The Sun. — London, England, 1848-01-29 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. Independently of its old established influence, peculiarly auspicious circumstances having secured the prospects of the present season, we hear that the management has for some time past been content to carry on, quietly and silently, the preparation of the new campaign. We bad indeed ourselves observed, en passant, some days since, that the box-office was open, and busy in receiving the votes of subscribers, whilst the stage-door was besieged by the newly arrived followers of Euterpe and Terpsichore, hasten ing to the first review. The season will begin about the 15th of next month. _ _ As far as we can glean, the following are the resources of the present season, and it will be seen that, whether we look to the established talent fami liar to us, which time has not impaired, or to the new virtuosi who corns to us for the first time, W ith ample certificates of fame, the array is both brilliant sad formidable. _ The first artist to be mentioned is Jenny Lind, who will arrive in March. Her presence done en- sures success. Her triumphs last year, when unknown to us, surp asse d a ll pr ece dent; every . one would see her, and b u t a tith e o f th ose w h o wished succeeded. her 1 Siece that time her visits in the country, and ' triumphs abroad, which have kept public attention constantly en h , d i d , constantly alive, have increased the avidity to her in Erigland, whilst one hears on all sides of m fo reigners of ark who intend to come from abroad during the season togratif v their longing to behold her. For the subscribers of last teason we hear she has great novelty in store ; not only is it intended that she should perform in new operas, but her interpreta tion of favourite parts, like those of Desdemona, Donna Anna, Lucia, & c ., wi ll f ar surpa - s t h e a tt rac tion of any other form of novelty. There are classical ope ras, like the Zauberyiette of Mozart, &c —the most perfect works of the great masters—which have been totally lost to the musical public for many years for want of congenial talent; it is intended to revive some of those dormant classical works this year. Another prima donna, of European fame, will visit her Majesty's Theatre early this season, we allude to Erminia Tadolini, whose appearance has been so often apparently compassed, even vainly an nounced as positive, in pest years. [his great artist's fame is too familiar to the musical world to need much comment. At the great imperial theatre, La Scala, she has been engaged almost every year at the brilliant epoch, the Carnival. At San Carlos, no prima donna has been able to secure a triumphant footing since she left it, so great a favourite was Tadolini with the Neapoliteas. In Germany her success has been no le; s niarked and constant. For tunately, for the variety it will afford, her style and line of parts are totally contrasted with those of Mdlle. Lind ; and she is shout to renew in London the career she followed in Vienna, where she sang, for one season, at the same time as the great Swedish vocalist, maintaining the most amicable rivalry. We have to announce another vocalist, one of the youngest amongst the successful prime donne at present on the s tage, Signora Crivelli, who, some short time since, made so triumphant an cat-6e upon the great operatic theatre, La Fenice. Her person, we hear, is hand some and commanding ; there is the fire of genius in her voice and in her dramatic action; her intonation is truthful, and her organ is clear, powerful, and aonerous—the latter being qualities essential for great success in a theatre of so large an area as that in which she made her debiit, and qualifications which are deficient in the majority of prime donne (when they do not strain their vocal power), either from original want of power or from the effect of fatigue and age. Our readers will be happy to hear of the retur n of Adelaide Moltini to her Majesty's Theatre. If We mistake not, she is one amongst the artists already arrived. She was always a great favourite with the English public, and her absence has been often allud e d to with egret. Louisa Albadia, a distinguished vocalist, of great histrionic power, who ha e performed with success the parts (ii Prieto cartello, at all the great theatres of Italy, is another important acquisitions announced. She is said to pos sess all the peculiar gifts necessary to the faithful and effective interpretation of the more modern school of Italian music. There will be a young debutante this season, in the person of Signorina Sofia Vera. If we are not mistaken, she is the daughter of a lady of eminence as a vocal artist, who has married advan tageously, and retired from the stage, and was de sirous her daughter should not enter into its trying career; but, on the part of Signorina Sofia Vera, the love of art has been too strong to resist, and san guine hopes are entertained of her success. Amongst the contralti mentioned is Mademoiselle Schwartz, who is immediately expected. Those who have visited the Austrian capital cannot have for gotten the talent and prepossessing appearance of this accomplished young vocalist. For want c time and space we must pass over the seconde donne expected. The tenori will he, first, that great favourite of the public, Italo Gardoni, who, in spite of all the interested prophecies to the contrary, will arrive in London en Monday next. The efforts made to tempt this young tenor Irons his present engagement suffi ciently attest the increasing value of his talent. There will be two other new tenors. Report speaks very highly of the first engaged, Signor Cugzani— " the tones of his voice are grniul, with an impas sioned, penetrating timbre, and vibrating accent; and, possessing great and intuitive knowledge of the stage, he has never failed of success." Another young tenor, the news of whose engagement only reached Lonilos yesterday, is supported by the warmest eulogies of the highest judges in th e mus i ca l world, particularly the Countess de Rossi (Sontag), the Earl of Westmorland, and Meyerbeer. His name is Lahocetto. Ile has been engaged during three con • secutive seaecns at the same theatre where Gardoni established his first reputation—the Italian Opera at Berlin. lie is young, his voice is sweet, of a very extended register, and he sings in the style of Rubini. Whilst speaking of this class of vocalists, we may here state that we entertain no small degree of hope from private and authentic sources of our own, that her Aluj,sly's Theatre Rill be visited this season by another tenor, to whom no other at present on the stage can he compared. As to the bass voices announced, all the other operatic stages in Europe could not furnish such a galaxy —were it only that there is nut, and never will be, another Lablache, and he is once snore coming to head them. With him will arrive Coletti, second to Lablache alone ; likewise that sound sterling basso, Bouche', and that excellent musician, F. Lablache. To these has been added this season another baritone, Signor Beletti. This vocalist for several years was in the same troupe, and sang constantly with Jenny Lind in her most favourite operas. He is represented to he full of nervous energy, an excellent actor as as singer. We rnmt pass over in our haste the other singers, such as Signors Guidi, Solari, &c., who will render the operas effective by giving full value to the secondary parts. The ballet department will, as in general, embrace s uccessively, and sometimes at the same moment, almost all that is worth acquistion of first-rate cho regraphic talent in Europe. There will be two mnitres de ballet—Perrot and Paul Taglioni ; each will compose a new grand ballet, besides bringing out the compositions of others, with divertissements, &c. The former is already actively engaged in mar shalling his troupe. Besides the compositions of the maftres de ballet, and amongst the works written for this theatre, is a ballet expressly composed for her Majesty's Theatre by the greatest of living play wrights, the celebrated M. Scribe. 'We have heard it assorted that by this ballet the season would begin. Rosati, the fascinating dancer and mime of last season, is already arrived, and with her the young Marie Tag lioni, who has created a furore in Germany. Carlotta Grisi will arrive with a new ballet six weeks earlier than last year. Cerito and St. Leon will re-appear at their customary time, and the new ballet, Des Cinq Sens, will be given as soon as it is possible. The new Corps de ballet has been selected from amongst the Most promising danseuses of that class of ehoro rPhy. This year m uc h i s expected from the young ` in s of the es t a bli s h ment, Thevenot, Julienne, La oureex, so warmly applauded last season, but now gro7rl up t o b e accomplished dancers. To these and to that excellent dancer, Mdme. Petit, are added Em ilie and Fanny Pascalis ay oung and interesting dan.sen.ta, Mdlle. A.nsene, &c. T he list we give, both of the vocal as well as the lyrical part of the company, is very incomplete, and halfass over many meritorious favourites; but we no doubt have an early opportunity of drawing furthers and more complete information from official .ources. In the mean time the opening of her Ma jesty's Theatre being the great event of the season, we e have thought that, however premature, the infor- Ms-tion could supply would interest the public. OM. ---------- Print" ,0Y A L LYCEUM THEATRE.