The Sun. — London, England, 1848-06-27 00:00:00

RAILWAY COMMITTEES. (YESTERDAY.) HOUSE OF LORDS. GROUP, No. 2.— MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND LINCOLNSHIRE (Station Approach at Manchester). — Preamble proved, clauses agreed to, snd Bill ordered to be reported. MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND LINCOLNSHIRE (Cross ing Sheffield-street, Manchester).—Preamble proved, cla uses agreed to, and Bill ordered to be reported. LEEDS CENTRAL STATION.—Case opened, and evi dence taken in its favour. HOUSE OF COMMONS. GROUP S -TAW VALE RAILWAY AND Dock, Case closed, but decision postponed. LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN RAILWAY (Exeter and Crediton, Taw Vale Railway and Dock, and Bod min and Wadebridge Railway Companies' Arrange ments).—Case closed, but decision postponed. EXETER AND COWLEY- BRIDGE JUNCTION.—Case closed, but decision postponed. ELECTION COMMITTEES. SLIGO. The case for the sitting Member having been brought to a close at a late hour on Saturday, the Committee met yesterday, at twelve o'clock, pursuant to arrange ment, to consider their decision, and, after deliberating for upwards of three hours, they came to the following resolutions:— " That the last election for the borough of Sligo was a void election. " That Charles Towneley, Esq., was not duly elected to serve in the present Parliament, as a burgess for the borough of Sligo. " That the said Charles Towneley, Esq., was by his agents guilty of treating." I'.his closed the labour of the Committee. DUBLIN. The scrutiny into the validity of Mr. Reynolds' majority was resumed yesterday, and in the course of the day the petitioners succeeded in striking off four votes. LOUVAINE A LA SAMBRE RAILWAY. A meeting of the shareholders in this undertaking was held yesterday afternoon at the Queen's Hotel, St. Martin's-le-Grand, for the purpose of taking into con sideration the affairs of the company preparatory to the general meeting to be holden at Brussels, in compliance with the statutes; Mr. Barnes i❑ the chair. The report stated tbut the call which was made payable on the Ist of May last, had turned out to be a complete failure, the directors only having received upon it about 1,0001. It also stated that the decree of the Belgian Government had appeared allowing the company until the month of May, 1857, for the execu tion of the main trunk line. After considerable discussion, in the course of which it appeared that 21,0001. had been already expended, .and that the directors had no money in hand, and were unable, therefore, to proceed with the works, it was ultimately agreed that the meeting should be adjourned until that day three months, the directors promising . in the meantime not to be parties to the forfeiture of the unpaid-up shares. A vote of thanks was then passed to the Chairman, and the meeting adjourned. BANK OF AUSTRALASIA. The fourteenth annual general meeting of the proprie tors of this bank took place yesterday, at the offices of the corporation, in Austin-friars, for the purpose of receiv. ing the annual report of the directors, and for the elec tion of three directors, in the room of those who went out by rotation. OLIVER. FARRER, Esq., took the chair at one o'clock, and called upon the Secretary to read the report. The Secretary then read the following report:. In submitting this their fourteenth report to the proprietors, the directors proceed to notice the transac tions of the past year of account, ending the 11 th of October last, and such other matters of interest as are connected therewith. The statements (made up to the, abo:e-mentioned period) from the various brenehee in , i.:e colonies, exh i bi t , upon the whole, a satis factory resua, particularly at Hobart Town, Melbourne, Adelaide, and viewed distinct from the old accounts, may be considered as realising the expectations entertained by the ditectors. The proprietors, will be pleased to learn, that no material loss has been incurred by bills remitted from the colonies on houses that have stopped payment, or on those held in the London-office as security for loans. The directors have to congratulate the proprietors upon the successful issue of the appeal . in the case against the Bank of Australia. The Privy Council has decided every point in favour of the Bank of Australasia, directing the costs of the action at Sydney to be paid by the defendants, together with in terest upon the original debt. The directors have transmitted the order in Council to Sydney, with in structions to proceed at once to recover payment of the debt; and they will, as soon as possible, place themselves in a position to follow such a course, as circumstances may render necessary, with regard to the shareholders in this country. The labour question, on which the in terests of the colonists and of the hank so ma terially depend, appears at last to have excited the ac tive attention, not only of the Government,but also of the public generally. Emigration from this country has been resumed ; and the directors have substantial grounds for stating, that a further extension is in progress. If labour be adequately supplied, a great improvement in the value of all Australian property must follow, but, up to the latest adrices, the want of hands was severely felt, particularly in the older settlements, and formed a topic of loud and general complaint. Whatever, therefore, may be the well grounded hope for the future, the period embraced in the present report shows no amelioration in this re spect. The continued depreciation in the price of wool, the great staple of the Australian colonies, at the same time, operates powerfully to keep them in the state of depression from which they have so long suffered. And, under the joint influence of these unfavourable circumstances, the value of land and stock, and all depending interests, remains nearly in the same uncertain position as heretofore. The effect of this state of things has been to cause a serious falling off in the estimated value of the properties held in security for old debts, as well as to affect the position of many of the old debtors to the bank, and to lead to the apprehen sion of a considerable loss beyond that already cal culated upon. The directors would have been well pleased, had they been able to arrive at any estimate satisfactory to their own minds, or which they could feel justified in laying before the proprietors, as to the extent of such further loss on the old accounts, but this has been found impracticable, in consequence of the superinten dent, Mr. Hart, and Mr. Atherton, taking such widely different views on the subject, that the joint report which they had been directed to furnish, cannot now be looked for. Mr. Hart is of opinion, that by follow ing a course of gradual liquidation, the properties may in most instances be made to realise the amount which they represent on the bank's books, without leaving any serious deficiency. Mr. Atherton, on the other hand, apparently basing his calculations on the present depreciated value of property, estimates that the loss on winding up these several concerns will be v er y considerable. I t must, however be borne in mind, that since M r . A therton ' s arrival in the colony, his opportunities o f personally conferring with Mr. ilart bed been few, o w i ng to much of the short time he had been there, having b een occupied in it' • ing h all i t i he ch b ra nches of the bank, i ncluding the remote‘slt of Adelaide, in South Austr a li a: the directors re,rhaow eve r, induced to hope, that after he has had an oppor tunity- of duly weighing the rea sons assigned for his calculations by Mr. Hart, who has had much local e xperience, he may feel himself ju st ifi ed in forminga m ore favourable opinion of the value of those securities, than he entertained when be addressed the Court. With such conflicting opinions before the directors it is obvious that some further time must be permitted to elapse, and greater progress made in winding up the old accounts, before they can hope to be a b le to submit any estimate of losses that can be relied upon ; and in the prudence of this course, they look confidently for the support of the proprietors. Were sales of properties held by the bank to be forced, there can be no doubt that a very serious sacrifice must lee submitted to, in the present state of the colonies ; a course which the directors are not prepared to sanction, though they have given instructions, that no favourable opportunity of effecting realisations shall be neglected. The Secretary also read the following abstract which exhibited the operations of the year of account em braced in the report : Nett Profits in the Colonies and in London, fur the year ending 11th of October, 1847, after deducting all expenses of management ... Deduct deficiency on bad debt fund, at 12th October,lB46, as shown ... £50,369 17 10 . . in last report ... ....£3,124 13 0 Law expenses in the suit against the Bank of Australia 1,261 5 1 Irrecoverable debts writ•• ten off this year, in LondonandthoColonies 7,063 10 5 16,451 8 6 --- Balance on bad debt fund not yet ap propriated ... £33,315 9 4 The directors cannot encourage the expectation, that this sum will suffice to provide for the whole losses that may hereafter arise on secured accounts and other de pendencies, which cannot at present be realised, or wound up ; neither, as already explained, are they in a position to form any correct estimate of the amount by which the fund may be exceeded by such losses, as that must depend on the future welfare of the colonies. They beg, however, to remind the proprietors, that the arrears of interest due by the Bank o f Australia upon their debt, and not yet introduced into the accounts, as well as the costs of the action to be re covered at Sydney, will form a considerable augmenta tion to that fund. The assets and liabilities of the bank at the balance of October, 1847, stood as follows: ASSETS. Government stock, specie, and cash... .