The Sun. — London, England, 1848-02-07 00:00:00

1; IT i .1' i, 0 11 j ' 1 It ,s! , 6 1 a i 1 i i 4 . i 1 S . i i 1 1 I 1 ! It II t 1 I i ( 1 i 1 .; r i 1 I i i I, f I 14 i A i .... I r i 1 1 Vtirti entittion SUN OFFICE, &vex o' Clock. TATTERSALL'S—THIS EVENILoNG. Six o'Ccx. LIVERPOOL STEEPLECHASE. 15 to 1 agst Wolverhampton 15 to 1 agst Brunette 20 to 1 agat Curate 20 to 1 apt Sir Arthur 25 to 1 agst any other NEWMARKET STEEI'LECIIASE. 4 to 1 on the field 5 to 1 agst Profligate METROPOLITAN HANDICAP. 15 to 1 agst Jericho. 20 to 1 agst Marquis of Conyngham. 20 to 1 agst Alboni. CHESTER CUP. 20 to 1 agst Blaze 20 to 1 agst Cracow 33 to 1 agst lieleshe 33 to 1 agst Jonathan :30 to 1 ag-it. War Eagle 40 to I agst Clumsy 40 to 1 agst Queen Mary 40 to 1 ag,st Rufus 50 to 1 ag , t Enchanter 50 to 1 agg Maid of my S( ul 50 to 1 a2st Lady Wild Air 50 to 1 agst Newcom4 50 to 1 agst Pantomime DERBY . 9 to 1 agst Surplice. 12 to 1 agst Glendower. 20 to 1 agst Springy Jack. 26 to 1 agst Nil Desperandum. 30 to 1 agst Cervus. 50 to 1 agst The Sheriff (t). 50 to 1 agst Swiss Boy (0. EXCHEQUER.—(THIS DAY.) (Sittings in Banco.) WEALS V. KING. This was an action tried before Mr. Baron Parke, at Hertford, in which the plaintiff sought to recover damages on the ground that the defendant had sold to him 500 store sheep which turned out to be un sound. Upon the trial of the cause the jury returned a ♦erdict for the plaintiff, on the ground that they were of opinion that there was an implied warranty of their soundness. A rule was obtained a short time since by Mr. Chambers on the ground of the verdict being a per verse one and against evidence. Mr. Sergeant SHER now showed cause against the rule, on the ground that it was the custom to sell store sheep with an implied warranty of their sound ness. The defendant had also been written to by the solicitor of the plaintiff, charging him with a breach of the warranty, and the defendant had not denied that there was a warranty of soundness in the sale of the sheep. Mr. Baron PARKE said, that he certainly did not think the jury ought to have found any such verdict as they had stone. They acted, no doubt, under the belief that it was a fair and proper thing for the plaintiff to obtain the verdict. He was of opinion that the rule ought to be made absolute, with costs to abide the event. Rule absolute. (Sittings at Nisi Prius, before the Loan CHIEF BARON and Special Juries.) THE ATTORNEY • GENERAL V. CROSSLEY. This was an information against the defendant, a soap manufacturer, at Whltechapel, to recover penal ties for cutting and removing soap within the time specified by Act of Parliament. The case was in Fart heard on Saturday. Mr. MAUTIN, on the part of the defendants, now contended that it was absolutely impossible for the defendant to have removed the soap without the knowledge of the Excise officers who had charge of the premises, and called several witnesses to prove the course of proceedings in the manufacture of soap, from which it appeared to be the duty of the Excise officers to examine the state of all the soap on the premises every four hours, and enter the result of their examinations in books kept for the purpose. Upon the officer leaving the premises at night, it was usual for him to place a lock upon the coppers in which the material of the soap was boiled, which it would be impossible for any person to open without the knowledge of the officer. Several of the Excise officers who were present when the soap was cut down gtve it as their opinion that the soap was as solid as that article usually was at the expiration of the period allowed by law, but they th:Jught that it was some degrees warmer. IMPERIAL PA liI4IAM r.NT. (THIS EVENING.) HOUSE OF LORDS. The Lonn CHANCELLOR toi k his seat upon the 'Woolsack shortly la fore Five o'clock. The Bil,hop of INIANCHFSTER took Cie oaths and his seat. llis Lordship was introduced by the Bishops of London and Worcester. JEII .1811. DISABILITIES. The BishoP of 1 ONDON presented a petition again,t the Je , ,viAli Emancipation Bill. Lord KENYON presented several petitions to the same effect. OT)D FELLOWS. Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition from the society of Odd Fe,lows, praying that they might be recognised as a legal society, so as to be entitled to all the privileges accorded to other societies under the Benefit Societies' Act. NAVIGATION LAWS: The Earl of EGLINTOUN presented a petition against any a'teration in the navigation laws. JEW ISI I EMANCIPATION. Earl FITZ WIL LIAM presented a petition from the Mayor and Corporation of Doncaster in favour of the Jewish Emancipation Bill. TOBAGO. Viscount CANNING presented a petition from the planters of Tobago, praying their Lordships to adopt measures to relieve the distress prevalent in that island, consequent upon the general depreciation of West India property, and specially in consequence of the recent destruction of property in that island by the late hurricane. DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ROME. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE rose for the propose of making use of tle privilege, which he possessed - as a member of their Lordships' House to authorise the Government to enter into diplomatic relations »i h the Court of Rerme. He should give notice that he ve,,uld move that the Bill should be read a second time on Friday. Lord STANLEY considered it extremely desir able that diplomatic relations should exist between the Sovereigns of this country and of Rome as temporal princes ; but, considering that the sovereign of Ronne claimed &minion as a spiritual prince, he thought that several matters worthy of grave consi deration would arise, and, therefore, he thought that longer time ought to be given to the country to consider the subject a an the time that would elapse betwern Monday and Friday. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE would consider the subject, which, howover, could not have come unexpectedly upon the House, and he would to-morrow state whether he could postpone the second reading. The Duke of RICH 110 N I) thought that, consider ing it would be impassible for the inhabitants of Scot land or Ireland to know the day fixed for the second reading of the Bill before thitt day should have passed by, he thought that a longer period should have been fixed for the second reading of the Bill. Earl FITZWILLIAM. considered the measure as one entirely of diplomacy, and he could not conceive how the religious privileges of the peop le of England (he would not say the prejudi ces o f a few of the m ) c ould be violated by the Court of E ng l an d enteri ng into diplomatic relations with Italian States . The Earl of EGIANTON trusted th a t i n justice to the people of Scotland, who co uld not be informe d of the introduction of this Bill into the House, that the second reading would be delayed. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE replied. •.1 The Bill was then read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on Ft wEsT INDIA DISIRESS. Lord STANLEY then rose for the purp ose al Trelawny, in Jamaica,' I presenting a petition from praying their Lordships to adopt measures for the' I relief of the distress at present .existsi.nogeinntetrh.eedsuignator producing colonies, and in doing the whole question of West Indian grievances. His Lordship said that if the House were determined ; h had been pur sue d to persevere in the policy wh ic h towards those colonies, it would be better at once to pronounce their sentence, and to consign them to utter ruin, rather than, by the inc onsistent legislat io n which they had of late been pursuing , to protract their agony , which must end in ruin. The present state of the 'West Indies was entirely the consequence of legislatioi, and when they were struggling with the difficulties which bad been imposed upon them by the highest motives, wh en th ey h a d near l y overco me these diffi culties, a sudden and to them an unexp e cted change of policy h a d p l unge d t h em into ruin, anfor that they , demanded c om p ensat i on f rom Parliament. He entirely went with the petitioners on this point. The de plorable condition of the e colon iw as too well known to the House to rend er it necessary s for him to enter into any details on the subject. (The Nobl e L or d then proceeded to read various 'returns, sho wing _ a the I o utlay Of two West India estates, stating es tate last year the expenses had been t h a t 10,0001., and one and the rental 9 , 5121 .; and on the other the outlay had been 8 , 40 71, and th e returns 8,1701. only.) The consequence was, that it was impossible to get the ad vance o f a single penny upon mortgage on estates in Jamaica, Demerara, or Trinidad. He must go back to the history a the past. He