The Sun. — London, England, 1848-06-16 00:00:00

---- Linenfranchised men or fiscal slaves The electors form one for every 14 of population o er,vvanen, and children, or one elector for every 44 male adults. Wales in 1841—total population Total males .. • Males above twenty y ears o f age in posses sion of the franchise (1842, 1843) ......... 48,322 " One elector for every 18i total population, or for every 44 male adults. Unenfranchised male adults 185,105 Ireland in 1841—total population Electors in 1843, 1844 117,440 " One for every seventy, or thereby, of total popu lation. 911,603 447,707 " What is to be remarked in the foregoing state ments is the disproportion between the number of elec tors in Scotland, England, and Wales. " Scotland has one elector for every thirty-one of the total population; and England and Wales one for every eighteen to nineteen of them. The whole political influence of Scotland is neutra lised by thirty-ene English boroughs returning the same number (fifty-threo.l) of Members to Parliament, thus— Electors. Male adults. Mem. Scotland Thirty-one Eng. boroughs " We find in the same manner, the legislative votes of Ireland neutralised in the House of Commons by 66 English boroughs, returning the same number of Mem- , bers as Ireland. Electors. Male a d u lt s. Mem. Ireland ... ... ... 117,448 1,b90,743 105 Sixty-sixEnlish boroughs 26,443 122,500 105 'But a very extraordinary and alarming part of the electoral system of Groat Britain is, that the thirty-one boroughs that are able to neutralise the whole political weight of Scotland in the Legislature, are almost powerful enough in votes to give check -mate to all the most populous and influential cities in England and Scotland together ; including London and the metro- 1 politan bor oug h s. The abstract is this : Eleetora. Male adults. Mem. Twenty-seven large ci-i 203 , 945 9 16,923 ties and bor oug h s 53 I Thirty-ono small bol 9,862 41,560 53 roughs " It thus appear s that a Minister who Possesses the 1 means, through money or place, of controllin g the thirty one boroughs with their fifty-three representative; can, , on questions aff ect i ng S co tl an d, n eutralis e th e S cottish votes, and, turned in another direction, can defeat the 1 representation of the most important cities of the empire. "On looleing into the representation of counties we shall discover similar results of equal numbers of votes representing very unequal constituencies. There are 1 eighteen counties, partly in England and partly in Scot- 1 land, with 21,027 electors, that have twenty Members or 1 legislati ve votes, against ten English counties w i t h 140,457 electors returning only twenty Members. f " JAMES J. MACINTYRE.' SALE OF THEATRICAL PORTRAITS, AND RELICS OP GRl 3 lALDL—Wedr.esday a collection of theatrical portraits, origin a lly f orming part of the gallery of the la te Thomas Harris, Esq., f or man y years l essee o f. Covent Garden Theatre, and a quantity of theatrical property of the late inimitable pantomimist, Joe Gri maldi, was sold by auction at Mr. Robins's rooms, Covent-garden. The novelty of the sale attracted many P ers °°l l . The portrait of R. B. Sheridan went for 21. 2s. C. Young, by Harlowe, 21. ; two full-lengths, and one three-quarter, of Faw ce tt, i n th e respect i ve characters of Fripp on , D r . P ang l oss, and Jerry Sneak, 1/. 10s. and a guinea each ; a portrait of Liston, ! - )3 , Clint, 2/. ; o f Suett, by Northcote, 11. Bs. ; a whole l ength of B arry, as Macbeth, by Hogarth, 1/. Is. ; and of f J• P• Kemble, as P enru d dock, 14s. ; a whole length •alathews, se n ., as O b adiah, by D. Wilde, 21. 4s. ; () the ° t i a 3y esv e t l h in e t length portrait of the celebrated Miss Foote, , Co a unl t ess of Harrington, as Maria Darlington, 5/. 7s. sd an exquisite painting, sold for • The portraits of Grimaldi produced from le. 6d. to ts , his coat of arms, Is. 6d. ; a water coloured draw : ing by Bologna, the celebrated harlequin of " Joey's " cottage Finchley, 20s. The manuscript folumes, colt b elf, of all the pantomimes in whieh Grimaldi perform ini el sold s for 30s. ; his songs, in his own writing, "Hot Codli `.• Tipity witchet,” &c., sold for ss. 6d., and the e tic t l silver watch, by Abrahams, representing on its facn - le celebrated clown mounted on a donkey, familiarly termed by him " Me y, and w P hich was and my Neddy," and of which he was plundered footpads on his way to Finchle turned by them on finding they had robbed their fa vourite, sold for 51. ss. NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. —The following (important!) secoxd report from the Select Committee on the new Houses of Parliament (Kitchen, &c.) i s delivered, print e d by order of the H ouse o f Commons, —That one or more of the small rooms adjoining the transverse corridor, or the two rooms at the opposite aide of that lobby, now entered for private bills and door keeper's department, be fitted up as washing-rooms, &c., for Members; and that hot-water pipes should be con ducted thereto. That a portion of the upper cloister be arranged for an additional cloak-room. UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE. OXFORD, JUNE 14.—1 n a convocation holden this morning, the University seal was affixed to an humble address of condolence and congratulation to her Ma. jesty; the address voted on the 17th having since been somewhat altered, in consequence of the death of her Royal Highness the Princess Sophia. At the same time the Rev. George Hest, M.A., fel low and t u t o r o f C or pus Christi College; theßev. William Basil Tickell Jones, M.A., fellow of Queen's College; and the Rev. James Peers Tweed, M.A., fellow and tutor of Exeter College, were nominated mas ters of the schools for the year ensuing. In a congregation holden immediately afterwards the following decrees were conferred, viz.:— Master of Arts—Charles James Stuart, University College; Rev. John Horne, Balliol College; Adol 'has Leighton White, ditto, grand compounder; Rev. Charles Garvey, Exeter College; Samuel Archer, ditto; George Seton, ditto; William Keating, ditto ;: William Money Kyrie, Oriel College ; John Burgon, fellow of ditto ; Chas. Crawley, ditto ; Rev. James J. G. Graham, Queen's College • Rev. James Elwin Millard, M ag d a l en College ; Rev. ' William Har vey, Brasenose College ; Rev. Geor ge John Banner, ditto ; Frederick Earnshaw Marshall, ditto ; 1 George, Wingate Pearce, scholar of Corpus Christi College ; Richard Arthut Le Mesurier, scholar of ditto ; Wm. Trevenon, T r i n i ty C ollege ; Rev. Hinton Castle Smith, Wadham College ; Simeon Sturges, Magdalen Hall, grand compounder ' • Henry Livier s , St. Ed mun d H all ; Rev. Walt er John Dare, New Inn Hall ; West Wyatt, ditto ; and Rev. Arthur C. Saunders, scholar of Pem broke College. Bachelor of Arts.—P. Oxendon Papillon, Univer sity Colle ge ; H enry Seymour, Balliol College ; Ed ward Parry, St. John's College ; George William Pigott, Exeter College ; Thomas Owen Tudor, ditto ; George Porter, ditto ; John Samuel, ditto, grand compounder ; Charles Matthew Robins, Oriel Colle ge ; Th omas Tuting, Lincoln College ; Oharles Arthur Molony, ditto; William Dunn Macray, Magdalen College; William Molyneaus, Christ Church; Montague Blackett, ditto; Charles C. Plowden, ditto; William B. Findlay, ditt o; Al exander J. W. 'Philip, Trinity College; John Edgar Gibson, St. John's Col lege; Howell Powell Edwards, scholar of Jesus College; George Samuel Rees, scholar of ditto ; He nr y H o d gson, Wadham College; Thomas Gale Curtler, ditto; Edward Duncan Hale, Pembroke College; Henry Llewelyn Ro berts, Worcester College; Charles E. Freeman, Mag dalen Hall; Cladius Roberts Rowlett, ditto; George Bishop, ditto; James John Chichester, ditto; Henry Douglas Munro, New Inn Hail; and Edward Pallin, fellow of St. John's College. The Professor of Poetry (the Rev. James Garbett) will deliver his terminal lecture, at the Clarendon, on Thursday next, at two o'clock. OXFORD, JUNE 15. Richard Arthur Le Mesurier, M.A., scholar of Corpus Christi College, was this day admitted a probationary fellow of that society. The election for fellowships at Merton took place this mor n i ng , w h en the following gentlemen were elected:_ Henry Musgrave Wilkins, 8.A., former scholar of Trinity. Henry Baskerville Walton, 8.A., of Pembroke. John Young Sargent, postmaster of IA Merto_n given an- CABRIDGE, JUNE la. —The gold me dal an nually by his Roy a l Hi g h ness the Prince Chancellor for the encouragement of English Poetry, to such resident undergraduate as shall compose the best ede or poem in heroic verse, has been adjudged to George John Cayley, Trinity College. 'Subject " The Death o Baldur." The gold medal given annually by the Marqui s Camden, as a prize for the best exercise in Latin Hexa meter Verse, has been adjudged t%A. P. Bi rc h , K ing ' s College. Subject—" lona In sula. The four prizes, of 15 gu ineas each (two t o b achelors and two to undergrad uates ), . given annually b y the representatives in Parliament for the University, for the best Latin Prose Compositions, have been awarded as follows : Bachelors—J. Pilkington Norris, .8.A., Trinity Col- Sub ge; David James Vaughan, 8.A ., Trinity College. ect—" De Arturo Britannorum Principe, utrum aliquid veri mornorim traditum sit." Ilead ergsduates—R. Elwy n , T r i n i ty College; A. W. m, Trinity College. Subject---" In cultu divino qufeuam sint Music partes." ELECTORAL CONSTRUCTION OF PARLIAMENT. (Prom the Trades' Weekly Messenger.) 