The Sun. — London, England, 1852-04-03 00:00:00

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did not wish to interfere with any discussion which the House 1a ght.think proper to raise, on going into Cornmit,co of bupply next Monday, with reg•trd to the conduct of the Government, but he did not wish any misconc , .ption unnecessarily to continue on a seit , :tt of some import ance, and he wished now to enter into some explana tion • upon the subject to which the Noble Lord had just adverted.—(Cheers.) From his acquaintance with the views and opinions of the First Minister of the Crown, he had no hesitation in saying, without waiting until Monday, that a very great misconception had existed during the last two or three days as to the intention of the First Minister, and that he certainly never intended in any way to convey any meaning to the House or the country that his opinions on the subject of a dissolution of Parliament were in the slightest degree changed ([Tear, Lear)—and that it was now, as it was formerly, the intention of the Government, so soon as those measures were passed which were necessary for the service of her Majesty and what they considered the security and good government of the realm, humbly to Counsel her Majesty to dissolve the existing Parliament hear)—and they would do so with the full in tention of recommending her Majesty to meet the new Parliament during the course of the present year, under circumstances which would give an ample and complete opportunity to the new Parliament to decide on the . character and policy of the existing Government. lie thoughtthatwas all they could say.—( Ministerial cheers ) They.never for a moment hesitated in that intention. —(Hear, hear.) As for any Government pledging themselves to recommend a dissolution of Par liament at a specific period, ha was sure that no person or Member who had ever been a servant of her Majesty would approve of such a course. It was impossible to say the particular hour, thy, or • week, or even month, at which they would pledge themselves to recommend a dissolution--(Elear.) Cir cumstances, as he had said before, might render impolitic if not impossible the fulfilment of such an undertaking. All he said was, that after the business which they deemed absolutely necessary and indispensable bad been terminated, they should humbly recommend her Majesty to dissolve the present , Parliament—(Cheers from the Govern ment benches)—and as he wished no misconcep tion to exist on the subject, he should add, with the full intention of recommending her Majesty to snmmon the new Parliament during the present year. —(Hear, hear.) Of course he meant a bond fide sit ting, so that the policy of the Government might be decided upon. He now only repeated what he had previously attempted to convey to the House, and what he was sure was the intention of the First Minister to communicate in another place. These were the decisions and intentions they always had; and after thedeolarstions which were made he should not have thought it was necessary to repeat them again to the House.—(Loud Ministerial cheers.) Mr. HUME thought the statement of the Right Hon. Gentleman would be satisfactory to all parties, and suggested, in order that no further doubt might bo entertained, that he should state what were the Measures the Government deemed necessary.—(Hear.) The motion for adjournment until Monday was then agreed to. HARWICH WRIT. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE moved that Mr. Speaker do issue his warrant to the clerk of the Crown to make out a writ for the election of a burgess to serve in this present Parliament for the borough of Harwich, in the room of Robert Wigram Crawford, Esq , whose election has been determined to be void. The Hon. Member said that when he made this mo tion on the previous evening, it was under the impression that it was acceptable to that (the Opposition) side of the House, but he now found that the case was otherwise. He maintained that they were bound either to insist on inquiry or to consent to the issuing of the writ. The report of the last Committee contained no charge of corruption ; there was no notice for an inquiry. Under such circumstances the House would establish a dangerous precedent by refusing to issue the writ; a Minister, with a subservient majority at com mand, might take advantage of such a precedent to withhold a writ for his own purpose for any length of time. The Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Walpole) had stated that one reason why he had not advocated the issuing of the writ was, that he did not wish the Government to be liable to the imputa tion of taking advantage of their position to obtain an addi tional supporter. That was a delicate scruple which be had never witnessed before, and he hoped the wear and tear of official life would not remove such delicate sensibility - -'(Laughter.) He was told that his motion was to be op posed to prevent Sir Fitzroy Kelly from being returned. He had ,nothing in the wor ld to do with that.—( Mi n i ster i a l cheers.) He would not even deprive the rotten borough of Harwich of its electoral rights.—(gear, hear.) The question having been put, Mr. BOUVERIE moved as an amendment that no war rant should issue during the present s ess i on . H e di s sented from the Hon. Member's statement that the House had but two courses to pursue —either to inquire or to issue the writ ; they might upon their own knowledge suspend the issuing of the writ.—( Hear, hear.) They all knew the facts of the case with regard to this borough without any more inquiry. Suspension under such circumstances was quite a constitu tional practice. He had made a note of several cases. In 1700 it was ordered by the House, without a division, that no writ should be issued during that session in the town of Winchelsea; in 1714, there was a similar order with regard to Clitheroe; and there were many other cases of the same kind. It could not, therefore, be said that what he now proposed was unconstitutional. As Parliament would be dissolved in two or three months, the result of issuing the writ would be, that there would be the most abominable cor ruption without any possibility of a remedy in sufficient time; whereas its suspension would give the borough an opportu nity of becoming pure. Mr. NEWDEGATE thought it very unjust that small boroughs should be sacrificed on the shrine of a morbid sen sibility about corruption. If the inquiry were universal, not Leices•er only, but even London would come under condem nation. It was proved before the county court at Greenwich that Mr. Salomons by his agents gave orders for a large ex- ' penditure at public-houses, and that he escaped payment through a statement that it would expose him to the opera tion of the Bribery Act. Sir DE L. EVANS did not think that the character of the tenant farmers was concerned in the question before the House. (Hear.) The Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. New degate) complained of the morbid sensibility of gentlemen on that (the Opposition) side of the House with regard to corruption, but the Government supported by the Hon. Gentleman and his friends had also introduced a Bill for the purpose of putting down corrupt practices at elections. The case of Harwich was a very peculiar one ; in no other bo rough had such malpractices been committed. The Right Hon. Gentleman (Hr. Walpole) was unable on the previous • evening to point out a single case of a similar gross charac ter; but as the House had thought fit to refuse its assent to the motion for inquiry, he did not think there was a fair ground for suspending the writ.—(Hear.) Mr. K SEYMER said that there was no proof of corrup- , tion at the recent elections for the borough. Allegations in election petitions were not evidence.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to the former cases of corruption there had been a con donation of the offence by the House allowing the re-issue of writs.--(" Divide, divide.") Mr. ROEBUCK had in 1842 moved for a Committee to in quire into the case of Harwich. Before that Committee full proof of the extensive corruption having been practised was adduced; and on the report of that Committee he had founded a motion, that the writ for the borough of Harwich ahould not be re-issued. That motion was refused. Ten years had elapsed since that time, no farther bribery had ' been proved, an inquiry into the state of the case had been again refused, and yet the House was now asked to suspend the writ on the ground of the former malpractices. The suspension of the writ was a most improper proceeding, and the sooner it was stopped the better. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BRIGHT was at a loss to understand what had be come of the memory of his Hon. and Learned Friend ( Mr. Roebuck). In 1848 Mr. Attwood was unseated on account of bribery at the election in the year 1847.—(Hear.) There sets something like a logical sequence in the motion of his Hon. Friend the Member for Finsbury, who said that as the House had refused to grant the inquiry they ought to allow the•writ to be issued. But as the question could not be raised after the forthcoming election, the House ought not :make itself responsible for any malpractices that might fore frons the is su i ng o f t h e writ, and he should there ubrnit that it was t h e duty of the Government to sup port the ame ndment. the itstn,ent. the occasion o _GLIS said it was the duty of Parliament on excetptlisnvacancy at once to provide for the filling of it up ; There had bee n no n : we re only made on special reports. proved since 184 2, report of bribery, because none had been prov i t was most unjust a n d and under these circumstances improper to continue the suspension of the writ.—(Hear.) Mr. COBBOLD suPPurted th e t i li s e u *e i 7of the writ. A l ight Hon. Gentleman the Member for the University of Oxford had spoken of this AS an unparliamentary proceeding. attr h not Lcontinually suspended, of writs directed to the present time writs had bee _ y, from 1596 down and the issue be hear.) W ith r made, except in a 0.11 House.—(Hear, before the egard to the particular instance of corrup tion .House he the writ had been _ owned there was some doubt, but as . 60 long 81, that any practical reason had spended he did not see • When been urged for susp nsion. A m discontinuing the e Hon. Friend (Sir ts.--ee he had, in concert with his Rig ut . • Grey ) , for the issuing of the writ'"'evu• to oppose the motion hange his opinion Though he had seen no reason to c writshould'jatis, it st e el is that the lusted is opinion of the House sia would suggest to his Hon. Friend the Member for to the motion mar neck to withdraw his amendm ent be for e the House.—( Hear, hear.) d at the course taken by the Mr. HUME was surprise surprised at an.. House, though he certaiuly ought not to be It ) was notoriouys thing which occurred there.— (A laug h. b- awesreat an amount It that the last elections were attended j true that the of bribery as the former.—(No, no.) ad of bribery— last election was not set aside on the grouhat bribery had (Divide, divide) —but there was no doubt t prevailed, and he thought, therefore, suspension of that tie the writ should be continued.—(Divide.) Lord • The ATTORNEY-GENERAL considered the Noble a high Parliamentary authority, but the precedents which he (Lord John Russell) had mentioned were all prior to the passing of the Grenville Act. Was the Noble Lord pre pared to favour the House with any precedent applicable to the peculiar ci rcums t ances ? It was p er fectly true that in in 1842 there was a strong representation submitted to the House on the subject of bribery in Harwich, hut the House ' refused to make any inquiry into the circumstances, de claring that they were not snfficient to justify disfranchise ment,—(Rear, hear.) If ever there was a condonation of an offence, it was the conduct of Parliament towards Har wich.