The Sun. — London, England, 1865-06-16 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS-LAST EVENING. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. Lord AVELAND presented a petition from Lancashire against the Union Chargeability Bill. Petitions were also presented in favour of opening the metropolitan museums and other institutions for three evenings in the week for the benefit of the working classes. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a second time—Lord Treadegar's Estate, Torquay Gas, Heysham Pier, North- Eastern and Cleveland Railways, Althorpe-on-Kent and Lincoln Railway, Wrexham and Menira Railway— Glasgow (City) Union Railway ; Rickmansworth, Amers ham, and Chesham Railway Burton - upon - Trent Connection Railway, Great Western Railway, Leeds New Railway Station, Perth General Railway Station, Scottish Central, &c., Railway Companies, Perth General Railway Station, Scottish Central, &c., Railway Companies (Station Hotel, &c.) ; Denbigh, Ruthin, and Corwen Railway, and Greenwich Railway. The West Bromwich Improvement Bill, with amend ments, was read a third time and passed. DOCKYARD EXTENSION BILL. On the motion of the Duke of SOMERSET, this bill was read a second time. COMMON LAW COURTS FEES BILL. The Commons amendments to the amendments of the Lords relative to this bill were considered and agreed to. PARTNERSHIP AMENDMENT BILL. This bill passed through committee. The Militia Ballots Suspension Bill and the Militia Pay Bill passed through committee. The Local Government Supplemental (No. 3) Bill was read a third time and passed. THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUPPLEMENTAL (No. 4) BILL. On the order of the day for the second reading of this bill, Lord CHELMSFORD presented a petition from a gen tleman named Frewen, residing at Hastings, complaining that, under provisional order of the local board of health which it was now sought to confirm, a portion of his land was to be taken in order to widen a lane, nominally for the advantage of the public, but really for that of another per son named Pope. The noble lord contended that the pro ceeding was both impolitic and illegal, denying that in point of law the local board had any power whatever to compel Mr. Frewen to sell his lands. Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY denied that the im provement in question was to be made for the benefit of Mr. Pope. He had every reason to believe that it had been decided upon with a view to the advantage of the town of Hastings. More than 25 Acts of Parliament had been passed on the supposition that the local government boards had power to take lands compulsorily for the purpose of widening streets. These points would, however, lie more conveniently considered in the select committee to which the bill would be referred. Aftor some further discussion the bill was read a second time, and was referred to a select committee. LAND DEBENTURES (IRELAND) BILL. The Earl of CORK moved that this bill should be re ferred to a select committee. The motion was agreed to. LOCOMOTIVES ON ROADS BILL. The Earl of Malmesbury was added to the select com mittee on the Locomotives on Roads Bill. MORTGAGE DEBENTURES BILL. This bill was referred to a select committee. The Drainage and Improvement of Lands Acts (Ireland) Amendment Bill, the Drainage and Improvement of Lands (Ireland) Provisional Order Confirmation (No. 2) Bill, and the Land Debentures Bill were read a second time. The House adjourned at a quarter past seven o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS—LAsT EVENING. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a third time and passed : —Aboyne and Braemar Railway ; Great Northern and Leeds, Bradford, and Halifax Junction Railway Amalgamation ; Great Northern and West Yorkshire Railways Amalgamation ; Haddon and Bentley Road ; North British Railway (Carlisle Citadsl Station Branch) ; North Staffordshire Railway; Severn Junction Railway ; and Spilsby and Firsby Railway. NEW WRITS. On the motion of Mr. BRAND, a new writ was ordered to issue for Coventry, in the room of the late Sir Joseph Paxton. On the motion of Mr. WALDRON, a new writ was or dered to issue for Liskeard, in the room of Mr. B. Osborne, resigned. THE ZOLLVEREIN. Mr. HUBBURD gave notice that on going into commit tee of supply 'lie should call the attention of the house to the treaty with the Zollveroin. POOR-LAW BOARD. Mr. A. MILLS asked what was the course intended to be pursued with respect to this bill. Viscount ENFIELD said his hon. friend the President of the Poor-law Board was to ask the house to go into committee pro forma, in order to introduce certain amend ments, to have the bill reprinted, and to go on with the discussion on•llonclay next. THE INDIAN BUDGET. Mr. J. B. SMITH asked the Secretary of Stat© for India - whether it was his intention to continue in future tho practice of bringing forward the Indian budget a few days before the close of the session, as heretofore; and, if not, what arrangements ho had made for making up the Indian financial accounts to such a period as would enable him to lay them upon the table of the house on the meeting of Parliament, and to bring forward the Indian budget in the early part of the session instead of at the close. Sir C. WOOD said he could give no further information to the house than that already made known. He hoped to be able to proceed with it either on Thursday or Monday week. Mr. A. MILLS asked whether ther6 was any intention of proposing a loan for India. Sir C. WOOD said there was no such intention. (Hear, hear.) Mr. AYTOUN hoped the right hon. baronet did not in tend tpproceed with his Indian financial statement without laying the accounts on the table. Sir C. WOOD said the accounts had been on the table for the last month. He hoped to have them printed and in the hands of members before he made his statement. STAGE CARRIAGE DUTY. Mr. J. WHITE asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention had been directed to the figures in the stage carriages, &e., return (No. 309), just presented to that house, particularly at pages 2 and 3, which showed that the recent Act, 26 and 27 Vie., had afforded no relief from the grievous amount of mileage duties imposed on road convey ances carrying passengers at separate fares, in London and other large towns, in competition with railway trains and untaxed steamboats; and whether, as the population of large towns use to a very great extent stage carriages or omnibuses, his consideration was given to the justice of extending the provisions of the act 26 and 27 Vic. to every description of vehicle. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that with respect to the latter part of the question he had no in tention at present of extending the provisions of the act re ferredto. With respect to the other part he could only refer the hon. member to certain observations he made when bring ing forward hisfinancial statement that itwas desirable that the taxes on locomotion should be considered with a view to their reduction. The pressing claims of the articles he had dealt with this year prevented him taking any steps in the matter at that particular period, and it appeared to him now too late to propose any measure for the purpose this session. THE SILVER COINAGE. Mr. EIVART asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in the event of the contemplated issue of a new silver coinage, it was intended to adopt the proportion of nine-tenths fine and one-tenth alloy,in conformity with the usage of most European countries, and the recommenda tion of the International Statistical Congress? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he was not in a position to give any information on the subject. The Master of the Mint, he believed, held certain opinions on the subject, but he bad not yet made any communica tion to the Government on the matter. ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS. Colonel GREITILLE asked the President of the Board of Trade if he was prepared to take any steps with a view to prevent the doors of railway carriages being locked in future ; and, if his attention had been called to the addi tional_r peril incurred by passengers travelling on railways o the objectionable practice adopted on many lines of fixing a bar across the centre of the windows of railway c arriages, whereby the egress of passengers in case of acci le_r. ntsur_aS effectu a lly preven t e d ? M. GIBBON said some years ago a circular was sent to all the r ailwaycompanies by the Board of Trade, shortly after anaccident had occurred in France which bee n unfortunately had attended with loss of life, stating that it was unadvisable that both doors of railway car riages should be l oc k ed, and t all the ra il wa y s h e b e li eve d adopted the recommendation, and one door was always left open. In the accident o th r a s t had occurred on the Great doors Western Railway, b o th of some of-th e carr i ages had been found locked, but was infonned that arose quite from an accident. Some he of the carriages had been added to the train by means of the turntable, the train started the doors had nut been unlocked and b e f ore believed this arose from the fact th at the ke u y n w lo a, c c i :c e l d. oped p He by the attendant b e t ween the carri ages and the platform just as the train was starting. As a rule, however, he be- lieved one door was alwa y s left unlocked. W ith respect to the bar across the window, he believed that was reeam_ mended by the Board of Trade to prevent persons, on lines where tunnels were numerous, from meeting with acci dents from looking out of the windows. THE CHARITY COMMISSION. Mr..FERRAND asked whether the office of one of the inspectors of the Charity Commissioners, lately held by Mr. J. Simonds deceased, was about to be filled up. Mr. BRUCE replied the Commissioners were unable to dispense with the services of any of their staff. Mr. Good, a barrister of 10 years' standing, had been:appointed to the vacant post, and he had no doubt he would very effi ciently fulfil its duties. THE ANGLO-AUSTRIAN COMMISSION. Mr. BAINES asked whether there was any truth in the rumour that the Anglo• Austrian Commission had entirely failed ? Mr. LAYARD said there was not the , lightest truth in the rumour ; it was altogether without foundation. On the contrary, he believed the negotiations were very much improved. (Hear, hear.) The matter had been adjourned for the two months that the residents there might avail themselves of recreation in the country during the hot weather. The commission would meet again in Septem ber, and he hoped with every prospect of success. (Hear, hear.) RAILWAY ACCIDENTS. Mr. D. GRIFFITH, recurring to the question answered by the President of the Board of Trade, asked how it was that the door which was left unlocked was invariably un dermost when an accident occurred ? Mr. M. GIBSON said he believed it was always the practice to leave the offside door open. Mr. D. GRIFFITH should like to know why that door was selected. He thought some precaution might be taken to remedy the calamity such accidents caused. He should like to know if the hon. member would take some steps in the matter. Mr. M. GIBSON told the hon. member that, as it was impossible to ascertain on which side the carriage would fall in case of accident (hear, hear, and laughter), he could not give him a promise of interfering in the matter. MALT DUTY BILL. On the motion for the going into committee on this bill, Mr. CAIRD said he quite approved of the bill, as it would remove a grievance under which the growers of barley had long laboured. He held that any impediment to the cultivation of barley growing was most injurious to British agriculture. The hon. member then went on to prove that barley was the least exhausting of all the crops at the disposal of the farmer, and that its more extended cultivation must have a material effect in checking the rise in the price of butcher's meat. The growers of malt did not ask for any protection, or any system of encourage ment of any kind ; but they did ask that no exceptional tax should be laid upon the article they produced. (Hear, hear.) It was true that barley had risen in price more than any other description of corn, but he contended that it would rise still higher if it were not hampered by the tax imposed upon it. In each succeeding year it was be coming more and more difficult to obtain a sufficient supply of milk, but he might remark that beer had been found an excellent substitute for milk. He was anxious to impress upon the right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Ex chequer the great advantage that would result from the removal of any impediments which the malt tax might MUM to the cultivation of barley in this country, and he hoped that whenever in future the right hon. gentleman might have a surplus at his disposal, he would give this tax his most attentive consideration. (Hear, hear.) Sir F. KELLY expressed his satisfaction that a gen tleman so eminently qualified to deal with this question, as the last speaker undoubtedly was, had turned his attention to the effect which the malt tax had upon the price of meat through the feeding of cattle. All who had any practical experience of the subject were perfectly satisfied that it was one bearing directly upon the in terests of the•entire community, and more especially of the poor, many of whom at the present time only tasted butcher's meat once or twice a week. He hoped the at tention of Parliament would be so drawn to the fact that this was in reality a labourer's question rather than one affecting the upper classes. Whenever the Chancellor of the Exchequer would grant him a committee on this sub ject, he would pledge himself to show to demonstration, that while the revenue derived from' the malt duties was five Jr six millions, the sum paid by the consumers of beer was one third of the entire price. Thus, assuming the price of the beer drunk in the three kingdoms to amount to £60,000,000, he would demonstrate that £20,000,000 per annum was paid by the consumer for the £5,000,000 or £6,000,000 of duty which passed into the exchequer. He hoped that at the ensuing election hon. gentlemen who stood forward as the protectors and advocates of the in terests of the labouring classes would candidly place this subject before them, and explain to them that one-third of the price paid for the only article of luxury they indulged in was levied in the form of a tax which was inconsistent with the principles of free trade, opposed to their own interests, and totally destructive to the principles of taxa tion upon which the House of Commons had acted during the last twenty years. (Hear, hear.) Mr. PUGH said that last year they had had a Malt-for- Cattle Bill, and he had hoped that this yearn Malt-for-Man Bill would be intoduced, or, in other words, a Malt-for- Home Consumption Bill. ,In country districts it was still a common practice for labourers to brew their own ale, and they objected to the intervention of penal legislation. In every age and country it had been held to be the inalien able birthright of the tiller of the soil to gather its fruits free from the visits of the tax collector, and without even the intervention of the tradesman. "Dapibus mensas onerabat inemptis." (Laughter.) The poet was never weary of painting the amiable picture : " Quod si pudica mulier in partem juvet Domurn aique dulces liberos Sacrum et Netustis extruat lignis locum Lassi sub adventum viri : Et horna dulci vina promens delis Dapes inemptas apparet." (Loud Laughter.) He could not shut his eyes to the fact that the malt tax pressed rather exceptionally upon the agriculturist, and he had hoped it would have been re served to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to remove some part of this auoiraily, for he believed it was the ambition of the right lion. gentleman to be the finance Minister, not of a party, but of the whole country, and his ardent admirers would willingly have seen him reviving old sym pathies and old amities, and effecting a reconciliation with his former friends, who once adored him with so much devotion. That opportunity, however, had for the moment been either omitted or foregone. The financial harvest was passed, the financial summer was ended, and they, the farmers, were not saved. Invidisse Deos, patris ut redditus aris Conjugium optatum, et pulchram Calydona videret ! (Loud laughter.) But he would not despair of him yet, for ho hoped the day would come when the right hon. gentle man would do something which would send a thrill of satisfaction and exultation through the honest and manly . hearts of the agricultural constituencies of the empire. (Hear, hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought the speech of his hon. and learned friend bore the marks of the most careful abstinence from the imputation of hostile motives and the most liberal appreciation of any attempt which had been made to mitigate the pressure of the _malt tax. In the case of the Malt Feeding Bill the hon. and learned gentleman attributed the limited operation of that measure to the cumbrous restrictions of the Excise and the disparaging report of an officer of the Government ; but he apprehended that neither the maltsters nor any other class were made of such materials as to be prevented from pur suing a profitable trade by a disparaging report. With respect to the statement that the cumbrous restrictions of the Excise had interfered with the operation of the bill, he could assert that not one single person conversant with the working of the bill had expressed any such opinion. On the contrary, he had in his possession letters from cer tain gentlemen, testifying, from their practical experience, that the restrictions of the Excise had not impeded the operation of the bill. The hon. and learned member had stated that the challenge he had thrown out had not been accepted. He could not admit the truth cf that proposi tion ; but he might remind the hon. and learned gentle man of a challenge which he had made. The hon. and learned gentleman had stated that the malt tax, which only brought £6,000,000 to the revenue, cost the con sumers £20,000,000. With regard to the challenge, he forgot that the Government offered him all the facilities of proof he required by the renewal of the committee which had sat upon the subject ; but,the non-renewal of that com mittee was owing to the circumstance that the hon. and learned gentleman did not do what the committee recom mended—move for its re-appointment. He would now re mind the hon. and learned member of a challenge he had thrown out. The hon. and learned member had stated that the sum laid out by the people of this country on beer amounted to £60,000,000. What a deplorably depressed trade that must be in which Englishmen were forbidden to invest more than 60 millions !