The Sun. — London, England, 1865-03-10 00:00:00

IIERIAI PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS—LAsT EVENING. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at the usual hour. IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT. The LORD CHANCELLOR brought in a bill to abolish imprisonment for debt, or rather so much of it as remained unrepealed by recent legislation. The general opinion throughout the country was that imprisonment of a debtor for nonpayment of a debt was neither just nor useful, and although the present opportunity might enable them to make certain improvements in the. bankruptcy laws, yet he did not intend to deal with the ques tion at present. -By the present bill it was proposed to abolish imprisonment for debt, and that no formal discharge by the bankruptcy laws should be available to protect future property unless the bankrupt should have paid a dividend of ss. in the pound, or unless he obtained the assent of his discharge from four-fifths of his creditors. The bill was read a first time. THE CASE OP KR. EDIMNDS. The following Peers were appointed a select com mittee to inquire into all the circumstances connected with the resignation of Mr. Edmunds, of the office of clerk of the patents and clerk to the commissioners of patent; and also his resignation of the office of reading clerk and clerk of out-door committees in that house. Also to inquire into all the circumstances connected with the grant of a retiring p e nsion to him by this house :—The Lord President, the Earl of. Derby, the Duke of Somerset, the Duke of 31ontrose, h ete Earl of Durham, the Earl of Malmesbury, the Earl of ngho, Lased Panmure, Lord Stanley of Alderfey, Lord Houghton, sad Lord Chelmsford. BRAZIL. In reply to the Marquis of CLANRICA.RDE, Earl RUSSELL said that some further papers relative to the conduct of Brazil in respect to Montevideo would shortly be laid upon the table of the house. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS-LAST EVENING. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. MR. ALDERMAN ROSE. It was reported that Mr. .Alderman Rose had not attended on a select committee of which he was a member, and was ordered to attend to-morrow on pe nalty of being brought up to the bar of the house. PETITIONS. Mr. MARSH presented petitions from Indian officers praying for a redress of their grievances. Colonel Sys also presented petitions to the same effect, and from shipowners and merchants of Aberdeen in favour of an improvement in the condition of officers em ployed in the Customs. Mr. EWART presented a petition from Liverpool against the duty on fire insurance. Mr. MILLER presented a petition from the inhabitants of Leith, praying for an inquiry into the condition of per sons employed in mines. Several petitions were also presented from different parts of the country in favour of a repeal of the malt tax, for the utilization of sewage, &c. THE BRITISH MUSEUM. _ _ Lord H. LENNOX gave notice that he would move a resolution to the effect that it would be desirable to place the management of the British Museum under the con trol of a minister of the Crown. (Hear, hear.) VESSELS ON THE HALIFAX AND BOSTON LINE. Mr. BAXTER asked if the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Ship Company were employing vessels 17 years old on the Halifax and Boston line ; and if, at the expiry of the contract with that company, the Government intended making new arrangements. Mr. F. PEEL said that as far as ho could understand there were two vessels 17 years old on the line between Liverpool, Boston, and Halifax, but he did not hear of any complaint as to delay. The contract would not expire until 1867, and the committee which sat in 1860 did not think it necessary to recommend any subsidy for the postal ser vice. THE ENCLOSURE IN LEICESTER-SQUARE. Mr. DAWSON asked whether, in the present state of the enclosure in Leicester-square, it was in the power of the Government either to remove or repair the mutilated statue, and otherwise improve the dilapidated condition of the space in the centre of the square ? Mr. COWPER said if the matter rested with the Govern ment the statue would not be allowed to remain in its present disgraceful condition, but the square was the pro perty of private individuals who did not do what he considered was their duty in respect to this subject. There was an act passed last session called the Garden Enclosure Act, which would come into operation this session, and would provide a remedy for the present state of Leicester-square. The Metropolitan Board of Works had given the owners of the property in question the necessary notices, and at its expiration would take the proper steps in reference to this subject. THE BUDGET. • In reply to Mr. WHITE, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he was not in a position to state when he proposed to bring forward his financial statement, or whether it would be made before or after Easter. He would endeavour to give his hon. friend some more precise information if he re peated his question. RELATIONS WITH BRAZIL. Mr J. WHITE asked whether, with a view to re-estab lish.friendly relations with Brazil, it was the intention of Government to bring in a bill this session for the repeal of the " Aberdeen Act "? Lord PALMERSTON said it was not the intention of Government to bring in any such bill as that alluded to, because if that act were repealed it would lead to the slave trade being resumed between Africa and Brazil to an un limited extent. It would be impossible to prevent that, as was shown in regard to Cuba. However, negotiations had been entered into with the Portuguese Government in order to establish friendly relations between Brazil and Great Britain. (Hear, hear.) PENSIONS TO OFFICERS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS Mr. D. GRIFFITH asked the Chancellor of the Ex chequer whether he had been correctly understood to mean that the House of Lords claim the privilege of grant ing pensions out of the public money to their own officers, as of their own authority, &c. ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER explained that it was not usual for this house to make any inquiry into the remuneration of the officers of the other house. It appeared that the House of Lords had a fund called a fee fund at their disposal, out of which they paid some of their officers, but with regard to the House of Commons, when they were in want of funds this appeared in the votes. For some years no demand was made on this house, and that he believed would be the case this session. THE RIVER PLATE, &c. Mr. MAGUIRE asked the First Lord of the Treasury whether he had any objection to state to the house the sub stance of the information received by the English packet as to the condition of affairs in the River Plate; and whether in structions had been given to the British Minister and Ad miral to prevent a recurrence at Montevideo of a similarly deplorable sacrifice of life and property by the Brazilians and insurgent forces, as the Under Secretary of State lately mentioned had been occasioned at Paysandu, by the same invaders of the Republic of Uruguay. Lord PALMERSTON said that the British Admiral in command at Montevideo had remonstrated with the authorities at Brazil, and suggested means for the protection of the property of the English, and other foreigners residing there. He was sorry to say that the war that was going on in the country referred to was car ried on in a manner that was 'very repugnant to the feel ings of European countries ; but the Government did not propose to interfere further than in regard to the protec tion of property. THE CONFEDERATE CRUISERS. Lord R. CECIL asked whether any communications had been received at the Foreign-office from the American Government demanding compensation for losses occa sioned to citizens of the United States by the operations of the Alabama or other vessels commissioned by the Go vernment of the Confederate States, etc. Mr. LAYARD said that no such communications had been received. Mr. BRIGHT enquired if there were any claims made against the American Government for compensation on the part of Englishmen for injuries which they had sustained during the present war. Mr. LAYARD answered in the affirmative. NEW WRIT. On the motion of Col. TAYLOR, a new writ was ordered to issue for the election of a member for the southern divi sion of Wilts, vacant by the resignation of Mr. &therm) Eatcourt, through illness. NAVY ESTIMATES. The house went into committee of supply. On the first vote for making up the complement of men for the service of the navy, Sir M. PETO rammed the debate which was adjourned last Monday. lie thought that the noble lord (Lord Clarence Paget) had afforded honourable members snore ample information in regard to naval matters than some of his predecessors, but r at the s ame ti me h e did not consider he had suc cee d ed in d g his information q uite intelligible. He contended t e h u at e th . e army was not