The Sun. — London, England, 1865-02-25 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS-LAST EVENING. The LORD CH.ANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at the usual hour. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a second time :—Contract Corporation, St. Clement Danes Improvement, United General Gas, Utilisation of Sewage and Land Recla mation Ireland, Assam Company, Aylesbury and Buckinghamshire Railway, Kilrush and Kilkee Railway and Pulnasherry Reclamation, Ryde Pier (Tramway), Southern Railway, Ventnor Harbour, West Cornwall Railway, Bray and Enniskerry Railway, Burnley Market, Dundrnm, Foxrock, and Kingston Junction Railway, Btourbridge Canal. In reference to two other private bills upon the paper this evening, Shepard's Patent and Wright's Patent, Lord REDESDALE said he would call attention to these, and questions arising out of them, on Monday next. REMUNERATION OF SOLICIT ORS. The LORD CHANCELLOR introduced a bill for the purpose of amending the laws relating to attorneys and t3olictors. The main point in the improvement he hoped to make by the bill was that a solicitor should be able to make a contract with his client for the doing of a certain work for a certain sum. This improvement would work with especial benefit in the case of drawing a deed. The solicitor was not paid ac cording to the skill with which he drew the deed, ;or the labour and care required to draw the deed, but ac cording to the yard, irrespective altogether of its clearness or excellence. The bill was read a second time. The Earl of LONGFORD called attention to the report of the select committee of the House of Commons upon metropolitan sewage of last session, and asked if it were intended to take any steps to carry out the recommenda tion of the. committee ? He described the defects of the system of drainage that led to the construction of the great lines of intercepting sewe rs , an d t h e exertions of the Me tropolitan Board of Works down to the period when the several schemes were proposed for applying the sewage of London profitably to the improvement of land in the vici nity. The value of this sewage for application as manure had been much disp u t e d ; b ut t h e quest i on o f app lyi ng it to agricultural purposes was now before Parliament. He then recapitulated the chief recommendations of the committee on the means of preserving rivers and watercourses from pollution by allowing the drainage of small towns to flow into them, and concluded by asking if any steps would be taken to carry these recommendations into effect. The Earl of ESSEX having had much experince in the application of sewage to land, was exceedingly glad to find that this most important question was about to be seriously taken up by Parliament and the country. Not only in the metropolis, but in all large towns, considerable sums o f money were expended in the disposal of the sewage ; in some places the sole object being to get rid of the sewage, and in others endeavours were made to benefit the land by utilising the refuse. In a sanitary point of view anything - which could be done to prevent ourrivers and streams , which should be sources of health and pleasure, from further pol lution would be a great public benefit. But, beyond that, if what had been a nuisance could be converted into a source of profit to the ratepayers and the agriculturists, an advan tage oould be conferred upon the whole country. It had been ascertained by men eminent in science who hadclosely examined the sewage of towns, that it contained all the elements necessary for the fertilisation of land. That being a settled point, it became a mere question of cost as to how this valuable substance could be best brought to the land. He believed that if any of their lordships having land in the neighbourhood of large towns could procure the sewage of those towns to be brought upon their landat a cost of ld. per ton neither they nor their tenants would have any cause to regret the outlay. It cost him about 1.0. per ton to obtain sewage, and he was well satisfied with the result of his operations during the last 10 years. The results were not so satisfactory as they ought to have been—not from any inherent fault in the system, but because, like all pioneers, he had suffered from imperfect knowledge and want of experience. Those persons who would now adopt the system would have the benefit of all past experiments, and would avoid many of the disappointments which at first presented themselves. He had suffered at first because he had been under an erroneous impression as to the amount of sewage to be applied to land. He had calculated that the amount of sewage at his disposal would be suffi cient for 230 acres, but he had since found that the utmost he could obtain would only suffice for 75 acres. Earl GRANVILLE, who was indistinctly heard, was un derstood to say that theirlordships must have derived much pleasure from the speeches which had been delivered by the two noble lords, who had directed not only theoretical but practical attention to the subject. His answer to the ques tion of the noble lord opposite would be a very simple one, for he was happy to say that the noble lord who presided over the committee with great industry and ability in the other house was himself prepared to introduce a bill upon the subject into Parliament. He was afraid that the House of Commons would hardly consent to the measure in its present form, but the Home-office was at this moment in Communication with that noble lord, and the result would, he hoped, lead to the framing of a satisfactory bill. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS-LAST EVENING. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. NEW MEMBER. Mr. SCHNEIDER took the oaths and his seat on his elec tion for the borough of Lancaster, in the room of the late Mr. Gregson. The hon. gentleman was introduced by Viscount Bury and Mr. Fenwick. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a second time :—Great Northern and West Yorkshire Railways Amalgamation, Midland Railway (Barnsley to Kirkburton) and Belfast Borough. _ _ LIVERPOOL LICENSING BILL. On the motion for the secondreading of this bill, Mr. LAWSON moved, as an amendment, that " the granting of licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors is a subject which ought not at present to be dealt with by any private bill." Mr. W. FORSTER objected to any legislation on the subject as being without the practical sphere of the opera tions of the Houses of Parliament. Mr. HORSFALL supported the bill and said that, not withstanding the great improvement which had taken place in regard to measures for diminishing the means of obtaining intoxicating liquors, he thought legislation on the subject would be advisable. It appeared that intemperance prevailed to a considerable extent in the district to which the bill referred, and therefore it was desirable that the sub ject should be dealt with by the Legislature. Sir G. GREY supported the bill. Mr. ROEBUCK opposed the bill, on the ground that the subject to which it related should be dealt with by a public and not a private bill. Lord S TANLEY contended that there was no ground for introducing legislation on this subject, and dissented in goo from the principle of the house proceeding to deal with a general matter merely on local grounds as in the present instance. He strongly objected to such bills as the pre sent, which proposed to deal by penal measures what really should be considered by Parliament. He did not object to legislation on this subject, but it must not be by a private bill. (Hear, hear.) The motion for the second reading of the bill was nega. tived without a division. NAVIGATION OF THE RIVER GODAVERY, INDIA. Mr. SMOLLETT asked the Secretary of State for India, received whether any despatches had recently been t re garding the works proposed for openi ng u tb of the River Godavery ; and if he would la e y b navigation upon the table of the ho u s e ; and, whe ther a fl etillaeoi theneatmhee Godavery is now m aintained at the expense o State ; and whether the Government of India is still re solved to persevere in carrying out the projects of the local engineers, and at what estimated cost ? Sir C. WOOD replied in the affirmative, and said that the estimated cost of the works in question was £300,000. THE REPUBLIC OF URUAGUAY. Mr. MAGUIRE asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he had received any information as to the Government of t he Re p ublic Uruaguay having sent commissioners to Paris to solicit the protection of the Emperor of the French against the Brazilian troops now besieging Montevideo ; whether any similar aid has been asked from her Majesty's Governmen t ; and, w h e ther her Majesty's Government have received any information by the French packet as to the condition of affairs in the River Plate, especially in reference to the threatene d blockade of