The Sun. — London, England, 1867-05-07 00:00:00

IMPERIAE PABLIANLENT HOUSE OF LORDS.—LAST EATEN ING. The Loan CIIINCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Ramsden Estate, the Wilts and Gloucester Railway the Herne Bay Water, and the Cardiff and Penarth Bills were read a second time. THE IRISH CONSTABULARY. Lord LIFFORD gave notice of a motion relative to the Irish Constabulary. THE WHITE HERRING FISHERY BILL. This bill was committed. The house then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—LAST EVENING. :rho SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a third time and passed : Orkney Roads, Sunderland Ferry, Smr3y and Sussex Junction Railway, and Wolverhampton New Water. CORRUPT PRACTICES BILL. Mr. R. lIIIGESSEN gave notice that on the order of the day for the second reading of this bill he should move that the order be discharged, and that the bill be referred to a select committee. 3IARTIAL LAW IN THE COLONIES. Mr. HEADLAM asked the Chancellor of the Exche quer whether the attention of the Government had been directed to the presentment of the grand jury in the case of Colonel Nelson and Lieutenant Brand, " That martial law should be more clearly defined by legislative enact ment." And, whether the Government proposed in any manner to act upon the recommendation of the grand jury ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQEUER said the Government did not wish to Fait for the presentment of the grand jury, but his hon. friend the Se retary for the Colonies had addressed a circular to the Colonial Govern ment, which he thought would be attended with very im portant result.. Ile thought the best course for the Government to pursue would be to have a copy of the cir cular on the table of the house. THE IRISH AND SCOTCH REFORM BILLS. Mr. ESM.ONDE asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in reference to his answer-on Friday last, when he said, in reference to a question on the subject of the Irish Re form Bill, " We shall take care of Irellind," what meaning was to be attached to such answer; whether such bill was to be framed upon the principle of the Scotch Reform Bill as explained by him; and when it would bo introduced ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he meant that the Government would take care that the en gagement they had entered into would be virtually carried out, after the introduction of the Scotch bill, which would take place on Thursday or Monday at the latest. After that his noble friend the Secretary for Ireland would introduce the bill for Ireland. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had undertaken the charge of the Scotch bill in consequence of the absence of the Lord-Advocate from the house. MR. OSBORNE'S "MARE'S NEST." Mr. B. OSBORNE called the attention of the house to a matter which, he said, had assumed the shape of a per sonal affair. He referred to the memorandum which the hon. member for Swansea had drawn up, and also to the copy he had made known to the house. He was quite prepared to produce his copy, and he thought the only course open to the hon. member for Swansea was to pro duce the secret document. If ho was wrong in what he had stated about the document, he maintained that the memorandum was drawn up to influence votes, and that his hon. friend had acted as a decoy duck, and that he had succeeded in inducing fifty feathered and confiding ducks to follow his example. He therefore called upon the hon. member to produce the document as the only way of setting the matter right. Mr. DILL WYN said he was quite ready to produce the original document if it was the wish of the house, but unless that wish was expressed he should refrain from doing so. He thought the proper course for the hon. member for Nottingham to have pursued would have been, after he had made his copy of the memorandum, to have asked him whether his copy was correct or not. (Hear.) Colonel TAYLOR said he had not one word to add or to retract from the statement he had sent to the news papers. He considered the conversation he had had with the hon. member for Swansea was of a private nature. Mr. 0. STANLEY said he never stated that the copy of the document read by the hon. member for Nottingham was r% correct one. He stated that it was written from re collection after the reading of the memorandum of the hon. member for Swansea. The proper time for him to have denied the correctness of the copy was when it was first read to the house by his hon. friend. This he had not dune, and now he came forward and denied that it was in consonance with the original document. Mr. LuBBERT said he knew nothing about that mat ter, but ho thought from what had come to his know lodge that the original document was a private communi cati.m. Mr. LOWE sail the name of tne Chancellor of the Ex chequer having been mentioned in connection with a mat ter which, it hal been said, had led `,o certain members havi'ig been influenced in that house, it was a matter that required some explanation from some member of the Government. The CHA.NCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he would, as there was then no question before the house, take the opportunity of making some observations on the 'notion for going into committee. THE FENIAN PETITION. Mr. D. GRIFFITHS proceeded to refer to certain ob servations made by Mr. Bright on the presentation of the petition relative to the treatment of the Fenian prisoners last Fiiday, but after he had proceeded some time Sir G. Grey said it was but right, before the subject was con verted into a question of privilege, notice of the fact should be given. The SPEAKER also decided that before the matter could be properly before the house it was requisite that notice of his intention to do so should be given. THE IRISH CHURCH. In reply to an HON. MEMBER, tiir JO [IN GRAY 6aid he should proceed with the mltter to-morrow. THE MEETtgG IN HYDE PARK. ",Ir. YORKE asked the Secretary of State for the Home D3partmf3nt a question with respect to the meeting in Hyde Park. It had become known that cabs and custer ►nnngers' carts had been admitted into Hyde Park, and what he wished to know was whether the ordinary regu lations had altogether been set aside. _ _ _ Mr. WA I.POIE said he was not aware of the admission cf cabs and carts into Hyde Park. All the ordinary regu lations with respect to that park were now in full opera tion. THE REFORM BILL. The House went into Committee on this Bill. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he regretted he had not been able to place the exact words of the amendment he had referred to in the hands of hon. members. He hoped, however, to do so to-morrow even ing. With respect to the amendment of the hon. mem ber for Oldham, he had fulfilled his promise, and brought the matter under the consideration of his colleagues, and he regretted they could not relieve the compound householders in the manner he proposed. The right hon. gentleman then proceeded to state the nature of the amendments that he proposed to make in the bill with respect to compound householders. It wa propose I that the compound householder should pay the whole amount of rates and deduct the entire amount from his routs. By other arrangements it had been so set out that neither the landlord nor the occu pier would incur the fine that had been spoken of. He proposed to make certain amendments to the 3lth clause, and also to meet the repeal of the 13th and 14th Viet., saving of course all existing rights. Mr. BRIGHT would like to know • what was meant by the last observation about existing rights ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was that any person whose name was on the register should be protected in all the rights which he at present enjoyed. The course ho thought that would be most advantageous tc pursue was after they had finished the third clause they should consent to the postponement of all clauses between it and the 21th, and proceed with that, and thus at once dispoee of the important question of the compound house holder. _ . _ Mr. BRIGHT thought that if the whole matter was postponed for a few days, there was every prospect some arrangement agreeable to all parties would be come to. If the party of the right hon. gentleman would give him the power of doing that which ho (Nlr. Bright) felt certain he was desirous of doing, viz., to make the bill a good and great measure, the better it would be for all parties. The question was then pat by Mr. Dodson that the words "12 months" be inserted in the third clause, in place of the words "two years," which was agreed to. Sir B. PALMER asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the compound householder would be permitted merely to make the deduction he then spoke of merely for or whether t o ena bl e hi m t o gu t his name on the register , o he would have the favour of doing it every y _tr. The CLIANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER eniti the diquetion of course wonll ho nizolo every following yoar• (Hoar, Bear.) Sir R. PALMER moved his atn3ndln?iit to ), which W 33 to omit the word " inhabitant." before that of occupier, the effect of which was to make the qualifi cation of the occupier sufficient for the claim to be put on the register. Mr. GOLDING thought it would be unwise to strike the word inhabitant out of the bill. Sir It. COLLIER said the effect of the argument of his hon. and learned friend was to place the voter below .