The Sun. — London, England, 1852-03-23 00:00:00

I Mosirel BERKELEY said he hoped t he Gallant other would 'let tieey a statement he made on his re aPensibility as e,n officer. He pledged hi , character end te Putation to this—that when he was i n office, within 24 b oars after they had been asked for, a fleet of steamers co uld have been manned And armed a nd made ready f a ' lr i ava , and would have been at sea , c overin g the Chan 'X'. He repeated that statement, and ass erted also that t he present Admiralty had it likewise in their power, and could do is if they pleased. Nor did be take any e,redit fo r t h e sys t em . It had commenced under Sir It. Peel. Admiral BOWLES said ho wo uld not dis p ute the Gallant Admiral's assertion; and as he stated it, he would take it to be so. Mr. WILLIAMS could not see where the steamers W ar eto be found. lie saw only a small numb er in coca tateeion, Sir F, BARING said this only showed that the Hen. Gentleman was spsaktng up:at a sub j ect of whit!, h.• , nothing.—('. Be ,ore hear," :lee laughter.) 1,„? X lll Member merely looked at the edition of 'lt , "Y List, and nut fioding :he stesiners in cum tnision, Conceived it imposeible that they ghoul l be ready at ail hour's notice. Bur the statement of his Gallant Frii-oni wrse not th a t they were in commissio n , but t hat in 24 eieura the vessels could be manned, armed, and made ready for sea. In short, ,hey were advanced" vessels. Mr. WILLIA NIS--Thet is an explanation. Sic F. BARING (tart 4) —Weil, that is what you want, isn't ii?—(A leueh.) Mr. WILLIAMS—Yese but the Gallant Admiral did 13 01 give it. Sir F. BARING—WeII, if you want it, you've got it. -- (Laughter.) The Hoc. Member bad got all his in formation from the .Navy List, and did not und r stand how ships could be " advanced" and ready for sea without being in actual commission.—(Hear.) With regard to lieyham Dock, the delay in the completion of fe works bad partly arisen from the report ef the Com mittee of 1848. He wished to advert to a prevalent notion that the security of the country consisted in having the fleet always in the Channel. There was nothing in the northern ports to create alarm; and the probable result of calling home all our large ships would be, that France would follow cur example. We should not add one jot to our security hy inducing France to !Zing a large fleet of steamers opposite our shorts. The present Government could feel no uneasiness with respect to the northern ports. With respect to the at t?eks made on the late Board of Admiralty out of doors, the time had gone by for dealing with them; but of his l !ttetessors in the Admiralty, he would say that he believed them to be animated by the, same earnestness and c zeal for the service to which they be l o n g ed as the former board. During the time he had been in office he 41 4 succeeded in reducing the estimates by one million and a half; but however much the p resent board might .7 11 1 to emulate his economy, he confessed he was not 'cry sanguine as to the chances of their efficting so large lt reduction. Captain SCOBELL, while he rejoiced to find a naval Tacer at the bead of the present Board of Admiralt y , ltil be still more gratified to find him unconnected W ith Parliament and with politics, for, ad o p , i n g a sys *leraewhich, he found in existence, he woul d fre q uentl y Was to distribute honours and promotion where there taOst interest rather than most merit.—(Hear.) b° trade mote e on hfficient?ad arisen how Now in the 1795 we lists of o had fficer9l s co ad uld - Ultra' te s. 420 captains, 197 commanders , a nd 1,395 lieu ijants; and we had 101 line-of-b e t t le ships in cum mission. At that date the list of officers, though small, W as composed of active and experienced men. Cou ld t heZ name thing be said of the present list of admirals? again of them, from age and infirmity, would be una b le pin to go afloat, and in order to ensure efficiency, it :'as his deckled opinion that the list should be still f urther reduced. It was proposed to have 100 admirals °a the list. Fifty, he thought, would have been amply a _lifficient, the more especially as only twelve were at the Pr moment employed. Taking the post-captains at °(:), it would take 16 years to give each of them three ! e ars at sea; while the lieutenants would be afloat three Years oat of nine. Of the 800 or 900 mates, "gdshi and cadets now in the na v y , be tweenpm", 300 and 400 were mates, and last year wont 30 lieutenants were promo ted, and 84 cadets Z a nitted to burden the list. But he was afraid 174 system of bevel promotion w ou ld p revail until the 4 /Y was emancipated from political shackles, and until so me chief watched over its interests not removable at ev er' change of Government. Another question affect °g the efficiency of the navy 'Nei the payment off or .k Z I P% At present they were generally p aid off ever y r% or four years, which wen much too fre q uent.-- (Hear. He would also assimilate the term of enlist ,7," in the navy to that of the army, not tak in g a man uo would not serve over five years, and giving a bonus those who enlisted for seven, ten, or fourteen years. -- (,_ l lPar, bear.) Under the present system th e first and --nd years were taken up in teaching the me n their daises, and the third in making men of war of them. that as soon as a ship became capable of action, Port admiral came on board, complimented ever) - li e' on his efficiency, and torthwith dismantled the d id With regard to the naval reserve, be • be at not think it was sufficiently large. There should ar least 10,000 seamen (2, 0 0 0 petty officers , and 8 . 000 able-bodied seamen), so that 7,000 or 8,000 effective men mo uld be had when wanted. A good navy , in g ood ,4 ° !king'order, was the best security against invasion ; 4,, he p ventured to say that if 24 steamers of various zes, mounting 528 guns, and manned by 8,000 ma rines , 1 : 1 4 officers, were to sail about the Channel for prac tice, f t also as a check upon attack, there need b e no . of invasion so long as the naval forces of ot her nations remained at their present stan d a rd. t T op many of our vessels were now at foreign station s . ..."'"ldid not speak of the Mediterranean, but of No rth 8 75ISouth America and the West Indies; and be thought 43 -Ps might be recalled from each of those stations wit h , 17vantage. He had read in a newspaper the other day five English vessels being at Rio Janeiro at o ne time,. If we made our navy our bulwark it would b e utterly impossible for an enemy to land upon our shores; everything depended upon the sufficiency of the r k elice. He was himself present at the landing of Sir L ° _urt Moore's troops, but that general was compelled to re his cannon behind him. He remembered the Ifre;tened invasion of England by the first Napoleon. , e we were to have an invasion by Napoleon second, it would be found a much more ",„`mgult matter for the invader. England was n et so vulnerable to attack now as formerly. We now p o ssessed a steam navy, and whereas formerly the men Woad have been landed on our shores in a calm, it v entured now be necessary to land them in boats; and he :Inured to say they would all be as sick as dogs before ZeY effected their purpose.—(Laughter.) If this noun "rY possessed a sufficient force the enemy must be cut to Pieces either Was mainly wanted was a larger amount of able-bodied ~,7111en on ships afloat. Considering, also, the rapidity e lth•whieh intelligence was conveyed, and the aid at forded by t h e e l ectr i c t e l egra ph, it was advisable to m ake E ng l an d th e h e ad-quarters of her navy Revert ing to the question of invasion. he could not forget that most alarm had been expressed by soldiers. From the illustrious Duke, the commander-in-chief, downward, to Sir Francis Head and the Swiss colonel, it should be re membered that fears of invasion had emanated trom the military profession; nod for this reason, that, keep marine officers - on board as long as you please, and they Could never learn to steer a boat. Our colonies were renderedi secure from attack, but our own coasts were fi l sotesks this respect. (Sir F. Baring) said when the Right Hon. Baronet reduction of g) claimed. credit for having effected a his tenure of l'lLll.ion and a half in the estimates during the. Government of te should have remembered that had caused to be built no fewer Peel, between 1841 and 1846, 28,000-horse power an t d - i 4 tewer than 72 steamers, of retirement from office 11 , 4 .0 . 00 tons; and, before their B.3:4ered upon some impor tant works in our docky„d rhea tter employ nt of Sir R. Peel had been better thought the Govern ed in pro '. tiding an efficient steam nays possessed a steam navy bleats. We now in making experi dinere powerful i tu tt ,, e:l that the t han that of France, although he a smaller steam navy of that country was gßtoathe for attack than our larger fleet for defence, c,: ia:ailable Partial absorption of the latter by our colonies. importance that we should be in reedi t ,Pas of the first aless to men our reserve force. France had the adv an 7 44 ° of us in this respect,in consequence of the aYstem under which enlistment for the navy was carried on. In t hat country every man to ok his turn to serve, and having served a certain period, left the navy; but on an e mergency these men might be called ou t, and he be lieved that in the maritime districts of France there were St least 23,000 seamen available for such a crisis. Of t he 5 .300 marines proposed in the estimates he under stood on i nqu i r y that only 3,000 would be available for °l nbarkation, and hessuggested, therefor e, that this num ber Should be increased by 3,000 men. This augmented ee . would cost 100, 0001 . a year. He also recom mended,i. t o th e adoption of the Governm ent the scheme "L Sir Thomas Hastings for organizing a coast militia. Captain BOLDER() regretted that the resolut ion of the * Rouse of Commons, declaring that better cabin ci lonsodation should be afforded to assistant - surg eons on hoard ship had not been more faithfull y act ed on. Ad mitting that the position of those gentlemen was lea 'raved in this respect, he still must contend that the • ,rresent regulations were an in sult to the medical em'ofession. No young man, whatever, might be his I t .ltteation t lias entitled to cabin ac commodation un t il e bad undergone a probationary service of three Ye ars, and during this period he had to associate manyong boys in the cock-pit. He knew that in 4 i instances the captains of ships had refused e ° Burgeons the accommodation which they might ei ltsi lY have afforded them. He trusted that that subject Quid undergo the favourable consideration of the new '‘'‘ l s o 4 I .Bu . rd of Admiralty. It should be rem embered that the kolgeons of the navy often rendered the most valuab l e *.