The Sun. — London, England, 1852-05-04 00:00:00

FRANCE. DEATH OF ARTHUR O'CONNOR. General Arthur O'Connor expired at his residence 1 tear Mantargis, On th e 25th ult., aged 89. He was an Irishman by birth, and in early tile was a Member of the Irish Parliament. He belonged to the United Irish men, and formed one of the five members of the Direc tory which was to put in movement that vast association. In 1796, the United Irishmen aiming openly at throwing Off the rale of England, General Hoche's expedition was decided on. It, however, failed signally, and Arthur O'Connor and another member of the Irish Directov came over to the continent, and had an inter view with General Roche at Frankfort, but it was not that general who attempted the second descent. General Humbert landed on August 22, 1798, at Killala with 1,500 men, bat the second French division not having followed from want of funds, Humbert and all his men were obliged to lay down their arms on September following. Arthur O'Connor meanwhile had been arrested at Margate, and all his papers seized. This brought to light the correspondenoe of the United Irish men with the French Directory, and several of the Irish leaders were arrested. O'Connor. before the day fixed for his trial had arrived, succeeded in escaping to France, and wee well received by the First Consul, who gave him the title of general of division in the French army. He afterwards married ;Mile. de Condorcet, and was intimate with all the persons who used to meet at the house of Mine. Helvetius, and afterwards at M. de Tracy's. He published an edition of Condorcet's works, and souse pamphlets on the political position of Great Britain and Ireland. Of late years ha has lived on his estate at Bignon, near Montargis, where he died. His only son, M. Daniel O'Connor, preceded him to the tomb about two years back. THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE: By the ship Agincourt we have received intelligence from the Cape to the 10th of March. There is no men tion of the Megmra or the Hydra. The Legislative Council had voted 5001. towards the relief of the sufferers from the loss of the Birkenhead. Sir Harry Smith was to lvive taken the field on the Bth inst. in person. A considerable number of Burghers were expected to join. He had heard of his removal, bra it had not altered his plans. Lady Smith was making every preparation to leave on the arrival of the new governor. By the last frontier post there was nothing new. The troops were preparing for the campaign of the Bth of March. The following Government notice had been published command:— " King ,Feb.illiam's Town, D• `)7 18 '2 . " Reports have been received from Mr. Cole, Civil Commissioner of Albert, dated the 17th instant. They state that the Burgher force under his direction had swept the whole of Tyono's and Madoor's country, the Indwee river and its kloofs, the neighbourhood of the Bolota, the whole of the 4uurberg range, and both banks of the T'Somo. Twenty-five Kafirs and eleven Hotten tots had been slain; among the latter the notorious Dirk Rabi; and 1,000 head of cattle, 300 goats, 40 horses, and 12 stand of arms had been taken. " Reports frcin Lieutenant-Colonel Michel extend up to the 22d instant. On the 20th, notwithstanding the incessant rain, his troops were vigorously employed in devsatatiug the crops b and adjacent to the Wolf's Den, the property of Sandilli. On the 21st he burned from 80 to 100 Hottentot huts, and some regularly built houses of wattle and daub, in and above the Ama tols Basin. He then moved back by the very difficult ground of the Wolf River to his camp in the valley of the Letiya, destroying many crops on the march. Col. Michel reports that • nothing could be more complete than the destruction of the Hottentot strongholds, or of the crops in the Den. " Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre's reports reach to the 23d instant. Early on the =ening of the 21st he moved in two divisions on the Gulu mountain—the range which separates the Wolf Valley from the tributaries of the Gulp River—and completely surprised the enemy, cap turing 54 head of cattle on the summit of the heights, send burning large numbers of huts in the very heart of the dentin bush. The enemy, Kafirs end Hottentots, fled evesywbere seethe troops advanced. Immense quan tities e' cultivation at the sources of the Upper Keis kerne, ecc.,weee destroyed on the 21st and two follow ing days. - Rockets had been used with great effect, spreading terror amerg the enemy. " From the heights of the Gale, Colonel Eyre had observed Colenel Michel operating in the Wolf Valley below. The. co-operation of these two officer?, therefore, has been perfect and most successful. " Reports to the 22d instant have been received from Major Kyle, up to which date the quantity of corn de stroyed ley his dela= was computed at about 10,000 maids. ' lie had met with no opposition. Major-General Somerset reports that he has de stroyed the whole, of the crops or the treacherous Soga, the murderer of the military villagers, and those of others, in the valley of the Chumie, as well as very many o❑ that side of the Amatola, " Major General Somerset has moved to the old Konsp Post, preparatory to the grand movement of ex pulsion from the Waterkioof to the Kei. The troops of the second division, having completed their labour of devastation, are all ordered to head-quarters to re-equip for the field. " Ur. Robert Ainslie reports the spirited repulse of an rata* made by some marauders on his farm, Spring Grave, on the morning of the 19th instant. A number of castle, abeep, and goats were, in the first instance, driven off; the, greater part, however, of the former, and the whole of the later were recaptured, and in the skirmish whicia took place between the small party of 13 Burghers and the enemy, 14 of the latter were 4lain, and 20 bv,les and several guns and assegais taken. Mr. Ains li.3 states, that the enemy did not fight with that spirit 'of determination which has been hitherto shown by them, but seemed more intent on getting off with their booty.' Very little ammunition was found in the pouches tithe slain." THE LOSS OF' THE BIRKENHEAD. (From the Purtsmout4 Times and Naval Gazette.) By the arrival of the sureivors of this awful calamity we are put in possession of some highly interesting de tails not befo re ma d e pu bli c, an d sorry we are that in these gatherings lie should have to record so cold hearted and ungentlemanly a reminiscence of Commo uere Wt vili towards the master of the schooner Lioness as that given in our " latest particulars" bf the wreck. We were inclined to doubt the infofielation we received in relation to that transaction/ hut the conduct attributed to Commodore Wyvill is supported by such respectable evidence that we cannot bat believe he has acted in the way imputed to him; nor is the treatment of the merchant Captain of the Lioness all that may justly be complained of in Commodore Viy vili'd behaviour during the a o w . e-strikinz period succeeding: the loss of the rehiriterihee,ci at the Cape. His dispatches to the Admi -4 t e Y have not been framed with that coolness and re gal:l4644llpr rigid le:curacy which such official information thee 4 do in a matter so vital to numerous members of h " a alanity in England. He said in his dispatch to the ome authoritithat it - (the es mond 'Brodie, sill:aster commanding the Birkenhead) or Mr. ten o'clock second t master, .had been on deck from this iaformatioon the . time the ship struck. How know, as both the gleaned we are at a loss to w etch are drown and and military officers of the saved, comprisiag mild the officers of the ship who are Mr. Renwick. engineer'. Richards, master's assistant ; gero,Tllir. Archbold, gunner; Mr. Cul hens, astiatant bur Barber, assistant engine er Mr' Hire, clerk, and Mr. 4,.d. in were all iu bed at the time the ship struck, and w en so from ten o'clock, and not one of mese offieers wised by Commodore Wyvili whether either m e. s e al " T to 3 nii or Mr. Brodie were ou deck from tea o'eloea ! go on vveath tilrtdsman and helms man saved did not :ttelve o'clock, and can only speak to what took place ) • from that time to two o'clock. Again Commodore Wyviil e a u the rocks off Point heand that have been Danger ex.tencicd on l y a lit tle more th an a eels, the Birkenhead, when she struck, c ou l d not impu l4d t niic r i ep t r he repre sented. Now this lo oks ver y much e so far off the shore as the survivi ne offiaers like from, and a best t es ti mo ny ha could presume to j u d ge very ancourteoth; (Nab; 0., ocular eviden ce t h an which none. better *vat speed by the waves. Now i s contra dis4actiore to the C om m o dore's hasty opinion w e h ave con mewl with a ge ntlemen who was shown by Capt a i n Itunseten, of the° Li o ness, D. 6artt id a much l ater taate the* any in the possession of the Admiralty, whereon the reeled elf Point Banger are s h own to extend abo u t a rareand a quarter from th e sheep,' whereas he, Capt4in Ramsden, who h as navigated the waters on the Cape ceast for 2t ye ars and upwards, knows the reef at Point Danger extends fully four miles out! and that the Birkenhead was fully three miles from the shore when she struck; and in his opinion the authorised charts issued were useless to steer by. Then, as to the c`jrupa3ses of the Birkenhead —we showed in a recent article (on the 10th ult.) that her com passes were entirely untrustworthy, and in support of this we have now a further corroboratory o pinion of some value. The master o f t h e Li oness w hen at Cap e Town after the wree s e, was told by the commander of the Propontis iron (screw) mail packet on the latter's heari n g of the wreck, he was not surprised, immediately assigning the muse to have been the failure of the compasses, as kfis own vessel, the same night on which the Birkenhead was lost, and about the same time, was in danger, from the attraction of her compasses from atmospheric in fluence, the compasses of the Propontis having on that night gone entirely round the circle, and kept fluctu ating round and round, rendering steering by them uaeless . ! Aetter this who can wonder at the lots of the Birken head ? We have other information in oar possession relative to the conduce of parties raved, but we will not prejudge them in the eyes of the world by publishing it now, feel ingw ict,. 