£lO in the saute position as the voter above that amount, but., b,ing opposed by Mr. Ay-rton, Mr. Clay, Mr. lleadlam, and other gentlemen on the Opposition benches, Sir R. Palmer ultimately withdrew it. The Lodger Franchise" was then Illoved by Mr. 31 - Cullagh :Cot rens ; the lodger to be witnitiod being de fined by Mr. Torrene as one who he occupied : during the 12 months preceding any January sth, lodgings being part of a dwelling-houss of a clear yearly value, if let un furnished, of -£lO or upwards, and has resided in such lodgings during the six months immediately preceding the last day of July, and has duly claimed to be registered as a voter at the next ensuing registration of voters. In support of it, he argued that without some such franchise the bill would not be of the slightest use to the metropolis. The amendment was supported by Mr. Locke, Mr. IL Lewis, Dr. Brady, Sir M. Peto, and Mr. Alderman Lusk as indispensable to the efficacy of the bill in London. Mr. Smollett thought that as the number admitted by this franchise would be infinitesimally small, it might be safely granted. Mr. Marsh believed that the franchise would admit a very respectable class of persons, but could not see his way to a practical scheme. Mr. GLADSTONE said they had now advanced to such a point that it would be satisfactory to hear from the right hon. gentleman whether he was disposed to accept the moderate and judicious proposal of the hon. member for Finsbury. It was true, as was stated by the hon. member for Dumbartonshire, that he proposed a lodger franchise in the bill of last year, and that he did not venture to state the number that it would admit. At that time he thought it was more likely to enfranchise persons connected with the middle than the working class. The proposal of the hon. member for Finsbury is a better proposal than that contained in the Reform Bill of last year ; for a very great flaw in the proposal of last year was that it did not go to the extent of admitting the lodger, like the householder, to the permanent pos session of the franchise as long as he continued in. his oc cupation. The bill of last year contemplated the annual claim of lodgers ; but the amendment of the hon. member for Finsbury would get rid of it. When he brought in the bill last year, he was not aware of the intense anxiety on the part of working men who were lodgers to obtain the franchise. It was not right to draw a dispa raging line between lodgers and householders; but if any distinction were drawn the lodgers, more than the house holders, represented the best class of working men. As a rule the working man could not afford to pay himself the rent of the house he occupied, and the result was that he was compelled to let out a large portion of it to lodgers. But as the trade or business of letting lodgings was liable to risk and accidents, the best working men were slow to encumber themselves with the responsi bility attached to it. The proposal of the hon. member for Finsbury hail received almost universal assent. It would be most desirable to supply those enlargements and developments which are in this particular necessary in order to make the bill applicable to the metropolis, con taining as it does one-third of the tows constituencies of the country, and a large portion of the flower of the working classes. The honourable member for Finsbury had exercised a sound discretion in endeavouring to intro duce the lodger franchise into the third clause of the bill ; but if the Government were favourable to its principle, he would no doubt take counsel with them on the particular form in which it shoulkbe inserted in the measure. He did not, however, think that his honourable friend should permit the standard of .£lO clear annual value, which he had moved, to be raised, because that will represent a rent of at least from £l6 to £lB a year, which is as high a qualification as is likely to be acceptable. It would be a matter for sincere congratulation if the Government would accept the proposition. Mr. BRADY regarded the motion of the hon. member for Finsbury as a highly Conservative measure. No dif ference will be made in the members returned for the metropolitan boroughs by such an increase of the consti tuency as will be effected by the introduction of the lodger franchise ; and the same thing may be said of other large towns. On the other hand, it will add to the number of middle class voters in the small towns, and will thus tend there to promote the return of Conservative members. Sir 31. PETO could bear emphatic testimony to the necessity of a lodger franchise in London and other large towns. The increase in the value of property in these places of late years has been such that houses are now built in flats, and it is, therefore, absolutely requisite to have a lodger franchise, in order to confer the suffrage upon the highly respectable portion of the working classes by whom they are inhabited. He would suggest that a provision should be introduced into the bill compelling the collectors to call for the rates and taxes, the payment of which is requisite to qualify a man for the franchise. At present this duty is often neglected, and voters are con- I sequently disqualified. Mr. Alderman LUSK also contended that the lodger franchise is absolutely requisite to enfranchise the large number of respectable men belonging both to the working and the middle classes, who are compelled to live in lodg ings in London in consequence of the difficulty and ex pense of obtaining houses. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—I am rather struck by the variety of inconsistent arguments rsed by hon. gentlemen on this subject. The late mem ber for Finsbury enlarged on the importance of respect , able persons who live in fists being enfranchised and hav iug the privilege of voting. But lam tinder a great mis apprehension if every person living in a flat and having a separate door has not a vote already. (Hear.) Then my hon. friend the member for Dumbartonshire (Mr. Smollett) addressed us in a speech of rich humour, which appears to ;be hereditary. (Laughter.) His argument is that the Government have brought forward a very revolutionary measure, which nevertheless will not at all increase the constituencies. Ido not, therefore, think that we shat have any great difficulty with my hon. friend, because, although he sometimes speaks against us, ho always gives us his support in moments of emergency. (A laugh.) Then comes the member forFinsbury(Mr. Alderman Lusk), and he tells us that it is necessary to confer the franchise upon lodgers because people cannot, on account of their scarcity, obtain houses in London. But I cannot help thinking that if there was this great demand the houses would be forthcoming, and that there is, in fact, sonic other reason than that referred to by the lion. member why people who have all the requisite qualifications for en franchisement prefer i❑ London to live in lodgings rather than to become householders. I have myself always been of opinion that the claim of the lodger to enfranchisement is a sound one ; but I wish to consider it in a spirit and a mode very different from that in which it has been treated by some hon. gentlemen, who have assured me that in the small towns, at any rate, the voters thus enfranchised will be animated by Conservative principles, while they have at the same time assured their friends that the Liberal seats for the larger towns will not be endangered. I have the most profound