—(Hear, hear.) In 1847 an election took place for Harwich, into which an inquiry took place. Mr. Attwood was unseated by the report of the Committee. An Act of Parliament had been previously passed, under the auspices of the Noble Lord the Member for London, by which an election committee was empowered to make inquiry into any charges of bribery which might be made and withdrawn, or.. which were supposed not to have been bona fide prosecuted. No such evidence, however, was taken or required to be taken by the Committee which sat in 1847 on the Harwich election, for no allegations of bribery were made.—( Hear, hear.) hear.) He could not understand, therefore, wh— y the House should have taken the extraordinary course of suspending the writ. Since 1847 no acts of bribery had taken place, the House had refused to issue a Commission of Inquiry, and he thought it was the duty of the House to allow the borough its representative.—(Hear, hear.) If they did not, they would commit an act of injustice. The Noble Lord said he had seen no reason to change his opinion, and yet Le suggested to the Hon. Member for Kilmarnock to withdraw his amendment, and allow the writ to be issued. He (the Attorney-General) did not think such a course consistent. The Government would support the issuing of the writ. Mr. ANSTEY said a few words, which from the general ones of " Divide," and " Oh, oh !" were quite inaudible. DUDA in justice to Mr. Attwood, who wait =able . _~ .. to defend himself in the House, wished, as chairman of the Committee of 1818, to state that there was no allegations of bribery made before it; and that at the conclusion of the proceedings the counsel for the petitioners in the strongest terms disclaimed the intention of imputing bribery to the sitting Member.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. MOWATT begged to ask the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Walpole), who supported the Bill for the purpose of disfrachising at. ,Albans, what difference there was between that borough and Harwich?—(Hear ) He did n o t , e e a ny difference in the cases of Harwich and St. Albans, and if one was disfranchised why not the other? - (Divide.) Mr. BOUVERIE said that, in compliance with the sug gestion of the Noble Lord, he would withdraw hi 3 amend ment. Amendment withdrawn. The original motion for the issuing of the writ was then agreed to. RE-PAYMENT OF ADVANCES (IRELAND). On the order of the nay for the second reading of the above Bill, Mr. F. FRENCH complained of the manner in which Ireland had been treated with regard to these advances, as calculated to d es t roy h er industry and depopulate her shores. He begged to recal their attention to the mode in which the Irish Poor-law had been established. The report of the original Committee was disregarded, and Mr. Nichols was tent over, and in six weeks settled the question. Mr. Nichols stated that under no circumstances would more than 100 workhouses be necessary, whereas at this moment there were 163. He stated that 312,000/. would be the greatest annual expense, but that in ordi nary years 208.000/. would be sufficient. It was unneces sary to say how far this estimate had been exceeded. With respect to the its ns for which the Bill legislated, he ob jected to the first of 1, 9 00,000/., but the second he believed had been useful and fairly appropriated. Neither did lie think there was any oljection to the third, but he thought it should not be called up until the works were completed. The Hon. Member proceeded to read some figures, from which he argued that the Commissioners of Works had taken 1,073,0001. more than they had furnished any vouchers for, or than had appeared on the face of their own accounts. They had stated that the amount of employment given in 1847 might be represented by 13 millions of people em ployed ooe day, and for that they charged 4,500,0001., which would give 6s. Hid. a day for each person; a most preposterous overcharge.—( Hear, hear.) In one case they had charged for labour in the barony of Newcastle, county of Limerick, which had been presented for, but never per formed. He maintained the 2* millions would have been ample for all the expenses of 1847. He contended that Ire land was worthy of consideration, seeing that she had paid 94 per cent. of all that had been previously assessed. She had repaid 7,413,4131, since the famine, and therefore could not be charged with any wish to evade just demands. The rateable value of property in Ireland was not more than about nine millions and a half, while the local taxation amounted to about three millions and a half, and the average total tax ation in England was 2s. 3d. in the pound, while that of Ireland was 6s Bd. The effec, of the famine ought, and he hoped would be, considered by the Government, for an amount of capital equal to 60 millions had been lost to Ireland. Since that time, 21 millions had been paid for food imported, and seven millions had been expended on the poor. Under these circumstances, could Ireland bear a fresh tax like this? One-fourth of her population had left her, and if this tax was pressed, the diminution would be more rapid than ever. A Committee of in quiry of the other House was now sitting on the subject of th is Bill, and he thought it ought to be supended till the opinion of that Committee was declared. Any money that Ireland was indebted would be better applied to develop her re sources, either by railways or some such means, and he hoped the Government would duly consider the effect of passing this measure. He should move that the Bill be read a second time that day six months. After a few words from Mr. O'FLAHERTY, Mr. GRATTAN said, that Ireland had been wronged and plundered there be no doubt. The Right Hoe. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer smiled, but he (Mr. Grattan) did not complain of him as he was no party to it. What he wanted to know was where the money had gone to ? He was sorry that the Hon. Members for Montrose and Man chester, besides all those Members who opposed the Irish Members on this subject, had all left the House. Ireland had been charged with a sum of four millions; but what had she got by it ? Had the poor been fed, or the people kept at home, or their moral condition improved? Certainly not. The poor-law had failed in its objects, besides which in 1849, the expense attendant on it had been four times as great as it was in the year it was passed, the year of the failure of the potato crop, which was the alleged cause or its necessity. Look at the sum charged for workhouses. His Hon. Friend the Member for Roscommon had quoted a case from Limerick, and. he (Mr. Grattan) would quote a case from Youghal. He was sorry the Hon. and Learned Gentleman the Mem ber for Youghal was absent, but he who was always making speeches calculated to get popularity was no doubt so sure of his election in the next Parliament that he did not care to hear anything about his present borough. A sum of 9,0001. had been advanced to build a poorhouse at Youghal, capable of containing 900 inmates. This was to be paid to the Poor-law Commissioners on the 9th of October, 1851; but by a sealed order of the Commissioners, dated in Sep tember, 1851, they declared the first instalment to be due in that month, or 16 days earlier than the 9th Oct., on which the sum had been granted. To this day not a single stone of the house was built Would not this be enough to excite the indignation of so irascible a gentleman as the Hon. and Learned Member for Youghal, and, if he had not been ab sent, no doubt they would have had a suitable speech from him, accompanied by those remarkable gesticulations with which he was accustomed to " Adonise" himself.— (Laughter.) In the workhouses in Ireland the people died at the rate of 1,000 a week. He hoped the Government would adopt a plan he would recommend, which was, to di rect the Hon. and Learned Member for Portarlington, who held an office in the Or nance, to order out a park of ar tillery, and blow every workhouse in Ireland down. (Laughter.) That was the only way to keep the people alive—(Laughter) —and to have peace; but, as it was, they were killing the people at the rate of 1,000 a week under the special care of Mr. Nicholas. The Hon. Gentleman then went through parts of the Bill, which be declared no one could understand, and inquired whether any part of the four millions was to be remitted, or if it was all to be paid back by annuities? If so, he did not know how it was to be done. Mr. CLEMENTS was not anxious to get rid of the work houses or the poor-law, but to see them work out the ob jects intended by them, and therefore he wished to exa mine this Bill. Its purpose was to legalise a treasury minute of last year, which proposed that in every case in which the expense of any union reached 4s. in the pound, the repayment of the advances should be so adjusted as not to cause this sum of 4s. in the pound to be exceeded. Even if this were so. when the county cess of 21. in the pound was added to it, raised the local taxation to 6s. in the pound, while in England the average was not quite 2s. 6d. in the pound. He was not one who would repudiate the payment of advances, if it were practicable, but he complained that the treasury had kept the House and the people of England in the dark as to the real state of things.—(The Hon. Gen tleman was proceeding to comment on the report of Sir Chat , . Trevelvan, when he was interrupted by) Mr. -TRELAWNY, who said —I rise to order. I have over heard words pass between two Hon. Members which are calculated to lead to a breach of the peace. [lt will be necessary to explain, that while Mr. Clements was speaking Mr. Anstey entered the House, and after ad dressing several Members, evidently inquiring what had been said with respect to him by Mr. Grattan during his absence, took his seat on the first Opposition bench by the table. Mr. Grattan crossed the House and sat down next Mr. Anstey. Some animated conversation passed between them, after which Mr. Grattan rose and left the House. Mr. Trelawny then rose to order.] Sir A. COCKBURN said he had been an unwilling hearer of words passing between the Hon. Members for Yougbal and Meath, which he thought required that they should be called on to state that what had passed between them should go no further.—( Rear, hear. ) The SPEAKER said that the proper coarse was to order the Hon. Member for Meath to appear in his place.—(Cries of Go on.") The attention of the House had been called to the likelihood of a breach of the peace being intended be tween two Hon. Members, and the proper course was that a motion should be made, calling on the Hon. Member for Meath to attend in his place. Sir.A. COCKBURN —I beg to move that---- The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was about to rise to make that motion, and he begged to second it. Mr. O'FLAHERTY could see no reason for ordering the Hon. Member for Meath to appear in his place. An Hon. Gentleman had drawn the attention of the House to dream• stances of which at present they knew nothing, and they had been called to decide upon the effect of certain words when they had not heard what they were.