The Sun. — London, England, 1867-02-07 00:00:00

RAILWA.Y INTELLIGENCE. NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE. The directors of this company have resolved to pay a dividend at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum for the half-year ending the 31st of December last. LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST. The report of the directors states that the amount received on capital account to the 31st of December last was £16,462,191, and the amount expended during the half-year was £1,163,911. The gross re venue for the half-year amounted to £66 0 ,642, showing an increase of £40,901 over the correspond ing half of 1865, and making the gross revenue for the year 1866.£1,189,9.44, or £73,745 in excess of the revenue for the pr,vious year, which laVer was £67,269 in exce - ,s of the revenue for 1864. The past year was unfavourable for the traffic of the company, not only on account of the financial pressure, but of the very unseasonable weather in the autumn. The total working expenses and re newals amounted to £393,496, or 61 per cent., against £304,169, or 49 per cent., in the same half of 1865. The cost per train mile was 3s. 5d., against 2s. 9d. in the same half of 1865. The expenditure for the half-year showed an increase over the corresponding half of £89,327. This in ended £36,093 compensation for accidents, £16,364 amears of tolls and station expenses to the West Loneion Extension, £5,500 loss on steamboat traffic, ancll 7,398 additional renewals in the carriage depart ment, leaving £23,972 as the increase of expenditure in working the newly opened lines. The South London line was opened on the 13th of August, the line to Tunbridge-wells on the Ist of October, the Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Junction was opened on the 15th of December, and the Leatherbead and Dorking Railway would shortly be opened. The net amount at the credit of the revenue account was £108,528, out of which the directors recommended tiles payment of 2 per cent. for the half-year, leaving a balance of £1,104, and making, with the preced ing half-year's dividend, 4 per cent. for the year 1866. METROPOLITAN. The half-yearly general meeting of this company was held yesterday in the London Tavern ; Mr. J. Parson in the chair. The report, an abstract of which has appeared in The Sun, was taken as read. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re port, said the traffic receipts on the line for the past half-year amounted to £107,295 against 172,441 for the corresponding half of 1865, showing an increase of £34,854, or 48 per cent. That was satisfactory, considering the prevalence of cholera and the de pression of trade. The traffic receipts for the year 1866 amounted to £210,242, against £141,513 in the previous year, showing an increase of £68,729. In the year 1866 4i miles of line were open for traffic, against 31 miles in 1865, and the net receipts amounted to £125,683 in 1866„ against £86,008 in 1865, showing an increase of £39,675, which was a greater increase than any other railway could boast of. -The increase in the present year averaged about £5OO per week, and he h ad no doubt what ever that they would be able to maintain that in crease during the year without any new source of traffic coming into play, so that they might look forward to an increase of £26,000 in the receipts of 1867 over those of 1866, and that would be earned without adding a corresponding increase to the ex penses. They ran the same number of trains in 1866 as they did in 1865, and it would not be neces sary to increase the number of trains for 1867, so the additional £26,000 would be nearly all net pro fit. There had been an increase in the expenses of £5,000, which was attributable to renewals. Their narrow-gauge lines had been relaid with steel lines instead of iron rails, which would result in a smaller cost for maintenance. They had had to repair the carriages, to renew doors, windows, &c, and also the indiarubber bags for has, owing to the constant tear and wear. The increase in the rates and taxes was £2,000, that item being £7,000 against £5,000. He thought their taxation ought to be reduced, as it was, in fact, a steam omnibus company, the Go vernment having taken off the. tolls for the Genera Omnibus Company, amounting, he believed, to £26,000 a year, and had reduced the mileage duty from Id. to 1 , 1. per mile by the omnibuses. In 1860 the company purchased for offices the resi dence of the late Mr. Brunel, for which they gave £6OO ; they had recently sold it to ;the Crown for £6,000, and the difference was carried as profit to the revenue account. (Hear, hear.) The net profit earned on their rail Way in the year 1863 amounted to £58,078 ; in the year 1864 to £70,775; in the year 1865 to £86,008; and in 1866 to £125,683. The capital expended in 1863, on which they had to pay interest and dividend, was £1,124,350, and in 1866, £2,482,500, of which £382,500, was unpro ductive, but when it became proluctive it would be a relief to them. They had been forced to extend their lines with a view to protect their property and accommodate the public. The line from Paddington to Farringdon-street was first made at. a cost of £1,500,000 ; the line had subsequently been ex tended to Finsbury-circus, and during the first year the extension was opened for traffic it realised a net profit of £40,000, on two lines of rails, which was an earnest of what it would do when the four lines of rails come into profitable operation by the Great Western, the Midland and Great Northern Rail way Companies running over the other two lines. He then entered into a statement with a view to show that the interest on the capital expended on the Finsbury extension during the construction had been provided by Mr. Kelk, the contractor, while the net traffic on the open portion of the Metropo litan line paid all the interest and dividends on the capital expended on it. Since the opening of the Finsbury Extension the net traffic paid interest and dividend on its cost. He then explained how the 6 per cent. interest was being provided by the con tractor during the construction of the Western Ex tension Line, and when opened there could be no doubt that the net traffic on it would provide the interest and dividend on its cost. Of the new capi tal (£450,000) for widening the line, the interest on £382,000 of it was now actually charged to re venue, although it was entirely unproductive ; but when the work was finished it would yield them a grand addition to their revenue. It included two other lines between King's-cross and Farringdon street, and a branch line to accommodate the traffic of the Great Northern, the London, Chat ham, and Dover, the Midland, and the Great Wes tern, for which tolls would be received. The com pany would also receive rents for station accommo dation at Finsbury. The Great Western alone would pay them £25,000 a year, which would commence some time before the end of the year, after obtaining possession of certain land near Smithfield. The Great Western would have half the space under the dead-meat market at Smith field for goods traffic, and hoists for the de livery of provisions to the market alxive at all times, without unpacking or transshipment, which would give them a great advantage. All those things would add to the resources and receipts of the Metropolitan Railway Company, and enable them to pay good dividends. He then explained that the proposed assistance to the St. John's-wood branch of £lOO,OOO on preference shares to finish the line, upon which £200,000 had already been ex pended, would amply repay the Metropolitan Com pany by the additional traffic (£30,000 a year) it would bring over the main line. Mr. GILPIN, m.r., seconded the motion for the adoption of the report, which was carried unani reougly ; ai ,d diN rdenda at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum on the preference stock, and 7 per cent. per annum on the ordinary stock and shares of the company were declared, payable on 15th inst. Th e retiring directors, Mr. Alderman Hale, Mr. Scott, and Mr. A. C. Sheriff, M.P., were re-elected, and Mr. B. J. Arm.,fron(zr, the retiring auditor. concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman. The proceelir EAST LONDON. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yesterday at the London Tavern—Mr. W. Hawes in the chair. The report.was taken as read. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report stated that the works had commenced on the north side, but as the Great Eastern could not give the East London possession, the works had for the present been stopped. He said it was proposed, by the construction of a line 11 mile in length, to effect a junction between the East London and the South London and Crystal Palace High-level lines, to make the shortest route to the Crystal Palace from the city without change of carriage. He said it was most important that the call should be paid at once, as it would enable them to exercise their borrowing powers. With regard to thecost of theline, the land on the south side of the river bad been puichased within the estimates. The company had acted upon the principle that it was the beat plan to settle the claims by a fair and equitable arbi tration, in preference to going to law, and there had only been . a few cases taken into court. He stated that so soon as one portion of the work was completed the line would be opened for traffic. With regard to unpaid calls, he said, though no forfeitures had yet been made, the directors should not hesitate in doing their duty. He said that the prospects of the company were most encouraging, inasmuch as the works were proceeding rapidly, the lands had been settled for fairly, and good communications were being carried out. The report was then adopted. MANCHESTER, BUXTON, AND MIDLAND JUNCTION. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yesterday at Derby; Mr. 11. Tootal in the chair. The report stated that out of the rent received from the Midland and Loudon and North-Western RailwayComPanies,the directors proposed the usual dividend for she half-year of ls. 4d. per share ; pay able on the 16th inst. The directors believed that the connecting lines which had and would be opened before the termination of the lease would greatly improve the position of the company's line. On the motion of the Chairman the report was adopted. RAILWAY BILLS. Yesterday at the House of Commons, before Mr. Frere, one of the examiners, the following bills were passed on standing orders :—The North Stafford shire, the Cambrian (Extension of Time, &c.), the Tewkesbury and Malvern, the North British (Car lisle Deviation, &c.), and the Northumberland Central. There was no appearance in the Ely and Soham case, nor in the Welsh Railway Amalgama tion, and the Belfast Harbour Bills. The North British (Abandonment &c.) Bill was adjourned until Monday. The cape Town had not complied with the standing orders. Before Mr. Palgrave the follow ing bills passed :--Waterloo and Whitehall (Aban donment, &c.) the Rhondda Valley and Hirwain Junction, Ryde Pier and Ryde Station (Railways), Athenry and Ennis Junction. The Chichester Har bour Embankment Bill had not complied. The op posed Hoylake Bill was postponed until Monday. The London Workhouse Infirmaries. The medical officers of the London workhouses have had a number of questions submitted to them in a circular from the Poor-law Board, with respect to the condition of the infirmaries, and their answers given in a Parliamentary paper, which, it is ex pected, will attract some attention in the Legisla ture, show the shortcomings of the rate-supported and guardian-governed places a very little time _ _ since: Mr. Sim monds, the medical officer of St. Mary's, Newington, states that accommodation should be made for 250 patients, epidemics not ex isting ; that the existing accommodation would pro perly admit 135, including insane, itch, and another class of disease, and that on a specified day there were 233 cases in the wards. He had no exact ex perience as to cubical space, but he could say " At night our wards stink overpoweringly." As to de fects in accommodation and general arrangements I in the different wards, he says the space was insuffi cient, ventilation ill-regulated (down -draught pro ducing ophthalmia and discomfort), the air was often very impure, some bedsteads were short, and better beds were needed. Arm-chairs ought to be provided, and the close-stools should have arms to prevent the feeble from tumbling off. The patients needed hair-brushes, pocket-handkerchiefs, and waste paper. The medical appliances wanted in the infirmary were baths and hot water, pulleys and bed rests, padded rooms, quarantine rooms, special rooms for fever and smallpox ; trained nurses and night nurses were also wanted. The nursing and at tention to the sick he described as " not good," and he states that recovery from illness was retarded by "unwashed skins, impure air, and queer nurses." Ile had faults to find because his orders for extra diets, stimulants, &c., had not been attended to, but this was being mended." The remedies he proposed for the evils he knew to exist are very suggestive, and point to a shocking condition of things. They were :—" The active. consideration of the defects ; the airing courts should not be used by the washers ; there should be flowers and shrubs instead of the pavement; better nurses, and a dormitory for them; a separate ward for sick children ; a master and matron of a respectable class ; a quarterly inspection by the Poor Law Board's officers; allow the sick to be seen oftener." As to his salary, he says he has £lO5 yearly, and his other emoluments consist of £8 or £lO yearly " for going before the magistrate and swearing concerning the paupers." Duty compelled him to go daily into every room occupied, and see about 200 in summer and 250 in winter, for 25 to 30 of whom he had to prescribe medicine daily. lle was always at the call of the workhouse officials, and when he was out a substitute had to attend at his cost. He thought a proper salary for his duties £2lO per annum, with "emolument to be given for reports furnished to the Poor Law Board, and, in order that we should fur nish good answers, we should be apprised of the nature of the report required a suitable timea,ntece dent." The deficiencies of Bermondsey Workhouse infirmary were described by Mr. Cuolahan, the medi cal officer. The space was insufficient in all the day and night wards, and he believed recovery from ill ness was retarded it. diseases of the lungs through deficiency of space and consequent overcrowding and irregularity of ventilation arising from the efforts made to compensate for deficiency of space. His was £BO a-year, with emol uments of about salaryl3o , out of which he had to provide drugs to the cost of £25 a-year, and an assistant. With respect to the nursing he said, " Now that the guardians have resolved to appoint paid nurses, this defect [not stated] is remedied." Ile considered there was room only for 51 sick, while provision should be made for 94. The cubical space he recommended was 1,000 feet, and 80 or 90 superficial feet for floor space for each patient. He exercised daily a general'surveil lance over 100 sick persons, and gave special atten tion to about 40. He thought his salary should be in creased to £l5O, his emoluments remaining the same, and the guardians should find the drugs. Bethnal green Infirmary was described by Mr. Smart, the medical officer, as having accommodation for 318 sick, while accommodation was needed for 600. The beds were too close and crowded, and the supply of nurses was not sufficient to insure the medicine being given and the medical appliances being regularly carried out. Recovery from illness, he said, was retarded by the overcrowded state of the wards ; more space, better ventilation, and increased supervision, both by medical help and by nurses, were needed. Ills salary was £l6O per annum without other emolument, and he had to employ and pay both assistant and dispenser. Ile con sidered that the guardians should appoint a resident medical assistant, and that his own salary should be raised to £2OO or £250 per annum. Of Clerken well workhouse infirmary, which is considered by the authorities very defective, a few of the defects, and not by any means the worst, are given in the answers of Mr. H. J. Brown, the medical officer. He states that by the existing accommodation from 100 to 125 should be properly admitted, but that room should be provided for 250. The space, ventilation, light, and air, nursing and attention to the sick are all marked as " deficient," the bedding (flock beds) and furniture described as " tolerable;" but he