The Sun. — London, England, 1841-02-05 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION. IMPORTANT DISCOVERY OF A ROMAN BASILICA UNDER BRIXWORTH CHURCH. Most of our readers are probably aware of what is now the theme of discourse amongst the lovers of eccle siastical architectural antiquities—that the parish church of Brixworth, in this county, exhibited the finest speci rnen of the Roman or Anglo-Roman building in the whole kingdom. Its antiquity was first suspected by our townsman, Mr. George Baker, and was subse quently ascertained and carried higher in the scale of centuries by:the discoveries of his friends Rickman and Britten, the latter of whose dicta have been acquiesced in by numerous antiquaries who successively visited and inspected the building, and compared it with other authentic remains of the Roman era. Nearly all the nave and square tower still subsist in their original state, displaying the strong massive masonry of the Roman people, who seemed to design all their works for an " eternal empire." The composition is of unhewn stones, cemented with mortar harder than themselves, and containing the characteristic deep brick or tiled arch for the doorways, cloister windows, and approach to the aisles. The original aisles hare long been re moved, but their ancient foundations have been dis covered, at least on the north side of the church, though not yet followed out to any extent. But though the most competent antiquaries were agreed in assigning to the church a very high antiquity on these ostensible data, it was, nevertheless, justly considered possible that the church might have been built some time after the Romans left the country, with the mate rials of a more ancient Roman building, notwithstand ing the brick tiles have no appearance of having been used before. It was therefore desirable to ascertain whether or not the ancient foundation was of the same age with the present superstructure, and the existing chancel being of later date than the nave and tower, it was still uncertain whether there had ever existed in its place the semicircular structure of the Roman basilica (viz., the east end of the building, where the praetor held his court.) Happily, this :is no longer a matter of doubt or uncertainty, for on Thursday last the Rev. C. F. Watkins, the vicar, having gone into the chancel to inspect the making of a new grave, perceived a portion of ancient masonry at one corner of the excava tion, which seemed to verge in a gentle curve towards the east. Immediately conjecturing that it was part of the original basilica, he laid it open for four or five feet, with every appearance of ultimate success, and there upon sent a message to the Rev. W. Hume, rector of Scaldwell, who has an interest in the chancel, with whom, and his brother the Rev. Charles Huine, rec tor of Stoke Moor, Hants, Mr. Watkins pursued the iavestigati,n on Monday till they had the satisfacticn or discovering and laying open the whole circuit of the original wall, wt,ich descends from the floor of the pre sent chancel to a depth of about tour feet, where it encloses en ancient floor of handsome cement, the sur faoe of which has somewhat the appearance of stalagmite, probably occasioned by a slight deposit of calcareous matter carried down through the super incumbent rubbish of lime and earth. This newly discovered wall descends still lower ; how much deeper it goes is not yet, but soon will be, ascertained. What is most important is, that it is of the same thickness, com position, and age as the nave and Auare tower, which leaves the antiquity of the whole with scarcely the sha dow of a doubt. It i. Mr. Watkins's intention to ap peal to the country at large and to all who take an in terest in these antiquarian researches, which throw so much light upon the history of the Church of this king dom, to enable him to rebuild the chancel upon this the original substructure, the grouted cement of which is even now harder than the stones which it binds to gether ; and, by clearing away the encompascing mould, to exhibit the most entire and best-pre served architecture of such high antiquity which this kingdom is known to contain. When it is understood that the present chancel is a ptior weak structure—that the lessee of the great tithes, who has to keep it is rep;;-, has just been enlarging and re-budding a part o! his own parish church, at g;-nat expense to himseli—that 200/. would suffice for tarrying the plan into execution—it is hoped that this moiler rte sum will not be withheld from en object which is of real importance, of great interest, and will be open to the in,pection of every one wh o c h ooses t o Visit it from near and far, as many have already come trout the rust distant parts of the kingdom. The bankers at Northampton, and elsewhere, will be re quested to roce:v,! subscriptions, and several of the neighbouring el.-rgy and gentry be solicited to form a Committee of Management anti Superintendence.- 2: 7 0 Wiwi/pion Retold. THE ROADS AND COACHES.—The roads and pathways in and near the metropolis have become extremely dangerous for travelling from the recent fall of snow, which, Csum the low temperature at which it fell, has presented a .Nick and firm surface of congealed ice". Travelling in the outskirts was on 'Wednesday very dangerous, arid many etwere accidents occurred. On Tuesday the driver of one .f Hawkins's Hornerton omnibuses was, on account of the Mailing of his horses, the breaking of the reins, and the siipperinesg of the foot- board, thrown o ff the noaeh-bex in the Hackney-road, near Shoreditch Church, and received a severe cuntu, on. The ILickney, Lea Bridge, and Walthamstow roads were also very bad and dangerous for travelling. At and neer Edmonton many of the roads are in a very bad state ; the effect of the recen t th aw h ave been increased by the late snows. All the Edmonton caeches have come to town with additional horses, but greater obstacles are presented on the high road between Ponder's End and Waltham Cross. The greater part of the long stages have hence had to turn off the high road by Edmonton Cnerein, and pass through Enfield Town and Theobaln's Park. The Cambridge mail and the Star have during the last seek run through this Park with eight horses, and tiie roads are in a worse condition than has been known for many years. All the mails arrived in time for the first delivery at the Poet-office ; those from Bristol, Lincoln, and Ipswich being the latest. The guard of the Devonport mail announced that the snow had accumulated to some depth in parts at Salisbury-plain, and all the westerns coaches were too late for arrival by the usual trains. In Essex the snow appears to have fallen compa ratively light, but in some parts of Kent there has been a considerable fall. At Wyc, in East Kent, a distance of twelve miles from Faversham, and at Sittingbourne the snow was above the middle of the horses. Near Rainham, a short distance on this side of Canterbury, on the road to London, a machine was on Wednesday in constant employ in clearing the roads for carriages On Brixton-hill, and the road from Kennington to Vauxhall-gate, the inconve nience is severely felt by the omnibuses and carriers. The Regent's Canal r ernains open for navigation. WALSALL ELECTION.—The Tories brought down Mr. Charles Wilkins, who delivered two or three orations to small numbers, in a room at the George Inn (the head-quarts es of Mr. Gladstone's. committee), to which no o ne was a d m itt e d w i t h out a ticket ; and of course the audiences were tolerably well packed; notwithstand ing this, one operative, at the conclusion, told Mr. Wil kins ha had told 11 tem nothing that they had come to hear, and asked him toe xplain certain facts connected with the dimished trade of he country and its causes. All Mr. Wilkins vouchsafe, i in reply was, " Fear God, be indus trious, and there's; plenty in the country." We under stand that the step lo of this itinerant orator's harangue was personal abuse of Me. J. B. Smith—of which one speci men, we are sure, will suffice to give our readers a taste of its quality. Tak 'mg the initials of Mr. Smith's name, " John Benjamin ; ." the learned gentleman laboured to tickle his hearer. ; by coarsely designating him " jaw Bone Smith." I Us mission seems to have been a failure, and it is said that some of Mr. Gladstone's friends arc not a little ashamed of the style of the barrister's vituperative eloquence...as:Wan( itester Paper. A. NVIDow \ VANTE D .