—His Royal Highness _ George theamhridge, the Duke and Duchess ot iiiu fort, and Ladies Somerset, the Duke and D . ehes s of Norfolk, the Duke of Devonshire, the Mar quis of Clanticarde, the Marquis of Donegal, the Mar quis of D. uro, tho M arqu i s of Stafford, the Marquis of Bristol Mar l, the Marq u i s a n d Marchioness of Dowashire, quis and .\iarehioness of Blandford, the Earl and Countess of Shelburne, the Earl of Cardigan, the Earl of 8.-thorough, the Earl of Munster, the Earl of Marsh, the Earl ILIA Countess of Verulam, the Earl and Countess of ItfUrd, t h e Earl Falkland. the Earl of Awllend, Dillon, the E ar l of Uxbrid ge, Vi scou n t an d Vi scountess ' jilt ", Viscount Canterhur Viscount Ciifden, the Baron and Baroness Brunow 3 :' and Madlle. Olga de Lochner, Sir John and Lady Kaye and Miss Kay o , Lord and Lady Loftus, Lord Suffield, Lord Vivian, Lord Ward, Lord Gardner, the Baroness de Rothschild, Lady Maeta r l anc, Lord and Lady F. Somerset, Lord Carrington, L a d y C amden, Lord George Beauclerk, Loyd Canning, Sir Bellingham and Lady Graham, Lord iWilliam Lennox, Lord George Lennox, Lord Aylmer, ord and Ludy Tenterden, Lord Burleih, r. fortimer D rummond, &c., have lately honou g M red this theatre with their patronage. PaaNcu GaAtle.—A vessel called La France has arrived from Marseilles, having the large quantity of 3 nni , )-v. quarters of wheat on board, THE SUN, LONDON, .4-47voIt,c,"‘e( tTIU 0 1 Am' AMERICA' LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY MORNING. Advises have been received from Halifax to the 18th, Boston to the lith, and New York to the 14th instant, by the Cunard's, steam-ship Caledonia, Captain Lott, which was telegraphed off Holyhead this morning, as mentioned in our . City article. The Caledonia has brought 32,000/. in specie. The American steam-ship Ocean, Washington, had been compelled to put into Halifax, in ;consequence of some defect in her machinery. The Cambria ar rived at Boston before the Caledonia left. The Cabinet at Washington ha 3 determined that General Scott should be recalled. The command of the army would devolve on Major-Cieneral Butler, as second in rank to General Scott. The other officers involved in the dissensions in the camp would, as a matter of course, return home. The latest American news will be found in the following extract from the Boston Advertiser of the 13th, the New York mail not having arrived in Bos ton at the time of the departure of the steatneri .NEw YORK, JAN. 14.—The steamer Rhode Island was run into this afternoon, by a Brooklyn ferry boat while passing up the East River, on her way to Stonington. The water• wheel of the Rhode Island was carried away, and other damage done. Another boat was sent on with the passengers and mail; the latter included that for the English steamer CONGRESS, FRIDAY.—The Senate was not in session to-day, having adjourned over until Monday. The House of Representatives was engaged chiefly upon private Bills of little importance, and resolutions re ported by Committees, which were read twice and re ferred to the Committee of the Whole. _ The Bill providing for pensions for widows of revolutionary soldiers married after the war, reported from the Committee on Private Land Claims, and one for the relief of the step-mother of Major Brown, who was killed opposite to Matamoras, was discussed for several hours. Many members opposed the latter, because they thought that no preference should be given to the families of officers over those of privates. If the 13111 embraced all similar cases, they would be willing to support it. Without taking the question, the Committee rose, and the House, without doing any further business, adjourned over till Monday. Br “PONY EXPRESS' AT new YORY.—PETERS BURGH, JAN. 13, 1848.—Your Pony Express this morning brought New Orleans papers of the 7th. The schooner Eleanor arrived on the 6th, bringing papers from Vera Cruz to the 29th, four days later. General Scott had issued orders announcing that the United States army is about to spread over and occupy the whole republic of Mexico, of which it will hold possession until Mexico sues for peace upon accept able terms to the United States. Numerous orders are published relating to taxes. All fines heretofore payable to the Mexican Government are demanded now to support the army. He enumerates ♦arious articles for taxation. Lotteries are prohibited. Colonel Mills was about to leave Vera Cruz. 'We learn that his regiment was entertained at Vera Cruz by a splendid supper. A letter in the Monitor, dated at Queretaro, states that the present Congress would not come together again, several deputies having left. It adds that the new deputies and Senators would soon be in the city. The Mexican Government is silently taking mea sures for suppressing the intrigues of foreign monarchies. _ _ In consequence of the State Governments not ful filling their promises to aid the general Government with such resources as they could command, the latter was much cramped for means. Lieut. M`Donnelly of the third artillery, and two other officers, with a small party, left Puebla for Jalapa, on the 15th, having charge of considerable money. They were attacked in the night by four teen robbers, and although only three of our country men had arms, they defeated the ladrones, and arrived safe at their destination. NORFOLK, Jas. 13.—The U. S. brig Porpoise, Lieut. Gordon, at Norfolk, is under sailing orders for Africa and the Mediterranean. The New York Herald states that Mr. Clay will decline a nomination as candislate for the Presidency on his arrival at Washington. It also says that there has been a minor defalcation at the Treasury de partment of about 25,000 dollars, and also one in a post-office, somewhere at the north, of 50,000 dollars. The latest accounts from New Orleans were to the 2 , 1 inst., and Vera Crux to the 24th. There were rumours that General Scott had decided to send a column of the army to Queretaro. There was no confir►nation of the news that Mr. Trist had agreed with the Mexican Commissioners upon terms of peace. In Canada the elections were proceeding quietly. Forty-one Members had been elected, including M. Papineau. There were still about forty elections to come off, a majority of which the reformers expect to result in their favour. COMMERCIAL NEWS. The commercial news reports exchange unaltered ; cotton and flour dull. Naw YORK, JAN. 13, 2.1 P.M.-Cotton-Sales 600 bales, at steady prices. Flour heavy, at 6 dolls. for common Western. Ashes-150 barrels pots sold at 5 dolls. 75c. Pearls firm at 7 dolls. 200 brls. selected whale oil sold at 36c. The leather sale to day was thinly attended. There was a slight ad vance on heavy and good damaged. There was not a single best quality hide in middle or light weight; still prices were fully sustained. Pork heavy. Sterl ing bills more plenty, and demand more slack, though tip-top names have been bought this morning at 11 to 11i pm.; but we quote 10 to 11. Francs have sold well, at 5,35. ENE-Sales-Cotton 800 bales, almost all to ship. Flour very heavy ; shippers do not buy common western at 6 dolls. ; small sales southern, at 6 dolls. 37ic. 2,000 bushels new southern yellow corn sold at 68c ; 150 bbls. mess pork at 10 dolls. 50c. There is a good deal of poor cheese in market not fit to ship, which sells at sic. to 6c. ; prime 6kc. to 7c. JAN. 14 -2 P.M.-(By telegraph.)-In Flour no change from yesterday, though the market is, if anything, duller. 7,000 barrels received to-day from New Orleans. There are orders in the market for shipping lots, but at lower rates. Sales of Gennfssee at 6 dolls. 12ic. to 6 dolls. 25c.; 2,000 barrels of western at 5 dolls. 934 c. to 6 dolls. 12ie. Corn dull. Sales of new mixed at 65c. to 68c.; for old, 70c. offered. Oats dull at 50c. Cotton firm. Lard firm, and held higher ; for barrels tqc., and for kegs 9c. was asked. Sales 1,000 barrels new mess pork, at 12 dolls. per barrel. Sales Western shoul ders at 44c. ; hams at 7-4-c. per lb. ALBANY, JAN. 13.-Flour-Sales limited ; 100 barrels Black Rock sold 5 dolls. 94c. ; 200 good Indiana at 6 dolls.; fur ordinary run of Westerns, but 5 dolls. 87ic. is offered; sales of Gennessee at 6 dolls. 12;c. to 6 dolls. 25c. Barley, 81c. to 85c. Rye, 81c. Pork without change; sales of 100 still fed hogs at 5 dolls. 60c. ; 100 ditto Western, at 5 dolls. 75c., and parcels in the street at 6 dole. BALTIMORE, JAR. 13.-(By Telegraph.)-Flour dull. Sales : 500 H.S., at 5 dolls. 87ic. ; City Mills, 6 dolls. 12ic. Corn-Sales : 200 bushels, including rnd. white and mixed, at 57c.; yellow, at 62c. Wilms, JAN. 4, EYE.