The Sun. — London, England, 1865-02-03 00:00:00

Leeds Chamber of Commerce• The annual meeting of this institution was held on Wednesday at the Town-hall, Leeds. Mr. D. Lupton, the president of the chamber, was in the chair, and among those present were Sir J. W. Jtamsden, M.P., Mr. G. S. Beecroft, M.P., and Mr. E. Baines, M.P. The Secretary (Mr. W. Hirst) read a long report from the Council of the Chamber. The report dealt with the varioy subjects which the chamber had entertained during the year. Among them were the pattern post, the statute of frauds, the extra duty on bonded goods, the corn duties by weight, the sugar duties, the registration of partnerships, the County Courts Amendment the Factory Acts Extension Bill, the railway schemes interest ing Leeds, the railway rates between Leeds and London, and numerous other subjects. On the question of foreign tariffs the council thus reported : —" For some years past an opinion has been gene ral that the mutual action of the Foreign-office and the Board of Trade has not been satisfactory. Three years ago the chamber issued a circular on the subject, which was sent to all other cham bers and to some influential members of Parlia ment. The proposal then made was that the Foreign.-office should comprise a department speci ally devoted to the care of our commercial interests abroad, and which should be presided over by a per manent Under-Secretary. The subject has each year been brought before the Associated Chambers, and at their last meeting a resolution was passed re questing Mr. W. E. Foster, M.P., to move for a select committee of the House of Commons to in quire into the whole question. This committee was granted, and in its report it recommended the esta blishment of such a special department. The Coun cil is glad to learn from a speech of Mr. Milner Gibson, as reported in the newspapers, that this re commendation will be followed out by her Majesty's Government, and the Council confidently hopes for good results from it. The Council has great satis faction in saying that during the past year much greater attention has been paid by her Majesty's Government to the wishes of commercial bodies than has ever before been the case. This was particularly shown by its sending down to the manufacturing districts Mr. Herries, Secretary of the Legation at Turin, and Mr. Ward, Charge d'Affaires at Ham burg. The Council, along with some members of the Chamber engaged in foreign commerce, had inter views with both these gentlemen and the wishes of the Council were explained to them. The Chamber has repeatedly recommended this course to her Ma jesty's Government, and it trusts that the precedent will be followed in other instances. There has been no material change to report as to the tariffs of other countries, The Prussian commercial treaty with France has, however, been accepted by all the States composing the Zollverein, and will shortly come into operation. The Council has every reason to believe that it will at once—so far as the rates of duty are concerned, be applied to the productions of this country. In Spain and Portugal there are few signs of the adoption of a liberal fiscal policy. As regards Austria, the Council entertain great hopes that a change is near at hand. The Associated Chambers have taken vigorous action in this matter, and they deputed Mr. Allhusen, of Newcastle, to represent them in Austria on his visit to that country in the early part of the year. Afterwards they issued an address to the Austrian Chambers of Commerce, pointing out the benefits which this country had reaped from its recent commercial policy. The ad dress was drawn up by Mr. Wurtzburg, assisted by a sub-committee appointed by the association, and there is every reason to believe that it has beenvery successful in drawing attention to the desirableness of a thorough change of policy in Austria. In Russia also there are marked signs that both the Government and the people are beginning to understand this question better ; and here, also, a change is sooner or later certain. Considering the great population of that empire —its immense production of raw material and other articles suitable for the consumption of this country—a liberal tariff there would be produc tive of the happiest results. If Austria and Russia join France, the Zollverein, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Switzerland, in a nearer approach to free trade, there is no doubt that the other States will be com pelled to follow, or see themselves altogether iso lated. The progress of sound commercial prin ciples is slow, but it is certain. The Council cannot on this occasion offer the same congratulations on . the state of trade in this town which it was able to do last year. It has suffered from several causes. The greater part of the ironworks in this district ' were standing all summer, owing to a dispute be tween the master and the men. The financial crisis in London has also to a great extent restricted busi ness. This was accompanied by the suspension of the Leeds Banking Company, followed by several heavy failures. The Council need not particularise the dis graceful state of things then disclosed. The orga nised system of forgery and the negotiation of ac commodation bills which appear to have been adopted might well create astonishment, and it is discredit able to the laws of the country that nearly all con cerned in this nefarious system should have escaped punishment. It is a question worth consideration, whether the time has not come when it is necessary to appoint a public prosecutor, whose duty it should be to bring to justice the perpetrators of such frauds, instead of leaving them entirely to the chance action of private individuals. Under the circum stances detailed, it can hardly be deemed strange that a generalfeeling of uneasiness should be entertained. This, however, very soon subsided; for a calm exa mination of all the circumstances of the case showed the great soundness of the general trade of this town. The failures were confined almost altogether to parties either heavily involved with the bank as share holders, or whose whole business transactions were based on the assistance given by this bank in advances or in the negotiation of fictitious bills. No house of standing or reputation failed, and in a very short time confidence in the general stability and sound ness of the trade of this town and neighbourhood was restored. The Council believe this confidence was strictly warranted. There are strong evidences that the productions of this district have not been in excess of the legitimate demand for them, and that the late dullness of trade must be attributed to gene ral rather than to local causes. The Council is glad to see that already business has considerably revived, and hopes that in all its varied branches the trade of this district will soon enjoy its former prosperity." -Mr. BAINES then addressed the meeting. H e con gratulated the Chamber upon the success which had attended the steps taken by them with reference to the fire insurance duty, the pattern post, an amend ment of the Bankruptcy Act, the Austrian tariff, the opening of a commercial department at the Foreign Office, and a reduction of the sugar duties. He also observed that the extension of the Factory Act to warehouses had been so mitigated as to draw the sting of the measure in that respe ct. In one p oint only had the Chamber failed, and that was in at tempting to obtain a reduction of the extra duty of one-quarter per cent. on goods transmitted to the Leeds bonding warehouses. But out of that future g° (3 d might arise, for it had led already to the conside ration_ of wh ether the navigation of the r i ver Ai re u p to Leeds could not be so opened that vessels of 300 tons could come uto the whereas vessels of only 150 tona Col d ) town, give Leeds for reach it at present. That would and manymake teed ses all the advantages of a seaport, h the centre for the distri bution of foreign Preductsstrough the whole of the West Riding. He thought the success which had attended the operations of Leeds Chamber of past yeare ought to encourage Commerce during the their objects ; them to continue steadily to pursueforget that some but he thought they would not thing was due to the Associated Chambers coerce, that little commercial parliam ent of Com , which had been very useful in connection with some ve portant matters. (Hear.) On the subject of bank ruptcy he (Mr. Baines) was not competent to pro nounce an opinion ; but Scotch merchants said that they were satisfied with the existing Scotch