The Sun. — London, England, 1848-08-11 00:00:00

FRANCE. [The following appeared in our Third Edition of last night]:— The Committee of Legislation has approved the resolution proposed to the National Assembly by M. L kURENT (de I'Ardeche), to the effect that no repre sentative of the people shall be prosecuted without an application to that effect be made- to,-the National Assembly by the Minister of Justice, gild that the ground of such demand be stated. The Committee of Finance has proposed several reductions in the Budget of the Minister for Foreign Affairs. It recommends the suppression of the lega tions at Darmstadt and Saxe-Weimar, and the con version of several consulates into simple agencies. A considerable reduction in the allowance to consuls is likewise suggested. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS ON THE BANK ACT.* (From Douglas Jerrold's Weekly Newspaper.) A heavy blow and sore discouragement have at length overtaken the bullionists. The frontless impudence of Sir Robert Peel has met with a grave rebuke: the flippant smile that played over the lips of Sir Charles Wood has departed ; Mr. Jones Loyd groans in the spirit. The House of Lords has condemned the blun derings of these pseudo-economists, who are only to be compared to those who in former times displayed false lights on a rocky shore to lure vessels to destruc tion that they might plunder the wreck. The Bill of 1844, dissected with care and skill, is proved to be a rank imposition, having in practice falsified all its pro mises. Contrasted with the meagre report of the Commons, that of the Lords is full, searching, argu mentative, and worthy to be called a State paper ; it contains a careful and impartial analysis of the evidence, and though we are not able to bestow unqualified praise on the commentary which accompanies that analysis, it certainly reflects great credit on the industry and inte grity of those by whom it has been prepared. There are errors in judgment which we regret to see, but which, when exposed, we hope will be retracted, for the Lords really seem anxious to avoid all mystification and arrive at truth. It appears to us that the Committee of the Peers mis took their duty when they confined their attention to the Bill of 1844. That Bill is avowedly the comple ment of the Bill of 1819, and they ought to hare inves tigated the major rather than the minor problem. After an experience of twenty-five years, Sir Robert Peel himself avowed that the Bill of 1819 was a dead failure, and therefore did he introduce the complementary Bill, as a buttress to prop up the tottering fabric. Now it appears to us that the Lords should have placed themselves on more elevated ground, to have commanded a more ex tended horizon and a more comprehensive view. They should have approached their scrutiny bearing in mind that Mr. Horner, the chairman of the Bul lion Committee of 1810, mourned over his errors before his death, declaring that " whoever attempted to set that question of currency right without taking into account and fully appreciating the new circumstances that have arisen, the vast new and additional obligations that have been entered into, since cash payments were suspended in 1797, will inflict indescribable misery on the country." They should have re membered the dying declaration of Mr. Ricardo to his friend Sir William Heygate couched in these memo rable words-" Aye, Heygato, you and the few others who opposed us on the cash payments have proved right. I said that the difference at the most would only be ! five per cent., and you said that at least it would be twenty-five per cent." These are sounds of repentant voices speaking from the tomb, calling on the living to repair ' the unintentional wrongs inflicted by the dead, and they should have had their due weight with the Committee. Mr. Horner and Mr. Ricardo were the real authors of the Bill of 1819, which they ultimately repu diated ; as to Sir Robert Peel, he has always lived on he ideas of others; from the two gentlemen men tioned he copied the monetary system which passes under his name, and as the founders of it con fessed the gravity of their mistakes, all that once I conferred authority has become null and void; the Lords, • therefore, it seems to us, ought to have investigated the principle of cash payments as embodied in the Bill of 1819, rather than the appendix or complement to a con demned measure, the details of which only aggravate the mischiefs of a system which its real authors had long since pronounced destructive of the welfare of society iand dangerous to the institutions of the State. Their Lordships should also have enlarged their judi rial thoughts by bringing to the aid of their intellgence ibe arguments used against the Bill of 1819 when debated. The late Lord Ashburton, for instance, uttered a most suggestive truth when he said "No c.)untry before presented the continuance of so ex traordinary a priliciple as that of living under a progressive increase of the value of money, and a de pression of the productions of the people." This sen tence does indeed solve the problem, why the " rich grow richer, and the poor grow poorer," and why usurers flourish where honest industry is ground to the dust. It should have been fresh in the memories of their Lordships that the experienced Mr. H. Gurney observed " Shift the matter as you may, the question before the Committee comes to this, will you at this moment indefinitely in crease the weight of your taxation and diminish the means of bearing it ?" Here is shadowed forth in pro phecy What has become fact—periodical distress of the most aggravated form, civil commotion, ever-re curring. bankruptcies through sheer misfortune, and an annual poor-rate not falling short of 7,000,0001. sterling. Their Lordships ought to have had present"to their minds the warning words of Mr. Att wood, when he said, " High prices and an abundant circulation were necessary; but neither could exist per manently in conjunction . with the low price of gold, which this Bill attempted to fix. This was the source of all their difficulties; and all measures of relief founded on other views, as would those which were now pro posed, would lead: them only to evils more complicated and to greater dangers." The prediction has been veri fied in a thousand forms. !Had their Lordships entered upon their labours with a full knowledge of these facts, had they contemplated great principles, and taken an historical retrospect of the last quarter of a century, we think they would have enlarged the sphere of their usefulness, by holding up to 1 national indignation a monetary system destruc tive of credit, trade, and commerce—which has added 50Iper cent., to all public and private obligations—which has cut down wages and profits, while taxes have in creased proportionately as the means' of paying them have been diminished—a system which places in constant and imminent peril the very exist ence cf the monarchy, and by driving hungry millions to fury necessitates the augmentation of a istanding army, the enactment of penal statutes, and places the sword and the musket in the hands of the policemen in addition to the customary truncheon. But we are grateful for what the Lords have done; and it is because they have done so much, that we entertain the hope they will examine this ques tion of questions more minutely, and do still more. • We proceed circumstantiallz to their report. It will be remembered that one of bir Robert Peel's solemn predictions in 1844 was that his complement Bill would for ever eliange . fhe nature . of man and put an end to speculation. On' this presumptuous and stupid boast, the Committee have pronounced the following stinging condemnation : " To thoso who anticipated that the Act would put a check on improvident speculations, the disappoint ment cannot be less, if reliance is to be placed (as the Committee aro confident it may) on the state ment of the governor of the ,Bank and other wit nesses, that ' Speculations were never carried to such en enormous extent as in 1846 and the beginning of 1847.' If the act were relied on as a security against violent fluctuations — in the value of money, the falla ciousness of such anticipation is conclusively proved by the fact, that whilst the difference between the highest and lo'West rate of discount was, in the calamitious years 1837 and 1839, but 2+ to 21 per cent., the difference in 1847 rose to 6i. If it was contemplated that, the number and extent of corn-. mercial failures would have been lessened, the deplorable narrative of the Governor of the Bank, recording the failure of thirty-three houses comparatively in large business, in London alone, to the amount of 8,129,0001., is a conclusive reply. If the enormous extent to which railroad speculation has been carried, he considered as an evil to which a sound system of banking could have applied a corrective, such a cor rective has not been found in an Act, since the passing of which, during' a period of three years, an in creased railway capital of upwards of 221,0001. has been authorised to be raised by Parliament ; and when the enormous sum of 76,390,0001. is stated on high financial authority to have been actually expended, on railways, in two years and a half. If the power of obtaining banking accommodation on moderate terms, were considered to be promoted by the Act of 1844, it cannot be said that this important object has been attained, since it appears in evidence that in 1847, in addition to an interest of 9 or 10 per cent. a com mission was also frequently paid, raising the charge to 10, 20, or 30 per cent., according to the time which the bills had to run." Rare pickings these for the usurers, who must surely venerate the names of Peel and Jones Loyd, the authors of the Bill of 1844, which placed in their hands the power of a Shylock without the danger that accompanied its exercise. We question if Cardinal Ximenes that, Dominican monk, who