in the right of votitd not of themselves suggest any change the right of votin:.g.ihur give any opinion with regard to commission should inquire into lord went on to say that the ire into the conditions upon which the occupation franchi se might b e lowered with advantage in counties or borough s . know that their lordships, he (Earl Russell) did not there were conditions ou which the had as yet agreed that franchise might be lowered. He had no objection t o til : fight be lowered, but granted thatthe occupation f raachise n house taking it for he did not think their lordships shouh l l on the assumption that they we re ts t a r i w hich was matter of opinion. Si ne© 1860 granted that iinrt a c omm i t t ee eat i mprove _ routs had been made in assessments an d v the Poor-law, and their returns were now far " r o ti°l ' s unde r ra te than those which had been presented in 1860 re t° acetub committee. What was called gross estimated rental far more accurately represented the actual state of the facts, though there were no doubt certain boroughs in which this im provement had not been introduced, and with regard to which it would be a matter of argument how many electors would be added to these veral boroughs if a certain franchise were adopted. However, if any bill received the assent of the House of Commons for effecting what his noble friend called organic changes, but which he (Earl Russell) did not consider to be such, he was quite su re that, their lord ships would li s t en with attention and decorum to the argu ments of her Majesty'y Government and to, those of other noble lords on both sides of the house, and there would be a discussion befitting the dignity of the house and the im portance of the question ; but the inquiry moved for would not tend in any degree to the public advantage. (Hear, hear.) With i • egard to the personal attack of the noble l: f i r sl . , it was quite unnecessary f or hi m (E ar l Russell) to reply. 11 sitsne g a , without t divh. nn. ThEIZILOYMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. of SHAFTESBURY rose to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether it was the intention of her Ma jesty's Government to bring in a bill for the purpose of placing the children and young persons mentioned in the third and fourth reports of the commissioners under the protection of the Factories Act. Earl RUSSELL said that the subject was under the con sideration of the proper department, but at the present moment he was notable to state exactly what step it would be thought right to adopt. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—LAST EVENING. The BrEAREB. took the chair at four o'clock. DOVER ELECTION. The petition presented against the return of the sitting members for Dover was withdrawn. FACTORY ACTS. Mr. FAWCETT asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government would intro duce their promised measure for the extension of the Fac tory Acts. And whether the Government had consi dered the desirability of regulating the employment and education of children who are employed in agriculture. Sir G. GREY said it was impossible that he could fix a day for the objects named by the hon. member. With re spect to the latter part of the question he had to say that no plan was under consideration for regulation of the chil dren employed in agriculture. TROOPS IN INDIA. _ Mr. O'REILLY asked the Secretary of State for War when the following cavalry regiments would return from India :—the 7th Hussars, and the 2d and 3d Dragoon Guards ; and what length of time each of these regiments would have served in India ? The Marquis of HARTINGTON said the 7th Hussars would return to England in 1871, the 2d Dragoon Guards in 1869, and the 3d Dragoon Guards in 1870. The regiments were kept there solely by circumstances connected with the late mutiny in India. THE PROBATE COURT. Mr. MONK asked the Secretary to the Treasury whe ther the proposals submitted to the Treasury by the Judge of the Court of Probate for the future regulation of the salaries and emoluments of the clerks and officers of that court embraced the district registries. Mr. CHILDERS said the proposals related to the prin cipal registry only. THE ROYAL ACADEMY. Mr. GREGORY asked the First Commissioner of Works whether he had received any communication from the President of the Royal Academy on the subject of changes in the constitution of the academy ; whether that com munication had been approved of by the Government ; and whether he would order it to be laid before the house ? Mr. COWPER said a letter had been, received from the President of the Royal Academy, announcing that the Council of the Academy had - determined to make certain alterations, in accordance with the opinions expressed by Government, to render it more in accordance with the wants of the present time. The proposals of the Academy were approved of by the Government. He should have no objection to lay the correspondence on the table. PRUSSIA AND ITALY. Mr. BEAUMONT asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he had reason to believe the statement to be substantially correct in:the Neues Fremden blatt as to the alleged treaty of alliance, offensive and de fensive, between Prussia and Italy ? Mr. LAYARD had no reason to believe the statement was correct. The Government had received no such in- formation. QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY (IRELAND). Mr. S. AY TOUN asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it was the intention of the Go vernment to bring in a bill during the present session for the -purpose of granting a new charter to the Queen's University in Ireland, or of altering the composition of the senate ; and, if so, whether the bill would be brought in at an early period of the session ? Sir G GREY said lie hoped to be able to introduce the bill at an early day. There were certain matters to bo in quired into which at present prevented him doing so. THE STATE OF DUDE. Colonel FRENCH asked the Under Secretary of State for India whether, with reference to the pledge which had been given to this house that all the public and bone fide claims against the State of Oude would be paid out of the rovenues of the country, it was the intention of her Ma jesty's Government to support the report of the commission appointed by the Government of India to investigate and report upon the cases of the several claimants, or what steps were intended to be taken for the purpose of adjust ing the same ? Mr. STANSFELD said the report of the cases was not yet complete, and therefore ho was precluded from giving the hon. gentleman a definite answer. THE DOCKYARD ARTISANS—THE REFORM BILL. Mr. OTWAY asked the Chancellor of the Excheqr.er whether the Government adhered to its intention of dis franchising the artisans in her Majesty's dockyards, arsenals, and factories ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was inexpedient to give answers at the present moment as to what course the Government proposed to take upon cer- Ain clauses of the bill now under the attention of the house. THE MALT TAX. Sir F. KELLY rose to movo the following resolution : •U That upon any future remission of indirect taxation, this house will take into consideration the duty upon malt, with a view to