The Sun. — London, England, 1841-02-10 00:00:00

MORNING EDITION• in the course of this Session, to see a similar benefit conferred by this measure on the people of England.— Hear, hear.) Ho apologized to the House for under taking a measure connected with a profession to which be did not belong, but he had thot4ht much on the subject, and being convinced of its great importance, had felt it. to be his duty to undertake it.—(Cheers.) Mr. EW ART hoped he might be allowed to express an opinion on this subject, having been solicited by in dividuals in that part of Lancashire to -which he be longed to introduce a similar measure. /These Courts existed, and were found very beneficial, in Scotland and Ireland, and he hoped they would soon be established in England. He, however, thought it would be better not to prevent the Judges practising as barristers. 'there was one innovation in the Bill worthy of all praise, namely, that the evidence of witnesses was not to be limited by technical rules. Let a witness be sifted as much as possible, but let his evidence be taken Iptantion valeat. He should be glad to see, by way of supplement to this measure, one for introducing a sys tem of stipendiary Magistrates throughout the country. Colonel WOOD would caution the House to take care 30 to limit the measure then before them, and the number, and the appointment of the Judges, that the new Courts would not be made instruments for admi nistering erielnal lustier?, while they were made the means of recovering debts and adjudicating in civil cases. He thought the two subjects should be kept totally distioet. Generally speaking, however, he be lieved the proposed measure would be of great advantage to the poorer classes of thr community.—( Hear.) Mr. 1 - IU.ME could not con reive how the adoption of the measure could lead to the danger that eiminal and civil jurisdiction would be confounded by its provi sions. He completely coincided i s the views expressed by his Hon. Friend the Member for Wigan (Mr. Ewart), and his only regret on that occasion was that tt.e Bill did not go further than was pro pe,ed. The cheap and easy administration of justice was en objet of the utmost importance to the community at large ; and he certainly felt that the measure just introduced would tend very materially to secure that object. Mr. HAWES was glad that the Bill had been brought forward. He hailed the measure as a bold ef fort on the part o.c . her Majesty's Ministers to endea vour to lesien the costs of the law, and facilitate the admit-.istration of justice. Numbers of sm dl debt bills had been formsrly passed, almost every year, through the House, each rendering the law more per plexed by introducing new princip!es. At present there were innumerab!e small Courts, with various de grees of jurisdiction, the patronage of which was placed in the bends of private individuals. He thought such a system extremely injurious to the due administration of justice ; and he hoped the rights of patrons would not prevent the passing of the measure then before them. Tae Hon. and G illant OMeer had given no reason for his opinion, that the giving to these Judges criminal and civil ju,isdic'ion would act injuriously. If in the me tropolitan districts they had competent Judges under the Po'ice Act, why should they not have additional . duties imposed upon them, if they had time to discharge such duties ? He saw nothing injurious in such a plan, and he thought the public, having gone to a very great expense in the establishment of those Courts, were en titled to have them made as beneficial to the people as possible. The vesting the appointment of Judges of these Courts in the Lord Chancellor or the Lord Chief Justice, would remove all objections that could be made on the score of political patronage. That was a subject which had been much discussed in the Committee, and he understood the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Pembroke to say that he had no oljection to give the patronage of these Courts to the Lord Chan cellor, or the Lord Chief Justice, but that he would prefer the Lord Chief Justice. Healso understood the Right Hon. Gentlemen as having stood less for the rights of the existing patrons. Now, if a great and useful measure of this nature were opposed by Hon. Gentlemen merely for the sake of preserving their pri vate patronage, it would give great support to the opi nion that that House existed more for private purposes than for public benefit ; and he hoped that when the question was next discussed,they should hear a greatdeal less about the loss of patronage by private individuals and a great deal more of the necessity of securing a good administration of justice than they had done on former occasions. Mr. O'CONNELL thought that the want of that, the introduction of which into the measure had been deprecated by the Hon. Member for Middlesex, consti tuted its great evil. The Judges of these Courts aught to possess both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Let them look at the anomalous state of the law regu lating these Courts in the different countries. In Eng land by this Bill the Judge of the County Court had civil jurisdiction only ; in Ireland he might possess both civil and criminal jurisdiction ; and in Scotland, where he had originally only criminal jurisdiction, civil jurisdiction had been recently superadded ; so that in the three different countries there were three different me thods adopted in the administration of justice. In many Cases of civil trial it was necessary that the Judge should have criminal jurisdiction, and nothing could be more anomalous than this Judge half dead and half alive, this paralytic Judge—(A laugh)—who was alive on one side only—alive on the civil, but dead on the criminal side.—(A laugh.) What the Hon. Member opposite was afraid of was, that they would interfere with the jurisdiction of the Magistrates. (Hear, hear, from Colonel T. Wood.) In Scotland, the Magistrates had very little to do he believed, and that was just what they were fit fo--(A laugh)—and it would be for the benefit of this country if the Magis trates here had also the same opportunity of indulging in dignified leisure extended to them. An unpaid Ma gistracy was a perfect anomaly which had no existence in any other county.—(Cheers.) The Magistrates' Court could not, at all events, be considered as a poor man's Court ; at all events he had never known an in stance in which the being rich had been a disadvantage to a man before the Magistrates.—(Cheers.) He thought it would be batter in all cases to leave the ad ministration of justice to paid and responsible authori ties.—(Cheers.) He was sorry to see that the Bill proposed to give patronage to the Judges. The Lord . Chancellor was one of the Ministers of the day, remov able with the Ministry, and, therefore, the giving patronage to him was, in tact, giving it to the Ministry—but if they wished to devise a method for spoiling the Lord Chief Justice, they could not possibly invent one more effectual or more calculated to degrade him into a political partisan than the giving him the ap pointment of the Judges of those Courts. The Bar at present was quite subservient enough to the Bench. Mr. Sergeant TALFOURD—No, no. Mr. O'CONNELL—Not subservient enough ? (Roars of laughter, in which Mr. Sergeant Talfourd joined.) Now if they gave the Lord Chief Justice the appointment of these Judges, they would have the entire rising Bar subservient to him. Not a junior barrister would express an opinion or take a part in any political discussion until he had ascertained the opinion of the Lord Chief Justice. lie hoped that in the progress of the Bill some clause would be introduced to give the .Judges of th e C oun t y C our t s cr i m i na l as well as civ jurisdiction, in the same manner as was now exercised by the Judges in the higher Courts, and he felt con vinced that the public would be highly benefited by - having the criminal as well as the civil jurisdiction brought home to their own doors. Mr. WARBURTON hoped the provisions of that Bill would provide for the proceedings and practice of the Courts. He should wish to see the same proceed ings adopted in these Courts, as were adopted before de Commissioners of Bankrupts, where both litigant I arties were brought before the Judge and examined. Mr. FOX M A ULE—It is so ; such arc the provi sions of the Bill. Mr. WA R BURTON-oh, very well; then I have nothin ; more to say. Mr. 0. KNIGHT trusted that he should never see the day when stipendiary Magistrates should be placed in the room of those who had so effectively performed their duties, and administe red the justice of the country. He should be extremely jealous of any measure that would have that effect. The Bill now before the House was not of that character, and he hoped it would not be followed up by any such measure as had been suggested by the Hon, Member for Wigan. Mr. VILLIERS supported the Bill. He believed that nothing was so detrimental to large districts, as baying unpaid Magistrates. Mr. CRESWELL would be most anxious at all times to render every assistance in his power to perfect a measure that would give justice to the poor at a cheap rate, but the great difficulty, in his opinion, was so to frame a measure as to give satisfaction to those it Was intended to benefit. Another point to which he would refer, and which appeared to have been made a ground o f objection against the Bill, was the patronage given by it to the Judges. He trusted that he valued the integrity and independence of the bar as highly as any man living ; but he entertained no apprehension that that independence, or that integrity, would be at all diminished if the patronage referred to by the Hon. Member were given to the Lord Chancellor or to the Chief Justice. The Hon. Member had said that the bar was sufficiently subservient to the Judges already. He (Mr. Cresswell) did not know whether he meant by that to insinuate that they were too subser vient, but he defied any man who had been in the habit of visiting Westminster Hall to substantiate a charge of want of independence and integrity against the members of the bar. It was their pride, that al though they felt a proper raspeet for those functionaries who administer the law, yet they maintained perfect independence and firmness in all that related to the interest of their clients. Would any man pretend to say that there had been any alteration of late in the conduct of the members of the bar ? No one would say so ; yet the Judges nad exercised considerable pa tronage in the appointment of revising barristers — (Hear)—and he apprehended that there could be no greater proof of the uprightness and independence of the bar than was furnished by the fact that not the least change had been produced in their political opi nions by the appointments of the Judges.