founded the Inquisition, and Tor quemada, who first ascended its bloody throne, inflicted bitterer tortures on Spain than Peel and Loyd have in flicted on this country, albeit the weapons were different, the one lacerating the body, the other the heart. How many hordes have been rendered desolate, how many have sunk into premature graves from broken hearts, how many have been bereft of reason and perished in a lunatic asylum, by that re turn to cash payments whose victims are recorded in 1816, 1821, 1825, 1832, 1837, 1839, and 1847 ? From the closing passages in the paragraph we have extracted from the report, the industrious classes may learn why their wages were reduced, and why they here thrown out of employment; and they who chronicle the statistics of crime may there also be taught a lesson they have overlooked, that usury first rob bing labour urges the arm of labour to violence and the plunder of property. And yet Sir Robert Peel is the unblushing champion of usury, for he asked in insolent triumph, last November, in the House of Commons, why 10 per cent. or more should not be taken for money, if money were worth that interest? but he screened the important fact that he had limited money by Act of Par liament to bits of bullion, and thus made an artificial scarcity the cause and the justification of the shameless extortions he defended. It is provided by the Act of 1844 that the Bank of I . England shall only hold one-fifth of silver bullion to ,tour-fifths of gold bullion. The legal standard of the -continent is silver, so that a store' of that metal at home would always be available in paying the balances of foreign trade ; that would relieve our merchants, but it would cripple the gains of the usurer, so the framers of the Bill introduced the proportions mentioned, that they 'Light more effectually sacrifice the bees to the drones. Silver is only a legal tender to the amount of 405.; so that a man far wealthier in silver than his neighbour is in gold may be driven into the Gazette, poor in the midst of plenty, and as able to meet his engagements, as Jones Loyd is to take up his acceptances. On this most monstrous regulation Mr. Cotton, Governor of the Bank of England, gave the following evidence:— " Merchants from the Pacific, whose returns are very euch in s il ver b u l l i on, found when it arrived last spring, that there was no market for it here, and that they had to l send it over to Paris for returns in bills of exchange, and n when th ey came back there was a difficulty in dis ting- cou The interval lost, which is about six weeks, * It is understood that Lord Menteagle, formerly a bullionist, and now half converted to sounder principles, drew up the report. THE SUN, LONDON, . is a very serious thing to a mercantile house; and there is another evil in it; supposing the amount of bullion held in the issue department to be in the exact propor tions allowed by the Act, with one-fifth siker, and sup posing that 400,000/. notes go in, taking the same amount of sovereigns out, that immedialy alters the proportions, and the issue department lot* necessarily sell silver bullion to keep the proportions right, and thus reduce the circulation another 100,000/. tci keep up the proportion." The Committee concur in these opinion 4 and recom mend a change, but to what extent does noit appear from the report. Several of the witnesses examined attribUted the pres sure felt in 1847, and the panic which succeeded, to the publication of the accounts in the manner prescribed by the Act of 1844; and the Governor proposed that the rule should in future be relaxed, so far as related to the Bank reserve. To this exception the Committee, and with reason, thus argumentatively express their dis sent:— " The suggestion made by the Governor of the Bank, of publishing the whole accounts with the exceptioa of the reserve, appears wholly inadmissible. Such accounts must necessarily furnish the elements or data from which the amount of reserve may, with a greater or less degree of accuracy, be deduced or inferred. If the amount of reserve could thus be accurately calculated, the proposed remedy would be no corrective of the sys tem complained of. If the amount of reserve were to be inferred inaccurately, such a proceeding would be an aggravation of the inconvenience rather than a safe or effectual remedy. It would appear more in accordance with legislative wisdom to reconsider the rale itself, against which there can hardly be stronger presumptive evidence than the suggested necessity of concealing the consequences to which it leads." We now come to the most important clause in the Report, and on which we must pronounce the most un qualified condemnation. It runs thus:— " The Committee feel, in common with every witness examined, the duty and obligation of maintaining at all times the practicable convertibility of the bank•note. This they consider to be the first and most essential object, which, in all discussions like the present, must be constantly kept in view, both by the Legislature and by those who direct the banking operations of this commercial community. Upon the practical enforcement of this principle, not only does the public and the private credit depend, but the whole industry of the productive classes and the wages of labour." The bank-note is either money, or it is not money. If it i.e money, what use is there in converting equivalents into equivalents? If it is not money, discard its use wholly, for why allow a fraudulent instrument, an ad mitted imposture, to obtain any currency whatever? Their Lordships have here lost sight of that "legislative wisdom" to which they appealed, when refusing to exempt the Bank reserve from publication. If con vertibility is to be the law, how do their Lordships reconcile it to their consciences to permit the Bank of England to issue 14 millions of notes, on the sandy foun dation of a debt due by the country to that establishment, not one of which notes is convertible? or still stronger, why do they allow the country bankers to issue eight millions of inconvertible paper, which do not even re pose on the colourable rottenness of a debt? The truth is that while Sir Robert Peel in his speech of 1844 com menced by defining a " pound" to be 123 grains of gold, and insisted that the obligation to pay a " pound" ad mitted of no other construction than the tender of 123 grains of gold, by which he understood convertibility, he completely falsified his own principles and his own defi nition when he allowad the Bank of England, the coun try banks, the Irish and Scotch banks, collectively, to put into circulation 31 millions of paper promises to pay, without taking the security of a grain of bullion to that amount. It is only over and above that amount that these establishments are bound to retain gold in their coffers, so that the pretext of convertibility is a juggle and a fraud. Moreover, their Lordshipa7ust :deluded by the ambi guity of the word they have : 7 loyd. If they mean that the note should be convertible •into merchandise, at the market price of merchandise, the word " convertibility" is used in a proper sense; but if they mean, as they ob viously do, that the note shall always be convertible into a definite weight of gold at a fixed price, whether gold be abundant or scarce, cheap or dear, then have they fallen into a most lamentable blunder. We may take 123 grains of gold, stamp it, decorate it with the effigies of Queen Victoria, or of Britannia, or of St. George and the Dragon, put it into a circular form, and mill the edges, but we have not changed its intrinsic value or the character imposed on it by nature; it is still a bit of bullion, an article of merchandise, a commodity fluctu ating in price under the law of supply and demand equally with every other commodity. Is it not then grossly repugnant to common sense to affirm that the price of an ounce of gold must be the same whether the Bank holds one hundred ounces or ten thousand ounces? yet this monstrous error lies at the very root of the doc trine of convertibility as taught by the bullionists. Is it desired to preserve the invariability of the pound by this blundering in a fog? Why, the Lords them selves have given it as their opinion that no such invari ability exists when they condemn the Bill of 1844 on account of the fluctuation in the rate of interest which we have quoted. If at one time I can get the loan of 1001. for twelve months on paying 3/., or fifteen dwte. of gold, and a few months afterwards I must pay 6Z, or thirty dwts. of gold for the same accommodation, what becomes of the invariability of the gold pound? On the average of.the six weeks ending 17th June, 1847, wheat was 935. 9d. per quarter; at the same dates for 1848, wheat was 465. 