The Sun. — London, England, 1865-02-22 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS-LAST EVENING The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. COUNTY COURTS AMENDMENT BILL, The LORD CHANCELLOR 17;uglat in a bill to confer equity jurisdiction upon the County Courts in England and Wales. Under the present circumstances a compara tively poor man might die possessed of £l2O, or even £l5O, and he might leave behind him a widow and children. Should disputes arise as to the disposition of property the parties will be unable to get a proper settlement because of the expensive nature of the procedure. Among other cases were those consequent upon small mortgages. During last session he had introduced a mea sure respecting small debts, especially referring to the tally system. It met with great opposition, and he abandoned it. Returns had been made, showing that the number of persons actually imprisoned during the year 1863 on County Court process was 8,583 ; in 1862 there were the large number of 9,373 ; but, in 1864, in conse quence of new rules introduced, the number was only 6,428, being more than 2,100 less than the number impri soned in 1862. He would on a future day introduce a bill forbidding any citizen to be brought into the County Court to recover sums for ale or beer. The noble and learned lord then moved that the bill be read a first time. The motion was agreed to. Their Lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—LAST EVENING. The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock. NEW MEMBER. Mr. WILLIAMS took the oaths and his seat on his election for the borough of Truro. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Standing Orders were declared to have been com plied with in the case of several private bills. The following bills were read a second time :—Barn staple Roads, Glossop Water, North Eastern and Cleveland Railways ; North Eastern Railway (Pelew and other Branches) ; Preston and Wyre Railway, Harbour, and Dock ; St. Philip and Jacob's (Bristol) ; Southampton, Shir ley, and Woolston Gas ; Southport Improvement ; Weald of Kent Railway ; West Hartlepool Harbour and Railway and Cleveland and North Eastern Railways ; West London Docks and Warehouses ; and Wragby Roads. CHELTENHAM AND GLOUCESTERSHIRE RAIL WAY BILL. On the motion for the second reading of this bill, Lord R. MONTAGU said that this was a very im portant bill, for it proposed to give powers to draw no less than a million gallons of water daily from the Thames. The inhabitants of Cheltenham no doubt had to complain of the supply of water from the Severn, but at the same time he did not think any case had been made for the diversion of so large a body of water from the Thames, anT therefore diminishing the scouring power of the river, which was so essential to the health and necessities of the metropolis. He moved that the bill should be read a se cond time that day six months. Mr. NEATE seconded the amendment. Mr. DODSON said there could be no doubt that this bill was very important. It proposed to take away a large amount of water from the Thames, but this was to be dis tributed over a large area of land, and meet the wants of a very large population. The facts upon which the opponents of this bill based objection were denied by the promoters, who asserted that the amount of water abstracted from the Thames would be infinitesimal. Under these circumstances he thought the proper course would be to allow the bill to go to a committee, where its merits would be fully dis cussed. Mr. HUTT said that the subject involved in this motion had been overlooked by the Legislature, and the real ques tion at issue was, whether a commercial company should be allowed to abstractany quantity of water from the Thames. He considered it would be a great mistake if such powers were conceded. He thought, however, that the bill should be allowed to go to a committee. (A laugh.) Sir G. BOWYER, as one of the members of the defunct commission of the Thames, quite agreed with the hon. member the Vice-President of the Board of Trade. But, notwithstanding, the hon. member was persuaded by what had fallen from the hon. member (Mr. Dodson) to consent to its being referred to a committee ; but he thought if he had voted in conformity with the first part of his observa tion, instead of the latter, he would have been more con sistent. (Hear, hear.) Mr. POWELL supported the motion for the second reading of the bill, on the ground that the population of Cheltenham, which amounted to between forty and fifty thousand was left without an adequate supply of water ; and he denied that the Thames would be deprived of any amount of water that would be an inconvenience to the in habitants who derived their supply from that source. Mr. HENLEY opposed the bill. The house then divided, and the numbers were— For the m o ti on 88 Against ... 118 —3O Majority The motion was-accordingly negatived. NEW CROSS ROADS BILL. Mr. ANGERSTEIN moved the second reading of this bill. An amendment was moved to the effect that the bill should be read a :second time that day six months, by Mr. LOCKE, which was agreed to without a division. THE PARLIAMENTARY BAR. Mr. D. GRIFFITH asked the President of the Board of Trade, whether the members of the Parliamentary bar had collie to any agreement, that the practice before Parlia mentary committees should be open to the bar in general on the same terms in regard to fees as prevailed in the ordinary courts of law and equity. Mr. M. GIBSON said that, from the inquiry which had been made, it appeared that members of the Parliamentary bar practising had a right to be governed by the same practice that prevailed in reference to other members of the bar, and were entitled to receive the remuneration to which they considered themselves entitled for their professional services. THE SPACE BETWEEN BRIDGE-STREET, WEST- MINSTER, AND PALACE -YARD. Sir J. SHELLEY asked whether any decision had been come to, and, if so, in what way it was proposed to deal with the vacant ground between Bridge -street and New Palace-yard ? Mr. COWPER said that he considered it would be a great injury to the public if the space in question were filled up, as it would interfere with a full view of the House of Parliment and Westminster Abbey. He had a plan which would be submitted to the house for dealing with the space it question and other parts of Westminster with a view to making arrangements suitable to the public buildings in the neighbourhood. CASUALTIES ON THE COAST, Mr. KEKENVICH asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention had been called to the large number of wrecks which had lately occurred on the north west coast of Devon and Cornwall ; and whether it was the intention of the Government to establish a harbour of refuge on that coast for the protection of the shipping ? Mr. M. GIBSON said that there had - been no doubt a great many casualties on the coast in question, but he was not aware that the present was a very exceptional year in the amount of disasters. It was not intended by Govern ment to erect any harbours of refuge on that part of the coast. LIFE ANNUITY AND LIFE ASSURANCE BILL. Mr. HODGKINSON as k e d under what circumstances and why the order made on th e 13 t h of February for print ing the tables which were on 10th February laid upon table of the house, with reference to the Government Life the Annuity and Life Assurance Bill of last sessi on , was sub sequently discharged ; and whether, notwithstandin g the discharge of such order, it was intended that such tables should be acted upon at the expiration of thirty days from 10th February, pursuant to the 6th section of the act, &c.? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the order was discharged because the tables were prepared and would be shortly laid on the table, but they would not take effect for 30 (lays after their introduction. DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND ART. Mr. POTTER asked whether the report of the Depart ment of Science and Art for the year 1864 would be issued previous to the estimates for the Schools of Art and the South Kensington Museum being moved for ? Mr. DODSON said that the report in question included the general report on the subject, and could not be laid on the table before Easter. ROYAL SOVEREIGN, PRINCE CONSORT, AND ROYAL ALFRED. Sir J. E LPHINSTONE asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if he would lay upon the table of the house a list of the alterations and repairs executed on the Royal Sovereign, PrincetConsort, and Royal Alfred, from the Ist of Septembe r, Lord ervi till this time, and the cost of the same. made in the prince Consort report as regarded the alterations onsort and Prince Alfred was ready, but the repo r t relative to the prepared. Royal Sovereign was not OPE N SPACES CAETROPOLIS). Mr. DOULTON moved for a selectn committee to inquire into the best means of Preserving fores in a n d around the the public use th e forests, commons a , metropolis. He contended th lac a t th e Infringement on the of Wimbledon Common would be a n i i l Z P : sed enclosure rights of the public, by depriving it of its attractive character, without any public ben Picturesque and efit resulting. Alderman ROSE seconded the motion. Viscount BURY defended the conduct of Earl Spen ce in regard t o Wi m bl e d on - common, w h o, he asserted, had Spencer legal right to make the alterations he proposed, but wh o preferred having the subject submitted to a committee of the house. Mr. LOCKE advocated the principle of the public at large contributing to the ornamentation of the metropolis and the establishment of parks, for those who resided in the country enjoyed the advantages of them when they came to London. s Colonel NORTH objected to the conduct of Lord Spencer. Mr. JACKSON supported the other side. Mr. COWPER considered that Lord Spencer was judi cious in allowing the subject to go to a committee, but he differed entirely from the views of the hon. member for Southwark (Mr. Locke). After further discussion, in which Mr. P 3 Ix( cke, Mr. Shaw-Lefevre, Mr. Marsh, and Mr. Cox tiJk part, the motion was agreed to. RECRUITING FOR THE ARMY. Mr. O'REILLY called attention to the present mode of re cruitingfor the army, and moved an address for the appoint ment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the subject. He urged the expediency of putting the system of recruiting upon a proper footing, looking at the way in which our army was raised, and that the present was a fit tine for in quiring into the subject. He described the existing mode of recruiting by crimps and recruiting sergeants, and the extent of the desertion of recruits, which was carried on by an organised system ; and he pointed out the vicious manner in which volunteering from the Militia to the Line was sometimes carried on. He made various suggestions for augmenting the sources of supply to the army and for increasing the inducements to enlistnient, by modifying the term of service, by localising regiments— that is, connecting them with particular counties or parts of the United Kingdom, —and by increasing the pay of sol diers after long service. Mr. CARNEGIE testified from personal knowledge to the importance of connecting regiments with localities. He supported the motion. Colonel NORTH likewise spoke in favour of the motion. He believed, he said, that recruiting for the army was almost at a dead lock, and thought many of Mr. O'Reilly's suggestions were well worthy of consideration. After observations by Sir G. BOWYER and Sir H. VERNEY, The Marquis of HARTINGT ON denied that recruiting was at a standstill ; on the contrary, it was going on with remarkable regularity. He admitted the great importance of the subject, but he did not think the ap pointment of a Commission of Inquiry expedient at the present time. The subject had not been lost sight of : it was under the consideration of the military authorities. He admitted that there were evils in the system of re cruiting, but he thought the schemes suggested by Mr. O'Reilly could not be relied upon. He discussed some of these suggestions, and repeated that he did not think it desirable to appoint a commission to consider this subject. Sir J. FERGUSSON differed from Lord Hartington as to the material of the army which was, he said, losing some of its bone and sinew. Mr. Scully and Mr. Whalley having made a few re marks, and Mr. O'Reilly a brief reply, the motion was withdrawn. Mr. ADDERLEY moved for a select committee on the British establishments on the western coast of Africa. He wished for an inquiry, he said, in order to ascertain whether these settlements were well ordered and well regulated, and whether they had attained their object, or had not rather obstructed it. He referred to the state of the four settle ments, and the policy pursued by the Governors as fur nishing grounds for an inquiry. He said the settlements were originally intended to protect the slave trade, and explained the objects for which these establishments were now maintained, one of which was the suppression of that trade. He considered how far they had succeeded in check ing the slave trade, and the policy of incurring expenditure for the other objects--the promotion of legitimate com merce, and the civilisation of the country. It was upon these three grounds, he said, that he asked for inquiry. The motion was seconded by Mr. CAVE. Lord A. CHURCHILL supported the motion, Mr. Adder ley having, in his opinion, shown the necessity of an in quiry, for which resources would be at the command of the committee. Lord STANLEY thought that Mr. Adderley had done good service in bringing this subject before the house. The terms of reference to the committee should be wide, and embrace the real question—namely, whether or not some of these settlements served any useful object. The ex pense of these settlements was of less moment than the responsibility thrown upon the Home Government by the acts of Governors, in whose hands the question of peace or war was of necessity left. He thought a prima facie case was made out for an inquiry. Mr. CARDWELL was happy to accede to the motion, believing it was quite necessary that there should be an inquiry, and he was not disposed to limit the terms of the reference. The object of these settlements was not colo nisation, which was foreign to their purpose. Their main object was to make them ancillary to measures for the suppression of the slave trade ; to the abolition of barba rous native practices, and to the introduction of legitimate commerce ; and the inquiry of the committee might pro perly be directed to the question how far the settlements were ancillary to these ends. The motion was agreed to. BOROUGH FRANCHISE BILL. Mr. E. BAINES rose to ask leave to introduce a bill for the purpose of extending the elective franchise in boroughs in England and Wales. As he understood the motion was not to be opposed he should of course follow the custom of the house in not making any observations on the merits of the question. His object was to effect a moderate and yet valuable and substantial extension of the franchise to the class who constituted the great bulk of the people, but who were now entirely excluded. He proposed to do that by the simplest of all modes, one proposed in the house on high authority, viz.—the lowering of the borough franchise from an occupation of £lO to .£6. He hoped he might, with out provoking discussion, ask the Government and the house to consider one important question before the second reading—it was, whether the last session of a Parliament was not precisely that in which the question of an extension and alteration of the franchise ought to bo settled. (Hear.) He believed it would be found that there were many rea sons in favour of that course. The couittry would be saved the trouble and cost of a general election if the question were disposed of at the close rather than the beginning of a Parliament, because whenever a great extension of the franchise took place there must be a dissolution, in order that the new voters might exercise their privilege. Therefore, in the interest of the country, of the Govern ment, and of Parliament, he appealed to them to consider whether it would not be the wisest and justest course in the present session to make an extension of the franchise. (Hear, hear.) He moved for leave to introduce a bill on the I subject. Mr. AYRTON, referring to the absence of the Govern ment at the moment, Mr. Brand being the only official mem ber present, said it was due to the country to take notice of the condition of the House on this occasion. It was not, per haps, to be expected that hon. gentlemen on the other side should grace the house with their presence at that time. (A laugh.) It did happen, indeed, that a member of the late Administration was present, but th At was due to the accident that a motion in which he was interested had just been dis posed of. It was natural, however, that there should be some curiosity to learn the views of the Government on a question of such importance. (Hear.) Not long before there were some members of the Government present, but when his hou. friend the member for Leeds rose they all fled from the Treasury bench as if they were going to be