The Sun. — London, England, 1848-05-17 00:00:00

M()NEY•dnil CoMAIEKCIAL NEWS. CITY, QUARTER TO TIJ/:E.".. The sales of Cotton at Liverpool yesterday were 5 ,000 bales. Shares drooped in the morning, but rallied subsequently. The Hibernia steamer brings later advices from the United States. The non-ratification of the treaty is calculated to excite disappointment, especially as there are hints in same of the opposition papers that Mr. Polk and his Cabinet really do not desire peace, being anxious to obtain a f a i r excuse f o r annexing the Upon this ground, too, Mr. Polk 1. 611 probably once more o ff er hi mse lf as President. Whether the following remarks of the New York Herald can be relied on, it is scarcely in our Power to say, but we apprehend that they are "not far ott" The writer says : " The last accounts from Mexico are unfavourable for the ratification of the treaty. We think it highly probab l e that no treaty will be confirmed by Mexico during the preseut summer, and perhapsnot until after our November election. We have some reasons for believing that Mr. Polk, and many of his friends in the Senate, were never sincere in desirin g a treaty with Mexico till after t he presid ent i al election. The issue of the annexation of I:exasld, on whi c h t h e l ast Presi d ency was determined, wou not answer for the approaching contest; and if our relations with Mexico should remain open till win ter, it would be much easier for Mr. Polk and his Z en to go i nto the contest with the cr y o f all "ice on their lips than to be without suc h watchword. If the ' American commissioners in Me xico choose to protract negotiations there, they can e r il y accompli s h t h e i r purpose . They have plenty o m oney under their control, and money possesses _art unlimited p o li t i ca l power among s uch a miserable Z ee of scoundrels as compose the Mexican Congress or th exi"n Government. It will be only necessary for 08e Commissioners to advertise privately what they /t aut, and how much they will give to agree to a treaty It. di sagree to it —to confirm the negotiations or de l/ them--in order to accomplish exactly what th e y w ant from th e M exican Government, in all its ramifica e,l7tnhs' We may prep are , t h ere f ore , f o r seeing no treaty Mexico, and for going into the next election to decide the question wheth e r we s hall annex the whole of t_lf republic of Me x i co to t h e U n it e d States, or not. have h such an issue, Mr. Polk, or Mr. Polk's men , m i g ht aysome ch ance, even against General Tayl or or General Scott. Without it we think they would have no Prosp ect :, satisfactoryroerial affairs i n A mer i ca were in a tolerably market.position, and t h ere was an easy money It is stated ex : There h as b een but a moderate demand for sterling I t 3 c t b ing e f or t hi s packet. The best drawers are asking l refusal ' L i xer cent. Premium, which is equivalent to a and no IttlW. Bill s on P aris ate a d rug i n t h e market, becomelnquiry at a ll for them. Public con fid ence h as commercial° much shaken b y t h e position of political, ports of thew and financial affairs in Europe, and in all the preciousm that the only regulator of balances is The Royal B e l ls. thetz S a cheid after an:brig Duke of Brabant has returned a voyage of fifteen months, having e r h, ret Chili, Peru, and various other . places, afforded. 3 18 represented, an excellent reception was The Continental advices received to-day are of rather of sere favourable tendency although there is no feeling at pf n , r itY, inasm uc h as the members of the Government "r's must be divided ; and the attempt to visit with punishment some late Members of the Government, 14 ° 11 4 Blanc and Albert for instance, may bring the schism to a head. The manner in which Ledru Rollin is co mpromised certainly renders his p o sition extremely deli cate. The hands hav e b een excee di ng ly dull this morning, a d thoug in pr b ice etter. Tbere is scarcely an business f ni ng either for transfer or on speculation. y The re tual of the juries in Ireland to find bills against the confederates " is held to be embarrassing, and the question now asked is how the difficulty can be met. e\ eui '° l3 - have been 831 to 834; New Three-and-a -taarter per Cents. Pi to 831; and the Three per e n ents • 8 1i to 82i. Bank Stock has been 189 1 to 191 ; 11 .. India Stock 231 to 233. Exchequer - bi lls have rea a Ned 6s premium for those of June. ceeldnintg ~. he y. Poreign Market, the dealings have bee n ex limited. Spanish Five per Cents. have been %noted 121, and the Three per Cents. 211. Mexican Dutch „Tnds h ave b een 15 1, an d Grenada 131 to 14. Awo-and-a-Half per Cents have been 41 1 to 421. Railw a y Sh ares are held more firmly, .although there are but f ew transac tions, and the French lines partici- Pate in the rally. ONE CLOSING PR ICES OF BRI TISH FUNDS. O'C " 1 PRICES L 9 . 1 191 13411 k Stock lB9 ............. , per Ce n t. Reduced Anne 82 1 /s , 8:3 A 7l7a 82 1 4 , , per Cent. Consols Annuities 83% ais New 314 per Cent. Anne.............. 83l 82% 833 i India Stock ...... ........ ...... 1 23 2 2 0 p 231 233 233 20p India Bonds, 1,0004 ..... 24 p Ditto under 1,0 001 . • • •-• 2 4 83 t % 83'3e Consols for Account ..... Exchequer 3 2td. 8; 3d. 1,0001. June ...... - ..... 1,000/. March ... 42 45 p 500/. June Small, June 0.7.4rE O'CLOCK. 36 I* CLOSIN,, PRICES. 2 1 ,4 111, PRICES OF FOREIGN fUNDS. Equador Bonds Grenada Bonds, 1 per Cent. Mexican, 5 per Cent. 1846 Ditto, Account 15% Peruvian Bouds, 6 per Cents 12% Russian Bonds ;.. ...... ._ .._. 21% Spanish 5 per Cent. 18413 Ditto 3 per Cent 12 Guild Dividends on the above P Dutch 2% per Cent., 62 fi n e tr at s ea riEss ayb 4 le l% in London DONE 4 Ditto. 4 per Cent* Certj PRICES OF PAID. AT I aND O'CLOCK. RAILWAY SHARES. _ ...... Aberdeen ... 5 U - Amber., Nott., Boston, _. ...... 51; and Eastern Junction ?i i .4 Ayrshire and Galloway.. 2_ll° - .. _ _ Belf ast & County Down 14 /2 .... Birmingham and "* ford Junction •••• ••• 20 14M Birmingham, Wolver- _ _ _ harripton, and Dudley' 10 ...... ... Binning., Wolverh'pton, . .. ._ - ...... 121 43 _ and Stour Valley ••••••••• Birkenhead, Lancashire, ...,, .... _ ... • ....... - Bostoand Cheshire .'4 ...... ... ........... - Bristn, Stamfd & Birm. 5 ... _ .. . ....... _ ol and Exeter B5 ....... - ...... : ..... 3 dis Ditto, T birds ... „,i, 3214 Bucki nghamshire... IV. 4 a• ..... 5/ 32 3IJ/4 " ls 8 dis 50 •••" is s dis Caledonian - Ditto, Half Shares - 6I A _- I)4l . o ,Clydesdale June 50 ..... Cheater and Holyhead... 42% _ _- Ditto, Preference l5 '"••• - - Clarence - _ Do. Ist Class, 6 per Ct. 10 ••••-.., Do. 2d Class, 5 per Ct. 10 •••••• DO. Government Loan, 4 per C ent. Direct London & Ports • t ll h ~ , ............ 33 4 ...... -- Dubliriand Belfast June. 25 •••••• - Dundalk k Enniskillen 17% • East Anglia, 25/., L. & E. and L. and D. .. ... 25 •••••• Dn., 181:, E. & 11,... 18 , Do., 3/. 10s 3% "••••• ev 3 , 15 :x n •Last ern t, .-• ......... 20 . 14711 /4 C ou nties....... ties... ••••• - ' D o ''' i New Guaranteed -,,.. 3 3% , Di"ttpoe,Er eteents•io**l7;,s**P"; 2%...... _ IA dis Cent, Ne. 1 ..•_6/. 13s. 4d.... - • Ditto ditt o, N o • 50xn 49% 5 U x Do. North * 2...61. • & Eastern 50 13s. 4d M die n •••• _ ' Do. Quarters • .. 12% • _ • - Eastern Do . New . • •••• . 23 - _ unio.,; ............... so ........ _ Ditto, Quarter Shares 12% - Ditto, ThirdsThir 13 4d - - . '.. I)(). gper cent.) 10 _ tDitto. di•to 20 • • ............ acaaNewhire.. Quarters... 2165514 , tebtitLatO, .. ..... .. .......... Ditto, New - Ditt o 4 • East Lincolnshire . ... 20 1 A ~ .•• Edinburgh and Glasgo w 50 - '•' - - ** * , Half Shares 15 •• - lier Shares --At Ditto, Quart *** lof , Ed Di l: tl.lo r ,g a n Northern 25 - ............. .. Ditto, Newwp" ; .......... 614 - ... EDitto, diettcc°Nt;•••••• 13 zeter,Yenvil, iseDo-rcli .. 2944 - ••• ............ Ditto, New Glasgovt, Dumicia ........ 2 GlaCarlisle a• and _... ... ............ Disgow,Kicrn-a••;...i5,•4r1. 83 ' 8d - ............ ••• tto, New ... ...... ... 4 5 0 0 - Do Preference Consul. 15 - Great Northern ....... 13 1, ....„ . „ . .. • • • • • • • • • , London and Yo•i:lt 2%•••••• - treat South. and West. .......... (Ireland) ... .......... 40 --,_ ..... ....... Great North of England.loo „• -. ........... , 1)11 - 0 , New, 40 /......„. 5' • • ' ........ "1110, New, 301 ......... 30 ' - ........ Greatbqt, :ST.ew,ls/ ....... 11% - ••- ........ Western .............. 90 ••• •• - .......... DDitto, 1,4 Shares ...... 50 itto, 1.4 Shares ...... 17%.• Ditto, Fifths .. ....... 20 Ditto, New 1N..... . 9 1 / 2 ... .. - . Huddersfield and Igancla. 26 Ditto, Thirds ...... ... 9 ..... - HUH and Selby ...... 50 •••••• - bitto, Half Shares ... 25 •••••• - Ditto, 814 Shares .... 1 2% .• ••• - Ipswich BurySt. Edm. 171/2 - - •''" ..... ••••• Do., do., and Norwich 17% Do., do., Extens. Scrip 50 - ••••• ......... Lancaster and Carlisle... Ditto, Tl • d - 10 ~ lir 8 ........ - . .--. --ancashire & Yorkshire 93 Ditto, ditto ... ....... -82 ••••• - •••• . Ditto, 1A Shares ...- 43 - - 71% 4' '..i ''. bo. Quarter Shares... 14% - . Do. Fifths... 9 •,, Do. Sixteenths 6 1 ,4 ....... ..... -• 6 ••••" ..... "" Do. Thirds(Reg.)•••• • 13 "... 2t! Do. Liverp. and Bury 43 - Ditto % (late Ilud .. derstield and Sheff.) 3 $ Do.(Wakefield,Ponte _ tract, and Goole) ... 50 Doe( NV. Riding Union) 6 -- • L _ Do.(Preston & Wyre) 25 - ... Do. % Shares ( A).•• 9 . eeds and Bradford 5O Leeds, DeWsbury, c.... 47%•••••• Do., Half Shares 2O ** - Do., (blue) Scrip...._ 2%••• - Leeds and Thirsk ...... 45 - ••• " • , _Ditto,-New ........ •• 26 Do., Prefer., 6 per CL 3% - Liverpool, Crosby anti ' • Southport . ......... .. .. 2 LlVerp., Manchester, and • ~, Newc astle Junction... 2% - 14ondon &Blackw a ll... l3/. 65.8 d... - ••• 1: * NeW• Nee 2 a 4..44 las. 411.... i.... •••‘• lah &WINN !swag so " m e a tr"'" ._. C LOSING PRICES. . 24 1 ,4 5/ . / •• 33% London, Brighton, and South Coas , t ......... 50 ...... 33.334 ... Do. Consol. Eighths. 40 ...... ... . . Do. Guarant. 5 per ct.. , 9 •••••• --- Do. Pref. Con.s per ct. 50 •• ••• • Ditto, ditt0...... 1852 50 ...... London and Greenwich 12/15s 4d... ...... ......, Ditto, l'reference... 18/ 17s 2d... .. London and N. Western 100 .... I )0. Quarters (L.& B.) 22 Ditto, New ........ 2 Ditto, Fi ft hs ....... . ... .. 2 ...... , ..... ~ ...... Do. 40/.Shares(L.M.) 20 ...... Do. 101. (51. & B.) A. 7% ...... Do. to/. (M. & B.) B. 7% ...... Do. 10/.. IM. & B.) C. 1 ....• Loud. Sr S. W4,stern Do. New 50/. ... ..... 42%.. .. Do. New 401. ......... .. 34 Do. Tenths (Consol.) 50 Ditto ditto ............. 40 Ditto. Thirds London, Salisbury, and ..... .... • lg.._ -.- Yeovil Londonderry &Coleraine 27% .....„ Londonderry and Ennis killen ...... ... ..... ...... 25 ...... -- ••• ..... Lowestoft (4 per et.) ... 20 Ditto (6 per ct.) - Mancliester,Buxton , and M 4 ...... Matlock Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire ...100 Do. Quarters (No. 1) 13 - ••• Ditto ditto (No. 2)... 25 Ditto ditto (No. 3) ... 7% — .......... ... Ditto, New 101. Pref... 71,4 ..- •.• Ditto, Gt. Grimsby ... 30 Ditto ditto . ......... 9 Ditto ditto Ditto Sheffield and Lincolnshire lO ..• ••• •....... ........ Do., Grimsby Dock l5 Do., Manchester and Lincoln Union..... 4/. 2s. — Manchest. & Southampt. 2IA ...... 1 0 41 ••• —• kidlan,,l ...... ........... 100 Do. Consolidated Pref.loo Do., do., .501. Shares.- 15 ... Do. Birm., and Derby 100 Do•Consol.Bristol and Birming., 6 per ct.... 100 ...... Ditto, Brist. & Glocstr. 36 Ditto, ditto ... ..... 1.11.. 3s. 6d — Ditto,Leieest. & Swan nington, 8 per ct.guar.loo ...... ••• Midland Great Western Irish 4O Middlesbro' and Redcar, 6 per cent. guar....... 50 ...... -- Newcastle and Carlisle...l oo Do. Quarters 25 Newmrket & Chesterford 18% — Do. Extension .........21. 125.... Newport, Abergavenny, and Heref0rd............ 6 •••••• Newry and Enniskillen 7 Newry, Warrenpoint, and Rostrevor ...... .. 15 Norfolk .......... ........ •••100 Do.. New 20/. .. Do. Extension Do. Guaranteed s%pc. 5 Do. do. Waveney Val. 2 Northern Counties Union 4 North British ........ ... 25 Do. Half Shares 12%...... Do. Quarters 6 l* — Do. Extension North & South-Western 2 North Stattordshire ...... 12%....» 10% 10 ... .... North Wales . 3114 — . .. North Western, 7 % — --- Oxford, Worcester, and , Wolverhampton ...... 40 ... Reading, Guildford, and Reigate Royston and Hitchin ... 1% - .•.•.•••• •• •• .... Scottish Central Scottish Midland 25 Ditto, New Sheffield, Rotherham, and Goole (Nor. Div.) 5 Do. do. (Sou. Div.) 2%•••••• Shrewsbury and Birm... 8 Ditto ditto. Class B. 5 Shrewsbury and Herefd. 2 ...... Shrewsbury & Chester ( Nor. W. Min.) l6 Ditto Halves ... ditto 8 ..- — .. •••• Ditto Oswestry ...... 16 Ditto New Do. 8 per Cent. Pref. 8 ...... .... ...... Shropshire Union South Devon 45 ...... ......... ..... Do. Preference So u th Staffordshire 5% — • •••.• ..... South Eastern Do., No. 1 24 Do., N 0.2. Do., No. 3 ....... •••••• 20 ..-.• Do., No. 4 South Wa1e5............... 23 South Yorkshire, Don caster, and Goole 3 Swans. & Loughor & Ca meron's Stm. Coal. ... 6 ••• .. ...... ••• Taw Vale Extension ... 6 Thames Haven Dock 1321,1 43V _ 4S IA - T% and Railway ........... 17%...... Vale of Death ... .. 4 ...... Waterford and Kilkenny 151.....• .. — Waterford and Limerick 40 W aterf d,W xfrd,Wicklw, and Dublin Wear Valley 6 per Cent. Guaranteed ... .. ...... 42 3 / 4 Do. do. do. ... 25 W est Cornwall 6 ... .. -.. Whitehaven & Furness 11 Windsor, Staines, and South Western ..... ... 7 W ilt s , Somerset, & Wey mouth York, Newcastle, and Berwick. . .. . Do. Original New and Berwick Do. Extension No. 1. 15 Do. do. No. 2. ..... ... 10 Jo. G.N E.Preterence 8 ...... .7 • ~• • • ...... . . York and North Midland 50 Ditto, Preference ...... 10 Do. East and West Rid ing Extension FOREIGN RAILWAYS. Boulogne and Amiens... 20 Central of France (Or leans and Vierzon) ... 16 Ceylon Demerara lO .. Dendre Valley 4 Direct Bombay and Madras ss. . "• Dutch Rhenish East Indian 314••"" ...... .. .... • Great Indian Peninsular ss. Italian and Austrian.... 4 Louvain it la Sambre ... 6 Luxembourg Madrid and Valencia... 2 ...... Namur and Liege ...... 18 ... .. Northern of France...." 10 Orleans and Bordeaux 6 ...... ..... Over Yssel 413 s 4d...... Paris and Lyons ........ . 10 .•• •• Paris and Orleans ...... 20 Paris and Rouen ... ••... 20 Paris and Strasbourg ... 8 Rouen and Havre Sambre and Meuse 2O ....• ••• Strasbourg and Basle ... 14 ...... ...... Tours and Nantes ..... ... 8 Tournay, Jurbise, Lan den, and Bassett ..... 16 West Flanders. 8%..... • - JOINT STOCK BANKS. London & Westminster. 20 Union of Australia London Joint Stock. lO Union of London... ..... 10 Provincial of Ireland ... 25 Ditto,New... ...... • National of Ireland 2 2 1,4.....• ..«•'•••'••••• British North American 50 Australasia Ditto New... 10 Commercial of London 20 Union of Madrid ......... 40 National Prov. England. 35 Ditto.Naw ...... .. ..... 10 Colonial ... ... 25 MINES. Real Del Monte, Unreg. Anglo-Mexican lOO Brazilian Coutes& Cuiba 30 British Iron ..... l2 Bolonos Scrip . ..... .... ..... Galvanized Iron lO Ditto, New - •.•••••••••• •• LLOYD'S SHIPPING-(THIS DAY LONDON, MAT 17.—Wind S.S.W., moderate breeze, and cloudy. LIVERPOOL, MAT 15.—Arrd. Lord Panmure, Clark, St. Dominuo. 16. Acadia (steamer), Boston ; Ocean Queen, M'Bride, Mobile; Pioneer, Graham, Charleston , Th o mas, Brewer, Mobile. Sld. 16th, Ocean, New . Or leans; E. G., New York; Fanueil, Hall, Boston; Chris tiana, Quebec. LIVERPOOL, MAY 16.—The Amalin, from Havannah to Cowes, was spoken with 27th ult., in lat. 42, long. 41, leaky, and with part of cargo thrown overboard, by the Ocean Queen, M`Bride, arrived here. ' YARMOUTH, MAY 15.—The Susan, Cole, from New castle to Colchester, caught the ground on the Barber Sand, and soon after sank; some of the stores have been saved. The Wupper, of Hull, from Rotterdam, got on shore this morning, but succeeded in getting clear without assistance. The Louisa, Forrest, from Seaham to London, was assisted into the Roads, abandoned, having been in contact with the Albion, March, of Fred,rickstadt. SUNDERLAND, MAY 15.—S1d. Robert Marryat, Riche bucto; Garland, Bahia. SHIELDS, MAY 15.—Sid. Thomas and Joseph, Quebec. OFF KINSALE, MAT 15.—Springfield, New Orleans, for Liverpool. Orr CORK, MAT 14 .—Arrd. Kingston, Stephen son, Mauritius, and sailed for the Clyde; Brid g etown, New O r l eans. ' CORE, MAY 14.—Arrd. Antelope, Carrie Vera Cruz. WATERFORD, MAY 14. —Sid. Juliet, New York; thistle, Q uebec. F F ALMOUTH , OF Bfor Rotterdam. MAY 14. FALMOUTH, itAiratavia 14. —Acrd. Vrouw Johann a, Vander Il oeven Good man, New O r l eans for Bremen . . Joseph Haydon , Go od- Ma o u n r ii ti L u l s T . DEAL, MAY 16.—Arr TLEHA 15 —Arrd r Bremen. nab, and s a il e d f or NE PT", MAY 15.—Arrd. Jessie, Smit h, d• Agenoria, Webster, Havan- H Havannah, and sailed faomburgh Weeks, Perna m b uco ; Wellintou, Scott. lndustrioms, River and sa il e d, 16th, N r e Antwerp. New Margaret, Ager, China ; ; Ric Morrison, M fr o o r m ris t o h n e gab= 36 p 45 p 36 p 15xn 95 b 4 16% 2134 11!‘ M ARKET , NEWs.......(THIS DAY.) CO RN-EXCHANG,-E—WEDNESDAY Sb ice Monday a very limited quantity of English Whe at has been receivr:d up to our market coastwise. To-d ay, the show of samples of both red and white was :trifling in the extreme; yet the demand was in a very sluggish state, at barely the late decline in the quotations. Selected parcels of free foreign Wheat sold at full prices; but he middling and inferior kinds com ma! ided scarcely any attention. The imports this week have been only 2..990 quarters. Barley, the supply of which was limi•,ed, moved off steadily, at full prices. In Malt next to nothing was doing, at almost nominal quotations. Oats wero firm, and a trifle dearer than on Monday. Beans and Peas were held at full prices. Indian Cora, Meal, and '`lour were unaltered in value. English • ..... Irish... • ..... Foreign Wheat. 