-Cotton-Since the receipt of the foreign advices the market has been quite ani mated. Sales, for two days, 8,000 bales, at firmer prices. We quote mid. 64c. Arrived since Satur day, 6,026 bales; exported 1,804. Stock, 90,767 bales. Exchange-Sterling, 7 ; Francs, 5.45 ; New York, 60 days, 2 to 2} ; sight, 1 pm. Freights- A. brig taken for Philadelphia at Or.; and a schooner to load lumber for Havannah. - NEW ~ ORLEANS, JAN. 6.—(By Telegraph.) — Cotton depressed, but a fair demand, at previous quotations. Sugar—Market poorly supplied; small sales, at yesterday's prices. Flour heavy. In freights several new engagements. Transactions in excnange limited. WEST INDIA AND MEXICAN MAIL. The Teviot, with the West India and Mexican mails, is aground by Calshot Castle, a few miles down the Southampton Water. A small steamer has been dispatched for her mails, and they may be ev-- pected here shortly. Teviot left Demerara 19th Dec.; Berbice, 19th ; Trinidad, 22d ; Tobago, 21st ; iiarbadoes, 31st; Antigun, Jan. 3d; Martinique. 2d; Grenada, 93d Dec. ; Curacoa, 23d ; Porto Rico, sth Jan.; Tor tola, 4th; St. Thomas's, 4th; Bermuda, 10th; New Orleans, 20th Dec. She brings 135,000 dollars, 120 serons of cochineal, 15 serons of jalap, two bales of tobacco, 32 cases of cigars, 27 bales of plantain fibres. Purchasers for cotton at New Orleans have been for France, the con tinent of Europe, and the North. English buyers operate very sparingly. The sales were unusually active. The Indus and Madrid have arrived. Paredes was lying ill at Talancigo, and Santa Anna in retirement at Tehuacan. The Mexican army was nearly extinguished. Negotiations with Triat nearly been renewed, with prospects of peace. DETHNTION Or THE AMERICA/I' MAILII.—The Hi bernia, at the request of the Liverpool postmaster, is de tained until 1 30 rat. to-morrow. CHANCERY.-(THIS DAY.' The LORD CHANCELLOR sat in his court At West minster to-day at half -pat eleven o'clock, xud gave several judgments. PENNY V. TURNRR.—JUDGMENY. The LORD CMANCRI.LOR gave judgment an this case, which was heard before his Lordship i n Lin coln's Inn in February last, upt.n appeal om Lis Honour the Vice-Chancellor of England, v rho had put, as it was contended, a wrong construction upon the will of a gentleman named Taver Penny, that was in the following terms :—" I, Taver Penny, 'of the Royal Navy, do declare this my last will and testa ment, and do hereby give and devise unto my . rnother, Mary Penny, for her natural life, all estates, real and personal, that I may be in possession of at the time of my decease, or be entitled to in reversicm, as also all other property whatever : and at thn: decase of my said mother, I do will and devise that all the said estates and property shall he divid,id amongst my three sisters, Jane Stevens, Elizabeth Turner, and Harriet Penny, or their children, in. such pro portions as she, my said mother, shall appoint by her last will snd testament, or by any deed in writing made by her in her lifetime." This will was dated the 45th of April, 1792; and the testator did not die until the year 1841. :Mrs. Penny, the mother, died in the lifetime of the testator, with out having exercised the power of appointment. Jane Stevens, one of the sisters of the testator, also died in the testator's lifetime, without issue. Harriet, the plaintiff, wus unmarried, and the other sister, Eliza beth Turner, had two children. The question there fore raised by the bill was, whether the testator's property was now divisible between the plaintiff and Mrs. Turner, by their each taking one-third under the will, and the other third as a lapsed share by rea son of the death of Jane Stevens in the testator's lifetime, they being the testator's coheirs and next of kin. This construction is the one contended for by the plaintiff; the children, however, of Mrs. Turner insisted by their answer that the estate and effects became divisible into five parts, one of which shares belongs to each of them, and that only a fifth of the property lapsed by the death of Jane Stevens. The Vice-Chancellor held this latter construction to be the correct one, inasmuch as the " or" in the will pre ceding the gift to the children must be read as " and," and decreed accordingly. Front this decision the plaintiff appealed, and upon that appeal the Lord Chancellor now gave judgment. His Lordship was clearly of opinion the judgment of the Court below was correct, and ordered it to be affirmed. MASON V. IYMEHMAN.-JUDGMENT. The LORD CHANCIILLOR also gave judgment in this case, which came before his Lordship upon appeal from the decision of kbe Vice-Chancellor of England, as to the construction that ought to be put on the 38th of the orders of the Court, made in 1841, with respect to the right of a defendant to answer to an immaterial part of the bill, so as in point of fact to avoid answering at all. The case involved a rather important point with respect to the practice of the Court, being one upon which the Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce and the Vice-Chancellor Wigram had come to conflicting opinions. The bill in this case was filed in May, 1845, and related to the right to certain freehold and copyhold property, possession of which, together with the title-deeds, was asked to be given up to the plaintiff. The defendant answered the bill, but in it stated that he might have declined answering at all, and protected himself by demurrer. Exceptions were taken to this answer for insufficiency, which the Master allowed, as he did not think the Master was by the orders intended to decide upon a general demurrer. The Vice-Chancellor of England, however, reversed the finding of the Master, and from that decision the parties appealed, and upon that appeal the Lord Chancellor now gave judgment. His Lordship thought that the exception that had been taken to the Master's report ought to have been overruled in the Court below, and he must, therefore, reverse that decree, but without costs, as conflicting opinions had been given by different judges of the court upon the point. Ile differed from the con struction put upon the order by the Vice-Chancellor Wigram, and agreed with the conclusion come to by the Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce. WHITS P. DRIGG3.-JUDGMENT. The LORD CHANCELLOR also gave judgment in this case, varying, in some respects, the decision of the Court below. RARE V. ROWLAND •--.TUDGMB7T. The LORD CIIANCRLLOR also gave judgment in this case, which came before the Court upon appeal from the decision of the Vice-Chancellor of England. The question in this case turned upon the construc tion of the will of a gentleman named Slater, of Hampstead. That gentleman by his will, dated in 1806, two years before his death, gave to trustees so much of his personalty, to be invested in the Five per Cent. Annuities, as would bring a yearly income of 6001., which he directed should be paid to his wife for life, and after her death, to his dear daughter, Anna Maria Slater, and after her death to be divided among her children. But if she left no children, or if they died under 24 years of age, then he bequeathed two sums of 500/. each to his two grandchildren, if they should be then alive ; " and all the rest and residue of the trust moneys, with interest, increase, and dividends, he gave and bequeathed among his heirs-at-law, share and share alike." The testator died in 1808, leaving at his death his wife and one child, the daughter, surviving, who also sur vived the widow, and died in October, 1844. She left two sons living, who were co-heirs of herself and also of the testator. On the death of the testator a sum of 20,000/. was invested, and the interest regu larly paid during the life of the widow and daughter. On the case coming on for hearing before the Vice-Chancellor of England, the great question was as to the construction to be put on the word " heirs." For the heir-at-law it was con tended that the word must be understood strictly, and that consequently the bequest was to the heirs at law of the testator at the time of his death as desig natve personae. It was contended also, contra, that the word heirs wat understood to mean no more than next of kin of the testator, the gift being of personalty. Some, on the other hand, sought to interpret the gift as to the next of kin of the testator, excluding the daughter, while other claimants understood it to mean the next of kin of the daughter. There was also difference of opinion as to the time referred to, whether the proper period of construction was at the death of the daughter or of the testator. The Vice-Chancellor thought that the testator meant his heirs at law at the time of his death as designates porsonse, otherwise the will would be void for uncertainty, and decreed accordingly, and from that decision the parties appealed. His Lordship was of opinion the decision of the Court below was correct, and dismissed the appeal with costs. CROCKETT V. CROCKEITT..