—whilst, according to the best estimate that could be formed, the outlay for all other purposes, physical, material, political, moral, social, intel lectual, and spiritual, was 600 millions ; so that a full tithe of the whole expenditure of the country found its way to that oppressed article. The hon. and learned member said the present Government was formed upon the principle of supporting the malt tax ; and that he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had asserted that the repeal of the malt tax would be the death warrant of indirect taxation. What h• did say was that the repeal of the malt tax, without the imposition of another tax on beer, would be the death war rant of- indirect taxation. It was as far as possible from the truth that the Government were responsible for the maintenance of the malt tax. Taxes wore imposed to meet the expenses of the country, and those were the true oppo nents of taxation who endeavoured to promote the econo mical expenditure of the public money, and that wise legis lation which enlarged the public means. He need not dwell upon the interesting speech of the hon. member (Mr. Pugh) with all the refreshing recollections which it revived. of those happy periods when their rural and domestic images were more fa►ailiar to their minds than at present. The hon. gentleman laid down the principle that beer should not only be untaxed, but unbought. He must have meant that the beer should be taken from the stores of the brewer without payment, or that, by means of some agrarian law, the land should be so distributed that every man should be able to grow his own portion of barley. But he did not think this pleasing vision of the hon. member would be realised. The challenge which he gave to the hon. and learned member was this, that if ho was so anxious for the reduction of the malt tax, he might have set about it in the present year. Why did he not set up his plant. against the proposal of the Government for the reduc aino(ut learned the rne d income member ta h x a a d n n d o t t h d e t n e e a s duty t ? was ß u v t ain a S t t o h hon.expect that the people of England could o believe in the . earnest ness of the advocates of the malt tax when did not pit it against the proposals of the Government. Mr. PUGH wished to explain that he had not hinted at SUN, LO agrarian laws. All he wanted was that the farmer should have unbought beer—unbought, because home-brewed. Mr. BARROW wished to defend himself from the re proach thrown by the right hon. gentleman upon the advo cates of the malt tax. He for one did not wish for the re duction of the income tax and the tea duty in competition with the malt duty. Mr. BASS thought the right hon. gentleman went too far in stating that the repeal of the malt duty would be the death warrant of indirect taxation, because the reduction of one-half that duty had only been asked for. He wished to direct the attention of the right hon. gentleman to the mode in which the malt tax was levied, and to the fact that in one instance, within the last six months, £3,500 was paid to the revenue more than could be legally collected. All that was intended to be obtained by law was the amount of duty on dry barley when put into steep. Mr. GRIFFITH was willing to give the Chandellor of the Exchequer credit for all the financial measures he had proposed in the present year ; but he hoped that on a future occasion he would give effect to the mos timportant admis sion he had made, that it was possible to solve the question of the repeal of the malt tax by substituting a tax on beer. Mr. HENLEY protested against the taunt cast by the right hon. gentleman upon those who supported the repeal of the malt tax He considered the observations of the right hon. gentleman uncalled for, and not calculated to promote the amicable spirit in which the business of the house ought to be conducted. Mr. MALINS said he represented a borough in which there was a great diversity of opinion with regard to the malt duty. What occured to him was that, inasmuch as no one expected the reduction of the tea duty, while a large body in the country desired the repeal or the reduc tion of the malt duty, the Chancellor of the Exchequer would have exercised a sounder discretion if he had ap plied a portion of his surplus to the reduction of the malt t ax instead of the tea duty. He hoped, therefore, that next session, if the right hon. gentleman retained his post and had a surplus, he would give malt the primary claim, and adopt the principle of the resolution of the hon. and learned gentleman below (Sir F. Belly.) The house then went into committee on the bill, and clauses to 6 inclusive were agreed to. On clause 7, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that, as this was the material clause of the bill, he would state what the practical operation of the bill would be. It was well understood that the aim and intention of the measure was, as far as possible, to apportion the weight of the malt tax in every instance to the real malting value of the bar ley. There were many qualities of barley which gave it value for malting purposes, which he feared the bill would not touch ; such as colour, texture of the skin, friable qua lity of the farina, and other matters which went to deter mine the price. Those must remain as they were, but there was one great quality which ran through all barley, which was of immense importance to determine its value, other things being equal—he meant weight. So far as weight was concerned, what the bill aimed at, and what he hoped it in a gloat degree would effect, was to place light barley upon a fair and equitable footing, so far as the tax was con cerned with heavy barley. The important point in the clause was making the pivot weight of barley 531bs. He had ascertained from the best authorities what were really to be considered aslight barleys, and what was the weight that ought to be taken as marking the point of division between those and heavy barleys for malting purposes. The defect which he aimed at curing in the operation of the present law was a defect incident to the fact that the malt duty was charged by measure. The problem of the maltster was therefore to get out of a given measure of barley as much virtual power as he could. In order to do that, he looked to the quality of the barley. The better the' barley was, the more extract it gave for a given bulk. The bulk of malted barleys did not differ in any great degree, but the amount and value of the extract differed very greatly, though it was subject to nearly the same tax. He believed that to a certain limited extent the better barley did give a greater bulk of malt than the light. It was that quality in the value of this malting product of barley that ho sought to deal with in the bill. If they took two parcels of barley equal in all other respects, but differing in weight, when these parcels were malted the difference in bulk would be very small, but the difference in value would be very great. The lighter barley would give a malt of very much less value than the heavier bar ley. Consequently he wished to put the holder of the lighter barley on a footing on which he should be less sub ject to the disadvantages of the operation of the present law, and more on an equality with the holder of the best malting barleys. The mode of effecting that object was as follows :—He took the standard weight of barley at 531 b., and ho would show the operation of that standard or pivot weight in relation to light barleys used for malting. He' would take a light barley weighing 501 b. A quarter of that malt he would suppose put into steep. The process would then go on precisely in the same way as at present, the only alteration being that the top of the cistern would have to be covered in such a way that, though the process of steep ing could be watched, the barley could not be changed for a heavier barley. It was gauged then as it is now, before it