Would admit. that the face of 20,000,0001., made by the nation on the abolition of slavery, was a great and glorious, great, and unheard-of sacrifice. But it was not equal to the amount of property sacrificed, and it was by no means an adequate compensation to the West Indian proprietors for the property they had sacrificed. It had been originally proposed to accompany a grant of 15,000,0001. by a period of twelve years of modified slavery, for such he would now admit to the Noble Earl opposite the apprenticeship was in reality. He was still of opinion that it would have been politic to have made the negro contribute something towards the purchase of his freedom, and that the period of apprenticeship should have been twelve years, but the House of Commons determined otherwise; and Farliament determined that 20,000,0001. should be granted, and that the apprenticeship should be for seven years instead of twelve. But Parliament afterwards deter mined that the apprenticeship should terminate at the end of five instead of at the end of seven years, thus depriving the planter of two years' labour, which was • part of his compensati^n. Then with regard to the protecting duties which had since been removed. At the time of the debates on the emancipation it had been argued, that although the production of sugar might be diminished in consequence of the abolition of slavery, yet as the Indian colonists possessed the monopoly of the British market of sugar the increase in price would never compensate them for the dimi• nution of quantity. Before the emancipation, the British Colonies possessed, in effect, n o monopoly, because they not only supplied all England, but the greater part of the Continent of Europe. Before emancipation, without any monopoly price, they were enabled to supply all the United Kingdom, and to export their surplus produce to the Continent. During the years of apprenticeship the surplus became a deficiency, and After the abolition of the apprenticeship, the supply has constantly fallen off. Under the last years of slavery the average annual supply of sugar for the British West Indian colonies was 3,700,0001b5.; during the apprenticeship it fell to 3,400,0001b5., and since the abolition of apprenticeship it had fallen to the annual average of 2,450,0001b5. The cost of producing this last quantity had been much greater than under former circumstances. During slevery the cost of the production of sugar was 4s. 3d. per cwt. ; during the apprenticeship, Is. 6d. per cwt. ; up to 1843, 16s. 11d. per cwt.; and since that period, 21s. 9d. per cwt., and of this amount 13s. 4d. found its way into the pocket of the negro labourer. Since 1833 Legislation had placed obstructions and difficulties in the way of the sugar planter, and for those obstructions and those difficulties he was entitled, in justice, .to some compen sation from the Legislature. The Legislature had deprived him of the right of employing slaves and they therefore demand to be entitled to some protection against those who employed slave labour. in 1840, when sugar was at an increase price, it was proposed to admit slave labour sugar at a low duty ; this was proposed by a Minister of the Crown. It was opposed, the Minister was defeated, Parliament was dissolved, and a new Parliament was elected, the majority of which were pledged to protect colonial free labour sugar against slavelabour sugar. Such being the case, could the \Vest Indians be blamed for acting on • the faith of that decision, and investing their capital in pro moting the me-labour cultivation of sugar in the West Indies, yet in spite of all this they had passed a measure in 1846, which was, he would not hesitate to say, it was a bounty upon the slave trade, and yet they wasted lives and money in bloodshed in Africa to put down the slave trade, while they were by the Act of 1846 encouraging a bounty to Cuba and the Brazils. Then, with regard to India, the quantity of sugar imported from that country in 1824 was only 134,0001h5., but in 1846 it had increased to 1,'390,0001b5.; and what was the amount of our ex ports of manufactured goods to India ? In 1834 it amounted in value to 1,574,0001, and in 1846-7 it amouated to 4,240,0001. Surely those who had uged the Goverdtneet in the course of free trade should consider these things, and should not rashly deprive the country of such a market. (LEFT SPEAKING.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly before Four o'clock. NEW MEMBERS. Nearly twenty Members took the oaths and their seats, among whom we noticed Sir Charles Burrell, Mr. C. Bruce, the Marquis of Worcester, Viscount Adare, Sir W. W. Wynn, the Lord Advocate, and Mr. J. Denison. PETITION FROM THE CITY IN FAVOUR OF THE JEWISH DISABILITIES BILL. Mr. Sheriff HILL appeared at the bar and presented a petition from the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of London, is favour of the Jewish Disabilities Bill. STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE. On the motion of Sir IVILLIAM. iIEATIICOTE the following Standing Orders Committee was nomi• nated :—Sir William Heathcote, Mr. Ord, Sir Robert Ferguson, Mr. Greene, Mr. Wilson Patten, Sir John Yarde Buller, Mr. Aglionby, Captain Jones, Mr. Home Drummond, Mr. Wrightson, and Mr. Elliot. The HON. MEMBER then proposed the appointment of the following Committee of Selection, which was agreed to :—Sir Robert Ferguson, Mr. Wilson Pat ten, Mr. Sotheron, and Mr. Evelyn Denison. JEWISH DISABILITIES. Petitions in favour of the removal of the civil and religious disabilities of the Jews were presented by the Earl of Arundel and Surrey, from Roman Ca tholic clergymen and others, from Yorkshire; by Mr. Thornely, from Presbyterians of Chester, and the Unitarians of Lancashire ; by Capt. Berkeley, three petitions from Cheltenham, one of them signed by 1,500 persons ; by Mr. Williams, from Macclesfield, Marylebone (signed by 5,000 persons), and various places in Leicestershire ; and by Mr. C. Lushington, from Westminster and Hastings. Petitions against the measure were presented by Sir R. H. Inglis from various places in the counties of Cheshire, Norfolk, Cornwall, King's County (Ire land), Surrey, and Middlesex, and by Sir J. Y. Buller from Exeter. NAVIGATION LAWS. Sir J. Y. BULLER presented a petition,, nume rously signed by the inhabitants of Torbay, against any alteration in the existing Navigation Laws. NATIONAL DEFENCES. Mr. M. MILNES presented a petition from Porn fret, praying the House not to increase their present peace establishment, but to make great reductions therein. NOTICES OF MOTION.-. Mr. GEORGE THOAPSON gave notice of his intention to move on .an early day for a return of the correspondence which had taken place between the Governor• General of India: and the Home Govern ment on the subject of the claims of the late Raja of Setters. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. Mr. lIUME gave notice that, to-morrow, he would move for a return of the amount voted for the ordi nary services of the Cape of Good Hope, during the years 1846 and 1847, and of the nature of the ex penditure of 11,0001. in war services during these two years. WINDOW-TAX. Lord DUNCAN, understanding that the Noble Lord the First Commissioner of WToods and Forests had intimated his intention to bring in a Sanitary Bill, should on an early day renew his motion on the repeal of the window-tax. IRISH RETURNS. Mr. GROGAN moved for certain returns relat• ing to the exportation of horses, cattle, and live stock from Ireland. Mr. REYNOLDS rose to oppose the motion, but was interrupted by The SPEAKER, who called his attention to the fact, that the motion was for a return of the cattle and live stock exported from Ireland during the last year. Mr. REYNOLDS—Oh, I thought it was for re turns connected with the Corporation of Dublin. The return was agreed to. - THE POPE. Sir R. 11. INGLIS gave notice that to-morrow he should ask for leave to present a petition from the Dean and Chapter of Westminster against the usur pation_ of the Bishop of Rome upon the integrity. of the British constitution and liberties of the British People. MONMOUTH ELECTION. t n i i t z i a o n on, ebse entered into to the l Mr. STU ART WORTLEY moved that t h e pe tition of Lord Granville t,te Somerset, as to the recog- C c o o m un m t i y tt o e f e M on onm th o e ut c h h p e e i: tenham Election referredr Sir G. GREY p e tition he could agree with not resist this motion, but Youghal that the petition o onourable Member for for Dublin could legally be referred the Honourable Member e referred to the same Committee. The petition after a short discussion was ordered to be referred to the Committee. - Mr. PACKE presented a petition from certain electors of Leicester, praying to be allowed to a ttend before that Commit tee. The p etition wa s or dered to be printed. DUBLIN ELECTION. Mr. C. ANSTEY moved, pursuant to notice, that the petition of Mr. Reynolds, one of the Members for the city of Dublin, s h o uld be referred to the Com. mittee on the Cheltenham election, notwith standing what had been stated by the Right Hon. Baronet the Secretary of State for the Dome De partment, and he should press his motion, if it was neepilry, to a division. \ pres i s r e, 7i l 9 - REY observed that if the llon. Member motion, the House must decide it; but tie thought 3 e lion. Member did not fully under stand the objection he had to the petition being presented to the Committee. The points were fully discussed before the Examiner, and he held that the person was properly described ; and if the lion. and Learned Gentleman would look at the next section he would find that the decision of the Examiner was final and conclusive against all parties.