The Sun. — London, England, 1866-01-04 00:00:00

MB. B. lIIDALM, ROCHDALE, Wednesday Evening. A public meeting for the purpose of discussing the question of Parliamentary Reform was held in the Theatie Royal of this town this evening, Mr. S. Stott, Mayor of Rochdale, in the chair. The theatre was densely crowded. Among those pre sent upon the stage were Mr. Bright, M.P., Mr. T. B. Potter, M.P., Mr. Alderman Ashworth, Mr. H. Kelsall, Mr. Alderman Heape, Mr. Petrie, and large number of local celebrities. The CHAIRMAN briefly opened the proceedings. He explained that the meeting had been convened in pursuance of a requisition signed by nearly a thousand of the inhabitants of the borough, who were anxious to give expression to their feelings in regard to Parliamentary Reform before the meet ing of the new Parliament. Mr. 11. KELSALL, with a few appropriate re marks, moved the first resolution, " That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is imperative on the pre- Sent Government to introduce a Reform Bill in the approaching session of Parliament which, in its provisions, shall fully satisfy the just expectations the people." Mr. PETRIE seconded the resolution ; in sup porting which, Mr. POTTER, M.P., expressed his belief that if the Liberals were now united a real measure of Re form would be passed by the present Parliament. He entertained far greater hopes from the Ministry of Lord Russell than that of Lord Palmerston, but he should have had even more confidence in the Reform movement if the great leader of the Reform party in England (Mr. Bright) now held a seat in the Cabinet. (Loud cheers.) It was impossible that any measure of Reform less comprehensive than the bill of 1859 could be offered to the coun try ; and by accepting and supporting the pro position which the Government would haye to submit to Parliament early in the ensuing session, he was satisfied that an immense boon would be conferred upon the artisan and working classes. He did not believe that the Government would offer less, or that the people of England could be fairly expected to be satisfied with less ; but it would be a substantial instalment of what they would ultimately claim. He referred to the present state of the constituency of Rochdale, in which the really artisan class had only four and a half per cent of the representation, whilst the upper and middle classes had 87 per cent. This could not be claimed in common sense or in common justice a fair representation of the working classes. He ridi culed the fears of the Tories with respect to the ad mission of the working classes to the franchise, which he believed would be as baseless as those of Sir Robert Inglis and Sir Charles Wetherall in 1832, for this party then loudly denounced Reform as little less than a revolution. Ile would only add a few words with respect to Jamaica. He believed the Government was anxious to do justice, but he could not help fearing that needless and illegal severity had been exerted ; that British law had been violated, and must be vindicated. (Cheers.) He had great pleasure in supporting the resolution. Mr. BRIGHT, M.P., on rising to support the reso lution, was received with loud and prolonged cheer ing. He said—Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, I was glad when I heard that it was intended to hold this meeting, but now I stand before this audience, I feel myself filled with a sadness which I cannot easily describe. I remember some of your former meetings —one great meeting that was held two years ago, and another still greater that was held last year, at which I was not able t 3 be present ; but I remember that great and most noble speech which many of you were privileged to hear. The lips whose words then charmed and instructed you are now closed for ever, but there remains to us one thing—the priceless example of a great and noble life devoted to justice, and whose labours have added whale realms to the ever-widening empire of human freedom. (Cheers.) In the midst of our unavailing regrets let us thank God that such a life has been lived amongst us. (Cheers.) I said that I was glad when I heard that this meeting was intended to be held, for, to speak the truth, I felt that there was no town in England that had a greater right to speak on the subject of Reform than the town in which we are now assembled, and I felt—perhaps it was presumptuous to feel it —that I had something to say on this question of Reform to my townsmen, and through them to my countrymen at large. Th uestion of Parliamen tary Reform occupies now Quiewhat new position. I think it may be not in curately described if I say that position is in some degree critical, but in a large degree favourable. To take the favourable view of it, we have had a long discussion on this question, more or less, for nearly thirty years ; for very soon after the passing of the bill of 1832 at tempts were made to amend and extend it. We have had during that time, with this long discussion, a constant growth and formation of opinion, and now we have a Government which is strictly pledged to introduce, and so far as they are able, by all means which the Constitution allows, to carry that bill into an act of Parliament. Now some persons who re member the time of 1832, or who have read of it, seem to fancy that we live under the same circum stances. There is a wide difference between that time and this. The measure of 1832—notwithstand ing that my hon. friend' (Mr. Potter) was rather disposed to call in question the expressions of some of the Tories of that day—the bill of 1832 was in reality a revolution of the character which they de scribed. It was a measure which came after long years of disappointment to the people. It now reached the excitement of the revolution in France —it swept away at one fell swoop all the past re sistance that had been made to the question, and it excited a commotion in the country under which the institutions of the kingdom tottered and trembled to their very base. (Cheers.) Now, at this moment, discussing this question, there appears to me to be this difference —o ne e f fect of the Reform Bill of 1832 was to make all sorts of violence unnecessary and I absurd with the v i ew of carrying ay particular changes in this country ; and therefore I conclude that our position differs entirely from that occupied by the Reformer in the year 1832. We are not likely to have a connection of that characte r , nor are we likely to have a great revolutionary change of the representation carried through Par liament by any Government within the clauses of one bill. I believe it will be necessary and ad vantageous to proceed on this question step by step. (Cheers.) Now what are the steps? Fortunately, perhaps, I am not, as my hon. friend and some of his ill-advised friends here would apparently have me, one of the exalted and sacred number of the statesmen who are the advisers of the Queen. (Laughter.) Still every honest man who stands before his countrymen to discuss intelligently and honestly public questions is necessarily, at the same time, both an adviser of the Queen and of the people—(cheers) —and under that character and from this platform, if you will permit me, I will dis cuss this question as it presents itself to my mind. (Cheers.) I hold that there are three things neces sary to give completion to the Constitution of this country, and to confer upon the people a full and real representation. The first of these is such an extension of the suffrage as should leave us in this position,—that no class is excluded. (Cheers.) I don't say such an extension as shall leave us in the position that no man shall be excluded, but that no class shall be excluded. (Cheers.) There are many persons in what we call socially the higher classes who are, from one cause or other, excluded, but whole classes are not excluded; whereas that greatest class of all, the five millions who are the source of the great industry of this country, is perpetually . ex cluded by th e c l aus es of the Reform Act. (Cheers.) Such an extension of the suffrage as shall exclude no class is absolutely necessary. (Cheers.) I be lieve also that the shelter of the ballot—(cheers) — will be found to be absolutely necessary to the effi cient and honest and independent exercise of the iran chise. (Continued cheers.) And