The Sun. — London, England, 1870-04-29 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PA RLIAM 1N T HOUSE OF LORDS.-THURSDAY. The Lord Chancellor took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. Lord Wolverton took the oath and his seat as a peer of the United Kingdom. THE MASSACRE IN GREECE. The Earl of CLARENDON stated that he had received telegrams from Mr. Erskine, giving the latest in formation of the atrocious murders that had been committed by the Greek brigands. The noble earl then read the telegrams, which were the same as those read in the House of Commons by Mr. Otway. The noble earl then explained the reason of offering a British ship for the conveyance of the brigands to a foreign country, and said that he did so, because the Greek Government had intimated that they could not grant an amnesty, but had consented to shut their eyes whilst the brigands were taken awa y. He was quite sensible of the humiliation o f such a proposal, but the safety of the prisoners seemed to him the first consideration. He made the offer solely to preserve the lives of the captives, and his colleagues shared with him the responsibility, but he wished it to be clearly understood that if such a proceed ing was wrong he alone was to blame. Seeing the general horror and indignation the crime had excited, he hoped for a lenient judgement upon any efforts that were made in the hope of preventing it, and whether he did right or wrong he thought the relatives of the murdered men would never have forgiven him if the blame had, in the most indirect manner, been attributable to any want of energy on his part in undertaking the responsibility. The Earl of CARNARVON expreised his thanks for what had been done to avert such an act of horror. Their Lordships then adjourned. 11U USE OF COMMONS.-THURSDAY. The Speaker took the chair at five minutes past fou o'clock. THIRD READINGS. The following bills were read a third time, and passed:— Abbot's Wood (Dean Forest) Enclosure, Callander and Oban Railway, Eccleshill and Bolton Gas, Glasgow Houses of Refuge, Leeds Corporation Gas (Purchase, &c.), Newport Pagnell Railway, Wolverhampton and Wa Railway. METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RAILWAY BILL. On the motion for the third reading of this bill, Mr. CRAWFORD said he regretted that since the last time this bill had been under consideration no steps had been taken to prevent those who objected to the measure from taking the extreme course of moving its rejection. They had now the plans before them, and the objections that had been made to them still remained, and if the House sanctioned the motion, it would be virtually to supersede by the resolution of a select committee of four members, the solemn decision come to by both Houses iu 1864. He had on a former occasion objected to the proposals in the bill as an act of vandalism ; since that he had received the evidence of Mr. Haywood, and he had failed to discover anything that sverweighed the evidence given by Mr. Gregory and other gentlemen before the committee. The proposal to have a subway 200 yards in extent from the proposed starting station in Queen Victoria-street, to an opening in front of the Royal Exchange, that opening having a double flight of steps close to the Wellington statue, was most objectionable ; and the bringing a large mass of people with the necessary accompaniment of orange, newspaper, and lucifer match sellers to pester every person with wares, would be attended with the greatest public inconvenience. The traffic at present at the particular point of the city he had just mentioned was enormous, and when to that was added that of a large number of railway travellers, it would render the spot almost, if not quite, impassable. The open trench it was proposed to make in Queen Victoria-street would itself be a great objection, and then with respect to the cost of the undertaking, some notion of it would be formed from the fact that land in the vici nity sold yesterday realised no less than £2B per foot. The land required by the company would be about 7,000 square feet, and that multiplied by 28 would give the cost of the land as nearly £200,000, and yet the com pany said they could make the proposed extension of the railway for £172,000 in excess of the sum that it would take to carry the railway to Queen-street. There had been a petition presented in favour of the bill, but that was met by no less than 22 petitions signed by the most influential merchants and traders in the city of London. He was at a loss to know on what ground they could come to Parliament to ask for powers to make the proposed station, because they ad mitted they had no funds, and that their credit was gone. He hoped the house would refuse to give its assent to that which he could characterize as nothing less than a monstrosity. Mr. R. N. FOWLER added his testimony to the incon venience that would arise if the proposals of the company were carried out. Mr. SAMUELSON supported the third reading of the bill. Lord JOHN MANNERS opposed it. Mr. CROSS, as chairman of the select committee to which the bill had been referred, defended the decision at which it had arrived with respect to the bill. He denied that the committee had broken the line of the inner circle, as it was called, and in what they had done they had fully considered the benefit of the public. Lord ELcao did not dispute that the line would be a public convenience, but the company could not carry out the conditions involved in the scheme. Alderman LAWRENCE, loped the House would not con sent to cut such a ma b crniacent street in two in order to facilitate the operations of a railway company. After some further discussion the House divided on the proposition that " now " stand part of the question The result was— Ayes Noes , 200 179 Majority for TURF BETTING Mr. T. HUGHES gave notice that on Monday next he should bring the subject of betting on horses under the notice of the House. ECCLESIASTICAL TITLES ACT. Mr. STACPOOLE asked the First Lordlitf the Treasury if he could state when it was proposed to introduce the promised bill for the repeal of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act. Mr. GLADSTONE replied that the necessity for legislatidn upon the subject of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act was cer tainly as great in the view of the Government as it had been. At the same time the state of business made it difficult to anticipate the precise time for introducing a bill for the purpose in question. THE TRUCK ACT. Sir DAVID WEDDERBURN asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention had been directed to the reports of continued and systematic eva sion of the Truck Act in Scotland; and whether he was prepared to sanction a public inquiry by Royal Commis sion, or otherwise, into the working of that Act. Mr. BRUCE said he had long been aware of the evasions not only in Scotland, but in other parts of the country. If the hon. gentleman or any other gentleman would undertake to deal with the question, the Government would give it their best consideration. PUBLICATION OF REPORTS, Mr. HENRY HERBERT asked whether it was true that 4 review of the Report of the Inspectors of Salmon Fisheries appeared in the Times and Daily Telegraph of the 14th and 16th April instant respectively, being a fortnight before