reminded of some crime they had committed. (A laugh.) No doubt it must be most painful to them to see his hon. friend intro ducing this question, to which a few years ago they pro fessed to attach so much importance, and which they de clared they could not sit another hour on the Opposition bench without endeavouring to settle. If there were any members of the Government in or about the house they ought to be in their places ; but even those who were in attendance carefully avoided the Treasury bench. This was a curious illustration of the way in. which the Government redeemed the solemn pledge on which they came into office. (Hear, hear.) Mr. J. J. POWELL observed that there were many members deeply interested in this question who were not present because they understood there was to be no debate. He need scarcely remind the hon. member for the Tower Hamlets that it was on the second and not;onthe first read ing of a bill that the Government and other members dis cussed the principle of the measure, and declared their views concerning it. He thour;ht, therefore, that the remarks of opinions s o same the hon. gentleman were uncalled for. (Hear, hear.) At the ethtiemGe,ohvlr trustednment on to t h he are next f x u t l l s t s a t g a t e e o m f e n th t e of b t i h n e . (Hear.) _ _ Mr. E. B AINES explain e d th at it was perfectly under stool; on both sides of the house that there was to be no discussion that evening. (Hear, h ear .) THE LAW OF LIBEL. Sir COLEJAAN O'LOGHLEN, in moving f or l eave to w be permitted said his o introduce a, bill t o amen d t h e h; of libel, an d for more pro ifte h d i n cases po eff sa ec i wtuaoll7i; thatsec nuriongth the liberty ofthe press, indictment should of libel without the assent of the law officers perreintt Such *a, course would, ho believed, prev en t the e c rown. indictment from being abused, and wo u ld not, powtheers of time, deprive our law of one of its most salutary provisions. ame In rases of indictment, he further proposed that the defen dantos should be a dmissible as a witness. He pr o p ose d also to get rid of the anomaly at present existing, by which the proprietor of a newspaper was liable for libellous or deft)— ; matory matter contained in the publication of speeches made at public meetings, while no action could be laid against the persons who made those speeches. By the bill, therefore, the introduction of which he was moving, a per son who went to a public meeting, where reporters must, as he knew, be present, and made such a speech, would be liable, either by civil or criminal action, in the same way as if he had published the libel in writing. Such clause, however, would not affect the privileges of Parliament or touts of justice. It might be said that there would be cases in which such speeches: would be made by men of stra w ; and although he would not deny the possibility of s r u e c c h tn c e a ss se o sarising, the party injured would have the power ofc proceedin g against the offender criminally, if such a He e urse were sanctioned by the law officers of the Crown. less than 20 proposed also allorwing the plea of a belief in the cor rectness of papers a libel to 'be admitted as a defence. As news had iwere frequently subject to vexatious actions, he shoulndseartoetdbea clause providing that a plaintiff recovering but a s. d an:gs d ho i u f ld not only pay his own.costs, also the the defendant, and that his own costs above he did not recover damages 40s. Leave was then givon introduce the bill. RAILW AY COMS TitUC T lON FACILITIES. to Mr. WHALLEY obtained leave to bring in a bill to re- Peal so much of the act or the 27th and 28th of Victoria, cap. 121, entitled " The 14 tilway Construction Facilities Act, 1864," as prevents the, _Board of Trade from proceeding on the application of promoters in cases where any railway or canal company affected in any way by the proposed un dertaking may lodge notice of opposition. The bill was read a first time. MORTGAGE DEBENTURES. On the motion of Mr. SCULLY, Mr. Pollard-Urquhart and Mr. Longfield were ordered to be added to the select committee on the Mortgage Debentures, &c., bills. BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY (IRELAND) ?B1 SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 22, 1865. ACT AMENDMENT. Sir R. PEEL obtained leave to bring in a bill to amend the Irish Bankrupt and Insolvent Act (1857), which was read a first time. PROTECTION OF INVENTIONS. Mr. M. GIBSON (in committee of the whole house) ob tained leave to bring in a bill for the protection of inven tions and designs at certtiin industrial exhibitions in the United Kingdom, which was read a first time. CHURCH RATES COMMUTATION. Mr. NEWDEGATE obtained leave to bring in a bill for the commutation of church rates, which was read a first time. The Game Licences (Ireland) and the Dublin Interna tional Exhibition (1865) bills were read a third time and passed. The Civil Bill Courts Procedure (Ireland) Act (1864) Amendment Bill passed through committee, with amend ments. In committee of the whole house resolutions were agreed to in reference to the Courts of Justice Building (Defi ciencies) and the Common Law Courts (Fees), Leave was given to introduce bills founded thereupon. The bills were brought in and read a first time. The house then adjourned. Association of Chambers of Commerce of the United Kingdom, The annual meeting of the delegates from the various provincial Chambers of Commerce consti tuting this association commenced yesterday at the Westminster Palace Hotel—Mr. Sampson S. Lloyd, the chairman of the association, presiding. There were present the following delegates : Messrs. EL Pease, M.P., Darlington ; E. Baines, M.P., E. A. Leatham, M.P., G. Moffatt, M.P., Mr. Bass, M.P., Somerset Beaumont, M.P., W. Daven port Bromley, M.P., W. E. Forster, M.P., G. Had field, M.P. ; J. Somes, M.P., and J. Clay, M.P., Hull ; Sir F. Crossley, M.P. ; Messrs. W. Buchanan, M.P., Glasgow ; C. Norwood, Hull; E. Akroyd, Halifax ; W. H. Wills, C, H. Low, M. Whitwell, and L. Bruton, Bristol ; W. F. Price, Glocester ; C. Allhussen, James Hall, and John Hall, Newcastle on-Tyne ; H. J. Atkinson, Hull ; J. Whitwell and C. Braithwaite, jun., Kendall ; D. Lupton and W. Hirst, Leeds ; T. Wilson, Goole ; E. L. Help, J. Batley, and C. H. Jones, Huddersfield ; R. H. Ellis, J. Mitchell, and T. H. Cook, Dewsbury ; J. Harris, Darlington ; W. C. Corsan, R. Leader, W. Smith, C. Atkinson (Master Cutler of Sheffield), and R. Jackson, Sheffield ; H. W. Ripley, J. Beh rens, and J. Darlington, Bradford ; L. Haymenn and S: Collinson, Nottingham ; W. T. Cox and J. Renals, Derby ; W. Armstrong, South of Scotland Chamber ; J. S. Wright, G. D. Goodman and G. Dixon, Birmingham; M. D. Hollins, Staffordshire Potteries ; W. Morris, Halifax ; J. B. Holroyde, Halifax Chamber; I. Wilson, Middlesborough ; W. R. I. Hopkins; J. Brooke, Huddersfield ; J. Crossley, Halifax, and G. B. Lloyd, Birmingham. The CHAIRMAN said the standing committee were glad to meet their fellow-delegates, and able to an nounce to them a large accession of members to the association. There were now 27 Chambers of Com merce in active working with the association. Those chambers represented a great deal of the commer cial intelligence of the country ; and he was happy to say that the income arising from their subscrip tions made the association self-supporting, with the exception of the extraordinary expenditure chiefly arising from the movement of the association in Austria. The leading journal had that morning thought fit to infer that the association was weak because three of the most important places in the country, Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow, were not connected with it. The association would, cer tainly, be very glad to have their co-operation, and it was not the fault of the association that those im portant towns stood aloof ; but while the association represented the entire county of York, and the towns of Birmingham, Bristol, Wolverhampton, and other places, it felt itself sufficiently strong' to labour effectually for the good of commerce even without the joint action of those three chambers. The chairman then adverted to the establishing of free trade with Austria, and said that efforts had been made to bring about a more liberal commercial policy in that country. A commission of inquiry had been appointed by the Austrian Government, similar to that appointed by the Emperor of the French a year or two ago, and it might be anticipated with some confidence that the steps taken would lead to some modification of the protective policy of Austria, and which would tend greatly to increase the wealth of the two countries. He concluded by observing that the labours of the association had been productive of great good to the commercial interests of the country, and then moved that the report and accounts (which had been taken as read) be adopted. Col. AKROYD (Halifax) seconded the motion, which was agreed to unanimously. BANRUPTCY LAW REFORM. The CHAIRMAN then moved the following resolu tions : " That the experience of the commercial community and the evidence taken before the Select Committee of the House of Commons last Session combine to show that a thorough reform of the English law of bankruptcy and of the system of procedure under it is urgently needed. That in such reform the following are important desiderata :—I. Provi sions for the safe, economical, and speedy realization and distribution of the estate. That in the opinion of this meeting the provisions of the Scottish Law of Bankruptcy (19th and 20th Viet., c. 79) accomplish these objects very satisfactorily, and this meeting approves their adoption in England. 