system, because it worked well and was very simple. The power, however, to punish a fraudulent bankrupt was not quite so satisfactory as the machinery for collecting the assets of a bankrupt. But he hoped the Bankruptcy Act for England, which was a scan- dal to the Legislature, would be amended, so that some fair and effectual mode might be arrived at of securing the rights of ereditors against those, whom they had trusted. (Hear.) The hon. member went on to mention the zeal and perseverance which had been shown by Mr. W. E. Forster, M.P., in get ting a commercial department in the Foreign-office. He said it was intended still to keep up communi cation with the Board of Trade on the subject, in the hope that further important improvements might be effected. He was sorry to have to speak of the disastrous and disgraceful circum stances which had attended the stoppage of the Leeds Banking Company. He deeply lamented the events which had occurred, and he could not but ask, had this Chamber done all it could and ought to do to prevent other directors of that kind? It was only so many persons as they could count on their ten fingers who really had been culprits. It was not the tradesmen of Leeds who had participated in the mischief, but there were certain persons going on in a most reckless manner, and altogether un checked who brought about the calamity. He was travelling in Germany at the time of the bank failure, and he was told that one of the largest creditors was a man whom nobody in Germany would have trusted with £5. (Hear.) So that something had been known in Germany which was not known in Leeds. In Ger manythey suspected that wrong operations were going on ; they knew that forged bills were going through the bank. But it had occurred to him (Mr. Baines) whether it was not the moral duty of those who knew these things to have revealed them. Still, it was a delicate position in which a banker was placed. He might very soon have an action for libel upon him, and the exposure might be ascribed to his rivalry. But certainly the representative of the com merce of Leeds should ask themselves whether it was possible to do anything to prevent such a reckless and miserable course as had been pursued by several firms in Leeds, home and foreign, and also in one of the banks in Leeds. (Hear.) There was also to be borne in mind the amount of money called up by the various companies, and in his opinion it would be much safer if such companies called up a larger pro portion of the capital than they had hitherto done. In conclusion, he renewed the caution he gave last year as to the state of fever and mania which then existed in the local trade. He rejoiced to believe that the trade of Leeds generally was as sound as that of any town in the kingdom, but considering the number of new companies there were of every description, which called for funds to an undesirable extent, it was necessary that the members of this Chamber should inculcate prudence in all with whom they were connected. (Hear.) Mr. BEECROFT next addressed the meeting. He said on previous occasions they had had the plea surable satisfaction of congratulating themselves on the increasing prosperity of the good old town, and he much regretted that the Council could not to-day offer similar congratulations. No doubt the trade of the town had suffered from severe causes. The dis pute between the masters and the workmen in the ironworks was a serious affair and greatly to be lamented. With that part of the report which re ferred to the failure of the Leeds Banking Company and stigmatised the mismanagement which led to it, every commercial man must concur, while all alike must sympathise with the wide-spread misery which the stoppage of the bank had occasioned. (Hear.) The incomes of many of the fatherless and of the widows had been entirely swept, away, and many a cheerful and happy home had been made desolate. It was idle to blink the fact that a system of for gery had prevailed which proper vigilance must have detected, if indeed, it has not been prevented altogether by the knowledge that a more whole some control was exercised over the affairs of the company. (Hear, hear.) Second only to this (if second at all) had been the extent of accommoda tion bills with which the country had been inun dated under the sanction of the bank's endorsement; and many of them, he was told, of that worst form of accommodation bill for which just so much of apparent consideration had passed as to baffle the ordinary means of inquiry. (Hear, hear.) It was to be regretted, too, that any of the perpetrators of frauds like these should escape punishment ; and if further legislative measures were required to meet such cases, it could scarcely be supposed that Par liament would be backward in supplying the want. (Hear, hear.) It should, however, be recollected that with general amendments of the law the con stitutional functions of Parliament cease. (Hear, hear.) It did not legislate for individual cases, and still less could it supply defects of evidence. He might observe that when the Leeds Banking Com pany stopped payment there was immense excite ment in London, and great alarm was created generally in commercial circles. It was, no doubt, the means of hastening the monetary panic which was at that time looming in the distance ; but sometimes good came out of evil, for the longer the panic had been delayed the greater would have been its severity. (Hear, hear.) The stoppage of the bank came upon the world like a thunder clap, but as a thunderstorm usually cleared the atmosphere, so they might hope that it would prove to be a beacon and a warning for the future. (Applause.) It was gratifying, however, to know that, notwithstanding these drawbacks, the general trade of the town and neighbourhood was healthy and sound. (Hear, hear.) Although a general feeling of uneasiness and alarm prevailed, it was a remarkable and most encouraging fact that in Leeds ne house of standing and reputation failed, the Leeds houses, as a rule, having exercised great pru dence. (Hear, hear.) Confidence had been restored, for there were abundant evidences to prove that there had been no reckless overtrading in the dis trict, and that the production had not been in excess of the legitimate demand. (Hear, hear.) Having taken some interest in the pattern post, he was much gratified to learn that its usefulness had been largely extended during the past year at reduced rates. When it was first brought into operation the Post-office authorities were greatly disappointed with the results, but this arose simply from the pre posterous rates charged in comparison with the rates charged by the book post. (Hear, hear.) With more enlightened views th'e authorities re- i duced the rates, and now the results were satisfac - I tory. Patterns were the pioneers i . the ready avail able means by which all the t branches of our industry are developed and fostered, and he had not the slightest doubt but that year by year the results would be found to be more and more satis factory. (Hear, hear.) It was much to be re gretted that the extra charges on inland bonding were not abolished. (Hear, hear.) This difficulty however, be met by a d o pti ng th e sugges ti on 7thoatdLeeds should be made a port, and this could easily be accomplished at - a.' comparatively trifling expense by deepening the river and enlarging om a few much larger rg to er locks. Stea mers o f 250 toils might then Leeds-bridge, and sailing vessels of a uc tonnage. He believed a similar scheme was proposed about 30 years ago. The trade of the town was then insignificant in comparison to its present g nitude and importanc e . Th e commercial traffinica-of the country was increasing so rapidly that the large railway companies found great difficulty in meeting the demands for conveyance. In proof of this he might state that a short time before Christmas the Camden-town station of the London and North- Western Railway was for a week completely blocked , up with the pressure of traffic. (Hear, hear.) Well, such being the case, water conveyance should be made available wherever practicable, so as to relieve the railways from a superabundance of the heavy traffic of the country. He therefore ventured to hope that speedy measures would be taken to make Leeds a port. With its daily increasing trade every facility fot conveyanee should be rendered at the lowest possible cost. ( Hear, hear.) The town had a noble river, and th erefore wh y not utilise it for the public advantage ? (Hear, hear.) He w as i n f orme d th a t the locks between Castleford and