such report was circulated amongst the members of the House, or could be obtained by other newspapers or the public generally, and whether this had been done with the sanction of the Home Office; and, if not, whether inquiry would be made how the report was so partially distributed, and by whom. Mr. BRUCE believed it was true that the report o f inspectors of salmon fisheries did appear in the news - papers on the 14th and 16th of April, while the report -Ywas only on the table of the House on the Bth instant. The reports were given by the inspectors to the news papers on condition that they should not be used until their reports had been published. VAGRANCY. Colonel Dvo - rr asked the President of the Poor-law Board whether it was his intention, on the part of the Go vernment, to institute any proceedings, by legislation or otherwise, in the course of the present session, on the subject of vagrancy, particularly the lodging of tramps in the rural districts. Mr. GosCHEN said he could not give a definite answer. it was impossible to state the intention of Government as to any further measures with any degree of certainty. He was anxious to deal with the question, and if possible would do so this session. CHAPEL SITES. Mr. OWEN STANLEY asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it was his intention, when the Chapel and Schools Site Bill was in committee, to strike out the compulsory clauses for obtaining sites for chapels, limiting it to schools only : and, if he intended to propose clauses enabling owners of property with limited powers to grant or sell sites for churches and chapels by agreement. Mr. BRUCE replied that the hon. gentleman in the first part of the question had rightly apprehended the inten tion of the Government, which was to object to that portion of the bill which gave compulsory power to obtain sites for chapels. He believed it was the intention of the hon. gentleman who introduced the bill fully to pro vide for increasing the powers as to granting sites for churches and chapels by agreement. CANTEENS. Mr. S. CAVE asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether recommendations had been ad dressed by the Home Department to chain:den of Quarter Sessions, to the effect that local inspectors of weights and measures should report deficiencies in the weights and measures used in regimental canteens to War Office, instead of taking proceedings in tl. , e ordinary way. Mr. BRUCE said it was time that the 'fierii.cctors of weights and measures had visited canteens for the pur pose of ascertaining the accuracy of the weights, &c. He had addressed a circular to the Chairmen of Quarter Sessions, recommending them to make such arrange ments as they thought proper for visiting canteens. He was not aware that there was any law which specially sanctioned the visiting of c.-ontc;ms by inspectors of weights and measures, nor did he think such sanction was neces. SHALE MINES. Sir ROBERT ANSTRUTHER asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, having regard to the recent accidents in shale mines he would make arrange ments for including those mines within the provisions of the Mines Regulation and Inspection Bill. Mr. BRUCE said that he had determined to embrace these mines in the measure referred to. BOROUGH POLICE. Major CARTWRIGHT asked whether it was the intention of the Government to bring in a bill relating to County and Borough Police Superannuation during the present session. Mr. BRUCE said a bill on the subject had been prepared, but it would depend upon the state of public business whether it passed during the present session. THE MURDERS BY GREEK BRIGANDS. In reply to Mr. Cartwright, Mr. OrrwAr said that the noble earl, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, had lost no time in sending for information other than that which had been published relative to the recent murders in Greece by brigands, which had caused so much sympathy and indignation, A telegram had been received from Mr. Erskine, dated Athens, this morning, in which he stated that he had sent a list of the brigands to Mr. Barron, chargd d'affairres at Constanti nople, that five hundred troops were in pursuit, and that nothing would be left undone to secure the murderers. That seven of them had been killed, and their heads exposed, and that five others, he (Mr. Otway) presumed brigands, were about to be examined, and if convicted they would be executed. A telegram had also been received' from Mr. Barron at Constantinople to the effect that orders had been issued to arrest all brigands taken on Turkish territory, and to deliver them up to the Greek Govern- ment. A telegram had also been received from Mr. Erskine stating that the Antelope had sailed that morning for Malta with the bodies of the persons mur- dered, Sir J. ELPHINSTONE inquired what force was in the Greek waters at the time of the murder. Mr. CHILDERS said he believed it was limited to the Cockatrice and the Antelope ; the Caledonia had been there previously, but she sailed to join the Mediteranean fleet on the 9th. SUN, LONDON FRIDAY EVENING, APRIL 29, 1870. BETTING HAUNTS The recent raids of the police upon the betting houses have driven the lower grades of the fraternity to ex pedients. Disturbed from their previous haunts, a " commission exchange " has been set up. Tattersall's was preserved from injury by the theory that it was a club; therefore the low betting men established their club. The argument that a subscription club is to all intents and purposes a private house was scoffed at in many a tavern parlour, until some genius more practical than his fellows saw how it might be turned to account, by the institution of this " exchange." It is situated in the Dickens-famed region of Little Saffron-hill. The Daily .Yews correspondent, who described the den, says that ingress may be obt a i ne d on payment of a subscription of five shillings. The inte rior is thus depicted :—Supposing the stranger to have paid this, or to have been made temporarily free -of the place, he finds himself in a large enclosed yard, with a covered shed all round it for the wet weather, and the names and addresses of the list-keepers over their accustomed stands. "From the Commission Exchange " is a kind of reference apparently, for we saw it above the stand of a list-keeper who was doing by far the best business at the Hackney-Wick foot-races on Good Friday ; and all the most substantial looking men at the Bow Running Grounds on the same day carried a similar advertisement on their pouches, or on a broad belt round their hats. The day of our visit to the Saffron-hill establishment was one of the dtalest of the season, and the proceedings were compara tively tame ; but it was impo - ssible not to be struck with the business air with which bets were booked and notes compared. " Only five shillings subscription, and you may bet here as much as you like," repeated an illustrious member of "the Exchange." And the whole story of police suppression seemed told in these simple words. " Concerning snakes in Iceland, there are no snakes," wrote the historian ; and concerning the putting-down of street-betting, it is not put down, if the payment of a crown entitles anyone to indulge in it. The venue is changed ; but the aspect and demeanour of the people offering and taking odds—" on commission," we