I believe fur ther, that there will be required such a change in the distribution of seats as shall give a more equal share of P ar li amentary power to the various bodies of electors scattered throughout the United King dom. But of these three things which are necessary to be done, it seems to rue quite obvious that that which is the most pressing is the question of the suffrage. Because the 5,000,000 that are shut out, having no votes, can have no great interest in the ballot ; and being themselves a class, as it were, excluded and violently shut out, they are not likely to take any strong interest whether Rochdale returns one member or two, or whetherßirmingham has no more members than Clitheroe. (Cheers.) These are not questions that can seriously interest and affect men who have no votes at all, and who are therefore shut out for the most part from the consideration of public questions. I hold, therefore, that although the ballot is needed, and although small boroughs are a great evil, they are not class grievances; they are general grievances. The class grievance is the exclusion of a great and whole class from political rights by legislation which shuts the door at £lO a year, when the great body of the people live in houses of £5, or £6, or £7. (Cheers.) But another reason why we should proceed first with the question of the suffrage is this, that public opi nion is much more made up and more ripe on that question than on either of the other questions ; and we must recollect, too, that the exclusion of the working classes from the franchise has formed the sole ground for the introduction of the various mea sures which have been brought into Parliament within the last 15 years with a view to the amend ment of the Reforth Act. If you turn back to the Parliamentary proceedings of 1859, you will find that Lord Derby, when he brought in a bill which he called a Reform Bill, found his bill rejected—and his Government rejected with it—(laughter)—on the express ground that his bill made no provision for the introduction of the working classes to the elec tive franchise. (Cheers.) Then, again, we have the special pledge of Earl Russell in 1859, and on the introduction of the last bill. We have also the special pledge of Mr. Gladstone, in that very re markable speech which he made in the House of Commons on the second reading of the bill intro duced by Mr. Baines. (Cheers.) We have also what I may call the special demand of that great portion of the nation which is thus, in my opinion, wrongly excluded. The working men do not now ask for the ballot, because they have no votes to shelter. They do not ask for an alteration in the distribution of seats, for they have nothing to do with the election of members. But what they do ask is, that they shall be put upon the same platform, under the same law, received with the same favour, trusted with the same great na tional trust as the richer classes of the community. (Loud cheers.) And then another reason for pro ceeding by steps is this—that a suffrage bill pure and simple is much more easy to carry through Parliament than a more extensive measure. And I will tell you very soon why that is the case. To introduce clauses and schedules for disfranchising a number of small boroughs treads very painfully on the toes of the representatives of those small boroughs. (Laughter and cheers.) Now, if I were a member for a borough of 240 electors, and re turned chiefly by a sharp attorney in that little town, perhaps with my strong opinion on this ques tion I might be induced to vote for the suppression of that constituency. But still, even then, acting as their representative, I should feel it a question of some doubt whether I could honourably remain their representative and give a vote, if it were wholly contrary to their wishes. (Cheers.) Well then, I will say at once, that if the Government proposed to disfranchise twenty or thirty small boroughs, and transfer their members to large boroughs and populous counties, they would soon find on their own side of the House a large num ber of members who for various reasons—some commendable and some very much the contrary— would find it difficult to support the bill. I argue, therefore, that it would be an encumbrance to a suffrage bill at this moment to interfere with the distribution of scats. It would make it more diffi cult to carry a bill ; and whatsoever distribution of seats you could now make must necessarily be trifling and unsatisfactory, and would leave that question still unsettled even for the shortest pos sible period. (Cheers.) Now that is not a new opinion of mine, for before the last bill was intro duced in 1859 I took the trouble - to converse at length with some of the members of the then Ministry, and with some of the members of the present Government, urging them not to touch the question of the distribution of seats at all at that time, but to bring in a bill which should esta blish a sensible and rational suffrage throughout the country. I said you will carry such a bill much more easily. Public opinion hereafter will be more ripe to deal with the question of the distribution, and when there are a larger number of electors re- ,urning your members to Parliament—l mean a [argei number in the different boroughs —you will lave what a mechanic would call a larger lever and a better Parliament, which would deal more satisfac torily with all questions which may come before it. Cheers.) There are some Liberals in this country who do not hold this opinion, and Ihad a letter from one the other day complaining very much of the rumour that Government do not intend to disfran- chise the small boroughs in their bill. In reply I told him that I had considded and discussed this ques tion as much as any man in England, and I had come to the conclusion that Government would do right to treat the question of the suffrage separately, and that I thought I could give my reasons for that course to the reformers of the kingdom, and that none of them would complain of the proceedings of the Government in this matter except those who do not really understand their business as reformers. (Laughter.) We now come to the question what sort of suffrage should be given—having discussed every other question—what sort of suffrage should I advise—if I were asked to advise--the present Go- vernment to offe r i n th e i r bill? B ear in mind that we here are not the Parliament; we are merely a portion of public opinion. It would be easy to fill this room with men connected with the country who would probably object to any extension of the suf frage. Therefore, in discussing this matter, Minis ters must take into consideration what is right in it s elf—what the state of public opinion would enable them to carry—what they can see concl us i ve l y that Parliament will not hesitate to assent t o ; and there- there fore in discussing this question we must leave out of view a little all our own personal wishes, and see what is the right thing for a Cabinet considering this question to propose and to endeavour to carry. (Hear, hear.) I said that the suffrage must be so extended that there shall be no class exclusion. The £lO clause in the Reform Act does exclude, and was intended to exclude, and has permanently excluded, until this hour, the great body of the workingpeople. I told them in the House of Commons in 1860 that ou t of 32 men who in this town formed committees of the co - operative classes—w h o manage d th e s t ores , the corn-mill, th e f ac t ory --that out of these 32 there were only two had a vote, one for both the county and the borough and the other for the borough only —and that the other 30 were absolutely excluded. Will anybody gay that men who could manage these °Teat oconcerns with so muc h success for so many years, who were so much trusted by their fellow workmen —will anybody tell me that they are not competent to say he Brett was a su i table man to be returned from Roch dale to Parli ament w ?othferl every Potter y. manor Mr. Baliol who by manual labour of any kind receives weekly wages—deduct ing clerks and agents and foremen and managers of factories, and even law clerks and men receiving in comes and salaries to the amount of £2OO, £3OO, or £4oo—there are only about 150 electors, or about 10 per cent. of the entire number. If you look at