contempt for these considerations. I am perfectly convinced that, however wise we may think ourselves in legislating so as to promote our party ends, a few years will baffle all our calculations. I confine myself to the considerrtion whether, in giving the franchise to lodgers, we are extending it to men who would exercise it with a due sense of duty. And I have always been of opinion that lodger franchise, established on a sound basis, would be a good franchise. I cannot say, however, that I entirely approve of the manner in which the proposition now before the house has been introduced to our notice. The bon member for Finsbury proposes to foist into what, if any, is a rating clause a provision which does not blend with the rest of the clause, and which, iu some respects, indeed calls on the house to assent to absolute contradic tions. I hope, therefore, the hon. member will consider the suggestions lam now making. I say that we are not only not opposed, but are friendly to the lodger franchise ; and that if it is brought forward at a convenient time and in a definite manner, it shall receive our favourable con- sideration, with au anxious desire to adopt it. I should be glad to have a lodger franchise, but I trust that the pre sent proposition will not be pressed in connection with the clause now under consideration. Mr. A YitTON said the proposition had been met to a certain reasonable extent, but we ought to have a clear assent by the Government to the principle of the lodger franchise. There are different views as to what is a lodger franchise. The one virtually before the committee pro - poses .£lO, and we ought to know really what we are doing, and it is desirable that the Chancellor of the Exchequer should explain himself a little more clearly. Mr. NASH had never been a sincere reformer. (Laugh ter.) No doubt the proposal would lot in a respectable class, but he could not see how it was to be done, as there can be no system of self-registration. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, thought it was unfair to call for an expression of opinion on what was really a matter of detail. The proposition for a £lO franchise is not really before the committee, and the hon. gentleman ought not to force an expression of opinion. (Hear, hear.) Mr. GLADSTONE said the Chancellor of the Exche quer had already expressed a general opinion on the ques tion of a lodger franchise, and if the amendment were now withdrawn we should find ourselves exactly in the position we were in on the second reading of the bill. The right hon. gentleman says that the question of £lO is one of detail. It must be admitted there are various forms of lodger franchise. He should press for this, that before the withdrawal of the amendment the views as to the lodger franchise should be such as not to include the middle class and exclude the lower, but fairly to admit the artisan class, and that involved no matter of detail. (Hear, hear.) With a less clear declaration the amendment ought not to be withdrawn. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER remarked on the doubtful meaning of the expression artisan class, for he knew men of that class with larger incomes than usually earned in the middle class. T ho right hon. gentleman was not so anxious last year in admit f ho class. The proposal was given up in despair on the drsinal description of the effect of admitting so many of the middle class. (Hear, hear.) The Government have already accepted the principle urged by the member for Finsbury; they were certainly not opposed to it; but there is no definite propo sition before the committee, not even for a £lO franchise. Besides, it would be most inconsistent to engraft a lodger franchise on a purely rating clause. Mr. AYRTON urged that it was most important to have some understanding on the point. What was meant on his side was a £lO dwelling occupation, unfurnished, for 12 months. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said they ought to be regulated by the strict rules of the committee. The question is not before the committee. Several gun tlemen h ave l eft the house who are n Y. unfavourable to a lodger franchise, but differ as to the 4.:.0114t. it should be frailly open to them to express an opinion when an amend ment comes forward in a substantial form. Having so far expressed an opinion, he did not. feel free to express an assent to the proposal now submitted. After this general statement, they ought not to be called on to decide on the figure on this issue. Mr. AYRTON, Mr. BRIGHT, and others pressed Mr. Dis raeli to consent at once to the line of £lO ; but, after a long conversation, Mr. TORRENS withdrew his amendment with no lux ther pledge from the Government as to the details, on the understanding that he will renew it at the end of the clause, the Government agreeing to accept the principle. At this point the Chairman was ordered to report progress. On the motion for going into committee on the Corrupt Practices at Elections Bill, Sir R. COLLIER, who wag seconded by Sir R. KNIGHT LEY, moved that it be referred to a select committee, and, while approving heartily the proposal to hold inquiries on the spot, objected to the power of appeal, and pointed out other practical defects in the machinery of the bill. Sir F. GOLDSMID deplored the omission from the bill of the clause originally promised, transferring the seat, when bribery had been,proved, to the unsuccessful can didate. Sir G. GREY criticised sharply the provisions of the bill, urging that it would deprive the house of many facili ties it now enjoyed of ascertaining the existence of cor rupt practices, and would be altogether a change for the worse. Sir S. NORTHOOTE assented on behalf of the Govern ment to the reference of the bill to a select committee, as the chief desire of the Government was to ascertain how far the house would go in this matter. Inquiries con ducted by independent tribunals, he argued, were the best means of getting at the existence of corrupt practices, and the Government was quite willing to omit the power of appeal if the house would agree to it. Mr. B. HOIT maintained that the most efficient means of suppressing bribery was by a total change of elec tioneering machinery, and making illegal all colourable expenses. _ _ Mr. B. OSBORNE in an amusing speech expressed his utter incredulity as to the sincerity of the house in this matter, and gave the Government great credit for having dared to propose to commit these inquiries to an indepen dent tribunal. _ After some strictures on the bill from Mr. Sandford, Mr. H. Berkeley, and Col. Sykes, it was ordered to be referred to a select committee. The Customs and Revenue Bill passed through com mittee. The other business was disposed of and the house ad journed at 20 minutes past 12 o'clock. TIIE SUN, - LONDON, TO ES OA V EVENING, MAY 7, 1867. Great Bank Forgery. Yesterday, at the Mansion-house, Edward Devillers, a well-dressed man of gentlemanly demeanour, and described as of Barnham-house, Bromley, Kent, was brought up in custody by detective officers Webb and Brett, and charged before the Lord Mayor with forging and uttering a bill of exchange for £1,120 10s., in May, 1864, with intent to defraud, and also with forging and uttering divers other bills with a like intent. Mr. Poland, instructed by Messrs. Freshfield, ap peared as counsel for the prosecution, and Mr. Had deck (ef the firm of Parker, Lee, ghd paddock, of Jr the prisoner. stated th a t th e i S n t q . Aui P ri r a . y u p l' ao s E nu h dt u r ti o c n h c - oo y pni a e rnmd ine ) ng a c t te t h e we n o r u casel in its progress, develope one of the most gigantic frauds ever per petrated in this great commercial city, and he had been so recently instructed that he was n o t i n a any length, but he at t to enable him to e day. Th e c h arge n asksdhiot i „u o fi n odr t poau remand nianentovdi sufficientdttehonecaemfautlt uerr against the prisoner was for forgin g and uttering a number of bills of exchange, and with conspiring with one Thoia a. Edgley, who was not yet in custody, to difa tud by means of these forged securities. The-dills purported to be drawn by the Maydampeck Forest Company, which professed to be established in Servia, and was engaged in felling timber and forwarding ittothis country, and were signed by the prisoner and forwarded from time to time by Edgley to the Leeds Banking Com pany, by whose manager, Mr. Greenland, they had been discounted to