—A n ex t raor di nary an d ludicrous scene t eaok place on Wednesday in Tower- Street, at the house of Mr. E. M. Stroud, stationer and patent ledger mak. a', at the corner of Mark-lane. Mr. Stroud, having oc, atsion for a housekeeper to superintend Lie domestic arrant ;mments, advertised for a " widow, or a widow and her dau 1;-hter, to take charge of the upper part of a tradesman's 1 souse, and to cook for hint. " The wages were stated t o be 301. per annum, with coals, candles, Sze., and applicatiot was directed to be made between II and 3 o'clock yesto rday, at No. 68, Tower -street. Be fore the clock struck I I the widows begets to arrive, and soon the street was r endered impassable by the number o f fair ones crowding towards the house, and , in a f ew mi sates Mr. Stroud's sh up and parlour were , filled with wom en struggling t o ga in t she attention of tne advertiser, and st.larnorously settingl forth their qualifications, for the situa etioss. report ete i got wind that Mr. Stroud had ad reetised for a wife, a nd people from all quarters flocked to eye the ladies in ire. a ch of a husbani. The widows, young, middle-aged, and old, the thin and stout, the dark and the fair, some in their weeds, others gaily attired, and many poorly but d ecently clad, continued to arrive, and were greeted with l aug h ter an d s h outs by the mob, who gave free von t t o t h e i r j o k es an d r ib a ld ry as t h e widows arrived and depart, ad. At length the confusion and noise became so great, t: sat a posse of the City police were sent for, wh o p reserve d a l i ttle better crder, and afforded tree ingress and egress fur the applicants. WOOD PAVE. lENT. —The opinion is almost universal that the w. is le of London will ultimately be paved ith wood, the tin al execution of that immense under liking being merely a question of time. Should this turn out to be the feet •it is of the last importance that rscognised princirsles t hould become the guide of th ose seem are called i%pan . to act i n th e b us i ness; an d so l e l y with the view nil . onto !e :no te e cms id erat i„ o f t hi s i ms put tent point I:pori g ,feral attention have we taken up the subject. The- t irk nority of wood over Stone as a material for paving- .:art iageways, seems, indeed, to be finally acknowledged • ad it is now no longer asked whether wood sh a ll b e ' st. bstituted f or stone, but which plan is rukist deserritte• it.tiblic favour.—eolytechniea AN ANTIQUE G . ? IRIOSITY.—A very curious rnass.ke ring, of Dun, .....;o! 6, wet fo.. , nd a few days ago w , the borders of Re.,:l',:iha al Forat, in the pari s h o f Cot tinghain, near liockit:o4 an I t 1 3 doubtless of eNtretn e a """l' an d Pr•aar.t:s„ to o inscriptions in Saxon char ge _ tors, i n a r,rnarkal•2o , tAti of prose; vation. The cuter one 1 ' as " la. 's '—'' GI; tal Gotta: Madros : .Uross :" and the inner_.. I:di-0u : 1 Jdros : Theb:4l." Th.: ring, which i s in the posse g t lot iof Mr. Dexter, Woolpack Inn, Aiiddleten, is suppos ?Al tc ,be what is called an " Abraxis," or magi ca l ring, ~, i too have been :Te rn as at; amulet or pc( veative char m , : s was' common in early periods of su perstition and ignor ince. :We shAl feel obligor' to any of Stir readers to G-xpl: in the m.,,-..4ning of these mysterious ocutenees, which, : ithough the' , do not scan to belong to an ): k1" 1 ,,, " n l itr'L''' 2 : e.l;;;ve d.otaitless some cceult signifl -1"3--1"hain/ tore Herald. SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.) (From the Globe.) We hope the ulterior and undesigned effect of Lord Stanley's Registration scheme, one-sided and party-co loured as it glaringly is, will be to fix the attention of Parliament and the public on the whole system— not as regards Ireland only, but England and Scotland also. In the latter division of the empire there are anomalies full as great, and some of which were alluded to by Lord Stanley himself; on Tuesday, as any which can be adduced as prevailing in the sister isle. And even in this part of the empire, which Mr. O'Connell describes as enjoying a system he would accept for Ireland, "as it is, whether for good or for bad"—there are quite enough defects to render an equal amount of legislation requisite as that wherewith Lord Stanley is ready to bless Ireland. Indeed more— for, in Great Britain as in Ireland, the franchise re quires to be rendered more simple, and easily ascer tainable, as well as the registration more efficient. Neither object can be attained fully without the other ; for we assume as part of the purpose entertained by the legislator, the removal of obstruction and annoyance from parties entitled to the franchise—the saving of ex pense, and the prevention of litigation—and the drying up of the various sources of fraud and corruption which prevail at present—as well as Lord Stanley's one object of keeping out unqualified claimants. That is a legitmate object doubtless, pursued honestly—but it is rather un fortunate Lord Stanley's party should aim at it only as re gards Ireland—only as regards constituencies which they are anxious to weed of opponents. Their former efforts have mainly gone to swamp the more solid constituency with masses of drunkenness and depen dence, unqualified for all public duties, except those preached at taverns, and paid for by candidates' hard cash. Who but the Tories retained sottish vena lity and servile dependence as essential elements of a system which should represent the true public voice ? Whom but the Tories have we to thank for the freemen and tenants-at-will ? (we beg pardon —we have also to thank some ill-judging Liberals.) Who lout the Tories chiefly profit by those practices noticed by Lord Stan ley, in Scotland, of multiplying fraudulent votes — where, the Noble Lord said," parties are on the regis ter without a foot of land in the country—who, as all the world knew, never had a foot of land in the coun try ?" It may be too much for Lord Stanley, in his zeal for purging the representation, to aid us to get rid of fictitious freeholders, and degraded freemen. But is it too much to ask Liberal and rational politicians to look comprehensively at the whole system, and not con fine their views to one corner of it ? Shall it be said that party zeal can crowd the benches of Opposition to pull the mote out of thei- brother's eye, while a " House" cannot be made to pull the beam out of our ty.rn eye ? Truly the children of this world (Toryism) are wiser in their generation than the children of light. ( From the Standard.) The Globe of last night commences an article on the Canterbury and Walsall elections, with the following paragraph : " The Canterbury and Walsall elections have resulted in the defeat of the Liberal candidates. We will not affect indifference when we feel regret. We do sincerely regret the issue: although, with a knowledge of the power ful influences brought to bear against the Liberal candi date at Canterbury, and of the unfavourable circumstances under which the Liberal candidate at Walsall was intro duced to the field, we are not disappointed." Then follows a long dissertation to prove that it was the influence of Canterbury Cathedral which returned Mr. Smythe ; but as there is no cathedral at Walsall, not one word is given to explain the defeat of the Anti-Corn-Jew Leaguers in that town. Surely it was not Canterbury Cathedral that returned sirn Gladstone. So far from doubting that the clergy of Can terbury have indirectly contributed to the restoration of tire public mind in the cepital of Kent, we rejoice to believe in the direct influence of the clergy everywhere in bringing back the public mind to what Lord Clarendou calls " the ancient good humour and good temper of the English people." By their lives and their doctrines such a body as the clergy of England must engage the affections of any right heerted people ; and we have no doubt that the hostility against the clergy avowed by Whigs and Whig-Radicals has gone farther in crowding the Conservative ranks than any other cause. That the clergy of Canterbury, however, hare exercised no more direct influence than that neturally arising from their fidelity in doctrine, their benevolence, and the blame lessness of their lives, is pretty clear from the fact, that no specific charge of interference is made against any clergyman, but the other fact, that until 'nen had recovered from the reform passion, which prevented their seeing enemies from friends, the electors of Canterbury returned a Radical, and the citizens have now the enduring affliction of a Radical Corporation incurred during the same fit of folly. And again, we ask a light from Walsall: there was no cathedral there : why may not the same causes which returned Mr. Gladstone hare returned Mr. Smythe also': There is no escape for the Liberals as to the two eases. They must confess that the tide has turned, and that it is making rapidly on the Conservative side. (From the Courier.) The certainty that the death-blow of registration frauds and perjury in Ireland is to be struck this Ses sion will be understood, and cannot be better under stood, than by the despairing cries and ferocious appeals of the faction which rankly vegetates only from day to day upon nourishment derived from the pestiferous atmosphere of that hot-bed of coy ruption. We need no other proof; indeed, that the last hopes of faction and O'Connell repose on re gistration fraud and perjury, than the ravings of the Chronicle this morning, which does not pretend to deny the wide-spread existence of these enormous evils, though they are softened down in its columns into the more courtier-like phraseology of the " existing defects of the law of iegistry," but will not tolerate their attempted eradication by any other hands than those of Lord John Russell and Lord Morpeth, which is just the same thing as to say that the criminal shall only be tried and sentenced by those who are profiting by the crime. Upon the argument of what is somewhat facetiously still denominated the Re form party, that Lord John Russell, as the parent of the Reform Bill for England, was beat entitled and ought preferentially to be trusted to work out his own measure, so it might be thought that Lord Stanley, as the author and peopeunder of the Irish Reform Bill, and the detector of the frauds engrafted on the re gistry system as it now stands, should be the man of all others best qualified to complete his own labours, and drive home to the very vitals of corrup tion the wedge first introduced into the dry rot timbers by himself. This is the just and common-sense interpretation of Lord Stanley's principles, and there fore of Lord Stanley's Bill, but therefore it is not that of the Chronicle, by which we are told that in their crusade against his Reform Registration Bill, and in the counter proposed Bill of their own for eluding the Reform, " Lord John Russell, or Lord Morpeth, is to be cheered and supported," whilst virtually Lord Stanley is to be hissed and hunted down. SCRIPTURE.