= "lees. At the recent desperate action at Lagos, it ,?Peared from the report of the commanding officer that tie could exceed the devotion of toe offic ers of - `e medical staff—that whenever a seaman was struck, th e medical man was immediately at his side — and t hat e medic a l officers set their own lives at nought when euo 17 °Pared with the safety of their brave co m p anions in 4,._ If this country was threatened w ith an invasion ere could be no doubt that we should mainly rely for saf e t Y on our naval force; and the more efficient we Pt that force, the more certainly should we p romote eo ur tid own hi g h es t n a tional interests. We enjoyed the ,:s*antage of possessing a vast steam mercantile marine k One far greater than that of France , be cause where believed send out one ship we could sen d out ten. He. % ,,, I _eved that if a war broke out, and if letters o f mar q ue 7 u r r e ., given to s%%e of our m i g fine h. mercantile eeu s e w old Ito not have a tradiug vsssel on the ocean. iatieys ~aesein edd wiseed to udireet a few rds to the Commute() on the subject of manning the t h Y 6l Nevy. He was glad to find that the country and e ict *Rouse and the Board of Admiralty.seemed at lengt h a allroileite Vie grssl *mime of tkot giusigtiou. H. SUN, ------- petition between the American and the Aberdeen build,rs, in the building of quick sailers, and the Aber deen vessels had usually beaten the American in the voyage 4 from China and New South Wales. The ,Marquis of GRANBY observed that Hon. Gen tlemen oppoitte might learn from what had been stated, that we must not underrate the genius of foreign nations, and if we were to compete with them, our builders and owners must not he overweighted is the race we had to rue. Captain HARRIS complained of undue retrenchment under the head of stores. sir F. T. B AING said, before the estimates had becn laid on the table they were carefully gone through by him, and at their close he had been assured by Mr. Duudas, the Storekeeper-General, that the stores were in a meit. efficient state. Trio vot, was thou agreed to, as were alsd the fol- lowing 265 1401. for new works, improvements, and repairs in )(ink, & o. Z' 23 000/., medicines and mediclfitores. • 50 8501, miseelknoou ,, services. 707 5201., halt . p:.y ofbers of the navy and marines. the vote 490 533/. military pensions andallowancQs, C wain SCOBELL complained of the immense num ber or Waif-pay or. on the retired lt,t, which, nor withststiding the reductiols made by the late Govern 'new,. was r,early a crowded as attcr the war in 1815 He - 'thought the vote should not pass without some reference: to the Ise t•nti, , n at Lagos, one' of the most gallttrie and ble,,dy actions ever rou4ht by boats atl.l steamers. acid in which, out of 400 officers and men nu ga.,,,,d,`100 were killed and wounded. agreed to, to: also were:- 156 5621., mil pensions arid allowauce . .3. 127,6001., cAtv,y4fie: , of troops. On Eno .vote of 1370,1581., for the Pos't-office packet set vice. Mr. FL HERBERT complained of the decreased tweed of the eat kets between ffilyhead and Kingstown. They lost half an hour on the speed attain-d by the Holyhead and Cheater Railway boats. Tne sum allowed for the service was totally inadequate, and it ought to be put up to competition. Mr. B. CO(3E - MANE complained that though there wes a large sum for the packet communication with New York, there was nothing allowed for steam ootnmunication between Canada and Newfound land. Passengers were carried within sixty miles of St. John's, :and were then brought on 600 miles further to Halifax, whence they must make their way back to St. John's as they best could. It a grant of 5,0001. a year were made by the home Govern ment, the rest would be made up by the colonial legis lature, so as to have a direot communication with St. Joh n's. Mr. STAFFORD said that-the Admiralty was sub ordinate to the Post•office in the matter, and it was with the latter that the matter rested. Mr. ANDERSON complained of the inefficient poital arrangement with the Orkneys. He hoped Gu vernment would d., something of an efficient character, as he had been pressing the subject on them for some time. Mr. CLEMENTS drew the attention of the Govern ment to the inefficient character of the service between ly head and Koigstown. Alderman THOMPSON considered that Government had ra..t the objections very fairly. Tne reason why the contract had not bean properly carried out was in a great rro-asure the fault of ;he Admiralty, sho ought to c•nfurce the due observance of the conditions of the contract, Mr. STAFFORD said Government would look into the situation of affairs, in order to remedy what might be do! eetive. Mr. H. HERBERT said the fault partly rested with the Holyhead Company; for they were accustomed to consider that they fulfilled their contract to go at a speed of twelve knout an hour, if one vessel went ten knots and another fourteen knots an hour.—(Laughter.) the real fault, however, lay with the Post Office, which was too niggardly in the terms it entered into with companies Mr. COWPER said that when the contract was in the hands of officers in her Majesty's service the mails were carried at greater speed. If the Admiralty would insist on the boats going at an average speed of • • 12 knots per hour each the great complaint at present against the service would be remedied, without the ne cessity' of spending any large sum of public money. Mr. HA MILTON• assured Hon. Members that the question should he looked into. Alt. M. J. O'CONNELL complained of the irregula rity of the night tn,kil to Outilin. He hoped this grie vance would be looked to when the contract. expired. Mr. SCULLY hoped small vessels would riot be re; cloned to' pat on too much Steam, as some of the vessels were too slight to bear much pressure. After a few words from Mr. GRANVILLE BER KELEY, Mr. PETO said, as chairman of the Chaster and Ho lyhead Railway, he must be permiited to say a f,w words. If Government would meet the question fairly, there was no reason why letters should not be delivered at eleven o'clock. The CHAIRMAN then reported progress and ob . tain..d leave to sit again. The ledenanity Bill then passed through Committee. SUITORS IN CHANCERY. _ _ On the motion for going into Committee on this Bill Sir P. WOOD presented a petition from London relit tive to reforms in the Court of Chancery and the abolition of fees. He should be glad to he indulged with a few minutes while he corrected some singular misstatements which had been made witk reference to the intentions of the late Government with respect to this subject. The Lord Chancellor said that he would not take credit for any measure founded on the recommendation of the Commissioners, and in the course of his statement he further said, that he had not found the Bill so advanced as he expected, and had only found certain clauses pro posed with reference to the abolition of the masters' offices. So far he had no reason to complain of the statement. But a statement had been made in that house which went beyond the statement of the Noble Lord. It had been said that when the present Govern ment came into office no trace of a Bill had been found for improving the Court of Chancery. That was not a correct statement, hu E x aet s tatement of the facts. rr it. The report of the Ch ancery C om missioners was not laid: before the Government till the 27 th J anuar y . andhe statementw repeats this Be had already made the . Parliament met on the 2d of February, so that only a period of about five days intervened. But anxious that the recommendations of the Commissioners should be carried into effect this session, he had received a copy of the report sev en d ays b e f ore t h e fi rs t mentioned date. Having been, th ere f ore , i n Possession of the subst ance of the report twelve d a y s b e f ore t h e me eting of Parlia ment, the late Lord Ch ance ll or gave directions to the secretary of the C o m m is s i o n to p re pare A Bill to carry the recommendations into effect. That directions having been given, the Speech from the Throne an eiteneed that a Bill had been directed to be prepared. He was anxious to state tbii, as most streege rumours had gone abroad, to the effect that the Speech from the Thrtalfl bad stated that a Bill had been directed to be prepared, then not a trace of it could be found. It was n ot correct to say that no trace of it was to be found. The secretary had beau instructed to prepare a Bill. While it was in the course of preparation it occurred to_ the Lord Chancellor that it might be made better if the Coeteniesioners themselves were to prepare it. He was not present at the Commission when the question vise considered; but they came to a resolution that it was not their duty to prepare a Bill. In consequence of that and of the answers given by the Master of the Rolls and the Vice-Chancellor that they would willingly give their advice in preparing a Bill, the Lord Chancellor renewed hie directions to the secretary (Sir. Barber) to proceed with its It was proceeded with, and the most material clauses were sketched. The keystone of the Bill was the ab- of t the master's (-flees., and thesecret ary pi epared the heads of clauses for that purpose. It was not, therefore, correct to say that no trace of the Bill was lett when the litre Government resigned office. He cared little who carried the Bill; but it ought to be recollected that the Commission was appointed by the late Govern. meta, and that the intention of reforming the Court of Crsancery originated with the late Government. The Hon. and Learned Member for Newark had proposed to add two other gentlemen to the Commiaiion, whom he desznated as "men of business." As soon as he there nod what was meant he agr•ed to the