The Sun. — London, England, 1848-03-24 00:00:00

of the House, except that which might be due for having so long delayed bringing this subject forward. It was in 1845 that he obtained a Select C ,urn it..ea to inquire into the operation of these laws. That Committee was of a character as impartial as could possibly be obtain, and the majority was constituted of those who dis agreed with his (Mr. Bright's) views. The Committee examined about sixty wimtesses, twenty-one of whom were tenant farmers. It was proved before that Com mittee that game were most destructive to agricultural produce. Mr. Bates, of Luton Park Farm, said that in thirty acres of wheat he had had damage awarded amounting to 118/. Mr. nodding, a tenant of Lord Folkestone, showed that in forty-five acres he had damage done amounting to 1721. In four years previous to 1845 he lost 4601. on wheat and barley land alone, or 1151. per annum, without reckoning turnips and green crops. Other witnesses proved similar facts. " Mr. J. Bell, Salisbury, damage to his growing crops in 1844, on 223 acres, 4161.85.—Mr. Chambers, Norfolk, farms. 6,000 acres poor land, 1844, loss near 1,000/. — Mr. W. Sewell, near Swaffham, rent 1,024/., damage for one year, estimated on 700 acres, was 7001.—Mr. A. Gordon, Wenlock Farmers' Club, 1841, loss on his own 'farm, 239/, on 34 acres ; 1842, loss on his own farm, '651 on ten acres ; 1844 and winter of 1845, loss ou his own farm, 1141.—Mr. Woodward, Kempsey, Worcester shire, 500 acres of Lord Coventry, 200 acres of his own land, 1844, lost 2001. by game on the land he rented from Lord Coventry. Landale, surveyor, Fifeshire, 1841, six farms, property of Captain Wemyss, 1,059 Scotch acres, valued loss 6551. ; 1844, damage estimated near 1,000/., Capt. Wemyss paid the sums awarded according to agreement in the leases of the six farms.—M. J. W. Cooper, near Bury St. Ed munds, 1,000 acres of arable land, November, 1844, 30 acres of wheat so injured by partridges and winged game that he ploughed it up; loss of preparing and sowing this wheat crop, 120/.; annual taxation, 1111 ; game loss, double that sum.—Mr. W. Marris, near Louth, 740 acres, Duke of Newcastle; 1843, 23 acres of wheat damaged, valued at 150/.; game injured him ss. per acre on whole farm, or 1851., but all his taxes not much over 100/.—Lincolnshire, near Kettleby, Thorpe, 1844, farm 500 acres; loss, 2401.; seven acres of wheat were totally destroyed by game." Tho only tenant-farmer who was brought up to give evidence against the repeal of the game-laws was a Mr. Taylor, who was agent to Sir John Shelley in Sussex; but even he admitted the great damage that particular sorts of game effected. It had been said by Lord Salis bury before the Committee that 12 hares could not consume as much as a sheep. He thought much weight could not attach to evidence in which such an opinion could be incorporated, for the expe riment had been tried. A Mr. Gayford had kept iu one place 12 hares, and in another place 2 sheep. In six weeks the 12 hares con sumed of oats, beans, &c., 33 bushels and 3 pecks, weighing 68 stones, and costing 183. whilst in the same time the two sheep consumed only 25 bushels, 3 pecks, and 2 pints, weighing 45 stones, and costing 13s. 9jd. Thus the consumption of the twelve hares exceeded, in six weeks, the consumption of the two sheep by eight bushels, or 23 stones of food, costing 4s. skd. Within a fraction, therefore, 41- hares con sumed as much as a sheep whilst in confinement, and of course the calculation did not include all that would have been destroyed and injured had the hares been at large. Every farmer to whom the question was put, and the question was put to every farmer called, declared that game was prejudicial to agriculture. As to the cases in which the game on land was let to a third party, it was peculiarly impossible for the farmer to cultivate his land to advantage. Any man renting the game over a farmer's land might, as a witness, Mr. Villebois, bad described the matter, preserve as much game on it as he chose-10,000 partridges, and 10,000 phea sants, and 10,000 hares, it he liked—and still as many more if he liked, and have a whole regiment of keepers to guard his game, every keeper having the right to go over the land, in all directions, and at all hours of the day or night. It was impossible that farmers could prosper, or that labourers could obtain employment, as they ought to do, unless this real burden upon land—a burden which those who made such an outcry against burdens upon land did not advert to—was removed. The manner iu which the game-laws were administered by the country magistrates afforded another strong reason why the game-laws themselves should he done away with. Mr. Phillips, in his evidence before the Committee, had stated the fact, that it having been found necessary, in consequence of complaints on the subject to Government, to direct copies of all commitments under the game-laws to be forwarded to the Home office, it was ascertained that in one year alone, the year ending March, 1845, there had been no fewer than 1,849 commitments, under the game laws, of which forty were absolutely contrary to law , and the prisoners were accordingly discharged by Government, while in principle other cases were characterised by the most monstrous irregularities. As to the moral effect of the game-laws upon the rural population, that effect was most pernicious. The penal ties inflicted were in no instance regarded by the suffer ers as the just retribution of the law for a punishable offence, but as the tyrannous act of partial magistrates either the actual preservers themselves, or influenced by their friendship for the prosecuting landlord. As a proof of the want of confidence in the magistracy on the part of Government, it was sufficient to state that the Home Secretary had just recommended that cases of night poaching should be transferred from the sessions to the assizes. So long ago as 1796 Mr. Fox denounced the game-laws as fraught with the most demoralising effects upon the rural population; and repeated Committees of the House of Commons corroborated this opinion, by evidence from all parts of the country. In his evidence before one of the Committees, the Right Hon. Member for Ripon (Sir J. Graham) had declared as follows: — "I am myself a preserver of game, and, being so, I am bound to confess that the most fruitful source of crime in my immediate neighbourhood is connected with game, and with the preservation of it. . . . I think the lower orders, in common with the highest, have a love, a natural love, of the sport, even stimulated, per haps, by the risks attendant on its gratification ; in many cases, also, poverty is a great inducement to com mit the crime, but I should say that,: in my own imme diate neighbourhood, the love of the sport predominates over almost every other consideration have latterly preserved the game more strictly than it was heretofore, especially pheasants, which were almost unknown in that neighbourhood ; and since I have so preserved poaching has increased, notwithstanding all shy efforts to prevent it, or rather, perhaps, in conse quence of my efforts to increase the quantity of game. The tameness of these birds, seen constantly in the field close to the road, is, I think, a great temptation to the lower orders to take them. . . 1.. On the whole, I should think poaching the cause, rather than the conse quence, of criminal habits." As t) the extent of offences under these laws, the Duke of Richmond had stated that, " The system was also attended with this baneful con sequence,—it increased and heightened the feuds be tween the higher, the middle, and the lower classes. Would their Lordships believe that in three years, from 1827 to 1830, 8,502 persons were convicted of offences against the game-laws in England and Wales alone?" Sir J. Graham, speaking of the change in the law of 1831, said— " I have not before me the returns of the number of crimes against the game-laws at that period, but I have a distinct recollection that the attention of Lord Grey's Government was forced to this subject on account of the great:increase of crime under the unchanged law at that time apparent, and which circumstance is now attracting, in a painful degree, the attention of the country." The Hon. Member then proceeded to read the following statistical returns respecting the operation of the game laws, and in support of his arguments:— " England and Wales—Convictions under the game laws in 1343, 4,529. " 1833 to 1843-42 gamekeepers killed and inquests held; in 25 of those cases a verdict of wilful murder was returned. " 1844-7 gamekeepers killed and inquests held, of which 3 were returned wilful murder, and 1 was returned manslaughter. " 1844, 1845, to May, 1846 (2 Aars and 4 months) — Total convictions, 11,392; being an average of 4,884 convictions per annum, and an increase of 355 over the year 1843." He would further exemplify the dreadful evils arising out of the maintenance of the game-laws, in so far as the criminal jurisprudence of the country was concerned. The cases to which he should call the attention of the House were all of recent occurrence, and they would prove beyond a doubt that much of the bloodshed and maiming that had attracted public attention took their rise solely out of the system of preserving game. The Hon. Member then read the following cases, which he hal extracted out of the provincial and other papers: — "FROM A CLERGYMAN IN HERTFORDSHIRE.