The Sun. — London, England, 1849-02-21 00:00:00

VA'S 3 s non: Friend made no disorderly observations. The ex pressions use ;d by my Hon. Friend referred to a public docuthent nigh I myself have read in this House, and respecting whit :h I can assure the Noble Lord —although I have nu flesh' eto revive bygone topics—he is entirely in error. That public document was publicly quoted from by a Miilister, with a view to convey the impres sion that a large quantity of capital was being invested in the island of Jamaica in the manufacture of sugar, while there was a subsequent paragraph in the same memorial, seating that the persons who had so made the investments. were already insolvent.—(Hear.) If I re collect aright, that is an accurate account of the memo rial, and if so, it certainly justifies the observations of ray Hon. Friend.-'—(Hear.) I have endeavoured to vin dicate the language of the motion of the Hon. Member, and I tiannot say that I can recommend him in any way to altei it. It seems to be good English—to be good, straightforward languaee, cony,eyigi4:l/44arlisenentary. phraseetheeintenfioes tof the Hon. Gentleman who brings it forward, and I cannot conceive by any possible perver sion Of mine by what hallucination the. lion. Member for Stoke has arrived at' the version which he has given to hi' but that wo shall vote against his amendment is, I imagine, perfectly clear.—(Cheers.) We shall do so because we want to obtain an object in making it, which is an inquiry into the administration and government of those dependencies. But there is a second reason why we should vote against it, and that is that we ought to maintain the character of the House of Commons for stritikhtfeetverd dealing and common sense, and not let it go forth,to the public that we can be deterred from the performance of our duty by a manoeuvre which has not even the merit of dexterity. We have before us the case of a rebellion in a most important colony—sup pies'sed by violent means—by the public execution of many of the subjects of her Majesty—by the institu• tion 'of courts-martials—we have these facts before us, and I Want to know what can better authorise an inquiry on the' 'part of the House of Commous than such circum stances, especially when we have had two high authori ties in the House rising in their places, and alleging ex tictrk diffsrent causes why that rebellion occurred? One tells - you it was'financial reform caused it, another that it had been long suppressed, and that it was a deeply seated political cause. If, there is such a difference of opinion, it is one of the best reasons why the House of Commons should investigate it. I am now only going to etc a few lines from one document in relation to this - " Subject. It is a passage from a dispatch of 2 teird Torrington, not is the volume con n4cteri with tbe affairs of Ceylon in every Hon. Gentle man's' hands, but in the blue-book on the colonies, and I think it is' if' the greatest importance, if the misgovern merit of Ceylon is at alt caused by its financial state, that we Shahid understand the opinions of the governor on theiutleet - of retrenchment. After a very long dispatch, in4ihich the Noble Lord analyzes the whole condition Wthe poloniei, he went on to say, that paradoxical as it ght appear, .he 'was concerned to say he anticipated greater difficulties in combating the expenditure than in proiiding a suitable amount of revenue, many sources of which - appeared to, be untouched, or to be capable of ex tension by judicious management. Here, in June, im mediately before the rebellion, you have Lord Torring ton's matured opinion on financial reform—it is increased taxation; and not retrenched expenditure, that is to maintain his government.—(Hear, hear.) If this increased expenditure has produced the rebellion, we have no reason to suppose that the country has been properly governed, or that the Governor is equal to the occasion; if, on the .contrary, the cause of it was of a deep-seated and' political nature, which baffles a general remedy, I know of no better subject for the investigation of a Committee than the detection of the real cause of the disturbance which has caused incidents of so sanguinary a nature.—(Hear.) I will not touch upon the subject of the other colony of British Guiana, saving only this, that it is a colony suffering which aims at, retrenchment, and that the Government at home had quarrelled with them on that account.--(Hear, hear.) It this is not a subject under present circumstances worth investigation by a Committee of the House, I know not what is; and I cannot suppose that the House will offer much support to the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Stoke in the amendment he has brought forward. As for the warn ing, of the Noble Lord, that unless we are very precise in our instructions to the Committee it may last as long as the Coffee Plantation Committee of last session, I cannot agree with him that the length of that Com mittee was:a subject for public regret. Why, Sir, what ever may be the policy approved of by Hon. Gentlemen, they must approve of the efficacious services of any Committee the result of which is a substantial altera tion in the policy of a Minister—(Hear, hear) — and the last person who ought to censure it is the Mi nister who, in consequence of its investigations and report, is obliged to change the almost solemn settlement of st,question.—(Hear, hear.) These are the general views I hold on this subject; but at such a late hour I cannot venture to detain the House with any details. There never was a case, I believe, in which a Committee was more properly appointed. I think the House is much indebted to the Hon. Gentleman who brought the subject forward—not with malignant asperity, but with singular ability.—(Hear, hear.) I think, also, that un der:the circumstances the House should not hesitate in opposing the amendment of the Hon. Member for Stoke; and particularly I address myself to those who are the sincere supporters of free-trade opinions. Don't let thein be misled on this occasion, to prevent an important investigation, because a phrase is thrown in their way to deceive them, and because a manoeuvre of this kind is sanctioned—not, I think, in a manner which will add too much to the credit of the Government.