Wakefield were about being enlarged, so that that Leeds se a - going vessels of large burden could get up to (Applause Wakefield. He would therefore venture to suggest respect. pass such a mea ought not to be behind Wakefield in this of Parth erahiPs h .. As that the House 1 regarded the registration of Conimona was; e was sorry to say Bill introduced' a direct not at present in the humour to say one word a:lire. In the next place he would It was session into the. House. of Lords. to the County Courts Amendment trader, affording y encouragement to the dishonest more easil white:az' h ra g rea ter facilities f or b e i ng ea (Hear, hear.) The pro- , rHE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 3, 1865. posal to reduce the period from six years to one year was unreasonable and absurd, and he (Mr. Beecroft) did not think the period should be less than three years. (Hear, hear.) It must, indeed, be most gratifying to the Chamber to hear that at last a commercial department was to be established in the Foreign-office, to be specially devoted to the care of our commercial interests abroad. (Hear, hear.) The commercial community was much in debted to his hon. friend, Mr. Forster, the member for Bradford, for his great exertions in endeavour ing to obtain that boon. (Hear, hear.) In conclu sion, he would only say that the flourishing revenue of the nation was a proof of the sound prosperity of the country, and that he looked forward to the time —which he believed.not to be far distant—when the various branches of the trade of this district would enjoy an unexampled prosperity. (Applause.) Sir JOHN W. RAMSDEN congratulated the Cham ber on the great success which had attended. their labours during the past year ; but said it must be obvious that for the Parliamentary action which had been taken they were indebted to the zeal and ability with which their views were always urged upon the House of Commons and the Government by their representatives. (Applause.) He was very glad to hear that the reform of the bankruptcy law was occupying the serious attention of the Chamber. There was a special reason which at this moment should make that a topic of immediate importance. At the present moment there was upon the wool sack a great law reformer—one who had made this question of bankruptcy from the beginning his own. They would remember that the Bill of 1861 was in troduced by Sir Richard Bethel, and introduced, he (Sir John) believed, with the almost unanimous ap proval of the commercial community. That Bill, unfortunately, did not pass into law in the same form in which it was introduced. Now, there had been several years' experience of the working of the measure, and he was afraid it had not been found to meet the expectations which were entertained when it was passed. But they knew that the Lord Chan cellor was anxious and ready to complete his work. He made an invitation to the country to support him in carrying the reform of bankruptcy law to a satisfactory conclusion, and he (Sir John) had no doubt that during the present Session of Parliament he would receive from those who are deeply in terested in this question the support which he needed. Sir John concluded a short speech by stating the willingness of his hon. colleague (Sir F. Crossley) and himself to be of any use to' the commercial class whenever it was in their power to do so. (Applause.) _ _ _ The proceedings then terminated with the usual vote of thanks. Reform Meeting in Manchester, On Wednesday evening a crowded meeting was held at the Free-trade Hall, under the auspices of the National Reform Union. The chair was taken by Mr. G. Wilson, the president of the union. The CHAIRMAN said the meeting was assembled for the purpose of calling upon the Government to redeem its pledges, by bringing in a measure of reform during the coming session of Parliament ; and if he might judge from the appearance of the meeting, the call they should make would not be a feeble one. (Hear, hear.) The despised question of reform, which had been trampled upon until very recently, seemed to have recovered again to some thing like its former strength. (Hear, hear.) It might be well to remind the opponents of reform that that question had received the highest sanction. On six occasions in the last 12 years the Queen had recommended the subject to Parliament, and the Earl of Derby, Earl Russell, and Lord Palmerston had acknowledged its necessity. The people would not ask for a measure of reform that should meet the views of all who sought it ; but if Parliament would bring in a bill like that recently shadowed forth by Mr. Gladstone, the people.would give it their support. If Par liament did not grant reform, there were the people to ap peal to, and they would never fail to support those who served them honestly. (Applause.) Mr. T. BAZLEY, proposed " That in the opinion of this meeting it is the imperative duty of the Government to carry out the reform measures to which they were pledged on accepting office." He said there were important signs that a large measure of reform was coming to the people. Only the other night the Conservative members of South Lancashire were ready to concede an extent of reform ac cording to some undefined homoeopathic scale—(laughter) —and he rejoiced that the promoters of reform had a new recruit, and that Earl Russell had a son that did honour to his father, and who would do honour to the cause in which he had embarked. (Applause.) He should be glad if there was spirit in the Government to propose such a measure as Mr. Gladstone had suggested, though he had his misgiv ing on the subject. If Parliament did not, in the ensuing session, propose some great and good measure of reform, he hoped that they would dissolve and appeal to the country on the question. (Applause.) If the opponents of reform would only declare that the people did not deserve emanci pation from the thraldom under which they existed, he should be glad ; but they were tantalised by sometimes being urged to hope that reform was coming, and when the cup was raised to their lips it was dashed away. (Hear, hear.) He - hoped that the spirit of the country was rising, and that they would require nothing less than a comprehensive measure, which should include the intelligence of the country, as well as represent the great body of the working classes. (Hear, hear.) A reso lute demand for reform must be urged both within and with out the Houses of Parliament. The conviction no doubt prevailed that reform was necessary, and that the people were quite loyal, and deserved it. The indebtedness was admitted, but payment was deferred. Was it wise to wait for indications of rebellion ? (Hear.) The working classes, especially those of Lancashire, had shown their fitness for reform, and in his opinion the safety and prosperity of the empire could only be preserved and promoted by a com prehensive and parliamentary reform. (Hear, hear.) In 1832, the reform given to the people was exceedingly bene ficial ; it rescued the country from the precipice of political ruin, and, acting like oil on the troubled waters, it gave peace and concord to the people. Let another measure of reform be given, Doubting and timid people retarded the progress of the movement ; let them but throw aside their doubts, and it would be shown that the people had not warranted the fears. (Applause.) They asked for re form, vote by ballot, and other comprehensive measures, such as those which worked so satisfactorily in the colo nies. But they needed to exercise patience under dispa raging circumstances and difficulties. Even a prisoner could object to a juryman who might be asked to try him : but the people had to submit to the jury of the House of Commons whether they liked their jurymen or not. (Cheers.) Under the existing state of things he thought that the name of the House of Commons should be altered to that of the House of Deputies of another place, and the Representatives of the Rich. He had no fear of the re sults of a measure of reform. If the reform which they contemplated was carried, only 25 per cent. would be added to the present number of electors. With so small an in crease, and with the House of Lords and the Queen stand ing as two to one to the House of Commons, what fear could there be of a reasonable measure of reform. (Hear.) Though he doubted whether Parliament would have the wisdom to propose a bill in the coming session, he would still recom mend the people to persevere, and to "go forth to the struggle in the strength which is born of right." (Cheers.) The Rev. G. W. CONDER seconded