—In the county pri.on are now (i. e. at the Epiphany Sessi m) confined 106 prisoners. Of these 47 are for poaching. Nearly half, you see, of those in the county gaol ; more than half of those in the liberty gaol. Add these together, and we have 153 prisoners, of whom 69 were poachers. Think of this, gentlemen of Hert fordshire, when next you discuss the cause of demo ralisation among us, or take in band some remedy for the perils of the nation. Just one short of 70 are iu your gaols for aggression on the sports of the higher classes. Dare you multiply this by 40, and find that 2,760 are in gaol in the whole of the English counties? or can you feel satisfied that our county should furnish an unhappy disproportion of such cases? I cannot pledge myself for the accuracy of a unit; but there is no intentional exaggeration, and the proportions can hardly be altered. " Harris and Meadham tried for cutting and wound ing Grant, a keeper of the Marquis of Aylesbury. These keepers heard shots on Bedwin.common. Saw four men coming down Bath and London-road. Keepers were armed with swingels, resembling a flail. Keepers stood in the middle of the road, and King, one of them, said, Holton, lads, what's up ?' Fight began : tre mendous fighting took place. The blood streamed down Grant's head, nearly blinding him. The heads of the keepers dreadfully cut, and the worst consequences were apprehended from them. Thomas Meadham's arm was broken, and Maurice llesetham died from concussion of the brain the same day. The affair caused much pain to the Marquis, who sent messages every hour for in telligence as to the state of the deceased. Thomas Meadhane transported for seven years."—Devizes In dependent. "December 25, Christmas-day.—Thompson and Wal lace, poaching in a wood belonging to Mr. Beaumont, of Bynell, Northumberland. Desperate fight with keepers. Thompson fired twice, or thrice. Once at a large dog with the keepers. Wallace wounded in the thigh. Both taken. Sent to Morpeth gaol, where Wallace died of a look-jaw on or about the sth January. Manslaughter. ?fifteen years' transportation on Thompson. Keeper said in evidence, " My dog is between a Newfoundland and a bloodhound ; he is very large, but I do not know how savage he is. I keep the dog to go with me at night. He has been trained to scent a man ; he can trace the footsteps by the scent, and take me to any part of the wow.; where an body is." "Three men, Davies, Hill, an I Bryant, were charged at Cardiff with shooting David Davies, an assistant keeper to W. W. Lswis. Esq. The keepers heard lire arms in the preeerves. Their dogs scented out the three priame rs and another man not in custody. The keepers followed them and demanded their names. A keeper seized Bryant by the leg to prevent his getting over a fence. Bryant resisted, the keeper struck him on the arm till he dropped his gun. Davies shouldered his gun, saying, If you don't let that man go I'll blow your brains out.' The three other keepers rushed forward and laid hold of it by the stock. TI. e prisoner resisted, the gun went off, and the deceased re ceived the contents in the groin. He staggered, fell down, and cried out, 'I am shot, lam a dead man. He was carried into a cottage covered with blood, but life was extinct. " AFFRAY AT CROSBY-HALL, LANCASHIRD.—Four keepers and four p o achers —desperate fight for twenty minutes, the poachers getting the worst of it. During the struggle a gun was fired, but without any effect. The poachers used their gun stocks and bludgeons, and the keepers were armed with strong, heavy cudgels. The wounded man, Tudor, who was lying on the ground in a state of insensibility, was then conveyed to the hall, as well as his companion, Brown. Tudor had a severe wound on the head, which had been inflicted by one of the keeper's clubs, beside other injuries, and his recovery is considered very doubtful. Brown has several cuts and bruises, but not of a serious character, " LORD NORMANDY'S PRESERVES.-- About Ist Fe bruary, five keepers were watching in the Mulgrave woods. Heard firearms. Keepers armed with sticks. the Marquis forbidding firearms. They met a gang of poachers, armed with guns. Summoned them to sur render. One of' the gang presented his gun and fire I at a keeper named Brown, the contents lodging in his right arm. A struggle followed. The keepers were beaten off, the poachers firing at them. The wounded man was carried to the nearest house. One of the gang was shot in the thigh by one of his comrades. He crawled away, concealing himself in a thicket, but was discovered. The wounded poacher died the following Thursday. " Murder of Charles Payne, Assistant Gamekeeper on the Estate of Mr. A. R. Drummond, of Cadlands Park, Hants— The watchers were only armed with sticks. The poachers had two guns, and they used the butt-ends to keep off the watchers. Deceased's skull was fractured by the butt-ends of the guns, and one gun went off by accident, and part of its contents lodged in the breast of Morris, but not to any serious extent. Payne survived but a short time. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Morris as principal, and against Smith, Bracker, Carrell, and Knapp as accessories. Mortis, the principal in the murder, is the son of Stephen Morris, the head game keeper. Thus the father is chief gamekeeper and the son is poacher, end now charged with murder."—Hants Independent, March 11. "MARCH 10.--TRIALS.—DURHAM ASSlZES.—Thomp son and Dawson, for the murder of Shirley, Duke of Cleveland's Whipper-in, acting as keeper at Raby Castle. Affray on the 2d Feb. 1848. Bath found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. Shirley died twelve days after he was shot in the arm." He did not say a word in vindication of these men, but he would assert his conviction that Parliament should interfere and put a stop to a system which engendered such crimes as these for which these men were con demned. As to the successive palliations of those laws, attempted by legislation, they had all failed in the alleged purpose. The Hon. Member for Derbyshire had intro duced a Bill for making hares into rabbits. The Bill was a mockery of legislation, and if the House was contented with such measures, the country would think, and justly, that there was an indisposition to meddle with the privi leges of the rich, and that, rather than deprive them of the game-laws, the Legislature would prefer running the risk of disturbing public tranquillity. What was the number of persons interested in the game-laws ? The tax returns showed that in the years 1841, 1842, the number of certificates granted was only 35,000, and for gamekeepers 2,600. The amount of revenue derived from this source was 157,0001, but that amount of reve nue would not induce the Chancellor of the Exchequer to oppose the abolition of the game-laws on the score of public exigencies. The discontent which was felt by the peasantry was very greet. It was a discontent which— " Smouldering as it grew In silence feeds." He wished the House to proceed on a different principle to the past in respect to game. The principle which he sought to establish was that acknowledged by the com mon law, namely, to give every one that property which belonged to him ; whereas the game-laws prevented a man from shooting or destroying the wild animals that were produced on his land. The people had no sympa thy with the game-laws. They were habitually disre• garded, and thereby the poacher was often led to disre gard other laws, and not to shrink from sheep or horse stealing. The Bill he intended to propose was very simple. It consisted of two clauses only. The first abolishing all laws, and portions of laws which related to game, or to certificates, or to any other restriction on the killing of wild animals. The second clause was for the purpose of giving occupiers:of land a right to sue for damages in those cases where game preserved on adjacent lands destroyed his crops. This was the sum total of his Bill, and it was not so complex as some of the existing game-laws were. He did not intend to propose to in troduce any clause respecting trespasses, as those could be easily provided against in case of need. He hoped he had sufficiently proved ho had no wish to interfere be tween landlord and tenant, as he had almost been accused of wishing to do. Having thus stated his views he begged to thank the House for the attention with which Hon. Members had listened to his speech. He asked for nothing less than a complete change in the whole policy of the game-laws. and the House could not refuse his Bill or some similar measure, without running counter to the spirit of the age, and also perpetrating the evils which he had shown to exist. It had been truly stated by Mr. Alison that there was little difference between an English sportsman and a Red Indian ; both of them found the only true excitement in slaying wild animals and curbing impetuous steeds. It was for the sole amusement of such that the game-laws were main tained; and he ventured to say, not only would public opinion not be satisfied with their continuance, but also that nineteen-twentieths of the peasantry were in favour of his Bill. Mr. COWAN, in seconding the motion, disclaimed any unkindly feeling towards the proprietors of the soil, to many of whom he was indebted for facilities in fol lowing the sportsman's trade.—(A. laugh.) But it was for their sakes he was anxious to see an end put to a system which was a cause of continual heartburning be tween landlord and tenant, at least in his part of the country. He agreed with the Hon. Member for Man chester in thinking that the game-laws caused a monstrous waste of human food, and were a remnant of the feudal system and a disgrace to the present age.— (Hear.) The farmers of Scotland were decidedly hos tile to the system, so much so, that those of Fife and Lothian had formed themselves into associations to pro cure its alteration.—(Hear.) A case of great hardship had occurred in his part of the country, in which a farmer having banished the game which'were destroying his crops, by the most harmless means, namely, by firing blank cartridge and hunting them with muzzled dogs, was sued at law, and informed that he had acted illegally, and that his only proper remedy was an action for damages. The Hon. Member for Manchester pre served the right to damages in his Bill. He (Mr. Cowan) regretted !that the Hon. Member had done so, seeing that there was nothing so difficult to trace as the authors of such damage, and nothing so likely to produce ill feeling between landlord and tenant as the attempt. — (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Cowan) thought that a much better plan would be to give the tenant a right to shoot the game upon his farm. The Hon. Member having read an extract from a letter, the purport of which was, that the game laws were considered to be an excessive burden by the majority of the Scottish farmers, con cluded by . entreating the House to give a favourable consideration to the present Bill. Colonel SIBTHORP declared his decided opposition to even the introduction of the Bill. A Commit tee had been appointed on the motion of the Hon. Member for Manchester, numberless witnesses had been examined, Honourable Members had literally sweated under the infliction, and all had ended in less smoke than will issue from the smallest cigar. —(Laughter.) A Committee of the House had resolved that interference with the protection of game would be a violation of the rights of property, and on that resolu tion he founded his opposition to the present Bill. He hoped that the House would not add to the public expense by allowing the introduction of the Hon. Gentleman's Bill, which was surd to end—as did his Committees—in smoke.