in a state of efficiency, and ref erre d to Bermuda, r which was left without dock accommodation ; and headv e er e ted also to Sheerness and Chatham, which he asserted w satisfactory condition. He referred to theßoyal Sovereign,not in a the Royal Alfred, and some other vessels recently con structed. He thought it had become a very seriousq ues tion how far it was desirable to carry out the syste m o f fortification beyond the extent the house had already sanctioned. The expense of supplying ordnance for the of 01(5 forts under course of construction would amount to £17,624,301. (Hear, hear.) He called the attention of the house to the decision in the case of the Queen v. Fennell, in which the mind of the Lord Chief Justice was satisfied as to the right of the Government to plead the Royal prerogative in regard to the invention of Mr. Fennell. He thought it was most unfair to in ventors to press the Royal prerogative, the effect of which might be to induce them to offer anni€ their inventions to the Governments of either countries, where they would be rewarded for them if they were ap proved. Hereferredto certain competent authorities to show that in adopting new inventions the administration of naval affairs was defective, and that in many instances the conduct of the Admiralty was most reprehensible. T he Admiralty was slow in adopting those inventions, and s ought to have a scientific board to decide on their merits without leaving them to be determined by any naval authority, however eminent. He denied that there was any false economy on the part of the house in voting estimates for the purposes of the navy, for during the last five years they had voted £58,000,000, and they were entitled to be satisfied that the navy was not in a state of efficiency. He gave, from reliable information, a description of the Ame rican Federal Monitors, and suggested the lessons that might be learnt from the construction, armament, and fate of Fort Fisher. He complained of the want of attention on the part of Boards of Admiralty, as at present consti tuted, to inventors, mentioning instances ; and, in conclu sion, observed there never was a time when the state of our navy more demanded the attention of the Government and the house, and yet he could say, without hesitation, that we had not at this moment a navy sufficient to meet an emergency. Admiral WALCOTT dwelt upon the unsatisfactory con dition of the navy and the insufficiency of dock accommo dation for it, urging that there should be no stint of mo ney to meet their exigencies. Sir J. HAY said he regretted the reduction of the num ber of seamen, and that that of boys trained for the navy had not more largely increased, and he was not satisfied with the reasons assigned for reducing the Coastguard. As to the armament of our ships the Admiralty ought to make up their minds as to what they wanted guns to do, and they would get them. Ships were also built without refe rence to the service fen which they were intended. He added his testimony to the character of the Royal Sove reign; in spite of blunders, there was no more:efficient ship afloat. He exposed the weakness of our squadrons on fo reign stations. Lord C. PAGET said that, as the speech of the hon. member for Finsbury had to a great extent reference to the question of forts and guns, he should defer any reply thereto until a more fitting occasion! He was anxious now to answer certain criticisms made with regard to the construction of our armour-plated fleet. He would state at the outset that the Government had no desire for any concealment. (Hear, hear.) The only thing which had displeased him in the speech of the right hon. baronet (Sir J. Pakington) on Monday night was, that there ap peared to lurk in his mind some idea that the Govern ment were not going to face the truth. With regard to the challenge given him to produce officers' confidential reports, he had always regretted when it had become his duty to decline to produce the Admiralty reports. But he warned the house that if it were their pleasure that the publication of such reports was to become the practice, then, instead of those reports being as S now, minute details of the opinions of officers fully and frankly given to the different departments, they would have a.system of reports framed for the purpose of being laid on the table of the House of Commons, accompanied by private confidential reports. It was that consideration, and that only, which had influenced the First Lord to object to produce the re ports of their officers. Take, for instance, Admiral Dacres' report with regard to the armour-plated fleet which he had been challenged to produce. He (Lord C. Paget) was so anxious that the opinion of that officer should be made pub lic, that he had asked the Duke of Somerset to allow him to give the pith of his report for the information of the committee, and he would presently do so. There was a habit among some hon. gentlemen of getting information, he did not know from what quarter, with regard to certain ships and certain events, and then coming down and chal lenging him to produce reports. Last year the hon. mem ber for Portsmouth (Sir J. Elphinstone) came down to that house and positively alarmed it by stating that the Research had gone to try her guns, and that merely firing them had made her a complete wreck. The question was asked him (Lord C. Paget), and he had assured the house that there was no foundation for that statement, except the breaking of some crockery which had not been put away. The hon. member then had challenged him to lay on the table the report of the commander-in-chief. He had objected to do so, and then the hon. member insinuated to the house that he had conveyed untrue information to the house. He then laid the report on the table, and the hon. member had never since referred to the subject, because the vessel was perfectly ready at any time to go into action. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the report of Admiral Dacres, the righthon. baronet (Sir J. Pakingt on) received information from certain officers who liked to gossip about their ships, and who, above all, loved to cram a landsman. If they gave Admiral Dacres' report, they ought also to give the report of Admiral Smart, an equally distinguished officer, who commanded the channel squadron. His opinion of the Warrior, Black Prince, Defence, and Resistance was as follows : As re garded their sailing qualities, they stood thus : Resistance, Warrior, Black Prince, and Defence. He begged the hon, baronet's attention to the fact that the Resistance proved the fastest ship. The Black nine, was not in quite so good trim as the Warrior, and the Warrior had some sails which the Black Prince had not. The result of the report was that the stability of all the ships was great ; their roll ing and pitching did not appear to exceed that of a wooden line-of-battle ship, and that the Resistance, when under canvas, had a superiority over the larger frigates. Admiral Dacreg reported on the Warrior, the Black Prince, the De fence, the Resistance, the Royal Oak, the Prince Consort, the Research, and the Enterprise. He stated that for long voyages, or where power to :make rapid passages was of importance, the Warrior and Black Prince class were un rivalled. They even kept pace with vessels of the old class; their great drawback was extreme length. Even with ex perienced officers the risk of taking them into such harbours as Cork and Lisbon was great. They were dangerous in scudding. The Warrior, on one occasion, came to nearly eight points against her helm. In common weather they were remarkably steady ; but Admiral Dacres did not think highly of their qualities in a heavy gale. Their want of buoyancy, even with unprotected ends, was manifest. Wanting 'Armour -plates at the water line lessened their efficiency as fast chasing ships, because they would be ex posed to a dangerous fire from slower vessels. They showed the difficulty of combining fighting qualities with sea-going qualities, and the House must remember that they were but a compromise ; and that, to make fighting vessels sea-going, their ends must be lightened, and then their fighting qualities were reduced. Admiral Dacres stated that he preferred the Defence and Resistance to any ironclads he had :seen. They were the ships that the right hon. baronet had informed the House could neither fight nor swim, and were not fit to be sent to sea. (Sir J. PAKINGTON dissented.) Continuing reading from the report of Admiral Dacres, the noble lord said, " The Defence had now been improved in her sailing qualities. She always had been as handy in staying and wearing as any one could desire. She was a safe vessel, and could at all times be trusted with her screw hoisted. Under steam she was a serviceable good vessel, very healthy, but like all fast iron ships vulnerable at the ends. Her stern and rudder were exposed." Other nations had adopted the same system of exposed ends, and why, therefore, were the