Montevideo,,. and the action, if any, taken by the cor p s ‘ lo.. r mt±tique at Montevideo respecting such men ace. LAYARD replied in the negative. It_ATENG OF MINES AND TIMBER. M_ , YALL asked th e P res id en t of the Poor Law Board whether.uhe w ou ld b r i ng i n a bill thi s sess i o n for the rating of all Mr. vi LL 7,2 s and timber. to br yea i ng r. any I:•iitt'B said that he did no t• d eem it a d v isable this 1 of s uc h a description before Parliimen CAPTAIN SAYER'S LIFEBOAT. Sir J. HAY asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if it was the intention f e A dmiralty to gi ve any f urther i nven tion for saving life? trial to Captain Sayer'sa th lifeboat, whi c h seems a valuable Lord C. PAGET said that it was no t considered expe dient to make any further trial in regard to the invention in question. PROTECTION OF VOTERS. Mr. BERKELEY asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to bring forward this session any stringent and decisive measure for the prevention of corruption and the protection of electors at Parliamentary elections ? Sir G. GREY said that it was not intended on the part of the GovernMent to introduce any such measure. DECLINE OF THE POPULATION IN IRELAND, On the motion for going into committee of supply, Mr. HENNESSY moved the following resolution : " That this house observes with regret the decline of the population of Ireland, and will readily support her Ma jesty's Government in any well-devised measure to stimu late the profitable employment of the people. That an address to the Crown be prepared, founded on the foregoing resolution. He denied that there was any truth in the political doctrine that emigration to a large extent was detirable as far as Ireland was ccncerned. He cited in support of his views the statements of the Marquis of Clanricarde, and contended that that enlarged view should be taken by Government, not cf promoting emigration, but by a promotion of public works in Ireland, which would render such emigration unnecessary. (Hear, hear.) The motion having been seconded by Colonel FRENCH, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he readily admitted that the decline of the population of Ire land was a subject for regret ; but to feel and express that as a sentiment was one thing, and to place it solemnly on the records of the house until the social and economical bearings upon the remarkable diminution of the population had been ascertained was another and a different thing. Moreover, to utter a vague and an indefinite intention to support the Government in any well-devised measure to stimulate the profitable employment of the people was, he thought, undesirable, because it was calculated to raise ex pectations which, if not fulfilled, would be attended with bitter disappointment hereafter. It would, therefore, be practicallypalming a delusion upon the hopes and anxieties of the people. The question of draining the great basin of the Shannon was at present under the consideration of the Government ; but with regard to reclaiming waste lands, it should be remembered that they were not the property of the nation but of individuals ; and it would not be just to divert the public funds to the execution of a system of internal drainage in Ireland in preference to England and Scotland. Mr. P. DAWSON did not despair of the well-being of his country, although he was compelled to admit that its condition was far from satisfactory. He did not attribute the declension which had taken place in the population to misgovernment, but rather to a succession of adverse cir cumstances, and particularly to a series of inclement seasons. Colonel DI NNE repudiated the idea that Ireland was a province of England, and protested against the country being governed for the benefit of Great Britain. Sir F. ILEYGATE remarked that the circumstances with which Ireland had to contend were such as no Eng lish colony had ever had to deal with. For example, it was impossible for her to establish manufactures in the face of the keen competition which she would have to meet in this country, whilst the colonies were enabled to levy pro tective duties. He deplored the evils that existed, whilst confessing that he was at an utter loss to suggest a remedy, Mr. G. P. BENT INCK was of opinion that free trade had much to do with bringing about the present state of things in Ireland. Another cause was the fact that that country had been made the battle-ground of party, the policy of successive Liberal Governments having for many years past been to create agitation, disorder, and confusion there. For political ends they had encouraged one portion of the population which was neither the most quiet nor orderly, and discouraged, repressed, and created a feeling of dissatisfaction amongst those who were naturally the more quiet, orderly, and well conducted portion of the people. Mr. MONSELL supported the motion, and, replying to the observations of Mr. Bentinck, said that Liberal Go vernment in Ireland had at all events done this' good, it had delivered the country from the dominancy and ascen dancy of men like that hon. gentleman. With regard to the motion before the house, its object, and not the means which the mover had suggested, was the real essence of the question. Sir R PEEL, in resisting the motion, granted that the condition of Ireland was not all that could be desired, but that she was making great progress in material pro sperity was apparent from various statistical facts. Thus, during the year 1864 the number of cattle produced was 113,000 head, and of sheep 54,000 head, in excess of the previous year. Emigration had fallen off to the extent of 3,000 souls. There was a great improvement in the rela tions between landlord and tenant as indicated by the fall ing-off in the number of evictions in the course of the last four years. The flax crop had increased. Wheat, too, had augmented. She had potatoes ; and in fact the only crops that had disappointed expectation last year where the hay crop, which was belo* the average, and oats, which were not so favourable as in 1863. Lastly, there had been fewer agrarian crimes; the poor-rate was diminishing; and the deposits in the savings banks diminishing. Lord R. CECIL said that whatever might be the cause of the evils of Ireland, there was no doubt that those upon whom we chiefly relied to fight our battles were quitting their homes at the rate of an army in a year, he feared, to fall into the ranks of our bitterest enemies. With reference to one of the remedies that had been suggested, his impression was that any measure which altered the existing state of property between any two men, disguise it as they might, must partake of the nature of confiscation. At tho same time he could not agree that the state of land tenure in Ireland was all that could be desired, or that it was not susceptible of some improve ment. In his opinion it was not the demagogue, the Romanist, or the Celtic character of the people, that was the parent of the misery of that country, but with Mr. Pitt he believed that the true origin of the mischief was the Government of England. The present generation might not be responsible for this state of things, but it could do much to retrace the past, and so remove a moral slur from the honour of the country. Mr. GREGORY hoped the Government would regard the debate of that night as the expression of a great amount of discontent and misery in Ireland, and that they would endeavour to take such measures as would restore content and public confidence. After a speech from Mr. MAGUIRE in support of the re solution, on the motion of The O'CoNon DON the debate was adjourned till Monday. The Bankruptcy and Insolvency (Ireland) Act Ame id ment Bill, and the Felony and Misdemeanour Evidence and Practice Bill went through committee. Leave was given to Sir H. BRUCE to bring in a bill to amend the law regulating the shooting and sale of game in Ireland. On the motion of Mr. DUNLOP a select committee was appointed to inquire into the present system of valuation of lands and heritages in Scotlandfor the imposition of local rates. Leave was given to Sir F. HEYGATE to introduce a bill for the further protection of sheep and other property from dogs in Ireland. The house adjourned at 20 minutes past 12 o'clock. Vacancies, Promotions, and Appointments, in the Civil Service• (From the Civil Service Gazette.) FOREIGN-OFFICE.—The vice consulship at Trinidad de Cuba has become vacant by the death of Mr. W. S. Smith ; Mr. F. Carstensen, vice-consul at Saffee, Morocco, has been appointed vice-consul at Moga dor ; and Mr. W. J. Elton, vice-consul at Mog,ador, to be vice-consul at Saffee. Tim POST-OFFICE.-Mr. J. S. Brown, second clerk, has been promoted to be first clerk at Derby ; and Messrs. R. Smith and R. M'Clintock from the probationary class to the second class of clerks, sorting-office, Dublin. CUSTOMS.