The Sun. — London, England, 1848-05-02 00:00:00

the Alien Act of 1793, and only differed from it by the omission of certain subsidiary clauses, and yet that ori gin.l Act, which was also only proposed fur one year, but which was reiii - Aed over and over again, and continued fur 33 years, hail been consistently and strenuously opposed throughcut that period by every roan of note or authority in the state—including Mr. Abuiermuhu?, Mr. Whitbread Lord Grey, Mr. Burke , Mr. Fox, Sir S. Romilly, J. Mackintosh, Lord Fitzwilliam, Lord Ashburton, Lord Melbourne, Lord Brougham, Lord Auckland, Lord Lansdowne, Lord Holland, Lord Dur ham, Lord Denman, Sir J. C. Hobhouse, and Lord John Russell. He believed that the Noble Lord the Memberfor the city o f L on d on m ade his maiden speech in that House against the Alien Bill of 1813; and when the last Alien Bill was brought forward that Noble Lord ex pressed a hope that it was the last occasion he should ever again have of addressing the House upon such a subject, convinced as he was that, after the expiration of that Act, they would look back to it as a measure that ought . Dever to have b een e nacted.—(Hear, hear.) Alas for human foresight! that the very next Bill should be proposed by the Noble Lord himself ! He (Sir IN. Molesworth) objected to the Bill upon the same grounds that the Noble Lord objected to former Bills—as contrary to the practice and principles of our ancestors, the spirit of our con s tit u ti on , an d th e tenor of our , laws prior to 1793. Lo r d s G ranv ill e , C as tlereagh, and Sidmouth then contended that th e C r own had the power by proc.aina• tion to send an alien out of the country, and that an Alien Act wou ld on l y h ave the effect of enforcing an 'Misting power. But surely, in these days, the Queen might rely upon the affections of her subjects, and trust to them to b r i ng f ore i gners to justice under the ex isting laws, if they infringed those laws. Lord Lans downe of that day said that the only wise mode of dealing with them was to leave them to the administration of th e ex isting laws, and he (Sir W. Molesworth) cor di a ll y concurre d in that opinion, More particularly as they had just passed a Bill for the better security o f the Crown and Government against. any one who should com p ass o r imagine the levying of war against the institutions of the country. The state of Fran ce was th e necess i ty a ll ege d f or an Alien Act in 1793, but no such necessity could be pleaded now. In 1792, murders, mass acres , an d hor ro rs prevailed in Paris; but now that capital was distinguished by order and tranquillity, accompanied by a wise determination not to interfere in the internal aff a irs of other countries. And yet this measure was directed especially against French men.—(No.) I t was rumoure d a b roa d th a t it was di rected against the machinations of a score or two of men who took part in the late French revolution, and who had been seen in the streets of London. Such men might be dangerous in France, where there had been au obsti nate monarch, a ministry that was corrupt, a profligate and despised ar i stocracy, with an indifference on the part of• the other classes to the institutions of the coun try. But those elements of revolution did not exist in England, and he thought it was paying but a poor com pliment to the English p eop l e, an d to the inst i tutions under which they lived, to say that danger was to be appr e h en d e d from the machinations of such individuals. Is 1816, Lord Auckland declared that no danger could be apprehended from the machi nations of foreigners resident in England. With regard to Ireland, he thought the measure equally uncalled for and useless, for if they removed from that country every foreigner in it, they would not diminish in the least the deep-rooted conviction of the Irish people that England had proved herself incompetent to legislate fur Ireland with success, or their just discontent at the ex istence of a dominant Protestant Church in a Catholic country—an injustice and an evil at which every intelli gent man out of England cried " Shame." This Bill was, therefore, utterly worthless as regarded Ireland. As for an expediti on f rom F rance to Ireland, he looked upon it as merely chimerical; for who was to pay the expense of such a proceeding, if it were thought of? The last reason given for this Bill was that the Govern ment would not abuse the powers given under it. That was the old argument used in favour of the Bill of 1793 which was so st rong l y opposed, although Mr. Pitt wa ; then just as deserving of confidence as any one of her Majesty's present Minist ers . B ot h M r. Fox and Lord Grey denied the validity of that argument in 1793, and a fortiori, it• they were now in existence they would deny the validity of it in 1848. He (Sir W. Molesworth) considered that every m easure s h ou l d be judged of on its own merits, and thos e a l one ; and he certainly would not conse n t to invest a Government with powers which he believed every gentleman on that side of the House would refuse to the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth, were he now in office and seeking to obtain them.—(Hear.) They were powers which were not needed, and which had not been needed in the most dangerous period of our history, and which, in the words of the late Lord Grey, were exceptional in every point of view. He, therefore, moved that the Bill be read a second time that day six months. Lord D. STUART concurred in the sentiments uttered by the Hon. Baronet, and expressed his surprise that such a Bill could ever have been brought forward by a liberal Government, empowering, as it did, a Secretary of State, without any positive information, and on mere suspicion, to imprison an alien as long as he liked, or to send him out of the country. In that respect the Bill required explanation, as it did not state where he was to be sent, or bow long he might be retained in prison. Under no circumstances should such a power to be placed; in the hands of any Govern ment. He was more than all surprised at the absence on the present occasion of the Hon. Baronet the Member for Harwich (Sir J. C. Hobhouse) who eloquently op posed the Alien Bill of lilG, d ec l are d that it ought to resisted by physical force, and after an unsuccessful op position to it, moved that the title of it should be. " A Bill to Repeal so much of the Great Charter of England is related to the free ingress and residence of foreign merchants in these realms, and to assimilate the Execu tive of this Government to the despotic Governments of the Continent." He (Lord D. Stuart) contended that no tolerable or decent ground had been shown for this measure, and if persisted in, the Government ought at least to-produce their information, so that the House should not be legislating in the dark. They had not even shown that any foreigners were plotting to over throw this Government. It was tree some people saw in every poor man a Chartist, in every Chartist a traitor, and in every foreigner a rebel.—(Hear.) He enter tained no such views, and should, therefore, oppose this Measure. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said the Noble Lord had answered himself, by admitting in the close of his speech that this Bill had very different objects from that of 1822, and that the circumstances were altogether dif ferent. In 1797 and 1814 foreigners had great difficul ties in obtaining letters of naturalisation; now they might do so with the greatest facility and without ex pense, if they came without any hostile designs against the Government, and with the bond fide intention of residing and carrying on business here. They had only t . r ? show this, to exempt them from the operation of the ill. The charge of cruelty had been brought against this measure; but it was much less so than the former Alien Acts ; for the Secretary of State cou ld no t e xp e l alien from the country without information in writing swufficient t o warrant his pursuing such course. Then it ias. said the Bill was un j ust, an that foreigners might Pi e t tept in prison with ou t tr i a l. Thi s was not so; for ~r ev_ e Y had no hostile d es i gns , l t h ere was not hi ng to and ent so them obtaining letters of naturalisation, ,ay.oiding the operation of the Bill. As to pe e Bill n d ea " _nelng impolitic and unconstitutional, that de this on its neces , ity. It was said no proof of the G o ut y been offered, but it could not be expected that in su c h .!'neeent should come down with all the details forei gn : ra il:latter. If they suspected a conspiracy by Ruch „ cis a nother course was to be pursued ; if none the T, ain te d the Bill would not operate. These were form er A g r ounds which disti ngu i s h e d the Bill from the M r. Vj e ts on this subject. in ti) J. FOX sa id h e h a d b een unable to discover v e s Peech of th e Ri g h t li on. Baronet who had moved s econd r ea di ng of this Bill anything which could t' ,sg ro jethe necessity o f th e measure. It was a measnre !is,t.Lirnidity and di strust — one that showed a want of con lamence in the British people, and a want of confidence e people of F rance, who, under the most trying cir c_utanees, had do ne not hi ng whatever to excite hostile feelings on our part.—(Bear, hear.) A different sort of legislation became the Government of such an empire as this. Convulsed as the world now was, there could not bq a better time in which to show our own reliance on those institutions which had stood the test of so many ages, and possessed so eminently the cha racter not only, of durability, but also of elas ticity, which accommodated them to the spirit of the age, and enabled them to expand themselves so as to give larger privileges and to larger numbers, when the changing comprehendtf society required it, without any of those commotions or convulsions to which other countries had been exposed.