--(Hear, hear.) It Was the consciousness of their integrity and bcnour which supported them in the discharge of their arduous duties. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. Mr. FOX MAULE then moved for leave to bring in a Bill to enable th© Lord Chancellor to direct that certai❑ proceedings from the Court of Chancery, and matters i❑ bankruptcy, insolvency, and lunacy, may be . _ carried to the County Courts. The Hon. Gentleman said that the Bill which he now proposed was some what connected with that which had already been dis- cussed. He took it for granted, in addressing himself to this second Bill, that the County Courts had been established. It was not his intention to enter on that occasion into the great questions of insolvency and bank ruptcy. That question must be touched upon in another Bill, and required to be brought forward by one whose views were far more practical and enlarged than his own. All that he proposed; in the present case was to give to the Lord Chancellor power to refer to the Judges of the County Courts those matters in bankruptcy and insol vency which now came under the jurisdiction of Com missioners. In the Rep art of Commissioners on Insol vency and Bankruptcy it was stated that it appeared to them by the evidence that there were strong grounds for alteration in the present mode of administering the laws relating to bankruptcy. There were in the country seven hundred Commissioners in one hundred and forty Courts ; by devolving the business which had b;en trans acted by these Commissioners upon the Judges of the County Courts, a saving would take place which would go aery far towards meeting the expense attendant upon those Courts. Another point which he would just refer to was the expense attendine- the imprisonment of debtors. A great saving would he effected in this res pect by the. Bill ; there were numerous cases of debtors suif ring incarceration who, when their cases came to be deei led, were not charged with acting fraudulently. The frequent sitting of the County Courts would give to tlmose unfortunate men more speedy relief than they could obtain under the old system. He also proposed to refer cases of lunacy, which were now brought before the Lord Chancellor, to these Courts. The present system worked most injuriously ; it was found to be very iaconvenient ; and he was quite sure that if Commissions of Lunacy were transferred to these Courts a saving of nearly 10,000/. a-year would be effected. But it might be asked, would the Judges, whom he proposed to appoint by the first Bill, be able to dispose of all the business which, by this; second Bill, would be devolved upon them. Possibly they would not ; but in order to prevent any inconvenience which might arise in that way, he had inserted a clause in this second Bill, giving to the Lord Chancel lor power to increase the number of Judges if any in creme should be required. Thesa were the main pro visions of the Bill, which be trusted would meet the approval of the House. Mr. HAWES thought it would be inexpedient to have uny discussion on the measure until the Bill was before the House ; but he might be permitted to say that it was one of the most important measures as regarded the commercial interests of the country, that had ever been brought before Parliament.—(Loud cheers.) There was nothing so well known as the un satisfactory state of the Bankruptcy-law, and no sub. ject had been more generally complained of by the commercial interests. A. new system had certainly been introduced of late in the metropolis, and had given great satisfaction to all parties competent to form an opinio❑ on the subject. He trusted it would be more generally followed up under the provisions of the pre sent Bill. . . . . Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. COPYRIGHT OF DESIGNS. Petitions on the subject of the Copyright of Designs were presented by Mr. O'Connell, from calico printers of Manchester and Leeds ; by Mr. Colquhoun, from Paisley and other places; and by Mr. E. Tennent, from Belfast and Manchester. On the motion of Mr. E. TENNENT, the House then went into a Committee of the whole House to consider the laws relating to the Copyright of Designs. Mr. FRESHFIEI.D in the Chair. Mr. E. TENN ENT said it was not his intention to introduce any new principle of legislation, nor any new law, but simply to give efficacy to the laws which had been in existence for the last half century. He had had the honour of introducing a 1111 in the course of last Session, to extend the p.riod of taking the benefit of the copyright from three to twelve months, but in the imperfect state of the information possessed by the House, the Right Hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Trade, had expressed his unwillingness. The House, however, would recollect that a great propor tion of the goods manufactured, to come within the provisions of his proposition, were to find a market in the East and West Indies, and he did not think the proprietors asked too much when they required twelve months as the period within which they might obtain remuneration for the labour and capital they had ex pended. The copyright of designs, in every branch of the art., was most carefully preserved in France, and there a party might obtain the copyright for a period of one, three, five, or ten years, or even in perpetuity. What was the amount of protection which the copy right furnished in the present state of the law ? Instead of five or fifteen years, or perpetuity, as on the Conti nent, it was, in England, only a protection of three months. That protection was granted fifty years ago. But the improvements of modern times, and par ticularly the application of electro-magnetism to these branches of art, had reduced the operations of months to weeks, and consequently increased facilities were furnished to the pirating copyists. The House, ho was sure, would admit that it was not fair that there should be one law for the producer of designs for silks, and another for that of designs for cottons. Was it not absurd that the individual who invented designs for silk should have a protection of twelvemonths' copyright, but the originator of designs for cottons should have only a copyright of three months ? The latter merely asked the same privilege as the former— that was, that the term of the copyright be extended to twelve, instead of three months. That proposition was surely a reasonable one, and yet, he regretted to say that opposition was offered to it. However, the opposition was but partial. In England, Scotland, and Ireland, the cotton trade was carried on very eaten ' sively, and yet throughout the entire of the manufac turing districts, in each of these countries, not a single person objected to the assimilation now sought to be established, save a few individuals in one district who were, he had no doubt, acting under mistaken views respecting the ob ject of the present Bill. He would read to the House extracts from evidence given before the Committee of last year. The gentleman, whose evidence he should first read, was a person of great influence, and one wso was opposed to giving an extension of the copy right, he was a Mr. Brooks. That gentleman avowed that he was himself a most extensive copyist of other men's designs, both during the existence of the term of copyright and afterwards ; he was so sometimes with loss to himself, but generally with prafit ; lie produced the copies on inferior cloth ; when remonstrated with for thus proceeding in a manner which was injurious to individuals, and upon being asked how ho should act if proceeded against, he said that he did not think he acted unjustly on account of the shortness of the copy. right term, awl that if he was proceeded against for damages, he would oppose and rely on his purse for success. That, observed the lion. Gentleman, was the confession of a repentant pirate copyist. The next evi dence was that of Mr. Luc is, of the house of Lucas and Co., calico-printers. The Hon. Gentleman then proceeded to read extracts from the last-named person's evidence, which stated that their house purchased printed goods to a very great extent, generally about 60,0001. a month ; and that they seldom employed an original designer, for that they could find a copyist who would undertake the task at his own price, and at a cheaper rate than the other could. " But," added Mr. Lucas, " I do not object to the protection of three months, for I never found it any protec tion whatever to the printer.' The evidence of Mr. Stirling, of the house of Henry and Co., Island-bridge, Dublin, stated, that in December 1839, they delivered 700 pieces to Mr. Hosier of London, and that in the January ohreodsa !Ila te f o 2 11 h0 o: up i s n eo g r , mo B oe 3 on to o .fi f ltoo t st h su o r s te e hda d oo e nsti they tenorwere b c r lo o t u h gh a t nd to eff t obtained for the original designs. Mr. Henry's business was almost at a stand, o a pl s oamt h t e ee r w no a .f s e n ,vr e i v idi e ee r rnec a ew b l ao e sn, to ct ho e ne ff t ti e na c bu t el ed a , sociceonndoosa.le Member, o f a ny n a e w v filled with details of the ruinous consequences to honest traders of the practices to which he alluded. He might be asked if there were infractions of the existing law of three months copy-right, why did not t he injured party vindicate their rights by application to the legal authorities? His answer was, that it would not be worth their while. The copyright would have expired before the legal proceed ings would have bee n well commenced. He contend ed that the present deficiency in the law, and the preva lence of piracy, arose from the small extent of the term of He was . prepared to show that, for its own purposes. Its object. tivewasiqvausitetogivetothe successful inventor the benefit of his own invention. He would, to confirm his statement, take, for ex s ample, continuedt h e sale in of fashion ladies' dresses.from sevenArttoiclte:coisfetmhaotontials generally, and sometimes as long as two years. The inventor of designs was onl y p rotected fcr three months, and thus the copyist had very nearly as much benefit as the inventor. —(Hear.) The Hon. Member next adverted to the non-extension of protection to those engaged in the sewing embroidery of muslin, a branch of manufacture which was carried on extensively in Glasgow and Paisley, and also in Ireland. The manufacturers of furniture calico had, he observed, a similar gronnd of complaint ; the sale of their articles continued much longer in the market than that of others, and their business was something similar to that of parr-stainers, who had a copyright of 12 months given them by Poulett Thom son's Bill. That extension was all that be (Mr. T.) asked for the calico printers, and he was certain that if it were granted them, it would be a stimulus to trade, it would bring an increased number of designs into the market, and augment the number of conaumere, The TB E SUN. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1841. deterioration whicharticlesof manufacture suffered in this country arose from the present state of the laiv. Another gentleman, Mr. Applegarth, stated that he was offered designs by Sir R. Smirke for a new class of calicoes for the interior decorations of rooms, but on calculating the cost, anal taking into consideration the term of copyright, he found he should lose by the spe culation, and was obliged to decline them. On another occasion, he states that Sir David Wilkie, on his return from Italy, having been struck with the beauty of the interior decoration of the houses in Italy, gave him a series of designs in imitation of them, but for the same reasons as in the former instance he w..s obliged to return them. We complain of the low state of arts in this country ; but here were three instances in which the imperfect state of the law had prevented their improvement. He had already spoken of the ad vantages which he expected to derive from the exten sio❑ of copyright. He was (pito aware of the argu ments by which he might be met, and could only say that when they were brought forward he should be quite pnzpared to grapple with them ; and in consequence of recent circumstances he was now in a better po3ition to do so than when the question was last before the House. One of the chief objections was the timidity on the part of several Member 3 of the Committee lest the exten- sion of the copyright, by giving increased value to de sign, should lead to increased litigation as to ttlat was original design and what was not ; but as this d;dieulty existed under the present law, towards the close of the Committee this and other arguments were successively abandoned, and towards the close of its last sitting most of the, Members were content to concentrate their opposition on one point, namely, that if for twelve- months they prevented calico printers in this country from copying one another's designs, and had no means of pre venting a foreign calico printer from copying the designs, , eve should have English designs copied abroad an sent into tha market in competition to England. The impos- sibility of this was manifest from three circum stances. In the lrst place, our designs must be better than their own, and he belicred tint no person would say that the designs of England were not in every respect inferior to those of France; but even sup posing tl.at is point of execution, effect, and elegance, the designs of England were equal to those of France, there would still be another consideration, viz., would they be saleable in the English market. Every ono knew that tha taste of England in these particulars was different to the taste of Prussia and France. The fact was, that style was S 9 different that the prints of one country would he quite useless in others if the copyright were open to them. And thirdly, even supposing that these designs were suit- ablJ to the foreign market and taste, there ;till remained the important cons deration that it was impossible they could . . enter into full competition with England unless the printers in those countries could produce them cheaper. An assertion was mate in the Committee that Belgium could produce printed calicoes, in competition with those of England, at 20 to 25 per cent. cheaper than England. lie had recently visited that country, and he had documents to prove that, so far from this being the case, in every in stance they were 50 per cent. dearer than ours ; and more over, if this as,ertisn were true, how came it that they put prohibitory duties on our g' ode ?—( Hear, hear, hear.) lirt felt much indebted to the Ibuse for its patience in listening to him. He felt this to be a most important subject, connected with a most important branch of trade. It was impossible that any country could compete with England, so long as England commanded the supply of •300 millions of our own subjects. If Eng land were true to herself and her own interests, she must retain the superiority she at present enjoyed; and if, in addition to this, she would give encouragement to artists, she would inerc:sse that superiority, both in taste and in cheapness of production, and render it morally impossible for any other nation to enter into successful competition with her. For these reasons he trusted the House would assent to the prayer of the petitioners, who were so largely connected with the trade of this country, and assent to this proposition, which, without doing injury to any, would confer great benefit on all. He therefore moved resolutions to enable him to bring in a Bill to amend the Laws affecting the C,pyright of Dcsigns._( Hear.) Mr. O'CONNELL seconded the motion. Mr. M. PH EL LIPS said, that when this question was brought before the House last Session, he had felt it to be his duty not to oppose any inquiry into the subject, be cause at that time he hid not full confidence in the opi. nion he entertained as to the impolicy of an extension of the copyright of design. But he was bound to Say that, having paid considerable attention to tho evi- dence produced before the Committee, he now felt it to be his duty to oppose the motion, as he Fad now a firm conviction decidedly hostile to the exten- sioa of copyright of designs. He approached this sub ject without the least possible bias, as must be obvious to the House, connected, as he was, with so large a portion of this trade, that he could form no opinion on which he could agree with the whole of them, and that whatever opinion he formed he must uffand a large portion of his constituents. He was therefore opposed on principle to this extension, but he begged to premise a few observa tions, although it was not his intention to take that step in opposition to the proposed Bill of his Honourable Friend. He was, ho confessed one of those who did not think so lightly as his Hon. Friend respecting that " bugbear" of foreign competition on which he had enlarged. His Hon. Friend had enjoyed au opportunity which few other Members of the Committee had dune, of recently visiting the Continent, He much wished that it had fallen to his lot to hare effected a similar journey ; but inasmuch as he had to deal with the evidence alone given before that House, he was unable to take ad vantage of that further information which his Hon. Friend possessed. It was the evidence taken before the Com mittee on which the public formed their opinion, and, unless the question was again referred to a Committee, he was bound to abide by those opinions be had formed from reading that evidence. He must say he did not think it safe for us to assume that the degree of competition to which we found British manufactures now exposed, was the same as that to which they would be exposed five, or ten, or fifti en years to come.—( Hear, hear)—for he would ask whether it was the same now as it was fifteen years ago ? The degree of competition in every branch of industry was now far greater, wider, and more extensive than could have possibly been imagined at the period he had named. Ha therefore thought it was not a safe argument to make ute of with regard to the prospective industry of this country, that because competition did not now bear us down in neutral markets, it would be safe to speculate on the present state of things. His Hon. Friend had assumed that the French were superior in designs to the English. rie believed ho must grant this to be the case, but if the extension of the period of the copyright of designs had a tendency to induce Englishmen abroad to copy these articles, the foreigner must still produce these articles at cheaper cost to put them in competition to the original design, conferred for a longer period than the present. Then with respect to protection to these designs, it appeared to him that the calico trade of this country was so diversified, and divided into so many interests, that no one rule could be mede ap- plicable to all. He bad a strong impression on his own mind, that undoubtedly much litigation would arise ; and when he looked to the existing law, which bad existed fifty years, and looked at the trade which had sprung up after it, he was inclined to say that they should not intro duce any fresh system that might lead to litigation as to what was or was not original design. He thought tha consumer was a party who ought not to be lost sight of in this or any other matter. And if this extension of copyright had a tendency, as he believed it had, to increase the cost to the consumer, he thought, on this ground, as a restriction of the supply of articles of every day consumption, it ought not to be sanctioned. With respect to Mr. Applegarth, and the designs offered to him by eminent academicians, this appeared to him to be an exception to the general rule. and to have no reference