The Sun. — London, England, 1828-05-01 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. It should appear from a speech of the Duke of Wellington a few nights ago, and one of Mr. P e el's on Tuesday night, that a more ardent spirit of op position has been kindled iu their bosoms on the subject of the Catholic Question than was thought to exist some time ago. Certainly, since the moot ing of the Dissenting Bills, there was even an opi oion that Government was disposed to come to terms on the subject of e mancipation. This influx of repulsive zeal is said to have been derived from a high quarter, where there was till recently only a degree of passive dissatisfaction. What, then, has rendered the passive dissatisfaction at :ive ? The Person, it is said, of whose arrival and the cause we have before spoken : and the, concession to the Protestant Dissenters is to be compensated by a more fixed opposition to the Catholic claims. We have no doubt but that the great body of the English people, if they could have had their choice, ,vould have pre ferred that the concession and opposition should have changed quarters; and if both Dissen ters and Catholi cs cou ld no t b e gratified by the full enjoyment of their rights, concession should have been made to the latter, and opposition to the former. There is no nation of Non-Conformists as there is of Catholics. On the subject of taking ad vice, too, the object of every man's life, and parti cidarly that of a King, being to be loved—to be re spected—the person advised should always ask the person advising, " it by this method, which you 'counsel me to adopt, that you have become so loved and respected as I see you are ? If it is, I will fol low your counsel, and then I shall stand as high in public esteem as you do! and we shall both be loved :and valued alike!"—Tinges. The principle of a fixed duty on corn was nega tived on Tuesday night, in the House of Commons, by a considerable majority. We have stated our opinion of the Bill stow in progress through Parlia ment, that we think it can inflict no great injury or mischief on the people of England, at least no sud den mischief, provided Ministers adhere honestly to Their engagement •of suppressing small notes. It cannot, however, he denied, that it is opposed to a liberal system of policy, and that if not repealed, it may ultimately be found to retard the general com fort and improvement of mankind. Mr. Irving said that corn-laws existed in other countries as well as this, and, together, with France, instanced Spain and Portugal ! Pretty examples to follow ! Spain ;and Portugal ! Why may we not have the-Inqui sition, also, like Spain and Portugal ? And as to _France, its commercial concerns were for many years under the direction of Buonaparte, whose en iightenei mind in these matters strove to exclude English manufactures and merchandise of every kind from the whole continent ; and when he was not Lord of the ascendant, French politicians were too much occupied in the concerns of the Revolution to study the operations of the commercial laws. But r is very certain that the foundation of all free trade must be laid in a free trade in the necessaries of li fe. It s erroneous to suppose, that a year of scarcity in Eng 'and, proceeding from unfavourable seasons, is likely to be a year of searcity throughout the corn growing countries on the Continent; the very reverse has generally been, in point of fact, the case, and is steely to be so in future; for the atmospheric phe ,lomena of this country are so affected by its insular - , ;ituation, as to produce a different state of weather at :the same season from that which is observed in the rest of Europe : so that we may infer, in contradic tion to what Mr. Peel asserted, that " a free trade corn would secure ns against the possibility of high prices" Nay,—what is of more consequence to the farmer.—it would also secure us against the possibility of inordinately low prices, provided the principle were general ; for it is now well-known, that the price of grain has for some time been higher throughout the south of Europe than here in Eng :and : to which south of Europe we should have been both exporting our own grain and carrying that of the northern regions, if the lamentable prohibitory , :ystem haA not prevailed. It is obvious also, that when Parliament legislates for high prices in the article of wheat or bread, they ought in reason to , :tscore corresponding wages to the labourer. The landlordi will take care to fix corresponding rents fir themselves. But Parliament cannot, by g.ny legislative enactment whatever, oblige the farmer o employ and pay high wages to a prescribed ?lumber of labourers : the thing is impracti cable. Neither can the farmer pay a high rent, however it may be nominally fixed by lease, if his barns be unproductive, or corn unreasonably low, — The impossibility, therefore, of effecting these lattim objects, should teach senators . the wisdom not to I attempt the first ; for the first without these is im politic and erne]. It is very certain, as Sir Thomas Gooch said, " that the landed is not a separate in torest ;" but it is equally certain, that this gentle man and others, with this declaration ineeisaittly in their mouths, still continue to act as if they tho,iight ;t a separate interest. The manufacturers need not depend on the home market for the bread they eat, unless an unwise Government to ruled the matter; uor need they depend exclusively upon the home market—that is, upon the landed interest—for the purchase of their goods. But what would become of the corn-grower, if be had not the great mann, facturing towns and districts; to supply ?—if he could only dispose of his produce to the scattered population of the country and villages? Then, in deed, half the lands would go out of cultivation. It is only by a thriving state of the manufacturing iatp rest that.the landed ' interest an thrive. 'through moderate prices manufactures will flourish, the ma nufacturing tribes multiply, require wore food for their support, and end at once in both increasing the produce of the land, and raising its price by the greater demand.