-JUDGMINT. The LORD CnariceeLost also gave judgment in this case, which came before the Court upon appeal from the decision of the Vice-Chancellor Wigram. The question in the case arose upon the construction of the will of a gentleman named Crockett, executed at Macao, in March, 1831. By that will he di rected that all and every part of his proporty should be at the disposal of his most true and lawful wife, Caroline Crockett, for herself and her children, in the event of any unforeseen accident hap pening to himself. The testator died at Macao in June, 1837, leaving Caroline Crockett, his widow, and five children surviving ; and soon afterwards administration of the testator's estate, with the will annexed, was granted to the widow by the proper authorities at Macao. In September, 1837, the widow, who had been advised that, under the will, she was absolutely entitled to the whole of the testa tor's property to her own use, executed a voluntary deed, whereby, after directing the sum of, 15,0001. to be remitted to this country, she settled that sum upon trust for herself for life, if she should so long remain unmarried, and aftor her death or marriage upon trust for five children of the testator. One of the children afterwards died, and the bill was filed by the four surviving children against the widow for an account of the testator's estate, and praying a declaration that the children were entitled under the will to the testator's property jointly with the widow, and that the deed of September, 1837, was not binding upon them. At the hearing of the cause in 1841, the Court made a declaration that the children took an interest in possession in the testator's property at his decease, under the testator's will, and that the deed of Sep tember, 1837, was not binding upon them ; and directed that the whole income of the testator's residuary estate should be paid to the mother during the infancy of the children, or until furtheorder, she maintaining and educating them in a proper manner. Upon the eldest of the children attaining his majority ho presented the present petition to the Court, for a transfer of his portion of the fund, and upon the hearing of the petition the question was, whether the word " disposal" in the will conferred upon the widow the power of distributing the capital of the fund amongst the children, or whether she was en titled thereby only to the care and custody of the income belonging to the children during their minorities. The Vice-Chancellor Wigram held that the widow and her children took a joint in terest in the residuary estate of the testator, and, after directing the portion of the petitioner to be paid to him, ordered that the direction which he had pre viously !mule should be continued as to the mother and the infant children, and from that judgment the party appealed. His Lordship, after going at con siderable length into the case, ordered the deci s i on o f the Court below to be reversed, and the costs t o come out of the fund in Court, the question being one between a parent and her children ; and the object of the suit being the proper distribution of their pro perty. Admiral Sir Charles Adam had an interview with the Right Hon. Edward Strutt yesterday, at the office of the Commissioners of Railways in the Board of Trade. SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 29 1848, IRISH SPECIAL COMMISSION. CLONMEL, JAN. ')5. MURDER or MR. WILLIAM ROE.—The follow ing is the conclusion of the evidence for the prosecution : The Hon. Mr. French examined by the ATTORX EY GENRRAL.--I am a resident magistrate of this county. I remember the day Mr. Roe was shot- As soon as I heard of the matter I went to the spot, which I reached about one o'clock. There was a large pool of blood on the road, opposite the plantation. I went inside the grove and saw branches of hawthorn, evi dently broken by shot. That was nine or ten yards from the place where the body lay. I examined the ditch, and observed the impression as it a person had been lying on it. A right line drawn from that spot would pass through the broken hedge, and along where the blood was. A man at that opening would see a person passi ng on t h e roa d. There is no gripe outside, but a growth of grass inside. The inipres sion I observed was fresh, and close to it I observed a piece of paper [paper produced], which is in the same state as when I found it, only that it now bears my initials. There are four letters on the piece of paper, R. G. A. N.; and on the other side are some figures, like a sum, with a line under, and an appa rent total of 118. 3d. To the COURT—It might have been a portion of an arithmetical proces s , b u t I canno t say that it is. I also found some wadding. Constable Halloran was here examined. He de posed that he found a piece of paper he now pro duced under a b e d i n th e h ouse th e prisoner lived in. The latter piece of paper was handed to Mr. French, whose examination was then continued. He sta'ed that the two pieces of paper originally formed one, and when they were put together it appeared that the total of lie. CI was made up of two sums of 6s. and ss. 3d. The two pieces of paper were then examined by the Court and jury. Examination continued—l pointed out the differ ent places at the scene of the murder to the surveyor, and also the house where the prisoner lived at the time. It was an outhouse belonging to his brother James. On examining the field side of the planta tion, I found some broken branches of hawthorn. That was about seventy yards from the prisoner's house. I was handed the gun-cane carried by Mr. Roe on that day, and found it capped and loaded. There was what appeared to be the mark of a foot step on the grass in the field, as if a person leaped over the ditch, or from it. Cross-examined by Mr. ROLL/MON—A stone fall ing from the ditch would make the mark I allude to. There was grass on the headland. Con Loughnane was arrested along with others. It was the day after the murder the piece of paper was found in the pri soner's house. Head-constable Hallam deposed that he searched for the prisoner immediately after the murder in his own house and elsenhere, but could not find him for a considerable length of time. He was not arrested until the 26th of December. The girl, Mary Lonergan, the prisoner's niece, and who refused to answer when examinod in the early part of the day, was again produced. In reply to the Attorney-General, she stated that she heard the shot; saw the smoke in the plantation, and saw the prisoner, her uncle, in a field near the place. She saw him coming up from the ditch. After she saw him she went into her own house, and saw Judith Sullivan there. The prisoner's wife was also there. The prisoner was walking at the time she saw him. He was coming from the ditch of the plantation. She could not tell how far he was from the ditch. He did not come into the house after that. Cross-examined by Mr. ROLLBSTON—I was taken by the police after the murder, and kept by them since. I did not hear that James Lonergan was charged with this offence. Since I left the table I was told by Mr. Cox, the police-officer, that if I did not come up and give my testimony I would be sent to gaol, and that only for him I would have been sent there before. Cam , Just Rolleston, there was an order made out for her committal. Mr. ROLLIISTOX—Who was in the room with you since you left this ?—Mr. French and Jr. Cox. W..as there any other gentleman there P—There was, but I don't know him. And they told you that you would he sent to gaol unless you gave evidence 7—They did, Sir; Mr. Cox said he saved me from the gaol. To the ATTORNEY..GENERAL—My father was in Clonmel that day„ and did not come home until night, when the police were taking me away to Cahir. Eugene Moran, a police-constable, deposed that he arrested the prisoner on the morning of the 26th of December. Ile saw him running across the country, and pursued and arrested him. Witness had been looking for him several times before, and on the pre vious night in the same neighbourhood. When ar • rested he said his name was John Lonergan, but witness vs as in plain clothes. Dr. Robt. Russell proved that the gunshot wounds were the cause of the death of Mr. Roe. There were eleven wounds on the body. The gun was loaded with swan drops, almost the whole of which passed through his body. One of them penetrated his heart, and one passed through his right lung. Death must have been instantaneous. The case for the prosecution closed here, about half-past seven o'clock. The CIIIEF JUSTICE said, as it was not likelvthat the case could he eatisfactorily concluded that evening, and as the prisoner's counsel plig ht wish for time to consider the evidence for the prosecution,' it would be better to adjourn till next morning.. The Court then adjourned. The jury were not allowed to separate, but were accommodated with dinner and beds in 'the grand jury room. JAN. 26. The Chief Justice took his seat on the bench this morning at ten o'clock. The Chief Baron did not sit to-day, owing to illness. The trial of John Zonergan for the murder of Mr. William Roe, WAS then proceeded with. The pri soner was placed at the bar, and, as on the previous day, exhibited much self-possession, and seemed to pay a good deal of attention to the proceedings. Mr. RoeLusxors addressed the jury for the defence. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL replied; and The Cuter JUSTIC E having charged the jury, they retired for about an hour, and found the prisoner Guilty of the murder. The prisoner was then removed. He heard the announcement of the verdict with a considerable de. gree of firmness. MALICIOUS ASSAULT.—Patrick ltrullanpy, Patrick Ellard, Denis Brien, George Hewit, and Patrick _Mickey, all young men, were indicted for having on the 26th of September, at Knockadeene, assaulted Edward and Judith Mullanpy, doing them grievous bodily harm ; the prisoners were also charged with having injured the property of the prosecutor. The indictment was under the Whitehoy Act. Edward Mullanpy deposed that on the night in question, whilst himself and his wife were in a hut, watching a field of turnips, seven men came to it, and one of them, who was armed with a pistol, knocked him down. His wife and daughter were next knocked down, and whilst he was on the ground, one of the party fired at him, and wounded him in the leg ; the witness identified all the prisoners but Brien, and said that Ellard was the man who fired the shot. After beating him they pulled down the hut, and told him to " take that for what hap- Pe nesi yesterday.' One of th e p r i soners was hi s nephew. The circumstance alluded to by the party was, that on the previous day he pointed out his bro ther's goods to a bailiff, who seized them under a decree. He went security with his brother for meal, but witness had before that night paid his portion of the debt. The party called each other by the num bers 1,2, 3, &c., and threw fi re on one part of his oats, and water on another: The prosecutor's wife and daughter were examined to corroborate his testimony. Dr. Edward Kitson described the wound on the prosecutor's leg, and said it could not have been in flicted by a gun or pistol shot. His wife had three severe wounds on the head. Mr. ROLLESTON addressed the jury for the defence, but examined no witnesses. The prisoners were found Guilty, and sentenced to be transported for seven years. Upon this sentence being pronounced, loud cries were uttered by the pri soners friends. Some persons in Court said, " God be with you boys ; and a girl wh o wept bi tter l y ex claimed, "Oh, " m y one only brother, am 1 to l ose hi m !" The sentence of transportation in this case seemed to have coma by surprise upon many in c o urt, as we ll as upon the prisoners and their friends. At six o'clock the Court adjourned till ten o'clock next morning. THE WEATHER, THE PARES , &c.—Y es t er d ay th e various parks presented a very gay and i nterest i ng ap pearance, owing to the immense number of persons visiting them, either for the purpose of personal enjoy ment or gratifying themselves by v i ew i ng the per formance of others on the ice. The surface of the Ser • pentine was as usual very much crowded in all ihoie parts where the ice was safe, and several members of the Skating Club were present , during the day. The ornamental water in the Regent a• park, the round pond in Kensington-gardens, and the lake in St. James's park, were severally visited by many thousands during the day, and happily nothing be) and a few casualtit a in the shape, of accidents occurre d . Durin th e n i g h t t h e g thermometer was as low as 17 degrees. The quantity of ice on the Thames is enormous, and navigation above except by a few of the small st.. amers wh i c h persevered in threading their way yesterday in t h e f ace of extraordinary difficulties, is entirely at a stand-still. DEATH OP SIR GEORGE MOLTINzikUX, have to record the demise of Sir George Molyneaux., Bart., of Castle Dillon, county of Antrim, a t th e ear l y age of 35. He succeeded to i the title on th e d em i se o f his father, in 1841. The family s a branch of th e saw n , of liolyneaux. GRAND FREE-TRADE DEMON- STRAIION AT MANCHESTER. MANCHESTER, /TAN. 28.—A grand free-trade en tertainment, such as could scarcely be given in any other country in Europe, took place here yesterday, at the Free-trade Hall, in honour of the return to Parliament of such gentlemen as had been members of the National Anti-Corn-law League. In addition to the attraction offered by the presence of the men whose names we give below, a kind of after-dinner repast had been provided, and the price of admisaion was 3s. 6d. each person. The immense nod commodious hall was crowded. Twelve tables, running the whole length of the, hall, and at each of which sat 120 people, tilled the body, whilst the gal leries, capable of containing about an equal number with the body, were also completely filled. On the whole, there could not have been less than 3,000 people piesent, and those all of the middle class. At serail o'clock the chair was taken amidst the most vehement applause by Mr. G. Wilson. Around him were many of the most distinguished free-traders of the country; amongst whom we noticed Mr. Cob den, M.P., Mr. T. M. Gibson, M.P., Mr. Bright, M.P., Ur. Brotherton, M.P., Mr. Henry, M.P., Co lonel Thomson, M.P., Mr. Heywood, M. P., Mr. Thomas Thorncl3, M.P., Mr. J. Pilkington, Mr. Ewart, M.P., Mr. Gardner, Mr G. Thompson, M.P., Mr. John Dixon, Dr. I3owring, M.P., Mr. John liams, M.P., Mr. James Kershaw, M.P., Mr. C. Ilindley, M.P., Mr. R. A. Thicknesse, Mr. J. B. Smith, Mr. Matthew Wilson, and many others. When quiet was restored, _ _ The Cliaiumere said that, casting his eye over that vast assemblage, characterised by more than its usual precision of arrangement, the only source of regret to him was that the committee, in their excel lent judgment, had not selected some other person better qualified than himself to occupy the position which he occupied that evening. The chief object of that meeting, as most of them were aware, was to celebrate the return to Parliament of those gentlemen who belonged to that much-abused but nevertheless successful confederation—the Anti- Corn-law League.—(Cheers.) And he thought no one who reflected for one moment on the character and composition of that audience, would hesitate to say that it was an occasion not unworthy of them, as they were most worthy of it. In the first place, it was not merely a local meeting. They had gentlemen on the platform honourably known in their respective localities for the services they had rendered to their fellow-countrymen. It was not to do honour to one man but to a number of men—it was not to celebrate a victory obtained by one constituency but by many constituencies—it was not to record a triumph carried to a successful issue in some small pocket borough, but to record results which were—patent to the people of England for successes unexampled in the history of all former elections. But remarkable as had been the victories, more remarkable still had been the selection of the candidates. They had been told that it was contrary to all former custom and usage, that all the regulations of . elections had been set at ' defiance in the selection of the men who had been returned to Parliament to represent some of the chief counties. It had been said that they had selected men whose great grandfathers had never been heard of.—(A laugh.) That might be true. Very possibly the men who had been so honoured by their country men were not high in title nor great in birth. It was very likely they were not connected with those fami lies from whom candidates were usually selected ; but it was a poor compensation for a constituency to find that the only right its Member had to represent them was founded on his alliance with some great family in the county. It was a poor compensation to reflect that their Members were related to my Lord Turnip tops, or my Lord Mangold-Wurtzel, who had repre sented them for many generations.—(Cheers.) The mea of whom he now spoke had stood upon their own merits, upon their own titles and qualifica tions, and those titles and qualifications had been such that the highest aristocracy in the land had fled before them when they appeared.— (Cheers.) Some had been chosen, like the lion. Members for Salford and Wolverhampton, on account of their long and faithful services to the people. Others had been selected because they were the head of the highest mercantile and manufacturing establishments of this kingdom. Others, like the lion. Members for Man chester, for Oldham, and for the Tower Hamlets, whose eloquence had passed like a talisman throughout the whole of England, or who had incorporated their opinions with the literature of this country, and had taught to an admiring nation the sublimest truths of political science. —(Cheers.) Those were their great political leaders in Parliament who had exposed the subject even before the Anti. Corn-law League was established, and had proved in the teeth of hostile majorities the soundness of their opinions at a time when little respect was paid to them. And last, though not least, thf re was one there that evening who, since he had last addressed them in that hall, had been received as the accredited and acknowledged runbasalor of free trade and peace in every city on the Continent. (Tremendous cheering.) Taking them one and all, and all in all, nothing extenuating nor setting down aught in malice, he did not believe, in the his tory of public meetings, that the eye ever rested upon a number of men possessing public confidence to the extent possessed by the gentlemen around him.