—(A. laugh.) He contended that the injury done by game was nothing equal to what was alleged by the Hon. Gentleman. The evidence taken upon that subject was most varied and conflicting, one witness having said that three hares and five rabbits consumed as much as one sheep ; another that three hares, another that one hare, another that 20, and another that 40 hares could not destroy so much as one sheep. He contended also—as indeed was stated in the evidence—that the very residence of landed proprietors. which the preservation of game caused, was attended with the most beneficial results in their respective neigh bourhoods. Another reason fur reserving the game laws was the declaration of the Chancellor of the Ex chequer, that he received P 3 less than 220,1401. for game certificates. He must therefore give his decided opposi tion to the introduction of the Bill. Sir G. STPsICKLAND said there was no doubt a strong feeling abroad that there was something in the game-laws which was not just; and he thought it was the duty of the Legislature to endeavour to remove that impression. But the Hon. Member for Manchester completely failed in his remedy—(Hear, hear)—and pro posed alterations which would lead to a state of confu sion in all the relations of landlord and tenant.—(Hear, hear.) He was for making much more stringent laws of trespass, and by doing so would leave all the evils of the present system as well as create new ones. He had ably pointed out those evils and the demoralisation which they caused, and on that account he considered that the House was indebted to him for having brought forward the question; but in the remedy he proposed he (Sir G. Strickland) could not concur. Sir G. GREY likewise felt that the House was in debted to the Hon. Member for Manchester for bringing this question before it—it being a question to which he thought the attention of the House might be most usefully directed.—(Hear, hear.) He likewise agreed with his Honourable Friend who had just spoken that the Honourable Member for Manchester had ably de picted the evils arising, not, however, so much from the game-laws as from the great accumulation and strict preservation of game—(Hear, hear)—but to the remedy of the Hon. Gentleman he did not think the House ought to assent, because it would not remove those evils. He thought that the Hon. Gentleman would have sub mitted some plan which would have enabled him (Sir G. Grey) to consent to the introduction of his Bill with a view to discussion at a future stage. But having clearly and fully stated the nature of the measure he conceived that the House was in a position to pronounce upon it at once. The Hon. Gentleman had connected all the evils which he had so well portrayed with the operation of the game laws, a:together overlooking the fact that many of those evils arose from the accumulation of gam.. Ile quite c.mcurred in his denunciation of the practice ot publicly announcing as a matter of commendation the enormous quantity of game which individuals had been able to kill within a given time.—(Cries of " Hear," from all parts of the House.) He was glad to find that that practice was so generally discountenanced by that House. The Hon. Gentleman asked for the total repeal of the game-laws on account of the injury they did to the tenants and the crops. There was he believed, no doubt, that great injury was done to crops, especially by hares; but he could not go the length of ad mitting that that injury alleged by the Hon. Gentleman extended to the stock of food in the country. The real evil and injury was that this game which was used as food by one man should be maintained out of the pro perty of another.—(Hear, hear.) But was not that the consequence of agreements between landlord and tenant rather than of the law ? And agreements between landlord and tenant regarding the mode of cultivation the ploughing up grass land, or the regulating of game, Parliament had never yet touched, and any attempt to do so would be absolutely futile.—(Hear, hoar.) He hoped the time was not far distant when the farmers would make such agreements with their landlords as would protect them on the best terms. But the most important part of the question was that which affected the morals of the people, arising from poaching and other crimes, said to originate in the existing game-laws The Honourable Member (Mr. Bright) has stated, that in this respect, for years past, matters had been becom ing worse—that the number of convictions and conse quent demoralisation was on the yearly increase. His (Sir George Grey's) information on the subject, how ever, did not lead him to the same conclusion. Though the offences arising from the unlawful pursuit of game were frequent, yet there had been a diminution in their number, arising from the discussions which had taken place on the subject in and out of the House, and which had induced the public to look -more into the subject. But speaking of the number of convictions, the Hon. Member for Manchester had not adverted to the dis tinction between the convictions under the Game-laws and the violent cases of assault, manslaughter, and mur der, arising from poaching conflicts. Under the statute 1 and 2 Will. IV., c. 102, for offences strictly under the Game-laws, no sentence of transportation could be passed ; but the Act 9 Geo. IV., c. 69, commonly called the Night Poaching Act, made any person under the most serious class of convictions liable to transporta tion. Now, from the date of the report of the Select Committee of 1946, there had not been a single person sentenced to transportation under that statute until 1847, when three persons, who, while in the unlawful pursuit of game, had committed acts of siolence ' had been so sentenced, though in the preceding periods the number had been much greater. With respect to sum mary convictions, the last return was that of 1845, which showed that number for the year to have been 2,796, which was between 1,500 and 1,600 less than that of the year preceding; and in 1847 there had only been 48 eonvictions of any kind in England and Wales beyond that of the three men sentenced to transportation, to whom he had already alluded. While he (Sir G. Grey) should cheerfully give his best attention to any attempt to remedy and diminish existing evils, he must say he thought the Bill now proposed would utterly fail to ac complish that object. The Bill proposed absolutely to repeal the Night Poaching Act and the statutes 1 and 2 Will. IV. It did not meddle with the law of trespass, and, in effect, it would offer a direct premium to crime, and would create still greater evils than any that had arisen under the existing law. He wished the Bon. Member had made a more moderate proposal; but he (Sir G. Grey) was now ready to give his best attention to the subject, and to pledge himself that at no distant day a Bill should be introduced (which, perhaps, ought to have been done before), founded upon the report of the Select Committee of 1846.—(Hear.) With respect to the loss of life in conflicts with poachers, he must re mark that there prevailed a deep feeling among a large portion of the population, who regarded poaching not as a moral crime, but who also looked upon murder com mitted while poaching as not amounting to a crime. He was sure the Hon. Mmber for Manchester was the last man who would encourage that feeling, but would lend his influence to show that persons who deliberately committed murder while in the pursuit of game were liable to the punishment awarded to that offence. In some cases the juries had properly pronounced verdicts of manslaughter, but at present there were two men under sentence of death at Durham for a murder com mitted on the estate of the Duke of Cleveland. That case had occupied his (Sir G. Grey's) most serious at tention in the most painful duty that could occur to a person in his position. His anxious care was to do his duty, and not to shrink from it, and that while the law remained as it was, not to proclaim to the world that because a man took the life of another while poaching he could not be subject to the punishment allotted to the crime of murder.—(Hear, bear.) He assured the Hon. Member for Manchester (Mr. Bright) that he opposed the introduction of this Bill, not from any want of respect for the Hon. Member's motives, but because he thought the remedies he proposed would be utterly un availing, would introduce greater evils than any now in existence, and would not be productive of the success ful results which the Hon. Member seemed to expect. Mr. B. COCHRANE said that allusion had been made to a case in Hampshire affecting a gentleman with whom he was connected. He could appeal to many Hon. Members whether that gentleman did not de servedly enjoy the highest reputation as an excellent landlord. He (Mr. B. Cochrane) did not entirely agree in all that had fallen from the Right Hon. atronet op posite (Sir G. Grey), but ho thought the present motion a most injudicious one, and he viewed it as another blow aimed most maliciously at one class of the community— the landed proprietors. Mr. W. P. WOOD denied that there was any feeling on the part of the friends of this measure against any class of the community. On the contrary, the course they recommended would do more to raise the landed interest in public estimation than any one act the House could do in the whole course of the session. —(Hear, hear.) The evil was not to be remedied by any pallia tives. The Home Secretary had given the House reason to expect that he would propose a measure founded upon the report of the Committee of 1846. Now he doubted whether such a measure would be of the _slightest avail in checking so enormous an evil. Sir G. GREY—I spoke of the resolutions of the Com mittee. Mr. WOOD—It was quite true that the poacher re garded his offence not as Inaluin in se, but as maim pro- Gowing, one of the witnesses before the Com mittee, stated that he was in the habit of selling to Peers, Members of Parliament, andslergymen, poached birds and eggs obtained illegally—(A laugh)—showing that persons of station did not regard poaching as an ordinary act of stealing.