— lbid. As far as we can understand the Duke of Wel iirqton's system of governing, as indicated in the iceasonlngs assigned by hi m ' for consenting to the irepeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, it is this, that the Executive should, above all things, study to preserve the tranquillity of the country ; that it should leave a free course to the manifestation of public Opinion, without throwing itself in agitated questions into either scale; and when an alteration of the existing state of things is demanded, th at i t should only yield to the demand when, after an csti mate of the strength of the respective parties, that demanding the innovation is the strongest in,point of numbers awl influence, do that more inconve nience would result front the refusal than from con cession. The following passage in a speech of his grace's, on Monday night, will, we thing, bear us 071 t in the conclusion we have drawn:;—"l will as sure the Right Rev. Prelate who , sits behind me (the INhop of Durham), that if he supposes this is only an incipient measure, and that an inten tion exists to. follow this measure by others on the same subject of a similar nature, I ant no party to any such • plan. I supported the measure on the same ground as the Right Rev. Prelate, not because I wisn to destroy the system of law which existed before—nesther, I must say, do I approve of it ; but, because I considered that, under all the circumstances of the ease, it was necessary to pass this Bill, in order to preserve the peace of the Church, and the religious pee of the country." Again, in another speech delivered l,y his Grace, on the same evening, he observed, " in a Bill intended to give relief to Dissenters, and to enable them to viler Corporations on taking a prescribed declaration A is not fair to intro duce a new enactm ent against Roman Catholics. There is no person in t hi s I-lonse whose opinions are more formed and d e cided, after long reflection upon the subj ect of the Catholic Claims, titan my own—there is no man more deter mined than I am until I see a great change indeed in respect to tlud question to oppose them. But I like wise say, that there is no man more determined than I am never to give my vote for any thing which shall be like a fresh enactment against Roman Catholics." We cannot help thinking there is a great deal of siodnd sense in this system of his Grace. All Go verment, as is well observed by flume, rests for its .support on opinion. Even the despot 1/111€t have the opinion of those through whose assistance he is enabled to coerce the body of the people. The ' Duke of Wellington, in like manner, says—lf I wish my Government, to be strong, I must have opinion on my side; if lemploy - the force of Go vernment in supporting the weakest side, I give an advantage to my opponents. But, by opinion, his Grace does not . mean the opinion of the greatest number, but the opinion of those who command or influence the votes of the two Houses of Parliament. —His business, he conceives, is not so much with the soundness or policy of the measures themselves, as with the power and influence of those who advocate them. Mr. Huskisson tried a different system, and the result was not, certainly, by any means such as to en courage any Minister to tread in his footsteps. Mr. Huskisson endeavoured to carry certain measures, not because they were palateable to those who pos sess political power, but because he thought they would promote the prosperity of the country. Here, however, he failed, because the motive which deter mined those who had the power to decide was not the good of their country, but their own separate advantage : and having seen the impossibility of being in office on any other terms than those of sub serviency to the men who have the power of em ploying or dismissing him, he is now actually lower in public estimation, notwithstanding the honesty of his former intentions, than if he had never gone out of his way to benefit the public ; a lesson to all States men to be on their guard against acting on any such principle as the public good, except in so far as the public good is believed by those who possess poli tical power to be compatible with their separate good ! The Duke of Wellington carries into poli tics his strategical principles. He says, it is of no use to me that the cause is good, if I have not a suf ficient force to fight with. My force is the Aristo cracy of this country (the opinion of the majority of a body is the opinion of the whole). If they sup port me, I can go on smoothly—if they do not sup port me, I shall struggle with impossibilities. I shall be cutting blocks with razors. My own opi nion is nothing, except in so far as it may influence those who have the power ; and when those who have the power are determined Oa a certain conclu sion, the expression of a contrary opinion by me would not influence them, but deprive me of the in fluence I possess. It must be owned that this sys tem of his Grace, when a man has sufficient indiffe rence to act on it, is the easiest one for a Government. His Grace says, I assented to the demands of the Dis senters though personally far from favourable to them, because the state of opinion left me no choice. I shall, in like manner, have no objection to concede to the Catholics what they claim, whatever my own private opinion may be, if the state of public opinion renders it expedient for me to do so. If then, we wish to know what prospect there is of carrying the Ca tholic Question under his Grace's Ministry, we must inquire into the state of opinion of those who command the votes of the two Houses of Parlia ment. He professes to leave a free course to opi nion, and to be governed by that of the strongest. There is no question, we conceive, bat that the Aristocracy of the country are gradually becoming more and more favourable to the Catholics. The state of the vote at Oxford, as admitted by the Member for that University, shows how rapidly opi mok is gaining ground, when even in that Eccle siastical Corporation so large a minority should be on the side of the Catholics. At present, all the influential men among the Lawyers—all the men who are not either ignorant of the state of the ques tion, or who live in past ages—are certainly favour able to the Claims. There 'is, therefore, no reason for despondency, if the Government keep really neu tral. It is impossible that the Aristocracy of the country, who mix with the world, and, like other men, are influenced by what they see and hear, should not be affected by the opinions of the clever men of the age. Those who, from a regard for con sistency, are wedded to the side they have once espoused, will gradually quit the stage. The young generation are more disposed to analyse questions than the generation above alluded to. As we think favourably of the claims of the Catholics, we natu rally think that. they must gain by whatever improves the character of the influential part of society. The march of intellect will reach even Dukes in time.