its immediate reduction and ultimate re peal." The hon. and learned gentleman took the oppor tunity of going at some length into the question of the repeal of the malt tax. He said the Government had re duced the duties on bricks, timber, glass, cotton, wool, corn, flour, soap, cattle, and provisions of every description, yet the poor man's only comfort, if it could not be called a necessary, was still subject to an oppressive and unjust tax. The duty on wine, an article of foreign produce, and consumed only by the rich, had been greatly reduced, yet malt, three-fifths of the whole manufactured was consumed by the poor, and still maintained a high and unjust figure. The effect of a re duction of the tax would be to give the poor man good beer instead of bad, and that fact alone, he thought, ought to weigh greatly in favour of his motion. If the malt tax was repealed, he believed he was quite correct in stating that beer could be pur chased at one-third less than the price now paid. He maintained that the consumer of beer paid three or four times the amount of the tax as originally forwarded to the Exchequer on malt; while, unlike every other im post, whether levied on income, fire insurance, tea, coffee, or sugar, it stood alone in this, that it affected an article which was consumed almost entirely by the working and poorer closses of the community. It bore, in fact, as no other tax did, directly not only on the comforts but on the necessaries of the labouring population. The value of the beer sold in the United Kingdom per annum was £60,000,000 ; and of this More than three-fifths was con sumed by the working classes, who :paid, by this means, the exorbitant impost; while, on wine,-for the rich, the prohibitive duties had been reduced more than 70 per cent. He asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how, consistently with the great and enlightened principles which he had so often laid down, he could perpetuate this tax ? If the impost were repealed, the public, he stated, would be able to buy beer at one-third of the cost at pre sent paid for it ; and, in addition, the obnoxious mono poly—whereby large brewers bought public-houses and sold them, under restrictions detrimental to the consumer, and at prices which bore no relation to their intrinsic value—would be broken down. He pointed out that in the days when there was no malt duty beer was sold at a penny a quart, and said that even now it was possible to brew good beer at 7d. a gallon. It was his sincere belief and conviction that if the malt tax was repealed it would be attended by a great and immediate benefit to the people of England, Scotland, and Ireland. He trusted the time was fast approaching when those enlightened principles of commercial policy would be applied to this impost, and millions upon millions among the lower section of the community would participate in the benefits of that system to which they owed the groat commercial prosperity of the country. Mr. J. MORE briefly seconded the motion. Mr. NEATE moved an amendment to the effect that in the present state of the taxation and resources of the coun try, it was the duty of Parliament to make provision for the systematic reduction of the national debt, and not to sanction any proposal for any repeal or change of taxes which was likely to be attended with a diminution of the revenue. , Mr. J. S. MILL, in seconding the amendment,, said he had for some time felt so very serious and solemn a con viction on the subject that his hon. friend had brought forward, that it was almost a matter of conscience with him not to let slip any occasion of impressing that con viction on some hon. members. Not long ago it might no; altogether unreasonably be supposed that the un rivalled growth of this country in every description of wealth the limits of which it was hardly possible to define or to look forward to, was an excuse to us_ almost a justification—for leaving our pecuniary obliga tions, without any serious attempt to reduce them, to weigh upon posterity, who, they might reasonably ex pect, would be far better able to support them than they were themselves. This was, however, at no time a conclusive argument or a sufficient excuse, because future generations would have their exigencies too. (hear, hear.) And they had had an example of it not from it by the, re -add years ago. Two years of war sufficed to add to our debt nearly as much as was substracted they had to o mild, hadf s a a c v t i s nsof fifty years. (Hear, hear.) But more recently was to show that the been brought to their notice which overlooked, and the tendency of which was one not admissible yuso they had made to themselves exceeded th n e t t he case of a nation whose popu lation greatly be supported which could in the pre sent state of science were, therefore, dependentgeovoeedtinsfinorf from its own soil, and who subsistence upon the material. power of disposing of their l i l l a p r o k n e tB' the whose oreign command over those markets de con tinued existence of inexhaustible hear.) The termination of their coal (Hear, always certain, 1 , :ol until !•):..3.,. , J -PpearAlP,l3,,lebs,,, though at great a distance that it ac weal quite utaiecessarysoioar the present generation to occupy itself with that clues tion. (Hear, hear.) The cause of that was that they suffered themselves to calculate upon the present rate of consumption ; but the fact was that their con- sumption of coal increased with such extraordinary rapidity from year to year that the practical exhaustion of their :supplies had become no longer a question of centuries, but a "question only of generations. (Hear, hear.) Probably some hon. members might be ac quainted with a small volume written by Mr. Stanley Jevons, entitled the " Coal Question," and it appeared to him, so far as a person not practically conversant with the subject could judge, that Mr. Jevons' treat ment of the subject was almost exhaustive. He seemed nearly to have anticipated - everything which was possible to be said against the conclusion to which he arrived, and to have answered it. That conclusion was that if the pre sent rate of consumption of coal continued three genera tions at the most, or very possibly a considerably shorter period, would leave no workable coal in existence nearer the surface than 4,000 ft. in depth, and that the expense of raising it from that depth would be such as entirely to put it out of the power of this country any longer to compete in manufactures with the richer coalfields- of other countries. (Hear, hear.) He thought that if there were any one in that house, or out of it, who knew anything which would invalidate this conclusion of Mr. Jevons, it would be right of him to come forward and make it known. He had himself read various attempts to answer Mr. Jevons, but he must say every one of them came to nothing more than to make it more or less probable that their supplies might continue a few years longer than the term Mr. Jevons had assigned. In fact, it now came to this, that instead of being at liberty to suppose that future generations would be more capable than they are them selves to pay off this debt, the present generation and one or two more which would follow it, would have the smallest chance of ever being able to pay