whatever to the supply of those articles worn by the working classes themselves, and which formed the subject of suppy to the great mass of population in this and other countries. With reference to the home traders being deterred from making purchases, three months beforehand, because they had not the protection of copy. right, he thought there was little ground for apprehension of that kind, as he did not believe they would purchase be forehand, at so long a period as three months, when there was a constant succession of new patterns. It, moreover, appeared to him to be inconsistent in those who pro fessed to seek a constant succession of new patterns, to seek at the same time an extension of copyright. He remembered in the Committee there was a beautiful design laid on the table, which he could not help admiring, as well for its design as its execu tion ; and he inquired what had been the time and trouble, and the cost of its production ; and he was told that the producer had spent three months in preparing the design. Of course, be thought that where there was so much labour and expense, a consider able number was produced, and he asked the number of pieces, but the answer was—" Sr, I had rather not talk of the number of piec es, but of the number of dresses, which was limited to 50." New, if the remuneration on the sale of 50 dresses was sufficient to discharge the expense of production, how could he want an extension of copyright, when, if he did not sell the articles in the first three months, it was impossible he could have any sale for it. There was great variety of opinion on this subject, and he did not feel inclined to legislate on a sub ject of such importance upon such conflicting opinions. With respect to foreign orders it was well known in the trade it was of very little importance whether the patterns were new or not. He would not oppose the introduction of the Bill, but he would take opportunities of discussing its details in the course of its further progress. Mr. L ABOUC HE RE did not intend to oppose the motion, hut he was desirous of stating that Lord Syden ham (Mr. Poulctt Thomson) protested against giving the e x t nl e eds n is s t to o n n nos o r n f wai t ir k ii ne e hf a e c o thu p er y e r pr i g ar o h pw t oh o soe f da p d ; p e I s i i i ne g d n c s o forfnosr t ts q v un c e o l n s u t c t d m ao o i n t te l pi s (t . , u r e r on jection of those conditions, they were excluded from tlie Bill for the in the protection of conflicting evidence in He ( Mr. Labouchere) i n rea di ng the Report of the Committee favour of and against the prinocrikp,,l,ehlocthtchhisidiTld.erelnideefdoutnhde :n . try, H t o ur , n i e s d hod on h that the Lancashire i pt n ha t et e t r ec e ro s nu t (.I‘ c e c a L n d es p s u a t n an d permanent gnality,arid tra n d o e t o o n f end to the evil which the Bill was intended to remedy, w ithout doing a greater injustice to our own designers, and interfering enormously with our foreign trade. He would give the Bill the fullest consideration, and if the principle of registration could be carried out in a practicable manner, he would certainly support it to the utmost of his power. On the whole, he thought that the most prudent course would be to extend the copyright from three months to six, but he would wait until he saw the Bill before he gave a decided opinion on its merits,llyto state and on his views.onthesecond reading ho would be prepared fu ihooou gbetweenthat if nr i t m w a n a s u f t a h o o t r f a o c . s t r. manufacturers consisted in othat icotton the C p i3 r i i :n m c Q i d p tj a t i h c o ° o re L f T o p Ni r e e t i i g t t cheapness and quality, and that design bad no share in s th i2 e Qi o d mp b e e ti a ti ffie o o n r ,it d was highly important that protection tothehighest kind of manufactures, and that our artists should be encouraged to improve their designs.—( Hear.) Mr. MDR. itISON was of opinion that the competi tion in other countries tended to equalize the cost of pro duction in this country. He thought that the difference of price in different countries could be regulat e d on ly ky th e diffeience in the cost of transmission from one country to another. He thought that what was wanting i n thi s co. i:- try was the improvement of English art. In truth, most of the claims for originality rested upon this ques tion—which of the claimants had first copied thb foreign design? The Americans were now able not on ly t o supply themselves with articles equal to ours in ch e apn ess arid quality, but also to supply China and other parts of the world, and to drive us out of the market. He thought that as the improvement of designs was of so much importance to the manufacture, the designers ought to have a protection for at least a whole season ; and he was desirous of dating that protection from the time of ouhli. cation. He did not think that the public would suffer by the copyright being extended to a period of six months, but he did not think it need be extended to a longer pe riod. The fact was, that that would he equivalent to ex- ' tending it for twelve months, as the same patterns were never used in winter and summer. He was, there fore, of opinion, that a six months' protection would be as much as the manufacturer would desire. He was firmly persu idcd, in any cas.e, that a School o f Design should be established ; and it seemed to him somewhat disreputable to former Governments, that the country was still without one. It would he useless to talk of making any progress in the art of manufacturing ca licoes unless they had such a school They would be nble, in that case, to compste successfully with foreigners, for they possessed some advantages ever them. In por trait landscaper, he believed, there was no doubt but the artists of this country surpassed those of the Con tinent, however inferior they might be to them in his torical painting. He should conclude by repeating, that when the time came he should vote for extending the copyright of designs to a period of six months.—( Hear.) Mr. WIL LI A d S said that after having paid great at tention to the evidence taken before the Committee who had sat on that subject, he had come to an entirely different conclusion from the Hon. Member for B e lf as t. He was persuaded that a change in the present l aw o f co py r i g ht of designs would prove moat injuriou s to the ealieo.print ing trade of this country. The present law had been in operation for more than fifty years, and during the whole of that period, though many of the principal persons en gaged in the calico trade had seats in that House, not one of those parties had proposed any alteration of the law. He was sure that if they extended the period of protection to designers, such a measure would be a source of endless litigation. All designs were taken from the veget table ur animal world, and how was it possib'e that every patteini taken from those sources could be a com pletely new one ? One of the largest ealieo.printers in this country l:ad stated that 250,000 patterns were pro duced here annually; and there could be no doubt that not less than 30,000,000 of designs bad been produced for the last years. How then was it possible that new patterns could be any thing more than u compound of the old ones. If, there fore, they held the prospect of a higher reward to designer=, they would be introducing a aseo,ure which would probably Lad to litigat;oo and abuse. Under these circumstances, ho would give his most decided op. p isition to any attempt to extend the period of copyright of design, from an impression that it would be most inju rious to ti at brie.' tnufactur,!s. Mr. S pant TALFOU 11D did ri,t mein to enter at any length into the questio then before the House. He could not, however, help saying, that having devoted many years to a similar subject, he felt it was the duty of the Legislature to protect the interests of those who devoted their time to artistic,,' or literary labours. He sympa thised, therefore, in the exertions o f his Hon. Friend the Member fur Belfast, and he hoped his Hon. Friend would be more successful than he ( Mr. Sergeant Talfourd) had been in his undertaking. He would take the oppor tunity of saying, that though he had been defeated, he was not convinced; and while he continued a Member of the House he would do all in his power to insure a due protection to those engaged in intellectual pursuits. Mr. O'CONNELL said that the Hon. Member for In verness (Mr. Morrison) was manifestly right when he told the house that the competition was daily increasing be tween British goods and those of foreign manufacture, and that, in fact, the superiority in the finer qualities of goods lay decidedly with foreigners, who displayed more taste, more talent, more knowledge and skill, than the manufac turers of this country. They would best compete with their rivals by holding out a sufficient reward to native industry. The Hon. Member for Inverness would have granted a protection of six months only to designers, while the lion. Member had himself proved that twelve months were ne cessary. He wished the Hon. Member would convince himself as he had convinced others on the subject. Now as the only question seemed to be whseher the protec tion should be granted for six or twelve months, he hoped the House would consent to grant the protection to talent for the longer period ; for, after all, it was a pitiful question whether six months only, or twelve months' protection should . be granted? Mr. HUME thought that his Hon. Friend, who had just sat down, was going a great deal too far.—( A laugh.) Was he certain that the granting protection ensured excellence ? How was it that other countries excelled without protection being afforded them ? 