another fact you will And that one single class of tradesmen, the publicans, amount to the same num ber within one, for there are 149 in this borough. Will you tell me that this is a fair system of repre sentation? (No, no.) I dare say that the same is the case with respect to many other boroughs. (Hear.) If we do away with the £lO reform rate exclusion, what, in the present state of public opinion, ought we to substitute for it? When Lord Aberdeen's Government brought forward a bill in 1854, just before the commencement of the unhappy Crimean war, they proposed that every man should have a vote in every borough whose house or pre mises of any kind were rated to the poor rates to the amount of £5 a year. The bill of 1860 proposed not a rating franchise, but a purely rental franchise —that every man occupying premises of the net value of £6 a-year should be entitled to vote. Now, I have ascertained what is the operation of the pre- sent system. I find that a£s rating is as nearly THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 4, 1866. L as possible a£6 rental. The bill of Lord Aber• ; deen's Government was the same as to the franchise ; as the bill brought in by Lord Palmerston's Govern ; merit in 1860, and I will show you exactly what that is. Some cottages in which I have an interest will serve as an illustration. The rents are 3s. per week, or £7 16s. 3d. per annum, taking the exact amount. The assessments are made in this way : They take off 20 per cent. for poor rates, which brings the amount down to £6 ss. ; for the purpose of assessing the poor rate reduction is made for landlord's repairs and perhaps losses of rent, together 20 per cent. The £7 16s. 3d. house which I am describing will stand as a house of the net rental of £6 55., or as assessed to the poor rate precisely £5, and therefore every man who pays 3s. per week for his rent, his landlord paying the rates, would have a vote either with a rental franchise of £6, or a rating franchise of £5, and therefore every man can tell whether he would have a vote under either of the bills which have been proposed. The Government may be considered pledged to one or both of these propositions, because Earl Russell was the man who brought in the Reform Bill under Lord Aberdeen's Government, and who also intro duced the Reform Bill under Lord Palmerston's Government, which at this moment is endeavour ing to prepare—perhaps, to speak disrespectfully of it, to hatch—another bill for the coming session. —(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Now, as to the Government, I should not find myself at liberty to complain, if they adhere to either of these proposi tions, because they are not pledged to anything be yond them, and I am bound to allow that they have the right to consider fairly the difficulties in their path, and that the passing of a better bill is not so easy as you or I may think it to be ; but still, if I were asked to give my advice, and I do not know why in a free country we have not the right to give advice, I should say that the franchise which is es tablished generally in the corporations of E ng l an d _ _ and Wales would be a better franchise than either of those. I think it would be, and if you adopted household suffrage, you would restore, as it were, the ancient constitutional borough franchise of the kingdom.—(Loud cheers.) I took the opportunity in a recent speech at Birmingham to show how en tirely this franchise was constitutional, and how completely it was sustained by one of the noblest Par liaments that ever contended against despotism and sustained the freedom of England—l mean the Par ment of 1628, which had so much and grave con tention with Charles I. There is one point in this which I think it may be useful to mention. There are plenty of municipal electors here before me, and in the borough of Rochdale ; but in Scotland, if I am not mistaken, the municipal bodies, the corpo ration, the town councillors, the bailies (who are equal to our aldermen), and the provosts (who have the same position as our mayors), are chosen by the same electors who choose the members of Parlia ment, and not by a lower franchise. I have yet to learn that the municipal bodies of Scotland have, within the last thirty years, better fulfilled their duty or administered the affairs of their municipalities than the municipal constituencies of l 13gland. (Cheers.) lam convinced enough to be able to say that the corporations of England, during the last nearly thirty years that they have been established, have administered the affairs of the corporate towns of England in a manner satisfactory to the inhabi tants; and I think that ought to be satisfactory to the Government and to all classes of the people. (Cheers.) If that be so, why should any man ima gine that your municipal constituency would not re turn as good members to Parliament as your present , exclusive and £lO constituency ? If every house holder could. vote for every head of a family, my hon. friend, when he came here, or when I went to Birmingham, would not require to go through the humiliating process, partly to us and still more to the people, of addressing two classes—the electors and the non-electors—at Rochdale and Birmingham. We should find so many of the householders of the town included in the great body of electors that we should feel that when we threw ourselves on the good opinion and support of the electoral body, we really threw ourselves upon the opinion of all the intelligent population of the town. There is in this question of the franchise something even, if possible, deeper and higher than any decision as to who should represent you in Parliament. There is no slave class that ever raised itself in slavery—there is no serf class that ever grew great in serfdom—there is no ex cluded class in a country which calls itself a free country, which did not work for their own elevation under great signal and insuperable disad vantages. I believe if you give a vote to a large. • number of working men, or to all householders— and although it included a large number of idle, drunken, and profligate persons, who are indeed to be found in every class—l believe that you s ould give to the great bulk of them something that would be invaluable ; it would give at least a great num ber of them occasion to think of their position, and to entertain a much higher idea of it. You would add enormously to and go far to create an idea of self-respect in them—(cheers)—and I venture to say that no measure which could take nothing that private' benevolence or private teaching could ac complish, could approach the immense good of every kind that would come to the great body of the people from being admitted to the rank of citizens. (Cheers.) To come to another point not connected with the interests of the boroughs, there is the ques tion of the franchise in the counties. Many of you probably know that before the Reform Bill of 1832 there was no occupation franchise in the counties, the freeholders almost alone exercising the right. The Tory party in the House of Commons in 1832 carried an amendment to the Reform Bill of that year, which gave the franchise to the occupiers of houses and farms of the value of £5O a year; they did so with the known intention, with the known object of conferring on all the tenants of the landed proprietors a vote, which vote they knew, as we now know, they would exercise in the main exactly as their landlord or his steward would point out. Now, the question of the county franchise, so far as public opinion has really discussed and considered it, seems to have fixed itself at the same amount of rental which has hitherto been the franchise in the boroughs--that is, that the occupation franchise should no longer stop at £5O rental, but be brought down to £lO. I will show how irresistible, under the circumstances, this claim is. Lord Derby brought in a bill in 1859, and that bill, because it did not reduce the borough franchise, was in consequence rejected. It did, however, re duce the county franchise from £5O to £lO, but it added a clause—a most mischievous clause to us and to the people—a clause which disfranchised every freeholder within the limits of a borough from vot ing for the future in the counties. The object being that as they had reduced the county franchise, it was a popular