presume— carried one back to old experiences. There were the sharp eyes, the cunning faces, the expressions out of which a physiognomist would evolve a life-history which it would be impossible to write. It would be interesting to know the conditions under which this exchange is carried on, and how its members 'are affiliated. Is spotless integrity an essential qualifica tion ? Are all men excluded from it who have once been defaulters on the turf ? Are the rules by which it is go verned more or less elastic than thOse of a betting club? In all externals it is a subscription yard, kept up by men with a common purpose ' • but that " d og does not eat dog" is a proverb o f wide acceptance, and we should be pleased to know more of the raison d'être of the Saffron-hill Commission Exchange than appears on the surface. Not the least c ur i ous thi ng about it is that its very existence is doubted or ignored by many authorities, who confound it with the old meet ing place, the Ruins, and declare it to have been put down. Assuming the questions we have put to be answered satisfactorily, another and scarcely less important one remains behind. How far does the existence of this semi-public gam bling ground accord with the spirit and in tentions of the Legislature ? That it is a cheap and successful parody upon another place which is frequented by members of the aristocracy does not meet the point and while P.P. betting, or th e reverse , i s rece i v i ng care f u l attention at the hands of would-be reformers of the turf, it may be well to ask how far we, the public outside the Jockey Club, have improved upon betting shops and street obstructions, while public gaming is winked at or encouraged by the police, if the gamblers agree among th2inselves to pay to and for each other five shillings a year' THE IRISH LAND BILL. The House then went into committee on this bill, eluming at the amendment moved by Mr. Headlam, to Clause 3, which was to insert the following words after the word " land." " Provided always, that nothing in this act contained shall exonerate a tenant under lease from the duty of giving up peaceable possession of the demised land at the end of the term, nor shall a landlord resuming possession at the termination of a lease be deemed to be disturbing a tenant within the meaning of this act." Mr. HEADLAM said his amendment had been much misrepresented, and constructions had been put upon it which were totally inconsistent with its meaning. The intention he had in moving it was to have it clearly set out that the clause did not apply to leases, but only to cases of continuing tenantry where disturbance had taken place by the act of the landlord. He contended that there could not be a greater misrepre sentation than the assertion that his propo sition was contrary to the principle of the Bill, and he was satisfied that an impartial observer would come to the same conclusion. He asked the Government whether they intended to evacuate a tenant although he might have a money claim from the primary and elementary duty of giving up peaceable possession of demisekl land. The Government ought to decide what leases ought to be brought within the Act, and what were the leases upon which the landlord would be liable for compensation, and what ought to be the amount of compensation. If the clause were passed in its present form, there was scarcely a member on either side of the House who could say what would be the state of the law with respect to leases before the Act, and with respect to tenancies before and after the Act. He had proposed his amendment without the slightest intention of obstructing the measure. His object from the first had been to assist Her Majesty s Government. The ATTORNEY GENERAL, who had been alluded to by Mr. Headlam, denied that he had ever attributed to that gentleman any mala fides in the course which he,he had adopted. The misapprehension on his (the Attorney General's) part was shared in by a large number of persons, both in and out of the House, and by a portion of the Press. Sir F. HEYGATE was much struck in the first instance with what appeared to be the soundness of Mr. Headlam's amendment, but subsequently it seemed to him that it aimed at the principle of the bill. The Committee then went on disposing of the various amendments ou the paper at a moderately fair rate of pro gress. The first which gave rise to much discussio❑ was moved by Sir J. Gray, with the view of omitting " con acring," without the consent of the landlord, from the list of offences which are to deprive a tenant of his right to com pensation. It was accepted by the Government. Afterwards much time was consumed in the discussion of an amendment moved by Mr. Kavanagh, relieving from the penalties of sub-letting the letting of a portion of land not exceeding half an acre to agricultural Labourers bona fide required for the cultivation of the holding. In the end it was rejected by 284 to 218. Mr. Kavana2.ll, however, subsequently carried an amendment, with the assent of the Government, limiting the privilege to hold ings of 25 acres and upwards in extent of tillage land. To comrnitttee reported progress five minntes before ono o'clock; and Mr. Gladstone fixing the bill for Monday. The Naturalization Bill was considered, as amended, and agreed to. It was just upon two o'clock when the Order of the Day was reached for nsuming Mr. Nowdegate's motion for a Selent Cpmmittee on Monastic Institutions. After au angry discussion the debate was adjourned. The House adjourned at 2U minutes past three o'clock. The Rev, H, W. K. Parkinson, of Rochdale, divides the religious forces of England into three classes, each of which is distinguished by a different " note." The word "note," it may be taken for granted, is used (as it is by Father Newman) in the sense of pretension or actual f ture. In Mr. Parkinson's first class of religious organisa tion is the Church of England with the note of "order." The second division is the Congregational, having for its note " doctrine ;" and the third is the great Methodist family, whose note is "feeling." Figaro finds plenty of opportunity for exercising its characteristic wit respecting the plebiscite. Names, it says, ar e un d ou b tedly matters of pre destination, and therefore we need not be surprised to find the Central Committee, Republican and anti-plebiscitary, has fixed its tent in the street of bears." In another place Figaro tells us that the great question of the day is, after all, only a difference of medi ca l op i n i on. All a d m it th a t France is sick, but the Empire is the sovereign remedy, the Republic the Radical cure, The Central Plebiscitary Committee in Paris i* displaying extraordinay activity, b u t i n th e G overnment circles it is doubted if the success that is obt a i ne d w ill assume the desired proportions. The administrative figure is six million suffrages, and it would be looked upon as a failure if only five million odd were obtained. The tele graph is worked with such activity between the Central Government and the prefectures that private individuals have little chance for their messages, which gives rise to may complaints. PRISON MINISTERS. THURSDAY. The select committee appointed to inquire into the operation of the Prison and Prison Ministers' Acts with reference to .the facilities afforded