— ilforning Chronicle. The following is an extract from a Report lately published in Liverpool respecting the Tea Trade : The following t4b)e, exhibiting the comparative prices of English and Dutch Teas, in 1772 and 1827, will af ford a very curious and a very instructive exposure of the Company's evasions of the Statutes made for the protection ‘Of the public : Bohea,”i Congow. Lond. prices. 1772. )00. 7 4 (Dutch prices. Lond. prices. Dutch prices. 1 1772. 1827. 1827. 2s. lid. 8-16 Is. 711. Os. sd. 2-5 3 II 2 5 8-10 1 0 9-10 6 8 11-16 -t 11 2 7i Average, 4 0 - 4 .- II 1 11 .2 11 9.1011 4 47-100 From this statement it appears that the Company's Teas, since 1772, have fallen i❑ price about 25 per vent. only, whilst those of the Dutch have fallen about GG per cent. Thg prime cost of the Company's Tea in China, on an average of 31Ver41 years, according to their own showing, is Is. 41. per li.. They are sold at their sales in London at an advance of 92 porggpf, The advance on Dutch and American Teas, beyond tho pi - 44 ig China, is only 4S per cent. estimated by a comparison of II;g Canton with the yew York and Antwerp statements. i-Qm this it would appear that the present price of Tea let tiicJJand is one half less than the East India Company's p;ives. The question may arise here, are the Company's 'seas better in quality than the Dutch Teas ? We have often li , ;ard United States k 1 e say that the English Teas are wery superior to the Caired States Teas ; and that this arose from the Last 11.4;5. Company having a preference over every other nation ;I, the Chinese market. If, how ever, Dutch Teas are a; g, Q9 cl as East India Cm-n -inny's Teas, then, according to th,c above statement wea;o: paying much more than we ought to pay, and much nApre than we should pay were the trade to China thrown i,p,en. For instante, according to the above steement, th,t: price of East India Com pany's Teas, with the duty of 190 per cent. added, would be as under : s , d. Bohea Congou . 4 I Hyson 0 0 While Dutch Teas, with WO per cent ; duty added, would be only Bobea Congou Hvson ') 3 We will recapitulate them— _ Dutch. East India Company. a. d. • S. d, &Ilea 0 11 Congou 9 1 0. 4 11 Such a i d ilsn 5 3 4 difference as this, however,open c l to ex -0 a p: i a d na p t e io ri t l i a o p ri s s t o h m e e pa t rt as o t f p India Director•, under saonnyne; feigned signature, might give us reason for :loch a difference in price. To throw trade with-1 out giving the East India Com o ? en this amplecompen sation or time would obviously rie tn) andut-ijt3twhat • we think the public would not expect, or Par liament agree to; for NV e ought alwaysto t bear in iu mind g that the East India Company, at great risk and expellee, and time, have raised wonderful em pire in the East Indies; and that, in order to sup Dort that empire, the exclusive tr ade to China %; probably indispensable to the Company. If that trade were taken away or interfered with, t h e East Ind;a Company's financial means might be impaired; and the coi,-,seyienee might be that the Government would take into its keening the East Indian Empire. The question then wapiti Prise --would the East Indies be more valuable to England utuler the go vernment of the Government than it is at present under that of the East India Company ? It appears by the Report that China contains about 150 mil bons of people : now if this trade were thrown open, ~here would be a large population to trade with—a population of twenty millions interchanging commo dities with 150 nnlllons !—rather a startling propo sition though, s o f a r as exch a n ge of labou r for labour is concerned, DI art individual respect. This looks Well on paper ; and most would say, what an im mense market would be here opened for our manu factures ! forgetting all the while that expor tation of manufactures depends on importation of some commodity. If we import tea to the amount of 3,000,0001., we mast export produce to the amount of 3,000,0001. in payment; but if, in consequence of throwing open the trade, we were to export manufactures to the amount of 6,000,0001., and import, in payment, a double quantity of tea—say 6,000,000/., instead of 3,000,0001.—and only 3,000,000/. of tea were wanted, or could be consumed, we should have in the importers' hands a surplus of tea to the amount of 3,000,0001., which importers would not know what to do with. It is very easy for manufacturers to say we have sent out 6,000,000/. of our goods to China, and we have got back 6,000,004. of teain return, but it is quite another thing to sell . the tea for 6,000,0001. of money, ex cept, while this process of increased export and im port were going on, English tea-drinkers had got into the custom of drinking a double portion. A mania seized the people of Manchester and Glas gow, a year or two since, to export in one year cot ton goods to the amount of 80,000,000/., and Mr. Robinson mentioned this in a speech as a mark of singular prosperity ; but such quantities of cotton and other raw commodities were imported into this coun try in payment for the 30,000,000/. of goods export ed, that prices came down accordingly,and the Man chester and Glasgow men lost as much by their im ports as they gained by their exports. If, inconsequence of throwing open the tea trade, the people of this churl try were to consume, and be able to pay for, two cups of tea instead of one, then the increased exporta tion and importation might answer the purpose of the importer and exporter; not else. Now we are not quite certain whether, if the trade were thrown open, two cups of tea for one would be drunk; hut if not, what would become of the increased expor tation question, which at present dazzles the ima gination of not only manufacturers, but Lords and Commons ? It is very easy to talk and to write about exportation and importation, but quite another thing to try the experiment upon a double or any other scale, and to profit by it. Merchants to their cost, often know that it is better to send out and to receive back one ship-load than to venture upon two ; and the same reasoning that will hold good upon a small scale will upon a large one. Now we would recommend Lords and Commons, when in Parliament they make speeches, in glowing colours, pointing out th e b ene fit o f ex p ort i ng B r i t i s h manu factures to this, market and that market, to bear at the same time in mind the question of importation, in order to payment, and the sale of and payment for, the