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. REYNOLDS begged to state that the facts, as they occurred before the Examiner, were precisely as the lion. Member (Mr. C. Anstey) had stated them ; and though personally affected, but not being a lawyer, which circumstance he might have occasion to regret, he wished simply to state, that in raising the objections which he did, he acted under the advice of several eminent lawyers, who stated that in consequence of the misdescription of the recognisance that it was void. He was con tent, however, to leave the matter in the hands of the House.—(Hear.) The Examiner stated to him that if he could prove that the person described as " George Gregan" was commonly described as " George William Grogan," that he should declare his recognisance void. The Examiner advised him to visit Dublin to make inquiries, and having done so, at great expense and inconvenience, he ascer tained that the person known as George William Grogan, but described as " George Grogan," kept his banker's account, voted as a freeman at the last election, and was admitted as a barrister in the former name, and that he Ras never known under any circumstances as " George Grogan" alone. He pressed this before the Examiner, and his solicitor asked Mr. Grogan if his name was George, and he replied that it was not, that it was George William; and on being asked if he was the George Grogan mentioned in the re cognizance, he declined to answer the question. Not withstanding proof of these facts were adduced, the Examiner decided against him, stating, in explana tion, that he had changed his mind. If, however, he was to labour under this legal injustice, he asked the House if it was not time to amend the Act by rendering the decision of the examiner not omnipotent in the future as during the past.— (Hear, hear.) He suggested to his Hon. Friend that he should withdraw his motion. Mr. C. ANSTEY consented to withdraw the mo tion. He wished the House clearly to understand that he simply stated that the petition ought to be referred to the Committee, and that he did not express any opinion on the legal merits of the question. The motion was accordingly withdrawn. RETURN FOR BODMIN. On the motion of Mr. C. ANSTEY, the following motion was agreed to :—That the petition of James Wyld, Esq., M.P., complaining of the recognizances entered into in respect of the petition against the re turn for the borough of Bodmin, be referred to the Committee appointed to inquire into the petition of Sir Willoughby Jones, Bart., M.P., or be otherwise dealt with as the House may deem fit. Mr. BAINES moved that the petition of Edward Richard Littleton, against the retut n for the borough of WaLail, be referred to the Select Committee ap pointed to inquire into the petition of Sir Willoughby Jones.—Motion agreed to. RELIEVING OFFICERS. Mr. P. SCROPE said that he had put a notice upon the paper of his intention to ask the Secretary for Ireland whether any and what legal proceedings have been taken against such boards of guardians or relieving officers as have neglected the duties imposed on them by the Act 10 and 11 Vic., c. 31, of affording due relief to the destitute poor, but as he wished to preface that question by a few remarks, and the House appeared to be very impatient to proceed to the consideration of the Jewish Disabilities Bill, he would postpone his question till to-morrow. WEST GLOUCESTER ELECTION. Mr. G. I3ERKLEY wished to know whether the Home Secretary had duly recevied ten petitions from the inhabitants of West Gloucester with reference to the West Gloucester election ? Sir G. GREY said that he had received them ; but owing to misinadvertence the receipt of the petitions hail not been acknowledgE d. IRISH. DESTITUTION. Mr. SCULLY, in the absence of Mr. O'Connell, wished to ask whether, considering the enormous and every day growing increase of destitution in many parts of Ireland ; the nearly total want of tnea►ns among her small formers and agricultural labourers to purchase food and maintain their families ; and the inability of the poor-law to support the over whelming pauperism of the country, the Government had not some measure ready for the providing of relief by means of food or employment; and thus for preventing the wholesale wasting and destruction of human life among the poorer classes of Ireland. Sir G. GREY complained of the inconvenience attending upon putting questions of this nature, involving considerations of the whole question of the state and condition of Ireland, at so short a notice.— (Hear, hear.) He would, however, state, for the satisfaction of the Hon. Momber, that the Govern ment were not prepared to bring in any measure for the commeneeni9nt or resumption of the public works in Ireland, neither were they prepared to propose any measure to feed the whole of the destitute poor of that country. At the same time he would state that a great deal had been already done in aid of the poor-law guardians by the British Relief Association in relieving cases of extreme and urgent distress, this assistance had been given in the shape of food and clothing to the children attending the various schools of Ireland without regard to their sect or religious persuasion. From a return which had just been made to him, he found that in the week ending the 21st ult. 2,136 children attending 118 diffigrent schools, had been afforded relief by the association. The total number of rations of food supplied to the children had amounted to 650,000, which had been dis tributed to between 94 and 95,000 distressed persons. In justice to the Irish people, however, he must take that opportunity of stating that the collection of poor-rates during the last three months of 1847 far exceeded the collection of any former period. The total collection of these montbs amounted to 441,780, as compared with 105,0001. for the same period of the preceding year. JEWISH DISABILITIES BILL. On the motion for reading the order of the day for the second readingof the Bill for Jewish Disabilities, Lord J. RUSSELL presented a petition in favour of the measure, signed by 280 members of the British bar. Lord ROBERT GROSVENOR, Mr. DRUMMOND, and several other Honourable Members, presented peti tions against the Bill. Lord Duncan, Mr. Cockburn, Sir Charles Burrell, Mr. Baynes, and Mr. William Brown, presented a large number of petitions in favour of the Bill. Mr. LAW presented petitions from places in Suffolk and Norfolk against the Bill. Mr. MITCHELL presented petitions from Brid pert, Wolverhampton, Enfield, and several other places, in favour of the Bill. Sir H. VERNEY presented petitions from Bed ford to the same effect. Dr. BO WRING presented similar petitions from Bolton, signed by 3,000 persons; from Newington.. green, and other places. Mr.