—( Hear.) He would not on such grounds vote for any Gentleman's being calljed to the bar. Mr. LABOUCHERE could conceive no other course for the House to pursue than to assent to the motion of the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Disraeli). An Hon. Member had risen, and had informed the House that he had heard the Hon. Members in his neighbourhood make use of language which was calculated to lead to a breach of the peace. O'FLAHERTY—Aye, aye; but what language? The O'GORMAN MAHON Who knows anything about it? - . --. Mr. LABOUCHERE continned—And, under these cir cumstances, the House would do right in insisting upon the presence of one of the Hon. Gentlemen implicated. At this point in the "scene," Mr. GaarrAN re-entered the House, and took his seat, Sir A. COCKBURN begged that the Hon. Gentlemen opposite ( Mr. O'Flaherty and the O'Gorman Mahon) would not hold him responsible for having first drawn the attention of the House to this matter. It was the Hon. Gentleman behind him (Mr. Trelawny) who had first asked the interference of the Speaker; and on the circumst .nce being mentioned, be (Sir A. Cockburn) had thought laimkelf called upon to state what he had heard. He had been sitting next to the two Hon. Gentlemen who had quarrelled ; had seen and heard what had passed ; and, having been so attes n d g i !fiatuated, he had stated what he had known, and afterwards had moving in the manner pointed out by the Speaker, by that the Hon. Member for Meath be called upon to racter not attOence; cePtion onallillace. The words originated in some miseon mann__ . thepart of the Hon. Member for Youghal as to the near Sir hi m i ` n r iis w ai l 3 liela the Hon. Member for Meath had spoken of a that aod those words were perhaps of Meath intimated proper —(Hear from Hon. Members a cha the Hon. m eol e be " r u fo rn r . i ), ou T gh ho a s i e t woohrddsthheadHboehe.nmreesmenhteerd for the walls of the nous he would carry his resentment beyond to be misunderstood. %Peaking, indeed, in a manner not for Tavistoek (Mr. T ra Zhen, therefore, the Hon Member i l t 2iurn) was bound to confirm had occurred. he (si r ,r e ni . ) reported to the Speaker what concerned were the report. It was very outu uk r in which both the HOD.• Gentle to interfere in such a matter, e would under men entitled to respect, and in w h ich Member for gentle ceeded the other so , greatly i -n years. one (Mr. Grattan) ex -is 'Io Sir P. NUGENr begged that thevrßieono: stand that he had followed his Ron. Meath out of the House wtithwtithhehintention of ts R on. .j. putting mat said in the House dwas that a te n r y s th ri i g n h g t. answered in the House; and he had asked te ought Foetid to return to his place and await the answer ich the Hon. t b il e t i s h a a r d g ü b n e l e e n n so f His lien. Friend had returned to his place, and matters h ad Member for Youghal might think fit to make. Hon. Member for Yougha l would make. been settled, and the Hous e would know what answer the it y o -inter fering in this most unpleasant matter. He hone he had Members Very wrong, Mr. TRELAWNY accepted all the responsibn d f not done wrong.—(Several Irish h • h Members— oo . ) further consequences.—(Several Iris Meath very wrong.") He had acted with the ope of pf , eir , en h tiv The SPEAKER—The Hon. Member for having. House made in reference to him. At the same time the returned to his place, it is necessary to withdraw the !notion will require to hear something from the Hen. Mem bers that neither Hon. Member will proceed further in regard to this matter. Mr. GRATTAN—I am very sorry, for the sake of the House, that anything I am connected with should take up its time. I addressed the House in reference to the Hon. Member for Youghal. without intending to give any offence. Seeing the Hon. Member afterwards making inquiries in this House, as to what I had said, I crossed over to him and offered him the document respecting the Youghal Union, from which I had quoted. Thereupon, the liou. Member .. . r. i ~ .. ~.,~:i used to me these words—" It is on your part neither courteous nor courageous." To that I replied —" Courageous is not a ' word to be used in that way in this House." And then, Sir, I left, the House.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. ANSTEY —The Hon. Member is perfectly correct in the reprrt he has made of my words. But he has omitted the circumstance which gives those words a meaning. He crossed over to this side of the House when I was endea vouring to ascertain the nature of the attack made upon me during my absence; and, in an excited manner, the Hoo. Member said to me, You have comeback, and you should have been here to defend your borough." I said, " That is no business of yours." He said, "It is." And then I said, To make an attack on me in my absence for a neg. lect of duty was neither courteous nor courageous." Those were the words I used and those were the reasons for using them. An HON. MEMBER—But withdraw them—withdraw them. Mr. ANSTEY—I do everything, of course, due from 'me to the House. Mr. MAIIER—Oh, but that won't do at all.—(Roars of laughter.) Mr. ANSTEY—If any explanation is necessary I am perfectly willing to give it. But I do not understand that the offensive language, or the offensive manner of the Hon. Member has been explained, or even alluded to; and under those circumstances the House will really see that it is not for me to speak fi-st.—(Oh, oh.) The SPEAKER—Is the House to understand from the Hon. Member for Youghal that the Hoe. Member does not mean anything personally offensive to the Hon. Member for I%leath ?—( Hear, hear.) Mr. ANSTEY (after some hesitation and in a very solemn voice)—l mean, Sir, nothing personally offensive to any man.— ( Roars of laughter.) The SPEAKER—Is the Hon. Member for Meath satisfied with that explanation? Mr. GRATTAN—The Hon. Member says he does not mean anything perssnallyt ffensive to any man. Now, lam a man ; and I am therefore quite satisfied.—(Great laughter and tremendous cheers from Mr. O'Flaherty and the O'Gorman Mahon.) The O'GORMAN MAIION (who rose amid cries of "No, no," "Sit down")—Sir, I wish only to make one observation that may be of some use. I have to express a hope that my Hon. Friend opposite (Mr. J. Clements) will at once pro ceed with his address, and this additional hope that the House will never again degrade itself by entering into such personal matters as have occupied us during the last five mi nutes.—(Cheers and laughter.) The "scene" then closed ; but it was some time before the indications of excitement and amazement subsided. Mr. CLEDIENTS renewed his address to the House; but, in the prevalent " buzz" we did not catch his few remaining remarks. Mr. G. MOORE would not support the motion of the Hon. Member for Roscommon (Mr. F. French); and he be lieved that the Hon. Member had only proposed the mo tion for the purpose of obtaining the opportunity of making a speech.. He would not either find any fault with the present Government. The conduct of the Government had been exceedingly frank and straightforward. They had done all that could have been expected from them, and much more than was to have been expected from the late Government.--.(Near, hear.) But he should like to know how far the financial arrangements of the late Government, and on which this Bill was founded, had met with the ap probation of the present Government?—(Hear, hear.) The whole country party of Ireland—all the supporters of the present Government—were unanimous in complaining that they were wronged in this matter.—(Hear, hear.) They demanded investigation into the circumstances, which investigation they thought would bear out their case; and they appealed with ail the more confidence to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, knowing that his opinions, as heretofore expressed, as regarded the burdens on land, so entirely accorded with their own.—(Hear, hear.) It was not many years ago since the Right Hon. Gentleman, supported on the occasion by the whole of his party, had proposed that a very considerable portion of the relief of the pauperism of Ireland should be paid out of the consolidated fund. The argument urged at the time, in opposition to the Right Hon. Gentleman ' was that local supervi s i on was necessary to economy, and that local supervision would be superseded by a centralised system of relief. But such an argument had no application whatever to a case in which the relief had been governed and administered by a centralised authority alone, and in which local supervision and local authority were entirely excluded from control of the funds, or from in terference with the expenditure.— (Hear, hear.) He did hope that the present Government would act, in regard to this subject, in conformity with their recorded votes and opinions.—(Hear, hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—I wish to recall the attention of the House to the real question before us. The Bill before us is really a Bill of indemnity, and the facts are these. The late Government, with, under the cir cumstances, a wise discretion, performed certain acts which the law did not justify. They em bodied in a Treasury minute measures which they deemed necessary in a period of exigency; and it should be recollected that all the propositions on that mi. nute, though they may not have been so comprehensive as may have been desired, or so extensive as some persons may have hoped, were all propositions of arrangements of a reme dial and mitigatory nature. Whatever may be the dif ferences of opinion on the great question which has been touched upon in the course of this debate, namely, the rela tions that should exist between England and Ireland with reference to claims made under remarkable, and I may say unprecedented c i rc umstances, which will be fresh in the recollection of all present, there can be but one sentiment as to the character of the measures with which the Bill under discussion is connected. They were remedial measures—they were measures devised to soften, to ameliorate, and to relieve; and there fore I could not have imagined that a Bill like this would have met with any opposition in this House, and least of all could I have conceived that an amendment, to read that Bill a second time this day six months, would have come from Ireland, and from the Member for an Irish county.—(Cheers.) We can lay no claim to any credit in connexion with this Bill save the humble credit of not shrinking from doing justice to those who have preceded us. The Bill was prepared by the late Government; it was submitted to my consideration when I first entered office by my predecessor; and it appeared to me that it was more than a just, that it was an equitable and a kind Bill. It did not appear to me that in sanctioning it I gave any general opinion upon the large question of the state of Ireland. It simply appeared to me notwithstanding the peculiar circum stances of the session, and notwithstanding the anxiety which we felt not to crowd the paper with numerous Bills, but merely to carry out the measures which were abso lutely necessary, that this was an absolutely necessary measure, and that it was what might be passed without op position, and even with warm feelings on the part of Irish Members.