The Sun. — London, England, 1841-01-28 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. lIOUCE OF LORDS, JAN. 27. Th, L C' k Qui) _HA NCELLOIL took his seat on the Wool , " one o'clock, when the Bishop of CHIEDESTER ! ; int roduced by th e Bi s hops of Lictifir:LD and ELY, took the oaths and his scat. Lurd ARDEN also Vthe oath s an d hi s sea t, u p on hi s a ccession to the At half-past one their Lordships proceeded to 4, l'alace w i t h t h e Add ress, at w hi c h ti me there were len t , in a variety of uniforms, the Marquis of Head /1 ' the Earl s o f Fi nga l an d Wilton, Lords Portman, 110 Y3 ; Lord Ducie, the mover of the Address, Lord eon, the seconder, and the Archbishop of Canter- Y----Th e House was adjourned till to-morrow. The HOUSE OF COMMONS, Jex. 27. 40 u e SPEAKER, took the chair shortly before Four Ik , ok. • l a l kilol BRUEN was introducA by Sir Thomas A rchrane an d S .r R . H . I ng li s, an d too k th e oa ths and 'l' seat for th e coun t y o f C a rlow. r • M. BLAKE took the oaths and his seat for the '''' N TY of Mayo. 1 1 r . BYNG presented a petition from Chelsea, pray for, leave to bring in a Bill to extend the line of the ' fir' Western Railway. ,'‘.', l. . PHILLIPS presented 34 petitions from ) . 14 ea in the diocese of Herefordshire, praying that , f u L t tiler grants might be voted to the College of May s"`". and that the House would appoint a Committee l i l quire into th e 'system of education pursued there. 1 r. EASTHOPE presented a petition from the , :' l 'or, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the borough of ' , cester against the payment of Church-rates. c CASE OF SARAH YOUNG. 1 • . v 'Ptain PECHELL presented a petition from 5a ,,,1 "ting, relative to her imprisonment in Monmouth ‘1 for non-appearance at th e Bi s h o p' s C our t a t In dia, at the suit of the Rev. Dr. Lyle, for a claim tithes to the amount of 705., and praying the House t ake her case into consideration, with a view of te nding the law, in order to prevent in future any t iler citati on i n the Bishop's Court with respect to le g . M r. MARK PHILLIPS presented a petition from Manchester and Leeds Railway Company, praying i, l u e e twe to bri ng in a Bill to raise a further sum of I T.' al a petition from the Manchester and Sal ;., ! Vatervrorks Company, for leave to bring in a Bill w I,lllprove their works. 4 Ij Ord SA NDON presentA a petition from the Earl e til and Lord Stanley, praying the House to ~ ' e ° to a Bill for dividing the parish and living of b unington in the county of Lancaster, into two or 7,re Parish es ; a l s o a petition from the Liverpool Gas 11 Pany for a Bill to enable that Corporation to en sie its capital—and another from the Liverpool Docks 1 1 4 1Pany for a Bill to enable them to borrow money I the enlargement of their clocks. NEW WRIT. On the motion of Sir T. FREMANTLE a new . 1 it was ordered for the borough of Reigate, in the iim of Viscount Esstnor, now Earl Somers. NOTICES OF MOTION. Sir E. SUGDEN gave notice that on Tuesday next should move for leave to bring in a Bill for the V•end►neat of the administration of justice in the House fi Lords and in the Privy Council. . FACTORIES. Lord ASHLEY gave notice that to-morrow he iuld move the re-appointment of the Select Corn ttee, appointed last Session, to inquire into the Stat© 4 t Factories. SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Lord J. RUSSELL gave notice that on Monday *ta he should move the appointment of a Select Corn -0 ttee to inquire into the state of South Australia. . 0 0 th e mot i on o f Si r M. WOOD, certain eturns 4 ative to Beer houses, Malt, and Hops, were agreed to. Sir R . I NGLIS presente d a petition from Bishop 0 Jrtford, complaining of Idolatrous Worship in India. THE ADDRESS. „Lord BRABAZON brought up the Report of the ramittee on the Address. The Address was read at I ) l gth by the Clerk at the table. tMr. HUME wished to ask the Noble Lord near him enthe p a p ers th a t were p rom i se d l as t n i g ht would . laid b e f ore t h e H ouse ? H e f oun d t h at t h e Con ",," ' t4o a had been already laid on the table of the use; but it would be recollected that the Noble 'rd. towards the conclusion of his speech last night, v 4 stated that the correspondence on the subject "ch would be laid before them, would explain many the proceedin es which had taken place. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that he could not 'fie a d a y w h en the fore th em . papers in question would be laid . Si r R. H. INGLIS was anxious to take the oppor "??; laity of calling the attention of the House to an ../11laission which had taken place in the Speech from .1 :1(1 11 0 1: 111 : 1 1 t e t ' eedo u r s 0 well as in the debate . of last night. plained that any allusion to France had ere a in the Speech from the Throne, .but w as i q u estion of greater interest still, the mention " will( ' - "tt . been omitted. He believed that every ember present would anticipate he wished to refe!dis itHietlY to the repe Icm stion in Ireland. He wished .I;l,4et:scr Al aieSt) , 'S a . Ministers e had . advised her Majesty 4,.... P r ess an opinion on that subject. But even it any V 2 usaleration could have induced them to have passed aer it in the Speech from the Throne, no such con eration could have justified them, as he thought, .in ntai ning that studied silence on the matter which k q had maintained during the night. It was true At it could not be expected that the Speech from ; • e Throne could comprehend xP every subject of general ll e tere2t on which Parliament might have to decide in i e cours e or the Session. But he would ask any Minis ; r of th e C rown, or any Member of the House, to lat ant one subje c t o f g reater importance to the i tit ate and sa f et y o f t h e emp i re t h an t h a t ag it a ti o n i l bl , regard to the Union which now prevailed among the t t °le community in Ireland. Was the subject looked upon iitoo in cons i derable, or as having no direct bearing the tranquillity of the empire? The Hon. and Learned . i i e rober for Dublin, whom he did not then see in his p ee . would hardly agree with Ministers in saying . t . hat 4, 1 : s ubject on which he had almost staked his polrtical . ist ence was one of minor importance. Either khis_ Ministry would credit the Honourable and Learned Caber or they would not. If they were inclined to Oa t him let them state to the House that they did .1' regard the agitation which now pervaded Ireland Vie which was confined to the individuals who were 0 - ` 4II Y engaged in it. But if they believed that Hon. 44 Learned Member, and a near connexion of his i o 9 had been engaged in the work of agitation, i . 000 men had assmbled on one occasion, 100,000 on eother; and 250,000 on another, taking part in the pro sc.lpedin, ts• He would ask the Noble Lord and Hon. e4,;4heenen opposite whether, it those statements were e l ' e ct; it were fit that the subject should have been 1141 ' 11 (1 over unnoticed by her Majesty's Ministers in the e pee over they recommended her Majesty to address to the h a ci , us e Or was it considered, on the other hand, s e i' e the question did not involve the peace and tran- VitY of the empire ? Why, her Majesty s represen .ti `tve in Ireland seemed to think that the mere agita -041 °f the question involved the tranquillity of the sl e e°11(1 city of that country, and he had accordingly a _sPatehed troops in order to enable the civil touthorities to maintain the public peace when the ( 4 4 " came under discussion. There was also an ip " questi on w hi c h h e w i she d to put to her Ma- CI'S Ministers. The Hon. and Learned Member . wtri Dubli n h a d distinctly stated that the Repeal question a 00 W a vital one, and that every man must either be IN "servative or a Repealer. He would ask the 4 0 1 1 1 . 7 Lord w h et h er h e wou ld accept t h at a l ternat i ve . H e % l aSit him whether he were content with it ? Was a:„" C onservative, or was he a Repealer? The time I),,,corne, said the Hon. and Learned Member for t 7e i i . "'in; when every man ust make his election. Had v 4„ 'Nobl e L or d made his choice ?—was he a Conser "se or a Repealer ? Or, if the Noble Lord did not -ee ePt that alternative, and did not confide in the i l i e'llourable an d L earne d M em b er f or D u bli n , wou ld . -; ex press that wan t o f con fid ence b e f ore the House ? IWere Ministers prepared to take their stand upon this tiestion? There could be no moral doubt they were. te e was confident they would not hold the situations 4 .",!Y now held unless they were determined to stand or '4 1 ., 11 by the question of the Union.—(Cries of " Hear.") stated lhen wh Y not say so ? They should either hare 8° in addr esses to t he t Queen's Speech, or in their personal House in the course of the debate but though the Noble Lord, the Leader et the Go ,,errirnent, i n hi s address, alluded to many other topics ";all those contained in the Speech, he courteously abs tained —f rom what ?—from any allusion to what u .._ (Sir R o b ert Inglis) ventured to think the t_°st im portant subje c t connecte d w i t h t hi s coun j: Were these discussion s to go on ? Were ;" se bodi es o f men to be assemble, and her Ma ie‘lY's troops to b e sent to keep the peace, and nisters to continue in apparent indifference, and to abstain from any declaration of opinion on the aub' e e i e d, et ? A few words from them, and espe w_ii. from t h e leader of that House, last night, and h0 11 ( . 