appointment f the President of the Board of Trade.and the Right Floe, Baronet the Member fur Ripon to be members of tee Commission. The report made received the aperient tion of the profession and of the three Noble Lords who had filled the office of Lord Chancellor, and be had never any doubt of the Bid being carried into effect. All he wished the HOW , tounderstand was that the late Lord Chancellor had given instructions to prepare the Dill. He felt that he had some reason to complain of the almost personal imputations Made when it was stated that no trace was to be found of the Bill mentioned in her Majesty's Speech. If the floveenment — bad re mained in office, the-311 4oid.rbe on the table; but, anxious as he was for Cnaucery reform, be did not think the question of importance enough to delay a dia. s th ol a u t tio th n e . oumldightiet b la e ltl a e le n tthoe table,discuss so There was only another part of the Lord Chancellor's building was neces sary.naesceth(P)Piserdliatnitenwt nt for the Vice - Cha ncellors It might be convolve observations he wished to notice. The Noble and Learned Lord had suggested th at a building and the Masters of the Rolls to have rooms in which their clerks could do the duties noir performed by chi, M asters; bat he would feel some alarm it it was merchants or in tended to delay the. change until a building was pre pared. If the Noble Lord was correctly reported, be engineers —bat that they had been . mail° to state thee it *as not desirable for the judges to have the power of reference -to them selvesaccountants-- doalie Work.. 'The effect of that would be, a demand for an ' them with increased stsff of judges, or art over; , discussed and din th v e " n n e tn x e t tl tta t ? loading ,no lot of the present Government He trusted it would fail to either Mr. J. STUART said, nobody couldetment. man in the mattertkot fact he had detailed . ' racy of' the statement of the Hon itiaot however, aiovve nr, t n h mt a h,e t ant i t t t hh w ea a rd s e nh a oa p td p a pb r re e ee n pn t a , rne e od v m e a n insy f t r o o ßk m eai have the subject and e Learneddoubt the owl atihnweeditethtx!opaeruitneagftetehl the .e rte - : epee to Chancery reform which their successors could take up.' There was scarcely time to prepare a great measure between the 27th of January Geld the 2d lof February, and, accordingly, no measure was prepared. Before the report had been Made, according to the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, a sketch bad been framed by the S,Tretary to the Commission; but those who went to look for the great measure of the Government would find only this sketch, which lay in Mr. Barber's cham bers, or those of the Solicitor-General. His (Mr. &hart%) H(.n. and Learned Friend bad set the question, therefore, at resa t tilt“ the Government had no measure prepared, brit Merely Ono shadowed out to alter the whoio practice of,zike , :.oourt. uf, Chancery. He (Mr. Stuart) felt called on Disc; to correct a misapprehension TUESDA.N 7 in his Hon. and Learned Friend's history of the Chancery Reform Commission. He bad said that the Master of the Rolls proposed that Commission in consequence of the 'success of his measure for the reform of the Irish Court of* Chancery; , but the fact was, that fully nine months previously, he (Mr. Stuart) had, on the 15th of April, 1850, given notice,of a motion for a similar Commission, which he had only not pressed be cause he was entreated not to do so by Lord-Chan cellor Cottenham and the Master of the Rolls, the former stating to him that he had orders which would have the effect intended to be produced by his (Mr. Stuart's) motion. These orders were issued, and. tho proof of their failure was the issue of a Commission of inquiry at the end of 1850. It was a part o f his (Mr. Sivart's) original motion to place cwo laymen on that commission ---such as Sir J. Graham and Mr. Henley—in whom the public would hive confidence. Mr. F. MAULE could not congratulate the Hon. and. Learned Gewlensan on the fairness of his reply to his Hun. and Learned Friend. The obji , ct of his. Hon; ,nd Learned Friend wal to expltin away the statement made, no doubt, in error, th4t the Ire Government teld left no traces of a Bill -for reform in Chancery. The wordy iii thr , Qa-en's Speech were, not that Bills should no laid on the -table of the Heuse, but that Bails should b' prepared, and he (Mr. F. wale) put is to any candid man whether a measure which had been ozone over by the Solicitor-General, revised by the then Lord Chao and handed over to the new Lord Chancellor in that st,sv, was not a Bill in a state of preparation ? He claimed only tor the Government that words h , id not ben inserted in the Speech from the Throne to which uu attention hsd been paid in the course of the session. Air. HENLEY would not hav;;;l;ri—iitiig-iWthe ciis- zhe Han. „. 3k ,e„ e d hine;elf to ertp'aining• the misapprehension w hich he I •eateci to exist; but tie had not. confined himself to that. He had, on the umtrary, taken—indeed made—en op portunity to cast doubts up 'n what was intended to be done by the present Lord Chancellor. Sach a course was alto; other foreign to the question of explanation. No one distrusted or doubted •the sincerity of the into Government to carry out their measure; indeed, there was no reason they should not do SO, as it - Was their own commission. But the House would recolleet :he remarkable words on the subject in the Speech from the Throne. These, moreover. were iremeeliaTely fol e one, and no the opening of t lowed up by a notice given by the Prime- Minister to introduce tr o s d e suscieo n —a amea n s o u t r i e 0 o w within hioh ten surprisedday very s from person more, perhaps, than the lion. and Learned Gen tleman himself. The Hon. and L earne d Gentleman , no doubt, stated correctly the ins tructions gi v en Chancery yt Commission; b u t h e (M r . H.) up to the period o f th a t com by the late Lord Chancellor. "end also wha t bad been the communica ctioountdmaasdceeroi to the eCshayan, t L h t e ir r d e s a Lord m Truro, in yst inunication nothing had bee n done towar ds the prepara tion of a measure by the commission. Isis and Learned Friend bed c orrectl y stated i3 l :ai d o li n d again ra a d do b c ie - c to u o r k re p d la in c(„ t . he l o n otri th m e iHussotons;ea ofu an swer to questions put to him on the most important points of the measure, said be should consider them— implying that be had not made up his mind on these points. So stood the case, as far as the public were aware, until the change in the Government. How far the pre llddi alluded for toe measure m i g ht have been c arried , he (Mr. Henley) .)f course kne w not ; but the Lord Chan ce 'be (Mr. a,inoire)h)a s d a to t i ththaink thethe.fopuart,dtictuhlearhea expressionsds, ad to were worAi the discus-ion. He had never, as he said, distrusted the intentions of the late Government on the subject of this measure; but he greatly regretted the course the Honourable and Learned Gentleman had taken to remove the misepprehension of which he com plained. The House then want into Committee. Mr. WALPOLE begged to infirm the Honourable and Learned Gentleman opposite (Sir W. P. Wood) that the amendments referred to by him might be inserted in the Bill pro forma, and discussed on Friday next. Sir W. P. WOOD said he was aware of the nature of the amendments, and was ready to go into Committee; but as other Hon. Gentlemen might wish to see them, he wsuld accept the suggeStion of the Right Hon. the Home Secretary. The CHAIRMAN then put the question, that the amendments be inserted, which was agreed to. The House then resumed. COPYRIGHT AMENDMENT BILL. On the motion that the House resolve itself into Com mittee on'this Bill, Lord MAHON hoped that when the Bill would be passed into a law, the Government would pursue the ne gotiations set on foot by the late Government, particu larly as regarded B•lgiuna and the United States. He wished to know if her Majesty's Minister's would pursue these negotiations? Mr. HENLEY was not able at present to iuform the Noble Lord on that point. The House then went into Committee. Mr. BELL hoped the negotiations would also be ex tended to Germany, as many works of that country were at present pirated.—(lle3r.) The Bill then passed through Committee, and the House resumed. ST. ALBAN'S DISFRANCHISEMENT BILL. On the ques ion that the Speaker do leave the chair, Mr. STUART hoped the Government would take some immediate steps to flit up the four seats vacated by t o b f e s ts T i th e a c ti ttement of Sudbury, as also, he might say , Mr. WALPOLE slid the Bill to be brought in was simply one fer the disfranchisement of St. Alban's. Pro visions for filling up the tour seats referred to by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman would be contained in another Bill specially referring to the subject. Her Majesty's Government would be prepared to fill the vacancies immediately, in order that the next Parliament might meet with the lull complement of Members. Mr. BELL hoped the House would in justice afford him an opportunity of explaining borne matters in con nexion With that borough. However, as the hour was now advanced (half-part twelve o'clock), he hoped her Majesty's Ministers would consent to postpone the question at present. If uot ,'h e begge d to mo ve that it be postponed, and it was hi s d eterm i na tion to divide the House on the questien. - - The House then . went i nto C omm i ttee u pon this Bill. On the Ist and only clause being g propoofd , Mr. BELL presented a petition frow several electors of the borough of St. Alban's. who denied that they had be the slightest degre e p art i cipate d i n t he corruption charged against the bor oug h , and express ed a hope that the offending parties would b e pun i she d. They prayed to be heard by counsel at th e b ar of th e H o u se against this Bill. The Hon. Gentlem an sa i d that if t his Bill were intended to punish the offence•of bribery and corruption throughput the country he would not have a leg to sttud on.