--(Hear, hear.) I therefore call on the House to support, the motion of my Hon. Friend the Member for Inverness, and to resist in the most decided manner the amendment of the lion. Member for Stoke.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. LABOUCHERE said, that if the House gene rally agreed in the propriety of appointing a Select Committee to inquire if say improvement could be made in the government and administration of Guiana and Ceylon, he thought it desirable that there should be no 'dispute with respect to the terms in which it was ap pointed. He thought it would not be difficult to propose words which would balance the difficulties on both sides—on the one not to send out to the'colonies the im pression that the House intended to make the Committee the means of 'discussing the principles of free-trade and protection e and, 'on the ot?her that the House did not wantltb derive them 'of the benefit of inquiring into thait r geleiranee: With that view he had looked to the elorda' Of' the motion, and perhaps the House would accede 'to an alteration in them which would have the effect; as he eenceived, of removing those difficulties. He. provied after the word" inquire,' to omit the words , • " into t e grievances," &c., when the motion would run thus," Select Committee to inquire and to report to the House whether any measures can be adopted for the bet ter administration and Government of the Crown colo nies of Ceylon and British Guiana."--(" Oh, oh I") If the House appointed a Committee to inquire into the alleged grievances of those colonies, they would havea very wide field of inquiry. The whole foundation of the dispute between the Colonial-office and British Guiana, for instance, was this, that the latter com pained of the Act of 1846, and declared she could no langer support her establishments or pay taxes in consequence.—(Hear, hear.) Would it not necessa rily follow, then, if the Committee were appointed ac cording to tile original motion, that it would have the injurious effect of raising an expectation that the House was bout to investigate the principles of the Act of 1846, and thus occasion the greatest misfortune to the colony? Hon. Gentlemen opposite disclaimed any in tention of making the appointment of the Committee a free-trade question, and he thought therefore he had a fair claim, if that disclaimer were bona fide, and that they did not intend to raise the question of protection, to ask them to allow this alteration, and not to insist on words which might lead to great misconception.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman who brought forward the motion adverted to the indignity of punishing one of the in surgents, who declared himself to be of a princely family, with lashes, being evidently under the impres sion that the man's statement was true, and that the fact was calculated to drive the Cinzalese to re- But , Colonel Drought stated that the man was an impostor, and, indeed, it was not unusual to practise similar frauds. Exactly the same thing occurred in 1833, when the pretender turned out to be a low caste Indian, and was punished with 100 lashes and imprison ment.—(hear.) lie mentioned this to show how diffi cult it was for any one at such a distance to distinguish the true state of the case. A British Governor was, he thought, entitled to a fair construction on his conduct under circumstances of peculiar difficulty and danger. As to what the Hun. Memb er (M r. Disraeli) stated with respect to Lard Torrington showing no disposition to reduce the expenditure, he was altogether inaccurate. The Noble Lord had reduced it by 20,0001. in one halt' year, so that he was enabled to lay out money on the - eonstructlon of roads. Whatever judgment the House might form on particular points of his administration, it was, in his (Mr. Labouchve's) judgment, impossible for any one to rise from the perusal of the papers before the House without feeling that the Noble Lord was pos sessed of very considerable vigour and talent. Ile be lieved the words he proposed would meet the object in view without upsetting the minds of the colonists._ Mr. OSBORNE-, e as one of the free-trade party, must protest against the attempt to introduce the subject t free-trade and to hoodwink the House.—(Loud cheers.) He hoped there independent Members who would not be led by a mere bugbear would prove on this occasion that they were not to be taken in by a clumsy manceavre— (Hear, hear)—but would give their votes to inquire i nto the system of colonial government, which, without im plicating Lord Grey or Lord Torrington, had sat for so many years as an incubus on the interests of the coun try.—(Ch Mr. BL ILLIE—Am I to understand that the amend ment is to be withdrawn? If so, lam prepared to make souse ale - -at:ten in my motion.—(Cries of " Divide.") Mr. RICARDO—ReaIIy, after all there is not much difference between us.—(Great laughter.) But there are expressions in the motion which led me to think that the Committee might go into questions respecting pro tection.