it. What was the duty which facts of this sort imposed upon this nation ? Were they going to bequeath their pecu niary obligations undiminished to descendants to whom they could not bequeath their assets ? :(Hear, hear.) Suppose it were the case of any private individual. Suppose the property of any gentleman in that house had become deeply mortgaged, and that the bulk of it consisted of a mine, rich, indeed, but certain to be ex hausted in his lifetime, would he think it honourable to waste the whole proceeds of that mine in a riotous living, and to leave his children to pay off the debt out of the residue of his estate. Now, what would be . vicious and dishonourable in a private individual was not less dishonourable in a nation. They should think of those things while it was still time. This country was at prsent richer and more prosperous than any country which they knew or read of, and it could without any ma terial inconvenience or privation set aside several millions a year for the discharge of this important duty to their descendants. (Hear, hear.) - He did not think we were much to blame as far as we had yet gone. It was quite right to get rid of all very bad taxes—of all those which produced a greater quantity of mischief than they were worth for the purpose they were now speaking of or for any other. Thanks to the progress of opinion, and to the enlightened and far-sighted Minister who now for a number of years had administered their finances this work had been very nearly performed. (Cheers.) There were very few taxes remaining which wore utterly unfit to exist. If there were any they did not yield so large a revenue but that they could hope, without much difficulty, to get rid of them also. (Hear, hear.) The bulk of their revenue was now derived, and would continue to be derived, from a comparatively small number of imposts, each of them yielding a very con siderable sum, and none of which, he thought, was now very seriously objectionable in principle, or very greatly mischievous in practice, any further than it was inevitable to the payment of taxes. (Cheers.) He thought it perfectly legitimate to try experiments in some respects, when there was any chance, by lowering the rate of taxation, that the existing revenues they yielded might be increased or maintained. It was legiti mate also to vary the mode of imposing the tax, either by levying it at a later stage in the production of the article, which would got rid of a number of objections. To abolish any of these taxes yielding a yearly revenue of £5,000,C00 or £6,000,000, merely in order that they might have 1 the satisfaction or advantage et spending in some other way the produce which it yielded, appeared to h:la to be a criminal dereliction of their duty. (Hear, hear.) if we were able, either by increase of resources or by re trenchment in our expenses, to dispense with the malt tax, how much wiser and better would it be to set that aside for the extinction of the national debt. He would press the attention of the house to the duty and necessity of taking that consideration for posterity which had been strong in every nation that ever did anything great, and had never left them till the nation, as in the case of Rome under the Empire, was already falling into de crepitude and ceasing - to be a great nation. There might be some who would say, in the words of the old jest, " Why should we trouble ourselves for posterity ? Posterity had done nothing for us ?" Was it true that posterity had done nothing for us ? He maintained that whatever had been done for mankind by the idea of posterity, by a philanthropic regard for posterity, by a sense of duty to posterity, and even by the lest; noble but still pure feeling of ambition to be remem bered and thought well of by posterity, by the foun ders of nations, and by those second founders of nations, the Reformers; by laws and institutions . which caused free countries to be free, and well governed countries to be well governed; by all the heroic lives that had been lived and deaths that had been died in defence of freedom and in defiance of tyranny, from Marathon and Salamis to Leipsic and Waterloo; by all those traditions of heroism and of virtue by which the treasuries of nations were full; by all the schools and universities which had handed down torus the culture of past times and by that culture itself ; all this is amassed for us only because our ancestors have cared and taken thought for posterity. We owe to it our groat masters of thought —our Bacon, and Newton, and Locke —our Shakspare, Milton, and Wordsworth. (Cheers.) It is said that some eminent man when he desired to assist any person by pecuniary help used to have a way of doing it thus. He would say : "Mind, Ido not give it you. I only lend it you ; and I expect that if you are ever able to repay it you will do so, not to me, but to some one else who may be in a like position, and with the same stipulation, so that the stream of benefit may go on as far as human honesty can keep it flowing:, (Cheers.) He was not sure but it was Franklin. And what Franklin did from benevolence, in order that the benefit of his gift might go as far as possible we should do from the gratitude we owe to our predeces sors, which wo can never repay directly to those from whom we, like the objects of Franklin's benevolence, received it, but to others for whom they have cared and for whom, and not for our ewn service only, their labours and sacrifices have been incurred. What were we that we should usurp to ourselves and employ for our own purpose and use ex clusively what was meant for mankind? It was lent, and not given to us, and we were bound to hand on these gifts, not only in full, but with interest, to those who stand in relation to us as we to those from whom we have received them. So shall we deserve and so may we hope to receive a share of the same gratitude. (Much cheering.) Mr. C. S. READ supported the motion, on the ground that the farmers, as a class, had not only derived less ad vantage from free trade than any other portion of the com munity, but were in reality sufferers from the application of that principle to the commerce of the country. The whole system under the operation of this tax was, in fact, a gigantic monopoly, which, beginning with the monster, continued with the brewer, and ended with the licensed publican. It was worthy of the consideration of the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a beer tax might not be substituted for the malt duty. Ho believed that one penny a gallon would produce upwards of £4,000,000 a year. Sir E. BUL LER also supported the motion. He de nounced the tax as oppressive, partial, excessive, and pe culiarly unjust to the labouring classes. Mr. SURTEES and Mr. P. URQUHART also said they should vote for the amendment. Mr. BEACH recommended the reduction of the duty on the ground that the increased consumption of malt would soon recoup the Exchequer for any loss it might sustain. Mr. C. BUXTON viewed the question of "cheap beer," as stated by Sir F. Kelly, from a practical stand point. He argued that, owing to the enormous expenses for casks, water, horses, premises, delivery, bad debts, &c., that beverage could never be sold at the low rate quoted. As to the brewers' "monopoly," as