— (Loud cheers.) It was not to be expected that a meeting like the present, with some 3,000 persons present, and every pulsation of which must be felt throughout the land, should pass off without some allusion to the success of those principles which had recently been carried into practice in this country, and though no doubt some of the speakers to follow him would much better discuss the subject than he could do, yet he trusted they would permit him to congra tulate them on the improved tone of their opponents during the last election. The principles which had been expounded in that hall were generally admitted by every man who presented himself for re-election The success of Sir R. Peers free-trade tariff was admitted by almost every one except the most extreme monopolists, whose small notes were scarcely reported in the public papers —(Hear.) The success of the free trade tariff of America had been equal to that of Sir R. Peel's in this country ; and how rapidly public opinion in this country operated upon the intelligent and enlightened classes on the Continent might be gathered from the reception which Mr. Cobden had met with abroad.— (Cheers.) It certainly did appear that their old friends the Protectionists had entirely left the field—No. 17, Old Bond-street, was deserted, and not the boldest amongst them would presume at this moment, or had presumed since the last election, to propose at any small gathering of farmers the re-enactment of the corn-law after its expiration in 1849.—(Cheers ) lle did not think that they would venture to fight Lord J. Russell if he were to do that which, as Prime Mi nister, he ought to do, and suspend it until the time for its expiring came in 1849. They intended to make a fight upon the navigation laws, hut with a long pull, a strong pull, _and a pull altogether, the navigation laws must go overboard as the corn-law had gone before them. They would fight, also, a desperate action on behalf of the West Indian interest ; but lie had no doubt his friends would be ready for them on that question, and that the IVest Indian interests would share the fate of the Protectionists in corn. When the Protectionists failed of success, however, they in variably attempted to invent some great public swindle, in order to obtain an equivalent for what they had lost, and the time when public spirit was inert had invariably been selected for the infliction of grievous injuries upon the country. It was for them to be on the watch, to meet together frequently, to join with their representatives, and to give them their ) cordial support, in the full assurance that, united together by common sympathies and common in terests, there was no power existing in this country which could long resist the effect of such a public opinion as they would create.—(Cheers.) There was one particular connected with the last election which to him was the most satisfactory of the whole, and that was, that there had been a greater importation into Parliament than had ever before been the case of men connected with coimnerce and commercial interests.—(Cheers.) Hitherto they had had agricultural Governments, and aristocratic Go vernments, legislating for commercial people. They had now a great number of representatives connected with commerce, who had no interests to serve but such as were connected with the interests of the whole population of this country, and he must say he looked with great faith and reliance to those men. —(Cheers.) The present new project of a large ex penditure to increase the military safety of the country would meet, he doubted not, with a similar fate to that which had befallen the corn-law ; for he felt deafly in his own mind that every honest free trader who knew his principles would be found voting in Parliament against the advance of one single sixpence for increasing the defences of the country.— (Loud cheers.) But whether or not he placed his reliance upon public opinion—it was from that that his friends around him first received their commissions to go through the length and breadth of the land propagating their opinions—it was that which made them meet there from week to week to receive the popular sanction and support, and it was that which had finally gained for them the triumph which had led to the dissolution of the League. A long time had elapsed since such a meet ing had assembled, and there was a party no doubt who thought that they might trifle with the people, but they forgot the power of that puissant organiza tion which took the mace of the giant, hurled them from their counties, and placed in their stead the true representatives of popular principles, the tried chain ' pions of liberty and truth.—(Loud cheers.) The lion. Gentleman concluded by giving the first toast • The Queen—may her reign be long, peaceful, prosperous, and happy," upstanding, uncovered, with three times three. Mr. E. ARMITAGE, the Mayor of Manchester, pro- I posed the second toast without verbal comment. The toast, which wa s as f o ll ows, was d runk Kith enthu siasm " The free tr a d e M em b ers o f b oth H ouses of Parliament, success to them in their endeavours to complete the overthro w o f a ll monopo li es. " The Right Hon. T. M. G insoN, w h o was received wi▪ th rapturous applause, then said—As one of the free trade Members alluded to in the toast which has been submitted to you by our worthy Mayor, I beg leave to return my warmest acknowledgments for the kind manner in which the toast was given, and for the cordial reception which it met with at your hands. And in expressing myself in these words, I feel that, on the part of my colleagues, the other free trade Members of the House of Commons, I am but stating w hat they would say were they addressing you, when I say that they feel deeply the kind manndr in which this sentiment has been received.—(Cheers.) I feel not altogether free from diffidence in attempt ing to address so imposing an assemblage as is now gathered within this spacious hail. I ought, perhaps, you would say, to feel something like the old hunter when he hears again the sound of the well-known horn, as this is not the first time I have had the honour of addressing a meeting in the Free-trade Hall, but I assure you, when I reflect how many there are here who from experience and reflection have acquainted themselves thoroughly with the im portant subjects we have met to discuss, I cannot help experiencing something like a feeling of embarras men t ; and for your kind indulgence, therefore, I am sure I shall not appeal in vain. —(Cheers.) I have felt it my duty to be amongst my constituents to• day upon this important occasion. I have felt it a duty paramount to all other considerations to be here, for though the Anti-Corn-law League is now dissolved, I can look hack with pride and satisfaction to having been a member o f t h at great and intelligent combi nati▪ on vof men which by th e f orce of reason and in struction formed that powerful instrument, public opinion, with which th e Mi n i ster of the day was able to abolish that odious monopoly, the mono poly of corn.—(Loud cheers. I l oo k b ack, I say, with pride and satisfaction to h av i ng be en a member of that association, and to having aided, in whatever humble manner it was in my power to aid their efforts, and still more I glory that these efforts, have been crowned with success. Nevertheless, I can not but feel that at this moment I am addressi▪ ng an assemblage in Manchester during a time of great olepres sion of trade, during a time no doubt of great anxiety ansongst many engaged in commercial pursuits, and at a time when a great struggle which has been going on has not yet disappeared.—(Cheers.) But m y al lusion to th a t d e p ress i on o f t ra d e i s w ith th e vi▪ ew of expressing my opinion that the free trade policy has had nothing to do with producing it—(Cheers) — that, on the contrary, it would hare been much greater had not free trade measures been adopted. It is to be hoped, that though the present moment is one in which confidence is much shaken in the commercial world, y e t th a t t h ere are at present cer tain elements on which we have a right to calculate in reference to future prosperity. If I sin rightly in formed, the stocks of manufactured goods are mode rate, we have a low price of the raw materials of manufactures,. and we have, I trust, a prospect of a moderate price of provisions. We have all those things before us, and with the restoration of confidence I think we are justified in looking forward to a restoration of prosperity.