—(flear, hear.) No necessity whatever had been shown for the bestow ment of powers which, to say the least, were capable of ebnoxious and cruel application, which placed the con venience, tho property, and the liberty of individuals at the mercy of the Ministry tor the time being—which exposed a man to that sort of attack against which it was so difficult to defend himself—that of anonymous writing addressed to the Secretary of State. That high functionary seemed thus to he brought into contact with a class of people with whom an B,riglish Go vernment never need have anyth i ng to do; cLaialuoffincye was to have a ba c k d oor f or t h e rece ipt o f text m of and imput a ti on , un d er t h e p l aus ibl e pre public safety, which might after all be Only the emanation of individual spite, and the desire of gratifying individual vindictiveness. These powers might be used offensively towards man or Woman ; for it could not be forgotten that the first per son deported under the law of 1793, from which in a great measure this Bill was taken, was a woman, who could not seriously threaten the peace of this country— a widow —Lady Edward Fitzgerald.—(Hear, hear.) lie could not agree with the Hon Baronet the Member for Southwark that this was a glaring inconsistency on the pert of ministers. All depended on the point of time with which the comparison was instituted. By going back a few years it might be brought out in very striking colours; but, looking at the last great measure which had been carried through the Rouse, it must be admitted that this was a very consistent and appropriate supple ment to the ' 1 Act for the better security of the Crown and the Government."—(Hear, hear.) The one belonged to the other: they dove-tailed perfectly;— Sure such a pair was never seen So justly formed to meet by nature. They completed the conversion from the policy of the old ‘Vhigs of this country to the policy of Pitt, of Sid mouth, and of Castlereagh, which, beginning with the first of these measures, might be considered as carried on some way towards its completion in the second.— (Hear, hear.) The threat which Pitt once used against his great opponent, " to unwhig, the Government," could not be nsed by the opponents of the present Govern ment ; for they had most efficiently unwhigged them selves for the rest of their days.—(Hear and laughter.) The only reason given for the measure by the Right Ron. Baronet (Sir G. Grey) was, that he was afraid of Republican Missionaries. But the danger of French Republican Missionaries was at this time, surely, at the very lowest point of probability. possess of ees c iti ne an English probability. Th e p o wer which eny Frenchman VI oul multitude to violence " by open and advised s?eek...,. " was surely in a very iini,.ed degree. The ri,licule which the lion. Baronet had alluded to was sure le) arise; and this had Frenchalway-s greatbteraegnedscisan, that the most accom plished Telma, had .never been allowed to act Hamlet on the English stage, because it was felt certain that that the first sentence he uttered would throw au English audience into a roar of if. Ns a ' tiy u , lo o s f t. i l l o e o r k uu i a l ic. a ,n cliif : reiit dlaiuregehtitoenr. for laughter.—( Hear, ar dal princi ples, and ceust direct our legislation railer against the —ie l ' l i 'e g a e r r .) , writings of the illustrious dead of our own country, than against living missionaries from foreign, lands. The great Republican teachers —if Eilg land could be taught Republicanism—would be found upon the shelves of our libraries—Milton, Sydney, Hampden, More, and others of later date; and if they —addressing us in our own native tongue, and giving us that language in all its richness and power, and sur rounded by so many associations which commanded our reverence—almost our idolatry—if they did not make us Republicans, where was the genius or skill, the elo quence or persuasiveness, amongst Frenchmen, Germans —or any other people, to seduce the inhabitants of these realms from their allegiance to their Queen ?—(Hear, hear.) But it might be said that it was not merely Republicanism in the common sense of the word, for the free institutions of this country had at least as much affinity with the Republicanism of other countries as with the despotism of other countries--but the doctrine of socialism and communism which we had to fear. To lull our fears let us take example from the noble-minded man who was nuw at the head of the French people. Socialism and communism had been the rock-ahead of the Provisional Government and the people of France throughout this trying season ; and though our socialist and communist leaders had been in France during tho whole period, fraternising with the leaders of those opinions there, and making themselves conspicuous, had he deported any one of them ?—(Hear, hear.) Much better were it to imitate this example, especially with the means which we possessed in such abundance for a full sense of our own security. This and the other mea sure lately passed for the better security of the Crown and Government wore as worthless for the real security of the institutions and peace of this realm, as the parch ment on which they were engrossed would be as a but tress to that venerable abbey in whose shade they were deliberating, which had stood the storms of centuries past, and would abide the storms of centuries yet to come.—(Hear, hear.) It was not in legislation such as this that our safety vas to bo found ; nor could he agree with the Learned Attorney-General in thinking that if the Bill did no good, at any rate it could do no harm. Such measures did this harm: they falsified the character of this country ; they put us in an untrue position as to the public opinion of Europe and the rest of the world ; they declared apprehensions which did not really exist, or for which there were no real y —(Rear, wen o aho f rti, p e r thhi e lee n na e ree n .lh : ea s rr s arre t pet ieu e ent a s s uo i sal of ntdlheewd thishpi ieneot falset o ll lev neveri of f le o n st eiiso, wouldnwe position, bn c i d h : grounds ; th e y i mpute d f eel i ngs of pliability and fickle ness, hadohtee ryb,i been, were likely most injuriously to affect our relations with other countries,—(Hear, hear.) They might breed mis understandings which would plunge us into war—that worst of all calamities; they showed suspicion of what was going on in Europe; they showed that we did not rely on the events taking place being so over-ruled as to guide the world onward, and to lead it into a better position. They proclaimed us to be at variance with that movement, to be looking on fearfully, jealously, .and suspiciously; they placed us on the wrong bide, and put us in alliance with those who endeavoured to uphold a part that could not be retained, and to obstruct a future that must and would realise itself. They made us the enemies of the rising republics and constitutional go vernments, and the friends of the despotisms that were deservedly crumbling into the dust.—(Cheers.) Mr. 11. DRUMMOND said the necessity for this measure need not be long sought by persons who were acquainted with what was going on in Europe. The Noble Lord the Member for Marylebone seemed anxious that London should continue to deserve the poetical description which had been given of it, as a city which " Sucks in the dregs of each corrupted state," —(Laughter.) The Hon. Gentleman then alluded to the events which had preceded the first French revolu tion, and contended that all revolutions had been brought about by propagandism. He expressed his determined detestation of the principles which had been enunciated by Hon. Gentlemen opposite, and his conviction that they would end in wholesale slaughter.—(Oh, oh.) Mr. URQUHART was anxious for souse guarantee that the power to be vested by this measure in the Se cretary of State should not be irnproleerly employed. England had long offered an asylum to the unfortunate of all nations, by making her laws as nearly equal as possible for the alien and the native ; and this measure would virtually pass a censure upon that system of le gislation. Even scriptural authority was in favour of the same law for the alien and the native ; and the principle had been maintained in eastern legis lation till the present time. In England no necessity had ever been discovered for an Alien Bill until the first French revolution, and the circum stances which then rendered it necessary did not now exist. Propagandism was now carried on through the medium of tne press ; conspiracies amongst individuals no longer existed; and against this the Alien Bill would be inoperative. He much demurred to the delegation of any fresh powers to a Secretary of State. In a late case, where an individual's letters had been opened without warrant, the inquiry had been shelved; what security then existed that aliens would not be more unjustly used? He believed this measure would fail of its pur pose; and he feared it would bring us into collision with foreign powers. It might even be used to serve the purpose of another power, as the London police had been in the case of Count Drozki. Should seditious foreigners assemble here in such force as to threaten the peace of the country, surely the Government might act on their own responsibility, and afterwards obtain an indemnity Bill from the House. This would avoid the risk of passing a measure which might never be neces sary. An appeal being given to the Privy Council, in the case of an alien deported, it would appear that there must be judicial ground for such a proceeding; and if so, why should not the matter be brought before the ordi nary tribunals of the country? He had voted for the Crown and Government Security Bill, and had given the Government all the powers necessary, in his opinion, for preserving the tranquillity of the country. He should therefore oppose this measure. The Earl of ARUNDEL and SURREY said that the late events on the continent had shown how a very small number of disaffected individuals might disturb the peace of a country; and there being in England a great number of Germans and Frenchmen who would be glad to see this Government subverted, he should readily support this measure. Mr. HUME denied the possibility of any body, how ever large, of foreigners exciting the people of this country to rebellion. lie thought the Noble Lord who had just sat down must have been bitten by the special constable mania.