act, as they would call it in their po litical jargon, to compensate for it and not disturb the existing supremacy of the squires by excluding all the freeholders in the borough from voting in the counties. Earl Russell is not likely to make a proposition of this kind, for that was the one strong point on which he took exception to the Derby Re form Bill. And how can the friends of Lord Derby, after having proposed a reduction of the county franchise to £lO themselves, have now the face to oppose it? It is true they now say they would pro- pose it, but with a compensation. But what answer is that to the £lO occupier, whom they proposed to admit? Did they propose to admit £lO occupiers who were unsuited and unfit ? If the Derby Cabi net, after much discussion, in 1859, thought it was proper to admit all occupiers of £lO in the counties, is there any one of them who will get up now and say that the £lO occupier in the counties is not fit to be entrusted with the elective franchise? (Cheers.) Will, when the Palmerston Government came in, their bill of 1860 reduced the county franchise to £lO. That, clause in the bill, as far as I remember, was not even objected to by the Tory party in the house as far as they discussed the measure,although they succeeded, with the aid of certain other gentry, in talking it out altogether. (Hear, hear.) Their objection, then, was not to the extension of the county franchise, but to the extension of the borough franchise. I should alsopropose to reduce the county franchise to £lO, but it would be necessary to state that no occupier of land should be enfranchised under it whose house was not of certain real value, say a value of £6, at which it might psssibly be fixed, because, unless a value befixed with the landowners, who cut out squares of land of two, three, or four acres, and make as many electors of that class, who, wholly dependent on themselves, would place every county constituencyin the kingdom at their disposal. There is no party in the country to whom the pro position I have been discussing with regard to the borough franchise is so important as the inhabitants of the boroughs which form the metropolis of this country. In London the value of land is so high, and the houses are built so large, that a great num ber of the working classes—heads of families—live under some condition or other as lodgers,who would still be excluded by the Act of 1860, but who must be considered in the bill which I am discussing. Although there is no question so difficult as not to be put into a clause in an act of Parliament, I tried some years ago, and found it extremely difficult to do what I thought right. It appears to me that a much wider interpretation must be given to the term lodger, and that some moderate rental and moderate residence must be fixed, in order to meet the large class in the metropolitan boroughs who are now excluded, and would still be excluded, under a £6 rental, or under anything that could be called a household suffrage. This is a point so evident that Government will no doubt take it into consideration. If, however, I might give them a bit of advice, it would be this—that the bill should be simple, that it should offer as few opportunities as possible for contests in Parliament, that it should be drawn up with all the ability that the ablest lawyer in the employ of Government can give to it, and that when presented to Parliament it should be manfully de fended to the last. (Cheers.) I have been told— but I do not attach much value to it—that there are persons who advise Earl Russell to have a £l2 or a £l5 franchise for the counties, and that there are men of such remarkable timidity and credulity as to think that a £2O franchise would be satisfactory. I believe there are persons who think that there is something dreadful in a £6 franchise, and that one of £7 or £8 would be enough to admit the working men ; and now that we have one at £lO, only just open it a little and admit those who happen to be extravagant enough or ostentatious enough in the matter of rent, and that then the door should be shut again ; so that this great body of the people, le 5,000,000, after all, would be as much excluded as at present. I venture to think that if the Government yields to these propositions they will be guilty, not only of weakness—not of false weakness t they will show that they do not compre hend the position which this question occupies in the minds of their countrymen, and will prove that they are pedlars in politics, and not statesmen. I have said that I think that the position of the question is in some respects intricate, although on the whole favourable, because of the long discussions that we have had with respect to it, because we have a ripe ness of opinion with regard to it, and because its necessity is admitted in the unmistakable pledges of Government. But there are points on which the question occupies rather a critical position, and one of these is said to be this—l am not much afraid of it myself—it is this :We have only just had an elec tion—l am not speaking of those who have got in ; either they or their friends musthave incurred a very large expenditure. There are about 200 members in this Parliament who were not in the last, who have incurred an expenditure of from £5OO to £lO,OOO for retaining or obtaining their seats. The election for the Riding cost both parties about £27,000, the winner £14,000 and the loser £13,000. I have also heard of a borough not to be compared in popula tion or importance, where the losing candidate paid £12,000, and a Parliamentary committee may soon discover how much the winning candidate paid. It is said that when the forthcoming bill is presented to the House of Commons there will be a sort of cold shudder run through the men who have paid so much money for their seats ; and they will say that if they vote for the bill it will pass, and if it passes it w ill be necessary to dissolve Parliament ; there fore I take it for granted that, if the measure fail, one of two things must happen—either we must retire and Mr. Disraeli and his friends come in, or else Parliament will be immediately dissolved. I believe the last is quite certain ; but if the bill should pass during the session, it is not at all necessary that Parliament should be immedi ately dissolved. Many imagine that the circum stances in 1866 are the same as they were in 1832. That is not so. They are totally different, and the country is in a totally different position. In the bill of 1832 a large number of boroughs were swept away into space, and never heard of again, ! and a great number of boroughs were enfraychised for the first time. There was an attempt, or some thing like one, to give a really popular representation in all the great towns by extending the franchise to £lO householders, and in counties by extending it to £l5 occupiers. One could not have imagined that Government, after having proposed a bill of that extent in 1832, could proceed to legislate, for four or five years, with a Parliament -which included within it a great number of boroughs w hich could not be found on any chart as exact as the Ordnance map of the country. We are not in that position now. The bill which I am now discussing, drawing in some measure of course upon my imagination, and assuming that it does not disfranchise the small boroughs and deal only with the suffrage, will not condemn any political representation. It will not say that the electors of Rochdale or Birmingham are more unworthy of the trust which they hold. It will not condemn the present constituencies, but it simply adds to them a certain number of electors, and infuses a somewhat more popular element. Surely that would not render necessary another elec tion. The new voter will not come on to the regis ter until August or September. The register itself would not come into operation until next January. It would therefore not be a matter of complaint if Parliament went on for one, or even two sessions, and came to an end, somewhat sooner because of this change ; but still came to an end, as it would do, were it not for one of those accidents which do sometimes in this country cut short the lives of Par liaments. Therefore, what in my opinion Govern ment would say, and say very truly, without any intention to affect unduly the minds