to Roman Catholic priests in the gaols, resumed its sittings this afternoon, when The Rev. Mr. Keens, the Roman Catholic priest attending the city prison at Holloway, was examined and detailed the circumstances attending his application to the Holloway Gaol Authorities for leave to visit the Roman Catholicprisoners collectively instead of those individuals who expressed a wish to see him. He drew the attention of the Board to the discourtesy with which he was treated, and the refusal of his application which was criticised un favourably to the authorities in the Pall Medl Gazette. He thought it - a great hardship for the Roman Catholic prisoners to be locked up in their cells on Sundays when the Protestant prisoners were allowed to assemble for public worship. It was a great inducement to them to express a wish to attend the Protestant service. W. en Roman Catholic prisoners entered the gaol they were so registered, but they were told that if they wished they could attend the Protestant services, and no doubt, many of them would be desirous to break the monotony of their cell by so attending Protestant worship. He had made an application to the Court of Aldermen for a small grant to supply the Roman Catholic prisoners with books ; but he was not allowed anything, but was told that there was a regular supply of books to all the prisoners, and that he was at liberty to exclude any of them to which he objected from the cells of the Roman Catholic prisoners. Tne books furnished to the Roman Catholic prisoners were such as he could not conscientiously permit them to read, such as " The History of the Inquisition," " The Great Apostacy," " The Lives of the Popes," Sunday at lieme, and other books, which all contained matters highly deprecatory of the principles of the Roman Catholic faith, and which he could not allow Roman Catholics under his spiritual care to read. Those books were fur nished to the Catholic prisoners in Holloway Gaol, and when they brought them to him he told them that they were not to read them. Some of them did read them out of curiosity, and in fact they were glad to get any kind of books to read in the monotony of prison life, but the majority of Catholic prisoners would -certainlynot read them. The Roman Catholicprisoners had complained to him over and over again, of such books being put into their hands. He did not repeat the application, which he made to the authorities for some allowance for the pur chase of proper books, because he considered it useless, and thought it would be better to use his influence alone with the ilnisoners. He was quite sure that if he was allowed to assemble them together on a week day and on Sundays for Divine service, the result would be bene ficial to the Roman Catholic prisoners. At the conclusion of this witness's examination the committee adjourned. THE MORDAUNT DIVORCE APPEAL. THURSDAY. In the Divorce Court, before the full court, composed of the Lord Chief Baron, Lord Penzance, and the Hon. Justice Keating, Serjeant Ballantine replied to the case advanced by Dr. Deane, Q.C., on behalf of the respondent. The learned Serjeant, after thanking Lord Penzance for the suggestions he had thrown out as to what part of the case should be argued, went on to say that his friends had treated a lunatic as if she were a nonentity, and in doing so he thought they were wrong. In many will cases there was insanity which would upset a will, but which would not interfere in other matters. It was obvious that whilst a person might be unable to instruct an attorney in a complicated case, still he or she might be able to understand what was meant by the ser vice of a citation. Lunatic evidence was often received, and it was only the other day that the testimony of a lunatic was put against a warder who was convicted on his testimony only, corroborated by the surgeon deposing as to certain marks on the body. Justice Keating asked what was the exact finding of the jury. Dr. Deane said that on the day the citation was served Lady Mordaunt was not in a state of mind to instruct her attorney, and had not been so since. The Lord Chief Baron said that was sufficient to sup port the order of the judge ordinary if it could be sup ported. Serjeant Ballantine said that there had been rules for the appointing of guardians, laid down by the court, though not mentioned in the statute. He would again refer to Borden v. Borden, and there the judge ordinary said that the case was a different one to what it would have been had the lunatic been a petitioner. As to collu sion he (Serjeant Ballantine) apprehended that a very advanced lunatic would understand what was meant; but in other matters the lunatic might not be able to understand anything. Suppose their lord ships decided against him, it would amount to this that a lunatic might charge adultery, but not be charged with it. He now came to the part which had been put so seriously by the learned lord. He did not think they ought to consider much the injury done to one Hparty or another, but look at the comparative injury. ere was the case :—A man came into the court asking for a remedy, to which he was undoubtedly entitled, for the most grievous wrong ; and it was said that he could not because the other person could not bring charges against him. The only thing it seemed that prevented the case corning to finality was that charges might be brought against him. His friends had treated a woman's adultery as a quasi criminal offence. If so, he was entitled to argue that connivanco was also a criminal affair, and morally more criminal than even adulttry. Every person was to be presumed inno cent, and in dealing with the case of a respondent, he was to be presumed prima facie to be innocent of any charge. Here they had a man seeking his remedy who was told he could not have it. Why? Not for anything that he had done, not that anybody said he had done wrong, but simply because a certain person 'might say that he had done wrong. Supposing it was suggested by the other side that there had been wrong done by the petitioner, the wife might be a moat important witness, still as a rule there were other witne.;ses of it. _ _ Mr. Justice Keating observed that as he understood Sergeant Ballantine to argue, the case stood that the per son accused when insane could not recriminate. Sergeant Ballantine said that the petitioner must be considered innocent till found ,ouilty. Mr. Justice Keating said the intendment would apply also to the respondent. Sergeant Ballantine did not think so ; but doubtless a criminal stood in a different position to a person charged with adultery. They might call many things quasi crimi nal ; but nothing was an actual crime unless it was a matter that might form the subject of indictment. They had cases every day where there were moral crimes which, if they went a step further, would be crimes in a legal point of view. As far as he saw, none of the precedents named by Dr. Deane shewed that in a civil court a person's status had never been affected by idiotcy. The case of an idiot being made a bankrupt was a case directly in point as shelving that the Court had altered the status of a lunatic. A judicial separation affected a status ; and it gave every privilege as if the woman was single except one—that of marrying again. Lord Penzance asked if there was a case where