£326,729 16 1 Bank premises ... ... ••• ..• 23,516 311 Bills receivable, and other securities ,.. 1,472,984 4 8 LIABILITIES. Capital ... X 900,000 0 0 Circulation ... ... 106,931 0 0 Bills payable, and other liabilities ... 226,519 7 9 Deposits ... 536,325 010 Suspense interest ac count ... Bad debt fund ••• 19,536 6 9 ••• 33,915 9 4 X 1,823,230 8 --- --- .£ The CLu 1,823,230 4 8 tax then addressed the m eeting at SOlllO FRANCE. [The following appeared in our Third Edition of last night]:— STORMING OF THE CLOS ST. LAZARE, THE STRONGHOLD OF THE INSUR GENTS. The Clos St. Lazare, the stronghold of the insur gents in the neighbourhood of the Bastile, which had resisted for several hours the attempts of General LAMORICIERE on Saturday, and which prevented the troops from advancing into the Faubourg St. Antoine, was stormed on Sunday, at four o'clock. This was announced in a letter from M. ARMAND MARRAST, Mayor of Paris, to the Pre sident of the Assembly. All the strongholds of the insurgents, except the Bth mairie, are now in possession of the troops, but the carnage has been terrific. Never has anything like it been seen in Paris. ITALY. The Gazette of Milan, of the 18th, says that it is reported that DURAND°, having heard that the capi tulation of Vicenza was not executed by the Aus trians, had halted at the sound of the cannonade. Learning that the Duke of SA.VOT, at the head of 14,000 men, had crossed the bridge at Ronco, General DUXANDO had retraced his steps, and, in concert with the DUKE and General PEPE, who brought from 4,000 to 5,000 men, he had beaten the Austrians, who in this affair had 8,000 men put to hors de combat. One of the Archdukes was reported to have been killed. The Risorgi mcn to says, that private i n di v id ua l s at Venice have opened lists for receiving the signatures of such citizens as desire to demand formally from the French Government the assistance of a French t o e nly to the Venetian ar my towards gaining the indep en d ence o f I ta l y. Neontiectm. n Government,eofthisstep had bu b t ee l n ikevvi given,,se to h not Govern ment of Lombardy. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, June 26. (Before Mr. Justice WIGHTMAN.) THE DUKE OF BRUNSWICK V. BAKER. This was an action brought by the Duke of Brunswick against Mr. Baker, an officer in the service of Mr. Slo man,; the sheriffs' officer, to recover compensation in damages for certain slanderous expressions used towards him by the defendant. It appeared that the defendant, after great difficulty, obtained access to the dwelling of the Duke, Bruns wick House, New-road, for the purpose of levying an execution. A fracas ensued between him and the domestics, in the course of which he said the Duke and the whole of them were a nest of After hearing the evidence the jury gave the plaintiff a verdict of 40s. COURT OF EXCHEQUER, June 26. (Sittings in Banco.) These sitting were resumed to-day, after an interval of two days devoted to cases in error from the Queen's Bench. The Court was occupied all e.ay with two cases from the Northern Circuit, which did not involve any points of general interest. (Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Westminster, before the LORD CHIEF BARON and a Common Jury.) M`GREGOR V. KEILEY. This was an action by the plaintiff, an attorney, to re cover the sum of 3251. 17s. 4d. from the defendant, in his character of a member of the managing committee of the Great Western and Midland Junction Railway Company. The defendant denied his liability, that he paid the plaintiff all his claim upon him, and that there had been legal delivery of the plaintiff's bill of costs. Mr. Martin, with whom was Mr. Willes, conducted the case for the plaintiff; and Mr. W. H. Watson and Mr. Crompton appeared for the defendant. Mr. MARTIN said, that the plaintiff in this case was an attorney in Suffolk-street, and the defendant was a gentleman of considerable property, residing in Cleve land-row, St. James's ; and the present action was one of some novelty, even in the history of railways, as the jury would discover as he proceeded with his outline of the facts. The plaintiff sought to recover the sum of 325/. 17s. 4d., the amount of his bill of costs, for having, at the instance of the managing committee—although he was not the solicitor to the company—sued several members of the provisional committee of the same com pany for the recovery of the claims of some of the creditors of the concern. The jury would find that after the panic which had smitten all railway affairs in the mouth of October, in the celebrated railway-projection year, 1845, this, like a host of other schemes, became the subject of annihilation, but that, like many others, the matter was carried on until the plans and so forth had been deposited, and then it was discovered that there had been a debt incurred of about 13,0001. or 15,0001. The public did not pay the deposits, but the creditors of the company demanded the liquidation of their claims. Meet ings were thereupon held by the managing committee, and a resolution was passed to the effect that each mem ber of the managing committee should contribute the sum of 1001., and each member of the provisional com mittee should pay 501. for the purpose of raising a fund wherewith to pay the creditors of the concern. The defendant (as was understood) amongst several others faithfully carried out the resolution by duly obeying its command; but there were many others who failed in complying with the request. and, with a view to enforc ing payment from them, it was determined by the ma naging committee that attorneys who were not connected with the company should be employed to bring actions against those individuals for the different persons to whom the company was indebted. The plaintiff was one of the gentlemen who had been so employed; and it was for the balance of his claim against the company, upon his bill of costs, that the present action had been brought. He should call the gentleman who had acted as secretary to the company, as well as one of the gen tlemen who was one of the solicitors to it; both of whom would state that not only had the defendant been a member of the managing committee, but one of the most active. Nicholas John Kemp said, that in the year 1845 he had acted as the secretary to this railway company. In October in that year there was a meeting of the pro motors of that company. The defendant was one of those gentlemen. There was a committee of management ap pointed in November, and the defendant was one who was present and was appointed on that committee. That body held meetings from time to time in 1845 and 1846 at Palace-chambers, 88, S. James'-street, where the company had their offices. The defendant attended those meetings. The company employed persons to advertise it. Witness employed Wreford and Lloyd to do that. Had heard the claim of Mr. Sheridan, a surveyor, discussed at meetings of the com mittee of management. There was a meeting of the committee at Birmingham, at which the defendant was present. There were several meet ings of the committee in London in the month of De cember, 1845. One on the 18th of that month was held, but the defendant was not present. The defendant was present at a meeting held on the 14th of January, 1846, and also at one on the 3d of that month. The call of 501. from each provisional committeeman was made on the 18th of December, but the defendant was not present then. The subject, however, was spoken of on the 11. th of January, and the defendant acted as chairmant on the occasion. A resolution was then passed Ohnatththee 2 s 3 e d er o e f tary should write to all of those of the visional core provisional committee who had not paid the 501. call into leers, requiring that they should do so at once. October there was a meeting of the pro- It was also resolved committee, at which a committee of manage ment was appointed,t and engineer shovuelid of which the defendant was one. at that meeting that the solicitors the members of the enter into a deed of indemnity to provisional committee for all costs, expenses and charg es resolved that f our of On the 28th of October it was the committee of management should form a quorum for afterwards of business. There were meetings at which the claims efend e a of these was on upon the company were discussedd the 14th of January, when tho arranged present. of their claims. At some of the meetings it was that some of the creditors should lend their names to the company for the purpose of actions being brought against the members of the provisional committee who had not paid Thistheir contributions,was witwith th the v e f w o r otfh compelling m recovery pellng those provisional committeemen to pay their contribution of 50/. each. The defendant on several occasions brought letters of application to him for the payment of clai ms upon the company, and said that it was most un fair that he should be called upon individually s o long as there were other members of the committee who had not paid their contributions. One of these letters was an application on behalf of Wreford and Lloyd, dated 20th January, 1847," demanding the payment of 1,144/. 