1 have b een very satisfactory to the people, believed to every individual in that House, ex u.,eoPti. perhaps, the Hon. Member for Dublin. He whi ch not advert to those points in the Speech on th en c 1 sufficient discussion took place last night, far to say that he entirely concurred in all that 7 )0 (1 fallen from tho Right Honourable Baronet (Sir 41 L ain , , bert Peel) , with respect to t h e om i ss i on of the ng h •,' ot Prance —a n om i ss i on w hi c h h e thought I t t i t have been supp li e d w i thout any l oss to our na aelal di gnitY, and with great advantage to the feeling Peace of the country. 41(1,eord JOHN RUSSELL said he conceived his opi- N_?a u w ere suffi c i ently well known, as also those of his Noble Prie n d the Lord I;e:utenant of Ireland, on the th, jeet °I the repeal of the Union. With respect to 04 .plicy o f a d vising her Majesty to make a declaration ~,3 %tie subject, he conceived that the propriety of doing ~, , o u u te d b Pended . upon w h et h er or not suc h a d ec l arat i on b ti e aeventageous and ex p e di en t ; and certainly e the of a f ormidable agitation on the subject it might expedient to advise the Crown to make such a declaration, but at other times he thought that 1 the public business. Neither was it for the advantage I such a declaration would rather add importance to of the public that Members suffered in their health, the cry of a moment, and would be inexpedient.— and in same ins:tweets their deaths might he a ttri'euted ( Hear, hear.) Hie Hon. Friend had asked rather a to the late sitting ei of that House. He therefore Loped singular question upon the authority of a statement o f that Hon. Members would support the motion for their the Hon. and Learned Member f o r D u blin, th a t a ll own sakes, If it seere carried, it would not retard, men were either Conservatives or Rspealers—a state- but facilitate. the public business. Some lion. Morn meat which the Hon. Baronet appeared to consider as hers objected to his motion, on the. ;round that. it conclusive. It might he so to the Hon. B ar o ne t, b u t it would have the effect of lengthening the Session. was not so to hies (Lord John Russell.)—(L sughter.) He did not believe that would be the case, The Honourable Baronet might state so in deference although it might .shorten some of the speeches which to the opinions of the Hon. Member for Dublin ; could be very well dispensed nith.—(A laugh.) The but he (Lord J. Russell) did not pay it that implicit public had a right to be made acquainted with the deference, and therefore he was not bound to make the proceedings of that House, but they all knew that declaration. But he would put a qnestion to his Hon. when the business was carried on long after mid- Friend in return with regard to the movement of the night, the Members were fatigued, the galleries unoccu troops which took place in consequence of an alarm Pied, the reporters exhausted, and the public consequently that a breach of the peace would take place on the road not properly made acquainted with the proceedings of to Belfast. These troops were moved in consequence that House.—( Hear, hear, and a laugh.) It was of certain threats that were made, that if the Hon, rather an invidious task for one Hon. Member con- Member for Dublin made any such progress to Belfast, stantly to attempt to adjourn the House at a certeir. there would be a breach of the peace, tumult, and yin hour, and he would rather that the House should adopt knee. Now he begged to ask of the Hon. Baronet some rule on the subject. He had never any whether these threats were made by Conservatives or desire to set himself against the wishes of a majority Repealers ?—(Laughter.) If by Repealers, he should of the House, although his opinion was it would not have thought they should have made so violent an be better if the House adjourned earlier. His propo opposition to the Honourable Member for Dublin, sition was so reasonable that he hoped it would meet but if by C o nservatives, it seemed to him to with general support. The Hon. Member concluded be a very odd exhibition of Conservative principles. by moving—" That no new business, which shall be —(Laughter.) Perhaps his Hon. Friend would fa vo u r ob j ected to b y Five Members, be brought on after him with a definition of his views on this _subject.— twelve o'clock at night." (Laughter.) Mr. E WART seconded the motion, and observed, Toe Report was then agreed to. that time had convinced him some alteration ought Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, perhaps it would to be made in the hours of that House, and he was con be convenient to inform the House, that her Majesty winced that the opinion of the public upon this subject would receive the Address at Buckingham Palace to. would very soon prevail over the opinion of that House. morrow, at Half-past One o'Clock. The Rolls Court formerly sat during the evening, but SESSIONAL ORDERS. since it had met in the daytime all who fre- On the motion of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, the quented that Court agreed that much more busi- House proceeded to consider and revise the Sessional ness was done, and that what Wil2 done was Orders. done a great deal better.—(Hear, hear.) He thought On the reading of the Order relaticg to the Corn- it most unreasonable that the time of those Mem mittee on Private Petitions, hers who were willing to devote the daytime to public Lord STAN LEY suggested that as petitions which duty in the House of Commons should he sacri were referred to Committee, and ordered to he fired to the convenience of those who belonged to trades printed in the meanwhile, sometimes contained and pro'essions. He thought, too, that if the hours of allegations injurious to individuals who had no that house were reformed, that would have a good effect opportunity of vindicating themselves, the House on the country, for he believed, that the late hours which should put the seal o its privacy on such prevailed in this country more than in any other in the petitions, and forbid their publication until after the world,, were chiefly owing to the example of Parlia report of the Committee. He thought they could ment. 'ibis custom interfered with the proper despatch be printed for the use of Members only without being of public business in every department. At none of permitted to go forth to the public with the sanction of the public offices was there any attendance until the House. He thought it was better to bring forward twelve or one o'clock in the day. If any fo this subject on the present occasion than to wait until reigner, who had only learned that this country was the first case of the sort should arrive, and then to op- the first to set the example to the world of representa pose the printing the petition without giving any notice tive legislation, were to come into that House, in the of his intention. He should be glad to hear that the course of a debate after midnight, what notion would he Noble Lord concurred with him in opinion on this form of the excellence of their system ? He would subject. see the Secretary for the Treasury stretched upon one Lord JOHN RUSSELL could only say that he bench, and the Secretary for the Admiralty slumbering felt much disposed to agree in opnion with the Noble on another.—(Laughter.) lie would see the President Lord. Although the printing of other papers might of the Board of Control subdued in sleep, and the occasionally produce a painful effect on the feelings o f Noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs, deaf to the cries individuals vet the: e could not be a doubt that the of war, re. echoed from the Opposition benches.—( A greatest abuses arose from the printing petitions con- laugh.) He (Mr. E.) supported the resolution of his taining charges against individuals. He doubted Hon. Friend, because although it was but a small step whether it would not be better, except in cases of it was still a step in advance. great urgency, where, perhaps, they would have Mr. BRISCOE supported the motion. The only to consider of she subject matter of the petition result of the present system was to detain Members the next day, to abide strictly by the Standing Order, hour after hour, wasting their constitutions, in idle de. and send all petitions to the Committee ; because, if' clamation and contentions. The Parliament of this the matter were not to be taken into consideration for country acted differently in the days of Lord Clasen ten days or a fortnight, the sending of them to that don, and he thought they then acted on the common- Committee to determine whether they should he printed sense view of the subject. He therefore hoped that or not could not occasion much delay, and the Commit- the House would accede to the motion of the Hon. tee would then see if it would be advisable that such Member for Salford. petitions should not he published and sold. He should Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that they had several be inclined, except in cases of urgency,. to abide by thi s times discussed that question, and he believed the rule. Honse had never been able to perceive that a strict Mr. O'CONNELL believed that the rule at present rule of the kind proposed would enable them to do more applied only to cases of urgency. He