—(Laughter.) Was it not notorious t hat the Blsggs tied Edwardses w ere busy ihrouateut the king dom, and • did, not cement; their exertioes io St. Alban's? —(Hear, , hear.) He believ e d fi le t 'at the next elec tion there would be more bribery and corrupt ion p rate risen than had ever been known before. ' riueNvble Lord lately et the head of th e , G ov e rnment. w as ,the first who attack'd the borough of St Alban's, ateltivai soon followed by several other great ans. When the late Government evaporated by spontiinietts decomposition —(Laughter) —they left a vacuum to be filled up by the Right Hon. Gentlemen oppo s i te. The game was there fore hunted down. by the t ermer G overnm ent, but the present Governmeet cam e in hitt the brush.—(Loud laughter.) St. Alban'e was fi rst to be _ got r id ofeand heneverylind of 'corrupt pr act iCe wo uld be'reserted to at the coming election befor e any m e asure was enacted to abolish an offence that w i t s spread allover the country. On the eve of an approachi ng e l ect i on be knewhe la boured under a great disadva nta hension which H on . ge in bringing for w a rd his amendment trona the apprehension Members might labour under as to b e i n g charged with e ncouraging bribery and corruption if they were found supporting him. He fet he w as ma d e a tool of by the former Grovernm•nt as we ll as the present; b u t h e could assure the House that b e had ever y objection to be made a tool of by any one.— (Laughter.) His amend ment was simply to add th e names of other b or oughs to the' clause. Mr. VV ALPOLE said that such an amen d men t would be out of order, inasmuch as it was.coatrary to the title of the Bill. S Mr. BELL then said that he felt the'best course he ceuld take was to move that the Bill be read that day six mouths, .witle a view of haVing it remodelled in the way,he sugrt•wed. . .Mr..BERNAL said that such, an amendment was ir regular. • Mr. BELL continued to urge the injustice of making the borough of St. Alban's alone. punishable, for an offence that was well known to have been committed in many other boroughs throughout the countr y. He waste r. oppose the R th ß e z ß u il r g l in every stae; - Mr. that it ' was not quite fair to proceed with this measure at such an a d vance d hour .of the evening, in the absence of an B on. an d m Le o a ti r o n n e do on the Member who ~,w c h t o given notice of an i m pp r t a nt . had Mr. WALPOLE said that the notice given was by the Hon. and Learned Member for Sheffield, who said that. on the second reading of the Bill he would move that Mr. Coppock be called to the bar of the 'Lus e and ex amined. The Hoe. and Learned Member not having persevered in his intention upon that etage" of the mea- . sure, he (Mr. W.) did not think that the GrOvernment were called upon to delay the further stages of the mea sure until that Hon. end Learned Gentleman was present. Mr. BROTHERTON said he believed it was the prac tice not to move that a party be examined at the bar of the House until after the second reading. . The Bill wasitten pasted through Committee, and the House resumed, Mr. DEEDES obtained leave to bring in a Bill to con solidate. and enlarge the Aots relating to the appoint menteind pay of psrish constables. REPAYMENT OF ADVANCES (IRELAND) BILL. The -CHANCELLOR •of the EXCHEQUER ;.13, n of advances made to '' .• ' latiog to the repaynonst swas s dtstric a te re ln d short one ,and Tee Bill was asked. leave to introduce Bill to amend the Acts ie- Irt land. by the late Government.ithont delay, He was aware that It was a measure whi P ch re ft Was necessary to pass w _ were auxious to is many important measure, connected as it was with so a cusscouldwould but he assure them that he Irish annuities; every opportunity for such diet be ready to afford them be second reading ; but it was highly im portant Hon. Members from Ireland cession upon t there were upwards of 75,000/.1• eked proceeded with, as of Ireland, which the Bill proposed to up from the poor feel obliged by Hon. Members al liberate. He would for the public service that the measure should be d that the measure was one of the Sir L. O'BRIEN said e . eh . . anectiog nis constituents. deepest importance as uite aware of the im ortance . Mr. MAUNSELL was q day p fixed early would be of the measure, and hoped au for its discussion. 'd the distresses of the people lowing him at once to . introduce the Bill. Sir W. BARRONRRO , . , t' stated by the conduct of that had been seriously aggra • unt e —agricu u lest one-thirdof ts value sin co produce was reduced at House, and their taxes ahnost ld ' -lt ral THE believed that we could no longer rely for the manning of our navy on the system of impressmsnt. Any attempt to enforce that system would most probaely lead to a coeflict with the civil power, and in the present state of polio opinion, such a conflict could not ho carried on successfully by those who might have recourse to impressmsnt. Re trusted that before the year should have expired, oe even before the close of the session, some plan would be introduced by the B ',era of Admiralty, or their representatives, for manning the navy in the event of a war, and even for effectually manning. ;t in time of peace, for they should begin with 4ome mea , nre for that latter purpese. There was greet dieF"l'Y a. pi ennit in manning our ships, and in conse- Treece of that ditlieulty, there were ships in consrni , sien which wee l,k ly to continue for two moeths unable to leave nu" shores. To' &Tisch had great facilities tor maitnieg their vessels. because they had ell their men in hand, and they would bypet means have a great afv_an rage tt fhe.oui,break of a star. It eppeered to him then any Wee for improving our own mode of proccedlng in that respect ought to eriginste whh too Board of Ad mtrahy. .But no should express his beln f teat in time of peace the plan to which one ought ti tonic; nits that of coetintepes serene , such as thei which prevailed in the army. He did ant think, hiseever, that that plan need at once he made epplceble to the whole of our neval force. He would suggest that there shettlil be there periods of ,erenn--one for seven years, one for eleven years, end one ter fifteen yews. lie woad, es e genre al rule, allow ale e mail to retire after a certein atnewit of service; he:. he would not.give them art absolute right to a discharge; so that they might be come cited to con tinue in their ships for any 'period which the safety of the country lz,i ht re quire. In time of we: he thought that we ought to sutiefinite a ballot for the syeaern of impressment. If the ballot were adepfed fur the militia, he did not see why, it should nut also be adopted for the navy iu time of war, when every Ulan (Veit to be con sidered huund to defend his country. He believed that the system of shipping offices would afford great facili ties for the application of the ballot in the manning of the Royal navy. He feared that if a war were to break out, and if art attempt were made to enforce the system of impressment, many of our seamen in the mercantile service would leave thiecouetry and pass over to America. Sir F. BARING said he wished to say a few words on the manning of the Royal Navy, which was one of the most difficult and important subjects they could have to consider in endeavouring to provide for the efficiency of our naval force. They might have ships in abund anoe; and yet it they wanted men the country would not be safe. The late Board of Admiralty bad, after much deliberation, devised a plan which they thought would, to a certain extent, meet the difficulty, and which would at any rate serve as an experiment. He could not himself feel very sanguine as to the efficiency of that plan until it should have been fairly tested. He had heard it stated that it was difficult to understand the scheme; but he should say that the present Board of Admiralty ought either to take it up fairly or to abandon it altogeiher. There was no conceivable scheme with respect to which differences of opinion would not prevail among naval officers; and any scheme which was not known to have the support of influential patties at the Admira l ty could not succeed It was most important that the first step in any plan should be taken effici ently if it were to be taken at all; and he repeated that, he hoped the new Board of Admiralty would either abandon tee schi me of the naval reserve, or would eeti ously endeavour to carry it into successful operation There was another point upon which he wished to offer a few words of explanation. Formerly if, at tbe out break of a war, a h, uu ty had been given for the entry of any one seaman, a similar bounty should be given to every man in the service; and that had been totted to w be e be a very onerous and inc onvenient arrangement. It at present proposed, therefore, that, without affecting the rights of existing seamen, those who might euter the service fur the future should not have the power of claimieg the bounty in question. With reap. ct to the system of impressment, he should state that they ought to make that st stem the exception, and not the rule ; and in that case he believed that the best plan to which they could resort would be the adoption of the ballot. He thought they would have to carne to that. He was aware, however, that that subjec t was one of great diffieulty; and if he had remained in office, he had hate:laded to have given his beet ceetaideration to the ceatter. • Mr. A. S rAFFoao said he could undertake to say that the new Board of • Admiralty would give to the sug gestions of the it,ght Hon. elerenet (sir F. Baring) the attention which they deserved from their importe.nce and from the kind maunrr in which they had been offered With respect to the naval reserve, he had to state 'het the present Board of Admiralty accepted the principles of that plan as a really •slueble one, end that they were disposed to carry it fairly into operation Bu , they did not regard the reeetne as one peculiarly adapted to a sudden crisis, if such a crisis should arise. He believed that the good effects of it would hot be perceptible all at once. It was supposed that it would eusure for her M4,- jest's service a better character among merchant sea men than that which that service had hitherto enjoyed. At present the greater portion of those who lent the royal navy for the merchant service were persons of bad character, who represented her Majezt)'s service in worse colours than it deberved; and it was hoped that under the system of the naval reserve, men of good c h ara cter would leave the It ,yal navy and speak fa vourably of it to the companions among whom they would afterwards mix. We had at present in the mer chant seamen's service about 230,000 men, besides about 50,000 men who disappeared in distant parts of the world, and were not seen again until after the lapse of three or four years.