'The manufacturers of chintz in Switzerland had never been excelled, and there they had no protection. He mentioned that country, because there they had no Custom-houses, and the Swiss manufacturer laboured under the disadvantage of having to bring the raw materials a lung way by land to his manufactory. He thought instead of extending the time they ought rather to consider whether the three months at present allowed was not too much, whether they ought not to do away with all protection. The whole doctrine of protec tion was a fallacy. The witnesses who had been exa. mined said that three months was no protection, and if so there could be no harm in doing away with it. He thought the Government should correct the errors:of the old times, and do away with protection altogether. The true way to excel was to pay attention to those arts by which our manufactures might be made superior—we were superior in weaving, why should we not be in all other arts . ? He for one thought that all protection should be withdrawn. Mr. BRO THE RTON thought the House ought to pause Lefore coming to a decision, when they considered the conflicting nature of the testimony given before the Committee, and that the Report in favour of copyright had only been carried by a majority of one. There was some thing like justice in asking, as the Learned Sergeant had done, for a copyright for authors ; but who would stand up and ask for a copyright for b , oksellers ? Yes that was what was sought to be obtained by the present Bill These designs were not the inventions of the master printers themselves—they were purchased by them for a few shil lings, and this Bill was to enable them to make rapid for tunes, by taking advantage of the inventions of others. He agreed with the Hon. Member for Kilkenny, that there was no necessity for any copyright at all. It took two months to prepare the plates before a design could be struck off, so that after any design appeared it would be three months probably before a ce, y of it could bu in the market. The Bill would give rise to endless litigation. He did not sse how it was possible to distinguish between a copy and an original pattern, and unless a system of re gistration were established it would be impossible for the honest tradesman to know whether the designs he might purchase were copies or not. The Bill was calculated to favour the few at the expense of the many, arid he thought itin the pre was Lest t o law. Mr. len. t w well alone, and net make any alteration Mr. WARBURTON thought his Hon. Friend the Member for Kilkenny went too far. He thought, with regard to the copyright both in literary works and mechanical inventions, no one could say that no remuneration ought to be afforded to the inventors. The great object to be keps in view was to reconcile the interests of the inventors with those of the public, to give some short period of copyright, just sufficient to act as a stimulus to the inventor, and, having done so, to secure the reversion to the public. That was the proper principle to found a Bill as regarded literary copyright, and the copy right of designs. If, as the Hon. Member for Inverness stated, the foreigners were so rapidly approaching us, that, in two or three years, they would be able to manu facture as cheaply as ourselves, they ought not to extend the copyright an inch beyond the time absolutely neces sary, as the designs might otherwise be carried to foreign countries, where fsc similes would be produced ata cheaper rate than the original was, inasmuch as they would nut have to pay the original designer. lie thought the term proposed by the Bill would be a hazardous term for the export trader of this country if it wet c carried into effect. Mr. EMERSON TENNENT replied, and the reso lution was carried, reported, and leave given to bring in the Bill. HER MAJESTY'S MESSAGE. Sir JOHN C. HOBHO USE, on the part of the Se cretary for the Colonies, announced that it was not the intention of the Noble Lord to move the consideration of her Majesty's Message that evening, in consequence of the lateness of the hour. He would also move that the House at its rising do adjourn to Thursday. Mr. HUME wished to know what pension it was pro posed to grant to Lord Keane. Sir JOHN C. HOBHOUSE-2,000/. a-year far him self and his two successors after him. Mr. HUME—When will the question be brought on? Sir J. C. HOBHOUSE—The first thing on Friday. The motion was then agreed to. On the motion of Mr. O'CONNELL, certain returns relating to the licenced victuallers of Ireland and England were agreed to. JEWISH DISABILITIES. Mr. DIVETT had felt it his duty to put the motion, of which he had given notice, on the paper, in consequence of his attention having been called to the disabilities under which persons of the Jewish persuasion lablured, by a peti tion from a gentleman named Salomons, which he had had the honour to present to the House, who com plained that he had been excluded from several corporation offices in consequence of his being of the Jewish persua sion; the gentleman in question was well known to many Members of that House. He had served the office of Sheriff of Kent, and he had also served the office of Sheriff of London and Middlesex, and, on his completion of that duty, he had, by his fellow-citizens, been elected an Alderman of the City of London. He had however been unable to enjoy, that dignity as the declaration required to he take on entering in that office was of such a nature as to exclude all persons of the Jewish persuasion, who in consequenco could not hold the lowest corporate office in the smallest borough intim kingdom. By the 9th Geo. IV. cer tain declarations were required to be taken by all corpo rate officers. It had been found that these declarations excluded certain classes of dissenters, such as Quakers and Moravian!, and a Bill had been introduced for their relief by the Hots. Member for Leeds. His object in the present Bill was to afford similar relief to persons profes sing the Jewish persuasion, and he was induced to hope this measure would be successful from certain observa tions made by a Nuble and Learned Lord at the close of last Session, when presenting a petition from the same individual in another place. That Noble and Learned Lord had then expressed his opinion that this was a grievance which ought to be rer.-1 - iv,ed. Under these feelings, and with the impression that the Nohle Lord entertained the same views, be should move for lease to bring in a Bill according to the terms of the notice he had given. Sir R. INGLIS objected to the Bill, as he believed it would be the commencement of a system which would terminate in an unmixed evil, and which would be used as the ground-work of further concessions. Mr. WA RBURTON supported the There had been a great outcry in this country against Mehemet Ali's persecuting the Jews, while the fact was that they were persecuting them themselves. Mr. W. H. GLADSTONE objected to the Bill, but he would not divide the House upon it in its present state. The effect of the Bill of the Hon. Gentleman would be to recognize the competency of the Jewish community to sit in Pa - liament, where they had to perform Christian duties. Mr. HAWES asserted that every subject of the Crown had a right to the enjo) meta of all civil privileges, with out the slightest notice being paid to the religious princi ples he entertained. Mr. A. WHITE thought it beneath the dignity of this great country, to keep such laws on the Statute-book, as those which prevented individuals of any denomination from occupying their civil status in society. He would give his most hearty support to the Bill of the Hon. Member. Mr. DIVETT hating briefly replied, leave was then given to bring in the Bill. WINDOW DUTY. Captain PEC HE LL moved for a return of the window duty charged on hospitals in England in 1840 ; distin guishing the class of officers and servants charged therewith, and number of windows charged to each re spectively ; return of the duty on windows assessed for the twelve towns in England, which contribute the largest amount. The return was ordered to be made. COPYRIGHT DESIGNS BILL Mr. EMMERSON TENENT brought up the Copyright Designs Bill. It was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on the Ist of March. The House then adjourned at Eleven o'Clock, until Thursday. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISION. (Fro.n the rotes and Proceed Trigs of the Rouse of Commons.) MONDAY, FEB. S. POOR LAW AMENDMENT BILL. Order for Second Reading reed ; Motion made, and Ques tion proposed, " That the 13i1i be now read a second time :" Amendment proposed, to leave out the word ccnow," and at tHc cud of the Question to add the words " upon this day six months :"—Question put, " That the word now ' stand part of the Question."—The House divided:. MAJORITY—AYES, Grant, Sir A. C. Greene, T. Greg, It. 11, Grey, Sir C. Grey Sir G. Grote, G. Harcourt, G. S. Hardingc, Sir H. Harland, W. C. Hastie, A. Hawes, 11. Hawkins, J. H. Hager, \V. G. Heron, Sir It. Berries, John C. Hill, Lord A. M. C. Hobhouse, Sir J. C. Hobhouse, T. B. Hogg, J. W. trope, Hon. C. Horsman, Edward Howard, E. G. Howard, F. J. Howard, C. \V. G. Lord Hume, J. Hutt, W. Hutton, H. Ingham, ttobert Inglis, Sir It. H. James, William knatcnbull, Sir B. Knight, H. G. Labouchere, H. Langdale, Hon. C Lascetes, W. S. Lemon, Sir C. Lennox, Lord G. Litton, Ecward Loch, James Lowther, J H. Lushington, C. Lushington, Hon. S Macauley, T. B. Macn.nnata, W. Marshall, \V. Martin, J. Alelgu d, Lord Morpeth, Viscount Morris, David Morrison, James Muskett, George A Nagle, :sir It Nicholl, J. Norreys, Lord or Brien, Cornelius O'Brien, W. Smith O'Connell, M. J. O'Ferrall, S. M. Qrd, W. Ossulston, Lord Paget, Lord A. Paget, F. Pakington, J. S. Palmerston, Visct. Parker, J. Parnell, Sir H. Pattison, J. kcland, D. A'Court. Capt V.., Adam, S.r Charles Ainsworth, Peer Alston, Rowland I Anson, Hon. Colonel, Baker, Edward Baring, F. 