it had been termed, if any, it was entirely owing to the malt tax. But he assured the house that there was no compulsion as to dealing with cer tain firms, since the publican had only got to go to some other brewer and get the amount previously advanced, so as to pay it off, and he could at once take his custom to the other firm. Ho should not, however, vote for the resolu tion. Mr. DE GREY supported the motion. He argued that Parliament was bound to remove the present tax, if only to redeem the pledge given by the late Sir R. Peel that the abolition of the corn-laws should be followed by the revo cation of the malt tax. Mr. M'LAREN supported the amendment, since he con sidered it highly discreditable to Englishmen that no at tempt had been heretofore seriously made to reduce the national debt. Mr. DUCANE expressed an opinion that the farming interest would bo satisfied with the settlement of this matter by a tax on beer. Ho deprecated the question being even considered one of a more party character, since it affected the interests of the whole community. Mr. AYRTON opposed the motion. Mr. lIUBBARD thought the real grievance of the malt tax was, that it interfered materially with the cultivation of the soil, inasmuch as under its operation lands which were peculiarly well situated for the growth of barley had to be laid down in crops for which they were not so adapted. There was, he maintained, no general call for the repeal of the tax, although ho should be happy to see it removed as soon as the state of the revenue would allow it. He re gretted, however, his inability to vote for the motion of Sir F. Kelly. Mr. SCLATER-BOOTH supported the motion. He complained that the importation of the question of dealing with the reduction of the national debt was not a fair method of nicetiog the matt,?:r. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the point involved in the amendment was far too important to be dealt with in such a way. It was a subject which should be fully unfolded before the house, and taken into its most careful consideration; and, therefore, he intimated that it was his intention to offer some observations respecting it when he came to make his annual financial statement. Passing, then, to the motion, the right hon. gentleman re peated his former protests against the attempts to commit the mind of the house by anticipation in respect of the dis posal of an unknown surplus to one particular claim, amongst various competing claims which were not then before the house. Alluding to the suggestions which had been made of substituting a duty on beer for the malt tax, he observed that there were enormous difficulties in the way of the accomplishment of that object. Not that he meant to say that these were insuper able ; but ho knew not how they were to be overcome ; I and if ever they were, it must be the result of a general concurrence of views among the parties concerned, of which there was now no distinct prospect. Without ex pressing an obstinate adherence to the present form of the tax, he called on the house not to consent, by agreeing to the motion, to the sacrifice of so large an amount of revenue. Mr. NEATE withdrew his amendment. The house then divided. The numbers wore— For the motion Against it .. 235 Majority —B5 The select committee on the Vaccination Bill was nominated. Leave was given to Mr. Scourfield to bring in a bill for the regulation of railway debentures; to Mr. Childers for a measure to secure the repayment of public moneys ad vanced for the drainage and improvements of lands and other like objects in Ireland ; and to Mr. Milner Gibson one to amend tho Harbours and Passing Tolls, &c., Act, 1861. The Grand Juries Presentment (Ireland) Bill was read a second time. The remaining orders of the day were disposed of, and the house adjourned. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA. The report of the directors states that the gross receipts of the united system of the Grand Trunk, Champlain and Buffalo, and Lake Huron, in the six months ended Dec. 31 last, were £714,780, the ordinary working expenses being £395,674, or 55.35 per cent. ; there remained £319,106. From this was deducted £89,689, being the whole expenditure in curred in the half year for renewals of the railway and works, and £52,945 to extinguish the whole amount left at the debit of the' renewal suspense account, leaving £176,472, minus the nominal amount of postal and military service revenue—viz., £15,363, but plus the balance of £BO remaining over from the preceding half year, leaving £161,189, which was disposed of as follows :—£58,848 for discount on American currency, £2,287 interest on lands, £4,424 interest on mortgage to Bank of Up per Canada, £14,688 interest on loans, Island Pond Debentures, exchange, &c., £2,312 instalment on Portland sinking fund, £32,786 rent of Atlantic and St. Lawrence, £11,250 rent of Detroit line, £10,274 Montreal and Champlain, £16,864 Buffalo and Lake Huron, and £7,491 equipment Bond in terest, making together £161,226 less £37 over charged on second preference interest, £161,189. The certificates for the interest due for the past year on the preference bonds and stocks would be issued on the 15th May next. With the exception of the bankers' balances in Canada, covered by securities, the undertaking was on the 31st Dec. last free from liability or debit to suspense account, while the net revenue alone had now paid for the whole ordinary and extraordinary renewals unlertaken since 1861 inclusive, amounting in total to £326,863. Were it not for the extraordinary charge against revenue for renewals,exceeding the estimate of past years by over £lOO,OOO, and the loss on American currency of £59,000, a sum of say £160,000 would have been available for division on the prefe rence bonds and stocks sufficient to pay the 1 full half-year's interest on the first , second, and third preferences, and 1 per cent. on the fourth preference stock. It must, however, be ex pected that the cost of renewals would be consider able for some time to come. The steady decline in the premium of gold in the United States (now 25 per cent.) gave season to hope that the late serious deductions from earnings for loss on the exchange of American currency would before long cease ; as from the Ist of January last the board proposed that the net earnings be regularly remitted and be divided for interest and dividend in accordance with the re spective priorities of the bonds and stocks of the company. The increase of the gross receipts of the half year as compared with the corresponding half of 1864 had been £86,565, or at the rate of 14 per cent. The average receipt per passenger carried had been 7s. 10d. against ss. Bd., and the average receipt per ton of freight had been 15s. sd. as against 15s. 9d. in the corresponding half-year. The in crease of the ordinary working expenses had been £19,402, or at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, as against the above increase of 14 per cent. in receipts. In consequence of the exceptional charges against the half-year, amounting in the aggregate to In group 5, the Bristol and Portishead Pier was adjourned, and the Bristol Harbour Junction Rail way and Wharf Depot was heard and adjourned. In group 7, the Thames and Severn