10d. per quarter; so that this year a gold pound in purchasing power is equal to two gold pounds of last year. The doctrine of invariability is, therefore, a transparent humbug; so also is the convertibility of gold into wheat or any other merchandise at a fixed and unfluctuating price. We have extended our limits; perhaps the importance of the subject may be pleaded as an execuse. It is dif ficult to be silent when we see hereditary legislators, and elective ones too, attempting to change the laws of na ture; the only excuse that can be offered for their folly is their blindness. They know not what they do. They are destroying trade and fostering rebellion. They starve the poor, and swell the poor rates. They fly for support to soldiers and police. They play the game of the usurers and strangle industry. We warn their Lordships of the precipice on which they stand; if they are despoiled of their estates, they will only have them selves to blame. The working classes are now studying the money laws more intently than may be suspected; when they are enlightened, the hour of retribution will not be distant. FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE OF TUESDAY. DIVIDENDS. At the Court, Bashighall-street. A. Quarterman, Oxford, glover, Aug. 29, at eleven. In the Country. A. Ball, Wells, Somersetshire, innkeeper, Aug. 31, a t eleven, at the ourt, Bristol—Maria Ham, Wells, So mersetshire, milliner and dressmaker, Aug. 31, ut the Court, Bristol—J. Gee, Dukinfield, Chester, cotton spinner, Sept. 6, at twelve, at the Court, Manchester. PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS. Frederick Rieder, Leeds, butcher, final dividends of 4s. 4fd., 3s. 6d., and 2s. 4d., any dy after Aug. 8, be tween the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Hope, Leeds. Joseph Carne, sen., Truro, provision merchant, Is. lid., in addition to 45., any Tuesday after the Bth inst., between the hours of eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Hirtzel, Exeter. Robert Burns, St. Sidwell's, Exeter, draper, 6s. Bd., any Tuesday after the Bth inst., between the hours of eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Hirtzel, Exeter. Reginald William Bligh, Plymouth, hosier, 155., any Tuesday after the Bth inst., between the hours of eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Hirtzel, E xe t er. William Skemp, Bideford, Devonshire,clraper, 6s. 7-fd., any Tuesday after the Bth inst., between the hours of eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Hirtzel, Exeter. Edmund Render, Bodmin, ironmonger, 2s. 6d., any . Tuesday after Aug. 8, between the hours of eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Hirtzel, Exeter. John Pigeon, Honiton, Devonshire, wine merch a nt, Is. 81, any Tuesd a y a f ter A ug. 8, between the hours of eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Hirtzel, Eieter. Joseph Shepherd and Benjamin Shepherd, Exeter, wine merchants, of 3d. in addition to 45., on now proof's, any Tuesday after Aug. 8, between the hours of eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Hirtzel, Exeter. Joseph Shepherd, Exeter, wine merchant, 3s. 2d., any Tuesday after Aug. $l, betw.aon tho hours of olovon and three, at the office of Mr. Hirtzel, Exeter. Benjamin Shepherd, Exeter, wine merchant, Is. ()id., any Tuesday after Aug. 8, between the hours of eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Hirtzel, Exeter. Samuel Levy Bensusan, Magdalen-row, Great Pres cott-street, merchant, 10d., any Thursday after Oct. 15, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers. R. and R. Weatherhog, Stone, Kent, farmers, 3s. 4d., any Thursday after Oct. 15, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall chambers. Charles D. Smith, Bridge-road, Battersea, nursery man, 6d., any Thursday after Oct. 15, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall chambers. John Hammond, Bognor, Sussex, ironmonger, 25., any Thursday after Oet. 15, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers. George Marsh, Broadway, Hammersmith, ss. 6d., on any Thursday after Oct. 15, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall chambers. Griffith and Pearson, New Bond-street, tailors, 9d., any Thursday after Oct. 15, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall • chambers. G. Marsh and E. K. Marsh, Carnaby street, Golden• square, drapers, 3s. 6d., any Thursday after Oct. 15, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Gui Idhall-chain hers. William Armstrong, Norwich, draper, 10d., any Thursday after Oct. 15, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall -chambers. Strong and liosking, Dye-house Wharf, Clink-street, Southwark, Is., any Thursday after Oct. 15, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, G uildh all-chambers. James Ilendson and James Broadbent, jun., Gall, near Littleborough, and Manchester, calico -printers, Is. Id. and 4s. 2d., on Tuesday, Aug. 15, or any Tuesday after Oct. 4, between the hours of eleven and one, at the office of Mr. Fraser, Manchester. George Tattersall, Davies-street, Berkeley -square, saddler, 2s. 6d., any Saturday before Aug. 17 between ffi the hours of eleven and two, at tho office of dr. Green, Aldermanbury. NOTICES OF CERTIFICATES. At the Court, Basinghall-street. R. Jewesson, Great Winchester-streot, City, mer chant, Aug. 31, at one—J. Hocking, sen., Canterbury place, Union-road, Newington, grocer, Aug. 31, at half past twelve—lL Gibbs, Word, grocer, Sept. 1, at eleven SPAIN. The Cadiz papers state that letters from Gibraltar of the 2Gth July mention reports of a conspiracy having been discovered at Malta, the object of which is not explained, but which must, if a fact, have been important, as it led to numerous arrests, and the dis arming of a part of the English troops. We believe this piece of news to be a mere invention. PORT UGAL. Advices have been received from Lisbon of the 13t instant. The KING has completely recovered from the effects of his fall. A debate on financial matters involving in its deci sion a Ministerial crisis was expected to come on on the Ist. It was considered probable that the Minis;- ters would be beaten. HANOVER. A letter from Gottingen, of the Ist, in the Post dept Gazette of Frankfort, says—" On Sunday the inhabitants of this t own h e ld a mee ti ng a t the mines oL a La Plesse, and voted three addresses in favo,io of German unity. A farmer of the domains; aeclared against them ; the peasants seconded him, and a riot ensued at Maria-spring, where a great part of the meeting had repaired, ariet, where it was assailed with stones and sticks. At, Bovenden, the burgess guard took up arms, and great number of the inhabitants occupied the Got-' tingen road ; 300 inhabitants of that town endea voured to pass, but were attacked with stones, and forced to withdraw. Detachments of the burgher guard of Gottingen hastened to their succour. When they left Bovenden, they were fired at from several houses and gardens, and a burgher was wounded. At two o'clock in the morning they returned. Yesterday an extraordinary agitation reigned in the town. The burgher guard demanded to proceed to Bovenden to disarm the inhabitants. However, they were dissuaded from doing so. The authorities issued proclamations promising an investigation. A commission set out immediately for Bovenden. It is said that at Norntheim the populace gave way to ex cesses against persons and property. Great indigna tion is felt at the conduct of the functionaries and of the farmer of the domains, Mahler. The latter has fled; the people expelled him from Norntheim." SICILY. The Parliament of Palermo has voted to the new King a civil list of 243,030 ducats per annum, be sides the possession of the two royal palaces in that city and in Messina, and the two villas called the Favorita and the Ficuzza, in Palermo. A sum of 300,000 ducats has been voted for the furniture, &c., of the two palaces. E.uggiero Settimo is loaded with honours ; he has been created a senator for life, de jure, and elected President of the Chamber of Sena tors. lie has also been appointed Lieutenant- General of the national army, as a special mark of favour. LAW INTELLIGENCE. SHERIFFS' COURT, August 10. (Before Mr. Under-Sheriff BURCHELL.) GIIESLIN V. EGERTON.. This was an action brought to recover the sum of 81. 2s. for work and labour done, money paid and laid out by plaintiff; and on an account stated. The demand was for advertisements inserted in the Satirist news. paper. The defendant pleaded that he was not indebted. On the part of the plaintiff, the Somerset-house certi ficate of the plaintiff's proprietorship of the Satirist newspaper was put in, as also orders in the handwriting for the insertion of the advertise ments. Some letters were also produced in which the defendant said he intended to take the benefit of the Insolvent Act, and he was anxious to prevent plaintiff putting himself to unnecessary expense in continuing the action ; to this the plaintiff's attorney replied that " if it was the intention of the defendant to take the benefit of the Act, the action would be proceeded with, but it he merely wished for time it would be granted on his giving a judge's order." The defendant closed the correspondence with the following note:—" Burton's Hotel, Whitecross-street Prison.—l beg to say I cannot give an undue preference." The file of the Satirist was produced, and it appeared that the name on them was " E.," and not " J. Egerton, manufacturer of daguerreotype materials, &c., Temple street, Whitefriars," but defendant had repeated the order for insertion without complaining of the orror, which, it was contended by the plaintiff, was in the ori ginal copy. Counsel appeared to object to the cause being tried, on the ground that the record only directed the trial of the issue, when, in fact, there were three counts, and, consequently, three issues. The Under-Sheriff having decided that he could not inquire into any informality in the record, the Learned Counsel said he had no defence to offer. The jury thereupon gave a verdict for the amount claimed. The other came Were undefended. RAILWAY COMMITTEE. (YESTERDAY.) HOUSE OF LORDS. LORD SHAFTESBURY'S COMMITTEE.—.EXE TER AND EXMOUTH ACTS AMENDMENT. - Preamble passed, clauses agreed to, and Bill ordered to be re ported. • ELECTION COMMITTEES. DUBLIN. At the sitting of the Committee yesterday morning, Mr. MURPHY stated that, as the Committee had de cided that the non-payment of the Dublin pipe water rate did not disqualify a voter from exercising the fran chise, it was his duty to announce that the objections to the validity of Mr. Reynolds' majority were ex hausted; and the petitioners therefore proposed to abandon the scrutiny, and proceed with the alle gations relating to the non-qualification of the sitting Member. They were not; however . ; prepared with the evidence to prove those allegations, and ho had been requested by them to solicit the Committee to adjourn for a few days to enable them to get up the non-quali fication case. The application was ultimately acceded to, and the Committee adjourned till next Tuesday. GENERAL COMMITTEE. The General Committees of Elections mot yesterday afternoon (Mr. Fox Maule in the chair), and struck the Committees to try the merits of the petitions in the two following cases:-- CHELTENHAM._ _ _ _ This Committee will consist of Mr. Samuel Ogle, Mr. R. Palmer, Mr. Thicknesse, Captain Harris, and Sir William Clay, chairman. HORSHAM. This Committee will consist of the following Mem. bens:—The lion. Henry Curry, Dr. Bowring, Mr. Monsell, Mr. Bunbury, and Mr. Bramston, chairman. HOW TO CREATE A VACANCY IN A CROWD.