Admiralty to be exposed to this extraordinary disapproval for adopting the same course ? " The Hector and the Valiant were vessels of peculiar construction, and, from the weight of armour carried, pitched deeply and sailed badly." Though in that respect they had been since improved. The Royal Oak and the Prince Consort were the ships of which the right hon. baronet had said that, if Admiral Dacres' report was produced, it would be seen that they were totally unfit for service. Of these ships the admiral reported : " These ships are invaluable for Channel service as block ships. Both are handy under sail, and their steaming powers, even against a moderate sea, are considerable. Like all iron clads, they would make bad weather if caught in a heavy sea in the Atlantic. Plating necessarily rendered them dark and less healthy than wooden ships." The Research and the Enterprise were the ships on which the complaints against Mr. Reed had been founded. Of the Research Admiral Dacres reported : "This vessel is very much over: weighted, and she makes very bad weather with only fresh wshee stores e winds--(hear, hear)--she is comfortable below in fine athr, and has provision d offi he c r ers ve a n n t d ila m ti e o n n is excellent." Alth oug h it was contrarye men. to o wrote precedent, would quote a letter w hi c h h e had that morning received from the captain of th e R esearc h , who as follows "As Sir John Pakington desi res t o know my o the seaworthy qualities of this ship, I will give it a few words, which you are at liberty to make use of as you think proper. I do not consider her, i n th e old accePta tion of the words, a wholesome seagoing ship, as compared with wooden ships; but at the same time I do not con sider that she would be in danger of foundering in a gale, provided proper precautions were taken to batten her down securely, the means of doing which I think might be im proved." This was a small ship of 1,200 tons, and her sister ship, the little Enterprise, was under 1,000 tons. They were built to see how small a vessel could be plated with safety. Admiral Dacres, whose report he had been challenged to produce, said of these ships—" They are the best ironclads yet built. Vessels of 4,000 tons built on this lan, with some imprOvements, and with the same careful p attention to internal arrangement, would be the safer and better, for every purpose, than any iron clads we have afloat." " The Enterprise is entirely plated below the load water line, and has her batteries covered. She steams and sails fairly, and isexceedinglybuoyant and well ventilated. Her construction is excellent. Her rudder is hidden and safe, and acts upon the ship remarkably well. A lining of wood inside her iron skin is required to obviate tho incon venience of dampness from certain changes of tempera ture." This vessel had gone to the Mediterranean, and, on her passage, had fallen in with very bad weather. The Research was armour-plated all round and up to the upper deck. It was therefore necessary that her upper deck should be as low as possible in order to diminish their weight. But in doing this it had been necessary to sacrifice some of her s eago i ng qua li t i es i n or d er t o o bt a in better pro tection. The Enterprise, on the other hand, was only par tially plated. She was, therefore, not so well fitted for fighting, but b, she was a better sea boat. Both vessels were adapted for - what they were —one inte d d for coast n e de fence and the other for • • cruising. But it was said that the Admiralty dared not send those v esse l s t o sea i n b a d wea d, waver, always been the habit of the Ad miralty, long before ironclad ships were introduced, to direct the commanders of their squadrons not to expose them unnecessarily to bad weather. The right hon. baro- net (Sir J. Pakington) had condemned in unmeasured terms the wooden ironcased ships ; but they had been commenced in consequence of the alarm raised by the right hon. baronet himself a few years ago with respect to the progress of the French in building armour-plated ves- sels. They were coming more and more to this, that the armour plating should be limited in area, but increased in thickness. It was in order to carry out this principle that the alterations had recently been made in the Royal Alfred, and he could assure the house that measures were being taken to give her the requisite strength. He came now to Capt. Coles's ship. In the autumn of 1861 Capt. Coles was desired to prepare drawings for a turrret ship. In those days Capt. Coles's ship was not a turret but a cupola ship ; and he contended that if the turrets were made small at the top and broad at the base the shot would glance. He soon, however, found that this would not answer, and he then changed his plan to a turret ship. In 1862 he was ordered to give in a design for a turret ship for coast defence ; and in conjunction with the Comptroller of the Admiralty he designed the Prince Albert. The Admiralty had been blamed for not allowing Capt. Coles to design a sea-going turret ship; but, in the first place, Capt. Coles was not a shipbuilder; and, in the next place, until Capt. Colefi last year invented the tripod mast, it was impossible to have a 53a-going turret ship. He was himself very hopeful of this, but many practical seamen were sceptical, contending that if one of the legs of the tripod were shot away, the mast would come down, and the vessel be left at the mercy of her antagonist. Then as to the Royal Sovereign, she was built in consequence of the excitement caused by the engage ment between the Merrimac and the Monitor. There was then a desire to have another turret ship as soon as pos sible ; and for thatereason they took a wooden ship which they had building, and converted her as fast as they could. He utterly denied that there was any indispo sition on the part of the Admiralty to adopt the turret system. On the contrary, they were exceedingly favour able to it, and were anxious to get a good sea-going turret ship as soon as possible. But such ships could not be turned out rapidly, on account of the time spent in prepar- ing the turret. But the Royal Sovereign had undoubtedly been a great success; nor had she ever been paid off. He denied that the efficient men were taken out of the Royal Sovereign and put into the Victoria. Not more than 60 men were transferred from one vessel to the other; and the Royal Sovereign was now attached to the Excellent, and would be sent to sea again as soon as some repairs had been made; and some defects which became visible in her last cruise had been remedied. To no part of the speech of the right hon. baronet the member for Droitwich (Sir J. Pakington) had he listened with more pain than to his re ference to Mr. Reed. He begged the right hon. baronet to remember that if Mr. Watts built the Warrior, he also built the Resistance and the Defence. He willingly allowed that Mr. Watts was a man of great ability, and it was much to be regretted that he had been obliged to seek the quiet of retired life. With respect to Mr. Reed, all he desired to say then was that since his appointment Mr. Reed had ex hibited vast ability, and that he had been as anxious as any one could be to proceed with the adoption of the turret principle. It was not fair to criticise Mr. Reed as he had been criticised. The proper inference from the right hon. baronet's remarks was, that when he returned to the Ad miralty all those gentlemen connected with the building department who had been displaced would be brought back again. The subject of patents was a most difficult one to deal with ; but, at the same time, he could assure the hon. member for Finsbury (Sir M. Peto) that the board were as anxious as possible to come to an arrangement with Mr. Feather. As regarded the case of Captain Crawford, Captain Schomberg, and the other officers referred to by the hon. baronet (Sir J. Hay), he could only say that if the hon. baronet would pay him a visit at the Admiralty he should be most happy to go into the whole question with him. (Hear, hear.) Colonel SYKES compared the English and French navies, and showed that the former had a great preponder ance over the latter in ships and men. Mr. LAIRD, in the course of various practical remarks upon the construction and arming of ships of war, ob served that what we wanted in them was great speed and the power of carrying heavy guns, and believed that cupola ships might be made to fulfil both requirements. Mr. SCOURFIELD made a few remarks upon the com parative advantages and disadvantages of building ships for the navy in public and private yards. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY said he did not quite understand the Estimates. They professed to show a reduction of X 316,000, but it really amounted to no more than X 25,000, obtained by the sacrifice of 1,000 seamen and 1,000 marines. He thought a saving might have been more advantageously made in other particulars. He called for explanation of some of the votes, and complained of the navy accounts, which left large sums of public money apparently unac counted for. Mr. BENTINCK urged the deficiency of dock accommo dation as a reason why the Government should have made a larger demand on this account. Tho diminution in the number of seamen and marines appeared to him unintelli gible. It appeared, he said, from the statement of Lord C. Paget, that the navy of Great Britain consisted of 19 sail of the line, which bore no proportion to what was considered no more than sufficient in former years ; and if we were shortly involved in war, our success would depend entirely upon maintaining our former superiority at sea. Mr. S TANSFELD said Lord C. Paget had fully justified the reduction of the number of men ; the only question was whether it might not have been carried to a greater extent ; whether it was not better, under present circumstances, to take from men and give to skip 3. He suggested; as worthy of consideration, whether a saving might not be in a direc tion he indicated, and applied to the most rapid construction of ships. He then proceeded to discuss the questions relat ing to the construction and arming of our navy. In these days of transition and invention we ought, he said, to ask what was the most advanced.problem waiting our solution. What now was that problem ? It appeared that guns beat ships, and if this was true, with reference to carrying mon ster guns, we must part with guns, not ships. Mr. CHILDERS, after detailed explanations in reply to statements made by Mr. Seely on the object of dockyard accounts, proceeded to answer objections raised in the course of the debate, and to give explanations upon points respecting which further information was required. Sir J. PAKINGTON said on Monday evening he had called attention to the state of the navy and had raised the important question whether the vast sum of 57 millions of money, which they had granted to the Admiralty during the last five years, had been judiciously expended. To night the noble lord had given his explanation, and he (Sir J. Pakington) would have left that explanation to the judg ment of the house and of the country were it not that the noble lord had misinterpreted several portions of his speech. He would pass by the tone, and would pass on to the sub ject, of his noble friend's speech. It was known by this time that armour covered ships might be built so as to have speed, and be at the same time seaworthy and unsinkable ; but the speech of the noble lord went to this—that the men-of-war which the Admiralty had built possessed none of those qualities. He (Sir J. Pakington) had never stated, as had been represented by his noble friend, that the De fence could neither fight nor swim. What he did tell the house was this—that in regard to the Defence and Resist ance he had been informed that in building those two vessels the Admiralty had disregarded the advice of the Comptrol ler and Chief Constructor of the Navy, and had constructed those ships according to their own designs; and the conse quence was, that if those vessels went into action and were wounded in their unprotected parts, they would sink alto gether. Now, the noble lord had made no reply whatever to that statement ; nor had he given any reply to the re marks of the hon. member for Finsbury (Sir M. Pete) re specting the Royal Albert. Again, with regard to Mr. Reed, had the noble lord said anything in vindication of the conduct of the Admiralty He could not say he agreed with his noble friend ; but he reminded the house that he had spoken of Mr. Reed with great favour. i At the same time he maintained the opinion he expressed on a former evening, that the head of this department of State had rarely committed a graver error than the Board of Admi ralty did when they set aside men of great capacity and long experience. LorcLC. PAGET explained that the Resistance and De fence were built precisely on the same principle as the Warrior. If a shot entered the unprotected part of the vessel, she would immerse 15} inches instead of sink ing, as the hon. member supposed. Sir J. PAKINGTON said the flotation of the Warrior was perfectly different to that of the Defence and Re sistance. Sir J. ELPHINSTONE said the person who had most right to complain was Admiral Dacres. He understood it was not the custom in Parliament to state the substance of papers that were not before the house. Therefore he called upon the noble lord to produce the report in ex tols°, with Admiral Dacres' name to it. The hon. member then reverted to the history of the Research, and drew attention to the condition of the Valiant, a vessel, he said, o would so unmanageable, that on getting her head towards Fr: r she they had have no t rightenognintehae reversed, e o d, f that and c run n got her brought her rapidly round. Mr. WHITBREAD pointed out that in 1859 Sir John Pakington had used the same argument with respect to the inadvisability of producing confidential reports to the Admiralty, and defended the course taken by the Admi ralty last year in regard to the dock at Malta, as the only one which they could reasonably take with the informa tion they then possessed. Mr. SEELY reiterated the statements he had made on a previous evening, that millions of money spent in building and repairing ships were not properly accounted for. The vote for the number of men was then agreed to. An HON. MEMBER here moved that the chairman do report progress, and ask leave to sit again. The motion, however, was negatived. A vote of £2,945,006 for wages to seamen and marines, and a vote of £1,325,694 for victuals and clothing for sea men and marines, were also agreed to. The Herring Fisheries (Scotland) Bill was read a second time. UNION OF BENEFICES ACT AMENDMENT. Mr. BOUVERIE moved for leave to introduce a bill to amend the Union of Benefices Act. Mr. HUBBARD'opposed the introduction of the bill, and moved as an amendment for copies of the order in Council THE SUE, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING,: MARCH lO, 1865.1 of the Ist November, 1864, for the removal of the church of St. Benet's, Gracechurch-street, and of all the corre spondence on the subject between the Archdeacon of Lan. - don and the members of the Church Estates' Commis goners. After some further discussion the house divided. For the motion For the amendment ll Majority lO There not being 40 members present, the houses .then stood adjourned at 25 minutes past one. Railway and other Companies. WEST LONDON. a y rd„ Loth yeanteredhayalf •as held m effi eet e izg T of ek this enh c e o zs m e pan i half-yearly e a r t y e Loth bury ; Mr. S. Bird in the chair. Mr. Turguand, the secretary, read 'le report, which stated that the directors, in conjunction with the committee of shareholders, had been engaged in making arrangements for the dissolution of the com pany. They recommended the re-appointment of the committee, and trusted that their efforts would be successful. The board had elected Mr. W. Hartridge a director, in the room of Mr. Cobb, who had been disqualified, The balance-sheet showed that £316,021 had been expended, and that the available assets of the company amounted to £670. On the motion of the CHAIRMAN, seconded by Mr. HARTRIDGE, the report was adopted. The retiring directors, Mr. S. Bird and Mr. Loveless, were re-elected, and Mr. Hartridge was unanimously elected a director of the company. The committee of shareholders appointed on ',the 2d of September, 1862, to carry out agreements with the Extension Company for keeping the register of shareholders, and for the dissolution of the West London Company, was re-appointed, and Captain Douglas was added to the committee. The forfeiture of 100 shares (from No. 101 to No. 200, inclusive) on the 17th of April and 18th of Juue, 1847, was confirmed, and the directors were authorised to dispose of the same in the manner directed :in the Birmingham, Bristol, and Thames Junction Railway Act ; and a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors closed the proceedings. SHROPSHIRE UNION. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held at Shrewsbury yesterday ; the Earl of Powis in the chair. The CHAIRMAN congratulated the shareholders on the large dividend, which was consequent on that of the London and North-Western Company. He thought that was very much to be attributed to the ability with which Mr. Moon, the chairman of the latter company, had performed his responsible and laborious dudes, and particularly to the courage and perseverance he had shown in discarding the old traditions of railway animosity, and endeavouring to establish a more harmonious and combined action between the different companies whose systems are interlaced with the London and North-Western lines. The vacancy in the Board, caused by the death of Mr. R. Barrow, had been filled up by the election of Mr. R. Moon. The report was adopted, and a dividend . at the rate of £3 10s. per annum was declared. The retiring directors were re-elected, and also the retiring auditor. SCOTTISH NORTH-EASTERN. The report of the directors states that £139,010 had been received, and £63,370 expended, leaving a balance of £75,640, of which £45,006 was appro priated to the Aberdeen section, £19,288 to the Scottish Midland, and £11,346 to the Dundee and Arbroath section. Alter paying the preference charges in each case, the dividend recommended on the Aberdeen original stock was at the rate, of 1/ per cent. per annum, leaving £1,095 ; on the Scot tish Midland ordinary stock, at the rate of 5i per cent. per annum, leaving a balance of £704 ; and on the Dundee and Arbroath original stock, at the rate of 74 per cent. per annum, leavirg a balance of £1,446 at the credit of the reserve fund. The ex penditure on capital account for the six months amounted to £32,750, including £10,697 on the purchase of property for the Denburn Valley line, £1,036 for additions to workshops and tools, and £8,965 for additional plant to accommodate the in creasing traffic. The directors had succeeded in coming to a satisfactory arrangement with the Great North of Scotland Company in regard to the proposed joint station at Aberdeen. BAHIA AND SAN FRANCISCO (LIMITED). The committee of shareholders appointed at the general meeting of this company on Oct. 28 to con fer with the directors on the present position and future prospects of the company have just issued their report. It states that the Imperial Government guarantees 5 per cent., and the Provincial Govern ment 2 per cent. interest on the capital for 90 years from the incorporation of the company on the 26th of January, 1858, for a railway from Bahia to Joazeiros, on the river San Francisco. But in the first instance the guarantee is limited to 20 leagues' distance (77 miles), and to £1,800,000 capital. The Government fixed the price of the concession, in cluding preliminary expenses, at £41,000. The re muneration of the directors at £3,000 per annum during construction was fixed by the concession. The task of selecting the route of the railway was intrusted to Mr. C. Vignoles, the course of the line not being indicated in the convention, and the Im perial Government acceded to all the recommenda tionswceoc in his report. The executi on o f the works was intrusted to Mr. J. Watson, wh o h a d v i s i ted Bahia t p r y e r s a o nd na l w l y o t r make ks tob be executed.himself acquainted There was th i no th compe tition tition for the contract. The line was opened in sec tions on the 28th of June, 1860,111 miles; on the 6th September, 1861, 24f miles ; on the 4th of August, 1862, 111 miles ; and on the 31st of January, 1863, 292. miles. The railway is a single line, with sidings, sft. 3in. gauge. The station for Bahia is situated at Calcada, near the water, but at a dis tance of two or three miles from the city. Proceed ing from Calcada the line skirts the eastern coast of the bay for 15 miles. It then strikes into a district of the interior, thinly populated, not a town on the line, and but two places which deserve the name of villages. The railway passes the town of Alagoinhas at 1 miles distance, and terminates 4 miles beyond it: There are several steep inclines, and some sharp curves on the line. The capital expended is 11,795,360, leaving a balance of £4,640. The gross income for the year 1864 was £23,723,the gross expenditure £49,408, and the deficiency £25,685, to which is added £2,543 for charges in London, making the gross de ficiency £28,228. The receipts per train mile were 7s. 10d. and the expenses 17s. Id. per train mile. The gross maintenance of way was £21,866, and per mile £284. The tariff for goods and passengers was, during 1864, in all cases 25 per cent. lower than the charges by the contractor in the previous year 1863, when the gross receipts were £25,327, being £2,027 more than in 1864. The committee think that the speed of the trains might be dimi nished without prejudice to the receipts, and with a saving of expense in working. The present rate of running is 21 miles per hour. If, instead of this, 15 miles per hour was adopted, the article of fuel, the flanges of the wheels, and the permanent way would all have the benefit of the change. Next to the want of an industrial population is the want of lateral roads connected with the railway. In con clusion the committee, Messrs. C. Nicholson, chair man, J. Morgan, H. J. A. Goez, and G. Simpson, recommended that the directors should seek to im prove the future prospects of the company by a discreet application of the following measures or some of them :-1, To memorialise the Government for some favourable concession, so that the promised " guarantee" may be fully realised ; sanctioning further capital for permanent sleepers, more espe cially if iron be adopted ; or allowing the cost of sleepers to be spread over future years; 2, to increase the net revenue by working at lower speeds, by raising the tariff, by closing unprofitable stations, and by converting some fi rs t- c l a ss into com posite carriage ;and 3, [ to obtain the opinion of an independent engine er on th e qu estion of sleepers and fences, to insure all the property of the company against casualties by fire. They state that the Bra ' zilian Government has uniformly, in this and all similar cases, displayed such honourable and liberal I conduct that reasonable hopes of assistance may be justly entertained. That this hope is further strength ened by the fact that Government has officially ex pressed its readiness to extend its guarantee on £30,000, beyond the £4800,000 for double-headed rails, which further guarantee was only set aside be cause Mr. Vignoles preferred a rail of a different kind. As to the costs of working, these were in pro cess of reduction by the officers of the company• The further raea,sures of economy, as indicated above, may b,O applied; and if applied, the just expectations of f:rie shareholders will speedily be realised. RAILWAY BILLS. Yesterday, on the re-assembling of the committees, Mr. Burke and Mr. Millward having been heard on both sides, the committee decided on passing the bill for the Maryport and Carlisle, and rejecting that of the Whitehaven Junction and Cockermouth and Workington. The case of the Dover, Deal, and Sandwich Railway was called on in Mr. Ingham's committee. Mr. Calvert appeared for the promoters, and Mr. Round for the London, Chatham, and Dover, and Mr. Somerset for the Dover and Deal Railway, who compete with it and oppose. The ob ject of the bill is to .nake three new railways—the first of nine miles from the London, Chatham, and Dover, near to its Shepherds-well station, to the South-Eastern at Deal; the second of two miles, from the first at Eastry to the South-Eastern at Sandwich station; and the third from the first to the west bank of the Stour in Sandwich. They propose to raise £llO,OOO in shares and £36,000 loan. Witnesses were examined as to the local traffic in favour of the line, and Mr. Wilson by Mr. Denison as to its engineering features. The committee on the bills of the Great Eastern partly settled the clauses, and adjourned the further consideration of them until Monday. The bill for the Ely, Haddenham, and Sutton Rail way was withdrawn. A committee consisting of Mr. Dodson, chairman of Ways and Means, Mr. C. W. Packe, Mr. Kinnaird, Mr. T. Miller, and M. Vivian, and Mr. Buchanan,considered and passed the following bills :—lpswich and Felixstow, for a rail way of 11 miles from the Great Eastern Wester field Station to Felixstow.; Preston and Wyre, to widen and lay down additional rails on the Black pool branch ; Buckfastleigh and Totness, for a line from Buckfastleigh to Ashburton, to- raise £48,000 by shares and £16,000 by loan; Whitehaven, Cleator, and Egremont, for tramways to the mineral dis tricts of Egremont, and to raise £20,000 ; Mistley, Thorpe, and Walton, to enable the Great Eastern to subscribe £20,000 to the undertaking ; Hexham and Allendale, for a line of 12 miles between these points and of seven miles at Allenheads, to raise £120,000, and borrow £40,000. The referees were engaged in hearing witnesses and counsel on the engineering and other features of the following bills, with a view of reporting them to the Select Commitees :—King's Lynn Docks and Railway, Lynn and Sutton-bridge Railway ; Fur ness, Whitehaven, and Furness ; Surrey and Sussex Junction, Fareham and Netley Railway, and Al cester and Stratford-on-Avon Railway. The bill for the Sussex Central Railway was withdrawn. LAW INTELLIGENCE—March 9. HOUSE OF LORDS.