9s. 2d. The plaintiff was one of the attorneys who had been employed to sue committee men 'for creditors at the instance of the managing committe were made acquainted with their progress. Of these actions some had been brought by the plaintiff. The defendant was present on those occasions. There was a meeting in April (I Ith,) at which the defendant was also present, when a letter was read from one of the provisional committee on the subject of the threat of proceedings to enforce the payment of the 501. contribu tion. On the Bth of August, 1846, the defendant was at a meeting at which the minutes of the four previous meetings were confirmed, and at that meeting a resolution was passed to the effect that an acceptance for 50/. on----, should be paid to the present plaintiff ()u account of his bill of costs. That acceptance was duly honoured. A check for 501 was at this meeting also given to the plaintiff on account of his costs. Cross-examined.—l was appointed on the 23d of Oc tober, and the solicitors were appointed at the same time. The plaintiff is an attorney in London. The managing committee was appointed out of the provi sional committee. There was an allotment, but not any more than 200 L was received at the rate of ss. per share; although, altogether, between 5,000/. and 6,0001. were received. The capital was to be 1,250,000/. The plans, &c., were deposited, but after that nothing was done, except the meetings to wind up the concern. But in THE SUN, LONDON,_ .T_UESRAY EVENING, JUNE 27, 1818. length upon the present and past position of the bank, as well as its future prospects, and after some con siderable discussion the report was agreed to. The directors that went out by rotation were then re elected, and the meeting separated. February or March, 1846, there was an attempt to carry out a portion of the line. I cannot say that I have made my fortune out of this company, although I should like to have done so. Re-examined.—There were meetings held, one for the purpose of getting in the money, if they could, and pay ing the debts. Beale—l am an attorney in Gray's-inn, and was one of the attorneys to this company. The defendant was one of the managing committee from the early com mencement of the affair. In the month of November, 1845, the liabilities of the company were about 15,0001. The managing committee passed a resolution calling on the managing committee to contribute 1001. each, and the provisional committee 50/. each, towards the liquida tion of the claims upon the company. This witness also proved that he was directed by the managing committee to employ the plaintiff to sue the def au l ting mem b ers of the provisional committee for the recovery of their con tributions of 501. each. Cress-examined — I was introduced into the concern, but was not one of the promoters, by Mr. Burdett, a gentleman in the country. Mr. WATSON submitted, on behalf of the defendant, that the bill of costs had not been delivered to the de fendant within the meaning and intent of the Act of Parliament. By the 6th and 7th of Victoria, chap. 73, sec. 37, /proof must be given in order to maintain an action for any costs or expenses that the bill of such costs or expenses had been delivered to the party who was chargeable therewith, or that it had been sent by post, or left at his place of residence, or ordinary place of business, and signed by the attorney. Now, the party chargeable must be stated. But what was the fact ? Here the plaintiff, who now, by his declaration, said that the defendant was t h e person chargeable, had sent his bill to the defendant's home, addressed to the " Committee o f th e Mi dland Grand Junction Railway Company." It was quite clear that was not the proper address of the defendant, to whom, if he was to be made chargeable, the account ought to have been addressed. Then, there were two committees, the committee of manage ment and the provisional committee. It did not appear in which capacity, according to the address of Bill, it was sought to make the defendant chargeable, whether as a member of the one or the other of those Committees. The truth was, that the charges were here made against a certain individual who was a member of a certain committee, which committee had given in structions for certain actions to be brought against some of their own body, or against the members of another committee of the same company. Mr. Crompton followed on the same side. The LORD CHIEF BARON said he would, if the Learned Counsel wished it, reserve the points. Mr. MARTIN then said he should apply to amend. The LORD CHIEF BARON thought the plaintiff was entitled to do that. The plaintiff could, and ought to amend. The verdict would therefore be taken for the sum claimed, subject to the taxation of the Master. Verdict for the plaintiff—damages 325/. 17s. 4d., sub ject to the taxation of the Master. (Before a Special Jury.) SMITH V. THE NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY. This was an action really for the assessment of the damages sustained by the plaintiff, the administratrix of her late husband, Henry Smith, and her infant child, by means of the death of the said H. Smith, which was caused by the negligence of ono of the servants of the North-Western Railway Company. The defendants plead that they were not guilty. The Attorney-General, Mr. W. H. Watson, and Mr. Cowling conducted the case for the plaintiffs; and Sir F. Kelly and Mr. Bramwell appeared for the defend ants. The action was brought for compensation i❑ con sequence of the pecuniary loss sustained by the plaintiffs by the death of Mr. Smith, by means of the negligence of the servants of the defendants. Mr. Smith was, on the sth of June, in the last year, a pas senger in a second class carriage bound for Bir mingham. On the arrival of the train near Wolverton, the man who had the care of the " points" placed them so as to cause the train to run on to a" siding," where a collision occurred, the result of which was, that Mr. Smith and six others received such injuries as to cause death. Mr. Smith, at the period of the accident, was in the enjoyment of art income amounting to between 1,300/. and 1,4001. a year, the whole of which bad been thus lost to his widow and infant child. The present action was now, therefore, brought for compensation. The damages were laid at 10,0001. The jury eventually gave a verdict for the plaintiffs— damages 2,000/., of which they apportioned 8001. to the widow, and 1,200/. to the infant. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. BOW-STREET. Charles Thorpe, clerk in the Chancery-office, was charged with assaulting police-constable E 57 in the execution of his duty. The constable said that he was clearing a mob caused by a drunken woman in New Oxford -street, when the defendant came upon him suddenly, and pushed or struck him in the breast, alleging that he had shamefully ill used a boy in the street, which he denied. The boy, who seemed about twelve years old, and was dreadfully cut and bruised in the face and arm, was here shown to the Magistrate. The defendant expressed his regret that ho had offered any ♦iolence to the policeman, but he was unable to re strain himself after what he saw. The child was stand ing quietly by the side of the pavement, doing nothing and causing no obstruction, when the policeman, to his surprise and disgust, ran up and kicked the boy in so cowardly and ferocious a manner that he was thrown upon the pavement with great violence, and almost covered with blood from the injuries he had sustained. He had no other intention at the time than to ascertain the name and number of the policeman, for the informa tion of the boy's parents. He was sorry for what had happened, although he wished the conduct of the police man to be represented to the Court. Several very respectable persons, by-passers at the moment, corroborated the defendant's statement as to the ill treatment of the child, and proved that the police man was pushed and not struck. Mr. HALL was bound, from the evidence of the wit nesses, to believe that the policeman's conduct to the child was most abominable. He could not, for this reason, dismiss from his mind the impression that the defendant might have felt greatly provoked to resent such conduct on the part of the officer; or else he should certainly have committed him to prison w ithout the option of paying a tine. Still, his interference in the way admitted by himself and his witnesses, was not jus tifiable and must not pass unnoticed. His Worship then fined the defendant 11. The Policeman declared that the child fell by acci dent, and that he did not kick him. Constable 24 E confirmed this. Mr. HALL stilt believed what had been represented by all the witnesses, and asked the constable, if he was prepared to make the pour boy any compensation for the injuries he had evidently suffered from his violence? The Constable replied, that he would gfve tho boy's mother (who was in Court) is. ! His Wousufp finally recommended him to give 75.; telling him that if such conduct was repeated he would be punished in another way. The Constable, after offering 55., at length paid the 7s. as suggested. MARLBOROUGH-STREET. _ _ James Simmons, a master tailor; was brought before Mr. Hardwick, charged with cutting flowers in Kensing ton-gardens. Thomas Clayton, No. 5 park-keeper, said on Sunday morning, about half-past seven o'clock, he was walking in Kensington-gardens, when he saw the prisoner in the act of cutting the flowers. He went up to him, and found that defendant had cut a large bunch of sweet william. Notices were placed up every twenty yards, requesting the public not to touch the flowers, and if the defendant had taken the trouble to have read them he would have known that he was acting wrong. In reply to the charge defendant said when ho went into the gardens he had not the least intention of plucking the flowers, but unfortunately, at the impulse of the moment, he so far forgot himself as to commit the act described by last witness. He was now very sorry for what ho had done, and deeply felt