—An American lately bet a considerable sum that he would gala access to an over-crowded public room, which several of his friends had endeavoured to enter in vain. Having approached the entrance of the door, he thrust his long neck over the spectators, and said hysterically, "Is there a doctor—a surgeon here ? " instantly five heads were seen in motion, five hats were elevated above the crowd, and five M.D.'s grew red in the lace as they struggled to get the precedence on their way to the door. " What has happened?" inquired the foremost. " Oh, Sir, a terrible casualty has occurred at the South-gate !—a man, in stepping down from an omnibus, has put out his leg !" Down bounced the doctors, and a lively race commenced overtho flags towards the South-gate. Our hero slid at once into the opening, and, elbowing his way cautiously through the crowd, he soon reached a very desirable po sition. Presently came tearing up the stairs the five in furiated M.D.'s. " W-w-where'a the fellow that sent us down?" stuttered the tallest one, peering savagely in at the door. " Here, you, sir," said he, catching the man's ?Ye, ` t-t-there's no accident at the South-gate, sir. There' s no accident at all, sir! S- s - s ir, yo u ' re a c h e at, sir. There' s no man ;there, sir: nothing of the kind, sir!" P_crhaps," was the mild reply, "he walked away."- W - w-w-wbat sir walked away with a broken leg!—a man walk with a broken leg! That's likely!" "But, my .Christian friend " interposed ll the wag, " who said anything about a bro'k . en eg? merely . remarked that a . gentleman, in Ste h is l eg. Now, will you m an omnibus, had put out ste be f so good as to inform . me how the d-1 a man can out his leg ?" The sou p s orfo.ilsm: an omnibus . without putting sculapius were silenced. THE MINING Thiszarers th o o } L . ANARI . LSDIRE.—We regret to be inforasd that mining districts of this caunty aro in a very disturbed state, in consequence of the agitation whiai has been kept for som e t i me Fast by the mining populatio n , with t view to an advance of their present rate of remunerati one • ring the last question week large meetings of collie rs h ave been s eld s in the has been principal districts, at which the wages gestru discussed, and on account of th e einpionye i h little or no disposition to come t o t erms with th strong disaffection prevails. The dem an d o f the men, workers is, to have Is. 6d. per day in advancell theireoaoefants they present rate rate (which is 2 s. 6 d.): and from all resolved to gain this increase, which they a ll ege the masters are perfectly able to give, with a very little ad dition to the market price of coal end iron. We under stand that the Lanarkshire Yeomanry Cavalry are under arms, and stationed in troop in Holytown, Bellshill, &c. Their appearance amongst the colliers has rather . in creased than lessened the excitement. A collision be tween the yeomanry and the people occurred near Holy town yesterday, but did not turn out so serious as was Itt first reported.—Glasgow Saturday Post. —W. Clay, Cheapside, warehouseman, Aug. 31, at one —G. Murphy, Church street, Camberwell, plumber, Aug. 29, at two-11. Roxby, Lime-street, City, ship broker, Aug. 30, at eleven—R. Lane, Lisson-grove North, corn-dealer, Aug. 30, at twelve—J. S. Dobson, Hallow, Essex, surgeon, Aug. 29, at eleven—E. J. Pluekrose, Kingsland-road, tea-dealer, Aug, 29, at twelve. In the Country. W. Webber, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, grocer, Sept. 5, at eleven, at the Court, Bristol—H, Jakeways, Pontypool, Monmouthshire, licensed victualler, Sept. 5, at eleven, at the Court, Bristol—J. Gates, Bristol, licensed victualler, Aug. 30, at half-past eleven, at the Court, Bristol—J. H. lb ward, Cheltenham, Gloucester shire, oil-merchant, Aug. 30, at twelve, at the Court, Bristol—M. Merritt, Pensford, Somersetshire, farmer, Aug. 30, at eleven, at the Court, Bristol—J. S. Whitaker, Salford, Lancashire, wine and spirit dealer, Aug. 31, at twelve, at the Court, Manchester—T, Holcroft, Man chester, silk manufacturer, Aug. 31, at twelve, at the Court, Manchester—H. Heywood, Manchester, auc tioneer, S: pt. 5, at eleven, at the Court, Manchester—S. Cooke, Manchester, timber merchant, Sept. 6, at eleven, at the Court, Manchester—G. Francis, Liverpool, tailor, Aug. 29, at eleven, at the Court, Liverpool—C. J. Henfrey, Leamington Priors, Warwickshire, victualler, S ep t. 7, a t eleven, at the Court, Birmingham. At the Court of Review, Aug. 29. T. Jones, Botwright-buildings, Hackney-road, grocer —W. Ansell, Pontypool, Monmouthshire, furniture broker—T. Smith, Bristol, timber dealer—R. Ray, Stoke upon-Trent, china manufacturer—W. H. Ford, Burford, Oxfordshire, innkeeper—G. Morrell, Belpar, Derby shire, innkeeper—W. Blount, Ripley, Derbyshire, grocer—J. Child, Wakefield, Yorkshire, grocer--j. Worsley, Preston, Lancashire, cotton -spinner—J.Rough ton, Leicester, wine merchant—C. W. Mayne, Leeds, Yorkshire, tobacco manufacturer—R. Turtill, High Hol born, saddler—R. Fletcher, Great Winchester-street, City, steel manufacturer. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. G. Braund and J. Braund, Exeter, wholesale woollen and linen drapers—C. Hoare and H. Coasby, Ringwood, Southampton, builders—H. M. Grimsdale and F. Ham mond, Uxbridge, mu.tard manufacturers—T. S. Glad stone, P. Serjeantson, R. Gladstone, W. Steuart, J. Clay ton, M. Gladstone, and J, C. Bond, Manchester, general brokers—J. Hicks and D. H. M‘Nicoll, Liverpool, sur geons—J. Scruhy and J. Gingell, Epping, Essex, corn factors—J. Canter and J. Carter, I3arnsley, Yorkshire, linen manufacturers —S. Statham and R. J. Bates, Man chester, commission agents—W. Tristram and A. Clay • ton, Halliwell, Lancashire, manufacturers of cotton goods —J. Harrop, J. Harrop, and R. Smith, Manchester and Saddleworth, Yorkshire, woollen manufacturers— J. Newton and J. Booker, Liverpool, wine and spirit dealers A. Bird and H. Hodson, Keswick, Cumberland—J. Par nell and Mari a B rown, Old Broad-street, City, stationers —G. F. Pet ers and 11. Abbot, Bristol, attorneys—J. Tookey and R . H enn Birmingham, file and fire. ir ons manufacturers —J. Geissl er an d C. P. W e b er, Munches tor and Huddersfield, merchants—W. Usher and W. Milburn, ropemakers—H. Jones and T. Roberts, Liver pool, linen drapers—W. Rawnsley and J. Rawnsley, Barkisland, Yorkshire, stone dealers—F. A. A. Payn and T. Harvey, Leeds, cloth merchants—J. T. I). Mattos and Made Leon, Copthall-court, City, merchants—W. Allingliarn.and J. Alliogham, Upper Russell-street, Ber mondsey, worsted manufacturers. INSOLVENT PETITIONERS. Thomas M‘Kinloy, Liverpool. labourer. John Snape, Liverpool, brewer. Edward Ashcroft, Kirkdale, Lancashire, clerk. Elias Evans, Toxteth Park, near Liverpool, joiner. Robert Woodall, Scarborough, Yorkshire, painter. Jacob Wanstall, Dover. Philip Henry Ireland, Muckleton, Shropshire, farmer. Simeon Pointon, Gillowheath, Staffordshire, wheelwright. John Rowley, Black Park, Denbighshire, bailiff. John Warner, Henley-upon-Thames, whitesmith. James PUNT!, Ewell, Kent, butcher. William Jelley, D ean ' s g reen, Worcestershire. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS. J. Emerson, Glasgow, manufacturer, to meet within the Globe Hotel, Manchester, Aug. 11 and Sept. 1, at two. E. Broughton, Duddington House, Edinburgh, board ing -school keeper, to meet within Dowell's Rooms, Edinburgh, Aug . . 11 and Sept. 4, at two. T. 11. Seton, Glasgow, tavern keeper, to meet within at two. the Black B u ll Hotel, Glasgow, A ug. 11 and Sept. 1, R. Johnston, Aberdeen, shipowner, to meet within the Royal Hotel, Aberdeen, Aug. 15 and Sept. 8, at eleven. N. Blair, Glasgow, dealer in shares to meet within the George Inn, Glasgow, Aug. 15 and Sept. 8, at one. W. Frier, Edinburgh, corn merchant, to meet within Dow ell's Rooms, Edinburgh, Aug.ls and Sept. 5, a t t wo . J. Cochr an , Gl asgow, tea merchant, r to meet within the Black Bull Hotel, Glasgow, Aug. 14 and Sept. 4, at two. W. Shackleton, Aberdeen, vvoolstapler, to meet within the Lemon Tree Tavern, Aberdeen, Aug. 14 and Sept. 9,' at one. T. C. Burns, Avondale, Stirlingshire, writer to the signet, to meet within the Red Lion Inn, Maxwell, Aug. 14 and Sept. 4, at two. HOP INTELLIGENCE. - - --- A correspondent says :—Another week has passed. The hops do not look so well as last ; cold nights and strong gales do not suit them. I have stated before that the crop would fall short of last season two bags per acre. I now say it will be nearer three, and without a great change in the weather will not stop there. I confine my remarks to my own neighbourhood, Farleigh, as I have not seen other districts, but I hoar the same account of them. In the early part of the season the bino came away well and presented a fine healthy appearance. Since then it has in many places turned yellow. Even those grounds which have grown and held their colour are beaten about and injured. LoosE.—We have a great deal of lice i❑ the hops, up to the very burr. The duty must be much over-rated. BOXLEY, AYLESFORD, ♦ND BIRRAIL—The late rains and strong winds have very much improved the bine and burr. YILDING, FARLEIGH, ♦ND C HART. —There aro some lice; but not to injure without an increase. Mould is r greatly on the increase. ' ULCODIUE.