the motion. He said that, though a minister of religion, he had no hesitation in appearing before that meeting. He considered that it was the business of a minister of the Gospel to make all the great questions of right and wrong his questions; and wher ever a great and serious wrong existed it was his absolute duty to use all his efforts for its removal or annihilation. The kingdom for which he _laboured was a kingdom of righteousness, and therefore he could not stand in a more proper place than upon that platform. (Applause.) He looked on the question of reform as one of justice and right. Every individual had an immeasurable interest and stake in the character and quality of the institutions of his coun try, and the laws which hemmed about his life. (Applause.) Why, then, was not reform granted to them? They had waited for it long enough, and he would now hie them go to the door of the Treasury and tell those who sat upon its bench that they had been knocking at their door for all these years. Let them knock at once, and not give the Government the opportunity of saying they were not aware the people were there. Let them tell the Government that their door must be opened ; opened by any key they liked, anything better tha n th e crow b ar an d th e gunpow d er o f th e people itn e t u io ts n i a d l e. pow (A er p , p t l h a e u y se w .) nu l l f d t b h ra ey n w d ethreosneogt gentlemen nd on the Treasury Bench as false to their professions, traitors to their party, and would hoot them ignominiously from place and power. (Hear, hear.) It had been said that it would bo easy enough to get up such a demonstration as would make Lord Palmerston busier with his pen than ever Earl Russell had been. (Cheers and laughter.) Without overstating or exaggerating a single fact, it would be easy to rouse an intense feeling in the popular mind; but they who had that reform movement in hands were chary in resorting to such means. (Hear.) One great difficulty in the way of obtaining reform arose from the fact that reformers in the house had their hands tied. (" Hear, hear," from Mr. Bazley.) The people had foisted a power into place that had no principle ; but since 1832 a power had been growing in the large manu facturing towns to which principle was dear, and it was a power too which if it unhappily rose in conflict with the classes above it, that class, and all other classes, would be at their mercy. (Applause,) Mr. HANDEL CossHAM, of Bristol, supported the motion. He said that the people were tenfold more fit to exercise the franchise than they ever were before. He therefore asked the Government to fulfil its pledges, for if it did not the Liberal party would be gone. He doubted not that when reform was obtained we should have a better Govern ment in power than we had now, and a Government which would not nail its flag to the bloody mast of the Southern States. (Applause, hisses, and interruption.) The motion was also supported by Mr. E. 8v..0.v5, of London. Dr. J. WArrs said that the title of a Working Man's Conservative Association, like that inaugurated the other evening at Oldham, was to him a very non-understandable thing, for he wanted to know what there was in our oonstitution that they wished to conserve. He believed that if the whole of the people were admitted to power it would be attended with great advantage even to Conserva tism. Was it prudent that the country should allow this agitation to go on as the Anti-corn Law agitation went on for seven years, at the cost of a million of money, before the landlords would allow their rent rolls to be improved ? The present state of things worked well for the family of such a one—the Hon. Algernon Egerton—who addressed the meeting at Oldham. It worked well for the gentleman who was vacating his seat for Salford the gentleman who sent the last Reform Bill upstairs— (laughter)—and who now, in order to avoid being turned out, got into a permanent and well-paid situation. He might earn his money. He (Dr. Watts) should not grudge it him. He hoped he would deserve it, and if he serve India as well as Mr. Laing had done during his short term of office, and was not wheedled by Sir C. Wood, who did not work well, they should have no reason to regret his absence from Salford, and would welcome his accession to the India Board. (Laughter.) He believed that if 50 mem bers of Parliament pledged themselves to wait on Lord Palmerston and tell him they were determined to have a £6 franchise for boroughs and a £lO franchise for counties, they would get them. __ _ Mr. S. PoPE, who was called for by the meeting, said he did not know how he could add to the proceedings of that meeting.---LA Voice : Put yourself up for Salford.] (Ap plause.) He thought that meeting had been somewhat too hard on the Government, for it would have been impossible for the Government to have broken its pledges if the Liberalmembers had not betrayed their trust. (Applause.) Let, then, the Liberal party be purged of those who had got into its ranks by false pretence; and professions of Liberalism, with the view of obtaining the sweets of power. (Hear.) He hoped that the people, in an opportunity which would shortly be given in an adjoining borough, would speak with no uncertain sound as to their convictions on reform, and take care that the place of the gentleman who was going to India should be supplied by some one who would better represent reform sentiments than the late member, though perhaps he might not make so graceful a chairman of committees. (Applause and laughter.) The meeting was also addressed by Mr. R. COOPER, and the motion was adopted. A vote of thanks to the chairman for presiding closed the proceedings. In consequence of the crowded state of the large room another meeting was held in the Assembly-room, which was presided over by Mr. Richard Wilson. The meeting was addressed by Mr. Alderman Heywood, Mr. J. R. Cooper, and other speakers. Railway and other Companies. LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE. The directors of this company have decided on recom mending the proprietors at the ensuing meeting to declare a dividend for the half-year ending the 31st of December last at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum, less income tax. pany with the Great Western and arrangementswith other companies. SIRH OWY.—For deviations. South Northumberland; S outham (further powers); Rick mansworth, Amersham, and Chesham ; Dublin, Clontarf, and Dollymount ; Isle of Wight (steam boats); Busby ; and the Tiverton and North Devon. Other cases were partly heard. NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE. A telegram from the secretary of this company states that the directors will recommend a dividend at the rate of 41 per cent. per annum for the past half-year ending the 31st of December. NORTH-EASTERN. On Wednesday this company's now branch railway be tween Arthington and Otley, in the valley of the Wharfe, was opened for passenger traffic. The length is only four miles, but it will be extended about six miles further, so as to reach the village of Ilkley, and form a junction with a branch railway now in course of construction by the Mid land Railway Company, from the Apperley-bridge station of the Leeds and Bradford Railway. There is one inter mediate station between Arthington and Otley, at the vil lage of Pool. Wednesday was kept as a holiday at Otley and the neighbourhood. At present - there are to be daily six trains each way on the branch lines. GREAT NORTHERN AND WESTERN. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yes terday at the office, Victoria-street, Westminster ; the Earl of Lucan in the chair. . The report was taken as read. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, said he had no doubt the shareholders felt some disappoint ment in the decrease of the dividend from 3 per cent. to 21 per cent. Though this was an unpleasant fact, ho believed it could be explained in a manner to re move anxiety as to the future. From his knowledge of the district ho never expected so good a passenger traffic on the line as had arisen, which showed that the line was a great convenience to that part of Ireland. The goods andocattle traffic had not yet been fully deve loped, owing to competition and other circumstances. They had made an arrangement with the Midland Great Western Company for charging reasonable through rates, which he hoped would be beneficial to the company. There was nothing to complain of in respect to tho working of the line by the Midland Great Western Company, or in the manage ment of the board ; but it was not in the power of any one to force traffic on line which the country did not supply. The report was adopted, and dividends were declared at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum on the old and new pie ference shares, at the rate of 24- per cent. per annum on the ordinary shares, and at the rate 2.797 per cent. per annum on the £113,350 ordinary share capital held by the Midland Great Western Company, less income tax. After some discussion on the question of re-electing directors, and appointing a director.in the place of the Mar quis of Sligo, resigned, Lord Crofton and Mr. A. Lambert, the retiring directors, were re-elected, and Mr. J. Smith was elected a director. The retiring auditor having been appointed, the proceedings terminated. NEATH AND BRECON. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yes terday at the offices, Duke-street, Westminster —Mr, R. H. Miers in the chair. The report stated that the branch railway to the Banwen and Maesmarchog Colleries having been authorised by Par liament last session, it was now in active course of construc tion, and the greater part of it was completed. With a view of obtaining accommodation at Swansea, the directors had made a satisfactory agreement for a lease of the Swansea canal and works. Should this be sanctioned by Parliament the company would acquire the property in question for a very great number of years upon advantageous terms. The value of the property would thus be considerably en hanced, and more particularly so in combination with an arrangement which the directors had made for acquiring the S wansea Vale and Neath and Brecon Junction Railway, a bill for which had also been introduced into Parliament. The company would by those means have free access into Swansea without altering the existing tidal or dock opera tions, thus creating a route which there was every reason io believe would receive the approval, if not the active co operation, of the local public and its authorities. Mr.J. G. M'Benzie, the engineer, reported that the works on the line between the Oullwyn Ironworks and Brecon had been moststead steadily y ti e s a f t portionse wtohrakts had we r n e o n y e a t been commenced were of so light a character that they rn ao . t e o d ry o n s . tate l: capital account showed that £451,034 had been expended, he could easily be completed in the ensuing summer. The leaving a balance of £ll. and those The CliAnwAN having moved the adoption of the re port, Mr. W. L. BANKS, deputy-chairman, seconded the motion, and said that the report was satisfactory. The most impor tant subject adverted to was that of obtaining additional accommodation at Swansea. The whole of the Swansea Vale district teemed with minerals, and by acquiring the canal they would obtain access to the collieries and works in the district. They had power to make branches to works within eight miles of their line. The company had running powers over the Swansea Vale Railway, and it was with that view they obtained the Swansea and Neath Junction Act of last session. Tho Neath and Brecon works were in a very forward state, and it was expected that the whole of these would be completed in the ensuing summer. Resolutions were passed adopting the report, increasing the number of directors to six, and electing Capt. Layton and Mr. C. Idlers directors to complete that number. Mr. W. Whittington, the retiring auditor, was re-elected, and the directors were authorized, under the company's Act, 1864, to issue at the proper time debentures not exceeding in the whole £70,000. • T proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to t he chairman.he RAILWAY BILLS. Yesterday, after investigation,. the following bills were declared by the Examiners to have complied with the standing orders of Parliament : BRISTOL AND EXETER AND DEVON AND SOMERSET.—To enable the Bristol and Exeter to subscribe £lOO,OOO to wards the undertaking of the Devon and Somerset Railway and to confirm an agreement between those companies. EAST SOMERSET AND CHEDDAR-VALLEY JUNCTION.—TO enable the Bristol and Exeter Company to make a railway to connect those railways, with power to raise £15,000 and to borrow £5,000. COLNE-VALLEY AND IlikisTEAD.—To enable them to run over certain portions of the Great Eastern, and to have greater facilities; also to raise capital of £40,000 and to borrow £13,300. CARMARTHENSHIRE.—To reduce the company's capital from £125, 000;to £llO,OOO, and loan from £41,600 to £36,000, with power to issue capital in half shares. LLANELLY.—To authorise works and the purchase of the Rhos Colliery branch ; also an extension to the Mumbles, capital £36,000, loan £ll,OOO. VALE OF NEATIL.-1" or the amalgamation of this com- BIRMINGHAM FINANCIAL. The first annual meeting of this company was held yes terday at Birmingham. The report stated that the balance of revenue account, after providing for all bad and doubtful debts, was £5,087, out of which a dividend at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum was recommended, and £7OO placed to a reserve fund. EASTERN EXCHANGE BANK. The first general meeting of the shareholders was held in Liverpool yesterday. It was reported that the interest and loans account had realised a sufficient profit to pay 5 per cent. They had opened an establishinent at Alexandria, and agencies in India and Australia. SOUTH KENSINGTON HOTEL (LIMITED). The directors state in their report that on the 17th of October last the hotel was opened to the public finished and fitted up in a superior style. The arrangements had received the unqualified approval of the visitors, and the directors were convinced that the hotel could compete with any in London for the accommodation of visitors of the highest class. They had reduced the amount of annual subscrip tions to the club from £5 ss. to £3, and they were still con vinced that the occupation of a part of the premises by the proposed club would be remunerative. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.—" Rash men, who slew the sire but spared the son !" will rise to the lips of some who read Lord Amberley's speech at the Leeds Reform Meeting. What is the use of making a man a Peer when there is a son who can not only take up his father's cause, but take it up without his father's compro mises and shackles ? Here is the next generation already looking us all in the face. Lord Amberley was in petticoats when the Corn Laws were re pealed, and happily not old enough to know what was meant by a 6s. fixed duty on wheat. The sayings and doings of thirty years are the sweet traditions of his nursery, carefully culled, and warmed up with filial devotion. In his little antiquity there stand out prominently the foolish things that Sir Robert Peel said, and what Lord Lyndhurst said, and what Peers in general are apt to say, if they have narrow minds and are not worthy of their fathers. Most fortunate is it for Lord Amberley that he was not the eldest son of a Peer till his mind had done grow ing —that is, his body, for, of course, his mind will grow still. His appearance at Leeds is to be regarded as a solemn installation in his father's political honours. Our early Kings had their eldest sons crowned, and thenceforth rested and were thankful, if their sons would let them. It was ten years before the Reform Act that Lord John Russell proposed to give members to Leeds ; and he had a part in the management not only of that Reform Act, but also of the Municipal Reform Act, which invested Mr. Luccock with a gold chain. So here is a tradition of more than forty years, and Leeds is just the place for his successor to start on his great career that is to be. Educated for a commoner, un trammeled by office, he goes forth to reap the har vest left for him by the neglects of his elders and the hindrance of circumstances. Nor has culture been wanting to so high a vocation, Lord Amberley has been thoroughly indoctrinated in the logic, the controversy, and the history of Reform. He has even been told whom to look to. Mr. Gladstone is the Mentor of the young Telemachus, who for a time will want at least the decency of a guide. The time will come when—but we desist. We shrink from the contemplation of this pure, untainted, un sophisticated, unencumbered Reformer of his coun try as the wear and tear of life may present him even at thirty. For the present he personates a holy faith, honest convictions, and the sweetest possible conceptions of honest and intelligent six pounders and county ten-pounders, of working men in general, and anybody who can read and write, excepting the late Sir R. Peel and Lord , Lyndhurst, and large landowners, and huge capi talists, and haughty young Peers with minds so narrow that they will only think on these subjects exactly as their fathers thought before them. We accept the young lordling and his speech, with all its golden promises. Nay, more, we press him into the service. Let him spend the few years of unofficial life that a kind Providence may allow him in working at a Reform Bill as good as his father's. At present he would think ten years a very long time to wait, but his father had to wait ten years before he could give Leeds the two mem bers he had promised it, besides many years' waiting before. He will not take it amiss if we drop a few hints, which, ' if duly attended to, may make his advice more palatable for the future. He deals much —all boys do—with the argunientam ad hominem, in the form of a retort. He tells the House of Com mons that it is very fond of reforming everything but itself. It reforms Universities and Public Schools, but does not take to self-amendment quite so kindly. This may be sharp, but is it a practical view of the subject ? Would the House of Com mons show less need of reform by refusing to make reforms ? Would it be less an authority as to the wisdom of immediate Parliamentary Reform if it set its face against all reform whatever ? On the contrary, it seems to us that if the House of Com mons does its duty in keeping our institutions sound, sweet, and effective, it so far proves that it may itself be let alone for the present. If a tenant or bailiff improves everything under his charge, is it good logic to say, " Now, my good fellow, you're mighty fond of improvements, so I'll just remove you off my property. Pack up and be gone ?" What would Lord Amberley have the House of Commons do ? Would he have it prove its right to remain as it is by following the example of the young peers who know no more than they have learnt from their fathers? He sneers at the Commons for being progres sive, and at the Lords for being unprogressive. Which does he prefer at heart? He does not seem quite to have made up his mind on a very delicate point at the other end of the social scale. While intimating a philosophical predilection for an .educa tional franchise, or rather an educational disqualifi cation, in the most obliging possible way he makes the Conservatives a present" of those who cannot read or write. The landed interest, he implies, is that which would have most reason to regret their exclusion. We wish everybody could read, write, and keep accounts ; but we happen to know very good labourers and very good tenant farmers, too— aye, very good village shopkeepers, and others better than labourers—who cannot read or write, but who ' know at least as much as their neighbours. Un fortunately, too, reading, writing, and arithmetic have long ceased to be a guarantee for the moral virtues we wish to find in a British elector. Land and capital, says his lordship, are now abundantly represented ; and why not labour ? The rela tions of land with labour we leave in his own hands, for he makes them close enough. But how as to labour as opposed to capital. We have the greatest wish to see labour represented in the House of Commons as fully and thoroughly as possible. We should like to see a few members, and more than a few, who would really place the case of the working man well before the public. It is very much better that labour should prosecute its claims by reason able arguments, in a fair and open field, than by suicidal strikes, intimidation, conspiracies, occasional acts of violence, ruinous self-taxation, and the dicta tion of public-house committees and secretaries. But why is capital to be told that it is represented more than labour, when it really has no life with out labour ? It is impossible to use capital without employing labour, and putting the working man into a better condition for enforcing his demands, whatever they are. Nay, it is impossible to employ capital to any amount without raising a number of people higher in the scale of the Parliamentary franchise. Unfortunately, there is an abusive and corrupt representation of capital by the expenditure of immense sums for the acquiring of political in fluence and obtaining of votes. But we must record our sorrowful conviction that a very large and comprehensive representation of labour, aiming to include every working man, would fearfully ag gravate this corrupt representation of capital. We have to deal with the mass as it is, not as it ought to be. The vast majo r ity o f wor ki ng men have necessities that overpower their sense of inde pendence and instil the hope that their vote will do them some palpable good. They are not worse in this respect than their immediate betters, but they are •as bad. Together with this state of things we may have colossal fortunes, far larger and more numerous than thirty years ago, in the hands of men who can buy almost ever ythi ng exce pt social and political position, and who will buy this if pos sible. It is not the " cleverness " of the thousand low electors brought in by a lower suffrage that can possibly ena bl e t h em to turn th e sca l e o f th e 2,000 old electors ; nor is it the dangerous eloquence of the men they love to hear. Nay, there are many places, perhaps Leeds is one of them, where we have no fear. But the poorer the electors, the more ac cessible they are to corrupt influences. There are many more millionaires in Parliament now than there were before the Reform Act. There is also more electoral corruption ; and a seat, from first to last is much more expensive. It used to be said that a general election involved an expenditure of two millions. That would be a very low figure to put it at ; but if every working man in the kingdom had a vote, and the preponderance of the masses was not neutralised as it is now by the great inequality of our electoral divisions, we venture to predict that not two nor yet five millions would cover the scandalous and iniquitous corruption of a general election. But by all means let Leeds send Lord Amberley into Parliament as the representa tive of the virtuous, incorrupt, honest, intelligent, and educated working classes. The town appears to be under an obligation to the Russell family which it cannot discharge better than by a means which will tend to enlarge its own rights and maintain its own moral purity. Lord Amberley must inevitably learn a good deal by so intimate a relation with a class not yet spoilt by hereditary rank and pri vilege, by the possession of excessive capital, by office, by parental narrow-mindedness, or even by a want of education. He must still have something to learn. Rasselas had the advantage of a good edu cation and the most jealous attention to his manners and morals, but nevertheless he picked up a few " wrinkles" down the Nile. We may say that the position is vacant. Even in Mr. Baines we cannot recognise the working man's representative. His arguments are logical as far as they go, or rather as they come ; his statistics are unimpeachable, his ab stract principles unapproachable. They are above our capacity, or below—it matters not which as far as we are concerned. So let Leeds send to the House of Commons a man who desires thoroughly to enter into the inner life of the working man, and who can fathom the depth from which his rights are derived far more than from any "facts and figures." The practical question really and honestly is not one of figures. The figures are preposterous, but the British public is accustomed to them, and sees nothing improper in two hundred shopkeepers re turning as many members as two hundred thousand, if the result be satisfactory on the whole. The question has to be lifted out of the dull Rtnbo of statistics, and we cannot think of a better man to achieve this happy deliverence than this precocious child of Reform. Post —Lord Amberley has delivered, at Leeds, a remarkably judicious and well-balanced speech on the subject of Parliamentary Reform. The son of Earl Russell is fairly entitled to claim a special his torical connection with this question. Reform has come to be regarded as the hereditary appanage of the House of Bedford. Lord Amberley is, therefore, a Reformer; but, inasmuch as everybody more or less professes to desire the extension of the franchise, which is what Reform is popularly understood to mean, he explains that he is a "moderate" Reformer. The caution was perhaps necessary, though the re marks it prefaced are legibly stamped with the Whig trade-mark. Lord Amberley's theory is exceedingly extensive. The