—(Hear.) Every attempt to make animals wild by nature, and not tied to place, property by law, had failed. The desire of pursuing them, it might 'be hoped, would one day' be subdued. Many could now enter into the feeling expressed by the finest living poet— " Mingle not your joy with sorrow Of the meanest thing that breathes." But the instinct was strong, and demoralization had arisen in endeavouring to quell it. Non meua hic sermo. Blackstone said:—" The crime of destroying game is of so questionable a nature, and the Acts of Parliament conAitutiner e. it an offence are so numerous and so con fused, thatl shall not detain the reader with many ob• servations thereupon. . . . In one statute only, 5 Anne, c. 14, there is false grammar in no fewer than six places, besides other mistakes; the ocassion of which, or what denomination of persons were probably the penners of these statutes, I shall not at present inquire. . . , The forest laws were imported from the continent, whereby the slaughter of a beast was made almost as penal as the death of a man. . . . From this root has sprung a bastard slip, known by the name of game law, both founded upon the same unreasonable notions of permanent property in wild creatures."—(Hear, hear.) Before the sale of game was legalised it was bought fur the tables of various classes; and now there was not a civic feast on the 29th of September without pheasants, though they ought not to be killed till October.—(A laugh.) But not only was the offence not regarded like other crimes—there was no confidence in the administration of this branch of the law by the rural magistrates.—(" Oh, oh!") A very high-minded and intelligent magistrate—(" Name") — the late Mr. Canning, of Gloucestershire—used to say, " I never will sit upon a game case, because I feel per fectly satisfied I could not do justice in such a case."— (" Oh, oh!") Others might not be conscious of their bias—it was human nature not to be so—but it was of the utmost importance that the magistracy should be above suspicion.—(Hear, hear.) For the sake of pre serving game, footpaths convenient for the poor were stopped up by magistrates.—(Hear, hear.) A school for crime was generated; at the sessions at Woodbridge, in Suffolk, a boy sixteen years of age was brought up for stealing; and it was stated by several farmers that he had destroyed some pheasants' eggs, and they had orders from their landlords not to employ him.—(" Oh, oh!") Country gentlemen should have higher and nobler objects to pursue; they would do well to cultivate the science of agriculture; they might remember, too. that the cost of a gamekeeper would keep a school master.—(" Oh, oh!") As to the law of trespass, it would not be difficult to amend that. If a man tres passed he might be warned off, and if he refused to go, the infliction of' summary punishment could not be com plained of. Mr. NEWDEGATE, who rose amsdst loud calls for a division, enforced the argument that if the lion. Gen tleman's Bill became law, an infinitely more oppressive trespass law would become necessary. Sir H. VERNEY approved the Bill, which he con sidered would be beneficial to the landed proprietors, for there was no source more fertile of litigation, heart burnings, and crime in the agricultural districts than the game-laws in their present shape. As a farmer he thanked the Hon. Member for Manchester for bringing forward such a measure. Mr. G. THOMPSON then moved, and Mr. WAKLEY seconded, the adjournment of the debate.—(Cries of "Divide," and " Go on.") Sir G. GREY hoped that the Hon. Member for Manchester would consent to a division being taken at once. Business of great importance .was coming on, and he did not see when the discussion could be renewed. Mr. BRIGHT had not the least wish to - occupy the time of the House longer than was necessary for a proper discussion of the subject ; but many Members wished to speak upon it, and the debate that evening had not begun until halt-past eight o'clock. Mr. F. MACKENZIE said, if the motion for adjourn ment were carried, he :should move to add the words " till this day six months." Mr. HUME said that after the speech of the Right Hon. Baronet, who had admitted the evils which arose from the present system, the House ought not to be in such a hurry to dispose of the question without aster. taining whether a remedy could be applied. Sir G. GREY had no wish to put an end to the dis cussi,,n, but he did not see an early day on which there would be an opportunity of renewing it. Oil the vestion for the adjournment of the debate being put, Mr. F. MACKENZIE wished to move that the words " until this day six months " be added, but The SPEAKER decided that such a motion could not be put. The House then divided, and the numbers were— For the adjournment B2 Against it B' Majority against the adjournment On our ieturn to the gallerjwe found Dr. BOWRING on his legs, observing, that as it was a most unusual thing to refuse to adjourn a debate when the motion to that effect was supported by eighty Members, and as the majority in this instance, more over, was so small, he felt himself justified in moving now that the House do adjourn.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear," from Mr. Thompson and Hon. Gentlemen in his neighbourhood.) Mr. BAGGE, amid answering cheers from the Opposition benches, at once seconded the motion. The SPEAKER volubly put the question, declared that the ayes had it, and immediately left the chair. Roars of laughter were heard from all sides of the House; for the consequence of this proceeding was to render the motion " for leave to bring in a Bill " a dropped order; and it would appear that the Hon. and Learned Member for Bolton had not anticipated such a result, and was therefore palpably out•manceuvred. The House, amid much merriment, at once adjourned. THE GAME LAWS. The Judges at present on the circuits would scarcely find occupation, if it were not for the number of offences chronicled in the calendars, and which originate in the accursed Game Laws. In all parts of the country the most desperate conflicts have taken place between gamekeepers ' watchers, and poachers , in many instances attended with loss of life. One individual has been sentenced to die on the scaffold, several others have been transported for terms vary ing from 10 to 15 years, and some have been banished for life. These severe sentences, notwithstanding, seem to produce little effect upon the rural population. Poachers meet as usual, and combats ensue, attended with sanguinary vengeance on both sides. It used to be contended that smuggling demoralised the people —that it made them thieves, and converted them into very demons. Now, we have ample proof that poaching leads to violence and bloodshed, and even murder. Various causes have operated to pro duce this dreadful state of things. The peasantry require a few comforts; they possess none whatever. Gradually has their condition been getting worse ; and now it is not to be borne. In counties where the crime of poaching most prevails, the wages of agri cultural labourers are reduced to the lowest possible de gree of stingy parsimony, amounting to a robbery of right. Men cannot live by their exertions, let them be ever so industriousty inclined. In some districts we find wages as low as 7s. a week, upon which sum it is impossible a man, obliged to toil in the open air, can procure for himself and wife, and perhaps four or five children, a sufficient quantity of the commonest food to support nature ; to say nothing of articles of domestic use, firing; lodging, and clothing. Under such circumstances, it is not possible for him to do it ; and, as a consequence, he is driven to all manner of shifts, and either finds vent for his inward feeling in desolating a homestead, or seeks to enlarge his means of living by poaching. In Kent, where the labourer's wages amount to from 12s. to 155., and even 16s. a week, poaching is almost unknown. It is rarely you find a case in the calendar where several men have banded themselves together for poaching purposes. Now and then, but not often, a labourer is detected in snaring a hare, and is punished by the "great unpaid" to the full extent of the law. But we repeat, that men seldom meet in gangs to rob a preserve. We infer, from this absence of crime, that when labour is properly paid for, and the men themselves are treated with becoming humanity by their employers, they have no inclination to outrage the laws. When the belly pinches with hunger men become maddened and desperate, and they violate the laws, careless and reckless of the consequences that follow. At the Nottingham Assizes the Judge took a merciful view of an affray, and the jury, with great humanity, re turned a verdict of guilty of a common assault only. The Judge expressed his concurrence, and sentenced the prisoners to 14 days' imprisonment, commencing from the opening of the Assiae, which reduced the confinement to 10 days. A few such verdicts would induce the Legislature to alter the game-laws— per haps abandon them altogether—or so shape them as to give the farmer an interest in the game which he finds himself obliged to support. As the law stands, no person holding land is authorised to kill game, in any case where, by deed or written, or