'l'. Baring, W. B. narnard, E. G. Barrington, Viscount, Basset, John Bentinck, Lord G. Berkeley, F. H. Brt keley, Hun. C. lies nal, R. B 'wes, F. Blake, W. J. ll , cii,erhassett, A. Bodkin, John James 15c ttiel,l, Beriah Braniston, T. W. I Bridgman, 'Lewitt Briscoe, J. I. Brodie, W. D. Bruges, W. H. L. Buller, C. Buller, E. Buller, Sir J. Y. Bulwer, Sir E. L. Busferld, William Campbell, Sir J. Canning, Sir S. Calitilupe Lord Carew, attn. It. S. Chalmers, P. Chichester, J. P. E. Chute, W. L. W. Clay, W. Clements, I.ord Clive, E. B. Clive, Robert Collier,. John Coote, Sir C. Corhally, M. B. Cowper, Hon. W. F. Crawford, W. Currie, 'hikes Dalineny, Lor.l Darner, Hon. G. Darby, George Divot, E. Dundas, Frederick Dundas, David Eaton, R. J. Ellice, lit. lion. E. Ellice, E. Erle, William Evart, W. Ferguson, Colonel Fitzroy, Lord Charles Fort, John Fremantle, Sir T. Gladstone, W E. Gladstone, J. N. Glynne, Sir S. H. Goulburn, Henry Graham, Sir James 201. Peel, Hon. Sir IL Pendarves, E. W. Philips, M. Pigot, D. R. Plum ptre, J. P. Ponsonbv, C. Power, James Praed, W. T. Protheroe, Edward Pryme, V. Ityvdon, J. D. Redingtou, T. N. Rice, E B. Rich, Henry Rickford, W Rose, Sir George Rushbrook, Colonel Russell, Lout John Russell, Lord Charles Rutherford, A. Salwey, Colonel Sanden, Lord Sanford, E. A. Scrope, G. P. Seale, Sir J. H. Seymour, Lord Shaw, Frederick Shell, R. L. S'aney, R. A. Smith, John Abel Smith, R. Vernon Somenet, Lord G. Stanley. 1.0 ,- d Stanstield, W. R. C. Staunton, Sir G. T. Steuart, IL Stock, Dr. Strickland, Sir G. Strutt, Edward Stuart, Lord James Stuart, Villiers Style, Sir Charles Surrey, Earl of Talfourd, T. Noon Tancred, H. W. Teigninouth. Lord Thornely, Thomas Trotter, J. Trouhridge, Sir I'. 'Futile% H. Villiers, Charles P. Vivian, Major C. Vivian, Sir R. Warburton, 11. Ward, H. G. Welby, G. E. Westenra, Hon. H. White, A. Wood, Colonel T. Wood, B. Worsley, Lord Wrightson, W. B. Wyse, Thomas Young, John TELLERS. Stanley. 1011. Maule, Hon. Fox AreNall, General Attwood, W. :NORITY-NOES, Evans, Sir De Lacy Fei'den, W. Fielden, J. Fitzroy, Hoe. H. Godson, It. Gore, 0. J. R. Goring, H. 1). Grimsditch, Thomas Ilalford, H. Hawkes, T. Heathcoat, J. Hindt, J. H. Hindley, Charles Hodges, 'l'. L. Hodgson, Frederick Hodgson, Richard Irton, S. Jervis, J. Johnson, General Leader, J. T. Liddell, H. T. Monypenny T. G. Muntz, G. F. O'Connell, D. O'Connell, J. Pechell, Captain Pigot, R. Polhill, Frederick Richards, R. Rushout, George Sibthorp, Colonel Spry, Sir S. T. Stanley, E. '1 hompson, Williams, W. TELLERS. D'lsraeli, Benjamin %Vakley, Thomas Baldwin, C. B. Bell, Matthew Blackstone W. S. Broadwood , Henry Brutherton, J. Brownrigg, J. S. Burr, lligford Copeland, W. Dalrymple, Sir A. Q. Douglas, Sir C. Duke, Sir James Duncombe, I'. S. Duncombe, W. Duncombe, A. Egerton, W.T. MONMOUTHSHIRE ELECTION.—Mr. Octavius Morgan, in his answer to the requisition presented to him, says " It was not the intention of my father or myself to have come forward to have broken in upon the tranquillity of the county," but no sooner is a requisition presented to him, got up notoriously by the most violent section of the party to which he belongs, than he instant;y yields to its request, and, reckless of consequences, determines " to break in upon the tranquillity of the county." This line of conduct on the part of Mr. Morgan, which the plain inference from his own words points eut as (to say the least of it) improper, be will also find to be injudicious, as we doubt not the independent electors of Monmouthshire will not be wanting at the hustings in testifying by their votes what they think of the man, who is so indifferent to the tranquillity of the county. The ultra portion of the Conservative party have, however, at length sounded the trumpet of war; they have bid a bold and insolent defiance to the Liberal part of the constituency, plainly intimating to them, that their party and their opinions shall have no representative in the Legislature—that they must bow down to those who insist upon menopolis ng the whole representation of the county. Will the Liberal consti tuency of Monmouthshire submit to this degradation, after the successful efforts formerly made to place Mr. Williams in ['ornament, and relieve themselves from the thraldom under which they had so long laboured ? We believe they will not; we know that they are animated by the same spirit which led to triumph in 1832, and which will again be attended by success. Although this opposition has come on the Liberal party unexpectedly, and at the eleventh hour, it has not found them unprepared ; Mr. Tracy, accompanied by his uncle, Mr. Capel Banbury Leigh, the Lord Lieuteeent, has msde en active and ex tensive canvass of the county, in the course of which he has met with such a reception from the constituency as, we understand, will ensure his return. Tuesday next is the day of nomination, when we hope to see such an at tendance of the Liberal electors as will place the return of Mr. Tracy beyond doubt,—Merlin. KING'S COUNTY ELECTION —On Thursday Mr. Armstrong, of Gallen Priory, came forward as the Liberal Candidate for the representation of the King's County, rendered vacant by the appointment of Mr. N. Fitzsimon as a magistrate at the head Police-office. In his address to the electors Mr. Armstrong says he will endeavour, above all things, to obtain for Ireland " per fect equality in all civil rights, privileges, and immunities, with England and Scotland." Mr. Armstrong's Address contains no allusion to the Repeal question. WALSALL ELECTION.—It would be a mere affectation of an indiffmeuce we do not possess, were we to say that we attach no importance to the result of the Walsall election. On the contrary, we regard it with regret and mortification. The antagonist principles of free trade and untaxed food, and fettered commerce and restrictive laws, were here brought into di rect conflict, the victory remaining with those who are destroying our manufactures, and sapping the prosperity of the nation day by day. The re sult will be hailed by the landlords as promising a long career of impunity in extorting enormous rentals ; the foreign manufacturer will exult at it, for cur markets will now be his own. The electors of Walsall have betrayed a cause which was that of millions ; they may have yet an opportunity of redeeming themselves, but till then public indignation will be loud against them. Where are the rulers who will hesitate to fix the yoke on the necks of a people who court oppression ?—Devonport Independent. COURT OF ALDERMEN.—A Court was held yesterday for the dispatch of public be inesa. Mr. Al derman T. Wood presented a petition from Mr. Marriott, of the Ward of Farringdon-Without, against the return of Mr. Wells as a Common Councilman fur that ward. The petition was ordered to be taken into consideration next Court- day. Sir James Duke presented a petition from Mr. George Ledger, one of the late candidates for the office of Bridge-master, complaining of the gross depra vity exercised at the late election for Bridge-master, as instanced in the cases of perjury by persons who polled without being liverymen. Alderman Brown, Sir Peter Laurie, Alderman Thompson, and others, spoke on the subject of the petition, and complained in strong terms of the flagrant abuses which prevailed at elections in the city for civic offiees. It appeared that at the election for Bridgemaster many persons had polled who were discovered afterwards to be perfect strangers. On the motion of Sir James Duke, Mr. Ledger's petition was referred to a Committee of the whole Court. A petition also was pre sented against the return of Mr. Cousins as representative of Coleman-street Ward, when, after some discussion, the Court was cleared, and, on the admission of strangers, the Town Clerk intimated that the election, as regarded Mr. Cousins, was void. The Lord Mayor forthwith issued a precept for a new election. A COOL EXCUSE.—A gentleman was, the other day, looking attentively at some amusing caricatures, in the window of a print-shop, when, on a sudden, he felt some one at his pocket. As there was only one person standing near him, he instantly turned round upon him, and, looking him full in the face, said, " Your hand, Sir, was in my pocket !" " Was it, Sir?" the other very calmly replied ; " I really beg your pardon if it was ; but the weather is so very cold, one is glad to put one's hands anywhere I" THE HABERDASHERS' LECTURESHIP.—The election for the lectureship of the Haberdashers' Company tools place on Monday me ring. when at the close of the poll the numbers were— Ihe Rev. Mr. Dale, 21 ; the Rey. Mr. Gurney, 15 ; majority for Mr. Dale, 6. LICENSED VICTUALLERs' AND GENERAL FIRE AND LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY. (From the Morning Adertiser.) On Saturday last, the first meeting of the above Com pany, empowered by Act of Parliament, was held at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate.street. The Chair was taken at twolve o'clock precisely by Charles Bleaden, Eaq., the Chairman of the Directors, supported by the Vice- Chairman, T. Powell, Esq., the Directors, and Auditors of the Company. After a few brief observations, the Secretary read the Report of the progress of the Institution during the last five years, which being infinitely more favourable than there was any reason to anticipate, elicited from an im mense body of Shareholders, who crowded the room, re. peated thunders of applause. Upon the motion of Mr. HILL, one of the Auditors, who vouched not only for the accuracy of the accounts, but for the strict economy which had been observed by the Direc tors in the managemeat of the Institution, the Report was unanimously received and adopted. The re-election of the Directors and a new election of Committeemen was next proceeded with, when Mr. Vous-, ley, jun., Mr. H. Lancaster, Mr. Shenton, and Mr. Gib son, were added to the latter body, by a show of hands. Mr. CHILD then moved, that all the original shares, amounting to 30,000, having been disposed of, and there being a strong demand upon tine part of the Licensed Vic tuallers, to become proprietors as well as insurers in the Company, it was expedient on the part of the Company to authorise the Directors to make a fresh issue of shares, as authorised by the deed of settlement, as circumstances might direct, the said new shares not to be issued at a less price than 103., or 50 per cent. premium.• Mr. Child, in the course of a lengthened speech, gave the most forcible and convincing reasons in favour of his motion, and was heard throughout with the utmost attention. Mr. ANDERSON seconded the motion, and pressed upon the attention of the meeting the following facts:- 1. That the present capital of the Company was insuf ficient for complying with the numerous calls for safe loans of money which were made upon it, varying from 7 to 10 per cent. profit. 