—(Hear, hear.) If the plan should succeed, it must still be obvious that so small a body among so large a mass must work but slowly. The ques tion with regard to naval surgeons was at this moment occupying the attention of the Admiralty, who were not unmindful ofthe necessity which existed for carrying out the order of the House upon the subject. They felt that that order ought to be carried out; but at the same time that some discretion should be left to the officer in com mand, and allowance made for the amount of accommo dation on board ship. It was impossible to apply an abstract rule in this case. All he could say was, there fore, that the animus of the board was to treat the sur geons of the navy as gentlemen, and to give them every facility for prosecuting their studies on board that the arrangements of the ship would admit of.—(Hear-) Sir G. PECHELL hoped the Admiralty would also take the case of the junior class of surgeons, whoa` ted as clerks to capta ins, into their consideration, wih a view to putting them on a different and an improved footing; and recommended that officers in the coast- the guard service s hould be rewarded by promotion, rewards they at pre,out received at the and of the year not being, in hi s op inion, ade q uate to the great and valuable services tilt) , performed its saving life and pro perty and protecting the revenue. The vote was agreed to. The next vote proposed was the sum of 50,3531. for the salaries of officers and expenses of the ecientfic brand of f he navy. Mr. WYLD took exception to the inefficient mode in which the charts of the Admire.ity were published, of th a e s compared with the great expe nse of this portion establishment. Any Hon. Member who kept a yacht knew no charts were more voluminous and more incom plete than those of the British Admiralty. As a con trast to our works of this kind he drew attention to the charts of the United States Government, which were all on a uniform scale and plan, and gave much better results, marking, among other things, the course of the winds, which the British charts omitted h to do, of the though it was necessary _to know them as the dept sea. The same superiority was visible in the charts of the French marioe. He hoped some amendment would be made in this branch of the service, which cost 60,000/, a-year, and gave very little return. Mr. STAFFORD—It was with this as with most of the other suigestions which had emanated from the opposite side of the House to-night—the principal difficulty which stood in the way was that of . s expense. The Hon. Member was of ,opi n io n that the expense might be re imbursed by the sale; but that appeared to him (Mr. Stafford) to be very problematical. As far us it had gone, he believed the service bad been very eati , factorily conducted, though he was ready t ) admit that he should be glad if there were a more speedy publican in. Sir G. PECII ELL said, the fact was the whole thing was conducted uteotaisfaetorily. There was not suffi cient eccortimodaOon tor carrying on the business. The First Lot d's house ought to be given up for the hydro graphic department. The vote wee agreed to; as were also 132.647/. for the Varies of officers and the conting ent expenses of her 'i"tra naval establishments at home; 23,263/. for the salaries of officers and contingent expenses of her Ma jeaty's naval establishments abroad; 666,9291 for the Wages of . e . e•e ar t tificere, labourers, and others employed in e h m er ployed in he 35 0 ,3 . 317 the 11° : be attYh'ea v ot e s7nieal?ls eoo e f, stablishments at home; and artificers, labourers, and others ie:ty's naval establishments ahroed• for naval stores, ~ erettlea:: laulldAg ; 04 ,repaiz. of PEEL was surprised that, in shi c p a s, lo & a c e . l , presence. of namely,t he eo , coarse A o 9 f all sl these discussions upon the navy defeated every in the had been said upon the sabjeet o . a ea f timat ea , not a word last year, come to this country, ancireign vessel having, her Majesty the Queen tended for the prizes at the Royal Yacht Squadron which con tended Now, if it had happened that a foreignquadron Re had been sent hero, and had carried off the Ascot horse he believed there was not a breeder in the country cot CuP ' would not have incurred any amount of who expense with the view of recove rin g the laurels. He (Colonel Peel) had always entertained the impression that Britannia ruled the waves; but be should like to know what bad become of her figure-head now? They were constantly exercising the vessels of what they called their experi mental squadron; but that was only sailing their own vessels against their own vessel s . It appeared to him that they should throw the matter open to competition, and offer large prizes for the best sailing vessels. If they thus afforded their own shipbuilders an opportunitea of seeing what was to be delta, he bad no doubt that . ir e the course of a year or twig they would cif.ct im provement that could be desired in the sb, Ipe of this country. Alderman THOMPSON said that the much-vaunted American clipper -ship Oriental, whose quick voyages from China had been so highly and home spoken of, had bleb out beaten by British ships in th e voyage tihina, and he could assure the House that BO far were we now from being behind other countries in stop-build ing improvements, that there never was any period at which more zeal and a Y rmlet had at present, both by builders and owners, manifested than mer chant ships to the utmost; andners,to improve we bad not been excelled by up to the present time nation in the world. the Americana or any other Sir G. PECHFLL e said the Am had not succeeded in buildieg erican Government ane; is:ae gesa Fre. , ieh.. : ( s, , ps hatter than ere had; ville's report would inform them'-' Prieee Jtro three-decker under his command that not a single or tack. could be made to wear lOX MAIJI.4 said thsi there'?" li regular 001 - LONDON, EVENING, MARCH 1846, and the population were being driven to despair and to expatriation. Was it fair or reasonable, under such circumstances, to impose on that wretched and im poverished people a new tax? He thought the Govern ment ought to declare what their final determination was before they introduced a measure like the present. He did not think these advances were ever made by way of loan, or that they could be considered as such. The money was given at a time of great distress, and the people had no control over its expenditure; and he hoped the Government would pause before it attempted to pro ceed with such a measure. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the Bill was one for remitting, not imposing taxation. In 1844 we had to borrow 8„000,000/, for the relief of Ire land, of which 4,500,000/. had been absolutely granted, and only 3,500,0001. were to be repaid at periods spread ing over 40 years. The present Bill was for remitting certain instalments of repayment for which the people of Ireland wer, liable. Such was the inquire which was represented as a hardship upon Ireland.—(Hear.) Lord CLEMENTS said a word ( 4 r two. The motion wtib then agreed to, and the Bill brought in. Mr. MONSELL askei when the Bill would b:z brought on for discussion? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said on Friday. PHARMACY Bir.L. Mr. J. BELL,,nominaTed the tieh..ct Committee ,on •tbia P64rreqey J'oob BWtI, Mr E sart, Mr. B verie, Sir William Gibson Craig, Mr. Cardwell, Sir IL Willoughby, Mr. Wakley, Ur. Deede9, Mr. 'Dudley, .Mr. Jackson, Mr. Farrer, Mr. Wyld, arid Mr. Brims ton.—Agreed to. VENTILATION OF' THE HOUSE. Lord Ii.GROoVENOR ncminatal the Select Com miqde on ttie Vantilation end Lighting of the Houseiz— Lord J.:rvlanners, Mr. T. Greene, Sir De Lacy Evans, Mr. B. Wall, Viscount Enrington. Mr. L. Ricardo, Sir D. Norreys, Lord R. Gromanior, Mr. B. Cochran; Mr. Deeiles, Mr. H. Hope, Viscount Palmerston, Mr. Bank-a, Mr. E. Denison, and Mr. H. Drummond.—Agreed to. COURT OF CHANCERY. Mr. AGLIONBY moved for a " Return of the total sum due or paid for salaries and office expenses under the Act sth and 6th Viet., a. 103, since the passing of the Act; and also of the total sum paid for compensa tion for loss of offices and profits to officers, under the same Act, since the passing thereof, up to the 25th day of November, 1851: Like return of the total sum paid to each of the late sworn clerks appointed taxing masters, for salary and compensation, collectively and together, under the same Act, since the passing thereof: And, return of the annual amount of compen sation awarded to each of the said taxing masters under the said Act, in the event of their ceasing to hold the said office, and of the annual sums to be paid to the per sonal representatives of each of them as compensation after their deaths, and for what number of years after their deaths such payments to their personal representa tives are to continue, and out of what funds, and by whom, such payments for salary and compensations are now made and to be made.—Agreed to. MUTINY BILL. Mr. BERESFORD brought in the Mutiny Bill. which was read a fint time, and ordered to be read a second time on Friday. MARINE MUTINY BILL. Mr. STAFFORD brought in this Bill. THE BEER BILL . Mr. DEEDES ;aid he felt somE thing eff.ctive was requisite , to remedy the evils now existieg in the system of beer• houses; but. considering the little chance there was now of the Bill being proceeded with, he thought it bast to withdraw it. It, however, he had s seat in the House nest session, he should introduce a measure on the subject. The order was then read and discharged. The House then adjourned at Half-past One. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. Commander James H. Bridges (1850) has been ap pointed from the Naval College, Portsmouth, to be Ad miralty agent in charge of the Cape of Good Hops mails, vice Wainwright, appointed to the Winchester, 50. Commander Barnard and the officers and men of the Vesuvius, steam sloop, Devonport, are ordered to be turned over to the Vixen, 6, steam-sloop, Portsmouth. Another unfounded statement appears in some of our contemporerits, dated "Sheerness," with respect to the London, 92, at Sheerness. She was never ordered to the Downs, as asserted some weeks since, and therefore the order is not countermanded, as stated yesterday. Both order and countermand have no existence. We are informed that orders have been received at Devonport to the effect that the Pbcebe, 50, building, is ordered to be completed with all possible dispatch, to be launched this summer, when a newfrigate, to be called the Liffey. is to be laid down in the same slip. We trust that, this order for launching the Pbcebe will be rescinded. It is a useless waste of money to launch 50-gun sailing vessels wben we are converting our three-deckers into screw-ships. This Phoebe ought never to have been laid down. Her designer was the great bolsterer-up of the " intuitive system of ship-building" which has half ruined our navy, and helped to bring upon us the odious income-tax. By some Navy-office manoeuvre he con trived to get an order to lay down this Plicehe before her sister:ship, the Indefatigable, was tested, and since the latter has been. tried she has turned out to be inferior, instead of superior, to one or two of the other 50-gun frigates. It was this system of building iron ships upon the lines of those that bad never been tried that has filled our ports with a usele....s stock of men-of-war.— Herald. Commander George Martin Hunter (1844), on the reserved half-pay list, died Soutbsea. Ha was son of t h e l a t e General Sir M. Hunter. Conflict, 8. screw-sloop, Commander Skipwith, received on board at Buenos Ayres, the late Governor, General Rosas. The Rev. Godfrey Kingsford, chaplain to the convict establishment at Gtbraltar, committed suicide, on Friday, the 12th inst., by cutting his throat with a knife. The jury composing the inquest gave a verdict of temporary insanity, and he was buried the next evening. He W2B a zealous preacher, and much esteswed by ill classes in Gibraltar. DOCKYARDS.— The following superannuations have taken place in Devonport Dockyard :—G eo rg e P. War ren, shipwright, 221.; Robert Tresidor, a j oiner, 24/4 and John Htegings, 151. per annum each. THE MINIE RIFLE AND THE MARINES. Captain C. W. Adair and two aergecets of the Plymouth division of Royal Marines, left head quarters on Saturday for Woolwich, in accordance with an order from the De puty-Adjutant General, to receive instructions in the use of the new rift , musket, under the direction and superin tendence of Major Brownrigg, of the Grenadier Guards. Captain and Barrack Master Toby , of the same division , having served ten years in that capacity, becomes en titled to an incrase of 53. per diem pay, with the rank Major. PATIENTS SENT To SICK QUARTERS ON SHORE.— The folio a ing Admiralty regulations have recently come into opmtioo :—" My Lards Commissioners of the Ad miralty. are pleased to diract that previously to sending any patients, whether officers or men, from her Ma jesty's ships to sick quarters en shore (excising to naval hospitals, or to established surgeons and agents), a statement is in each case to be required from the me dical officer of the ship, signed and approved by the cap tain, or commanding officer, of the particular nature and effect of the disease, and of the reason why the patient could not be safely treated on board ; and when there is no medical officer on board, the same information is to be required from the professional person to whom the patient is sent. Tee rates. charged for the subsistence and medical attendance of the patients are to be also stated ; which rates are to be as reasonable as po ssible consistently with providing proper accommodation?' The above statement is to be transmitted in every such case to the Directors General of the Medical Department of the Navy. PORTSMOUTH, - MONDAY.—The Superb, 80, Captain Purcell, arrived at Spithead this morning, from the Me diterranean station. She left Malta on the 21st ult., and Lisbon on the 15th inst. She encountered a conti nuance of violent adverse gales from the time she left Malta until she made Gibraltar, after which she made a smooth passage to Lisbon. The Dragon steam frigate was the only English man of-war left at Lisbon, and she towed the Superb over the bar. Commander Dirom, late First Lieutenant of the Albion; Lieutenant Kirk, 7,h Royal FusilierS; and 'Mr. Rundle, Chief Engineer, N R.., of the Terrible steam-frigate, have come home passengers in the Superb, which also brought all the in valids from the hospital ashore at Lisbon left behind when Commodore Martin left the Tagus, with the ex neption of thiee orluur, who were not in a fit state to bn removed. She has brought home condemned upwards of 4;000 canisteri of Goldner 's " "preserveeseved meats" (about 34,000 1 b5.1) to return to y Clarence Victualling-yard. The Superb is in good re pair, although she may be said to have had a sist years' commission :instead of three, as s sshe was paid off all standing and immediately re-commiioned, Her orew have been got into fine serviceable order by. Captain Purcell. although he had the refugees of the Irish coast to make seamen of. These will now be dis banded-750 good serviceable men —according to the existing mode of manning the navy, as the Superb ill or dered to be paid o ff on the 31st inst. During the violence of the gale in the Mediterranean, on her paorage home, ihe lost a seaman off her foretopsailyard. who was drowned. The Vixen steam-sloop went oat to Stokes Bay to day to try her speed and exercise her machinery. She brought to off the dockyard stairs on her return to harbour, where her co mpasses will be adjusted. The Bulldog steam-sloop was taken into the steam basin to-day to receive new boilers. The Victory and Rodney sent up their service lower yards-and topmasts to-day for the suusmer. • APPOINTENTS. W OO LWICH, MARCH 22.-s-Assistant-Sur W. Bradshaw ( 1847) to Hasler Hospital, vice He nr y Slade, to the Winchester, 50, at Portsmouth. Chief -Engineer—T. T. Murray to the Map s, 6, paddle-wheel steam-sloop, of 350-horse power, at Ports mouth. Assistant -Engineer--Joshua Robinson to the Tartarus steam-vessel, protecting the fisheries on the north coast of Scotland. Masters—Thomas C. Pullen (1844) to the North ' Star taking on board stores at Deptturd f or th e Arcticexpedition; Francis H. May (1844) to t h e Winchester, 50, at Portsmouth. PROMOTION. Mate—Alexander C. Balling&II (1850), serving in the Cumberland, 70, flag -ship on the North America and West India station, to the rank of Lieutenant. The Assistance, Captain Sir Edward Beloher, and the Resolute, Captain Kellett, Ca, ves sels fitting for the Are' ic expediti on , were t a ken out of dock on Fri day last, and are both alongside the wharf well at the west-end of the yard, taking on board the necessary stores for their voyage to the Arctic regions. • 23, 1852 SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. -riom THE MORNING PAPERS OP THIS DAT. TIMES.—Lard JOhn RUsbell has made the timely discovery that tie does not carry along with him either his provisional supporters in the House or the people out of doors in any attempt to stop pablio business. He now advises the House to do what it is happily disposed to do of. its own accord, viz., to proceed at once to the. Army and Navy Estimates, and pass them without , delay. Even Air. O..borne undertakes to offer no further opposition. Both these gentlemen excuse the 'con fessedly obstructive course they took on Friday night by• alleging the ambiguity of the Chancellor of the Exche quer's explanations on Monday and Friday night. As generally happens with reluctant apologists, they have a little overstated their alleged provocation. "We were told also," says . '- Lord John, referring to the Ministerial explanations of Monday, the 15th, " that they did intend to bring forward measures of considerable importance, which would lead to a session -of at • least the usual length." . We -have taken the, trouble to refer to Mr. Disraeli's speech on !het evening, and we coui4 find a sieele ex pression that b -sirs cut this 6t)..1f mew.. Li introdueing the m , astir,s which he held to he of such-iinportencene 1 to demand the ateseutioo of the House, ev.-a,i4 i•s erg-.I sent Efst© of suspense, he, distinctly sol;ci-ed the on.- oper 4 tior! ,4* I artiel, in sarete r. to biiee that sespeese t:, the earlie s t possible c)cclus-i,n. . A‘ There are, es all gentleman - Mated kpow, :measures of an exigency which cannot b: eteglecierbeend in icy opieten alter ' s, are seem i meatuies not if eio formal a ch,:a-1,e;., het not of a 1, , .;51 imp ,rtf...lit nature, that I thick Jueit tr) he p•istnil. Dal: if gentlemen opposite autetehre that, so far' as we 'aril personally cimottroed, we mete-a:gee:lea unnecessarily to proletig thlAreeena ststi , of affaire, they indulge a i very ,great mistake: I sh ill, however, mention some measures that I think should be introduced without den lay -. . . . . three meesurea with, regard to :which, on the, part of the Goveeerceent,- the greatest efforts will be exerted to secure' their speedy pass- - ink." These three ineseurea he explained to be the disfranchisement' of St. Albank aid. the appropriation of the four, vacant. seats, .the Chancery Reform Bill, and the internal defences; and in each case he pointed poat , that there was 'necessity of action, and no'need --- Of ', delay:. TO - save this he suggested that the Chancery measure might be introduced in the Lords. Now, hav ing taken our stand on fair play, we beg to ,inquire who ther this justifies Lord John Russell's statement that Mr. Disraeli had announced measures that would lead to a session of at least the usual length, and Mae-hair) of " ambiguity" founded on that statement. We con& denTly assert that nothing but an overweening sense of his aristocratic position can account for the wantonness which has led Lord John to fling about this and other charges since he found himself on the Opposition bench. The real ambiguity which has haunted Lord John Rumen and his friends for the whole of last week, and has betrayed them into so many blun ders and incivilities, has been the very 'sutural difficulty they felt in understanding their own sin gular