a judi cial separation had been decreed when the respondent was insane ? _ _ Serjeant Ballantine was sorry to say that he could not. He would refer to the standing of the court. It was eminently a civil one, and had no power to deal with crime, The proceedings were of a civil character, and the rules were on all fours with those of the other courts of justice. They had the same privileges as the judges in other courts. He would draw their lordships attention to the case of a lunatic witness. The court might adjourn the case ; but could it stop the trial? He should say de cidedly not, as the evidence ought to be all that would be essential to a defence. He would excuse himself for not quoting precedents, as there were none ; but he had endeavoured to point out analogous cases ; on the part of the gentleman he represented, he challenged any inquiry. Lord Penzance : What course do you say the court ought to take. Serjeant Ballantine said that the order ought to be abrogated or it left to his side to go on, so as to force the other side to bring aalavits, to entitle the respondent to ask for further postponement. Lord Penzance said that he understood the Serjeant to mean that if the order were abrogated, the respondent would be entitled to come forward with of aavits for a further pcstponemeat if necessary. Serjeant Ballantine said that was so. The Lord Chief Baron We will consider this case. THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ALBERT LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY. THURSDAY. To-day a; meeting of policy holders in the Albert Company was held at the City Terminus Hotel, Cannon Street, London, to consider the plan of reconstruction pro posed by the committee appointed to draw up a scheme, providing for the eventual payment of 95 per cent. of all claims, namely 85 per cent. as the claims arose, the re maining ten per cent: being reserved for deferred payment until the calculations upon which the reconstruction is founded shall have been tested, and calls of shareholders 4nd 234,000 subscribed by shareholders in excess of their liability: This left a total balanee to be provided for of 2260,000, reduced ultimately by promises of subspOptions to 2160,000. This sum it was proposed to 'diVide equally between the shareholders and the policy-holders the latter g:ving their half by the proposed reduction of 5 per cent Upon the premiums, A resolution approving of the scheme, subject to such molifications and alterations as may be expedient and may be sanctioned by the Court of Chancery was carried. The Hereford " Festival of the -Three Choirs" is fixed to open on August 22nd, and the Dean and Chapter of Hereford have not only granted the use of the cathedral for the purpose of the morning oratorios as usual, 1)4 they hay e this year inade a further copcessign in perOttini its use on the evening of the first day for performan . o6 0 Sacred music. The funeral of Field-Marshall Hess took place at Vienna on Easter Sunday. It is reported that nearly the whole population of Vienna turned out on the occasion, and there were present five brigades of infantry, each of three battalions, two regiments of cavalry, twenty-two batteries of artilleri, besides several of the special corps quartered in the neighbourhoocl of Vienna, A. meeting of Conservatives was hold at Bristol, in reference to the petition against the return of Mr. E. S. Robinson. Resolutions approcing the step were passed. The Chairman called for three cheers for Mrs. Hutchings, who had put down £250 towards the petition, and whom he described as one of the pluckiest women in the city of 13ristol, TH LAW AND POLICE. A HEBREW BREACH OF PROMISE CASE.—The case of " Barnett v. Abrahams " was tried in the Court of Common Pleas, before kr. Justice Wines and a Middle ' sex common jury. The parties are Jews, living in the East-end of London, and the action arose on an alleged breach of . promise of marriage. The plaintiff, Julia Barnett, is a young woman about twenty-four years of age ; and the defendant, Adolphe Abrahams, is a few years older. The case of the plaintiff was that about Passover time, 1868, the defendant commenced to pay his addresses to the plaintiff, and was accepted by her family as her suitor. In April 1869 he seduced her. The plaintiff, her father, mother, brother, and sister were examined with a view of substantiating the case, and their evidence revealed the surprising fact that although the whole family knew of the plaintiff's condition, they took no trouble to ascertain the defendant's immediate intentions, until the confinement took place, when plain tiff's brother brought him to the house to see plaintiff, when he exclaimed, " Lor,' what a fine baby." The jury returned a verdict for the defendant. ACTION AGAINST A SHERIFF.—The ease of " Allen v. Carter," came before the Court of Common Pleas for their decision on a special case submitted. A writ was issued against a debtor named Lamb, and entrusted for execution to the defendant, whose officers arrested him. The debtor then produced his certificate in bankruptcy, and the bailiffs then set him at liberty. The question for the opinion of the court was whether the defendant was justified in releasing the debtor. The Courts of Queen's Bench and Exchequer had decided similar cases against the officer, whose duty it was held, was to execute the writ entrusted to him. The Court now held that the certificate was not a docu ment upon which the sheriff could act, having had notice of the circumstances of the case. The sheriff was there fore held to be liable. THE CHARGE AGAINST A GOLD-MINING COMPANY.— The case of " Villesboinet v. the Ovens Gold-Mining Company " came again before Mr. Justice Willes, sitting in nisiprius in the Court of Common Pleas. His lordship now stated the points which he intended to reserve for the opinion of the full court. They were :—Whether there was any evidence of fraud to go to the jury ; and if not, whether the plaintiff was entitled to recover on any other ground but that of fraud. All the other issues were properly left to the jury, and had been decided by them. The plaintiff had commenced another action against the Hon. Mr. Tobin and others, the directors of the company, for fraudulent misrepresentation, in issuing a prospectus containing false statements concerning the number of shares applied for ; but it was decided to postpone the hearing of the case until after the points reserved shall have been disposed of by the full court. ACTION FOR SLANDER.—An action for slander has en gaged the attention of the Court of Queen's Bench for. two days. The plaintiff, a young woman named Dixon, alleged that she had lost her situation as schoolmistress owing to a slander against her on the part of the defen dant, Mrs. Parnham. The defence .was that her dis missal had been resolved upon prior to the slander for other reasons. Mr. Justice Lush said in that casehe had no alter native but to nonsuit the plaintiff, as she had received no special damage in the way of pecuniary loss. It was dis covered, however, that as the plaintiff had been dismissed from her situation three weeks before the end of the quarter, she had lost the school-pence, and this was held sufficient to bring the case under the law. Ultimately the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, giving ,C5O damages ; but the judge reserved leave to the defendants to move for a reduction of this sum. THE FORGERIES ON LORD DUDLEY.