would suggest business, or to do it more conveniently. On the contrary that in addition to the general Committee of Petitions, his opinion was that no other result could follow from a particular Committee should be app o int e d, t o w hi c h such a rule, than to prevent them from going through the all cases of urgency should be referred, which would public business, and to compel them to prolong their s ecure the inspection of a Committee in all cases of ! labours. The lion. Member for Wigan should re petitions. member that there were many merchants, lawyers, Lord HO WICK was glad his Hon. Friend opposite and other official men, Members of the House, who had called the attention of the House to this subject. I were employed during the day, and who could The fact was they were rapidly relapsing into the o ld I not give them their attendance. There were bad practice of allowing any Member to have his peti. also messy Members employed in the morn tion printed and circulated with the Votes. The Corn- ing on Committees ; and he (Lord J. Russell) was sure mittce which sat last Session had recommended that no the time of those Members was very fully oc petition should be printed unless it could be shown by cupied by their labours. If, therefore, they were to the lion. Member presenting it, not only that b e exclude from their debates lawyers, mercantile, and intended to found a motion on such petition, but also official men, they might only prolong their debates that the subject would not admit of delay. He regretted without increasing their knowledge on any subject. He exceedingly that it had not been the pleasure of the House would refer to the cases of France and America, but he to follow up the recommendations of the Committee. believed that whatever might he the merits of the elo- He thought that, at the beginning of a new Session, quence both of the French Chambers and the Amer-- the rule ought to be drawn much more strictly than it can Congress, for various reasons into which he would had hitherto been, and no petition ought to be printed, not enter, there was no comparison between the busi unless it was shown that its urgency was such as not to ness done by that House and the quantity of business admit of the delay of going before the Committee. done by the American Congress, which after all was Mr. GOULBURN thought there were considerable not the legislature of the country ; or by the French difficulties surrounding the question. He thanked his Chamber, in which very few laws were passed in Noble Friend for calling the attention of the House to the course of the year. He had never been convinced the subject ; but he did not think that the Noble Lord by the arguments in favour of the motion, hod he mutt who had just spoken had suggested an adequate re- again refuse to support it. medy. He thought the suggestion of his Noble Friend Mr. O'CONNELL thought there was a great dif the Member for North Lancashire was the only one ference between going through business and doing it ; that could be effectively applied in the case under con- ! that more business might be gone through by that sideration. House than by the Chamber of Deputies of France, Sir R. INGLIS concurred generally in the views or the Congress of America, he could readily believe ; which had been expresssed by his Right Hon. Friend but he much doubted whether they did as much.— near him. i (Hear, hear.) Acts of Parliament had been passed Sir R. PEEL addressed the House on the same I within the last few years which no man could consider subject. He believed that the only precaution was !as refl sting the least credit on the character of the vigilance, and the exercise of discretion on the Hous a The merchants of London were the only part of the House cf Commons, and also o n mere}, mats who were accommodated by the present the part of the individual Member presenting the pe. tnethed of conducting the business of the House. tition. He thought there should be an assurance Mercantile men from other places had to leave their from the Member that he not only intended to found business entirely in order to come to attend their Par a motion upon it, but that he considered it bona Me liamentary duties. With regard to the lawyers, it was necessary for the clear understanding of that petition, only the lawyers of London who were convenienced ; that it should be printed for the use of the Members. The the lawyers of Scotland and Ireland had to leave their notice of motion to print the petition ought to be made on profession altogether. The House ought not to be a different day to the presentation, that the House of compelled to give way to suit the convenience of Commons might be enabled to determine whether it those individuals with regard to Committees ; how easy should be printed or not. In the case of a petition would it be, if they met at an early hour in the day— making personal imputations which might be unfounded, say, nine o'clock in the morning, and sat till eight in but which it might be necessary to print for the use of the the evening, for two or three days in the week, to de- House, the wisest course would be, in the first instance t o vote two days exclusively to the business of Committees ; confine it to the Members. He believed upon the whole and a Committee sitting for an entire day would, most that would most s ubstantially fulfil every legitimate oh- likely, get through their business without any adjourn ject connected with the presentation of the p e tition. ment being necessary, and Hon. Members were aware It ought to rest in the discretion of the individual of the numberless expenses entailed upon parties hay- Member presenting the petition. Supposing a mem b er ing business to transact before those Committees by professing a strict adherence to the truth should, under these numerous adjournments. He should vote for the the authority of the House, indulge in a strain Of motion, although he did not think it went far enough. vituperation, or should in a petition indulge in private It was a glaring absurdity to conduct all their delibera abuse of any party it would be a gross abuse of the tions after night. Parliament was a high Court of power of the House, and therefore he thought Justice—no other Court conducted its business by the proposition of his Noble Friend ought to night. The motion required the concurrence of five be acceded to. He could easily conceive that it might Gentlemen to force the House to an adjournment. be absolutely necessary that a petition containing critni- Now, the Hon. Gentleman well knew that five Mem natory matter should be printed, but be quite agreed hers could compel the House to adjourn it at any time, that such printed matters should be confined to the so that it was only removing the invidiousness of the Members of the House, task from those Gentlemen. The Hon. and Learned Mr. HUME had always thought that the only pro- Gentleman concluded by expressing his determination per and safe plan was to trust to the discretion of indi- to support the motion, as bringing back the House to vidual Members having such petitions to present. He the dictates of common sense. would suggest that a Member having such petition Mr. BROTHERTON, is reply, stated that the late placed in his hands, and being anxious that it s hould be Speaker said that he had suffered more in his health printed and taken into consideration, should be obliged from six weeks' late sitting than he h ad during all the to give notice of his intention to make such a preceding Session, w hen the House adjourned at 12. motion in the Orders of the previous day. By Mr. HUME, before the division, would suggest the making such a rule no petition could be printed propriety of no debate being adjourned beyond one day. instanter, and he thought that would be a suffi- —(Cheers.) He was aware that this might be consi cknt guard against any abuse of the powers of dered interfering with the freedom of discussion, but the House. The privilege of the people, so far as the he appealed to lieu. Members whether after two days' petitioning of that House went, had been too much debate any new matter had been elicited by further ad restricted, and he would be very sorry to agree to any journments. The result of his proposition would be resolution the tendency of which would be to increase that those Gentleman who now spoke at the latter part that restriction. of the debate would speak at an earlier hour instead of Mr. F. FRENCH said it ought to be understood postponing it. He did not wish to make any motions on that no petition should be printed unless the Member the subject. He agreed with his Hon. Friend, and had gave notice that it was his intention to found a motion always voted with him on every occasion that night on it. work was very prejudicial to the public interest. Many Mr. WAKLEY conceived that that would place the of the most important measures of the Session were House in the same condition in which it stood at present. passed after midnight, which would have been more ma- He understood the practice to be that when an Ho- turely considered if they had been brought before the nourable Member presented a petition and stated attention of the House in the day time. that it was his intention to found a motion on it, Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the that no opposition would be given to the motion for House