case, as a majority in opposition. The gen tleman, in a well-known work of fiction, who fancied his head had twisted round on his shoulders, of course quarrelled with all the existing arrangements of his dress or his furniture. Lord John is just now suf fering a similar visitation, though of a real, not a fanciful character. He is always forgetting one of his conditions, either tnat he is no longer Minister, or that he may really do what he pleases in the House. We have pointed out on several occasions that he really need ask no questions; he may stop any vote or any measure that he pleases, and it is for him to consider whether it will be for kis credit or advantage to do so. At last, after exactly a month's reflection. Lord John has dis covered that it is for him to lay down the business of the session, and that he may enforce an appeal to the people whenever it is his pleasure to do so. At least, ne can on his own supposition that he still commands a majority in the House. If he wishes to reserve for his own Government the honours of such a Chancery Reform as Lord Truro will permit, he can stifle Lord St. Leonard's measure the very hour it comes within the grasp of the Commons. His Lordship has at last discovered the potentiality of mischief inhe rent in his position, and has accordingly dictated the programme to be observed for the rest of the session. The estimates are now to be forwarded with the utmost dispatch, and his Lordship generously throws to the Chancellor of the Exchequer every Thursday, in addition to the days now reserved for Government or ders. This liberal and not less politic concession was made in a speech of judicious brevity, and we really seem to be already in the rapids of an approaching dis solution. In order to hasten the decision, Lord Brougham, in the other House, has moved, with Lord Derby's acquiescence, a Bill for shortening the interval now required between a general election and the assem bliog of a new Parliament. Fifty days might have been a reasonable time a century since, when it was almost a month's work for a man to arrange his affairs in the north of the island, and settle himself in the metropo lis; but, as space may be said to be destroyed in these days, there is no occasion why Parliament should not save time accordingly. The magnanimity which Lord John Russell has at last thought fit to display extends, in the first imam, to the passing the Mutiny Bill and voting the supplies, and then to d permission, which it would not have been easy to refuse, to bring in the,Militia Bill, - ,and possibly—for that is-not distinctly expressed— the proposed measure for St. Albans. Bat, even if we throw in the Chancery Bill, the permission does not amount to very much, for Lord John and his friends evidently will have a good deal to say to all these mea sures as soon as they oome before the House. We shall be very much surprised if one of them leaves the House of Commons in such a shape that its authors would re cognise it for their own. The permission so generously accorded to Government is merely a permission to be beaten : at every stage of their measure, for the better the measure the greater will be the reason for not letting Government pass it in the original form. Lord John has suffered, too much in the mutilation and change of his own legislative progeny, not to retaliate at the first opportunity, and that opportunity will now be afforded. Mr. Walpole has announced his Militia Bill for next Monday. On that day, therefore, will begin the singular conflict, and, though the Bill is said to be now in the very best hands in the country, and those neutral hands, we may expect to see it entirely changed by its Whig nurses, or torn to pieces in the struggle. With the certainty of a scene so harrowing to the feelings of Government, and so little conducive to the reputation of the country, one could almost advise her Majesty" Mi nisters to put our southern : ports in order, to keep a powerful Squadron always in the Channel, and to leave the Militia Bill to a Government really able to carry one of their own. If ttrat buggestion be thought premature; it may ra t least be borne le mind, and auted on as boon as the Opposition shows itwif obstinately resolved not to accept any measure from the existing Government. ADVERTISER.--i, The Morning Advertiser is doing infinite damage to the Liberal cause." 6 ) writes a Member of Parliament—it recipient of past, and expect- ant of future, Whig favours. The l anguage 0 t e e plain E l vi s h is , that Hon. Gentleman, tranalated into the Morning Advertiser is doing infinite damage to the Whigs—that class of politicans being, in his vocabulary, synoultuous with the cause of Liberalism. We have no objection to own the soft impeachment of having done no inconsiderable amount of damage to the Whigs. But if our Hon. Correspondent will only lend us his ear :Or a few seconds we will whisper into it a great fact, which probably has not betore occurred to him. fhe greatest, enemy of the Whigs is neither the Morning Advertiser. nor the Times, nor any other opponent in the press. Their greatest enemies are themselves. They have damaged themselves beyond the hope of recovery They have played the part of suicides. The ex- Premier and his quondam colleagues in the Cabinet have done it all. So far from this journal having precipitated the downfall of the Whigs, we warned them, times without number, of the perilous course which they were pursuing. Had they listened to our warning voice, and adopted the line of conduct which we counselled them to pursue, they would not only have still been in office, but been a popular and powerful Go vernment-. But they rejected our advice. The ex-Pre mier spurned our counsels when we told him to make concessions to popular feeling, and, as an earnest of hip good faith, to break up the " family" compact, and base his Government on a broader foundation. He would not listen to our advice. He fancied he was in a position to disregard and defy public opinion. And as if the illiberal, narrow line of policy which he pursued, and hii habit of systematically snubbing all the independent Liberal Members who brought forward motions, or made' suggestions in favour of popular progress, had not been sufficient to draw down odium enough on his G ~ vernment, be mast needs, in the arrogance •° fancied statesmanship of his own littlemind , "1 ignominiously expel from the 0;,-,r t u a it a o f L . reign, a man who gave greater weight and strength to his Cabinet than all its other memberse put together. his ingenuity for several hours to devise In sober truth, had the ex - Whig sertehmeiemrosatpepffleiecd. teal way of destroying his Government, extinguishing the little that remained of the not have bean more successful. ' bringing the Whigs , as rest' Nevero diare.pute, a Part Pint prestige of ^Me na b me e'o s :il man would say, turned work more completely. lie bit' hin;eir s not only , did . ma a n n e i d j e rie t a : ling ... s treet, bat he has so effectually shut theodustoorjobhenh,iwsnd him. as to leave no hope of his return , ejection is his own act and deed, and so will tie his perpetual ex of Coriolanus. elusion. " Alone I did it" was't i be exultent exclamation " Aloud I did it" and salt - reproachful accents of .the ex -Whig Premier. Lord in Joh n Russell, admit,promises better behavionr future should Cheshana- 1 we to powe4 sAt the he ever be resto red . • p ace gathering he gas' amendment. He pledged himself a a specific promues of b se his next Go will be the despqn+eg , All men are peni vertiment "on a broader nottoir• their vast misoondubt tent, or at least appear to be, w hen But who will believe has brow ht and protestations them into t rouble. of the ex-Whig Premier? We, at eu the asaeveraie. bc gto be excused; from .re rlis statements. We haih had too pesiug any faith' in time of the truth of the well-known 1 many proofs in our " Vows made in pain, Ease will recant as violent and void," to attach any credit to the promises of the Noble Lord, made in Moments of emergency, that he will demean himself better for the time to come. The ex-Premier deprecated any recurrence to the past state of matters on the ground, implied, if not explicitly expressed,— ' that when he formed his Ministry in 1846, he was not a free agent. No doubt it must be very unpleasant to his Lordship to be twitted with the miserable Ministrywith w hich he contrived to jog on for five or six years. dr w aw ing his salary all the while with as little compunction as it be and his colleagues had constituted the most efficient Cabinet which ever sat in Downing-street. Some of our readers may remember the story of the creditor in the play, who, when the party to whom he was indebted, reminded him in the most delicate manner possible, that he would have no ob jection to receiving back his money, summed an injured air, and said —" I know I owe you the money; it is quite unnece s sary to remind ma of it. Don't do it again. It is very painful to my leelfegs ,to have any reference made to it." Nor is the (mete of the ex•Mft ' nicer diesimilar• to that of the Irishman, who, on being I tried and connoted at the bar of • criminal court.- was asked what - be had to say why sentence of death should not 'he passed upon him? "Faith, your honour, I wish .the subjeot dropped entirely. I think a great deal, too much ha s b een s aid upon it already." On the same I P i r c i y ":: s l 4 9 n , o l: ly o on rdJohn's dislike to any recurrence to the composition of his Ministry, and the course of his poi natural enough, but sufficiently islet ligible. Bat even assuming it to be as the Noble Lord represents, that he was placed- ander cimunie stances: whico he could not control, when, in 1846, be f r o o r ni nie L d b h at is t :ab e i , d net o , w h n ew t , o w t e he sh d o ay uld like to know, will from acoount for, or ju s tify, the policy which he' pursued of his resignation? 