—Mr. T. B. Burke has been appointed 18th clerk, Dublin ; and Mr. J. Moir, an extra clerk, Leith ; Mr. R. Partridge, clerk, second-class, has been promoted to be clerk, first-class ; Mr. J. M. Goldie, clerk, third-class, to be clerk, second-class; Mr. S. Frost, clerk, fourth-class, to be clerk, third-class; and Mr. G. Godson, clerk, fifth-class, to be clerk, fourth-class, Controller of Accounts'-office, East and West India Docks, London. INLAND REVENUE EXCISE BRANCH.—Mr. T. Nicholson, surveying general examiner, second-class, has been pro moted to the first-class ; Mr. J. Robertson, surveying gene ral examiner, second-class, to be chairman of the second class. THE EAST INDIES.—Lieut.-Colonel Lawrence, ." C B De puty Commissione r o f Si m l a , h as been appointed to officiate as resident inNepaul during the absence of Col. G. Ramsay. Mr. T. Garrett, postmaster st of Bombay, has been transferred bay. Mr. H. D. Sand:rt, postmaster of Madras, to Bom tio:e eiSinTalrpapsoinat:t7.officiataell' civil paymaster, Bengal, has d . zputy auditor and accoun tant-general, Bengal ; Mr. H. w Mangles to be civil pay master, to be civil pay master, R. H. De Montmorency, mmasa steterrNoßombayrth - a W s ; tacinPtl Provinces. assistant-commissioner, flees. Lieutenant vice Lieut. from the second to the first grad e , Oudeer, has btlesnistapruotm_cootmaf Captain Shaw; and Lieutenant W. Pr e commission, vice missioner, from the third to the grade,secolsndaaciire' the magistrate gjisDtr.ate apnix,deaicnnotlelheacstobreoefnTaiPr-- p ß o . in H t . e D d e an M as on si tm sta o n re t n t c o y t . hoot. Mr. A. J. R. Bainbridge has been a as joint magistrate and deputy collector of Mo4ortso officiate Dr. A. Christison, officiating principal assistant to t h h cdab agent of Benares, has been confirmed in that appointment opium Mr. E. Thompson, M.A., has been appointed Professoe:tof English Literature at the Presidency College, Madras, vice Mr. Bowers ; Mr. W. H. Craig, 8.A., to be professor of logic and moral philosophy in the Presidency College, Madras, vice Mr. Thompson; the Hon. A. K. Forbes, Judge of her Majesty's High Court of Judicature of Bombay, t o the office of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bombay ; Mr. W. H. Maber, an assistant to the collector and magis trate of Tanna ; Mr. J. W. Robertson, to act as collector and magistrate of Kairo,:; and Mr. H. Showell, to be assistant comm issioner of customs, salt, and opium of the second-class. National President, the Royal Nat all its branches In honour to the memory of the late Duke of Northumberland, its valued l Lifeboat Institution has instructed through out the Briti s h I s les that they s hould to-day hoist the flag s and Pills.— of the lifeboats t: m h E a N U T -7 3_ as u t h oi i i g o h w f a r y 7 daylighTt t h o e su d n a se rk t. dreary d ays of winter depress the mi nd and di so rder the . remedy, for the latter state Holloway's Pills are xious body ; to the former condition occupation yields safe best and certain relief ; they cleanse the blood from every I L sys matter, and exert such a general good effect upon sight, loss o f tern that indigestion, biliousness, headache, dimness of under their in These Pills may be relied upon bY appetite, debility, and nervousness disappear both sexes, under all climates and circumstances. As a family medicine they are invaluable, because they may be fearlessly administered the moment pain or indisposition is annoyance perceived, s and thus avert a long illness and its many rHE SUN, LONDON, SAMEDAY EVENING, FEI3REJARY 25, 1861, RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN. The half-yearly general meeting of this company was held yesterday at the Easton Station; Mr. R. Moon, the chairman, presided. Mr. C. E. STEwART, the secretary, having read the notice convening the meeting, the report, which has ap peared in The Sun, was taken as read. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, said they had no reason to complain of their traffic with one exception, and that was the cattle traffic. In that traffic they had had a decrease of £14,500 in the half year, chiefly between England and Ireland. The receipts for goods averaged about the same amount per ton per mile as last year. There was some improvement in the passenger traffic, and a falling off in the goods. On the other side of the account they had reduced the expenses by Id. per mile. This had been chiefly accomplished in the locomotive de partment. On comparing the receipts of the past half year with those for the corresponding half of 1860 there was an increase shown of £79,000. They expected to derive some advantage in maintenance of the permanent way from the use of steel rails as compared with iron, notwithstanding the extra cost of the material. The permanent way and rolling stock were in first-rate order. The accounts were well kept, and he trusted that the dividend they were about to declare would be considered satisfactory. Mr. BROWN-WESTHEAD 7 M.P., deputy chairman, seconded the motion for the adoption of the report and statement of accounts. Mr. BELOE said there were rumours tifeto the manner in which the Irish mail service was conducted, and it was reported that the Irish traffic was not carried on as it ought to be. Mr. Wrrzums thought the powers sought in the two Bills mentioned in the report respecting the improvement of the company's existing lines, by widening the approach to Liverpool, and extending the Conway and Llanrwrst Railway to Bettws-y-Coed, were not required. Mr. YATES, in reference to a letter from the Queen to railway companies, requesting that more care in future be adopted to avoid accidents, said it was his opinion that high speeds and low fares were the two main causes of accidents on railways. (Laughter.) In the transmission of the mails to Ireland he believed the time specified was far too short for safe performance in all weathers, and that the Govern ment was most unreasonable in that respect. (Hear.) Mr. GARTSIDE said he was glad to see that although they had an increased amount of stock to pay interest upon, and notwithstanding the prevalence of distress in some of the manufacturing districts, their property stood so well in the market, and that they were enabled to pay a 7 per cent. divi dend. He trusted that as they got on so well last year that their resources would increase by good management, so that they might again obtain such a dividend as they had formerly, and maintain something like a minimum dividend of 10 per cent. (Hear.) He felt very much obliged to the Board for for the manner in which the affairs of the company had been governed during the past year. The increase in the traffic had been greater, and the cost of working less, than in any preceding year. He suggested that as a great deal of their success was due to the exertions of the officers of the com pany, he thought that those exertions should be recognised either by some per tentage addition to their salaries, in proportion as the dividend rose above 5 or 6 per cent., or in some other way. Mr. GOEZ said that the system of allowing the officers of a company to have an interest in the prosperity of a company had been successful in some cases. The CHAIRMAN, in reply, said with respect to the letter of her Majesty, that every attention had been paid in the past, and would be paid in the future, to the safety of the public using their line. They had directed the best efforts towards ascertaining what improvement could be made. The letter of the Queen was not addressed to them specially, but to all of the metropolitan companies. With regard to Mr. Beloe's question, the contract for the Irish mail service had three parties to it—the Postmaster-General, tie city of Dublin Company, and themselves. It was also in three parts—the performance of the land journey, an intermediate period to get to the pier, and also for the sea service. The Government had not fulfilled what they undertook to do with regard to the works at Holyhead. The company had redeemed their pledge under that agreement, and had faith fully and successfully performed what they undertook, though it has been at very great cost, and had been a severe strain on their exertions. They had been rather hardly used in this matter, and the statements which had been made that the contract was not fulfilled with the regularity which was required, did not apply to their part of it. Of course they had nothing to do with the performance of the sea service—that was the business of the City of Dublin Com pany. He then read an extract from a statement drawn up by Mr. Stewart. The Post-office having complained of the late arrivals of the mails, they were able to reply, that during the nine days to which the complaint referred, the down-train from Euston-square station reached Holyhead within four-tenths of a minute on the average of the ap pointed time (2.5 a.m.), and the night mails within one tenth of a minute of the appointed time (3.5 a.m.) The