'assured that before such a court-martial as will neat tt , e assere ble to investirrate the cause of the wreck, .° amples t ,: ' w knowe, expl enaeous ill be searched out and made ___,................ Livmap ow, s Groat Brltain; 1.,, AT ußD A y.—Tlic screw steam-ship Mersey 4t 9 to L A Zews commander, wiled from the choors at W.K.nrclnd s of to-day for New York, amidst the to witness her departrretrul assembled on the pier-heads at I .le took out ISO passengers, and, judgi irg from the rate is no dsubt she, I'll make she steamed to Holy likke a very fine run out. Shevas off the Ormshead and al? i ont 33 miles from the Rock Lighthouse, in two hou rs hours ; and passed Holyhead, a distance ot 60 mil es*in/ h4 ours and 50 minutes, and that, too, with a N.W. wind. , Boston, the Mersey at Royal Mail steam ship Canada, Lang commander, sailed* , o iyith the usual 4 30 P.M. tc-day for Halifax and Bos iu The United mails, 50 passengers, and about 1,0001. e s States Mail stears-ship Atlantic, sail from this port for New York on Wednesd raander, will the mails, &c. Ttr,e screw steam-ship City of next . with Manchester Leitch oommandeq, will also sail on Weduaaday next foi Vililadtlphia. THE SUN, POST-OFFICE NOTICE. On and from the Ist 'May next, printed hocks, maga zines, reviews, and pamphlets (whether British, Colo nial, or Foreign), may bo transmitted by the post be tween the United Kingdom and Heligoland, by packet vid Hamburgh, at the following reduced rates of postage, viz.:— s. d. For each packet not exceeding I- lb. in weight ... 0 6 If exceeding I lb. and not exceeding 1 lb. 1 0 ~ exceeding lib. and not exceeding 2 lbs. 2 0 ~ exceeding 2lbs. and not exceeding 3 lbs. 3 0 and so on, increasing one shilling for every additional pound or fraction of a pound. Provided, however, that the following conditions be carefully observed : let. Every such packet must be sent without a cover, or is a cover, open at the ends or sides. 2d. It must contain a single volume only (whether printed book, magazine, review or pamphlet), the several sheets, or parts thereof, when there are more than one, being sewed or bound together. 3d. It must not exceed two feet in length, breadth, width, or depth . 4th. It must have no writing or marks upon the cover, or its contents, except the name and address of the per son to whom it may be sent. sth. The postage must be pre-paid in full, by affixing outside the packet, or hs cover, the proper number of stamps. II any of the above conditions be violated, the pee , ket must be charged as a letter, and treated as such in i all respects. To prevent any obstacles to the regular transmission of letters, any officer of the Post-office may delay the transmission of any such packet, for a time not exceeding twenty-four hours, from the time at which the same would otherwise have been forwarded by him. These instructions are not to extend to or interfere with the transmission of printed votes and proceedings of Parliament, or of printed papers allowed to pass by the post, under the newspaper privilege, all of which will continue subject to the existing regulations. KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON. The annual meeting and distribution of prizes of this college took place on Friday afternoon, in the large hall of the institution, in the presence of a very numerous assemblage. Earl Howe took the chair, supported by the Earl of Harrowby, Lord Radatock, Mr. Justice Coleridge, the Right Hon. W. Gladstone, Sir G. Staunton, Sir W. Riddell, Sir B. Brodie, the Rev. Dr. Jelf, D.D., principal of the college, and other gentlemen. The report of the council, which gave a very favour able review of the condition of the college having been rest!, Tho following gentlemen received prizes for profi ciency in the various subjects mentioned : Senior Scholar—Francis Nottidge Macnamara. Second Year Scholar—Edward Dowson. Junior Scholars— Thomas Buzzard, Charles Nottidge Macnamara, Samuel Dougan Bird. Divinity—Fourth year, John Kent Spender; third year, Alfred Payne; second year, William John Palmer; first year, James Howard Thornton. Warnefurd Endow ment—First prize, Francis Nottidge Macnamara; second prize, William Edward Illasfen. Leathe's Endowment-- Edward Liveing. Anatomy—John William Palmer. Second year—Ri chard Burford Searle, John Withington Roe, Ephraim Matthews Oridge. First year—John Propert, Henry Cayley, William Woodward. Physiology—Maxwell Tylden Masters. Second year —Geo. Kirkwood Curme, John W. V. Blackburn, John Craske Webb, Charles Stone. First year—John For taom Straker, John Lumedaine Properr, William Wood ward, and Vaughan H. A. Holberten, equal. Chemistry—William John Palmer. First year— Christopher Heath, William Woodward, Henry Cayley. Practical Chemistry—John Whittaker Hulke, Edward Liveing. Materia Medica—alward William Alexander, Max well Tylden Masters, Richard Burford Searle, William Henry Dodge. Surgery—John Whitaker Hulke, Maurice Davie, William Henry Dodge, Edmund M. Pb.Rendle. Medicine—Maurice Davis, Tnomas Henry Cheatle, 'William Pearl, Edward William Major. Midwifery—William Edward Maslen, Charles Julian Jackson, Edward Liddon, John Whitaker Hulke. Botany—Maxwell Tylden Masters, Edward Dowson. Forensic Medicine—John Whitaker Hulke, Henry William Lewer. C umparativeAnatomy—Samuel Bowen Partridge. Medical Clinical (Winter) —Thomas Henry Cheatle. Medical Clinical (Summer) —Francis Nottidge Mac- Inman, Maurice Davis. Surgical Clinical (Winter)—Maurice Davie, John Kent Spender, Eiward Atkinson. Surgical Clinical (Summer)—Samuel B. Partridge. Medical Society's Prize—Alfred Playne. Associates—Thomas Bridgewater, Thomas Chaytor Beale, James Balfour Cockburn, George Elen, Alex ander M. Edwards, Edward A. H. Head, Thomas F. Hardwick, Frederick W. Headland, William Hoar, James Henry Lakin, Edward Liddon, Francis N. Mac mantra, Henry T. L. Hooke, George R. Skinner, John Kent Spender, Albert Daniel Smith. SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT OF POSTAL REGULATIONS. The irregularities and delays in the forwarding of mails from London and other places to Manchester have been the subject of frequent representations addressed to the Post-office by the Manchester Com mercial Association. At a meeting of the directors of that association held lest week, it was resolved to send a deputation to London to bring these mat ters more particularly under the attention of the Postmaster-General in detail than it was convenient to do by correspondence. An interview was fixed for Thursday, and on that day Mr. IVlalcolin Ross, vice president of the Association, Mr. Atherton, Mr. Leo pold Reiss, Mr. Leo Schuster, and Mr. W. Gibb, were introduced to Lord Hardwicke and Colonel Maberley, and were favoured with an audience which lasted upwards of an hour. The late arrival of the day mail in Manchester from London was the first subject to which attention was called. At present his dispatched at 10 A.M., arrives in Manchester at 5, and , letters are delivered from 6 to half-past 6 in the evening. It waa suggested that if these bags were dispatched by the express train now leaving Euston-square at 9.30 at they would arrive at 2.40 P.rd , and be de livered by 4 o'clock, which would be an important saving of two hours to commercial men. The next sub ject was with reference to the dispatch of mails from Manchester and Liverpool to Glasgow. At present let ters have to be posted in Manchester by 3.15 P.M., and reach Glasgow at 1.30 5.,31., so that they remain in the post-office there six hours before delivery. The deputation urged th e ne cessity of altering the time for receiving letters to a later hour, so as to admit of all the bu s i ness i n the day being em braced in them, which could be done so as to still leave time for their early delivery next morning. The third subject was the detention of foreign letters in South ampton, the letters there being frequently twenty four hours before reaching Manchester. The fourth subject had reference to the inequality of the Brazilian postages, the nearer ports paying 2s. 9d. while the further ones are only ls. Fif t hl y , t h e deputat i on urge d th© propriety of a mail steam communication between Hongkong and Shanghai—the present mail-steamers stopping at Hongkong. The deputation complained, sixthly, cf the unnecessary detention of th e Ame rican mails fur Manchester at Liverpool, these letters being frequently delayed twenty to twenty-four hours after the arrival of the American mail steamers, although the distance is only thirty miles to Manchester. T h e 7th. object was to urge th e desirability, where new lines of steamers are likely to be fitted up and competition establi shed , . of attempting to secure more rapid communication and . reduction of ex penditure. The Earl of Hardwicke listened w ith much attention to the subject of the first suggest io n, and, although Colonel Maberly started some ob je ctions, . the Noble Lord appeared favourably impressed with the reasonableness of it, and promised th at i t should receive early attention. As to the mails from Manchester to Glasgow, his Lordship also appeared disposed to order the change. On the third and sixth subjects the Noble , Lord required further information, and the copy of a return which the deputation had read. The de putation were informed that matters were in progress tor accomplishing the change required in the fourth propo%ition, and it was expected the arrangements woall be immediately completed, but, as regarded the steam communication to Shanghai, no immediate hopes ceuld he held out. Lord Hardwicke said the seventh suggestion of the deputation should receive every at tention. AILS. gighlflee that the mans' are NE sentt out the General Pod-Office h 7 the night—and yy the morning--dispatch.] Y om. ; When made np La ; From what when Poet-office port dia. due. London; patched. -....... ....... a (,I?..y.tri. pkt.)N may 7 .• Liverpool •• May 1 10 3 k u Y U. 8.5 Pkt.) 111 May 4 ..•• • • Liverpool .. May 12 :a (bY 13 . 8 •pkt.)D1 May 14 .. .. Sonthanapt. May 7 (West tout).