quitted the cistern to be put upon the couch, and also after it was put into the couch. That was the period when it was supposed to have attained the maximum swell or increase of bulk. Suppose in the present case that the in crease was from 8 bushels to 10 bushels. Then a process was applied for the purpose of rectifying that increase, which was said to be insufficient, of allowing 18k per cent. That allowance, which was reckoned to two places of deci mals, would reduce the 10 bushels to 815 bushels. But in practice the second place of decimals was struck off, so that the bulk would be made 815 bushels. That was the operation as the law now stood, and that parcel of barley would be charged for the malt duty as 81 bushels. By the operation of the present bill what would be done was, that 81 bushels would be multiplied by the weight per bushel of the barley, and divided by the standard weight of 531bs. The operation in this case would be-84 multi plied by 50 and divided by 53 would be equal to 7.6 bushels. The quotient would represent the amount on which the malt duty would be charged. In this instance, instead of being charged on 84 bushels, or a relief of 6 to 7 per cent., and varying in proportion as the weight of the barley differed more or less from the standard weight. Mr. BARROW thought that it would have been better if the standard weight had been fixed at 541bs. instead Of 531bs. Mr. BASS and the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE QUER both pointed out that this would have the effect of leading to poor foreign barleys being malted and receiving the main portion of the proposed benefit. The remaining clauses were agreed to, and the bill passed through committee. SUGAR DUTIES AND DRAWBACKS BILL. The house went into committee on this bill. On clause 1, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the bill was for the purpose of giving effect to a treaty not yet ratified, and which could not be presented in the usual form by command of her Majesty. This was an attempt to esta blish a practical economy in the sugar duties of four Euro pean countries, which amongst them combined a large por tion of the trade of refining sugar, viz., France, England, Belgium, and Holland. For a length of time it had been a matter of complaint in each of these countries that the legis lation of the 'other countries was so regulated on the draw backs as to operate unfairly upon the refiners. Those in this country particularly had complained of the large bounty that was granted to Holland under the name of a drawback. He believed that in this country the drawbacks were fair, but complaints had been made that they included in them an element of bounty. The French Government desired to arrive at a practical and uniform system. Her Majesty's Government.replied that it would be impossible to enter into a treaty to remove from Parliament the power of raising or lowering the duty on sugar. They were, how ever, content to agree that the relative duties on the article should be so adjusted that all sugars going out of the country should receive back neither more nor less than was paid on them on their coming into the country. They went into an examination of the subject with the French Government, and the result was the treaty that was laid on the table, the effect of which was that elaborate experi ments should be carried on in behalf of the four Powers in common, and subject to the approval of every one of those Powers. It was required that the tax on miledo, or cane juice, which was neither sugar nor molasses, but partook of the composition of both, should be altogether left out, and that this article should be charged the same duty as the lowest class of sugar. Therefore the question was whether was it to the interest of trade to abolish the duty on miledo or not. The Government had no doubt that, under the circumstances, it was expedient to abolish the duty. These, then, were the changes they proposed to make. There was nothing to prevent Parliament taking what steps it thought fit with regard to what was called sugar refined in bond; and with regard to miledo, as it had been represented that some hardship might be inflicted on those who had quantities of that article in preparation. for or on the way to this country, the Government had applied for a relaxation on this part of the operation of the treaty until September next. With these explanations the right hon. gentleman proposed the clause. Mr. C. EWING highly approved of the treaty, but was sorry the Chancellor of the Exchequer could not see his way to avoid altering the duty on cane juice from 6s. 7d. to Bs. 2d. The clause was then agreed to, as was also the remain ing clause, and . the bill passed through committee. COMPTROLLER OF THE EXCHEQUER AND PUBLIC AUDIT BILL. The CHANCELLOR, of the EXCHEQUER explained that the measure provided for uniting the head of the Board of Audit and the Comptrollership of the Exchequer in the same person. The duties of the two offices were certainly varied and important, but could well be discharged by one individual, and the consolidation of the offices would effect a saving to the public of the salary paid to Lord Monteagle, the present controller. It was intended, however, that the noble lord should retire upon a pension of £5OO a year, to which the Government considered he was entitled, by rea son of his being a distinguished civil servant and his long and valuable political services. Lord R. MONTAGU objected to passing a measure for the abolition of an important and ancient office at a moment when they were at the last gasp of a moribund Parliament. To the principle of the bill he was not opposed, but it ought to be carefully considered, and more time and oppor- FRIDAY _EV'ENYiNsti, JUNE 16, .1866. tunity ought to be given to the house for that purpose. The noble lord stated several objections to the bill, and amongst them that it would completely alter the character and functions of the Board of Audit. He also argued from several instances which he cited, that the Comptrollership of the Exchequer was a bona fine and useful check upon the issue by the Treasury of the public money. Being of opinion that it would be better to leave the matter to be dealt with in the new Parliament, he moved as an amendment that the bill be read a second time that day three months. The amendment was seconded by Sir G. BOWYER. Sir F. BARING said ,the contemplated saving was a matter of secondary importance, and that if the proposed consolidation of offices was intended to be permanent and not tentative, he could not give his assent to it. He had objection, however, to the second reading, with a view of going into committee and introducing a provision to make the suggested arrangement a temporary one. Sir S. NORTHCOTE was decidedly in favour of the principle of the bill, and prepared to vote for the second reading. But if the arrangement was to be final it ought to be more fully considered, and a bill should be brought in next session not merely reconstructing the Exchequer, and if - necesssary the Audit-office, but dealing with those ques tions which affect the superintendence of the appropriation of public moneys and which required solution. It would be unfortunate if the bill were rejected, because in the event of a vacancy in the office of comptroller -general without an alteration of the law it would be the duty of Government to appoint a new comptroller. Under these circumstances not only would the gentleman so appointed take a position in volving considerable expense if the office were afterwards abolished, but the house would be sanctioning the continu ance of an office the retention of which was at least doubt ful. He hoped that in committee the Chancellor of the Exchequer would consent to limit the bill to the impending vacancy, and introduce a proviso that any person holding the office should do so subject to such alteration as Parlia ment might hereafter make with regard to salary and duties. After some observations from Sir M. FARQUHAR and Mr. HENLEY, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was not intended to abolish the duties appertaining to the comptrollership. On the contrary, the intention was that all the duties of the Exchequer should continue to be performed precisely as at present until Parliament should have had ample opportunity of considering the larger question. The right hon. gentleman also expressed his willingness to adopt the suggestions made by Sir S. North cote. Upon receiving this assurance Lord R. MONTAGU with drew his amendment, and the bill was read a second time. The Inland Revenue Bill was recommitted, and ordered to be reported, with amendments, to the house. In committee on the Law of Evidence Bill, a proviso moved to clause 1, that no action for breach of promise of marriage should be brought unless there was evidence of promise in writing under the hands of the parties, was agreed to ; but on the motion of