850 qrs. Oats. I Flour. 1,870 qrs. 660 1,090 I -- 1,820 A ARIVALS. Barley. 430 qrs. 2,9`,0 970 Malt, 2.010 qrs. IATHITECHEIPEZ. Fair average supplies of each kind of Meat were on sale - to-day; yet the general demand was steady, at full prices. Bed, from 2s 10d'to 3s 6d; Mutton, 3s 10d to 4s. sd; Lamb, 5s 6d to 63 6d; Veal, 4s to 4s 10d; and Pork, 3310 d to 4s 10d per 81bs, by the carcase. SECONDARIES'.-(THIS DAY.) (Before Mr. Secondary POTTER.) THE LONDON AND COUNTY BANK v. WATT AND CO. These plaintiffs sued, in the name of their public officer, Mr. Cooper, to recover the sum of 141. 9s. 3d., the balance of an account. The defendants were stated, by Mr. Wilkins, the plaintiff's attorney, to be merchants. The facts were these :—The defendants had kept an account with the firm, and, on the sth of January last, there was a balance in their favour in the bank of 201. 14s. 5d., but on the 9th, by the payment of sundry cheques, one of which was dated 17th November, the present claim arose, and it was urged that interest at 51. per cent. was also due, according to the custom of bankers. The Learned SECONDARY said defendants had pleaded to the action, and as they did not appear he was obliged to see that he did not admit anything that was not strictly and legally proved. He asked the witness called to prove the payment of the cheque whether he was convinced of the genuineness of the handwriting ? The witness said he was. Mr. Wilkins said that he had served a notice on de fendants to produce the bankers' pass book, in which the accounts appeared, being a copy of the ledger, but they had not thought proper to do so, which left him to the legal alternative of producing the defendants' books. The jury said they were quite satisfied, and gave a verdict for the amount claimed. CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY.) OLD COURT. (Before Mr. Baron ALDERSON - and Mr. Justice COLTMAN.) FORGING A WlLL.—Francis M'Gowran, 45, James M'Gowran, 40, and Richard Carroll Barton, three most respectable looking persons, surrendered to their bail this morning to take their trial upon an indictment charging them with feloniously forging and uttering a will purporting to be the will of one Francis M'Gowran, deceased, with intent to defraud Margaret Girdlestone. Atter the parties charged had been placed in the dock, Mr. HUDDLESTONE, who appeared as counsel for the prosecution, stated that he had directed the officers of the court to call the prosecutrix, her witnesses, and her attorney, he was informed that none of them were pre sent. Under these circumstances he must leave the Court to act as it thought right. _ _ Mr. Baron ALDERSON—It - had better stand over for a abort time in order to see whether the parties would ap pear or not. _ _ _ Mr. CLArtirsoN, who appeared for the prisoners, said that on their behalf he was most willing that the case should stand over for any period the Court might think right, in order to see if the prosecutors would appear, or ever dared to appear. Mr. Baron ALDERSON-I suppose the bail arc in at tendance, if they should be required. Mr. CLARKSON observed that they were. Mr. HUDDLESTONK said that if the Court would allow the case to stand over for half an hour, if the prose cutrix and her witnesses did not appear he should consider it his duty to state to the Court what were the circumstances under which he appeared, and then leave it to the jury to say what they thought of the ease. Mr. CLARKSON was sure that his Learned Friend (Mr. Huddlestone) would only act upon the best faith, and state fairly the circumstances under which he ap peared before the Court. The case was then ordered to stand over for half an hour, and the defendants retired to the back part of the dock. At the expiration of the time the defendants were again placed at the front of the dock, and the pro secutriz and her witness were then called by the desire of Mr. Baron Alderson upon their recognisances, and not appearing, the Learned Judge directed the recog nisances to be estreated. Mr. Baron ALDER/ON, addressing the jury, said that as neither the prosecutrix nor her witness appeared against the parties at the bar, who were charged with forgery, it was the duty of the jury al \ once to acquit them of so serious a charge. The jury then acquitted the defendants. Mr. CLARKSON, Who was Counsel for the defendants, then moved for a copy of the record and the indict ment, and in doing so felt it his duty, in justice to the three respectable gentlemen against whom this serious charge had been made, to say a few words to the court and the jury. Of the three gentlemen at the bar t wo were the sons of the testator whose will it was alleged they had forged, and the third (Mr. Barton) was a respectable:solicitor, who had married the sister,of the other two detendants. The party who was the chief originator of, the charge had married a niece who had lived in the service of the testator, and the result of that marriage was continual ill-usage by the husband of the unfortunate female to whom he had been married. The parties who had preferred this indictment against the three respectable indivi duals in the dock had never been before the grand jury, or taken any steps to produce the will in court, which had never been brought from Doctor's Commons. Now, on the part of' the defendants, he was in a condition to call the attesting witnesses to the will, and the conveyancer who prepared it, and in whose presence it was executed. No steps had been taken against ,the attesting witnesses, and he was in a condition to shOW beyond all doubt that the will was a genuine document. Mr. Baron ALDERSON—What surprises me, Mr. Clarkson, is, if the original will,has never been removed from Doctor's Commons, bow the grand jury could have found the Bill. Mr. CLARKSON was also surprised at the course that had been adopted by the grand jury; he would, how ever, forbear saying anything with respect to that tri bunal, although he had his own opinions; with respect to it. Mr. Baron ALDERSON.—Without having the will be fore them, I cannot for the life of me conceive how they could find a true bill for forgery. Mr. CLenitsori was anxious to make a few more statements relative to the parties who had trumped up this charge against the respectable defendants at the bar. Only a few days ago, and since the defendants had been taken into custody, the parties making the charge had been down to the neighbourhood where the two sons of the testator resided, and after going about the town and representing that the three gentlemen at the bar would be sure to be transported, they went into several public-houses in the town and got so drunk that one of them fell out of the cart they were driving and broke his arm. Mr. Baron ALDicasoN—lt seems to me to be the pas time now-a-day to go behind the backs of parties and charge them with crime. Mr. HUDDLESTONE trusted the Court would permit him to state the circumstances under which he appeared, apparently, though not really for the prosecutor. He had had a brief delivered at his chambers from the pro secutor, and his friend, Mr. O'Brien, had also a brief delivered to him on the same side. As soon, however as he (Mr. Huddlestone) had ascer tained the fact that the party who had de livered the brief was not an attorney, he had :di rected his clerk to return the brief, which was accord ingly done. The brief was then brought back to his chambers, with the name of an attorney endorsed upon it, and he (Mr. Huddlestone) sent to the chambers of the attorney, requesting to see him upon the subject of the brief ; it was only that morning since the case had been called on that he had seen that gentleman, and he denied all knowledge of the matter, and asserted that his name had been made use of without his sanction. Under such circumstances he considered it to be his duty to hand the brief to the officer of the court. Mr. Baron ALDERSON—Then the attorney says he knows nothing about it. • Mr. ITUDDLESTONE—Yes, my lord. Mr. Baron ALDERSON—So that the parties who have brought the charge of forgery against the respectable individuals at the bar have been guilty of forgery them selves. The parties then left the dock, and were congra tulated by their friends, a vast number of whom were in court. NEW COURT. (Before the COMMON SERGEANT.) Amelia Jones, aged 36, and Eliza Clark, aged 26, were indicted for having stolen 35i yards of lace from the shop of Mr. Vaughan, draper, of 19 and 20, Alders gate-street, on the 27th April last. Eliza Barrard, shopwomau of the prosecutor, stated that the prisoners, who are both married women, came to the shop on the day stated, and that she sold to them several quantities of different kinds of lace, but none of the kind produced. The property was not missed until it was brought and shown to them three days afterwards, when it was identified by the prosecutor. In