wished mattresses to be provided. Recovery from illness was retarded in the house, but the causes were not specified. The remedies suggested were " day rooms for the insane and other patients able to leave their beds, increased space in the wards, exercising grounds, paid n 2.ises to each sick ward (not paupers) both for day and night, im proved system of ventilation, and waterclosets,'' while other wants are summed up in " &c." His duties compelled him to attend to the house twice a day, and he was called at all hours when necessary, and he saw, prescribed for, and dispensed for all the patients on the sick book morning and evening. His salary was £l3O per annum, and his emolu ments about £l5 per annum, the guardians finding only quinine and cod liver oil. The drugs cost him about £3O a year, and an assistant £BO. Ile con sidered that all the drugs should be found by the guardians, that a qualified assistant should be paid by the guardians, that he should have £l5O per annum, with extras, as the district surgeon. These tually. They have a craving hankering after the land which they have no capital and no enterprise to cultivate. There is a sortof feeling on their part that they must have their land, and that they must use their land, and so, ac cordingly, instead of going out as they might do and gain ing an honest livelihood,th9y eke out a miserable subsistence on a small estate ; but calling it an " estate" is a joke ; I should say that "patch" which not their father but the law gives them over their father's head, and which they take without gratitude to him from whom it came. The effect this system has in demoralising the country is dreadful to reflect upon. It is a thing almost too dreadful to say, but I be lieve that the diminution of the population of France is a great deal owing to the fact that the parents don't like to see their land cut up into nothing, and accordingly we have HEAL' families of three and four children only. Why only three or four? It is a dark mystery. Certainly human nature is human nature; but the maternal nature and the pa ternal nature are steeled in Frame to the desire of seeing many rosy infantile faces round their hearths. That is a known fact, and there are things which cannot be spoken of except guardedly, and only in meetings of men, and I believe a great deal of it is attributable to that infa mous system of the necessary division and subdivision of land and property among all the offspring. Marriages be come a mete matter of bargain; the man has a third of his father's property, and the woman he takes to wife has a third or a quarter of a half of her father's property ; and so it is simply a union of two misbroken halves put together. Sons' sons go on making these sorts of marriages, and thus you see how this villainous system poisons the very birth-springs of human life and human mortality in every shape; and it is what we are to come to--equal division of land and universal suffrage. France got an equal division of land 70 years ago, and universal suffrage 19 years ago; and then the third thing came—Napoleon's heel on the neck of the people. Napoleon there, and universal suffrage and a universal di vision of property not abolished, not altered, but main tained, because they were the right arm and the left arm with which a tyrant and a despot maintained his power. This, too, is what you are promised if " the million " are allowed to seize the sceptre which you have had for 200 years. This is against the system of free England, against the mutual dependence of classes, mutual favours from one class without insolence, and gratitude without servility from the other. Freedom to make your money ; freedom • illustrations of workhouse infirmary management are taken haphazard from the official papers. The Land Laws (1 England, France, and America. At the annual dinner of the Goudhurst Agricultural As- sociation on Friday evening, the President, Mr. Beresford Hope, M.P., in the course of proposing the toast of the evening, " Success to the Goudhurst Agricultural Associa tion and the Hop Trade," after alluding to topics of a local nature, said —I do not think there is anything more of special local interest to which I need refer, but as Goud hurst is only a part of the great commonwealth of England, we feel an interest in everything that affects the great country in which we live. (Hear, hear.) On occasions like this party politics are shut out, and rightly so too, but at the same time there are considerations which are not which 100 deaths were recorded. matters of party politics but of national pride, national glory and advancement, which none of us should shrink from owning to each other. (Hear, hear.) It is not party politics that make us drink "The Queen," that make us drink "The Archbishop and Clergy," and " The Army and Navy," but in drinking all these toasts we drink the honour and glory of old England and those ancient institutions which have made England what she is ; and we are all pledged to each other as Englishmen to stand shoulder to shoulder as one man if the enemy dare to attack us to spend your money, freedom to buy, and freedom to sell land, freedom to marry, freedom to make your will, free dom to travel, freedom to breathe, freedom to worshipyour God as you like, freedom in all things, with order and due subordination everywhere—(cheers)—that is the English system which thisman is to rise from the dead and say shall be abolished ; this is that system which the House of Com mons, which is " paralysed for good,"has ever kept up. I call on you, I say, not as Conservatives, not as Libe rals, not as Whigs, not as Tories, but as Englishmen who love old England, to stand together and see that that man, the national enemy, does not lead his hordes on to tear -us down and establish the grievous tyranny of a demo cratic equality in its place. (Applause.) 'Cheers.) When the enemy dares to attack us do we say, :'Oh, I am a Tory, you are a Whig, you are a Conserve- - - , ive or a Conservative 7 Liberal, and that man is a Conserve ve Liberal?" No, no; we say we are Englishmen, and as such we meettogether for Queen and Constitution, for our good old Parliament, for the House of Lords, for our Judges, and for our happy land-(cheers) -and I say we will do that whether the national enemy approaches in the shape of a Napoleon or of a blustering, foul-mouthed Quaker f rom Rochdale. 1 say that-and lam not talking politics-the national enemy has unveiled himself - (hear, hear) -and all of us -I don't care whether we are men who vote for Holmes dale (Conservative M.P. for West Kent) or for Angerstein (late Liberal candidate)-must as Englishmen stand up to gether for our old English system against any who come foul-mouthedly to calumniate us. Do any of us, as English men,want to hear that the House of Commons is paralysed for good, and that not merely one side -the side of Holmes dale or Lee -but that both sides, Conservatives and Libe rals, are actually unfit to legislate for the people ?-for that is ts hat we are told. (Hoar.) Are we to be told that it is a good thing for the United Kingdom, and good for free dom everywhere, that they-meaning all the classes, the lowest labouring class, and everybody in the world who has or has not the ability, means, or honesty to gain a penny-that they should seize the sceptre which for the last 200 years has been wielded by a class-that is, to seize the sceptre from us? What is seizing the sceptre ? It means a violent act, upsetting one rule and setting up another. And do any of you-I care not what your colours are, blue or purple- wish an uprising of what is called "the million" to come and seize the sceptre from you ? Now, here is a definition of what seizing the sceptre means -" Why, if a man rose from the dead on the floor of the House of Com mons to point out the terrible consequences of the land laws to the great bulk of the population labouring on the land, to the great or small landowners, they would say he was an impostor, and tell him to be gone to the realms whence he came." That is saying, in other words, "Go to the Devil." (Hear, hear.) Now, what are these land laws? I v• ant you to understand this question thoroughly, and that I am not going into party politics, unless going into party politics means standing up for this old England as she alwaya has been. The great thing that has made England so