time allowed under the contract from quay to quay, that was, from Holyhead to Kingston, was 5 hours 45 minutes. For the first fortnight of the psesent year the time actu ally occupied was, on the average, with the down night mails, 4 hours 23 minutes ; with the down day mails, 4 hours 28 minutes ; with the up day mails, 4 hours 6 mi nutes, and with the up night mails, 4 hours 43 minutes. Having replied to the various observations, he concluded by moving the adoption of the report and statement of ac counts, which was carried unanimously. A dividend of £3 10s. per cent. on the consolidated stock of tho company was then declared for the half-year ending the 31st December last. The CHAIRMAN said this was the highest dividend they had declared for 17 years. Their mode of management was that they had joint committees and special committees, and the board to govern the whole., They would see it was well for the directors of a railway company to offer inducements to persons to exert themselves for the general body. This was absolutely necessary to the well-being of the company They had come to this conclusion that in order to reward a gentleman who had exerted himself, and made use of more than ordinary abilities, they should take the opportunity of asking the proprietors to reward such a gentleman by a special grant. And this was what he was about to ask them. It was a very exceptional case, and referred to Mr. Bancroft, one of the directors, who had rendered great services to the company, and in that view every member of the board concurred, and he believed they ought to re tain his services by allowing him £l,OOO a year, Mr. B. WESTHEAD seconded the motion. Mr. HORSFALL, M.P., hoped the shareholders would agree to that proposition. Mr. GARTSIDE and Mr. CROSFIELD, the auditor, concurred in that view. The resolution granting £l,OOO per annum to Mr. J. Bancroft for his services was then unanimously adopted. The CHAIRMAN hoped that the adoption of this plan would give them the services of many valuable men. A formal resolution, voting £562,692 for providing addi tional engines, carriages, and waggons, and increased ac- commodation at various stations on the railway, was then carried. The sum of £6,135, expended on the improvement of the permanent way, was ordered to be transferred to capital under a distinct head. Mr. W. N. Hodgson, the Hon. C. W. G. Howard, M.P., Mr. G. H. Lawrence, and Lord A. Paget, M.P., the retiring directors, were unanimously re-elected. Mr. S. P. Edwards and Mr. W. Tipping were elected directors of the company. Mr. Crossfield, the retiring auditor, was unanimously re elected. The meeting was then made special, and a formal agree ment for working the Lancashire Union Railway so as to give 5 per cent. on its cost was confirmed ; and the direc tors were authorised to create £1,283,182 ordinary stock in the company, to be issued from time to time in substitution for an equivalent amount of stock or shares in the Stour Valley and Shropshire Union Companies. Mr. TAYLOR moved a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors, which was carried unanimously, and the proceed ings terminated. WHITEHAVEN JUNCTION. The report of the directors states that the revenue shows an increase of £2,622 over the corresponding half of 1863, while the expenses show an increase of only £522. The line, works, and rolling stock, at the same time, had been kept in a thoroughly efficient condition, and several im provements effected. The total receipts for the half-year ending Dec. 31 amounted to £26,637, and the working ex penses to £10,558, leaving a balance of £16,079. After the payment of all preference charges the balance was £11,329 out of which the directors recommended a dividend at the rate of 18 per cent. per annum, carrying £2,000 to the con tingency account, and leaving a balance of £253 to the next acc, ;ount. WHITEHAVEN AND FURNESS JUNCTION. The report of the directors states that the receipts for the half -year ending the 31st of December last amounted to £24,966, showing an increase of £2,068 over the corre sponding half of 1863, The working expenses amounted to £9,802, being £1,024 less than for the corresponding period. The revenue had been debited with £l,OOO to wards the renewal of the permanent way. All renewals of rolling stock were at once charged against revenue. The balance available for distribution among the original share holders was £9,299, and the directors recommend the de claration of a dividend at the rate of 8 per cent. per annum, leaving £199. The expenditure on capital account during the half-year had been £3,224, including the cost of one new goods engine, which had been added to the rolling stock. With a, view to increase the traffic in iron ore and to meet the requirements of the trade, the directors had entered ominptaony fora anew way months has been L 10,096, or 311 per cent. in receipts, and 59 miles, or 13 per cent. in length of way open. RAILWAY BILLS. Yesterday in the two following cases the standing orders were declared not to have been complied with : LYME REGIS JUNCTION.—For railways from Lyme Regis, Dorset, to Chard ; capital £120,000, loan £40,000. BRADDIG, NEWPORT, AND YARMOUTH.—For a line be tween these places. The Ventnor and Bonchurch BM should have been re ported as having complied with the standing orders. embarked yesterday on board the troopship Urgent, at Plymouth, which has not sailed for Queenstown in consequence of the stormy weather. The colonelcy of the 73d Regiment has becathe vacant by the death of Lieut.-General B. Orlando Jones, K.H., K.T.S. The deceased officer origi nally served with the 36th Regiment in Hanover, during the campaigns of 1805-6. He also served during the whole of the Peninsular campaigns, without having been absent from his duty for a single day. He was present at nearly all the battles fought in the Peninsula, and was twice wounded. The commissions of the deceased General bore date as follows :—Ensign, May 29, 1805 ; lieut., Oct. 23, 1806 ; capt., Sept. 9, 1812 ; brevet major, Sept. 4, 1817 ; major, July 6, 1826 ; brevet lieut.-col., Jan. 10, 1837 ; col., Nov. 11, 1851; major-gen., Aug. 31, 1855 ; lieut.-gen., Nov. 12, 1862 ; col. of the 73d Regiment, Sept. 15, 1860. The deceased officer was a knight of Charles 111. of Spain. MADRAS. The traffic receipts on this company's South-West liuefor the half-year ending the 31st of December last amounted, on 447 miles open, to £155,572, or £325 per mile, against £121,089, on 407 miles open, or £297 per mile, for the corre sponding period of 1863. On the company's North-West line the receipts for the six months have been £12,229, on 60 miles open, or £204 per mile, against £6,616, on 41 miles open, or £l6l per mile, for the same period of the previous year. On the two lines together the increase for the six SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.—No subject of more truly imperial interesi could be brought to the attention of the House of Commons than the condition of Ireland and its people. The pertinacity and querulousness of some Irish members may make the House forget this, and look upon an Irish debate as the very best to stay away from. But every thoughtful person who dwells upon the state of that unhappy island, which must ever, for weal or woe, be united in destiny to our own, vill admit that if inquiry, or legislation, or able administration can remove the evils or even still the complaints that now prevail, no exertions on the part of Parliament will be too great to attain such an end. Feeling this, we come to the considera tion of Mr. Hennessy's speech last night with a real desire to find something in it which is practical, and worthy to be adopted by statesmen legislating on sound principles and with a due share of political knowledge. Mr. Hennessy has great opportunities. He is an Irish member, one of the spokesmen of a considerable political and religious party. He is known to be a champion of the Irish people against the alleged injustice or neglect of England, and has, therefore, no doubt, been furnished with all the arguments that can support their cause, and with the demands which they think will [remedy their wrongs. Yet, when we find what Mr. Hennessy wishes the house to declare, and what he wishes the nation to perform, we feel that we are only listening over again to the declamation of former years. An unmeaning expression of regret at the state of Ireland is to be followed, if we take his advice, by one of the most questionable schemes of relief that were ever proposed to a Legislature. Parliament is first to echo the popular orators of the Irish platforms, and then to establish a system of Im perial works, in comparison with which the nationa 1 workshops of the French Republic would be but trifles. The Resolution itself, though apparently harm less, contains two very doubtful propositions—the first, that the House " observes with regret the decline of the