—In the Court of Queen's Bench, Mr. Murray, of the Law Society, shewed cause against a rule obtained by Mr. Prentice, Q.C. to restore Frederick Augustus Farrar to the roll of attor neys. It will be remembered that Mr. Farrar was arrested, in September 1868, for forgery in conjunction with a Mr. Hullett, a bill discounter, living in great style down in Hampshire. Hullett had forged the acceptance of Lord Dudley for £BOO, and that of Mr. Eversfield Horsham for £350, and these were . given to Mr. Farrar to utter, with the proposal that the latter should receive 10 per cent., the borrower paying 30 per cent. Farrar and Hullett were both convicted, and sen tenced to ten years' penal servitude. Shortly afterwards Farrar was struck off the rolls, He received a free pardon from her Majesty in January, 1869, on the representation to the Home Office that he had been the dupe of Hullet. The Court considered that there was nothing to show a guilty knowledge on Farrar's part, and made the rule absolute to restore him to the roll of the Court. THE GODRICH CASE.—The woman Williams, found guilty of perjury in the Godrich divorce case, upon whom sentence was to have been passed on the sixth day of the present term, has failed to appear, An application in the Court of Queen's Bench, by Mr. Serjeant Parry, that sentence should be passed in her absence, was postponed until it could be heard before the full court. A BILL OF LADING.—An action has been brought by the endorsees of a bill of lading of 161 bales of cotton shipped at New "York for Liverpool. The cotton was shipped in the steamship Idaho, of which the defennant s , the Liverpool and Great Western Steamship Company (Limited) were owners, by a person named Mann. The plaintiffs, Messrs. Finlry and others, contended that when the bill of lading was endorsed to them they became owners of the property. The case has come before the Court of Exchequer upon demurrer to two of the pleas. The first stated that it had been decided by a competent court in New York, that the shippor was not the real owner of the goods. The Court was of opinion the this plea was bad, as the exception in the bill " the restraint of prin c e s an d ru l ers, ' went the act of a Government, and not the decision of e z court of Justice. The other plea, that the shipper had no right to the goods, having obtained them by fraud, their lordships held it was a good answer to the action, as a bill of lading was different to a bill of exchange, and the endorsee of the former could have no better right than the original shipper. THE VICISSITUDES OF A GENIUS.—A native of the Shetland Islands, named Alison, who had evidently seen better days, was brought before the Leamington bench, charged with sending upwards of forty begging letters to persons in various parts of the town. When called upon for his defence, he admitted his fault, but pleaded his necessities in excuse, and concluded with requesting the magistrates to read some of his poetry. The letters, which were produced, were of an extraordinary character, and contained evident marks of originality. AN EARTHQUAKE IN ONANDAGA.—The ivractese Journal says that a remarkable phenomenon lately oc curred at Marcellus. A tract of land containing about three acres was upheaved during the night by some sub, terranean force, the surface being piled into hillocks as high and as large as a hou se , an d huge cracks and cre vasses were opened, which extend irregularly all over it. The earthquake is supposed to have taken place at mid night, but no noise was heard in the vicinity, although some inexplicable sounds were reported as being heard at Marcellus. A strong smell of sulphur is noticed in the vicinity of this remarkable occurrence, but nothing further to indicate the cause of the upheaval. FINAL DECISION ON LEGAL-TENDER. On the Bth April the Hon. J. D. BECK, M.C., from Kentucky, moved in the U. S. Supreme Court for the reeopeeing of the HEPBURN-GRISWOLD, the great Legal-Tender case lately decided ; and coun sel proceeded to argue the subject, when he was interrupted by the Chief Justice, who said the mo tion was not debateable. "No decided case," Mr. CHASE observed, " will be re-opened under a deci sion of the Court this term unless it be requested by one of the concurring Justices, and it therefore depends upon such a contingency whether the case will be re-opened." By telegraph the Times has obtained the information that the Supreme Court on Wednesday last confirmed what the Chief Jus tice had said. On that day LATHAM versus the United States and DEMING versus the United States were called for argument, but dismissed on the mo tion of the appellant's counsel. Attorney-General HOAR opposed, urging that if the Court concluded to dismiss these cases it should grant the motion already made, to.rehear HEPBURN versus GRISWOLD. Justices MILLER and BRADLEY, doubting the ap pellant's right to withdraw their appeals, the Court retired for consultation, when the absolute right of the parties was recognized unanimously by the Judges, and the motion to dismiss assented to by the Court. Nor was this all ; for a far more im portant discussion still was arrived at during this consultation, for " the Court refused the motion of the Attorney-General for re-hearing HEPBURN versus GRISWOLD,' because none of the foot Judges now on the bench, who had concurred iu the opi nion in that case, desired to have it re-heard ; and by the rule of the Court, without the consent of some one of the Judges who had coincided in the de cision of a case, it could not be re-heard. Judge BRADLEY, one of the new Justices, announced that he cheerfully concurred in this decision. The re sult is that the ruling in favour of gold as the only Legal-Tender for debts incurred prior to the pass ing of the law makipg greenbacks Legal-Tender,. stands. No other cases involving this question aT e now on the docket." The decision to re-open the Legal-Tender case had been received through out the Union with profound regret. There are thoughtful Americans who regard the Supreme Court as the Dutch regard their dykes—as the bul wark against a Democratic inundation ; as the single barri r between them and the most obsolute tyranny of a majority. No nation turns with more venera tion to law, and amidst the venality introduced into some courts through the election of the Judges, there has been an earuest desire to see the Supreme Court of the United States maintain in the highest degree the respect of the people, as a leg.l tribunal second to none on earth, and as the great and last • appeal of Americans. It was then, with something more than dread, that the nation witnessed the late attempt to upset its well-considered decision, for the ruling affected the interests of States and Cor porations, whose power nothing but the Supreme Court could withstand. To see it yield was to see the last dyke go before a dominant party, and in a way calculated to arouse still more the suspicion of impure motives. Two new Justices had been added to the Court, and one of the vacancies had been created by the passage of a Pension Law almost purposely to induce Judge GRIER to retire, and it was asserted that pending cases had been held back till the change of Judges. Congress