the amount of no less than 1108,000. It would be remembered that the Leeds Banking Company had become bankrupt, and that the manager, Mr. Greenland, had been convicted at the Central Criminal Court of falsifying the ac counts of the company, and was now undergoing his sentence under that conviction. He should now put in the informations oh which the Lord Mayor has granted his warrant for The apprehension of the prisoner, and then ask fora remand. Detective officer Fred. C. Brett was then sworn, and deposed that on Satirday last he received the warrant, which bore date 15th April last, and pro ceeded with it to Dieppe, where he found the pri soner residing at No. 19, Rue de Rouen. He told him that he was a police officer, and held a warrant for his apprehension, and hat he should have to give him up to the French police, to whose officer the prisoner accompanied him, where he was told he would be detained in prism. The prisoner then said he would return to En 1. d g , and was conveyed by the French authorities onboard the steamboat, and on arriving at Newhaven he took the prisoner into custody, and read to him the warrant, on which the prisoner replied that he vas innocent, but that be fore he went abroad he had authorised Mr. Edgley, who was his uncle, to sigh his name for him for all purposes. The sworn informations on which the warrant had been granted were then pat in. The first was that of Mr. Geo. Chandler, clerk to Messrs. Turquand and Co., the official liquid ators a pp o inted to wind up the aff a i rs o f the. Leech Banking Company, and he proved th a t i n going th r ough the affairs of the company he had f oun d t h e dishonoure d bill s o f th e Maydatnpeck Forest Company, drawn on their be half by the prisoner, to the amount of £lOB,OOO, still unpaid, with the exception of about £9,650 which had been received from a bankrupt firm. The next information was that of Mr. J. Grant, who proved he was one of the clerks of Messrs. Link later, the solicitors, and had examined the books of Thomas Edgley and Co. ; that he had been in the service of Edgley, tvho want, in 1861, to Servia, and on returning to this country asserted he had ob tained a concession of a traT,t of forest land, and ha; established the Maydampeck Forest Company, and had commenced felling timber. Bills then began to be drawn in the name of the company, and were forwarded to Greenland, tie manager of the Leeds Banking Company, for discount. The name "E. Devillers" was always waten at the foot of tha bills by Edglcy, and not by the prisoner. The third information was that of Mr. Bertram Smith. clerk to Edgley, and who had filled iu the body of the bills, and had been in the habit of forwarding them to the Leeds Banking Company. No letters were ever received from the alleged Maydampeck Forest Company, and his only information as to its exist ence was from the statements made by Edglev. The last information was that of Mr. 11. Dawson, who proved that in November, 1861, he went to Servia to ascertain the value of property belonging to the alleged company, and though there was aFreach min ing company in operation, no such concern as the Maydampeck Forest Company has ever had any existence. Detective officer Henry Webb was then sworn, and proved that he ha d been en g a ged in making in quiries into this matte r for some t ime, and that on Barham the 15th from Aes 15thAprfilhsers. office,gentle man to h o u s e, Bromley, in Kent. The prisoner admitted them into the house, and was shown a vast number of the bills in question , and amon gst thc;n one for £1,120 lOs , and he was asked w hether those bills d were signed by him. lie looked at th e whole of that them, .he e a c u ivi d ial flic afterr6,: ever whesitating in his e en in sbeervsiaai,dbt but the si gna t ure ~ Ehandwriting. t a added that at He denied one time he was going there. At last he refused to answer further questions, but said he would come up to London and call on Messrs. Freshfield. Wit ness, who had no instructions to take the prisoner into custody, but simply to make inquiries, saw no thing more of the prisoner until he arrived from Dieppe in the custody of Brett. Mr. Poland intimated that he was not in a condi tion to go further with the case to-day, and asked for a remand. The Lord Mayor acceded, and remanded the prisoner to Monday next, refusing to admit him to bail. On applicationof Mr. haddock, upon duoeko, a gold w a t c h and chainthe priso ner and some money was ordered to be given up to him, and h e was t h en lt he removed from the dock. An Intern tional Boat Race. (From the Anglo-Americom Times.) It is probable that the Regatta at Paris will be enlivened by a competing boat from the American Colleges to run against the Universities of France and England. A committee of Harvard and Yale oarsmen have met to discuss the subject, and an nounce themselves ready to supply an eight-oar crew in case means be provided to carry out the idea in a creditable manner. It is feared in America that the boatmen of these colleges may not be in a state of training that would justify them in running against Oxford and Cambridge. They would have to cross the sea and practise on the Seine, and the time appears too short to get into condition to give them a fair chance of success against such practised crews as those of Oxford and Cambridge. We hope no feeling of this sort will prevent the oarsmen of Yale and Harvard from entering the " lists." It was but the other day that England lined the banks of the Thames to see the great annual trial of skill between the two English Universities. This race has become a national institution. It excites so strong an interest that the result i 3 the event of the month, ab sorbing to itself the closest attention of the public mind, and through it of the Press. Where the excitement is so general and the result so great a triumph, or defeat, the training, it may well be imagined is in proportion severe. It need not then surprise us that Harvard and Yale should shrink from a contest with such redoubted champions. Let not this feeling, however, daunt them. In defeat there would be little dishonour ; in victory, a great feather would be added to the national cap. We annex a table of the performances of the Oxford and Cam bridge boats, from which the oarsmen of the American Colleges, by the aid of a good watch, m be able to judge how far they arc qualified to compete : ...: 1 . ..sei „; B , tcv 4, a M .4 g -.3 ,1 X ; " - ' 2l' • - • •11),Z .i. c , ':" i ir,lc.: tA .''',._. - ' 4 .4...L,1 0 4 - f_r r. - ....=-; to„;-,-- , •=-r... , --c g ''' -- = c.:Jz...,.....-- o o 027...' t ,00.pc, ~, J ~ , L, .I_, tr › , cd ~.. z :.: -, .z 0 •_,-; 5,- , c. , t .? 5,2 t 4 .--,-.. Id 3; -• C;• -6- , .... 91; ... .. ~., 7 , , , z ~.... PI ',...."" •" :. ':::: 2,4; V. r.7.:-...wz;;; , 1 , en..0.an 0 ': ' ": ' 4 ? " V ' et --•-- . 4 t .-, '''' .0 tki '', .-.. aC ~, t cl .I , ') :* , M ' 73 , -1 , -,71. , - . -1:1•,, (t7t.,":=1,1:..)-14.-41-4,547-,-1,1, z .0 -^ .c 0 © • e 0 t••• '= .0 00 000 Ce' 77, :7j ,;•,,j m • . 7r , •cri m 4r. 0 " t 1 IA c:A —4 •A .$ 4 :0 c 0 tr, , l .0 V :::Q V:0CO V V V VV V a•li VVVVINVVVV cka E CI A. ,b 4 /4 - mmmmm ti VgZi nj . .._ -- 7. ' ,t? et, a? s =l", c4 i c . r? •-;-4 „ „ „ f.lq„ „ , O 00000 °coo 1-ti ttty4t ,ti 10 ,..4" A;e5pf1e;,.,,A74r4,1:4, 1 "4 2 ., ; 31- Z .- t 17 : 3 c:3 •- "Cosg000cooP-l0000 ...... ... 4 ▪ ?, .73 .▪ 4 Eitl.l.Apiti4,3;lAa',3l::° 't"S"'"' - '' - 'o====="ssss „4. = t 0 tot) t 1 tf te ?I) on t - -xxx=xgxz >4 )1 ›t ›.l 7 -5 7 . - .5 . C.) - DOC: , C.) . C3007.)0.)00000000 ..., Cc XD X+ XlOX> k CC,C, so x oo oo ao x, 00 00 00 09 They must bear in mind that the scene of these contests is a narrow river, strongly influenced by the tides ; and it may be therefore, diflicuk to judge of the speed attai ne d i n other Waters. It is not long since we gave the result of a boat race at Shanghai, where it was held before the race, that t n h e e r 4. Americanseric had America, h o n w o e c v l e i chance cdei distanced com petitors ; and not only won, bucon t c in ed w in o a g u ll in N h v t e i h t r h e c w s o u i m n ci - - 1 ease that JOHN BULL hauled off the course, and frankly confessed to have been fairly beaten. The present chance is a splendid one, and ought to be eagerly seized. If America wins, which we consider unlikely; it will be a-grand coup. If America loses, it is inore than probable that her oarsmen will make a hard struggle, and command the respect of their adversaries even in defeat, while a spur will be given to her Colleges to work up a crew to try again,. and the contest will not only be between the Universities, but also between the English and American winners of the national races. 