population of Ireland," and the second, that it is the duty of her Majesty's Government to prepare some " well-devised measure to stimulate the profitable employment of the people." If the terms of the resolution are objectionable, the eluci dation they received from Mr. Hennessy's speech was not such as to recommend them to reasonable politicians. There were, of course, the old argu ments concerning the unhappy social condition of Ireland. Although Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, and has been so for 65 years, Parliament is still legislating for that country by special Acts. There is nothing that an Irish member will not com plain of, and Mr. Hennessy makes it a grievance that at the present time nearly one-half of the Go vernment bills already introduced are Irish bills. Having uttered this complaint, it is characteristic that he should go on to demand, in the course of his speech, the most gigantic piece of special legislation that Parliament was ever asked to embark in. But first we have the reasons why the Irish population decreases, and why we should lament its decrease. The absence of such a tenant-right as should secure a farmer a return for the laying out of capital is set down as one of the chief causes of the lack of improvement in the land. Doubtless it is expedient that law or custom should secure to the Irish tenant that power of making improvements and being compensated for them which obtains in Eng land, and must obtain in every country where agriculture is carried on with skill and capital ; but the evils of Ireland lie far deeper than the mere terms of agreement between the owners and the cultivators of land. Tenant-right might be established all over Ireland to-morrow, and make no diminution in the number of emigrants who are yearly passing from her shores. What, then, is the cause of depopulation? This is the question which people must ask themselves before they agree with Mr. Hennessy in lamenting it. Certainly, at first sight, it is a very melancholy fact. All that is said about the physical qualities of the Irish peasant is no doubt true. He is strong and active ; he may be called lazy in his own country, but in Great Britain, in the Atlantic cities of America, in the Far West, there is no more hard working and, we may say, docile mortal than the Irish emigrant. Of course, there will be people to say that all this is owing to political and social causes, to the Irish Church, to the legislation of Protestant ascendancy, to the domination of a poor and reckless aristocracy, and so on. But these com mon-places will hardly satisfy any one who considers the question fairly. The Irishman works hard and is prosperous and contented not only in republican America, but in Liverpool or London, where he suffers just as much, and as little, from the aristo . cracy and the presence of a Protestant Establish ment as at home. There are even parts of Ire land where there is but little misery, and only a • small emigration. People do not starve in Ulster ; they do not fly from its ports as from Cork and Galway. Surely, then, there must be some causes other than political which make this excellent raw material, the Irish people, useless and discontented at home, always on the verge of star vation and sedition ? Mr. Hennessy, we think, unconsciously lighted on the true cause when, in order to persuade the house to adopt his Imperial drainage scheme, he dwelt on the physical' deficien cies of Ireland. The conformation of the country, which makes so large a part of the soil mere bog •, the dampness of the climate, which unfits the island for the growth of corn ; the want of minerals which prevents the establishment of manufactures else where than in the North, are among the chief causes of the backwardness and misery of Ireland. In fact, the country has a population living by agriculture alone on a soil and under a climate the most unsuited in the world to that cultivation which is necessary to feed large masses of people. Exposed to the almost incessant rains of the Atlantic, covered with mists, saturated with moisture, the soil of Western and Southern Ireland, though excellent for pasture, was never intended by Nature to bear large crops of corn. But as long as even six millions of people are to be supported by agriculture alone, with hardly any help from commerce or manufacture, the soil must be devoted to the production of those crops for which it is manifestly unfitted. The Irish people are prolific, and as they. increase there must ever be a pressure on the means of subsistence. So it was up to 1847 ; so it would be again but for emigration. What, then, is more natural than that the people should seek in America an easier life and more abundant comforts ? Ought the House of Commons, then, to express its regret at the decrease of Irish population ? Doubtless, the decrease is a sad thing in itself, but if it be granted that there are no manufactures or commerce to employ the people, it seems unreasonable to lament their going. 'The House of Commons, especially, ought not to indulge in sentimental regrets. Can we say, then, that even six millions of people are not too many to be supported in comfort by the Irish soil ? Com pare the country with England or Scotland. How large a part of the English population subsists by pure agriculture ? Not a third. Were it not for the prodigious manufacturing industry of England, its people would be hurrying across the Atlantic like the Irish. It was remarked at the last Census that the population of the Eastern Counties, which are the most purely agricultural in England, had actually declined. This js precisely what has taken place in Ireland, what must take place everywhere under the same conditions,. and it would be as reasonable for a Norfolk or Suffolk member to propose a resolution of regret to the House of Commons as for Mr. Hennessy to do so with regard to Ireland. Look, then, at Scotland. That is a country inhabited by one of the most energetic and educated populations in the world ; it is of great extent, it has a most elaborate and suc cessful system of agriculture, and yet it numbers less than three millions of people, of whom a very large part are dwellers in towns. One of the most striking features of Ireland, on the contrary, is the absence of this urban population. When from the 3,000,000 Scotchmen are subtracted Glasgow and. Greenock with not far from half a million of inhabi tants, Edinburgh with 170,000, Aberdeen with up wards of 70,000, Dundee with 90,000, Paisley with near 50,000, Leith with 45,000, and so on, how many are left to subsist on the agriculture of the country ? Ireland, with double the population, has but Dublin with 254,000, Belfast with 100,000, Cork with 86,000, and Limerick with 52 , 000 , which can be called large cities, and the number of towns of moderate size is much less in proportion than in Great Britain. It is impossible that a country with such a disposition of its inhabitants can fail to wit ness a large emigration. Great Britain keeps up its numbers, not by means of beneficial legislation, but because it is becoming the workshop of the world. of towns, and unless Our increase is an increab , l as will cause Ireland can develope such an indabw.„ ^vetofore, the growth of towns, her people must, as I steadily diminish. HtßAirt.—The letter of Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams; in which lie gives for the edification of the European public, his own adeotint of the meeting with the Confederate commissioners at k sat Monroe, is a marvellous specimen of the lowest order of diplo matic craft. We pass over the inflated periods, the clumsy historical parallels, with which the Northern statesman ushers in his report of a meeting of which he pretends to give an honest description, while he carefully conceals its origin, distorts its circum stances, and most palpably falsifies its end. " Mr. Francis Blair, of Maryland, obtained," he says, " from the President a simple leave to pass through our lines without definite views known to the Go vernment." As if the wishes and views of Mr. Blair were not known to his most intimate friend ! As if it was not notorious to every one in America, in Europe, in the world, that Mr. Blair was bound to Richmond on a peace mission ! r. Seward may have wished to guard himself against the imputa tion of direct falsehood by the use of tilt? word " definite." nut a sz!ppressio ?Jeri is not the less a suggestio ,falsi in this and in other parts of this letter of Mr. Seward. It is clear that the North took the initiative in these overtures of peace, and the attempt to show that the South made the first approaches, and to imply that such approaches amounted to a confession of weakness, is made in the very teeth of all the facts of the case. It is likely enough that Mr. Lincoln was half-hearted in the matter. At the last moment he was in clined to turn a deaf ear to the urgent importu