44 IA TA. • is necessary to describe the present plan of elective franchise in Scotland as compared with the system that prev a il e d prev i ous to the year 1832. In the first place, there is a very considerable difference in the number of electors in the two periods. In 1832 the total population was 2,365,000 ; of whom were male adults 540,000 electors, 2,340 ; or 1 elector to every 1,000 souls; or 1 elector for every 230 men above twenty years of age. In 1842 the total population was 2,620,184 male adults, 630,000 ; total electors, 85,200: 1 elector for every 31 souls, or thereby; or 1 fOr every 7 or 8 male adults; or in other words, there are 544,800 men who live by food, and of legal age, but who have no voice, directly or indirectly, in the choice and election of men to concoct and enact laws a life or death—of peace or war—of taxation and religion. Compared with the franchise before the year 1832, there is at present a considerable increase of the ele.::tors; but compared with the unenfran chised adult male inhabitants there is yet much to be done towards an augmentation. England in 1841, had total population 14,995,138 Of whom were m ales 7,323,587, and females 7,671,751 Male adults above twenty years of age Men above twenty years of age who pos sessed the elective franchise (1842, 1843) 808,216 LAW INTELLIGENCE. BAIL COURT, June 15. (Sittings in Banco, before Mr. Justice WIGHT3IAN. THE QUEEN V. BUSHELL. Mr. WILLIS said in this case the defendant was in dicted at the Middlesex Sessions, for keeping a common gaming -house in St. James's, but he was ignorant of the name of the prosecutor, or of the street 'in which the alleged gaming -house was situated. A rule nisi had, therefore, been granted calling upon the prosecutor to furnish the defendant with the particulars of the house and his own name. That rule had been served upon the attorney who endorsed the indictment, but an affidavit had been filed by him, stating that he had ceased to be engaged in the case and that he neither knew the situation of the house nor the name of the prosecutor. Under these circumstances he now moved that the rule be made absolute. Mr. Justice WIGHTMAN directed the rule to be en 'urged. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. WESTMINSTER. Mr. Henry Clarke, Idol-lane, Tower-street, appeared to a summons charging him " with having composed and published a certain libel containing divers matters and things of and concerning" Captain George Beau clam Grosvenor-street West, Pimlico. Certain letters having bean read, Defendant, in reply to the charge, co mplained in strong terms of the mode of pro ce eding adopted against him, declaring that he h a d b een persecuted as with a well as prosecuted. Pro cee di ngs h a d been first takn view to put him i n a b a d p os iti o n beforethe create a strong impr es sion against him in th w e or p ld ubl t i n c mind, which the life of a century mig ht not erase, by charging him, in the first instance, with threatening to publish There r te t nt to extort money, e k e ing certain n o e vid things, enee that charge, one of libel was next exhibited against him. to wi s t u h pp ill o . After hearing the case, which had no public interest, the Magistrate felt bound to call on defendant to find bail to answer the charge at the Central Criminal Court. Tho Captain was bound over to prosecute, in the usual • way, and defendant put in bail to answer the charge . MARLBOROUGH-STREET The man Haynes, who was held to bail for having a gun and ball -cartridges in his possession, for Chartist purposes, was brought up to be liberated, he having pro cured two respecsable tradesmen to be answerable for I his future good behaviour. One of the tradesmen said the defendant he had known from a child, and had given him work. He was a steady aharintwreordkeianiggaminagn, e b h u a t ra h e a te d br,ueekn leddhe was a w w as ay n b o y w o h th ea er r s til o y f the bail if th ey were willing to ash m a r m . e H d a o rt f z h w is ic c x on a d s u k c e t d . be bound for his future good conduct, and that he should not frequent seditious meetings ?—The bail answered in the affirmative. Haynes then ca me f orward, and, with tial aspect, p rom i sed future good b e he would gi ve up vll ha v a i o nl u r o , a t d P e c e l n a i r t in n ; " i anous company," and s ti c k to work like an honest man. Mr. HARDWICK accepted the proffered bail. W ORSHIP -STREET. Mr. David Waterworth, a bootmaker, in the Hack ney-road, was placed before Mr. Hammill, for final exa mination, cha rge d w i th having assaulted and danger ously injured Mrs. Eliza Kirby, the wife of a tradesman in the same neighbourhood. The complainant stated, that on the night of Wed nesday, the .17th ult., she was standing at the door of her house, with her niece and daughter, having been attracted there by an alarm of fire, when the defendant, with whom she had some previous misunderstanding, suddenly came up, and after assaulting her with the coarsest abuse, and declaring " that he would give it to her, now that he had got her alone," instantly struck her several violent blows in the face, and knocked her to the ground. The moment she regained her feet, the defendant struck her a violent blow over the right eye, which again knocked her down, and rendered her sense less. Upon recovering her senses, she found herself in her own parlour, under the at . ;endance of a surgeon, and bleeding profusely from numerous wounds, and being at the time in an advanced a tate of pregnancy, a mis carriage soon afterwards took place, and she was con fined to her bed, in a very precarious state, for nearly three weeks. The evidence of the complainant was fully corrobo rated by that of Amy and Susan Kirby, her niece and daughter, and a tradesman, named Gomer, who stated that although the defendant wits an entire stranger to him, he was enabled to identify him from having seen him at the door of his shop, - which was rendered con spicuous by a profuse display of Chartist bills and politi cal announcements exhibited in his window. Mr. Mark Pickering, a surgeon at Haggerstone, proved that upon beingcalled in to attend the complainant, he found her face severely Lacerated in six or seven places, her nose seriously contused, and both her eyes blackened, and he attributed her subsequent miscarriage to the injuries she had so sustaiated. Mr. H&MMILL said that he 'considered the case of far too serious a nature to be summarily disposed of, and he should therefore send it before a jury, and the prisoner, who expressed his intention to reserve his defence, was accordingly committed for trial ; but the Magistrate consented to take substantial bail for his appearance. Frederick Murgatroyd was eh iarged with having stolen a gold watch, of the value of 3 5 guineas, the property of a gentleman named Winterford, residing at Cottage grove, Walworth. The prosecutor stated that while passing through New street, Whitechapel, at a late hour on the preceding night, the prisoner made a sudd,en rush towards him, and grasped hold of his watch-guard 'with such a violent jerk that he snapped the swivel aru got possession of his watch, with which he instantly darted off: Witness pur sued the prisoner with a cry of " Stop thief," and kept him in sight until he was seized by a policeman who was advancing; but although he was subjected to an imme diate search the watch was not recovered, and he had no doubt he transferred it to ale of his confederates, who escaped in a different direr tion, just before he was captured. The prisoner, who protested :his innocence, was fully committed for trial. BENEVOLENCE.—The Magistr ate announced his re ceipt of a letter, with the signature " A. 8.," enclosing the half of a 20L note, No. 60,52.2, and lettered " T.F., " for the poor-box of the Coua •t, and the remaining moiety of which was promised to be transmitted upon the acknowledgment of the re c eipt of the first in the daily papers. SOUTHWA.RK William Lipsham was brought before Mr. Seeker charged with stealing two Asc.a)t Race Sweep tickets, amounting to 121. 75., the pr D,perty of Mr. William Harris, landlord of the Equesti ian Coffee-house in the Blackfriars-road, and Thomas 11 Vorster and John Miles were charged with being concern ex] in the offence. The complainant stated that r acing sweeps were held at his house, and that in conform its with the usual prac tices on these occasions, he ism id tickets for sweeps of the late Ascot and New Stakes. Monday last was the day appointed for the payment of prizes won on these two races, previous to which he 'had employed Lipsham as clerk, to attend to that partici filar part of his business, in the course of which the latter i ndividual was entrusted with various letters enclosing s's reep tickets to persons who had written for them from the country. On Friday last he (the complainant) gave '2,74ipshain several letters to post for country subscribers, a id much to his surprise he did not return afterwards. 0 a Monday, however, he called to make some inquiries rdating to the sweeps, and made some frivolous exciis e to account for his absence, but complainant rejecte i his further services, ignorant at the time that he had kept back tickets be longing to other subscribers. Lip ;ham then went away, but on the following day Worster called at the Eques trian Coffee-house, and presented, a ticket, the number of which was drawn a prize, and h a (complainant), with out suspicion, paid him the money, :amounting to 61. 