-31Aucx 9. APPEALS. MACKINTOSH V. SMITH. In this case, which comes before the house as . a bill of exceptions from the ruling 'of the Judge Ordinary in Scot land, affirmed by the Court of Session, in the trial of an action raised by the appellant for an alleged illegal deten tion by the respondents in a lunatic asylum, the arguments were resumed. At the close of the appellant's case, Their lordship; without hearing the respondent's coun sel, affirmed the decision of the court below, and dismissed the appeal. BOLDER° V. THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. The arguments in this part heard case, which is an appeal from a decision of Lord Chancellor Campbell, refusing to admit a claim of the appellant to a refund of his subscrip tions to the Bengal Civil Service Annuity Fund, fromwhich he received an annuity, were resumed and concluded. The case was fully reported a few days since. Judgment was postponed. ROLLS' COURT. (Before the Master of the Rolls.) THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON V. LORD ROBERT MONTAGU.- PRIVATE LETTERS. This was an ex parte application for an injunction by the present Duke of Wellington against Lord Robert Montagu to prevent him from publishing certain private letters Of the late Duke and Duchess of Wellington under the follow ing circumstances :—lt appears that the late Duke and Duchess were both confidential friends of the late Lady Olivia Sparrow, of whom Lord Robert Montagu is now the legal representative. In his character as such representa tive Lord R. Montagu became possessed of the letters in question, and offered them for sale to the trustees of the British Museum. In the month of February, in this year the present Duke of Wellington received a communication from Sir Roderick Murchison, informing him of the offer made by Lord R. Montagu to sell the letters to the Museum, and of the refusal of the Museum trustees to purchase them on the ground of their being private letters. Sir Roderick Murchison at the same time told the Duke that the letters were left at the Museum in the custody of Mr. Bond for the purpose of valuation. On the Duke of Wellington re ceiving this information he wrote to Lord Robert Montagu for an explanation, and received the following letter in answer : "My dear Duke,—Perhaps you may remember that last summer, when you were riding and I was walking in Rot ten-row, I offered you the letters referred to, but it seemed to me that you did not care for them. I would never have offered them for sale without having done so, nor would I do so now, only that a house agent threatened an action for commission, and I had to pay an enormous demand which I cannot liquidate. Your letter was accompanied by a letter from the British Museum, stating that they pro pose to treat for all the other MSS., excepting the Duke of Wellington's letters, &c. I will write and ask what part of the £llO they will pay for the rest, and hand the other let ters to you for the remaining sum.—Yours very faithfully, "ROBERT MONTAGU." Upon Lord Robert Montagu writing further, and informing the Duke that Mr. Bond had valued the letters at £BO, the Duke wrote to Lord R. Montagu protesting against the sale or publication of the letters, and maintaining that the course pursued by Lord R. Montagu was not only improper, but illegal, inasmuch as, although the letters were the property of Lord R. Montagu, as the heir to the party to whom they were written, the Duke, as representative of his father and mother, had the right of forbidding the publication of them, and that "the mere showing of them was publication." On the 3d of the present month of March the Duke re ceived the following letter from Lord R. Montagu : "My dear Duke,—As a matter of courtesy I will let you see the letters in Mr. Bond's office in the Britis h Museum ; but not as a matter of right. I reserve the pr ice that I shall now ask for them.—Yours sincerely, " ROBERT MONTAGU." In answer to a letter from the Duke to Lord R. Montagu, requesting an order to see the letters at the British Museum, the latter thus writes:— "Dear Duke,—An order is not necessary to enable you to see the letters at the office of Mr. Bond, where I have left them for your inspection on any day before 4 o'clock ; but they must not be removed. I find that the real value of them is considerably more than £BO. I have no wish to sell them to you ; it is out of courtesy to you that I delay selling them elsewhere, in order to give you an opportu nity of purchasing them.—Yours truly, - _ "ROBERT MONTAGU." The present bill was filed to restrain the sale or publica tion of the letters above referred to, on the ground that they were private letters of the late Duke and Duchess of Wellington to a personal friend ; that the present Duke was the legal representative of the writer of such letters, and that the sale or publication of the letters would be a breach of private confidence and a - violation of the social rights and immunities that should always attach to letters of such a class. His Honour granted an interim order until Thursday next, and directed a copy of the bill and notice of motion for that day to be served on Lord Robert Montagu. Mr. Selwyn, Mr. Hobhouse, and Mr. Osborne Morgan appeared in the case. "And then he drew a dial from his poke, And looking on it with lack lustre eye, Bays very It is ten o'clock : ' Thus we may see,' quoth he, "how the world wags."' SHAKSPiARE. Benson's Pocket Dials are artistic, accurate time markers, made in every size, suitable for everybody, and are sent to every part of the kingdom, safe by post, at 5,6, 7,8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35 guineas in gold cases; and at 2,3, 4,5, 6,7, 8,9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 guineas in silver cases. A descriptive pamphlet post free for two stamps. -J. W. Benson, Ludgate-hill, watch and clock maker to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. LADvEansExtENT.J-Holloway's Pills.-Cold and Wet. -T i he njurious effects of cold and piercing winds tell on the strongest frames, impair the functions of the skin, and thereby throw an undue proportion of blood on the inter nal organs. The only means of preventing disease under these circumstances consist in augmenting the secretions of the overgorged organs, which can be easily accom plished by Holloway's Pills. These will enable the liver and kidneys to reheve themselves safely and rapidly of their oppressive congestion at the same time that they renew an equable circulation of the blood. This salutary stop is gained without any drawback. Holloway's Pills purify and strengthen simultaneously; they improve the appetite and permit its gratification without the bugbear of dyspepsia, or worse disorders. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TlMES.—Seldom has there appeared on a select committee an inquiry mo re i m p or t an t th an th a t which the House of Lords yesterday intrusted to chosen members of their body. The facts which they have to ascertain are in the highest degree momentous to the character and welfare of indivi duals, and involve principles of public conduct upon the observance of which the whole mechanism of Government depends. The debate of Tuesday even ing raised in a rough and incomplete manner the issues which will require consideration. We still feel the same difficulty as then in laying before the public, we do not say a complete narrative, but a precise statement of the questions that are to be raised. The case is, however, a little clearer than it was, and we will endeavour to explain as nearly as we can what the questions are into which the com mittee will have to inuire. The first question in order of time to which, by the express desire of Lord Derby, the house is directed to give its attention, involves the circumstances under which the original appoint ment of Mr. Edmunds to the Clerkship of Patents was made. That appointment dates as far back as 1833, during the Chancellorship of Lord Brougham, The value of the Clerkship is only £4OO a year. We speak of facts not yet in evidence, but of the truth of which we have no doubt, when we state that three-fourths of that salary—in other words, £3OO a year—have been from that time to the pre sent paid over under the direction of Mr. William Brougham, the brother of Lord Brougham, and late Master in Chancery,—£loo to Mr. William Brougham himself, and £2OO to keep down the interest of a mortgage of £5,000 on the landed pro perty of Lord Brougham. These facts cannot, we believe, be disputed. What was the precise nature of the transaction out of 'which they arose ; whether the' office was procured by the surrender of so large a portion of its emoluments •, if so, whether Lord Brougham was a party to the transaction, or whether somemembers of his family concluded the bargain on his own account ; if not, what could have been the inducement to give up so large a portion of the in come of an office involving so much labour and re sponsibility ;—these are questions on which we may expect to receive a clear and unambiguous deliver ance from the Committee of the House of Lords. We hope also to learn from this high authority whether this system—by which the profits of public offices are appropriated, not to remunerate those who dis charge their duties, but in some way or other for the benefit of the persons or the friends of the per sons by whom they are conferred—is one that is con sistent with the lowest views of public morality or the lowest standard of official propriety. The