- li 1 4tti of the month Plymouth Iday 3 Aria * ••••• • • : II 19th it 30th of me. Dover .. May 18 n •• •• •• at r,..._ ::: ..: usouvvaeethamrPrgpll t..... America (by Brit, ~ America (by U.B . l',.. k t••) l ‘ 3 lay 7 Plymouth t• 111 1. • , 1--14 14 - tti a Y 01 : 4 the month .. .. t▪ 't 19th i & 30th of me. Dover k Y u•S•Pkt.)m , m. Y : Belghun .. Brazil .. .. .. ,laily ~ . tDover Buena Ayres .. ta of the month Southam t: California(viaChagr.e;)mt;,,"l,oF the Month Soatham P t. Cape of Good Hope 1,, ' i ri t T i 27 th of month' Southsun P t. Constantinople* _ _ 211 f 7 th I gii m° 27 th nth , I P l ,Yrnoutl i :.. Central America .. ?d i m & 17th - „ -- -, o,l2lo , l Dover mo , m ur tti 'L ._ ondon .. CChillhanne..l Isles .... .: M il , 14 17 ° tb n "er th ed ; : " r a Fri. 13' Sl u i t tIsam hamP p t t : . France .. .. M& le 'l`svice dany meutk 1 8°ut bomPt. are „ ,a .. .. .. N;7thl7tbri th ' of — l -Dorer .. Hamburgh • • .. N , Tuesday & p r i d r Dover .. Holland .. • • .. MWedoe 3 . & sa . Y ,London ~ a° Dover .. M& NI Twice daily .. „_" - s'uthampt. Honduras .. .. . N!l7th of the 11 10th of the mon i i i!Z l Yheed • • In lrc e j inn & ( ti via s . o . uthampo India (v i a Marsei Des) NI 8 thk 24th ef month D o ntkara P t • o2f4 t t la he of mo mo n n th th l, J Dover I vet ~, Mediterranean (via ! Meditert areas (via i 1 uthempt. Sontharrnton).. .... 3d 2; i ii 2o t :h a Manelnes) x f , i i e , .. .. .. M 4cl of the menth.,l6e u th, m Madeira • • • • .. M 9th of the month Ise, t h r. , -. r , fth,l7th,l9th,27th =apt. 1 J & 30th of month N a pl e ss _ .. 2's ,th 15th 25 th of me Dover ~ Papal States* .. .. N,;th 15th25th ofmo, Dover „ r e ,i, su l a r.. „ •. 11 7th 17th 27th of me , :iotathampt, Peru .. .. .. Y. 17th o: the ihonth Southanipt, Tuieany. .. N stli 15th 25 th of mo Dover • ~ West Indies .. .. M 'l7th Of the month SouthaMpt. , West Indies (2xcept I S Havanna 1.; Nassau) M I2d of the month .., onthainpt.l May 5 4 The malls to those c onntries thus marked (*) are conveyed 1 4 French packet vi*Marseilles. May 10 May 12 May 7 May 3 May 18 Daily May 16 May 16 May 5 May 3 May 10 May 5 Tit. Th. 8113 May 5 'rwicedaLly Mav 10 Tll4. Sat. Mea.That May 20 Twicedally May 20 May 16 May 23 ,May 46 !Ilay May 16 JI:Ita• May 10 11 - ay 2 May 2 ,May 6 Nay a 3 -lay 2 may 2,) THE LEIPSIC BOOK Fant.--The catalogue of the Faster Book Fair at Leipsic contains 4,527 works as pub lished, and 1,163 to be published. This is an increase of 700 volnrms compared with the Michaelmas fair, and of 800 more than the last Easter fair. The number of publishers by whom the works have been brought out i 4 903. One house at Vienna has produced IN; and the Magician. Brink haus, 95.—Literary Gazette. LONDON, THE MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, AND DEITHS IN ENGLAND. The quarterly return of marriages, births, and deaths was issued on Saturday. The general results of the return are satisfactory; the marriages exceed the average number, the births are above, the deaths are below the average of the kingdom. 90,936 persons were married in the last quarter of the year ending December 31st, 1851. In England the greatest proportion of marriages is always celebrated in the months of September, October, November, after harvest; and the numbers in the last season not only ex ceeded the marriages in the previous quarters of 1851, but those in the corresponding quarters of previous years. Allowing for increase of population, the proportion of marriages was slightly less than in the autumns of 1845 and 1850, but greater than in any other autumn since 1842. One in 58 of the persons living was married in 1851; or there was one marriage to every 117 persons living. The marriages increased chiefly in London, Cornwall. Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Warwick shire, Rutlandehire, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, and North Wales. They declined in the southern, south midland, and eastern counties ; in Wiltshire and Devonshire, Cumberland, Westmorland, and Mon mouthshire. The increase was most striking in Rei gate Croydon, Maidstone, East Ashford, Faversham, Brighton, Falmouth, Taunton, Bristol. Gloucester, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Derby, Preston, Hull, Durham. The rate of marriage was high, but sta tionary or slightly declining, in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield. The births of 161,776 children, born alive, were re gistered in the months of January, February, and March, 1852. The number greatly exceeds the average of the season, which is generally the most prolific of the year. So many births were never registered before in the same time. London, the West Midland counties, Yorkshire, and the northern counties exhibit the great est excess over their ordinary average. As the births registered were 161,776, the deaths 106,682 an addition is made to the population in three months of 55,094 persons. This is the natu ral increase. During the same period an army of 57,874 emigrants sailed from the ports of the United Kingdom at which there aro Government emigration officers; 51,999 of them sailed from three English ports-8,438 from London, 1,798 from Ply mouth, and 41,763, comprising an iedefinite number of the Irish people, from Liverpool. 1,399 emigrants sailed from Glasgow and Greenock; 4,476 from Irish ports. The average price of wheat during the three months was 40s. 10d., or 4s. higher than it was in the last three months of 1851, when more wheat was sold. The quanti ties of wheat and wheat flour entered for home con sumption at the chief ports of Great Britain rapidly di minished in the three last periods from 91,040 to 47,986 and 27,540 quarters weekly. The price of potatoes at the waterside market, Southwark, was 70s. a ton, and ranged from 3s. to 4s. a hundred weight. The average price of mutton by the carcase ranged from *I. to 51c1.; and has scarcely varied for nine months. The price of the inferior beef rose from 3d. to 30. The average price of Consols was 974. The mortality of England is highest in the winter quarter. Notwithstanding the peculiarities of the weather, the mortality in the past winter has been considerably below the average of the season. The annual rate of mortality in the winter quarter of 1852 was 2.364 per cent., which is less by 0.111 than the mean annual rate of mortality in the ten previous winters. To every 22 deaths in previous winters, after allowing for increase of population, there were 21 deaths in the past winter, during which, as Mr. Glaisher has shown in his valuable account of the meteorology, the temperature was 3 deg. above the average. The health of the districts comprising chiefly small towns and country parishes was considerably above the average standard; the towns exhibited less improvement, and lost a fourth part more of the population by death than the country districts. In Lcndon 14,592 deaths were registered in the three months of January, February, and March; 14,481 in the thirteen weeks ending March 27. Small-pox, scarlatina, and hooping-coueh prevailed to a considerable extent. lefl mines, bronchitis, and pneumonia were fatal to 40, 1,422, and 908 persons; whereas the deaths in the pre vious winter of 1851 from the same diseases were 205, 1,612, and 1,244. Consumption, on the other hand, was more fatal in the two last than it was in the two previ ous winters. Scurvy and purpura were only fatal to 10 persons. 527 persons died in the thirteen weeks of typhus. 62 women died of metria or puerperal fever, and 62 of other diseases incidental to child-bearing. 120 cases of erysipelas are recorded. Cancer is an example of great regularity in the mortality some diseases cause; in the five last winters the deaths from cancer were 222, 231, 213, 236, and 231. Deaths from diseases of the nervous system remained very uniformly the same. Diseases of the heart are returned in increasing numbers; to that cause 425 deaths were referred in 1848, and 603 in 1852. The increase is probably due to the advancement and diffusion of medical know ledge; for many of these deaths would informer years have been referred to dropsy. Nephria, or Bright's disease, has increased from the same cause. One of the most sin gular facts in the return is the increase of deaths by car buncle; which from, an average of about 2 rose to 17 in the quarter, 19 deaths were directly ascribed to intem perance, 29 to delirium tremens, 12 to privation, 64 to the want of breast milk, 4 to cold, 23 to poison, 88 to burns and scalds, 7C to hanging and suffocation, 72 to drowning, 161 to fractures and contusions, 35 to wounds, and 11 to other violence. THE CAUSES OF THE DEFEAT AT WATERLOO. The battle of Waterloo was lost not by the army, which was never more indefatigable, more devoted, and more brave, but by the commission of four faults—the tardiness of Ney on the evening of the 16th in occupying Qaatre-Bras ; the indecision of Grouchy in not marching towards the cannon of the battle, and neglecting Wavree ; the too great distance left by Napoleon between his army and his right wing commanded by Grouchy; finally, and above all, the loss of seven hours of daylight by Na poleon on the morning cf the 18th, in front of Welling ton: fatal hours, which gave time to the Prussians to ar rive on the field of battle, and to the French army a se cond enemy upon its flanks, before it had vanquished the first. Of these four errors two must be a.eribed to Napol e on's generals, and two to himself, none to the troops. Neither his genius nor his resolution are recog nized in separating himself from one- Laird of his army, by an immense and unknown space on his right, without even verbal communication with this wing; nor when he hesitated till 11 o'clock in the forenoon before he ad vanced to storm Mont Saint Jeau, and to deprive Wellin gton of the hope of being joined by the Prussians, already in sight on the horizon, but still three hours maroh from the field of battle. He left Ney, half a victor upon the reverse of Mont Saint Jean, to wait for three hours the mass of the army and the Imperial Guard, instead of profiting by the breach opened by the Marshal in the English army, to hurl upon it his centre and his reserve, and to sweep Wellington, scarcely resisting, from the field, before Blucher should be in a position to prevent the defeat of the English. Finally, his decisive impulse amidst the fire of battle could not be recognized in his ten hours' immobility on the plateau of Rossomme, and in his passive inertness behind the hillock at Mont Saint Jean, whilst his army was totally sacrificing itself by mounting to the breach opened by Ney, and waiting for nothing but the presence and example of its Emperor to rise above itself and superior to destiny. One of these faults alone was sufficient to ruin an ordinary army, but all combined destroyed that of France. Let us add, in order to be just, that Wellington and his army equalled by their intrepidity the first generals and the best soldiers in France. The English general possessed the true genius adapted for desperate struggles, the determination not to be conquered. His troops possessed the real genius of defence, passive obe dience unto death. The Scotch regiments covered, without yielding an inch, the spot on which they were ordered to die.