13s. When he was gone, the waiter of a tavern in the neigh bourhood, entered the house, an, I presented another ticket, drawn a prize. This circ ui nstance led to some inquiries, when the waiter said tb.a t he had been sent to receive the money by the owner,, who was waiting at the tavern for it. The complains .nt, however, refused to pay the money without the own er of the ticket came himself, and then Miles came fox, yard, and at first as sumed to be the holder of the ticket, but upon being pressed on the subject, he admitt ed that he was merely engaged by the other two perso as, to represent him self as the owner of the prize, a ad that for his person ation in the affair he was to I itive had a sovereign for his trouble. The complai , a:int then went on to describe that he had since ascertained that the ticket presented by Worster belonged to a subscriber at Win chester, to whom it was enclose 3 in a letter, which must have been opened by Lipsham , and taken possession of when he was sent w i t h i t and c .thers to put in the Post-office on Friday. That it vs , : as also observed that Worster ivas the brother-in-law c f Lipsham. and when the former was taken into custody, he exclaimed that it was his brother who got him jaw the difficulty, The complainant added that a ticket so t ich turned out a 100/. prize on the horse Garrick was ala ) taken from his desk and presented by the sameman Woe ster, and that if it had not been for the circumstance of re ceivin g a letter from one of the subscribers to the Sweej ), announcing that he had not received his ticket, he (complainant) would have paid the .money to the ma 11 who presented the ticket. would be necessary to have Mr. SECKER having heard the t! t atement against th e accused parties, said that it Imo up a prize, an d was paid over to Worster on genwaheinichant.ltromd W inchester, to whom t ts production, after the atte h n e da ti i c ic k e et of belonged,thetter in which it w as having been abstracted from the . - inclosed. Mr. Games, on behalf of the priaoner, said that at the present stage of the investigation he should decline giving any answer to the charge, '3l it as the offence was a bailable one, he trusted the Nl•sg istrate would accept of such sureties as they could proc w .e to appear on a fu ture day. Mr. SECKER said that he should adjudge the prisoners to enter into their own recognizan ,as of 401. each, and find two sureties of 201. each, to appear again on Thursday next, and to give tweak frfour hours notice of bail. LAMBETH- As Mr. Norton was about to leas e the bench, Thomas Phillip Davis, a wretched-looking man with a Wooden leg, was brought into court and placi .d at the bar before him, on a charge of having attera, oed an act of self .destruction, by throwing himself ink the river Thames. From the evidence, it appeared that between three and .four o'clock yesterday afternoon the. ,orisoner flung him self from off the steps of the pier at Westminster-bridge into deep water, and had it not been for the promptitude :of a young man who happen e d t o be cm the pier, ho must ave been drowned. The unfortunate man wh o seemed eireacifully affected aske d--w ra h shenttiact, what had caused hi m to h, lve a t tem p te d so replied sheer want and I tarration. The :poor man then entered into a history of his complicated , THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, UNE 16, 1818. misfortunes, and his ultimate connexion with the Bei:- at-Law Society. Mr. NORTON directed the officer to take the unforti nate person to Lambeth workhouse, with his family, aril to request that they might be taken into that institutim for the present, and further desired that the prisoner's brother might be requested to attend before him ona future day. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. • HOUSE OF LORDS, June 15. Their Lordships met at Five o'clock. The Earl of SELKIRK presented several petitions against the Scotch Registration Bills. The Earl of ROSE BERY presented a petition from Linlithgow with a similar prayer; also several petitions praying for an alteration in the Scotch law of entail. POOR-LAW UNIONS —TRAMPS. Lord PORTMAN presented petitions from a Union in Somersetshire, and also from a Union in Dorsetshire, complaining of the burdens cast upon parishes by the great increase of tramps, and praying that some measure might be adopted to remedy the evil. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said that the subject was under the consideration of the Government, and they were much disposed to entertain a measure which should make a new distribution of the charge incurred from re ' lief given to tramps, and extending it over the whole union, instead of confining it to the parish in which the relieving officer resided, and in which, consequently, the relief had been given. Lord REDESDALE thought some alteration in the law was necessary. As long as a tramp knew that by applying to the relieving officer he could secure a good supper and a bed, so long he would be without any in ducement to endeavour to gain an honest living. After a few words from Earl Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Chichester, and the Earl of Stradbroke, Lord BEAUMONT said that he thought a much severer test of destitution should be applied to tramps than the test applied to the parochial poor. CORN -LAWS. Lord STANLEY Cg ave notice that, to-morrow, he should call the attention of their Lordships to the state of the law regulating the import a ti on o f f ore i gn corn. It was not his intention to enter at all on that occasion into . the discussion of the question of protection. ODD FELLOWS. Lord BEAUMONT presented a petition from a lodge of Odd Fellows, in favour of the Bill fur legalising this society. RAILWAYS AND STEAM NAVIGATION. Lord MONTEAGLE called the attention of the House to the grasping monopoly of certain railroad pro prietors who, by certain private Bills, were now endea vouring to monopolise the steam navigation of certain ports, and contended that the provisions of those Bills to that effect were in opposition to the standing orders of their Lordships' House, which standing orders would, he trusted, be strictly enforced. He wished to know whether the Government had not provided steamers of the greatest power to carry on the mail service between Holyhead and Dublin. The Earl of AUCKLAND said that the Admiralty had been prepared to carry on the Post-office service between Holyhead and Dublin, and unless he could feel assured that that service would be carried on as effectually by the railway company he should be sorry to see that service transferred to them. At the same time, if that service could be conducted by the company equally and efficiently, and more economically than it was conducted at present, it would be to the advantage of the country that it should be transferred to the company. The Earl of GRANVILLE explained the history of the passing of the Bill through the House of Commons, and said that the matter had been considered and re ported on by the Board of Trade. The Earl of ROI)EN bore testimony to the admirable manner in which the Admiralty provided for the per foimance of the Post-office service between Dublin and Holyhead. The subject then dropped. POOR-LAW (IRELAND). The Marquis of LANSDOWNE laid on the table numerous returns relating to the operation of the poor law in Ireland. Lord inquired what authority this board was supposed to have? Undoubtedly the board had not any binding authority either on the Government or the Parliament; but it was impossible for any person anxious to avail himself on railway matters of important information placed within his reach not to be aware how great a moral weight was attached to the opinions pronounced by the Railway Board. At the same time he (the Mar quis of Lansdowne) was not prepared to say that the Government or the Parliament ought to consider it self so bound by the opinions of the board as to re ject all further information, or refuse to hear any other person. All that Government and Parlia ment could do was to attach due weight to the opi nion of the board. Such had been, and such would continue to be the functions of the board, usefully exercised for the public service. If the Noble Lord asked him whether he (the Marquis of Lansdowne) was prepared to say that it would at no time be found ex pedient to give to this board:or some other still greater powers of control in respect to railways, he, of course, was not prepared to say .that the time would not come when a still further extension of the powers of the board might gradually take place. On this subject, however, a great deal of jealousy was entertained by the railway companies, and he did not think that matters had as yet reached such a point as would justify the Government in demanding further powers. The President and Vice- Presidentj of the Board of Control would give their at tention to railway matters, receiving the assistance of the most efficient officers, and ho had no doubt that the application of the Railway Board would continue to be as vigilant as it had been during the whole of the last year. • Lord REDESDALE said, in reference to the remark of the Noble Marquis, that weight was attanbed to the opinions of the Railway Board, he was almost afraid that no weight was given to them at all. Earl GRANVILLE conceived that the Noble Lord's observations had more reference to the old board than to the Railway Commission, for there was not one in stance in which the recommendations of the latter had not been attended to. He thought that the board might be made more useful, but even with its present powers he could not for one moment admit that the board was useless. Lord REDESD ALE thought that those to whom the gauge question had been referred ought not to havo left Parliament without more advice on the subject. THE SPANISH CORRESPONDENCE. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE, in moving that the House do then adjourn, regretted that he had not pre viously been able to lay before them copies of the Spanish correspondence, but he hoped to-morrow to present the whole of that correspondence. Their Lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, June 15. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four Mr. LUSIIINGTON presented a petition from the Anti-State Church Association, praying for the separa tion of Church and State. The lion. Member, in con nexion with this petition, gave notice that when the Regium Donum vote was moved he should move that it be discontinued. FOREIGN THEATRICALS IN THE METRO POLIS. Mr. Sergeant TALFOURD presented a petition from the performers of the Haymarket Theatre, complain ing of the extent to which foreign performers were en couraged in the metropolis, and praying the House to take steps to limit the number of theatres intec ded to be engaged for foreign theatrical entertainments. The Learned Sergeant presented a petition from numerous ladies and gentlemen connected with other metropolitan theatres to the same effect. Sir G. STRICKLAND presented 52 petitic.ns in fa vour of a reduction in the expenditure, and praying for Parliamentary refi)rm._ Several thin. Meintwrs presented petitions praying; that effective measures should be taken for the suppres sion of the slave-trade. THIRD READINGS. The following Bills were read a third time:— - Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway (Re vision of maximum Tolls and Charges on the Glas gow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway) Bill. London and South- Western Railway Company's Acts Amendment, Extension, Deviation, and New Works Bill. North Staffordshire Railway (Ashbourne Bra nch and Approach to Congleton Station) Bill. North Staffordshire Railway (Deviation at Willington) Bill. Newry and Enniskillen Railway (Amendment of Acts, and to authorise Arrangements with other Col %Julies) Bill. Mr. STAFFORD expected that such an appeal would be made to him from some Member on the opposite side of the House. He must confess t'nat he could not accede to the request of the Noble Lord. He considered that a most unfair and un constitutional course had been taken by some Members on the other side of the House, the result of which was, that the difficulties attending this question had become greater and greater, and ultimately would become insur mountable unless seine stop was put to the course that was being adopted. He could not allow a single clay to intervene before moving the writ, and having done so he would have discharged his duty, and made it imperative upon the House to discharge theirs. He moved this writ with more hope than he had moved others, for he had invariably found that a short recess gave Members a more vivid notion of what was right and wrong than upon other occasions. Let Hon. Members take the trouble to look over their papers and see what they had done in the present session. Since they had met in last November, the number of Acts they had passed amounted to eighteen. Of those eighteen, four were money Acts, three amendments and explanations of existing laws, two the famous coercion Bills, one the Borough Superannuation Fund, another to facilitate the progress of public works in Ireland, another to extend the time for the construction of railways, another for making arrangements in the Court of Chancery, and lastly, the famous New Zealand Constitution Suspension Bill. Such were the Bills they had passed this session, and in the face of this experience what chance was there of the Honourable Baronet's Bill passing this session? But the course the House was pursuing, so far from punishing bribery, was, in fact, encouraging it— (Hear, hear)—inasmuch as the electors who had hitherto been the exposers of bribery had been annoyed at the delay which had taken place, and now they al together abstained from making complaints of bribery. They had a proof of this in the proceedings of the last Bawdley election, where it was openly avowed that treating was freely resorted to, and yet they had now re ceived petitions complaining of the return, simply because the parties who were the opponents of corrup tion in that borough naturally felt that their petitioning might ultimately lead to the suspen sion of their motion altogether. Again, in the case of Kinsale, parties who bad determined to emigrate upon the proceeds of the previous election, upon learning that another contest was to take place, quitted the emigrant ship in the Cov e o f C or k, l eav i ng t h e i r wives and families on hoard, and returned to Kinsale to do a last act of duty to their country in assisting to return another Member to the Treasury benches.—(Hear, and laughter.) Bearing these circumstances in mind, and looking at the fact that the Hon. Baronet's Bill, repu diated as it was by the Government, and by the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth, had to fight its way amongst 48 others, he really felt that it was impolitic to delay the issuing of these writs any longer, and he should therefore persevere in his motion. Great distress was now existing in the borough of Lei cester, and the poor-rates were as high as 13s. in the pound. Consequently great dissatisfaction was expressed with respect to the institutions of the country, and there was growing up a tendency towards violence among the people, and he would ask was it right and was it expe dient in such a state of things to keep the bo rough without a representative in that II ouse ? The Hon. Member concluded by moving that Mr. Speaker do issue his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown to make out a new writ for the electing of two burgesses to serve in this present Parliament for the borough of Leicester, in the room of Sir Joshua Walmsley and Richard Gardner, Esq., whose election had been deter mined to be void. The SPEAKER having put the question, Mr. FREWEN rose to oppose the motion. He said the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Stafford) had told them that he had no connexion with Leicester.—(Hear.) A letter which he had received from a solicitor of much practice in the locality, stated that he had put his motion on the paper without consulting any one in the town with respect to it. Now the House had to consider two things —the report of the Committee which was presented only a feW days ago—(Loud cheers)—which set forth many cases of bribery, and whether they would main tain that report or not. His (Mr. Frewen's) family had been connected with Leicester for many years, and he believed it was as notoriously corrupt a place as any in the kingdom.—(Laughter.) As an instance of this, he might state that in 1826, 66,0001. were spent by three candidates, which showed that much of that money must have been spent in bribery. In 1839, when he (Mr. Frewen) most reluctantly offered himself as a candidate, he told his committee that he would rather lose his election than that there should be a single case of bribery. The election went against him, because his committee would not consent to spend 1501. in the same way as a similar sum had been expended at the previous :election—in bribery. A certain number of freemen tendered their votes to the committee for 11. a head, 17s. 6d. having been the price at the former election.—(Hear, and laughter.) They should either disfranchise the city or limit its boundary. Un less they took some decisive step the same system of bribery of which he had spoken would continue. Ho should therefore oppose the motion. Mr. SEYMER, a member of the Committee, recommended the House to read the report of the Committee before they came to a decision. If the Covernment proceeded with their Bill he would vote for the suspension of the writ, but if they did not he should feel compelled to support the motion of the Hon. Member for North Northampton. After a few observations from Captain MANGLES, which were inaudible ip the gallery, Sir J. PAKINGTON trusted that his lion. Friend the Member for North Northamplon would not press his motion for the issuing of the writ. Leicester was one of the Committees that had made a special report, and that report was entitled to the consideration of the Rouse. Such being his opinion, he thought the writs ought not to be issued. Lord J. RUSSELL considered that if the Honourable Member for North Northamptonshire had accepted his proposition he would have done far better for the interests of those he represented than by adopting the course he had of persevering with his motion for the issuing of the writ.—(Hear.) He denied that, the suspen sion of writs was an unconstitutional proceeding. Such a course was warranted by the proceedings that had taken place in earlier times, when writs had been suspended for a year, in consequence of bribery and corruption. In the case of Bishop's Castle, in the reign of queen Anne, such a course of proceeding had taken pl ace , an d numerous cases of a l a t er d a t e migt be brought forward. He thought, if the House approved of the principle of the Bill of the Hon. Member for Flintshire it should be gone on with, but if the House did not approve of the principle of that Bill ' • be would then go on with the Bill with respect t o th e Horsham borough, and en large its provisions as the House thought fit. Mr. BANKES said he was sure the Noble Lord would readily admit that the times to which the Noble Lord had referred were greatly disturbed by party feeling„ which ran very high in the House of Commons, so much so indeed, that it was related in Lord Hardwicke's life that the House, on ono occasion, voted that forty was a majority in ninety. It was in that way the elections were con ducted then, and he was sure the Noble Lord was not desirous that they should return to such a system as that. With regard to the immediate question before the House he thought these boroughs had been placed in a very unjust position. They had no representative to defend them in- that House, and the only way in which they could •support their case was by sending counsel to the bar of the House, which was a very inconvenient course. On the Whole, however, as this question would be resumed next week, he would recommend his Hon. Friend the Mem ber for North Northampton not to press his motion now, but leave the matter to be decided with the other cases next week. Mr. HUME said the motion given for Tuesday by the Hon. Baronet (Sir John Pakington) for the issue of the suspended writs, would have the effect of