divided, when there appeared— printing it. There were great evils attending such a For the ori g inal Orderpi actice, and he was glad the Noble Lord was about For Mr. Brotherton's Amendment 31 to put a' stop to it. He himself knew many cases in Majority for the original Order —99 which the petitioners were only anxious to have On our admission to the gallery we found the petition printed in order that the state- PRIVATE BILLS (COMMITTEES.) ments might go before the public. That appeared Mr. EWART, addressing the House on the motion to him a gross imposition on the House—(Hear, hear) with respect to the Private Bill Committee, of which he —and he thought that any Hon. Member presenting a had given notice. He said it must have struck almost petition to the House containing charges against an in- every Member who had either personally attended, or dividual should take the greatest pains to ascertain the become acquainted with the proceedings of Committees correctness of the allegations. If the petition were on private business that the constitution of these Com presented merely for the use of the Members it would mittee3 was capable of much amendment. The first be unfair to shut out the accused party from a know- thing which struck him was the necessity of reducing ledge of its contents. In his opinion the Noble Lord the number of Members composing them. The effect ought to postpone the resolution for further consideration• of that reduction would be to increase the responsi- After a few words of explanation from Lord STAN- bility of the Members forming the Committee, and the LEY, the resolution was agreed to. efficiency of that body, but not only was there BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. ground of complaint on account of their constitution, Mr. BROTHERTON rose and said the motion be but the character of the Committees had been com bed the honour to submit to the House was, that no plained of. It had been, and he feared with too much new business should be broueht on which was excepted justice imputed to those Committees, that they acted to by five Members after twelve o'clock at night. The frequently from local and personal feeling, he need not proposition appeared to him so reasonable, that he was say how grievous such a charge was when made against much inclined to hope he should receive greater the Members of_that House, how much it would tend to support o n the present occasion, than on any former lower them in public estimation. And how necessary one. H e was qu ite convinced there was a proper feel- it was therefore that the ground for such imputations ing in t h e country th a t did no t approve of the late sit- should be removed. Members might now be personally tings o f t h e H ouse . Th ey o ft en b oas ted of the wisdom interested, and yet they might be upon Committees on of our ancestors, and our ancestors wisely legislated Private Bills: They were selected from the localities by daylight. This was also the practice of all the Le- from which the Bills emanated, and therefore were neces gislative Assemblies in Europe and the United States. sarily interested. He appealed to Gentlemen who lied and he conceived it wou ld be attended with many bene- sat upon th ose Committees when, after the Committees fie ial con sequences if it were adopted i n t h at H ouse . h a d me t, they' were not often divided into several local He need not enlarge upon the injurious effects of the parties, so teat the Members were sometimes led by present system. He was satisfied that the pre- local influences, sometimes by political influences, some sent system was injurious to the health of Mem - times by influences still snore partial and personal. He ti id and that it did not facilitate in any degree saw several Hon. Members near him who served on a lat. no on the istavo 3 riter is lic bio -3 well which a cir- aw9le c ho IT: an' it idle matte' ir ‘V D . ,d e inn! tred to ,lulne s; rllO Oll t : jdreSS rr ived rd Ch 3°. ,l Jbes, 80- t-A r°l IC 8 i34 c rurlir coor i )4:h t ' . ot ter 1(1 Da l ind he gr e l de fie l FrL n he WO, o d to' t!' ~ 7e. 0 ' t r ro _at .; d, bestir, nci r 2- . .r resu i d, her '7,4 the 11 r Pa ni o l , of 0 1 ;clo ti4 ; f oo, 3(10 1/ Co° r ' ! d . t° r veo l ,ol )14., cool; ard , ,Ljoi Co*Y lon. pi a ro rd , ;rd P . , , u r. :0 1-o` l o his I ji i ce, ' l 2d logy is r res~aolll , 1 MOntirtl444 14i.OITION: n r - 'l'J - 1131 SUN, LONDON' rift Its 414 CA . N. L.c.5. 1841. - -• - 9 k Committee last Ses.lion, which was prolonged for tho space of abatit two months ; he alluded to the Liverpool Docks Committee. Li that case the contest became cane almost. purely between two local parties, and it was almost. impossible, from the views taken ,by moat re spectable persons on both sides, for the Members to s-par.:te and keep clear of those local prejudices which to the Noble Lord, the Member for Liverpool, on the one hand, and to himself (Mr. Evart) on the other, rendered it so difficult to come to a conclusion. But this was only one case; such instances were almost in numerable. There was no Honourable Member who had served upon Committees, who bad not reprobated this evil in a tribunal which ought to be strictly judicial, and should never be made the vehicle of local and per sonal feelings. It had even happened that on a purely local matter, political subjects •had intervened ; one political party had taken up one side of the question, and another party the other side. It had been per ceived, for instance, that by the passing of a particu lar Act, the number of voters belonging to one party would be diminished, and thus the measure, from being a purely judicial one, had become, first, a local one, secondly, a political one, and thus the ends of justice were frustrated, the Houso did not do its duty, and the public interest was damaged by such proceedings. He had already spoken of the system of canvassing which took place both pre% ions to and during the sit ting of a Committee—it was a system much to be de precated ; therefore he thought the time had come when they were called upon to vindicate the character of the House, and that Hon. Members should be al lowed to do their duty to the public. The public had not slumbered on that important question. Certainly there had not been many petitions from the people of England, but a reference to the Journals of the House would show that there had been numerous petitions presented from Scotland, complaining of the subject. He supposed, that arose from the superior foresight and knowledge of the people of that country, which induced them to look sharply after the doings of those deputed to represent them. He proposed that as they now bad a Committee of Selection at the begin ning of a Session, as Committees were required, the Committee of Selection should choose seven Members from among those gentlemen who were least interested, either personally or locally, with the subject-matter of the Bill to be considered. His object was to increase the purity of these tribunals. He had no doubt that by reducing the numbers, ho would increase the respoesiblity and insure a more regular attendance. Ile did not CJllle before the House without some evidence on the subject, and he would give them the opi&on of a gentleman well ver sed in the practice of Parliamentary Committees, and who was able to form an opinion upon the subject, namely Mr. Hayward, the well known Parliamentary Agent. His evidence went to shove, that persons would be prevented from fighting a bad cause before a Committee, if the case was to be heard before an im partial tribunal—that the present system was one of very great expense, where the rich man hr.d a decided advantage over the poor man—that it would be a de cided advantage to have a smaller number to form the Committee, as it would encrease the responsibility and secure a better attendance. The evidence of other witnesses on these points was to the same effect, and it was distinctly shown that local influence was too frequently exerted in favour of a measure before a Com mittee of the House. On these grounds it appeared to him that the exclusion of Members who were locally interested either by themselves or through their Constituents would be attended with beneficial results. The principle was admitted to be one of reform, which had been already in some degree carried into effect. Committees would thus be totally changed ; there would be thus an entire reformation effected in them. He had not only the evidence taken before Parlia mentary Committees to support the suggestion which he made, but he had also the satisfaction to End that the plan which he proposed was adopted in the House of Lords. It was well known to Hon. Members about him that in the House di: Lords they found it abso- lutely nece!sary to adopt the plan which he now sub mitted to the consideration of the House. He would not further advert to that part of the question, but refer lion. Members to the evidence of the Duke of Richmond respecting this subject, and which he (Mr. Evart) had then before him. He had also before him some evidence given by Parliamentary agents during the last Session of Parliament before Committees of that House, establishing that the experiments made in the other House had succeeded. He felt convinced, that by the change which he proposed, not only would the tribunals to which it applied be rendered more pure, but business would be better conducted, and the delays which had been hitherto to a very great extent effected during the sittings of Committees by Mem bers interested in the questions under considera tion, would be put an end to. He said Members had caused delays, and it must ir.