cross examination the witness declined to state positively that the lace had any such peculiarity about it as would enable her to distinguish it from lace of a similar kind likely to be found iu other shops. The policeman who apprehended them said that be was induced to follow and watch the prisoners by seeing them go into several shops and come out again without any goods. On being handed over to the searcher, she found the lace upon them, which, however, they stated was used by them in their business as mantua-makers. Mr. BALLANTINE having addressed the jury in be half of the prisoners, called Mrs. Cameron, who stated that she had been a lace dealer for fifteen years, and had repeatedly sold l ace to the prisoners of a kind similar to that produced. Mrs. James, landlady of the White Swan, in Long. alley, Bishopsgate-street, stated that she iwas with the prisoners on the 27th of April, nearly the whole of the time, and that, if they had stolen the lace, she must have seen it in their possession; and if it had been, to stated by the prosecutor, upon cards, sbe_mrt4 have seen them unroll it. Witnesses having been called to CharaCter, The COMMON SERGEANT summed, and the jury re turned a verdict of Guilty. A member of the Detective Force having stated that the husband of one of the prisoners had for many years been a member of the swell mob, they were sentenced to six months imprisonment, with h ar d labour. Christopher Walk er pl ea d e d guilty to having stolen ' from his employer, M r . G eorge 13 . 11, pu bli s h er , o f Fleet street, two 201. not es , one 51 . note, and th i rty sover eigns. The CommoN SERG EANT sentenced h i m to seve n years transportation. The prisoner stated that he was aware that his pros pects and character were totally ruined in this country, and begged that the sentence might be for ten years in stead of seven years. The COMMON SERGEANT said that he could not by law make the alteration. On the interposition of the prosecutor, however, who intimated to the C our t th at there were seve ral other cases against the prison er , an d that i f h e were sent out of the country it wo u ld b e t h e b est th i ng b ot h for him self and his friends, th e sentence was a l tere d to trans portation for ten ye a r s , as h e had desired. 22 7 4 ...._ IA 221 Oh . . - t/ 24 , 4 . . . . 5 3% _ :JA 3 1 ,4 Clitat 312bition SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Clvek. ELECTION COMMITTEE. (THIS DAY.) LANCASTER. The Select Committee appointed to try the merits of the petition presented against the return of Mr. Arm strong, for the borough of Lancaster, met for the first time this morning, Lord Courtenay in the chair. Mr. Sergeant Wrangham and Mr. Merewether ap peared for the petitioner, with whom was Mr. James, for the sitting Member. Mr. Sergeant WranOam opened the case for the pe titioner, Mr. Stanley (s un o f L or d Stan l ey ), a s s case of scrutiny merely. and Mr. Sergeant Kingla ke, Mr. Sergeant KINGLAKE took an objection to the list of disqualified voters, which had been delivered by the petitioner, but the Committee overruled the objection. Evidence was then put in to show that one of the voters who had polled for Mr. Armstrong was a pauper re ceiving parochial relief. The Committee then adjourned till to-morrow. RAILWAY COMMITTEES. (THIS DAY.) GROUP 11. Mr. Blackstone in the chair. MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND LINCOLN SHIRE. The case for this Bill was further considered and adjourned. GROUP VI. (Mr. Walpole in the chair.) NORTH AND SOUTH• WESTERN (HARROW TO BRENTFORD). The case for the promoters having closed, Mr. JAMES addressed the Committee against the Bill, on behalf of the Great Western Company. The Committee decided that the preamble was proved, and introduced a provision that the promoters should build a convenient and commodious station at Hanwell. The whole of the clauses having been agreed to, the Chairman was instructed to report the Bill to the House. GROUP XII. (Mr. Fitzroy in the chair.) EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW. The Committee passed the Bill enabling the above company to make several branches, and to raise, upon shares, 156,0001. for the purpose , with power to borrow 55,000. to pay off some of their pressing liabilities. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. (THIS DAY.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Twelve o'clock. REPORTS. The following reports were considered and agreed to, and the Bills ordered to be engrossed : Aberdare Railway Act Amendment (Lease of Line and Works to the Taff Vale Railway Company) Bill. Barrow Harbour Bill. Forth and Clyde Navigation and Airdrie and Coatbridge Water Bill. Leeds and Thirsk Railway (Alteration of Levels of Leeds and Hartlepool Railway in Eaglescliffe, Preston, and Stockton, &c.) Bill. York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railway (late York and Newcastle Railway Main Line Improvement, &c.) Bill. Sir John HANKER presented a petition from the mayor, alderman, and burgesses of Grimsby in favour of the Health of Towns Bill. • Several petitions were presented in favour of the Church Sites Bill. Captain PECHELL presented a petition from Brighto❑ in favour of Sir W. Clay's Bill fur granting compensation to parties whose property might be da maged ur destroyed by riotous assemblies. Mr. CARDWELL presented a petition in favour of the Church Sites Bill. Sir DAVID DUNDAS presented similar petitions from Grimsdhlp and Sutherland. RAILWAY COMMISSION. Mr. BANKS postponed his motion until the 6th June for have to bring in a Bill to repeal the Railway Com mission Act. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Mr. BANKS gave notice that he should move for leave to bring in a Bill to give additional power to in spectors of weights and measures kr the purpose of more effectually preventing fraud in tte sale of bread and other provisions. DROPPED NOTICES. The dropped notices of motion were re-appointed. PARLIAMENTARY ELECTORS BILL. On the motion for the second reading of this Bill. Sir DE LACY EVANS said that when the Reform Bill was brought i n , i t was propose d t h at th e suffrage should be a 101. rent, b ut i t was requ ired, in the course of a discussion whi c h was i nsisted upon, that a rent of that amount should n o t on l y b e requ i re d, b u t also that the rates and taxes sh ou ld b e pa id on a certain day before the voter could exerc i se his franchise. In conse quence of that arrangement the number of electors in the kingdom had been greatly diminished, and in the borough of Alarylebone 60,000 e l ectors b a d been deprived of the franchise through its - operation. This Bill was intended to obviate that objection, and to carry out its principal real spirit and intentio n o f t h e R e form Act; and principal provision was to extend the time for the pay ment of rates and taxes which were due on the sth of April to the 11th of October preceding. Captain HARRIS obje c t e d to t h e principle of t he Bill. h r o S a i r g hGEORGE theG R II E o Y a s e s , a t i w d 0 t hat yearsw h a e g n o , t, he e Bill w t h a e s only member of the Gov. , rnment who expressed his intention to support it, and when it was brought iia again on another occasion, he understood that all the Members of the Government would support it. The Bill would not at all effect the principle of the payment of the taxes under the Reform Act, but it merely extended the time for the payment of those taxes, and would enable those who were perfectly able to pay, but who were prevented doing so by acci dental circumstances, to enjoy the privileges granted under that Act. As he had supported it before, he would give his individual support to it now, not from anything connected with the state of this country, or from circumstances occurring on the Continent, but from a desire to see the spirit and intention of the Reform Act fairly carried out. The House then divided, when there appeare d _ For the second reading .... .... ......... 60 Against it .................................... 