has the power to increase the number, and if an unscrupulous ma jority are bent on carrying a party question, what is to prevent their adding to the - Bench a sufficient number of Judges, whose opinions had previously been carefully ascertained, to secure any desired decision ? This was a positively appalling prospect to many Americans, and a leading journal pre dicted that should success attend that move persons now living would see the prediction accomplished. The press gave earnest utterance to what is clearly the national sentiment, exposing very forcibly the fallacy of the Attorney-General's argument. He reduced the finding of the Court to the Chief Jus tice, fixing the decision on him individually, and in this manner proceeded :—The opinion of one man, if the decision Wands, is to outweigh the Executive, the Legislature, and the State tribu nals ; in a word, the whole nation. It is to limit the power of the Government for all time, and to shackle it when it most requires to be free, that is in a great emergency. It is to affect the business transactions of all the people, upsetting a statute acquiesced in for eight years, upon which mil lions upon millions of contracts have been settled. All, too, on the judicial opinion of a single man, who had entertained a different opinion at another period of his life, so that this gigantic question turns upon the differing opinions of an indivi lual at different periods. Although specious, the argu ment contained a d ingerous doctrine, and one cal culated to destroy all reverence for Cour s. It mat ters not what the majority was or how many composed the Court —everything being summed up in the one fact, that the ruling in dispute was the decision of the Supreme Court. To question that, was to launch the country. into a sea of disputation. If a man objects to a majority of one he can easily ex tend his objection to two, to three, and by an easy process take exception to the whole nine ; for what are they but nine fallible lawyers, and if this be applied to the Supreme Court, why not to all the other Courts and to the Legislature as well ? . But the fact wasnot as the Attorney-General stated. Six earlier casesinvolved theLegal-Tender question, but in a 11 it was avoided while the Judges held the subject under advisement, though suitors were indignant' and clamorous at the delay. The d., cision was arrived . at early in November, when the Court was com posed of eight judges ; and as Justice GRIER held with the majority, had it been made public at that time there would have been five to three, the deci sion being given by the full Bench. In the first place, then, Mr. Homes argument struck at the root of all government and arbitration ; and in the next place, his fact was not true. Then arises the question, was the necessity so great as to induce the Executive to take this grave step? It is argued that the importance to Government of making irre deemable paper a legal tender is greatly exagge-• rated. It is neither more nor less than legalised cheating, and has invariably worked injury to that Governmeut or nation which resorted to it. It is the c aifidence of the world in a nation's credit which gives real strength to a Government in the hour of teed, not is ability to make anything it plehses the means of paying deb's. Indeed, it cannot ; for the v-due of the th:ng must, after all, hinge wholly, if.it be in itself valueless, on the honesty of the Govern ment which issues it ; on the faith of the people that it will one day be redeemed at par, which is simply national credit. When the squall struck the United States the credit of the Government was not good ; hence the enormous losses entailed in obtaining funds during the emergency ; but when another tempest comes it is probable that capi talists will be ready enough to lend their money to the nation. Even then the value of the privilege for which the Attorney-General contended on the part of the Executive, is called in question ; and there is a singular unanimity in the American press that whatever may belts value, whatever be the amount of property involved, it is a mere bagatelle com pared with the importance of preserving high above suspicion in the confidence o f the people, the integ, rity of the U, S. Supreme Court. The question, then, has been settled as we anti cipated, and our readers will see that we have been fully justified not only in so confidently predicting this result, but in exposing the pernicious errors contained in the leading article of the London Times, when it was first known that the case was to be reopened.--finglo-American Times. MONETARY REPORTS_YESTERDAY Apart from the transactions necessary for a settlenient of the fortnightly account, business in the Stock Exchange has been only to a moderate extent today, and the quotations have- been free from auy se ver !, fluctuations. Consols have been firmer at 9 4 , 9 " for money and the May account. Reduced and Ne w Three per Cents 92, 9212 i Exchequer Bills paid 55 . prem. ; India Five per Cents 114, 114 ; and India Bon ds 203., 255. prem, There has been only a moderate inquiry for Engli sh railway stocks, and the alterations generally have been unfavourable. Metropolitan opened firm at 77i to 73 but subsequently receded to 7712 to 77i. Midland h ag fallen London and North Western 4-, and Gres Western On the other hand, London an' Brighton has been 12, and Great Northern (A) Indian railway stocks have been quiet. Canadian shares have been flat, and Great Western have been rather weaker. As regards foreign shares, Great L u xemburg have been steady, but So u th A us t r i an an d Lorabnr u°- Venetian have been lower. The mining market has . been without feature of irn portance. For bank shares there has been a fair demand, an d Union of Australia has risen Rather more steadiness has been noticed in the den lslla for telegraph shares, but the transactions have not been extensive. Very few changes have taken place in the value of foreign bonds, and the business doing has not been exten sive. Spanish have been firm, and Egyptian have •b ee 3 wJak. The new loan is quoted at to 4 prem. The new Japanese Loan fallen to 1 dis. to par. American securities have been firm. The Five-twen ty and Ten-forty Bonds, and Erie Shares have riser' 1. Telegraph Construction shares have been firm, and batter. In Miscellaneous securities, next to nothing h il l been doing, and the quotations have shewn no change ° I importance. The Clearing House return for the week, ending April 27, shews a total of £66,087,000 agai n st £64,678,w" for the corresponding week last year. Owing to the settlement there has been a good deman d for money to-day, but, at the same time, capital 115 '1 . been plentiful, and three months' paper has been taken s' 24 to 3 per cent. The sum of £15,000 has been sent into the Bank tJ• day. A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Lumsden, ir o9 manufacturers, Sunderland, was held to-day, at Sunder' land. The report from the Committee of Investigati °r/ , referred the stoppage to bad bookkeeping, and a conilvv tion of 4s. 6d. in the pound was recommended as the leas t ' The debts are stated at £25,000, and the assets £2,031. The Messrs. Lumsden offered to pay 45., which the mee t " ng after a long discussion accepted. The Mineral Charcoal Company have declared a d ill. dead