—Unnatural as it may appear, it is notwithstanding true, that we find much less clear ideas in regard to the canon of Holy Scripture in the earlier ages than in the later. The word Scripture was used, as we shall see, in a latitude with which no church or party, except, perhaps the Quakers, have used it. Ire 11M113 does not quote all the books which we of the Church of England esteem canonical. Those which he oin its are, Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Obadiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, and Liaggai. But the mere circumstance of his not citing therm can not, of course, imply any doubt as to their inspiration or canonicity. He had no occasion to do so for the purposes of his argument. It is only wonderful that he t bought himself obliged to quote so largely upon such a sub ject.— British Magazine. DEATH OF LORD HENLEY.—We regret to have to announce the demise of Lord Henley, who 'expired at five minutes to,eleven o'clock on Wednesday morning, at the family residence in Whitehall-place, after a protracted illness of several months. The Learned Lord, as most of our readers are aware, was a Master in Chanccery, but within the last few months it becoming apparent that his Lordship's disorder would not allow of his again resuming the duties of his o ffi ce , i t was g i ven up to the Right Hon : Sir George Rose, Bart. For some time the mediesit atten dants of his Lordship held out hopes to the family, but lat terly, from his bodily strength giving way under suf ferings, no prospect could be entertained of his e ventual recovery. The Rev. J. Peel, and other members of the family, were present at his Lordship's dissolution. TILE COAL TRADE. —THE RESTRIG'TIONS AT AN END.-Our opinion has for several years leeen ex pressed from time to time as decidedly against the, system of restriction in the quantity of coals taken for salie to the London market as most impolitic for the coal owners themselves. It always appeared to us that though the " vends," as they are called, had the effect, by limiting the quantity of coals sold in a given period, of obuiining a higher price than could be got otherwise, they operated as a bounty in inducing many other parties to open cc Ilieries in the surrounding neighbourhood, which in all human probability would not have been worked for ages to come. This system of restriction the coal-owners themselaeee have now resolved shall be put an end to ; the practice e f sell ing only a limited number of cargoes L'..3 they arrives .. in ro tation at Gravesend on the Thames, which has hitherto been observed, is henceforth to cease. We are rejoice that the change has taken place ; for though vie fear it 'may be productive of temporary loss and suffering, we do most firmly believe and sincerely hope that it will place the: staple trade of this district eventually on a much firmer and healthier basin. Whatever temporary sacrifices may now be necessarily made, we are decidedly of opinion that the longer the system of restriction was continued, to more severe and trying would be the change when it dill come, as sooner or later we felt convinced it must inevitabiSy come. The coal-owners will, by this important alteraticas in the mode of conducting their trade, be obliged to do, what is unhappily experienced to be necessary, from tree n endous competitio n in almost every branch of business, in this country they will be compelled greatly to exte ad their sates in order to obtain a profit equal to the produce: of their more limited vends. That which may fier a time epi seer en s c i2l t vi t s o , i t ,, 11 0 p a u e bl a ic hig l ry ely, vii t: i we truss, b e u l t i mately found to be a greagood— o 'Dal to the coal .Oneers them respectable, enterprising, will de serving ells individuals.—Tyne Mercury. IMPERIAL PARLIAMEN T. HOUSE OF LORDS, FEB. 4. Lord HOLLAND took the oaths and his seat shortly before four o'clock. At Five o'clock the LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack. WAR IN SYRIA. The Earl of MINTO rose in pursuance of the notice he had given to move the thanks of their Lordships to Sir Robert Stopford and the officers and men who served under him on the coast of Syria. He proposed to detain their Lordships but for a very few moments. The events were so recent that it was unnecessary for him to enter into any detail of matters that must be fresh in their Lordships' memories. It was perfectly true that on many former occasions the British fleet had been called upon to contend with more formidable enemies, and to engage in more sanguinary conflicts ; but he was quite sure their Lordships would agree with him in saying that throughout the whole of the operations on the coast of Syria there were abun dant examples to be found of the skill, of the bravery, o f the resources, and of that originality of enterprise and character which had always eminently distinguished the British Navy.—(H e a r .) B u t th ere was one feature so peculiarly distinguishing these operations, which he must be allowed to call their Lordships' attention to. He meant the singular rapidity of execution, and the small space of time within which was comprised so many brave and gallant enterprises, ending in such im portant results. It was on the 9th of September, after having received the refusal of the Pacha to accept of terms that had been offered to him, that Sir Robert Stopford arrived before Beyrout, and without the loss of a single day, or even a single hour, he launched Commodore Napier in that career of victory and success which he had continued unremittingly to pursue. It was on the same day, the 9th of September, that Commodore Napier was landed. The contest was brought to a glorious termination in consequence of the reduction of the fortress of Acre. Every post—every town—from Tripoli to the extremity of Syria had been reduced by one or other of the de tachments of our fleet. Commodore Napier had twice marched forward on shore and defeated and dispersed the enemy, and in the interval between those two actions he had proceeded to Sidon, which he entered, and took by storm, putting himself at the head of scarcely 1,000 men, Turks, Austrians, and British, and bringing in his train nearly 3,000 prisoners.--(Cries of " Hear, hear.") He (Lord Minto) bad dwelt a little upon the extraordinary rapidity with which these ope rations had taken place, because in this contest time had been every thing. It was not only most important to the success of their operations, but it must be obvious to their Lordships that if the contest had been protracted to another campaign it might have been at tended with the utmost peril. It' ho wanted another example of the promptitude, design, and execu tion which had characterised those operations he would refer their Lordships to the despatch of Sir Robert Stopford, of the 3(1 of October, and in that despatch the Gallant Admiral stated that he had just received the instructions of the Government for the attack of the fortress, an enterprise which he before had entered upon. That re solution was taken on the 29th of October ; on the 31st, the Admiral wrote that all his arrangements were completed, that he was prepared and, in fact, that he actually did sail on that day, and in three days from the date of his letter, the fortress had fallen before Bri tish valour. The Admiral was most ably and gallantly seconded in all his operations by Admiral Bandeira, commanding the Austrian squadron, as well as by the Archduke. In his account of the affair at Sidon, Commodore Napier spoke in the very highest terms of the conduct of the Archduke, and at Acre he landed during the night, along with the marines of the squa dron, in order to secure the safety of the town and fortress. To Admiral Walker, too, much was due. His services had eminently contributed to the success which had attended her Majesty's arms—he was in every action, and in all he had proved himself emi nently qualified for the place which he now so ably filled. He felt certain that it was unnecessary for him to add one word more in order to induce their Lordships to concur in the vote of thanks which it would be his duty to conclude by proposing, he would only once more pay that throughout the whole of the operations and nrore especially in the last, the attack upon St. Jean d'Acre, the precision and accuracy of the British tire had proved that we had added a new clement of strength to the British navy, and that the talents and skill of the officers and sailors of Britain hed far from deteriorated.--(Hear, hear.) He trusted their Lordships and the country would receive this as an earnest of what they might expect should, unfortunately, the fleet be brought into any more formidable collision, and he thought the bravery and actions of our officers and sailors had given the best answer to all those cavils and complaints of the dege neracy and decay of the British fleet which bad been made in many quarters during the last year. On that head he would not add one word more ; all tnwat feel that the brave men in the fleet had given a better answer to the calumny than any which he could do. He had no doubt but their Lordships would wil lingly concur in giving the thanks of the House to Admiral Stopford, the officers, and men, for the bravery displayed by them on the 3d of November last. The Noble Lord then proposed that the thanks of the House should be given to Commodore Napier, and to the naval officers and captains of the fleet em ployed upon the coast of Syria ; to the seamen and Royal Marines employed in that service ; to Major-General Sir Charles Smith, and the officers and seamen serving upon the coast ; to the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers ; to Admiral Ban dierra, Commander of the Austrian fleet ; to Admiral Walker for his gallantry in the attack upon Acre ; and that the Lord Chancellor should communicate the said resolutions to Admiral Stopford. Lord COLCHESTER rose and said it must have increased the satisfaction with which the Noble Earl had proposed these resolutions, that he had a son who was one of the officers employed in the late operations upon the coast of Syria.