-WARD presented similar petitions from the aldermen and burgesses of Sheffield and other places. Mr. SIMEON presented a petition from thirty• one clergymen of the Isle of Wight against the Bill. Lord GEORGE MANNERS presented similar petitions from Fifeshire. Colonel TIIOMPSON presented a petition from Bungay in favour of the Bill. Mr. GIBSON CRAIG presented a similar petition from Edinburgh, signed by 4,000 persons. Lord D. STUART presented similar petitions from the select vestry of Marylebone and Kentish.town. Mr. J. WALTER presented a similar petition from the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of Not tingham. Mr. KERSIIAW presented a number of petitions from Stockport. Mr. FOX presented a number of petitions from Oldham and other places. Mr. HODGE presented similar petitions from Tunbridge Wells, Gravesend, and other places in the county of Keut. Mr. MUNTZ presented a petition from the Jews of Birmingham in favour of the Bill; also another signed by 4,000 of the inhabitants of tho town to the same effect. Mr. STRUTT presented a petition to the same effect from Derby. An Hos. Mumma-presented a petition from Barn staple against. Lord G. BENTINCK presented petitions from King's Lynn, Canterbury, and other places, in favour. An Hos. MEMBER presented a petition from a place in Wilts against. Mr. BOLLING presented a petition from the parish of Bolton to the same effect. Mr. BRIGHT presented several petitions in favour. Mr. COWAN presented several petitions from Edinburgh to the same effect. Mr. COBDEN presented similar petitions from Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Bridgewater, and Caer narvon. Mr. PEARSON presented a similar petition from the borough of Lambeth, signed by 2,879 persons. An Hos. MEMBER presented a petitson from Wigan against. Mr. HEYWOOD presented three petitions in favour. Mr. HUME presented four petitions to the same effect, one of which was from Boston in Lincolnshire, and another from Arbroath. Mr. TUFFNELL presen t e d a p e tition in favour. Mr. REYNOLDS presen t e d a pet iti on , s i gne d by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and upwards of three thousand inhabitants, to the same effect; also one from the Loyal National Repeal Association, signed by the chairman , _on behalf of the members, wlaoee number =wonted to 1,000,000. Mr. LAW said he apprehended that the petition could not be received otherwise than as the petition of the chairman. It was a mere figure of speech to say that he represented all the members.—(Laughter.) The petition was, however, received. Mr. M. GIBSON presented a petition from the Catholics of Blanchester to the same effect. Petitions against the Bill were also presented by Lord Brooke, signed by 1,600 persons of Warwick ; by Mr. Henley, from Oxford; from Mr. Pluintrce, from various places in Kent ; by Sir W. Joliffe, from Somerset'; by Lord H. Lennox, by Mr. Spooner from Belfer, by Mr. Newdegate from several places in the county of Warwick, by Mr. Bankes from the clergy of Dorsetshire, by Mr. Floyer, by Mr. B. Cabbell. Petitions in favour of the measure were presented by Mr. Sharman Crawferd ,fer Rochdale, signed by 2786 ; by George Thompson ; by Mr. Cowper, from Hertford; Sir \V, Clay, from the Tower Hamlets, by Mr. Aglionby, from Carlisle, by the Attorney-General from Cheater, by Mr. Rice from Dover, Mr. B. Osborne from Finsbury, signed by 2,080 persons, by the Earl of Lincoln from the Falkirk Burghs, by Lord Palmerston from the majority of monikers of the Senate of the University of Cambridge. Mr. GOULBURN stated that he had himself re ceived a petition from the University of Cambridge against the Bill, and trusted that the llouse would not consider the petition of the Noble Lord as that of the majority. Lord PALMERSTON, upon referring to the re turn of the rotes in both Mouses, found that his petition was that of the minority, and not of the majority. The discovery of the mistake caused con siderable laughter. (LEFT SITTING.) THE BENCHERS OF THE INNER TEMPLE. ; The " Report of the Proceedings before the Judges" on Mr. Hayward's Appeal has recently been published, and we are glad it has ; for the course pursued by the benchers is one which every right thinking man must unequivocally condemn ; and it seems morally impossible that so palpable an abuse can be maintained much longer, now that its existence is established by documentary evidence of the clearest kind. The essential facts lie within a small compass. Each of the four inns of court is governed by a select body (from twenty-five to fifty) called benchers, who are precisely analogous to the fellows of a college, except that they live less together and have more im portant duties to perform. They possess the exclusive privilege of calling to the bar, and exercise judicial authority in all cases of discipline or professional honour. The office, therefore, is strictly of a public character ; and the benchers of the two Temples hold the whole of their large property under a grant from the Crown (6 Jac. 1) in trust for the profession. The elective power is vested in the body itself; but the custom, time immemorial, has been for every barrister receiving the rank of Queen's counsel or a patent of precedence to be made a hencher of his inn ; and this custom has been the principal means of preserving what still remains of the original character of the institution; for the dis cretionary choice of the body (as shown in the last number of the Law Magazine) has almost always fallen on retired barristers of social habits, or on men of rank and influence who are only nominally con nected with the bar. At Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, and the Middle Temple, the votes are given openly, and the majority decide. At the Inner Temple it was the practice to subject the claimant to a ballot, in which a single black ball excluded; but whatever the origin of this practice, the impropriety of indulging private animosities in the adminiztrat;on of a trust is so obvious, that it had long come to be regarded as a mere form ; and the professional understanding was that it was never to be used arbitrarily. In this state of things Mr. Hayward received his silk gown, and claimed the customary appendage of his rank. He was duly proposed at the Bench of the Inner Temple by Sir George Rose and Sir F. Thesiger, balloted for arid black- balled. Mr. Roe buck told Sir George Rose, before the ballot, that he meant to black-ball Mr. Hayward (a circumstance of which Mr. 11. was not informed till afterwards), and avowed subsequently that he had black-balled him ; alleging a quarrel in 1832 as the ground. As Mr. Roebuck has not attempted to support or even au thenticate his version of this (as Sergeant Talfourd justly characterises it) very trumpery affair, it need not be discussed. It is su ffi cient to say hat the benchers refused to give up their ballot; that Mr. Hayward appealed to the judges as visitors of the Inns ; and that they delivered a judgment, which (after negativing the legal right of Queen's Counsel) concludes thus :—" But they (the judges) all think that the mode of election, by which a single black ball may exclude, is unreasonable ; and they strongly recommend the benchers of the Inner Temple in future to conduct their elections to the bench on some more satisfactory principle." The modified tone of this judgment, compared with the strong remarks made by some of their Lordships during the argument, may be in part accounted for by the fact that five of the eleven judges who signed it had been benchers of this very inn. Still the practice (the cause of all the mischief) was con• demned, and perhaps the judges thought that the henchers would gladly avail themselves of the oppor tunity of getting rid of a dangerous and utterly in defensible anomaly. But the esprit de corps was roused ; and under the influence of feelings which should be uniformly suppressed, they enacted a new by-law, "That in future no one shall be elected to the bench of the Inner Temple unless he obtain the votes of a majority of the existing benchers.' and that four black-balls shall be sufficient to exclude." There are twenty- eight existing benchers, so that fifteen votes must be obtained ; and as fifteen or sixteen is an average attendance, one might still exclude. The majority of those present elect at the other inns, and in all other collegiate or corporate bodies. It is also a recognised principle of law, that when the trust is of a public or general character, the majority of the trustees decide ; and some of the judges intimated a strong opinion that a body like the bench could not legally adopt a different course. The decirion, therefore, is evaded in spirit as well as the letter, and the recommendation is entirely disregarded, for no one pretends to say that there is the slightest differ ence in principle between the new by-law and the old. The spirit by which the body are likely to be actuated in their elections for some time to come may be collected from the tone of their mouthpiece, the late Sir • Charles Wetherall, and his suc cessor, Sir Frederick Thesiger. The latter plainly says (Rep. p. 140) that Lord Mansfield's injunction to public trustees—" to be fair, candid, and unpre judiced, not arbitrary, capricious, or biassed ; much less warped by resentment or personal dislike "—is inapplicable to a body like the bench, who have only their own pleasure to consult; and as to considera tions of fitness, in the very letter to Mr. Hayward in which he justifies the continued exclusion on the ground that it is now necessary to promote the "comfort and harmony" of his colleagues (who have caused the whole mischief by upholding the bad by-law), he says: " When you obtained your silk gown, and the period arrived for considering your call to the bench, having known you for many years, and believing