—(Cries of " No.") Mr. WAWN would give the amendment his most de cided opposition. Mr. P. WOOD suggested that the inquiry should be limited to the grievances complained of in the adminis tration of the C rown colonies and that the Committee should be required to report whether any improvement could be made in such administration. The Earl of LINCOLN stated that, if the amendment wer e withdrawn, the H on . M em b er for Inverness prepared to alter not the spirit but the wo r d s o f is mo tion,was SO as to render it impossible to misinterpret the ob jects of inquiry. Lord J. RUSSELL inquired what change he proposed to make? Mr. BAILLIE proposed to alter the mot i on as fol- lows: " That a Select Committee be appointed to in- Attire into the grievances complained of in the C rown -Teei of Ceylon an d British Guiana, in connexi on 'thee administration an d g overnment of those depen ': el , e6, : end to report their opinion whether any meet " eiikes can be adopted for the redress of any grievances • which theie ean.te shown just reason to complain." Mr. RICARDO then withdrew his amendment. Mr. HUME proposed to add the words" and whether any measures can be adopted for the better administra tion and government of these dependencies." The motion, as thus amended, was then a g eed to without a division. Mr. BAINES obtained leave, without observation, to bring in a Bill to provide a more effectual regulation and control over the maintenance of poor persons in houses not being the workhouses of the union parish to which they belong. Mr. BAINES moved for and obtained leave to bring in a Bill to remove doubts as to the appointment of over seers of the poor in cities and boroughs. On the motion of Lord J. RUSSELL it was ordered that the House, at its rising, should adjourn to Two o'clock to-morrow. On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EX CHEQUER, Colonel Anson was substituted for the Marquis of Granby on the Committee on Ordnance and . Army EstiniataT. ' ' In answer to a question from Mr. HERRIES, Lord J. RUSSELL said that he would ask the House to proceed with the Jew's Bill on Friday, and with the Army Estimates on Monday. The Consolidated Fund (8,000,0001.) Bill and the Com mons Inclosure Bill were each read a second time. The House then adjourned at Half•past Twelve o'clock. THE LEGAL TITLE ASSURANCE COMPANY. (Provisionally Registered, January 17, 1849.) Capital, 2,000,0001., in 80,000 Shares, of 251. each. Preliminary Deposit, 2s. 6d. per Share Prospectuses and full information may be obtained at the Tempo ary Offices of the Company, 13s, Cannon-row, Westminster, on ap lication to G. F. HOWE, Ron. Sec., pro tern. NEW NOVEL, BY THE AUTHOR OF " EMILIA WYNDHAM." Now ready, at all the Libraries, in 3 vols., ORDAUNT HALL. By the Author of "EMILIA WYNDHAM," "ANGELA," &c. " Popular as the previous works of this author have been, we feel certain that the present volumes will surpass them in the estimation of the public. The author has never before written with so much energy and feeling. No one but a person of real genius could have produced such a tale."—Britannia. Henry Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street. Immediately, in 2 vols. post MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF SIR ROBERT HURRAY KEITH, K. 8., MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY At the Courts of Dresden, Copenhagen, and Vienna, from 1769 to 1793. Edited by airs. GILLESPIE SMYTH. Henry Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street. Orders received by all Booksellers. ST. JAMES'S TH E:A T RE. Season 1849. FREXCH PLAYS and OPERA COMIQUE. On FRIDAY NEXT, The Performances will commence at Half-past Seven o'clock, with rule II INEL LE. To conclude with the popular Opera Coutique, entitled LA DAME BLANCHE. Georges, Mons. Bennamy ; Anna, Mdlle. Charton; Jenny, Mdlle. Gulchard. Mr. Mitchell begs also to announce that, notwithstanding the In creased expenses of the present entertainment, the prices of admis sion are determined as follows: Boxes .. • • • • • • • • La. °a. Pit • . • . 3s. ed. Amphitheatre .. • • .. 2s. Od. Subscriptions for the season may be arranged at Mr. Mitchell's Royal Libiary, 33, Old Bond-street; Mr. Sams', St. James's-street ; Mr. Andrews', New Bond-street ; and at aa-Box-office of the Theatre, which is open daily from eleven till Lye. kIEATRE ROYAL, LIAY,MARti E I Mr. B. Webster, Sele Lessee and Manager. Old 13rompton. The public is respectfully informed that this Theatre has, during the recess, undergone very extensive repairs and alterations and the whole rekdecorated. TO-MORROW EYE/ TING Will be perfoimed DON CIESAR,DR BIZAN. Don Cmsar, Mr. James Wallack ; Lazarillo, Miss Horton"; Maritana, Miss Bennett. To be followed by an Arabian Nights' Entertainment, entitled CAMARALZAMAN AND BADOVRA ; or, The Pert who Loved the Prince. Characters by Messrs. Bland, Keeley; Mrs. Keeley, Miss Horton, and Miss Reynelds. To conclude with a new Farce, entitled YOUR LIFE'S IN DANGER. TREATRR ROYAL, ADELPHI. ,- nder the direction of Madame Celeste During the Recess this Theatre has been entirely re-decorated, the oiginal designs by Digby Wyatt, Es. 4 , executed by Mr. Sang. A aew Stage, Curtain, Act Drop, and Chandelier. An approved sys tem of Ventilation, Sec., Sec. The Private Boxes enlarged, Backs added to the Seats, and Stalls rendered mere comfortable. TO-MORROW EYENINii, Will be performed the original Drama, called HARVEST HOME. Principal characters by Messrs. H. Hughes, Lambert, Wright, P. Redford, 0. Smith, Madame Celeste, Miss Woolgar, Mrs. Frank Matthews, Miss Turner, Sze. After which, TrIE ENCHANTED ISLE. Alonzo, Mr. Paul Bedford; Prospero, Mr. 0. Smith; ArieL Miss E. Chaplin. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Under the Management of Madame Vestris. Sole Lessee, Mr. Charles Ms , he ws. TO-MORROW EVENING Will be performed SHAVE YOURSELF DIRECTLY. After which, a new Fairy Extravaganza, entitled THE KING OF rHE PEACOCKS. Characters by Messrs. Harley, John Reeve, Selby, H. Hall, Marshall, and H. Marshall ; Miss Kathleen Fitzwil `lam, Miss L. Howard, Hrs. Macnamara, Miss Marshall, Miss L. Marshall, Miss Coleman, and Madame Vestris. To conclude with USED UP. Dress i:vies, Ss. ; Upper Boxes, 4s. ; Pit, 2s. ; Gallery, Is. No waif-price to any part of the house. The New Illox-office, No. 2. Wellington-street, is open to the public every (lay, from Ten till Six. PRINCESS'S THEAD:E. Mr. J. If. Maddox, Sole Lessee and Manager. During the Recess this Theatre has been re-decorated and embel lished in a superb and costly manner 1 - y Mr. Hurwitz. A new Chan delier has been fitted, and the best arrane men ts have been made for the due Ventilation of the Theatre, and the couuort and convenience oi the audience. TO-MORROW EVENING, Will be performed the Opera of LA VIVANDIERE. To conclude with a new grand Pantomime, entitled BLUFF RIRG HAL ; or, Harlequin and it (Charmed Arrow. Harlequin, Mr. Bologna ; Pantaloon, Mr. P mule ; Clown, Mr. Flexmore ; Sprite, Mr. De Barr ; Columbine, Miss Fawcett. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Proprietor, Mr. W. Batty. Under the Patronage of her Majesty the Queen, his Royal Highness Prince Albert, &c. Enormous success of the Holiday Novelties, the most astounding in the Metropolis.—A gorgeous Spectacle.—Erilliant Scenes of the Arena. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 1 , 1849. TO-MORROW ETENINII, The curtain will rise at a Quarter to Seven o'clock precisely to the magnificent Spectacle. by FitzbalL entitled CORASCO ; or, the Warrior's Steed. To be followed by an inimitable display of SCENES IN THE CIRCLE, supported by the first Equestrian talent of the day. To conclude with a romantic Melodrama entitled THE BRIGAND OF ANCONA. Box-office open from Eleven till Five. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. Tail; WEATHER.—SIIN OFFICE, FEBRUARY 21. THERMOMETER, Lowest, 36; Highest, 51; Noon, 46. BAROMETER, 30.08. The mercury went down to 29.62 yesterday afternoon, and has since risen nearly half an inch. WIND W.N.W.—fine breeze and fair weather. $11(411 WATER AT LONDON BK11)(4E. THIS DAY —Morning, 51 min. after 12 I Evening, 14 min. after 1 To-Moaaow— unam, 3i min. after 1 I Evenin,,, 55 min. after 1 atenina LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1849. An important decision was arrived at last evening by the House of Commons in reference to our system of colonial administration. According to the motion, as proposed by Mr. BAILLIE, and as seconded by Mr. Hume, it was resolved that a Select Committee shall be appointed to inquire into the real character of the grievances complained of in the Crown Colonies of Ceylon and British Guiana, in connexion with the conduct and government of those dependencies. The Committee will thereupon be required to report their opinion whether any measure can be adopted for the redress of such grievances as may be proved to be of an intolerable character, and whether, moreover, any rational course can be followed towards the improve ment of the administrative machinery to which the population of those colonies has hitherto been subjected. Although the resolution was ultimately agreed to without a division, the discussion which followed its announcement was both lengthened and animated. It provoked several of the most brilliant opponents of the Government into the utterance of language not very far removed from the acrimonious ; nor can that circumstance be matter of surprise even to the most devoted adherent of the Ministry, so long as the mal administration of affairs in our colonial possessions continues to be so glaring as at present, with all ite• enormities, weaknesses, prevaric a ti ons , extravagance, chicanery, despotism, an d harshness, with its garbled dispatches and its enervated commerce, with its oppressive taxation and its Governors bankrupt in popularity. Notwithstanding the ingenuity of the amendment with w hi c h Mr. RICARDO endeavoured to blink the judgment of the representatives, and to divert the attention of the House from the enormous grievances which the-mo tion was intended to stigmatise, the original reablu tion was accepted, with only a few minute verbal emendations made by the proposer and the seconder themselves. The reprehensible acts of the Cabinet were not permitted to escape censure under cover of so very shallow and transparent a subterfuge as that the blow was furtively dealt at the prin ciples of Free-trade by the Honourable Member for Inverness, and that the projected Commit tee was to constitute merely the advanced guard of Protection. Nor was the open and almost chivalrous defence of the Colonial Minister by the Under-Secretary, and subsequently by the First Lord of the Treasury, one jot more suc cessful. A withering discharge of accusa tions was directed from all quarters against the occupants of the Ministerial benches. Earl GREY, unless " case-hardened" against the stings of conscience, must have shrunk into the re cognition of his , own manifold and multiform_culpa when listening last night, in the Peers' Gal lery of the House of Commons, to the damning charges levelled at his own department. The enthu siastic onslaught of Mr. Baum; the formal and matter-of-fact opposition of Mr. Husta, the statesman like self-possession with which Sir ROBERT PEEL pronounced his very unimpassioned but very emphatic expressions of condemnation, the perfunctory taunts and excoriating sarcasms of Mr. DISRAELI, the ear nest indignation of Sir WILLIAM MOLESWORTN, with the tart and cutting personalities of Mr. ADDERLEY, all " told" powerfully against the Colonial Secretary, and appeared to tally exactly with the temper and opinions of the Parliament. Ostensibly the purport of the resolution proposed by the Hon. Representative of Inverness was restricted to the consideration of the evil rule of the English Government over her English colonies in re ference exclusively to Ceylon and Guiana as Crown dependencies. In reality the motion amounts to a direct vote of censure against the whole system of administration introduced by Earl GREY into the Colonial Department. For convenience, and as affording the readiest means of arriving at some satisfactory conclusion upon this most unsatisfactory subject, Mr. BAILLIB confined himself to the matter as it was illustrated, and deplorably illustrated too, in our Asiatic possession of Ceylon, and in our Ame rican possession of British Guiana. The melan choly facts relating to the Governorship of Lord TORRINGTON in the former colony afforded the bit terest arguments against the whole of that pernicious scheme, of which those unfortunate acts were merely among the subordinate consequences. The reckless ness, the tyranny, the absolute cruelty of that Noble man's government over the inhabitants of Ceylon serve, indeed, to reveal in the blackest view imaginable the