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Earl had so fully described the series of opeeations which had taken place, that he (Lord Colchest`er) would not trouble their Lordships by going over that ground again. He would only say that he fully concurred in all that had been said by the Noble Earl, as to the activity and dauntless courage shown by Sir Charles Napier, and in the tribute of praise which he had given to the officers and seamen for their gallantry, and especially their gallantry shown in the attack upon Acre. It had been said that the navy of England had degenerated.—(Hear, hear, from the Duke of Wel:ington.) He (Lord Colchester) was not aware that any charge had been brought against the officers and seamen employed on this service. —(Cries of " Hear, hear.") He would take this opportunity of offering his tribute of praise to Sir Robert Stop ford. Were he to go through the whole of the ser vices of that Gallant Admiral, he would have to recount to their Lordships the naval history of this country for sixty years past. That gallant officer had received the thanks of that House for his services on previous occasions. On the 13th of June, 1794, Sir Robt. Stopford commanded one of the frigates em ployed in the fleet of Lord Howe ; ho then received the thanks of the House as one of the Captains engaged in the naval action fought in that year. He had received thanks for Iris conduct in the expedition to Copenhagen ; and also by name for his services in the capture of the Island of Java, the latter being an expedition of so much importance that the Governor-General him self took the command of the expedition. In 1836, full of years and honours, being then seventy years of age, he might have expected to retire from ser vice, but his country demanded his services, and now for four years he had been in command in the Mediter ranean, an employment which, from the political state . . . . of the countries on the coast, was one of the moat arduous nature. In the hostilities of last summer his former skill and talent had been brought into action, and he had given new proof of the skill and judgment which had ever characterized hire,—the fortress of Acre, which had been deemed impregnable, having been in a few hours reduced to ruins by the skill and courage of the British fleet under his command. These services, in his humble opinion, demanded the warmest thanks of the House. Thanks were all that House could give, but he trusted that while promotions and decorations were bestowed upon those employed in the capture of Acre, their Commander (as we understood the Noble Lord, who spoke extremely indistinctly) would receive some public mark of his Sovereign's approbation. The Duke of WELLINGTON then proceeded to address their Lordships, but spoke for some minutes before a sentence could be heard in the gallery. His Grace was understood to express his cordial approbation, of the merit of the services performed by the navy in the Mediterranean, and of the motion before the House. His Grace was then understood to advert to an ob servation that had fallen from the Earl of Minto respecting the time employed in the operations, and to express his wish that such an expression had act been used on that occasion. That was a mat ter entirely irrelevant to the present question, for all they had to do was to record their thanks for the services that bad been performed by this glorious expedition.—(Hear, hear.) " My Lords (said the Noble Duke) I have had a lit tle experience in these services, and I think it my duty to warn your Lordships on this occasion, that you must ❑ot always expect that ships, however well commanded, or however gallant our seamen may be,. are capable of engaging commonly with stone walls. I have no recollection, in all my experience, ex cept the recent instance on the coast of Syria, of any fort being taken by ships, excepting two or three years ago—no longer ago—the fort of St. Jean d'Ulloa by the French fleet. That is, I think, the single in stance, though I believe something of the sort occurred at the siege of Havanna') in 1763."—(Hear, hear.) He thought that the taking of Acre was a most wonder ful achievement, not only on account of its strength, but he short period of time in which it had been performed. The arrangement of the ships had been so admirably conducted by the Admiral that each 'milt of the for- THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1811. tress was attacked at the same time. Ho had no hesi tation in saying that this arose from the simple dispo sition of the fleet. It was also astonishing how few men had been lost on board the fleet, he believed only about sixty. Now, how did that happen ? Why, that had been effected by the admirable manner in which both officers and men had acted, and the distance at which the fleet was placed from the fortress, under the command of the Admiral; the ships took their stations at one-third the distance the enemy supposed, and to meet which the enemy had laid their guns ; the result was that the shot went over the ships, and by this means a loss of only one-tenth of the men took place, which would not have been the case had the ships been placed at the usual distance. It was true the Admiral had brought to bear upon the fortifications, a most formidable force, but still ho thought that what had been effected was wonderful, and reflected the highest credit upon the bravery, in trepidity, and science of those engaged. He had en tered thus fully into the matter for the purpose of showing to the public that such things could not be done every day. He told their Lordships again that these were singular instances performed by great gal lantry under peculiar circumstances, and it was not to be expected that such things would happen in the fu ture. In modern times he knew but of one instance of success in firing upon stone walls. In conclusion, the Noble Duke begged to assure their Lordships that he most cordially concurred in the motion of the Noble Lord opposite. The Earl of HARD WICKE could not give a silent vote on this subject. Their Lordships must feel that after the statement of the Noble Duke it was totally unnecessary for him to enter into any statement with respect to the glorious achievements that had taken place. But he could not help expressing how perfectly he concurred in the motion of the Noble Earl opposite ; at no period in the history of this country had any thing been exhibited that showed in a stronger light the intrepidity of the seamen of England, and the effi ciency of its fleets ; and he must, on this occasion, say that any conception to the contrary was most mistaken and absurd. Lord HILL said it was impossible for him to allow the discussion to close without stating that he heartily concurred in the honour which was about to be con ferred on that branch of the service which had at all times, whenever an opportunity was offered, distinguished itself by skill and bravery. He begged also to state that, he thought the conduct of his Gallant Friend Sir Charles Smith, and the officers and engineers who served under him, was most praiseworthy. Earl MINTO begged to offer one remark with re spect to an observation that had fallen from the Noble Duke opposite. The Noble Duke had cautioned the Government against engaging ships of war in attacks upon fortresses. He could assure the Noble Duke that he was fully aware of the great disadvantage a ship was under in some respects when placed in such a situation ; but then, the discretion and prudence of an officer could always be trusted to, so to govern their gallant enterprises as not to undertake any attack of that description without a fair prospect of success— such a fair prospect of success as the Gallant Admiral felt he had before him in the recent engagement. Of late years there had been a great and remarkable im provement in the gunnery of the navy. During the at tack on Acre the firing was such as made it almost im possible for mon to stand to their guns with any degree of steadiness. That he considered to be a new power which had been acquired by the navy in later years, and that rendered the attack of walls and fortresses a much less desperate undertaking than it might have been in the days of mere random firing. They had,had an example in which the power of battery of ships of war was successfully exhibited against much greater power brought against it, and under much greater disadvan tages ; and without all these modern improvements of gunnery which had given so much additional power to the navy in the attack of fortresses—he alluded to Algiers. On the occasion of the at' ack of Algiers it was undoubted that the success was decisive. He could not refrain from saying so much, hoping that in some degree he had misunderstood the Noble Duke. He trusted that the meaning of the Noble Duke was merely to give a gene ral caution against ships of war attacking fortresses-- not that they should never do so, or that it was in any way intended to complain of the proceedings under dis cussion. Tee Duke of WELLINGTON said he would require to have much more experience than he had hefore he could say that ships of war ought not to at tack any fertresses. He had merely stated a fret which had come under his own notice, as his opinion that in general they ought not to make such attacks. The motion was then unanimously agreed to. The Earl of SHAFTESI3U RY brought up a further Report from the Committee of Precedents on the Earl of Cardigan's case, stati ng th e manner in which the House was to be fitted up. Seats would be provided for 640, and it recommended the Lord Great Chamberlain should issue only one ticket to each Peer, and that only upon personal application. CHURCH-R ATES. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition signed by the Mayor of Leicester, on behalf of a large meeting, held in that town, of the members of the Voluntary Church Society, and the friends of religious liberty, condemning, i❑ strong language, the longer existence of Church -rates, and the confinement of Mr.W. Baines, of that town, for that impost, which he refused to pay on conscientious motives ; and they prayed their Lord ships to adopt such measures as would afford relief, and conduce to the release of that worthy and respect able gentleman. He understood that Leicester con tained 6,000 inhabitants, and that the Church rates le vied were 3301., of which 130/. was paid or duo by the Dissenters ; yet for this paltry turn the town was kept in perpetual strife. A Magistrate informed him that the enforcement of Church rates was the most disagree able duty of the Magistracy, and engendered a strong feeling of hostility against the Established Church. It was now three years since the Government had intro duced a measure to give relief, but it was withdrawn. He trusted his Noble Friend would be able to answer him in the affirmative, when he asked if her Majesty's Ministers had any intention of renewing that measure ; and if not, would they introduce any other measure calculated to effect the same improvement ? Lord MELBOURNE—I do not feel it in my power to give any answer to the question at present. Lord BROUGHAM was afraid that that was an answer in the negative, and one which he much re gretted. JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL. Lord BROUGHAM said, he thought a misunder standing had gone abroad respecting the course of proceedings in a very important judicature in this coun try—the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He thought it right, in consequence of something which passed in another place, that their Lordships should have an opportunity of seeing whether there had been any neglect of duty on the part of the Learned Judges who constituted that Court. It had been said that they had not sufficiently complied with the Act of Parliament in holding the sittings which ought to be held in the exercise of their jurisdiction. No personal complaint whatever had been made against these Learned Judges. It was only said that by the constitution of the Court their meetings were accidental, that it de pended upon the chance of the case whether meetings were held or not, and that parties were brought down again and again, and much needless expense was in curred. One would naturally suppose from such state ments, that such delays happened very frequently. Upon inquiry, he found that there were only two, or at the utmost three, instances during the last three years. The true way of ascertaining the truth was to move for a return of the days of sitting. It had been said that the Court had only sat eighteen days during the year 1840.—( Hear, hear.) The truth was, that it had only sat eighteen days during that portion of the year 1840, which elapsed previous to the close of last Session, that is to say, the month of August. But there were five or six months of the year 1840, after that return was made, and when they came to look at the whole attendance, instead of eighteen it amounted to thirty days. The Learned Judges were called upon by the Act to make arrange ments so as to enable the Judicial Privy Council to sit as often as the state of business required. They should ascertain how often, in point of fact, the Judicial Privy Council had held its sittings. He would commence with the year 1834, aud take every year down to 1840 inclusive. He would also take in the number of ap peals which had been heard during that time, and the number which were now received to be heard. If these returns, when brought before their Lordships, should show that there ought to have been a greater numbei• of sittings in respect to the amount of business, and that there had been a greater number of causes set down than ought, in the ordinary course of business, to have stood for hearing without being so despatched, no doubt it would be the duty of the Learned Judges to attend more closely to the provisions of the Act than they had done. If; on the other 11.nd, it should appear that they had sat, one year with another, as often as was i r n e q t r t e c d ,naniirdt a tha t n t h o e x r i e s t e w d a s i n n o a m n o y r more i r i r e e r a C r o o of r tCourt, ü business eh more, if it could be found there was a less arrear, then ha trusted the observations made would not be repeated. The Noble Lord then moved for an account of the num ber of days that the Privy Council had sat during the seven years ending 1840, and of causes and appeals.— The returns were ordered to be made. The House then Adjourned. ROUSE OF COMMONS, FF.IL 4. The SPEANER took the Chair at afew minutes before Four o'Clock. Mr. GLADSTONE was introduced by his brother the Hon. Member for Newark and by Sir Robert Bate son, and took the oaths and his scat for the borough of _ . Mr. M. PHILLIPS presented a petition from the Manchester Dispensary, praying to be mado a body corporate. RAILWAY BILLS. Mr. H. HINDE moved that the Standing Order, Number 32, relating to Railways', be read. The Order having been read, the Hos. MEMBER proposed that the Standing Order respecting railway Bills, which requires that a sum equal to one-tenth part of the amount subscribed to be deposited in the Court of Exchequer, be modified by substituting one twentieth for one-tenth. The Hon: Member proceeded to say that he would not detain the House by enter ing into arguments at any length in support of his mo tion ; but he would merely mention a few facts bearing upon the subject. The House was aware that, pre vious to the year 1830, of the Bills that were passed for making railways a considerable number was confined chiefly to the purposes of local capital ; but after the opening of the great railway between Liverpool and Manchester a great impetus was given to speculations of that nature, and in the following years several Bills were introduced into the House to enable capitalists to open railways. In the year 1832 four Bills were passed for that purpose, and in the year 1834 five Bills were passed for a similar purpose. In the year 1835, 24 Railway Bills had passed through that House, including the great lines from London to Birmingham, the Grand Junction, the North Union, and the London and Southampton. In 1836, the number of applications was very large, and the attention of Parliament was particularly directed to the subject in consequence of the Standing Orders having been evaded, and, in fact, there was strong proof before the House that eva sions had been practised to enable parties to pass the Standing Orders. Notwithstanding that, twenty-nine orders for the formation of railways had passed the House. In 1837 the number of Railway Acts was fifteen. He admitted that many of the schemes in these three years, particularly in that of 1836, were not worthy of the support of Parliament, and were not brought under the consideration of the House in such a way as would enable them to be proceeded with. Out of the large num ber brought forward 44 did pass the House of Commons, and although there was no particular protection, there was not a single one of them could be called a bubble Company, and in proof of it he could state, that of the forty-four twenty-one were at the present period actually finished, ten were partially opened, nine were in progress, and four not commenced. Two of these four were Irish railways, and of the pe culiar circumstances connected with railways in that country it was unnecessary for him to say any thing Of the other two, the Deptford pier and railway had never been commenced, and the other, the Thames Haven railway, could not be commenced in consequence of the delay in advancing the Eastern Counties Railway. In August 1836 a Standing Order passed the House, requiring that a longer notice should be given than heretofore, and in July of the following year the standing order was passed, requiring a deposit of 10 per cent. and both these came into operation in 1888. After the passing of these two Standing Orders there was a remarkable decrease in the number of Bills presented to that House. In 1838 only two Acts of Parliament for new railways were passed, in 1839 only one, and in 1840 not a single Act for a new line passed the House. Surely that looked like putting a stop to them al together, and it would appear, that in taking steps to prevent fraudulent schemes, they had prevented the carrying on of wholesome plans. Among the Bills passed within the last three years the Edinburgh and Glasgow one had been before Parliament the previous year, and therefore the Standing Orders did not apply to it, and another, the West Derby, had beer, in progress of formation by another Company, and that also was exempted. 