great has been the perfect freedom of rich and poor to dispose of their own as they like-(cheers) -the power of buying and selling and making wills as they like. When the gentry and nobility of France-unlike those of Eng• land-stuck to privilege, and brought about the French Revolution, that power of making wills, which is true free dom of man, and the right of disposing of his own, was abolished, the law came in and decided it for him, that his property was to be cut up among the dutiful and the un dutiful, that they were all to share alike, not because thers was any good in them, but because the law saw no means of setting up liberty other than by trampling down inde pendence and making a dead 1•3v21 of equality; and all this because they could not brook there should be any dis tinction of good or bad in the land. Again, I ask, what aro the laud laws of England ? We bear a great deal about tyranny and oppression by the landed gentry, and all be cause they have been content to be groping up to the true laws of economic science. The protected classes were seine time before they saw that protection did more harm than good ; but everybody was alike, for the farmer stuck to protection and so did the manufacturer. The science of free trade is like the science of gunnery, or anything of that sort which has made great develop ment in our times ; but the man who stands up and always accuses the agricultural classes of malignity and hatred because they were slow in learning the laws of free trade is as foul-mouthed a misrepresenter of things as the man who would get up and say that the Duke of Wellington was a traitor to England beause ho saw the merits of " Brown Bess," and could not understand what a rifled breech-loader could do. Just the same thing may be said with regard to the old corn laws ; they were the " Brown Bess" of their day, while the breech-loader repro sents the modern system of free trade ; and there is no more malignity in the farmer having his eyes opened to the ad vantages of free trade than there is in the cotton-spinner having his eyes opened, or in the soldier having his eyes gradually opened to the merits of the rifled breech- loader. But why is the man to go to the Devil if he gets up and tells us the disadvantages of the land laws ? What are these land laws? They are the laws which established perfect free trade in the land, and which allow a man who has money to buy land, and allows him if hard up to sell his la r ac L h lke o a th l e a r nd in nn the lea p a o a si a ti a on th o e f n t a h a e n who is the a s amtenancy perfect at will, and man may w bo h . o T le h ts ia an a d ya t t h en e ; m i an andnn dd tohredTinthoeayndaewarelhowthlierthseoelaws which allow the farmer and say, elastic system in the world, and one existing •in different countries under different tenures. Then people talk of en tails; but what is entail ? A great de a l of nonsense has been talked about entails ; but the fact is, as ought to know, there are in all England only about Peoonpeledozen en tails. " Entail" means l an d th a t mus t go f rom o succes sor to the other. Among the f e w e n t a il s in England, there are those of the Duke of Marlborou g h, the Duke of Wel lington, Lord Nelson (given for mag • • nificent public services), Lord Shrewsbury, Lord Abergave Lord nny, Pembroke, and a few others ; but the rest we hear spoken of as entai ls are not a bit of entail. It is simply a business 1 transaction, by which a person may secure the possession of his pro perty for two or throe generations by a deed, which eed those who come after him, under most circumstances,may break, if they like. What is commonly called an enail i s as much a business transaction as a time-bargain or any other thing which cannot be settled on the nail this very a ft er noon, but must take some little time to run out. Then, again, we hear a great deal about the accumulation of land in private hands; and no doubt this does take place here and there, but it is generally in the case of those persons who have made their money in trade -and quite right too, for, having made their money honestly, why should they not invest it in the purchase of land ? But those people who talk of the great accumulation of land don't say anything about the many old estates which are broken up. Perhaps there is an old place some five or six miles from London or Birmingham which is broken up, and then, perhaps, built up again, and then pulled down and turned into villas, just as population fluctuates. And this is just as it should be, and is a moans of making money cheaply. But people say, "Just alter the law a bit, and let a man's land be cut up if he chooses without a will." But what would follow ? Why, you set up a prejudice against a man leaving his land as he likes. Perhaps a minor dies-the last heir of a grand old property which ho cannot leave by will because ho is not of age, and thus, in spite of himself, the property has to be cut up to gratify a few people who wish -to level the system of England to that of France. (Hear, hear.) I assure you, gentlemen, if it were only to have led the House of Commons to a successful resistance in the last session to a bill for making that change in the law, I should have been glad that I came into Parliament at the last general election, for I am satisfied it would bo the beginning of the end. And what is that end ? It is the French system. I don't hold up America as an example, but in America, though in many of the States they aro afraid to make an oldest son, they are not absolutely obliged to cut up their property, as they are in France. America being such an enormous country, and so thinly populated, a man who wants land can go and buy it; in fact, he can have it almost for the asking; eo.that a system which would be very troublesome here would not have the same effect in America, England being an old country, with a teeming population and a limited acreage. According to our system, they say that every man cannot got his piece of land. That may be, and it may be a hardship in some cases, but in many cases it is a useful hardship, because it drives men to emigrate to Aus tralia, Canada, or New Zealand. It may drive a man to the United States, and I don't blame hint for going there, but I should rather wish that ho wont to soma place over which the good old Union Jack still waves. There he becomes a thriving citizen and the owner of hundreds of acres of land. Whereas, if it were the law to divide the land, we should have lazy fellows hanging on for the third of a cabbage garden which might come to them by their father's decease. That system of the division of the land has utterly reduced the peasantry of France morally and intellec' THE PRESIDENT AND 711 E . CONS7ITU- TION. A Washington journal, which is looked upon as the organ of President Johnson, publishes an ar- Vele declaring that if the Radical majority in Con gress continue their treasonable course the Executive Government will arm its supporters. The Presi dent, it says, will not forget his oath to defend the constitution, and the army and navy will respond to his call. It further declares that President Johnson will serve out his term of office. This might be alarming, as it is the latest news from Washington by the Hamburgh and American steamship Saxonia. But it does not seem to frighten Wall-street, as the tendency of gold is downwards, and the tendency of Government securities is up wards. Yet it does shadow out a terrible possi bility—the chances of a civil war so horrible that the very thought is sufficient to stop the pulsations of an American's heart. The President is a deter mined man, and the Republican leaders are equally determined. It is clear, however, from the last prices by the cable that the nation is not alarmed, and probably from the calm confidence they feel that neither party dare proceed to extremities till their decision is made known. No doubt there is an uneasy feeling in Europe, but this is not on the part of the Americans. Messrs. Bowles, Drevet, and Co., a reliable authority for Paris, in their circular just to hand, remark : " Nevertheless, as regards merely speculative opera tions, the heaviest interest is still for the fall, many pessimits predicting troubles on the other side of the ocean, and repeating continually that America is threatened with a terrible financial crisis." Such a crisis would, indeed, follow quickly a gene ' ral conviction in America that either of the con- tending parties intended to push matters to ex tremity. This firm, however, record their opinion " that they regard the question in a different light." The Senate has passed the bill imposing additional limits to the President's appointing power. Mr. Sumner, in a speech in the Senate, alluded to Mr. Johnson as an usurper and a monster of discor d.