2. That if the capital of the Company were augmented from 150,000/. to 300,000/ , which it might be by the ju dicious issue of the remaining shares, public confidence in its stability would be proportionately enlarged, to the great benefit of the Shareholders, : and the satisfaction of the public at large. 3. That the increased tatiineit Of the Office could be met by the existing estabbsinent, or; at all events, by a slight addition to it, while the profits would necessarily be greatly augmented. 4. That if the issue of shares was mainly confined to Licensed Victuallers, there was every reason to believe, from the extended influence of that body, that while the number of fire and life-policies would be greatly aug mented, the shares, instead of being deteriorated, would improve in value. Mr. COHENS and some other gentlemen contended against this view of the question, and argued that any ex tension of the shares would depreciate their value. The motion, however, was ultimately carried ; the feel ing of the meeting being distinctly that the Directors were, by their past conduct, amply entitled to the confidence of the Shareholders, and that the issue of the remaining shares might be safely left to their discretion. The next subject which occupied the attention of the meeting was the policy of extending its operations to marine insurances; but several Shareholders having expressed their desire to be made better acquainted with the subject, it was moved by Mr. Vousley, sen., and unanimously car ried, that the Directors be requested to call a special meet ing of the Proprietors within three months, and to lay before it a detailed report of the risks and advantages likely to be encountered or derived from this new branch of business. The request was cheerfully acceded to by the Chairman and Directors, and there can be no doubt that t his profit able branch of insurance will, as in the case of other in surance offices, be added to other profitable sources for the investment of the capital and income of the Company. Vetea of thanks were then unanimously agreed to, to the Chairman, Vice-Chairman ' Directors, Committee, the Actuary, Secretary, Auditors, Surveyors, and other officers of the establishment, after which it broke up amidst the applause of not fewer than 300 Proprietors. A more respectable meeting was never held within the walls of the City of London—the greatest unanimity in zeal for the prosperity of the establishment prevailed from the beginning to the end ; and the *. Licensed Victuallers' and General Fire and Life Assurance Company" may now be set down as one of the most influential and stable of the present day. THE DINNER At half- past five o'clock, as previously a►ranged at the meeting, a mot respectable number of the largest and most influent - Mt Proprietors of the Company sat down at the London Tavern, to one of the most elegant dinners at which we have ever been present. It exhibited all the taste by which Messrs. Bathe and Breach are now so justly celebrated, and gave the most unlimited satisfaction. The wines were of the highest character, and Mr. Jolly, Mr. Jones, and other gentlemen noted for their vocal talents, added the always delightful charm of music to the plea sures and festivities of the evening. C. Bleaden, Esq., was the chairman, and was supported as at the above meeting, and with the addition of Mr. Smith, the Solicitor of the Company, and Mr. D. Hill, one of the standing Counsel. Mr. S. Taylor was un avoidably absent on account of indisposition, and also Mr. Wire-. The usual loyal toasts were proposed by the Chairman, in that style of calm but per suasive eloquence which pervades all his addresses; his health was proposed by Mr. M. D. Hill, and received in a manner which must have been in the highest degree pleasing to him ; that of the Vice-Chairman, T. Powell, Esq., and his brother Direc tors followed ; the health of the Committee, and thanks to them, was also duly given, and responded to by Mr. Bingley, the Chairman ; and finally, along with the Audi tors, the Press was not forgotten. Many eloquent and most gratifying speeches were delivered in the course of the evening; and from all that we could see or hear upon the occasion, we unhesitatingly state, that the Licensed Victuallers' and General Fire and Life Association" will become the largest insurance-office in the kingdom. The only complaint that was heard' of was that the issue of the shares ought to have been much more extensive, inasmuch as the present Shareholders would have bought the whole of them even at a premium ; but th►s error, if error it be, is capable of correction, and the Directors deserve the ap probation of the Proprietors, as well as the confidence of the public, for their extremely cautious conduct in lending money, in insurances against fire—in life policies—and in the expenses of the office. GREENWICH RAILWAY COMPANY. The first Half-Yearly General Meeting of the Pro , prietors r‘ :he Gret!oixicli at one o'cloc yester 'ay at the London Tavern, Bishops gate-street, VI ro. Suanbolt, Esq., tile Cutorman of the Company, took the chair. The Report of the Committee of Directors for the year 1840 was then read. It stated that the traffic of the last half-year showed an increase in the number of passengers of 80,241, as compared with the same period of the year 1839 ; and an increase of receipts from passengers of 2061. Is. There now remained in hand a surplus of 7,7441. 7s. 2d., out of which the Directors recommended that a dividend of 7s'. should be paid on each original share. Reports from the engineers and other officers were after wards rcad. Mr. HomER, of Birmingham, moved that the Report be printed and received ; and the motion having been seconded was unanimously agreed to. A sum of 2501. was voted to Mr. Ackerman, the Secretary to the Company, for his exertions in their service. . _ J. M. Childers, Eq., M.P., and Messrs. Corney and Bonar, were appointed Directors for the ensuing year ; the two first gentlemen having been re-elected. The thanks of tite Proprietors were then voted to the Directors, and the Meeting separated. THE WEATHER. ROYAL GALLERY OF SCIENCE, ADELAIDE- STREET. NOON, FEB. 9. B ,rometqr 29'72 In. Thermometer Highest . 34'5 Lowest Wind N. E.—Freezing Point 32 Deg. TIIE WIND.—On Sunday afternoon, during one of those violent gu,ts of wind with which the metropolis has at repeated intervals for the last three days been visited, a somewhat ludicrous scene took place on Black friars-bridge. About three o'clock the wind appeared to be more particularly felt in this immediate spot, Fe- destrians maintaining their equilibrium with the utmost difficulty, and hats, bonnets, and shawls flying in all di rections, and several of those necessary appendages —more particularly so at this inclement season of the year—having parted from their rightful owners, and passing over the bridge with the velocity of lightning, were to be seen gliding with the tide for a moment, when they as suddenly disappeared beneath the surface of the water, to the great discomfiture of their losers. Among some of the unfortunates was a fashionably-attired person who was wending her way over the bridge apparently with great caution ; one hand was enveloped with her muff, and the other employed in firmly grasping her veil, which was attached to a costly velvet bonnet. When, however, she had gained the centre of the bridge, a sudden gest of wind obliged her to let go her hold of the veil fur the pur pose of securng the lower part of her clothing, and, in the twinkling of an eye, away went bonnet, veil, and cap, to which was attached a profusion of dark shining ringlets, over the bridge, into the bosom of Old Father Thames, to the great dismay of the lady, who now stood with a hair less bead ; and who, before the unfortunate occurrence ; had the interesting appearance of a miss in her teens, but was evidently a female of a least 45 years of age. As may be imagined, many of the bystanders stood aghast, whilst others were almost convulsed with laughter. One, however, more compassionate than the rest. put his hand kerchief around her head, and having called a coach, she was conveyed to her residence. THE CORN LAWS.—A meeting, convened for the purpose of taking into consideration the question of these laws, was held on Thursday, at the Public Hall, Taunton. In the absence of Sir T. B. Lethbridge, Bart., and J. Snowden, Esq., the dut) of advocating the object of the meeting fell alone upon NV. Beade,,, Esq., who de livered an effective address in support of the abolition of the Corn-laws to a numerous assemblage, composed of tradesmen, artizans, and working men. llr. Beaden con cluded by proposing petitions to the Legislature, praying them to take the Corn.laws into serious consideration, and the meeting unanimouslj ,;urieuired iu 444,pting the tions.... Western Tinos, Mf )RNING 1-4MITION. PEttSIA. TABREEZ, Nov. 12 —There is little in the shape 0 1 news in uur quarter of the world ; everything still continues in tha road to ruin, and the country is in a very disturbed. state, without the Government possessing the means a keeping things in the least ordcr. A short time since a regiment of Serbaz were returning on leave to their fa milies at Oroomia, and thinking it were better not to go home empty-banded, they set to work and pluadcred the villages that lay on their road, commencing with one not four miles from this town, and which they cornpletelY stripped of everything it possessed, committing, at the same time, every species of enormity on the poor de fenceless inhabitants. The Prince Governor here had not the means of punishing them or putting a stop to their proceedings by force ; he, however , sent a person down to them to endeavour to persuade them to continue their route and not molest the villagers; but these fellows having given him a good drubb;ng, sent him back with a message to the Prince, saying, that if his Royal Highness were himself to come to them, they would serve him in the same way, or something very like it. At the next village where they stopped, they played the same pranks, and moreover made prisoner of a certain Semet Khan, the father of their Colonel, and who was coming up from Oroomia at the time : him