Canal Naviga tion and the Wye Valley were adjourned. In group 9 thepreamble was proved in the following cases : The Hoylake, the Wrexham, Mold, and Connah's Quay and Hoylake, and the Chester and West Cheshire Junction. In the case of the Manchester and Stockport the preamble was proved. In group 13, the Lancashire and Yorkshire (West Riding branches, &c.), was proceeded with and adjourned. Yesterday, in the House of Lords, before Lord Redesdale, the following Railway Bills passed through with amendments :—Delabole and Bossiney Harbour, the Central Ireland, Central Wales Exten sion, the Limerick and Castle Connell, and the Furness. The following bills were proceeded with and adjourned :—Waterford, New Ross, and Wexford Junction, and the Ryde Station. In the Standing Order Committee the Aberdare Northern was found not to have complied with the stand ing orders, and also the Kingston and Epsom. Before Mr. Smith, in room B, the following bills complied with the standing orders :—Kid welly and Burry Port and Burry Port Amalgama tion, and London and North Western (new lines). _ _ In the House of Commons, before Mr. Dodson's committee, the following railways bills were passed: —Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire (Liver pool Extension) ; Llynvi Valley ; Lynvi Valley and Ogmore Valley ; Worcester, Bromyard, and Leo minster ; Presteigh, Clun, and Bishop's Castle ; Winchcomb and Midland ; Ellesmere and Glyn Valley ; Uxbridge and Rickmansworth ; Wrexham, Mold, and Connah's Quay (Extensions). In group 1, the Metropolitan District passed, and the Metro politan (additional powers) was proceeded with and adjourned. In group la, the London, Chatham, and Dover, and South-Eastern (Kennington, Clap ham, and Brixton) was proceeded with and ad journed, and in the London, Chatham, and Dover (various powers) appearances were taken. In group 5, the preamble was proved in the Bristol Harbour Junction or Railway Wharf Depot ; the Wiltshire bill was withdrawn ; the `Vantage and Great Wes tern Junction was unopposed and referred to the General Committee. In group 7, the Thames and Severn Canal Navigation was proceeded with and adjourned. In group 9, the clauses were settled in thefollowing bills :—Holylake, the Wrexham, Mold, and Connah's Quay and Holylake, and the Chester and West Cheshire Junction. In group 13, Lan cashire and Yorkshire (best Riding branches, &c.), the preamble was proved; the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire and Great Eastern was withdrawn; the Great Northern and Great Eastern arrange ments (Spalding to Lincoln) was withdrawn ; the South Yorkshire was unopposed and referred to the General Committee ; and the Great Eastern, Great Northern, and Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln shire bill was withdrawn. Naval and Military Intelligence. B battery 4th brigade Field Artillery on Monday marched out of Woolwich Garrison and proceeded to Chatham, to relieve Major Fitzhugh's battery of the 9th brigade, ordered to Shorncliffe. The officers were Capt. and Lieut.-Col. Turner, in command; Second Captains the Hon. R. Dillon and W. P. Georges, Lieuts. Doraville and O'Malley. It was yesterday announced at Woolwich by an order from the Horse Guards that the garrison will be reinforced in a few days by the following batteries of Royal Artillery from Ireland, namely :—B, C, and D of the Bth Brigade Field Artillery, in command of Colonel Buchanan. The B battery, from Ballincollig, con sists of Lieut.-Colonel Goodenough, Capt. Elgec, Second Capts.Ford (instructor in gunnery), Duncan, and Lieuts. L. Downes and E. Downes. The C battery, from Limerick, is officered as follows : Lieut.-Col. Evans, in command, Capt. and Brevet- Major Forde, Second Capts. Humfrey and Hemans, Lieuts. Stratton and Murray, and Assist.-Surgeon Hearn ; D battery, from Pigeon horse Fort, is com manded by Lieut.-Col. Smyth, Capt. and Lieut.- Col. Hennycuick, Second Capts. Cane and Hamil ton, Lieuts. Harvey and Saunders, and Assist.-Surd. Guiness ; A and B batteries of the 9th Brigade, Colonels Ormsby and Elwyn, are on the roster from Shorncliffe for Kilkenny and Clonmel. The officers consist of Capts. Rowley and Higgon, Second Capts. Rice and Sadleir (instructor in gunnery), Lockyer, and Blackwood, Lieuts. Maurice, Bircham, llons toun, Brown, and F. Pennington, Assist.-Sorg. On Monday the H battery 9th Brigade, about 200 non-commissioned officers and men, with the whole of the horses, 12-pounder field Armstrong guns, am munition waggons, and other material, left head quarters, Chatham, and proceeded to Shorncliffe camp, where they will be stationed for the summer. The following officers accompanied the battery, viz. :—Major IL T. Fitzhugh in command ; Capt. W. R. Barlow, Lieut. J. Smith, Lieut. C. W. Thompson, Lieut. E. T. Browell, Lieut. W. A. Eden, and Assist.-Surg. J. M. Taylor. Previously to the battery leaving Chatham the officers and men were inspected on the Great Lines by Major Gen. Sir Robert Walpole, K.C.8., who expressed himself well satisfied with their appearance. The reinforcements for the Royal Engineers, 2d battalion 4th King's Own Royals, 2d battalion 17th Regiment, and the Ist battalion 22d Regiment left Chatham garrison and proceeded to Gravesend, where they embarked on board the hired troopship Ottowa, for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The embarkations were effected under the superintend ence of Brigade-Major W. Lynch and the officers of the Staff, and in the afternoon, Major-Gen. Sir Robert Walpole, K.C.8., visited the vessel and in spected the troops on board. The armour-plated screw steamship Prince Con sort, 31, from Ireland, arrived at Plymouth on Monday in order to transfer her commander, Capt. G. 0. Willes, C. 8., to the guard ship of Steam Reserve Indus, in Hamoaze, which he is appointed to command. The armoured screw wooden corvette Favorite, 10 guns, 400-horse power, Capt. F. 11. Shortt, sailed from Spithead yesterday morning for Ply mouth Sound, en route for the Pacific. It was origi nally intended by the Admiralty for the Favorite to cruise for about three days between Spithead and Plymouth to enable her captain to discover the exact position and extent of a slight leak she has in her bow. The leak, however, is now believed to be so slight that the ship is ordered to make no stay in the Channel, but to make the best of her way to Plymouth Sound, and report thence on arrival to the Controllers' Department of the Admiralty. The Cameleon, unarmoured screw sloop, 17 guns, Commander T. M. Jones, whose arrival at Spithead from the Pacific was announced in The Sun of Mon day, sailed from Spithead on Tuesday evening for Sheerness to dismantle and pay out of commission. The Netley and Minstrel, improved screw unar moured gunboats, 60 horse power, nominal, of en gines, are ordered to be completed at Portsmouth as speedily as possible for service in North American waters. Two other gunboats of the same class as the Netley and Minstrel are expected to be also commissioned, and form with them the nucleus of a strong squadron of small craft, the command of which rumour gives to Capt. 11. Burgoyne, V.C., now commanding the turret sloop Wivern. The speed trial of the Pallas, screw unarmoured corvette, which was appointed to•take place at Ports