— Anglo-American Times. It is curious to contrast the rate of discount at the principal monetary centres of Europe—Amster dam, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfort, Hamburg, London, and Paris —during 1866. At Amsterdam the year opened with a 6 per cent, discount rate. In the second week of the year there was an advance to 61 per cent., but in the Bth week there was a fall to 6, and in the 11th to 51. lu the 18th week the rate went to 6, and in the 19th to 61. In the 27th week of the year it further advanced to 7, sinking, however, to 6i in the 32d, 6 in the 33d, 51 in the 39th, 5 in the 431, and 41- in the 51st week. Berlin commenced 1866 with a discount rate of . 7 per cent., which sunk to 6 in the Bth week, advancing, how ever, to 7 in the 16th week, and to 9 in the 19th week. In the 29th week there was a fall to 7, in the 30th week to 6, in the 321 weak to 5, in the 44th week to 41, and in the 51st week to 4. At Brussels there were very few fluctuations. They may be summed up as follows : Comme ncemen t o f the year 5 per cent. , 9th week, I; 20 th week, 5 ; 22d week, 6 ; 33d week, 4 ; and 38th wee k, 3. At Frankfort the rather more numerous fluctuations were :_Commencement of the year, 6 per cent. ; 2d week, 7 ; 3d week, 5k ; 4th week, 5 ; 7th week, 41 ; 10th week, 4 ; 12th week, 41; 16th week, 5 ; 19th week, 6 ; 20th week, 7 ; 26th week, 6; 33d week, 5 ; 34th week, 4 ; 41st week, 41 ; and 46th 31. At Hamburg there were no fewer than 31 changes in the rate of discount during the past year. In the Ist quarter the fluctuations were from 41 to 7 per cent. ; in the 2cl quarter, from 51 to 81; in the 3d quarter, from 3k to 61 ; and in the 4th quar ter from 31 to 41. At London the year opened with a discount rate of 8 per cent., which fell to 7 in the Bth, and to 6 in the 11th week of the year. In the 18th week the rate rose to 7 ; the 19th week to 9 ; and in the 20th week to 10. This rate continued 33d week when it sunk to 8, declining further to 7 in the 34th week, and sin the 36th weak. It after wards fell to 41 in the 39th week, 4 in the 45th week, and 31 in the 51st /week. At Paris discount was kept within very moderate bounds in 1866, the year commencing with 5 per cent., from which there was a fall to 41 in the 7th week, 4 in the Bth week, 31 in the 12th week, 4 in the 19th week 3f in the 30th week, and 3 in the 35th week. The Russian co n t r ib u ti on to the Paris Exhibi tion will be far rich er , mor e complete, and much more interesting th an th a t sen t to the International of 1862. The Government grant in 1862 was 75,000 rouble s , i t i s now 220,000. Part of this amount is destined to defray the expenses of car nage, and the remainder will be spent in the pur chase of specimens necessary to complete the various collections when they have not been offered by the producers themselves. M. Spakoffsky will show the ingenious use he makes of turpentine. Not content with exhibiting his lamps, samovars, and signal lights to be used at sea, he sends over a small steamer, Ora machinery of which is set in motion in an incredibly short space of time through the agency , of turpentine. Mr. Zaroubine sends a pump of his own invention, for drawing water from the deep we ll s of the Crimea. The Russian catalogue will va l ua ble to those who are c ur i ous t o k now the sources of Rus sian wealth. It w ill s h ow th a t nothing is wanted but improved means of internal communication and a wise administration, to make Russia one of the richest countries in Europe. Large coloured maps will be exhibited, which show at a glance the nature, soil, the mineral productions and the quantity of wood in different districts ; in what provinces flax and hemp are c hi e fly c ultivated ; where suga r is manufactured ; an d w h er e sheep, horned cattle, and horses are rear e d. These nao .ps will also show the corn districts and the mean s of communication be tween them and the seaport townzr. THE SEAN, LONUON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 7. 1867. DON. (Fivni the Regi.strar T Generars Return.) 'HE PUBLIC JOURNALS• General Register-office, Somerset-house, Feb. 4. In the week that ended on Saturday, February 2, he births registered in London and 12 other large towns of the United Kingdom were 4,800 ; the deaths registered, 3,557. The annual rate of mor tality was 30 per 1,000 persons living. In London the births of 1,237 boys and 1,153 girls, in all 2,390 children, were registered in the week. In the corresponding weeks of ten years 1857-66 the average number, corrected for increase of population, was 2,234. The deaths registered in London during the week were 1,628. It was the fifth week of the year, and the average number of deaths for that week is, with a correction for increase of population, 1,600. The deaths in the present return exceed the estimated number by 28. The deaths have fallen from 1,880 in the previous week to 1,628, as the weather has grown milder, and now we have fortunately passed the coldest month of the year. The reduction in the number of deaths as winter has relented is visible at every pe- riod, except the last age of all (80 to 100 years), at The diseases of the lungs grew frequent and fatal, but have now declined. Thus, the deaths frost bronchitis in the six weeks were at first 224 and 178, then, as the effects of severe frost accumulated, 375, 308, and 390, falling down finally this week to 271. No death from cholera has been registered for a fortnight, but the deaths from diarrhcea have in creased. While the epidemic of scarlatina is de- clining smallpox is increasing, and last week 55 persons died of the disease in London-22 in the north (where the Smallpox Hospital is situate), 13 in the east, and 16 in the south districts. The deaths returned last week in London and . in 12 other large towns of the United Kingdom fur nishing returns showed a decrease of 586 upon those of the previous week ; of this decrease 252 occurred in London, 107 in Liverpool, 110 in Manchester, and 63 in Glasgow. In Dublin alone was shown a further considerable increase upon recent weeks ; the 286 deaths exceeded by 122 the corrected average weekly number, and included 102 fatal cases of bronchitis. Kensington-Town.—At the Feathers Inn, Not ting-hill, a farm labourer, aged 70 years, " starva tion and exposure to cold ;" post mortem ; inquest. Chelsea North-East.—At Manchester-terrace, Kensall New-town, on the 13th of January, a laundress, aged 20 years, " exposure to atmosphere ;" post mortem ; inquest. Marylebone—Rectory.— At 27, Wigmore-street, on the 19th of January, a domestic servant (female), aged 51 years, " bron chitis accelerated by cold and want of attendance ;" post mortem ; inquest. St. Luke—Whitecross street.—At 10, Frederick-place, on the 26th of January, a female, aged two years, " blood poison ing from sleeping and living in a room of insufficient space and greatly overcrowded ;" inquest. Shore ditch—Haggerstone East.—At 7, Belgrave-terrace, Queen's-road, on the 21st of January, a woman, aged 51 years, " from want of food, warmth, and other necessaries ;" post mortem ; inquest. White chapel—Church.—At the London Hospital, on the 31st of January, the son of a coachman, aged four years, " hydrophobia from the bite of a dog;" in quest. Whitechapel—Aldgate—Found dead at Shorter's-rents, on the Ist of February, a shoe black, aged 65 years, " effusion on brain accele rated by privation ;" post mortem ; inquest. The annual rate of mortality last week was 28 per 1,000 in London, 30 in Edinburgh, and . 47 in Dublin, 31 in Bristol, 26 in Birmingham, 30 in Liverpool, 32 in Manchester, 31 in Salford, 29 in Sheffield, 32 in Leeds, 30 in Hull, 32 in Newcastle upon-Tyne, and 35 iu Glasgow. The rate in Vienna was 27 per 1,000 during the week ending the 26th nit., when the mean temperature was 111 deg. Fahrenheit lower than in the same week in London, where the rate was 32. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height of the barometer in the week was 29.871 in. The barometrical reading increased from 29.43 in. on Wednesday to 30.32 in. by the end of the week. The mean temperature of the air in the week was 46 deg., which is 7.9 deg. above the average of the same week in 50 years (as determined by Mr. Glaisher). The highest day temperature was 55 deg. on Sunday. The lowest night temperature was 35 deg. on Saturday. The entire range of temperature in the week was, therefore, 20 deg. The mean of the highest temperaturesof the water of the Thames was 42.9 deg. ; that of the lowest was 40.2 deg. The difference between the mean dew-point tempe rature and air temperature was 3.7 deg. The mean degree of humidity of the air was 87, complete satu ration being represented by 100. Rain fell to the amount of 0.54iti., of which 0-43 in. fell on Wed nesday. The general direction of the wind was S.W. According to a return furnished by the en gineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works, the average daily quantity of sewage pumped into the river Thames at the Southern Outfall Works, Cross ness, was 48,688,589 gallons, or 221,214 cu bi c metres, equivalent to about as many tons by weight. The " Standard's" Picture of Thaddeus Stevens. the Opposition all the spiritual and physical intimi dation which is the favourite weapon of the Irish priesthood. The triumph may, indeed, be short lived, but still it seems to redress the balance for the time ; and the House of Commons has the honour of numbering among its members a gentleman who is very indignant at being called a Fenian, as well as another who, so far from being likely to incur such a charge, is only a very innocuous specimen of the ordinary Whigling of the period. We have no doubt, however, that while the modes by which Captain White and Mr. De la Poer (this is modern Irish for Power) secured their seats were equally lovely, so in their ejection from them they will not be long divided. In four cases—Pembrokeshire, Car narvon, Armagh, and North Salop—there has been no contest. And in each of these constituencies has a Conservative been returned. At Belfast the oppo sition to the return of Mr. Lanyon was merely nominal; and in the county of Wexford the only question for the electors to decide was which of the two Conservatives was the better, inasmuch as even under such favourable circumstances no Liberal was found sufficiently sanguine to solicit their suffrages. At Guildford Mr. Garth has won the seat previously occupied by Sir W. Bovill by a fair majority over his Radical opponent, Mr. Pocock. And at Brecon and Falmouth, to which we have already alluded, Mr. Rowel Gwynn and Mr. Jervoise Smith have respectively worsted Lord Alfred Churchill and Mr. R. N. Fowler. Mr. Bright, whose ostentatious igno rance of the geographical situation of some of the smaller boroughs is not, perhaps, altogether affected, has naturally been very angry with the men of Bre con for selecting an independent local candidate in preference to a noble lord of whom they knew nothing beyond his title. But his indignation at the untoward result of this, the first skirmish in the autumn's campaign, betrayed him into one of the most ludicrous blunders which he has ever perpe trated before an admiring audience. In denouncing the aristocratic influences which he always assumes I as being essential to the success of the Constitu tional cause, he took up his parable against the noble houses of Tredegar and Camden, accusing them, first of all, of the unpardonable sin of having come over with the Conqueror ; and, secondly, of the scarcely less heinous offence of not having done anything of political note since that time. The dis tinctively Norman names of Morgan and Pratt, which happen to belong to the owners of those ob noxious coronets, might have undeceived him, bad he paused for a moment's thought, as to the real origin of two obviously middle-class families. And his memory, if he ever remembered anything except his own past achievements, might have served to re call the Sir Charles Morgan whose peerage is only seven years old, as well as the eminent Liberal law yer who in the last century founded the house of Camden. t has always been alleged against the Bourbons that they learned nothing and forgot nothing. But the Rochdale autocrat has adopted even a more sublimely Royal motto, as he learns nothing and remembers nothing, with the excep tion, of course, which we have just indicated. COUNTRY MARKETS. GAINSBOROUGH-TUESDAY. At our market to-day there was a moderate show of wheat, which met a fair sale, at is to 2s less money—old white, 66s to 68s; red and mixed, 62s to 65s per 36 stone. Malting barley rather lower in price. Oats and all other articles sold at fotmer rates. HULL.-TIIESDAY. At this day's market there was a fair attendance of the trade, with a good show of English wheat, but the busi ness done was limited, and prices declined fully 2s per qr from last week. Linseed not so firm. English white wheat, 66s to 70s; red, 63s to 66s ; Dant sic and Konigsberg, 67s to 72s ; Baltic red, 62s to 66s ; Danish and Hamburg, 58s to 60s ; Russian, 55s to 58s. Barley, English, 36s to 50s; grinding, Mediterranean, 34s to 35s 6d. Oats, new English, 26s to 28s • Russian, 26s to 275. Beans, old English, 58s to 60s; foreign, 43s to 445. Peas, English blue, 42. to 44s Od ; foreign white, 44s to 455; grinding, 43s to 44s Od per qr. SALISBITRY.-T UESDAY. At our market to-day there was a less numerous at tendance than last week. Good wheat ruled is under for mer prices. The trade, however, was dull. Barley also slow, and down in price. Oats, beans, and peas inactive. Flour slow. The following are the quotations :—Wheat realised from 55s to 65s ; barley, 37s to 535; oats, 24s to 30s ; beans, 463 to 58s ; and peas, 40s to 52s per qr. Tares, from 6d to 5- 6d per bushel ; Best bread, 15d ; household ditto, 141, per 81b loaf. Flour, 45s to 49s per sack. MONMOUTHSHIRE-TUtSDAY. Tho supplies at the various markets have been moderate of most descriptions of grain, and wheat came to hand in damp condition. A good show of barley, mostly foreign ; best malting qualities moved off freely at late rates, and grinding sold at enhanced quotations. English and foreign beans commanded late values. The following are the average quotations: —Wheat, red, 7s 3d to 7s Gd per bushel ; white, 7s 9d to 8s Od ; inferior, Gs ud to Gs Gd ; malting barley, 4Gs to 52s per qr ; grind ing ditto, 31s to 34s Od beans, 44s to 50s ; white oats, 27s to 28s ; • black ditto, 24s Gd to 25s Gd. COAL MARKET. Price per ton at the close of the market. s. d. s. a. Bates' West Hartley.. 16 0 South Hetton West Hartley Original Hartlepool... 19 0 Tees Hetton Lyons ........ 16 9 Thornley Tunstall Wallsend Haswell l9 0 Lambert's W.Hartley 17 0 Eden Main Kepler Grange......... 17 0 Hartlepool Cowndon P --- ,her Primrose 16 6 Holywell Main lB 6 2enshm ••• 7 1 Nelson l7 0 Wylani lB 6 Eighton Moor l6 6 South Wylam Love's Ilettou: l6 6 North Hartlepool l6 6 Sxatli 1Tart: , •px. , 1...... 17 3 Bradyell'sLr.caua l7 9 Ships at market, 90—sold, 56. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton Feb. 19. Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. 13. Brazil and Cape Verde, by British packet, M a. Ditto, by French packet Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Ilelena Fcb. 27 China, Penang. and Singapore, via Soulhampton Feb 19. Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. 13 Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton 1 r r.b 13. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton Ft b 13 Ditto, via Marseilles India (Bombay), via Southampton. Feb. 13 Ditto, via &I amides Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Feb. 13. Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. 7. Mauritius, via Southampton Ditto, via Marseilles. Feb. ' 3 Newfoundland. Portugal) , Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon United States and British North America, by Bri tish packet. ... . Feb. 21. Ditto, by United States packet, via Southamp- ton Ditto, ♦ia Cork Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderry .. Feb 8 West Indies and Fulda (except Bahamas and Honduras) Feb. 13. Baharn:..4, via New York. Mar 7 . Cuba and Mexico Bermuda, via Halifax . • Feb. 13. West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Tenerife Mar. 6 ADVERTISEMENT. —Holloway's Ointment and Pi Every-day Want.