Mr. LONGFIELD the whole clause was struck out by 86 to 27. Mr. SELWYN then moved the omission of clause 2, which provides that a husband or wife might be at liberty to give evidence in case of suits for divorce or judicial separation, and after debate this clause, too, was negatived, but without division. Under these circumstances, as the very essence of the measure was destroyed, Sir F. KELLY was determined to withdraw it, and the order was discharged accordingly. The Constabulary Force (Ireland) Bill was read a third time and passed. The adjourned debate, on the motion of Sir R. PEEL, to bring in a bill to continue for a further period the Peace Preservation (Ireland) Act was resumed, and the Irish members delivered a series of short, sharp, and characteris tic speeches with the rapidity of file firing. Mr. HENLEY remarked upon the flippant manner in which the measure had been introduced by the Chief Se cretary for Ireland, who seemed to treat this subject as if it were of no more importance than the simple act of "blowing one's nose." He thought they had better trust for the preservation of peace in Ireland to the operation of the ordinary law of the land. Mr. ROEBUCK reminded the house that when the late Sir R. Peel brought in this measure the Whigs, who now proposed it, made it the ground upon which to drive the right hon. baronet from power. The house having divided, the motion for leave was car ried by 135 to 43. Mr. MONSELL moved the third reading of the Roman Catholic Oath Bill, in a speech in which he laboured to prove that the oath taken by Roman Catholic members was a real and not a speculative grievance. Replying to the ob servations made by Mr. Disraeli in the debate on the second reading, the hon. member was called to order by several members of the Opposition, but the Speaker remained im passive, and permitted him to proceed uninterrupted and unrebuked to the end of the chapter. Mr. WILITESLDE and Mr. NEWDEGATE took part in the short discussion that followed, and the bill was read a third time and passed. The Record of Title (Ireland) Bill was committed. Other bills were also forwarded a stage; and the house was counted out at a quarter to 2 o'clock. ELECTION INTELLIGENCE. -0- BODAIIN. Lord Ranelagh, one of the three Conservative candidates whp offer themselves for the representa tion of Bodmin, addressed a large meeting of the ( electors in the Guildhall on Tuesday evening. lie said he was not one of those old-fashioned cut-and dry Tories, only fit to be stuck in a museum, but an independent man, as liberal as most men, and a great deal more liberal than a great many. He would preserve the Churcl4 and State invulnerable, would support our colonies, and uphold the prin ciple of non-intervention except where the honour of the country was concerned. He would support the principle of extending the suffrage, but not that of lowering it. The ballot he hated. He would vote for any measure which would settle the church rate question to the satisfaction of all parties, but he would never vote for the total abolition of the race. Lord Ranelagh then explained that Mr. Heri tage, with whom he was associated in the Conser vative interest, had been detained in London by pressing business, but would shortly address the electors; and, as for Mr. Locock Webb (the third Conservative candidate), he had never consulted the whipper-in he orthe Conservative party, Ranelagh) and Mr. Heritage an e .came forward under the auspices of th e C ar lt on Club they knew nothingof Mr. Webb's ca n did a t ure . the (Lerd leaders ßa of Mr. Webb had refused to settle the matter amicably, and therefore they were determined to fight him to the last. The meeting broke up in a somewhat disorderly manner, without expressing any opinion on the merits of Lord Ranelagh. The two Liberal members (the Hon. Leveson Gower and Mr. Wyld) are expected here next week. Their seats arc considered safe. BOSTON. In response to an invitation from a small section of the Liberal party, Mr. Sergeant Pulling, of the Inner Temple, addressed a crowded meeting of electors and non-electors at the Town-hall on Tuesday even ing. He avowed himself an ardent reformer, an ad vocate of religious liberty and freedom of commerce, an opponent of church-rates, and opposed to ' the ballot. A resolution to the effect that he was a fit And proper person to represent the borough in Par liament was carried by an immense majority, and he expressed himself willing to proceed with his can vass and do battle to the last, provided a requisition, started at a private meeting the previous evening, was signed by a sufficient number of electors to war rant his doing so. On Wednesday, at the solicitation of another section of the Liberals, Mr. Thos. Parry, chairman of the Boston, Sleaford, and Nottingham Railway, issued an address announcing himself a candidate in the Liberal interest. The supportors of Mr. Staniland, however, do not appear to be at all uneasy, and speak of his re-election as being but little less than a certainty. that the result of the first contest must determine - whether Liberalism or Toryism shall be represented on behalf of Coventry in the next Parliament. There can be no doubt of the fact that the popular voice is no longer with Mr. Treherne, The present member. Mr. Mason Jones is universally regarded as the people's candidate, and as such all classes of Liberals are now favourably disposed towards him. The Tories are busily engaged in making a canvass on behalf of Mr. H. W. Eaton, who, it is expected, will arrive here to-night, and who, like Mr. Tre herne, lays his chief claim to popular supriort on the ground of his opposition to the Frencb. Treaty. The anti. Free Trade cry, however, is now finally set at rest, a deputation of weavers to London having just discovered that the Custoni-house au thorities do not make an accurate return of the quantity of ribands imported, now the duty is no longer paid. The returns are based merely on the rough guessing of the Custom-house officials, who are so deceived by the packing in which it is now the fashion to send ribands to the market that they are frequently out in their estimates to the extent of nearly 90 per cent. This fact the weavers' de putation haS now clearly established, and the weavers consequently have at last arrived at the conviction that the treaty is doing them no harm. BRIDGWATER. In The Sun a few days since a paragraph was in serted to the effect that rumours were rife in this town that Col. Tynte, one of the present Liberal members, would not seek re-relection, and it was currently rumoured that an endeavour was being made to bring about a coalition between the Liberal and Conservative parties to insure the return of Mr. Kinglake, one of the present Liberal members, and Mr. Westropp, the unsucccessful Conservative can didate at the last election. This having reached the eye of the hon. member, he has caused bills to be circulated among the constituency, addressed to the electors of Bridgwater, stating that he is no party to the transaction, and that he deems it his duty to inform the electors that he knew nothing whatever of the coalition referred to. COVENTRY. The election of a r e p resen t a t iv e for Coventry, in the room of the late Sir Joseph Paxton, will, it is understood, take place next week. The writ was moved for yesterday (Thursday) evening. Both the Liberal and Tory candidates are exerting themselves most energetically in the cause of the irrespective candidates, the general feeling being HEREFORD. The Conservatives of this city have determined to contest the return of Lieut.-Col. Clifford and Mr. G. Clive, and have brought forward Mr. Baggallay and Capt. Pateshall, the late mayor of this city. Mr. Baggallay issued his address yesterday. He views the measure of Mr. Baines and the principles upon which it is based with great apprehension. To the ballot he is entirely opposed. He is not in favour of the unconditional abolition of church rates, but would cordially support any well-matured scheme for settling the difficulty on an equitable basis. He thinks there is room for judicious retrenchment in the public service, but he desires to maintain the army and navy in a high state of efficiency. Capt. Pateshall addressed the constituents last evening, and Mr. Baggallay will address them to-day. LANCASTER. On Wednesday evening Mr. E. Lawrence, the Conservative candidate, addressed a crowded meet ing of the electors in the Palatine-hall. He was most enthusiastically received, and owing to the cheers with which his address was interrupted the proceedings were considerably delayed. He dilated at length upon the topics mentioned in his address, and confessed that he considered that both the home and foreign policy of the Government would be much safer in the hands of Lord Derby than any one else. His address was most heartily received, and the show of hands was decidedly in his favour. A warm con test is expected. MERIONETHSHIRE. At