—(Cheers.) It is unnecessary for me to vindicate this measure. I have not heard as yet a murmur against it. It is not pretended that this is a Bill to add to the taxation of Ireland. The relief which it secures may be less extensive than is desired, but it is a measure of relief, and it stands on its own merits. Those who support it are in no way pledged not to consider the larger question, and it is therefore quite needless for me to vindicate a law not a portion of which has been challenged, questioned, or criticised. Some Hon. Gentlemen have intimated that they would have preferred that the whole question should have been considered through the medium of some larger propo sition. All I can answer is that this is a proposition founded upon an examination of the facts, and as a direct iremedy to a certain extent for a peculiar and overpowering grievance. Those who support it are not stopped from bringing forward their general views on the subject ; but I cannot understand that any one could desire that the passing of this Bill s h ou ld be postponed, as suggested by the Hon. Blomber for Roscom mon. The Hon. Member for Mayo (Mr. Moore) has made an appeal to me, couched in very ornate and courteous language, which I cannot comply with, because I cannot see that it bears any reference to the question before us. It is enough for me to say that I shall always be ready to uphold gene rally those opinions with respect to taxation to which the Hon. Gentleman has referred. But I must say, not by parti cular acts.—(Hear.) Such principles as I have laid down I trust I shall always assert, being convinced of their justice, and feeling convinced that if applied in a spirit of justice they would conduce to the advantage of the community.— (Cheers.) Undoubtedly, in the consideration of a question of that kind Ireland is not to be omitted.—(Loud cheers.) I have never considered the question of local taxation and omitted the question of Ireland.—(Loud cheers.) On the contrary, I have always kept the question of Ireland before the House, and I have shown how Ireland has suf fered from an inequitable system of local taxation.— (Loud cheers.) With regard to the general condition of Ireland—as to the distress under which she labours; as to those burdensome engagements incurred in consequence of art unprecedented combination of circumstances, from which she has not yet successfully emerged—l have no he sitation in saying that there is, on the part of her Majesty's Government, a sincere desire to review the state of Ireland in a comprehensive manner, with the hope of supplying some effective remedies to those social grie vances of which there has been such loud complaint.— (Cheers.) But I must tell the Hon. Member for Mayo that that is a task which is not to be undertaken in a hurried manner—(" Hear, hear," from Mr. Moore)—and it certainly cannot be dono in a session in which on every occasion her Majesty's Government, like other Governments, are exposed to being " worried."—(Laughter.) In serener hours we may be able to survey the circumstances like statesmen, and to see the different bearings of all these various questions one upon the other; and with such opportunity I should cer tainly feel it to be the duty of the present Government—and I should certainly exact it from any Government, as one of paramount urgency—to consider the social grievances of Ireland, with the object of applying adequate remedies.— (Cheers.) It was no idle boast of my Right Hon. and Learned Friend ( Mr. Napier), on Wednesday, when he said that we were prepared to deal with the long-vexed question of landlord and tenant. That is a subject which had engaged his attention long before the formation of the present Government, and, undoubtedly, there is much anxiety to settle that great controversy.—(Cheers.) But that also is a question unconnected with the present one. It is an easy thing to come forward to this table and to pro pose votes of money to necessitous proprietors. That, how ever, is not to my mind the manner is which we should deal with burdens on land. We must view that question under its various aspects. We must endeavour to penetrate the deepest recesses of the question, and to grapple with all its most complicated relations. It is quite useless to attempt to relieve the proprietor or even the occupier in Ireland either from the'burden of an imperial loan or from the weight of local taxation unless, at the same time, the tenure of tnat land is placed in a more rational and .satisfactory state—unless all those questions which arise from the tenure, of land are, at the same time, put in a position which may offer some chance -of a more satisfactory state than that which for many years has been experienced in that country. It is with those feelings the Government are anxious to deal with what is called the " Irish question ;" and when we have the opportunity of viewing that question in all its various aspects, and in all its relations, we are prepared to consider the whole question of the local taxation of that country, and of the particular burdens under which society now labours. IWe shall do it with an earnest desire to do what we can to a egi l rr l .a i vt i ee i tnf a u t s e i the condition of that country, and to remove the real sources of social grievances. This, however, has nothing to do with the Bill betore the House. For that,Bill we are responsible only - officially. It is a Bill of indemnity for measures undertaken for the relief of a class which is less cir cumstances i h g o h p t e ha n v o e n b . ee iA n io a m n b ti e c r i s p f a r t o e m d ; w de i r li th p e e s r e . of the peeev asses Sion ro.f that .h _e this_ oba a s o not te r whichth e has n il o d opportunityprevailed.--( ne e lda o f r n o u l n a discus elesesELL would look anxiously for the realisation there should on which that remission which the House had just heard. No doubt boa remission, but it was very desirable that this Bill miraculous resurrect": general condemnation of the prin&phst from h a etr t u h st treated that ith t e he to the people of Irelandon was based. It was of imp° , tance Government Government l t d . nothing e ve ar.) done boot ainng atl nh d on e of c sp, l lt a rri r en a l oa ti in o pd n l on Which this membert• they should have some dis -1 yv in aLf e ou oo n n de d d it . io T n h o e f r e someNeas any thing troegarrertetsetditetphroa that eas.—( parts ' relief to the suffering people Ireland. If a t eto give Ireland they u he Government had a policy forght to expresait frank] Sir H . W. BARRON said he was rather surprisedthaty.th , 48 1, the present e not do ROCHE • lion, Member 0 12 QL"" voveruraent to declare a policy, after being a most abject and consistent supporter of the- policy of the late Government, which had done so much mischief in Ireland. Mr. ROCHE rose to explain. The Hon. Member had said that he was an abjtct and consistent supporter of the late Government. It was not fair that the Hon. Gentleman should go on to argue on incorrect premisos.—(Hear, hear.) He begged to say that he never was an abject or a consistent supporter of the late Government.—(Loud laughter.) The Hon. Gentlema n was going on to address the House. when Tito SPEAKER sa id t h e H on. G ent l eman rose to explain, but he was maki ng a second speecb.—( H ear .) Sir H. W. BARRON sa i d that the H on. G en tleman was at all events a steadfast supporter of the late Government in all their measures in that House. He was sure the Hon. Gentleman would not deny that. Now it was net in his recollection, or the recollection of his reading—(Loud laughter)—that any Government had so misgoverned, had so ruined, every interest in Ireland, as the late Government, and that was the reason of his sitting on that (the Ministerial) side of the House.—(lronical cheers.) The people of Ireland would back him in that opinion—uinety nine out of every hundred would back him in that opinion. The only remedy of the late Government was taxa ion, taxation, taxation —(Laughter.) In 1845 the poor - law taxatian was 316,°00/. under the late Government it rose to 2,130,00, 1 1. At lea; ,; t 200,00 t farmers had been swept off the land, and 2,060.000 of the inhabitants had been driven to emigration. Hon. Gentlemen opposite pressed , forced, and irritated the Government to a dissolution, and yet they wanted the Government to come forward at once with a policy and remedial measures for Ireland. The people of Irela n d l ost at least 30,000,000 by the failure of the potato crop, and they lost 5,000 000/. annually in other crops sinc e th e famine. Yet the Government on ly in creased the am ount of taxation on the people. Th a t was , their only remedy. At least one-fourth of the debt ought. to be remitted. The local burdens of Ireland in many cases amounted to not merely 55 or 65., but 20e. In the pou nd, as was proved by -Indisputabl e evience. Persons might cross the Atlantic and get land in America for roach less than the taxation to whi c h t h ey were subjected in Ireland. He h a d opposed the late Gey eroment, and he should oppose the pre sent one, if they pursued a similar course with regard to his country. Mr. V. SCULLY said the sole question for Ireland was, whether she would accept a rem i ss i o n of only 7 5 , 000 / , which was a one h undredth part of the ent i re d e bt, or about 2 1 / 2 d. in the p oun d . His country was ent i t l e d t o much more. The O'GORMAN MAHON said, such speeches as the House had heard that n i g h t from some of his countrymen subjected Irishmen, in the eyes of honest Englishmen and honest Scotcbmen, to the imputation of being either fools or rogues.— (Hear, hear.) , As an Irishman, he disdained any identification with that class of persons. Those who said that Ireland owed no gratitude to England were men with whom he could never coincide. He thought his country was greatly indebted to the members of the late Government for offering the present boon. alr. F. SCULLY said that a vast number of the electoral divisions in Ireland would receive no redress under that Bill; and in many instances those divisions were reduced to a state of great poverty and privation, and would have come within the provisions of the present measure, had it not been for the great care and discretion with which their local affairs had been administered. " Lord J. RUSSELL said he did not wonder that the Right Hon. Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) should have expressed his surprise that a Bill which had so very simple an object as that should have led to so much dis cussion. But he (Lord J. Russell) believed that that was what generally happened in the case of Bills relating to Ireland—(Hear, hear, and laughter) —and more especially Bills relating to the taxation of that country.— (Hear, hear.) The object of the present measure was to remit the payment of a sum of 75,000/. to certain districts in Ireland, which had suffered peculiar distress, and he honed the House would not refuse its assent to that arrangement. The principle, he thought, could be extended beyond the present ease. Government would do well to exercise their own judgment in deciding how far they would adopt the kind of relief hereafter, and how far they would adopt a species of relief which would be injurious to the adminis tration of the poor-law in Ireland. He would not enter upon the question of the state of Ireland, but he would just ob serve, that out of the sums voted to meet the distresses of Ireland, and charged on the consolidated fund, 3,500,0001. had been borne by the , people of the United Kingdom. The great difficulty had been created by the food of Ireland having been taken from the people suddenly, and that the debt had arisen in consequence. With regard to the future, he hoped Government would apply such remedies to the wants of Ireland as circumstances called for, and would justify. He regretted to hear the statement of the Attorney- General for Ireland in reference to the sending threatening letters, and he trusted the subject would receive the atten tion of Government. In meeting the difficulties of Ireland, he felt that if they exempted the landlords of Ireland from their fair share of liability they would add to, instead of lessen, the evils. He was happy to hear the statement of improvement in the west of Ireland, which he trusted would prove a foretaste of what was in store for Ireland. . ........... .. _ s. Mr. H. HERBERT said a great deal of the existing dif ficulty arose from the conduct of the late. Government.