his degraded position. Mr. HARDWICK said it was ♦ery singular that persons could not walk in the gardens and enjoy the beauty of the flowers without destroying them. If every one was allowed to cut such flowers as pleased his fancy there would soon be none for the public to admire. As a warning for the future he (Mr. Hardwick) fined him ss. over and above the value of the flowers. The money was immediately paid. WESTMINSTER. Eugene Vernach, a Frenchman with a moustache, de scribed as a hatter, carrying on business in Oakley street, Lambeth, Thomas Slater, of the same place, pianoforte-maker, and Edward Slater, a printer, all of whom were well dressed, were charged with committing a gross outrage in Cremorne-gardens. Evidence having been committed to show that they had committed assaults upon various persons of a most violent and outrageous character, having struck right and left at the company with their sticks, and made use of the most disgraceful language, Mr. BRODERIP said he considered the case of too serious a nature for him to deal with summarily, and ordered defendants to find bail to answer the complaint at the sessions. Mr. Ballantine appeared on behalf of Colonel Blayre, against whom a charge had been made by Barbe Sophia Mertz, a young Frenchwoman, of not supporting her il legitimate child, of which he was the father. Mr. Ballantine intimated that if there was a child there would be no objection on the part of his client to make t s h u eT ffi rThe oieef t n; h et e onpmor u rop s o u il naf a id l tnhe p aean r dt o t : so ui of its hh o t so n w,a was ts u l t srael a ga t elr xl eypresentthe se t e h i .t e e r dT e , h w e a c s h n i not was said to . b e in France; but there was no l ega l p roo f said it would cost her 8/. to go for the child. Mr. BRoDErtir said it would be impossible for him to make an order upon the gallant Colonel, unless sufficient proof should be given that the child was in existence. A S 1V - TTEMPTED _ UICIDE AT ATRLOO-BRIDGE. On Saturday morning another attempt was made to commit suicide at this bridge. At about 11 o'clock a young woman, fashionably dressed, mounted the stone spat in the recess the nearest to the foot toll on the Middlesex side, and, though several persons saw her and suspected her in tention, she had sufficient time to throw off her bonnet and shawl and leap into the river. In her descent she struck the abutment with great force, and then rebound ing into the water, must have perished, if she had not been seen by Stevens, a waterman, the only one near, who rowed to the spot and rescued her. She was taken in an insensible state to the King's Collego Hospital, where the house-surgeon discovered that her hip was dislocated. The operation of setting the joint was per formed by the aid of chloroform; and, though the inju ries are severe, hopes are entertained of her recovery. She gave her name Clara Villiers, and her residence, Cornwall-road, Lambeth. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. ROUSE OF LORDS, June 26. Their Lordships assembled at Five o'clock. Earl FITZHARDINGE presented a petition from Bristol in favour of the Health of Towns Bill. The Earl of EGLINTON presented a petition from Ayr in favour of alteration in the Scotch law of entail; also several petitions against the Scottish Registration Bill. Earl FITZ WILLIAM presented a petition from Sin gapore, complaining of the local arrangements made by the Government of that colony. LORD G. BENTINCK'S CHARGES AGAINST THE COLONIAL. OFFICE. Earl GREY gave notice that he should to-morrow move for returns of certain dispatches from the Gover nors of the West India Colonies, and he should take the opportunity of alluding to what was reported to have occurred in another place on that subject. PETITIONS. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE presented a petition from the College of Surons, praying their Lordships to withhold their sanction from any measure establish. ing a college of general p ract i t i oners; a l so a petition from Lancashire praying for the establishment of a system of secular education. EVICTED DESTITUTE POOR (IRELAND) BILL. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE, on the order of the day for the third reading of the Evicted Destitute Poor (Ireland) Bill, moved that the alterations intro duced into the Bill by the Committee on Thursday night should be expunged, so as to leave the Bill in the same state as it would have b een l e f t if t h ose alterations had never been introduced. Lord MONTEAGLE supported the amendments, and contended that they would cause the relief to be more operative and efficient. The Earl of ST. GERMANS did not see the utility of the Bill. He objected both to the Bill in its original state, and also to the amendments. There was no pro vision in the Bill for giving notice of the number of persons to be evicted; and the seven days' notice of evic tion would only be calculated to excite angry feelings against the landlord, and give time forisome oppositiox:to be offered to the process when it was put in execution. It appeared to him that it was more desirable that the notice should be served on the relieving officer than the clerk of the board of guardians, because the former would be in the locality of the unfortunate persons to be turned out ; and he might be ordered by the Poor law Commissioners, upon forty-eight hours' notice being given to them, to repair to the spot and ascertain the number of persons likely to be rendered destitute by the execution of the process. He should,jherefore, move as an amendment, that the notice should be given to the relieving officer, instead of the clerk of the board of guardians, and that it should be forty-eight hours instead of seven days. The Duke of LEINSTER supported the amend ments. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE thought forty eight hours would be rather too short a notice; but if sufficient notice was given to allow of the persons to be evicted being provided for, he did not wish to adhere pertinaciously to his opinion as to the seven days. He had, therefore, no objection to consent to the period being forty-eight hours ; and he would a l so agree to the notice b e i ng g i ven t o th e relieving officer instead of the board of guardians. After a few words from Lord MONTEAGLE their Lordships divided, when the numbers were-- For the motion Against it Majority The Bill was then read a third time and passed. CERTIFICATES FOR KILLING HARES (SCOT LAND) BILL. The House went into Committee on this Bill. Clauses 1,2, and 3 were agreedfo.o Lord REDESDALE moved a clause to limit the authority from the owners or occupiers of land to kill hares to one person only. The Duke of RICHMOND opposed the clause. The House then divided, v. hen there appeared— For the clause 36 Against it 23 Majority —l3 The clause was then inserted. On clause 4 being proposed, The Earl of CARDIGAN moved an amendment, to prevent the occupier of land from laying snares or wires for the killing of hares. The Duke of RICHMOND opposed the amendment, on the ground that it would have the effect of preventing the small occupier from preserving his crop. For his part, he would give the farmer the power of killing pheasants and other game, which he thought would have the effect of preserving game more effectually than if a whole army of gamekeepers were employed.—(llear.) The Earl of YARBOROUGH and Earl GREY also op posed the amendment. The House then divided, when there appeared— For the amendment 2O Against it _ _ _ Majority The clause was then agreed to, as were those which followed. On the question that the preamble be agreed to, The Earl of MALMESBURY objected to certain words. A short conversation ensued, but a division not being insisted on, the preamble was agreed to, and the House resumed. and representing that if the policy of the present Go vernment in reference to that question were persevered in, it might lead to the annexation of Canada to the United States. Seeing the Under-Secretary of the Colonies in his place, he wished to ask whether such a memorial had been received? Mr. HAWES stated that the papers alluded to by the Hon. Member would be laid on the table to-morrow. ENCUMBERED ESTATES (IRELAND) BILL. Mr. BRIGHT said the Noble Lord at the head of the Government had stated last December that the Bill for promoting the sale of encumbered estates in Ireland was ready to be proceeded with, but up to the present time no communication had been made to the House with respect to it. It was a question of great importance, and should, if possible, be disposed of this session, and he wished, therefore, to know when the Bill would be brought forward ? Lord J. RUSSELL replied that the Bill would be proceeded with before the other Irish business. JAMAICA.