—Lamartine's History of the Restoration of Monarchy in France. GALVANIC CHAINS.—We find in a Belgian medical journal the following curious case, related by M. Henrotay, a military surgeon. It runs as follows :—Geerairts, '3B years of age, keeper of ordnance stores at the camp of Beverloo, in Belgium, was in the habit of wearing, on account of old rheumatic pains, a galvanic chain, which was fastened to his chest. Being, the last summer, close to a spot which was struck by lightning, he was suddenly seized with a fit of dyspncea, which lasted fully a quarter of an hour. As he was no worse for that attack, be soon forgot the circumstance, when, on the Ist of May, 1851, whilst reading the paper in his room, the window of which was open, he was aroused by a violent clap of thunder. Immediately upon this, the man had- vertigo, he staggered about, was obliged to hold by . the furniture, and was all at once completely deprived of sight. He had at the time the galvanic chain around his neck. When seen by the surgeon, there was a great anxiety in the patient's countenance, the eyes were open and almost mo tionless, the pupils dilated and hardly acting, &c. The man co mplained of severe headach e an d g iddi ness, t h e pulse was slow, feeble, and compressible, and a b e ll o ws murmur was heard in the cardiac region. The patient was very thirsty, and there were nausea, anorexia, and slight pain on pressure in the epigastrium. Leeches were applied behind the ears, s i na pisms to the legs, and low diet e n f orce d. As there was no improvement two days after the accident, a large blister was put on the nape of the neck, some amelioration took place, and sight was quite restored on the sixth day.—Lancet. How TO COOS AN EGG.—An egg should not be boiled ; it should only be scalded—n(l9o, coddled. Immerse your egg in, or, which is better, pour upon your egg boiling water. For time; proportion your time to the size and num ber of your eggs, and the collateral accidents. If you cook your eggs upon your breakfast-table more time will be re quired. But if you station your apparatus on a good whole some hob, where there is a fire, and so the radiation of heat is less positive, less time will suffice. The latter way is mine, winter and summer, and the differences of the surrounding circumstances equalize, or nearly so, the time. I keep one egg under water 9 minutes two, 91; three, 10 ; and four nearly 11 minutes. The yolk first owns the power of the caloric, and will be even firmly set, while the white will be milky, or at most tremulously gelatinous. The flavour, superior to anything which a plover ever deposited, will be that which the egg of the gallinaceous domestic was intended to have; the substance, that which is delectable to the palate, and facile of digestion. There is perfect absence of that gutty percha quality, in the white especially, at once the result and the source of dyspepsy. I believe that eggs would be much more patronised and much more wholesome, if boiling were discarded.— Cottage Gardener. ALARMING OCCURRENCE AT THE ROYAL Acx- DEMY.—About mid-day on Saturday a very alarming acci dent, which might have been attended with the most diast. rolls consequences, occurred in the apartments occupied by the Royal Academy in the National Gallery. It appea r s that among the preparations for the banquet that evening was the arrangement of a large number of gas jets near the roof of the saloon where the dinner took place. Beneath these jets a large sheet of strained camas was extended in order to shut out the glare from the pictures on the walls. The man in charge of the - gas was in the act of testing its adieu when a small quantity of ignited spirit of wine fell upon the canvas, and in an instant the whole was in a blaze. happily, the fragile frame and the canvas were soon con sumed, and, beyond the mi sc hi ef occasioned by t h e destruc tion of the tabl e - c loths an d part of the dinner orgiphemlia where the debrif fell, 129 damage happened. TUESDAY EVENING-, MAY 4, 1852. that the whole postal communication of Northern Europe with America would inevitably flow into this line. As had been pointed out—ore was Galway, and the other a prt on the Shannon. He hapsd his Noble Friend would institute a local investigation into the actual cir cumstances of thew two ports, aud in the meantime he wauld take the liberty of moving that the memorials ad dressed to the Treasury on the whole of this subject be Lid on the tab's of the House. _ _ _ Earl GRAN VILLE supposed there would be no ob jection to the production of these memorials; and, after they were laid on the table, perhaps the House could go further into the subject.—(ffear, bear.) Lard CAMPBELL said, their Lordships would per haps be surprised that he should rise to take part in a debate of this kind; but, as he had lately had the honour thrust upon him of becoming an Irish pro prietor—( laugh)—and as ho had been requested, if an opportunity presented itself, to put in a good word on this subject, and particularly in favour of the port of Galway, he wished to make one or two obser vations. He was much afraid that nothing could be expected to be done in this matter in favour of Ireland or of Galway; but, as the Noble Lord (Lord Derby) had told them that the completion of the submarine telegraph might alter the state of affairs, and as they had seen sudden revolutions on other sub jects of late years, it might be that they would expe rience-a sudden revolution in this matter also.—(Hear, bear.) He had been informed that the submarine tele graph would be almost immediately put in operation, and then communications would take place between Lon don and Dublin in the coarse of a few seconds. When that was once done, he hoped they would see the very desirable object carried out of a packet station at Gal wsy.—(llear, hear.) With referenoo to the condition of property in that part of the country, he - might mention that he knew an estate which used to produce 3,0001. a-year that for the last five years had not yielded enough to nay the rates. The motion fur the production of the memorials was then agreed to. The Copyright Amendment Bill was read a third time and passed. Their Lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, May 3. The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly before Four o'clock. NEW MEMBERS. Sir FITZROY KELLY took the oaths and his seat for East Suffolk; Mr.,CARTEA took the oaths and his seat for Tavistoek. ROYAL COMMISSION. Mr. PULMAN, the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod, appeared at the table and summoned the House to at tend at the bar of the House of Peers, to hear the Royal assent given by commission to several public and private Acts (for which see Lords' report). HARWICH ELECTION. The SPEAKER informed the House that he had re ceived a letter from the petitioners in this case stating that they did not intend to proceed with the petition. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following Bills wore read a third time and passed:— Kelvin Bridge (Glasgow) and other Works. London, Tilbury, and Southend Railway. Porthdinllsen and Nanthwynant Roads. South= to Kinston Road. South-Eastern andßeading , Guildford, and Reigate RAlways. The following Bills were considered and agreed to: — Bedford and Kimbolton Road. Romsey, Broughton, Stockbride, and Wallop Roads. Shilliugworth, Wallingford, and Reading Road, and Shilling worth Bridge. Wakefield and Denby Dale Road. Lambart's Estate Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. PETITIONS. Several petitions were presented against the Maynooth grant, and a great number against the Militia Bill. Lord DUNCAN presented a petition to that effect from 3.000 of the inhabitants of Bath. Mr. THORNILY presented a petition from the. Uni versity of London, praying to be exempted from the operations of the Charitable Trusts Bill. Mr. REYNOLDS presented several petitions from various parts of Ireland in favour of tenant right. Mr. IIEYWOR ra presented a petition from Derby against the Militia Bill. Mr. COBDEN presented several gimilar potitions from various parts of the West Riding. Mr. JAMES CLAY presented a petition from the attorneys of Hull against the certificate duty. Mr. TINNELL presented a petition from the Daven port Young Men's Christian Association against the Militia Bill. Mr. HEYWOOD presented several similar petitions from places in Lancashire. Lord HARRY VANE presented petitions to the same effect from Hartlepool. Mr. SLANEY presented a petition in favour of the Industrial Partnerships Bill. NEW WRIT. On the motion of Mr. HAMILTON a new writ was ordered for Harwich, in the room of Sir Fitzroy Kelly, who had accepted the office of Steward of her Majesty's Manor of Helpholme, in Yorkshire. THE CRYSTAL PALACE. Mr. THORNELY brought up the report of the Ge neral Committee of Petitions, in which it was stated that the name of an Honourable Member of the House bad been forged to oue of the petitions presented in favour of the retention of the Crystal Edam—The re. port was ordered to lie on the table. IMPERIAL. PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, May 3. The Royal Assent wal given this afternoon, by cam mission, to the following Bilk. The Royal Coutoia sioners were the Earl cf Lonedelo, the Mtaquis of Salis bury, and the Dolco of Montros e: tExchequeribAons n Biilafun lsr(l ichel ,7 i !2 ; 8 1e 0 n 0 t 1.?. St. Sheep. &c., Contagious Disorders Peeveation. Mansfield Gas. Liverpool Museum and Library. Wolverhampton Gas. Yaxley Drainage Patent Solid Sewage Manure Company. East London Waterworks. Scarborough Market and Approaches. Their Lordships then adjourned, during