'foe only Bill, therefore, which could be termed one for a to tally new line was one for a short line in Devonshire, near Torbay, which was not quite three miles in length, so that, i❑ point of fact, only one Bill had passed since the Standing Order to which his motion referred. He did not mean to object to the March notices, although he had, in common with many others, objections to these notices, but he referred particularly to the order which required the deposit of 10 per cent. He did not believe that the Standing Orders relative to the March notices had had the effect of preventing these being given, because, in point of fact, in 1838 there had been 35 such notices given, in 1839, 29, and in 1840, 30, sliming that these notice; had not bee❑ much decreased. It might be urged, and not without reason, that the state of the money market had been one of the great causes of the small number of Railway Bills brought forward, and no doubt that had operated to a certain extent ; but he would remind Hon. Mem bers that although British capital had not been invested to a large amount in railways at home, yet large sums had been invested by British capitalists in railways in Germany and France, and particularly that one be tween Havre and Paris in the latter country, besides many speculations in the United States. Having disposed of the reasons why so small a number of railway bills had been brought before the House within the last three years, it only remained for him now to meet the objections of Hon. Members, who thought it of little importance whether railways should continua to progress or not, and to these he would use the strong argument that British capital was being absorbed in these undertakings in fo reign countries. Some time ago it might have been a question whether every large town should have a con nection by railway with the metropolis ; but from what had occurred of late years, that was a point on which there could be now little doubt. He would take an instance with which he was familiar, namely, the Great North Road. It was true there was a railway from London to York, but instead of being a benefit to the large towns in a direct line it was the reverse,because in many instances it deviated 30 miles frera that direct line. A great number of persons were employed upon these railways, but this employment, so far from being a boon to the labouring population, would be a curse if it were to be suddenly withdrawn. Look at the operation of railways at this moment. During the last year, from February 1840 to February 1841, about 600 miles of new railway had been opened in the kingdom. On these 600 miles far more than a moiety of the labourers throughout the kingdom had been employed. It might be asked if he had the means of showing the number now out of employment, and he confessed that he had not. The works, especially the embankments, had been subject to so much dilapidation from the state of the weather, and from the railways having been opened with undue speed, that on many lines the same number of labourers were employed 'in repairing them, as had been employed during their for mation. But as spring advanced, these would be thrown out of employment, for though there were many railways going on, with the exception of the Great Western and another, he knew of none that were going on with spirit. These were the chief causes he had to advance in favour of a modification of the Standing Or der ; but he would point out another inconvenience, namely, the formation of railways without the sanction of Parliament. If persons found generally they could more easily make a bargain with the landowners than by submitting to the restrictions laid upon them by Parliament, depend upon it this system would increase, as saving the expense of an appli cation to Parliament would enable them to give greater sums to the landowners. These railways were not sub ject to the Act of last session for the regula tion of railways, which related only to those formed under the sanction of Parliament. He would only further state, that if the House agreed to the proposition he had had the honour to make, they would only place the Standing Order in that House on the same footing as that of the House of Lords. When these new Standing Orders relating to railways were passed, a communication was made to the other House, under the auspices of theNobleLord then at the head of the Board of Trade, to assimilate the Standing Orders of the two Houses, and he believed there was no other difference between the Houses than that the House of Commons proposed a deposit of 10 per cent., and the House of Lords thought this too much, and would assent only to a deposit of 5 per cent. He thanked the House for the attention they had paid to his statement, and submitted his motion for their decision. Mr .JERVIS seconded the motion. Mr. LABOUCHERE said, that although he was certainly prepared to offer every opposition in his power to the motion made by the Hon. Gentleman—( Hear, hear) —the Hon. Gentleman was quite '_right in assum ing that he did not rest opposition e n any wish to discourage the progress of railways in this coun try—(Cheers)— provided they were real and bona fide undertakings.—(Cheers.) He was as much con vinced as any man could be that it was his duty to give every encouragement to the development of the railway system, but he was well convinced that the only way by which they could guard against a practical monopoly on the part of the lines already existing would be by lines more or less parallel, and constructed in such a man ner as to offer some competition for the benefit of the pub lic. He trusted therefore the Hon. Gentlema❑ would be satisfied that if he (Mr. Labouchere) felt it his duty to oppose the motion, he did not do so from any desire to interfere with the progress of the railway system. But really was at a loss to conceive how it could be believed that any railway undertaking could be car ried on, so as to afford a fair and reasonable prospect of remuneration to the subscribers if there were a difficulty in obtaining a deposit of ten per cent.-- (Cheers.) It appeared to him that if there were a difficulty in obtaining a .deposit of five per cent, as a subscriber, he should think he had little chance of ob tainino. the remaining 95 per cent. This subject had often been before the House. The principle had been considered by two Committees of the House of Commons, who iiad decided against it, in consequence of those disgraceful gambling trans actions which, under the name of i railway specu lations, had imposed upon the country.—(Hear, hear.) It would, indeed, be with great concern be should see Ihe House relax their rule, which had had the most satisfactory effect in arresting the progress of schemes which were set up for no bona fide object, but only to in duce inexperienced capitalists to purchase shares and give the advantage of temporary rises in price to. the first spculators. The House of Lords had ad opted different principle, and the consequence was that Bills were introduced in that House which subsequently became abandoned, after much loss and inc‘onveni- coca to parties who were misled by the projectors. To him it appeared impossible that any parties of character and substance could find any difficulty in obtaining a deposit of so small an amount. But the Hon. Gentleman said that the effect of the restriction was to arrest the progress of railroads in this country, and to send capital abroad to be invested in rail way speculations in foreign countries. Now he (Mr. L.) thought he found a complete answer to that statement, upon examining the notices of private Bills, upon which he found in this Session already 58 notices of plans for new railways. He thought therefore there need be no apprehension that parties who had projects calcu lated to be beneficial to themselves and the public would find any difficulty in making the deposit required by the present regulation.—(Hear, hear.) And he should feel very sorry if the House should alter the determi nation to which it came after so much deliberation. Mr. WARBURTON was so far from thinking the existing regulation requiring the deposit of 10 per cent. at all excessive, he was convinced that in all bona fide schemes no difficulty could be found in conforming to it. Until that was enacted, men of straw came before the public with ephemeral and good for nothing speculations, by which people were induced to invest their savings in projects that could never be attended with the least ad vantage to them or to the public. The Hon. Gentleman then read an extract from the Committee of the House, appointed in 1837, to the effect that the only means of checking delusive schemes was to require that all parties petitioning for a Bill should be required to make a de posit. But that Committee had no intention to specify a particular amount of deposit, and he thought that the subsequent Committee very properly fixed the sum at its present amount. With respect to the Hon. Mem ber's (Mr. H.'s) statement that the effect of the regula tion was to reduce the number of railway speculations, the Hon. Gonda - Dan had himself given the answer when he said that the state of the money market in the last three years had operated to the discouragement of those schemes.—(Hear.) Yet, no less than sixty-eight Bills had passed since the enactment of the present Standing Order, and 55,000,0001. of capital had been invested in carrying them into effect.