franchise, he contends, belongs of right to a free people, and, when any large body of such a people are not-permitted to vote, some strong and sufficient reason should be given for their ex clusion. So that, practically, the theoretical right is subject to conditions. Any measure of violent or sweeping change would place the whole power of government in the hands of a single class, and that, Lord Amberley confesses, is an objection to his theory which demands serious consideration. He cannot agree to a proposition which would virtually establish class legislation. He recognises the diffi culty in the way of effecting a large increase in the representation ; he would not allow an unintelligent class of voters to monopolise the government of the country ; and he does not think it would be advis able to admit those who have little educa tion, and who know nothing aild care nothing about politics. Not regarding the influence of democra tical opinions with " particular alarm," he is nevertheless sensible of the dangers attending a democratic form of government, and would pre serve the subsisting safeguards against the errors or excesses into which such a government might fall. It is possible, he truly says, to prove by theoretical arguments that the working classes should be admitted to the exercise of the suffrage, but that it is for the working classes themselves to prove, first, that they are earnestly and truly desir ous to be admitted to the trust, and, secondly, that, if admitted, they would exercise it well and wisely, and with a due sense of the responsibility it com prehends. Further, he advises Reformers to com bine energy with patience, resolution with discretion, and to be charitable and courteous to those who look upon their demands with suspicion. On the other hand, Lord Amberley seems to think that these fundamental objections to an immediate extensive reduction of the franchise do not apply to the mea sures of Reform that are now proposed. The mea sures referred to are, we presume, the annual mo tions for lowering the county and borough franchises. But the question, as Lord Amberley has himself properly put it, is not whether Mr. Locke King's bill and Mr. Baines's bill are drawn up constitution ally, but whether they represent the opinion of the classes they are drawn upon, and whether those classes are in a condition to fulfil the obligations they would, in the event of the acceptance of these bills, have contracted. Any measures that were truly and generally required, and which approved themselves to the reason and judgment of the coun try, would, however opposed, eventually receive the assent of the Legislature. Lord Amberley has evi dently read history thoughtfully, and he must there fore be aware that a free people can experience no difficulty in obtaining the redress of a proven wrong. In effect, indeed, this is the gist of his speech. Looking at the representative system as it is, he remarks its deficiencies and anomalies, and, as a matter of theory, he would like to see the one filled up and the other abated. We are all agreed upon that point. We all want something that we have not got, and there are thousands of public anomalies that we would all be glad to have re moved. Mendicancy, for example, is an aggravating anomaly, seeing that there is a law for the relief of destitution ; and the absence of education, which is one of the strongest arguments against the exten sion of the franchise, is another. But what are we to do ? A great statesman told us the other day to rest and be satisfied. That, however, is scarcely practicable, even if it were wise. At the same time, it is preposterous to propose to reform the Constitu tion of a country as if it were a card-house. The pulling down would be a formidable operation, and the rebuilding could only be accomplished on the grave of the errors and excesses to which Lord Amberley adverted, and by the strong arm of despotic force. Moreover, in talking about respon sibility, it ought to be borne in mind that If the people are indifferent, those who, as Lord Amberley suggests they should, endeavour to put an end to that indifference, become answerable to the nation for the consequences of their agitation. The very people they stir up to demand privileges which would make them neither h a ppi er nor r i c h er, m i g h t, w h en they discovered the delusion, turn round upon those who had led them out of the ways of peaceful and steady progress. Still, on the whole, Lord Amber ley refused to dissemble the prevailing conviction that an indiscriminate admission of the working classes to the franchise would be a rash rnd dan gerous measure. He pointed out that they would be peculiarly liable t o th e influence of bribery, .and he might have added th a t th e y wou ld be bargained for in masses by political clubs formed amongst themselves. But they must be taught, he said, not so to viol a t e a public trust. We h um bly submit that this elementary education should precede their enfranchisement. It would certainly be the safest course. Lord Amberley, Ifowever, urges that, cogent as the objection is, it does not lie in the mouth of th ose w h o now abuse their privileges to press it. Th a t may b e , but really it is begging the question. The ex i s tence of an evil is no reason for its. en l argemen t . I n like manner, too, it 113 very well rhetorically to prefer the declamation of a demagogue to the methods employed by landowners to secure the votes of their tenantry in a. contested election, but the answer is obviously the same. Practically, the landowners do not do much harm. Their representatives are, for the most part, respectable and decorous members of the Legislature. But a House of Commons returned under the inspiration of demagogues would be a very different affair ; and, in fact, this it is that makes people doubt and hesitate as they do. It is not the working classes that are feared. • They are, many of them, not intellectually qualified to use the franchise for the public benefit ; but, as a body, they are loyal and honest. It is those who would come forward to lead them, and who would make political capital out of theirignorance and simplicity, that are dreaded. What is apprehended and depre cated is the organic change that must ultimately take place. The government of the country would not be endangered, but, to preserve to the working classes the free exercise of the franchise, the liberty of the subject would in many respects have to be abridged. It is incontrovertible that universal suf frage, or any considerable reduction of th e fran chise operatively equivalent to it, is incompatible with freedom as we enjoy and understand it in this country. Foreign Mail Packet List. Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton.. Feb. 18. Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. 12. Brazil and Cape Verde, by British pac. et Feb. 3. Ditto, by British packet Feb. 2 Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena Feb. 19. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Sou' hampton Feb 18. Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. 12. Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton . ..... Feb. 11. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.... Feb. 18. Ditto, via Marseilles . . Feb. 12. India (Bombay), via Southampton. Feb. 11. Ditto, via Marseilles . ...Feb. 5. Mauritius, via Southampton ... . Ditto, via Marseil e; Feb. 5. Newfoundland • Feb. 16. Portugal .... ...........Feb. 3. Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon... ..... . United States and British North America, by Bri- tish packet ... ..Feb. 9. West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Tenerife Feb. 10. ram. The Caizstrophe in Westminster. Yesterday afternoork eaoch il an inquiry at the Westminster Hosp ita 1 the death of Mars' Hefferan, aged 66 yrs, Iv c;ent accident at the Boman lost her life through the re Catholic Schools in Great ieter-street. that the St. Clair Bedford held, The Coroner, upon taking ,re,sulting trol; present was a second casualty calamity which the jury had met to investigate ohs ,Itis seat, said e he Monday. With respect to that accurrt.'nee' learned coroner) had placed himself in 03111 1- moved tion with Mr. Henry Miller, M.P., who had . the Board of Works that the surveyor should tigate the state of the building which had led tor; giving way of the flooring, and the surveyor's on dente and report would be placed before the jurY Monday next. On the present occasion the 131.