mouth yesterday, was deferred owing to the rough state of the weather. It will take place to-day should the weather prove sufficiently moderate. The iron screw steam storeship Supply, 2, Staff Commander Bawden, left Plymouth yesterday for the Mediterranean. The following appointments have been made at the Admiralty :—Commander It. Sterile, to the Royal George, additional, for service in Seamew tender; Commander C. J. Brownrigg, to the Chal- lenger; Commander Jas. G. Mead, to the Defence ; Lieut. Fred. G. D. Bedford, to the Prince Albert ; Lieut. D'Arcy A. Denny, to the Royal George ; Lieut. A. C. Curtis, to the Donegal; Lieut. F. M. Ommaney, to the Hastings ; Lieut. F. S. Clayton, to the St. George ; Lieut. S. Price, to the Lion ; Wm. J. Grandy, master, to the Indus, for service in the Petrel ; anti Erasmus C. Roberts, master, to the Assurance. Court of Aldermen. A Court of Aldermen was holden yesterday at Guildhall, the Lord Mayor presiding. TILE ➢IURDER IN CANNON-STREET. The TOWN CLERK (Mr. Woodthorpe) read a let ter from Colonel Fraser, the Commissioner of the City Police, addressed to the Lord Mayor, calling the attention of the Court to the fact of a murder of a very atrocious character having been committed in Cannon-street, and also that at present there did not appear to be the slightest clue to the perpetrator of it. Colonel Fraser therefore suggested the advi sability of the City offering a reward of £lOO to any one who would give information that would lead to the discovery of the murderer ; and he informed the Court that Messrs. Bevington, the masters of the unfortunate woman who had lost her life, had intimated their intention to offer a reward of the same amount as he had mentioned. Alderman COPELAND said that the application was a very unusual one, and he never remembered a similar one having been made. It appeared to him that they ought not to establish such a precedent without due consideration. Alerman GABRIEL said it appeared to him that the only question was, whether it was right to do what was asked. (Hear.) A most horrible and mysterious murder had been committed, and there appeared to be not the slightest clue to the offender ; and if the offering of a reward was likely to obtain any information relating to the murderer, he was of opinion that it was their duty to offer such reward. It was well known that the chance of obtaining a reward did sometimes operate to induce persons to come forward and give information which they would otherwise not do, and as it appeared that at present not the slightest clue had been obtained as to the person who committed the crime, he thought the magistrates of the city of London ought to offer a reward, and he should therefore move that the application of Colonel Fraser be complied with. Alderman MECIII seconded the motion. Alderman COPELAND suggested that the matter should not at all events be dealt with at once, but that it shoull be referred to a committee for them to decide what course should be taken. After a short discussion in which several aldermen took a part, and Sir R. Carden expressed his opinion that it was the Government, and not the city of London, who should offer the reward, strangers were ordered to withdraw, and upon the re-admis sion of the public it was announced that the Court had come to a resolution that it was not expedient to comply with the request of Col. Fraser. The General Purposes Committee brought up a report, in which they recommended that an appli cation by "William Ball, one of the Mansion-house clerks, for an increase of salary, should not be com plied with ; and that with regard to a similar appli cation by Arthur Allnutt, another clerk, that his salary should be increased from £5O to £75 per annum. £142,634, the deductions from gross revenue wor out to a total debit of 75 . 31 per cent., but excluding such charges the ordinary working expenses were 55.35 per cent. as against 59.90 per cent. in the corresponding half of last year. In addition to large indirect taxation, in the United States the direct payments made in . the half-year had been £6,481 on the Portland section, £2,651 on the Detroit section, making together £9,132. The whole of the accounts between the Grand Trunk Company and the Govern ment of Canada had been adjusted. The amount due from the Grand Trunk Company to the postal and military bondholders had been settled. The gross receipts per mile of railway in the past half-year ending the 31st of December as compared with the corresponding half of 1862, showed an increase -of 28.76 per cent. on the whole length of line, 1,377 miles, against 1,090 miles in 1862 ; 40.58 per cent. on the Atlantic line, 139.12 per cent. on the Detroit line, and 33.94 per cent. on the Grand Trunk line proper. The financial arrangements made during the half-year cleared off loans and other debts to the amount of £352,951. It was a matter of regret that the Reciprocity Treaty affecting trade and navigation between the British North American Provinces and the United States was allowed to ex pire on the 17th of March last. It might be that the great question of the early confederation of the vast territories belonging to the British Crown on the North American Continent would be forced by the action of the United States to an immediate issue ; and the construction of the Intercolonial Railway, extending the Grand Trunk system through the New Brunswick coalfields to. Halifax, the finest port upon the Atlantic, be rendered in evitable. The company's executive in Canada stated that the credit of the company had been th or oughly re-established, and its accounts were paid with punctuality. The capital account showed a total expenditure of £47,021,362. BRECON, MERTHYR, AND NEWPORT. The Newport section of this railway was opened for traffic on Monday, and in a short time the line is to be opened throughout from Newport to Merthyr and Brecon, completing the communica tion between the Brecon and Merthyr district and the railways branching off to Shrewsbury, Crewe, Liverpool, and Manchester. The line was con structed by Mr. Savin. MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND LINCOLN SHIRE. __ The total expenses of this company's railways and canals, including rents, tolls, duties, &c., from January 1 to April 8, 1866, amounted to £136,846, as against £120,322 for the corresponding period of 1865. The proportion of the South Junction re ceipts accruing to this company from January 1 to April 8 amounted to £10,525, as against £9,231 for the corresponding period of 1865, and the expenses to £6,212, as against £5,430. RAILWAY BILLS. On Monday in Room B of the House of Lords the following bills complied with the Standing Orders :—The Dagenham (Thames Docks), and the Bray and Enniskerry. In the House of Commons various railway bills were proceeded with. In group 1, the Metropolitan (additional powers) was adjourned. In group la, the Brixton, Clapham, and Balliam Extensions stood over, and the London, Chatham, and Dover, and South-Eastern (Kennington, Clapham, and Brixton) Bill was proceeded with and adjourned. THE CITY TRAFFIC BILL. Mr. NELSON, the City solicitor, in answer to a question put by Alderman Wilson, said that the City Traffic Bill, which had been referred to a com mittee of the House of Commons, had suddenly