articles imported. If they do sot, their speeches will have reference to one side of the ques tion only. Here follow further extracts from the Report to which we have alluded : The Company has lately sent Teas direct from China to Canada. The results of this speculation afford matter of curious illustration. Your Committee have before them the 11.:.count of one of these sales, which took place at Quebec in the raontli of September last, and it enables them to exhibit the following comparison with the Company's sale prices, in London, of a correspoding period. Sept. 1827. Quebec. Sept. 1827. London. Hyson Skin 2s. td. 4-10 per lb Ss. 3d. 1.10 Young Hysoii 3 7 6-10 Hyson Best Solid - mow Inferior ditto 2 0 8.10 Congou 2 2 4.10 -10 Bohea -1U Pekoe -10 Gunpowder 4 10 4-lU This statement exhibits an average difference of 9 8-10 d. per lb. in favour of the Quebec sales; or, in other words, the London prices exceed those of Quebec by 211 per cent. All English travellers of intelligence will readily acknowledge that they have been struck with the superiority of the American ever the English Teas. This must of necessity be the case, even bad they been originally of the same quality, for this obvious reason, that the American Teas are fresher; because the East India Company are compelled, by law, to keep a whole year's consumption in store, and sell no Teas, therefore, except such as have been for twelve months in their warehouse. " It is a vulgar error, and one of pernicious ten dency, to imagine that the consumption of Teas in this country is general. One-third of au ounce a day is con. sidered a moderate allowance for the consumption of a n individual. At this rate the consumers of Tea, supposing, as we have already done, the consumption of Tea to be 28,300,000165. amount only to 1,240,548, or little less than one-sixth part of our computed population:—Morn ing Herald. A Contemporary, speaking of the account of lin ' ports and Exports for 182(1 and 1827, which we gave yesterday, says— That a great and beneficial augmentation has been ex perienced in our foreign trade, is unquestionable; but that the account itself has been made out - on fallacious princi ples, or in'a most slovenly form, is obvious from the plain consideration, that an excess of our exports over our im ports with the whole world, has been alleged in regard to both years alluded to, namely, for 1826, an excess of 14,000,0001., and for 182'7, of 18,000,0001. ; in two years 32,000,0001. Let us ask, how is it possible that such a state ment can be true? Nothing is more palpable than that with any one particular country there may exist a large " balance" of trade, as it is called, either favourable to Great Britain or the reverse; and the balance may be trimmed or adjusted by remittances of coin direct, or by an opposite awl indemnifying balance between Great Britain and some other country which likewise traffics with that just mentioned. But it is equally absurd to suppose that a general exportation of goods from Great Britain to all parts of the world, could exceed her imports for two successive years, and in so immense a sum as 32,000,000/. sterling, as it would be to imagine that the Thames could discharge into the sea twice the quantity of water which it receives from tributary streams and fountains. The error into which our contemporary has fallen in supposing that the statement is false, because its results do not answer his general position, " that the whole exports and whole imports of any country must exactly balance each other," arises from two causes. Before, however, proceeding to point them out, we will endeavour to show that if the present statement is false those which have preceded it are equally so. The table which we gave yesterday pointed this out with sufficient clearness. In the year ending sth January, 1825, the total imports of Great Britain were 36,146,4181., and the total ex ports 58,218,6631., giving a difference of above twenty-two millions. In the year ending sth Jan., 1826; the !lifference was thirteen millions. How does our contemporary account for these differences ? There are, as we have said, two causes for our con temporary's error-Ist, The exports of one year are never equal to the imports of the same 'year, this plain reason, that the returns are not all made with 4; twelve months. And it must be very obvious that in mr,ny cases 'accounts, especially in years of speculation, when cosiisigiments have been rashly made, may not be closed in two or three years, and in many cases not closed at all. 2d, The principal 504:17:e of our contemporary's error is his misreading of the rari.: of the document in ques tion. It contains not the declared or real value of the goods imported or exported, but their offrig/ value, The latter is entirely conventional, and adopted for gr#atiq ease in the ascertainment of the 'ludas and drawbacks. This conventional mode of estimating the value of goods we believe, agreed on so far back as 1696, antl ha respect tp quantity, not to price. From this, it is obvious, that no estimate of the money value of any article, or number of articles, can be formed from the 4eepunt in question, nor from any account similarly drawl; tip, )nor can any accurate comparison be made between goods of 4 .gis, , ,:irpilar kind, as goods im ported and goods exported for ;,he wooq part are, A very accurate comparison may, however, 14 inati; tuted between the imports of one year and . the imports of another, or between the exports of one year and the exports of another, and therefore we are justifi e d, as i n d ee d our contemporary, w ho quarrels o n l y with the account, allows, in saying that a very extraordinary inc:re4sp in our foreign com merce has taken place during the past year,—Neui Times. • • T ICK 'NAME,—_A name given in ridicule or contempt : from the French, nom de pique, iu which lan guage 7ii9uP is a movement of the head to mark a contempt for any person or thing. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, Arm 30. On the motion of the Earl of SHAFTESBURY, the amendments introduced by the Commons into the Promises and Engagements Bill, and the Records Variance Bill, were agreed to. Several Private Bills were forwarded through their re spective stages. The Earl of MALMESBURY moved for an account of the weekly returns of British Corn furnished by the In spectors in . the different towns in the United Kingdom, with the prices, according to the imperial measure, from the sth of January, 1827, to the sth of January, 1828. A greed to. On tke motion of the Earl of SHAFTESBURY, leave wag given to the Earl of Roseberry to attend the select Committee of the Commons, to be examined on the subject of the Scotch Law of Entail.—Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, APRIL 30. The SPEAKER took the Chair this evening at the usual hour. Mr. DENNISON presented a petition from the Roman Catholics of Guilford, and another from Horsham, for Catholic Emancipation. Mr. H. HUTCHINSON presented several petitions from parishes in the county of Tipperary against the Sub letting Act. Colonel BARNARD presented two petitions from the Roman Catholics of the King's county, praying for Eman cipation. Mr. PAYNE presented a petition from Banbury, in the county of Oxford, against the proposed Corn Laws. Mr. CHAPMAN presented a similar petition fiom Han ford, Lincoln.—Oidered to lie on the table. Mr. CARTER presented a petition from the Roman Catholics of Gosport, in favour of the Catholic claims. Mr. CARTER presented a petition from the Victorious Nelson Society, of Portsea, against the Bill for the Regula tion of Friendly Societies.—Referrsd to the Committee on the Bill. Mr. R. PALMER presented a petition from the Corpo ration of Oakiugham, Berks, for some alteration in the Alehouse Licensing Bill. Ordered to lie on the table. Mr. F. WILSON presented a petition from Bray, county Wicklow, and from Ballymure against any further concession to the Roasan Catholics. Mr. LITTLETON presented a petition from Stafford shire, against the system pursued by Retail Brewers. The petition prayed that the Alagistrates and Parish Ofticere should be allowed to visit Retail Breweries, as they were now empowered to visit Alehouses. The Hon. Member wished to know whether it was the intention of Govern ment to propose any alteration in the law as it respected Retail Breweries. Mr. G. DAWSON said the subject was under the con sideration of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was aware that the present system gave rise to great irregularity. Mr. STANLEY said that the retail brewers were li censed under an Excise Act, and that the Magistrates had no power to interfere. He wished to know whether the Hon. Gentleman opposite was aware of that fact? Mr. DAWSON said the subject was a very embarrass ing one, but he believed the Hon. Gentleman had stated what was the law. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL presented a petition from the Archdeacon and Clergy of Ely against any fur ther concessions to the Roman Catholics. Mr. MONCK presented a petition from the Roman Catholics of Bath, Weybridge, Chertsey, and Reading, in favour of the Catholic Claims. Mr. DAWSON brought in a Bill to enable Bankers to issue unstainped promissory notes, upon compensating the Government, which was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on Monday next. Mr. G. BANKES gave notice, that he would to-mor row move for a Select Comniittee of Inquiry, relative to those persons, whose taxes may have been increased in consequence of the repeal of the Roman Catholic Land Tax Bill. On the motion of Mr. G. BANKES, the order of the day for a Committee of the whole House, upon the East Bettor(' Disfranchisement Bill was postponed from Friday next to Monday sen'night. Sir THOMAS LETHBRIDGE brought up the report o❑ the Riddleeby Enclosure Bill, and the Bill was read a second time. Sir T. LETHBRIDGE presented a petition from the Recorder and Corporation of Wendover against further Confessions to the Roman Catholics. Mr. WIII. SMITH presented a petition from the Mem bers of the Benevolent Union Society at Norwich against the Friendly Societies' Bill. Mr. CURTEIS presented a petition from the Land owners of Coveutry and Warwick against the Corn Reso lutions. Sir J. GRAHAM presented a petition from the Roman Catholics of Carlisle in favour of the Ronan Catholic Claims, and a similar petition from the Protestant Dissen ters of Cockermouth. lie also presented a petition from the Owners and Occupiers of Land, praying for an alteration of the Laws relative to obtaining parish settle ment. Mr. HEATLICOTE presented a petition from the Inha bitants of Boston against the Roman Catholic Claims. Admiral SOTHERON presented a petition from the In habitants of Worksop, in Nottinghamshire, stating the want of accommodation in the parish church, and praying par liamentary aid to procure the necessary accommodation. Mr. HUME moved for variuus returns connected with the receipt, expenditure, &c. of Land Tax in England, Scotland, and Wales, for the last three years.—Ordered. Mr. HUME moved for returns of the Imports and Ex ports between Russia and Great Britain for the last six years, and also similar returns to and from all parts of the world and Great Britain.—Ordered. Mr. HUME presented a petition from the Operative Weavers of Blackburn, praying for the appointment of a Committee, before which the petitioners undertook to prove that by the proposed Corn resolutions the manufacturers would be deprived of bread at a reasonable price, and that a minimum of wages ought to be fixed. Mr. JOHN WOOD supported the prayer of the peti tion. Indeed, he considered the Corn Laws nothing less than a tax upon bread, and that if the landowners were en titled to such a bonus as that tax gave them, the manufac turer was entitled to a drawback on his exports as a pro tection against the low price of labour on the Continent, which gave an advantage to the foreign over the English manufacturer in the markets of Europe. Upon the question that the petition be brought up, Lord STANLEY said, he thought the appointment of a Committee would be productive of no benefit to the peti tioners, and might be productive of great inconvenience. Mr. MAXWELL said if a Committee were appointed, although it might not he able to comply with the prayer of the petitioners, the investigation would give them great satisfaction. Mr. HUME said he was one of those who objected to any Legislative interference with the rate of wages, but he sup ported the appointment of a Committee, because the evi dence before that Committee would satisfy the petitioners that their prayer could not be granted, and that the grant ing of that prayer would be productive of very serious injury to the community at large.--Ordered to be printed. Mr. H. GRATTAN presented three petitions from pa rishes in the county of Dublin, in favour of Catholic Eman cipation. LICENSING VICTUALLING HOUSES. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose, in pursuance of a notice he had given, to bring in a Bill to repeal the Act of the 35th Geo. 3, relating to the Li censing of Victualling Houses. The subject was one of great difficulty and importance, but he had a very objeet in view in this Bill. There were a number of persons selling wine only taking otit an Excise licence, and the thing bad gone on fur a number of years in this way, the practice being clearly inconsistent with the law. Of the numerous hotels in this Metropolis there were not above sixteen which complied with the express terms of the law, and the remainder were therefore open to the informations of informers. The object of this hill was to afford those persons a temporary relief until the Bill brought in by the Hon: Member for Oxf o rd was be fore the House, when an enlarged discussion might take 0 45 ,e on tl - T whple of that most important subject.-- Under these circumstances, be thought' thine "10't be uu indisposition to accede to the measure he proposed. Mr. FYSHE PALMER mentioned a case where one individual (we understood in the town of Reading) had no less than 94 informations against him. Mr. G. WOOD hoped it was not the intention of the Bill to bring retail Brewers more under the surveillance of ;,-be 14iagif;iial:v.. When Lord Goderich brought in the Pill for enabling' Retail 'FiriiWers sell beer, he ( I,4 ricclY stated that it was not intended to put them under the veillance of the Magistrates, as the retail brewers necessa rily came in collision with the publicans, who were to be protegk of the Magistrates. After a few words from Sir T. Act.ANn and Sir J.131E% The CtIANCLLOR of the IXCIIEQpEII. replied, and leave was giv'en to in the MILITIA ESTIMATES. Lord PALMERSTON rose to state the course which it was his intention to propose respecting the Militia Esti mates. lie would, for the present, move for the appoint ment of a Committee in the ordinary way, to prepare those Estimates ; and, on the bringing up of the Report, he would move for a vote on account. This was all that he intended for the present to do ; and he would await the proceedings of the Finance Committee, in order to see if they should recommend any change in the amount or na ture of these Estimates. As this was the course which he meant to take, he would now briefly move the appoint ment of a Committee to prepare the Estimates for the Dis embodied Militia of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Colonel DAVIS was desirous, before any step whatever was taken on this question, that an inquiry should he made as to the expediency and usefulness of keeping up this militia staff at all. In his opinion, the whole establish ment of the staff of the militia should be done away, as it produced no benefit cm responding to the expense which it entailed upon the country. 'I he annual cost of maintain ing it amounted to 300,000/. ; and since the conclusion of the war, in 1815, it had cost the nation 4,185,117/. Yet he would ask what benefit the country had received from this establishment ? It was true that the militia had sometimes been called out, but not for the performance of any actual services. Indeed, the practice of calling them out was rather injurious than beneficial ; for the militia con sisted principally of agricultural labourers, who were called away from their useful occupations for no other purpose that he could see than that of being drilled. Tbey were kept out only for a short time, for about as soon as they were able to distinguish their right hands from their left, they were sent back to that employmeut from which they were needlessly withdrawn. Under these circumstances, he thought the Report of the Finance Committee should be taken upon the subject ; if they recommended the con tinuance of the establishment, he would consent to its con tinuance, but the consideration of the question should lie over until their opinion was known. Lord PALMERSTON wished to explain how the question before the House now stood. The last vote for the support of the militia was up to the 24th of March, and as the establishment was still continued, the Hon. Gen tleman would sea the necessity of maintaining it whilst it was kept up. He only required a vote for its support until the opinion of the Finance Committee was made known upon it; if the Finance Committee should make any re port, he would be prepared equally with the Hon. Gentle man to attend to its recommendation. Mr. W. PEEL said, that as the subject now before the Houle related to a department of the Government with which he was connected, he wished it to be understood that the present establishment of the Militia was under going the attentive consideration of that Department. lie was not then prepared to state the result of that considera tion. He wished, however, that it might be understood, that the present Establishment was as low as by Act of Par liament it could be; in order to reduce it any lower, it would be necessary to repeal the present Act of Parliament upon the subject. For his own part, he would be unwil ling to see the Militia so reduced, that, in the event of a national emergency, it would be necessary to construct it anew. The motion for a Committee to prepare the Militia Esti - mates was then agreed t.). The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, after which the House adjourned at a Quarter to Seven o'Clock. LAW INTELLIGENCE., COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Aran. ii). The COMMON SERGEANT moved for a rule Nisi for a criminal information against two Magistrates of the county of Norfolk for alleged illegal conduct - , by which three persons, whom they had convicted under the game laws, were deprived of the remedy of ap peal to the Quarter Sessions. Lord TENTERDEN inquired whether notice of this application had been given to the Magistrates, and The COMMON SURGEANT answeringin the negative, The COURT said they could not in that case en tertain the motion.—Rule refused. THE EINC V. SAMUEL BILEY HATTON. This was a rule Nisi for a criminal information, which Mr. GURNEY obtained last term at the in stance of Mr. Lett, a Magistrate of Surrey, for a libel contained in a letter written by the defendant to a person named Poinder, which reflected upon the character of Mr. Lett, attributing to him that by improper conduct on his part an insufficient poors - rate had been made upon his property. The letter contained other imputations upon the conduct of Mr. Lett, who, it appeared, was also made the subject of ridicule by an effigy which the defendant had caused to be exhibited. Mr. KELLY now appeared for the defendant, who, he stated, had made an affidavit explaining the cir cumstances under which the letter was written, and contradicting the statement respecting the effigy. The defendant had written the letter under great irritation of mind, but had no intention of reflecting on Mr. Letta.; a Magistrate, and was sorry for what he had written. Mr. GURNEY said his client was quite -sure the defendant did not participate in any of the expres sions of regret which had fallen from his Counsel, as he had filed a most abusive affidavit. Lord TENTERDEN said, the rule must be made absolute, unless Mr. Lett accepted the apology which the defendanes Counsel made.