of any persons, would be this, " The gentlemen opposite must either come here, and we change sides with them, which, after the majority which was returned at the last election, would be obviously absurd, or we must dis solve Parliament, and if you vote against the bill, you must go back to your constituencies, and ask whether you have done your duty." On the con trary, if the bill passes it is in the power of Govern- • ment to say that they will not consider an immediate dissolution of Parliament necessary, and it is their duty to allow Parliament to retain such an existence as the course of events may render proper without any exact reference to this subject. This is one of the dangers which I am told is consideredto be hang ing over us ; but there is a danger which is very dif ferent, and infinitely more substantial, viz., whether the Government will have force and courage to do what a Government can do in carrying such a mea sure through Parliament. Edmund Burke, who was a great critic, said, " This is my idea of a Govern- ment—one consisting of presiding principle and - - prolific energy." At this moment the principle of the Government is admitted to be the extension of the political rights of the people. Whether they will show the prolific energy w hi c h i s necessar y f or mak _ _ ___ ing their bill an act of Parliament, time only can show. Now, if Lord Russell holds the reins with tremulous and feeble hands, I think the dangerfrom this source is tenfold more than anything that can arise from any other source in the coming session. I saw the other day a paragraph from an Indian newspaper, which, describing the immense extensive household of an Indian rajah or prince, stated that there were some hundreds of what were called pro- phesying Brahmins in his establishment. A Brahmin is a Hindoo priest, and is of great authority. Now I have no daubt whatever that there are prophesy ing Brahmins in the great Whig House somewhere, and I dare say they are foretelling all sorts of evils that may come from the passing of this bill. (Laughter.) I have heard a member, and a member since then of a Whig Cabinet, declare that he be lieved that there was no one in the country more frightened of the Reform Bill than certain members of Brookes' Club—the great Whig club in St. James-street, London. If the prophesying Brahmins are foretelling all kinds of evil, I venture to tell Lord Russell that their councils, if followed, will be not only perilous, but I believe they will be fatal councils to him and to his Government. (Cheers.) Every open foe of this measure will be emboldened, every concealed and treacherous foe will be stimulated to his treasure. The confidence of the people throughout the coun try, which is now healthy and growing, will be lost, and the end of the present Government maybe easily predicted. (Hear.) There are two facts that have lately occurred which fill my mind with some ap prehension. I hope that they are accidental, and exceptional. To one of them my hon. friend has already referred, namely, the question of what has been transacted in the island of Jamaica. I think I observe a deplorable feebleness in the course which has been taken. Many of you have read the long despatch—of I know not how many scores of para graphs—sent home to the Colonial-office by the governor of that unhappy island. I venture to say that the very hour when that despatch was read by the Colonial Minister he should have issued sum monses for a Cabinet meeting to take it into consi deration ; but it appears that for about three weeks literally nothing passed before that great deputation waited on Mr. Cardwell, when he did not feel him self able to tell them anything the Government had done. They tell us that we are to wait. Well, Mr. Cardwell waited, and apparently nothing has come from his waiting. lam told that one of the great actors in this great tragedy has come from Jamaica —has had an interview with members of the Go vernment, and that even he has nothing further to communicate. Then what was the object of wait ing? If facts were admitted, the illegal putting to death of subjects of the Queen and citizens of the empire was minutely and accurately described by the very pen and hand of the governor himself. (Cheers.) Nothing that he could say afterwards could unsay or undo that which had been said and done with regard to the execution of Mr. Gordon. I believe there is not a judge in this kingdom at this hour—there is not a law officer of the Crown in the three kingdoms—there is not a lawyer in practice in the three kingdoms—which will differ from the opinion that I now express—that the execution of that unfortunate man (Gordon) was in all its parts—in his transference from the place where he was arrested --•, in his being handed over to a court formed, it is said, of two lieutenants and an ensign, or some such inferior officers—in the manner in which lie was treated before that tribunal—in the manner in which he was treated after his mock trial,—l say, from the begin ning to the end, it is a mass of illegality ; and I be lieve there is not a judge who sits upon the bench in this United Kingdom who, speaking in his private capacity, would doubt for one single moment that Gordon was murdered. (Cheers.) You have all read that letter which he wrote to his wife within an hour of his execution. I know nothing in letter writing that surpasses it. When I read it my .ex clamation, my first thought was—why this reminds me of the temper and the language of the Martyr Stephen ; and since that martyrdom I have read of nothing in which the language and the temper were so beautiful as the expressions contained in that .melancholy and wonderful epistle. And yet lam told—l hope my authority is not good—that when Parliament meets there will be a desperate onslaught on Mr. Cardwell and the Government because they have suspended the Governor and have sent out a commission of inquiry. One of these Tory gentle men said, "Ay, if so and so had been Prime Minis ter he would not have given way to the clamour of a hundred dissenting persons." (Derisive cheers.) I cannot believe that that party which calls itself Conservative will make this question of Jamaica a battle-ground in the ensuing session. Mr. Disraeli is a man a head and shoulders taller than all those who sit about him or follow him in all intellectual statesmanship, and I do not, and I will not until I see it, believe that Mr. Disraeli will ever permit the shocking atrocities committed in Jamaica, or a de fence of them, to be in any way associated with his public character and career. (Cheers.) Besides, suppose—which I should think highly probable— suppose that Mrs. Gordon were to retire from the island so sad to her henceforth, and come to Eng land—suppose she came to the bar of the House of Commons to ask for justice—is there any man in that house who would dare get up to deny justice to that woman ? Or if she should make her way as a suppliant to the steps of the throne, will the widow of the murdered Gordon ask in vain for jus tice at the hands of England's widowed Queen ? (Loud cheers.) There is one other fact which has given me some apprehension also. It is said, and I believe with truth, that Earl Russell had asked Lord Stanley to join his Government. Lord Stanley knows quite well that I shall say nothing to depre ciate him. Ile is informed much above the average of public men ; he is without passion ; he is impar tial ; and in matters at least which do not menace his order he is liberal and just—in fact, he is re markable for nearly all those qualities in which Lord Derby is singularly deficient. (Laughter and cheers.) But it appears to me to be a mistake on the part of Lord Russell to seek strength from the Opposition. Lord Palmerston did the same thing, but with equal success so far as regards Lord Stanley. But Lord Palmerston thought every man had his price, and that he knew his price. It was not likely that Lord Stanley, standing in the relation that he does to the leader of the Tory party, and bound up by political and personal association with its leader in the House of Commons—it was folly to suppose that he would step from his old friends on that side and take his place among their persistent opponents on this side; but I complain of this, and I lament it, because it appears to me like a confession