com mittee will next have to inquire as to the manner in which the defalcations, or whatever term is to be applied to them, committed by Mr. Edmunds have been dealt with. This is not the case familiar to the readers of English history, of an office possess ing a large floating balance of money, the holder of which was allowed, by a laxity of practice long since abolished, to derive profit like a banker from the interest which that balance could be made to yield. This is, as we understand it, the case of fees received on behalf of the public which it was the duty of the recipient to pay over at once to the Exchequer, and which nothing but some strange oversight could have enabled him to retain. It may have been right under the circumstances to forbear from prosecuting for the offence, which the mere repay ment of all the money, with interest, even had it taken place, could not undo. But it could not be right that a person guilty of such misconduct should be allowed to retire without the fullest publicity being given to the transaction. In private life, in the case of defalcation, for instance, of a steward or a bailiff, we may undoubtedly, if we will, pardon the offence, and out of compassion to the offender or his family, conceal the wrong we have received. But the case of offences against the public is quite di Brent. No Government, whatever our opinion of its integrity, can be trusted to coridone them, and that for two very sufficient reasons. In the first place, because it is the public, and not the Govern ment, which is defrauded ; and, in the next place, because the credit of a Government for vigilance, if not integrity, is naturally involved in concealing the mistakes of its subordinates, and the Government, therefore, in pardoning the offences of its subordi nates, may not unreasonably be suspected of shelter ing its own. There remains the question as to the immediate causes of Mr. Edmunds's resignation. On this point so much is certain, that he did actually resign his situation, that his petition for a pension was presented by the Lord Chancellor, and that a pension was granted him without a word being said as to any suspicion of misconduct. It is not denied that the Lord Chancellor, who presented the peti tion, had official knowledge of the case, nor do the members of the committee assert that they were in ignorance of the rumours which were in circulation. We cannot help thinking they would have taken a more just view of their duty if they had required that these rumours should be cleared up before dis posing of so large a sum of public money in favour of a person who, if what was said be true, was unworthy to receive it. The case of the Chancellor is different. The facts were formally before him, and in allowing the Committee to decide without equally formal evidence of these facts he lent himself by his reticence to a proceeding which he must greatly regret. We have his positive assertion— which we do not for a moment doubt—that he held out to Mr. Edmunds no hope that if he would resign he would obtain a pension for him. Still Mr. Ed munds did resign under circumstances, known with more or less accuracy to a large number of persons, which he must have felt well assured would, if stated to the committee, have deprived him of the least chance of a pension. Mr. Edmunds is a man of experience, and it seems highly improbable that he should have furnished so strong an argument against himself as is involved in the admission of misconduct implied by a voluntary resignation at the time when charges were pending against him. His obvious in terest, in the absence of any specific inducement to the contrary, was to continue to hold his office, trust ing to the probability that he might be left unmo lested, rather than provoke the scandal incidental to his removal. The Chancellor, it appears, held out no inducement. Was there no inducement held out by any one else? Is Alien no connexion between the resignation and the grant of the pension ? This is a point which it is necessary to clear up, and we cannot doubt that it is destined to be completely elucidated. The facts yet remain to be explored ; of the principles involved in them we can have no doubt. The salaries of public officers are given for the public service, and whoever so exercises his patronage as to divert those salaries from their im mediate recipients for the benefit of himself or his relatives is guilty of a grievous offence. The pub lic has a right to the fullest knowledge of its own affairs, and those who attempt to screen public de linquents, under whatever circumstances, attract to themselves a certain portion of the blame due to that delinquency ; and, lastly, any man, or any body of men who may from good nature, or less credit able reason, combine to withhold or suppress infor mation, with the view of burdening the public with grants of money to unworthy persons, are exercising a misplaced liberality out of funds which are not theirs to give away.. POST.—The publication of the Duke of Suther land's recent letter on the understanding subsisting between tradesmen and servants with respect to per centages and gratuities called attention to a time honoured custom which, harmless enough in its origin, had grown into a pernicious system. In regulating the affairs of his household the duke materially served the public interests. By insisting upon fair dealing in his own case, he protested against a social wrong, and set forth, as his high rank and character enabled him to do, a noble example. The Prince of Wales has now done the same. His royal highness has intimated his determination to with draw his custom from all tradesmen who offer, and to dismiss all servants who accept, a per-tentage on his household accounts. This decided and authori tative action will, it is to be hoped, check transac tions which, always equivocal, are no doubt in some instances plainly dishonest. While, however, it is certain that servants are, whether by per-centages or annual gratuities, which have come to be regarded as salaries, paid for the custom which it is assumed they influence, it should not be hastily concluded that respectable tradesmen habitually and directly charge the payments they Make in money or goods to the servants to the accounts of their masters. They may do so indirectly, as between cash and credit customers, and if the inquiry could be carried out it would probably be found that the evil, as it affects the buyer and the seller generally, consists mainly in the practice of making two prices. The Duke of Sutherland has, it is true, acknowledged the receipt of " conscience money" from a tradesman, but that might be either for a direct or an indirect overcharge ; and it is not an unimportant point to ascertain what, if any, reduction in the prices of the articles supplied is effected by the change. If the prices charged for the future to the Prince of - Wales and the Duke of Sutherland are, as it is to be supposed they will be, reduced, then, on the pre sumption that there has been no direct overcharge, the public is entitled to partake in the benefit. There are valid reasons for putting the question in this light. The system of allowing per-centages is by no means peculiar to the tradesmen who serve establishments in Belgravia and Mayfair. Even honorary secretaries to benevolent institutions have been known to accept a percentage from the trades men they employed in their official capacity. Indeed, it can hardly be doubted that the wrongs accruing from this system, and which have grown out of it and have grafted upon it, are practically more op pressive than the system itself. The absence of one weight and one measure is conspicuous. People who can afford the time for domestic shopping, who have a taste for that sort of thing, and who pay for the goods they take away over the counter, are rarely imposed upon. As the rule, however, i n the upper and middle classes of society the tra'desmau calls for orders, and supplies what is ordered upon long or short credit. Housekeepers are not expected to weigh the bread, and the meat, and the butter, and servants may have motives for wishing to be on good terms with a tradesman. The poor, and the poor alone get a make-weight with the loaf they buy at the baker's. On these conditions, therefore, it is idle to imagine that servants' perquisites ca n be stopped. The only effectual remedy is impracticable. It would amount to a social revolution if we were to resolve to do our own marketing. The most we can do is to pay our bills weekly, and that is no security against the imposition which may, by the connivance of servants, be practised with impunity. It is, ie f act, easier to control a great household in this par ticular than to apply the principle now laid dcall generally. This is the difficulty. We are compell eu to confide in tradesmen, and to trust servan ts. to Nevertheless, if we pay them well, we have a rig ht count upon their honesty. Looked at from this p oint of view, it must be owned