11. Provisions for the adequate and certain pun ishment for insolvency arising from the wilful and reckless incurring of debt, to an extent beyond that which the bankrupt had reasonable expectation of discharging, as well as for actually fraudulent bankruptcy. That in re ference to this point it is desirable that the acts constitut ing reckless insolvency and fraudulent bankruptcy should be clearly defined (irrespective of the condition of intent to defraud) ; and that the definitions of the French Code de Commerce (articles 585, 586, 591, 593) appear in the main to do this satisfactorily. 111. The appointment of a Chief Judge to secure uniformity of decisions and greater facilities and economy in cases of ap peal. IV. The administration in the Court of Bank ruptcy of the estates of deceased insolvents. V. The abolition of the limitation under the 221st section of the Act of 1861, by which an offender is only punishable for a misdemeanour if committed within three months prior to bankruptcy. VI. The assimilation (as far as practicable) of the statute law of England, Scotland, and Ireland on this sub ject. VII. The provision of means for the recovery of British bankruptcy assets situate in any part of the British empire, and the endeavour (by negotiation or otherwise) to obtain means for the recovery of British bankruptcy assets situate in foreign countries. VII. The abolition of the rule by which secured creditors are permitted to vote for deeds of composition in respect to such part of their claims as is secured. IX. The consolidation of the entire statute law on this subject into one act." He observed that by the provisions of the present law misdemeanours committed within three months before the bankruptcy were punishable, but those committed for a longer period were not. The bank rupt therefore escaped all punishment if the fiat were not issued within three months and one day after the offence was committed. By the present law creditors who were secured had not interest in the bankrupt's estate, and yet they were allowed to vote in opposition to the creditors, whose interests were bound up in the welfare of the estate. Nothing could be more unjust than such a rule. The chairman then adverted to the Scotch law of bankruptcy, and observed that under that system adjudication of bankruptcy took place either on the debtor's own petition, or on the petition of one creditor of £5O, or of two of £7O, or of more than two of £lOO. The Court then appointed a meeting of creditors, who elected a trustee, who might not be a creditor. Every facility was given for offering a composi tion ; a dividend must be declared every four months, whether there was little or much to di v ide. Therefore, of an assignee failing for £13,000 or £14,000 nothing was ever heard in Scotland. The bankrupt in that country might apply for his discharge in one month after sequestration, with the consent of a majority of four-fifths in value of his creditors, and in 12 months with the consent of obtain his discharge without the consent of any a majority in numb er, and after 24 months he might cre ditor, but power of oppos i tion was given to three • natnpntm. accountantthe s or co m th o h re sy c s r te edi m to w rs a; different from the whose functions were entirely the Th aepinpooisnttminlertrtaof sinecurist called the accountant under the English system. In the English Courts a clerk made out an account, and the same clerk made out a list by which that very account was to be checked. The account and the list were then sent to an office in London, where they were compared with each other ; and for this business the English accountant was paid £1,500 a year. In Scotland, on the con trary, the accountant had much work to do. He had to see that the assignee as well as the bankrupt should not be guilty of malversation ; and he had power to employ a public prosecutor —an officer much wanted in England. It had been thought that there might be some difficulty in introducing this system into England. The first question that arose was to what court should the administration of the new law be submitted. The bankruptcy courts and the county courts were both unpopular in this country ; but if a separate court were esta blished there was always danger as to the efficiency of a court which confined itself exclusively to one particular branch of the law. The Scotch Courts undertook a great variety of business. With re spect to the appointment of an accountant the Scotch system would not answer without some alte ration to suit the circumstances of this country. There were only 500 bankruptcy cases in Scotland in a year, while there were upwards of 7,000 in Eng land, and if thepresent system were altered and made more popular, the number would probably amount to 10,000 a year. The chairman then referred to the penal clauses of the Bankruptcy Act, and said that previous to 1861 certain offences in bank ruptcy were felonies, but now all offences under the the new Act were misdemeanours only. Punish ments were much milder, and the law in that re spect was practically a nullity, there being no public prosecutor, and much difficulty existing in proving the intent on the part of the bankrupt to defraud. The whole penal system, therefore, was entirely out of joint. Now, in Scotland, civil and criminal fraud was kept quite distinct, and unquestionably all cri minal offences ought to be brought before a criminal tribunal—great crimes at the assizes, less crimes at the sessions, and he would suggest that carelessness on the part of the bankrupt should be punished by suspension, and such like. The hon. Chairman con cluded by moving the adoption of the resolutions he had read. Mr. LUPTON (of Leeds) seconded the motion, and said that the Leeds Chamber of Commerce had in structed him to express their approval of the altera tions proposed. Mr. 3/10FFATT, M.P., said he was of opinion that any system of punish men t con nected with the law of bankruptcy was injurious, and that no satisfac tory alteration in the law cou ld be effected until the whole present system was abolished. But when that was done their labours wou ld by n o means be ended. They would then, however, be able to create a simple, clear, and expeditious system. His opinion was that when a debtor contracted a debt he pledged the whole of his assets, but not his liberty or future labour, to his creditor. The old law, indeed, said that he pledged his person to the creditor, but common sense showed that that was so unjust a system that personal arrest had become almost a matter of form. His proposition, therefore, was to abolish the law of arrest altogether. He certainly should advocate the abolition of imprisonment for debt. Again, he was opposed to that part of the present system which subjected the minority to the majority. He should, therefore, recommend such legislation as would take away such power from the majority. He would provide that all creditors who re ceived dividends should discharge the insolvent from any future liability : he would, however, reserve to any creditor who declined to come in and share the assets already collected the power of obtaining pay ment of the debts owing to them from any after acquired property of the insolvent. Mr. GIBBS said it was the general wish, he be lieved, that the duties of a creditor's assignee should be made the subject of a regular profession, and that those who embraced that profession should be appointed the professional managers of insolvents' estates. That was the Scotch system, and if adopted in England the management of an insol vent's estate would