—MR. HAWES' EXPLANATION. On the order of the day being read for proceeding with the adjourned debate, Mr. HAWES said he was anxious to make a statement in accordance with the pledge he made to the House on Friday night last, so as to enable the House to judge of the correctness or incorrectness of certain accusations made by the Noble Lord the Member for King's Lynn. /n the first place, he wished to put himself right with the House, and to state that if in the course of Friday evening he did use any expressions which were con sidered objectionable, he wished now to withdraw them. lie could not allow the statements of the Noble Lord and the imputations which he had cast both upon the department which he had the honour to serve, and upon his Noble Friend Lord Grey, to pass without the most direct and positive denial on his part. The Honourable Member then went into an explanation relative to the dis patches of Governor Light and Lord Harris, which the Noble Lord had alleged were suppressed, in order to show that the Government had no intention what ever to withhold the documents from the Committee. Tho dispatch was preparing for the House. On the 16th of June, Mr. Goulburn asked him in the House (he was quoting from the Times of the following morn ing), if he had yet received from Jamaica any account of the state and prospects of the island; to which he (Mr. Hawes) replied that he was sorry to say the Government had not yet received these papers, which were usually published in a blue book, and that the accounts he had received were only of a general character At a later period he put a similar question, to which he gave a similar reply, This was the explanation he had to give with respect to the first part of the charge, and he asked the lion. Gentleman and the House to put that generous interpretation upon it to which he believed his con duct in the matter entitled him. He now came to the matter which was entirely personal to himself, and though labouring under strong feelings in relation to the charges which had been made against him, yet, as his 'public character was entirely unsullied, he would not allow himself to be betrayed into the use of heated and intemperate language; he had so keen -'a sense of the impr o p r i e ty o f t h e a l tercat i ons wh i ch had recently taken place in that House, and of their effect elsewhere, that he should not use any expressions cal culated to give the slightest offence. Having read the charge made against him by the Noble Lord in the very words he used, the Hon. Gentleman proceeded to say that he declared at the time he did not recollect that any important dispatches had been received from the Governor of Jamaica, and in the Committee (a portion of the evidence he gave before, which he read), he stated in reply to the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Goulburn), that dispatches of an important character had been received from other colonies, bat that he could not find any thing which could bear that interpretation from Jamaica, adding, that whatever had arrived should he laid before the Committee. He asked, therefore, whether his conduct in the matter justified the accusa tion of the Noble Lord ? The dispatch alleged to have been withheld occupied a single page of the blue book, in which the Governor suggested a protective duty of 2d. upon foreign sugar as against colonial sugar— giving, in fact, an opinion in favour of protection. Now he confessed he did not attach that importance to the do cument which the Noble Lord did; but at the same time the Governor stated that the representatives of the colonial planters, with respect to the cost of the pro duction of sugar must be treated with great caution by the Noble Earl at the head of the Colonial Department. Taking, therefore, the view he took of that document, there could be no motive for withholding it. He would now come to the other horns of dilemma, the other dis patch which the Noble Lord had alluded to. That dispatch came first to the Colonial-office on the 27th of March. It went first to Mr. Cox, who was in that office, after wards to Mr. Elliott, then to himself, and then to Earl Grey, all of whom had made different statements upon them; and Earl Grey directed that they should be laid before the Committee ; but Mr. Cox had ne glected to do so. If the error had taken place on his (Mr. Hawes') part, he would be most ready to have borne all the blame.—(Hear, hear.) Now, having made this statement, he called upon the Noble Lord to state whether he meant to adhere to the charge he had made against him, because if the Noble Lord did adhere to that charge, he should ask the House to institute the most searching inquiry into the subject, as ho was determined either to be convicted of the charge imputed to him or stand fair before the House and the country upon the serious charge that had been thrown upon him by the Noble Lord.—(Hear, hear.) Lord G. BENTINCK was sure that every Member who had listened to the statements of the lion. Gentle man would be satisfied of the perfect correctness of these statements.—(Hear, hear.) But he thought that the Hon. Gentleman had not made out any case to show that the Colonial-office did not withhold the in formation from the Committee.—(Hear, hear.) He (Lord George Bentinck) had made two distinct charges, the one was that the Colonial-office had systematically kept back the information which Parliament in February ought to have been in possession of; and which the Com mittee, of which he was Chairman, ought to have been made acquainted with. He had made another charge against the Honourable Gentleman, which was, that in his evidence before the Committee on the sth of April he had displayed a very short memory until matters were recalled to his recollection. He confessed he was still lost in surprise that the lion. Gentleman should have given the answer he gave before the Committee after the statement he had made to-day ; because, though it was true that in the course of that evidence he said that he was not aware of any important dispatch that had been withheld from the Committee, yet the Right Hon. Gentleman, a Member of the Committee (Mr. Goulburn) went distinctly to the character of this very dispatch, which the Hon. Gentleman, in answer to his (Lord G. Bentinck's) last question, distinctly stated was not the character of the dispatch which was then preparing. But let there be no mistake, and whilst first he reminded the Home of the evidence before the Committee he should take leave to ask the attention of the House whilst he showed to them that there had been the greatest _ anxiety about the dispatch from Jamaica both before the sth of April and after the sth April. Repeated inquires were made relative to this information from Jamaica, but on every occasion the representative of the Government, were he the Right Hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Trade, in the absence of the Hon. Under-Secretary for the Colonies, or the Hon. Under-Secretary himself, distinctly denied that there was any information of this nature. Now, then, let them weigh well the spirit of the questions and the spirit of the answers given by the Hon. Gentleman opposite. The Hon. Gentleman was asked for a particular blue-book, and he replied, " You allude to the blue-book containing an annual account of the state of Jamaica, and the fact is, we have not received it." The Right Honourable Gen tleman who put the question was not satisfied with this answer, and he said—" Does not the Governor write dispatches on the subject of the state of the island, besides that one particular paper, in the course of the year?" The Under-Secretary of State answered, " Yes, certainly; but I am not aware of any dispatch from him of any importance, which had been withheld from the Committee." Well then, now they were to understand the lion. Gentleman to say that he had intended this dispatch to be laid before the Committee. Mr. lIAWES—It had been ordered to be laid before the Committee. Lord G. BENTINCK wished now to draw attention to the next answer, which was, " Wo have received from other colonies very considerable details as to the state of the colonies and the prospects of agriculture, but from Jamaica I can find nothing of the kind. Except until very recently, I think there has been no such general dispatch received. That dispatch is now pre paring for this Committee. I ought, however, to state that the Governor has been in the island a very short time." That next answer placed the matter beyond all doubt, for it represented the dispatch which had been received to be not of the nature of that one to which the Right Hon. Gentleman alluded, but still the Hon. Gentleman said it should be furnished to the Committee.—(Hear, hear.) Not of the nature to which the Right Hon. Gentleman alluded! Why, now it turned out to be exclusively of that nature, and of all the dispatches which had been laid before the House or the Committee, it was the most important that could have been laid before the Committee at that critical moment.—(Hear, hear.) Before that Committee the Under• Secretary for the Colonies (Mr. Hawes) stated that up to the sth of April no dispatch had been received with regard to the state of the island. The President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Labouchere) had also officially declared in the House of Commons that the Government had received no dispatches from the Governor of Jamaica explanatory of the political and social condition of the colony. On the Bth of February the Member for the University of Cambridge (Mr. Goulburn) inquired why Jamaica had been omitted in the statement of the affairs of the several West India colonies, which had been laid before the House; and also if the Government had any objection to lay the last dispatch upon the table of the House? In reply to that inquiry, the President of the Board of Trade stated that no dispatch had been received giving any account of the state of the island, but as soon as such a document was received it was the intention of the Secretary of State for the Colo nies to communicate it to the House without delay. —(Hear, hear.) Now he (Lord George Bentinck) was in a condition to show that a dispatch had been received at that time.—(Hear, hear.) On the 7th of February, which was the day previous to that to which ho had alluded, Earl Grey stated that out of the many documents which passed through his hands connected with his department there . . was one which very much struck his attention, from a number of planters in the western part of Jamaica, who had invested 142,000/. in their estates, which they had purchased since the Act of Emancipation. The speech of Earl Grey at that time concluded by saying that he knew of no place which appeared so va luable an investment for capital, or where a man was so likely to realise a fortune, as in Jamaica.