evil tendency of the political despotism from which it has emanated. While, in regard to the taxation extorted from our colonists, it was declared by the Hon. Member for Inverness that in Guiana it abso lutely amounted to V. 6s. a head, or to about one sixth more per head than the taxation of Great Britain—it was asserted by the Hon. Member for Southwark that the expenditure of Ceylon, -charac terised at all times by extravagance, has of late years enormously increased. While Mr. Hewes reminded the House in deprecatory accents that Lord Toz- RINGTON has repealed taxes in Ceylon to the amount of 30,0001. per annum, and has reduced the expenditure during the first six months of 1848, by a sum of 20,0001. per annum—the returns or census for 1843 from that island inform us that its inhabitants numbered even at that time almost as many as the population of this gigantic metropolis--reaching, in fact, to precisely . 1,421,631, and rendering thereby the momentary and tardy reductions just spoken of, matters of abso lute insignificance. While the political crime, and what is worse, the political blunder, is called to our recollection by Mr. BAILLIE, that the Peer placed at the head of the administration at Ceylon- had caused one of the native priiits of Buddism to be shot in his sacerdotal vestments, while, we are told by the Member for Inverness, that the same Administrator had further striven to estrange the people of Ceylon, by unnecessarily subjecting their aristocrats to the ignominy of flagellation previous to banishment—we are reminded by the Member for Berwick, that juries had been illegally " packed " under the direction of the same Nobleman. Certainly, with these glaring testimonies of incompetence before us, it doer appear somewhat questionable whether my Lord TORRINGTON —a Peer previously, "only known to fame as having filled the office of a Lord of the Bedchamber "—would have been elevated to the responsible office ,of governor of a noble colony like that of Ceylon, had his name been merely WILLIAM SMITH, or. plain JOHN BROWN. After the exposures which -have re cently taken place it does not assuredly require the authority of Mr. MRRRITALE, the permanent Under- Secretary, to demonstrate that enhanced expenditure has not been accompanied by better colonial go►ern ment. Whether or not Mr. BAILLIN be correct in maintaining that no remedy can be contrived until the colonies have acquired a complete control over their home expenditure, and a complete manage ment of their own affairs, it is rather a reckless no tion on the part of Sir WILLIAM MOLESWORTH, to transfer Ceylon to the East India Company, simply because Lord TORRINGTON has proved himself to be incompetent to be Governor, and because Earl GREY has shown himself unable to direct with advantage, either to the mother-country or her dependencies, the numerous and intricate affairs of the Colonial Depart ment. Ever since the beginning of 1802, when Ceylon passed from under the control of the Company it has continued to be entirely a Royal Government. To say that Lord TORRINGTON'S mal-administration is a proof that England cannot furnish, under the direction of her Ministers, a fit person to occupy the rank of Governor, would be as ridiculous as to assert that Buddism could not find a votary among the Cinga lese, or the Hindoo worship a disciple among the Ma labars. So far as the Governor of Ceylon is con cerned, Parliament has pronounced its condemnation, and in doing so it has virtually directed its high cen sure against the Minister of the Crown who holds the office of Colonial Secretary. The movement in Sicily bears - a much nearer resemblance to' the glorious English revolution of 1688 than it does either to the French revolution of 1793, or to the various movements which have taken place throughout Europe during the past eventful year. The Sicilian movement cannot, strictly speak ing, be denominated a revolution; it is, in fact, a movement for a restoration of those constitutional rights of which Sicily, up to the year 1816, had been in the enjoyment for centuries. The first of the pre sent dynasty who was called to the Sicilian throne in 1734 rested his claims solely on the plea that the nonobservance of those rights by the SOVEREIGN involved forfeiture of the crown, and when, in 1812, the old constitution was reformed (a change, be it ob served, of not greater magnitude than that introduced into the English Constitution in 1832 by the Reform Act), each particular article was accepted by the KING, and the constitution itself was guaranteed to Sicily by England. It appears, from the recently published work of M. ASLANT, entitled " La Sidle et les Bourbons," that from times anterior to the con quest of the island by the Normans, Sicily possessed the materials of constitutional government. The Normans organized these materials into form, and from the thirteenth century to the nineteenth Sicily has been governed by a constitution, the legislative power being exercised by the Chamber of Peers, the Chamber of Ecclesiastics, and the Chamber of Representatives, with a veto to the KING. In the fifteenth century the Sicilians acknowledged the Kings of Arragon as their Sovereigns, but during the three centuries that the Arragonese dynasty reigned over the island, Sicily preserved her own system of national representation, her own laws, her separate administration, her flag, her Mint, and her army ; and only granted to the KING money and soldiers when she chose, and in what manner she chose : she maintained her own international 'relations with the neighbouring states, and the Members of her Parliament who presented to the KING the Acts passed during the session for the royal assent were called ambassadors, and were treated as such at the Court of Spain. At the close of the war of succession,' the throne of Sicily was, through the influence of England, given to the house of Savoy ; but, in - 1734, Cardinal AL BERONI, wishing to create an appanage for the Infant Don CARLOS, bethought hitn . of Seizing Naples from Austria, and