delaying his motion for Parliamentary reform, upon which, what ever might be the merits of the motion, great anxiety existed in the country. He, therefore, trusted that the Hon. Baronet would not persevere in his motion. Sir JOHN PAKINGTON said he had given notice for Tuesday next without the slightest reference to the motion standing in the Hon. Member's name on the paper, and considering that the issuing of the writs was a question of very great importance, he could not con sent to withdraw his motion. Colonel SIBTHORP trusted that the Hon. Baronet would take the sense of the House on the subject. After a few observations from Mr. ELLIO f, Lord LINCOLN said he quite agreed with the Noble Lord, that it was most desirable that the House should agree to take at once a division upon the general prin ciple of the Bill brought in by his !lon. Friend (Sir John Hamner), and if there was a majority in its favour, that no further impediment should be thrown in the way of its further progress. A private Member could not pass a Bill so successfully through the House as it could be done by the Noble Lord, who possessed so much influence in that House. He hoped, therefore, the Noble Lord would take the matter into his own hands. . Lord J. RUSSELL said he had given notice of his in tention to do so. Lord LINCOLN said people out of doors entertained much objection to indefinitely postponing the issuing of the writ. No doubt the majority of the House would vote against the issuing of the writ, but he hoped the Noble Lord would give precedence to the Bill on Tuesday. Lord J. RUSSELL had given as much assistance to the Bill of the Hon. Baronet, the Member for Flint broughs, as if it had been brought forward by a mem ber of the Government. He should assist the progress of the Bill to the best of his ability, but he could not give up other Bills of public importance, seeing that the Bill was threatened N% ith much undue opposition. Sir J. TROLLOPE, as a member of the Leicester Committee, wished to remark that they had specially reported that the parties at that election appeared to re quire the consideration of the House. Ile should like to know how the consideration was to be given to it when the evidence was not before them. Mr. HUDSON thought that, whatever might be the report of the Committee, it was hard upon the great majority of the voters in. Leicester to be deprived of th e exercise of their privileges, because 4 r . o s f the misconduct of some very few of the electorate. egard ed his Hon. Friend Sir Joshua Walrnsley, for whom he bad g rea t do e steem, he knew he had been most anxious to avoid' hardlythought treated. Mr. AGLIONBY said ue these di scuss i ons were ex tremely inconvenient.had beard it said that small constituencies were always corrupt. He denied the fact, us far as Cockermouth was concerned.—(Laughter.) I le would not sit there and he,ad arhis constituency sland e r e d i even by imputati on . sat for Cocker mou th ever since 1t332, and ho declared he had never paid a single WANDS WORTH. Henry Caswell, a butcher, lately carrying. on business in Belvidere-place, Southwark-bridge-road, was finely examined on a charge of sheep-stealing. Details of the case have already app eare d . The prisoner, who said he should reserve his defence, was fully committed. TIIAMES. Robert Brown, aged 22, of No. 28, Limehouser causeway, boiler-maker, was brought before Mr. Milan. tine, charged with being on the premises of Mr. Johi Abbott, the Harrow, in High-street, Poplar, with inters to commit felony. Mr. Abbott deposed, at four o'clock this morning heard a noise in my house, and I proceeded to search it and found the prisoner concealed in the passage leading to the garden. I said, "What are you doing here?" ant he immediately ran into the garden, and jumped over the wall into Harrow-lane. He has been repeatedly turne out of my house for disorderly conduct. I know lie is $ bad character. I have turned him out of my house be cause I suspected ho intended to rob my customers in the tap-room. Mr. BALLANTTNE—You have done quite right. Was he:in the house or not, when you discovered him ? Mr. Abbott—No, Sir, he was in a passage between the house and the garden. The prisoner could give no satisfactory account of himself, or why he came to the premises of Mr. Abbott at all. Mr. BALLANTINE had no doubt the prisoner intended to commit a felony, and sentenced him, as a rogue and vagabond, to three months' imprisonment and hard labour. Amelia Barberic, a middle-aged woman, was charged with stealing a drinking-glass, value 9d., the property of Mr. Wm. Jenson, the landlord of the Fir Treo Tavern, Church-lane, Whitechapel. The prisoner came into the Fir Tree on the evening of Sunday, the 21st of May, and called] for a glass of rum. She drank the liquor and carried off the glass. On Wednesday evening she came to the same house and asked for a half- quartern of gin, which was supplied to her in a glass. Directly afterwards George Lurcher, the barman, left the end of the bar where the prisoner was standing, to serve another customer. On turning round again he missed the prisoner and the glass too. He had a perfect recollection of her former visits and the disappearance of glasses, and he went after her and overtook her a short distance from the house. On pulling her shawl aside he found the glass concealed under it, end took it from her, and meeting with a police constable, named Robert Gifford, 82 H, he gave her into custody. Mr. Jenson, who is a very humane man, said he would not prosecute the woman f or stea li ng t h e g l ass if he was not quite satisfied she was an old offender, who had fre quently plundered him on former occasions. Mr. BALLANTINE committed the prisoner for trial, and said'he had no doubt a jury would relieve Mr. Jen son of any more visits from the woman. James Macgregor, a tall and powerful man, described as a ballast heaver, whose behaviour in the dock was exceedingly wild and irregular, was charged with com mitting a savage and unprovoked assault on Mr. John Gardiner, and Ellen Gardiner, his daughter. The complainant, Mr. Gardiner, is the landlord of a house of public entertainment, called the "Lass of Goa rie," in High-street, Shadwell. On Wednesday night he was returning with his daughter from the Leith Wharf, to which place he had accompanied his sister, who had embarked in a steamer for Scotland, and upon reaching the middle of High-street, Wapping, a sudden and furious attack was made upon him and his daughter by the prisoner. Mr. Gardiner was at once felled to the ground by a severe blow on the chest, and he fell backwards, his head striking the footpath, causing a serious wound to be inflicted, .from which the blood flowed copiously. His daughter, a fine young woman, received a blow on the side from the ruffian, and was also knocked down. Mr. Gardiner, on recovering him self, seized the fellow, and was immediately knocked down again, and while on the ground the prisoner fell upon him, and attempted to "gouge" his eye out by forcing his finger into the corner of it. Mr. Gardiner, by a desperate effort, saved his eye, and shook off his as sailant, who then renewed the attack on Miss Gar diner, tore her dress, and beat her shamefully. The father and daughter were alternately beaten and thrown down by the prisoner, who used dreadful threats, until they were nearly exhausted, when a respectable inhabitant, who saw part of the outrage from his window, sprung his rattle, and a police-constable end others came to the spot, and rescued Mr. Gardiner and his daughter from the fury of the prisoner. On the way to the station-house the prisoner made an attempt to escape from the officer who had him in custody, and struck Mr. Gardiner again, and, upon reaehing the station-house, threatened to take away Mr. Gardiner's life. The prisoner, whose person was covered with a black, oilskin coat, spread out the remnants of a linen shirt and flannel shirt, which had been torn to pieces in some affray in which he had been engaged, and said that Mr. Gardiner insulted him, and tore the shirt off his back, and attempted to strangle him—he had no chance with them at all. Mr. Gardiner and his daughter were recalled, and said they never saw the prisoner or interfered with him till he attacked them, and he was then without his shirt, and threw something which appeared to be one into the middle of the road, After some wild exclamations from the prisoner, Mr. BALLANTINE said he was half disposed to think the prisoner was mad, but if he was the people in the House of Correction would take care of him. He sen tenced the prisoner to pay a fine of 54 for the assault on Mr. Gardiner, and in default of payment to be impri soned for two months, and for the assault on Miss Gar diner to pay another fine of st, or remain in gaol two months longer. ELECTION COMMITTEES. DUBLIN. The scrutiny into the validity of Mr. Reynolds's ma jority was resumed yesterday, and in the course of the day the p e titi oners succee d e d i n striking offthree additional votes. COMMITTEE OF SELECTION. The General Committee of Elections met yesterday afternoon, and nominated the following Members to try the merits of the petition presented against the last return for the borough of Sligo, namely: Mr. Adair, Mr. W) keham Martin, Mr. John Evans, Honourable Colonel Pennant, and Mr. J. B. Wrightson, chairman. WSBURY and BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY. A special general meeting of this company was held yesterday, at the offices in Moorgate-street, to consider the draft of a Bill now before Parliament for the alter ation of the line of the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolver hampton Railway, and for authorising the directors to borrow the sum of 433,0001., the power to do which is given under the Act. To the first part of the busi ness the shareholders present, who were numerous, made no objection. On the resolution for the second being put, Mr. Fielder, of the Stock Exchange, moved an addition, to the effect that the money should be raised by tho issue of preference shares bearing 8 per cent. interest. On this a long discussion arose, in which the probability of raising the money by debentures or calls was strongly debated, and an amendment was moved to limit the power of the directors in raising the money, but ultimately Mr. Fielder's amendment was embodied in the original motion, and thanks having been voted to the Chairman (the Hon. Colonel Clive), the meeting was dissolved. SINGULAR SUICIDE OF A CHEMlST.