—(llear, hear.) But the House should see what information that Noble Lord was in possession of at the time when he lamented the deplorable condition of the colony, arid instanced absenteeism as the real cause of that condition. The colonists had intimated to him that if the same state of things existed, the production of sugar could not be carried on for another year. This was a remarkable and an important document, yet it was altogether withheld from the Committee.—(Hear. hear.) But more, at the time the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Hume) stated, that the Colonial, office came only into possession of general information as to the condition of the colony, lie should read a dispatch to the House which was dated on the 24th of September, and reached the Colonial-office on the 22d October, three weeks before he (Lord G. Bentinek) moved for a return with respect to the island of Trinidad. He alluded to a dispatch from Governor Grey, and stated that he felt it his duty to state that the low price of sugar in London, without any corresponding reduction of duty, really threa tened to ruin many planters who were strug gling hard to keep their heads above water, and he beheld the germs of a movement towards supporting the party in the ensuing session who advocated the principle of protection. He said he should do his best to persuade them to a temperate course of action, but he could not deny that the low rate at NS hich cotton was imported, and the duty of 14s. on Muscovado sugar, together with other anomalies, tended much to aggravate discontent in the colony. This was not the only instance of concealment; he alluded to the case of the Trinidad papers, which were moved for on the 20th of November, and were not pro duced until the night on which the debate was concluded. Returning to the month of April, he would make it clear to the House that there was a guilty keeping back of this dispatch. The Committee closed its sitting on the sth of April, and then adjourned. They met again on Monday the Ist of May, and on the 2d of that month he summoned them to receive the draft of the report. On the 3d he circulated copies among the members of the Government. They met again on the 4th of May, at three o'clock. It was a meeting pro forma, to pre sent the report. There were but a few Members pre sent. The Right Hon. Gentleman then said he wished to know what impression the evidence had made upon the Committee, and that although the Government would not be bound by it, still that the opinion of the Committee would have great weight with them. On Thursday, the 4th, the Committee adjourned to the Tuesday following, that Government might have the opportunity of ascertaining what that opinion was. On the 4th he received manuscript dispatches and extracts from that of stipendiary Magistrate Sturt. Why, then, were those dispatches alludtd to by Go vernor Light kept back, and that of Lord Harris, not that of the sth May, but another of the 24th April, with held, which came to hand simultaneously with that of Mr. Sturt? That was dated (the 23d March. That dispatch showed the bankrupt state of the treasury of Trinidad, and contained other important information with regard to immigration and the loan. There were other dispatches kept back. The Committee got from the Foreign Office dispatches of the 11th May and of the 10th March, from Rio Janeiro. All these were laid before the Committee, by the Foreign Office, as soon as they were ireceived, and why had not the same thing been done by the Colonial Office—(Hear, from the Op position benches)—as late as the sth May? The blue book from Montserrat was of the sth April. Why was that withheld? That contained an account of the agri culture of the island, and details of the condition of several of the estates. Wages were reduced to 5 1-sd. per day. There were thirty-nine estates in the island, and seventeen of these were either broken up or the culti vation greatly reduced. The House was, no doubt, tired of these details. Now, although wages were reduced to sd. and the one-fifth of a penny per day, President Baines said that they approached the cost of cultivation of the slave-growing countries, " longo intervallo," and that they could not bring it to the same cost until wages were reduced to the cost of the sustenance of a slave. Now, how could any one wish wages to be reduced lower than they were stated to be in that colony? Well, that dispatch was kept back. The Right Hon. Gentleman seemed to think that the struggle in the Committee was between two political parties, careless of the case of the patients under their charge. Could he say that the Com mittee had not met him fairly—could he say that of the Member for Droitwich, the Member for Cambridge, and Lord John Manners? They had no mental reservation. They frankly laid the evidence before him, to satisfy the demand of the Government that they might be made acquainted with their opinions. They opened their breasts to the Government; but the great interests in volved in the question had not been fairly treated by the Government, when such information had been with held from the Committee.—(Hear, hear.) The Com mittee met again on the 9th of May, and agreed to ad journ for nine days. They then met o❑ the 4th of June, and on Friday, the sth, he moved for more papers. The Hon. Gentleman was not then in his place, and he asked leave of the Secretary of the India Board to move for them. The Hon. Gentleman afterwards apologised for his absence on that occasion, and promised to move fur those papers, and would decide what should be copies and what extracts of dispatches from the Mau ritius. The lion. Gentleman, however, forgot to move the address for those returns, though Mr. Miles asked on that day whether the Government were ready to bring forward the dispatches. Mr. Hawes replied that every important dispatch would be laid before them before the debate came on.—(" Hear," from Mr. Hawes.) The Committee were then deliberating on the question. The dispatch of the 27th March, from Sir Charles Grey, with all its minutes, had not then come bef)re the Com mittee, although the papers had been moved for on the Bth May. How would they get over that? Now, it was the duty of Earl Grey to select what should be copies and what extracts. He then wished to know why this dispatch, with four minutes on it, had bee❑ withheld on the 9th May, papers which had been moved for on the 30th Marcia? Why did not the Noble Earl inquire why it had not been laid before the Committee ? Why not ascertain where the fault of the delay arose? Why did he not direct that it should be immediately laid before the Committee, arid at the same time apologise for the detention ? It was intimated in that document that the duty slat:Add be 2d. a pound, and 1 , 1. a pound o❑ sugar, or 9s. 4d. against 18s, 4d., but the Colonial office was mute and dumb. The Committee again ad journed to the 22d May, and in thirteen days after they met again to consider a duty of 10s. against 20s. proposed by Sir Charles Grey, of which they were ignorant. The resolution prepared by the Chairman of the Committee was thrown out, the Committee then adjourned for four da)s to consider their verdict, but inquiries were made in the interval. He found on the 16th of May, that the Right Hon. Gentleman the Mem ber fur Cambridge, asked if there had been any accounts trona Jamaica. What was the answer ? No .-- - - that a mistake had been made seven days before with regard to the dispatch from Sir Charles Grey, but that they had not received the blue book. There was one last resource ; the Committee met for the last time, when they threw out the tenth resolution, proposed by the Member for Cambridge, and supported by the Member for Liverpool, and then the proposition of Sir Thomas Birch, of a duty of ten shiliings for three years, adopted. Mr. Hawes then said there was no information from the West Indies, but that they expected accounts in a few days. He would ask, did he not evade the question ? Did he not know that the balance weighed in the Committee, the information being wanting upon which the Member for Liverpool could form his opinion? The Government regarded this great interest as a hostile party, and dealt with it as with u criminal under prosecution by the Attorney- General, and prosecuted it by suppressions of the truth. That was his charge of the Under-Secretary for the Co lonies, and the President of the Board of Trade knew that these dispatches were at hand, and withheld infor mation which would influence the vote of the Committee. Then it was said that he charged the Under-Secretary of the Colonies and the Noble Lord of fraud, who held so high a position above such an imputation—(Hear, hear, from the Ministerial benches)—his charge was a political holding back of documents for a political pur pose.