you to be in every respect en titled to admission amongst us, I willingly undertook (I believe unsolicited) the duty of seconding your nomination." Sir F. Thesiger might have gone still further; for it is only hare justice to say that Mr. Hayward's familiarity with foreign systems and gener.ll jurisprudence (shown by his juridical writings) peculiarly qualify him to be a useful mem ber of a body who are (or ought to be) about to co operate in establishing an improved system of legal education and remodelling the faulty constitution of the bar. According to Sir F. Thesiger's doctrine, no wrong of the kind should ever be remedied, and to resist injustice is to justify it. In the middle of one of Sergeant Talfourd's ad mirable speeches, Baron Alderson pointedly inquired whether the same principle of exclusion was to be extended to calls to the bar, or where it was to stop? Where, indeed? Why should not a si milar veto on the appointment of a new colleague be claimed by the members of all public boards (as the Treasury, the Admiralty, the Horse Guards, &c.) ; or by the judges; or by the bishops, who might have been saved the discredit of an open re sponsible opposition to Dr. Hampden, had they been allowed to black-ball him ? But further argument would be wasted on so clear a question ; and the benchers of the Inner Temple must know by this time, that they are discrediting the judges, lowering inns, trifling profession, impairing the stability of all th e trifling away their character as a body, and even bringing their own individual conduct and motives under suspicion, for no earthly purpose but to avoid the acknowledgment of a notorious error, or main tain (luring a brief interval a system which, the . mo ment any one thinks proper to menti on it either House of Parliament, must be put down.—kraminer. SINGULAR ACCIDENT AT TAUNTON. —A singular accident has happened to J. Colt's, Esq., of Taunton. While pulling up his boots he strained the lids of his eyes so much as to break a smell blood vessel, which caused the loss of sight of one eye, and much injured the other. " We learn from Switzerland," says the Univers, " that the Pope's Nuncio has not been recalled, as re ported by several journals. liis holiness has, in consi deration of the state of the Nuncio's health, granted his leave of absence. Mgr. Macioti has been ad interim, and solely on account of the peculiar position of Switzer land, replaced at Lucerne by Mgr. Luquet." Lord Monteagle had an interview on Friday with the Right Hon. E. Strutt. FEB. s.—The Ashley , O stend to London, which went on shore on the Maplin Saud, Ist inst., h as become a total wreck. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. Her Alnjesty's steamer Polyphemus left Gibraltar Bay for Tangiers at 10 A.M., on the 26th of January, towing the ship llerefordshire, bound to Barbadoes, with the 66th Regiment on board. The Peninsular Company's steamer Hindostan ar rived at 8 30 A:M. of the same day, and sailed for Malta and Alexandria with the Indian mails at 2 P.M. The Magellan, 14 guns, five days from Toulon, bound to the river Plate, arrived at Cadiz on the 27th ; she was to sail in a few days with the new French Ministers for Rio La Plata. Her Majesty's ships at Lisbon on the 30th of January were—St. Vincent, Queen, Howe, and Canopus ; Amphion (screw frigate) ; steamers—Ter rible, Dragon, Scourge, and Jackal!; French fri ga t e Psyche, and a steamer; Spanish corvette Venus, and the usual Portuguese squadron. PORTSMOUTH, Fan. 6.—The Excellent gunnery ship, Captain Chada, C. 8., at present hearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Henry Prescott, C. 8., Superin tendent of the Dockyard, completed her complement (700) last week, a circumstance never accomplished before since the Excellent was established, and at no other period have there been so many officers of all ranks, and seaman, on board. When it is considered that most of the Excellent's hands are petty officers, and all must be at least " A.B.'s," the fact of her complement being completed speaks very much for the increasing popularity of the establishment, as she might at any time ha re made up the requisite number of men by taking any sort of volunteers, and by not being particular in the selection. It will be very much against the interest of the service if the comple ment of the gunnery establishment is limited, as there is no doubt that the efficiency of every ship commis sioned would be very much increased by a larger num ber of seamen gunners being sent to them from the Ex cellent than at present, which would not only give them more men fit for captains of guns, but al.o aid them very much in fitting the ship out. The Excellent, of course, could not accommodate many more, nor would there be room enough for them to exercise, but there is no reason why there should not be branch establishments at the ports to the eastward and westward which could receive men belonging to those ports. By increasing the gunnery establish ments the Admiralty would be providing the best foundation for the " national defence." SIR CHARLES NAPIER'S SQUADRON. The arrival of the Jupiter packet at Southampton yesterday puts us in possession of letters from the above squadron. Our last were to the 19th ultimo ; the present are to the 31st : " Jan. 20th.—The Marines were landed from all the ships of the squadron on the south shore fir ex ercise, under the command of Major M'Adam of the Queen, 110. After performing numerous evolutions highly to the satisfaction of the commanding officer, and the gratification of an immense concourse of spec tators, the force returned to their respective ships in the afternoon. The Jackal steam-sloop, Lieutenant Commander George Western, arrived to-day from Oporto, with Mr. Biddlecombe, Master of the St. Vincent, on board, who had been there some days surveying. "22nd.—The Terrible, steam-frigate; Captain Ram say, arrived from Gibraltar with dispatches for the Admiral, but no more tidings of the lost Avenger and her lamented crew. " This morning a court-martial, comprising Cap tains Moresby, of the Canopus (President), Sir James Stirling, of the Howe ; Dacres of the St. Vincer.t ; Hall, of the Dragon ' • and Williams, of the Amphion ; assembled on boar d the Canopus to try Mr. Charles Pyne, Second Lieutenant of Royal Marines serving on board the Queen, on two charges, —first, for disobedience of orders in not landing with the Marines on the 20th as ordered; secondly, for disobedience of orders in refusing to go on shore in charge of the patrole. The Court, having heard the whole of the case in support of the prosecution, founded on the report of Captain Bruce of the Queen, and %hat the prisoner had to allege in defence, de clared, after a sitting of eight hours, the charges fully proved, and adjudged the prisoner to be repri tnanded and placed at the bottom of the list of lieu. tenants for two years, " The weather is intensely cold, and a great deal of influenza prevails in the squadron. The Canopus .has upwards of 80 cases, and the St. Vincent about 120, besides smallpox patients; for I regret to in form you this plague has also broken out amongst us. "26th.—At sunset the squadron unbent sails. "27th and 28th.—The weather is increasing in severity, raining occasionally. Influenza has ex tended itself to nearly every ship of the squadron. lam happy to say, however, the small-pox is de creasing in the flag-ahip. "29th.—The packet has arrived from Gibraltar. "30;11.—The packet sails to-day for England. The weather is something milder, which we expect will reduce the ravages of the influenza. Its mischief has been confined to the men, no fatal cases having occurred among the officers as yet. I hope in my next to give you better accounts. Of course all evo lationizirg is temporarily suspended, we 'shall take a cruise though as soon as possible to refresh the men, &c." The Firefly steam-sloop, Lieutenant-Commander Ponson by, which lett the port on the Ist for the coast of Africa, put into Falmouth from stress of weather on Friday. The Bramble surveying -vessel, Lieutenant Yule, commanding, arrived at Sydney, New South Wales, from Twofold Bay, on the 30th of September. TI e Carysfort, 26, Captain Seymour, is expected at Spithead about the latter end of March next. Letters have been received at this port, stating she had sailed from Valparaiso on the '2l of December, with a freight on merchant's account of '2,000,000 dollars, consigned to Captain Sayer, freight agent and wine merchant of Portsmouth, for lodgment in the Bank - of England. The ordinar3, at this port is reduced two lieutenants —one in the harbour duty, and one on board the ordinary guard ship. The Actaeon, 26, Capt. Manse], came into harbour yesterday morning, to be dismantled and paid off. The Scalark, 10, Commander Monypenny, having been (locked fir five hours, was removed on Friday evening, and went to Spithead; she will sail for Plymouth to he paid advance. 