— ( Hear.) He was the last person to support those who were anxious to break the law with reference to the repayment of the poor-law advances. He would only, however, consent to carry out the same [principle as regarded Ireland which was held to he good in England. Mr. WAKLEY said, that the Member for Waterford had attached himself to one set of doctors, who would only adopt a particular system towards Ireland, but let them look at the result. The Irish Members complained of bad measures for Ireland ; why did they not try their hand and bring in good measures? He was sure they would be sup ported by English Members, who desired nothing better than to see Ireland in the same condition as England; when the landlords of Ireland had protection, what good did it do for the people of the country? Mr. WHITESIDE did not intend to trespass on the time of the House. When the Hon. Gentleman opposite spoke with reference to the condition of Ireland, and laid on the Irish gentry the blame of that condition, he begged to pro test against his conclusions. If it were necessary to have a poor-law in Ireland half a century ago, who had the power !o enact that law for Ireland? who but the Parlia of England?--(hear, hear.) As to why Irish Members did not bring in measures for Ireland, he would not stop to explain; but when the Hon. Gentleman referred to his Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer he should have recollected that, on one side, her Majesty's present Gavernment was taunted with not dissolving Par liament immediately, whilst, on the other, they were at tacked for not introducing measures.—(Hear, hear.) He ex pected snore justice than that for a Ministry only a few weeks in power; and who had not yet been given an op portunity of b - inging forward measures which might be found to be acceptable and satisfactory.—(Hear.) Mr. O•FLAHERTY deprecated the taunts of the Noble Lord (Lard J. Russell) aga i nst I rish M em b ers f or s p e aking on general que s ti ons. He begged to say that, as an Irish Member, he should a l ways exercise his r i g h t to s p e ak on any subject he ple ase d . He should also cal l on th e lion. and Learned Atto rney -General for Ireland to exp l a i n what he said in referen ce to the Ribbon system iu Connaug ht- Lord J. RUSSELL explained,, and declared he did not ,in tend to taunt any Hon. Member f or speaking on whatever Mr. NAPIER, was not aware he had said anything i n re ference to the spre a d o f the Ribbon system in Connaught. He subject he pleased.—(Hear hear.) a lluded to threat en i ng notices being served in several parts of Ireland, but did not allude to Connaught —(Hear, hear-) The Bill was then read a second time. PROTECTION OF INVENTIONS ACT. Mr. HENLEY moved that this Bill be read a second time. Mr. LABOUCHERE hoped the Bill would be passed through the House with all possible dispatch. If not passed this session many meritorious persons would be injnred, in asmuch as inventions exhibited by them at the Great Expo sitionn piratel." - Wear, hear.) oCr amendment, Locwoourad::' i , tihnif i t had The Bill was then read a second time, as also committed, of last year, if and ordered to be read a third time on Monday next. not protected, would be certain to be CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS BILL. Mr. BELL took exception to the first clause, and wished The House having to know if it was intended that a commission should issue on gone into Committee on this Bill, the report of' a Committee of that House, or on the motion of an Hon. Member? He wished to have the matter ex plained,purposes.—( Hear.) Mr. WALPOLE said he intended to move, by way of might be availed of detrimentally for party e a n s t, it that the tirst five lines of the first clause should amendment, be emitted, in order that there might be substituted words to this effect : —" Tnat after the report of a Committee - , ommittee generally, ap pointed to inquire into an election of any particular borough or county, or of a n House to inquire into the corrupt practices of any borough appointed by the t w he hi v c i h ew th t e h s a e t p a ra c c o t m ic tn es is w si e o r n e s a h l o le u g l e d d is t s o u h e. 7e been committed, in such case an address should be sent to the o general," in the amendment. RUSSELL would object to the limitation of the POLE assented to the suggestion. WAKLEY said, no tees; but, under the circumstances, beenapplied he e o s t h h o e u e l l d ec n ti o o t n o c p o p m os m e commit tees; He suggested the adoption of the word " extreme" instead of 3,1 s i,therr Mr. WA word w A , notice had been given of the amendment, and he wished, therefore, it should be post poned. The amendment changed the character of the clause. Ur. WALPOLE said the amendment wassi necessary pro tection to the minority, i n lideubgaimpgnee.tpoTnehde, an anconstitutionia_course. case the majority saw fit to take Mr. HEADLAM asked, Would there be a public prosecutor, in case the commission reported? If not, the amendment would be of little or no values Mr. ANSTEY said if the amendment was adopted the Bill would not meet such a case as that of St. Alban's. He thought this proved the danger of narrowing the clause by any majority of the House was the House itself; the minority was unknown to the:Constitution. He therefore moved that the further consideration of the as he did not wish to obstruct the course of the 8i11..,. clause spe s c h i o a u l Mr. W. MILES supported the amendment. The clause as it stood would place the question in exactly the same position as it stood before. He therefore thought his Right Hon. Friend's amendment was absolutely necessary. Mr. V. SMIM thought it would he difficult for a Select Committee to arrive at sufficie nt information on the subject of alleged corrupt practices. Mr. WALPOLE said it was far from his intention to take the House by surprise, as he had given the Noble Lord an intimation that he would introduce an amendment to that effect in Committee. _ , Mr. T. BARING feared that a Select C • Committee might be influenced by party considerations to institute .a vexatious proceeding against any borongh. If they once left in the hands of the Howe the power to decide the tenure of the seat of any Hon. Member, it would be a serious interference with the rights of constituents. The House would be hold ing out a premium to cons tituencies t o return Members favourable to the majority of that House, otherwise there was the threat of a Committee of Inquiry being issued. These .were not his opinions alone —they were the opinions of one of the ablest statesmen of that House—who had stated that the Grenville Act was passed because they be lieved that that House was not a fit tribunal for the trial of such questions. That was the opinion of Mr. Fox, and he hoped they would take warning by the opinion pronounced by so high an authority.said there Lord J. RUSSELL great difficu • lties in obtaining evidence with regard to corrup tionboroughs. If, h existing in these of the fact was obtained, the House would then he asked to assent to an address to the Crown, to a p po i nt a Committee o f i Inqury. If that was agreed to, then there would be a Com sisting of b mittee appointed, con ,arristers of experience; they would go down to the borough, and take evidence on oath. If the bribery could not be proved by l ega l ev id ence , the whole cave fell to the ground. So that in the event of the House acting incorrectly, and without sufficient inquiry, the borough would escape harmless, and no proceedings would be taken. In the event of the bribery being proved, then there would be a report laid before both houses of Parliament. A Bill could then be introduced, and, atter going through all its stages, could be sent up to receive the assent of the other House,.and all that must be done before the borough was disfranchised, He thought, under those circumstances, that the interests of the borough were sults —eiently protected. The object of the Bill was not to extend the powers of the House, 1 but to provide a better nom of iAquilT , Ttie a p. Gentle_ man appeared to him, therefore, to have taken unnecessary alarm. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL wished to know if the Noble Lord agreed to the amendment proposed by his Right Hon. Friend? (Lord J. Russell was understood to assent.) He was obliged to the Noble Lord. What the Bill proposed was, that under certain circumstances a commission of inquiry should issue, and on their report a Bill could be founded. Sir P. WOOD approved of the proposition to examine witnesses on oath ; and he suggested likewise for adoption, that the witnesses should be idemnifled and protected against consequences which might flow from their evidence. Mr. R. HILDYARD observed, if they proceeded in the mode proposed by the Bill, he had no doubt their proceedings would be marked by the calmness and deliberation which the case demanded. Mr. WAId2Y said the objection of the Hon. Gentleman opposite proceeded oa a mistrust of the exercise of judicial power by the House. Captain HARRIS suggested that they should alter the existing law as little as possible, and should rather proceed by strengthening the law than changing it altogether. Sir A. COCKBURN did not entertain the same apprehen sions as some of his friends as to the tyrsnnic exercise of their power by majorities in that House, though he admitted that there had been occasions when an oppressive use of their power had been made by majorities. However, he did not think that, where the object was merely inquiry, ma;o_ rities would be found in that House to act oppressively. Considering, then, the importance and value of the 13111 for the purpose of preventing corruption, he thought Hon. Gen tletnen would do well not to peril the Bill by refusing to ac cept it as presented by the Government. He would suggest that in the clause referring to an address to the Crown, an alteration should be made so as to prevent its appearing that the address to the Crown should be forwarded on the report of the Committee, as would b 3 the case if the clause re mained unaltered, instead of being founded upon the decision of the House itself. All thee lection committees were the scorn of the country. Unless a barrister happened to be upon them they were at the mercy of the counsel before them. Under this Bill the expense would be immense, and the delay prodigious, and at the same time the effect would be futile. He would, after the unfortunate confession of the Noble Lord, test the sincerity of the friends of the purity of election, and divide on his proposal to postpone this clause. Mr. BRIGHT said if the Bill passed, as proposed by the Government, all the gain would be that at a particular stage of the proceedings in a case like that of St. Alban's, the de lay of a Bill might be saved, and this was a very small gain indeed.—(Hear, hear.) The Committee would not be so free from party policy perhaps as the present election com mittees. He regretted that the proposition of the Govern ment should have been so easily assented to by the Noble Lord. His object was really to cure this monstrous leprosy of corruption which impaired the efficiency of Parliament.— (Hear, hear.) The measure in its present form would plainly be entirely nugatory. —(Liberal cheers.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—Sir, I really despair of inducing the Opposition to assent to any measure this session. —(Hear and laughter.) This is the fourth time this evening we have been obstructed in our endeavours to accelerate the close of the session. We wished the Militia Bill to be read a second time the day after the recess; who rose to object to the arrangement? The Hon. Member for the West Riding of Yorkshire—(Hear) —wished a few days more; and when I said I was anxious to fix a day for the financial statement, another Member asked me in the name of Ireland to give them a few days.