—The eontinued rains and cold nights, ac companied with strong gales of wind, have had a most disastrous effect on the hops this last week, causing the burr to look knitty and very, sickly. Many poles are ' blown down, and from the bine being so much bruised with the wind, the leaves look almost like the blight of the potato-haulm. The mould is making its appearance in the burr, in some instances where it has rot appeared on the leaf. Without more congenial weather, there is doubt if the duty will pay more than half 'the estimated amount ; for we have reason to expect a great increase of mould, and no one would think of picking any hops at all, so affected, at the present prices. BRENCULEY.—The hops in this parish are feeling the effect of the late few cold nights very severely. From forty to fifty lice are to be seen on the last shoot leading to the burr, in Mr. It Fuggle's garden ; and if we should get any frosty nights the duty must come down considerably. WROTHAII, SIIIPDOURNE, AND IGHTHAN.—The un kind 'weather, rain and high winds, have done much injury to the plantations generally. The burr seems very loth to come out into hop, although a few fine days would soon cause what is not injured to develope itself. If we have much more wind, rain, and cold nights, it is almost impossible to grow a quarter of the duty of last year. SEVENOAKS AND ADJOINING PARISIIES.—The hops have not made much progress lately. It is now quite certain that this district will be, at least, one-third short of lust year's growth. GODDLIUMEIT. — The wet weather this last fortnight with the wind has affected the hops, and if such weather continues much longer the crop will be very short. The duty is much over-rated. ROLVENDEN.—Our bine has made but little progress the last fortnight. The gardens that were fire blighted cannot do much, the late winds and cold nights are very much against them. CANTERBURY.—The heavy rains, high winds, and cold weather of the past week have occasioned great damage to the hops, and all sorts of diseases are appearing. The duty is declining.—Maidstone Journal. FATAL ACCIDENT FROM FURIOUS DRIVING, AND COMMITTAL OF A PUBLICAN FOR MANSLAUGHTER.— Mr. Best, a respectable publican, residing at Evesham, Worcestershire, has just been committed to the Wor cester county gaol for trial at thp novt stgtizos, on charge of manslaughter under the following circum stances:—William Roberts, a young labouring man, was driving his master's team, laden with bones for manure, along the turnpike road, at Little Hampton, near Evesham, accompanied by a boy named Dolphin, when the prisoner, in company with another person, galloped up tho road at a furious rate, overtook the waggon, and rode down poor Roberts, who fell in front of the waggon wheels, two of which passed over his neck and head and killed him on the spot. Best was intox icated so as to be scarcely able to retain his seat in the saddle. Roberts and Dolphi❑ were on the right side of the road, and Dolphin had a narrow escape from being rode over. Best rode on after the accident at the same furious pace he had previously attained, and it ap peared that when ho set out he had but one stirrup leather, and that the girth was broken. Dolphin stated on the inquest, which was held before Charles Best, Esq., county coroner, that there was plenty of room for Best (the prisoner) to have passed Roberts without knocking him down. A farmer named Mansell, who WAS in the road near where the accident happened, also stated that there was room for a gig to have passed on either side of the waggon. Mr. M'Namara, surgeon, of Evesham, gave evidence that the deceased's neck had been broken by the wheel of the waggon passing over it, the fifth and sixth vertebra) being quite separated. The prisoner was committed under the coroner's warrant for trial at the next assizes. • RITTLESNARES.---It was by means an unusual oc currence for us, after a heavy dew, to kill, in the morn ing, within a quarter of a mile of a camp (in the country bordering the Arkansas), more than twenty rattlesnakes which having come out to imbibe the dew, had become benumbed by the cool night air, and so were an easy prey. Our Major awoke one morning with one of these reptiles coiled, up against his leg, it having nestled there for warmth. He dared not stir until a servant came and removed the intruder. I had now an opportunity of test ing the truth of what I heard, but never before believed: in the month of Auv,ust these shakes are not only doubly venomous, but totally blind. An old hunter will tell you that the poison then is so virulent as to deprive the reptile of sight.—Edward's Campaign in New Mexico. OPENING OF TUE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY TO AREROATII AND MONTROSE.—Of Tuesday the Castleary branch of this railway was opened for public traffic, thus completing the direct line between London,Terth, Dun dee, Arbroath, and Montrose. The express trains from Dundee arrived at the Euston-square terminus in 15 hours, and from A r b roat h i n 151. The line of ra il way is continued from Arbroath to Montrose, coaches con veying passengers on to Aberdeen. FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST _LAAMEN T. - .Wan , IMPERIAL PAR r - HOUSE Or . RI4:COVEP COMMONS, August 10. .-stiLE LEASEHOLD CONVERSION to , (IRELAND) BILL. ....ontinued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) Sir W. SOMERVILLE thought that the Irish Society had deserved well of the public for the ex cellent manner in which they had managed their estates in the north of Ireland ; but he thought it would be invidious in a general public measure that they should be exempted from its operation. Since he had introduced this Bill he had not had a single letter from Ireland objecting to its provisions, but he had had letters from numberless individuals begging the provisions of the Bill to be extended to them. He thought the Hen. and Learned Member might have allowed the people in Ireland to be the best judges of a measure that affected them and them alone. Such being the case, no objections having been raised to the principle of the Bill by any one with the exception of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, he trusted the House would allow the Bill to go into Committee. Mr. HAMILTON supported the Bill, and trusted the House would go into Committee upon it. Sir R. FERGUSON complained of the abuse that had been thrown by the Honourable and Learned Member for Cambridge upon the gentry, judges, jurors, and landlords of Ireland, and expressed his surprise that a Gentleman of the standing of the lion. and Learned Member should have done so on behalf of a society whose acts had been complained of since the year 1630, and against which the first legal au thorities in the land had decided. It was not the fact to suppose that the acts of the society had improved their property; that had been done by their tenants and their tenants alone. He trusted that, notwithstanding all that had been said by the Honourable and Learned Member, the House would go into Committee on the Bill. Mr. CALLAGHAN supported the committal of the Bill, firmly believing that it would be advantageous to the people of Ireland. Sir H. W. BARRON supported the Bill. Mr. GROGAN - was in favour of the Bill. Mr. LAW withdrew the amendment, and assured the House that in proposing it he thought be was only per forming his duty to the society, of Much he was the officer.. After some observations from Mr. MICULLAGH and Mr. WOOD, The House went into Committee upon the Bill pro forma, for , the purpose'of inserting a few verbal amend ments, and the Bill was ord e r e d to b e recommitted on Tuesday next. STOCK-IN-TRADE EXEMPTION The third reading of this Bill was postponed to Mon. day, at twelve o'clock. TURNPIKE ACTS CONTINUANCE BILL. This Bill went through Committee, and the report was ordered to be received to-morrow. POOR-LAW UNION DISTRICT SCHOOLS BILL. This Bill went through Committee. •Th• first clause was struck out; certain clauses were altered, and the Bill was ordered, as amended, to be printed. The report to be received to-morrow. TITHE-RENT CHARGE, &c. (IRELAND) BILL. Mr. HAMILTON moved that the House should go into Committee upon this Bill. Sir G. GREY trusted that the Hon. Gentleman would defer the Bill until next session, as he understood it was likely to give rise to several not unreasonable ob jections. After a short discussion, the consideration of the Bill was postponed until the other orders of the day were dis posed of. DUBLIN POLICE BILL. This Bill went through Committee. The Rouse then adjourned until Five o'clock. the House resumed at Five o'clock. PETITIONS. Mr. FREWEN presented a petition from the county Of Sussex praying the House to take into their considera tion the present state of the turnpike trusts. Colonel THOMPSON presented two petitions against the sale of spirituous liquors on Sundays. Mr. SPOONER presented a petition, praying for the amendment of the Poor Removal Act. Leave of absence was given to Lord Newry for a month on the motion of Sir C. DOUGLAS. Mr. LUSHINGTON presented a petition from the Anti-State Church Association against all public grants for religious purposes. Mr. HUME presented a petition from Edinburgh against the ministers' annuity tax. He gave notice that on Monday he should move an address to the Crown, for the appointment of a Commission to inquire into the nature and origin of this tax. SUGAR DUTIES. Lord G. BENTINCK wished to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what time he - proposed to bring on the sugar duties? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was not his intention to bring them on at a late hour. Lord G. BENTINCK--Not after ten. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—Oh, no ; not after eleven. THE WEST INDIES. Lord G. BENTINCK wished to ask a question of the Honourable Gentleman the Under-Secretary for the Colonies. Last night the Honourable Gentleman stated that a dispatch had been received from Sir Charles Grey, but Government had not yet made up their minds whether it ought to be laid before the public. He wished to ask whether Government had made up their minds now to lay it on the table. He wished also to .usk the Right Hon. Gen tleman whether he was prepared, before the Bill was brought in for the Jamaica loan, to lay Lord Harris's dispatch upon the table of the Houes? And per haps, at the same ti me , t h e Honourable Gentleman would be good enough to state ' whether that dispatch contained any recommenda tion that portions of the half million loan should be applied to the purposes of sugar cultivation. Mr. HAWES said the Noble Lord had given him no notice of these questions, and, with the permission of the House he would defer ans wer i ng t h em - till to- morrow. PUBLIC HEALTH BILL.—CONFERENCE WITH THE LORDS. Lord MORPETH appeared at the bar, and reported to the House that he had been to the House of Lords on the subject -matter of the Public Health Bill, and that their Lordships had appointed a conference to take place immediately, in one of the committee-rooms of the House of Lords. The Members appointed to conduct the conference on the part of the Commons then left the House. On their return, Lord MORPETH stated that they had left the Bill, with the reasons of the Commons for disagreeing with the amendments of their Lordships, with- the Noble Lord at the head of the Lords' Confer ence (the Earl of Devon). Lord JOHN RUSSELL, in answer to a question from Colonel Sibthorp, said he could not postpone the mis cellaneous estimates at the present period of the session. FISH DIET IN UNIONS. Mr. WYLD wished to know whether the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman at the head of the Poor law Commission would have any objection to allow the poor in unions to have a fish diet once a week? Mr C. BULLER could have have no objection to the poor in unions having fish once a week, provided they had enough of it.—(Laughter.) But at the same time he must say that it was perfectly competent without his sanction for the boards of guar dians to change the diet of the paupers. He trusted the Hon. Member bad no other motive than the interests of the poor in wishing them to have fish once a week. NAVIGATION-LAWS. The House then went into Committee on the naviga tion-laws. Mr. LABOUCHERE, in placing the resolution in the hands, of the Chairman, said it was hardly necessary for him to remind the Committee of the circumstances under which Government had consented to give up all expecta tion of repealing the navigation laws this session; but he trusted that the House would allow the measure to be introduced so early next session as to admit of its receiving the full consideration which its importance demanded. He proposed simply to . ask. the Committee to pass the resolution, to enable him to lay the views of the Government on this subject before the House in the shape - of,, a Bill, which would be far more satisfactory than any statement on the part of the Ministers ; and he trusted, as .an understanding had been come to to reserve the discussion till next ses sion, the resolution would be passed without any length ened debate. The resolution , stntcd that it. was expedient to remove the restrictions, which were inflicted on the carrying of goods by sea to and .from the British possessions, subject, nevertheless, to such control as her Majesty's Privy Council should think fit. Mr. HERRIES said, however he might be opposed to the proposal of the Right Honourable Gentleman, he thought, under these circumstances, this was the best course the Right Honourable Gentleman could adopt, and upon the understanding that the question was to be fully gone into next session, ho should refrain from opposing the resolution now. The more he considered the proposition made by her Majesty's Government, the more strongly he was con vinced that such a measure could not be carried into effect without endangering in the highest degree the naval and mercantile interests of this country. It would give the foreign shipowner and the foreign sailor the same advantages which were enjoyed by the British shipowner and sailor, with one single exception, with re ference to the coasting trade. They were put on the same footing of equality, but then there were obligations im posed upon the British navy which gave a positive and distinct preference 'to the foreigner. If the Bill were passed, the capital which was now invested in British shipping would be transferred to foreign ship ping, because it was exempt from obligations which the former had imposed upon it. Mr. GLADSTONE hoped that his Right Honourable Friend's example would be followed on the present occa sion, as he himself should practise the self-denial of ab staining from entering upon any discussion of the mea sure. He could not blame the Government for not per severing at so late a period with the Bill, but he did hope and expect that at the earliest period of the next session the measure would be brought in, as, if it was deferred, the scene of that eveniee• would be repeated in 1849. He must say he wished' the Bill had been of a more general nature, and that so large a power had not been reserved to the Queen in Council as was provided in the Bill about to be laid on the table. He should permit the resolution to pass without opposition on the present oc casion, with the distinct understanding that he was left entirely unshackled as to the course he should take in respect to it during the next session. Lord J. RUSSELL said that the original intention of Government was to bring in the Bill before Christmas, but other more pressing business had intervened. The Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Gladstone) had stated his intention not to be bound by his assent to the resolution before the Committee, and at the same time expressed a wish that it had been conceived in more general terms, and that less power had been reserved to the Queen in Council to act under the proposed Bill. 11, MIR. No doubt it would be open to the House to discuss, on a future occasion, the form of the alteration of the naviga tion-laws, and he (Lord J. Russell) wished to add, that allhotigh the Government had wished to introduce a measure in the form which had been proposed, still there was nothing to prevent the Government considering, during the recess, the form in which it Would hereafter be proposed. The House had already, by a large ma jority, expressed a decided opinion in favour of the prin ciple of the Government proposition, and he concurred in the opinion which had been'expressed that the mea sure must.be introduced at the very earliest period of next session. Mr. G. R. ROBINSON denied that the House had yet affirmed the principle of the Government measure. All the House had yet done had been to negative the resolu tion proposed by way of amendment by the Right Hon. Gentleman near him (Mr. Herries). By a postpone ment of the measure till next session the Noble Lord had given the shipping interests and those connected with the shipping ports an opportunity of fully considering the whole question before the House was again called upon to discuss it, and if they did not make the House acquainted with their wishes on this great and vital matter, the fault would rest upon themselves. A strong feeling had already been expressed on the ques tion, for he found, on reference to the report of the Com mittee on petitions, only twelve petitions with 2,425 sig natures had been presented during the whole session in favour of the Government plan, while there had been presented 108 petitions, bearing 49,231 signatures, against it. This fact answered the assertion which had been made by the Hon. Member for Manchester (Mr. Bright), that all the shipping ports were in favour of an abrogation of the navigation-laws, and he (Mr. Robinson) asserted that 12-20ths of those connected with the shipping interest were hostile to the change in the law as propsed by her Majesty's Government. If the Government yielded in that matter to the section of the House which supported free -trade measures, his (Mr. Robinson's) coviction was that the consequence would be to throw open the whole trade with America and the West Indies to the United States. Mr. MACGREGOR considered the course taken by the Government in postponing the Bill until the next session was a wise and proper proceeding. He also thought that the form of the resolution might be bene ficially altered, and he wished that in the interim be tween the close of the present and the commencement of the next session the Government would set on foot nego tiations with the United States in order to effect freedom of intercourse between the ports of the United States and those of this country, just as though the former still remained a portion of the British dominions. He was also of opinion that a distinct understanding should be come tow s early as possible with the United States. Mr. HUDSON wished to state a fact for the conside ration of the Government. When their proposition with respect to the navigation-laws was announced an im mense number of hands employed in shipbuilding at Sunderland had been turned out of employment, but as soon as it was known the measure was abandoned, at least for the present session, all the men had been gra dually restored to their employment. He, therefore,- warned the Government not to renew a measure which was calculated to bring large bodies of the labouring classes to misery and destitution. The interests of those classes were deserving of as much consideration as those of the shipowner and shipbuilder. Whenever the new measure was brought forward it would receive his most strenuous opposition. Mr. CLAY exTressed a hope that when the Right Hon. Gentleman at the head of the Board of Trade next session introduced a new measure, with reference to the navigation-laws, he would show more consideration in it than had been displayed in its predecessors, for the three interests more immediately concerned—the shipowner, the shipbuilder, and the sailor. The measure ought also to be accompanied by a remission of the timber duties; and