—(Cheers.) But let me ask those who visit the free trade policy with all this distress, to condescend to particularize and to point out the particular taxes which, had they been left unrepealed, would have prevented the misfortunes which surround us. Let them tell us what duty on any article in the tariff would, had it been unremoved, have tended to mitigate the distress. Is it the duty on cotton ? Is it the duty on wool ? Is it the duty on glass ? Or, duriug the time of a famine, would it have been wise to have retained the duty on matters of subsistence ?—(Loud cheers.) Let us then know what are the duties which ought to have been retained, and which, had they been retained, would have prevented this commercial pressure. We are accused of having advocated a policy which has im paired the revenue. Impaired the revenue ! Can gen tlemen who make that assertion have drawn a com parison between the income of the country now and its income before the free trade policy commenced, viz., 1842, taken in connexion with :the alteration which has been made in taxation ? What are the facts ? The income of the country made up to the sth January, 1848, the last statement which has been submitted to the country, was something like 47,500,0001. The income similarly mode up to the sth January, 1842, amounted to 44,300,0001. — (Cheers.) But what has been clone with taxation in the meantime ? True, you put on an income-tax in 1842, amounting to 5,500,0001.; but, on the other hand, you took off the Customs and Excise duties, amounting in all to upwards of 8,000,0001. You put on 5,000,000/. and took off 8,000,000/. of Customs and Excise, leaving a balance of reduction to the amount of 3,000,0001, and yet your revenue, as made up to th.s sth .January, 1848, is greater by 2,500,0001. than the revenue made up to the sth January, 1842 (Cheer.r.) There can't be anything very rotten in a policy which, by a reduction of duties has increased the revenue. And let it be rememhered that that policy was commenced in 1842, after you had been trying thc opposite Filler of attempting to increase the revenue of the country by adding to the Customs and Excise. You had added five per cent. to the Customs, and they did not yield by one-half the estimate that was submitted to Parliament. That experiment proved a total failure, and it was after that failure that the country fortunately adopted the experiment of resort ing to direct taxation, and of trusting to that source for its revenue, giving by the reduction of indirect taxation a further development to the industry and trade of the country.—(Cheers.) If we take the simple figures of the Excise and Customs by them selves, they also present a remarkable justification of the policy pursued by Sir Robert Peel ; for after a reduction of 8,000,0001., of which 7,000,0001. applied to the Customs duties alone, the whole of that revenue, with the exception of some 700,0001. or 800,0001. had been replaced by the country. There is another charge brought against free-traders in reference to imports and exports. We are told that our imports are worth more than our exports, and that is made a great charge against us. I reply to that, that if they are so much the better; it would be a strange thing if merchants were to export their produce to foreign lands, only to receive in imported produce goods of precisely the same value. Let us hope that there is something like gain in the exchange of commodities, and that if our imports have exceeded our exports, the country has been the gainer.-- (Cheers.) But it is said that the balance between exports and import has been paid for in treasure, which has caused a drain on your bullion, and thus has interfered seriously with commercial interests. All I can say in answer to that is, that if the balance, as it is called, has been paid in bullion, it was because bullion at that time was the cheapest and fittest commodity to export, and that there was greater gain by exporting bullion than there would have been by attempting to export other commodities.— (Loud cheers.) But the old doctrine of balance of trade is not one to be re• vived now. I had hoped, till I saw it mentioned in Blackwood and in the Quarterly Review, that it was dead and buried, never again to be restored to existence.—(Cheers.) I hope I may not be considered trespassing on your time in attempting, I know, to defend the free-trade policy, which truly hardly needs a defence , but really we have been so much abused by the organs of the Protec tionist party, and we have been told that we are such wretched prophets, and that we have held out so many expectations which have met with disappoint ment, that I cannot refrain from saying a few words in defence of a policy of which I was, and am still, a hearty and cordial supporter. (Great applause.) Talk of prophets—are we to forget the prophecies of the Protectionists, that all the fair lands of Engla n d' were to be thrown out of cultivation, the finest estates reduced to rabbit warrens, or tenanted only by wild fowl and grouse ?—(A laugh.) Do you forget the alarming menace held out by a Noble Duke, who said, " If the corn-laws were repealed he f or one would leave his native land , for England would not be worth living in ?"—(Great laughter.) But l e t us congratu late ourselves that we still have that Noble Duke amongst us—that he has not yet left his native shores, and I hope he may long live in them, to render better service to his fellow -countrymen than he has hitherto done.—(Cheers and lau g ht er. ) I remember many such predictions. I have heard many within the walls of the House of Commons. I remember Mr. Hudson, the Member for Sunderland, saying, in February, 1846, that it was no t a ques ti on o f ren t ; . for was his firm opinion, that if rents were entirely aboli▪ shed, the f armers o f E ng l an d would be unable to culti▪ vate the s o il un d er t h e new l aw , an d t h at t h e soil must be abandoned altogether and left waste, be cause a remunerating price could not be obtained for the produce. lam glad Mr. Hudson proved not so sound a judge in those matters as he has shown him self in the conduct of railways. In railways he has no doubt proved himself a shrewd and able man, but as a prophet I think I may safely back the very worst prophet the Anti-Corn-law League ever produced against Mr. Iludson.—(Cheers.) The worst case, however, they say, which can be brought agai▪ nst us, is the West India case; for they tell us that . we have brought ruin and disaster upon a great portion of our fellow-countrymen. I have heard with great sym pathy—every Englishman must hear with g a r r e t t, that of the any portion of his fellow-countrymen. on an . yp earth's surface are suffering deep distress , but I must say it is no novelty to be told of the distress . of the West India interest. It is not . the first time we have heard it said that West India estates are not worth cultivating, and that they must be abandoned. In ' deed I doubt very much if we were to go carefully ' through Parliamentary documents and th e memor i a l s a dd res sed to public offices, if we should no t fi n d ' statements quite as alarming as those r ecen tl y ma d e by the West India body. Ido not deny the distress, S U o'^es but what I protest against is the remedy that bi- , - - asked.—(Cheers.) We are asked to give to the Weiti,K 4- IFesli t , Indian body a protection duty of 101. per ton iiponeall" - A-F---;--2- the colonial sugar imported into this country. Ttjek haria.f. the modest request that is made to the repress-v c iskoN tives of the people of this country-101. atoir., - amounting to upwards of 2,000,0001. of taxation, to be imposed annually upon the people of this country, and that not for the purposes of the State, not to be paid into the coffers of the Exchequer, but to be transferred from the great body of the consuming classes of England into the pockets of the West ltifiia proprietors. Now I have no doubt it is very easy for persons to say, " Why not grant this protection to the 'West Indian body, it will make very little addition to the price of sugar, it won't be felt by the consumer, and you will prevent the ruin of many respectable f am ili es , an d , per h aps, i nsure the restora tion to prosperity of many West Indian mercantile houses." Well, if I were asked to give my own pro perty for that relief, I might say, " Very well, I have no objection to grant yen from my own funds the amount which you ask, and I only hope it may relieve you from your distress." But that is not the position of a Member of Parliament. He is not deal ing with his own funds.—(Loud cheers.) He is a trustee for the people, and he is bound to act upon strict principles of justice between all classes of the people.—(Cheers.) But can a more obvious or clear right—a more inalienable title to anything be esta blished than that which the labouring man has to the reward of his labour ? I never can understand that any one has a better claim to that men' s wages than the man himself—(Loud cheers)—and until a better title can be shown than that which tr.. 9 labouring man shows to his own wages, I must decline, merely at the request of the West India proprietors, and upon that show of distress, in my capacity of trustee, to transfer any portion of the poor man's earnings to the pockets of the West India proprietors. Mr. COBDEN, rising with great animation. Three cheers for the sentiment.