—(Hear, hear.) He imputed no sordid fraud to the Noble Lord. There could be no suspicion of that kind. But he felt himself justified in defending the in terests of his country, to arraign high Ministers of State and to state that they forfeited the confidence which the country had reposed in them. He made AO charge of fraud in any other sense. He then charged them with great want of memory, and now he would add, with a great want of sagacity, that they could not comprehend that the dispatch they wanted was that which had been cocketted by Mr. Cox, "this is the dispatch the Com mittee want." Lord J. RUSSELL said he could not but think his Hon. Friend was entitled to an answer to the questions he had put to the Noble Lord that night ; and he (Lord J. Russell) rose, not to make a reply to the Noble Lord's long speech, but in order to elicit some reply on behalf of his Hon. Friend. The Noble Lord, on a former night, accused his Hon. Friend of keeping back 13 dispatch from the Committee of which he was chairman, to which charge his lion. Friend r e pli e d b y reading a minute signed Earl Grey, dated March 30, ordering the dispatch in question to be laid before the Committee. On Friday last the Noble Lord said that those minutes must have been concocted after his Hon. Friend's evi dence had been given before the Committee, and at the end of his speech he quoted the sentiment of Mr. Burke, that—" Plain good intentions are as easily discovered at first view as fraud is surely to be detected at last." His lion. Friend then said that an allegation of that kind was not to be met without previous notice, upon which the Noble Lord said, " that if the minutes were not got up "—that was to say, if a gross and disgraceful fraud had not been committed by Mr. Fox, Mr. Elliott, his lion. Friend (Mr. B. Ilawas) and Earl Grey—" sub sequent to the sth of April, the Hon. Gentleman was troubled with the shortest memory that bad appeared since the days of Majoechi, of green-bag memory." And now, when his Hun. Friend made an explanation as to the facts, and asked the Noble Lord to prove his charges or to withdraw them, or else to have a Com mittee appointed to examine into their truth, what did the Noble Lord do ? He favoured them with a long speech, but as to the character or honour of his lion. Friend the Noble Lord had not said anything by which the House could infer what his intentions were. As to the minute, he had certainly said there was no doubt his Hon. Friend was correct in his statement, but then subsequently he seemed to say the contrary, and he (Lord J. Russell) wanted to know whether the charge of concocting it was withdrawn ? That was the first question he put to the Noble Lord. Now, as to the second point, the charge was perfectly intel ligible, and constituted what the Noble Lord called the other horn of the dilemma —namely, " that if the minute wa s not concocted after the sth April, the lion. Member must be troubled with a memory as short as that of Theodore Majocchi, of green bag notoriety," who, as they were all aware, had acquired a character by trying to deceive all the world in giving his evidence. Now, GAME CERTIFICATES FOR KILLING HARES BILL. This Bill passed through Committee without amend ment. The House adjourned at Thirty- five minutes past Seven HOUSE OF COMMONS, June 26. The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly before Four o'clock. REPORTS. The followinz reports were considered and agreed to:— Dunbar Customs, Water, and Harbour Dues Amend ment. Helmsdale, Little Ferry, and Leek Robie Harbours. Newry Navigation (Amendment of Acts). LORDS' AMENDMENTS. The Lords' amendments to the North British Railway (No. I—lncrease and Division of Capital) Bill were read and agreed to. SECOND READINGS. Tho following Bills were read a second time:— Esdaile's (Orphan Working School) Charity Estate. Highland Roads, Bridges, &c. (Scotland). THIRD READINGS. The following Bills were read a third time:— Hamlyn's Estate. Londonderry Improvement. EXTENSION OF THE SUFFRAGE. Mr. GODSON presented a petition in favour of Par liamentary reform and a reduction of the national ex penditure. Mr. GREENE presented a petition from Lancaster, praying for Parliamentary reform. Mr. lIASTIE presented a petition from Paisley, in favour of the Charter; also a petition against the navi gation-laws. Mr. G. BERKELEY presented two petitions from Bristol in favour of Parliamentary reform, as exempli fied in Mr. Hume's motion. Mr. BROTIIERTON presented 150 petitions from Salford to the same effect. SLIGO. Mr. WRIGIITSON brought up the report of the Committee appointed to consider the petition against the last election, which stated that the last election was void, and that Mr. Charles Towneley was by his agents guilty of treating. SEAMEN'S WIDOW'S FUND. Mr. DUNCAN presented a petiti on f rom t h e Cham ber of Commerce in Dundee against this Bill. LUNATICS. Colonel MURE presented a petition from Renfrew shire against the Lunatics (Scotland) Bill. SUNDAY TRADING. Sir DE LACY EVANS presented petitions from the parishes of St. John's and St. Margaret's, Westminster, praying the House to pass an enactment to prevent Sunday trading. Mr. C. LUSHINGTON presented two petitions—the first from the principal fishmongers of London, and the other from their assistants, to the same effect, and to prevent the carrying out of fish on Sunday mornings after ten o'clock. SPANISH AFFAIRS. Mr. BANKES gave notice of his intention to-morrow to move that the circumstances attending the expulsio❑ of a Minister accredited by the Court of Great Britain to the Court of Spain, and the interruption of the amic able relations between that country and England, conse quent upon them, are circumstances immediately calling for the attention of Parliament.—(gear, hear.) INDIAN RAILWAYS. Lord MAHON wished to know from the Right Hen. Baronet the President of the Board of Control how far the railways in India had been affected by the financial distress in India as well as at home. Sir J. C. HOBHOUSE had no other answer to make to the Noble Lord than had appeared in the public prints, in which all the circumstances connected with Indian railways had been stated. The Madras Com pany had dissolved itself. The Bengal Company had not been able to find the amount required by the East India Company, but brighter prospects he was in hopes were in store for the Bombay Railway. - ST. ALBANS. Mr. COBDEN presented a petition from an elector of St. Alban's praying that that borough might be included in the schedule to the Bill of the Hon. Member for Flint Burghs. Mr. RAPHAEL wished to say a few words upon the subject of the petition. The SPEAKER said the petition had been ordered to lie upon the table, and it was out of order to do so. Mr. RAPHAEL said in that case he would move that the petition be printed.—(Cries of " Order, order.") Mr. COBDEN reminded the Hon. Gentleman that he had already given notice that to-morrow he should move that the petition be printed. Mr. RAPHAEL said he would take that opportunity of saying what he had to say upon the subject. ILISH POOP-LAWS._ Mr. STAFFOTtliwished to ask the Home Secretary, whether it be the intention of the Government to intro duce a declaratory Bill in reference to that clause in the Irish Poor Relief Amendment Act, commonly known as the quarter -•acre clause ? Sir G. GREY said it was not the intention of the Government to promote any alteration of the law, but the subject was now under the consideration of the Poor law Commissioners, with the view of making an order in reference to it. THE ST. LAWRENCE. Mr. SPOONER said he had received a letter from an eminent house in Montreal, stating that the Board of Trade of Canada had memoraliaed the Home Govern ment on the subject of opening the St. Lawrence, his Hon. Friend had given his answer before the COor niittee.in the sense in which he nnderstood the qu estion , and even wh en su bsequently tax e d on thi s scor e in th B House he had appealed to the Right Hon. Gentleman the Member for Cambridge, when it turned out that be had misunderstood him. But he (Lord J. Russell) W 55 sure the Right H on . G en tl eman wou ld rea dily distnr guish between misapprehension and deliberate tal' r hood. Now, he asked the Noble Lord, did he mean t° withdraw the charge of having concocted the minu te ' and in the second pl ace , did h e pers i st i n t h e other 1 0) putation? If so, his Hon. Friend wished to hav e 6 Committee to inquir e i n t o th e trut h o f t h es e charges , : and, in his (Lord J. Ru sse ll' s ) o pi n i on , h e was enutle a to one. Mr. DISRAELI rose. The SPEAKER reminded the Hon. Member that there was no question before the House. Mr. F. MACKENZIE moved that the House do ne W adjourn. The motion having been seconded, Mr. DISRAELI said that it was unreasonable in th e Noble Lord, atter having flamed his Noble Friend for making so lung a speech to expect him to rise again' If his Noble Ilene had not conveyed his meaning e ie ready to the Hothe he might well despair of being able to do so in any suppleinentary speech. The Noble fi t r e opposite had risen eeh great alacrity to remind t , House that the important point before it was the acenss, Lion made by his Noble Friend the Member for liing„ s Lynn against the Hon. Member for Kinsale of bawls' comminitted a political fraud, by concocting or l il a; venting some ex post facto minutes ; bu t Lo t r c o l House would recollect when the Noble rose the other night he never once that point. He then rose in a state of some ment in consequence, as he stated, of a charge of fra il having been brought against the Government of all . ' pressing important information contained in dispatch es ' and it was a subsequent observation of the Hon. ti e bi ber for Kinsale which drew forth from his '° b e Friend the statement of the dilemma upon one or other horn of which the Hon. Secretary must be Itf e paled. He had his choice—either he had concocted o'. minute, or else he was troubled with a very sh°r t s f s e . mory. Well, he (Mr. Disraeli) believed that the ` -e ) Member's memory was short.—(Cheers and laughter.,o This was, at all events, the least difficult conclusio 01. seeing that the Hon. Member, when before the G ° the 11111 deeXcici tteci mutes, was perpetually asked to produce a dispatch',,-,oi existence of which he as perpetually forgot. hi s pion was that his Noble Friend had never intended s make the charge which h a d b een so much e l a boret b e e upon against the Hon. Under-Secretary.