'l:he belt will thus be for the world, and the sphere of these manly pastimes extended. If the Americans either win or lose in Europe, when the next exhibition is held, as it will be, in their own country, they can accompany their invitation with a challenge to a trial in these athletic exercises. It would add to the interest of national gatherings if they were made the occasion for a contest for the youth of those countries which claim a pre eminence in field sports. However interesting may be the Exhibitions of Arts and Industry, a still greater interest will always be excited by rivalry in those games, which from time immemorial have excited the keenest competition. All required is, that the utmost good humour should be maintained in the friendly rivalry ; t'iat losers should pay the money they have staked on their champions, with out sulking, an I the competitors should dine together after the event and drink each other's healths in bumpers. Let the nation that wins crow, and those that lose listen patiently, girding up their loins for a triumph at a future contest. All this will tend to harmony and good-fellowship, the competitors will learn to know and appreciate each other, and the prejudice, arising mainly from ignorance, will be more and more dispelled. It will be seen when young men contest for these prizes, how closely they are matched against each other, that accidents and luck are most generally the causes of victory, and there will be less inclina tion towards a rupture between nations when it ' is known that their relative powers arc so evenly balanced, that one can scarcely hope to establishian ascendancy over the other, and the fight is but sure to end in mutual loss, SPIRIT OF TIIE PUBLIC JOURNALS. bethought o f th e con d uct of question of the Hyde Park e in r may the meeting, it is, at least, satisfactory th at the 6th of May has passed over without the smallest riot or dis turbance. Yesterday evening th e P ark was given up T the ll ES Government .--- IITh ate v absolutely to Mr. Beales an d h is followers, and the League held its meeting a m id as little excitement i as if they had been n Trafalgar -square or on Prim rose-hill. After the c ommotion of the last few days it might have been expected that, even though the opposition of the G overnment had been with drawn, political feeling, curiosity, or a suspicion that after all something unusual might occur would have brought the great mass of the London population to th e scene, and that when there their sentiments would be manifested with more than ordinary force. rhi a '— —.., however as far as we were able to judge, was n o t t h e case. ' The mee ti ngs re sembled in every way those which may have been witnessed elsewhere durinc , the last ten months. The crowd was not excess l ve, the ent husiasm was notintense; there was universal good humour, nor did there seem _l; , e any overweening exultation at the victory that .fiad been won over the Govern ment. The qui te of the proceedings was, perhaps , in a great degreendue to the comparatively early hour at which the meeting was held. Although half-past six may be a tiin: of leisure to the labour ing class s of Lond on, yet it is not s ufficiently long after tee end of the working day to enable a multi tude to as sem bl e from the more distant parts of London. H a d t h ere been any prospect of a collision with the police, no doubt work or play, or anything else, would have been forsaken for the chant of seeuig the fray ; but a s it was, the Park, at the time appointed for the meeting,, was not half as well tilled as i t h ad been Oh 7 - o prev ion.; after noon. Mr. Beales and his frie'n&: weye punctual, and they w ere not very prolix ; the proceedings, consequently, were far advanced before the people came in any large numbers. They did, however, come at last, and at about the time when the habitual visitors of the park retire it was take , n . pos session of by a f a i r l y large concourse . I hes-, however, had nothinc, to do but to stroll about in the cool of a delicious evening, and one may suppose that the influence of the first balmy Mon day of the year made itself felt, for there was as little of excitement or indignation, or even T of curiosity, am ong th em as can be conceived. IN o one would have s u pp ose d that they were taking . part in a political de monstration. The l arge majority of the assemblag e , of cnirse, belonged to the working people, but the cl ass called ti rough" was not very conspicuous, the lovers of mischief probably not having thougbtthe entertainment worthy the trouble of a walk. The meetings, as will be seen from the reports we publish, were of the usual character, but the speeches were fair and moderate. The League, content with its triumph over the Government, exulted less than might be expected, and even de nounced less than usual. It, even by the mouth of the O'Donoghue, accepted as a compromise the bill now before Parliament, demanding only that it be made a fair and honest measure. As the twilight deepened into dusk the people began to depart, and long before night settled on the Park it had been deserted by the great mass of its unusual visitors. So has ended the great. Demonstration of the pre sent session ! The issue has been fortunate, though the affair has inflicted a humiliation on the Government such as has been seldom suffered by men in office. It is, indeed, difficult to exaggerate the folly, the recklessness, and the perversity which have brought the Cabinet of which Mr. Walpole is a member to its present position. Their confusion is so complete that it is almost needless to recapitu late their mistakes and to dwell on the undignified result. They may be left to the ridicule of their adversaries, the reproaches of their own indignant party, and the murmurs of all who have a regard for the honour of the Crown and the Executive. If it were not that important interests are still in volved we should be inclined to leave them alone, conscious that they will have enough to do to re move the obloquy that has fallen on them. But we cannot forget that Mr. Walpole has before the house a bill for the regulation of the parks, and that any attempt which may be made to place the holding of political meetings in the parks at the will of a Mini ster will be declared tobe an invasion of the rights the people have conquered.- We cannot, therefore, pass over in silence the history of this transaction, which has so important a bearing on future legislation. Our readers know that in November, 1856, the law advisers of the Crown, Sir Alex. Cockburn, Sir Richard Bethell, and Mr. Willes, three of the most eminent lawyers of our time, signed an opinion on the right to exclude the public from the Parks. We need not enter into technical details. It is enough to say that the tenour of theopinion was that the Crown had the right to close the gates and exclude the pub lic, or to exclude persons without closing the gates; but that persons who had once entered could not be turned out without notice that the license was with drawn. This opinion having been submitted to Sir 11. Cairns and Sir W. Bovill at the time of the riots last year, they were requested to say whether there I was any legal authority to disperse by force a meet ing for political purposes. Their answer was that no such power as could he practically used exists, for that persons who have once entered can only be ejected after notice served upon each person in dividually. The Government was advised that it had nothing to rely upon but the common law of trespass ; that each man must be turned out with no more force than is necessary, and that he must be let go as soon as he has passed the precincts. The military cannot be legally employed, except in case of riot; the Riot Act cannot be read, except when people have been " unlawfully, riotously, and tumultuously assembled to the disturbance of the peace." Even then the military must wait an hour, unless the public proceed to actual " insurrection or felonious mischief." These are the principal points of an opinion which ought at once to have convinced the Government thatit had no practical power under the existing law to prevent public meetings in the parks ; for though it may legally turn out any