—Skin diseases, blotches, and unseemly eruptions, which prevail so frequently and annoy so mud! , can be removed with facility by this cleansing and cooling ointment. the salutary properties of which over all cu tann " ous affections have been long and indubitably establishe d- Moderate does of Holloway's pills should be taken while the outward ailment is being treated with his ointment; they will depurate the blood and free it from every taint that might induce a relapse, deteriorate the general health,. or otherwise act injuriously. By promoting digestion anu, by purifying the circulation, Holloway's pills ever help keep the skin clear and to eradicate the many rashes an spots so frequently denoting an infirm stomach. Births. CONNELL—On the 3d inst., at Fort Brockhurst, Gosport, the wife of Lt.-Col. Connell, Royal Artillery, of a son. f CARRUTHERS—On the sth inst., at Edinburgh, the wife ° a William F. Carruthers, Esq., of Dormont, of a son an heir. FANSHAIVE-0a the 4th inst., at Brighton, the wife of CA C. Fanshawe, Royal Engineers, of a son. Krionos—On the sth inst F. at 29 Marlborough-hill, St' John's-wood, the wife of P. A. Kingdon, Esq., barrister" at-law, of a son. Marriages. HUGHES— MARGETTS —On the sth inst., at St. L'l la;ts Church, Chelsea, Edward Hughes, Esq., of 1, Scarsdale:. place, Kensington, to Kate Ellen, eldest daughter of Peck Margetts, Esq., of Chelsea. Smint —BIRCH—On the sth inst., at St. Mary's, BrYans t°n r : square, Sydney Smith, Esq., of 30 , Upp er Soynloub street, Portmau-square, to Annie, daughter of J. 13irc Esq. Deaths. CARTER—On the sth inst., Mr. Richard Carter, of 29, Milner-square, Islington, aged 73. COOKE—On the 4th inst., at St. Vincent's, Portcbester, Hants, Major J. Cooke, son of late Rea r- Admiral Cooke, aged 75. COLE—Cm the 4th inst., at 21-, Colville-square, R. Cole, Esq., F.S.A., aged 77. Fox—On the 6th inst., at Clapham, Henry Fo x, Esq., late of St. John-street, aged 63. HATTRORNE—On the sth inst., at the Vicarage, CongreS bury, Somerset, the Rev. Joseph Ifaytho rae, aged 71. ROBINSON— On the sth inst., at 30 , Russell-square, 11°I)11 C. Robinson, Esq., aged 92. bton/ ROE —Ou the sth inst., at 8 , Pavilion - p arade, Brig Lucy, the wife of Lieut.-Col. Roe, E.I.C.R.S. London : Printed and Pubiiahed by-111414'A1% AN:JO " , p, of No. 112. Strand, riPtier at TIM SUN OirOC. N °. o f Strand, in the Preciaat of the S a v o y , in the CoUglY Middleaex.--Thuraday, February 7,1867. SPIRIT OF T A most amusing description is given in the letter of the Washington correspondent of the Standard, dated January 15, of THADDEUS STEVENS, the Re publican leader in Congress. The rumour is first alluded to of his insanity, which the writer contra dicts. lie then asks who is TIIADDEUS STEVENS, and proceeds to answer the question. Mr. STEVENS was born in Vermont in 1783. He began life as a teacher in a country school, from which he took to the highway as a travelling pedlar. As a true Yankee he was successful in this line,,and gathered $3,000 in hard coin. With this he settled in Lan caster, became a justice of the peace, a member of the State Legislature, and, finally, a Representative in Congress in 1849. He was returned at every election save one since that time. Yet this veritable authority in the next sentence informs us that " he obtained for himself the reputation of a harmless old buffoon" (!) The old buffoon, however, cleared a handsome fortune by extensive iron-works in Pennsylvania, and rose to political eminence by un compromising opposition to the South. In person, according to the correspondent, Mr. STEVENS is short and gaunt, with a wizened, dried-up face, shrivelled like a half-frozen apple ; sharp eyes, acute nose, thin lips, large mouth, false teeth ; sur mounted by a juvenile wig, that gets awry as the speaker becomes excited, to the amuse ment of the House. He is not a statesman nor a scholar, with little ability as a politician, one who never drew up a bill not unconstitutional, nor pro posed a measure not replete with flaws. Yet comes the same absurd contradiction in our authority, for " he is said to be something more than the master of the Radicals in Congress—he is their owner." This is a sample of the portraits drawn of political opponents in the United States when party spirit runs high, and it could not find a better medium for expression than in the columns of the Standard. Analyse all this, wash off the war point, and what do we find ? An old gentleman born in a humble sphere of life working up by steady in dustry till he attains the most powerful position in a leading nation of the world, besides accumulating an immense fortune. Not one single act of meanness or dishonesty can be attributed to him even in such bitter sketches, as these. He sputters in speaking ; his wig gets awry ! The Confederates, in their in vasion of Pennsylvania, destroyed his iron-works. For this he hates them, and intends to make them pay over and over again." Such pictures are too coarsely and clumsily contrived to have any effect in injuring the Republican leader. —Anglo American Times. Count de Castiglione, aide-de-camp of the King of Italy, is on his way to Egypt, according to the journals of Cairo, to present the Viceroy with the Collar of the Annunciada. The Florence press, however, declares that he is going to the East merely for change of climate necessitated by the state,of his health. Perhaps both accounts are correct. SMOKING.—The Inland Revenue returns show that the habit of smoking is gradually extending. In the year 1841 the weight of tobacco consumed in tho United Kingdom was less than 14oz. per head of the population ; in 1851 it had risen to a fraction over llb per head; in" 1861 it was llb 3oz. ; in 1863, llb 4oz. ; and 1864, llb 4/ ounces. TlMES.—Never has Patlament been promised so much work as the Royal Speech of 1867 has sketchel out. The veriest glutton of business— the man who appears first in February and is the last to quit the precincts of Westminster at the end of July, or, happier still for him, in August, who sits on every possible committee, and never misses a sitting, who secures his seat every night by being always at prayers, and is more to be depended upon than the Sergeant-at-Arms—may revel in the occupation that lies before him. The affluence of the new Adminis tration in the matter of Bills is overwhelming ; no thing comes amiss to them ; there is scarcely a branch of legislation they do not promise to touch, if not to adorn. Indeed, the Parliamentary glutton we have described might look forward with some dismay to what would happen if all these promises were kept. If every grievance were at once to be abated, what would Parliament have left to do next session ? If the law were to be perfected out of hand, the busi ness of Reformers and politicians would be sus pended, and common humanity should make us feel some pity at the prospect of a House of frozen-out legislators. Perhaps, however, there will be one or two questions left unsolved to afford matter for a Royal Speech in another session. 'There is room for hope, and, indeed, our confidence in the future is increased when we come to scan the details of the Ministerial Bill of fare. Some of the dishes are already rechauffes, and there can be .no surety that a thing which has been twice warmed may not be warmed up again. That terrible piece de resistance, for example, in the centre of the menu has proved to be too much at many banquets, and, though our hope of seeing the last of it may be stronger now than it ever has been, hope does occasionally tell a too flattering tale. Reform is, however, not the only item in the programme which isan old acquaint ance. We seem to have heard before of the amend ment of the Law of Bankruptcy. What session has there been for many years past in which we have not been promised a full, final, and perfect amendment and consolidation of the Bankruptcy Law ? Lord Westbury, when he was as yet Sir Richard Bethel], to go no further back, introduced a bill which was to cure every past defect, and was warranted against subsequent failure ; but the end of the session came, and the bill had to be withdrawn before it could get out of the Lower House. A year later, and the Bankruptcy Act of 1861 was actually passed; and after all the lawyers discovered, and too plainly proved, that it was one of the