—(Laughter.) He had too much con fi:ience in the loyalty of the people of this country to fear anything that could be done by the French or Ger mans. No necessity whatever had been shown to exist for this Bill; its only effect would be to create ill-feeling against this country abroad. He deeply regretted such an un-English proceeding; it was nothing but the result of timidity and panic. It would excite the belief abroad that our Government was tottering to its fall; he should, therefore, appose the Bill at every stage. Dr. BOWRING said it had been the boast of Eng land that nothing here was done in secret; that every accused person was confronted with his accusers; but this Bill enabled the Secretary of State, acting even on anonymous information, to banish any foreigner from the country. It had been said they might apply for letters of naturalisation; but this could not be done by persons who came here only for a short period, on either business or pleasure. He complained that this measure would be likely to place the Government in a bad posi tion with respect to the requests offoreign Governments. Hon. Gentlemen complained of propagandism, but were they not all propagandists as far as they were üble— were they not all desiruus to see their own opinions prevail? He would oppose the measure, because he believed it would lower this country in the eyes of foreign countries.—(Hear, hear.) Captain HARRIS te ought the Government deserving of great credit fur bringing forward a measure of unpopular nature like the present. lle saw on a late occasion some foreigners very busy in T f I gar-square. He ask e d H on. Gentlemen to loots atra a the Rhine, and see what was happening there •of in consequence of the system propagandism, lie believed that all res • pectable foreigners would be anxious to see Mr. EWART thought that the best answermeasure to this as the display of the p e I t op e o this country on the 10th o f last month. He believed that this Bill was unnecessary, and proceeded from an idle fear. It was one opposed to the constitution of Englandand, as ho thou g h t , highly impolitic. , themselves up i n t h e affairs of thi. If foreigners mixed the people them se l ves would s country, h o b e li eved repent of their conduct. soon make those f ore i gners The House divided, when there appeared — For the second reading Against it ................................... 141 Majority .............................. 22 ELECTION RECOGNIZAN-C-ii5....1.11L1 —ll9 On the motion for considering the Lord ' e amendments to this Bill, Sir R. INGLIS said he did not intend to revive any discussion with respect to this Bill in the House, but he begged to call its attention to the fact that in the House of Lords, where no personal interests were con cerned, every lawyer of every party condemned the Bill.—(Hear, hear.) As he knew, however, that it was not intended by those with whom he usually acted to divide the House upon the present occasion, he should content himself with entering his protest against it. Air. S. WORTLEY said the impression of the Noble Lords to whoen the Right Hon. Baronet had alluded had been materially altered by consideration of its provisions during its passage through the House of Lot ds. Mr. WALPOLE, as the originator of the measures which had been brought forward upon this subject, wished to repeat his conviction that the course he had pursued was sound in law, sound in justice, and sound in equity. The amendtnents were then agreed to. ELECTIVE FRANCHISE (IRELAND). Sir W. SOMERVILLE then rose to move for leave to bsing in a Bill to regulate the elective franchise, and for the registration of Parliamentary electors iii Ireland. He commenced by saying that he believed it was unne cessary to dilate on the importance of this question, for the evils of the existing system had been recognised by all parties for a long time past, though those evils still remained unremoved. The evils he referred to were threefold; first, the nature of the franchise itself; second, the insufficiency of the constituency ; third, the system of registration. O the franchise it was only necessary to say that it was ambiguous ; and of all the curses attending a political system he believed the greatest was n.mbleuity. As to the Irish franchise, the greatest I,:‘...yers of the dey were divided in opinion as to its character; revising barristers were rarely agreed as to it; and of course the peasantry under such cir• cumstances could not be expected to understand it. With regard t o th e const i tuency , it was capable of proof that the n um b er o f voters t h roug h ou t I r eland was gradually dwindling away, and that at no distant period, if the Legislature did not interfere, the system of election in Ireland would become a perfect farce. The Bill it was proposed to introduce had for its object, first of all, strictly to define the franchise, and for this purpose he intended to fall back upon the rating under the poor law.—(Hear, hear.) All the existing franchises requir ing occupation would be at once abolished, and in lieu thereof, a simple rating to the poor, of the net annual value of 8/. and upwards, would be substituted.. He did not propose any change in the franchises which did not require occupation ; but he pro posed that the 8/. franchise should extend in cases of joint occupancy, provided rating of the property when divided proved sufficient to qualify the parties. He also proposed to give the franchise to owners of foes simple of the value of 5/. He believed this alteration would give an immense increase to the constituency of Ireland, though by no means an increase which, looking at the circumstances of the country, could be considered unfair by England. Now as to the registration. He proposed that clerks of poor-law unions should transmit to clerks of the peace annually- complete lists of the parties rated within the respective baronies. The clerk of the peace having added the names of owners, the list, upon publi cation, would be the list of voters. With regard to towns, it was not proposed that any change should take place in the qualification; but great complaints having been made as to the disqualifications arising from non payment of local rates, he proposed to abolish all such qualifications except with respect to non-payment of poor -rates. He should lay the Bill on the table in order that its provisions might bo considered, and when he proposed the second reading he should be prepared to go further into the subject, and to justify the Bill, if necessary, in its principle and different details. Mr. FREWEN asked if ho understood aright that te nants at will rated at 81. per annum were to have a vote? Sir W. SOMERVILLE replied in the affirmative. Mr. C. E. LAW asked, was an occupier for six months to have a vote, supposing he paid a single rate? A party might have been in another part of the parish for a long time and not have paid. Would he thereby be disqualified? Sir W. SOMERVILLE said the practice most pro. bably would be that all arrears should be carried on. Mr. HUME hoped the non payment of rates would not be mixed up with the question of franchise in any way whatever. There were proper modes of recovering rates without disqualifying the voter. He should be glad to know what was the Right Hon. Baronet's estimate of the increase of the Irish constituency under this Bill. Sir W. SOMERVILLE supposed the number of elec tors would be at least quadrupled. Mr. HUME (sotto voce)—Oh! that's nothing. Sir D. NORREYS expressed his great satisfaction at the increase, and his conviction that it would be of the greatest benefit to Ireland. He expressed his regret that the Government had left the town franchise in Ire land untouched. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. POLLING-PLACES (IRELAND). Sir W. SOMERVILLE then obtained leave to bring in a Bill for the establishment of additional polling places, for the purpose of Parliamentary elections in Ireland, the object of the Bill being to limit the dura tion of county elections to two days, and to enable the electors in towns to give their votes by wards. %VEST INDIA ISLANDS. The CHANCELLOR he EXCHEQUER obtained leave to bring in a Bill to extend to five years the period for the repayment of the hurricane loans to the West India islands. The House adjourned at a Quarter-past Eleven. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. (From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.) MONDAY, MAY 1. TOBAGO RELIEF, AND IMMIGRATION INTO BRITISH GUIANA AND TRINIDAD. (IN THE COMMITTEE.) Motion made, and Question proposed, " That the said Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury be authorised to direct advances to be made, to an amount not exceeding 170,0001. on account, out of the said Consolidated Fund, or by the issue of Exchequer-bills, under certain regulations and restrictions, and upon due security being given for the repayment thereof, in aid of Loans authorised by the Legis latures of British Guiana and Trinidad, for promoting im migration of Free Labourers into those Colonies:" —Amend ment proposed, to leaTe out from the words "That the" to the end of the Question, in order to add the words " Chair man do report the Resolutions already agreed to by the Com inittee to the House," instead thereof:—Question put, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Question." The Committee divided ; MAJORITY—AYES, 76. Abdy, T. N. Grey, R. W. Pinney, William Aclazzd, Sir T. Grosvenor, Lord R. Power,lNicholas Armstrong, R. B. Parris, Captain Raphael, Alexander Arundel, Earl of Hawes, Benjamin Repton, G. W. J. Barkly, Henry Berries, J. C. Rich, henry Baring, Thomas Hildyard, R. C. Richards, Richard Bellew, It. M. Ilindley, C. Itornilly, John Boyle, llobcrt E. lisps, henry T. Russell, Lord John Busfeild, W. liorsman, Edward Sieymer, 11. K. Campbell, W. F. Hudson, George Sheil, It. Cardwell, Edward Inglis, Sir R. 11. Shelburne, Earl of Charter's, Francis Labouchere, Henry Somerville. Sir W. Christy, Samuel Langston, J. 11. Spooner, Richard Clerk Sir G. Lewis, George C. Stafford, Augustus Craig, W. G. Lincoln, Earl of Stanley, E. J. Cripps, William Mackinnon, W. Towneley, Charles Dalrymple, Captain Mahon, O'Gorman Townshend, Captain Deedes, W. Martin, C. W. Urquhart, David Denison, W. J. Miles, P. W. S. Wilson, James: Denison, J. ,E. Monsell.:William Wood, Sir Charles Disraeli, B. 1 Morison, Gener a l W yv i ll, Marmaduke Divett, Edward Newdegate, N. Yorke, H. R. Evans, John Norreys, Sir D. Evans, William O'Connell, M. J. TELLXItB. Filmer, Sir E. Paget, Lord A. Tnfnell, Henry th,ddard, A. L. Palmerston, Vis. Hill, Lord M. Grey, Sir G. Parker, John MINORITY—NOES, 21. Bright, John Humphery, Ald. Thompson, Colonel Brotherton,.J. Kershaw, James Thornely, T. Brown, W. Lushington, C. Tuner, Edmund Clifford, Henry M. Molesworth, Sir W. 'Walmsley, Sir J. Cobden, R. Moore, G. H. Willoughby, Sir IL Duncan, George Mowatt, Francis LTELLES.S. Ewart, Wllllittu Sidney, Alderman Hume, Joseph Fox, W. J. Tancred, li. W. Bowring, Dr. LITERATURE. AE IV NOVELS. The Rival Beauties. By Miss Par doe. Rose. Blanche. and Violet. By G. ii. Locc,, author of " Ranthoi i.e." Savazdroog ; or the Queen of the Jungle. By Captain Rafter. The Adventures of a Medical Student. By H. Douglas. James the Second. Edited by W. If. Ainsworth. There is a " season" for all things, and hence, of course, there is a peculiar season for fictitious litera ture. The beginning of the year—the Parliwientary season and the fashionable season— is thharvest time for the lovers of light literature, when they may reap in abundance the fruits of the yearly labours of the novelist and romancist. In this particular year there is, perhaps, less than ordinary occasion for the exercise of the ingenuity, and the captivating powers of the romance- writer. Truth we know is said to be stranger than fiction, and if we doubted the accuracy of the aphorism our doubts would just now be speedily dispelled. Our own columns, and the columns of our contemporaries, are daily filled with records of truthful occurrences now transpiring all over the world of far more amazing character, and formed of far more enthralling interest, than could be devised by a skilful ingenuity, or pourtrayed by a vivid imagination. Nevertheless, however superior the present attractions of truth, the writers offiction have been by no means idle. As usual at this period of the year a multitude of three-volumed romances solicit the favour of the public and claim the consideration of the critic. Of those now before us, for the sake of its attractive appellation and the merits of its authoress, we must in common courtesy speak first o f th e " Rivalßeauties"of Miss Pardoe. Miss Pardoe is unquestionably a brilliant writer. The" City of the Sultan" established her celebrity as a writer, a celebrity which her admirable volumes on " Louis XIV." tended greatly to enhance. To our thinkin g , all her minor compositions are somewhat invested with the colouring of those two great works. There is much of the gorgeous and lavish embellishment of the East in her descriptive details of European life. g Far e xamp l e, i n one of the chap t ers o f this novel, there is a pi c t ure of the inter i or o f a n Italian gaming house, whi c h i s like alim se of the City of the Sultan, and a ga i n an English p lady's boudoir orna mented for a b a ll seems to rese mble a chamber of a harem, or rather, perhaps, a scene in the "Thousand and One Nights." Th ese p ec uliarities are likely to enhance the attractions of a romance, while they diminish its pretensions to actuality. But Miss Pardoe's Eastern predilections are,by no means so conspicuous as is the affinity of her social characters and scenes to the cha racters and scenes of the court of Louis XIV. Society, as depicted in the "Rival Beauties," is all dazzlin g a n d delusive, brilliant without and heartless within ; and in pourtraying life of this character Miss Pardoe's pen is quite au fait. To this kind of portraiture we decidedly object. In the first place, it is not true, and, in the second, it is not pleasing. The brilliant, hollow-hearted characters that " basked in the noon -tide ray" of the sunshine of the Grand Illonarque are possessed of a certain degree of interest, because they are historical and, moreover, because, heartless and selfish as they for the most part were, good was mingled with evil, some redeeming traits in the most base claimed for them our interest and perhaps re spect; even Lauzun, despicable from his brutal treat ment of the devoted Mademoiselle, is in our minds ennobled by his chivalrous conduct to the unfortunate Queen of James 11., in her hour of danger andlribula tion. Miss Pardoe's pictures of society are, we have said, not true. The colouring is brilliant, but the grouping is unnatural. Her fashionable ladies and gentlemen are finished with care; all the artifi cial adjuncts of their position are elaborately de picted, but they have not the expressive and easy bearing of men and women. Sybil, for example, one of the rival beauties of this tale, has, we dare vouch for it, no parallel in real life, and :sappily so, for were it not for something supine arid superficial in her character her counterpart might, one would think, be more successfully sought for in a lower region. Sybil bears certainly no resemblance to an actual woman; she may seem, as perhaps Miss Pardue intended her, for an embodiment of selfish ness, and vanity, and worldly ambition ; but then an embodiment of an abstract idea is not a reality, and it is with realities that the novel-writer—the novel writer who rightly fulfills his mission—has to do. Therefore, fully appreciating Miss Pardoe's brilliant talents and vivid powers of descrip tion, we must utter our protest against her portrait of Sybil, and of the state of society of which Sybil is the heroine and type. The other heroine, Gertrude, the "rival beauty," is a very different character. She is of course a contrast to her irredeemably wicked companion. She is the good genius of the tale, and her character is invested with a degree of softness and delicacy which (judging from her other portraits) we should hardly have sup posed Miss Pardoe capable of depicting. The hero, the weak and vacillating Mortimer—betrothed to Gertrude, but deserting her, captivated by the superior fascinations of Sybil, married to the latter, and by her influence and conduct corrupted and im poverished, become a ruined and miserable gambler— is portrayed with much ability, and, unfortunately, too much truth. The effect of evil influence (far more powerful than evil advice) upon a well-meaning, but weak and yielding disposition, is without doubt considerable and most unfortunate. The history of Mortimer, as a warning, and the cha racter of Gertrude, as an example, constitute the most beneficial and interesting portion of Miss Pardoe's novel, while the character of Sybil and some of her fashionable companions are, as we have already said, deserving of nothing but censure. To a less gifted writer we should be more lenient in our criticism, but Miss Pardoe's abilities are well known, and therefore it is that we, who now admire her so much, desire in future to be enabled to admire her more. " Rose, Blanche, and Violet "is a novel of a very different style ; its chief merit lies not, like Miss Pardoe's, in the brilliancy of its colouring and the elaboration of its details, but in its vigorous and truthful delineation of character. Mr. Lewes is undoubtedly a writer of great power, as was evinced by his former novel, "Ranthorpe." "Rose, Blanche, and Violet" is dintinguished by the same attractions and the same demerits as were observable in " Ran thorpe." Mr. Lewes's characters are natural, but he Ranth (occasionally) places them in unnatural positions. I'he main ide a o f hi s narrative i s tru thf u l, b ut the details are or e so metimes incongruous. So it was in " p" and so i t i s i n "Rose, Blanche, an d Violet." The very name of this latter novel will suggest to the experienced critic one great difficulty and defect in the construction of the plot. Rose, and Blanche, and Violet —three heroines—three centres of attraction—three stories in one narrative—a pro ceeding by which the unity of the work is to a certain extent destroyed, and its interest consequently diminished. The three heroines are three sisters of singularly different characters. Rose is vivacious and spirituelle, Blanche amiable and affectionate, while Violet, though full of feeling, is possessed of a resolute self-command. A narrative with three heroines is necessarily somewhat complicated, but with three such heroines it is also necessarily very interest ing. And it i s i nteresting, moreover , f rom the truthfulness with whi c h m any of its charact ers are pourtrayed, an d f rom t h e na tural, act ua l air with which som e port i ons o f i t are invested. S ome portions of it, w e h ave sa id, f o r all, the n arrat i ve certainly does not mer i t suc h com mendation. Th ere are characters a n d scenes w hi c h are certai n l y not natural, such as of G eorge M ax well and the porti ons in which he figures; and th e re are others whi c h are certainly far from ple as i ng , and which detra c t con siderably from of the t h e merits same of Georgeth the work, Maxwellsuc h and M rs. , again, as Vyner, and more especially the chapter entitled " T he Perils of one Night." In this chapter and in some other passages, the manner of the author, which i s i n the general very bold and