person, or any number of persons, this power cannot be used against a great multitude. Its only course —that of refusing permission to well known leaders to enter, or gently expelling them when t hey have once entered would, perhaps, avail to prevent Mr. Beales from haranguing, but would not hinder speeches from any of his fol lowers. The employment of soldiers, too, under such conditions is of such doubtful legality, and a matter so dangerous if proved to be illegal, that under the present law, as expounded by its law ad visers, the Government should never have planned a general clearing of the Park by such a force. Now, this opinion was given at the very beginning of the controversy, in the summer of lastyear. It was therefore clearly the duty of the Ministry eit er to announce that the law as it stands does not fort id, or, at any rat:. cannot prevent, political meetings, and that therefore resistance to them would cease ; or they should have come to Parliament for fresh powers, so as to give the Crown that right of re gulating the use of the Parks which it had been supposed to possess. If it was too late to legislate last sesssion, the bill might have been brought in this year. The L-ague has never allowed the ques t tion to sleep, and for some time past it has been known that they were pledged to some trial of strength such as that of yesterday. If Mr. \Val ; pole had frankly laid these opinions before the House of Commons, and asked for an actdefining more pre cisely the rights of the Crown, it would, no doubt, have received a dispassionate consideration. Instead of this, he keeps the opinion of his lawyers in his pocket, affects to believe that the law is all that can be desired, and publishes his proclama tion in the hope of deterring his antagonists, though lie knows that if they are not frightened lie has no means of doing what he threatens. They, having possibly some inkling of the real state of the case, have persevered, and at the last moment Mr. Walpole has been compelled to succumb. It was in the interval between his last bravado and his final submission that he brought forward the mea sure which is now before Parliament. It will have every disadvantage to contend with, and a measure which might have been fairly discussed will now be the object of invective and derision. We trust that Mr. Walpole will either desist from any attempt to legislate, or intrust it, after a decent interval, to other hands. THE " WESTMINSTER GAZETTE" ON CATHOLIC POLITICS.—After speaking in a frank and cour- tholes manner, though, indeed, in terms far too flattering, of the WESTMINSTER GAzErrE, and after congratulating us on having already attained " a respectable circulation,"—which, apropos of Mr. Formby's kind remark as to our serving as a chan nel of communicating Catholic ideas to the general public we may add, is not inconsiderable among non-Catholic readers—the Weekly Register observes that, although "in foreign news, and in discussions upon general topics, both concerning home and abroad, it is hardly to be surpassed, the WESTMIN STER does not take any very marked line in Eng lish politics." Upon this obiervation it is neces sary to make a few remarks. It is our intention, as we announced in our first number, to take up a very marked and distinctive line on the matter of Eng glish politics. . 1 Politics, how ever , may b e treated either as a matter of principle or as a matter of princ i pl es em bodied in a party, or, again, as party and carried out by its agency ; but this latter form, in which speculative principles are put in action, presupposes and requires complete iden tification between the thinker and the active agent, between principles and political parties. Now, the question at once arises, or, at any rate, arises on the least reflection, is such an identification possible of Catholic principles with either of the great parties in the State? If not, then, any such attempt can only lead to disappointment, to wrangling and recrimination, and to years of wasted energies, and to that final enervation—the too natural consequence of an obstinate persistence in an erroneous course —full of acrimonious com plaints over resultless labours and over forgotten services. But it is no true service to the Catholic cause to identify, it with political parties at the expense of those principles which are dearer to Catholicism than any seeming or immediate advan tages which it may draw from an alliance with either of the great parties. For no such complete identification as is required for proper and effec tive Parliamentary action is, we maintain, possible in a Catholic party without a waiving or a sacrifice, greater or less, of Catholic principles. In Catholic politics there are certain broad principles unfortu nately repudiated by both of our political parties, such as that politics are apart of morals, and as such come under the cognizance of religion ; that it is the duty of the State to aim at the spiritual as well as the temporal welfare of the nation, and to rank even the spiritual above the temporal power, and this not for personal or passing gains to the spiri tual power, but for the highest permanent inte rests of the State ; that in matters of a mixed cha racter, such, for instance, as marriage, the spiri tual rights and interests are supreme ; hence the civil order must in nowise violate or infringe in the least on the ecclesiastical law ; that the child be longs to the parent and not to the State ; and that it is a matter of conscience that education in all classes should be based on religious teaching, and that the range of subjects affected by these principles are of infinitely higher importance than the question of finance or of Reform which now divides parties; and that, finally, on these political questions, involving spiritual interests the Catholic episcopate has a voice, the Pope an infallible authority. For a Catholic party holding such political principles to, identify themselves with either the 'Whig or Tory party is a mere fallacy; they can only really do so by subordinating Catholic to party principles, and content them selves at such a sacrifice to snatch a temporary gain or a passing triumph for the Catholic cause. But, by such a subordination, how small is the gain, how great the loss. The gain too often is but partial, whilst the loss sometimes is a sacrifice of the highest principles of Catholic conduct. To illustrate our meaning by a recent familiar inci dent : The terms of the Catholic Parliainentary oath repealed last session were, as is well known, most offensive and mischievous ; but its repeal or modification would have been dearly bought at the sacrifice of the principle that no such oath can be framed, or proposed, or accepted by Catholic lay men, without the concurrence and sanction of the ecclesiastical authorities. Again, university educa tion is a pressing need for the . Catholics of this empire, but so to vote or so act as to promote in the remotest manner the mixed or godless system to the detriment of the principle of religious education, is to inflict a heavier evil than the absence of the highest intellectual training could ever entail on the Catholic body in England. Catholic political principles find no real place in either of the great parties ; Catholics form their political judgment from a stand-point quite other than that of Wrhigs or Tories. The result is not an acci dental, but an essential difference ; not in remote or minor matters, but in the nearest and in the highest interests. Since between a Catholic poli tical party and Whigs or Tories there can be no identity of principle, or permanent or. uninter rupted community of action, the only safe course for Catholics to pursue is to avoid absorption into either of the great parties, so as to be able to act freely and steadfastly on their own well-defined political principles. But such a course by no means implies isolation or forbids Catholics from giving to, or accepting at the hands of, either of the great parties support or assistance, or from acknowledging a greater affinity with one rather than another of the great political sections. Far less would such a consistent obedience to their political principles make Catholics remiss in pro moting the highest interests of their country. Catholic politics, as we have endeavoured to ex plain the subject, have no such selfish aim as the Saturday Review in the commencement of our career imputed to us, of seeking temporary advan