pleasure. At Five o'clock Lord REDESDALE took his seat OD the Woolsack, in the absence of the Lord Chancellor. LAW OF EVIDENCE. Lord CANIPBELL presented a petition from the R oya l Burghs of Scotland, in convention assembled, in favour of the Law of Evidence (Scotland) Bill. His Lordship added that he concurred in the prayer of the petition, and bore test imony to the most successful working of the measure relatin g t o E ng l an d passed on this subject last sess ion. Lord LYNDHURST gave notice that with reference to this Bill ho should, when it came into Committee, move to strike out cer tain words for the purpose of making it more extensive and more beneficial. BEER HOUSES. The Duke of RICHMOND presented a petition pray ing for the better regulationOOTH. of beer houses. MAYN Tho Duke of RICHMOND presented petitions from Chichester, from a . plaoe in Aberdeenshire, and also from other places In Scotland, against the Maynooth grant. IRISR DRAINAGE. The Earl of ROSSE rose to move for the appoint ment of a Select Committee to inquire into the operation of the Act relating to the drainage of land in Ireland, as administered by the Board of Works. The Noble Lord entered into a long statement of the :different operations undertaken by the Board of Works, contending that in numerous instances the Board had grossly exceeded the estimates unfinished, after having spent the o r iginal sum. There had and it had expended great sums of money without hav oibnre i ge g n i a n do a en l y tuha drawn r ep a l ay w r o P benefited e u • and had frequently loft the works nefited th e c ountry. It was to inquire of this Bo ar d a g reat dereliction of duty into this conduct of theirs that he desired the present i n vestigation. The Earl of DERBY said that he had no intention of opposing the appointment of this Committee, though by so doing he disclaimed any idea of coming to any pre judged opinion ort the Board of Works for not having at tained results which might frequently have been beyond their control. Considerable powers had been given to this board to carry out the objects confided to them to be executed, and he was by no means prepared to say that its proceedings ought not to be watched with great vigilance. A Very volum i nous correspon d ence o n th is subject would speedily be laid before tho two Houses of Parliament, and ho thought until that correspondence were laid before them the Committee would do better to abstain from any active operations. The motion was then agreed to, and the Committee appointed. -On the motion of Lord COLCHESTER, the Linen, &c., Manufactures (Ireland) Bill was read a second time. POOR RELIES AC r CONTINUANCE BILL. This Bill was also read a second time. LOAN SOCIETIES BILL. This Bill was also read a second time. TRANSATLANTIC PACKET STATION. Earl GRANVILLE rose to inquire whether it was the intention of the Government to take any measure to re move the Transatlantic packet station from Liverpool to any one of the southern or western ports of Ireland? He had given notice of this question the other day in consequence of seeing an extract from a Dublin paper, giving an account of a deputation which waited on the Lore -Lieutenant of Ireland for the purpose of soliciting a grant of public money for the purpose of improving Galway harbour. The. Lord-Lieutenant was reported to have expressed a hope that this whole of the traffic between this country and the United States might pass through Ireland; but that he did not pledge himself to anything, as much must depend on the Chancellor of the Exchequer; and that he would communicate with the Government on the subject. The commission over which ho (Earl Granville) presided collected a great mass of evidence in respect to this matter, and, having anxiously considered it, they came to the conclusion that it would not be consistent with their duty to recommend the re moval of the Transatlantic packet station from Liver pool to one of the Irish ports. Now, he thought that it was very natural that any one in the position of Lord. Lieutenant of Ireland should feel anxious to consider any question likely to be of advantage to Ireland, and shouldlaiaimme, promise; which its geographical position might seem to entitle it to. On the other hand, it was not unlikely that the ac count in the newspaper to which he referred might not be correct, for very few persons in official life were un aware that in the case of deputations, the person who received them frequently found himself, on seeing the account given of them, very much like the lion in the fable when he found himself represented by the sculptor. As many false alarms might be excited by any misapprehension on this subject, he thought the matter of sufficient importance to justify him in asking whether the hope expressed by the Lord-Lieutenant was such as described in the report ho bud alluded to; if so, whether the Government concurred in it, and whether they intended to take any steps for the removal of the Transatlantic packet station to any harbour in Ireland? The Earl of DERBY said the Noble Lord had re ferred to the reports of of some promise given with respect to deputations, and he might also observe that such of their Lordships as had official ex• pone it came to his turn his application ' nee well know that they frequently received letters the applicant down on the list, at the b t u i m b s e eth e ta o et ia ll s wi i n d hg n e r n e d. This was construed into a tive wish to andhi him there h erreele:roirneg arpenrmoainivnipsdoei appointment, h ep e nu m tt, t a h g ey rea fo t u m ild an t y he b y ef b o a r d e and he could not help e believing that there misrepresent, but from e, Some misrepresenta tion in the present instance. h i m (fiord Derby) consequence of the notice which had been given by the Noble Earl of the questio • n h e had just put, the Lord-Liontenant of Ire landcase, wrote to stating that he saw to hie great surprise that what he had said had been consider ablythedii,nasetaenndext ya Lordes express his great Mayor of Dublin felt sure that their Lordships would regret at the misrepresentation. When be mentioned the answer which the Lor d - Lieutenant had given to agree t h a t it was just such a statement as the bad In ca is l r le e d Pre o l n " have Lord- Lieutenant ought to made on the occasion. He stated that he felt a deep interest in the welfare and prosperity of Ireland, and that he was personally anxious to .see the whole trade , not of the deputation, he England only, but of all e , p a ss through Ireland Europe, to America. but that any good wishes that he might entertain not only could not obtain the establishment of a T ransatlantic station in Ire land, but could not even obtain the granting of the re quest of the deputation for t h e budding of a pier in Galway h a rbour. Tht a the only answer the Lord withath w e s Lord- Li eutena nt gave, e xception of an assurance that he would transmit the r epresentations of the depu tation to the Government. In reference to the question put by s the Noble Earl, he (Lord Derby) replied that Government had not seen reason to come to any decision adverse to the conclusion at which the commission referred to by the Noble Earl had arrived, and, consequently, the Govern ment, as at presen t advised, had no intention of remov ing the Transatlantic packet station from Liverpool, and establishing it in any of the , ports of Ireland. But, at the same time , he mus t o bserve , that the subject was open to inquiry , and there were many motives, more especially the submarine telegraph between England and Ireland, if it should b e earned into effect, which m i g ht render it desirable that such station as a packet had been alluded to should be at some future time esta blished, and that every Pleeneage men t should be given to the improvem ent of loose splendid harbours, in which the west coast of Ireland more especially abounded. Nevertheless, he would not, on the part of the Govern ment, desire to hold out a -by expectation, at all events for t h e prese nt, that t he T ransatlanti c packet station would be established on the w e , 31 coast of I r eland, or that any preference was intenued to be shown in favour of one port over another, more especially as between the two p or t s which had been Prominently p u t forward, Lime rick and Galway. The Marquis of er. e --seNRICARDE was sorry that the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland had not said as much as he had been represented to have said. It was admitted in the report of the Commission that, so far as commu nication was " I "rhod, ad van t age s would bo gained by the establishment of a T ransatlantic packet station at Galway, but that those advantages would not be com mensurate with the cost. The question, however, as to whether the expense was worth the advantage to be gained, was one which ought to be kept in sight both by the Government of the United States and more par ticularly by the Government of this country. Tho re port of the Commission distinctly recommended holy- head as the point of departure and arrival for the mails. When he was at the Post-office he considered that mat ter, and the re commendation of the Post-office autho rities, in which he joined, was that that part of the re port should be carried out. For this he had been abused in Ireland, for when a public man fulfilled his duty without regard to the country to which he owed a great deal, he was considered unpatriotic; but he was free to admit that the adoption of Holyhead for the service of the mails would, in his opinion, have ulti mately led to the adoption of a port in Ireland, as it would have led to an alteration in the system of naviga tion and communication. He hoped that the recom mendation of the report, which was adverse to the adoption of a port in Ireland, would be reconsidered. After a few words from the Earl of CAWDOI - t, which were not distinctly heard in the gallery, Lord MONTLAGLE said he did not intend to reflect on the zeal or impartiality of the Commission, but ho thought that the inquiry was in one respect incomplete. No doubt, whatever might be done in Ireland, manufac tures and goods for America would be sent out directly from the most favourable trading port in this country; and the question as respected Ireland, therefore, resolved itself exclusively into one of postal communication, though he did not mean to say that a consideration with regard to pa sserger traffic miht not, to a certa in extent, be involved i n it. Ho thought the report of t he Com mission had greatly underrated the possible benefits that might arise from communication with America from a windward port; and it appeared from the evidence of an eminent engineer that if a vessel were exclusively built for Post-office and passenger purposes, and stationed at a windward port, the voyage from Ireland to Halifax. Nova soli., m i g h t b e ma d e in a days. He believed OATHS. Mr. REYNOLDS give notice that, on Thursday next, he ahould ualc the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to bring in a Bill to alter the law relating to the oaths takes by Members. WEiT INDIA MAIL. Sir A. COCKBURN wished to ask the Secretary tetn o htet f heio S etyfc t st a iihto t ty e eef for the Colonies a question relative to &statement which had appeared in a public print supposed to be in the con fidence of the Government. It was there stated to be the intention of Government to remove the West India mail packet station from Southampton to Plymouth, and he should be glad to know if there was any foundation for the statement. Sir JOHN PAKINGTON said the subject did not come within his department, but he had made inquiries wawa it of the Secretary to the Admiralty, and was in formed that no such intention as that mentioned had ever existed.