'The Rolla, 10, is docked to be fitted as an exercise and instruction ship. The Champion, 14, Commander Hayes, was brought from her moorings 3 esterday, and into the basin, to be commissioned and fitted for sea. Wind west; moderate breezes, and thick hazy weather, with rain at intervals. WooLwicn, Faa. s.—The ilonkey steam-vessel, William Bryant master, went up the river to Black wall to-day, to tow the Caradoc iron steam-vessel to Woolwich, to be made ready for sea. The Triton steam-vessel, recently brought round from Chatham to Woolwich, being a sister vessel to the Oberon and Antelope steam-vessels, both of which took fire at sea, is to be tried for four or five days in the North Sea before anything further is done to her, to ascertain if she is safe from danger of fire. APPOINTMENTS. ADMIRALTY, Vim. s.—To the Agincourt, William Tapson, acting boatswain. To the Bermuda, William Fuller, clerk's assistant. To the Blenheim, John Ruttray, gunner ; John Griffith, boatswain; John Lane, carpenter;' William Kemish, boatswain, ad vanced to Ist class. To the Caledonia, John B. Dickson, commander. To the Champion, F. A. L. Bullock, lieutenant; John J. W. Roberts, surgeon ; Thomas °miler' master ; John D. M'Crystal, acting assistant surgeon ; H. K. Conquer, purser; Charles Murray, naval cadet ; Henry Small, acting boat swain ; George Bennett, carpenter. To the Havan nah, the Hon. Anthony Ashley, naval cadet. To the Illustrious, J. 11. Callaghan, acting boatswain. To the Lucifer, J. G. Fox, master's assistant. To the Penguin Franklin Fox, master's assistant. To the Queen, Robert Patten, naval cadet. To the Victory, G. E. S. P. Serocold, midshipman ; J. J. Barlow, ditto. To the Wellesley, Edward Barkley, midshipman ; William Cambier, naval cadet. The deputation from the General Shipowners' Society who waited on the Earl of Auckland (First Lord of the Admiralty) on the afternoon of Saturday consisted of Mr. D. Dunbar (chairman), Mr. G. F. Young (deputy chairman), Messrs. W. Tindall, J. Gardiner, A. Ridley, W. Phillips, and W. Bonar (secretary). EXTRAORDINARY EXPLOSION IN WORSIIIP-STREET. —Yesterday forenoon, between eleven and twelve o'clock, great excitement was occasioned in the neighbourhood of the Curtain-road and Worship-street, by an explosion of gas, which took place in the Gas Company's Works situate at the corner of the Curtain-road, and blew the upper windows out of one of the compartments in the yard, at the same time making a noise like the discharge of a piece of ordnance, and shaking the houses in the immediate district to their foundations. The windows in th'ree or four houses in Curtain road were shattered, and two or three panes were demolished in the chapel opposite the factory. The congregation in the latter building were greatly terrified, and made a precipitate retreat into the street. Although several men were in the yard near the spot when the explosion occurred, it is stated that r o not TDR A o n T receivedhe improvementany personal injury. STATE perceptible a few days ago continues a n d strengt h ens, notwith standing the unexpected stoppage of payment by the long established and important firm of Jevons, Sons, and Co.. an event muc h regrette d on a ll hands.etuand and prices (generally) are still more encouraging, and in bona fide transactions of business bills are once more freely discounted. It is now expected that the retail trades will begin shortly to feel the benefit of a brisker circulation of money, which, indeed, is much to be de sired.—Liverpool Mercury. BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, FEB. 4.—The sales of the week have not been extensive, and the supplies have been but limited; prices have been further improved Is. 6d. per cwt., and the deliveries continue satisfactory. —Bristol Mercury, THE RAILWAYS OF FRANCE. (From the Monthly Railway Record for January.) 11-e following statistics of the railways at present open for traffic in France, afford an interesting synopsis of the locomotive facilities enjoyed by our neighbours. The summary hos been compiled with care, and may be useful for reference:— The Saint Etienne I la Loire is of the length of 22 kilometres. Capital, 1,000,000 f., in 200 shares of 5,000 f. each. Date of the concession (direct, in per petuity), February, 1823. Returns no dividend. St. Etienne and Lyons, 58 kilometres in length. Original capital, 10,000,000 f., with a loan of 7,219,000 f., making a total cost of 17,219,000 f., in 2,200 shares of 5,0001. each. An ordonnance, of the 19th of April, 1826, authorised a fresh issue of shares for the increased capital. Date of the concession, in perpetuity, by ad judicatien, March, 1827. Dividend 61 per cent. Andres . eux arid Roanne, 66 kilometres in length. Original capital 6,000,000 f., with 4 000,000 f. advanced by the State, and a loan of 2,ooo,oool.—making a total of 12,000,000 f. The original capital was divided into 12,000 shares of 500 f. each. Date of the ooncession, in perpetuity, by adjudication, Aug., 1828. (No dividend.) Monthrizon and Montbrond, 16 kilometres in length. Capital 175,000 r., in 175 shares of I,ooof, each, with a " subversieri" by the State of 75,000 f.—making the total cost of the line 250,000 f. Date of the concession, by adjudication (99 years), April, 1833. (No dividend.) Grand, Cembe.—Length, 87 kilometeres. Original capital 16,000,000 f., in 16,000 shares of I,ooof. each. An advance by the State of 6,000,000 f., and a further loan of 6,000,000 f.; bringing the total cost of this line to 28,000.0001., which, ;nevertheless, declare a dividend of 71 per cent. Date of the concession, in perpetuity, by adjudication, June, 1833. Paris and Saint Germain.—Length, 20 kilometres. Original capital 9,000,0001., in 18,000 shares of 5001. each, This company has a loan of 10,000,000 f., and received a subvention in money of 1,800,0001. from the State for the atmospheric principle. Total outlay, 21,000,000 f. Divides 10 per cent. Concession, direct (99 years), granted July, 1835. Versailles (Right Bank).—L engt h , 19 kilometres. Original capital cost, 17,000,0 00f. 11,000,0001., with a loan o f 6 , 0 00,000 f. Original capital di v id e d i nto 22,000 shares of 500 f. Divides 2 per cen t. D ate of the coneessior, by adjudication, June, 1836 , f or 99 years. Versailles (Left Bank).—Length, 17 kil ometres. Ori ginal capital 10,000,000 E, with an advan ce b y t h e S tate of 5,000,000 f., and a loan of 1,000,000 f. T ota l cost, Total 16,000.000 f. Original capital divided into 20,000 sharer of 5001. No dividend. Date of concession, by ac!judi cation (99 years), June, 1836. Montpellier and Cette.— Length, 27 kilometres. Ori ginal capital 3,000,0001., in 6,000 shares of 500 f. A loan of 1.300,000 t. brings up the total cost of this line to 4,300,0001. Date of the concession, direct, July, 1836 99 years. No dividend. Bordeaux and la Teste.—Length, 52 kilometres. Original capital 5,000,0001., in 10,000 shares of 500 f. A loan of 1,000,0001. Total cost, 6,000,0001. Date t.t concession, by adjudication (70 years), July, 1837. No dividend. Mulhouse and Thann.—Length, 19 kilometres. Ori • ginal capital 2,600,000 f., in 5 200 shares of 500 f. A loan of 400,000 f. Total cost. 3,000,000 E Date of con cession, direct, July, 1837 (99 years). Dividend of 31 per cent. Strasburg and Bask.—Length, 140 kilometres. Origi nal capital, 29,400,000 f., in 84 000 shares of 350 E An advance by the state of 12,600,000 f., and a loan of 3,000,000 E, increase the total cost of the line to 45,000,000 C Date of concession, direct (99 years) May, 1838. Divides 31 per cent. Paris and Orleans.—Length, 133 kilometres. Ori ginal capital 40.000,000 f., in 80,000 shares of 500 f. A loan of 10,000,000 f. raises the total cost of this line to 50,000,000. Date of the concession, direct (99 years), July, 1838.. Divides 12 per cent. Paris and Houen.—Length, 137 kilometres. Original capital 36,000,0001., in 72,000 shares of 5001. An ad vance by the State of 18,000;000f.—which amount includes the sum of 4 000,000 f. for going through the city of Roues—and a loan of 11,000,000 E, make the total cost of this line amount to 65,000,000 f. The con• cession, direct (99 years), is dated July, _lB4O. The company declares a dividend of 91 per cent. Montpellier and Nismes.—Length, 52 kilometres. Original company's capital 2,000,000 E, in 4,000 shares of 5001. The works executed by the State amounted to 14,500,0001., and the company raised a loan of 900,000 f.; so that the total cost of the line was 17.400,000 f. The concession is of the date of July, 1840, for twelie years. This is a Government worked by the lessees, and divides five per cent. Rouen and Havre.