—(oh.) 2:ee real charge against the Gove rnment was a s ystew - 1 . ) suppression of important information.—(Hear,t es b l e ' The Hon. Under-Secr e tary as k e d w h ether his Noble Friend persisted iiithe odious charge of forging the minutes. His (Mr. Disraeli's) answer was, th t hee e charge had never be e n m a d e , or , if i t had, had -Let most amply withdrawn.—(Hear, hear, and Oh.) 11 th i s them look to the r e ally i mportant question.die discussion had arisen be cause certa i n most i m portant t y patches had been withheld from the Committee on sti g nia planting, one of th ose di s p atc h es, w hi c h h a d come f c ; . ii ig the governor of a most important colony, re cominea here a protecting duty of ISee—(Hear, hear.) Th en o was another important dispatch from the GeTer a- „ ts • Trinidad, which, from th e same extraor di n ary or c "0, stance, never was produced. But that watt n ot s sd There was another still f rom B er bi ce .—(Chaers'sich laughter.) Here were th ree mater i a l di s patches yv , might assist th e C omm it tee i n f orm i ng a Governme nt to t (Loud laughter from th e T reasury b e nches) —he rite iae a report, ail of which had been most unaccountablY ,fls with"' .!..; held.—(Hear, hear.) Was not, then, the of these important dispatches at a most critical junetni:i a fair ground of attack from a constitutional oPP i f ° o ., But even that was not all. He would now. bring , o , ward a case respecting the Chief Secretary of tha k ti en) lonies respecting which (or he was very much naista b of the public would call for information. On the 7t j a ee, February last that Noble Earl, speaking in anotherp.kor wished to fill that august assembly with the notion !n it ; there was no reason yet to despair of Jawa ti l e c re • that new social circumstances were developing t s .. e se selves; new resident proprietors of a new race an d springing up and investing vast capital in the 1011° ' 100 1: that such were the men from whom England was to forithe regeneration of Jamaica. The Noble Earl furt held this out as an inducement for the increased infe sre ment of British capital. The N o bl e Earl's wordsv` oc ` ti , d reported to have been these :—" Among many toe ments which had passed through his hands resP: c s , e , the colonies, he had been very m u ch s truck with t " bs t morial from certain planters of Jamaica, stating he ir they had invested 142,0001. in the purchase of t ld estates. He believed that in a few years they w° e re see the soil cultivated entirely by planters who sa t, resident on their estates." Now, this docurn' or , which the Noble Earl had described as a most ire! ) $. tent document, but from which he had quoted so nie rs grely, ran as follows :—" Your memorialists are own,_ e r. of 19 and renters of 13 sugar estates, which, togets . , e rt , produce 2,796 hogsheads of sugar and 1,35 4 P',A. er cheons of rum, the production of which altogetP win cost 60,0001. Now, 15/. per hogshead for suga r , and 14/. per puncheon for rum will produce alto gether 60,580/. against the capital sunk, taken at 6 r, cent.—the usual interest in the colony-32,0001 for it plements on the nineteen propriet ar y es t ates , an d 95,0 1 ' for rental on the other thirte en ." N ow t h e N o bl e Ear' in endeavouring to persuade the assembly of the r es pect' tation of Jamaica through the exe r ti ons o f a new r ace of planters, should not have omitted this paragraphs'', " It will be evident, from the facts stated, th at we cello () ; cultivate for another year. Inde e d, w e h ave not mo n ; of taking up the present crop."—(L ou d cr i es o f " 11° ,1 hear.") These were the men of whom th e Noble Ea had boasted as having invested 142,000/. in the pureh r a tj e ; res of land in Jamaica subsequent to emanc ip a tion. ' - , l ot memorialists went on to point out th a t if th e y, it, proprietors and planters, were in su c h a plight, 1 /1 3 , must be the condition of absentees and mortgagec as :e were represented; by agents. No w , thi s was the doe ment to which the Noble Lord had ref e rred as Pr° v b o t that the restoration of Jamaica was going on, and t the island offered inducement for the further in le r s o meht of British capital. How could he find ri° ;s g to describe the conduct of that Minister who, rec c e his documents from the colonies, mutilated them to sers.the purpose, and used them to corroborate views whic h 0 , were intended to confute?—(Hear, hear.) Look i reis this circumstance, together with the suppression °, tes d three dispatches, he considered that his Noble Ir . e te' was fully justified in asserting that there was a e) re ss matic attempt on the part of the Government to Sapp and pervert colonial information.—(H ea r, hear.) A n es el case was that of Governor Higgin so n' s dispatch' r est line of which the Noble Earl had designated as o r important, but of that he only quoted as much as s ernq ported his own opinion.—(Hear.) One part of — ° :, ee see Higginson's dispatch ran thus—" It must be cu a e we that free-grown sugar can never render such 8 , 1. 00 0 as that produced by foreign slaves." Why 115" pots of lines been left out?—(llear, hear.) Were tw o of omissions he had complained of strong sYmP t° , s ie 4 a wish to repress all information which bore 1 4 , 0 9 the Noble Earl's opinions?—(Cries of " Hear, he i,sfa The Honourable Member having alluded t a „ Harris's despat c h, w hi c h h as a l ready b een s o f o "Y ia is• cussed, proceeded to say t h at, to all these c h a rges, Ip ti atYs tors had commenced their defence by pleading goer, their allegation being that their offence was a bi „ ij oivg not a crime. —(Hear, hear.) lie thought that a s'i l ion. could be more enormously ridiculous than their pnt fo r a —(Cheers and laughter.) It was very c onvenie n tire all Government to deprecate discussion, and to ea s e s ,sore inquiry as in bad taste. Nothing could possibly aid not indelicate than asking a man questions which 1 1, t hese a find it convenient to answer.—(A laugh.) 'believed were questions which must be answered. lie I :_ fi sete that that discussion would make an impression re tarl —that ss elsewhere " to which the Hon. Under S e 1d be had so confidently appealed. " Elsewhere" it! ) , e Or d said that there were some facts of a very susn t .'",sotn racter which must be explained. " Elsewhere I ,!_ d s ot be remembered that three important dispatches c r e ler been produced before the Sugar Committee; and csetarl where 'it would not be forgotten that the noble ° e f es of State had held up Jamaica as a desirable place pee vestments of capital.—(Cheers and laughter..? and bef were all facts which w ou ld te ll " e l sew here; n , s it had that confidence i n th e goo d sense and On" " elsewhere" to believe th a t t h ey wou ld na, " e with a Member of Parliam en t w h o attempted "Lt do his duty and to eli c it t rut h, an d w h o was P i 4 when necessary, to impeach a Minister, however position, bright his honours, or long his pedigr ee if e tehe r Mr. V. SMITH complained that the lion. , 0 5 the for Bucks had evaded the main question, whi ch ~,:ooete i s charge against the Colonial-office of having ho Noble certain minutes.—(No.) The observations of th Lord in plain English meant a charge of f °r L e s sol d (Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member for Bucks that his Noble Friend had withdrawn the c harge A be ; he had done so, he (Mr.IV. Smith, considebroe"tigh had done so in a very unhandsome manner. He t o o tl e that the Noble Lord should either withdraw his bo r.) or put himself in a condition to prove it.—(H6a,r;s (Did The second charge was th a t hi s Hon. Fries " res or Hawes) memory was sho r t er t h an an ything 01/ : since the celebrated case of Theodore Mn.W callm We° who was that Majocchi ? Th e greates t liar' th e ., but had ever produced. " F er di nan d M en d e s Piet° a type of him." —(Laughter.) Were such thing 6 d n ot asserted of an Hon. Member of that House ati olear . ,' either fully p rove d or frankly withdrawn ?"" s eotil" hear.) H e th oug h t t h at these persona l q uestions to gioe be settled b e f ore t h ey entered into the general clflecl°' which had b een state d by the Hon. Member for f fact' relative to a genera l and systematic suppression o f by the Colonial-office.—(Hear.) - Frien d Sir J. PAKINGTON sa id th a t his Noble a f t er the Member for Lynn had distinctly stated that ,10 what had falle n from the Hon. Under Secretlo,'o„,eat could not make any imputation against the 1131 . 0 the and the H o n. M e mb er h a d t a k e n off his hat te ch/ manner in which Hon, Members were were used when satisfied. for Mr. HAWES—That was to the Hon. Member Buckinghamshire, not the Noble Lord. b r Sir J. PAKINGTON had seen the Hon. Hon. Ige;seton, so to the Noble; Lord.—(Hear.) He (Sir J. raw could assure the on. Member that he completel.e..lls, pated both himself and the Noble Earl at the lips dZ itt et colonial department from any such charge as . 1 0 tb°, altering minutes. All he meant to aver was, that., eg leo, matter of these dispatches there had been grave, L• fact; somewhere.—(hear.) Having recapitulated tny_,,,le o respecting the dispatches, the Hon. Baronet con:lose by observing that in such proceedings there musts been intentional suppressions or very grave blunder a lso Sir G. GREY complained that the lion. Baronet foi e had attempted to divert the attention of the 1 10 n e , s uer the question really before it. What was the real 7,010- tion? His hon. friend the Under Secretary for the st 'basi vies feeling that a charge had been brought aCala, 0 03 0 on Friday night deeply affecting his honour, ha d w to forward with an explicit st a t em ent of facts, ancl.l e r to ask the Noble Lord the ,Member fur Lynn 61