the general election of 1859 it may be remem bered that Mr. Wynne was returned after a short contest, gained by 31 only. Mr. Wynne has now retired, and it is sought to transfer the county to his son, Mr. W. R. M. Wynne ; but Mr. Williams, the previous Liberal candidate, is again in the field, and in his address says : " If I am sent to the House of Commons my constant en deavour shall be to attend to the local requirements of the county, an _t to uphold those political principles the main tenance of which has so pre-eminently distinguished Lord Palmerston's administration." His supporters are sanguine of success ; a very spirited contest will take place. NORTH RIDING. The signature of a letter under this heading, given in our columns on Saturday, should have been E. S. Cayley, not G. J. Cayley. Mr. G. J. Cayley is a brother of Mr. E. S. Cayley, and is standing, as was stated in our election intelligence of Staturday, for Scarborough. SHREWSBURY. Mr. Tomline has issued an address announcing himself a candidate in the forthcoming election. He says : " I do not doubt that the new Parliament will continue this career of extended freedom and advancement ; and if, by your favour, I have a seat there, I will gladly take my share in relieving labouring men from burdens which still press upon them, and which, in my opinion, a sincere and earnest Government will be able to diminish. Non-inter ference with foreign nations is now admitted to be the rule of our conduct, and I am glad of it, not only as a guarantee of peace, and of that good will between nations which is among the best fruits of peace, but as giving us time and opportunity to examine more closely the admi nistration of our own affairs. In a commercial nation like this, our financial system ought to be a model of perspicuity, completeness, and accuracy. This is far from the case. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has himself said that there is no sufficient audit of the national accounts, and a late inquiry before a committee of the House of Lords has proved to every man of business the necessity of administrative reform. This reform comes home to every class, almost to every man. Financial reform depends upon it, and the reduction to our excessive taxation. The majority of you whom I am addressing are able men, well versed in figures ; how many of you have the time and the inclination to Master our complex and mysterious system of finance ? and yet there is no aphorism more true than in matters of account, if sufficient information be not given to men to enable them to be critics, there is a great chance of their becoming victims. To my mind administrative reform is the great question of the day." ST. ANDREW'S BURGHS. Mr. Ellice, M.P., has issued an address to the electors of the St. Andrew's burghs, again soliciting their suffrages. Having been obliged last year to leave the country to recruit his health, he considered it right to place his seat at their disposal, and he thanks the electors for the handsome manner in which they asked him to continue in it. His politi cal opinions are the same as they were when first he came before them. Upon the important subject of Parliamentary Reform he desires to reserve to him self, as hitherto, full discretion with regard to any particular measures that • may be proposed. But no measure will, in his opinion, be satisfactory which, while providing for an alteration of the franchise, does not also comprehend a thorough re vision of our present electoral system. THE WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE. No candidate has yet been publicly announced, but there are well-grounded rumours that Sir F. Cross ley and Lord F. C. Cavendish, son of the Duke of Devonshire, will be the candidates in the Liberal interest for the Northern Division, and that Sir J. W. Ramsden will be a candidate in the same in terest for the Southern Division. Nothing is pub licly known as to what the Conservatives intend to do. Several names have been mentioned as likely to be the Conservative candidates, but in the pre sent state of affairs it is unnecessary to say more about them than that they include Mr. Montagu, Mr. Stanhope, and Mr. Christopher Denison. It is believed that the Conservative interest is much stronger, relatively to the Liberal, in the Southern than in the Northern Division, and that in the former they would have a fair chance of returning one member, if not two. FATAL PLEASURE -BOAT ACCIDENT IN THE RIVER. —THREE LIVES LOST.—Yesterday afternoon, Mr. C. J. Carttar, the coroner for West Kent, held an inquiry at Erith respecting a sad accident which befel a small yacht called the Caroline, by which three lives were lost off Pur fleet. It appeared that early on the morning of Sunday week two highly respectable young men, named Burt and Loftaine, bankers' clerks, accompanied by another young man of the name of Ernsten, a shoemaker, left Charlton in the Caroline yacht, and proseeded for a sail down the river. The weather was rather stormy, half a gale blowing. On passing - Erith they were noticed to be baling water out of the boat. -They had got down of Purfleet, when it would seem that a gust of wind and a heavy sea caught the boat and capsized her. A sailing barge happened to be passing near the spot, and seeing the vessel sinking, and some per son clinging to the sail which was on the surface of the water, Hawley, the master of the barge, at once put off and saved the young man Burt, who, however, was nearly dead from exhaustion; but his two companions, Loftaine and Ernsten, coAld not bo seen, and they bad perished. Burt was removed to the residence of his parents in London, but he never recovered from the effects of the immersion and the shock which his system had sustained, and he also died a few days ago. It was stated that Ernsten had charge of the boat; and, although lie was a shoemaker by trade, he had a great knowledge of the water. Burt and Loftaine were part owners, with two other persons, of the yacht, and it was denied that it was leaky. The body of Loftaine was found off Grays, and that of Ernsten at Erith. The Coroner briefly remarked upon the melancholy nature of the case, and in the absence of evidence as to the way the yacht went over, the only survivor having since died, ho suggested an open verdict. The jury found that the de ceased were found drowned in the Thames. 1 ON, SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.—The adversaries of the malt duty are evidently men whom economical logic cannot silence nor hostile majorities terrify. The Chancellor of the. Exchequer may demonstrate their fallacies, their following in the House of Commons may prove a scanty one when the time of trial comes ; but when ever the subject turns up there they are full of courage and hopefulness, and ready to meet one set of statistics by another, which to the ordinary eye looks equally cogent and persuasive. Such faith in their cause may have some effect on public opinion. One of the chief controversial arguments of the Roman Church is to point to the thorough convic tion and the unhesitating zeal which mark its mem bers. When men are constantly asserting them selves to be in the right there is a natural tendency to believe them. The faith of the barley grower is that he is an injured individual, that he alone is disregarded at a time when every class and every trade is receiving an alleviation of its burdens, and that this exclusion from common jus Lice arises from the supremacy of a party which is linked with the manufacturing and commercial classes, and has a secret pleasure in spiting agriculturists. This feel ing Mr. Gladstone has not succeeded in conjuring away by his bill for charging his duty according to the weight of the grain. In fact, this measure, with its elaborate provisions and precautions, may not improbably seem to the malcontents as another proof of the unjustifiable restrictions .under which the growers of barley labour. The debate last nightwas but a repetition of former ones • the griev ances of those who produce th e raw material of the chief drink of Englishmen, and the injustice and im policy of subjecting that drink to taxation in its pri mitive instead of its artificial form, made the staple of the discussion, as they will probably of many more before the question is settled. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was cold as usual, almost defiant, but his adversaries did not the less make their usual pertinacious appeal, and though the question is at an end for the present Parliament, it is pretty certain to revive with renewed vigour in the next. Sir F. Kelly and his friends must, however, be much aided by good fortune if they are to make any change in this matter. With the learned member's statistics we shall not attempt to grapple ; that may be left to the select committee, which Mr. Gladstone says may be appointed whenever Sir F. Kelly asks for it. If the extraordinary assertion be true that beer drinkers pay £20,000,000 out of the £60,000,000 which is the cost of their beer, and only from five to six millions of this go into the Exchequer, it will certainly be a serious argument in favour of new legislation. But as yet there has not been the slightest proof advanced that the impost is so absurdly levied and so ruinously unproductive. On the contrary, the opinion of those who have watched the operation of the duty is that, whatever com plaints the farmers may have to make of it, the Exchequer has none ; for it is a large, steady source of revenue, obtained without unnecessary trouble. The • arguments of Mr. Caird are more worthy of notice because they place the matter in a 'com paratively new light, and call attention to questions which are likely to be more important every year. Mr. Caird reasons, in effect, that the agriculture of England is changing, and is likely to change • still further. One consequence of this change is that the cultivation of barley will become more profit able to the farmer, and ought therefore to be encouraged, or at any rate not impeded by financial restrictions. This country will soon con sist only of a great number of cities, each of them with a tract of moderate extent to feed it. Every part of the island will be to a certain extent suburban.. The natural result of this will be to turn the attention of the farmer to the production of meat, while the chief cereal on which man lives— namely, wheat—will more and more be imported from abroad, where it can be produced of better quality and at a cheaper rate than here. Now, barley, according to Mr. Caird, would adapt itself to this altered state of things better than any other crop. "He maintained that it would be an im mense advantage to British agriculturists and to the increased production of meat, dairy produce, and wool, if barley could to a large extent be substituted for wheat." " Barley," again observes Mr. Caird, "is the wine crop of the country." For sucla. rea sons as these he would support the opponents of the duty in asking for an abolition or a considerable diminution of it. The great question whether there ought to be a malt tax at all quite overshadows the details of such a bill as went through committee last night. Mr. Gladstone addressed himself to the former subject, and was very hard on Sir F. Kelly for not fighting a bolder battle and pitting the lowering of the malt tax against the lowering of the income tax. " That," said the Chancellor of the Exchequer triumphantly, " Was-the question which the hon. and learned gentleman had never answered." This is scarcely fair, for after the house had given its opinion at an earlier period of the session, it would have been a useless act, and one almost verging on the unconstitutional, to have made a direct opposi tion to the budget. Mr. Gladstone was happier when he declared that the taxes of the country were maintained to meet the expenditure of the country, and, furthermore, accepted the statement that the repeal of the malt tax without the imposition of Some corresponding tax on beer would be the death blow of indirect taxation, and would disturb all the relations of the financial system. This, indeed, brings us to the chief and the only question—is beer to be taxed ? and if it is, can there be a better way of taxing it than is provided by the present malt duty ? With respect to the first question there can, we think, be little doubt. To raise a large part of the revenue •by an excise on intoxicating drinks is one of the best approved financial institu tions of this country. Scotland and Ireland drink whisky ; our lower classes in town drink, unhappily, a good deal of gin • and both whisky and gin are heavily taxed, and their distillation en cumbered with many regulations. The most fana tical beer-worshipper will hardly deny that while the other parts of the United Kingdom pay so much to the Exchequer on the national drink, there should be some corresponding impost in England. It only remains, then, to consider whether there can be a better beer tax than the present malt tax. Of this opponents of the latter have failed to convince the House. No doubt there are inconveniences and restrictions connected with the levying of the tax. These are inherent in the nature of our Excise, and all that can be done is to alleviate them as much as possible by such measures as that which was dis cussed last night. We fear that Sir F. Kelly and his supporters must be content to wait for a sub stantial diminution of their burdens until the pro gress of the country allows a general relief to the consumer. As long as money must be had Parlia ment is not likely to give up a valuable source of revenue, even though the opponents of the tax are able to make out a plausible case of hardship.. PosT.—The curious imitation of the English House of Lords which exists at Berlin has just pro posed the introduction of a measure which appears so absolutely suicidal that it is difficult to believe that it could have found favour in the eyes of any assembly claiming to represent a nation, and pos sessing the privilege of declaring the national will. When in the early part of 1850 Frederick William IV. addressed himself to the task of framing a con stitution for his subjects, he designed a Parliament composed of two Chambers, one of which he termed the " Herren-haus" or House of Lords, and the other the " Abgeordneten-haus," or House of Commons. As the royal ordinance prescribing the constitution of the Upper Chamber was considerably modified by a decree issued four years later, it may suffice to say that according to the provisions of the latter edict, that Chamber is composed of princes of the royal family, the heads of the mediatised princely houses, recog nised by the Congress of Vienna, the chiefs of the territorial nobility created by the King, a number of life peers, some eight noblemen elected by the landowners to represent respectively the eight pro vinces into which Prussia is divided, the represen tatives of the universities, the burgomasters of towns with a population exceeding fifty thousand souls, and'an unlimited number of members appointed by . the Sovereign for life or for a limited period. Be tween an assembly thus constituted and the English House of Peers it is needless to say there is no similitude except in name, and to ascribe to it that representative character which, as one of the Houses of Parliament it claims, is clearly to misapply most grossly the term " representative." A Chamber composed of an hereditary nobility absolutely inde pendent of the Crown, but at the same time linked with the people by the closest ties, may with justice claim to have at heart the interests of the nation, and to be no less strenuous a guardian of popular rights than if its members held their seats by virtue of the votes of their fellow-citizens. The eldest son of an English duke is simply a commoner, and may as such, and not unfrequently does, fill a place in the Commons' House of Parliament. But the " Herrenhaus " at Berlin is an assembly composed for the most part of the nominees of the Crown, and, judging by the course it has adopted during the present reign, appears to exercise no other function than that of endorsing Ministerial pro posals, whatever they may be. It is with the Cham ber of Deputies alone that the Crown has been at issue during the past three years, the attitude of the Upper House having been as subservient as the most exacting monarch could have desired. Within the last few days the " Herren-haus" has, however, in its anxiety to manifest its attachment to the Crown, and its contempt for those who compose the other Chamber, adopted a step for which it would, we think, be impossible to discover a parallel in the annals of Parliamentary history. The enjoyment of privilege of s p eec h, an d the •„ - . most absolute immunity for any expressions used 1 1 debate, is so a b so l u t e l y essential, that a nations; assembly which did not possess these rights could never properly discharge the functions of a Parb a : ment. This is so obvious, and has been so sally . recognised, that we do not believe there exist s in the world a single instance of Parliamentary g e j nation vernment in which the members of the assembly are not privileged to use whatever lap, guage they may think proper in discussing those matters which come under their notice in then' for public . capacity, without being made amenable p , their conduct . to any other tribunal than the assembly of which they are members. Such, at all eve ll . ll ', was the view taken by the framers of the Prussian Constitution ; and according to its terms it is esPeer ci▪ ally provided that the members of neither Chara b the univ . er can . . be called to account for their votes, or : he opinions to which they may give expressio, e language they may employ. A rule so wholesanni, as this, one would naturally imagine that the In. e to