—Length, 95 kilometres. Original capital 20.000,000 f., in 40,000 shares of 5001. This company received an advance in money from the State to the amount of 9,000,000 E, including 1,000,000 r. for the city of Rouen, and raised money to the amount of 30,000,000 f. ; so that the total cost o f the line was 59,000,0001: The concession, direct, is dated June, 1842 (ninety-nine years). Paris and Sceaux.—Length, 11 kilometres. Origins . capital 3,000,000 f., in 6,000 shares of 500 f. A loan of 1,500,000 E brings the total cost of the line to 4,500,0001. Date above ofcc list comprehendscession,d the whole Septemberirect, 0e 1844. 1 The of the lines which are open in their entire length. They are in number 17, and comprise 973 kilometres, or about 608 English miles. These have been completed and opened for traffic, at a cost in round numbers of 363 millions of francs, or about 14,760,0001., being at an average cost of about 21,2761. per mile. Of the total amount of 369,000.0001., the State has contributed 81,000,0001.; of which 25,000,000 f. has been as " subvention," and 56,000,0001: as money advanced. The seventeen com panies furnished original capital to the amount of 202,000,0001., and raised by loan 80,000,0001. From an examination of the share lists, it appears that the shares of five of these companies stand at a gross premium of 100 000,0001., and that the shares of eight of the com panies may be computed at a gross discount of 35,000,000 f. The shares of one of the companies are at par, and those of three others are not in the share lists. The five flowing arc open for traffil only in part: — Avignon and Marseilles.—Length, 120 kilometres. The company's capital is 20,000,000 E in 40,000 shares of 500 f. The State furnishes 42,000,000 E, and the com pany hove borrowed 15,000,0001.; so that the total cost of the line will be 77,000,0001. The concession, direct, was granted in July, 1843 (33 years). Orleans and Bordeaux.—Length, 500 kilometres. Company's capital 65,000,000 E, in 130,000 shares of 3001. The State constructs the line subvention en Ira • vaux) to the extent of 71,000,000 f.; which amount tbiere can be no doubt, will be exceeded—making the total estimated cost of the line 136,f)00,000f. The con eeSAiOn, adjvdication (28 year...), was granted in Oc tober, 1844. Oa the portion of line opened a dividend is declared of 5 per cent. Central of Fr ince, Vierzon, &c.—Length, 252 kilo metres. Comp ivy's capital, 33,000,000 f. in 66,000 shares of 500 f. Works by the Government, 40,000,0001.; making total cost of line 73,000,000 E Date of conces sion, by adjudication (40 years), October, 1544. Boulogne and Amiens.—Length, 125 kilometres. Capita!, 37,000,000 r., in 75,000 shares of 5001. Date of concession, by adjudication (99 years), October, 1844 The Northern of Francr.—Length, 582 kilometres. Capital, 180,000,0001., in 400,000 shares of 5001. Date of concession, by adjudication (38 years), September, 1845. These five lines comprehend an extent of 1,557 kilo metres, or about 923 miles English. More than half of this length of line is open for traffic, and the remainder, with the exception of about 350 kilometres, or 275 miles, of the Bordeaux line, will be open in 1848. The total cost will ;be about 500,000,000 f.; of which the compa nies furnish 335,000,000 f.; the State 111,000,000 f. in works, and 42,000,0001. in money; and the surplus has been raised by loan. The share a of three of the com panies represent, in premium, a profit of 35,000,000 f.; the shares of two arc at a discount of 9 ,000,0001., and th e shares of a fifth are at par. Five remaining lines are in course of construction, and no part of them is open for traffic. These are:— Montereau to Troyes.—Length, 102, kilometres. Capital, 20,000,0001., in 40,000 shares of 5001. Date of concession, by adjutlication (75 years), January, 1845. Tours and Nantes. —Length, 192 kilometres. Com pany's capital 40,000,0001., in 80,000 shares of 500 f. The State furnishes, in works, 28,000,0001.; so that the total cost of the line will be 68,000,000 E Date of the concession, by adjudication (34 years), Nov., 1845. Paris and Strasburg.—Length, 660 kilometres..Com. pany's capital 125,000,0001. Works by the State, 100,200,0001. This suns will not prove sufficient. Date of the concession, by adjudication (44 years), Novem ber, 1845. Dieppe and Fecamp.—Length, 73 kilometres. Capi tal 20,000,0001., in 40,000 shares of 500 f. Date of con cession, direct (97 year)s, November, 1845. Paris and Lyons—Length, 515 kilometres. Capital 200,000,0001., in 400,000 shares of 600 f. Date of con cession, by adjudication (99 years), December, 1845. [ln all probability this company will require a loan of 60,000,000 f. to 80,000,00 01 .] These five companies undertake the construction of 1,542 kilometres, or nearly 914 miles of railway, at :a cost, including the possible loan for the Lyons line, and the additional credit for the Strasburg line, of at least 600 millions of francs, or 24 millions of money. Of this the companies /supply about two•thirds, and the State, one-third in works. Tho shares of all these com panies are at a discount, which, in round numbers, re presents a depreciation of 84 millions of francs, or 3,360,0001. sterling. It is probable that the concessions of 1848 will be but few. There will be the line from St.;Quentin to Maubeuge, the section of the western line from Versailles to Chartres, and the important section of the Southern Railway from Lyons to Avignon. FUDOIL—The word "Fudge" was hardly grave enough for our great lexicographer to notice. It was known, howevar, to our language long before his friend, Goldsmith, made such ample use of it. in his " Vicar of Wakefield;" for Disraeli says that in "Remarks upon the Navy," published in 1700, is the following anecdote: —" There was, in our time, One Fudge, captain of a merchantman, who upon his return from a voyage, how ill so ever his ship was fraught, always brought home his owners a good cargo of falsehoods; so that now, aboard ship, the sailors, when they hear a great false- hood toll, ery out, You fudge it.'"—Poyndez's Literary Eatraets (New Series). AN ECONOMICAL EPITAPIL—Th O IIIaS Thorp having died, the poet of the parish was applied to for an epitaph, and wrote 7— " This corpse Is Tommy Thorp's." But tho s'onecutter, charging f•r the inscription a t so much per letter, the rustic genius was asked if he could not shorten the tribute to Tommy's memory. Snatching up his pen, he dashed off a distich thus— " Thorp's Corpse !" INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGI NEERS.—FEn. 1. (JOSIID k FIELD, Esq., President, in the Chair.) The meeting was numerously attended, and in taking the chair for the first time since his election, the president addressed'the members at considerable length, dwelling chiefly on the intimate connexion between the civil and the mechanical engineers, their dependence upon each other, and the importance o f maintaining that union between the two branches of the profession that had ever been one of the main _ . object; of the institution. He showed that originally engineering was confined to the constructive or ►mechanical branches ; raising heavy weights, building mills, draining mines, and all the primitive wants of mankind; by degrees, as civilisation extended, the exigencies of the world became greater, luxuries were required that could only be supplied by greater ex ercise of talent and skill ; manufactories were multi plied, manual labour could no longer suffice, the ,team-engine was generally employed, and the con sequence of this increase of production was, that the roads required to he amended, rivers and canals .to he cut for carrying this abundance of merchandise and passengers, whilst docks and harbours required extend ing fiar the reception of the shipping for the increasing export trade. These wants called into being another class of men, who, with great me chanical skill, combined more than ordinarr theo retical know!edgo and business habits to enable them to combine and use the power of all other classes. ['hese men were termed civil engineers, in contra. distinction to military engineers, whose education and experience fitted them solely for the art of war ; and by these men Great Britain had been placed first in the list of the civilisers of mankind. Mr. Field, as the first president elected from among the mechanical engineers, dilated, at length, upon the immense strides made within the last century in the production of the mechanic arts and in pub lic works under the combined efforts of the two classes alluded to. He then entered more minutely upon the subject of steam navigation, to which he had principally devoted his personal attention, and gave most interesting details of the subject, ending by apologising