—Wednesday afternoon, at three o'clock, Mr. I'. Wakley, M.P., held an inquest at the Hope Arms Tavern, Oxford -street, on the body of Mr. Clement Downes, aged 25, chemist and druggist, of No. 1, Duke-street, Manchester-square, who died from the effects of prussic acid. Mr. Eyre, solici tor,. attended on the part of deceased's friends. Mr. Thomas Alston O'Flaherty deposed that he was a sur geon, and resided at 59, James -street, Oxford -street. He was called to see Mr. Downes about ten minutes past seven on Monday morning. He was then dying, as he understood, from the effects of low fever, of which he had had an attack daring the week. On a post-mortem examination, however, a large quantity of prussic acid was found in deceased's stomach. Mr. William Tur ner said he was a chemist and druggist, and resided in Rathbone-place. Deceased was his cousin. He last saw him alive about eleven o'clock on Sunday night, at No. 70, Berners-street. He called upon deceased with a friend about seven o'clock in the even ing, and found him in bed in a dreadfully low and de sponding state of mind, reading the Bible. He said he should never be happy in this world again. They made him get up and go out with them for a walk, thinking it would relieve him, and having partaken slightly of supper, ho went home. Had frequently heard him ex press himself in great trouble about an income-tax paper which had been left him, and he appeared appre hensive that he should not fill it up properly. That preyed much on his mind. In answer to questions the witnesses stated that the deceased frequently alluded to the circumstance of the assistant to his predecessor (Mr. Farmer) having committed suicide by taking prussic acid, in the same bed-room he occupied, and which occurred about eight or nine months back. The Coroner having alluded to the painful circumstances of the case, the jury returned a verdict—" That deceased died from having taken prussic acid, whilst in an un sound state of mind." AN OTTER CAUGHT IN THE EDEN.—An otter hunt was advertised to take place at Armathwaite on Monday last. A fine male otter had been captured a evening, so th at i t thereby escaped a more vio n little above th e b ay in the river Eden, but it died on lent Sun dayeate, at Black moss P ool, where he wes to have made fate, sport on the following day. Great numbers of persons from Carlisle and other places, with a medley pack of all sizes of otter hounds, assembled at Armath svelte on the appointed morning, and despite the pelting rain, deter , mined to seek for another otter. Accordingly the Eden f ro m Armathwaite to Hazonby was duly scoured; and, although the search proved fruitless so far as otters were concerned, the magnificent scenery, even in unfavourable weather, compensated such of the pedestrians as could appreciate it. It is perhaps not saying too much to assert that no river in Europe can equal the Ed en f or thewhensub limity either th ofitssceenAreryLwetshpecaiiiitlel,y is the ab ove loca lity, Nunnery Walks, Coom's Peak, Cat Clint, or Sampson's Chamber, would separately repay a day's ramble.—Durham Advertiser. GRAY'S INN.—CALLS TO THE BAR, JUNE 14.-- The undernamed gentlemen were this day called to the degree of barrister-at-law by the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn , viz., Daniel Harnett Stack, Esq., A. 8., Thomas Worthington Barlow, Esq., and Leon Ar naud, Esq. RAILWAY COHMISSIONERS. Lord REDESDALE then rose, pursuant to notice, to ask a question relative to the duties of the Railway Commissioners, and the position in which they were considered to stand with relation to the Government. He said the question was one of great importance, when they considered the variety of questions to which it gave rise, one of which had just been raised by a Noble Lord, who, when he put his question, did not seem to be aware of the presence of the head of that very Railway Board to whom all such questions ought to be referred. He would briefly recal to their Lordships' recollection the circumstances under which that board had been formed. In 1844, when the railway question was be coming of the greatest importance to this country, and when it was evident to all that in the ensuing session of Parliamen such a mass of Railway Bills would be brought forward, that unless some assistance were rendered to the Committees on them,the public interests would suffer, a Railway Department of the Board of Trade was formed, to consider and report on those Bills. The Noble Lord (Lord Granville) who presided over that department, gave the greatest attention to those Bills during the vacation, and from time to time issued re ports calculated to prove of the greatest public benefit. When those reports appeared it was thought Govern ment would give its support to the recommendations of their own board, and if it had so acted the result would have tended to the public good ; but no sooner was the question mooted than it was seen that the Government did not mean to support the reports of the Board of Trade, and the Committee on every Bill had more weight than those reports. Indeed in every instance in which the reports were opposed to the decision of a Committee the latter was maintained as if no previous public investigation had taken place. The _House of Commons. at last becam e so sens i ble of the mischiefs likely to arise from this course, that an address to the Crown was moved for the appointment of Railway Commissioners. At this period arose the contest known as the Battle of the Gauges, and the Government, aware of the importance of taking up the subject in a serious m anner , th e report of the Board oifon Trade nn r o was u ta ken w as er a e m G e o v v e e d rn i na za Government measure, nouses, r a es n o d lu a Billthesubjectt dced and pa sse d as a Government measure to settle the question. It was th en t h ought desirable to siot appoint the Railway Board and to form Railway Com missioners, who would take cognisance of all things be— longing to that department, and report their opinions specially by orders of both Houses of Parliament. Such a board was necessary to guide Parliament for every en suing session, and should such board not make such re ports they would be guilty of dereliction of duty, and be consequently upset. He thought it unjust, as the Rail way Board had been of the greatest advantage to the Parliament and the country, when questions of great and paramount importance were brought before the two Houses. There were also the gauge question and ot h ers i n which this board took a decided and very u seful step. He considered the Govern ment should take a decided line to pass a Bill for the public benefit, so as to add mor e power to this board, which was ,at present little better than useless. He should also say that the amalgamation of railways should be looked to by the Government, in which this board has taken a decided position, and he believed no other board stood in the same position as this. H e would refer to the superintendent of Woods and Forests, and to other such boards, and ask was there not a very great difference between the Railway Board and these. In fact, he thought that the power of the Railway Board was done away with when it was transferred to the Pre sident and Vice-President of the Board of Trade. When it was known to both Houses of Parliament that lines were made more for the good of companies than for the advantage of the public, there was a feeling on the part of the House that more stringent measures were ne cessary, and that this board should have full powers. It was also thought desirable to continue this board, which in those powers would be the means of restor ing confidence to the country, and with such an intention a Bill was brought into the House of Commons, which he regretted to say was allowed to drop, and thus the board has not the power over railways which would be advantageous to the public interest. Such a state of things he did not think creditable to the Government or to the Railway Board. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE admitted the im portance of the subject, which related to the conduct of the railway system in thi s country, an d the amount o f interference which was more or less incumbent on the Government and Parliament. The question of the Noble Lord raised two points; first, whether it was ex pedient that there should b o suc h a b oar d i ntruste d w i th the charge of inquiring i n t o t h e state of railways and the accidents arising out of them ; and, secondly, if so, what should be the duties of such a board. He had no hesitation in saying, that though there had been an alteration in the administration of the board, consequent on the person who had been at its head ceasing to exercise those functions whi c h h a d b een personally intrusted to him ; and though the office which that gentleman held,. and the sa l ary attached to it, had, on a principle of economy, been suppressed, yet the Railway Board itself existed, entrusted with all the same functions and precisely in the same relation, in respect to the Government, as befor e; an d , though the Noble Lord seemed to think . that the board bad b ecome of little importance, and insignificant in the eyes of Par liament, yet he (the Marquis of Lansdowne) considered that its labours were of real importance, the Commis sioners and their paid officers operating, from w ee k t o week, and from day to day, for the public benefit, and for the assistance of the Government and the Parlia. rnent. In order that the Noble Lord might kn ow h ow numerous and impor the functions of the board were , he would state the various points to which its attention was particularly and constantly directed. They embraced the opening of railways, and the examination of th e lines in reference to their fitness for the pu r p ose of public travelling; mg • ein esinto those cases of ac cidents which untbrtunately too frequently o ccurre d ; the regulation of cheap trains ; the con sideration of all the bye-laws relating to these subjects, and all t h e miscellaneous powers relating to lines ; references under special Acts of Parliament, of disputes occurring between company and company, references under th e standing orders, and the special duty of making reports thereon; and the consideration of a vast numbe r o f colo nial railway schemes, which from time to time were sub mitted to the Commissioners. Not less than 780 lines had been inspected and reported on the course of last year, and in the present year a greater number wou ld be inspect e d. E s t e nsivo investigations had been made in cases of accidents, and, in respect to 22 of those cases, special rep or t s h a d b e en made by the engineers acting under the a u th or ity o f the Commissioners, and valuable suggestions had been made by the engineers, w hi c h , in most cases, if not in all, were willingly acted upon by tho companies. The Commissioners had also inserted in Acts of Parliament a number of special clauses relating to a variety of different subjects. It could not be said, then, that the board was not dis c h arg i ng useful a n d i mportant d u ti es , or th a t it was not i n the full exercise of those functions with which Parlia ment had intrusted it, and with which he thought it should Le intrusted, for these duties ought to be per formed, for the public convenience and safety, under the authority of the Commissioners, by paid officers, care fully selected and experienced, whose attention was not liable to be distracted by other occupations, The Noble REPORTS. The followiogreports were considered and agreed to:— Aberdeen Railway (Additional Capital). Caledonian Railway (Branches connecting the Clydes dale Junction and Wishaw and Coltness Railway, &c.). Dundee and Perth Railway (Lease of the Dundee and Arbroath Railway). Dundee and Arbroath Railway (Dundee Junctie.n). Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, and Glasgc•w, Air drie, and Monklands Junction Railway (Anis :ndment of Acts). London and North-Western Railway (Branches :and Ex tensions from Leamington, &c.) Walsall Improvement and Cemetery (No. 2). Windsor, Staines, and South-Western Railway Act (No. 1), 1847 (Slough Extension and Dev iations) (No. 2). Wishaw and Coltness Railway (Deviation, Cos tnecting Branch, and Improvement). Whitehaven Junction Railway (Extension, Alt nation, and Branches, &c.) York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railway (Great 7 forth of England, Clarence and Hartlepool Junction B ailway, and Hartlepool Dock and Railway Leasing). SECOND READINGS. The following Bills were read a second time and or dered to be committed:— Philanthropic Society Charity Estate Bill. Rawlins' (or Bishops Hull Curacy) Estate Bill. FOREIGN DRAMATISTS. Mr. H. BERKELEY presented a petition from Mr. Benjamin Webster, of the Haymarket Theatre,, stating that this country was over-run with foreign actor s, com plaining of the support and patronage which t hey re ceived, and praying that some limit might be pi st upoa the number of theatres devoted to foreign theatri cal en tertainments. PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. Mr. DUCKWORTH presented a petition in fa your of Parliamentary reform, and praying for a reduc don in the national expenditure. ISSUING OF WRITS. Sir JOHN PAKINGTON gave notice that ht would move, on Tuesday next, that a writ be issued for the borough of Derby, and in the event of that motio a being agreed to, he would move that the other suspend° d writs be issued, with the exception of two. DISMISSAL OF THE SPANISH AMBASSADOR. Mr. BANKES—I wish to put a question to th* Noble Lord at the head of the Government with res pact to the alleged dismissal of the Spanish Ambassado r from the Court of her Majesty. I wish to ask him w hether the departure of the Spanish Ambassador orig inated with the Government here or with his own Government, or whether it arises from any other cause ; and Ni hether any correspondence will be laid upon the table of the House with regard to his departure ; also whethre r it is the intention of the Government to lay upon the ti able of the House any further correspondence or papers r elative to the dismissal of our Ambassador from the C ourt of Madrid? • Lord JOHN RUSSELL rose and said, anas ist the most profound attention,—Mr. Speaker, the disut issal of the Spanish Ambassador from the Court of her A fajesty is the result of correspondence between my- Noble Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affai rs and the Spanish Minister. It is not the result of t s recal from his own Government.—(Cheers.) My Noble Friend will shortly lay on the table of the House additional papers by the command of her 711 ajesty, and these papers will relate to the dismissal of Sir H. Bulwer, as well as the present dismissal of the Spanish Ambassador.—(llear, hear.) GREAT INDIAN PENINSULAR RAIL WAY COMPANY. Mr. BRIGHT gave notice that to-morrow night he should put a question to the President of the Board of Control with regard to the negotiations now pending between that Board and the Great Peninsular nailwaY Company. BRITISH GUIANA. Mr. BAILLIE said information had recently ?en re ceived to the effect that the Court Policy of the c colony, taking into consideration that the expenditure. of the colony had increased during the last two years from 56,000/. a year to 225,0001., had wisely determined to re duce the expenditure by reforming it. They pr( posed that the salaries of the public officers of the colonl , com mencing with the Governor himself, should be re duced 35 per cent., and that with a view to see will it the mother country would do, only to vote th : sup plies for six instead of twelve months; a oth of which propositions were rejected by the G ).vernor. The questions he wished to ask were, whetin ir there would be any objection to lay the correspond ence on the matter on the table, and whether it was true that the Noble Earl at the head of the Colonial -office had refused to license eight vessels for the conveyance of et aigrants in connexion with the colony ? Mr. HAWES said it was perfectly true that tb e Noble Earl had refused to license the vessels, because , in the first place, he did not wish to see captured negr. 3es sent to a colony which appeared in such an unsettle< I state; and secondly, because the captains of vessels co 3veying free African emigrants received a bounty on tin dr arri val, which, as the supplies had not been voted, cc meld not have been paid. When the correspondence, w hick he had no objection to produce, was laid on the to ,ble, he should be prepared to justify the determination h ) which his Noble Friend had come. WEST INDIA DISTRESS. Lord J. RUSSELL said that he proposed to ma. kt the statement of which h e h a d g i ven notice for to-m. Tow evening with respect to West India distress, before the other orders of the day.—(l-lear, hear.) NEW WRIT FOR LEICESTER. Lord J. RUSSELL wished to put it to his I lon. Friend opposite, the Member for Northampton, who had a motion on the paper for to-night for the issuin; ; of a writ for Leicester, whether, under exisiting cu c urn stances, ho would press on his motion that evening. The evidence taken before the Committee had been pr .n, Fed, but was not in the hands of Members, added to '.vh. ich the whole subject would be brought before the liot se , on Tuesday next, for which day the Hon. Member f or Droitwich bad given notice of a general motion on tl to subject, _ ---- o te farthing except for legal expenses-. He lied,%e r e; been asked for money, and only twice for eri his canvasses. Sir G. GREY hoped all the g entlemen w e et o seated small boroughs would not think it e f eloitti detail the circumstances of their canvasses.--(L° In the present case he had no hesitation in ref° 3l etli° assent to the motion before them. The evideneeestel Committee was not before them, and unti l it roil° until it had been considered, he should no t V° 1 0 , case for The issue of the writ. „ o,li Mr. MANGLES rose t o explain. He :le Pee tacked small b oroug h s indi s criminately, bu t el ' that a small nutnbe'r of voters could always 00 g ir scale. get, ke Mr. COBDEN said h o hoped the Houseatestei was more pure than had been represented• lodr felt convinced—that some of the cases whic h octt; brought before the House were by no Dial% idol grant cases as had occurred in other pleeet e % O r ; election. He believed the cases of Sir Jesees e elef" Icy arid Mr. Gardner at Leicester, of Pee s ee °I ; Lincoln, and of the late Honourable 3 ,L r e „,., Lancaster, were peculiarly hard cases.--(Peeahs He believed the last elections in these bote7011: as fairly conducted as ever elections had b ( ; e fer t 10,1 places.—(Cheers.) But what he rose to ail o i c e the fact that the Hon. Member for Dry' tote thought it fit to give notice of his intention ' b e e e e / or between his Hon. Friend (Mr. Hume) en d t y e ebe r he of the House on Tuesday night. The flon• o w cobs Droitwich had declared that be did not lc° Op should so interfere when he gave his ee tice. hine eel knew it now. The fact had been stated W eeee ree, reply was, that his motion was of so rielic h „ 4 ,loP ee that he could not postpone i•. But there W . " 1" r d ere; , sion to postpone it. He might bring it fo r e ,, aid, 111 11 1 row, or on Monday.