become a simple matter of busi ness. There were some acts which he would treat as offences on the part of the debtor. Those acts were, first, extravagant living; secondly, fraudu lent preferences to creditors ; thirdly, concealment and abstraction of property; and, fourthly, incur ring damages by litigation. The hon. gentleman moved, as an amendment, that except in the case of any one or more of those four offences, the penal law in bankruptcy should be abolished. After some further discussion, Mr. BRoox, of Huddersfield, thought the adop tion of that suggestion would be a retrograde movement. It was once the law of insolvency, but that law had been assimilated to the law of bank ruptcy, and now it was proposed to make the law of bankruptcy what was formerly the law of insol vency. He was sure that even if the House of Commons agreed with the proposition the House of Lords would not. IVir. G. DIXON thought the proposition of Mr. Moffatt, of giving the creditor a reserved •power over the debtor, would be extremely inexpedient, because if such was to be the law it would be im possible for the bankrupt afterwards to obtain credit. With regard to the punishing of wilful and reckless incurring of debt, he was of opinion great difficulty would arise in defining what was reckless incurring of debt. Not one-half of the commercial men were decided on that question, and the proba bility was that the decisions of the different Courts would not be the same. He hoped, therefore, that no such proposition would receive the sanction of the meeting, After some further discussion, The CHAIRMAN replied, and said there was great danger in putting so much power in the hands of a non-assenting creditor as Mr. Moffatt proposed to do. The amendments having been negatived by a large majority, the original resolutions were put and carried unanimously. A committee was then appointed to wait upon the Lord Chancellor, and to impress upon him the importance of assimilating the English law of bank ruptcy to the law of Scotland. FORWARD DELIVERY. The Mayor of HULL (Mr. Atkinson) moved a re solution to memorialise the Lord Chancellor in favour of legislation of bargains of forward delivery of linseed oil and other merchandise, so that a cre ditor may be able to claim upon a bankrupt's estate for any difference arising therefrom under the 153 d section of the Bankruptcy Act of 1861 ; which, after a brief discussion, was negatived by a show of hands of six against and four for the resolution, the other members present not taking part in the vote. PARTNERSHIP LAW AMENDMENT. Mr. DIXON (Birmingham) moved the following resolution : " That this meeting is of opinion that it would be ad visable to alter the partnership laws, so far as to declare that receiving a share of profits, instead of or in addition to a fixed rate of interest, for money lent to a private trad ing concern, shall not make the lender a partner." He said the resolution simply declared that it was inexpedient that the law should allow a lender to obtain a fixed rate of interest on a loan without becoming a partner, and yet that he should not be allowed to obtain a variable rate of interest. That was the whole of the difference which he proposed to effect by a change in the law. Mr. WELLS (Bristol) seconded the motion. Colonel AKROYD (Halifax) ;opposed the resolu tion, and said, as he understood it, it was to save men who received a share of the profits from in curring all responsibility. He saw grave objections to that. Men who were engaged in trade should be responsible to their creditors, and not be sheltered under such a scheme as the one now proposed. A long discussion ensued, in the course of which the law of limited and unlimited liability was fully argued. Mr. LUPTON at length moved, by way of amend ment, that the words, , 4 In the case of money lent would be liable for the debts of the firm for twelve months after its withdrawal, and the loan must be registered." Mr. BEHRENs seconded the amendment, which was carried, 20 being for and two against it, six remaining neutral. The original motion as amended was then carried without a division. Mr. DIXON then moved,— " That this meeting is of opinion that it would bo ad visable to alter the partnership laws so . far as to declare that giving a clerk or manager a share of the profits in ad dition to or in lieu of a salary shall not constitute such clerk or manager a partner." After a short discussion the resolution was agreed to, the numbers being 18 for and 8 against it. The CHAIRMAN said that two-thirds being in favour of the resolution, the meeting could take public action upon it. OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION. Mr. S. S. Lloyd was then reappointed chairman of the association for the ensuing year, and the other officers were re-elected. The following resolution • was then moved and carried, the numbers being 19 for and 11 against it : " That a petition from this association be presented to the House of Commons, praying for the abolition of all extra charges on goods removed inland under bond, and that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer." The CHAIRMAN said as there was not a majority of four-fifths the committee could not take action upon the resolution. The following resolutions were also adopted by the meeting : " That a petition be presented to the House of Commons, signed by the chairman on behalf of the association, pray ing that the duty on fire insurances be changed to a uniform rate not exceeding is. per cent. per annum, to be imposed on all insurances against fire, without exception." "That a memorial from the association be presented to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, praying that arrangements be made to enable Government stock to be transferred and dividends to be received at all branches of the Bank of Eng land, in the same manner and on the same terms as is now done at the Bank of Ireland-in Dublin." " ' That the criminal law is defective in a class of cases of not unfrequent occurrence, where models which are often of great value in the manufacture of articles possessing beauty of design are taken away surreptitiously and fraudulently, not with the intention on the part of the taker of convert ing them to his own use, but merely for the purpose of having them copied and then restored to the owner. That the case of ' The Queen v. Hibberd and another,' tried at the Leeds Assizes in August last, is an instance of such a case, in which a total failure of justice occurred. That a memorial be presented to the Secretary of State for the Home Department praying that the law may be amended in this particular." The meeting then adjourned. HEALTH OF LONDON, (From the Registrar-General's Weekly Return.) . _ In the week that ended last Saturday the births in London and nine other cities and boroughs of the United Kingdom were 3,803; the deaths 3,349. The annual rate of mortality for the week in those ten large towns was 32 per 1,000 persons living, and it was less than it had been in the two previous weeks. The deaths in London in the week were 1,567, showing but a slight decrease on the number in the previous week, but a great decrease on the average weekly number in January. The average number of deaths in the seventh week of ten years, 1855- 64, is, with a correction for increase of population, 1,456. The actual return, therefore, exceeds the estimated number by 111. The deaths from typhus continue to be numerous —they were 88 last week. Those from scarlatina were 52, from diphtheria 13, from measles 17, from smallpox 20, from whooping-cough 63. The deaths from bronchitis were successively 339, 226, and 232 in the last three weeks. There were four from pri vation, two from scurvy, two from delirium tremens, and five from intemperance. A captain of the army, aged 70 years, was killed by a carriage in St. Martin's-lane. Six nonagenarians were registered, the oldest of whom was a woman who died at the age of 97 years. In the east districts there were 16 deaths from scarlatina, 16 from whooping-cough, and 16 from typhus. The Small-pox Hospital in Islington re turned five deaths from small-pox ; the London Fever Hospital, situated in the same district, re turned 23 from typhus. The Registrar of St. John, Westminster, writes that small-pox has become prevalent in part of his sub-district, and he has registered six deaths from it since the 21st ult., three of which occurred on the 15th inst. He registered only three deaths from small-pox in the whole of last year. Eleven deaths occurred in the workhouse of St. Giles, five of which were from typhus, a disease which the Registrar states is " extremely prevalent in the south sub-district, St. Giles." On the Bth inst., at 2, Cobb's-court, Spitalfields, a shoemaker, aged 58 years, died from want of the necessaries of life and proper medical attention. (Inquest.) On the 2d inst., at the workhouse, Mile-end New town, a man unknown, aged 38 years, died from " disease of the lungs, accelerated by exposure and destitution." (Inquest.) On the 11th inst., at the London Hospital, a waterman, aged 35 years, died from " inflam mation of the arm, aggravated by privations." (Inquest.). On the 4th ult., at Edward-street East, Greenwich, a tailor, aged 61 years, died of " disease of the liver, hastened by want of nourishment and nursing." (Inquest.) Last week the births of 1,044 boys and 900 girls, in all 2,034 children, were registered in London. In the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1865-64 the average number (corrected) was 2,108. In Liverpool the births were 373, the deaths 384 ; in Manchester the births 222, the deaths 241 ; in Salford the births 69, the deaths 68; in Birmingham the births 231, the deaths 163 ; in Leeds the births 169, the deaths 163 ; in Bristol the births 89, the deaths 86 ; in Edinburgh the births 140, the deaths 119 ; in Glasgow the births 324, the deaths 391; in Dublin the births 152, the deaths 167. The rate of mortality was 27 per 1,000 in London, 36 in Edinburgh, and 34 in Dublin; 42 in Liverpool 35 in Manchester, 32 in Salford, 26 in Birmingham, 38 in Leeds„ 28 in Bristol, and 48 in Glasgow. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height of the barometer in the week was 29.693 in. The mean daily reading was above 30 in. on the first three days. The lowest night temperature was 15.5 deg., and occurred on Wednesday, on which day the highest was only 32.8 deg. On the two previous days the highest temperature was below 32 deg. ; but the range of temperature on those days was only about 5 deg. The highest day temperature was 451 deg., on Saturday. The mean daily range was 104 deg. The mean temperature of the week was 30.2 deg., which is 7.8 deg. below the average of the same week in 50 years (as determined by Mr. Glaisher). The defect on Monday and Wednesday was 12 deg. and 14 deg. as measured by the averages of those days; but every day was cold except Saturday, when the mean tem perature was about the average. The mean degree of humidity of the air was 82 ; on Thursday the humidity . was 92. The wind was first north-east, then south east, then south-west. Half an inch of rain fell. Snow fell on three days. The thermometer fell be low the freezing point of water every night of the week. At Salford, Manchester, Birmingham, W a k e fi e ld, and Clifton snow fell on Thursday, as also in Lon don. The minimum temperature in the week occur red on Wednesday at all those places except Bristol. Everywhere the highest temperature was on Satur day. THE SEIZURE OF JERKED BEEF IN MACCLESFIELD. —At the Macclesfield Police-court, yesterday, the jerked beef case, which has caused considerable excite ment in the town, came on again for hearing, the defen dant, Arthur Flint, being charged with having in his shop in Mill-street a quantity of meat (offered as South American jerked beef) unfit for the food of man.—Mr. Thomas Morley said he visited the defendant's shop on the 4th, and saw him selling the meat in question, which looked very bad and smelled badly. Witness seized the whole of it—about a ton. It was carted to the police-office, where it was seen by a magistrate, and ordered to be de tained. Witness considered it utterly unfit for human food. Mr. Norris, who appeared for the defendant, said his client admitted that the meat , was bad, but ho did not know it to be so at the time he offered it for sale. Being anxious to introduce into Macclesfield the cheap meat known as jerked beef, ho on the Friday telegraphed to Liverpool, to a respectable firm with which he did business, to send him some of the South American beef, and on the follow ing morning the meet in question was delivered at his shop. The gentleman to whom the order was given (Mr. Watson, Liverpool) was present, but it transpired that he got the beef through another firm, without seeing it at all. Mr. S. N. Whitby, of Liverpool, said he dealt largely in jerked beef. The meat in question was unfit for human food. The magistrates said they were willing to believe that the defendant acted in ignorance, and with a bond fide belief that what he had purchased was jerked beef fit for human food ; ho would, therefore, be fined in the nominal sum of ls. and costs, with forfeiture of the Meat. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.---We are witnessing with much though various interest one of the greatest military specta cles ever presented to the civilised world. All things considered, there never was such fighting before, and for the like of it we have to imagine several of Napoleon's most terrible campaigns fought together in one country by the hostile factions of one people, and with all the fresh aids and appliances which art has since contributed to the service of war. Very few of us think we have anything to do but to look on ; all the better for us, a shortsighted selfishness may suggest; all the worse for ourselves, if not our material interests, wiser monitors will say. It is, however, wonderful, considering that we call the performers in this great tragedy brothers and cousins, partners in race, in language, in religion, and in , laws, how few of us have relatives and friends in the war. This is because the emigration for many years past has been confined to the labouring classes. The shipbuilders, merchants, and manufacturers who have speculated on the wants of the belligerents, busy and enterprising as they have been, are only a small fraction of the British community ; and we hear of their doings rather through American than any home channels. The great mass of our people, not only those in the deep quiet of private society, but those in the great world, would open their eyes with astonishment at a man said to be making his fortune by blockade-running or supplying arms and ammunition to the combatants. It is, however, a melancholy fact that we have contributed almost everything necessary to the spectacle. We have sup plied from our own race both combatants, at least nine out of ten of them ; we have provided the bone of contention, both the original slavery and the more modern cry against it; we have furnished arms, powder—nay, the very percussion caps and the me dicine chests, the clothing, and a good deal of the shipping and of all the other materials required. Some of us have gone behind the scenes and brought back strange experiences. Staff officers, engineers, doctors, and even clergymen have gone on errands of science or curiosity, and will know what to do when half our people set to work butchering the other half. But we, ordinary spectators, see every thing much as the Americans themselves saw our Russian and Indian difficulties. There may have been wars on a grander scale in the days of Attila, or Genghis Khan, or Timour ; but the achievements of those almost fabulous personages no more touch us than we hear of a mountain of locusts blown into a sea, and then washed up on its shore. When the matter is quite out of our knowledge, a million seems no more than a hundred. But we are quite at home in this business before us. The language of the men, the familiar terminations and prefixes of their names, with an occasional touch of mother wit thrown in by the principal actors, give a sort of domestic interest to the performance. Ame rica is bearing the palm in at least 'the magnitude of her war, though we still have to wait for that marvellous reconciliation that is to astonish the world. Great as she has been in peace, and great as she has proved herself in war, she finds it not so easy to repair the shattered vase. On the contrary, the vast mischief spreads, and, do what we will, we are doomed to see complications rising North and South, on every sea, on the Pacific as well as the Atlantic coast. A great war is apt to become un controllable, because illimitable, too vast for control, with too many issues for forethought. It rises to the scale of a natural convulsion, the workings of which may not be stayed or foreseen, and which can only be told when all is over, in many a long and sad history. How can we be sure that some of these fragments heaped up or hurled aloft will not come crushing down on us ? Already commerce and manufacture throb at every beat of that still mighty heart, and the hopes and fears of thousands among us rise and fall as some new rage excites