25 Majority. ............................. —35 AUDIT OF RAILWAY ACCOUNTS BILL. Sir F. T. BARING, in rising to propose the second reading of this Bill, said, the provisions of it were to the effect that a minority of shareholders in any railway company should be able to compel the company to have their accounts audited by an impartial person, ueeon . netted with the company, and appointed by some Go vernment department. On a requisition being sent in by a number of shareholders , the a pp ointment of an impartial person was re q uired, in order that e a lair audit of the a ccounts might be made. The Bill had originate d in the House of Lords, but had not arisen from any abstract wish to legislat e , nor from a desire to med dle unduly with railway affairs, but solely in consequenc e of the facts and circumstances which came to the kno wledge of their Lordships in the course o House f the oinvestigationse is h o t p h e e d I , t at ihlwrao that the House would see the necessity of passing the second reading of the Bill. Mr., Committees Mr.,BANKES had no connexion with railways of any description, and h e therefore could not be supposed to have any object in view in the course h e was prepared to adopt—that of moving that this Bill be road a second time this day six months —other than the interest of the determinedlie t o adopt thi s cour se unless the Rig ht Hon. Ge lln ntleman who was now at the head of the Railway Commission was prepared to alter the opini ons he had hitherto entertained on the subject. Mr. LABOUCHE RE said, although the present mea sure was not : a Government one, he felt that in consequence of its i m portance, the House had a right to know the course Government in tended to pursue with respect to it. The present was a Bill that had come to the House from the House of Lords, where it had obtained the unanimous assent of that branch of the Legislature, and wh ere the great railway interests who had conceived themselves ag grieved by the Bill ha d shown no oppositi on t o the measur. The Hun. Gentle man the Member for Dortetshire (Mr. Bankes) had given notice o f v . ; . his , t intention to propose a resolution . which, if tcceded t would lead to the dissolution of the Rail way Boa o • Now he had not long been connected with the Boa r r d. of Trade, but he might state that during that time hd bad repeatedly seen the advantage of that railwaye tribunal—it was necessary to have practical men devote their attention to railway matters, and to d to the Board of Trade and Parliament with respect to advise for it was quite impossible that one individualern accurately inform. himself of all these complicated could i way matters. For instance, let the House and the I t i aT Gentleman bear in mind how essential the Railway Boardon. had proved in connexion with the much-agitated ques tion tion of the Taw Vale Railway. It was impossible that Minister could be responsible for all these matters, in which professional and practical knowledge was required. • With respect to the principle of the Bill he might say that he had always thought railway companies occupied an intermediate place between public and private interests, and therefore interference by the Legislature was fully justified, inasmuch as it could not he contended that these companies could be strictly considered as private undertakings. The system of auditing the accounts of railways at present prevailed, but he could not avoid stating that the system was almost altogether inoperative. He wished to speak of the management of railway com panies with the greatest respect, but many of them con sidered themselves chartered liberties, and had altogether infringed the Act with reference to these matters. Both directors and auditors were appointed by a majority of the shareholders.—(Hear, hear.) He repeated it, and here he might observe that he might be considered as addressing a Railway Parliament, for many of the (lon. Gentlemen present were interested in railways. — (Hear, hear.) But the auditors were named by the directors, and possessed generally little control over the expenditure. Now, great and reckless expenditure might be carried on by a railway company with great injury to the public, and without any means of stopping. Surely the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Sunderland (Mr. Hudson) could not contend that the present system of auditing accounts was valuable. But if the accounts were properly audited at present, he could not understand why the Bill was op posed by those interested in the railway. He was quite sh o o nu.l Gentleman, on th e s e t o h o B ready to c once d e that those applying for an audit should never the li grounds,t interested support ine second railway s reading pre n o t f , (I) i vicl e , h d e i l v d i d e a . ) that he share i n any railway, deposit m oney to pay the expense,.and the present pro vision to th at e ff ect had been made in the Bill. He d Mr. lIENLEY said, with respect t o th e a ll us i on of the and that perhaps he had not given that en couragement to them which a wise policy would have dictated; but his constituents did not feel much interest in those undertakings. He wished to treat all the Bills which emanated from the other House with the greatest respect, but he could not help stating that he thought he would have done much better if, instead of pronouncing an eulogium upon the Noble Lord from whom it had emanated, he had given some practical grounds for passing the measure before the House. This Bill would only serve the purposes of a body of dis satisfied shareholders who might be anxious to have access to the internal affairs of a company for the pur poses of undue speculation. It had been urged in sup port of this Bill that the railway funds of this country ought to be considered in the light of public property ; but how, let him ask, would the Bill benefit the public? Railway shareholders did not complain of the present mode of auditing the accounts, and he certainly could see no public grounds which could justif y t h e passing of the Bill.---(Hear, hear.) It would have the effect of upsetting a large amount of private legislation, upon the faith of which parties had been ind uce d to in vest their capital in railway undertakings, and he f e lt if, the Bill were passed it would inflict great injustice on the public.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. AGLIONBY agreed with the Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down , that this was a railway Parlia ment, and he was afraid that the number of railway di rectors and others connected with these undertakings in it was so large that there was but little prospect of jus tice being done, as between the public and railways. lie had no aversion to railways , on the contrary, he thought they had conferred great f benefit on the public ; but really the present mode auditing railway accounts was so objectionable that he could port from this Bill. The machinery not withhold his sup of this Bill was to be motion put in by a certain number of shareholders in any ld not be supposed that these company, and surely it could shareholders would not cause an inquiry to be insti tuted if it were calculated to injury their own interests. Besides, the shareholders signing the requisition would be required to give security, and their desire he for an could see no in quiry was frivolous and vexatious, and Bill. him reason why the House should refuse to pass this t . Mr. MUNTZ said this Bill appeared to to go upon the principle of meddling with everybody's affairs and could and accomplishing nothing.—(Hear, hear.) 11 not understand the principle of a minority being allowed to coerce the majority. But if the principle of the Bill were good, why was it to be confined to railways . Why was it not extended to other joint-stock companies, such as banks, canals, .&c ? Thank God, he did not hold single railway share, but as one of the public he most decidedly objected to the meddling principle of the Bill, and should certainly oppose it on every stage. The House then divided, when there appeared_ For the second reading 3B Against Majority against.. —62 The Bill was consequently lost. PLACES OF WORSHIP SITES BILL (SCOTLAND). Mr. BOUVERIE presented several petitions in favour of this Bill, and stated that there were one or two petitions without the signatures, they not having been sent up. Similar petitions were also presented by Mr. Stuart Wortley, Mr. Cowan, Mr. Fox Maule, and Mr. Hastie. Mr. BOUVERIE moved the second reading of the Bill, and he did so with some little reluctance, because, if it did not involve a new principle, it involved the revival of an old one. The Bill had been brought in for the purpose of enabling religious congregations in Scotland to obtain sites for their places of worship, and it had arisen out of an investigation on the subject by a Parliamentary Committee, who came to a resolution that it had been proved before them that many congregations in Scotland were in the habit of attending places of worzhip which were unfit for the ad. ministration of the sacred ordinances of the Christian religion, and were calculated to injure the health of the ministers and the people. The Hon. Gentleman then proceeded to state in detail the grievances to which the people of Scotland were subjected in cons( quence of the refusal of landowners to grant sites for churches, and said, in order to avoid those grievances, the Bill propased that the Court of Session should have the power of granting a site to a congregation on an application being made to it, and on sufficient grounds being shown for the inter ference of the Court. Notice was to be given by the Court of Session to the landowner whose property the vestigation was to take place before a sheriff as to the eadl allegations o necessary p c p o e n ti t t r i a o d ne ic r t s ed al t l h e e g truth of the statements on both sides, and if the Court of l :t r i tio a n s , it a e, fo u r n m d a i l f i h n e - Session were satisfied that the petition had been sus tained, the sheriff was to go and select a spot for the site of the church, notwithstanding any opposition. The Hon. Gentleman then referred to a number of in. stances in which Government had interfered with private Bill. He for the House agreeing to the principle of this B thought, acting upon the principle of the cases to which he referred, with respect to the taking of lands for rail ways property, in order to show that there were precedents the course pointed -out by this Bill with . respect to tak ing lands for the sites of Free Churches in Scotland. He had shown the necessity for the sites for churches, and aftthehogowea hhw i a l o o md t compulsorily, there could be no objection to adopt he had no doubt that the House would at once a cce d e to the motion for the second reading of the Bill. Mr. EWART seconded the motion. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the House divided, when there appeared— For the second reading BO Against it Majority The Bill was then read ts second time; and on the question that it be committed, Mr. J. S. WOItTLEY took occasion to call the atten tion of the House to its provisions, and to express his opinion of the necessity of the Government adopting a ru t c:s h sbee presentedu going uponor h i n en c gt i h p ei l teno could3i aoti its favour, not. toleration.division aavN gooruer e, supportertt measure like the present to meet a particular case, bat he objected to its provisions being made general as l that ao the h e te ha provisionsre y op , fe andit petitioners oenße h he os was vahad: Mr. ELLIOT said he had been taken by surprise in f therefore anxious to take that opportunity of saying a more anxious to see the Free Churches have sites allotted Bill; while he was sure, from the tone of the petitions misunderstood its provisions. By this Bill any 100 per sons might claim sites in every part of Scotland, no matter for what sect in religion they might be required; and he was confident that had the parties who had petitioned in favour of the Bill been aware of the provisions, they never would have given their consent to it. Mr. CHRISTOPHER said the Bill would grossly interfere with the rights of private property, and he was surprised to see no member of the Government in his place before it was road a second time. He should be glad to hear the views of Ministers upon the Bill ; for if the House passed it, how could they refuse the same concession to the Dissenters of England or the Roman Catholics of Ireland ?—(Hear, hear.) He differed with the Hon. and Learned Member for Bute that this Bill ought to be confined to one class of Dissenters in Scot land ; and as the Bill itself formed one of the most direct instances ever introduced in that House for interfering with the rights of private property, he objected to the whole measure. Sir G. GREY apologised for not being present when the second reading was moved, but it rose purely from an accident. No Hon. Member having risen to oppose the second reading, he felt that this discussion was somewhat irregular, and he should rather have left his own expo sition of the views of the Government upon this Bill till the next stage, had not so direct a demand been made upon him by the Hon. Gentleman who last addressed the House. He certainly thought the Free Church had long been suffering under a great grievance by the re fusal of the landlords of Scotland to grant them sites, and he could not help expressing his gratification that in going so easily to a division on the second reading, the House had given so decided an opinion in its favour. Mr. B. COCHRANE was surprised to hear the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite say that the House had ex pressed a decided opinion in favour of this Bill. The House had done no such thing, for many Hon. Members who were opposed to the measure were taken by sur prise in the House going so suddenly to a division. The Free Church of Scotland had been most arrogant in its conduct. It had refused every offer of concession that was made to it by Lord Aberdeen, and now it came to the House to demand the right of insisting upon having s it es i n part i cu l ar spots, whether the proprietor of the land consented to it or not. He was surprised at t h e speec h es t h a t h a d been made in favour of this Bill, for it was one of the mostdpreeptoesd prepos trous and unju s t measu r e s that had ever been by an arr ogant b o d y; an d he must be allowed toprotest ta House against it i n th e strong est terms the rules of the would allow. Colonel THOMPSON wanted necessity to know what there was for this extraordinary p ro ceeding on the part of the Free Church of Scot land? It had been his for tune to be brought up in a religious society which had infancy, difficulties from had to struggle against to the prime of its manhood, tempted to ask such a p o wer as this.—(Hear, bear.) What the Wesleyan • secure sites for their meeting-houses was to devote their private dwellinp.to that purpose.—(Hear, hear.) It was related - of some particular man that he tried all kinds of means to keep his horse alive, and yet he could not do so till some one asked whether he had tried corn.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Now, they had heard. a good deal about the Free Church congregations suffering from the cold, snow, sleet, and rain; but how was it that no one had ever advised them to hold their meetings in their own d well ing s ?—(Hear, bear.) Scotland must be reduced to a sad state, indeed, if in this advanced period of cons: tnercial and mercantile prosperity its people could not get sites for their churches either for love or money; but he doubted whether this could be so in a country where money had always been considered so powerful. He thought that the Bill had been rightly described when it was said of it, that it would institute a system of " religions tyranny." It would establish an entirely new principle in religious matters. He should like, therefore, to have time to consult his Dissenting friends with respect t o it. H e regrette d to be obliged to give his vote against the Bill. Mr. OSWALD explained the grounds on which he had voted against the Bill in its last stage. He admitted that those who could not get sites had a grievance, an impe rial grievance to complain of, and if the 13111 were modi fied, he should not unlikely support it. At any rate he should move in Committee that the Bill be extended to Great Britain and Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. COWAN rose to support the Bill. He did not think the House sympathised with the aspersions cast upon the character and motives of Dr. Chalmers by the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. B. Cochrane), for his was a name revered throughout the world.—(Hear, hear.) He as sured the House that if the object of those who supported the Bill could have been brought about by any other means, the Bill would not have been introduced ; and if it could be accomplished before the third reading, he should be prepared to vote against the further progress of the Bill. It would be five years to-morrow since the move ment of the Free Church began, and though those who supported its doctrines had done all in their power to accomplish the purpose - for which the Bill was intro duced, they had not succeeded. It was a matter of sincere regret that so largo a body of zealous Christians should in many cases be compelled to worship their maker in tents in the open fields.