vigorous, and, consequently, very effective, exhibits a want of that delicacy and refinement which, without being hypercritical, we must consider indispensable to . a good novel. In this and in many minor parrticulars we have no doubt, that with a littleh care, has M already Lewesee' will greatly improve. The abilities intnite red, lead us something to anticipate from hisihned. We have neither better than he has yet accomplihe details of the story, time nor space to enter into t leaving its ry, and if we had we should prefer is by far the interest unspoiled Blanche most attractive by explanation. and w because the most n atural womanly, of the ' fortunes are full of interest, three heroines. Her fortu and the Cecil Chamberlayne, th e character of sharer of those of her g reat fortunes, and the cause sorrow, is adrni• s and conveys a warning lesson. is depicted, . most esson ' Cecil • , in the unhappy is a " genius with -' 4 s ense of the word one gifted talents, but without necessary to exert tl the energy ne lam, with a -but d heart,no principle naturally good heart, The character or Cec i l to pre serve its goodnes to exemplify the is ill tended by the a uthor _ fate' effects of th of mind a deficiency of strength and ever ciency defi. talents, ciency for whichhoweverh brilliant, can no on the contrary, compensate, but, 'ln 3. ' • become a misfor tuneportra to their possessor: portraying the inertness which were the and love of reverie caus e of all Cecil's miseries and misdeed!, Lthe writer o f his his . , , ho a hi• tory very truthfully remarese: rude suertm e ne . it is beneficence undcessity • er a aspe c t . 8 ..,. „ so beneficent to man, u •) althoumb it is radically antipathetic his nature. J ul men are constrained to ambition are the inver'ellis, task work, and or dint of the . 1 --- masters,• and it is only by or the stronger dictates of indomitable will, w human nature, v agabond as are its ee e d eooies ill, that made to persevere in the tasks set before it. ' can be men . under all What wonder, then, if it . seize upon e very occasion which enables savidly moment to escape from the tyranny o f th em for a work 2 wonder if this weak, wayward, work t . What who had laboured cheerily under th e . p ible Cecil, forgot the sweet der impulsion of necessity, now _ . ights of ' task, and relapsed into h i s old habit his daily .s of - dreaming idleness?" Bat, not satisfied with teaching by example, by the moving example of Cecil, Mr. Lewes proceeds to give some very excellent practical advice to authors and artists who like bins have worn away their lives in inactivity, while their fancy is busy with dreams. To these his advice may be summed up in one word, " work !" He admits that unwritten poems and un painted pictures are perhaps far superior to those actually produced; "but," he adds, "the world justly takes no account of unaccomplished promises, of un fought victories. What it applauds is the actual victory won in earnest struggle with difficulty ; the heroes it crowns are those who have enriched them selves with trophies, not those who might have done SO." Scattered over the pages of these volumes are many truthful and beautiful refltctions, which, apart from the history of the story, give a value to the work ; as, for example, the advice to men of genius to which we have already referred, and a very felicitous com parison bet ween th e r i va l mer it s o f Talent and Will— strength of will, that is. In one chapter the author has devoted many paragraphs to an attempt at de fining that often-defined yet undefinable word, Love. But he has, apparently with less of effort and intention, given an infinitely better definition in another place, where in a casual observation he calls love " the most intense form of life." Our ob servations on Mr. Lewes's work have, however, ex tended to sufficient length, we therefore take leave of him with th e h ope of receiving some yet better work from him h erea f ter. " Savnidroog, or the Queen of the Jungle," is, as its name implies, an Oriental romance. Captain Rafter, in his preface, expresses an . intentio n o f f ollowing it up by other works of a description,smilar f o u n d e d on various legends which he ha s collected during a residence in the East, so as to form a series of " Oriental romance," a species of literature almost unknown in this cou n try—almost unkno wn i n prose, that is to say, for, save the admi rable compositions of the author of " Zohrab" and a few others, our chief acquaintanc e w ith E as t ern legends h as b een hitherto through the medium o f our poets. Th e i n i mitable tales of Moore and Byron have depicted the gorgeouslwinoscenery and romantic nar ra ti ves g of the East inßoogckolhvrs and m os t a tt ract i ve guise. I n " L allah especiallyvivi d portrayed, t h ev a i andou s peculiariti es o f Eastern life are y the Vale of C as h mere is invested with char ms f ar ex ceeding thos e w i t h which reality published has adorned it. Af ter such writings h ave b een on the t sub n ter j f e e c re , t Oriental romanc e i s a dangeroll,iasftseubject o with. Nevertheless, Captain hard and with infinit e success. The chi e h . s essayed hi s ief attraction of his work consists in its very n interesti g plot, an d the romantic adventures i n w hi ch its e characters be are concerned. Thc.. , Queen of th e J ungle, Lachema, is a worthy heroine o f an Eastern romnautifu, and her history is most marvellous and f u ll of The next work which claims our a tt ent i on is of a very different kind—" The Adventures of a Medical Student." Prefixed to these " Adventures "is a brief but interesting memoir of their author, Henry Dou glas, a surgeon of the Royal Navy, who died at an early age, after displaying great abilities, and giving promise of far greater. The " Adventures of a Medical Student" consist of a series of sepa rate papers, which originally appeared in the New Monthly Magazine. They are written with great power, and possess a most enthralling interest ; nevertheless, they are in many cases far from pleasing. Surgical operations, for instance, are occasionally detailed with a minuteness and emphasis that have a most disagreeable effect. In one place, for example, he describes an amputation in a most theatrical manner, increasing the horrible interest of the description by the help of italics and capital let ters, thus—" it is the knife !" "it is the SAW !" As being written by one who has mingled in the seenes he describes, the " Adventures of a Medical Student" have necessarily a peculiar attraction, and as the composition of one who has passed away, leaving only this memorial of his great talents, they are invested with an especial interest. " James II.," edited by Harrison Ainsworth, makes its appearance at an ap propriate time, when other sovereigns are following the example of its hero, and enduring similar, though hardly so great, misf o rt unes . Wh a t h as peculiarly- gratified us in this work is the impartial spirit with which it has been penned. On first taking it up we feared to meet with errors of misrepresentatio n' either on the one side or the o th er . It i s difficult for the historian to be just, but for the novelist it is almost impossible—he must " extenuate" on the one side, and consequently " set down in malice" on the other. The history of James 11. is, on this account, a very embarrassing subject. We antici pated to find the character and conduct of the exiled sovereign described with a censure of which he was not deserving, or else to hear him extenuated at the expense of the liberty of conscience and rights of his subjects. The author of this narrative has, however, avoided both extremes. He has given us a most interesting narrative of the downfal and exile of the last Stuart king. The account of the escape of Mary and the Prince of Wales is, perhaps, hardly detailed in so interesting a manner as in Miss Pardoe s " Louis XIV." Among the " new novels "we should include the recent publications of Cooper and Mrs. Maberly, and the indefatigable James ; but we must necessarily reserve them for a separate consideration. THE MAGAZINES. BLACK WOOD. Seldom have we seen a superior number of Maga. It is worthy of the merry month of May, the month of hope and greenness, the month of cowslips and lupins, of promise to summer, of germination to autumn, of defiance to winter, and of fervour to love. Those who remember the beautiful paper on May as the season of the heart in the " Spectator" will revel in the pages of this number of Blackwood, not because of any direct affinity between the essay and the magazine, but because of the mutual contrast afforded by the two effu sions, and because the last mentioned of the two is a new testimony that all has not been said that can be said in illustration of the charms of springtime. In speaking of Les M'ois, by Roucher, we well re member that M. de Lamartine somewhere calls them " those French Fasli !" So may we term the charm ing comments penned upon the spring, and especially upon the month of May, by the writers of England, from Gower to Spenser, from Spenser to Thomson, from Thomson to Budgell, from Budgell to Allan Cunningham, and from Allan Cunningham to Blackwood. In the present instalment of Maga, however, the principal excellence is the diver sity of the themes and moods upon which and in which the different articles have been penned. There is scarcely a single page that is exactly be fitting the month of love (as May is regarded in the " t `S n Spectator"), an d yet nearly every contribu i is in some sort appropriate, and even season able. There are two exceptions we will allow, and those exceptions are the poetic fragments. First, the littl e a canzonet called " H e i g h h o !" dainty outbreak of naive passion : and, secondly, " The Last Walk," by B. Simmons. A welcome, thrice welcome to B. Simmons the sound of whose lyre has been too long hushed. He would be wel , come, if only for that exquisit e verse i n t h e b r i e f poem before us.