parole contract, a right of entry is reserved to the landlord or other person. We need not state that the landlord always takes care to preserve his right. The aristocracy have passed laws solely for themselves • and under those laws the farmer has become impoverished, the little agricul turist has been ruined, and the labourer has been brought to the workhouse. With regard to the degrees of crime, the Act of Parliament says—" Owners and occupiers of land, their servants and assistants, may apprehend offenders either on the spot or other place to which they may be pursued ; and the offenders assaulting or offering violence with gun, club, stick, or otherwise, shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanour, and liable to transportation for seven years, and imprisonment to hard labour for two years. Persons to the number of three or more enteringby night any land for the purpose of taking or destroying game or rabbits, and being armed with a gun, bludgeon, or other offensive weapon, are subject to transportation for not exceeding fourteen years, or to imprisonment for hard labour for not exceeding three years." This is the law as it now stands, and many an innocent man has been punished under it. Not many weeks ago there appeared in the Dispatch an account of a poor fellow who had picked up a dead hare, and it was distinctly proved that not only had the hare been placed in the situation in which it was found by a gamekeeper, but that the fellow, in order to give a colouring to the charge, and to satiate his hatred of the party, had actually depo sited a gin or snare close to the spot. This fact was elicited by a solicitor, who was engaged to defend the individual charged with the offence; and, of course, he was discharged ; the gamekeeper, at the same time, was allowed to go about his business by the magistrates who heard the case. It is beyond a doubt that many gamekeepers get up cases of this kind in order to show their extreme vigilance, and many poor men become the inmates of gaols who are perfectly innocent of crime. The law is altogether bad, and requires a thorough revision. It gives pro tection to the landlord, and puts the tenant-farmer to serious and inconvenient losses; and, moreover, it exposes individuals who are driven to crime by poverty to merciless punishment. Housebreakers are not more severely treated under the law than poachers, who catch and kill " vermin," while the difference in the offence is as wide as the poles. Mr. Bright, in his address to the farmers, published in a work entitled " The Influences of the Game-laws," thus writes : " You take a farm on a yearly tenancy, or on a lease, with an understanding, or a specific agreement that the game shall be reserved to the owner, that is, you grant to the landlord the right to stock the farm, for which you are to pay him rent for permission to cultivate, and for the full possession of its produce, with pheasants, partridges, hares, and rabbits, to any extent that may suit his caprice. You plough, and sow, and watch the growing crops with anxiety and hope; you rise early and eat the bread of carefulness; rent day comes twice a. year, with its inexorable demand, and yet you are doomed too frequently to see the fer tility which Providence bestows, and your industry would secure, bli g hted and destroyed by creatures which would be deemed vermin, but for the sanction which the law and your customs give to their preser vation, and which exist for no advantage to you, and no good to the public, but solely to afford a few days' amusement in a year to the proprietors of the soil. But the injury to your crops is not all the mischief. Inferior agriculture, which is greatly caused by the presence of game, involves not only diminished profits to the farmer, but a lessened demand for the services of your labourers ; and this again brings about irregular employment for them, and insufficient wages ; and from these causes come povery, discontent, - :and that insecurity for farming property which has been so lamentably prevalent of late years in many parts of England. It is your wish, as it is manifestly your interest, that the labourers around you should have steady employment and good wages, for these are the elements upon which alone can be built up a moral and contented population. Insufficient demand for labour, low wages, temptations to poaching, and from that to more serious infractions of the laws —these are the natural and inevitable results of the system which is supported by legal enactment, and not less by the usages to which you are assenting parties, for the sole object of providing an amusement for the proprietors of the soil." --- Weekly Dispatch. It is satisfactory to mention that Messrs. Job Wright and Co., Russia merchants, whose suspension took place during the pressure in December last, are now paying their creditors in full, with interest. The St. Petersburgh house has throughout continued its usual business. [ADVERTISEMENT.] —A WONDERFUL CURE OF AN ERUPTION IN THE FACE BY HOLLOWAY'S OINT MENT. -- The editor of the Guernsey Sun, publishes in his paper, of the 20th of February, a mort extraordinary cure which he wit nessed by the use of Holloway's Ointment, in the ease of a child whose face was entirely covered with scabs. By his recommendation, the parents of the child tried this invaluable remedy, and in the space of one week, to the astonishment of every one, the face was perfectly healed. Thi ointment is peculiarly adapted for the cure ut burns, scalds, scurvy, and every variety of skin disease. Also for old wounds and scrofula, cancers, bad breasts, and sore legs. Sold by all druggists, and at Professor Holloway's Establishment, No. 244, Strand, _ London. TARY DIVISIONS. 'rom the Votes and Proceedings of the House of etlififncma.) THU RSDAY, MARCH 23. HARWICH WRIT. Motion made, and Question proposed, " That Mr. Speaker do issue his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ for the electing of a Burgess to serve in this present Parliament for the Borough of Harwich, in the morn of John Attwood, Esq., whose Election has been determined to be void :" Amendment proposed, to leave out from the word " That" to the end of the Question, in order to add the words " leave be given to bring in a Bill to extend the limits of the Borough of Harwich, with a view to increase the number of Electors for the said Borough," instead thereof:—Question put, "'That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Question." The House divided:— _ MAJORITY—AYES, 195. Acland, Sir T. Foley, J. 11. Mulgrave, Earl Adair, Hugh E. Forbes, William Neeld, Joseph Adair, R. Shafto Fox tescue, Chichester gorreys. Lord Aslionby, 11. Fox, Richard M. O'Connell, M. J. Alcock, Thomas Fuller, A. E. Oswald, Alexander Alexander, N. Gladstone, W. E. Packe, C. W. Arbuthnott, Hugh Glyn, G. C. Paget, Lord Clarence Armstrong, R. B. Gordon, Admiral Palmerston, Via. Arundel, Earl of Goulburn. Henry Parker, John Bagge, W. Graham, Sir James Patten, J. W. Ragshaw, John Greene, Thomas Peel,;Sir Robert Bain's, 11. J. Grenfell, C. Pascoe Pigott, Francis Baring, Henry Grenfoll, Charles W. Plowden, W. 11. Baring, F. T. Grey, Sir G. Pegh, David Baring, W. B. Guest, Sir J. Pusey, P. Barnard, E. G. Hale, R. B. Rawdon,:Colonel Barron, Sir H. Raiford, Sir Henry Rendlesham, Lord Bateson T. Ham ilton, L ord C. Repton, G. W. Bellew, ' lt. M. Hawes, Benjamin Ricardo, Osman Bonbow, John Hayes, Sir E. Rich, Henry Bennet, Philip Ilayter, W. G. Richards, Richard Blandford, Marquis Heald, James Rolleston,Voleuel Bourke, Richard S. Reatlicote, Sir W. Russell, F. C. H. Bowles, Admiral Henley, J. W. Rutherford, A. Boyle, Colonel Ilerries, J. C. Sanders, George Bramston, T. W. Hildyard, R. C. Scrope, G. P. Bremridge, Richard Hildyard, T. B. T. Seymer, Henry Ker Bruce, Lord E. Hill, Lord M. Seymour, Lord Bruce, C. L. C. Hobhouse, T. B. Shelburne, Earl of Buck, L . W. Hood, :dr A. Sheridan, R. B. 'lnnen:Charles Hope, Sir J. Shirley, E. J. Bunbury, Edward Horsman, Edward Sibthorp, Colonel Campbell, W. F. Honldsworth, T. Sidney, Alderman Carew, W. P. Howard, E. G. Smith, Verso* Carter, J.:B. Hudson, 0. Smyth, J. G. Cavendish, G. H. Hughes, W. B. Smollott, A. Chichester, Lord J. liumphery, Ald. Somerville, Sir W. Childers, J. W. Hutt, William Sotheron, T. H. S. Christy, Samuel Ingestre, Visct. Spooner, Richard Clay, Sir W. Jermyn, Earl Stafford, Augustus Clements, Charles Jocelyn, Viscount Stanley, E. J. Clerk Sir G. Johnstone, Sir J. Stanton, w.:a. Clifford, Henry M. King, Peter John Stunt, Henry G. Cocks, 'I homas S. Labouchere, Henry Tancred, H. W. Colebrooke, Sir T. Lascelles, E. Townley, R. G. Courtenay, Viscount Lascelles, W. S. Townshend,Captain Cowper, W. F. Lewis, Sir T. Trollope, Sir J. Cubitt, William Lincoln, Earl of Tuthell, Henry Currie, Raikea Lindsay, Colonel Verner, Sir W. Davie, Sir;ll, Littleton, E. R. Verney Sir H. Davies, D. A. Lockhart, W. Vyvyan, Sir R. It. Deedes, W. Lowther, Henry Vyse, R. H. R. H. Dodd, G. Mackinnon, IN . Wall, C. B. Druinlanrig, Via. Macnamara, Major Walsh, Sir J. Drummond, Hume W`Naghten, Sir E. Ward, H. G. Duckworth, Sir J. Maitland, Thomas Watkins, Colonel Duncombe, 0. March, Earl of West, F. R. Dundas, Admiral Martin, John Williamson, Sir H. Dundas, Sir David Westerman, John Wilson, James Dundas, Ge:rge Maule, Fox Wood, Sir Charles Edwards, Henry Meux, Sir Henry Wood, W. P. Ellice, Edward Wilms, R. Al. Wyvill, larataduke Elliot, J. E. Mitchell, A. T. Fellowes, E. Molesworth, Sir W. Fergus, John Mensell, William Floyer, John Morris, David TELLIES. Mackenzie, W. F. Wortley, J. S. MINORITY-NOES, 64. Blake, M. J. Grace, 0. D. J. Reynolds, John .Bouverie, E. P. Greene, John ltobartes, T. J. Bowring, Dr. Hall, Sir Benjamin Roche, E. B. Bright, John liallyburton, Lord Salwey, Colonel Brotherton, Joseph liastie, Archibald Smith, M. Tacker Busfeild, W. Hume, Joseph Stanstield, W. R. Clay, James Kershaw, James Strickland, Sir G. Cobden, Richard Lnshington, Charles Sturat, Lord D. Cochrane, A. It'Gregor, John Sullivan, Michael Corbelly, M. E. Moffatt, George Tenison, E. K. Cowan, Charles Mowatt, Francis Thicknesse, Ralph Crawford, W. S. Napier, Joseph Thompson, Colonel