°- ceedings would therefore be only preliminary 3 Timothy Callaghan, No. 10, Artillery-scl aare labourer, identified the deceased as 'his law. She was aged 66 years, and had beeti ,b o widow for 25 years. Witness saw her daily in hospital, but she could not give any account of to accident. terrsc to e ? Amelia Andrews, No. 9, St. Margaret's the wife of a police-constable, said that she wen i t v the schoolroom in Great Peter-street on Thu bet, the 26th of January, at 7 o'clock. She had a S he but the tickets were not given up at the door. '-' he stood on the left side of the upper room, a nd t deceased was a little behind her. A great many per ,o mother-10-3 sons left the room in three-quarters of an l t ir ec i time, but not in consequence of any alarm. Pe ee 7„ e d then got in advance of witness, but regial'3, talking to her. A great crash took place, a i n , ness turned round to escape. She went no w ere stairs. She did not see deceased fall. There W cia numbers of persons in a gallery along the r i g b t °I of the room. The Coroner said he wanted evidence of th e °°' currence that befel the deceased. Mr. Crow said there was no one who coul d e, to that fact. When the crash occurred everrn,„ge helter skelter, thinking that the building was fa'''" and that it was necessary to get away at once' the The Coroner said he wished to know wh en deceased was picked up. A 0' an The witness said she did not see decease'-' the crash. The last she saw was a gentlem Li' ing up a gold watch. th e Part The Coroner said he would not go into of the questionhaving reference to the number s ' • in the building at present. ' sas h M. C. St. Aubin Hawkins, M.R.C.S. , 0 0 when deceased was brought into the hospitativ•cje, that her case was a very serious one. The "' l ' . a;( 1 collar bone, five ribs, both bones of the forearin' the right leg were fractured. She had, besid es ':ble, cussion of the brain. She was perfectly ihef -l ieti and she remained so until Monday night. t e tig ou from her injuries. The other patients were getT t he well, much better than he had expected. 1111 71 the exception of one, who might die, he beriele",6 in others would pull through. There we're ne w t ior. the hospital, and 93 had been attended aßeg e- The proceedings were then adjourned. The Fatal Accident in the Blackheath Tunnel. cla ritg Mr. Yesterday afternoon at three o'clock C. - ree coroner for West Kent, resumed the inquiry at °I !! mason's Tavern, Woolwich, into the circumstan ces . i ° tte er , ing the deaths of Edwin Allure, John Guilin, to" fiat s 11 ' Hunt, platelayers in the service of the South-Bash'l-iiisioll way Company, who were killed by the fearful ce isiorti l which occurred in the Blackheath Tunnel of t he Kent line on the evening of Friday, Dec. 16. 0 1 ' Several officials connected with the il3 South-Baste rr l' 6te r 1 , way Company were present. Mr. Nicholson, '/3;,,,..110m appeared on behalf of Lancaster, the guard of the train, and Mr. Robinson for Jones, the signal ra. 111 ' ; The Coroner commenced the proceedings by °bsero3 4t that the jury were no doubt well aware as to the r%AtP the inquiry held at Blackheath on the previous but they were not in the slightest degree to be gill a lt the verdict then given. It was their duty to arrisrdjalY3 conclusion solely from the evidence which WO — brought before them. ifr The witnesses who gave evidence at the Blackhefl cog quiry were then re-examined, and subjected to a S C cross-examination by Mr. Robinson and Mr. Nichol OP ce The Coroner having summed up th e evidence an t Is. m a ented thereon, the jury, after a deliberation of 3/9° 3 0e .41 n hour, returned a verdict of manslaughter agai os ",;, l ist' the signalman, and Lancaster, the guard of the train, coupled with the same recommendations give ll „;iii 4 jury at Blackheath on Tuesday last, with the fe"" th a additions :—" That, in the opinion of the jury, j°ll ,:ce of signalman, was overworked ; and that the Pr 3 o bjer burning coal in the tunnel instead of coke is hig hly ° t.t ° tionable and injurious ; and that the trains eug rOOO be so overloaded as to prevent their certain passage • tl the tunnel or upon any incline on the lino." Mr. Chapman, stationmaster at Blackheath, s r l tli to tifi recommendations of the jury would be forV/ .3rd° directors of the South-Eastern Railway Coinel:pea 11° ; - Bail was then tendered and accepted f o r the `"' • 4 , 0 %. of Jones and Lancaster to take their trial at Ol e dije sions of the Central Criminal Court, and th e P reece terminated. COUNTRY MARKETS -.• lr BIRMINGHAM—TuuRsDAY. i „, o f fi,. b leis t . At this day's market th ere was a limited suPPJ s eealell which found buyers at the currency of this daY. eo 001 if Fine barley 6d to is per qr . d eare r ; other qualiti ore lower. Oats quite as dear. Beans firm. Ra tber 0 0 quiry for peas. ton.:4, Currencies :—English wheat, white, 40s to OS ; r iar 4 t to 41s per 36 stone. Maltin g b ar l e y, 28s to 340 ;to os r 22s to 25s per qr. Oats, 24s to 30s ; Irish, 195 pe r ( I P 30 stone. Beans, 38s to 42s ; and peas, 38$ to 42s r ,,0. BURY ST. EDMUND'S—WEDNEsDAYI t 4, There was a good show of wheat and barley a re al, conditionmtuet. bad. The formerThe lattermeta m d e ul t l a salefree sale last e for vi fi e u e k o ; iicet ; I . i t3 , e it while other sorts commanded a slow sale at late pi o r/ , 32s to 24s to 26s per qr. 4 , 37s 4d • barley, 61" Averages :—Wheat, 1,038 i yys., , ala 3 v s e s ra ; wsehcoenatdalysditott4o7, 8; red ditto, 34s to 375; A THURSDAY. , 1 P'' 0 _di ° qrs., 318 2d; 03al t A e, N 3 0 1 H q E rs s ., T 2 E 4 s it_ d. Our market this morning was slenderly attenoel,o-10 very inanimate feeling prevailed. English wheat 'odd hand, and to effect sales it would have been ne 2c l 'o l accept lower prices. Foreign must be quoted Isl Noise o , cental lower. Flour was difficult to move, at a d e w ro t 6d per sack. Oats and oatmeal ruled dull at lr. Beans were steady. Indian corn receded 6d per 4 i EDINBURGH—WEDNESDAY. co tl tili w t At our market the re was a f a i r su pply ar ea ' wheat, which sold slowly at 6d p er qr decline 11 .' week's prices. Os ' ,i(1 1 00%q"111; Wheat on the top, is 6d up aver age, pa ,41P Barley on the top, Os 8d up averag e, u' la a',o , Oats on the top, Os 6d up raggee : 0055.10,1 a° Beans on the top, 1s 6d up Average prices. oa Wheat, 35s 7d I Oats, ......... 1801, a a a v v e e ra Barley, 2ss 2d I 8ean5,........ 35$ . ii Total supply and sales. i d 1 0 -A, Wheat Barley Oats 2551 qrs ............ , i 47 Beans lBB qrs ............ sco' o a ; e Town-made flour sells as follows :—White 36° 2 15 1 5 1 4 4 q q rs rs .................................. 1 9 8 0 11 .. superfine, 348 6d; superfine, 335; fine, 315 dd. ot 1( 1 GLASGOW—WEDNESDAY. dear so ilo or This day's market was fairly attended. r ial osS; V II about the previous currency, b u t without bris o — be v . / unchanged. Other descripti ons o f g rain have t unaltered. ---------- ------. ----:----- of Births. ~ th© svil% BRISTOW.—On the 31st Jan., at Greenwio .- ' til or William Bristow, Esq., of a son. , the , LOVEGROVE.—On the Ist inst., at Merton, Sti lled ' :63°' of W. H. Lovegrove, Esq., of a daughter. ~, OP' LEWIS.—On the Ist inst at Chigwell, Esselt, iii- 001 .1° Saml. Lewis, jun., Esq., of a son. a cl OVERBURY.— On the 2d inst., at Hazlow%tet• Shooter's-hill, Mrs. B. F. Overbury, of a tug l, cly Marriages, t he to , Cit 0 OADDELL—WAITHMAN.—On the Ist inst., st„,t l4e ,,coi, t , Manchester, Walter Caddell, Esq., of A tl 'igtlib , Dora Annie, second daughter of William ‘ 7 •cit t foir i ver , Esq., of Manchester. ENNEVER—SHERROTT.—On the 2d inst., 1 1„t. 89 i i if il . 5„,, 13 0 10 t4 Catholic Church, Sutton-street, Soho, lar ha P' - td Teresa Ann Sherrott, daughter of tin - Esq. #' la Deaths. A hil o BELL.—On the lst inst., at Woburn-place, I ' e c i or' , Bell, Lieut. Royal Artillery, aged 31. , 0 ,01 11 CHASEMORE.—On the lst inst., Mr. William -1" h ote l l is Fulham, aged 75. cv ,r 1 f lq a 1 1, e P DE HOLYNGWORTHE.—On the 31st ult., I .' , o rP Robert De Holyngworthe, Esq.,of Holyog l. tie titi d Cheshire. f I) Ag e FORD.—On the Ist inst., Edward Ford, I , scl ;tre ci et " i place, Lower Clapton, and 17, Fenchurc.-- e t v 78. 6 0.3° GRAINGER.—On the let inst., at Highgate, -- -a *D• 011/' Esq., F.R.S., aged 64. Totte 9 Mumr.—On the 30th ult., at Globe House, v ot d James Murry, Esq., aged 59. ae ore SCOTLAND.—On the 31st ult., at Kensingto n ' land, Esq., C.B. , 4 1 0 ------" ---- i. if AN ilo 'j I t o l i London : Pri lied and Published by WILT e , g tf of No. 112, Strand, Panter, at THE SUN ) 1 :0' Strand, in the Precinct of the SAVOY, in Middlesex.—Friday, February 3,1865• R C a y Y