of weakness. It appears as if Earl Russell acknowledged to the world that the Whig party as far as statesmanship was concerned was nearly worn out. If it be so it must be by their own policy. It has been a com plaint against them, that they have not encouraged young men, or able men, except just a few men of their own particular party ; and it is thus that they now find themselves in great difficulty in-filling up the offices of the Government. Now there are 360 Liberals, it is said, in the present Parliament, and yet it appears that Earl Russell and his col leagues cannot find one among them all who can join his Government, or who would be so advan tageous to it as some one--in this case Lord Stanley —from the Opposition. Suppose that all the old Whigs—and Ido not speak of them without respect, because in past times the country has had great ser vice from many of them—but suppose the old Whigs were quietly deposited with all the symbols of na tional respect in Westminster Abbey—(laughter)— does any man believe that you could not form a ' Government out of these 360 members of Parlia- , ment ? (Cheers.) Switzerland forms Administra- tions, and there is now a general admission in Europe that the United States even can produce statesmen. (Cheers and laughter.) If that be so, is it not within the bounds of probability or credibility that out of the 360—0 r rather 354, for six of them are already , - in the Cabinet—that out of the 354 who are not in the Cabinet a Cabinet might not be formed that would conduct the affairs of the country just as satisfactory as the Cabinet which now exists. I say that this appears to me to be a symptom of weakness. I lament it only on the ground, because I am quite of opinion that Cabinets sometimes fall to pieces or come to an end, just as the human system, without any specific complaint except that which all the old women who look on say is a sort of weaknesswhich they cannot understand. (Laughter.) Now, I ven ture to say here that a great deal depends upon Lord Russell himself. I lament that Lord Russell is not at this moment a member of the House of Commons. I think in that House on this question of Reform he would have had much more influence than any other man can have, and infinitely more influence than be can have as a member of the House of Lords—but unhappily he is in the house of Lords. Much, however, depends upon him ; and I am not sure with regard to the measure which is coming that everything does not depend upon him. Hemay, if he chooses, gather fresh strength. If he looks to the ancestral voices which speak to him of the past, or if at times he seems to listen to the memories of his future fame, he may draw an inspiration and a fire that may give him strength in this most critical period of his public career. There are times when what is called caution is feebleness and ruin—there are times when the highest boldness is the highest prudence and the greatest wisdom. I believe this a time when, if Earl Russell will take up this ques tion with the firmness which distinguished him 30 years ago, and will rely upon the good feel ing, the good sense, and the general support of Parliament and the people, he will carry this measure to a triumphant success. (Cheers.) But two things are possible. lam not sure that they are not clear. One is, that if this question is treated with a feeble hand the Government will fall ; and the other is, that if this Government fall, pre sided over by the most eminent statesman now living of the Whig party, we are likely to see the entire extinction of the Whigs as a governing party in the affairs of this country. But whether the Govern ment are equal to the time or not, the cause we espouse, and which I am endeavouring to defend, is nevertheless quite safe. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) It has within it an indestructible life. Feebleness or treachery may retard it for a time, but cannot prevent its final and its early triumph. (Cheers.) There is an old poem that I read with great pleasure many years ago, the Faerie Queen—there is a line which I think may teach us something of our present position " No fort so fencible, no wall so strong, But that continual battery may rive." I feel certain that the fort of selfishness and mono poly cannot be held for ever, and that the wall of privilege cannot through all time resist the multitude that are gathering to the assault. (Cheers.) In all the nations of the world of this day I believe the powers of good are gaining steadily on the powers of evil. I think it is eminently and happily so in this country. Let us take courage, then. 'We are endeavouring, by constitutional means, to compass a great constitutional end : to make the Parliament not only the organ of the will, but the honest and the faithful guardian of the interests, of all classes in the country. It is a great and noble purpose which we have set ourselves to do, but it is a pur pose which cannot fail, if we are true to it and to ourselves. (Cheers, and prolonged cheering, amidst which Mr. Bright resumed his scat.) The resolution was unanimonsly adopted ; as also was a petition praying for an amendment of the Reform Act ; and the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding. The Trade of 1865. Subjoined are extracts from circulars relating to various principal branches of business during the past year : SUGAR. (From Messrs. Travers.) The heavy fall of January continued up to the beginning of May, the advance then obtained was supported till Sept., when prices suddenly attained their maximum value for the year, while the declining rates of Nov. have gradually lowered sugar to the position which it occupied 14 months ago. The three events which have principally characterised the sugar market during the year have been the effects re sulting from the close of the American civil war, the threat ened introduction of beetroot sugar in largo quantities into Great Britain, and the highly satisfactory state of the deli veries. In attempting to estimate the future prospects of the market, the position of America with regard to its 'sugar supplies must be especially taken into consideration. Be fore the civil war the production of sugar in Louisiana amounted in round numbers to 200,000 tons ; but although this source of supply was presently almost annihilated, the people of the Southern States did not make up the deficit by foreign importations; they simply did without sugar, while at the same time the consumption in the Northern States was also much diminished. Ci t cumstances have now changed —the Louisiana production still remains extinct, but all American ports are open to trade, and the deliveries have almost regained their former level, so that it may be ex pected that this enormous deficiency, which at present is chiefly met at home by a production of 30,000 tons of maple sugar, will during the coming year, .as it has during the past year, attract largo foreign supplies to the United States. To fill the void caused by the loss of Louisiana crop, the production of beet root sugar, which was 387,600 tons in 1857, is expected to amount this season to 560,000 tons, and is likely to go on increas ing, and cultivation in tropical countries has also been extending, so that the total production of the world is probably as large, if not larger, than it was before the war. During the same period, however, the consumption in Europe has become considerably larger, and the American demand will probably reach its former level. Notwithstand- ing the gradual resumption of cultivation in Louisiana, which we may reasonably expect, it seems hardly probable, under present circumstances, that the extreme depression which marked a large period of the old year will also characterise 1866 ; but, on the other hand, those who are sanguine that prices will speedily rise should remember that the most speculative season of the year, from August to December, is now past, that stocks are heavy, and that the new sugars will shortly begin to arrive. It is also well to remember that in what may be termed the speculative months—in other words, during the autumn of the year— any sudden advance in the English markets will for the future almost assuredly be followed by heavy importations of beetroot sugar, since the raw material of that article has to be worked up as