that the circulars before us witness to a state of thin far from satisfa ctory There are, however, honest tradesmen and trust" worthy servants. As a whole, they may be take" to be neither better no worse than other men arie: Moralists tell us we are all prone to error and riab.l, to temptation. Perhaps, therefore, it comes roan:: to the old conclusion of faults on all sides. But u this be so, the more honour is due to the die: tinguished personages who have turned over new leaf in their household books. The Prince 4). Wales and the Duke of Sutherland could make - virtue of that which, had it been attempted by other in a less exalted position, would have been account a vice. There can be no pretence for finding wea n ; ness or parsimony in the royal and noble measure e; economy. Yet, courageous as the example is, the - are formidable impediments in the way of any e. l( , tended success. Over and above the impossibillEY, of an efficient supervision, the system is by what is commonly described as moral cowardice: This failing, however, should not in the presee! instance be judged harshly. We speak of the master, of a household, but in reality the management I domestic affairs devolves upon the mistress, a t . many ladies have reason to deprecate the veheraeneu with which servants and tradesmen occasions le argue a point in which their pecuniary interests a r _. concerned. Nor can we forget that the system hu,: been defended ; and, if those to whom the n otice protected especially addressed fail to understand its meanUlge:3 the servants, who at once minister to their avarl a and depend upon their bounty, may think t he y hal a vested interest in the black mail they help the to The penalty of dismissal is neutralised by Vit culty of detection. It is evaded every day an ea every situation. But the better order of tradesnL. may certainly do much to promote a higher W i l l , hension of commercial morality; and, afte r a „ 0 seeing that they need no longer seek the patr °l e t t, of servants, nor, in fair dealing, fear their lie it rests with them to vindicate the honour and ' ll pendence of their class. COUNTRY MARKETS• BIRMINGHAM—THURSDAY. Nee , During the present week no improvement has place in the value or demand for any article of the nor have prices receded. red, 30 Currencies :—English wheat, white, 40s to 448; to 41s per 36 stone. Malting barley, 28s to 345; per 19s to 24 s r. 22s to 25s per qr. Oats, 24s to 30s ; Irish, 30 stone. Beans, 38s to 42s ; and peas, 38 s to 405 per BURY ST. EDMUND'S—WEDNEsDAY• iat a nd The market to-day was well supplied with vre,,,,4060• barley, both of which were taken off at last wee ks /- Peas, beans, and oats remained unaltered in value. bar leit Talavera wheat, 43s to 475; red ditto, 34s to 3 7 5; , 25s to 355; secondary ditto, 24s to 2 6 s per qr. Averages:—Wheat, 10481 qrs., 37s 9d; barle 27P qrs., 31s ld; oats, 10 qrs., 20s Od. MANCHESTER —TnunsDAY. ncle d ' Our market this morning was tolerably well Atte 0 re .. but the business passing in any article was of the now strieted character noted so frequently of late, w ithout, ever, causing sellers to submit to lower rates. EDINBURGH—WEDNMSDAY. S utrf At our market there was a. good supply of c-11 +0 0 ' wheat, which sold fairly, and prices were a t the ra— last week. . 1 A doh' Wheat on the top, 4s Od down average, OS '.-- d ' Barley on the top, Is 6d up average, _s , to. Oats on the top, 2s Od up average, Os 6 ' 40' Beans on the top, is Od up average, Os ad ' Average prices. Wheat, 35s 6d Oats, 20s 10d I Barley, 26s 2d Beans, 35s Od o .s Town-made flour sells as follows :—White, 36s Od; e superfine, 34s 6d ; superfine, 33s ; fine, 31s 6d. Total supply and sales. Wheat 1465 qrs sold 98/° Barley 1510 qrs sold 86; Oats 2694 qrs sold 17 2 8 Beans 309 qrs sold 2' u GLAS GOW—WEDNESDAY. Imports into the Clyde have been heavier th an off o ut and the market was fairly attended. Wheat Was w l rice change in value, with a limited business d oin g • we re malting barley was rather dearer. Oats and bold S old firm, but value unchanged. Flour was unalte red) a slowly. Foreign Mail Packet List• 41 , l. Australia and New Zealand, via S ou th a mpton..• • • 5. Ditto, via Marseilles ................... .8`;116, Brazil and Cape Verde, by British . ....... r" .......... AP 31Ar - 2. ‘ Ditto, by British packet . ............ 2 1 . Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena..•••; 2t. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Sou ham pton•• l4ll r l5, ga. Ditto, via Marseilles Falkland Islands ga r. 14. Gibraltar, 1 la Southampton ....... . ..... lr r 21 India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.... .....I I l . 16 , Ditto, via Martellies .... ga' . il. India (Bombay), via Southampton . ................ g ar ' 8. ,AlA r. .¢, Ditto, via marseitles .................... • ••-• r ' g, Mauritius, via Southampton gar. Ditto, via Marseil e•—• • 1 6 . Sta r. Newfoundland Portugal Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon... ..... ..... United states and British North America, by pr i g a r' 1 5 . tish packet ......... Ditto, by United States packet, via Southanir ton 10. Ditto, via C,,rk ......................... •• • . . Ditto, by Canadian packet, via LondonderrY• .'- Jo* West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Tenerifle ... West Indies and Pacific (except Baha.nas, Coba,.(o, ... 0. and Mexico .................. ................ Ap Bahamas, via.liew York. .......................... sr. if Bermuda, ditto .................................... . 1; 10 .. Cuba and Mexico ..... . ........................... A.t BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIA O. , , rIi OI) Lancashire Assizes, on Wednesday, a sing ular :; tb r e for breach of promise was tried. Miss Isabella L'll,/"-Il ot, e plaintiff, resides with her mother at Kendall; tal."is, d circumstances, den, the defendant, was the son of a 0010 living at Troutbeck. An eO lll ng3Bllt. tort, 13 us Y be' 5 t place five years since, and continued until Nov.°lligi L 3 d when the defendant married a cousin of the plaiiatw,i tar August the defendant agreed to marry the plailttt'ia! licence went to Hawkshead professedly for the urposeff g—posial ; but instead of the name of the P aP t P - c i, n that document, that of her cousin was P substitn'et °; we e or -1 0 the defendant married the latter within a his ceasing to visit the plaintiff. The weddioga°llo of the plaintiff had been made, and various Pr e : 11 1 0° 5 ; jewellery had been given to her by the defends out il; letters, read on the trial, indicated that they ly e f I de li A a most affectionate terms. It transpired from 01(3,v,,s cP7t that about nine years ago the plaintiffgave CO , L the result of a former engagement. For the " e ; - ,, il ya 11 4 was - alleged that this fact had been kept secret 1": oP defendant until within a week or two ofhis bre3.o,lc.l"cili/44 the engagement. It was proved, however, that " f -e aaP iit t.- had frequently called the plaintiff "mamma" 111 de h -e r0•%, 0 . presence, and that he was fully aware that it via ° " e e P" I Justice Shee said it was quite clear from the e' videll o c •f o r the defendant was aware of the plaintiff's raisf°rtviiillict jury, after a few minutes' consultation, gave 5 -er the plaintiff—damages .£5OO. • ci, 0 Births. _ . 10•0 5 BAUER.—On the 9th inst , at 4, Kensington-Pi" A plel wife of M. L. Bauer, Esq • .. of a son. t „ c ifor_- - ' of STYAN.—On the 9th inst , at 23, Upper -',,. Pi" Russell-square, the wife . of Thomas Str' - ' t oll daughter. i j ng, o pt UPTON.—On the Bth inst , a t D e bden-gr eell '„ pal ' Essex, the wife of Captain R. D. Upto n, la," Lancers, of a danghteiA Marriages. i 0 0 11' REILLY—LITTLE.—On the Bth inst., at Chr i ctoolj b; P• Highbury, Mr. Thomas William Reilly, the 1 A te 1 4/.. p L a i r tt k, le, to of E y ll . enor o e u , t y h o . ungest daughter of tile ' 6 ' Si s )j a Ps ra o h x— El L iz A a T b ir et Am L .— at On the Bth inst, at S ° ' -itliP°rl;-'1311:1b:° John Simpson, Esq.,of A •ci WeStiliqei v'ortil. ANDEnsON.—On the Bth inst. ' Cri esi Adel Thornton-heath, John Bradbury, iur e 't place, Brighton, Helen Anderson, aged 7 9 . , 0 0 " . wander Eic.—HOennrt Henry e ß 2 e 3 d d d e BRADEURY.—On the Bth inst., at his residonee, v e 3 e d 40. , B_E B D mer, Esq.,EslClet'ilt, C°1.11 „ u., at ar e I BULMEIL—On the 7th ink'isttit,lCa.tWHohndenr,Pilwejref°rdsli v. aged 72. • a s o t ft . , hi nC Deaths. 1 1 te h is e r Ge i r' : slid :la c el' a: - s li ter ia h. dal l gee 4 LINDSAY.—On the Bth inst., at Brighton, Vu'' - sall '' of the Hon. Colonel and Mrs. Charles TO ,Dl lO 12 years. aterP PAETKIERS., 0 0 .,.N._-21 the Bth inst., suddenly, itic ll9 , l : 73. , I L ons, St. Paul's Cray, Rent, ag"l _____ _.-- _-.- 77 --------- --------... " - _____ - ,4 0 ' AID ,iir Lo c don : Printed and Publi.hed by WILLIAg A'' - pfrO l ' o f Otne of No. 112, Strand, Pilllter, a t TAE Surf ec;otaid Strand, in the Precinct of ' the Savoy, in the Middlesex.—Friday, March 10,1865.