- evitably be so, as they were interested as partisans, and they acted with the spirit of partisans. Another advantage of the system he proposed was, that many excellent Meinbcrs who at present were scarcely ever called on to serve on Committees, would have their talents and their energies brought into action. If Mere hers did not happen to represent places in some large manufacturing districts-4 they repreSented purely ag ricultural districts—they were never called on to act, except on some petty miserable Bill affecting some change in a road, or something that never called forth their talents. Indeed he felt confident that the plan he proposed would materially benefit the House. At the same time he wished it to be understood that by his plan Members on Private Bills' Committees would cot thus undertake two offices at the same time. If the House wished the question might be limited to Private Bills' Committees ; he only desired to carry a sound principle into effect. He therefore called upon that House to adopt the amendment he proposed. It af fected the character of the House—and the character of a public body like that House, should be as that of an individual—the first of all considerations with it. The character of their proceedings should be as pure as possible, or at least as little contaminated as possible. Strongly feeling that that principle ought to be the basis of all the regulations of that House, he called upon the House to assent to the proposition which he laid be. fore it. Mr. AGLIONBY seconded the motion. Sir GEORGE GREY hoped the Hon. Member for Wigan would not press his motion to a division, but would await the result of the improved system now in operation. He hoped the Hon. Member would think his purpose was sufficiently answered in having brought the question before the House. If the lion. Gentle mat❑itlicl press ssvfootre against adivisi hi on l m i . e(Sir G. Grey) should be compelled Mr. AGLI ON BY said it had been always thought most essential to have our tribunals as pure as possible from all private and local interests. This question was not a nes one, but had been raised again and again be fore the House. It was necessary to have local infor mation, but it was not necessary to have local interest --(Hear, hear)—or if it were, the local interest he would have should be the same as that had by the House of Lord?. It was admitted that no Member who had pecuniary interest could sit on a Committee about to decide on some question that might affect it, and he (Mr. Aglionby) could not distinguish between pecuniary interests and the bias and force imposed upon Members by the wishes of their c onstituents.—( Hear, hear.) The system adopted by the House of Lords was found to work very well, and he could not see why the House of Commons should be behind that Noble House in reforming its private business. Sufficient time had been allowed for trial of the present system. —(llear, hear.) The Speaker had had the honour of introducing many reforms, but many were still required. Mr. GOULBURN hoped that Hon. Members would take the advice of the Hon. Baronet (Sir G. Grey), and not press for a division. It was a question of great importance. If he considered a Committee of the House of Commons as a purely judicial tribunal, he might agree with the Hon. Member for Wigan ; but he did not regard a Committee of that House as acting in an exclusively judicial capacity, His view of them was that a Committee was appointed to do that which the House of Commons itself ought to do, but which, for the convenience of public business, was devolved to a selection of Members of the House to prevent the House being so e ncumbered with business as to be pre person from giving in vented discharging it s dut y to the public. He should a Committee on a q uestion in wh ich he was locally in terested. The Hon. Member f or Wigan's motion went as to o n think s a Member e m excludingber of i the an y House of Commons fr om to the point that no Member should serve on a Com mittee who, through his constituents, was interested in the Bill. Now that would exclude him from doing that which was one of the objects for which he was re turned.—(Hear, hear.) A Peer had no const tuents to represent, and could have nothing but a local interest, therefore the House of Lords were bound to take measures to prevent their Com mittees being formed by those who might be person ally interested. He (Mr. G.) could not consent to adopt a practice, which, in his view of the duties of a Member of Parliament, did ineapacitate.him from su perintending the interests of those by whom he was sent to that House.—(Hear, hear.) The present sys tem ought to have a fair trial, but at all events it was a subject of too much importance to be decided in so thin a House. Mr. WARBURTON could draw no distinction between the duties of Members upon public Bills and their duties upon private Bills. Members were sent there not as the agents or attorneys of their con stituents, but to consider the interests of the whole empire.—(Hear, hear.) No doubt the present prac tice was an improvement upon the old system, but even now repeated applications were made from Com mittees on private Bills, in consequence of the requisite number of disinterested Members not attending, for permission to proceed in spite of that non-attend ance. He was of opinion that the sooner the present system was changed the better it would be for the pub• lie.—( Hear, hear.) Sir GEO. STRICKLAND said that if his Hon. Friend pressed his motion to a division, he should cer tainly vote with him, because he was inclined to think the Committees wanted further improvement. At the same time he thought his Hon. Friend had not com pleted the plan he intended to adopt.. He agreed that the Committees ought, to be kept as pure as posAle froru local interests. He thought that the pl•in pro posed by his Hon. Friend might he inure fully worked out, and he would therefore wish that he would not call on the House to come to a decision without further consideration. Mr. ESTCOURT thought that the Hon. Member might more properly have introduced his proposition some years ago, when abuses existed in regard to Com mittees on private Bills, which had since been removed. The amendment had been made on various oceasinui, and some of them it, too course of last Session. Be sides, no system could obviate every possible inconve nience ; and for his part be was of opinion that if they removed from Private Bill Committees all Members who had au interest in them, they would only deprive themselves of the necessary local information. Mr. LABOUCHERE hoped that his Hon. Friend would noi; press his motion against the recom►nenda tion of the Committee of lust Session that the system then adopted should have a fair trial. The question whether Committees should be exclusively official and divested of local interests was one of very great diffi culty. That House could not separate its Committees from the representative character of the whole body, and render them strictly judicial, as were the Com mittees of the House of Lords. Mr. PItYME considered it would be a great evil not to have local Members on the Committees, and thought that a Committee, constituted on the plan of the Hon. Member for Wigan, might, with the greatest possible desire to do justice, commit gross injustice for want of local knowledge. Mr. HUME would ask the Hon. and Learned Member for Cambridge what he would think if he were to see a jury-box filled with persons having a local inte rest in the matter to be tried, and the cases of a jury and committee were exactly similar. He would admit that it had been usual to consider Members were placed on those Committees to do the jobs of their constituents. But that was an abuse which he wished to see done away with altogether. He would admit that many abuses which had existed formerly in respect to the ap pointment to Private Committees, had been remedied, but that was only a reason for getting rid of the remain. ing ones. He thought that the time had come when there should be no more temporising, and would, therefore, support the motion of his Hon. Friend. He, for one, would not be afraid to go before the country on this question, as he was convinced that every honest constituency would say that they would rather submit a question to a Committee having no local interests than be subjected to jobbing. Mr. RICE said that it was frequently considered an advantage at quarter sessions and assizes for a jury to have local knowledge of the matter in dispute. • Mr. JAMES STEWART supported the motion. Mr. E WART, with every disposition to accede to the proposition of the Right Hon. Baronet felt so strongly that justice and reason were on his side, that he must press the question to a division. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the House divided, when there appeared For Mr. Ewart's resolutions 22 Against them 24 Majority against the resolutions —2 COPYRIGHT BILL. On our admission to the gallery we found Sergeant TALFOURD on his legs, moving for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the law with respect to copyright. Mr. WARBURTON could assure the House that he did not intend to let even a stage of the Bill pass without offering to it his most strenuous and deter Mined opposition. When the matter was formerly discussed, either upon the introducing of the Bill or the second reading, Gentlemen on that side of the House stated that they entirely disagreed, both with respect to the principle and details of the Bill, but if he (Mr. War burton) would allow the Hon. and Learned Member to bring in the Bill, when it came into Committee they would assist him (Mr. Warburton) in opposing the de tails of the Bill, and then there would no difficulty in getting rid of the question. He (Mr. Warburton) divided the House on the second reading, and those Gentlemen voted with the lion. and Learned Gentle man. lie (Mr. Warburton), of course, supposed that when the Bill came to the Committee he should have had the assistance of those Members. Amongst whom were her Majesty's Attorney-General and some of the Cabinet Ministers ; but when the Bill came into Committee he (Mr. Warburton) had as much reason to complain of the state of the House as the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had. Those had promised him their support were not in attendance, and he had to fight against the Bill single handed. He (Mr. War burton) would not commit the same mistake again, and therefore it was that he was determined to fight it in every stage, and if he could not get support in that' House, he would endeavour to get it out of it. He considered the Bill as one that was calculated to in flict the greatest injustice on certain portions of the community. In the very outset of the question the Hon. and Learned Gentleman and himself were at issue upon the true principle on which the judgment of Merrik.!rs ought to be guided with respect to the measure. He (Mr. Warburton) considered that that judgment ought to be formed upon its utility. He did not agree with that mode of meeting the ques tion. He contended that the interests of authors and the interests of the public were both to be considered, and properly and duly weighed. It was upon these grounds that the discussions before the Judges and the House of Lords proceeded. Oa former occasions, when this question had been argued, the Hon. and Learned Member had said, " I have the common law right with me." Mr. Sergeant TALFOURD interrupted the Hon. Member by saying that he was quite unaware that any opposition would be made to his motion ; he had no notice of it, and he trusted that the House would not commit the injustice of taking advantage of his surprise. —(Cries of ‘; Adjourn.") - Mr. WARBURTON observed that he also had been taken by surprise, for he was not aware until half an hour before he cause down to the House of the motion of the lion. Gentleman. Mr. Sergeant TALFOURD stated, that not being aware of the opposition, he would renew his motion on Friday. CONSTABULARY BILL. Mr. HODGES obtained leave to bring in a Bill for the better regulation of the Constabulary Force of England and Wales. The House adjourned at Eight o'Clock. POST-OFFICE-MONEY ORDERS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sin,—l believe it is not generally known that money to any amount may be remitted by Post-office orders. It is true that not more than five pounds can be drawn on one order, but parties may have as many different orders for five pounds each as they please. I am aware of this from the following circumstance : A party who arrived in a post town too late for banking hours, wished to remit the sum of twenty pounds, in order to meet the payment of a bill ; he went to the Post-office to make inquiries. The Postmaster said, " I have just paid one party two separate orders of the London Office for five pounds each, of consecutive numbers and of the same date, and if you like to have four orders for five pounds each you shall have them." This was agreed to, the orders granted and forwarded, and the money paid without hesitation, and this at the small cost of two shillings. As the public may not be aware of this convenience existing, perhaps you will not hesitate in announcing it. I am, Sir, yours, &c. January 23, 1841. NORTHVILLE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sin,—Allow me, through the medium of your valu able Journal, to give publicity to the following circum stance : I this afternoon presented at the Branch Post-office, Charing-cross, thirteen Post-office Orders for the sum of IV. 15s. 7d., drawn in my favour, and all payable there ; when, to my utter astonishment, I was told by the clerk that he had not sufficient funds to meet my claim. When, Sir, it is considered that advices had been duly forwarded to pay each Order at that particular place, and that an excellent per centage is charged, as an insurance to guarantee the prompt and faithful pay. me - nt of all such claims when applied for, surely the public have a right to expect that ample funds should be provided for that purpose, and not that they should be put off with an excuse that is utterly disgraceful to an establishment possessing so large a revenue as the General Post office. Permit me also to call your attention to another abuse connected with Post-office money orders. For merly it was considered quite sufficient for the person to whom an order was made payable to indorse it on the back, and it was paid to his servant or friend if he could not conveniently present it in person. Now no such indulgence is allowed ; all orders being marked in large characters, not transferable, and only paid to the party on his or her personal application. However great the sacrifice of time, sick, lame, or in prison, go you must, with one solitary exception ; if the fortunate holder of a ten or twenty shilling order keeps an account with it bank, he may pass it through his banker, and the large capitals which are blazoned forth so conspi cuously, are no longer visible to the optics of the Post office authorities. I remain, Sir, yours, &c., 27, Long-acre, Jan. 23. J. HUNTER. It is confidently expected in the City, that Mr Joseph SOMC3, the great shipowner, will, together with Alderman Magnay, serve in the Shrievalty in the Mayo. ralty of Alderman Pirie next year. The Corperation are particularly anxious upon the subject, as Mr. Pirie is, from his charitable and benevolent disposition, one of the most charitable men that ever appeared in the Court of Alder men; and his fellow-citizens are moat desirous of seeing him supported, during his year of office, by Sheriffs of the first respectability. LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAIL WAY,-(YESTERDAY.) The half-yearly meeting of the Directors and Pro prietors of the London and Brighton Railway ectnpany took piaci! yestcrday at the London Tavern, bishopsgate street. There was a numerous body of Shareholders present. At one o'clock the chair was taken by Joutst HAR MAN, Esq., Chairman of the Board of Directors, and the Secretary read the advertisement calling the meeting. The CHAIRMAN said the proceedings of their half yearly general meeting naturally partook of more in terest as the works in which they were engaged pro gressed towards completion. It would be his duty presently to call their attention to the Report of the Directors, a document drawn up with great care and anxiety, with a view to furnish them with every information with regard to the carrying out of the un dertaking to its present point. By that Report it would be seen that that since the last general meeting the Di reams had not been idle, and when he now told them that there would be a further capital required to finish the works, he had the pleasure or adding that the Di rectors did not intend to call upon the Shareholders for any more money. At that period of the proceedings it would not be necessary for him to go into further detail until the Repel t had been read to them ; he should ra ther seek an opportvnity later in the day to explain any matters connected with the Report, and to answer any questions that might be put to Lim. The SECRETARY then read the Report of the Direc tor., from which it appeared that— " The Works on the entire Line had been carried on with vigour, and were in an exceedingly forward state, and the Directors were enabled to confirm their former anticipoions of open•ng the Line to Hayward's-heath not later than Mid • summer next, and throughout to Brighton in the ensuing Autumn. " Since the opening of the Shoreham Branch there have been carried upon it 126,436 passengers. The goods traffic is greatly on the increase ; and by the end of March next the station at Brighton will be ready to receive coals, from which the Directors expect a considerable revenue. A Company has been formed for the purpose of making railroad from Worthing, to join the Shoreham Branch ; and the Directors believe that an application will be made in the next Session of Parliament for powers to make the same ; and they confidently hope it will meet with the sup port and co operation of all persons interested in t'ne suc cess of the London and Brighton Railway, to which it must prove a most advantageous auxiliary." With respect to the station at the London•bridge terminus, the Report stated— " At the last meeting; the Directors adverted to the state of the proceedings before Parliament on the subject of the station at London-bridge. These proceedings terminated in giving