col lapsed. From all he could hear, the committee had examined several witnesses who were known to be opposed to the measure, and had heard various sug gestions that had been made with reference to the regulating of the traffic, one of which was that a telegraphic signal should be given when the thoroughfares were full, after which no more vehi cles should be allowed to enter the city—(a laugh) and they had intimated that they would give the supporters of the bill an opportunity of being heard. Instead of doing this, however, the committee had announced their determination to recommend that the bill should not be proceeded with. Alderman WILSON said he could not understand how those committees of the House of Commons were composed, but if any one sitting upon them had ever been in the streets of London, he must have seen the absolute necessity of such a measure as the one proposed. The magistrates of the city of London were anxious to do everything in their power to enable the citizens to carry on trade and commerce with as little inconvenience as possible, and if the House of Commons would not assist them, it was not their fault. The Court shortly afterwards adjourned. HEALTH OF THE METROPOLIS. -0- - - (Front the Reyistrar-Generars Weekly Report.) In the week that ended on Saturday, April 14, tho births registered in London and twelve other large towns of the TJnited Kingdom were 4,510; the deaths registered 3,574. The annual rate of mortality was 30 per 1,000 persons living. In London the births of 1,090 boys and 1,098 girls, in all 2,188 children, were registered in the week. In the corresponding weeks of ton years, 1856-65, the average number, corrected for in crease of population, was 2,102. The deaths registered in London during the week were 1,552. It was the fifeeenth week of the year, and the average number of deaths for that week is, with a correction for increase of popula tion, 1,342. The deaths in the present return ex ceed by 120 the estimated number. From zymotic diseases 352 persons died. Whoop ing cough is the most fatal disease in this class, having carried off 98 children. In the sub-district of Ratcliff with a total of 8 deaths, 5 deaths were caused by whooping-cough. 31 deaths occurred from small-pox, 55 from measles, 27 from scarla tina, and 66 from typhus. occurred from bronchitis, ad 07 fr person o s m ; 153 deaths Phthisis proved fatal to 218 n. road Plumstea.d, on the s t h o April , A coppersmith, aged 46 years l ; diedat f B ro , na lVa , l , mer con tinued exposure to ingalvanising vapours while metals t aen gaged ; at the Royal Arsenal pth months)." The isis were registered in the following i threes (2 deaths we ek as having been caused by carriage fPoulliacci dents:— The son of a printer, aged 5 years, run over by a cart in Carey-street, Strand. Died on the 29th March in King's College Hospital. The son of a labourer, aged 3 years, amputation of a leg after being run over by an omnibus. Died on the 20th March at 3, Skinner-street, Clerken well. A master carman, aged 42 years, fractured spine from the upsetting of a cart. Died on the 6tfl April in the London Hospital. The annual rate of mortality last week was 26 per 1,000 in London, 31 in Edinburgh, and 35 in Dublin; 31 in Bristol, 27 in Birmingham, 40 in Liverpool, 38 in Manchester, 35 in Salford, 30 in Sheffield, 31 in Leeds, 29 in Hull, 36 in Newcastle upon-Tyne, and 39 in Glasgow. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height of the barometer in the week was 29.710 in. The barometrical reading increased from 2917 in. on Wednesday to 29.96 in. at the end of the week. The mean temperature of the air in the week was 47.8 deg., which is 2.7 deg. above the average of the same week in 50 years (as determined by Mr. Glaisher). The highest day temperature was 65.8 deg. on Friday. The lowest night temperature was F 3 deg. on Tuesday and Saturday. The entire range of temperature in the week was, therefore, 9 4.5 deg. The difference between the mean dew point temperature and air temperature was 4.5 deg. The mean degree of humidity of the air was 85, complete saturation being represented by 100. Rain fell to the amount of 0.54 in. The general direc tion of the wind was S.W. PARIS ExIIIBITION.—MLTNITIONS OF WAIL__ An official declaration has been made by the Imperial Commission, which states as follows : —As regards the exhibition of warlike material, it is very probable that the French Government will exhibit at the Exhibition every thing appertaining thereto —artillery, eng ineering, trans port, commissariat, hospitals, clothing, camp equipages' &c. These different objects will bo exhibited on a special site reserved in the Park of the Champ do Mars. On the same spot will be exhibited cannon manufactured by pri vate firms. As regards foreign countries, several have already stated their intention to exhibit warlike material. Among the number tare—Russia, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the United States of America. Finally, the Minister of Marino proposes to exhibit models of vessels, showing the progress of naval con6tructiuL in France." Theatrical Licences and Regulation Committee. The select Government committee met for the third time on Monday to take evidence on the existing state of the law affecting theatres and other public entertainments. The Right Hon. G. J. Goschen occupied the chair, and the witnesses examined were Sir R. Mayne, the Hon. Mr. Nor ton, and Mr. Strange, of the Alhambra. The com mittee had got themselves into a difficulty through taking hearsay evidence from Mr. Pownall at a former sitting, and some time was wasted in proving the groundlessness of certain statements made by that witncss. Sir Richard Mayne, who was examined, said be was in favour of a broad system of licensing, with power to check indecency, and thinks that the drama would elevate music halls and their audiences, that few faults can be found with any of our present public amusements, and that it is good that people of all classes, and of all morals and habits should be amused. The Hon. Mr. Norton is in favour of the Lord Chamberlain's regulations forbidding drinking and smoking in the auditorium, and an extension of the licenses to the so-called music halls. This witness, when pressed by Mr. Locke, M.P., was unable to say what greater harm there was in taking refreshment at a theatre comfortably at a table than uncomfortably from a potboy or an orange woman in the pit, and was wholly unable to define what is, and what is not, the " legitimate drama." Mr. Strange's evidence was confined to the chief features of his own property—the Alham bra. He stated that it represents a capital of £lOO,OOO, employs about 320 persons of both sexes , pays in wages from £430 to £450 a-week, has in creased the wages of ballet girls at least 20 per cent., and attracts about 3,000 visitors every night, who pay an average admission fee of Is., and ex' pond about 6d. in drink, eatables, and cigars. Il e further stated that the attendance of loose women was not encouraged, that it never exceeded 3 per cent. of the visitors ; that there were no private rooms (disposing of a groundless statement made by Mr. Pownall), and only one private box ; that large numbers of the working classes patronised the enter tainment ; that