speedily as possible, on account of the danger of frost injuring the roots. On the whole, looking at the average price of sugar which has ruled during the last few years, the stocks now on hand, and the supplies expected during the next few months, the market undoubt edly appears to be in a healthy position. FREIGHTS. (From Messrs. Stringer, Pembroke, and Co.) _ _ The year just closed has been far less favourable than we could have wished to very many shipowners. It commenced with low outward freights upon all long voyages, and most of those vessels which went seeking to India and China returned with miserably low freights, coupled in many in stances with very long detention abroad. We commence the year under more favourable auspices. The establish _ _ ment of new steam lines in India, causing a considerable increase in the shipment of coal, the increased demand for our manufactured goods, the expected large shipments of railway plant and materials, and the increased consumption of coal on tho Indian railways, lead us to expect that the improvement which has been established outwards will certainly be maintained, and probably augmented, for some time to come. The large accumulation of tonnage in India and China during the recent great depression in freights there has very materially reduced the amount of disengaged shipping on this side. Another element in favour of activity in outward freights is the gradual resump tion of our trade with the United States. The much-desired termination of the lamentable civil war in America did not produce the immediate benefit to shipowners expected by many. Considering, however, how greatly the resources and energies of both sides were taxed during this fearful struggle, our commerce with them is making rapid pro gress; but it must of necessity take .considerable time to reorganise labour in the South before we can receive our old supplies of cotton from that quartet( • LEATHER. (From Messrs. Boutcher, Mortimore, and Co.) Our present annual report of the leather trade will be found to be in many respects more satisfactory as regards the interests of tho manufacturer than we were enabled to offer at this period last year. The improvement has taken place principally during the last five months, it has been steady and general, free from speculative transactions, and is still progressing. The year commenced with an active demand for most articles, but the subsequent extreme dry ness of the weather checked the consumption of heavy goods, and probably of other descriptions also ; as from March until August only a limited business was done, and prices in some cases rather receded ; after that they began to rise, and have had an upward tendency during the re mainder of the year. We attribute this improved position of our market almost entirely to an increase in tho home consumption, as the Australian trade has been very quiet, and but little has been required for the supply of military orders, either by our own or foreign Governments. The Customs' returns, it is true, show an increase in our ex ports, but these have consisted largely of light calf skins, basils, and sheep skins of all kinds, with some other light goods to the United States, which have not affected the general product of our tanyards. LINSEED. (From Messrs. Edwards, Eastty, and 03.) We have on this occasion a pleasing retrospect, the trade of the past few months having been of an unusually remu nerative character. The continued success of the new as sociation terms greatly facilitates business, besides having most materially improved the character of the imports. The same absence of speculation remarked in 1864 has charac terised 1865, the operations having been almost entirely confined between importers and consumers. During the last few weeks, however, the prospects of the future sup ply have attracted attention and led to a change in this respect, which may not improperly continue, and cause greater fluctuations in prices than we have been accus tomed to for the past two or three years. Tho market opened dull last January, at 595. for Calcutta seed, and so remained, but with a steady trade until the end of March, by which time the price had gradually receded to 575. 6d., and that, too, notwithstanding importers had then adopted the system of guaranteeing sound bags, and which system has been since found to work so well. A very mild spring, - and consequent dull cake trade, kept the market very quiet until in the middle of May 535. 3d. C. F. I. and sound bags was accepted, and this was the turning point of the year. By the following month prices had improved about 3s. per qr.,and a steady business was done thereat until the end of August, when a further Is. was made, and prices went on gradually improving without a check up to 68s. at the be- ginning of last month. Heavy arrivals have given a dull tone to the markets since then, and 665. Gd. is the exact value to-day for linseed on the spot. Black Sea seed com manded the same price as Calcutta early in the year, but since the relative value of oil and cakes has altered, the former, notwithstanding the greater weight given and the facility of delivery at outports, has been quoted at about le to 2s. per qr. less money. Very little seed has offered af ter arrival, nearly the whole of the imports (and this ap plies to all descriptions) having been contracted for 'while on the way or for future shipment. WOOL. (From Messrs. Willans and Overbury.) In spite of the sudden conclusion of the war in America, an event which many persons regarded as likely to exercise an immediate influence on the wool-market, and a further large increase in the imports of colonial wool, prices, with one exception, have touched no extreme point throughout the year. Fluctuations within moderate limits have oc curred, but excepting during the latter portion of the No vember series, when very high rates were paid for g ood combing fleeces, the wool market has passed through no period of great buoyancy or severe depression. On the whole the year 1865 closes under encouraging circum stances. The revival of au American demand for woollen fabrics has given increased impetus to consumption, and stocks in the hands of dealers and manufacturers aro un usually light. In the absence, therefore, of any unfore seen commercial or political disturbance, a brisk demand and firm prices may be confidently looked for at the com mencement of the new year. HEMP AND JUTE. (From Mr. W. H. Hindley.) High prices have ruled, and for the most part still rule, our market, and these, coupled to a large speculative de mand, have augmented the general excitement. For the present any immediate reduction in quotations must not be expected, though most fibres, now unusually high, wilt eventually descend to the average of former years. It it/ satisfactory to note that the year's trading in hemp, jute, dr,c., has been almost entirely free from those disasters which characterised that of 1864. Baltic hemp has fluc tuated very much ; at the beginning of the year clean hemp was quoted £3l per ton, at which it stood for about three months, when reports of the immense shipments which have since taken place caused a gradual fall to £27. This low price brought in speculators, and it rapidly advanced to £35, but has since receded a little. Manilla , hemp has advanced about £2O per ton during the year This advance has been gradually going on with but little interruption ; the present price, though unprece dentedly high, does not seem greatly to chock consump tion, and if the deliveries do . not materially fall off, the stock must entirely be exhausted before many months elapse: Jute, as usual, has been an article of great speculation, and has had an enormously increased consumption. At 01 0 beginning of the year the market was very dull, and prices —soon giving way—about the end of April attracted the attention of speculators ; this coupled with the report of a short crop, had the effect of pushing them up fully 50 pot cent.; the report is no . w generally believed in, and if the existing rate of consumption continues the present rates may be maintained —at least, for a time. PROVISIONS. (From Messrs. J. and E. Corderoy and Co.) The cheese trade during the past year has been on the whole singularly unsatisfactory; and the combination of un toward circumstances