powers to the Greenwich Railway Company to construct two additional lines of rails to the south of the present line, from London-bridge to Corbett's-lane, where the Croydan diverges from the Greenwich Railway; autho tity was also given to the Greenwich and Croydon Com panies to exchange stations, end the latter Company is, by another Act of the same Session, empowered, either in conjunction with the Brighton and South Eastern, or alone, to procure an additional space for a station, beyond that which the Greenwich Company is to provide in exchange for the Croydon station ; the Directors have considered it advisable, in accordance with the power given at the last meeting, to co-operate with the Croydon and South-Eastern Companies in effecting ibese objects ; and they have for some time been engaged 'in maturing the necessary arrangements. Three members of each Board have met weekly on the subject, and an agreement has been entered into fur carrying them into effect. The substance of the agreement is, that a station covering the present Greenwich Railway station, with some other ground adjoining, and sufficient for the pur poses of the South-Eastern, Brighton, and Croydon Com panies, as a City terminus, shall be built at the joint cost of the three Companies, by which this Company will not only cure to itself the advantages of a good and suffi cient station at one-third of the cost of making it, but also at one-third of the cost of maintaining and managinc , the same, and their interests will be fully represented anipro , tected." Mr. GOLDSMID wished to offer an explanation relative to au allusion which had been made to him in the Re port as one of the Directors, in having filed a Bill in Chancery against the Company. These proceedings would never have been instituted if the Directors had shown that disposition for an amicable arrangement which they took credit for. He complained that they had refused him justice, and when an arbitration was proposed, the Directors, he was given to understand, had stated that it was their intention to avail themselves of every legal and technical objection. He was justified, therefore, in saying that they had shown no disposition to conic to an amicable settlement, although he still en tertained a hope that such would be brought about, and that the differences between himself and the Company would be satisfactorily arranged. The CHAIRMAN said they must all admit that his position on the present occasion was a painful one, but he would repeat that every disposition consistently with their duty to the Shareholders had been shown by him self and his brother Directors to meet the wishes of Mr. Goldsmid. He could not, however, allow the statement of Mr. Goldsmid to go forth without some contradiction, and should therefore call upon their Brighton solicitor to state how the case really stood ; and if the Proprietors thought they had been too guarded in protecting their interests, the Directors would bow to the opinions of the meeting. Mr. HENDERSON objected to any discussion taking place on the subject, more especially as it could not lead to any satisfactory result. He thought it better to leave the matter to the good feeling of Mr. Goldsmid and the Directors. Mr. STOREY thought an opportunity should be afforded the Directors of vindicating their conduct against the charges brought against them by Mr. Gold amid. If he was rightly informed, Mr. Goldsmid had received from the land that had been purchased from him quiatuple what it would fetch in the market. The CHAIRMAN begged to interrupt the speaker, and he could not allow him to proceed until he bad ascer tained what the sense of the meeting was upon the subject. A PROPRIETOR said they had other very important business to transact, and if the discussion was entered upon, it would keep them there till midnight. Mr. STOREY begged to remind the meeting that their standing counsel was the son of the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Goldsmid) who had made these statements, and with the highest opinion of she honour and integrity of that gentleman, he thought there were natural feel ings which would prevent his acting for the interests of the Company. The CHAIRMAN said Mr. Goldsmid, their counsel, had declined to accept any retainer in the present case. As Mr. Goldsmid had sent forth a printed statement it would, perhaps, be desirable to hear the counter state ment of their solicitor, Mr. Faithful. Mr. G. RENNIE thought they ought to hear the counter statement of Mr. Faithful, and then have the subject dropped altogether. After some discussion the question was put, and it was agreed almost unanimously that Mr. Faithful's statement should be heard. Mr. FAITHFUL then entered into a statement, from which it appeared that in the Act of Parliament it was provided that a station should be made on Mr. Gold smid's property for the Shoreham branch. The site and quantity of land, and the price to be paid was agreed upon, and the money ultimately paid to him. Mr. Goldsmid subsequently stated that the taking of the coal traffic to the station would be prejudicial to his pro perty, and the Committee to whom he made that repre sentation recommended the Directors to agree to Mr. Goldsmid's request, which they agreed to. A convey ance of the land was afterwards prepared in the ordi nary way, but Mr. Goldsmid's solicitor wished to have a proviso inserted to prohibit the passing of coals along the road, or in the event of such being done, that the covenant should be void. That was of course objected to; the result was the institution of these proceedings. AU the concessions which the Directors had made to Mr. Goldsmid were taken advantage of, but the Directors were to have no advantage whatever, while Mr. Goldsmid could, if his object was accomplished, stop up the entire traffic on the line. After entering into some further details, Mr. Faithful concluded by hoping that the Proprietors would see that the object of the Directors was to protect their interests, and that they would confirm their acts. Mr. GOLDSMID said there were many statements made by Mr. Faithful which he could prove to be completely erroneous, and lie would add, that if it had not been for Mr. Faithful's advice the matter would have long since been adjusted. Mr. S. J. WHALLEY moved the adoption of the Re port, which he did with great pleasure. He believed no Company had been subjected to so much abuse and liturKration as theirs, but he believed that no Corn parry had had its affairs conducted with so much talent and ability, and he had no doubt of the undertaking being ultimately highly remunerative to the Proprietors. Mr. H. L. SMALL seconded the motion. The CHAIRMAN, in answer to questions from Mr. Parsons and others, explained that about 400,0001. would tromplete the line, instead of 600,000/., as was estimated at the last half-yearly meeting. They intended to have twenty-two engines and about eighty carriages at start ing ; and if more were required, the Directors would be happy to order them. The motion for the adoption of the Report was then carried unanimously. The five Directors,' who went out by rotation, were then re-elected without opposition. A replution for the' forfeiture of five or six shares upon which the calls had not been paid up was then passed. After some further routine business had been dis posed of, thanks were voted to the Chairman and Directors, and the meeting separated. AIERTHYR•TYDVIL—THE IRON TRADE.— This important trade has been in a most depressed state, during the greater portion of the past year, which de pression continued to its very close. The now year has, however, opened with a sudden and decided improvement. The demand is brisk, and large sales have been already made at an advance of os. to 10s. per ton, the present quo tations of Welsh bars on shipment being 7110 d per t0n.... Aluitmouthshire Merlin. MORN ING 1 , 1 i) fen 014,1 THE AMERIC:I;,4 NAVY. (From the United Service Ga.:fife.) We have boon favoured by a valued Coreespoedent at Portsmouth, to whom we were indebted some time ago 16r a table of the armaineets of all the ‘essels of war in the 13iitish navy, for the following interesting account of the dimensions and armaments of the various cla.;scs of ships in the American nave, i'erived front an official source. It h as b een i h e fashion of late, among writers on nautical subjects, to contrast our own ships of war with those of Amer:ca, and to assil(l the superiority in point of dimension anti armament to the vessels of the latter. \V have, indeed, been ourselves misled by more than one of our correspon dents into the publication of statements to this effect ; and, as all honest and conscientious writers ()right to do—profiting by the opportunity which the publication of the undermentioned data affords us—we a:ltiow ledge with cheerfulness and alacrity our misapprohen sion. From the dimensions hereafter given, it wall be seen that we are not only equal in most. but greatly superior in many points, and so far as our more re cently constructed ships are concerned, more especi ally ; every class of which are much finer than those of the same classes in the American navy, carrying heavier aura :rents with infinitely more convenient quarters, more space between decks, and guns much higher from the water. The first-class line of battle ships, as Ohio, &c., aro or were evidently designed from our 