—( Hear, hear.) Almost the whole evening has been spent upon a Bill which is only r a Bill of indemnity to t h e l ate Government for a proper and pru d e nt arrangement as to the consolidation of Irish an nuities.—(Hear.) A nd after h aving at nearly eleven o'clock fi xe d Tuesday for the C ommitt ee on that Bill, another Irish G ove rnment, and which, as a di sso l ut i on of Parliament is impen din g , ou g ht not be ne g le cted AG g ßp r e ione n l vdl t sel l eni e r nfn m otgr aw a bm, n eyn , we tt a ahhst m aeuo nrl e ape m wto e b es ut e tpn r i o ni le f e t uta h hpi ete Committee on that somew h at e the holidays.—(H ear , h ear. ) a Bill of great i n t erest — a l so a o pposition, rises to re ques t th e (Hear)—we are told it is,of no value, because the Noble Lord—the highest authority on that side of the House—ac cepts the amendment of the Secretary of State, and we are requested not at present to press the amendment.—( Hear, hear.) Sir, notwithstanding our disposition to accelerate the progress of public business I cannot acquiesce with his suggestion—(Cheers)—and feeling assured that the amend ment of my Right Hon. Frien d will render the Bill more secure to the liberties of the people , and more valuable for the object we have in view, I shall ca ll on the Committee to decide upon it.—(Loud cheers, ) The House then divided, when there appeared— For Mr. Walpole's amendment ... 137 Against ............... Majority The clause as amended was then ordered to stand part of the Hill. On clause 6, Mr. WALPOLE moved another amendment. As the clause was then drawn the Commissioners would have power to inquire into corrupt practices at previous elections, dating it might be, 10 or 20 years back, and by coupling those practices with the practices at the last election lay a foun dation for the disfranchisement of a borough—though there might have been an intervening election at which no cor ruption had taken place. His amendment would have the effect of allowing the Commissioners, if they found corrup tion at the last election to go back to the previous one, and so on until they came to an election at which those prac tices had not been proved to exist, when the inquiry should stop. With this view he begged to move, first, the omis sion of the words in the clause, "for such a period respec tively as they think proper." Sir A. COCKBURN opposed the amendment as having a pernicious tendency, and suggested that if in the prosecu tion of their inquiries the Commissioners found that there had been an intermediate election at which corrupt practices did not prevail, they should report that fact to the House. Mr. STANFORD said, it appaarod to him that the system now recommended was calculated to fetter the action of the Commissioners, who ought to have the freest scope in prose cuting their inquiries. Mr. BRIGHT deprecated discussing points which were not fairly before the House. He suggested, if this further alte ration were to be carried out, it would be better to report pro gress. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was quite willing to adopt the proposal. Lord J. RUSSELL thought it would be better to have the proposed alteration printed. He also thought it would be unwise in any manner to fetter the Commissioners in their inquiry.—(Hear, hear,) The CHAIRMAN then reported progress, and the House resume& The Passengers' Act Amendment Bill passed through Committee. The Sheep, &c., Contagious Disorders Prevention Bill was read a second time. The Copyright Amendment Bill was read a third time. The Law of Evidence (Scotland) Bill passed through Committee. The Municipal Corporations Act Amendment Bill was read a third time. THE MILITIA BILL. Mr. WALPOLE brought in this Bill, which was read a first time. The Right Hon. Gentleman took the opportunity of stating that, for the sake of convenience, he had consoli dated all the former Acts. He wished also to give notice of an important alteration which he proposed to make in the Bill, and to which he had not referred when moving for leave to introduce the measure. In case the House should agree to the second reading of the Bill, it was his intention in the Committee to move the insertion of a clause providing that any person who had served two years in the militia should be entitled to be registered in, and to vote for, the county in which he might reside.—(Cheers.) Mr. M. GIBSON gave notice that on the motion for the second reading he should move a resolution to the effect that it was not expedient to proceed with the Militia Bill during the present session. Mr. V. SMITH asked for an estimate of the probable ex pense to be incurred by the militia, and what expense the parishes would be put to on account of the ballot? Mr. WALPOLE would procure the necessary information and lay it on the table. Mr. ANSTEY moved for a copy of memorials, papers, and correspondence on the subject of the expulsion of the Rev. Messrs. Wingate and Smith from Pesth, and of the Rev. Mr. Edwards from Lemberg. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER resisted the motion on the ground that negotiations, to which these papers referred, were still going on. Mr. ANSTEY had gathered from the Earl of Malmes burv's dispatch that the matter had been settled; but her would postpone his motion to a future day. The House then adjourned at Half-past One. RAILWAY RETURNS TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE PAST WEEK. Miles opened, NAME OF RAILWAY. Receipts. 1852. --- Damian. -- -- 72 Aberdeen •• •• •• •• .. •• •••••• •• • •... 41,221 £1,542 3 7 % Belfast and Ballymena .• .. •.••• • • • .. 594 593 17 Belfast and County Down.• ••••- • . .. 18 7 194 33 Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire 1,430 1,360 28 1 % Bolton, Blackburn, and West York •• • • b 4 l 807 85% Bristol and Exeter • ..... • • •••••••••• 3,621 3,907 189 1 ,E Caledonian.... • • ....... .. • • ........ 7 , 974 8,142 94% Chester and Holyhead..... • • ...... •• 2,144 2,342 6% Cork, Blackroc k, and Passage ••• • .• - 131 65 Dublin and Belfast Junction ..... ... 560 706 53 Dublin and Drogheda •.•• .. . 6 Dublin and Kingstown ......... . ..... 943 644 16% Dundee and Arbroath •••••••• • • • • • • 328 460 31 Dundee, Perth, and Aberdeen Junction 605 608 19 Dundalk and Enniskillen.... • ....... 147 148 68 East Anglian.... •••••••••• • • • • • • • • • • 594 585 79 East Lancashire • • . . ...„. 3,720 4,396 322 Eastern Counties and Norfolk .. • • .... 12,397 13,420 • 95 Eastern Union .. •........•• . • • .. .. - 1,911 1,988 8 9 36 Edinburgh and Glasgow •• • . ........ 3,303 3,278 78 Edinburgh, Perth, and Dandeo.• .... 1,7 85 2,292 6 Exeter and Crediton.. • • ............ - 102 19 Furness Railway ... .............. 342 487 171% Glasgow, and South-Western.• • ..... 3,508 2,7 69 7,248 10,867 241 M Great Northern and E. L • • 4,347 4 , 6 1 7 188 Great Southern and Western (Ireland) 14,3 277 Great Western - 3, .. 8663 41 15,,05N76 25 Irish South Eastern 2ll 6 90 Lancaster and Carlisle •• •• • • 14,770 15'892 867 260 Lancashire and Y0rk5hire............ 948 39 Leeds and Thirsk ••..••••••• • • • •• • • 195 288 12 Liverpool, Crosby, and South Port.• • • 41,846185 42,363898 539 London and North Western. ........ • b London and Blackwall....• .• •••• • • •• 7,537 8,043 173 % London, Brighton, and South • Coast.• 8,934 9,261 244 M London and South Weste rn. •• •• ••.. 173 251 2 41 x': Londonderry and Enniskillen ••-•• •• 1 08 116 llg Manchester, Buxton, and Matlock, Br,e. 8,004 6,572 167% Manchester, Sheffield , an d Lincolnshire ~,, 511 9% Manchester and South Junction. ••• " 580 56 4 28 Maryport and Carlisle •• • ..... : . :::: 20,309 21,758 496XMidland ••••••••• " • • • • •• • • '.... 1,027 2 , ,.,. 126 Midland Great Western (Irish) "..... 788 ;;a 5 37 monklands •• ••••• • • • ** •..• •• ••• .. 2,133 1 , 959 60 Newcastle and Carlisle.• "•• • : '.. ...... 3,038 3, 2 55 149 North British •••• •• • • • ........ 4 ,7t6 4 222 North Staffordshire •• ••" .. ,7 so 47 North-Western •• •........... ... ....... .. •• • • 0,, 607 1,583 1 , , 45 Scottish Central •• • • 32 Scottish Miclland . am ...... 507 656 a Birmingn 604 57'- 29% Shrewsbury 47 Shrewsbury and Chester •••••• • • • • • • 1 . 6 57 1 ,5 , 3 i 29 Shropshire Union . ... 509 559 58 South Devon ••••- .. . . ........• 18,9 1,7,14 228 q South Eastern •••• •• ..•••••• :.• •••• • • • • .. 8 ,1 , 32 , 10,441 93% South Wales 92 i 1,2 ; 7 77 South York.,l)o.iicas.• ter, and ii,,7, 1 : •• • -e • • 1,147 1 • 3 4 8 40 Taff Vale ••-••-••••- • • - • • • • • • • • 1,957 2,527 and • 69 ' 1 900 25 Waterfor Limerick .• ••• „ X West C d •••••. ............. 321 421 16 teh 12 Whla en Junction .• •.. ...... .... 304 h, York and Newc astle, and Berw ick ... 13,2 18 69 13 2 1 : 6 2 279 York and North Midland . .... ~... . 6,715 7,301 FOREIGN. I 152 Central of France ........... 5714 Dutch Rhenish ••• • • • .... •• • .... 2,670 4,060 21% 51 aria Antonia ••• • • • ............. 814 1 891 63 Montereau and Troyes .... . 91 156 • • • • ...... 974 941 442% Northern of France ...... .......... 17,035 20,092 134 X Orleans and Bordeaux.. . 240 Paris and Lyon S.... ... :•• • • ...... 2,926 , 4,835 82 Paris and Orleans •• • . . •••,.. „ „ 5,240 I 11,745 64 Paris and Rouen. .... Pains and Strasburgh ••• •• • • • ... - •• 7 5: 3 01 2 1 ti 8,6 9 1 ° 8 • • •• .. .• •• •• 5,561 6,405 194 59 Rouen and Havre ..,. 2,317 2,766 ••••••" • • -••••. •• - " .. 121 2VarB and Nan* ....., _ .„.. „_. ~ .. a ..• we/ 2_ . .486 PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS (From the Votes ald Proceeli — ngs of the House of Commons FRIDAY, APRIL 2. • CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS BILL. (IN THE COMMITTEE.) Clause I (Upon Address of House of Commons her Majesty may appoint Commissioners to make incpiry into Corrupt Practices at E!ectioni):—Amendment proposed, to leave out from the beginning of the Clause to " it shall be lawful," in line 6, for the purpo::e of inserting the words, " when by an Address of the House of Commons it shall be represented to her Majesty that a Committee appointed to try an Election Petition, .or a Committee appointed to in quire into the existence of corrupt practices in any Election or Elections of a Member or Members to serve in Parliament, have reported to the House that corrupt practices have, or that there is reason to believe that corrupt practices have, extensively prevailed hi any City, Borough, or place in the United Kingdom, electing or sharing in the Election of a Member or Members to serve in Parliament at any Election or Elections of such Members or Member, and the said House shall thereupon pray her Majesty to cause inquiry to be made under this Act," instead thereof:"—Question put, " That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Clause." The Committee divided : MINORITY-AYES, 26. Berkeley, Henry F. Hindley Charles Strutt, E. Bright, John Ilobhouse, T. B. Stuart, Lord D. Brotherton, J. Mangles, K. D. 