—(Hear, hear.) One eminently gifted young minister had, in the neighbour hood of Cannobie,. fallen a victim, owing to the severe nature of his duties. So zealous were the members of the Free Church to promulgate their doctrines, that 1,313,966/. had been collected, and there were now 840 congregations, and 700 ministers, besides missions.. ries. Two hundred churches were erected before the disruption. Ile hoped the Government would ac cede to a motion which he had upon the subject. Colonel LURE explained the paper on the felt it his duty to Mr. F. MAULS against the Bill. grounds on which he to bring i n a regretted that they had been obliged pulsory takin g„ measure o having for ita object the corn weighing the subject for but after waiting and found out no other for five years, he had the m I p a l n a d in e e d d p roof j m e e e a t ns of remedying the grievance mind srievance Which, in his opinion, of the public mind. ought to tak e out o f t h e categor y felt by a small body It of people, a grievance w h ic h was no t said, but ono which affeelt:re, as Mr. Cowan had consisting of very nearly One a .religious community he had thought there was any chance of persons. if land lords to grant sites to the Free C i.r i i i e u es of persuading not have been a party to bringing forward people, he would but after waiting five years without sewe'ir rd the measure, pect he considered that some remedy for)g th auch a pros was necessary, and be trusted the Hour© e grievance of the Bill. e would approve Mr. HENLEY said the whole argument for the Bill was founded upon special grievances alleged to have been suffered by the Free C hu r ch, and thinking that it was dangerous for the House to legislate upon such a principle, he would give his decided opposition to it. Mr. F. SCOTT objected to the principle of the Bill, and regretted that it had been brought forward. If there were 700 congregations who had obtained sites for churches, and only seven who had not and had been refused, he thought that the Bill ought not to apply to the whole of Scotland. The Bill was then ordered to be recommitted on the 7th June. Mr. OSWALD gave notice that be should move that the operation of the Bill be extended to the United Kingdom. JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES BILL. The House then proceeded to the further considers• ,ion of the report on the Joint-Stock Companies Bill, which, after some verbal amendments, was agreed to. The Bill was ordered to be engrossed, and read a third time on Friday. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and she House adjourned at Six o'clock. WATERFORD AND KILKENNY RAIL NV AY.— (THIS DAY.) The half-yearly general meeting of this society was held to-day, at one o'clock, at the London Tavern ; Mr. P. Butler, in the chair. The advertisement convening the meeting having been read, the Chairman called upon the Secretary to read the report, the substance of which was, that, since the last Ineetin, it had become necessary to push the works between ' Kilkenny and Thomastown to a conclu with a view to opening the line between those ' places. The directors had the satisfaction of announc ing to the meeting, that the several stations being finished, and the woi ks in other respects completed, the railway between Kilkenny and Thornasrown was in spected by the officer appointed by the Ra,llway missioners on the 6th instant; and tinnily openro to the) public on the 11th instant, in the presence of a majority! of the hoard. The engineer's report stated that since the latter part of last year the works had been advancing as speedily as the funds admitted. The works from Lyratlr junc• non to Thomastown station had been carried to com-1 pletion so far as to be ready for public traffic; and the: Government inspector having inspected all the works has expressed himself in satisfactory terms as to their' condition. The ballast trains which have been running singe the Ist inst. between Kilkenny and Thomastowl; have shown that the permanent way is perfectly steady. The engines and carriages are all at Kil , kenny, and probably at present sufficient in number for the immediate traffic on opening the line. The estimates made of the works on the deviation lines, for which the Bill is now before Parliament, show tbai a saving of more than 20,0001. will be made on them, 4 compared with carrying out the works originally del. signed, while, at the same time, the gradients and gener4 course of the line is improved for the public. The delay of the South-Eastern Company in completing their 144 from Carlow to Kilkenny will prevent a junction for al Dublin traffic for some months to come; and if, durin that pesiod, they should be able to carry on tht works, so as to open, for five miles further, to the v 4 lage of Knock william, which lies upon the main road tip \V aterford, and only fifteen miles from that city, they' would, when joined by the Carlow line, be in a positiop to receive on this railway at least as much traffic. per mile as that which has been experienced upon the Gre4t Southern and Western Railway. The cash account showed the receipts, from calls and other sources, to amount to 221,1801. lls. Bd., while the expenditure was 213,571/. 6s. 4d. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, said that he was happy to congratulate the proprietary on the cessation of the opposition which had hitherto been ofThred in Parliament to their branch and deviation lines; so that, as money was now a very different matter to what it was two years ago, this NI as a cause f peculiar congratulation, both to the directors and t e other shareholders. The line to Thomastuwn, s stated in the report, was already completed, and from personal experience he could say, that although he had travelled on almost every line in England, Scotland, and Ireland, he had never traversed one in which there was a more equable motion than tin that from Kilkenny to Thomastown, and such was his opinion of its safety, that on the very first trip he had not only gone himself, but had also taken his wile and his children. After naming the three gentlemei who retired from the directory, the Chairman pro ceeded to say that, not only had they redu ei 1 their expens es , b ut t h ey were prepare d s it further to retr enc h, f or h e was aware t h at th e sha ke were at a discount, but from the measures which ha already been:taken, he and his fellow-directors were Ott impressed with the conviction that a very different prig would soon be realised. A SHAREHOLDER inquired what was the reason tlis the expenses of engineering this halt-year was so moe as 1,6641.? Captain MoaßlsoN said, in reply, that he did not think that 3,0001. was an excessive expenditure on a line thirty-one miles long, especially if the shareholders recollected that for-four months consecutively titers had been nothing but rain. Mr. Ms.asif expressed his dissatisfaction at the outlay. He thought the expenditure injudicious, and that the money matters had been badly managed. There was also a sum of 9,000/. lent to the Cork Company at a time when calls were being made. G. ANDERSON, Esq., stated that the 9,0001. lent to the Cork Company had since been repaid with interest. Captain Moonsox stated that he had originally esti mated the cost of the line at 13,0001. per mile, and there had been an outlay of as much as 166,0001. for the twelve miles from Kilkenny to- Thomastown... It should be re membered that out of that sum 22,000/. had beennte.n prided for the station at Kilkenny, which was .. n bad the first instance contemplated, but whic h as a lready been found necessary to construct, and it t inwthe report returning a rent. Then he had 21_ that the expense of laying down ttliiieasttlintteheeonfoirtswidaitffi,enrienotf portions way as 8 t o 5, that is, dsThoinastown would cost the line between Kilkenny the formation of eight as much for five mile as would the Waterford, so that the miles between Thomastown laying down the lines for the remaining nineteen miles would not exceed the gross es timates. To an inquiry of a shareho lder, Captain Cuenr replied that the payments due on the unpaid calls was 11,000/., of which about 9,0001. w ou ld be realised. To another shareholder the SOLICITOR stated that there had not yet been a single share forfeited, and that it was optional with the directors either to forfeit the unpaid shares or to sue for the payment. It was, how ever, necessary to leave the matter undecided, as it was known that the non-payment of the calls reduced the value of the property, and in one instance the proprietor of shares in a foreign railway had actually forfeited his shares in order to reduce their value, and had then actually gone into the market and bought u much larger number of shares than he had previously held. After an explanation of the law expenses , remarks on the prices o f th e shares, me. and some Emery, Mr. Hulse, and Mr. Smithwick .were re-elected directors. Mr. Bain, one of the auditors, Wa3 $l6O 1.6.611Gted. The report having been adopted, the meeting w as made special for approving the Bill for the branch now before Parliament, which having been confirmed, th e meeting was dissolved. FRANCE. The Moniteur, publishes a decree by the National Assembly, declaring that the National Guard, the Garde Mobile; and the troops of the line have merited the thanks of the'country, and voting the thanks of the National Assembly to the delegates from the provinces who ,assisted in the defence of the national sovereignty. Two other decrees order the pro. • secution of COERTAIS, BARnES, and Ammer, and charge Captain ALLART, of the Ist legion of tie National Guard, with the custody of Cora.. TAM Another decree appoints M. CLEMENT THOMAS Commander-in-Chief of the National G uard. There are two decrees accepting the .resignation of M. GUINARD, as chief of the staffpf-tilw:National Guard, dismissing M. SAISSEL, as sulikiliKand there is also an important order by the Minister of the Interior: revoking the appointments of all the commissaries. , general of the departments from the_ 18th inst., theii functions being without object now that the govern ment is in the -hands of the National Assembly. We also find in the Mon:tear the following proclamation to the French people from the Executive Govern ment " Citizens!