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. W.) had had the best opportunities of inquiring into the merits of the case, and he was satisfied that the existing regulation was the best that could be devised.—( Hear.) Mr. BROTHERTON had been a member of the Committee of which his Hon. Friend, the Member for Bridport4was the chairman ; and, knowing the number of bubble schemes which were brought forward, he thought the present rule ought not to be relaxed. He wished to state a fact which he thought of consi derable importance. The Liverpool and Manchester Reilway Company, a year or two ago, obtained an Act for a railway to pass through the borough which he had the honour to represent, and they had con trived to introduce a clause leaving it optional to them whether they should complete the railway or not. The consequences were, that parties who had received notice that the railway would pass through their property were completely tied up from disposing of their land in any way—(Cries of " Hear, hear") — and the Company had the sole power of determining whether the property should he required at any time for the purpose of the railways.—(Hear, hear.) He did think that Parliament should take every precau tion for having their works vigilantly and vigorously car ried into effect. Mr. O'CONNELL wished to say a few words on the subject. It seemed to him that the regulation, as it stood at present, was, like many others, highly favourable to the rich, and to great capitalists, and that it went to increase the influence of those who were already possessed of enormous wealth, while it acted injuriously as regarded the smaller capitalist. It had that effect in the country from which he came, where there was but little capital. They felt severely in that country the pressure of the present regulation, and he therefore believed it to be his duty to protest against it. All railways were now a monopoly, and he thought it would be better, in that instance, to relax the rule, as proposed by the Hon. Member. Lord HO WICK said that the Hon. and Learned Member who had just sat down, instead of considering the regulation as it now existed as favourable to large capitalists, ought in his opinion to consider it as likely to operate in an exactly opposite way.—( Hear, hear.) Before the regulation had been introduced a great in justice was frequently done to parties having small pro perties in counties through which it was proposed rail ways should pass. Schemes for the commencement of rail ways were brought forward, and which, as they were never carried into effect had no other result than to put resi dent landlords to the expense of needless litigation. He thought it was the interest of small proprietors that a check should he put upon those who entered into decep tive schemes, by insisting rigidly on the rule as it now ex isted. He was persuaded that all gentlemen connected with landed property would do well to pause before they countenanced the resolution of the Hon. Member. He was not hostile to that particular line of railway, in favour of which it was supposed the Honour able Member had made his motion. He was so far from that that he could assure the Honourable Member, that no one could be more anxious than he was to see a line of railway carried through that county which he himself had the honour to represent. But lie felt that whenever a good line could be made out, the regulation they were now discussing would not offer the sli g htest difficulty in the wa y o f its being carried into e ffect. On those grounds he would undoubtedly give his opposition to the motion of the Hon. Member.--(Hear, hear.) The ATTORNEY-GENERAL thought that they onght to modify the order as it now existed. In his opinion the deposit of 10 per cent. would be sufficient. He did not think that a large per tentage should be required before a Bill was brought into Par liament. That was the hardship of which he com plained, and of which those who were favourable to the line of railway, referred to by the Noble Lord, must bitterly complain. The modification which he (the Attorney-General) wished for, was that they should require a deposit of 10 per cent. not before the Bill was introduced into the House, but be fore the works were begun. That was the principle which had been acted on in the case of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, and which had been attended with com plete success. It would, he thought, be quite sufficient that they should have a certificate from a public func tionary before a spade was put in the ground. In that case they would be sure to have a bona fide under taking that would sufficiently protect the landed in terest, and which would not at the same time discourage those useful works. Mr. FRESHFIELD could not see the benefit of changing the present law. If the undertakings were of a bona fide and reasonable character, there was no fear but capital would be employed on them in this country rather than abroad. The Attorney-General said that a 10 per tentage paid before a spade was put in the ground would offer sufficient protection to the public. He (llr. Freshfield) was persuaded, on the contrary, that such regulation would tend to encourage improper speculation. It could only tend to encourage dealing in shares, to the injury of the public. Mr. W. 0. STANLEY expressed his approval o ,he motion. Mr. HODGSON HINDS, in reply said, that almost all who had addressed the House were against rescinding the Standing Order. The Noble Lord had said that he considered the Standing Order as most beneficial to the landed interest. Now, he (Mr. Hodgson Hinde) considered, that if there was one Standing Order more injurious to the Landed Interest than another it was this very order requiring a deposit of 10 per cent., for many railroad schemes, after having been brought to a certain degree of maturity, were not brought under the con sideration of Parliament on account of the inability of the parties to make the deposit required ; but these schemes were not on that account abandoned ; they were merely postponed to another session, and thus these schemes were kept hanging over the heads of the land owners on the proposed line from year to year, in conse quence of this standing order, without the decisionlof Par liament. The Right Hon. Gentleman had said that there were fifty.eight notices for Railway Bills this Session ; now it was not by the number of notices given that they could judge of the effects of the Standing Order, but by the number of Bills brought in, and he would venture to assert that not more than half-a-dozen Bills would be brought in of all the fifty-eight notices. He felt the sense of the House was against him, but he was desirous of recording his vote, because that, at another time, when the number of railway labourers thrown out of employ. ment would be considerable, the House would be glad to rescind this Order. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the House divided, when there appeared— For the motion Against it Majority against the motion... -129 Mr. KELLY presented a petition from the late collector of taxes for the county of Somerset, com plaining that the Government, in granting him com pensation had acted against a law and custom, and praying the House to take his case into consideration by referring. it to a Committee. Mr. 13R - OTHERTON presented a petition from Dover, praying for a total repeal of the Corn-laws. Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from the Plasterers of Dublin, praying for the repeal of the Union. WEST INDIA MAILS. Mr. FRESHFIELD gave notice that on Thursday next he should move for a copy of the Appendix to the Report of the Committee with req)eet to the West India mails. TEXAS. Mr. O'CONNELL gave notice that he - shard that day fortnight move a humble Address to her Ma jesty, praying that she would be pleased to direct a copy of any arrangement between Texas and this country to be laid before the House ; and also that it was his in tention on the same day to call the attention of the House to the state of that country. Mr. KELLY gave notice that he should that day fortnight call the attention of the House to the petition of Thomas Weeks. Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET moved for eer ain returns relative to railways, Well were agreed to. EV EN ING EDITION. liinouhaies. odpi:ben IDOLATRY IN INDIA. Sir R. INGLIS rose to put some questions to tie Right Hon. President of the Board of Control, relative to the connexion which existed between the East India Company and the idolatrous practices in India. T he House was aware that, when he had asked the ge es : tion last year, the Right Honourable had referred him to certain extracts from 0 , 3 1 despatch of Lord Auckland, partly public thee party private, in which it was stet, d that were system worked well, and that the objects in view I advancing slowly and steadily. Now, although t u Right Hon. Gentleman said he would lay all the del ments connected with the subject on the table, lie ha d Cries . t only given extracts from that despatch.--( Question.") He wished to know whether the Rig% Hon. Gentleman would lay the whole of that deelst e , Gentleinso on the table, he having only made extracts from It; Next, whether upon any authority, whether public e tt private, the Right Hon. Gentleman could state l e d , his own responsibility that the system had O r . e s ? :well in British India or any of its depende aele As , The next question which he wished to propose was, whether the Right Hon. Baronet felt himself at ail ' r to state to the House if any of - the grievances tie der • which British soldiers in India laboured, had bol d r ho moved. If he could not state that, as he fear r ,., at , , could not state anything satisfactorily on the sa i tt'i te whether he had any objection to state that hewd e i ti care that those grievances of her Majesty's subjectosoid India, to which he (Sir R. H. Inglis) referred, w • te cease on the Ist of January, or at any other defloi period. 