hers of either Chamber would be the last to wish see abrogated, and that, if an attempt to rescind e . were made at all, it would be strenuously fi le si▪ sted. But, however strange it may sound , jo s . Upper Chamber of the Prussian Parliament to just affirmed by a large majority a proposal h, make members of both H ouses li a ble to Pu nis is ment, on citation befo r e th e pu bli c tribe for calumnies uttered, or other act i ona ble e te ) ' , pressions employed, y in the course of d eba of Count Bismark, who, with several membe rs 40 ,1 the Cabinet, was present, offered to the pr°P ° ' what we cannot help thinking was a feigned opP% si▪ tion, and the Upper House no doubt felt th at was performing a duty well pleasing to b o t h; Sovereign and his Ministers when it thus gan ef c an offered to lay its liberties at their feet. There c' es be no doubt that this extraordinary step has b e es , .taken in consequence of the recent dispute ° , c „,c, sioned between Count Bismark and Herr VireP - t he by some rather strong language employed by of latter in the heat of debate and of the fai lure • the Prime Minister to obtain persona l satisfaction from the Deputy. Herr Virchow very proper refused m to accept Count Bisark's challenge, ',1,0 insisted on his right, as a representative of people, to speak in their name without being In personally amenable for the l an guage which the chose .. to employ. Faili ng t o o bt a i n redress, 1 , 5 .Minister has probably found s ome t rus ty suppor t . e in the Upper Chamber who, by way of expressi n i f e their sympathy, have formally declared tha t .; i i plebeian deputy deserves to be cited before a e l se tribunal, and severely punished for calumniatog r i ; , great and so good a man as Herr von Bisnl'se The occasion, however, which has called forth er loyal a demonstration on the part of the VPP s , House, furnishes perhaps the most conclusive a r go ment which could be offered against the adoptlthe of its views. If it would be in the power of the Crown Prosecutor to indict every member o f or Opposition who called in question the aceurn e J the the truthfulness of Ministerial statements, tly leaders of the Liberal party would be conga : 3 . 0 , 1 0 engaged in defending themselves against veY- .3 ;, 1 0 . prosecutions.. But the suggestion of the " o ,, e . r— D ly ham" is so manifestly absurd that it is puerile to discuss it. That it should ever have '.' n " adopted by a number of educated gentlemen ~/ -0 . • country . which at all events claims to possess_ ai a.`74 stitutional government is sufficiently surf is The truth, however, is that it is intended as a upon the • Lower Chamber ; and considered i n light it bodes ill for the long continuance of Far a , mentary government in Prussia, at least in its, p i. sent form. The antagonism between the two vu' ro . bers is no less great than that between the Got so ment and the Lower House ; and it is neeclt a id say that the deputies will not give way. We 5 .,%' - iaP not be surprised if at no distant period the F i rL -- s io people should, through their representatives , o t upon themselves the duty of remodelling the ID anomalous of European constitutions. COUNTRY MARKETS T MANCHE TER--HuRsDAY. rA cle t With a continuance of S most brilliant weather, . --- . t oo ll . during the week has ru l e d qu i e t f or a ll ar ticles, a v change in value. English wheat in moderate suPMAell held for full prices. N o c h ange i n f ore i gn . Flou r ios fer. slowly at previous prices. Oats and oatmeal the turn Beans and Indian corn both firm. MBIRMINGHA. o' During the present week wheat has been—THURSDAY firm ly he bf r, fully previous currency. No transactions reported ittoit ley, beans, or peas, while some reduction has been jo ted to on oats. At this day's market there vats 3 i, g icag short supply of wheat from the farmers, and Engltixer. the turn in favour of. the sellers. but not q uotably Barley, oats, beans, and peas sold in retail at late ra te d, 39o Currencies :—English wheat, white, 43s to 4 7 s ; re to 44s per 36 stone. Malting barley, 30s to 35s • grin pet 7 cIA s 22s to 25s per qr. Oats, 24s to 30s ; Irish, 21s to 4 ' . 30 stone. Beaus, 42s to 45s ; and peas, 40s to 42s pet 4 BURY ST. EDMUND'S—WEDNESDAY. 01, The supply of wheat at this market to-day was tad and last week's prices were fully maintained. A fair 'we. was doing in grinding barley, without alteration in 0 Oats, beans, and peas maintained late rates.. Talavera wheat, 44s to 498; red ditto, 37s to 40s; 0' 30s to 325; secondary ditto, 27s to 29s per qr. 9 1 Averages : Wheat, 1,123 qrs., 398 7d ; barlen qrs., 29s 10d; oats, qrs., —s Od. BRISTOL—THURSDAY. ti le The weather continues remarkably fine and dry , a nd oar hay harvest is in full progress in this district. s or market this afternoon the supply of English wheat v , '" re oeo ceedingly small, and met a quick sale at fully -last edue prices. Foreign little demand, and to effect sales a i .l . o ,itea tion had to be submitted to. Grinding barley i n ' 3 0,11 0, request, but not lower. Oats maintain their value. peas, and maize as last reported. EDINBURGH—WEDNESDAY. Average prices. Wheat, 39510 d I Oats, 24s 4d Barley, 27s 6d Beans, 40s 8d Wheat on the top, 1s 6d up average, Os 2cl 1113. 1113 . Barley on the top, is Od up Oats on the top, is Od downaverage, 5 d 17,,• Beans on the top, is Od up average, is average, 05da 1 0 is Total supply and sales. so ld 8 73 Wheat B7B qrs 3 8 Barley 157 qrs sold 1-2 Oats 1469 qrs sold 8868 Beans 95 qrs sold 0P ,,, . Town-made flour sells as follows :—White, 36s O'A ' ' superfine, 34s 6d; superfine, 33s Od ; fine, 31s 6d. _„,--:---- GLAbuu yv —WEDNESDAY. a goor This day's market was well attended. Wheat ° no d% met a limited inquiry ; prices un a lt ere d. Barlei, ; o r dian corn unvaried ; fine oats steady, secondary 6 uf o ur• lbs cheaper ; beans, peas, and oatmeal in buyer's f," Foreign Mail Packet List. Autihralia and New Zealand, via Southampton ig. Ditto, via Marseilles Jun e 4 Brazil and Cape Verds. by British pao et Ditto, by French packet ............ Jun; 0. Cape of Good Live, Ascension, and St Helena.• • • /U n ti e IS' g China, Penang. and Sin , ip ,re, via Sou hampton.•Jt " e Jo Ditto, via Marseilles Falkland Islands ,1021 e Gibraltar, via Southampton. June',l P e 13 , India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southamoton.•• . Ditto, via Marseilles JO° 6 - g India (B mbay), via Southampton. . Ditto, via ‘,arseilles r ) Mauritius, via Southampton July ti. Ditto, via Marseil e~.. Newfoundland ..................... 4. -.llf Portugal •••• •• Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon: . ' ' United states and British North America, by Bri" ja B ls ti tish packet.. .•••••• Ditto, by United States packet, via Southamr ton -j .. ••••• Ditto, via Cork • ne 1 . ,. , Ditto, by Canadian packet, via LondoncierrY•,A ll yf , West Ccast of Africa, Madeira, and Ttneriffe • • I " 7 West Indies and Pacific (except Baha,..as, Cuba. y e 1 3 * and Mexico ................. ....... .. e 29 Bahamas, via New 1 ork. ' - 6 .1019 - S Bermuda, ditto Cuba And Als:xico '' I•IL t• .1 I ••II • I 1 =Mb I • I•I M. Births. FIELD.—On the 13th inst., at Woolwich, the wile -f v• „ff Col. Geo. Field, R.A., of a son. HORNEIL—On the 14th inst., at Walthamsto lf t S. Homer, of a son. k. MATHESON.—On the 14th inst., at Blackheath - P ar-- the wife of the Rev. Charles Matheson, of a BOVIP' t" the PoTT.—On the 14th inst., at West Wickham , wife of Henry Pott, Esq., of a son. Marriages COBBOLD—KEY.—On the 14th inst., at CuddingtollviChstliocY; Bucks, Henry Chevalier Cobbold, Esq., a 8, 1 , ' ",„,a,5 1.1te place, Tavistock-square, to Charlotte seco nd of .R. G. Key, Esq. HOPKINS — HENSLEY.—On the 14th lust , Cab o t I' inst., colnshire, Thomas Hopkins, Esq., of Grea .04. Grange, to Mary Sophia, second daughter o f the Hensley, vicar of Cabourne. Deaths. BEANLANDS.—On the 14th inst. Ben Ben* 'II B eaulallcls' jam of 4, Raymond's-buildings, aray's-inn. f 26°1 COMFORT.—On the 14th inst., Mr. John Comfort, ° Upper-street, Islington, agd 55. CONNERY.—On the 12th inst., at Thomas-street, ~ chapel-road, Mr. John Connery, aged 58. FENTON.—On the 14th inst., suddenly, Mr. Francl° Fenton, of 63, St. James's-street, age d 63. . c Lee' LEE.—On the 12th inst., at Kil b urn -park, Fre uell ° ll' Esq., aged 56. ale/ NEALE.—On the 12th inst., at Reading, John. Ni A 10 ° citor, aged 65. STORAIL—On the 14th inst., Thomas Storer, -r-Al Chambers, late of Montpelier-Place , Of ' s ' 2, London : Printed and Published by WIL A N V „,I O 1. of No. il2, Strand, Pinter, at Tx.-,SUN (Ace , toy 0 Strand, in the Precinct o f the Kai.y, in th e Co. Middlesex. —Friday, June 16, 180. Brghton. t 4 Conne Capita to 1) and appl 23 r d lut e Per a n Paid- u knout WILT nel A 4 Jalvfn ,aolont tsim J ohn I „. * Arat ul m. tan' Jas. Cl ho gi 1 1. Chi - Co n , 00h,Indi Peter Alfred 31, ssr Po t 4 Dro r t} ie °E ova Vi lies an, 1 Ae , 1, kri soy 6. Pol