the American breast, or as it yields under some touch of grace, some qualm of con science, or some voice of reason and common sense. The present stage of this great struggle is notice able for its marked novelty upon the tenour of the last four years. The extreme exhaustion on both sides as to men and as to money appears to render it impossible to carry on the war as it has been car ried on. There will not be for the future those stupendous armaments, that waste of material, and those far more dreadful sacrifices of human life. There will not be such costly and murderous struggles for the possession of certain points, whether inland or maritime. Both sides seem to have discovered that they have made mistakes in attaching an exaggerated importance to positions required for no purpose. We have, then, before us the alternatives of a peace or a war carried on more in the open country, either guerilla fashion or by movements such as that by which Sherman has in fact changed the fortunes and the face of the war. Such a change will involve others, and, not the least it will be liable to bring forward military adventurers who do not depend on either Washington or Rich mond for their resources or their plans, perhaps not even their authority. Such a result is fraught with perilous consequences to every constituted or re cognised Power either on the soil or at all within reach of this great earth-shaking. We have no thought of frightening the Americans into peace— nay, the danger is as much ours as theirs • but if the war proceeds, it will one day come to such a pass that neither we nor they will be able to say who are the real rulers of that vast continent, and who are the men whose power, whose vengeance, or whose wisdom we have to watch. That the war must enter on a new phase is evident from the proved impossi bility of carrying it an with the existing institutions or rather constitution. The requisite levies whether of men or of money, cannot be made under a system of much divided and even discordant authority. a When the President employs detectives to se the States do their duty, the day cannotbede that a distant when the central Power will do that duty as it is done in Europe—by the imperial agency, and no other. Such was ever the result of long wars in times gone by ; and the several States in this instance have proved that they are no more to be trusted than .the feudal chiefs, the tributaries and allies, whose shortcomings, vacillation, or weak ness have so often ruined the cause which depended on their loyalty and zeal. For the prosecution of a great war there must not only be a common cause and a common ardour, but the sacrifice of every thing that interferes with perfect unity of action. One of the earliest consequences of our own great war with France was the Irish Union ; and the first result of the Indian Mutiny was the transfer of the Indian Government to the British Crown. A divided authority makes large demands on time, and on that mutual deference which contributes so much to the pleasures of peace, but becomes impossible when commands must be executed immediately and thoroughly, which is the only pace war can take to succeed. The Americans fondly hope that the sus pension of their constitutional guarantees for liberty is an incident that will soon be a matter of history. But years pass by, great transactions take place, and a new generation is rising to men's estate, under a reign of arbitrary power, and in the sphere of one all-absorbing contest. Will the State or the Fede ration be the more important in their thoughts ? , Or, if they should have a quarrel with the larger bond, will it be to fall back on the lesser? The Ame ricans have already sacrificed liberty for union, and they may shortly find that they will have to sacri fice Union for Empire. They will have to sacrifice that free voluntary Union which their fathers framed and died for, in order to raise a power that shall sustain itself at any cost, and hold its own against all corners, whatever political constitution may be I found best for that purpose. POST.—The republication of Lord Russell's Essay on the British Constitution, with an introduction re ferring to the leading questions of the day, among which his lordship naturally assigns to Parliamentary Reform a conspicuous place, as well as the annual appearance of Mr. Baines's bill for extending the borough franchise, which was read last night in the IHouse of Commons, and the preliminary pros pectus of a Reform League, with a capital of £5,000 conditionally guaranteed, severally wit ness to the inopportunity of the discussion they are calculated to promote. It is per fectly constitutional, and may be judicious, to con sider the expediency of modifying the subsisting suffrage. There is every reason to believe that a discriminating extension of the franchise would be an elevating and conservative measure. The exist ing town constituencies leave very much to be de sired. In the metropolitan boroughs the need of some amendment is experienced. But as Lord Russell, in the historical portion of his introduc tion, points out, it is necessary, in the first place, to lay down certain principles as the basis of action. Moreover, to justify the modification of system which works tolerably well upon the whole one of two things should be required. The change ought to be dedicated by the proven inadequacy or unsound ness of the actual representation, or by a spontane ous and rational expression of public opinion. As a matter of fact, however, all these elements are wanting. Lord Russell does, it is true, carefully and elaborately define the principles upon which the Reform Bill of 1832 was founded, and to which he still, as we understand him, subscriber ; but he omits to explain how, practically, those principles are to be maintained in the further reduction of the franchise, which appears to him to be desirable, and also the reasons which have led him to that conclu sion. Lord Russell, it must be observed, declines the theory that every man of sound mind, and years of discretion, has an inherent and inalien able right to vote: as personal privilege. He holds that the purpose to be attained is good government, the freedom of the people within the State and their security from without. In fact, Lord Russell seems to be aware that there are, as Macaulay said, those who will be con tented with nothing but demolition, and thoa e w i, e shrink from all repair ; and he would like, if ,-, could to see a line drawn between the two ex . , tremes,. further in advance than it now is, b ut r% ) ; the principles with which his name is identified. ' he the . other hand, Mr. Baines, and the gentlemen w Or think they can force Reform, like cucumbers of melons,. by the expenditure of a considerable alinew. money in aid of agitation, take The only . principle which they have at all clelo4 enunciated is the very principle Lord Russe ll ° le re puts aside. He desires to be practical, and se a re all for theory. He would extend the franchlseuid contribute . to the public security, while they 'that admit the . working classes to vote on the idea the all men . in a free country are entitled to exer e '',.;,,i to electorial franchise. Of course, nobody is b °ll :d it follow Lord Russell ; and though he has In— ode another i- it, appear . that rest and thankfulness are not incolnx e t Itible with progress, eager travellers may l on faster. But, at all events, Reformers ° w ith come to some understanding among themselvo ex, regard . to their claims. Mr. Baines's Bill is an ,s, ceedingly pale reflection of Mr. Baines' s peec . eii and Lord Amberley has said nothing that en the .corresponds . with, or is absolutely averse fronl,oes, principles to which his father adheres. Tl-;e 4 ., it tions . to be answered are plain enough. AN Jr" p i o es that is wanted, and what is it wanted for ' t . is it the claim rest on any practical grievance , (4, is merely a theoretical aspiration ? Is 111 r. Ba ines s or an . end, or the means to an end ? It is eas y to con' cave that, on the eve of a general election, v3:1; wish to t g o declamation may be convenient in a Pa rt y s ; t el But these questions are not party questions. Na . should be considered impartially, and to be s ta ted. sidered they must be fairly and explicitlY4s - ess Lord . Russell appears to think there are sei' f hiolt and ignorance to be overcome, and we raa/ Q ` t iii it w . e can cordially concur in the proposition• mu re ferred bno means evident whether Lord Thil_seenneo to the ten-pound householders, to tu f e t , - ,rcis. .franchised working classes or the House of '',,,icion This ambiloquy in