Duncan, George Nugent, Lord Thoruely, T. Duncombe, A. Nugent, Sir Percy Trelawny, J. S. Duncuft, John 0 Connor, Feargus T) ute, Colonel Define, F. P. Pattison, J. Wakley, Thomas Ellice, E., jun. Pearson, Charles Wawn, J. T. Evans, Sir De Lacy Pechell, Captain W,lliams, John Fagan, Wllll.an Perfect, Robert Yorke, H. It. Fordyce, A. D. Pilkingten, James TELLERS. Fox, W. J. Power, Dr. Blackstone, W. Gaskell, J. M. Raphael, Alexander Osborne, Ralph Main Question put. The House divided : MAJORITY—AYES, 164. Elliot, John E. Morpeth, Viscount Fellewes, E. Morris, David Fergus, John Neeld, Joseph Fitzroy, Henry Newdegatc, C. N. Floyer, John Norreys, Lord Foley, John 11. Ossaleton, Lord Forbes, Wrn. Packe, C. W. Forster, M. Paget, Lord A. Forteecue, Chichester Paget, Lord C. Fox, R. M. Palmerston, Viscount Fuller, A. E. Parker. John Gasket!, J. M. Patten, J. W. Gladstone, W. E. Peel, Sir Robert Glyn, George Carr Pigott, Francis Gordon, Admiral Plowden, W. E. Graham, Sir James Pugh. David Greene Thome' Pusey, Philip Grenfell, C. Pascoe Bawdon, Colonel Grenfel , Charles W. Rendlesham, Lord Grey, Sir George Repton, G. W. J. Hale, R. B. Ricardo, Osman Raiford, Sir H. Rich, Henry Hawes, Benj. Richards, Richard Hayes, Sir E. Rolleston, Colonel Hayter, W. G. Russell, F. C. Heathcote, Sir W. Rutherfurd, A. Henley, J. W. Sanders, George 'ferries, John C. Seyreer, H. K. Mildyard, R. C. Seymour, Lord Hildyard, T. B. Shelburne, Earl of Hill, Lord Marcsa Sheridan, R. B. Hobhouse, T. B. Sibthorp, Colonel Hood, Sir A lexaudor Sidney, Alderman Hope, Sir J. Smith, R. V. Hudson, George Somerville, Sir W. Hughes, W. B. Spooner, R. Ingestre, Viscount Stafford, Augustus Jermyn,Earl Stanley, B. J. Jocelyn, Viscount Strut, 11. G, Keppd, G. T. Tancred, 11. W. Labouchere, Henry Townshend, Captain Lascelles, E. Trollope, Sir J. Lewis, George C. Tufnell, Hoary Lincoln, Earl of Verner, Sir W. Lindsay, Colonel Verney, Sir H. Lockhart, W. Vyse, U. H. Lowther, Henry Wall, C. B. Mackinnon, W.A. Walsh, Sir J. B. Memel - aura, Major Ward, H. G. ArNaghten, Sir E. Watkins, Colonel Mardi, Earl of Williamson, Sir H. Masterman, John Wilson, James Maule, Fox Meux, Sir H. TELLsue. Mitchell, T. A. Mackenzie, W. F, Molesworth, Sir W. Wortley, J. S. Acland, Sir T. Adair, Hugh E. Adair, R. Shaft. Adare, Viscount Adderley, C. R. Aglionbi, 11. A. Alexander, N. Arbuthnott, 11. Armstrong, R. B. Arundel, Earl of Bagga, William Bagshaw, John Ba.illie, 11. J. Baring,tll. B. Baring,Ba r t F. B.T Barnard, E. G. Bellew, R. M. Benbow, John Bennet, P. 131andford, Marquis Bolling, William Rourke, R. S. Bowles, Admiral Boyle, Robert E. Brameton, T. W. Bremridge, Richard Brooks, Lord Bruce, Lord E. Bruce, C. L. Buck, Lewis W. Buller, Charles Bunbary, E. H. Campbell, W. P. Carew, W. P. Carter, John B. Cavendish, G. H. Chichester, Lord J. Childers, J. W. Christy, Samuel Clay, Sir W. Clements, Charles Clerk Sir George Cocks, T. S. Codrington, Sir W. Colebrooke, Sir T. Courtenay, Lord Cowper, W F. Craig, W. G. Davies,'D. A. S. Dodd, George Duckworth, Sir J. Dundas, Admiral Dundas, Sir D. Dundas, George Edwards, Henry TILE' SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVEN] N 6, MARCH 24, 1848. LAW INTELLIGENCE, ESTMINSTER COUNTY COURT, Marti. 23. (Before D. C. Nloeeert, Esq., Judge ) M`DOWILL V. MATHEWS. This was an action brought by the plaintiff, a boot s'loemaker, in Regent-street, to recover of the de fendant, Mr. Charles James Mathews, the lessee of the Lyceum Theatre, the sum of 101. 145., the balance of 151. 14s. for boots and shoes. The plaintiff said the debt wss contracted as long since a 3 February, 1846, and extended to February, 1547. Some time since he had an interview with Mr. Mathews, and he agreed to take the debt at 51. pa. week. Mr. Mathews then drew three cheques, dating them all the same day, and addressed them to Mr. Jones, the trcasur.r of the Lyceum Theatre, for payment. They were to be presented to Mr. Jones every week. The first, presented on the 2Sth of February last, was paid, but on presenting the second, Mr. Jones declined to pay it, and therefore he did not think it worth while to pre sent the third, which, with the second, he begged to hand into the Court. The JUDGE said he thought Mr. M‘Dowall ought to have presented the third before he took proceedings in that Court. Plaintiff said he was so convinced of the uselessness of presenting a third when he could not get the second cashed, that he was induced to take the present proceed ings at once. The JUDGE—Mr. Mathews will be ordered to pay the whole debt and costs in four weeks from this day. At the conclusion of a case heard in this court yester day, the defendant (a tradesman, named Waite, carrying on the business of a corn-chandler and seedsman in Hol born), on hearing the decision of the judge against him, exclaimed, "Do you call this justice? When I want justice done again, I shan't come here for it." The Judge immediately ordered him into custody, at the same time telling him that for his conduct he had the power of committing him to the House of Correction for seven days, which he would assuredly do, as during the hearing of the cause he had frequently shown a dispo sition to insult him. After his removal, Mr. Mellor, his counsel, made an apology to the Court on his behalf ; but the Judge said that, in order to uphold the dignity of the Court, he could not listen to any apology till the whole of the business was got through. At the rising of the Court Mr. Waite, who had been detained in cus tody for several hours, was brought in, and both himself and his solicitor having made au ample apology for his misconduct, he was allowed to depart. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. HOME CIRCUIT.—Lewes, March 23. CIVIL SlDE.—(Before Mr. Justice COLERIDGE.) FORTLI V. SOWS( N. This was an action brought in the shape of a feigned issue to try the question whether the plaintiff had a lien upon certain racehorses. Mr. Ogle and Mr. Wyatt were for the plaintiff, and Sergeant Shee and Mr. Bovill for the defendant. The plaintiff is the well-known racehorse trainer, and it appeared that three racehorses,natned Wintonia, Grisi, and Ileedsrnan, were placed under his care by a gentle man named Worley, and it appeared that these horses were seized under an execution. At this time a very considerable aura was due to the plaintiff for keep, train ing, &c., and it seemed that the horses were delivered up to the sheriff's officer under a protest ; and the question involved in the present action was, whether the plaintiff was entitled to recover his debt from the judgment cre ditor under the circumstances in which the horses had been taken. The jury returned a verdict nominally for the plaintiff, subject to the point of law involved in the case. '.l his cause conclude 1 the business at Nisi Prins, and Mr. Justice Coleridge then proceeded to try the prisoners. CROWN COURT.—(Before Lord Chief Justice MINORITY-NOES, 73. Blackstone, W. W. S. Fordyce, A. D. Reynolds, Jonh Blake, M. J. Fox, W. J. Ricardo, J. L. Blewitt, R.J. Grace, 0. D. SalwcY, Colonel Bouverie, R. P. Greene, John Seymour, Sir H. Bowring, Dr. Hall, Sir B. Roche, E. B. Bright, John Hallyburton, Lord Smith, M Tucker Brotherton, J. Heald, James Stansfleld, W. R. Busfeild, W. Hindley, C. Stanton, W. H. Callaghan, D. Horsman, Edward Strickland, Sir G. Clay, James Humphery, Ald. Stuart, Lord D. Clifford, IL M. Hutt, William Sullivan, Michael Cobden, R. Kershaw, James Tenison, B. K. Cochrane, A. King, P. J. Thicknesse, R. A. Corbally, M. E. Lushingtou, C. Thorapson,:Colonel Cowan, Charles M'Gregor. John Thornely, Thomas Crawford, W. S. Moffatt, Francis Trelawny, J. S. Currie, Raikes Napier, Joseph Tynte, Colonel Drumlanrig, Vis. O'Connor. Feargus Wawn, J. T. Duncan. Viseount Osborne, Ralph Williams, John Duncan, George Pattlson, James Wood, W. P. Dancuft, John Pearson, Charles Yorke, Henry R. Dunne, Francis P. Pechell, Captain Ellice, Edward Perfect , Rober t TELLERS. Ellice, 8., jun. Pilkington, James Hume, Joseph Evans, Sir De Lacy Power, Dr. Wakley, Thomas Fagan, William Raphael, Alexander COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen was going on perfectly well yesterday. No bulletin of her Majesty's health was issued during the day, but a bulletin will be issued this morning. His Royal Highness Prince Albert rode ont on horseback yesterday, attended by Colonel Bouverie, Equerry in Waiting. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, took walking and pony exercise yesterday. Her Royal Highness the Princess Helena was taken an airing yesterday. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited her Majesty yesterday, at Buckingham Palace. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge visited her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent yesterday, at her residence, Clarence House, St. James's. The Prince and Princess de Joinville, and the Duke and Duchess d'Aumale, visited their Royal High nesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Glotwester yesterday. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge gave a dinner to the Noble Directors of the Concerts of Ancient Music, on Wednesday evening, at Cambridge House. The party included the Duke of Wellington and Earl Howe. A Cabinet Council was held on Wednesday, at the Foreign-office. It was attended by the Ministers in town, with the exception of the Earl Grey. The Council sat one hour. Mr. Wickham, Chairman of the Stamps and Taxes, and Mr. Timm, Solicitor to the Board, had an inter view with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Wednesday. Mr. Wyon, of the Royal Mint, had an interview yesterday, with the Right Hon. Baronet, at his official residence in Downing-street. Lord Ashley had an interview with Sir George Grey yesterday, at the Home-office. A deputation, including Mr. Beckett, M.P., Mr. Briitherton, M.P., and the Town Clerk of Manchester, had an interview with Viscount Morpeth yesterday, at the Office of' her Majesty's Commissioners of Woods and Forests, in Whitehall-place. MARRIAGE IN HIGII LIFE.