— " Yes! far for ever from thy side, Madonna, now for ever fair, To death of DISTANCE I have died, And all has perished, but—Despair." The reiteration of the word ever (that articulate sigh of despair !) and the beautiful alliteration in the third line imparts to the verse a tone irresistibly plaintive. Let us quote it again if only for its musical pathos : " Yes ! far for ever from thy side, Madonna, now for ever fair, To death of DISTANCE I have died, We And all h as per i shed, but—Despair. " would listen to the voice of B. Simmons more frequently in the pages cf that magazine with which his signature has become identified. The con tinuation of " The Cantons" (a serial which we controversy as to the orthography of Pisistratus or Peisistratos is capital, and the letter of rebuke to his son about the preference of the latter name, front the pen of old Mr. Caxton, is admirable 'We commend that letter to Mr. Grote, who, to our thinking, has done as much mischief to Greek history by the pe dantic exactitude of his orthography in proper names, as Mr. Lan e h a d prev i ous l y d one i n his new translation of the "Arabian Nights Entertainments." Thoroughly do We sympathise in that emphatic sentence of old Mr. Caxton,--" I prefer my old acquaint ances Thu cydides and Pisistratus to Thoukudides and Peisis tratros." So do we prefer them, heartily, —Mr. Grote nevertheless notwithstanding. "Education in Wales" is another enforcement of that report of the Com missioners of Inquiry, which we ourselves have already noticed so repeatedly. Against th e i gnorance of the Welch, the press must continue to utter its unanimous and vociferous protest—until the evil has been dissi pated. Never mind the repetition of the same facts and arguments—tautology is better than indifference ! " The Silver Cross--a Campaigning Sketch," is a story from the German of Ernest Koch, a youn g G erman now living near Bareges, in the Upper Pyrenees. It has all the fresh ness and fascination of novelty--and, if only for that reason, will be relished. " Republican Paris " is —of course—a caricature of democracy such as the conservative predilections of old Christo pher must revel in. According to the opinion of the contributor, the difference between the appearance of Paris as it is now and as it was before the downfall of the monarchy is, the difference between a lady and a Bacchante. Need we say that our democratic sympathies are not those of Ebony. No ; they are , my the same with a difference. " Th e Sp'aniard in Sicily " is an admirable review , on the book recently written by Count Alexis 1 de St. Priest, ex-Peer of France. Any contribution would be delightful having reference to i that Sicily " w hi c h Pl a t o taught and T m on go verned—which A rc hi me des defended and Theocritus sung !" And the rapture of the theme is immeasurably 14 REMOVAL OF ALIENS BILL: Order for Second Reading read; Motion made, anti Ques. tion proposed, " That the Bill be now read a second time :" —Amendment proposed, to leave out the word " now,";and at the end of the Question to add the words " upon this day six months."—Question put, "'That the word ' now' stand part of the Question." The House divided:— MAJORITY—AYES, 141. Arkwright, George Fortescue, J. W. O'Connell, M. J. Armstrong, Sir A. Frewen, C. N. Ogle, S. C. Armstrong, It. B. Fuller, A. E. Ord, W. Arundel, Earl of Gaskell, J. M. Paget, Lord A. Bagsha, , Joha Glyn, G. C. Palmer, Roundel' Baines, M. 'l'. Goddard, A. L. Palmerston, Viscount Barkly, Henry; Godson, It. Parker, John Baring, Thomas Gordon, Admiral Perfect, It. Bellew, it. M. Granger, T. C. Philips, Sir G. R. Benbow, John Grentell, C. Pascoe Pinney, W. Berkeley, Grantley Grey, Sir 0. Power, Nicholas Bernard, Viscount Grosvenor, Lord R. Prime,•Richard Bouverie, E. I'. Ilanmer, Sir J. Pugh, David Bowles, Admiral Harris, Hon. Capt. Itawdon, Colonel Boyle, Colunel Ilawes, B. Repton, G. W. liretnridge, Richard Hay, Lord John Ricardo, J. L. Broadley, Henry Hayes, Sir E. Ricardo, Osman Brockman, E. D. Heathcote, G. J. Rice, E. It. Brotherton, J. Ileneage, Edward Rich, Henry Brown, W. Herbert, Henry A. Itomilly, John Browne, R. I). Berries, John C. Russell, Lord J. Buxton, sir E. Hildyard, It. C. Russell, F. C. H. Campbell, W. F. Hildyard, T.,,8. T. Seymer, Henry Ker Cardwell, Edward llobhouse, Sir J. Seymour, Lord Christy, Samuel llobhouse, T. B. Shell, It. L. Clerk Sir George Hodges, T. L. Shelburne, Earl of Cobbold, John C. Hope, H. T. • Simeon, John Cocks, T. S. llotham, Lord Smith, R. V. Colebrooke, Sir T. Hudson, G. Somerton, Viscount Craig, W. G. J erv i s , Sir John Somerville, Sir W. Dalrymple,;Captain Jolliffe, Sir W. 11. Spooner, Richard Dashwood, G. li. Kelmel, G. T. Stanley, B. J. Deedes, W. Denison, W. J. Denison, J. E. Laseelles, W. S. Towneley, Charles Disraeli, B. Langston, L ab)u eher J e' . 11. Henry Law, lion. E. C. Divett, Edward Lewis, G. C. Turner, George Dodd, G. Lindsay, Colonel Tynte, Colonel DrumlanrieVis.' Littleton, E. R. T S l t i e l:o v a r i r i i i t s e ti l y, T . H. Captain Walpole, S. H. Drummond, Henry Mackinnon, W. Willcox, Brodie Duncan, George Fl E y l t l Euston, 2A io ,n Evans, : j i jo a t , William , r IE G l W. Macnatuara, Major Dundas, Sir David Martin, C. W. Ebrington, Lord Matheson, Colonel Iv Wood,Williamson,, id S Jamesl rCharles Si r I 1 . Mitchell, T. A. Yorke, Henry It. Morris,NM Morison, w ii'i d e g 1 : a W t DavideCilWilliam General . Foley, J. 11. Nugent, sir Percy TELLERS. Tufnell.:ll. lIW, Lint Marcus MINORITY-NOES, 22. Ilowring, Dr. M'Gregor, John Thompson, George Bright, John Mowatt, Francis Urquhart, David Clay, James Raphael, Alexander Walcley, Thomas Cobden, Richard Sidney, Alderman Walmsley, Sir J. Swart, William Smith, John B. Forster, 31. smythe, George TELLERS. Fox, W. J. Stuart, Lord I). Molesworth, Sir W. Kershaw, James T ancred, H. W. Hume, Joseph Lushington, Charles Thompson, Colonel COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT. (PROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) COWES, MAY 1, ISM ROYA L YACRT SQUADRON INTELLIGENCE.—The yachting season may now be said to have fairly com menced. The signalman has taken up his station at the Royal Yacht Squadron's semaphore, and signalizing is the order of the day afloat and ashore. The Earl of Wilton, J. Manse, Esq., G. Bentinck, Esq., and several other gentlemen are at the club-house. The Dream arrived yesterday from the westward. Thu Sultana, the Gondola, and Ariadne are nearly ready for sea. Lord Rodney's schooner, built in Ratsey's yard, will be launched in a few days. Her Majesty, Prince Albert, and suite attended Divine service at the little parish church of W hippinghara on Sunday morning. The Court was in deep mourning. The Ro3 al Family leave Osborne for town, to-morrow afternoon. The Court will return in about three weeks. -------- AEGISTERED ECONOMIC SHIRT COLLAR. —Tlll3 is indeed a novelty, whereby an apparently single shirt collar is capable of doing the duties of two. This is managed by two collars being attached to one band, either of which may be folded down without the slightest creasing in a sort of pocket made for its reception in the band itself'. But an equally recommendatory innovation upon the customary collar will be found in the cut and style of this band, differing as it does from ail the ordi nary ones, being so shaped as to fit, the neck with great ease and comfort, without that fidgetty and irritating discomfort which is involved in the necessary tightnes of others. This little candidate for popularity has the name of W. Williams, Gutter-lane, stamped upon it es its maker. enhanced to our mind by the recent emancipation of ► the Sicilian, and the newly -conquered independence of their island—torn by a revolution from the grasp of the King of Naples. "Crimes and Remarkable Trials in Scotland" is an ent h ra lli ng contribution, recounting the surprising ad ven t ures and vicissitudes of Peter Williamson—the narrative being prefaced by an animadversion upon the sy s t em o f l aws wh i ch admits of the practice of kidnappi ng . "Th e R epealer ' s Wish Granted" is a solemn warnin g t o th e mock patriots of Erin—a warning at first as obscure as a prophecy, and at last as awful as the utterance of a doom. But that a note declares t o th e contrary, we should certainly have attributed the i nsp i rat i on of the chapter to the admirable articles recently published in our contemporary the Times. One view of the scene of desolation has, however, been overlooked by the writer in Blackwood, namely, the sending away the many thousand Irish from England—those Irish who find employment, wages, and food in the land of the Saxon. Could not the contributor pen a brief episode to his vision of the future ? In the present chapter the repetition of the sentence---" The sail bellies bigly to the wind. From Erin the Green the Saxons are gone. There rose from earth to sky—what ?"