nities of his friends, and refuse the commissioners access to his august presence, when a letter in their favour from General Grant was so strongly worded that he could not venture to deny them an inter view. This fact is attempted to be hidden in the second obfuscation with which Mr. Seward besieges our undertakings. By an ingenious confusion and misplacement of dates, and a miscellaneous amount of information respecting the proceedings of a cer tain go-between named Eckert, he endeavours to convey the impression that it was the Confederate commissioners, and not Mr. Lincoln, who yielded to the last moment. These matters are of small amount when compared with the history which the Secre tary gives us of the meeting • but they prepare us for the tissue of misrepresentation which follows. While telling us that the North insisted on the sub mission of the South as an indispensable preliminary to further negotiations, Mr. Seward wishes us to believe that, although the Southerners refused' to admit this basis, although " the confe rence came to an end without producing an agreement of views on the several matters discussed, or any of them," yet there was no dis tinct claim made, no definite ground taken by the other side. What could the Southern commis sioners do more than absolutely reject the prepos terous demands of the North? What else could they do but endeavour to probe to the fullest the arrogant pretensions of their enemies, that they might go back and strengthen the hands of their Government, by telling the men of the South what terms were offered to them ? Negotiations having thus broken down at the outset it would have been undignified, to say the least of it, had they made " categorical de mands," tendered "formal stipulations or absolute refusals." It was their business to let the obstinate Northerners run to the end of their tether, and show the world that it was the North, and not the South, which stood in the way of a cessation of hostilities. One single plan of accommodation now suggested itself to the commissioners. They might propose an armistice, if they were not permitted to negotiate a peace. A short breathing time might give space for reflection and allow the passions to cool. The bless ings of peace once tasted, an opportunity given to North and South to meet on other ground than that of the battle-field, to exchange arguments instead of bullets, compliments and polite speeches instead of bayonet-thrusts, tenders of commercial exchange instead of yells of defiance, might so enamour the people of both sections with the rest and security which neither has known for four years, that at the close of a truce both sides would be more ready to accept the status qno than to risk all again on the desperate chances of the future. The crowning falsification of Mr. Seward's letter is found in the manner in which he misrepresents this humane pro posal of an armistice. He admits that it was a pro posal of " a truce or armistice," and was so regarded by Mr. Lincoln ; but he is careful to invest it with an artful array of words, the plain object of which is to place the Confederacy in a painfully false po sition as regards Europe. " What the insurgent party seemed chiefly to favour was a postponement of the question of separation upon which the war is waged, and a mutual direction of the efforts of the Government, as well as those of the insurgents, to some extrinsic policy or scheme for a season, during which passions might be expected to subside and the armies be reduced, and trade and intercourse between both sections be resumed." Seldom has more guarded language been used in an official document ; seldom, indeed, have such malignant insinuations been conveyed in it. Mr. Seward's expressions, strictly analysed, meant next to nothing. " Seemed chiefly to favour." Perhaps only seemed, perhaps it was an innocent misun derstanding on the part of Mr. Seward. They chiefly favoured this plan, if Mr. Seward was not mistaken. It may nevertheless have been put for ward by their adversaries ; it may have been the least unacceptable of many proposals made to them. 'Then what was the plan ? " Some extrinsic policy or scheme for a season." This may mean anything or nothing ; it is certain that the words convey no precise meaning to us. It may have been only a plausible way of commending an armistice. Taken to pieces, Mr. Seward's statement implies no accu sation of a definite sort against the South. Yet, taken in its entirety, it conveys the impression that the Southerners had some important proposition to propose, some scheme of common action, some " ex trinsic policy"—whatever the phrase may mean. What more natural than that, being fully informed as to the lying rumours at New York and Washing ton of proposals made by the Confederates to invade Canada and Mexico, and make war upon England and France with the armies of both sections, the diplomatists of Europe should take alarm, and jump to the conclusion that some wild scheme of this sort was actually proposed by the Confederate commis sioners at Fort Monroe. This was what Mr. Seward intended to suggest, though he has been careful not to assert it. It is in this that consists the full malignity of the despatch to Mr. Adams, in which he designs to represent the South as the enemy of England, and convince us that we are immediately interested in her subjugation. With out waiting for the disclaimer of Mr. Davis and his Government, we may confidently assert that nothing can be more repugnant to the wishes of the Southern people in its present temper than a war with England, with France, or with any other nation with which it has no quarrel. The states men, the press, the diplomatists of the South have, over and over again, repudiated the slanderous im putation of their adversaries, that they are ready to purchase their independence by an unjust and aggressive combination against the foreigner. The bait thrown abroad by Mr. Seward has gone straight to its prey. The Times, among other papers, has swallowed it whole. It offers so good an excuse for the neutrality of the British Government, so ad mirable an opportunity for a castigation of the weaker party in the war, on which Lord Russell frowns, in pursuance of his natural instincts, that the apologists of the Administration are only too eager to devour it. The inuendo, as interpreted by them, is calumnious and false, and here, as else ; where, the truth will assert itself ere long, to the confusion of the so-called statesmen, the little puppets of the hour, who, to further their ends, will stoop to almost any meanness. • ST. CROSS HOSPITAL, WINCHESTER.—It is with much pleasure that we make an announcement which proves the interest that is felt in the restoration of the Church of St. Cross Hospital and the desire that is manifested to bring it to a successful issue. When the Bishop of Winchester visited the work in November last it was observed by his lordship and many others who were then present that the admirable effect produced by the very small dash' of colour introduced at the east end of the church was such as to render a further and judicious application of the same kind very desirable, especially as there were such evident remains of similar work. The funds, how ever, contributed by "Z 0." and the public were insuffi cient to justify such an attempt, and the hospital, it is well known, has no surplus fund at disposal. Under these cir cumstances a gentleman of high position•in the county, a lessee of the hospital, who was present on the occasion, has undertaken, at his own expense, the decoration of the eastern wall after a pattern carefully prepared by the architect, Mr. Butterfield, and approved by the master. The concluding paragraph of the letter in which this very handsome offer is made is well worthy of attention : " That this work of restoration should be brought to a suc cessful issue in a manner worthy the subject is a matter of not merely local interest, but one which has a claim on the sympathy of the whole county. As one who has an interest in all that concerns this county, I therefore trust that I may be permitted to offer as a gift to the church the decoration of the east wail, according to Mr. Butterfield's design. It would give me the highest satisfaction if others should be induced thereby to apply to the two side walls of the choir similar decoration, so that all this portion of the church may be brought into harmony." It only remains to add that the generous offer has been gratefully accepted, and it is expected this special work will be commenced forthwith. We hope that other friends will follow so good an-example and undertake the-side walls of the choir under the direction of the same eminent authority. LONDON GENERAL OMNIBUS (LIMITED). The dividend for the half-year ending the 81st December last, to be declared at the general meeting of this company on the 21st of March, is to be Bs. per share, being at the rate of 7i per cent. per annum, free of income-tax. Railway Traffic Returns for the Week Mies ?paned. Receipts. _ Railways. ~.