—(Hear, hear.) 11 1 e lac°: c e , ever, persist in bringing it forward on Toeseseereeeeo drive himself and his friends to take the onler .ess ieep course which was open to them, and raise etr e ; rOP ) the general state of the representation e` tebe er e j o t e whenever the question of a writ was raised."eoell Mr. W. MILES thought Mr. Hume fair 4 ere sel o pe . bring forward a question relating to the rerapreettal of the people. With regard to the ClaeStiOn__Aed f t ote he thoughethat as the subject was recomlo7oolo for consideration by a C omm itt e e, he eer y 0• for the present issue of the writ. r the/ Or Mr. GORING also said he should vote AL M l ee ola lo° sion o f the writ. e e esr. STAFFORD said he should mo ve elder. issue of the writ for Derby, and thereby lediepee difficulty arising from the notice given /I°liefi'sre' for Droitwich, who certainly might at "eesere, o o o " his motion for any other clay tban eetle• crewel hear.) He had been asked - to posteetioe, to because the eviden ce was not b e fore the ee e " te e o°oo, would it be laid b e for e th em ? If any P r '"eoPasla be able by his del a y s t o p reven t the issaielerle "eft he did not know where the snspension of pd . , A terminate. Although he knew that he shetleisetir a small minority, he should, on prinelPl e ' division. The House divided, when there apPea refr. 6 For the motion ............................ Against it .................................. Majority .......... • vi 40 1.. PUBLIC HEALTH BUJ', el eer On motion for a f ur th er p roce eding oil i ll- Al 01 deration of the rep or t on t hi s Bill, eteebars 0 - Lord LINCOLN sa id h e was anxious v ° ete o oe motion of which he had g i ven n otice to site b e e ett tution of the board by which this Bill west., V i ler He had thought a centra l aut h or ity neee j e of' fe S in the Bill, as originally framed, the prineiPoorereer lisation was carried too far. The Bil l ' b eeet l s o/1 since been. altered, and its machinerY has .600' Abe strutted. He highly approved of the altera' 'l l " had been made, an d h e s h ou ld therefore el' ee blu e amendment he had int en d e d t o propose. e ficee c 'elee Viscount MORPETH expresse d iris grae l s e tb e oele e withdrawal of the am e nd men t, and tha n to tb e ,eor, Lord for the general su pp ort h e had giv en te ese t e bc r Colonel THOMPSON then moved t° / o ' ol following for clause 88:—" Provided elteit e ioe ,r !e ' enacted, that no contract, covenant, o r - a ril 0- oh, tween landlord and tenant, or any other Peec, b e or ing the payment of taxes and assessments " jo iel o pts on their respective premises, shall be d ee rt to o o 1/* strued to extend to the payments or ape eetbreliriltj payment charged thereon under thi s "r c' nf eeo ' 0 binding contrary to the intent and rnean-e m e oes'e but that all such payments shall be chere - s eele s, paid by the respective occupiers, subje ct tc' th erir tis i l tions and repayments as are by this Aet a l:/ /0 1e° e sii e allowed; and all such deductions and r, e e P a is di e e k tf° l4 bo made and allowed accordingly, Ilet w `eal: oft t e tl rr contracts, covenants, or agreements; 613 ` - j ON I OP . „ covenants, and agreements made or entereer oodue, made or entered into, for payment of 913 Y e pi c ' ' ol e j ". annual payment in full, without allowieguetaleso tions and repayments as aforesaid, sha ll e be e The ATTORNEY-GENERAL oPP - e e meet. e aasiOe' fsl lll° The clause was withdrawn without a ', h i e, oil e e ,el,l Mr. TURNER then moved to add si t ""- led P : 1 - 10 A the following clause:—" And be it e i n e e e ee etree 0 1e ; mediately upon the issuing by the sei e u r t ale 0 : - Ftr i et of health of any such certificate es u 'a - of e ri t le ° l l et tioned, in reference to any burialeg r eeatY ° A I fr t e t ie or extra-parochial place, it shall be th e l eea l eejle, e l districtgen eral withal bo:ird whichto g such certificate shall ive le t e hn board, within a time to be e o t l iz ifi t i c t l ega th rc e gj i t iii rsin er i t i situate, roby such p to S uch e ate or provide or purchase additi en g t, e t eerisPfer to the said general board- shall seef a Pie, either within or out of the bowie° ' 9. s roleler is o l place, for the enlargetbent of such burial•gb s oe f v in aking an additional burial-ground for 110 be of' or extra-parochial place, and thereupon it b o o i0° 00 .13 05 , 0 for the said • local board, with the ape or or 1 :0 01 /, ° 0 11 said general board, to make such preeo•e en o f ea to accordingly; accordingly; and in default of such Prci' l ' i '4o 9 3 V -§ being made and completed within the tinieueero Dude: , j. notice, it shall be lawful for the said g e t he l i e sti l is Make such provision or purchase, and for rsi j of such purchase, either by the said gen e e t See r eb l " by the said local board, all the provisions of ee d ; Clauses Consolidation'Act, 1845, relative t ° r a w to and sale of lands, shall be consolidate , 0 % deemed end taken to be part of this Act: f c e Mr W. J. FOX opposed the claus e, ase „ tll 9 / injustice to the Dissenters, who would of churchyard accommodation, from the use ot " ta might be excluded. 61'" e Mr. NEWDEGATE supported the clan° cee o ete` # Lord J. RUSSELL would put to the flen••orie,oolle the case of a Baptist: the Baptist would. or efe e ,dd e t 4 to contribute towards the rate for erecting 0 1311/0110 yard, as proposed by the Hon. Merneer. f ee° , Baptist be entitled to bury his child in the c t to which he had contributed? 0 1 " eo t 0 .0,„ Mr. TURNER said that his clause did ge m- her e , P l ' general principle of the Bill in this respect. fr e e , be, of course, a portion of churchyards ePe senters. tb 6 ; O' Bill The vestedAT TtboeßN freeholdEY GoEtNe churchyards pointed rdsi n th 0 8 1 . 06 . TURNER said the difficulty Y Mr. by only vesting w et h: fr o e.sei Mr. HUDSON conceived that it w ee a s e ° in the clergyman. nro lA r : eo se l oii for Dissenters to be called upon to contreece O e the purposes of a churchyard from whi ch t e ß e - o l i etni cli e v i excluded. He agreed with the Hon. lilo r- zte 'ay clause that it would be perfectly to ele ll eati oc culty by vesting the freehold easy y yd tile c portion of churchyards in th on clergyman' s d The; ATTORNEY-GENERAL sugge s t retnoval of the words, " of any parish or e irin tr re °s ilo place," would remedy the objection, as taee eee• le' .1 provision the special character it vow possess,ry d e Viscount MORPETH said he should be I L 00","' adopt any practical suggestion that enig hv e . l) fteel, P ; o • l o ; obviating what was clearly an evil as rcg':" erica ters. It was manifest that their position injoie burying places should be placed O il S mo re satisfactory footing.--(Llear.) oef ( 10 0 The clause w as t h en w ithdrawn. heft 1,0 0 Colonel SIBTHORP wan ted to know wee, o f ;v e to have a Bill f or th e scour ing of the C" , 0 1 that receptacle of a very dirty set ? eti t/P e ° 0 „l uP Viscount MORPETH said that his O c t be 1 %0 A the present Bill had been so incessant, the 0 .0 0 , 1 4 been able to bring forward the lon , &la ce /Al e he co eil ee measure f at the City of London; but o ettee f 1)0 0 .0 . the Hon. d Gallant Gentleman that a cj i t y 0 froli reference to the sewers, not only of the - „ t o but of the metropolis generally, was in l e astl e ast eee tion, and would be introduced with the „ reg i esl delay. pig gl Captain PECHELL moved that in eign 0 49 jp e s ing the qualifications of voters, all th e f pree to plurality of votes, according to este rs ors 0 0 omitted, so as to place the rich and poor 000eit level in this respect. o tie°' ref Mr. HUME strongly supported the in i y 0/ 1 ground that plural voting in parishes was in amongst the people at l a r g e. Lord MORPETH said that the que stiell e b is tid rd .0 fully argued in the H ouse th a t it would be c r o e. 0 to the decision then arr i ve d at to alter the ' ll loo ti° ; Mr. S. CRAWFORD, w h o se conded the W p(ier tlOf e ° strongly supported it. d ell Mr. NEWDEGATE, as a magistrate, 040 o f plural voting in parochial matters had been P r discontent. pe„; rs Sir B. HALL said that be was the rePt. e . three parishes, in two of which single votl i '; o te . ° oo o l i mitted, and in the third (Paddington) P lur° ,ari° ll3 irei e e r t e he pre ß p r a ll rin fo g r , the metropolis, w hich s given, to the great dissatisfaction of tbieo ]Go re o errie!glir was eure the he - posed to it. c d o infft.eai rent ned ashessh would be gre o nb ; t eras $O O Mr. HENLEY thought the Governmeee the adhering to the decision already emne to bZ w, After a few words from Mr. DRITAINW`e, The House divided, when there appeared I For the motion ............................. • 46 6 ti ......... Against it t The ell eseo. 2)o' 010 was received. BOROUGH ELECTIONS BlLfe s© g e el -eoeof Committee on this Bill being read, _ oe posi 0 On the order of the day for the lalea s° telenotin°:lide.;: ,th° Colonel SIBTHORP rose to offer all en u r ed by o lle' his power to this Bill. He had been ineleere Bill. jog Hon. Members that they disapproved g as they were not there he could not say, e'" eros slY e l) for him to be at his poet. The Bill wes,e cee the, beef If justice was done other muc h larger P: t a dee i Inl e o named in it would be included . A gre",, 1 ,0 to' u icii`; said about Horsham, and the Nob le bor e Lis d a bringing the case before the House. Ba o e iog iseuoethe, d u e e t. ( , C W ol ty ne h l a s d ib th tb e o N rp opl r e eg L r o e r t d te d d el t a d a e t d , t s e_e p f o o rpo s eee ree9 House would not allow him to move Ply