at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum. . The Equitable Gaslight Company will pay a dividend at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum. • The Anglo-Romano Gas Company announce a dividend at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum. A prospectus has been issued of the Phcenix Silver-lead and Blende Mining Company (Limited), with a capital of £30,000 in £2 shares, to purchase and work a property in Rhenish Prussia, about twelve miles from Cologne. At a meeting of the Cape Copper Company, it wa g resolved to issue 5,000 new shares at the price of 0 1 ' being a premium of £7 per share, but the proprietoro will have the option of dividing the payment of this sun"' over nine months, subject to an interest of 10 per colt per annum. At a meeting of the City of Glasgow Life Assurail° Company, the new policies for the year were stated t ° have been 197 for £289,970, yielding in new premiums £10,384. A dividend at the rate of 8 per cent. `s 1 " 1 declared. . At a meeting of the London and Provincial Le" Assurance Society, the new policies for the year were stated to have been 197 for £289,970, yielding in I le ,i cq premiums £10,849. The income was £106,528, and tn e assets are £566,181. The policies in foree are 2049, f° r £2,753,130. The return of the Bank of England shews the following results, when compared with the previous week :—A de crease of circulation of £203,198; an increase of publi c deposits of £406,921; a decrease of other deposits ° f 629,665; an increase of Government securities of 225, 119; a decrease of other securities of £496,118 ; an increas e of bullion of £50,235 ; an increase of rest of £5,23 5 ; 31/ increase of reserve of £210,400. The circulation, including bank post bills, is now £23,592,346 ; public deposi ts amount to £8,067,145 ; and private deposits to £16,346,951 The securities held represent £31,146,171; and the stock Of bullion is £19,974,628.. The rest stands at £3,113,75 5 • The railway returns for the past week are as follows Great Northern £40,502, increase in the corresponding period of last year £379; Great Eastern £38,9 88 , increase on last year £1,781; Caledonian £38,805, i n crease £597 ; Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, £21,5 52 decrease, £1,622. Great Western, £82,716 ; increase/ £5,244. Bristol and Exeter, £8,168 13s. 3d.; increase , £l,OOl 2s. sd. Demerara, 4,939 d. 82c.; decrease, 217 d. 81c. Lancashire and Yorkshire, £57,938 ; increase, £4,721. MARKETS-YESTERDAY. LONDON PRODUCE MARKET, THIIRSDAY.—There 11'1'3„ been a fair demand for tea, at late rates. Fine sugar has be e :, firm. Good middling and flue yellow Porto Rico, 3.15. 6 ,1 .4 345. Gd ; superior, 365. 6d. per cwt. Fine coffee has commarfe extreme quotations, but uniform qualities have been rat her lower. -•• METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET, THURSDAY.-o,lllg moderate supply of beasts has been on sale here to-day. - 2 , l .ii e s breeds have been in request, at full prices, but other qua. to have sold slowly. As regards sheep a fair supply has come to hand. The trade, on the whole, has been steady, at about rates. Lambs have changed hands freely, at from 7s. 6d. to 1 . per 81bs. Calves have been q u i e t , an d p i gs h ave been . 1 1 1,1 Beasts have sold at from 3s. to ss. ; calves,3s. 10d. to ss. Bd,, pigs, 4s. 6d. to ss. Bd. per 81bs. by the carcase. qies LONDON WOOL MARKET, THURSDAY.-At the public s' of colonial wool the attendance has continued good. , For descriptions biddings have continued animated, and prices W e maintained. English wool has been steady. ETA BOROUGII AND SPITALFIELDS POTATO MAlv" - i id THURSDAY.-These markets have been only moderately sulg:.li g n with potatoes. The trade has been firm, as follows shaves, 110 s. to 120 s. ; regents, 120 s. to 140 s. ; Scotch regents' 100 s. to 140 s. ; and rocks, 90s. to 110 s. per ton. METROPOLITAN HAY AND STRAW MARKET, TSARS DAY.--There was only a moderate supply on the offer at to-a f t y market. The demand was slow, and prices were with dillicilto maintained :-Prime meadow hay, 80s. to 85s. ; inferior diy, 6 )s. to 70s. ; rowen, 60s. to 635. ; prime clover, 110 s. to 1 26 0 inferior ditto, SOs. to 955.; prime second-cut clover, 1005. et 110 s. ; inferior ditto, 80s. to 905.; and straw, 265. to 303. P load. LONDON METAL MARKET, THURSDAY.-Iron has chaTh,ecl il hands quietly. Copper has been easier. Wallare), £74 Straits tin, £133 cash. LONDON OIL MARKET, THURSDAY.—Linseed oil has bell ;tat, at 325. spot. Rape oil has been firm. English brown, 435 ' , LONDON TRADE REPORT, THIIRSDAY.—TaIIow has b e d dull. Spot, 445. 6d. ; J une, 445. 6d.; last three months, 4 5 5. ( 1 LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET , THURSDAY.—The mar ke d has been dull. Sales 10 , 000 bales, including 3,000 for export an speculation. Import, 4,500 bales. BRADFORD WOOL TRADE THURSDAY.--We have aga.n had e rs a fair market for E ng li s h woo l . B o th fl eece aed sk i n bil3: maintain a good deal of caution, but the favourite descriPt l o sell pretty freely. We may specify Nottinghams Leicesters, which are scarce ; and other good T‘ „ n ci that possess lustre. Lincolns are rather coarse, e. less in favour. Downs and half-breds meet a slow s_,„a Good combing skin, especially wether, is in good dem an d maintains its full recent advance in value. For worst`,„ yarns the inquiry is pretty good on the part of ben port merchants. There are more offers for twofolds, 1 , 0 prices are very firm, and not many transactions have place. In singles the inquiry is for 40's, and for the ined l 7; qualities of 30's. In piece goods stocks of spring fabrics „ 0 rapidly disappearing, but orders for the fall trade do not co'" freely to hand. NEWBERRY CORN MARKET, THURSDAY.—Wheat previous rates. Spring corn quiet, unaltered. • GLASGOW IRON MARKET, THURSDAY.—The demand hag been steadier, at 565. 7d. to 575. 2d. cash, and 565. 10d. to 57 0 . one month. PARIS CORN MARKET, APRIL 27.—Wheat firm, 50 c „ to higher. Little business. Rye firm, 20. Oats offered 17 ' 5 0 13 . 50. Barley, 17 . 50 to 18'50. BIRTHS. DELAMERE -On the 28th inst., at L 4, Bruton-street, r adY Delamere, of a soa and heir. LURHINGTON - On the 27th inst., at 21, New-street. SPr in f s ; gardens, the wife of Vernon Lushington, Esq., Q.C. , daughter. MARRIAGES. COLLINGWOOD —YOUNG -On the 26th inst., at St. Catholic Church, Corby, Lincolnshire, Dr. Joseph lingwood to Sophie Agnes, second daughter of Mr. u• Young, ITALgoN -HAY4s—On the 26th inst., at St.Martin's-in -thy' Fields, John Laird Halson to Annie Blackburn Cor u i ' n ,,t; Winston, youngest daughter of Joseph Hayes, Esc'', of of Soho square. DEATHS COSTELLO On the 24th inst., at Boulogne-stir-Afar, Loui6.' Stuart Costello. PALGRATE—On the 26th inst., at St. John's-wood, Rp bcr Palgrave, Esq.. aged 70. - London: Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDRb 7 1 2, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, a t T HE S U N Office, No. o f Strand; in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the Couval Middlesex.—Friday, April 29, 1870. ~_~~ ~1 ~_. r I 444 I „This rrize ' OM 4 4,6 4' h Ov A 0 able Po 400 41 S atilrd !Pared "e leci 't Mi tc 4111Sie, 110; o It° 13 e 104 6 d ale. MA or !4ow a igina 7ea,. Pit t °emu , D ' 8/1 At id ae 0 14 2 0, n tu , 2 ,ort, i ... tu, tio. 8 p .