worst measures that ever received the sanction of Parliament. Incom plete and discordant clauses brought about a plen tiful crop of cases and decisions. We have had two, if not more, Parliamentary Committees since, and last year another bill made its appearance in the House of Commons. Very much to the credit of our legislators, it never got out of it. Accidents arose which proved fatal to divers reforms, and the Bankruptcy Bill perished without regret. Bad as the Act of 1861 was when it came out of the hands of Parliament, the Judges have by this time given it a meaning and it can be worked. The bill of last year would have provided the legal profession with a fresh stock of puzzles, in addition to which it is proposed to introduce into the Law of Bankruptcy the novel principle of offering a complete immunity to insolvents provided a certain proportion of assets were forthcoming at the time of insolvency. It is not difficult to foresee what would have been the consequences in the commercial world had such a principle been adopted. The Houses of Parliament were once more told on Tuesday that their attention would be called to the amendment of the Law of Bankruptcy, and a rumour has arisen that the Law Officers of the Crown have taken the bill of last year as the basis of the measure to be introduced this session. However that may be, the language of the Royal Speech gives occasion to a preliminary objec tion. We are promised an amendment of the Law of Bankruptcy, or, in other word 3, that a new Act shall be put into the Statute Book as an addition to the Statutes of Bankruptcy already existing. Another thicket is to be added to the jungle, and the practi tioner will have to find his way through a brake which the man of commerce will abandon in despair. This is not what is wanted. The Law of Bankruptcy is now ripe for codification. Amendments are, no doubt, needed, but the experience of six years has revealed the weak points of the law, while the con struction put upon the different sections! of the ex isting statutes by the Judges have removed the difficulties of ambiguous or contradictory phrases. If the present law officers have nothing to produce but an amending bill, we shall have a double satis faction at its miscarriage • something pretty nearly worthless will have perished, and, as things cannot remain as they are, something really valuable may be expected in a forthcoming session. The existing law of bankruptcy is unsatisfactory, but it is not absolutely intolerable. So much cannot be said of the law affecting insolvent railway companies. In fact, there is no law dealing with the case of a rail way company unable to meet its engagements. The ordinary judgment creditor—the holder of a Lloyd's Bond, for example—may enter if he is quick enough, and seize upon the movable property of the com pany, or may avail himself of such remedies as a judgment creditor has against its real estate ; but the decision of the Lords Justices in the London, Chatham, and Dover case shows that the much more important class of debenture-holders have nothing to do when their interest is not paid but to wait for better times. Hitherto a fresh private Act has been obtained from the Legislature when railway com panies have found themselves insolvent, and Lord Redesdale has been practically the judge in bank ruptcy of railways. Recent experience has unfortu nately proved the frequency of insolvency among railways, and some general legislative dealing with them is obviously required. The promise to intro duce a Bill making better provision for the arrange ment of the affairs of insolvent railway companies is very opportune, but we await the Bill itself with 'some anxiety. No more pressing case, certainly, no more difficult subject also, for legislation exists, and the only hints towards dealing with it yet thrown out—those contained in Lord Redesdale's letter to ourselves—fail to strike us as being just or exhaus tive. Ministers may, however, have some surprise in store for us, and until their proposals are known it is but fair to suspend our criticism. The promised consolidation of the Courts of Pro bate and Divorce and Admiralty is, we presume, part of the scheme contemplated when the Divorce court was first created ; and, although there is no necessary connection between the two proposals, we may echo the hope expressed by Mr. Graves that the opportunity will be considered of establishing. Local Courts of Admiralty. Considering how im portant time is in the disposal of shipping cases, it is somewhat surprising that Local Admiralty Courts have not before this been called into existence. The language of the Queen's Speech respecting the busi ness in the Common Law Courts at the Assizes is, to say the least, ambiguous. The means of dispos ing of this increasing business with greater despatch and frequency are to be considered; but whether the project of creating three more judges is to be adopted, or the judicial force at Westminster is to be better distributed is left in doubt. ' We are quite sure the House of Commons will not hesitate for a moment to sanction the small outlay incident upon the appointment of additional judges, should the necessity of more judges be proved; but proof of the necessity is essential. It is impossible to compare the economy of the Judicial Bench at Common Law and in Equity without coming to the conclusion that there is a great waste of power at Westminster, and few observers, whether in or out of the profes sion, will deny that some risk must be run of lessen ing the influence of the bench if the number of the Judges be unnecessarily increased. We may, how ever, be permitted to look upon the whole project of modifying the Common Law Bench and re arranging the Circuits as at present a mere project, which, like many other proposals in the Royal Speech, must be canvassed in all its bearings before it can receive the approval of Parliament. HERALD.—EIeven new members of the House of Commons have been elected during the recess, which terminated on Moniay. Of these eight are supporters of her Majesty's existing Government, while the ranks of the Opposition have only been strengthened by three recruits ; and against two of these returns petitions will be immediately presented, so that the pretensions of Mr. De la Poer and Captain White may be said to be adhuc sub judice. From this it would appear that the unanimous indigna tion of a great people against Tory tricksters and class legislation, of which we have lately heard so much, has only found expression in the person of one solitary representative—to wit, Mr. Jervoise Smith. The mountain has been in labour for six months, and the result is a respectable London banker who has found favour, as a London banker has every right to expect, in the eyes of the immaculate con stituency of Falmouth. It is not to be denied that the actual result of these appeals to individual con stituencies, at least until the decision of their respec tive committees on the disputed elections for Tip perary and Waterford, is to -leave things just as they were. One seat has been gained, much to Mr. Bright's chagrin, by the Conservatives in the case of Brecon, where a local gentleman, Mr. Howel Gwyn, succeeded in defeating a young nobleman from a distance, whose only apparent recommenda tion was the circumstance that he was brother-in law to the late member, the present Marquis Cam den. And one seat has been lost, pending the hearing of a petition in the county of Waterford, for which Mr. De la Poer has temporarily replaced the Earl of Tyrone. If Mr. Gladstone's voluntary exile during the winter is to be attributed less to any political design than a very natural preference of Italian skies to the atmosphere of manhood suf frage meetings, he may at least flatter himself that his homage to Pius IX, has enlisted in the cause of R.'N This Dublin I It is. Borne. Sold ii by the Wli olesal 8, Obser " liinab m u. 1 4,, tiTJS free on COT) ruar Partic Month Al 5, Ag nzr fictory, Wig m A' good market ceipt Kind N T -E and Ci don, E carre l station carriau and C prices. ' Rime Miner, guinea and 111 Pub•ia Maj,si fri; Ur. T] SA The baltat on Nvr Soli Coster Sons. versal CON T' VNIr LAN the 1: will t to ci tities as nu Itoya tout calen office Elevi Nc form on al trolle the c Nc hoot a t utter of th ea.tec gam "T e nt th ralty en ga the lu g In z i OM Pari Ad ( rov,