—Rule absolute. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, AYRII. RO GIBBON r. XING AND Jo:mime. In this case the plaintiff sought to recover com pensation in damages against the defendants, for having improperly distrained his goods. The Jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff— Damages 101. PREROGATIVE COURT, APRIL 30. IN THE GOODS OF LIEUT.-COLONEL WM. READ. This was a mere ordinary motion for the admis sion to probate in this Court of an inperfect testa mentary paper left by the late Lieut.-Colonel Reed, of Madras, who died last year, which the Supreme Court of Judicature of Fort St. George bad re cognized as the last will of the deceased, and had granted administration to the widow, as constructive legatee, no legatee being distinctly named by the testator. The only property specified in the will was certain household furniture, plate, and similar articles; but it turned out that there were arrears of pay due to the deceased in this country to the amount of about 3001. The COURT, in granting the motion, observed, that some inconvenience m i g ht arise in granting ad ministration in cases of this kind, founded upon the order of the Courts in India, as had been the prac tice. It might happen that the property of the de eeased was (as in this ease) trifling in India, but of large amount in this country, and the peculi ar cir cumstances of the Courts of India might render their sentence inapplicable to the practice of this Court. No appeal lay from those Courts to any other court in this country than the Vrtvy Council. It was ex tremely desirable that a short Act sho u ld b e intro duced to remedy the defect in this particular; and the Learned Judge recommended the subject to the consideration of his Majesty's Advocate, 'and the other gentlemen of the Court who w ere in the habit of paying attention to these matters. A NEW SONG TO AN OLD TUNE,--.-At Venice, Rossuit's opera of the Siege of Corinth is in tended to be performed ; but as all allusions to the Greek question are strictly prohibited by the police, the opera will be produced under the title of the Siege of Granada ; and Spaniards anti Moors will be substituted for Turks and Greeks. W4„IoNEs, who was tried and acquitted of the murder of Mrs. JF.rt's, in Montagu-place, and con victed of stealing a coat, end sentenced to transportatiom, was on Saturday last removed from Newgate, with other convicts, to Chatham, prior to his being conveyed from thence to Van Dieman's Land. It is not true that any compromise took place (as was alleged) with the prosecu tors, Messrs. COUTTS and Co., as regards the forgeries which Jorms wag stated to have committed upon his mas ter, Mr. DUNCOMBE, law-stationer, of St. Clement's-Inn: The sisters of Jowirs are very amiable and accorOptißbo women, whose connuctions are respectable, and wlm are deiery - Ally admired ; and in consequence of certain rem_ the Duchess of Sr. ALBAN'S, the firm of COUTTS and Co, repre sentations having been made to Sir Cotrirs TitorrEtt and declined prosecuting. It is well-known that Mr„l9 Ngs, the father of the young man, like to;OY 13,ther literary m en , was very upfortimatr in his specul ati o ns. Sinc e the trial of 4oNEs, his unhappy moth er has been in a des p o nding Jos a fact th a t C IIARLOTTv State of mind, and on Sunday last she died o f a bro,ken heart. Wm. Joses was her favourite so n , and from the period of his being charged w i t h t h e cri me of murder, his B m E l t il ;T r' : s w he b a o, ltl: ..ob d n, ec b l i i te oe d d• wit i h t i mrs, a n d gave evidence against him on his trial for the murder, has subsequently visited him several times in Newgate,../Vo rn i ng Paper. , THE MARKETS. COAL MARK Adair's . 335.63. Beaumont 3l 6 Heaton - 333 6 Rebburn Main Jesmond New,,,,,.,,,,,,,,,,, 28 3 Killingworth Liddell's Main..„— 30 9 Old Walker--. 0 Pelaw 31 6 Pontop Wind50r,......_.._ 31 0 Tantield - 3 l 3l 6 Wylam 32 9 WallsEndßewicke&Co. 38 6 Ditto Brown's 36 0 Ditto Carr and Co.— 33 6 Ditto llilda 6 Ditto Hotspur l5 6 Ditto Perkins and Co. 36 0 Ditto Russell's Ships at market, 63—Ships :ET.-..April 30. Wally w En a d it N e e r wm , arch. ; al gu• Ditto Ede n Main 93 v Lambtonl Primrose 3b Neskam 2 6 ; Walls End Hett0n......... 30 ; I Walls End 96 Ditto Stewart's , 3O 7, Blyth • Cowpen 29 6 9 Cannel (per 4.9 Shildon Main ' 33 Llangenneth n 40 ; Milford Coal !SS ' n " Welwood Main • S 9. Walls End Old Etherley 36 Ditto 14ender50n........... 20 " Ditto Nutt 90' 4 .6 Tantield Trader V " sold. 3511--Übseld. .N MARKETS DURING THE WEI6 II ' Wheat. Barley. Oar's. COUNTRY CO NN h eat .1 Barley. Oa;s. BesaL Per Quarter. 8. to s. s. to 8. 8. I. Abingdon— 51 66 35 42 35 42 Andover. 58 50 23 Birmingham-- 48 62 30 34 24 40 -- Bridport 52 56 32 39 26 2g Cirencester 48 56 27 30 24 26 4b a Faringilon—..— 48 51 36 38 24 34 Guildford -- 44 61 36 45 22 30 - Henley 5O 66 32 43 26 34 ,vv Hereford 64 66 46 50 42 Clighworth .. 46 62 30 36 23 34 Maidenhead 60 138 39 42 28 38 Oakingham ...... 56 60 30 36 28 36 Reading --. 58 75 26 34 21 33 41 Salisbury--. 52 61 27 32 22 26 Southampton 52 56 37 40 80 32 Stroud Tewkesbury —.. 54 60 40 42 33 38 Uxbridge 66 74 30 34 24 32 Wantage---._ 55 68 27 32 2O 32 4A Wanninster —44 i 28 :+5 21 30 Windsor 5B 66 32 37 23 30 Worcester 52 64 34 22 33 CHELTENHAM MARKET.—ApriI 22. Per Bushel. e. d. to s, d. Per lb. Wheat Barley Oats Bean. 4 2 6 6 Latnb Pease 5 0 8 U Pork .......... ........... Hay 3l. Os. to 41. Os. per ton. a. to d' 6 6 6 6 1) .. 1 R LEWES MARKET.—ApriI 29. White Wheat (per quarter)....,.. £3 - 2 0 to 43 5 0 Red ditto Barley Oats, ?dew Pease 1 18 . 0 2 4 0 Oil Cake, New HULL MARKET.—ApriI J. This day's market has only been thinly attended, 'idle by farmers or purchasers, a nd th e p r i ces o f the finest wh' 4i have undergone no variation from last week ; secon4l qualities are not free sale, and there is only a limited d e ,' 'nand for liberated for e i gn , th e s t oc k s o f w hi c h are g reat reduced. We have a speculative inquiry for oats, but O f low prices, and but little business is doing. Good fill' beans are in request, and ls. per quarter higher. l' 4° alteration in peas. Beet runs of barley maintain late prices , and sell freely; other descriptions are bad to quit. Rap!' seed dull sale, at a decline of I/. per last. Linseed is l'' very limited demand Wheat, Old 525. 