Sicily from Savoy, for that purpose. Spain, therefore, declared war againit those two Powers; and in the manifesto published' by the Spanish ,Bourbon on that occasion, he 'founded his claim to the throne of Sicily solely on the fact that VICTOR AMADEUS, the then king, had violated the conditions imposed on him by the treaty of Utrecht, of MAINTAINING the consti tution of Sicily. This is the whole and sole founda tion of the Bourbon right to the Sicilian throne, and it is clear, therefore, that if a Bourbon Sovereign violates the constitution, he, like VICTOR AMADEUS, of Savoy, forfeits the throne of Sicily. The first of the Bourbon Sovereigns was CHARLES 111., who, on the 7th July, 1735, swore to observe the constitu tion, and all the liberties which it guaranteed to the country—an oath which was renewed by his suc cessor, FERDINAND, who, as a proof of the perfect tle of 111. in Sicily, and too f ok th t e he tw e o kingdoms (viz., Si c il y independence and Naples), 9118 FZRDINAND more than the re IV. in Naples, as there had reigned in in Naples gne FZRDINAND more than there had in Sicily. When, in 1799, the Royal Family of Naples was ~.._ . ~.. -.. .. 'rx... 40 ~, ..? _. - 4 •].. ,%.,.0 .. . '‘i.,,g'.').W: ..... c - l,l, „.....,,.., 10z., , , , ~:., - ' - :, 1 , ,`T ,A ' ' ' 1g,."--- ..*. _ ...,N,......, _ „i. , , 1146,,... •,,,,.. ...., 4 . ____ „ . I • , 't• ." ' .-...',.!..,.'''' .. 4.:";:'. : ,. .. • expelled from the Continent by_the._Frenchxevolu tionary troops, they were received in Sicily with the greatest enthusiasm, and the first return the KING, or rather the QUEEN, made for the sacrifices and the loyalty of the Sicilians was to violate the constitu tion by seising the property of the nation, of the com munes, and of the church, and imposing taxes without the consent of the Sicilian Parliament. The Court at the same time caused several of the Peers to be arrested, and also endeavoured to enter into an arrangement with the French EMPEROR to render the KING despotic in Sicily, the Court undertaking to betray the English garrisons then stationed there to the French troops. An invasion by the French took place; the Sicilian nation, faithful to their treaties with England, took up arms and defeated the invaders, and then proceeded to introduce those reforms into the constitution which the lapse of time had rendered necessary. An intimate union between the English Government and the Sicilian nation was the conse quence of these events ; the title of Captain-General of the Island was conferred on Lord WILLIAM BENTINCE., who convoked the Sicilian Parlia ' ment, which immediately proceeded to draw up the constitution of 1812, which was accepted by the KING, and guaranteed by Great Britain. From this it is clear that Great. Britain was the ally of the Sicilian nation, not of the KING or of the dynasty, and the Sicilian nation has, therefore, a right to de mand of Great Britain the execution of those gua rantees which Great Britain gave to the Sicilian na tion in 1812. The Treaty of Vienna gave no autho why whatever to the King of.NAPLES to abrogate the constitution of Sicily. The. words of the 104th Article of that treaty are—" His , Majesty KING FERDINAND IV. is re-established (retabli) for himself, his heirs, and successors upon the throne of Naples, and recognised by the Powers as King of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies." To re-establish is not to create but to establish again that which was once before in existence 3 and therefore this article could not affect the rights , of Sicily, inasmuch as Sicily had always been governed by a constitution, and had always been independent of Naples. Besides, by the second article of the , Sicilian constitution ac cepted by the KING he is expressly prevented from entering into any treaty with other Powers which shall be opposed directly or indirectly to the consti tution of the kingdom;; and, moreover, as Sicily was not represented at the Congress, and had' never been con quered by any of the Powers who were parties to the treaty of Vienna, the congress had no right what ever to interfere in anything that concerned that country. That the constitution of Sicily has been destroyed . by the Bourbon Princes is admitted on all hands, that Sicily had a right to call on Great Britain to interfere in her behalf (and, be it remembered, all that Sicily has ever asked for is the xestoration of the constitution of 1812, as guaranteed by Great Britain) is also gene rally admitted, but it is contended that the - right of Sicily it barred by lapse of time, We would remind those who make this objection of the old legal. maxim, " Nullum tempus Regi occurrit," and if the rights of a king cannot be , barred by lapse of time, neither can those of a nation. At the Congress of Vienna the right of Louis XVIII. to the throne of. France was recognis e d y er nm notwithstandingens which the lapse u scceed eacheodftime the various Go other in France during the time of his exile were treated as nullities, and he dated his first ordinance in the 20th year of his reign. The same rule must apply to Sicily. So long as the Sicilians confine their demands to the full and entire restoration of the constitution of 1812, as guaranteed by Great Britain, so long will they be in their right, and so long will Great Britain be bound by the law of nations to aid and assist them in obtaining thosie rights, the enjoyment of which she herself guaranteed in 1812 to the Sicilian nation as contra-distinguished from the Sicilian King. THE FRENCH REPUBLIC. W. have received the Paris papers of yesterday. The Council of Revision has rejected the appeal of the persons convicted by court-martial of the murder of General Baas and his aide•de-camp, and has confirmed the senteace of the court-martial. The counsel for the prisoners who have been sen tenced to death immediately petitioned the Pisan- DENT of the Republic to remit the capital punish ment. At the sitting of the National Assembly on Monday General Cavaignac rose to address a question to the Minister of