—has a sound so solemn that it becomes at last almost horrible. " Alan is a Featherless Biped" reads pleasantly—it gives one the reminiscence of a passage or two in "Cal?l3 Stukely The writer rattles off his narrative with a devi me-care precipitation, such as he would doubt less display on the back of a hunter. With a melancholy and even despairing lamentation, over " The Revolutions in Europe"—•the necessity of which lamentation is bolstered up by quotations from the eccentric speeches recently delivered in the House of Peers by Lord Brougham—Blackwood is brought to a conclusion for May. A better number has not for a very considerable time appeared. TAIT. After the brilliant description of the Revolution of February, by Mr. Percy B. St. John, it becomes peculiarly interesting to peruse his narrative of his "Political History of Republican France" during the past month of April. The mere circumstance of the writer being a resident at the present extraordinary epoch in Paris is calculated to render his contribution to Tait attractive, and a peculiar degree of attention is excited to the paper from the publication in the same magazine of the continuation of his story of " Miranda," a tale of the first French Revolution. In the contribution to which we are here making especial allusion, the events which have recently transpired in the great European Republic are de tailed with considerable skill and perspicacity. The paper is divided into several portions or chapters — one recounting the struggle between the two parties, movement a g ainst under Ultras under Ledru Rollin, and the Moderates the Lamartine • d another describing the elections of National Guard another, theF i . another the continuation of the the Provisional Government : another e d le e c p t i i e o t n i e s g for the the National pro gress of the de la Fraternite : another the clubs issit t u h d e es of the various Assembly : R tio i e n t a s r : y ” anothe r the cause of the went, and d J e pe v v e ro l e o isu p se : and consecratin g the tr e ee s of liberty : another, the fluctuations of the Bourosf ;and another, the situation rage for transplanting articles thef many enthralling and o f appositeth e D emagazine t s. Days of February," 1 . 1 1 a.Y, this, from the pen of the author of the " Thr e e r e George. Gilfil will prove not the least remarkable. " Popular ofwMrirt.te(n;esorgefe Dawson-- lan pursues his serial of sketches more The after eh sp t the ers Lecturers" by a portraiture a portraiture, if anything, manner of Emerson than of Cormenin. entitled " The Star Shines through the Mist" are followed up by others, and an additi ona l part of the historic-romance of "Miranda" is subjoined. One contribution will not be passed over lightly or pe rused negligently—the one devoted to a consideration of the "Chartists of Great Britain and the liepealers of Ireland." " Jactitation of Marriage; or the Wedding in the Fog," is a curiosity, not only in title but in conception. After an intelligent fragment on " Life Assurance," and three indifferent scraps of versification, the magazine is completed by its usual appendices of a Literary and Political Register. DOLMAN. Another of those domestic stories, which the pre sent editor of D o l man (th e Rev. Edward .Price) is so eminently capable of telling with touching sim plicity, adorns the magazine for May. It is among the series of " Sick Calls," and is entitled " The Magdalen." Over the fortunes of Margaret the reader will, pour in a mood of genuine pensiveness. A thoughtful fragment, called " Religion and Poli tics," precedes this pathetic historietle, and subse quently there is a continuation of " The Adventures of a Schoolboy," and the conclusion of " The Golden Age of Merry England." Two agreeable contri butions are also contained in the present number of Dolman, the one headed " The Cemetery," the other being an American sketch in the shape of an " Irish Gleaning." Besides the foregoing, there are several re views of books and a page or two of Catholic monthly intelligence. FI?ASER. If we may judge from the article on Chartism, which appears in this month's Fraser, the cause of old Toryism must be desperate. Laughed at by the well educated of the upper classes, and repudiated by the great body of the middle and:lower classes, Tories now make a high bid for Chartist support—which, how ever, they will not get. The disorderly plunderers (not real Chartists, by the bye,) who take advantage of every popular assemblage to ply their dishonest trade, will no doubt be but too happy torender their assistance ; in fact there have frequently been rela tions heretofore subsisting between the parties--the disorderlies in question having ever been known as " the Tory mob," the gentlemen who did the mischief in Lord George Gordon's riots, and who, at Birming ham, wrecked the house of Dr. Priestly ; but of the real Cbtartists, of those men who honestly seek to effect political emancipation by moral means, not one will lend a helping hand to the Tories, notwithstanding the hearty abuse of the middle classes and the sneers at the special con stables in which these worthy old Tories think proper now to indulge. The non-political portion of Fraser this month is excellent. The opening paper on "Recent, Discoveries in Astronomy" is evidently the work of a writer who not only thoroughly under stands hip; subject, but who possesses the rare talent of making it understood also by others. His ac count of 'the manner in which M. Le Verrier and Mr. Adams w ere led to discover the new planet Neptune is, perh sps, the most successful attempt yet made to popular - >e mathematical science. The paper on Heligoland is peculiarly interesting at the present moment:, when there is every probability that that rocky i may again become the great entrepot for artiicles of British manufacture destined for the supply of the Continent. We have in this number reviews; of the memoirs of Mademoiselle de Launay, of Lan dor's Hellenics and Latin Poems, of Rosen's Campaign in Algiers, and of Sir Thomas Mitchell's recent] y published work on the Australian Colonies, in addLtion to the continuation of the " Armourer of Munster," and the current " History of the Month." INTESESTING MARRIAGE BEQUEST. Yesterday morning a young woman was married at the parish church of St. George's-in-the-East, who had been edu cated at ;Raines Charity Schools, situate in Old Gravel lane, Wtspping, and who, on that occasion was entitled to a marriage portion of 1001., in pursuance of the will of the benevolent founder. In 1719, Henry Raine, Esq., who auras sed a princely fortune as a brewer at Wapping, founded a. school for fifty boys and fifty girls. Ile after wards endow e d an asylum for the reception of forty girls, who were to be m a i n t a i ne d , e d ucated, and trained up to ser v ice, who, after arriving at the age of 22, pro d. ucing sati s f actory testimonials, were twice a year, viz., in December and May, to draw lots for a marriage por tion of 1001. with a honest and industrious person of St. John's Wan ing, or St. Paul's, Shadwell. After the ceremony a s ermon was preached, and in the evening the trustees, at !a dinner, presented to the happy couple a purse contacting 100 new sovereigns. THE COBDEN TESTIMONIAL FUND.—A meeting of the commit tee of the Cobden testimonial fund was held at the Tomti-hall, Manchester, on Saturday morning, when a nut aber of the principal contributors to the fund were preset it, including Mr. R. Hyde Greg, Mr. W. Rawson, an d Mr. George Wilson, the three treasurers; with Mr. A. Heywood, M.P., Mr. Alderman Shuttle worth, Mr.. Alderman Potter, Mr. T. B. Potter, Mr. J. Kershaw, 14. P., Mr. R. Ashton, Mr. T. Ashton, .Mr. Henry A5l worth, Mr. Thomas Woolley, Mr. W. ham, Mr. W. Evans, Mr. Joseph Simpson, Mr. T. Hunter, Mr.- Edmund Potter, Mr. Sails Schwabe, Mr. t Thomas B sines, and Mr. Schofield, of L i ttl e borough. I appeared the t the amount subscribed was 79,0001., from which 4,80 , D4'.. had to be deducted for expenses, l d e i a .s n o n s g al a . balance of ,000/, to be placed at Mr. Cobden'swithin disposal. Of the wl ic le amount subscribed, all about 2,0001. had been collected, notwithstanding . the con oratudfroonaf this th the d m e e fi r c c i i e a n l cy d , e M pl :; e . ss W io i n lso w n, hi w c.h ho ha r d ead pre th ytt e lle re d p ; treasurers, s.!:ated that probably 1,5001. more would yet be received. Tho delay in closing the subscripti on was attributed to the great depression of trade, and the ab sence of Mr. Cobden from home. A most complete and flat contmdiction was given by the th ree treasurers to the stateine nts and insinuations put forth from time to time, as to a. r aisappropriation of the money subscribed, these gentl len declaring they held themselves res ponsible to . 1 1V Ir. Cobden fur the whole amount named at any moment:. The whole of the money had not re mained in ttr c banker's hands, however; some portion having been !invested, with Mr. Cobden's consent, to greater advr tawe and one m o i e t y h ad b een expen d ed in the purcb it.se of the estate known as Mr. Cobden's birthplace. 1. . Cho balance was in cash, and ready to be paid over by - 'the treasurers so soon as the mode of doing it should be. ,determined upon. These explanations ap. peared to give the highest satisfaction to the gentlemen present, and s sub - committee was appointed to audit the accounts. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. The Earl of Auckland, with Captains Eden, Hamilton and Milne, on Saturday morning last were present a some ver y )rtant trials, opposite Whit e h a ll, w i t h t h, new launches fitted with screw propellers, for the expe. dition about to proceed under Sir James Ross in sears) of Sir John Franklin and his party. These boats, bull by Thompson, of Rotherhithe, are about 32 feet it length and 11 feet in breadth, and are each fitted with by sc Bliss, rep werer opellertrd up andhieigh-pre high-pressure engines the river e ginesofs s ho v r e s r e tt ip t o un w ee er. when, at a pressure of 361b5., they attained a speed of between five and six knots an hour. Under the circum stances, the trials were deemed to be very satisfactory, much more so than those with the Meander's launch, fitted by Seaward with a screw-propeller engine. The boats were necessarily light, and an immersioa sufficient to afford the screw a smooth action was not obtained ; but when the boats have their crews with their spare fuel &c., on board, they could be worked at a pressure of 40Ibs. to the square inch with very little vibra tion. The engines are most compactly fitted, and the ease and simplicity of the machinery by which a back turn was obtained in a moment elicited the appro bation of the officers of the Board. Lord Auckland and Capt. Milne were in one of the boats, and Captains Eden and Hamilton in the other. The whole Board of Admiralty have taken great interest in the fitting of these boats, as inde e d t h ey have in fitting out the ex pedition. Sir James Ross, we believe, has had a carte blanche to do anythi ng w h ich might in his opinion be conducive to the success of his mission, and to the com fort and convenience of those who have volunteered for the perilous enterprise. It should be understood with reference to the ab o v e t r i a l s, that the experiment in this instance is no test of th e speed to be attained by such a power with a high-pressure locomotive boiler, inasmuch as the boats are necessarily constructed to fit the Enter• prise and Investigator, whereas, if it were a mere ques tion of speed, the same machinery, fitted to a boat of different form—that is, of a much greater length, with a fine entrance and a fine run, would produce a vastly superior result. Rear-Admiral Dundas and Mr. Ward have had the new Holyhead steam-packet Banshee, Master-Com mander Smithett, attending on them during their official visit to Cork. PORTSMOUTH, MONDAY.