—A crime has been committed against the :)r.4, National Assembly. Some factious men have attemptedliz-h• to violate the sovereignty of the people. In presence of !•.x..: this attempt your representatives remained calla:Land__ firm; the majesty of right has triumphed over brute force. The Assembly, for an instant disturbed, has • resumed its labours. It sits in the midst of you, still great. still strong, ever ready to insure the triumph of tho Republic, and to realise for labourers the just hopes which the revolution had given to them. Crime is vanquished. The National Guard, the Garde Mo bile, the army, all the forces of Paris and the barlieue, drove before them the insensate conspirators, who masked their plots under the name of Poland. Citizens I—Your victory is hallowed, for the blood of your brothers has not been abed. Remain still armed at your posts ready to defend, as you so well have known how to do, the Republic against anarchy. The men who have sullied the temple of the' constitution henceforth belong to justice. Justice is in action, the Government is vigilant, and the culprits are in custody. Have faith in the future, for the future has!_ never been wanting to those who have fidelity and courage, and your fidelity and courage have been put to the proof." Signed by the Executive Commission. It appears that M. CAUSSIDIERS, the late Prefect of Police, and who is most seriously implicated in the treasonable attempt of Monday, still holds out against the public force at the Hotel of the Prefecture, where he is sustained, it is stated, by about three or four hundred Inontagnards. Not the least apprehension is, however, enter: tamed of a serious resistance, or of the escape of the perturbators,: as the hotel is completely invironed by an immense force of National Guards, Gardea Mobiles, troops of the line, and artillery. This im. t•osing force, who evidently act with a design to *Pare the effusion of blood, is so imposing in its num- I3ers, as to set all fears for the results entirely at rest. ale idea of holding out at all against such a powerful demo n; it ttrraion is, i n d ee d, w holly preposterous. In of the capital security appears perfectly A-estored. ! It will be seen that during the course of the sitting p'esterday, it was announced by the Ministers to the ssembly that th e persons in the Prefecture had urrendered, an d that it was now in possesion of the officers of the republic. AMERICAN NEWS. ARRIVAL OF THE ACADIA. LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY EVENING. The Royal Mail Steamer Acadia, Captain Stone, arrived in the Mersey this evening from Boston and Halifax, with the usual mails and fifty passengers. She had about 50,0001. specie on freight. The America arrived at New York on the 29th, having made the voyage in thirteen _ and a-half days. Her arrival, says a New York paper, relieved very deep anxieties which prevailed here relative to the proba ble issue of the gnat Chartist demonstration ot 10th April, of the preparations for which we had advices by the preceding steamer. So great was the apprehension felt lest some dis turbance:And Contusion should ensue from the de monstration, that fur some days before the arrival of the America, little or no business was attempted, either in shipments to England or in the sale ot bills of exchange. The entire dissipation of these fears, consequent upon the Arnerica'a news, was most satisfactory, and -business will resume its wonted course, in so far at leaf ns the low prices on the other side may prompt to make shipments. The condition of our affairs with3Mexico remains unchanged. Our commissioners, with the ratified treaty, nave reached, one of them the city of Mexico, and the other Vera Cruz. They are understood to be instructed to bring their mission to a close peremp torily by the Ist of June; so that Mexican diplomacy will not be permitted to waste time by interposing delays. Opinions differ as to the probability of a ratification by the Congress of Queretaro. We adhere to the belief that the treaty will be ratified, because there seems no choice open to Mexico other than ratification or extinction. In other questions all remains in statu quo. Bills on London are held at 111 for 60 days drafts. For the Continent no bill: are offering. Money with us is easy, and the banks strong; and notwithstand ing the export of ,specie from this port, which, from the Ist January to the 29th April, amounted to within a fraction of four million dollars, and which will be increased by the sum that the Acadia will carry out, estimated at about 250,000 dollars, the banks feel little concern, for their vaults are replenished steadily by coin flowing in from ',the interior, the country being well supplied with The intelligence of some- increase demand in London for stocks has not caused any perceptible rise here, and as in the course of six or seven weeks an addition of sixteen millions U. S. Sixes is to be thrown upon the market—the new Government loan for which bids are invited to Saturday, 27th June— it does not seem propable that any considerable rise can occur here, unless a large and sudden demand 'rom Europe should 3pring up for these stocks. COTTON MARKET.—Planters seem to be holding back at last in consequence of really low prices. The receipts gain upon last year of course, but fall off compared with 1846 and 1845. 'This falling off, however, ie fully ac counted for by the tenacity with which the unusually large stocks in the interior markets of Carolina and Georgia are held. .New Orleans had already passed the million, and Mobile 400,000 bales, which were the limits of so many estimates of this crop. The extreme depression of prices is becoming a serious matter, and we should hope would be some check to the extent of future receipts. We would say to the planters, hold judiciously, sell sparingly, beware of shipping your crops—upwards of 400,000 bales of cotton have been cleared for England within the last eight weeks; while, at most, only 160,000 of them can be marketed in the present state of Europe—if you are accessory to s 400,000 more receiving the same direction in t he next A •' eight weeks, you will but cut your own throats, by es e tablishing 3d., or some such miserable rate, as the cur e rent price ior middling cotton at Liverpool. Europe m ust be allowed time to settle. Ho w ca n European :t workmen weave constitutions and spin cotton at the same time? Perhaps the cutest kind of Yankees could; but the great Cobden hiaself might have broke down in combining the publishing of free trade with the printing of calico, but tor the " testimonial" contributed by his friends. Last week, half New York almost worked itself intl., the expectation of a Chartist revolution in England, and serious injury would have been done in the mercan tile, or more especially, the cotton co mmunity, if the American steamer had made a long pass . age. A 3 it COttoll to Liverpool. Southern drafts . against cheap was, advances were not obtainable on consignments of p w ta i n th ce . ; England erelcredits were can celled by cotton • werfee was almost dead stand, and middling cotton fell to to 6i cents, or even lower in some s r • p t i J o y, the, 6l America arrived egraph refused; t d a • d dissipated the alarm. It WAS thought, ° tr a ne e sm br io ;u ns.s g ion h on Saturday at first, that cotton would rally at one quarter per cent. per lb., but this now seems less probable, as our shippers find that their sales are in so many instances materially lower than the printed Liverpool are shy of resumin g quotations, that they their as yet quite small an d • ir adventures, and the•iales are generally at at a rally of only about ene-eighth per cent. CORN MA RKET.—Since my circular, per steamer Hi bernia, the Flour market has been in a quiet state, with a moderate home demand, and a light stock—prices ranging from 6 dolls. to 6 dolls. 12ic. for the common brands of Western and Genessee, to 6 dolls. 25c. to dolls. 374 c. for the better kinds. Baltimore, George town, Alexandria, &c., bringing 6 dolls. 12ic. to 6 dolls. 25c. Rye Flour sells slowly at 3 dolls. 50c. to 3 dolls. 62ic. Indian Meal has declined to 2 dolls. 3; is for Jersey. The Erie Canal was opened yesterday, and next week we shall be receiving supplies of fresh Flour; but all accounts represent the quantity as light to be en pected early. Respectfully yours, EDWARD BILL, Produce Broker. ANOTHER COLLIERY Exmosion.—An explosion took place en Monday morning in Mr. Russelrs colliery at Rises. Two persons have been taken out dead, and it is supposed that 16 or 18 more are seriously injured. it has caused great excitement here, being the third or fourth explosion in this colliery within the lost four or five years. ti. i.UV; t 54t 1 4.4:4 ILtalb , ._:ti f THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY l7, 1848.