the Interior on a personal affair. The journal, L'Union, he said, had published an article, in which it was stated that the Rouges were not the most dangerous party. Their plans were known, but public indignation defeated them. But others, who covered themselves with the mask of moderation, ware not so in nocuous, and it then asserted that an attempt had been Made to seduce the army by General Cavaignac. The journalist wattled the latter that he compromised, not Only his future prospects, but his past services, and that General Changarnier was watching his movements. , On Saturday that article having been :lent to him 'in the Country, he immediately wrote to a friend to lodge a complaint in the office of the Attoreey-General. On consulting a legal officer, he was told that he was at tacked as a private individval, and that, in that case, he Could not demand that the assertion be proved. Not being able to procure justice before the tribunals he had resolved to apply directly to the Minister of the Interior and General Changarnier, from' the tribune, and sum moned them to declare if they had learned, directly or that a t ed t he was guilty of a fact, a word, or a justify th e acc u s ation of his having a tt e mpted to seduce single soldier from his duty. M. Leon Faucher replied that he had no direct or in direct communication with th e j ourna l L'U n i on . H e gesture,indire indirectly, calculated had not even read the article, of which he blamed both the intention and expresaions. If any person had told him that General Cavaignac meditated any such attempt he would have rejected it with the indignation it de served, well knowing that the character of the General and his services to the country belied such an accusation. General Changarnier also declared that he had no knowledge of the article, nor had he any interview with the editors of that journal. General Cavaignac had too long served with him to suspeet, that he could have been privy to such au act. He knew the General to be highly honourable.—(Here General Cavaignac bowed.) " I am not paying you a compliment, I am only doing you justice. I cannot, however, help remarking that the' sent i men ts resulting from our long intimacy are Somewhat effaced from your memory, and, I will say, froni your heart; otherwise you would have called on me before you ascended the tribune." In conclusion the General said that, as Commander of the Army of Paris, he was not charird with the police. General Cavaignac replied that if he had not called on the General, it was because he wished that his reply should be made from the , tribune, so that the . whole of France might hear it. The incident having terminated,the Assembly resumed the discussion of the Electoral Law. The National Assembly, has disposed of fifty out of the fifty-four clauses of which the Electoral Law 'is composed. , The trial of the persons who created an emeute at Montpellier has commenced at Aix. Several Legiti.- ' matists are compromised in the affair. I n commenting 'on the seene which took place' in the National Assembly on Monday between Generals CAVAIONAC and CSANGARNIER, the Slide pays the following tribute to the Virtues of the Washington of France . .. " General Cavaignac, althoughi ncessa ntly attacked and often calumniated by a part of the pries, is perhaps of the whole Assembly the man who keeps, himself most aloof from all kinds of ceieries and intrigues. Whilst b is represented in those lying iecitals as warmly eagage: in presiding at the meetings at the Palais National, at ether times in combining with K Sloard to draw out amendments, and at others in making preparations for a journey to Bourgei, to be present at the trial of the pri soners of the 15th May, he is calm, isolated, co n fi ni ng himself to the exercise of his duties as a repres e nt at i ve , taking part in no meeting , an d ke ep in g hi mself a. stran ger to all intrigues, and not even taking the trouble to concert his votes with hig old Ministers, who all remain his friends. Is truth, as the price of the services which he has rendered, and when his life was devoted for six months to all the fury of calumny, can he not, now that he his so nobly quitted power, be left a little tepose?"' ' • The Committee of the Assembly to whom the pro position for an inquiry into the conduct of the 'Go vernment on the 29th January was referred, has re ported against the r P-00sition. A. minority of six, however, in the Committee supported the principle And the necessity of the inquiry. The Committee on the proposition of M. Jount, for the abrogation of the laws interdicting. the French territory to the Bourbons •of the elder branch and of the house of Orleans, have recommended that the con sideration of the proposition should be , adjourned. , M. LYDRU ROLLIN has given notice of his intention to address interpellations to the Government on the subject of the affairs of Rome. BOURSE.—Pears, TUESDAY, FEB. 21. THREE o'cLocx..—The. French Funds opened with greater firmness to-day, but towards the end of the day they suddenly gave way, and closed considerably below the prices of yesterday. There was a good deal of busi ness done. There was no news stirring. Exchange on London (30 days), 25 25; ditto (90 days), 25 15. BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE . - LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE, FEB. 20. Boulogne and Amiens, 974*Central of France (Orleans and Vierzon), 11%—Namur and Liege, VA—Northern of Prance, Sqi— Orleans and Bordeaux , 33/4-.- Paris and Rouen, 20 Ihi ex div.—Paris and Strasbourg, VA—Rouen and Havre, .3%--Sambre and mew, 5---Tours and Nantes, 2%. SPAIN. Madrid journals of the 14th have been received. AMETTLER is in the Ampurdan, at the head of 200 men. MADRID BOLSA, Fan. 14.—The Three per Cents. are quoted at 21! 