- - The marriage of the lion. Hugh Cholmondeley, eldest son of Lord and Lady Delamere, and Lady Sarah Hay, second daughter of the Earl and Countess of Kinnoul, was solemnized yester day, a numerous circle of the relatives and friends of both families attending as witnesses to the ceremony. The Earl and Countess of Kinnoul gave a sumptuous dejeuner to the wedding party in celebration of the nup tials at Hampden House. HAYMARKET THEATRE.—Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean terminated on Wednesday night their engagement at this house. During the whole period they have acted in no other piece but Mr. Lovell's drama of the Wife's Secrct, and have carried it through with a success unknown in the history of the drama for a considerable time. TILE METROPOLITAN POLlCE.—Messrs. Drum monds, bankers, at Charing-cross, have an account open for the reward of the police force employed in suppres sing the disgraceful and riotous mob i❑ Trafalgar-square and the neighbourhood on the 6th, 7th, and Bth of March inst. doubt, would deserve credit for exhibiting the guilty party; but he must say that which that z?ul had been exhibited on th not meet his tpproval, Lnd that the act witnesses to the cicrk's office and exaruini without the sanction of a magistrate, prisoner was absent, was one very much to be repre hended, and was a proceeding which tended entirely to destroy the effect of uny evidence so obtained. The jury, after deliberating a short time, returned verdict of Not Guilty. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. GUILDHALL. CHARGE OF FORGERY.—J. Mayhew was finally ex amined on the charge of having forged and uttered certain bills of exchange, either by altering the date of overdue ones, or by forging the acceptance or eadorse ment of Cuthbert Collingwood Hill, Esq., of Farnham Royal, Slough, Bucks. Alderman Glans fully committed the prisoner for trial on four charges, namely, the 118/., 401., 381. 15s. and 27/. 14s. 6d. bills. PUBLIC•IIOUSE ROBBERIES.—S. Smith, F. Joxes, and G. Wilkes, were charged, on suspicion, with committing a robbery at the Red Lion public-house, King Edward street, Newgate-street, and Matilda and Mary Richards with passing a ten-pound note, part produce of the robbery, well knowing it to be stolen. On Monday evening the prisoner Smith, whose wife was working in the house that day as charwoman, entered the house with the other men, Jones and Wilkes, and stayed there for a time, between seven and nine o'clock, after which they left, when it was shortly discovered that box had been broken open in the room of Mrs. E. R. Lloyd, the landlady, and money abstracted to the amount 4) between. 401. and 50/., teAdes a watch, jewellery, and other kinds of property. On the following morning the females went and purchased goods to the amount of I/. Os. 3d., and the daughter (Matilda) tendered a 101. note, at the same time giving a wrong name and address. This was at the shop of Mr. Needham, of 115, Shore ditch, linendreper, and as the mother was known as a customer for years, no notice was taken until it (the note) reached the hands of Mr. White, the chief assistant, who went to the Bank of England, when it was immedi ately stopped as being part of the proceeds of the rob bery the previous evening. When taken into custody the younger female said that a gentleman gave it to her heti\ een two and three o'clock on Monday morning, which Has impossible, as it was not stolen until the evening of the same day. It was also proved that the man Wilkes and Matilda Richards were acquaintances, and on the former, when taken into custody with Jones and Smith at the latter's lodging, being searched, there was found 14/. 19s. Bd., but on the others nothing. S u ( N. 5 .,,:•,./7 - 6,;) , -„c__ - __.---_ , .,i - . - -...> \ I -- . . ...,-, (~I. -), .t i mode in :.:,, f :31: -- - -._, )-, j its vation did .- .--: /.'..-0, of kiu, the f -- ~ - ing ttribl+yr - r ---- : •> and `striefi' did S.AlajeT WESTMINSTER. DENm Ax.) John Goidspink, eighteen, was indicted for assaulting Harriet Mary Fulcher, with intent to murder or to do her grievous bodily harm. Mr. Johnson prosecuted, and Mr. Cobbett defended the prisoner. The circumstances of this case were of rather an ex traordinary character. The prosecutrix is the lady of Captain Fulcher, an officer in the service of the East India Company, and at the time of this transaction she was residing in Montpelier-square, Brighton. It seemed that Captain Fulcher was obli g ed to be frequently from home for considerable periods, and during his absence the establishment, which consisted of the prisoner, who acted as footman, and some female domestics was left in charge of Mrs. Fuleher ; and it appeared that she had had frequent occasion to complain of the conduct of the prisoner, and had reproved him on the evening of the 31st July, when this affair happened, for coming home late. Mrs. Fulcher sent the servants to bed about ten o'clock at night on the day in question, and the prisoner, who slept in a room adjoining the kitchen, retired with them, and, as she supposed, went to bed. She herself went to her bedroom about half an hour afterwards, and having partially undressed herself, she, as was her custom, took the candle and looked under the bed, and seeing something which attracted her at tention, she was about to make a closer examination, when the prisoner sprang from under the bed and seized her by the throat. She struggled with him and suc ceeded in getting to the bellrope, which she pulled violently and it broke. The struggle was then con tinued, the prisoner still keeping his hand pressed upon her throat, until at length the other servants, hear ing the noise, came to the room, and the prisoner desisted. The police were then sent for, but in the interim the prisoner contrived to get access to the razor ease of his master, and took one from it with which he inflicted a very serious wound upon his own throat. It appeared in the course of the case, that the prisoner had fre quently been heard to make use of threatening language towards his mistress on account of her frequent com plaints of his conduct ; and it was suggested that, in addition to his desire to do violence upon her person, the prisoner was actuated by an intention to commit rob bery, as he was aware that the plate chest was kept in the room adjoining the prosecutrix's bedroom, and that she always kept the key in her pocket. The LORD CIIIET JUSTICE, at the close of the case for the prosecution, expressed an opinion that the evidence did not make out the charge of wounding with intent to murder, and under his Lordship's direction the jury found the prisoner guilty of an assault only. He was sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for twelve calendar months, and one week in each month to be passed in solitary confinement. Thomas Elphick, 47, and Hester Elphick, 37, his wife, were charged uponithe coroner's inquisition with;thelwil ful murder of a male child, the illegitimate issue of their daughter, El.zabeth Elphich, by cutting it with a knife, and also by burning divers parts of its body, the man being charged as principal, and the woman as an acces sory, by being feloniously present aiding in the commis sion of the murder. Mr. CREASY, who appeared for the prosecution, said, that having looked over the depositions, he was of opinion that the evidence was not sufficient to support the charge made against the prisoners, and the jury would, therefore, with the sanction of his Lordship, be spared from hearing the horrible and revolting circum stances under which the prisoners were charged with the offence, by his withdrawing from offering any evidence. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE said, he had also carefully looked over the depositions, and he concurred in the course taken by the Learned Counsel. The jury therefore returned a verdict of Not Guilty. Lucy Diplock, a good-looking young woman, surren dered to take her trial upon the charge of unlawfully concealing the birth of an illegitimate child by casting it into a pond of water. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Creasy prosecuted; Mr. Clark son and Mr. Parnell conducted the defence. The circumstances under which this charge was pre ferred appeared to be that the prisoner was cook in the service of a tradesman at Hailsham, and during the latter part of last year suspicion was entertained that she was in the family way by her fellow-servants and other persons, and on the 2d of December it seemed that she was very ill, and kept her bed for two or three days, and it was suspected that at this time she was deli vered of a child, but there was no decisive evidence of the tact. Nothing particular occurred from this time to the beginning of January, when it appeared that a person named Pattenden, who was in the same service as the prisoner, and who was then engaged in the stable, heard a violent splash in the p3nd upon the premises close by, and on his going to see what was the matter, he saw thelwater disturbed as though something had been thrown into it. Nothing further transpired for nearly a month, a hen a boy observed some substance floating on the pond, and on its being taken out i t proved to be the body of a child, and on its being ex amined it was found that a cord had been passed round its neck, to which a brickbat had been attached. It was satisfactorily proved by the post mortem examination that the child was not born alive, and, therefore, the only question that remained was, by whom had it been deposited in the pond. The evidence to show that the prisoner was the guilty party mainly consisted of the above facts, and one or two other circumstances which were not of a nature to be detailed, and with the addi tion that one of the witnesses represented that the pri soner told her at the end eflast year that she should have a child in ebout a month, or words to that effect; but, upon the witness who deposed to that fact being cross-examined, it appeared that when she was first examined before the 1 1 magistrate she did not make this statement, but after the prisoner was committed for trial and admitted to bed by the magistrate, she with two other witnesses was taken by Dawes, one of the inspectors of the Sussex constabulary, to the office of Mr. Gell, the clerk to the magistrates, and who also acted as solicitor for the pro secution, and there, in the absence of the prisoner, and without any magistrate being present, the additional statements were reduced to writing and returned to the Court ass depositions in the case. Mr. CLARKSON, in his address to the jury, complained of the mode in which the prosecution had been get up, and said, this was not the first time he had observed the great inconvenience of a gentleman who was in the po sition of a clerk to the magistrates, and whose duty it was to assist them and to keep the scales of justice even between the Crown and the prisoner, being also placed in the position of solicitor for the prosecution, and cora -1 polled to embark into the cause with all the zeal which such a position required. lie then went on to urge that the proceeding adopted by the police of taking the wit nesses to Mr. Gell's office after the' prisoner had been committed, and there subjecting them to an examina tion in the absence of the prisoner or any magistrate, was a most unjustifiable proceeding, and one which ought not to be tolerated. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE, in summing up, said that the Learned Counsel for the prisoner had said so much with regard to the manner in which the prosecution had been got up that he could not help adverting to it. It was perfectly clear from the circumstance of finding the dead body of an infant in a pond, with the appearance of having had a brickbat tied round its neck, that a most \ serious offence had been committed, and the police, no DARING HIGHWAY ROIIDERY.—H. Layton was charged with being concerned with another man, not in custody, in a daring highway robbery. Mr. R. Cole, a tailor, residing in Gray's Inn-lane, on his return from Astley's Theatre, on Wednesday, called at a public-house at the foot of Westminster-bridge, on the Middlesex side, and partook of some refreshment. Whilst doing so the prisoner and another man in a flannel jacket entered into conversation with him, in the course of which prosecutor expressed a desire to see an old friend of his, named Dunn, who resided somewhere in Westminster, but with whose precise address he was unacquainted. Prisoner pretended to know Dunn and his abode well, and proffered to conduct the prosecutor to him; and the latter, who had been drinking a little, but was, as afterwards proved by the testimony of other itnesses, perfectly cognisant of what he was about, consented to accompany him. The man in the flannel jacket shortly left them, and after the prisoner had taken the prosecutor some distance, into a very secluded place, he suddenly stepped behind the prosecutor, and pinioned him, while another man took his gold watch and seals from his pocket, ns, also, some silver money. At the time he was being robbed the prisoner said, " Be quiet—be quiet; it will be all the better for you." The man who rifled his pockets had a bar of iron in his hand, on seeing which, prosecutor, who was much alarmed, entreated him not to ill-use him, when he re plied, " Then give up your watch and money." Prose cutor offered no resistance, and expressed, in the course of his examination, his firm conviction that had he done so he should have been murdered. The prisoner and his companion then walked away with their booty, and the prosecutor was glad to escape in an opposite direc tion, to acquaint the police with what had occurred, and the prisoners were afterwards captured. Mr. Buenzu. asked prisoner what he bad to say? The accused answered, " Nothing at present." lie was remanded till Thursday next. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. PLYMOUTH, MARCH 22.—The Prince Regent, 92, is expected off this port to receive officers and men for the following ships, the St. Vincent, Canopus, and Dragon, which on her arrival will be sent off to her in the Con fianee;isteam -tug. The Champion, IS, is expected to sail from this port about the 26th instant, with mails for Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Plata, and Valparaiso. The quarterly muster of the establishment of the dockyard took place yesterday, before the admiral superintendent and officers of the dockyard, at the ap prentius' school-room. The Hercules store-ship is expected to sail from this port about the 29th instant, with mails for Madeira, Cape of Good Hope, and Bombay, under the command of Master-Commander Robert Fulton. The following supernumerary warrant officers of this ordinary have been superannuated during the past week:—Boatswains: John Furze, 601.; James Foster, 50/.; J. D. Symea, 661.; John Hill, 551.; Thomas An , dertun, 751.; and Henry Hooper, 381. Carpenters: Ro bert Allison, 45/.; William Bean, 65/.; J. P. James ' 65/4 Thomas Hodes, 501.; Andrew Clarke, 421 .; Joseph Mott, 821.; John Roberts, 551.; David Duman, 70/.; John Spurraway, 641.; David Gray, TOL; and Samuel Boulton, The Agincourt, 7:2, was taken out of No. 4 dock on Tuesday; and the Cambridge, 78, will be taken into the same dock on Wednesday morning. APPOINTMENTS. ADMIRALTY, MAR C H 23.—William Collison, Acting Boatswain, to the Illustrious; Peter Tucker, Boatswain of the Resistance, advanced to the 2d Class; Benjamin C. White, Clerk, to the Dee; S. W.K. Freeman, Second Master, to the Triton; J. H. W. Bownman, Clerk in Charge, to the Triton; Charles Hutchens, Clerk, to the San Josef; Constantine J. Evans, Clerk's Assistant, to the Wellesley; Hugh M. Elliot, Lieutenant, to the St. Vincent; W. R. Rolland, Lieutenant, to the Sidon; Aaron S. Sysnes, Lieutenant, to the St. Columba. PROMOTIONS. John Barn, to be retired Commander, under order in Couucil of 1816. WAKEFIEID, PONTEFRACT, AND GOOLE RAILWAY. —Captain Laffan, of the Royal Engineers, Impeoter of Railways, eaaaiined the Wakefield, Pontefract, and Goole Railway on Wednesday last, the 22d instant. After a most minute inspection of the whole works, he expressed himself highly pleased with the general ap pearance of the line, and stability of the works. We understand the line is to be opened by the directors on Wednesday next, the 29th, and thrown cpen to the public a day or two afterwards. Captain Laffan was ace )mpanied in his inspection by Mr. Harris, the engineer to the line ; Mr. Hawkahaw, of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, and several other gentlemen. JERSEY, Marten 23.—The States of this island asset ntlid under the presidency c f the Lieu anent Bailiff, when a letter was read from Sir Denis Le Merchant, addressed to his Excellency the Governor, with the assurance that the rumour that it was the intention of the Government to impose custom duties on the island was totally incorrect. The annual report of the prison board was next read, by which it app( &red that 102 debtors had been confined in 1847, Leif g 53 more than in the previous year, 1846. The great i❑crease in pau perism was brught under the notice of the assemblage by Judge Philip Winter Nicolle, when it was agreed that the constables should arrest all beggars, and bring them be fore the Royal Court ; and that if non-natives, they be sent off the island, and if natives to the hospital. It was stated that during 1847, 1,234 paupers had left Jersey, costing the island a large sum of money, and that the numbers augmented daily. The States con tinued the discussion on the New Criminal Code, and adopted six of its clauses. GROCERS AND TEA-DEALERS' PROTECTION Se- CIETY.—Last night a numerously attended meeting of the above institution was held at the London Tavern; Mr. Dennis in the chair. The eleventh annual report was read by Mr. Garraway, the secretary.' rhis do cument went to show that the society had progresied most favourably during the past year, notwithstanding the vast amount of commercial calamity with which this ceuntry has been visited during the same reriod. The receipts for the last twelve months stood as follow: — From 655 annual subscribers, 8111. 12s. ; 44 donors, 3131. 10s. 6d.; dividend on funded stock, 3551. 17s. 6d.; total, 1,4811. The number of the pensioners who have received assistance from the institution since its corn mercement is 55, and the amount furnished to them reached 3,841/. The number now living, and in the rcecilit of pensions at the present time, is 34, and the amount paid annually to them is 738/. 1 wring the year the disbursements re ached 1,6311. 15s. 3d., the balance in hand now beirn; 871. 14s. 6d. The report having been unaniruously received, the resignation of Mr. William Sewell,] the late President of the society, was read. Mr. Henry Campbell was chosen ileIN. Cole. to take his place. Atter the tranFaction of business of a routine character, consisting of the choice of officers, and in making arrangements for the annual festival, thanks were voted to the Chairman, and the meeting sepa rated. DEATH OF TOE HON. AND REV. THOMAS DUN DAs.—This gentleman died on thee 17th inst., at the Rectory, Hartpool, Northumberland, aged 73. He was son to the first Baron Dundus, and was consequently brother to the first Earl of Zstland. In 1810 he married the daughter of the Rev. James Bousquet, by whom, who died in 1827, he had issue seven chitdrem He held the rectory since 1803. It is worth 5291. per annum, and is in the gift of the Earl Fitzwilliam. Yesterday the Lord Mayor issued a warning to the omnibus drivers and conductors plying through the city of London that they would not be allowed to make plying places of the thoroughfares. For the future, any omnibus driver obstructing the highway in the City is to be punished with the utmost rigour. Grace church street is set apart for them to wait for passengers. BEDFORD UNITED MINE COMPANY.—A general meeting of this company was held yesterday at the offices in Threadneedle-street; Mr. Bro wn in the chair. when several letters were read from the mining captain, describing the state of the works. The chairman gave to the meeting a verbal report on the part of the direc tors, from which it appeared that they had at the bankers, in cash, 2,3161., and in bills 7081., making to gether 3,024/, besides a bill for 1301., recently received. From these various items of profit, the directors recom mended a dividend of ss. per share.