with which it has had to contend—' especially since the commencement of the present season- - may bo considered almost unprecedented. It was reported in the early part of the season that the supplies of cheese from America would bo the most abundant ever known ; this, however, has not been the case so far as shipments from the States to this country are concerned, as in 1864 the total importations were 595,475 boxes ; in 1865, 547,536 boxes ; showing a deficiency of 47,939 boxes. We cannot but be impressed with the increasing appreciation of American cheese on the part of consumers, and the high range of price for the best sorts. The finest factory dairies are equal to, almost anything that can be made in England, and now that the prejudices of the public are swept away we may expect that they will successfully compete with other descriptions, quality now being the test of the value of cheese, without reference to the place of its production. TOBACCO. (From Messrs. IL N. Davis and Co.) The downward course of the market since the declaration of peace between North and South has been tediously slog, with, however, no symptoms of reviving, although holdal; (it is submitted), against their future interests, did their utmost to maintain the high rates ruling previously. The demand throughout the year was active, but with few large transactions, the home manufacturers preferring to act onli for immediate requirements ; and although some futile et tempts wore made to excite a speculative feeling, there was an entire absence of any such desire on the bulk of the trade. The predominant feature with reference to quota tions during the past year has been a continual decline 00 the lower grades of North American growths, resulting in a reduction of ld to lid per lb on all classes of Western leaf/ also on fine and medium strips, and ld to 2d on the cow" mon in comparison with those of Jan. 1, 1865. The fore going facts clearly illustrate what may be expected to bt 3 the sequel for the present year, as the stocks in all markets aro more inferior in quality to those of the preceding year/ and nothing but the certainty of small crops in the United States this year can preclude the market receding from itS present position for medium and inferior classes. FRUIT. (From Messrs. R. Witherby and Son.) Currants—The prospects for the early months of 186 6 are favourable, as prices nearly approach the level of the . last two years, whereas the quality in general is superior/ and if fine fruit should, as last year, come into demand, fair supply exists at commensurate prices. For low descrir tions the trade must continue to look to old fruit, of which about 3,000 tons still remain with very limited sale at out quotations. Raisins—The trade of the season has been almost throughout iu Valencias, and shippers have again to be satisfied with the general results. The system of sell ing on arrival has been carried out with advantage to parties, and consequently the clearances have been uniforrat the prices satisfactory, and we are left without a burden" some stock to be workeduff at any price during the spring• The old style of cargoes of one brand has fortunately nuvi e way for a more convenient system of many marks, which have again conduced to a long range of price—a fact alwile pleasing to dealers, and, in most instances, more romune rative to shippers. Figs—Tho clearances have been large' and very few parcels are now left in first hands. Th e prices for low descriptions are much higher than last Yea f i and fine fruit is only in limited supply. COUNTRY MARKETS NEWCASTLE—TUESDAY. At to-day's market there was a moderate supply of wheo 6 from the farm ers an d the coast, and little from abroaa• There was a thin attendance, and only a limited busines o done at a decline of is on the rates of last week. GAINSBOROUGH-TuESDAY. Our corn exchange was well attended to-day. BO t samples of wheat realised last quotations ; other kinds 1 " per qr. less money. Barley dull, but late prices supported- Oats, beans, and peas as before, with little offering. HIILL.--TUESDAY. At our market to-day there was a fair supply of Eng lish wheat, but business was slow at a re d uc ti on o f f u ll y i s pet qr. even on the best samples. B ar l ey fi rm, an d good me. ,„ ' A ing in request. Oats, beans, an d peas una l tered. L i nse y' was held very firmly at the late advance. English old white wheat, 52s to 55s ; old red, 47s to 4 9 $' Barley, English, 34s to 38 s . Oats, Russian, 24s to ' 265 ' Beans, new English, 43s to 445. Peas, English blue, 40 3 to 41s Od; grinding, 40s t o 41 s Od per 36 stone. S AL ISBURY.—TTIESDAY. At market this morning the attendance was large. j '" moderato supply of wheat, and prices quite as dear. Bar ,- ley inactive, being of secondary quality. No reportable change in oat; beans, and peas. The following are the quotations :—Wheat realised fro A , o 36s to 52s ; barley, 35s to 41s ; oa t s , 22 s t o 32 s ; beans, 4,7 to 51s ; and peas, 42s to 50s per qr. Tares, from Gs to 3d per bushel ; Best bread, 13d ; household ditto, 12 per 81b loaf. Flour, 34s to 40s per sack. MARKET HARBOROUGH.—TUESDAY. Old white wheat, 54s to 57s ; new red. 46s to 49s per 30 stone. Barley, fine, 36s ; other kinds, 27s to 31s per 4 1. ' Oats, new, 22s to 24s ; old, 26s to 30s per qr. Beans, 01a ' 49s to 525; new, 42s to 45s per qr. LYNN-TUESDAY. On Friday and Sunday we had strong gales from th e south-west. There was a moderate supply of wheat a t to day's market. The demand was slow at last week's rates' damp kinds difficult of sale at is per qr. lower. Barley OP ported late rates. _ New wheat, 46s to 49s ; new red, 42s to 45s ; old whi n 51s to 53s ; old red, 46 s t o 49 s per 36 s t one. Barley ic'; malting, 348 to 36s ; secondary, 26s to 325. Oats, ne s " 18s to 24s per 24 stone. Beans, small, 42s to 44s ; larg e ' 408 to 42s per 28 stone. Births. BARBER.—On the 2d inst., at 61, Lansdown-road, Nottivr hill, the wife of William Barber, Esq., of Lincoln's-W' barrister-at-law, of twin daughters. DURANT.—On the 211 inst., the wife of Sir Henry Duran t " Bart., of Scottow Hall, of a daughter. ROBINSON.—On the Ist inst., at 2, St. Katharine's, Regen t'°' park, the Wife of Wm. Robinson, Esq., of a daughter. Marriages. COLOMB—PAGET.-011 the Ist inst., at St. Mary's, Full: John C. R. C o l om b , E sq., Lieut. and Adjut. Royal no Artillery, son of Major-General Colomb, to Emily All' widow of the late Lieut. C. Paget, R.N. ERSKINE—PAKENHAM.—On the 2d inst., at Tone Chill ° Torquay, Hugh Henry Erskine, Esq., y ounges t son °f the late Sir David Erskine, Bart., of (Jambe House, Fl ,e „ shire, N. 8., to Gwenydd F. Pakenham, widow of late Captain H. S. Pakenham. Deaths. BELPOUR.—On the Ist inst., at Scarsdale-terrace ' Kensior ton, the Rev. Henry 0. J. B e lf our, M . A ., aged 49. BELLINGIIAM.—On the 31st ult., at Margate, F. F. ham, Esq., late of Southampton-row, W.C. BROADMEAD.—On the Ist inst., at Olands, Milverton, S°' merset, Philip Broadmead, Esq., aged 77. HODSOLL.—On the 2d inst., Mr. Thomas Hodson, of Orl IA Cottage, Dartford, Kent. WESTENRA.—On the 3d inst., at 28, Savile-row, Mai ° , - 1 ; General Francis West enra , l a t e o f the sth Dra gov Guards. London : Printed and Published by WIL LIAM AN :fit. '; of No. 112, Strand, Punter, at Tnz SUN N O I - oi Strand, in the Precinct of the St.voy. in the Cotirm Mlicliesex.—Thursday, January 1, 1866. lON ( at EV A. Theatres 1(lig Thie ee Krize Ar e It is p i Bold In the & gen 4t 8 , G 1 Observ, "Binaha IVrui kni ItUss FreA.eholdvA.] e( 3 , or ye a, thi. ee a , discount,, madeYertrs t iP ,NOTIC to Pie 23(i 27, Loin mu, T"E At last , the follow To ta-e'j Annual Investe Free or In z• whn ~PAIf the Y de 4- 1 1 1 3 PI No. 15, CiIOC C"oc C lm c 111 E Dowde 4 r ‘ ; ' e lli niel ; f th e br re g don. eath. 1r i t Irtio6 Win] TwoßxrimlT (PE 10 I ventiond n The he 0: lig re a v ble 'tin ' t e- Y ain t t l : Li t , in e sen ee E Dm4l 4 lv e h n ee i°ll bent to tlie 4„Doublo lic 0f1L,,. MO --, L A 1444 kn iC. e81 1 rar°llB, az , or di• ii tai. I,oBi ~H C II AN It has quired rot ; ee ° ll ate t taken, and ' P rices _s and 425., Po siz e r ound lisp e d PlLEa and ingenious receipt of Li r4ASI SUI t. descripti on, 'Jest quality AT DE / . ORR ' :? 111‘-/.1) 4eB. The it on ' a nd ar i ng th e s gure b rri, 411 th e the l eadin g Catalogues SurgiCo