0° Sir J. C. HOB HOUSE said that, with resPe ci r 00 the quotations which he made in July last, be ha h a d objection to place them before the House. Il e . o il said that those documents were partly of a private, eoh partly of a public, nature. One of the letters vital), he (Sir J. C. Hobhouse) had received on the sub, 1 ject, was a private letter from Lord Aucklalle Before replying to the questions of his Hon. Friend' „. • woeld beg to state that he believed that those Pr•as lor which he had moved at the close of lest ampleSessie would furnish his Hon. Friend with much m ore t information than he at presentpossessed on thi s l c t s e i ti, the delicate cl os close question. s e T s I s m i e o s n e ; p a t p h e e r sowrpedreer not pri° t e d u e e r e- 1 rithe.ewy'edhaddurinnogt beenth the presentnet bee!' ' l , presented Session t o t 1 ; 1 It v s ' ~ his intention that night to move new that Order , and in addition to move for the to re 'l • er other preeuction • factor,' papers which he thought would prove sa tis die to f his Honourable Friend. With respect to b ~ p ihet ti e o r s urther question of his Honourable Friend' he thought that anything had been done reaps, i the settlement of this unfortunate question, o r • s f a c. thought he was entitled to call it, he had the O a A , tr tioil of stating that he thought much had been u e c' e -e e ja eabnaddconsequeataf, wards the settlement of it. What had been " .. . c iao, the Presidency of Bengal had been, with one - • he looked to what had been dove with regar u to be pilgrim tax, and with regard to the Ju aeraa ut TA' ids° g li e s hoal - o t thought that much had been done. lay before the House despatches from the Gev e ; r fthe of Bombay to th e G overnment o f India, sta t 7 the steps which they h a d a d opte d f or carryle,_ e ' 0 0 13 orders of Lord Auckland, which he the:Vl; i r.) prove satisfactory to his H Frien d ' ......\ e Honourable ires' There was one exception, which was, the 1, . n a be of Madras, k rie the had He would confess to his Hon' d been disappointed by what had taken plac e ic ed i d r es , Presidency at Madras. When he had last o' be the House on this subject, he had stated tha t *die' received despatches from the Governor -G - eneral oi ta be stating that he was in hopes that measures WO5 „bjo adopted for carrying into effect his orders on this 5 10 1,3c1 in the Presidencies of Bombay and Madras. M P flee t int ° e r before stated, those orders had been carried gat em in the Presidency of Bombay. But big state' able Friend would find in the des e tches a de by beep f i n i , ment that the propositions which h ad P 193 cl .° the Government of Madras to the Government ' 9 oat of into effect the orders of the Gover° oat for carrying India were unsatistactoiy, and that the Goveraieto, of India, he was happy to state to his Hon' F o r prr had issued such orders as would have the effe 6 i f s ge r venting the Government of Madras being a n Y „- f n tb° or ders ' 1;3 , . behind hand in ea • • carrying into effect .. h ? J P , . Government of India ' and the desire of the Orals of his ment. it was his duty at the same time, in de fence "I, to Noble Friend Lord El hinst • and his Co the ta state that he believed P ". d e4 t 5 what had been on c o j es tru t a t was owing to a misunderstanding of the from the Board of Directors and the Governrneatiess i e stroc ot o home. But the Government had since given so distinct that there could be no room nor e s ,, e ld for further mistake ; and the Governor of Madras s` r w so d in future act in. conformit with the regulations Mese for time guidance of the Yother Presidbenciese"—tYtba hear.) He had now answered the gustier°, o „ c les. Hon.' Gentleman relating to the three Presiae%iat, With respect to the other matter put t° e• re' namely, the attendance of the troops at , f t ;; refe r llg e iooe ....vie. of the Hindoos, he begge n ~;:0, , ia % t v h hic Hon. Gentleman to the despatch of '- t 0 0 .h it was most pointedly laid down th a, - ,tena troops were not in any way to be compelled to e• th e at any festival which was not consonant wi th t hat principles of the Christian religion—(Hear) .--a aind eo no Mahommedan should be compelled to attend at " - e jso religious ceremonies, and no Hindoo at Ma hanl e ei ske j him whether that regulation had . jet° e been carried oar in India. Now he Colla. I I only say that he was not lette r, that it had been violated. He had before bin' a ll i e Je ° stating that the troops had attended at a , ode r festival, and had done honour to the cerenO nie- is Mee; pretence of attending as an escort to the . -j. fie had A Ile was not aware that this was time case. , . t lms-, i certainly not made any inquiry, but no case. 4 men made to him, He could state, however, f t he such a case were brought under the note thing id Court of Directors they would do every tP• se" . v their power to prevent its recurrenc e ; be io , e more than that, ifthey had 10 thei r reason , 0• e that their orders not properly obeyed, then they would ts 6 0 0 5 0.0 nf earliest opportunity of sending out such in hie , " as would put a st o p t o p rac ti ces so objectio e ag e r the course, a great distincti o n mu s t be taken bei their attendance of troops at public processions, eoke' forming a guard of honour and going into the te • 'O ll dal ° t He had • • inquired whether there had been any a ohj ee i information lately from India upon ° Li e b - c liec e ` a " but had ascertained that there was not. P e odeci sttece by there was no case in which compulsorY was resorted to, and although some disturbe fella taken place at Madras between troop of na tive I a e. and cavalry, he had not been La 1 or able to ascerta 1 fa t i He should, however, feel it duty rna-e his to inquiries. JUVENILE OFFENDERS. OOP Sir E. WILMOT begged to ask the Bightatear t a o ny est i a n b t l e is n h ti a on trib o o n ool t fo h r e the Attorney-General, whether in the reforing 0 55 plated in the administration of justice, th f ro ins ° part of the flea - o : foraiel in cases of petty larceny. He had himself been ' P of two cases, one of a child for stealing a" , e t' c oal' another for stealinc , sixpence, in neither of w hl i c ,.; he cli any punishment be inflicted, the children PS'. already two months in prison. ng l Y s re a The ATTORNEY-GENERAL vint11„11 :Let t " support any proposition of the Right Hon. -° ° , a - r i bee n carry such an object into effect, but as er° '" m eat considerable division upon the subject, the had given him no instructions to iprepa re Gfve rti re the trial of juveniGle°l4'. cleo, e ast/ on the subj ec t. r it W I S Sir E. WILMOT w i s h e d to k n ow whet' e ". intended to ma k e t h e Q uarter S ess ion Courts Itlwerelf ence effective, because in Birmingham tr3n th e Y,„et / 111 YE met pro forma, an d w ere unable to ~arescf; business for wan t o f f un d s . All the expen se t"' fell upon the;rounty, and he would be Government would state whether it was iritB"-ether' would o a lsu k ,l e idl these e h ATTORNEY-GENERAL Te o cle u e i nt t valids NseEt ty du o r iEo d with nN o g a E w sli a tn ) lc , ‘el: bs ua t t h i d e: tch : e l E q ° l g ,, :e e g s b t ue l : 0 11 Lau e r waiting for the decision of the Judges in the hate r ' Chamber on the subject of the Manchester c PUNISHMENT OF DEAT H ' k Mr. FITZROY KELLY begged to ° 9 f eq ther it was t h e intention theofolio a° v,"r • ut -°- to propose any measure f or t h e further abo:001J capital punish ment , and if so, whether it )e as extensive as th a t w hi c h he 'had the h°°°-r tro Mr.duce last Session 9 FOX MAULE said that it was th e ror alr tion of her Majesty's Government to bring ' f the a measure on the subject of the aboliti9o ° r pr e' punishment of death. He was not, lo w ,! re e ' pared to say that it would be co•extensl,er the measure which the Hon. and Learned Menkeinbeir formerly introduced. The Hon. and Learned ijainte':; would soon have an opportunity of been:a-ling 4 n °6l jace ° with the measure, as lie hoped it would be tl.° before the lapse of another month. "' l(l,°rl Mr. F. KELLY then gave notice th at he hi d, ho Tuesday next, bring forward the motio n of w had given notice for leave to bring in his Bil l ' A ND)' REGISTRATION OF VOTERS—OBI-I've 005 e Lord MORPETH said that he confessedt.hiti oa on that occasion with some anxiety, both account of the intrinsic merit of the l d b e en itself as well as the special interest which 11 ' in fac t ' more recently attached to it, from its having, iitical served as a pivot on which the strugglesriOviaE.,lfro: parties of late had materially turned, all, wife/ its bringing him into something like the Noble mover of another Registration in the opposite side of the house in the w___l'Llot which riv.ilry could alone subs ist between the cetice was between the qualities of their re'P fie measures—certainly not between the folio"proPo9ers. bin/ would thorefore beg that the House would i to ta• en the occasion with indulgence and _ ll pre' Whenever the s ubject had been before them vious occasions. as they had been corl:ereLZorth minded by the Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire on a previous evening, it ' a alla allowed upon all hands that great inwerfaction.