—(hoar, hear.) THE ARMY. Mr. DUPRE, on behalf of Colonel Reid, who was absent through indisposition, wished to ask the Secretary at-War et t eo - nhinp li dsor a o.hnn r awa w foo h bfAr e etL t eph h nree e o r toprae h iki ns e emi r nno gv M sabal l i t i do o u tf B h l t tse Y ' h a m ' ec a rl io G i tc a hr o m poli v ore e p e ri n da r o t n tr.i: m o t at o ntai e noor n ankoe t g l oef fl e h ito c meec, a tf d e a ll e y :hue strength of our regular troops serving in Great Britain and Ireland? pre sent itijootrehßtEioßnEoSfFpOrolplDosianagidanGyoivoeorrraseenitn had ule u no wy. S34ITEIF I E 14 D MARKET. Sir BENJAMIN HALL wished to ask the Score• efa S mi t i ate had nothin g tary of State for the Home Department, w h et h er any l e o td e h f pt to approve of the . _n ( o H th e i a n r : whe ther any site had been fixed upon for the new market? of London had given notice within the specified time wt r o tid Act , eo intention ta hn ad withtoottrtnhhhpteeeo t h o r s sal Honourableai a n contr n ndte d t srt e a hh r r t oeey a xun k e the i r carryingon e Baronet w ag out transferred Cm to Commissioners. of the pro bablyfoufrththe r e a i however, the Honourable Baronet had given notice of his question he had made inquiries respecting the matter, an d he was intormed that twenty-four new sites had been suggested to the Corporation, which they had now under their consideration, and they hoped in a short time to be able h swi e ti a et Act h : ..ic)unonuelliedgssl eighteen b t n et ; e e n : to submit a proper site for the approval of the Home effiee,(Hear, bear.) GLASGOW POST-OFFICE. Mr. MACGREGOR wished to ask the ohanoellor of the Exchequer what measures had been taken by her M4jesty's Government, in order to carry into effect the erection of a new Post-office on the ground purchased for that purpose in the city of Glasgow? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the estimate of the architect had only just been received, but the subject should command his immediate attention. RIFLE CLUBS. Mr. EVELYN wished to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it was the intention of the Government to advise her Majesty to accept the services of corps of rifle volunteers, to be raised and maintained at their own expanse? Mr. WALPOLE said if it should become necessary and proper, Government would not hesitate to sanction the formation of rifle corps, but be was unable to say whether Government would accept of their services until he saw what progrc.ss the Militia Bill made.—(Rear.) BISHOP OF COLOMBO. Sirln rep j .l PA t i M i N r . G T T U O F N N E s a L i d r. , a very .eevhemo painful constitution and per at 1113 Z r: s ti k l i i r a ri n g j d t . o p n h sonal correspondence had been received at the Co ! pro duce it now he could state that Government w ould r n e o nd t e im ra e d i n n ec t e a s k s i i t o r g vvy. sl z ot sc Queen's Speech relating to Now The passage in the Quee would ßisho p h be f prudent Colomb o,t o and hl a l o o l as t il d h e i a n lu-go ffi h °he, did relating no t think to t i h t o ZEALAND. steps l3ras.N sr p t . h e correspo nd ence 08n esir into j . ti e constitution to the in a Bill for i sa n u t b e mm r e io s ts t etadniiennwt theereo s n w t s i t t e l i i g t:t r ieouof colony, loNr e Tcoe wt hili h :ve i eZ ija ti ini : zz . i d i s s t w i ett ap oiri a: 11 : f s en d a r f o o l : d i v tn h i o e h a lt e n c t i:e wt office it was ram o t o il e neend l o o th : grantingAavlii.nEgN (I b e T en O s N r rd e e r a p o d r s e e h; o a t n n o thtea t t a n s k for leave colony be suspended f.r a year longer, but after receiv ing repeated r e presentations on the subject from persons co mw of i o l i oN s h n t oy t w h re e oZ e f c e o on aN n t :cu awd rr a ' e Zt n e le m i l r ao e n o i v i f e: l d li t e s pe c n o l ll e e n s e g i u e e s s, of the British : wp -i rorairoess:ma iolab . rdi :I n ' h1 1 3 : ::: : so e i itnroh, _fi,t3hor. thet a s ulto t hi it) yeitp ai io l 4o: v irnutp s odeel n i eBr c ogroc e toBB: o ti:u t; I : a rs ie l d or to th t e b p e ur e p o o in se w s i f s ) s f i t o r:d o e t , c tbe r ur E t e hisei i n n vgis the colony. In 1832 a Bill passed the House of Commons for the prevention of crime committed in New Zealand and other islands iu the Pacific. Intercourse with the colony continued to increase, and at length., consul was sent out, who was to assume " Government as soon as he obtained from the natives he first a cession of the colony to the Crown. In 1836 tsion of stop was taken to make New Zealand a P h a rd s elapsed Great Britain, therefore only twelve years since it became attached to this count r y. The progress . WM 041180 5 5 and of the colony had peen retarded by van t r eh e r tne d i : : ci l fh b s i ogysolii:otenghnunyhei among others by the rebellion of the natives in 1845. In 1846 Earl Grey gave the colony a representative insti tution, but in 1848, in cons. Vence of events which then he ppened, it was suspended E'er it period of five years. The five years expires on the let March, 1853, there fore it was absolutely necessary to do something in the present session, because the Act of 1846 would of itself come into operation next year. Daring the interval the colony had progressed greatly, both as regarded the poculution and the extent of commerce carried on. In 1848 the population was about 17,000; in the present year it had increased to 26,000 or 27,000. The value of goods exported was in 1848, 44,2151., and in 1850, 115,4151. There had also been an incense in the reve nue of the colony—in 1848 it was 48,589/., and in 1845, 57,7421. Sir G. Grey, the governor, in one of his dis patches, spoke highly of the intellectual superiority of the natives, whom he considered might be well in trusted with those privileges of self-government which Earl Grey gave them in 1846, but which, under special circumstances, were afterwards withheld. There were three peculiarities which rendered New Zealand distinct from any other of the British dependen cies,-Ist, the geographical situation of the colony ; 23, the mode of settlement adopted; and, lastly, the high natural qualities and intellect of the natives. The centre of the two islands was occupied by lofty mountain ridges, which were unfit for cultivation, and consequently all cultivation was confined to the planes. Then in regard to the mode of settlement adopted; the people did not, as in other colonies, congregate around one centre, but took up their residences in different parts of the island, and they were now spread over a length of country of between 800 or 900 miles. As he had already stated, the character of the natives was of a very high order. They had been comforted to Christianity, they were attached to agriculture, fond of the sea, and made good sailors, and they were ambitious to become skilled in European arts and customs. They were great adepts in warfare, and some were even better equipped than our own regular troops. Some of the chiefs had acquired considerable property by their industry, and had several thousand pounds invested in the Govern ment funds. In arranging a local government for these colonies there would be some difference of opinion, but he apprehended no opposition to the proposition that the right of separate government should be given to the detached dependencies. There would, however, be a difference of opinion as to whether these detached cor dons should be dealt with as independent colonies, or only as portions of a colony having a local government. of their own, but under a general federation, as in the United States. The Government, after the best con sideration, thought that the dependency ought to be treated as one colony, and that the detached portions should be dealt with as small but not as independent colo nies. In order to carry out this plan they would establish local legislatures and a general legislature for governing the whole. Earl Groy proposed, in 1846, to form five different provinces. It was now the intention of the Government to increase the number to six, viz., Welling ton, New Plymouth, Auckland, Nelson, Canterbury, and Natal. It was proposed to have a governing officer for each province, called a superintendent, who should be appointed at a salary of 5001. by the Governor of the colony, and not by the Colonial-office. Below the superintendent there would bo a legislative council. It appeared to the Government that, looking to the small population which existed in these districts, it was not advisable that there should be two chambers, nor was it advisable that the ono chamber should be composed principally of nominee members. That system had already failed in New Zealand, and it was therefore proposed that these provisional councils should be wholly elective.