he worked under four licences, had fourteen constables beside the police to preserve order, and should save £3,000 a year in working expenses, if only allowed to represent light conic operas in place of giving operatic selections. His examination was adjourned until next Friday. COUNTRY MARKETS. LEEDS—TUESDAY. For good qualities of either old or new wheat we have had a better demand, at the full prices of Tuesday last. fine old is more money. Spring corn iu moderate sa le ' but there is no change in prices. The average prices for the week ondingApril 9 wer° Wheat, 47s Old per qr.; barley, 39s 31,1 ; oats, 28s. LIVERPOOL—TI. TE SDAY. The arrivals from Ireland and coastwise have been Mr Berate. At this day's market there was a good atten ance of the town and country trade, and several bilYe,r: from a distance. Wheat met with a brisk consumptive de, demand, and in some cases ld to 2d per 1001 h advan c3 ,r paid for line qualities, and 2d to 3d for common qualitteo. Flour was more inquired for, and French may be noted per sack dearer. Fine barley easier to buy. In oats oatmeal there was a fair sale, at an advance of ld per 451 " and Gd per load. In beans and peas no change to note. Indian corn was less inquired for, and 29s was the ex tre T e value of fine mixed and 22s Gd per 28015 for fine, vI LI ` e Ainericau. MELTON MOWBRAY.—TUESDAY. White wheat, 49s to 55s ; red, 42s to 48s per 36 Barley for malting, 34s to 38s per qr ; feed, 30s to 32s 1)° ,„ 30 stone. Oats, 27s to 345. Beans, old, 50s to 525; nes ' 43s to 47s per qr. stone; SHEFFIELD—TUESDAY. 61 Red wheat, per load of 3 imp. bushels...„l7s 61 i 195 gvd White do do — l9B Od to 2.- d New red do do do New white do2oo ‘,,',A Beans do do ....I.s Od 16 s ','"l Peas, per qr . 3Bs Od Os y,,, Grinding btu ley, per qr 3's Od 37 0 v!: 3lalting barley, co 3Bs Od 41 8 6 ',.; Oats, do 27s Od 3 2 s (' F10ur....1s td to 2s Od per 111 b. :•••• •. ' l B 6 B s 601 378 6'l MABKET 01(1 white wheat, 50s to 51s ; new red. 44s to 49s per stone. Barley, line, 41s ; other kinds, 28s to 345 1(r 3 0 ,1 Oats, new, 22s to 288 ; old, 29s to 335 per qr. Bean s, 185 to 515; new, 42s to 45s ptr qr. Bras TOL—TrESDAY. At our market to-day there was but a small attendance, as is usual on Tuesdays. There was more inquiry f°l : wheat of good quality, the farmers at country markets fin_ ing lessened the supplies. Scarcely any alteration i n otlnA articles. Foreign Mail Packet List MAILS DUE. Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton APr il Ig Ditto, via Marseilles May i 1 Brazil and Cape Verde, by British packet Hay 4 . Ditto, by French packet Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and .... .. .. .......... .. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton.. April 19. Ditto, via Marseilles Alril Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton ........ • Apr il 19. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton April 19. Ditto, via Marseilles ....... ••••- • ""...April 27 India (Bombay), via Southampton April 28. Ditto, via Marseilles April 22 Egypt, Malta, and Aden, via S outhampton April 122• 19. Ditto, via Marseilles Apri Mauritius, via Southampton Ditto, via Mar seille 3. . May 8.. New f oun dland .......................... ... , May 9 Portugal .................. • •• . •May 4. Ditto, by privat e ship to Lisbon... United States and British North America, by Bri tish packet Ditto, by United States packet, via Southamp ton Ditto, via Cork Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderry.. April West Indies and Pacific (except Bahamas and Honduras) April 28 Cuba and Mexico Bahamas, via New York. MaY 3 ' Bermuda, via Haill'ax MaY West Coabt of Africa. Madeira, and Tencrilfe .... MaY 13 vate AD VERTISEhro n ic : o lE m N p a i - t A s void medicines: they always aga rs ! . Restoring Revalenta Ara ' in other remedies, and invariably b lo u yd Barry's restores s r ht r oi y er ' he s s y Df lr i df c i e es etuds three t the nourishment of the best meat, saves fifty times its l eo ule s : t l io ti : i strong nerves, sound lungs, healthy liver, pure blood, re; disordered ing sleep, functional regularity and energy to the mos or enfeebled. We extract a few out of 60 °0 Cures :—Cure No. 58,216, of the Marchioness de Brehall, of seven years' liver complaint, wasting awaY , nervousness, with a nervous palpitation all ove r, bad dig": tion, constant sleeplessness, and the most intolerable nervord n! agitation.—Cure No. 1,771. Lord Stuart de Decies. Lieutenant of Waterford, of many years' dyePePSia'--..ish 19,832. "Fifty years' indescribable agony from dysPeP' nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatull_s spasms, sickness, and vomiting. — Mari a Jolly."—Cure 16,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of th $Y . years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, live r derange _ ment, and partial deafness.—Cure No. 47,121. Miss Eliatab lO et:; Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion, gatherbgs, spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure No. 54,816. The RV. Jgf' T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, "of indi g estion and torPi, dity of the liver, which had resistei all medical treatmen t 2i i 228 b. In tins, lib, 2s 9d; 21b, 4s 6d; 51 b , 118; 121 b, ond +OB.—Barry Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, L7+o; also Phillips, tea dealers, 8, King William-street ; like: at 61, Gracechurch-street ; 4 , Cheap side ; 49, Bishopsg street Within ; 63, 150, and 298 , Oxfo rd-street ; 54, Upper Baker-street ; 103, Tottenham-court -road ; Upper-street, Islington, N.; Ha r v e y , Notting-hill ; CI r Brothers, 65, litgli-street ; and Stubbs , Qeeett'S-terfaCe, John's-wood, London ; and all respectable ,grocers and On e mists.—Beware of spurious i m itations. 330, Strand_, Births. • ALnErt—On tbo 15th inst., at 1, Brock-road, Upper Hol loway, tho wife of Mr. A. E. Alder, of a son. BUTTERWORTH -ri tho 15t Butterworth, at 4, Russell-road, Nen sington, the wife of R. L. Esq., of a son. LESLIE—On the 15th inst., at Slindon Hall, Sussex, tbo w ife of C. S. Leslio, Esq., younger of Balquhaint Aberdeenshire, of a daughter. Woon—On the 15th inst., at Hampton, Evesham, the Wif e of the 11ev. M. Wood, vicar of Emhart), of a son. Marriages. BAILEY— rEARSON — On the 14th inst., at St. John 1,11 , 8 Evangelist's, Penge, Thos. do Vero to Adah Sousanne Poitorin Leroi, only daUghler a Mrs' C. F. Pearson, of Penge. SCOTT— WARREN—On the 14th inst ,of the Church a St' Mary Abbotts, Kensington, T. A. E. Scott, late of Maid''' . vile to -7 to Fanny Clara, youngest daughter of W" 4 ii r Esq., President of the NOV( Society of Painters W"`e Colours. of Islorwootl, the 16th inst., at Chr istchurch, RIDGE-011Deaths. I t an ls, ALD SUS anpa, wife of Mr. G. 0. Aldridge, ag ed 67. HOARE—On the 16th inst., at Staplehurst, henry Esq., aged 53. lioaref MosEs—On the 16th inst., at 39, Hanway-stree t, street, Mr. Benj. Moses, aged 73. Bos.ineo r, PRITCHETT—On the 16th inst., at Th e Fishery, Herts., Richard E. Pritchett, Esq., aged 85. London: Printed and Published by W IL L1A.51 A.N,,a8l 11-4vh:.' of No. 112, Strand. Ptinter , at Tii-J, SON 0:11,;i!, No. Count c" Strand, in the Pr,N;inA of 11), , ;-...: , ;r0v .in th•-. Ifiiddie‘eX. — ii td,,,,,da.,y, Ap. ii Li, 666. I R