if this was done, he believed the measure would not be resisted. Mr. BRIGHT said, in, answer to what had been stated by the Hon. •Member for Poole (Mr. Robinson), that he (Mr. Bright) had never said that those interested in ships and in ports were in favour of the alteration of those laws. What he had said was, that the population in the ports were in favour of the Governmeet plan, and this had been shown at a public meeting held in Sunder land three or four years ago, when they declared in fa vour of an alteration in the navigation-laws. He was surprised the Honourable Member for Sunderland (Mr. Hudson), who had done so much to increase freedom of communication by railroads, should be opposed to the same freedom by ships and merchant vessels; and he called on the Hon. Member to exercise on this question that good common sense which he had directed to railroads, and not bind himself up with the political views of the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn (Lord G. Bentinck). He trusted the Government would next session renew the measure with firmness and eleter urination; if so, its success in this and the other House of Parliament was certain. Mr. MITCHELL observed that on a former occasion the Hon. Member for Oxfordshire (Mr. Henley) had questioned the accuracy of certain returns made to the Government by Sir E. Baines, the Consul at St. Petersburgh. He (Mr. Mitchell) had received a letter from Sir E. Baines, in which he desired him to acquaint the House that the returns were furnished by the Resident at the British factory at St. Peters burgh, and that he (Sir E. Baines) had not had, at the time they were sent off, an opportunity of testing their accuracy. Captain HARRIS was understood to express a hope that in the new measure the Government would take oare - to secure the naval service with a sufficient supply of hands, if necessary, from the commercial ma rine. Mr. RICARDO said he did not wish to open a fresh discussion; but he and those on his side of the House were as zealous for the maintenance of the supremacy of the British navy as the Hon. and Gallant Member (Captain Harris), who on former occasions had claimed all the patriotism for himself and those with whom he acted. . Mr. NEWDEGATE asked whether the resolutions now in the hands of the chairman were a true exposi tion of the Bill about to be laid on the table, and in ac cordance with the speech with which the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Labouchere) had introduced the resolutions to the consideration of the House ? After a few words from Capt. HARRIS and Mr. Rl canDo, in mutual explanation, Mr. LABOUCHERE said, in answer to the question put by the Hon. Member (Mr. Newdegute), he bad to reply that he (Mr. Labouchere) should be guilty of prac tising a trick upon the House if the Bill was not in ac cordance with the resolution and with the speech with which he had brought forward the question. At the same time be did not mean to preclude himself from taking advantage during the recess of such information as he might acquire, and of amending upon it the form of the new measure. Mr. HENLEY inquired from the Hon. Member for Bridport (Mr. Mitchell) whether Sir E. Baines in his communication stated the reports he had furnished were correct or incorrect ? thatM r. he M ad lT ; C b H u E t, L f L rom rep t l h ied that eanxie the letter tythewr as si writer r slent on expressed to be set right with the House, he (Mr. Mitchell) in ferred that Sir . E. Baines thought them incorrect. Mr. MACGREGOR said he had examined the re. ports, and had found them correct, with the exception of those from Tamboff. The resolution was then agreed to, and a Bill founded thereon ordered to be brought in by Mr. Bernal, Mr. BILL. C L O ab ß o n uc u he r re, T P a ß nd At o T rd IC J E . S R A usll. ELECTIONSATT so The Committee on this Bill was then resumed, Mr. BERNAL in the chair. It was agreed that Carlisle be inserted in the schedule. On the motion that Lincoln be added, Colonel SIBTHORP said he would not ask a favour of the House in behalf of the city he represented, much less on behalf of himself, as its representative. He was convinced of the purity of the constituency. He had represented them 20 years; his brother, father, uncle, great-uncle, and great-grandfather had represented them, the latter in 1714; and this was the first time any member of his family had been charged with an act de rogatory of his character. It was the first time the borough had been put on its trial for malpractices un worthy a representative body. He had no hesitation in denying the imputation in every sense in which it could possibly be understood. He knew how easy it was to make charges of this kind; but it was difficult to sub stantiate them. It was also easy for a Government, dressed :perhaps with a little brief authority, to im pugn individuals not less upright than themselves. His father, and other members of his family, had exercised the duties of hospitality amongst his neigh bours —he had followed their excellent example—and if this was to be denounced as bribery, he contended that to send down Commissioners to inquire into such proceedings was nothing less than inquisitorial tyranny; and he would tell the Noble Lord (J. Russell) that in spite of such an inquisition, he would persist in the per formance of such acts as Christian charity and hospita lity required. The Noble Lord having stated that re freshments might be justifiably given on the occasion of a county election, on what ground could he charge him (Colonel Sibthorp) with acts of bribery because be had exercised hospitality towards the poor ? Let the Noble Lord beware, for sometimes a man was caught in his own trap and lost his tail.—(Laughter.) Lincoln had been put into the schedule ; London had not. Why was this ? It was true the House had evidence in one case and not in the other. Let the result of the Lincoln Committee be what it might, he should retain the opi nion that this proceeding was one unworthy the Govern ment, and unworthy a Prime Minister, who seemed to rejoice in the tyranny he was exercising. Why had the Noble Lord shrunk from pressing the former Bill he had introduced, and thus given opportunity for a fair discus sion ? Why bring in a Bill in this disgraceful, under hand manner, on which no fair discussion could take place, but which, like many other measures introduced at this period of the session, must be smuggled through the House? He knew it was vain to contend against the premeditated intention of the Noble Lord; but if a bo rough was to undergo a scrutiny, and to suffer punish ment in the person of its representative by his being un seated, a fresh election having taken place, no further proceedings ought to be instituted. As well might they send a Commsisoner to inquire into the conduct of every member of the family of an individual who had been convicted of a crime in a court of justice. The Noble Lord, not satisfied with the late Member for Lincoln being unseated, now sought to hold up the borough to the world as unworthy of the franchise. If the Noble Lord could reconcile his conscience to such conduct, he (Colonel Sibthorp) rejoiced to say that he could not. Let them send down their Commissioner, give him what instructions they liked, and charge, frighten, and insult the poor man, if they chose, his opinion of the integrity and inde pendence of the constituency of Lincoln impressed him with the firm conviction that they would act as men and as Englishmen. Let them encourage every bad character, and even reward with place those who were prominent in this inquisitorial proceeding. It was impossible but that the character and conduct of - honourable men should be misrepresented and blackened in such an inquiry. The result to the Noble Lord would be, that he would be believed guilty of a low, mean, dirty trick to undermine others, and thereby to build up his own reputation for purity by means which would tend to his disgrace. Let these Commissioners attempt to ferret out acts which he (Col. Sibthorp) and his friends would never be ashamed to divulge; it was in the power of the Government to do this if they chose. But they ought to have visited in this manner boroughs which better deserved such an inquiry. He would not condescend to ask the Noble Lord or the House to exempt Lincoln from the schedule, but would leave it to its fate, undaunted in the course he meant to pursue. He would take no underhand course, neither would any one of the constituency. He lamented that the benches around him, from whose occupants he might have looked for justice, were deserted; the Noble Lord might, therefore, take his own course. Let hire inflict any punishment he chose on the city of Lincoln ; he (Colonel Sibthorp) should await the sentence with the consciousness of having done his duty, and with the belief that the Noble Lord would, ere long, regret the course he was now taking. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said there was no charge whatever in the Bill against the Hon. and Gal lant Member who had just sat down, neither was there any such charge in the report of the Committee. He said his ancestors had sat for the borough ; and he (the Solicitor. General) hoped his descendants would do the same, and would defend the borough as ably as be did.