---A-_...----.A.:...._ 1864. 1863. 1864. 1863. £ 6 Belfast and N. Counties ..... . 136 136 1,860 1.739 Belfast and County Down 49 49 7u2 637 Blyth and Tyne • 23 28 1,842 1.460 Bristol and Exeter 1215 121 i 4,963 5,2,0 Caledonian 2Bli 1:621 18,419 16,.-98 Cambrian . 91 84 1,556 1.31'1 Cork and Bandon 2O 20 332 2 . 0 Cork, Blackrock, & Passage 6l 61 110 11C Cork and Youghal 3 25 325 405 412 Cornwall 6 54 655 1,3 , 8 1.39 J Deeside l7 17 26.) 19 Dublin 4; Deltas t Junction 63 63 1,230 1. 26 Dublin and Drogheda 75 75 1,429 1,475 Dublin and Meath Dub. & Wicklow and Wextd 914 911 2,285 2,255 Furness, &c 5O 5) 2,808 3,280 Glasgow & South-Western Gt. Eastern,Nek.,&E.Union Great Northern 387 853 31.160 30. , 91 Great North of Scotland Gt. Northn. & Westn. (Irel.) 714 714 4, 3 449 qt.Southn. & Westn.(lrlnd.) 387 8335 7,316 7,051 Great Western 1225 118.5 57,829 51.842 Inverness & Aberdeen Jana 1174 1171 1,007 826 Inverness ,t& Perth Junction 1191 1191 1,321 968 Irish North-Western 145 145 1,489 1.573 Kent Coast 27 27 440 260 Lancashire & Yorkshire 403 402 85,235 34.90 Limerick and Ennis.. 244 24 175 159 Limerick and Foynes 2 26 100 103 L lanelly 461 46 511 578 Llynvi Valley London & North-Western London and Blackwall 6 6 1,612 1,617 London & South-Western Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast London, Chatham, & Dover 72 724 4,213 3,878 Do. Metropolitan Extension 11 105 1,315 800 Lon., Tilbury, & Southend Han.,Stieffield, & Lincolnsh Stanch. S.Jun.&Altrincham 9l 9} 1,175 1,242 Slaryport and Carlisle 2B 28 1,'87 1,395 Metropolitan 34 84 2,416 2,010 Midland (incl. N.-Western) 6631 641 44,035 41,14) Midland Gt.Westn. of lend 262 2595 4,318 3,922 Monkland 714 715 1,408 1,623 ... . .. nonmouthsh. Rail. & Canal.. 44 - 44 2,620 2,566 North British, Edin., Perth and Dundee _ 619 . 589 19,170 18.96.1 N-Eastern and Stock. & DarL 10 . 95 1095 52.210 51,9.4 North London 9 9 2,956 2.971 North Staffordshire 2M 251 7,083 8.461 Rhymney Scottish Central Scottish North-Eastern . . 138 138 5,400 4,786 Somerset and Dorset 66 66 734 511 South Devon . 751 . 3.089 2,975 South-Eastern 3OB Tall Vale 57 305 15,553 15,4.-0 57 5,409 15,738 Ulster • lO5l 105& 2,446 2,351 . Vale of Clwyd. lO 10 143 41 Vale of Neath 43f 431 2,574 2.18 t Waterford and Kilkenny Waterford and Limerick,. ., 77 77 1,005 930 West Cornwall 274 274 750 80J W. Hartlepool Harbr.&RaiL W'haven,Cleator,& Egrmnt lO 10 559 676 Whitchaven J uncti0n...... Whitchaven & Furness Jun 35 35 8t i 1.034 FOREIGN AND COLONIAL. Austrian B2B 828 20,942 30,021 Bahia and San Francisco Belgian Eastern J unction.. Bombay, Baroda, & Cen. India 185 e . 1851 3,8 7 7 3, 3 5 3 Central Italy 18.3 167 ;3,753 3,266 Detroit and Milwaukee......, 189 185 3,511 4,01 Dutch Rhenish lOBl 1( 81 5,154 4 741 Eastern of France..........., 1.176 1428 61,012 53,148 Eastern Bengal ...... ... East Indian Grand Trunk of Canada...., 1377 1435 20,651 21,2.2 Great Central of Belgium,,., 295 272 :,612 Great Indian Peninsula 5'.3 553 15,313 11,169 Great Luxembourg .. . Great Southeen of India Great Western of Canada.,., 345 3 , 5 10,618 13,399 Madras . • . 571 448 7.710 4.9h4 Madrid, Saragossa &A iican t 6B') 650 17,939 21,031 Northern of Canada,,,,,,,,, ada ....., 9l 91 1,09 1,3'! 2 Northern of France ...~ Norwegian Trunk .......... 44 44 602 63' Ottoman . __ ... 481 481 ......... ....- - 620 3 ' • Paris, Lyons, & Mediterrn • 1967 178 t . " 124,9 )3 124,769 Paris and Orleans 1616 161 f 6!, 0 56 60.7 40 Pernambuco 77 774 1,941 1,590 Setnde 105 105 1,231 1,9 3 Do. Punjab, .te, 33 32 34 s 206 South Austrian, &e •-• . 1461 1360 38,152 38,084 Southern of France.......... 623 770 25,637 2 1 , 807 Vbtoria2st 196 13,51 t 9,838 Welland W. &N- Virestu of France— WI t 93t 40,531 40, !42 Naval and Military Intelligence. The Megmra, screw troopship, Capt. M. B. Dunn, arrived at Spithead yesterday morning from Gibral tar. She sailed from Gibraltar on the 18th inst., and experienced fine weather throughout the voyage. The ship's machinery worked very satisfactorily during the voyage out and homeward. Her passen ger and troop list comprises Capt. Percival, Rifles ; Lieut. Savage, 9th Regiment, and Mr. Sendy, civil service, home on leave ; Mrs. and Miss Prevost, wife and daughter of Capt. Prevost, R.N., Naval Superintendent at Gibraltar ; 25 military invalids, and several time-expired soldiers, with two women and seven children, in charge of Lieut. Wilson, 15th Regiment, and a number of naval invalids. Fourteen convicts were also brought to England from Gibral tar in the ship, and were transferred yesterday to the convict prison at Portsea. The troops and seamen were also landed yesterday from the ship, the seamen being transferred to the Victory guard ship, and the troops quartered in Portsmouth garri son for the night, to be sent on to the Royal Vic toria Hospital at Nettey this morning. The Megra but as her cranes and awaits orders at Spithead, some other of her fittings are lying at Devonport dockyard, it is expected that she will proceed to that port. Orders from the Admiralty were received yester day afternoon on board the Prince Consort, 35, amoaze, to despatch Capt. G. 0 0 o . f W h ill er e c s ; bye C w •BH the paddlewheel steam erd, Ireland, t o the Departmentassist an steamship Lord Pan- Moore, which is as h ore th ere . v m a n e u s c s r e e e 1 , 0 f M c t e h o d e m u s W m a a a nthr der W She left Woolwich on Saturday last with four 600- pounders for the armament of the Scorpion, fitting out at Birkenhead. The Medusa may leave this morning. The sum of nearly £lOO,OOO has been taken by the Admiralty in the Navy Estimates for 1865-6 for the new works to be executed during the year for enlargement and improvement of Chatham dockyard, as well as for the other undertakings connected with the extension of that establishment. Of this amount the sum of £700,000 will be required this year for the construction of the additional docks and basins and the other works for the enlargement of the dockyard. The original estimate for the ex tension of the dockyard by throwing into the estab lishment the whole of St. Mary's Island, containing between 300 and 400 acres, was £943,876, a further sum of £306,124 being required for additional work now proposed to be executed by contract, making the total estimated outlay £1,250,000. The sum already expended on the works is -£130,868, which leaves about £1,026 to complete them. Hitherto the whole of the works have been executed by con victs, some 800 or 900 of whom have been daily employed on the undertaking for some years past, but the Admiralty have decided on supplementing their efforts by the employment of skilled labour, at an additional outlay of £300,000. Among the other works proposed to be carried outat Chatham Dock yard during the present year is the enlargenient of the smithery, at a cost of about £4,000, this work being rendered necessary from the increasing de mands made on that establishment consequent on the Admiralty having decided on making Chatham an almost exclusively iron shipbuilding yard. The sum of £10,240 will also be taken for new ma chinery, and a further sum of £2,500 for preparing the foundations for the new machines proposed to be erected, together with £5,600 for the repairs of existing plant. The present surgery having proved altogether inadequate, it is proposed to erect a new one in the dockyard at a cost of £1,090. The other works proposed include the erection of a new angle iron smithery and other necessary buildings, at an estimated outlay of about £2,000. With regard to the staff of Chatham Dockyard, the Estimates show that several important alterations are proposed. The offices of store receiver, master sailmaker, foreman of painters, and measurers are all abolished—a new appointment, that of cashier, with a salary of £5OO per annum, together with an inspector of stores, at £350 per annum, being made. The salary of the principal converter of timber is reduced from £275 to £l5O, and that of the foreman of riggers increased from £l5O to £l9O per annum. There is also pro vision made for a foreman of sailmakers at £l6O per annum. Admiral Fitzroy's drum, indicating dangerous gales, was hoisted at noon yesterday at Plymouth. The French gunboat Cuvier left on Thursday after noon for Falmouth. Five hundred men belonging to the 2d Regiment WILLS AND BEQUESTS, ("Mr" tlt4 Illustrated London. News) The will of the ~. Hon. Penelope Powys was proved Lydon, on .e 3d inst., under £9,000. The testatr i x was the r elict of the Hon. and Rev. Little ton Powys, Rector of Titchmarsh, who died in 1842, and was the daugl iter and coheir of James Hatsell, Esq 4 sole u'viving representative of John Hatscit, Esq./ Pf Warden P ar k, Bencher of the d Chief Clerk of the House of T he Inner TeMpte,• t." l on Littlet on , in 1853, took by Commons. der