'Sentient, R. J. Banbury, E. IL Osborne, Ralph Thornely, ThomaS Carter, J. B. Peellell, Sir G. Williams, John D'Eyncourt, C. T. Itomilly, Colonel Williams, W. Duncan, George Salwey, Colonel Gibson, T. M. Seholetteld, William Eleadlam, Thomas Somers, J. P. Heywood, James Stanford, J. F. TELLERS. Anstey, T. C. Wakicy, Thomas MAJORITY—NOES, 137. Adair, R. Shaf to Galway, Viscount Naas, Lori Adderley, C. B. Gilpin, Colonel Napier, Joseph Arkwright, George Goold, Wyndham Newport, Viscount Bagot, William Granby, Marquis of O'Brien, Sir Lucius Bankes, G. Greenall, G. O'Connell, M. J. Baring, Thomas Greene, ThomaS Ossulston, Lord Barron, Sir H. Grey, R. W. Packe, C. W. Barrow, W. H. Gwyn, H owe l Pakington, Sir J. Bellew, M. Hale, R. B. Palmer, Robert Beresford, William Hall, Colonel Parker, John Berkeley, C. L. G. Hallewell, E. G. Peel, Sir Robert Brenzridge, Richard - Hamilton, G. A. Plowden, W. 11. Brocklehurst, J. Hamilton, Lord C. Portal, Melville Brooke, Sir A. B. Harris, Captain Renton, John C. Bruce, C. L. C. Heald, James Repton, G. W. Burghley, Lord Henley, J. W. Ricardo, Osman Chandos, Marquis Hervey, Lord A. Russell, Lord J. Chichester, Lord J. Ilildyard, it. C. St. George, Chris, Christopher, R. A. Hill, Lord E. Seymour, Lord Christy, Samuel Hill, Lord M. ' Smith, Vernon Clive, H. B. Hope, Sir J. Smith, J. A. Cobbold, J. C. Hudson, G. Somerton, Viscount Cockburn, Sir A. Hutchins, E. J. Sotheron, T. H. Compton, IL C. Jolliffe, Sir W. G. Spooner, Richard Cotton, W. -H. Jones, Captain Stafford, Augustus Craig, Sir W. U. Knight, F. W. Sutton, J. H. Davies, D. A. Knox, W. S. • Tennent, Sir J. Dawson, T. V. Labouchere, Henry Thesiger, Sir F. Denison, J. E. Lennox, Lord A. Thompson, Colonel Disraeli, B. Lennox, Lord 11. G. Thompson, Ald. Duncombe, A. Locke, Joseph Tollemache, John Duncombe, W. E. Lockhart, W. Trevor, G. B. Dunne, Colonel Manners,:Lord G. Vesey, Thomas Ebrington, Lord Manners, Lord J. Villiers, Viscount Edwards, Henry Marshall, W. Vivian, J. E. Egerton, Sir P. Masterman, John Villiers, F. IV. Estcourt, J. B. B. Matheson, Alex. Vyse, R. 11. Evans, William Maxwell, lion. J. P. Waddington, David Farrer, James Meux, Sir Henry Waddington, H. S. Fellowes, E. Miles, P. W. Walpole, Spencer Filmer, Sir E. Miles, William Whiteside, James Fitzpatrick, J W. Milner, W._ M. Wilson, Matthew Forester, G. C. Morgan, 0. Wood, Sir W. P. Fox, S. 11r, L. Morris, David _ _ _ Freestun, Colonel Mullings. J. R. TELLERS. Frewen, C. U. Mundy, William Mackenzie, W. F. Fuller, A. E. Murphy, F. S. Bateson, Thomas SPORTING tN TELLIGENCE. EPSOM STEEPLECHASES Fu•DAY. The acceptances for the two Free Handicaps and the en tries for the Scramble not having been completed until late on Tuesday evening, the public were kept in the dark as to the quality of the sport they were to expect until the appear ance of the programme in our last impression. It proved a moderate one, and but for the fineness of the weather would, we suspect, have scarcely paid for the " getting up." With the weather in its favour, however, it drew a large attendance, and, as nearly all the horses engaged went to the post, speculation was brisk, and the sport, deficient as it was in interest, left little to complain of. We subjoin a return : A Free Handicap Hurdle Race of 5 soya, each,:with'3o added, over six flights of hurdles. Twice round, about two miles. (6 Subs.) Mr. Collins's The Old Wells, aged, 9st 41b (h b) (Archer) 1 Mr. Braithwaite's The Drag, 5 vrs, lOst slb ....,(White) 2 Mr. Land's Combatant, 6 yrs, list (h b)..... ....... (Ablett) 0 Mr. Sait's Sir Alexander, lOst 51b ..... .....(1:1. Bell) 0 Mr. Walker's Perjury, 5 yrs, 9st 81b ........... ( Archer) 0 Betting-2 to 1 agst The Drag, s to 2 agst Perjury, and 3 to 1 agst Combatant. The Old Wells made all the running, and won by a length. Sir Alexander and Perjury were pulled up two distances from home. Combatant fell and broke his leg. The Great Metropolitan Steeplechase of 10 soya. each, with 100 added, the second to save his stake, and the winner to pay 20 soya. towards expenses. Winners after the declara tion of the weights to carry 61b extra. About four miles. (10 Subs.) Mr. Braithwaite's The Drag, 5 yrs, 9st 131 b...( White) 1 Mr. Turner's Oily Gammon, aged,9st 111b(h b) (Turner) 2 Mr. Higgins's Maria Day, lOst 121 b ,...(Darling) 3 Mr. Liunell's Peter, l ist 131 b (in. 6lbs extra) (Tasker) 0 Mr. Anson's Spring Buck, lOst 121 b... ........(Darby) 0 Mr. Beeton na Half-and-Half, lOst 101 b --(Oliver) 0 Mr. Parker's The Rector, aged, lOst 111 b ...... ...(Ablett) 0 Mr. R. D'Arcy's Little Charley, 9st 111 b (C. Boyce) 0 Mr. Higgins's Forest Lad,jlOst 111 b (Planner) 0 Mr. Reynold's The Black Prince, aged, 9st 1 llb (Archer) 0 Betting-3 to 1 agst Peter, 4to 1 agst Half•and-Half, 5 to 1 agst Forest Lad, 5 to 1 agst Little Charley, and 16 to agst Oily Gammon. Peter, with Oily Gammon, Black Prince, and Maria Day in company, made the running to the water jump the second time round; where he was joined by the Drag, e,ho, at the brow of the hill, took the lead, followed by Oily Gammon and Mary Day. A fine race home between the three, terminated in favour of The Drag by n length, Oily Gammon beating Maria Day by half a length. The Scramble Steeplechase of 3 soya. each, with 20 added; llst 71b each ; the winner to be sold for 100 soya. if de- manded, &c. and allowances if to be sold for less. About two miles. Lord Lurgan's Victress, lOst 41b (30/.) ( Boyce) 1 Mr. R. D'Arcy's Little Charley, 9st 111 b (car. lost 7119 2 Mr. May's Buscot, 9st 111 b ...• . (H. Bell) 3 Mr. Parker's The Rector, aged, 9st 121 b (20/.) (Planner) 0 Mr. Green's Register, 6 y/s ' 9st 1 lb (201.) (Owner) 0 Mr. Smith's Little Lizzy (11-b) lOst 41b (30/.)—(Owner) 0 Mr. Thorp's No Chnnce, 9st Illb (2i 0 1.) Mr. De Horsey's Orange Girl, 10st 61b (30/.) (C. Balchin) 0 Mr. Bowman's Flytrap, 9st Illb (2.3.) ..........(Archer) 0 Mr. F. Williams's Conrad, (h-b), 10st 41b (201) (Owner) 0 Betting-6 to 4 agst Victress, 4to 1 agst Buscot, 6to 1 each agst Gulnare and Conrad, and 7 to 1 each agst Register and Little Charley. Victress, after the first fence, went on with the running, carried it on to the end, and won in a canter ; Little Charley second, Buscot a bad third. Orange Girl and Register fell, and threw their riders, fortunately without injury to either of them. Gulnare was weighed for and mounted, but did not go to the post. BETTING ON THE COURSE. TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS STAKES. 4 to 1 agst Hotnebrewid 15 to l agst Daniel O'Rourke CHESTER CUP. 15 to 1 agst Stilton 50 to 1 agst Cockcrow I 20 to 1 agst High Sheriff 5O to 1 agst Grosvenor 20 to 1 agst Joe Miller I 1000 to 15 agst Retail 25 to 1 agst Merry Bird. I DERBY. sto 1 agst Hobble Noble 1 26t0 1 agst Lapidist (taken) ll to 1 apt Augur (taken) 30 to 1 agst Little Harry (t) HUNTING APPOINTMENTS. Her Majesty's stag-hounds, Mon., Hawthorn Hill; Thurs., Holtspur-11. The Albrighton lids., Mon., Little Onn—l I. The Bramham Moor hds., Mon , Little Almseliff-11. The Heythrop hds., Mon., Cornbury Park; Thurs., South Lawn Lodge-10 1 A. Mr. Morgan's hds., Mon., Amy Cross; Thurs., liennell -10%. The N. F. hds., Mon., Bolderwood ; Thurs , Markway Bridge-12. COURT CIRCULAR. i ,..,. kivg. The Queen bad a dinner party on Thursday, in ' Flightless ham Palace. The company included his Serene Viscount Montrose, Viscount and Viscountess Ba Virsrcountess Canning, Ls dy Pakington, the Prince Nicholas of Nassau, the Duke auindgttteu,Duchess of and Viscountess Sydney, Viscount and and Lord de Ros, the Right Hon. Sir John arre. Disraeli, Baron the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Hadeln. and Baron Roggenbach. was in attendance during The band of the Ist Life Guard s dinner. on Thursday, Mrs. J ames At her Majesty's drawing - r ° obi, t he ladies present. b the honour of taking the Ross, 11.11 , , Sir William C. for the miniature of her Royal Chicheley Plowden was among ad last sitting, on Thursday' painted by command of her Highness the PrincessL o Majesty. Highness prince Albert presided, yesterday af °aft XI:Pal (a)cyealofe°WraellistmissiinTterf." Hthies ternoon, at a His Royal Hi in gl: Exhibition of 1854 herdd at the . . ss arrive Palace at a quarter before Royal Highness ,„„d e d by Colenel Fr • H three o'clock, aP''''' Francis ugh Seymour, la V" Equerry i Iflog oners present The Commie° h nt v L a bouc ere, the Right Hon. William E. Glad stone, Sir • Hon. Ilen s r filliam Cubitt, Sir Charles . . Lyell, Sir Richard Mr Bazle M ' w estm ecott, • Y, Gibson, Mr. John Gott, puss y, M.P., Mr. Rendel, Mr. John Shepherd, Mr. Bir. - ~. -.-. , ~. Stephenson, ni.r., an d Mr. Alderman Thompson, M.P. mt. Scott Russell and Mr. Edgar Bowring, Secretaries to the Royal Commission, attended. Dr. Lyon Playfair, Mr. Cole, and Mr. Dilke, were present. The meeting broke up at a quarter before seven o'clock, when Prince Albert, attended by Colonel F. H. Seymour, re turned to Buckingham Palace. A meeting of the Finance Committee of the Royal Com mission had previously been held in the Palace of Westmin ster, which wan attended by Earl Granville, the Right Hon. H. Labouchere, the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, Sir Alex ander Spearman, Sir W. Cubitt, Mr. T. F. Gibson, and Mr. Bo wring (Secretary). Mr. Cole, Mr. Dilke, and Mr. Carpenter attended. the Royal Family took their accustomed exercise yester day in the garden of Buckingham Palace. The. Queen and Prince Albert honoured the performance of the French Plays with their presence yesterday evening. The Royal suite consisted of the Marchioness of Ely, Hon. Eleanor Stanley, the Earl of Verulam, Lord Colville, and Colonel F. R. Seymour. The Hon. Eleanor Stanley and the Hon. Beatrice Byng have relieved the Hon. Caroline Cavendish and toe Hon. Flora Macdonald in their duties as Maids of Honour in Waiting to her Majesty. Lord Colville (Clerk Marshal) has relieved Major-General Buckley in his duties as Equerry in Waiting to the Queen — Colonel Francis Hugh Seymour has relieved Colonel Bon verie in his duties as Equerry in Waiting to his Royal High ness Prince Albert. _ . A Deputation, consisting of Alderman Thompson, Presi dent of Christ's Hospital; Alderman Hooper, President or St. Bartholomew's; Alderman Sir J. Musgrove, Pre-iderit of St. Thomas's; Mr. Bentley, Treasurer of St. Bartholomew's Hospital; Mr. Gilpin, Treasurer of Christ's Hospital; Mr. Baggatlay, Treasurer or :;t. Thomas's Hospital; Mr. Ma berly, Solicitor to Christ's Hospital; Mr. Wainewright , 'l:s -hawl. to St. Thomas's Hospital; Mr. IVilde. Solicitor to St. Bartholomew's; Mr. James Freslifield, M.P.; and M John Masterman, M.P., had an interview with Mr. Secretrol!? ary Walpole yesterday at the Home Office. A Deputatioilrto Guy's Hospital, consisting of Mr. Charles Barclay) .rnglis, dent; Mr. Bonamy Dobru, Treasurer; Sir Robert id into. M.P. ; and Mr. John Masterman, M.P., had also an view with the Right Hon. Gentleman. eser day with the Sir John Herschel had an interview Y ial residence in t Chancellor of the Exchequer, at his o di c Diniaiag-atteat• A deputation from the Local Board of Health of Leicester had an interview, on Thursday, with the General Board of Health, at their offices, Whitehall. The Deputation was in troduced by Mr. Harris, M. U., and Mr. J. Ellis, M.P. (Members for the, Borough), and consisted of Messrs. Whet stone and Burgess, accompanied by the Town Clerk of Lei cester. A deputation of the Royal British Flax Association, con sisting of the Duke of Montrose, Si , Archibald J. Campbell, M.P., and , lessrs. Law and Turnbull, Parliamentary agents, had an interview with the Right Hon. J. W. Henley and Lord colchester yesterday at the Board of Trade. The Earl of Yarborou:ih had an interview with the Right Hon. J. W. Henley on Thursday, at the Board of Trade. The Earl of Shaftesbury had an interview with Mr. Secre tary Walpole yesterday, at the Home-office. General Love had also an interview with the Right Hon. Gentleman. The Rev. Dr. Cooke, the Rev. Dr. Edgar, and Mr. Mac rony, of Belfast, accompanied by Sir Emerson Tennent, M.P., and Mr. Tennant, M.P., had an interview on Tburs dav with the Chief secretary and A ttorney -G enera l f or Ire land - at the Irish Office. Mr. Masterman, M.P., and a deputation, had an interview with the Right lion. J. W. Henley and Lord Colchester yes terday, at the Board of Trade. Mr. Hamilton Lindsay and Captain Bethune, R.N., had an interview with the Right Hon. J. W. Henley, on Thurs. day, at the Board of Trade A deputation from the West India Mining Company, on the subject of a Royal Charter, consistine of Mr. Montgo mery Dlartin and Mr. Robert Lowe, had an interview with Sir J. Pakinom yesterday, at the. Colonial-office. The Contatissioaers for the Reduction of the national Debt had a quarterly meeting yesterday at the official re sidence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. in Downing street. The Chatic-llor of the Exchequer, the Governor of the Bank of England, and the Deputy• Governor were pre sent. Sir Alexaoter Spearman, Secretary and Comptroller- General to the Commissioners, attended. Sir E. N. Buxton, M.P., Lai an interview with Mr. Se cretary Walpole yesterday. Mr. Sergeant Adams had an interview with the Right lion. J. W. Henley, yesterday, it the Board of Trade. The Oxford University Commission had a meeting on Thursday, at the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, in Downing-street. Present—The Bishop of Nor wich, the Dean of Carlisle, the Master of Pembroke, the Rev. H. G. Liddell, the Rev. Professor Powell, the Rev. J. H. S. Johnson, and the Rev. A. P. Stanley (Secretary). A deputation, consisting of Mr. Fox and Mr. Weld, from New Zealand, accompanied by Mr. Wakefield and Mr. Sewell, had an interview with Sir John Pakington yesterday at the Colonial•ofce. The deputation were introduced by Lord Lyttelton and Mr. Adderley, M.P. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had a general meeting on Thursday, at their Office, in Whitehall place. Dispatches were sent from the Colonial-dice yesterday to the Governor of Victoria. Dispatches were also sent to the Governors of the North American provinces. Dispatches were received yesterday from the Governor of the Gambia at the Colonial-office. NAVAL IN'T'ELLIGENCE. We are informed, on good authority, that the remainder of Goldner's preserved meats in store at the Clarence vic tualling establishment, Gosport (and it must be again of considerable amount, as the Superb returned int• store, from the Mediterranean, upwards of 4,000 canisters last week) is ordered to be removed to Deptford for examination. THE COAST OF AFRICA STATION. AscaNszorr, JAN. 30. Her Majesty's ship Penelope, 22, Captain L is t er , bearing the broad pendant of Commodore Bruce, commanding-in chief on the west coast of Africa station, arrived here on the 17th, and sails in a day or two for the Bights. Mr. Howell (gunner of the Teazer screw steam-vessel) and Mr. Gahm (master's assistant of this vessel) died of the wounds received at Lagos, the former on the sth of February, and the latter on the 3d inst. _ Dr. Findlay (late surgeon of the Alecto), Mr. Lance (late paymaster and purser of the Gladiator), and Mr. Young (late paymaster and purser of the Penelope), proceed home in the Vulcan invalided. The Glaoiat o. steam-frigate, Captain Adams, sails for the Cape of Good Hope in February. Mr. Graham Eden, mate of the ‘Vaterwitch, is appointed to act as lieutenant of her. W. Windsor, gunner's mate, of the Penelope, is appointed to the Penelope as gunner, vice Howell. Second Master Mr. Charles F. Cooper, of the Vulcan, is appointed to the Penelope. Mr. Louis Barstow, mate of the Spy, is appointed to act as Lieutenant of the Firefly. Lieutenant J. R. Alexander is appointed to the Penelope as part complement. The Teazer arrived here on the 27th, frem Fernando Po, all well. _ The Bloodhound has been sent to St.:Helena. The Jackal has been dispatched to the Bights. The Crane has been dispatched to Loanda, with Mr. Gabriel, slave commissioner. Commander Forbes, of the Philomel, has gone to Abomey, by request of the King of Dahomey. The British squadron is appointed to stations as under: — At Ascension—Penelope, 22, Commodore Bruce; Tortoise, 12, Captain Kitchen; and Teazer tender. Sierra Leone—Spy, 3, Lieut.-Commander Beresford; Dol phin, 3, Lieut.-Commander Temple; Sealark, 8, Commander E. S. Sotheby ; and Urymidon steam-vessel, Lieut.-Com mander Jolliffe. In the Bights—Archer (screw), 14, Commander Strange; Harlequin, 12, Commander A. P. E. Wilmot; Philomel, 10, Commander T. G. Forbes; Niger (screw), 14, Commander Heath; Wasp (screw), 14, Commander Crozier; Volcano, 5, paddle steam-vessel, Commander Coots • Waterwitch, 8, Commander A. H. Gardner; and Alecto, :5, paddle steam sloop, Commander Crofton. On the South Coast—Gladiator, 6, Captain Adams; Wol verine, 12, Commander Falcon; Firefly, paddle steam-sloop, 4, Commander Seymour; Cygnet, 8, Commander R. D. White; Prometheus, paddle-wheel steam-sloop, 5, Com mander Foots; Hound, 8, Commander Hall; and Athol, 4, store -ship, Lieutenant-Commander Pearse. Pre'srotern, Trrunsnar.—Upwards of 200 seamen belong ing to the Arethusa arrived here from Portsmouth on Tues day, by the Duke of Cornwall, merchant steamer, on four teen days leave of absence. The merchant ship London, Captain Hebard, of and far London, from New York, landed some of her passengers here to-day. She has a cargo of wheat, flour, and oil. Her Majesty's brig Racer had her masts taken out, and she was brought to the yard on Tuesday. Her crew were paid off on Wednesday. WooLwicer, APRIL 2.—According to present arrange ments the squadron of vessels fitting for a searching expedi tion to the Arctic Regions, under the command of Capt. Sir Edward Belcher, C. will leave Woolwich on Saturday next, the 10th inst., and be ready to leave Greenhithe on the 15th, on their enterprising voyage. It was premature to state that the North Star, Commander Pullen, had arrived at Woolwich, as, although it was in tended to bring ner down trom Deptford in the afternoon, it has been postponed to Monday next. The North Star is three able seamen short, having been ordered to have a com plement of 40. Captain Sir Edward Belcher, commanding the present ext Woolwich, and all the officers rani petty officers at present e who served under Captain Sir James Ross and Captain u ct i til i, h: r. Austin, attended at the office of Commodore today to inspect and give their opinions on the relics Eden b ro ught home by Dr. John Rae from the Arctic Regions. The re lics were found b y the enterprising traveller at Victoria land in latitude 68 degrees 40 minutes, and •part longitude 102 degr ees 10 minutes, and consistooffthe mast of pieces of wood, one of fir, having evidently been e t a d keit pieceho m e cut the ewholeff each a o c f h the end, piece nd made a drawing of the middle part, which rendered the pur aofbliotath.e iDooro.d, abeutdidhenuht pose °I the whole perectly intelligible to all the officers and petty officers who inspected them. On one of the pieces brought home was a becket for the travellers, made of Go vernment white line, fastened with two composition Govern ment nails. The other piece e j ai of Eng Lila oak, with a hole t h rou gh it for a man-rtpe. Tae inspectio n of the piece and • the drawing accou'PanYlD g it .410 wed that it evidently hied stage of s n u y e e, v i e t s l7 l e vessels sf.l )othtehere:elluttle been one acne staunclutene fitted to the i ce p l an k or conn i ng 3r.prreitseerourectlnArvecsttiio gator. or e xpedition. Cain have Mundy, changed of theehip ships, Waterloo, r th o o e , t I t 2 h o e , Capta i n the Hon. M. Stopfcrd, o f th e L on d on , 90, at now Thi flag ith e captain third ship pt Captainh the Com m s a t n o d p e f r e - r i a n - h e as h i e had e a d t t iSahge.esrbvieps:, at and e e C r a n p es t a s s Nord. at is at Sheerness, tfhoremNe The Dauntless, 33, steam-frigate, at Plymouth, Captain Halsted, is ordered to be fitted for the reception of Sir Charles notham, the newly-appointed envoy to the Court of Brazils. The Lords of the Admiralty have granted 501. per annum to the incumbents of the parish of St. James the Great, De vonport, in considerati o n o f th e acco mmodation a ff orded in the s church to the m e n e mpl o y e d i n the works at the new t eam-yard at Morice Town. It will be recollected that the late Board of Admiralty some time since granted 4,0001. to wards building toe church in this parish PoiersstorTir, FRIDAY.—The Antelope steamer, having only some few rivets to replace, was taken out of dock this morning when the Drake lighter went alongside, and she took in tier anchors and chains and guns and other stores that were taken out to lighten her when on shore on Bern bridge Edo. By order from the Admiralty Captain Chad,, Captain Warden, and Captain Symonds held a court of in quiry on board her to ascertain the circumstances of her getting aground. Of course, neither the inquiry nor the re sult will be made public for the present, but transmitted to the Admiralty. She will be ready for proceeding to Gibral tar in a day or two. At slack water the Victory, flag-ship of Admiral Sir T. Briggs, was shifted over to the moorings on the Gosport shore, while her own moorings are examined. The Vixen steam-sloop was undocked this morning, and went alongside the coal depot to fill up her fuel. The Slinoom iron troop-steamer, Captain Kingcome, arrived at Spithead yesterday afternoon, coming up under steam. Report speaks favourably of her performances under both steam and canvas, and she appears to be a capital sea-boat. She stayed in a light moderate breeze, in about 54 minutes; but was much longer wearing, on account of her great length ; under steam she steers admira bly. Her engines, which we before have observed, were not made for her—but they are good engines; some of the minor parts of the machinery are too slight—these have been shifted, and it is now said she is all right. She awaits orders at Spithead. Captain T. Rom Sullivan (with Admiralty permission) went out in her, for the trial cruise. She sailed from Plymouth with the Vulcan troop-steamer, but this vessel has not yet made her appearance, arid has now a fair wind. The Pluto steamer, for the coast of Africa, went at op sp t i o t. f harbour on Thursaay afternoon, and awaits orders head. The Winchester, ZO, Captain Loch, m cent, li l e l a o d , , h a a n v d e t both their p tops p o a i n n d t e d l o t t v b e r r o u r g i g tii g n i t tin with caps. the_ The Suddaeora h timber -ship, from bloulnie teals timber m osr b i in e ii r nr sg f o . r A t T h the r dockyard, ilEAp came ihe into rPortsmouth Harbour this s 9 t 2 e a ; m S . u t i e g r a b t , e 8 ; 4 s ; imHooognuie,st 6:o a na , steam t i r 3 oo .n p e g e f u r g i a C g r i a d ßg t - e e ' s 'n hl t i guard-s hip o. d t2 : e e t Retribution d r u Vn t l j u i eft o y t - i screw-steamer. Commodore Mart in an ex tension of_ Admiralty leave. Pills the hest ; -- :C li ur ° e l D ' r w op7;ll and most e c l i l e S n E t M ß ß e l m 'TeCl y . Extract of a let- Feeling gratefui for the benefit ter from Mr. P. Wibiaras, dated " Milford, March 1, 1812. To Professor . my wife has derived by the use of your Pills, I consider it my Holloway. Sir,— dutryAtoDiVnfefißrm you of it. Soon after the birth of her last child her feet and ancies began to s we ll an d a f terwar d s h er w h o l e body, strongly i nd icative of dropsy, this occurring at the tarn of life. 1 obtained the best medical advice but her health con tinued to decline. I t h en tr i ed your Pills, which I am happy to say have restored her to sound and perfect health.",-- -Sold by all Druggists, and at Professor Holloway's Estab lishment, 244, Strand, London. A verdict of accidental death was found yesterday by the ju r y assem b led to invest i gate t h e death of Mr. Pit cher, who Was, a few days since, knocked down and ran ever by au omnibus. I THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 3, 1852.