34's, Ganges class, with the addition of two feet more beam, thus cinsi derably increasing their tonnage ; but, either lions some injudicious alterations or bad model, they have not proved the ships they ought to have been, carrying their lower deck midship ports only 3 feet 6 inches from the water, whereas our 84's carry theirs 6 het 0 inches, and Vanguard 7 feet. The tonnage of these ships is ",600, the same as oar 92's, Rodney class, within a few tons; but their dimensions are the lame as the 120's, and they carry their lower deck n d • ports 7 feet from the water, and are evidently a su perior description of ship to American two deckers.' The armament of the latter is very heavy, having 42-pounders on their lower decks, and carrying guns on their upper decks all thrcugh ; making three en tire tiers ; perhaps their armament is too heavy— give our 92's guns in waist, and they would then maunt 100—but filling up the wait is a very ques tionable coarse, and one to which we decidedly object. The second-class line-of-battle ships, of which there are but three, are fine vessels, about the size of our 80's,, as Indus, Bellerophon, but a ith one foot more beam, making them about 100 tons larger. These ships also have guns all throug h on their upper decks, but front sonic cause (perhaps being over-weighted) carry their lower leek ports only 5 feet from the water, being •1 inches less than our old 7-I's, and 1 foot lower than the Bellerophon. The first-class frigates are fine vessels, about the size of our razees, but with 2 feet less beam, and therefore inferior, also carrying their main-deek midship ports 1 foot 3 inches lower than our razees ; these ships ere all double banked, and have earronad es o n t h e upper . deck. There are but two second-class frigates in the American navy ; Macedonian, captured from us during the late war, and Constellation, one of their earliest ; both these are rateel 36's, carrying about 46 or 50 guns, and are about the sin of our Blonde ; bath very inferior to the Pique and her class. The first-class sloops of war of the United States are neither so large nor so powerful as our rants, such as the Magicienee, but they arc larger than our other corvettes in point of armament and force. Again, they arc vastly inferior as fighting vessels to oar new 26's, like the Vestal, which carry long 32's and two 68's. The American corvettes are, moreover, heavy sailers, and carry their midports 1 foot 4 inches lower than the Vestal and her class, so that their whole battery is exposed to a vast disadvantage. Indeed, our new 26's are superior to any foreign corvettes in the world. The second-class of American corvettes are nearly similar to our Pearl and Tweed, of 20 guns. There is nothing between them and schooners. The Americans have no sloops of war brig-rigged—their small sloops carry 16 guns, but arc ships. The American schooners are very inferior in every respect to our new 10-gun brigs, as Pantaloon, Rapid, &c., beit g upwards of 100 tons inferior in burthen, also in length and breadth, and their ports more than a foot lower in water ; their height between decks also less by nearly two feet. They arc, in fact, hardly equal to our old 10 gun brigs. The first-class war steamers building will, doubtless, be noble Vessels ; very much larger than any we have, being 30 feet longer than the Cyclops, 4 feet more beam, and 600 tons more burthen ; they will, doubt less, be very heavily armed, perhaps carrying a 0 or 40 guns. These are the only two steamers the Americans have in their navy ; but although in this branch we arc far ahead of them, having at least 20 to their two, still we should at once lay down sonic five or six of an equal size. It is not a little odd that the dimensions of these two American war steamers are as nearly as pos sible the same as the steamer by Captain Hendrie, R.N. To conclude, we have nothing to fear from the Americans, come a contest when it may. With our ships properly armed and fully manned, we may defy .hem and the world. CAT 01{, THE FRENCH PILOT. The following is a briTf outline, from the Don lonnaise, of this remarkable man, who was drowned some days ago at the mouth of Boulogne har bour by the upsetting of the boat with the moil Delpierre, generally called Cater, was born in 1787; He followed the profession of his father. His courage, tact, and prudence recommended him to the D command ecem of t 1 December, r, 1811, privateer ed tn by I ti a ,re c e u nio other O e r privateers, a the' tce of he attacked the English cutter Olympia, of 14 guns and 75 men. After a bloody and hard light the cutter was taken. Such a prize entitled him to the cross of the Legion of Honour. But his father was in prism con demned to death, the Boulonnaise says, for some parti cipation ire the affair of Moreau ; others say for assist ing emigrants to escape, and returning with others who were looked upon as spies. Whatever the cause, Cator offered his honour and his prize for his father's liberty. The Government accepted theM Ia December 1821 he saved the crew of the Aimable Rose, fur which the Minister made him a pecuniary donation. In 1829 he did a similar service to the crew of a filling boat that would have been lost at the en trance to the harbour. In 1830 whilst walking on the jetty, he heard screams proceeding from the middle of the harbour ; lie flew to the spot, saw a child struggling in the water, instantly dashed in and brought it safe to land, when he discovered •it was his own child ! He obtained that year a silver medal. In 1831 he obtained another, 80 fr. from the Minister and 50 from the Humane Society for saving the lives of several pdi sons. In June 183:2 Cator and four men were at sea in his boat, when a violent tempest coming on, the boat was capsized and the whole at the mercy of the waves. Three men perished, one struggled against his fate with Cator, who, with that admirable generosity for which he was at all times distinguished, seeing that his com panion was neither so good a swimmer nor so cool as himself, ceded to him the oar with which he was aiding his own efforts for life, and struck away for the shore, Fortunately a boat came to their assistance, and both were saved. Two days afterwards Cator rescued from the harbour young Delande, who was near perishing. In December of the same year he received the decora tion of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, and the,ln stitute testified its approbation of his private life by a donation of 1,000 francs. Among his virtues were goodness of heart, mildness and affability of manners, the utmost simplicity, kindliness of disposition and love and affection for his parents. Cator had a large family to support, but the yearnings of his youth to rescue his father from prison, I:nd to sacrifice wealth and honour to his happiness, sheaved equal strength and love when his wife and children surrounded him ; his father was old and required attention. Cator had him in his own house, that he himself might see that nothing was want ing to his comfort and happiness. Such is a faint outline of the pilot's life, whose death we all so much regret .; a life usefully spent for himself and his country ; a lite that we would humbly recom mend tho Institute to have fully detailed, printed and circulated, as an incentive to all in the same sphere of life to do likewise, be respected and rewarded. Such a life would be more useful to the State than twenty lives of conquerors and ravagers of the earth. DREADFUL ACCIDENT.—EGIIAM, JAN. 26. —Yesterday morning a dreadful accident occurred to a lad named Keen, the servant of C. Clarke, Esq., of this town, in consequence of the accidental discharge of a double-barreled gun, loaded with No. I shot, the contents of which entered his right arm, just blow the elbow, shattering it in a most horrid manner, and lodging between the elbow and the wrist. The sufferer (accompaniedby his master) proceeded to the London University Hospital, in Gower-street, where, upon his arrival, amputation of the arm, from above the elbow, was performed by Mr. Liston. PRESBYTERY OF STRATHBOGIE.—On Thurs day last Mr. Edwards was ordained minister of the parish of Marnoch, by the seven suspended clergymen, agreeably to a decision of the Court of Session, and in defiance of the General Assembly. The scene on the occasion was most riotous and disorderly. When the Moderator ap peared in the pulpit, for the purpose of preaching the cus tomary sermon previous to the induction, snow-balls, pieces of wood torn from the seats, and missiles of various de scriptions were hurled at the Presbytery from the gallery, and for nearly two hours nothing could bo done: At length, through the intervention of the police, order was restored, and the remaining proceedings were gone through without interruption. How far exhibitions of this .description will forward the schemes cf the non-intrusionists will be seen in duo time. RESPITE FOR THE CONVICT M'RAE.—We understand that a respite has been sent north, to Inverness, of the sentence Of death lately pronounced by the High Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, on Alexander M'Rac, late farmer and cattle-dealer, for rape. The , respite, we are told, is granted for an unlimited . period.a.-Edinburgh Paper. Sir Hugh Palliser, Bart., and Mrs. Lockhart are still residing at Castletown Haute, county of Weiler% but intend returning shortly to England.