they threatened to keep in durance vile until he should repay the amount, due to them for pay, and which they accused his son at having purloined. Luckily, however, the old man ma naged to get out of their clutches. What these fellows have done at the other villages on their road, I have not yet learned, but conclude . that they allowed none to es ca p e ' In Ksradaugh, on the' Russian frontier, a person of the name of Ady-Giuzel has set himself up as a bandit ch ief. To all who choose to join him with a h ors e and gun b e gives a salary of sixty tomaims (301.) a year, besides a pertion of the plunder ; and by this means be bas col lected together a good many followers, and is committing great depredations, sparing neither the Russian nor the Persian side of-the frontier. They say that he ha s b the impudence to write to the Ameer-y-Nizant here, 1 11 ' a, 1 ing him to procure him the title of Khan (noble,) give him a place for bins and his followers to reside in, and in return he promises to plunder only within the Russian territory, " But," ho continues, "if you ril l me what I ask„,l shall apply to tha Russians , who know will grant me what I want, and then I pools' you I shall sot spare Azerbijou." You can easily COW ccive what a rage this letter put the A rn eer-y-i•Lzarn 1 0 , and who forthwith despatched Mchty Kooly-Meerza , a hund red atop to m de men, datio punishns ;but this doubtA dy• i f G i he u z i a i d a anything, and is, I think, much more likely to get a 0 °(1 thrashing for his pains. At Teheran, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affair` has been convicted of forgery ; the Shah wished at first to put him to death, but spared his life, they say, at the inter cession of the Russian Ambassador. When his Excel lency interceded for Meerzs My (the culprit's name), l u ° King asked him, bow they punished such crimes in Russia, and was told by death. " How, then," he continued, " can you intercede for Mcerza Aly ?" " Because," r" plied the Ambassador, " he ought to be punished accord: ing to Persian, and not according to Russian lai r ' " And hew," asked the King, " does the Persian 10 „ punish such crimes , " " By taking no notice of them , was the Ambassador's quaint reply, " as it does of every other crime ; witness Hadjte Kerim Khan." This same Hadjee Kerim Khan is a person the Russians tried bard to _ ruin, but did not succeed. The Ambassador's answer is said to have annoyed the King very much ; and Mee"; Aly, although his life has been spared, has not esc a r" scot-free, for he got well hastinadocd, and is to paY a 6°B of 30,000 tomauns (15,000/ ) Several carriages which the Emperor Nicholas has Mod e a present to the Shah have just arrived from Russia. WALSALL ELECTION. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. 89, Great Russell-street, Feb. 5, 1841 ' SlR,—The following extract from a letter of a Manches ter friend may be interesting to your readers, as showing the cause of failure at the election for Walsall, and 11 10 the invincible spirit of the Corn-law Repealcrs. Your's, &c. JOHN EPPS' Manchester, Feb. 4, 1841.„ Me DEAR FRIEND,—I have just returned from Walsalt T and very sorry I am that we have been unsuccessful• has been a neb'e struggle. Never did I see or bear ° such enthu,i,sm upon any subject. It is impossible tor describe it. lam confident in saying that nine-tenths ° the population of WalsPli were for Smith and th e abc" lition of the Bread-tax ; but a few miserable de s e ,"' called Tory factors, having two-thirds of the votes uncier, their control, openly told the voters that they should o' ruined if they dared to vote for Smith. I canvassed °° part of the borough, and can, therefore, testify to these things. But we have done well done what no other 11011 could have done, except their motto had been " D ° t ll with the Bread-tax." No one dreamed of any other sew ject but the Corn-law. A Bread-taxer or No Brea d " taxer ? Well, we have been fighting for principle, for justice, fa r the cause of humanity, and, therefore we cannot be beatel% Twenty-seven votes lost the election, and how came tb' about? Why, these 27 votes were gained at a villag g three miles distant ; the village being the property of Tory Bread-taxer. I have no hesitation in saying that this election has do p e us as much good as all the previous exertions of " I League. It has drawn the whole country's attention. W 13- ST. ALBAN'S ELECTION. FINAL CLOSE OF THE POLL YESTERDAY• Lord Listowel Mr. Cabbell Majority - - A MAN FROZEN TO DEATH AT K I FOST OI4. e —On Sunday morning, about three o'clock, pol icee° % stable 185 V was on duty in a lane leading from K i " gst° o Bottom to Richmond, when he observed a dark substsecto of bulky appearance under the hedge ; he approached so ascertain what it was, and discovered it to be a . . ITi t e. huddled up, and without either motion or warl'friie With some difficulty' he conveyed the man on to adjoining beat, and with the assistance of that e°l:,, stable he was conveyed to the workhouse, but life o r ; found to be quite extinct, and had evidently been a ° , ec t some hours. The deceased is about 27 years of age , five ic seven inches high, light hair, dark eyes, and had on a dark grew n coat, shabby fustian trousers, and blucher beet r; From some implements found upon deceased he aPP c ' e r to have been a smith, and from some writing upon a 1”1130ie ieion which there is no name, it would appear that he c s b e irom the neighbourhood of Drury-lane. The surgeon wd, examined the body, gave it as his opinion, that deeeBsest tired with walking, had sat down, fell asleep , and bl,tt-b, means became a victim to the extreme severity o' weather CHEAP LIVING IN BRITANNY.--The rn p ar : kets are bountifully supplied, and the provisions are i) ",0 cellent of their kind. Beef of first-rate quality, five ,y es per pound ; veal, six sous ; mutton, four sous, sonle t l - ile ; five. Poultry remarkably cheap, and particularly i s ! 00 chickens, twenty sous a couple; full-grown foals , rt thirty-five to forty sous a couple ; capons, a trifle deft: is turkeys, three franca each, small ones less. Th e I ' s superlatively good, and remarkably reasonable to from three to four sous a pair ; mackerel, from tig'ic. three sous each ; turbots, thirty sous to three franc° , td • cording to the size; John Dory, a franc and thirty l c) ; rod mullet, two, three, and four sous each. Servants' Itilleg vary from three to four and five pounds a year, aceorine, to their acquirements. A single man may live like a P r it upon sixty pounds a year at L'Oricnt, and so he ela'ree Quimper ; but this is on a grand scale he could spectably on forty; and a married couple could enj°Y in luxury with a rental of a hundred a year. —Sports/0 France. „ Wad' . THE SNOW STORM.—On Tuesday and ncsday we had a deep and beautiful fall of snow- -4c ,";:et• beautiful, because we scarcely ever saw the flakes 5°,1,10. and, consequently, the whole mass on the ground so u ; et. where. so considerable in bulk as compared with its w e fi t ter On this account it was not only more exquisitelY the lightness increasing the opacity upon which the r e• netts so muck depends, but it has also offered much 10,s r ifts, sistance to whatever had to plunge through the °or than when the mass is more damp and dense , as it Coe' monly is ; so that probably from this cause, less le c° l o o nience has been experienced in travelling than migh t . o oo been expected, contidering the depth which the bas lay upon the ground. Since the snow fell , the fro t he been so intense, that even on the causeways sr town, instead of melting somewhat under the feet, l'ople peered rather pounded to dust, and where, in th e i ns t a nces, the internal warmth of the buildings tba cf :' le° snow on the slates, the moisture was mostly ec' e e ca hsl e before reaching the ground; and it is long since As pee' noticed such ponderous masses of brilliant icicle s , e rjelsi dant to the eaves in some situations, as within the Iti f . , l or two. Yesterday morning the wind blew b ri g keen north-easter : and this not only disturbed th r e rn ,ivg beauty of the snowscape generally, but by " ste s ' "racks," as the old country people call the drifted u n der tended considerably to obstruct travelling. e r t :3 l lo l i stand that in the south and west there is cotrP e ' e h rs c d ' little snow on the ground ; the appearance wh ich befell terises this neighbourhood scarcely commencing, joese Derby—so at least we were told by a gentleman "Tiojottids„ from Bristol, and whose description of a little ride,' t" the coach across the Cotswald Hills, was cal cu ' ire lead to the conclusion, that if there was sonievil'4b le ° snow on the ground than with us, the air was roue inclement.—Sieffit /4 Mercury. t i e its nt ,f SINGULA ,EPITAPH.—A correspon — n Sent ue: the following epitaph found among therCeolso-f the late Mr. Coysh, sehoohnaver,oTopiham. N jr : t hor y h had beet, for many years in the !wry. He via' l '''orit' he a work on which ce much prided hiinselt--" 'chi! Pronouncing and Self-instruetin,g• Spelling - b oo k date of his death is supplit d by the Executors " TOI,ITAM- By the Grace of God. Here lies moored in peace the bulk of of GEORGE COYSII who was launched iat.i this ocean of 'misery ell "c2jrie!!' ath eof September, 1781, and who, after sustAining T- b r ee' l ,, l e damage during a boisterous voyi.we through lire' fail' at last so much impaired as to be rendered u nfit to r ,cst e ' service, and in consequerce of his rotten and lrifir,a'ri,cor' was in pursuance of orders from aloft, brought t ° "ot'"rthl logs in this port on the 1 9 th of November, IS'i t " t , h and certain hope of a thorough refit throug h him we ryiptil . said ' Because I live ye shall live also., Wester" t i l er e THE Alt NI Y.—During the last two yor k , have been thirty-seven promotions from the r e li i ; e s c °lll ,; correspondent of the Natal and Military (711-0- plains that none have been promoted from the, - inte t ; corps, in which ;here arc a greit number steauliiitiV gent men. The commissions have been elven e oi ni 4 Se! g cant- Alal-irs anti Sergeants arc in the list of promotions. akin. I' VVi AL to t tler qtiti Teti A by titit