545. 5&. New —a. M. 'l''' Foreign —s. 50s. Ms. Oats, Poland —s. 20s. 21s. Sinall or Feed.... —s. 14.5. 193. Foreign —s. 21s. 225. —s. — a . s ,„ Barley, Norf. & Sot ... —s. 325. 335. Line. & Wokl -••••.i. 28s. 17 . , Foreign —a. —S . •""'; Beans ___... 18s. 40s. Us. Foreign ..: , —a. .-.4. "''''. Pease, White —s. —s. --s. Grey Tares —s 365. 40s. Foreign Rapeseed, in bond per last none. Free --I. 01 x"" DUMFRIES MARKETS.—ApriI r 3. s. d. s.d. s. d. a-61 (; Wheat, Imp. Bush... 6 6 to 6 9 B u tt er , I6 oz Barley 4 0 4 6 Eggs, dozen ....... 0 0 • ° Oats '3 4 3 9 Beef, per lb. ' 0 4 0 r Flour, Illb. Oatmeal Potatoes, cwt. In the Hide market at present scarcely any thing!' doing. Black-faced, 2s. ; and white-faced, Ss. 6d. ' CATTLE iNfaxxxr.---Our supply of cattle this week' though considerabiy inferior to that of last week, wet• nevertheless, very fair—their numbers were as follows-- - 431 three-years-olds ; 103 two-years-olds ; 47 htgli" landers ; 61 stirks ; '7 greys ; 10 cows, and 2 bulls: total 661. The drove cattle were an excellent show, a t) most of them were fit for the knife ; dealing, however+, was dull, although not so much so as last week. MEETINGS OF CREDITORS. LONDON DIARY.---Feinav, MAY 2.--At the Court °I Commissioners, Basinghall-street. 1 1 Barnar, I , Leman-street, jeweller ll Barnes, T., Wittershain, Kent, draper . •le Brindley, H., Coleman-street, saddler 0 Carter, J. Oxford-street, furrier , „ .... „ ....... ...; .. ; ... .......... 1 J Edwards, ~ Water-lane, victualler • ll Fennell, S., St. Mary Axe, merchant lO Fountain, ...I , St. Neat's, draper ' 1 1 Germain, T., Drury-lane, baker 1) Gray, T., Berwick-street, corn -dealer ll Hassell, G., Hanover-street, dealer • Haynes, .1., Gutter-lane, baker Horsley, J., Billiter-s quare , merc h ant „ l l' Lewis, W., Finch-lane, printer • 1 1 Mathcwman, It., Leeds, clothier Parkinson, J., Islington, builder COUNTRY DlARY.—Sarcansv, MAT 3. Massenger, Wigtown, Cumberland—Half Moon inn, Lancaster ll Moreland, R., Borwick, Lancashire—King's Arms inn Lancaster Watts, W., Oldbury-on-the_Hill, Gloucestershi re —Mite Hart, Tetbury lsl Wignall, C., Liverpool—George, Liverpool INSOLVENTS APPLYING TO BE DISCHAROED , Petitions to be heard at Portugal-street, May 6, at Nine. Arthur, William, Mitcham, tailor • - • Berry, Henry, Paddington, carpenter Bird, Islington, bookbinder Cafe, Jacob, Pimlico, shoe-maker Chapman, Philip, Southwark, milkman Ilaydon, 'Thomas, Cheapside, attorney Hodges, Edward, Lewisham, poulterer - • - Hough, John, Fetter-lane, jeweller Murrell, Adam, Leadenhall.market, huteber Nicholls, Daniel, Holborn, cabinet-maker Rees, Thomas, Limehouse, labourer Rice, Edward, Goswell,street road, dealer Prin, Henry, Tottenham-street, cabinet-maker Taylor, Richard, Paddington, bricklayer Tape, John, Cripplegate, porter Tidmarsh, Johu, Newington, grocer - Well;, George, Nottingham, lace-manufacturer Whitton, Richard, Greenwich, wheelwright Witcher, Thomas, Deptford, mariner BIRTHS. On the 28th ult. at Armitage -park, in the county o f Stafford, the Right H on . L a d y Ribbleadale, of a son an d heir. On the 29th ult, the lady of Wm. Denny, Esq. Purg e°l4 - High Wycombe, Bucks, of a eon. On the 27th ult. at Marshgate-cottage, Richmond, the lady of Richard Hunt Matthews, Esq. lately of Buxar, in the East Indies, of a daughter. On th e 30th u l t. i n Y or k terrace, R egent ' s-par k • the lady of John Nelson, Esq. of a daughter. • • On the 29th ult., in Cadogan-place, Mrs. T. Woad' wood, of a (laughter. MARRIED. On Tuesday, April 29, at Kingscote, Gloucestershire , the Rev. Allan Gardner Cornwall, to Caroline Marianne, youngest daughter of the late Thos. Kingscote, Esq. On the 29th nit. at All Saints, Worcester, Cornelius Wheeler, Esq. of Crutched-friars, London, to Miss Hide , of Newport-street, Worcester. Lately, at Halifax, Thomas Walker, Esq. of Tenter tield-house, near Leeds, to Rebecca, daughter of John Sharpe, Esq. of Philadelphia. On the 17th ult. at York, R. H. Nicholls, Esq. of Edenham, Lincolnshire, to Charlotte, second dau g hter of the Rev. Isaac Grayson, Rector of St. M ary ' s, C ast l ega tr, in that city. PIED. On the 30th ult. in Stratford-place, Harriet, 6d," Wilson, wife of Sir Griffin Wilson, of Wooburn-house , Back., one of the Masters of the High gotta of Chance)" , and the only surviving sister of Vice-Admiral Sir %Won Hotham, K.C.B. of Hinde-street, Manchester-sqnare. On the 30th tilt. at Hampstead, John Lee. Esq. ion' of Blakebro()k-common, near Kidderminster, in the 28th ' sear of his age. On t, thep i lti 9t e h l ds, nit.a A ged i B r. 4 ..l re •On the 29th u l t. i n Queen-square, Bloomsbury, blioe oseph Hamblin, of Prince'i - Alary Halket, aft er a l ong illness. On the 28th .1. French, Esq. of Guilt'ord, Stirrer. aged 51. On the 25 t h ult. at Stoke-Newington, Thomas Haut mond Coope r , E sq . l ate o f N or th W a l s h am, county o f Nor folk, one of his Majesty ' s Justices of the Peace, and l ate s Deputy-Lieutenapt for that county, aged 53. At his s ea t, Summerville, n ear Li mer ick, Charle 4 t SI ita Hartney, Esq. Lately at Jamaica, Capt. Edmund Nagle Fteynolds, the third son of Wm. Reynolds, Esq. of Malpass-house, MDR' mouthshire, and grandson of the late W. Larkins, EMI' Accountant-General of Bengal. On the 28th ult. at Islington, Mr. T. Brown, in the SOth year of his age. Lately, at Woodbridge, John Clarkson, Esq. tee Founder and first Governor of the Colony of Sierra Lea , ' aged 61. Lately, at Turnham-green, Mr. John Cuthell, o f Middle-row, Holborn, bookseller, aged 65. - ' YHISTED apd PUBLISHED by 31. YOU SG, at the I.3UN OFFICt No, 112, Strrott, I onZion i l '~ T VAU( Dock, and ab, APE' r . from • No. Adn aPplica n( 11l widely has b el he rest THE CHAIs Period fere ( f a , "tided, and 1.4 with 1 of RU] Plea and Pe A' ABOL ARM SONS' en SA' ilii The Chair 1 the Sot timed t teener OF PURE the imi Prices, Coed Ver F Th e Some Al SEA, and al 0 T- 1 1 10 T-1 and im the me ho w, that he and the x - perin for pi n riot D arising 'louse ( unall fi ether COVE Metal 1 J. I HILL, )le has "heftil 'Work?! PET Ce sTov t 4 13 D G' leetha hnbed from ti %trett, of th e Atediee to p ro f twith ea , 4 1d thl 'teed of Iteenaiu ttt tulle Co n 4fAll I.O OK ~';ti +,