—The flag, white at the misen, of Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Collier, C.B. and K.H., was hoisted at nine A.M. to-day on board the Hastings, 72, Captain J. W. Morgan. It was shortly afterwards transferred, for the purpose of saluting, to the Belle rophon, 78, Captain R. L. Baynes, C. 8., which ship saluted the flag of Admiral Sir C. Ogle with 17 guns, and was answered by the Victory with 13. The flag was then re-hoisted by the Hastings. The Sharpshooter, new iron steam-vessel, Lieut. J. C. Bailey commanding, was towed by the Echo alongside the dockyard to-day, to have her machinery repaired. The Howe, 120, Captain Sir James Stirling, Knight, was not prepared for coming into the harbour to-day, neither guns nor powder being out. It is rather doubt ful, even had she been prepared, if she could have got in to-day, the strong E.S.E. wind having kept the tide back. She will be brought in to-morrow. The Plumper, new screw schooner, was undocked to day. She is quite ready to proceed to Woolwich, but must wait for a change of wind, unless a chance should occur of a steamer to tow. The Arrogant, new screw frigate, was taken into th• basin to-day, on the removal of the Royal yacht, to com plete her fitting. The Bellerophon, 78, Captain Baynes, has commenced her refit. Wind, E.S.E.; strong breezes and fine weather. Her Majesty's steamer Inflexible is now at Auckland, New Zealand, and will sail on the 3d of this month with the Governor and General to visit all the settle ments, and will proceed round the Middle Island, as well as the Chatham and Auckland groups, when she will return to Auckland for a supply of coal, and then go to Sydney, on her way to Bombay to be docked. All letters for that ship shuuld, therefore, be addressed to India. PLYMOUTH, APRIL 29.—0 n Thursday, the 27th, the barque Forfarshire, Captain Tudor, sailed for Adelaide, having on board the Governor of South Australia, Sir Henry E. Fox Young, and lady. The Forfarshire also takes out 202 i statute adult emigrants, viz., 1l 8i chiefly aDagewn t oo fo j wi G c o n v , e za rn A m y en l t ._ em T ig h r e a E ti aornl h of ere. from the m i d l and and eastern counties, and 84 from evon and Cor nwa ll , selected by Mr. Wilcocks, the at Auckland, G.C.8., First Lord o f t h e Admiralty, and Captain Alexander Milne, on e o f t h e Lords of the Admiralty, arrived Woolwich dockyard by water at four o'clock, P.M., and were received by Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer, K.C.B. and K.C.11., Captain Sir James Clarke Rosa, Commander of the Enterprise ; Captain Bird, Com mander of the Investigator ; Captain J o h nson, Li eutenant Fowler, Lieut. Robertson, Mr. Dyer, Mr. Lang, master shipwright; Mr. Jenkins, storekeeper; Mr. Atherton,chief engineer; and Mr. Laen, acting master attendant. Their Lordships visited the Fisgard, formerly 42. gun igate, and now carrying the broad pendant of Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer, and mounting 28 32-pounder guns for the exercise of the gun-boat men and the riggers of the dockyard battalion. From the Fisgard their Lordships proceeded on board the Investigator, one of the vessels fitting out for the Arctic expedition, which is expected to leave Woolwich about the 10th of the present month, to proceed in search of Captain Sir John Franklin and the officers and crews of the Erebus and Terror. Their Lordships, on landing, went on board the Enterprise, the other vessel of the new Arctic Expedition, and remained some time on board with Captain Sir James Clarke Ross examining minutely the preparations for the North Polar regions. On leav ing the Enterprise, their Lordships went on board the Caradoc, Holyhead mail steam-packet, now ready for sea, and examined her engines and the whole of her cabins, the chief cabin being elegantly fitted with bird's eye maple panels in mahogany frames, with other fit tings in excellent keeping for the comfort of passengers in the mail steam-packets. Their Lordships also visited the Niger, now taken into dock to have copper put upon her bottom. The Ariel, the Trident, and the Rifleman steam-vessels were examined in the basin, and their Lordships went on board the Rifleman, now fitted with the engines of the Teazer, and, having a traversing platform constructing on deck, which will be mounted with alO inch gun of 84 cwt. Their Lordships left Woolwich at half-past six o'clock P.M. for town. The whole of the dockyard battalion assembled this evening for drill, being the first day of drill for the pre sent season. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert walked out yesterday morning in the pleasure grounds of Osborne. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, went to the beach yesterday, and took walking and pony exercise. Her Royal Highness the Princess Helena was taken an airing. The Court will, it is expected, leave Osborne this (Tues day) afternoon for Buckingham Palace. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge visited her Majesty the Queen Dowager and their Serene Highnesses the Duke Bernard and the Duchess Ida of Saxe Weimar, yesterday, at Marlborough House. The Right Hon. R. Vernon Smith had an interview with Lord John Russell yesterday, at his official resi dence in Downing -street. Major-General D'Aiguilar had an interview with Earl Grey yesterday, at the Colonial -office. The Duke of Cleveland had an interview with Sir G. Grey yesterday. Lord Ashley and Mr. D. W. Harvey had also interviews yesterday with the Right Hon. Baronet, at the Home-office. Mr. Borthwick, Agent for the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, and Sir Alexander Crichton, had an inter view with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street. Colonel Anson had also an interview yesterday with the Right Hon. Baronet. Dispatches were received yesterday at [the Colonial office, from the Governors of Hong-Kong, Ceylon, New South Wales, South Australia, West Australia, and the Mauritius. Dispatches were sent off last evening frcm the Colonial-office for the Governors of the Cape of Good Hope, New South Wales, and the West India Colonies. ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.—We observe that the re nowned Robert Houdin, from the Palais Royal, Paris, commences his soiries fantastiques at the St. James's Theatre, this evening. The fame and reputation of M. Houdin has preceded him, and as the inventor of most of the tricks and scientific experiments which have already delighted many an audience, the original cannot fail to be more attractive than the copy. M. Houdin will con tinue his entertainment every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, for a limited number of representations. DEATH OF MAJOR-GENERAL DALYELL.—We have to record the demise of Major-General Robert Dalyell, who expired on the 24th ult. at Edinburgh, at an advanced age. He was son of the late Sir Robert Dalyell, of Binna. In 1798 he entered the army as Ensign, was promoted to a Lieutenancy in 1808, a Captaincy in 1804, a Majority in 1814, a Lieut.-Colonelcy in 1822, and a Colonelcy in 1837. He received the rank of General on the occasion of the last brevet in honour of the Prince of Wales. BIRTHDAY OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.—Yes terday (Monday) was the birthday of the Duke of Wellington, on which day his Grace completed his 79th year. A numerous party of this illustrious nobleman's tradesmen and their friends assembled to do honour to the occasion, at the Albion, Alderagate-street, where a very elegant entertainment was provided. Mr. Sheriff Cubitt, M.P.. in the chair. SPIRITS MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED KING- Do3L — The total qu antity of spi r it s manu f acture d i n England, in the year ending Jan. 5, 1848, was 5,356,794 gallons; in Ireland, 5,737,687; and in Scotland, 8,542,219. The total amount of duty paid on proof spirits released for consumption, within the same period in England, was 3,293,5691. 12s. 6d.; in Scotland, 1,135,428/, 19s. Bd.; and in Ireland, 804,984/. Bs. The quantity of proof spirits imported into England from Ireland, in the year 1848, was 1,062,450 gallons, and the amount of duty paid, 420,042/. 18s. 4d. Within the same period 92,488 gallons, upon which 16,9561. 2s. Bd. was received in duty, were imported into Ireland from Scotland. ACCIDENT TO THE BENARES STEAMER, OFF CALCUTTA.—LOSS OF FIFTEEN LIVES.—A supplement to the Overland Bombay Courier of the Ist of April, contains an account of an accident by fire to the Be• nares, steamer, off Calcutta. Fifteen persons, trying to save themeelves, wore drowned. The names of the parties who perished were—Mr. Hartley, Miss Nash, the wife of a soldier, name unknown; Mr. Houlton, chief officer; Captain Whisker, Captain Sneyd, Mr. Trieplimd, Mr. Grocer, Mr. Baker, a jockey, and five servants. Several syces are missing. When the fire reached the engine-room it was extinguished. ....... by the ! hoo it thstf eil of at by the [sane, wa 9 pa pers ior of I from ecome lc in a an in' ee, " 11 0 •fectly to be *ti e ( a't , t '; f I t r y ae ra y e tb' re°'