— (Hear, hear.) But the principle on which this Bill pro ceeded was, that wherever a Committee reported the exisence of corrupt practices, there an inquiry should: take place to ascertain whether such practices did really' exist. As the Hon. and Gallant Member did not intend to divide on this question, he thought it unnecessary to go further into the matter. Colonel SIBTHORP repeated that his anxiety was not for himself, but for the borough. Mr. W. MILES said he had fully expected that the Chairman of the Lincoln Committee would have moved its omission from the schedule. The evidence disclosed only three cases of bribery, out of forty-six charged ; one a very small one, to the amount of about 10s., was proved ; and could it bo supposed necessary that there should be another Committee and another inquiry to find out just the same thing ? The bribery as it was called, was carried on by means of " free and easy clubs," which sat before and after the issue of the writ ; this was the whole of the case, and nothing more would be disclosed by the moat searching inquiry. The real question was whether the treating had been exercised with the intent of corrupting the voters. He thought chat much of it would be found resolvable into the hos pitality the Hon. and Gallant Member had referred to. The report of the Committee plainly stated the existence of these clubs at perhaps half the public-houses in Lincoln ; the names of the publicans were given ; the fact that bread, be'er, pipes, &c., were distributed outside the houses to "navvies" and others was proved beyond doubt ; also that sums were paid to non-resi dent voters beyond what was necessary for their loss of time; all these things were patent, and what more could be required ? The Committee reported, that, owing to the vagueness of the 20th clause of sth and 6th Victoria, cap. 102, various conclusions might be arrived at by Com mittees; and they recommended an alteration of the law in this respect. The Hon. Gentleman here read the clause, and - aiked if it included refreshments and travel ing expenses ? The SOLICITOR. GENERAL answered in the affir mative. • Mr. MILES said it had not been so construed by Committes generally, with whom it rested to decide whether a payment was made to corrupt a voter. More might be done by simplifying the law, and defin ing what was corruption, than by sending a host of Com missioners to scour the country, and find out what was patent to all.—(Hear.) The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said the lion. Member had opened a discussion which was very fully gone into on a former occasion, and related rather to the principle of the Bill than to the boroughs which should be placed in the schedule. The House had thought it desirable .to have further information, in addition to the evidence taken before the Election Committees ; and hence the necessity for the inquiry proposed by this Bill. As to the construction of the 5 and 6 Viet., it was evident that every payment of whatever kind made to an elee- ' for was a corrupt payment; but the question arose in every case whether the particular payment had been made with the intention of corrupting_ the voter.- He g hoped that The - House, having affirmed the principle of - the Bill, would not now offer any opposition to Lincoln, the case against which was a very strong one, being placed in the schedule. Mr. ANSTEY referred to the report of the Lincoln. Committee, and said that this Bill, so far from carrying' out their recommendation as to the simplifieation of the law, set aside their report altogether by appointing an other Committee to go into the same inquiry again.. The city of London was situate precisely the same as the borough of Horsham; let the Noble Lord (I. Russell) take this opportunity of declaring that he was ready to volunteer an inquiry into transactions of which the world had heard much, and thereby to clear his own character and that of his constituency. —(Hear, hear.) He was not precladed from doing this by the preamble of the present Bill. Commoto fame said that the last election for the city of Lon don was characterised by enormous bribery, treating, and personation. It was said that one thousand long shore men were bribed. That was reported on credible authority.—(Name, name.) Those statements had been made by a Member of that House, and the Noble Lord had net denied them. It was also said that 32,0001. had been spent at the election, and dead men were per sonated. He did not say that the Noble Lord was or was not guilty of corrupt practices, but common rumour reported that enormous bribery and corruption prevailed at the last election for the city of London. A docin lent • was to be handed to him in which those statements friers, made, but it miscarried. —(Laughter.) Now, there wag no report in the case of the city of London. But neither was there any report in the case of Horsham. The bribery and corruption at Horsham rested on more rumour, and as Horsham was to bo included ins the schedule, he wished to know whether the Noble Lord, on the same ground, was prepared to include the city of London? Lord J. RUSSELL begged of the House to recollect the circumstances under which he undertook the Bill. ' It had been urged by several Members of the House, but more especially_by_theltight-Hon.Gentletaan the Member for Tamwortb, that, some Member of the GOveTninent should take charge of the Bill. lie , had declined to do,so for a considerable time; and it was not until the Bill nall made a cause of perpetual delay that he consented to mil-dertaka it. Whereupon the lion. and Learned Gentile man thought as he had undertaken the Bill he was a lair. charge e ch a a g r a g in e— st (t"hNe oc,onnos,t'i'tfureonmeyMwrh. iAchnahteeyr)e—p subject for attack, and made that the ground of a rper --(Hear, hear.) Why, whatever body he represen the Hon. and Learned Member would be equally stile to say that there was a rumour of corrupt practices, and r a e n se d ri o t f ed! would call on him to include that constituency in . the schedule.—(Hear, hear.) He denied that becaus e he undertook the Bill at the request of the House he was bound to put in the place he represented, whatever it might be, without any cause, in the ache dale, to gratify the curiosity or malignity of any ind idusi who might call on him to do so.—(Hear, hear.) Hie connexion with the city of London began thits:—He • re presented a borough which bad elected him more than once free of expense, and left him perfectly indepen dent in his political course in that House. Whilst he re pre sented the borough of Stroud some thousands of the electors of the city of London requested him to stand for the city of London, the great public question of protec tion or free trade being then at issue. He stated to them he had no wish to leave the constituency ha then represented, and that he believed it would cause a feel. ing of mortification, and a feeling that they ha.a been unfairly and ungratefully dealt with if he left th .em for any other body. At the same time he said that he would accept the invitation, as the decision of the city of London would be of great importance on the question of free trade or protection, but that the election must be carried on without recourse to any of those means to which the term of corrupt practices was applied.--(Hear, hear.) They stated that they would not practice any illegal means to carry the election, which they intended should be one entirely upon principle. That oleo tion took place, and he was returned by a majority of vane. —(" Hear, ' whetherhear, Colonel Sibthorp.) Last date along asked him he would become a caudi date along with three other gentlemen. He replied della he would stand again, but that he must not be in corms alma with any others. The election took place; there w .as a very hard contest; but ho was elected for the se, .ond time by a very large majority.—(Hear, hear.) No per son that he knew of complained of the mode in w hick that election was conducted. He had not paid out of his pocket more than was necessary for the legal ex penses of the election. If any corrupt practices had been resorted to, why were not the means take u to bring them to light? No management that he was aware of had been used to prevent an election pet ition from being presented to that House.—(Hear, Having so conducted 'himself he did not think he was bound to include London in the schedule because the Hon. Gentleman said that some rumours prevails d.— (Hear, hear.) Whether those rumours prevailed or not he did not know—he heard them only from the 1 Hon. Ge ntleman —(Laught er and cheers)--and from nol RAI else.--(Renewed laughter.) Where the lion. Ge ntle man picked up those rumours he did not le now. He proposed the Bill on public grounds, and wit bout reference to any individual.—(" Ilear,.bear," _.from_ Col- Sibthorp.) He could assure the Hon. and Gallant Gen tleman that he had no personal feeling against hi m— (Laughter) —and had no objection that he and.his pos terity should represent Lincoln as long as his armee ;tors had done. But having brought forward the Bi II on public grounds, he did not think that he ought to pc t the city of London in the schedule because the Hon. 'Gen tleman was of opinion that the place represented by the Prime Minister ought to be included.—((fear, heat.) Colonel SIBTHORP said he never directly ' - or in directly bribed any man, and he considered he had therefore as good a right to be excluded from the Bill as the Noble Lord. Mr. W. BROWN regretted that the Noble Lord thought it worth his while to answer the allegations of the Hon. Member for Youghal. With regard to the constituency represented by the Hon. and Learned Gen tleman, ho always hoard that they were anxious to get s fat goose.—(Laughter.) Mr. J. A. SMITH rose for the purpose of confirming the perfectly accurate and exact statement of the Noble Lord respecting the circumstances attending the election for the city of London, on which occasion he was chair man of the Noble Lord's Committee. Every effort had been made on his part and on the part of the other members of the Committee to insure the election being conducted in such a manner as would prevent even those rumours to which the Hon. and Learned Member alluded. He therefore repudiated in the most distinct manner the • extraordinary and absurd charges made by the Hon. nenti Ttgaii bers Lc the t agaii talit3 not t th e I be hotel preci to eh their Bevel <~--:~, A, , Con Lyra gum favo, wou] inqu rep., him man: had Lord put 1 vice, bore form Vest been boron Ratio the 1 saki rt tr( tak ( aa, ul ber he no Pe (S