for oecupying.so much of the time of the meeting by saying that he • must be permitted to feel more than ordinary pride in being elected the president, when he looked around him and saw that the association of six young engineers, who, in 1818, met occasionally to chat over mechanical subjects, had extended, in the course of twentv-nine years, into a society consisting of upwards of six hundred mem bers, and comprising within it almost all the engineers of eminence in Great Britain. The address was vehemently applauded, and the president was re quested to allow it to be printed in the minutes of proceedings. The discussion was then renewed upon Mr. Ran som's paper on the manufacture of artificial stone. The Rev. Dean of Westminster, Sir Henry De la Beebe, Mr. John Phillips, Dr. Garrod, Mr. Barry, and ether visitors taking part in it with the principal members of the institution. The re marks turned chiefly upon the chemical and physical properties of the material, and the cost of its production in the moulded form as com pared to that of carved stone. In its chemical properties it was shown to be at least equal in purity to the production of nature ; for, on the statements of the eminent chemists who had subjected it to severe tests, it was proved to be totally insoluble in boiling water, however long immersed, and also to be capable of resisting the action of mineral acids. In this respect it differed from glass, which alwa) s yielded a portion of its alkali to the action - - of water. It was further stated that it had per fectly resisted the action of frost, vases filled with water having been repeatedly frozen without their sustaining any injury. The opinion of the meeting appeared to be unanimous as to the useful che mical properties of the artificial stone. Satis factory statements were adduced as to its strength and other physical properties, and some very in teresting remarks were made on the subject, com paring the substance produced artificially with cer tain sandstones found in this country, which, by the action of compression and heat, had attained a degree of hardness equal to quartz. The experiments of hall and Watt on the production of artificial stones were also alluded to as bearing upon the question. Experiments made on the strength of the artificial stone proved it to be superior to those natural stones with which it had been tested—viz., Caen, Bath, York, or Portland stone. Numerous specimens were exhibited to the meeting, showing its universal applicability to constructive and decorative purposes; fractured pieces were shown of every variety of texture, from the porous sandstone to the most compact granite. The price of the mate rial was stated to be such as to render it available for all useful and ornamental purposes. The monthly ballot then took place, when the following gentlemen were duly elected :—M. S co tt, P. M. Crane, T. Cundy, G. Harrison, and C.ll. Wild, as associates. The paper announced to be read at the tweeting of Tuesday, Feb. 8, was " On the Drainage and Sea age of Bristol," by James Green, Member inst. C.E. RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL, Fan. 6. STOCK EXCHANGIL—The Share market has been firmer to-day than, yesterday, and a much smallrr amount of stock sfrnered, tae., for sa le. a fo n l c l as ow h i i n r g o a a r n e d th T e or s k a s le h s ire, sales—Bolton, Block.O Y e s t be Riding Union), 2/. 8/. 9d. dis.—Leeds and Think, 14% die. —London and North-Western, 148—Ditto, Quarters (L. and 13.), 12 p.—Ditto, Quarters, New, 6 1 ,4 p.—Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 74%—Midland, 40/. Shares, 45 —Ditto, New Halves,' c. dis.—North Staffordshire, % c. p.—South-Eastern aod Dover, No. 4,1% dis.—York, Newcastle, and Berwick, (N. and B. Extensions), No. 2, 3 1 4 p.—Dublin and Belfast Junction, 20 1 4 die. MANCHESTER, Fan. 5. STOCK EXCHANGE. —The sales are—Birkenhead, Lanca shire, and Cheshire Junction, 5 7-16 dis.—Bolton, Black burn, &c., No. 1, 10% dis.—Lancashire and Yorkshire (Watt Riding Union), dis.—Manchester, Sheffield. and Lin colnshire, Preference, 1-16 p.—North Staffordshire, p.— South-Eastern and Dever, No. 1,3% c. dis.--Ditto, No. 4, dis. LEEDS, Faa. 5. STOCK EXCHANGE.—Prices continued to advance in the early part of tha week, but they are not maintained to the close, and sellers have been rather more anxious at to-day's market. 'l' e sales are—East Lancashire, New, 3% dis.— Diu., Quarters, 17s. Gd. a dis.— Great Northern, 5 3 4 —Lancashire and Yorkshire (West Riding Union), 416 r. die. —Leeds arid Thirsk, 15% dis.—Ditto, Preference, 295, 6d. die.—North British, Thirds, 2s. p.—Ditto, Quarters, 2s. Gd, dis.—North Staffordshire, 15•. p.—Northern Counties Union, 31. 9i. dis.—York, Newcastle, and Berwick, Ne. '2 (New Berwreks), 314:p. .N.gcc CASTLE-UPON -TYNE, FEB 5. STOCK EXCIIANGS.—The only sale was—Great North ern, 935. YORK, FEB. 4. STOCK; EXCIIANGY..—The pales are— Great Northern, 4% —Lancashire and Yorkshire ( West Riding Union), 375. North British, Thirds, 2 —York, .Newcastle, and Berwick ( late New Berwicks), 131. 3s. 9d. c.—Ditto (G. N. E. Pur chase), 10 1 ;2 c. [ADvERTIsEmENT.]—A very bad Liver and Stomach Complaint cured by Holloway's Pills.—Mr. Robert IVardle, residirg at Ravensworih, near Richmond, had been a very severe sufferer for years from a most obsti nate liver and stomach complaint. Ile rig I a number of medical men, but their medicines affori ed him no re lief. He then had recourse to Holloway's Pills, which invaluable remedy soon restored him to excellent health. These pills act so immediately upon the seat of disease, that they are considered the most popular specific for bile, sick headaches, deranged stomachs, disordered liver, flatulency, and similar complaints, and as a family me dicine, Holloway's Pills cannot be excelled.—Sold by all druggists, and at Professor Holloway's establishment, 244, Strand, London. EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE OF A Bor.—An In quest was held on Saturday, by Mr. Bedford, in the Alillbank Prison, on the body of William Baker, aged sixteen. Captain Groves, the governor, stated that the deceased was convicted at the Colchester Sessions in December, of stealing three sixpences. lie had before been several times in custody, and was sentenced to seven years' transportation. lie was received in that prison on the 31st of January, and placed in separate confinement. About seven on Thursday evening last be heard the deceased had hanged himself. The coroner said is was likely the thoughts of leaving home arid country had preyed on his mind, an opinion in which the jury concurred, and a verdict of "Temporary in sanity' was returned. SIRTILS. On the 3d inst., at Cambridge-square, the lady of A. &le mons, Esq., of a daughter. On the 3d inst., at Gainsberough, the lady of M. Sooby, jun., Esq., of a daughter. On the 3d inst., at Hammersmith, Mrs. William Owen, of a daughter, still-born. On the 8d inst., at Elizabeth Cottages, Seutligate-road, Kingeland, Mrs. George Dornbusch, of a daughter. MARRIEI. On the 3d inst., at St. Pancras Church, Mr. Charles Farlow, •f the Strand, to Mary Anse, eldest daughter of the late John p„, 3 , Esq., of Guildford-street, Russell-square. On the 3d inst., at Shalford Church, the Rec. John Hsnry Sapte, Rector of Cranky, to the Hon. Caroline Gifford, third daughter of the late, and sister of the present, Lord Gifford. DIED. On the Ist inst., at Cheltenham , Priscilla, relict of Lieute nant• General Richard Bingham. On the Ist inst., is Alfred-place, Blackfriars-road, Charles Lean, Esq., aged 64. On the let inst., at Hurdsfield House, Macclesfield, Mary, wife of John Brocklehurst, Esq., M.P. On the 2d inst., at Castle-hill Lodge, Ealing, Mary, the wife of Captain Wetherall, R.N., aged 60. On the 2d inst., in Portland-place, Wandsworth-road, Sophia Cotton, aged 85. On the 2d inst., at Potternewton, near Leeds, Mary Innes, the wife of Captain Frederick Cleaveland, Royal Homo Artillery. On the 2d inst., at Tonbridge-wells, Lucy, daughter of Sir "lhomas Gage. On the 4th - inst., the wife of Mr. Robert Becton, of Essez• place, Mile-end-road. On the 4th inst., in Albion-street, Hyde-park, Augusta St. Clair, daughter of the late William St. Clair, Esq. On the 4th inst., Maria, the wife of the Rev. Dr. Burnet Rector of St. James's, Garlick 'lithe, City. London : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, at No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112 strand, in the Precinct of tie Savoy, ia the county o 1 111iddleaex, bloPdab FebniarY 7, 1644. I •- - - - - TRE S-U N g LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, EB WU A R 7 , 1848. • .• • • M. T. A w fb tb. natitinnr NAVA T. TN Tr.T.T.TIZRNP.V. a ml.l T) AT T VIT ANY /r 77irs A livr • r-1 T rT , ITI '• /WI lr _ }'