—(Hear, hear.) Then came the question of th© franchise. And here, looking at the ignorance which necessarily prevailed at this distance from the colony upon its local affairs, it was thought by the Government that there was no alterna tive open to them but to adopt the franchise recommended by the Governor, Sir G. Grey, which was that every man possessing a house worth 50/., or occupying a house in a town at 10/. a year, or Si. a year in the county, should bo entitled to vote. — (Hear, hear.) The franchise should be enjoyed alike by the native as the European, while the question of payment to members would be left for the decision of the provincial councils themselves. It was proposed by the Bill OW on the first day of meeting those mem bers who resided ten miles beyond their respective councils should be allowed a sum for expenses. But a matter of this detail he thought it much better to leave to themselves to settle, as they, of course, must be the best judges of what is most conducive to their own in terests. He now came to a very important point in refe rence to the arrangement of the Provincial Councils — namely, those subjects upon which it was prop ised to restrict them from legislating. He proposed 14 subjects upon which the Provincial Coucils were to be prohibited from legislating upon: and here again there was one very important difference between the plan recommended by the present Government and that of Lord Grey. But he might observe that the plan of the present Govern ment was supported by Governor Grey. It was pro posed that they should not interfere by legislation with Crown land; because the Government apprehended that if they were to have that power in all probability there would be ono principle adopted by one of these councils, and another by another. It was, therefore, deemed much more desirable to leave this great question to be dealt with by a higher and separate authority. Well, then, these restrictions were to be as follow, viz.:— First, they were not to legislate upon the imposition or regulation of duties of customs. Second, they were not to legislate in reference to the establishment of any civil or criminal court, except for the purposes of trying off,ncee uow punishable by law in New Zealand. Third, they were not to determine the extent of juris diction or course of proceeding in the Supreme Court. Fourth, they were not to regulate the currency of coin issued in the colony. Fifth, they were not to interfere or determine the weights and measures. Sixth, they were not to regulate the post office or the carriage of letters. Seventh, they were not to legislate in reference to the establishment of laws in eases of bankruptcy and insolvency. Eighth, they were not to interfere in refe rence to the erection of beacons and lighthouses. Ninth, they were not to legislate in reference to the imposition of duties and other charges upon ships. Tenth, they were not to interfere for the regulation of marriages. Eleventh, they were not to interfere by legislation iu re ference to Crown lands, or lands in respect to which the titles of the aborigines had not been determined. Twelfth, they were not to interfere in respect to disabi lities or restrictions affecting persons of the native race, to which Europeans were not subject. Thirteenth, they wore restricted from altering :in any way the criminal law of New Zealand, Fourteenth, they were not to interfere for the regulation of the course of inheritance in respect to real or personal property. He ought to ob serve that these restrictions were identical with what were proposed by Lord Grey, and recommended by Sir G. Grey, the governor, excepting that one relating to the Crown hinds. There was ono other point upon which the present Government ven tured to differ from Lord Grey—he meant the mode in which the Acts passed by,the Provincial Legislatures of the colony were to receive the Royal assent. I; was proposed by Lord Grey that the Acts passed by the Provincial Legislatures should be ultimately sent to this country for the assent of her Majesty—in fact, that they should follow the course now adopted in regard to the Acts of the other colonial Legislatures. But looking to the number of restrictions which it was intended by the Government measure to impose, and the limited power of the Legislature, it seemed to the Government more advisable that these matters should be at once settled without the delay which the necessity of sending them home for the assent of her Majesty would necessarily occasion ; it was therefore proposed that the Governor in-Chief should have the power giving to these Acts the final assent of her Majesty.—(Hear, hear.) But at the same time he was disposed to think it would bo better, subject to general instructions in case of any special re quirement in respect to a particular Act, that it should be referred home for the assent of the Crown.—(Hear.) That, however, was a matter open for the consideration of Parliament. With the permission of the House he would now describe the way in which it was proposed to constitute the Central Legislature. They proposed that the Governor-in-Chief should of course be the head of the central Government, and that the central Legislature should consist of the Governor-in-Chief, of a Legislative Council, and of a fairly chosen Assembly. The first question of difficulty that presented itself was, how the Legislative Council was to be constitut e d. This was the most important point upon which the present Government had ventured to differ from Lord Grey in reference to this measure. It was the intention of Lord Grey that the Upper Chamber of the Central Legislature should be an elective body; bat it was proposed to make them elective in a very peculiar manner, for which they had no precedent—namely, those of the Provincial Legislatures should send three persons each, who were to constitute themselves the Legislative Council of the Government House of Legislature. He thought he would be borne out in the fact when he said that there was no precedent in her Majesty's dominions for an elective Upper Chamber. Even in the provinces of Ca nada, , where the power of self-government aed the freedom of British institutions had been carried fur ther thin in any of the dependencies of the Crown, not only was there not an elective Upper Chamber, but as far as he know there had never existed any desire to have such. He believed he was correct in saying it had been intimated to that province that they might express their opinions upon the question whether or not they would regard an elective Upper Chamber as desirable, notwithstanding which they had never shown any indication of such a wish. There was one i ns t ance o f suc h a p ro position, but could not rega r d t h at as a p rece d en t, because it wason h e that was yet under c o ns id e ration—he meant the Cape of consti tution that was under consideration for 93 Good Hope. For that proposed constitution Government had scolded in favour of that a pl4OO ti t: c i t o i n ve th u h p l p a e t r o was Chamber. The pi culiarity, however , t Upper Chamber this—the franchise and electio ns fo r the of were to be precisely the same as those for the Lower the members of Chamber, but the difference was t t e I n l b . eyrecertain o e 1 ;s h o t; the Lower Chamber wore to elected tors within the electoral diesttrou. be bleated by the votes of Upper Chamber they point, thut he had re the whole body under wue certain modifications. He re bound to say, while upon this ceived communications troutthere th were e Cups of very consi derable Good H ope which led him to suppose that o bjections in the c deny to this mode of consti tuting the U pper Chamber, and that th ey v i ewed that part of the measure with much np preheneien. In providing a constitution for New Zealand, he, therefore, confessed he had no inclina t i on o f f ollowing the precedent of that proposed for the Cape of Good Hope; but the mode of electing the Upper Chamber as recommended by Governor Grey Wits wholly diGrent— namely, by a double elective system. Those who were already chosen as members of the Provincial Councils should be authorised to elect the members of the Central Chamber of Legislation. He would not pretend to say that that was a good plan. Iu a case of tbis magnitude and importance he confessed on hie own part he did not thick that this was an experiment in which the Govern fnet,t world be pecpared to embark, They thought it much b-!tter to follow tin, preeodent existci in ;)very otter c; - )lony of tile British Crown.—(clear, hear,) In respect to this Central LegiJature looking to thtit Support which the Governor w require from it, and the importance which it must wistime r iho colony in creased in prosperity, the (3overnment thought it auch bater to follow thoprecedent of other colonies. They, therefore, proposed that the Upper Chamber sh, uld be as it was elsewhere, a notnicea Upper Ch tuber, coat posed of persons appointed by the Crown to hold their offices during pleasure. They proposed that the dura tion of this Parliament of Central Legislation should be five years. He had forgotten to mention, in speaking of the Provincial Legislatures, that the Governor recommended that they should last for two years; but the present Government agreed with Lord Grey, that this period would be much too short, and that it should rather be for four years. The Pro vincial Councils they proposed should not consist in any ease of less than nice members. The numbers of the Upper Chamber of the Central Legislature they pro posed should be at the discretion of the Governor, w►th this understandin:T, that it should not be less than ten, our more than 15, Members. The Elective Assembly , should not ba less more 25 Ler more than 40, Members. Tho acts of the Provincial Legislature must not be alto gether dependent where the acts of the Central Levis' lature overrode them. They then proposed that there .hall be a civil list reserve. Upon this point they also differed from Lord Grey. The House was probably aware that the present civil list was 30,0001. a year. They proposed to retain such a civil list. They did not propose to increase it; but they proposed to abolibh some of the judges as altogetoer unnecessary, and by this means they would be enabled to provide salaries for the superintendents of provinces without resorting to the necessity of increasing the civil list. (Hear, hear.) There was another important point sanctioned by the Governor. They meant to recommend that a sum of 7,0001. should be reserved for what were celled native purposes. Where the natives wore resident within the limits of the province they would have the right of voting for the Members of the Provin cial Legislatures, and would possess the same elective franchise as others; but the House was aware that there was a vast number of intelligent natives who contributed largely to the revenue by the consumption of imported goods, and who would be obliged to contribute to the to. venue in other ways, who would not at present have voice in the representation. They, therefore, proposed that 7,0001. a year should be reserved for the benefit of these native tribes, such money to be appropriated to the construction and maintenance of hospitals and of schools —for the payment, too, of' resident masters—for the making of presents to native chiefs for services ren dered, and generally for other purposes tending to promote the prosperity and happiness of the native race.