iitional name of Ilatsell. Royal license the act testatrix has left some. small charitable bequests-- viz., to the Church Mk testatrix Society the Bibl e Society at Thrapsto;te., and St. Marp , s Hospi tal ; Paddington, each £lO. The will of William Bide, Esq., of - feovil , Somer.. setshire, was proved in Lon( ion and .er £70,000 Per; sonalty. The executors are Henri' H. Andrew s, Rimpton ; Francis Berrym an, of Shepton gage' of and Henry Marsh Watts, f° of Yeovil. To each them there is a legacy of £lOO. To his wife leaves an annuity of £l,OOO and a legacy of £ll 2 r also the residue of his propel - ty, together with WS residence and furniture, for ,her life; which, 11 her decease, he bequeaths to nephew, The ra :„ William Dampier, to whom .he leaves an anuut,v of £5OO, and appoints him reve l ..sionary residuarci: legatee of both the personal and real'. estates, loc ° ing his freeholds in the counties of Somerset Dorset. There are annuities of £250 to each 0f, , ,, a two nieces,. Elizabeth Bide Dampier and Mall f Whetham, who are to receive £6,004 each out the residue upon the decease of the relict. Vie . The w i ll o f Sollory Grey, Bask , j , ll/ chant, of Cullum-strcet, City, and of St. Leon Per on-Sea, was proved in jr. ,ondon under £45,,000 his sonalty ; the acting execuOrs and trustees , b y e t g r oa partners, John Alexander Ru..cisell and T. 1 1(1.-- ap , Coles, Esqrs. The other executo r and t r llB .3 , an tee ge pointed, John Grellier, Esq., of the Royal' renounced. To each of the executors he leaves legacy of £2OO, free of duty. To his wife' II ? re , bequeathed the sum of £20,000 and the bu ll ', W o l f carriage, &c., and leaves her the estate he Id s , purchased called Malcolm Peth, at St. liectvo, He leaves liberal legacies to his sister-in -UN, °m-toci beth Grey, and to other relatives and frient a l e to Ragonath Abbajee, of Bombay, 200. -L 4 o f Benevolent Society of Blues, £lOO. 'Ale ree d his property he leaves to his broths r-in -11 ' 14 said John A. Russell. The late John Hay: s, Esq., of Slrepherd a r° 's' bilsb' died intestate. His personalg property was " o re under £30,000, and letter„ 3 of administration of granted to his nephew, the Rev. Charles K a y e* Edgingswell House, Torquay-. COUNTRY MARKETS LIVERP 0 OL.—FEIDAY. With only a limited attendance of buyers at dull 011 change this morning wheat has remained ye** du" baS and the slight improvement obtained on Tuesdg vanished. Flour is neglected, and prices wuu l tootis D " corn rules steady at the quotations of t his day,,,g s but sales in quantity can only be effected b 9 131 t,' "'.- f w o , duction of 3d per qr. Oats and oatmeal are in rates. Beans, peas, and feeding barley are e_a' ch ° l ea./ at a trifling advance. Market closes very dia. l . f,°r ing articles. LINCOLN.—FRIDAY. r 0 " 40s P i .„o New white wheat, 398 to 44s ; new red, 3 60 t° to stone. Barley for malting, 31s to 34s per Atr ; tl ;7 s , jS 28s to 30s per 30 stone. Oats, 2 1 s to 245. Pe 40s per qr. .4 DERBY—FRIDAY• n er .• 40S r i .o6 New white wheat, 41s to 44s ; new red,'.37s i 0 rin , ''' g oho t° stone. Barley for malting, 3N to 335 per qr- ; 0 1,1, 0- 3 0 27s to 28s per 30 stone. Oats, new, 23s to 25s ; 7 to a 0 27s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 42s to 45s ;j nev 6 per qr. • -. WAKEFIELD.—FRIDAY. ite r9 ' ' ) o The wheat trade is slow. Prices are withea- ricos from last Friday. Barley in limited demand ; P favour of the buyer. Beans and oats fully as VT The following are the averages for the No e / 05 (11 Feb 20 :—Wheat, 2,518 qrs., at 39s Od; barleY , " at 29s ; oats, 100 qrs., at 18s ; beans, 0 ' Od ; peas, qrs., at —s Od. white Barley, heSaTt malting,4 l oB F 3t 0 0 2 sR4 to s) stoNneew.4 OS P er 6s s gr i n ding, 26s 40 0 e• plr a q n r s . 38 C I s a t t o s , 4 os new,pe per 38 to 24s old, ' 2ss to 28s Per 24 Peas as heretofore. :,-31rsevr.RIDr 36$ .o ' BRISTOL SUGAR—FRIDAY• f 4 f' There is a fair demand for most descri p ti o ns 0 vo lo A and prices are rather higher for fine qualitie or' sells steadily at late rates. Rum— the market is cl w but little doing. COAL MARK Price per ton at the ET, FEB. 24. c lose of them ar ket. _ °' 0 V Hartlepool ... ; '''''''' East liartlol3c: '''''' 6 Walker Prioir 'l4 9 Tanfieldgocir '' 20 4 Tunstall ''''''''''''''' 21. 6 Cassop '' . '''''''''''' 22 6 South flettoll '''' 22 6 Walls End liatrl" 21 Pensher PriniVse ." 21 0 Eden Main ........... 1 6 lieugh ............ 6 Braddylls gettou ...... "f; South lielloe ......... , 115; sold, 50. s. d. Buddles'WestHartley. 15 0 Davison's W. Hartley 15 0 Byass's Bebside West Hartley l5 0 Walls End Hetton Holywell Main l6 6 Stewart's Bello° North Pelton Gas l4 0 Hotspur 2O 9 Lambert's W. Hartley 14 9 Carway andlDuffryn I Malting 22 . 0' Ships at market. Foreign Mail Packet List• lif 3l : 15: Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton ...... ifs!. ' 6 , Ditto, via Mar5ei11e5. ......... *********** 3 1° '1' ' .... Brazil and Cape Verde, by British paoat .........* .vel). . 1 , Ditto, by British packet .. ........... . 0. ; 6, Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena••: . reb !o, China, Penang, and Singapore, via Sow hampton • .y e p. i' Ditto, via Mar5ei11e5............. . ' ........ •••' ~. ye . ..., Falkland Islands .............................•. ,, Gibraltar, via Southampton • .. • .... • • ' ', feb• 0, India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via SouthamptOn'' . pp. 0, Ditto, via Marseilles .... .•ye)). 0 India (B , ..anbay), via Southampton.. ................ yel)• 1 4, Ditto, via ilarseifles ..................•••• .3or• g, Mauritius, via Southampton Ditto, via Marseil e 3, .................. .•• ' . 0 6. . 0 Newfoundland .................................... .oar• .. •• • Portugal Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon... ..... United States and British North • A me rica, blA jot . tish packet p- Ditto, •• • Ditto, by United States packet, via Sou th sl tcn ............ • . 11. Ditto, via Girk ......................... • "%vet 1 3. Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderri' West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Tene riffe ...... West Indies and Pacific (except Baham as, Cu JO' 9. Ba a h n a d m M a s e , x v i a o ......... • York.. ........ .......................... I t o .0 Bermuda, ditto .............. Cuba and Mexico • -' AUXILIARY NAVAL FORCES.—The Na 0 mak o e n p 000 f! 7sTi 1 J 1 provision for 7,000 . Coastguardieefol7so lii to ° of 4,oooinaandtes civil establishlllo" it °, 1 .0' e 663 boatmen. There is Is , ° ,ijog r, 1 )1 Naval vision'2a an m n 2o u ,no a g Reserve of whom f°r i ya the arl e Naval ha r charge for the drill afloat of 5,500 men. V r , t jiog til, i' a e Coast Voltateers, c. i v ' 0 dental expenditure , some ' . rrd3iji ci° retainer of 16,000 seamen, drill nal ° r le willbe £205, 052,, ail:ac'ilt),ere D''' i s of the drill ships apPears . applied to the Naval of in other votes than ___________7, Reserve. which being inclitum, ope spo • d P London • Printed an by SOL fj- --A- ,ol lt ce , l'itif vi of No. 112, Strand, Punter,at TuBO13" Strand, in the Precinct o f the Sa•voY, In t he Middlesex, —Saturday, February 25, 1885. C --:---- 10 . Births. 44 tiare, a, ADLER.—On the 23d inst., at 16, Finsbol Adler, of a daughter. " o°ll° oo BERNHARD.—On the 22d inst., at garshg ate ' ;e ll' the wife of Louis Bernhard, Esq., O f 0, SOO' A 1 311 I,,er, A o. ~ JORDAN.—On the 22d inst., at 21, Bedford-r"ot A 6v IS'd square, the wife of Reuben J. Jordan, Vs c l i l w rra el A at'Y WooLF.—On the 22d inst., at 26, Sunderla,na:" o f A - bourne-park, the wife of S. B. Woolf, •P' , ter. 9 4 '; Marriages. , „ 1 G reeli ;ig ilte GREEN—FIGGINS.—On the 23d inst., Ps,-- -11 „ e lias , tiA ~„t of Woodlands-terrace, Blackheath, to Lia . `" Va'' of James Figgins, Esq., Forest-hill. ~, at ho C e lv t MARTYN—IIUDDLESTON.—On the 23d t., 05 "" o f t.", - N'` l ' Church, Bath, Cecil Edward Martyni ri s ratio I A biniers, to Gertrude, youngest daughter o Huddleston, Esq., Madras C.S. • • t or r Deaths. .„,ton, ' L BULLOCK.—On the 17th inst., a souto— Col l • General Stanley Bullock, Madras Cairalli* W. it ro COLLARD.—On the 23d inst., at alkis ere, W iltf3 ' io vtle' Esq., aged 65. Ifs ' f i 1' L HOLBROOK.—On the 20th inst., at over 11 ..„ f ice , 60 1 James B. Holbrook, Esq. aged 64. , s tex—,,,io ST. JOHN.—On the 23d i ' 10 St• A- 1211 OAP' 1 nst ,at , ',...,, Ito It , ham, St. Andrew Beauch.amP St. Jo"" -A e Of ,1 " il' Royals, aged 33. u co, ' , op ° STERRY.-011 the 23d inst., at his r esi l 0, Li Lodge, Croydon, Richard Stoll, late ° ao ore street, city, aged 81. c dell"ln'ea `dine, WILLIAMSON.—On the 23d inst., at wi nd i tt ,, ag ot _ Williamson, sen., Esq., late of Assam , u Jo el , WARNE.—On the 21st inst., at Camber': ' _,,,, Esq., of Fairacres, near Oxford, age" " ' -------------aft#B,l' 7 1 it 1 hi ( r e Lll/;1 Of yl 4 14 to Y Pa A \,; Ito 1t, ,, , ,,,, 1„ • u, 8 , tr,