—(The cheers were 'given with hearty good will.) Mr. M. GIBSON continued : When the Sugar Duties Bill passed through Parliament all the facts were before the Legislature which are before theta now—everything was taken into consideration, and after a mature discussion of the question, the sugar duties were placed on a permanent footing. The measure of 1846 has conferred a great benefit on the country—it has, as the free-traders pledged them selves it would do, added materially to the revenue of the State, and at the same time increased the quantity of sugar to the consumer and reduced the price.-. (Cheers). I have some statistics upon this point which I should wish you to bear in your mind. For the twelvemonths ending August, 1845 (the year preceding that in which the present Bill was passed), the revenue derived from sugar amounted to 3,339,1821. For the twelve months ending August, 1847, being the first year of our Sugar Bill—.. the Free-trade Sugar Bill—the revenue from sugar amounted to 4,652,4921., showing an increase of 1,313,0001. gained to the revenue, accompanied, as 'I said before, with less taxation to the consumer, an.l an increased quantity of sugar brought at a lower price within the reach of all classes of her Majesty's subjects.—(Loud cheers.) lam prepared, therefore , _ to stand by the Bill of 1846.—(H ear , b ear .) I t hi n k it is a good measure—l think it answered the pur pose for which it was intended—l think it a just mea sure—l think it was a well-considered measure, and I think the country will never regret that it was passed into a law.—(Applause.) But after all, has nothing been ever done for the West Indian body ? Do we forget that when slavery was abolished the people of England paid them in compensation the sunk of 17,000,0001. out of 20,000,0001., which at 4 per cent. adds to the taxation of the country something like 680,0001. a year ? You are now paying out or the taxation of this country for the emancipation of the slaves no less a sum than 680,0001. per annum to the West India body. Is that nothing ? But we are told that they did not get the 17,0001., that they were in debt, that their estates were mortgaged, sled that their merchants and brokers got possession of it. But you did not pay it any the less for that. (Cheers.) The 680,000/. still remains a charge upcn the tax-payers of this country, and they can't have anything to do with the previous arrangements, whe ther wise or unwise, which existed between the West India proprietors and their merchants and brokers.— (Cheers.) The money was paid, and, as I always understood, that closed the account, and it can no inure be re-opened. The question of slavery is settled, and let it be remembered that the abolition of slavery was not a law merely applying to the proprietors of estates in the West Indies. It was applied to all classes of her Majesty's subjects, and at the present moment I have nu doubt that in many other of her Majesty's dominions—say at the Cape of Good Hope or in Australia—the proprietors, if they were allowed to employ slaves, might be enabled to mak e a goo d d ea l o f land profitable rhich now returns them nothing. I was talking mysdi to a gentleman who has lately pur chased property in the Cape of Good Hope, and he said, " Why you seem to talk as if no one was de prived of any advantage by the abolition of slavery but the owners of slaves in the West Indies ;" and he added, that if he might purchas.l slaves, much of the land which now y ielded him nothing might be made profitable. Su they are riot the only parties ‘N h o can claim to have been deprived of an advantage, if there possibly can be any advantage, either. pre sent or ree mote, resulting irons such a system.—(Cheers). Fur my part, I hope to see slavery abolished in every part of the world, and I believe, leaving free labour t', compete without protection openly in the world's markets with slave labour, that the day will cone when it shall be proved that free labour is more pro fitable than slave labour, and when men's interests will induce them to abandon for ever the horrible traffic in human flesh.—(Loud cheers). We have had so many proofs lately from the successful operation in other countries, as well as England, of the effect of reducing duties, and giving a freer scope to industry and trade, that I will not dwell longer on that branch of the subject ; but there is one remarkable case in connexion with the trade of Eng land, to which I can't help calling a momentary atten tion—l allude to the trade with France. Now small as that trade absolutely is in amount, there is no trade which has relatively shown a more rapid increase.— (Cheers.) The declared value of our exports to France has amounted, within a very short period, to something like 3,000,0001., and now amounts, I believe, to 2,700,0001., whilst in 1815 they amounted to not more than 300,0001. But of that great in crease, be it remembered that the greater portion of it has taken place within a comparatively recent period, and it has taken place almost entirely in con-- sequence of the relaxation on our part, without any reciprocity on the part of France. I mention this tecause it affords a strong argument against what is called the " reciprocity system," showing as it does that 3ou have increased materially your trade with France, by acting for yourselves, and reducing t he duties on your imports, even Francethough_ has not reciprocated and materially reduced the duti es on imp into thwatitchountry Fra n ce .— also,C cou n try.—(C h eers.) 8 s. ) h w youßutl men tionthat, after all, the exports to F r a nc e are as great as the o t r h t i s s exports to the British West Indies, so that those dreadful Frenchmen, whom we are told to regard as our natural enemies, are as good customers of ours as the protected and much-cherished Wtst India proprietors.—(Hear, hear.) France takes of your exports 2,700,0001. The West Indians take 2,300,000/., and, more than that, want you to give them a protective duty on their sugar equal in amount to tie value of all the experts you send to the West Indies. lam not over-stating these things —I am mentioning merely those facts which parlia mentary documents place before us, and I ask you now whether we can reflect upon this gradual increase of commercial intercourse with France, without, at the same time, feeling that it must have a weight upon the ties of friendship and .of interest, which it would be more difficult to break than if the trade with France were only what it used to be in 1815—something like 800,0001. a year.—(Cheers.) I think my excellent friend Colonel Thompson would tell you that the two countries, with a trade of that sort subsisting between them, were less in a fighting condition than if there were no larger trade than 300,0001. a year. I, for one, believe from my con science—though I dare say diplomacy may h av e done much in the world—l believe from my conscience , and I state it unhesitatingly here in this public as sembly, that the most potent of all human agency to prevent war and maintain peace is the extension of commercial interests.—(General applau se. ) But, notwithstanding that growing trade , notwithstan ding that increased intercourse with Fr ance, we w ere told in the south—and recollect th a t letter came from Lancashire, from a great man in that district —that we were frightened out of our propriety by a letter from the north, telling us that we might expect an invasion by the French people—that the French people were actuated by feelings which I will net mention towards the natives of this country, and that we were lulling ourselves into a false security if we did not prepare an adequate force to repel that meditated invasion. Ido not mean to say—for I should not be honest if I did say, and it has al ways been my habit in Manchester candidly and fairly to state my opinions —I do not mean to say that you can dispense with the use of an armament. I do not say, and I do not believe my excellent friend, Mr. Cobden, ever said that you are to abolish all your military and naval preparations—there are those who would, but I do not believe Mr. Cobden has proposed that. We are all agreed, however that it would be the greatest improvement the world ever saw, if by international communication arma ments could be abolished altogether.—(Cheers.) Now we have averaged something like 16,000,0001. a year since 1815, for the maintenance of defences, and I believe, therefore, we always have had ade quate means of defence, and as far as I am capable of judging, no case has been made out which should . . 4 . 1 .: ti sr' 11 , ' 0 1 i I ' I i 1 , i 1 k , f F; . 1 ., 1 i 1 1 i , 1 74.. - 3 „- • : :i !'l 1 . ! . _ I i ?' 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