—(llear, hear.) Ho trusted after what he had stated in respect to the progress of the natives in happiness and prosperity, and looking to the large consumption of the goods imported into the colony. that there would be no objection offered to the appro. priation of this sum. Oa the contrary, he was disposed to think that there would be evinced a disposition to increase the grant to a large amount. There vras another power propcsed to be reserved to the Cen tral Legislature, which Lord Grey proposed to confer upon the provincial Legislatures—he meaut the manage: meat of the Crowu lands. He (Sir J. Pakington) did not mean to interfere with the present system of dealing with the natives for their land; but after the purchas e from the natives was effected, they proposed that all lir' rangements regarding those Crown lands should b 0 placed in the bands of the general legislative WV', They proposed the adoption of this plan from the belie' that that body would be better able to deal with thee' , and knew be:ter what was fur the interest of all parties concerned, than the Provincial Legislature. The .line s " must be well aware of the complicated nature of the T s' arrangements in regard to thes e l an ds. 1 1 claims of the Now Zealand Company, for i ns t anc e, sa e the powers grunted by Parliament to that este: elation. The Canterbury rights were guaranteed 1) 1 Act of Parliament, as well as the New Zealand claims' These were matters which tended to complicate the Oh ; ject of laud in the colony, and with which th e Centr al Legislature would be moat competent to d ea l. H e would not enter further upon this subject ; but in res p ect to th" r, measure, it was their intention to preserve exist ing rights, and not to allow them to be overrides'. There only remained one more subject, which, however, ho felt to be one of the greatest importance. R e thought that the House must feel, after the explanation ho had given them, that in some respects they must re' gard this constitution as an experiment. They must, at all events, look forward to the gradual increase of the colony in population, and an advance in prosperity. They could not hope, in shadowing out a scheme of this kind, that such a system was to be looked at as a perma nent and final settlement of this difficult question, as to what manner the residents of a distant colony upon the other aide of the globe could best govern themselves and conduct their own affairs. —(Hear, hear.) It was, there. , fore, the intention of the Government to introduce into the measure clauses to enable the legislature o f New Zealand to propose and enact such changes in their stitutions as they thought right.—(Hear, hear.) o t regarded the Provincial Legislatures, it, us the poPej'e's tion increased, they preferred two Chambers to ne e : Lett them enact it—in the same way as regarded the ben ar i se, all rution of the Central Legislature, and in (egg . ' ibp, the arrangements he had that day attempted to des c c bre they proposed that the colony, through their L e g t i too , tures, should have full power to deal with these w e usr i. only stipulating, that in reference to any of the "„ tutionsl changes he had alluded to, none should bu , .k. sorted to without obtaining ultimately the consent et he Crown. He had to thank the House for the patience with which they had listened to his statement, ane,l e bad only t) hope that he had made himselt in sketchieg out the plan of a measure he was then ask' ing the leave of the House to introduce.Hweho said,woultl a h t ; t redeem the pledge he had given to those with some reason, that there ought to be no further delay in carrying this meas ure forward. It remained, the s'+ na n m o e t lysh, whather. tibk front boldly putting for the house to decide, foltht hlt: n q d u question —namely , wo uld t iu after this explanation , t his a measure whic h fair l y e F d _ creaatesgoloirayblyofinnig necessary be considered as coming within Of ssary measures to which tier Majesty Government were pledged to confine for the proses! their legislation? — (Hear , hear.) Ile submitted that_ ques tion fairly and frankly for the consideration of t he House. His own opinion was that it did come withl a such category. If, however, it s h ou ld b e t h e judgine hs of the House that it did not, h e w ould read! ! 1 1 bow to that decision.—(Hour, hear.) B u t on one 1111 ho wished particularly not to be misunderstood . who take an interest in the col on y s h ou ld b ea r in s'' re that the alternative will be e ith er o f passing this T e r to with such amendments as th e H ouse m i ght titian' for make in it, or of passing an Act for prolougie h g ar. ) another year the existing s t ate of affairs.—(!dear , " 43- of He had received a strohg protest from a nta ab ari er ea t gentlemen in Now Zealand requesting the Gover n "; 10 —so great was th e i r anxiety on the subject --s ' ° h e y delay the granting t o th e co l ony free institutioue; revived preyed that even th e A ct o f 1846 s h ou ld be is' rather than that ther e s hould he an y Wilber de la y oi :i the passing of this measure. He, h o wever, must ee t frankly, that her Majesty's G ove r nm ent were 18 46 willing to consent to the revival of the Act et wer e under any circumstances. He thought that there war be serious objections to allowing the rev i va l of that and be was sure that the House would feel thet vos . Government was the more justified in emPiluiea ing this opinion when they were fortified by the °p o . ° of Lord Grey himself who had introduced that the- a to of 1846. In a dispatch written by the Noble or the governor shortly before he left office he h e aye pressed himself of that opinion. He ought 10 rect a - 0 that the Government did not i nten d t h a t this Act ~B ` . hod interfere with those municipal i ns ti tut i on s whicu' ( been recommended by Loid Grey, and which tarr ie d te 1 part of the measure of 1846, a l thoug h no t ineh le a se that Act. They th o u g h t it most des i ra bl e that ' to o municipal institutions should be extended in of New Zealand.--(Bear.) Oa the part the cu meet he had thus e n d eavoured to do his o f the To rios ' re , du s K in Y b P sb i s posing a measure which would coneer upon which tants of toe colony those institutions and r. Il e they were naturally so anxious to oh:sig. —, a w would was sanguine enough to hope that the not meet with any serious oppoeition. It it for him to paused by the House, it would only remain I' d ' be thus exprese hie gratitude for the honour they would which measure conferring on him. lie believed it was a meal. irons of enjoying On nists, who have been naturally deb long enjoyea would be the foundation of great advantages to the 00 . 10: constitutional freedom sere.) in this their fatherland.—(C h • question, The SPEAKER, having put the Hon. tie' said that the Right Gentle' man R. H. INGLIS t which they had so man had fully raised upon this subject. He (Sir R. H. Inglis) hal al' met all the expectations that Lad been at every . colony should be a miniatur e t should have social anti every Englan . ways co d ntende possessed in the mother country; hut, civil right they h Id have the full bl • e ll ' they s ho u ld blessing of .heir r above all, one. Ile would put it to the !tight 1 1( 4 13 * The d toolonis s ins ` "e" he ought fund raised by the t h e cc' Gentleman whether not to reserve a cevis al proportion of the revenue in e as y for the' purpose of eligion. In respect to the co.n stitution of the Upper Chamber, it was a subject wort"; of consideration whether the members ought to be electe d for life. Mr. GLADSTONE said ho was one of those wh f urged upon the Government the propriety f„ confining themselves d ur i ng t h e present si ssies 1 " . the introduction of measures of the most urgent 0 cessity. Ho felt it no more than just ee ago Prno f sent occasion, th en , to state that be thought A be Government had o n ly d one their duty in bringing nd. ward the present measure -..(fear, hear)—netwil" %at ing the state of the Psrliament aril the g reat issue • was to he shortly tr i e d at home.—ll ( hear.), ills weuld he deeply grieved that the differenors of tr i at r. which existed among thettaelves in regard to the P I 00 miler kind of constitution which ought to conferred' Pon New Zealand should stand in the way of conferring the celonists at once the benefit of free institutions - .r e a u,d his part, so desirous was he that no further delay_ 7 0 . take place in the passing of such a measure as the _P: 10 ,„ sent, he would be ready to lend the Right Hon. _Lit hg n b i s man every assistance in his power in forwiltdi 4. ! es „ were many u liill.—Flear, hear.) Although there Ad , r hat, lions which at other times might be asked, h e y ould r d e ‘ at the present time, the only one that they on. sonably put was this—was the Bill before it t h was e a ", ) „,b whole, a boon to the colonies, and such as the while for them to receive? He could not n _ gap e hevr, elighteit hesitation in saying that it was, d rest swing principle of it with all his bears, nets' - the consideration of its details nity.—(Hoar, hear.) few obser' V. SMI said he should offer but a . va ti o ns on the Bill, for he was pr taken by eur t im ing expected that the Right Hon. 1 3eat I 02 1,31 7" o°' • ,