tages, of stealing petty triumphs from the dis organized state of parties, to the detriment of the good of our common country. On the con trary, the aim of the Catholic politician, true to his principles, is to avert., as far as in his power lies, the evils of unsound or un-Christian legisla tion, to keep before the public eye a higher stan dard of judgment, and to support the great politi cal, social, and religious truths which Christianity introduced for the civilization of the world, and which modern society in its pride and ignorance threatens to overthrow. Such, then, is the well marked and definite line in English politics which we proposed from the commencement as the aim of our humble labours. Such a line of policy is not truly described as one of selfish isolation or of vigilant hostility ; it is the very reverse ; the first effort of such a political party, as we have de scribed, would be to make use of the political know ledge learned in the light of Catholic principles for the material and moral benefit of the nation at large. The wisdom of Parliament would be enlarged by the experience drawn from such a source, and its action benefited by the presence of such a party. Such a course of policy, at least, has the advantage of offering to English and Irish Catholics a common ground of united action, far removed from the petty wranglings of mere party strife, in which the higher interests are too often altogether lost sight of for the sake of the lower, and in which, not infrequently, Catholic principles are sacrificed at the shrine of a narrow and heated partizanship. LEGISLATIVE CORRUPTION. (From the Anglo-American Times.) History does not confirm the statement made by the Conservative organs of England, that legislative corruption is the result of an extended franchise. On the contrary, the closer the body and the more secret its proceedings, the more corrupt it has in variably been. The great cry for Reform in Eng land in former years arose mainly from the corrup tion with which the Government was administered. The difficulties of governing have chiefly arisen from the tendency of individuals to use their power for selfish ends. When the aristocracy wholly ruled in tho British Empire the ante-rooms of nobles were thronged with place-seekers, and the patronage of the country bestowed almost entirely without regard to qualification. The most iniquitous measures were passed, the most flagrant jobs perpetrated, and it was in the face of these ebuses that the Radical party acquired strength. When the Court ceased to be the 'scene of intrigue and dishonesty Parliament became that stage, and when Parlia ment was reformed, and Ministers no longer dared to appoint their own creatures to posts of trust, the venal gang sought other fields for the exercise of their talents. Political corruption gave place to commercial immorality, and the theatre of late proceedings has been transferred to that small but most influential portion of London, called The City. It is seldom that so grand au opening has been offered as that supplied by the Limited Law of Liability, and the manner in which it was seized upon, and worked out to the detriment of the public, may be judged by the vast ruin wrought, and the utter annihilation of confidence and credit. Men of the highest position, elected to manage the affairs of their brother share holders, have not hesitated to use the trust, for the accomplishment of their own ends---to cover defal cations and mismanagement by deceit and false re ports—to attach their names to documents contain ing declarations which they must either have known were untrue, or have known nothingof the statements certified to in these reports. The direction chiefly taken by corruption and immorality of late years in England has been in commercial affairs, simply because it was there, that most profit was to be made. But with the wrecks of all this grievous dis honesty around us we should pause when discussing the venality of the Legislatures of the United States before attributing the cause, to the institutions of the nation, while in reality, it lies in the corruption of the human heart. Civilisation does not tend to make us more honest. The main advantage it con fers is in giving another safeguard, and even a better safeguard, than that of law. Where the Press is free, a man who may fear nothing else, may tremble at the publicity of a stigma which can never be effaced. What it has to do is to secure a healthy tone of public morality, by the universal denunciation of those who transgress. The three States in which legislative corruption has obtained the strongest hold, are New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. "It is notorious," says the Nation, " that no measure can ever be carried through the New Jersey Legislature without the consent of the Camden and Amboy Railroad Corporation, nor through the Penn s yl van i a Legislature without the consent of the Pennsylvania Central Rail road Company. Those great Corporations own the Legislatures of their respective States, and can pass or reject bills at their pleasure. The New York Central Railroad Company has long exer cised a powerful, thou g h not undisputed, contro l over the legislation of it s S tate, and its power i s constantly increasing." This is narrowing down an interest into the shape of a single Corporation ; and from the Corporation there is but one step, to narrow it still further, to the individual. So long as the interest remains general, its representation is not only legitimate, but one of the main duties of the Legislature. Thus railway property has as much right to be represented, as landed property, manufacturing industry, shipping, or any other in vestment. The difficulty is, to maintain the general, and to sink the individual, interest. When the latter becomes paramount, the door •is open for all sorts of intrigue. The fight is then between Corpora tions representing the same class of property, and, next to the public good, the greatest injury is sus tained by the very class of investment to which the Corporation belongs, that obtains the control. When a Legislature is owned by a Railway Com pany, the chief injury is done to the other railways of that State. The way in which corruption grows, and the influence exercised by the dominant influ ence, is shown in the following extract from the Nation:— " Corruption does not necessarily or exclusively take the form of pecuniary bribes, though these are becoming more and more common. A member of the Legislature has almost always from one to a dozen pet measures upon the success of which his political future may depend. Ile soon finds that he can do nothing with these, however just they may be, without pledging his support to other schemes which may not commend themselves to his judg ment. Thus he is driven to take the first step in trading his vote, and soon finds himself ensnared into the support of bills which he knows to be opposed to the public good. Having gone so far, it is plausibly urged upon him that, since he must sacrifice the public interest, he might as well gain some little private advantage. And having once voted for a bill because of a ' friend' in it, or in the expectation of a share in its profits, it is easy to take the next step and accept a direct bribe. In this way, many respectable men who com mence public life with a horror of bribery gradually sink into habits of corruption." - - It is shown that the growth of this corruption liaS:l39en in proportion to the growth of wealth, and it is Omost invariably • so in the history of D,ll nations. People are generally honest who have no temptation to be otherwise. But where the tempta tion becomes very strong it is necessary to have as strong checks. , _ Where poor men become members of a small body exercising great powers among a corrupt community the temptation to dishonesty is almost irresistible. Around them men grow rich, and boast of the means by which their riches have been attained. Scruples are sneered at, and those influenced by conscience all behind in the race, while they do not even galt, in reputation. To those so placed, honesty ceases to be the best policy, and a man's principles must be very strong who can Ells tain the strain for a lengthened period. The re marks of the Nation on the remedy to be applied are well worthy of consideration. But we hold to the statement that nothing can work permanent change but the force of public opinion. It is not by