itself tends to:create suski n . tel a.nd. distrust. in 1832 the Reformers spok e - too hob . ly, but now they speak in parables. Th, en ,'„ i blie the . ir . words were weighted with - the force (rd e ed, opinion ; but now there is no national echo r eti• there is nothing for the country to echo. - I :dicate cence, however, that was for a time taken to l' pear' the absence of motive has gradually come to b et r T in o. d . ed as significant. People reasonably requre in' ° t heill t . ion . on a subject which is said to con selves s no intimately, but of which they have thernsel c us e tto knowledge. Even in a fog it is not safe W F t r .,, set' the first adventurous link-boy who offers his vices as a guide, and still less is it wise t° r 10' in broad daylight from a way which, if 11 , 3 , ° "„ s sog; gether smooth, is safe and ascertained, on ''"" o ,oa gestion that another unknown path i s nearuer but more . agreeable. Novelty is all very w i e „ i tioll. security is a much more important consiu„e",t one There . is no possibility of dissembling " 1 " - o f til main objection . to any extensive reduction, pro franchise consists in the conviction that l, t fi ls es i ii i posed with ulterior objects, that organic eu a ;i ti ton the government of the country are conte r %atio n and that a large modification of the represe%tion• would lead to the subversion of the cons tit- r efiv If this 0 apprehension is fallacious it admi ts t° tati▪ on. But if a £6 franchise is an ins ta 7 4 is be receipted on the theory that un i vers al su, i ,slr . the debt due to the nation, then manif ee o "o.o ,o P Baine• s's Bill would be a step towards d el/1 1114 and every step in that direction would lea` e it 0 the in the rear of progress. It would dinun i '%l the° freedom of the people within the Stat e ° of tb° security from without." Any reductio Aan ce franchise that tended to destroy the 13 ' iitait e power essential to the maintenance of 3 path monarchy would inflict a heavy blow 11P° 1 1,, to cr 3 , e , 1 mentary government ; the power the °fi r ed P•l i , were depeived of would eventually be ael — e pioi°l the Crown; and though some may be 0.1 be l' e v that such a change would in many res Pe e:. a o° ,` undesirable, it is wholly beside the qu e Pi e' l e $ 11 , 11 ,,, e raised. Canning, when he was discussi n g hA sAi ti ' - a theory, admitted that there was much to — n t ; 3. 1 , 1 , favour . of a more despotic form of governor se a vi t to this day the Germans, who are suPrc3/111° French Liberals to be free and covererenlighten bring themselves to understand how a we t reigns without directly governing. But as it i s tto not about to pull down the national ed&eet,rtictio,llii necessary to draw plans for its reconsu col" Granting, for the argument, that the hous: ur ifir be made more convenient, if it answers to v et pre: pose, if it is associated with ideas we are 0 . t o dation, and if that foundation be laid deeP , 10' pared to part with, if it is firm and fast in i ts : the, heart of the English people, 1 our time, but preserve to future genera blessings we enjoy under its roof. dons it will not only th° COUNTRY MARKETS LEEDS—TUESDAY. ~.. Pa A The arrivals this week are not large. We '''''lrt Viers fair business passing in wheat to-day, at about issor ort day's rates. Good barley without change, but in very bad to sell. Oats and beans quite as dear. were ~ The average prices for the week ending Feb. 20 were otv7 Wheat, 39s 64d per qr. ; barley, 29s 9id ; ` 20s 3fd. d--- r y marketL Ia sV Eetßxh Fer 10. was Ln e- —e adT moderr S j lrt heatso. ft t springe dn ed nr 3. CI; t? u:so f II li a better - to-day's agyu' si ties realising an advance of ld to 2d7 the extreme prices of last week. Sislacildk:fltral:urtersl.ca(s)arssitgbos:l' easier to buy, but barrel flour brought la ,id vias SS oatmeal unchanged in value, but the deraluadi*-0 00;0'0 Beans brought 6d per qr. more money. , eek's Pr' with a more ready sale at 3d to 6d over last prime Danubian bringing 26s 3d to 26$ 6d P4:48011)5. Noe' MELTON MOWBRAY.—TvEspAy. r 36 s at White wheat, 41s to 44s ; red, 36s to 40s 2 sto 288 bi Barley for malting, 31s to 35s per qr ; feed, 1(_ 41$ to 30 stone. Oats a shade higher. Beans, o''''' new, 36s to 38s per qr. pord SHEFFIELD—TuEsDAY• 0 a 0 via There was a good attendance, and busiesut &we, buoyant, millers buying freely at late prices late 19t 14 to give any advance. Beans and barley ma of alY3oge' Oats were in greater demand, and an advance 00 c 4 11 per qr. was given for the best qualities. Flour, to igvoa _Rea wheat, per load of 3 imp. bushels 15s °d 16 o,i 170 oJ lbs 0 White do do •• • • 15, Od 170 01 New red do do ..• •is to jo i New white do do .•••1 ' a oa° Beans do do l5B ,mod 32s 6 ••os mod 04d Peas, per qr. . 308 - 3SB ocl Grinding ba• ley, per qr vs Od 278 Malting barley, o 215 °cl Oats, do F10ur....1s 5d to i Cd per 141U ,,siiie,nfj MONMOUTHSHIRE—MONDAY', of D.:y ,'- For the past six or seven days a fair asnollo'' - cit'-'3' esPeopotoso has been transacted at the local markets, wheat. The demand for home-grown has be josta, for same as last week, and prices in the majoritYlioair,'A. have been maintained. There is but a limits 009-01 F foreign, and the market is in favour of buyers• do s. mand about the usual sale at the current cliwtapst._,,,,,Atil leis barley has been in slightly improved retl- VP-0' The following are the average quotatioljr, 007 2s to 5s 8d per bushel ; barley, 3s 3d to as "ft"' to 2s 7d. c 1 ieOP' THE /AT , Ila' A oS li t IHE GREEK PROFESSORIATE.- - " - n il , 0 ' 1" il n . that the dean and canons of Christ Church, '-' - ; f loOl o r augmented the stipend of this chair from . 44° ,..:•et c o d Pf annum, thus giving an augmented incora os e ta i t ll o 6 ;g - s l r o a r i i io te te , ci i' ll e, mity with the enchanced value of the Henry VIII. for the endowment of this Pr °fe n s t bet ec , example which we trust will not be lost Ile a - 0 t'' siastical corporations. N ati°, il? [ADVERTISEMENT 11 ENT. ]—Holloway's Plls ---I:r4 ce v o rr Health.—ln the hand-to-hand -To ha e n o il d ew strl' ;gl:fott; o e u P , l ii jo i f f lo l/ c ll , present day good health is lying, digestive, and gently vleariativiiiegi"ills ilt .:l. lo _,g e 0 4 adapted for restoring soundness to invalids, ' s ow - -o ,1 tions are so feebly performed that life itseilaies r 1 ; 0 3 ,0 17 , _ precarious . _ The stomach has its manY u ll " i i liirer is o sii cl by a judicious use of these Pills ; the torP_7 ber orf r a tot by them to active secretion ( , and eveYn sto;a ° ' . ll 4 ll serving digestion is lace It at is 'its natty ibl: have 1 1l 111 better fitted for its duties. p at our elbow at all seasons and places, but tbel7,ol supplant that loss, for they universally ac t : ....,,, ,/ <_ 7 every ailment. ----- , 4 - l al bet e k , - 11 )% n for 4)) 04 1 N t 1.14.4; ---___- 7 ---. 41 4 Births. fii clj. fo llr'•agel ° CO_RBOLD.—On the 20th inst. the the wife of th e c ibri - I Wilkie Cobbold, of Hollesley . Rectory, W°° s cif e ° SOD, Me ri t tb e 1 GRANT.—On the 18th inst., at Sa dgate, f e' Lieut.-Colonel Grant, R.E., of :son. ~ Soa t i llet• HILL.—On the 20th inst., at 98, Belgrave-reau'ditag' gravia, the wife of H.Grylls Hill, Esq., nf A 1 011' M arriag es. r j., rl i e e 6 ;0 0 , 11 ; KEEN—PICKETT.—On the 21st inst., at street,— o over-square,rftgceo— Henry Keen,of Ge..orger' * Devon, to ane Geraldine, dau War of cli , at Pickett, Oxford-street. third g t Cl i • at'l .m.1.0 ° PP SALIS—BENNETT.—On the 18th inst., at is/ 4 7 1.1 . - le tt° W. H. Salis, Esq., 95th Regiment, tn..,,'„, -- t. daughter of Major Bennett, 59th Regn .-11 ~gat • ute"),c l ' Deaths. gent, D i le ° ar Bo_XER.—On the 18th inst., at °spring' the lat e „,,, James M. Boxer, R.N., second on of '— ~,, P' 4 miral Edward oxer, .B. terr iw-1 BRAINE.—On the 19th inst., at 5, Lansdowll°- Pi' JP sin ton Wm. R. Braine,Esq , ag ed 3 1%. gra DALBY.—On the 16th inst., the Rev. ",,Th',.• l3s' ~ ;OA P JI MA., of Yeal, St. Martin's, Wilts, age u ''",;„ 1 0) „ 0 , 0 owAun.—At Corby Castle, on S a turclaYli;r9 II .; J r. Eliza Minto the beloved wife of PhiltP ate OW ~n Esq., eldest daughter and coheir a the l a te y 4 Canning, of Foxcote, Warwickshire. ~,,rarito 'a LEE.—On the 19th inst. at Gardham , near °l l ' ''.- Lee, aged 65. stead -co LOCHNER.—On the 20th inst., at plurestes „ gustus M. Lochner, Captain R.E., age d 31. ~..-- , ,0r -- _ , ,, , ,,r ~ ....--,... -- -- A N No 1P --- - - ,A g A pto A l London : Prin'ed and Published by WI L f,-'-''' O ffice, tf of No. 112, Strand, Painter, at Toe S ing ° t ug C egli Strand, fn the Precinct of the Savo 1 : 6 1 6, Middlesex.—Wednesday, February 22,