111 '" was not surely the policy of hie tion : 4 :0 1 l i ba t l :" l u g t e h: I f su in ci t S lP k P • i t n n i c s i i .)watootutihledi s contrary,l own as , h v e i n b s e e v e w S r a :l e l t i :d g t r h o a s a p haeit of elnrif)ing Publicly parentaac,of aii hie leading m , colleague,' that hw 4 the s h s,a t u !t il:° o • ; Pas t r j - 11 side *°' ; l4' t i v ly i t (!i lre cst ; e : we preeurtie, pese , eud to bt e y t,,,, t de er in irk ' .9 o f manner, whenc,vet they eee ig e, l ,, sparhim on to a more itt e: al nAirtie kt„,„ _ ay not all. nod th e Nuille L9r:l its.hr mat t e s , „ um croat.ury to 4„.. i jove, he Victure4 iifieustmsoce,, when nis MiniStr :in .1846—though. what Oaf)! Cir eGitIMLISIC . were h e - d oes not concksc. , i'd t 0 inrotie " IW~nc, wits nit , ,4e tette - it for gra:loll, - pre ten d - that he 8.9 51160 „isni equally till , victim of .circum'stanees twelve months ago . Be was then cot of office twice is the brief sp ace o heicetiight. • And why?:•Becanstrof thweseekietional character o his Cabinet. • - . l;lad - ht. peeff'What noiv professes to be, tetrieed of poptilii progress, .he nave then gladly and gratefully .availed himself of to faVourableTan opportunity uf:• ridding --himielf " family" party, 'and .reconstriicting his Cabltint l :Cti - e, • comprehensive basis. Instead of that, finding that Lord Stanley could not then form a Ministry, - ho fan- Cied he might return with impunity to Downinutreet with his former colleagues in a-body. He and t.), did so return, and the Noble Lord, not apprehendingany danger to his Government from the Protectionists, not only became more illiberal in his policy than-ever, but actually - expelled 'the, only 'Liberal man , in his Ministry,- - tu make way for Lord Granville, another member of the , "family" coterie of. incepables. And. yet, in the face of all these plai n , palpable, c rushing facts, the ei-Virhig Premier has the cool effrontery to tell the country, that in forming his late Cabinet, and continuing to govern by it, he was the victim of circumstances. The country knows better. It has an opinion of its own, grounded on facts which are patent to all. It is only because he now sees that that he has recourse to the the disingenuousa which em he i sup w device i o t h o oolfd him,nt throwing o control.wi n g So fa r from on L the stances or d John Russell feeling any disposition, if left to himself, of have nohesitationin sa ge t tingying , thatrilid of L hi o a rd m b le es e a r g b u yitt w failed, d, as the ea-Premier imagined he would, to form a Government, Lord John would have again returned to Downing-street with the Ba ov u3 er e Za f c a h m e i d ly h " it Cine s a elbftht as isti b m e e fo , re a . has heartily glad of it. country fair fairly ELECTION INTELLIGENCE. TEWKEEISURY.-All three of the candidates for the representation of this old fashioned borough have com pleted their canvass, and taken their p resent f arewe ll o f the electors. The present sitting memb e r s , M r . M art i n and Mr. Humphrey Brown, offer themsel ves aga i n, and the thud candidate being Mr. E. W. Cox. a barrister of the Western Circuit. The contest, it is expected, ,will be betleen Mr. Brown and Mr. Cox, the now comer. The friends ot both parties are very sanguine of success. WICKLOW.-Sir Ralph Howard has formally taken leave ot his Wicklow constituents. WiciTowN.—Mr. Caird commenced his canvass for the Wugtown Burghs at &retiree'. on Monday. There is a rumour that Captain Dalrymple will be opposed in the county. Captain Hay, 8.. N., or Mr. Stewart, younger, of Glasserton, has been spoken of as likely to come forward. _ _ WORCESTER (CTTY).—In anticipation of a dissolution, Mr. W. Laslett, of A.Uberton-hall, in this county, and for many years an attorney practising in Worcester, has just issued an address offering his services to the electors in the Radical interest. The address is of enormous length. Mr. Ricardo, the Liberal sitting Member, has int►mated his intention of again coming forward, and two Conservative caudidatcs are spoken of, but as yet have not declared them elves. _ YARMOUTH —At a meeting of the Liberal electors of this borough, held on the 16th inst., Admiral Sir C. Napier and W. T. M'Callagh. M.P. for Dundalk, were invited to stand for the representation of the borough at the ensuing election. DORSETSHIRE.—The announcement of Mr. IL C. Start as a candidate in the free-trade interest for this county has given great satisfaction, and his success is consi dered certain. It is expected that he will be returned by the defeat of the Right Hon. the Judge Advocate, Mr. Bankes, and that Mr. Rer Seymer and Mr. Floyer i will retain their seats. _ _ . - - FORIARSHIRE.—We hear that a requisition is being signed, inviting the Right lion. Fox Menlo to stand for the county, and should the requisition be complied with his return would be certain. The ex-President of the Board of Control is deservedly popular in his native county. Ile has acquired in Parliament the character of a good working Minister, and of those who formed part of the late Ministry whom the country would object to see reinstated in office, he certainly is not one. We shall in all probability , know more of Mr. Mauler's inten tions very shortly.—Caledonian Mercury. HABWICEL—The letter from Mr. Waddington, M.P., for Malden, accepting the invitation of the Protectionist party at Harwich to come forward for that borough, has b e en published in the shape of a preliminary address. Hon. Gentleman say s— " As the requisition is of so influential a character, I have no hesitation in acceding to tbe request, provided it be understood that I canvass the borough independent of any other candidate; that freedom and purity of elec tion be recognised as my motto. Should this be in ac. oordance with the views entertained by yourself and co requisitionists, I beg to assure you that, if elected, n o exertions shall be wanting on my part in the efforts to resuscitate the trade of the port, and-to place it in that state of prosperity which the natural advantages of Her. wioh Harbour ought long mg() to have secured." The probability of Mr. Waddington being able to pro. mote the making of the long-talked of Harwich Reilsray will, it is bilieved, give nun a good chance of sucti.?as. litiLL. —Mr. J. Bramley Moore, of Liverpool, hea been invited to stsnd on tno Conservative interest for this place in conjunction with Mr. Clay, and his retnru, he consents, is considered certain. iitte i l e f d al e r r ); COURT CIACU LA K. The Queen and his R. yal Highness Prince Al m . i o c With the Priecess Roya l, t ook a d r i ve in an epee , m - -7 ai e a nd four yesterday. 'lb, Fq,.ierriec. in waiting, G e neral Ble uckley .d "..'ultee.l Bouv erie, Floe. C. Hui.eiintieispspPd,rinpcteestlenderat,tafthtend CepottitnhVlJourc4e horiehaek. m ih : H ee gement of the Duchy of Cernw,ilel. attended by Colonel bye ffi e L e a , d S y om A c ti r n se a t M Ho ar u i s a e, D y i e w st s e o r n d . ay me . Her Royal Highness the Duchess. morning, Her arrived in town at half past attended past twelve o'clock yesterda y f rom . her residence, Frog ghness visited the Queen at Buck more. Her Royal Hi Buck ingham-palace, and partook residence, Clarence House, St. James's, of luncheon with her ingbam- I Ma jesty and Prince Albert. T he Royal Duchess left her in the afternoon on her The Right Hon. return to Frogmore. General, had an George Bankes, Judge-Advocate- Buckingham p.iscauudience of the Queen yesterisy at rotes proceedings of The Princess Royal l am es Alice Wok a carriage airing and the Fru) her Majesty the The • g yesterday morning. Prince of Wales, Prince Alfreid, and the younger , members of the R;, - al F am il y, t o ok ibeir usual exercise Ones, Prince Albert, i yesterday ; 41 the .. - ,rden of Buckingham Palace. 1 Her Mjeaty I attended by theaCig'oduni:esiseßorMaleHunit Edgcumbe t the Hon. Flora. Macdonald, the Earl of Morton, Major -Gene -1 cal Buckley, sod C olonel Bouverie, honoured the p e r. forrnance of the Fre nch Flap with their presence is s i, evening. • en • hehit'ff If• Anthony Turner, now in A deputation Walpole yesterday at the Home- Derby gaol under sentonee of death, had an interview M gr% e Sec de re po ul ta rY tion consisted of Mr. L. Heyworth, M.P., Dr. Perry, Mr. F. Longdon, 6 : ls it rc h e.., Mr. might, of Derby, Mr. J. B. Talbot, and Mr. A. H. Dymond,. of London. The Lord Mayor bed an interview with the Earl 'of Derby yesterday, at his official• residence in Downing. street. Mr. Hodgson had also an interview with the Noble Earl. Mr. Blackstone, M.P., bad en interview With fhe Ri g ht Hon. J. W. Henley yesterday, at the Board of Trade. . A deputation, headed by Mr. Curteis, M.P., on the subject of the hop duty, bad an interview with the Earl of Derby yesterday, at his official residence in Downing. street. Tho Marquis of Exet e r had an interview with M r. Secretary Walpole yes terda y , at the Home-office. A deputation from K idderminster, consisting of Gene ral Lygon, M.P.; Mr. Knight. M.P.; Mr. Best, M.P . .' _ Earl of Mr. John Watson. Mr. Jose p h Kitel y , Mr. H. Saunders, and Mr. H. BrintOn , had an interview with the Rig ht Hon. J. W. Heut e y y esterda y , at the Board of Trade. - Mr. G. H. Cripp a had an interview w i th the yeT.TehredOayxlitrdthUenoivetisaitlyrCesoimdemucisesioofn had a meeting Derby yesterday. the First Lord of sstrreliestio, the e esent the Bishop the theeslo'rrewaiscuhr.y, in D:anDow n o i ti t s c brok ~ , the Rev. H. G. Liddell, J. L. D am pi er , E sq ., Master of Pem- B" D v. ia P p r e:c f :a " w P pr o e w r e t l e L ei t v h :d a lt t e th r) e -G. Co d. loni S al the the Rev. A. P. Stanley (S e creta ry,) . J o ci ifi li ce nso y n e , s e te n r d . day from the Governors of a.eg.Kong sad C e ylon. Dispatches were also received from the Gevernoe d Western Australia. THE PERILS or FASHION. —it must oftf n have suggested itself to : \ of works of imagi nation, tha t oke adventures of a dipt,i ' • I;. st would afford admirable scope for a novelist of talent ; . 1 ' hithe r to uo one has a pp eared wi th a the necessary qualifications for such a task. A work, ng how ever, has Just bee n pu bl is h e d, ca lled " The Perils of Fashion," which realises eve r y expectation which the subject suggests. It is the story of a your English att ache who involves piEn. self in extraordi nar y, em b a rrassments in consequence of a tender intimacy carried on ander very romantic circum stances. The book bears internal evidence of having pro ceeded from some one behind the scenes, with high fuhionable connexions, and h as consaquently excited an unusual degree 4 littAntion in the now ssoltunve clubs and coterie%