making bribery more expensive, that it can be suppressed. Whatever the number of the Legislature, its divi sion into parties will generally throw the power into the hands of the small body that can turn the sdale. The increase of numbers will make the work of lobby-agents more difficult and delicate, but it call scarcely have the effect of suppressing bribery. " The great question is, what remedy can b 3 ap plied with reasonable hope of success ? Many re medies have been tried and have failed. One or two new ones are now suggested, which at least deserve consideration. The first is, a great increase in the num ber of every Legislature thus infected. The Legisla ture of New York consists of 32 Senators and 128 Assemblymen, all chosen by single districts. It has been found easy to control a majority of these bodies, and even to obtain a two-third vote when necessary. But it would not be easy to control a Senate of 64 or 100 members, and an assembly of 300. Massachusetts has all the elements of corrup tion which New York has,with the additional temp tation of a party majority so strong as to be im pregnable ; yet we have never heard its Legislature charged with subjection to corrupt influences. Its lower branch has 240 members, and formerly had over 400. "A return to the old system of election by counties is also strongly urged, as likely to secure a higher grade of members, and not without reason, as the list of candidates for the New - York Convention shows. The delegates are elected in groups of four, and in almost every district one or two of the four are very strong men whose reputation is depended upon to elect their associates. But the system of election by counties on a general ticket would put into the Legislature none but Democrats from one end of the State of New York, and none but Republicans from the other end, unless some plan for giving a representation to the minority were adopted. If this were done all our objections would be removed. Thus, if New York city elected thirty Assemblymen, an elector voting for only ten mem bers might be allowed to give each of them three votes by marking a desire to that effect on his ballot. One who voted for only five, might give to each, six votes, and so on. In this manner the advantages of an election by the whole county might be secured without depriving the minority of representation. "On the same principle the State might be divided into eight Senate districts, as it was before 1817, and eight or ten members be chosen from each. This would relieve Senators from the dicta tion of local politicians, which is rarely exercised for good purposes, while it would bring into service men of high standing without depriving younger men of an opportunity to come in upon their merits. "An extension of the rule forbidding special legislation where general laws are possible would undoubtedly do some good. Bad as affairs are in New York, they would be far worse if the Consti tution of 1816 had not laid restrictions upon special charters. A similar but more stringent rule should be applied to legislative grants of all kinds to the utmost practicable extent." COUNTRY MARKETS. COLCHESTER.--MAY 4. Another scanty supply of wheat. Trade slow, and is per qr. advance on last week's prices. Beans and peas sold readily at is per qr. dearer, but very scarce. Wheat, white his 74s Beans, Mazagan......33s 3 s red' 6's F7s Middle and small ..44s 48s Barley .. l2s 48s Peas white. 38s 424 Oats CHELMSFORD—May 3. ---------- ---- ---- -- This market w as we ll - supplied with wheat, the best samples of which were disposed of at an advance of about is per qr., and inferior sorts remained unaltered—busitiesa again being by no means brisk. Spring corn at is per qr over last week's prices, but few transactions. Wheat, old white.... 528 eel Peas, Partridge 4'S 4 23 new old red %Im Oa B iling 36, 40i new 53s 62s Dun—. ..... ...:,rs 4 08 8ar1ey...... 26a 3:,s dit . o, new.... --a - - g thevalier i a s:ta B eaus, Ti c k , 01d. .....-tos 453 Urind ng 's 31s new....39e 134 Malt ti 74a Harrow ticks.42s 4 68 Chevalier 683 76s new....41s 4 5 e Oats ABERDEEN—Dian 3. At our market to-day all kinds of grain wero advancing in price, but there was not a great deal of business done. White wheat 58s Od to 63s Od? GM 1.1 bushel. Red wheat 50s Od to 58s Od; Potato oats Common oats Bere 2 26 is s 0 6 d d t t o o `2Bs o o d d} 35s 6d to 36s 6d }. - 531 b i bushel. Oatmeal Barley 35 s 6d to 3 6s Gd i 40lb V bushel. 20s 6(1 to 21s Gd ? boll of 280[b. Flour, tine 52s Od to Ms Od P sack of 2801.. KIRKCALDY-3IAy 4. Fair supplies of all kinds of grain, which brought fully last week's prices, with a free sale. Wheat. Barley. Oats. 88 6d ' 3as 6d. 29s 6d k•eeend SOs bd I 38s Od 30s Od Third 628 61 39s Od 31s Od Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. 4.uotralia and New Zealand, via Southampton ..... Hay 2'). Ditto, via Marseilles Brazil and Cape Verde. by British packet.......... May 0. Ditto, by Prench paoket Cape of Good Hope, Aeoension, and St. Helena May China, Penang, and Singapore. via Sou hampton May 3- Ditto, via Marseilles . . • May 14 raikland Wands Gibraltar, via Southampton India, via Southampton Ditto, vI4 Mitrdeil es Ilay 8. THE COAL TRADE OF (xREAT BRITAIN.—"" THE AMOUNT RAISED IN 1865 :--" If w e take the area of Lincoln's Inn Fields," says Mr. Smyth, " measured up close to the houses, at eleven acres, about the dimensiodis of the base of the Great Pyra mid, and could stack the coal as nature has done in the seams, the British coal raised last year would form, on that base, a solid block of the height of 5,229 feet, or as highse Snowdon surmounted by another mountain of half its height. Again, taking the distance from London to Edinburgh, four hundred miles, the same quantity, simi larly packed, would build a wall the whole way of 12 feet thick and 99 feet high, whilst if put together in the broken state in which coal is commonly used, it would give a wall of more than double that thickness. This yearly production, obtained by the labour of 240,00 0 men, is palpably a gigantic effort for so small an area as that of our united coal-fields, and naturally exciteS apprehension for the future." FADVERTISEMENT.I-llolloway's Ointment and Pills.-- The Knife Supersedod.—All afflicted with ulcerg, diseases of the bone, or inflamm a ti on o f th e j o i nts, s h ould read this testimonial to the curative powers of these healing andh purifying remedies :—" Mr. John Allen, 17, Denmarkr street, Leicester, suffered severely from a bad foot for three years, during which long period he was under surgical troatment without any perceptible benefit. He resolutely objected to amputation, which seemed the-only course open, till he providentially tried Holloway's remedies; these gave him great relief, and at last completely cured him." Spats/ blemishes, sores, and skin diseases, arising from impove rished blood or a reckless course of life, may be removed by the judicious use of Holloway's ointment and pills. Births. GORE—On the 4th inst., at 99, Gloucester-terrace, Hyde- park, the wife of Augustus Gore, Esq., of a son. MoNTAGu—On the sth inst., at 53, Cleveland-square, Hyde-park, the wife of S. Montagu, Esq., of a daughter. WILSON—On the 4th inst., at Greenwich Hospital, the wife of Capt. Thomas Wilson, R.N., of a son. Marriages. CHICHESTER—WHITTLE—On the 2d inst., at St. James's the-Less, Wm. Chichester, Esq., of amphill House, Thicket-road, Norwood, to Mary Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Whittle, of Redmarley d'Abitot, Worcestershire. DucKwoirrli- JACKSON—On the Ist inst., at Frant, Her bert Duckworth ' Esq., barrister-at -law, youngest son of W. Duckworth, Esq., of Orchard Leigh Park,Frome, to Julia I'rinsep, youngest daughter of John Jackson, M.D. , of Saxonbury Lodge, Frant. Deaths. AsnßEws 7 On the 4th inst., at Bagshot, Thos. Andrews/ Esq., solicitor, aged 39. CRUM—On the 4th ihst., at The Reuken, Thornlieballk, near Glasgow, Walter drum, Esq., P.R.S. FELLOWS —On the 4th inst., at Great Ormesby, near Yar" mouth, Wm. Id. Fellows, Esq., aged 69. MAYNE —On the 4th inst., at 95, Ebury-street, Lieut.-001' Wm. Mayne, aged 69. ROBSON—On the 6th inst., iu Bloomsbury-square, Chill topher Robson, Esq., solicitor, aged 60. London: Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDREWS. of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE Simi Office, No. 11. 2, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County of Midelloaex.7-luelda l y May 7,1867.