13-16 buyers, j- sellers ; Fire per Cents., 10-4- buyers, sellers ; Coupons, 6f ; Passive Debt, 3 13.16 j buyers, 4 sellers. Exchange. on London, 49 40. GERMANY AND THE NORTHERN STATES. AUSTRIA. The Slovenska Lippa (Sclavonic Club) of Prague, has expressed its want of confidence in the Cabinet, and as it has agents in all the Sclavonic countries, the recent disturbances in Croatia and Servia are attri buted to its intervention. The Sclavonians and the Magyars will, it is said, form a coalition to oppose the plans of annexation of the Schwartzenburg Cabinet. The city of Carlstadt has been taken by the Magyars. Prince Windischgrats has published a proclama tion at Pesth, in which he says, that although peace and order are partially restored, there were still dis affected individuals in the cities of Ofen and Pesth, who kept up a correspondence with the enemy, that is to say, with M. Kossuth and his party at Debrezin. The Prince declares that such corre spondence shall in future be considered as treason able and punished as such ; that he has sent troops to scour the country in all directions, and that he has invested these troops with the jus gladii, empowering them to hang or otherwise to kill any person or persons who shall be found in poisession of any letter, paper, or other document proceeding from M. Kossuth and his party. The Jews of Pesth and Ofen, in particular, are denounced as having acted as spies and purveyors to the rebels, false reports of whose victories they have spread. Any Jew to whom such an offence can be brought home in future, shall either be subjected to martial law, or tried by a drum-head court, as the case may be, and the Jewish community to which he belongs shall pay a fine of no less than 20,000 florins (about 2,0001.) VIIINNA, Pin. 12.—1 t is generally reported that M. Vox SCAMERLING is to be recalled from Frank fort, and to be charged with the formation of a new Cabinet. The entrance of the Russians into Transylvania has not yet been officially confirmed, though it is very certain that they have received orders to enter the Austrian territory on the first notification given by the authorities.—Vienna Paper:, Feb. 19. PRUSSIA. BERLIN, FEB. 19.—The King of PRUSSIA has been obliged to keep his bed several days/ in conse quence of a very severe cold. The bulletin from Charlottenburg, of this morning, however, states that he has now quite recovered. His. MAJEsTr's indisposition, which was accempanied with a slight attack of fever, has delayed the return of the Court from Charlottenburg to Potsdam.—Prussian Stant* Anzeiger, Feb. 19. ITAL Y. TUSCANY. The Revista IndipendPnte of Florence, of the 12th inst., publishes two decrees of the Provisional Govern ment. By the first, dated the 10th, 21,000 lire (17,500 f.) to be paid from the public Treasury, are applied to the distribution of bread to poor families throughout Tuscany. The prefectures and sub-prefec tures are directed to put themselves in communica tion with the Popular Clubs, to request them to name commissions to superintend the distribution. By the second decree, the expediency of con cluding an offensive and defensive alliance with Venice and Rome is acknowledged; in con sequence of which professor ATTO VaNNuccl and CARLO FENzi are named envoys extraordinary from Tuscany, the former to the Government of Rome, and the latter to the Provisional Government of Venice. Advocate PRSCONTINI has been acknowledged by the Provisional Government as Special Charge d'Affaires from the Government of the Roman Republic. . . The Alba of the lith states that no further disturb ances have taken place at Florence. The troops had taken their oath to the Republican Government on the preceding day. A large crowd assembled in the evening on the Piazza del Popolo, uttering cries of " Liberty for ever 1" " The Italian Republic for ever I" &c, and was proceeding to plant the tree of liberty, when Ginianezzi appeared and tried to persuade them to wait till the Constituent Assembly should have pro nounced on the future form of government. His voice was drowned by the vociferation: of the crowd ; the tree, however, was not planted for the time. A sort of Communist movement had taken place at Empoli ; a small force had left Florence for that town to restore order, and, according to the last accounts, their efforts had been successful. ROME. The Constituent Assembly of Rome voted the fol lowing decree on the 10th:— "In the name of the people, the Constituent Assem bly decrees as follows:-1. Till the Constitution of the Roman Republic be voted and put in vigour, the Consti tuent Assembly governs the State by an Executive Committee. 2. The Executive Committee shall be com posed of three Italians, responsible for their acts, and revocable at will by the Assembly. 3. The Executive Committee is composed , of the citizens Armellini (139 votes), Salicetf (114 votes), Mattia Moatecchi (85 votes)." On the same day the following address to the people of Tuscany was unanimously voted : " THIS ROMAN REPUBLIC TO THE PEOPLE OP Tus CANY.—In the act of pronouncing the great word of liberty, we cast our eyes around us, to learn from whence we should first hear a generous answer ; and we were confident that a cry of affection and concord could alone reach us from your land. It pleased God that you too should, at the same moment, complete a great act, while turning a took of expectation towards Rome. The two revolutions have proved that the Italian people are brethren both as to their desires and their des tinies. The ancient calumny is avenged. Italy nou rishes her sons with the sane thought. Tuscans! Your Government is ours. You have said it;—we are so united and firmly embraced, that in the eyes of Italy, and of the world, we are but one. Be it so! We pro nounced the word of fraternity (the Republic) during the night of the Bth of February; it is no more unknown to your history than it is to the Capitol. Let us pro gress together, and the Italian Constituent Assembly shall seal the national compact.—Rome, February 10. "For the Constituent Assembly, " The President GALLETTI." CHANCERY.—(THIS DAY.) The Lord Chancellor sat in his Court in the old Hall, Lin coln's Inn to-day, for the purpose of hearing appeal motions and appeals. ALLIRET V. ALLFREY--JUDGMENT. His Lompassm gave judgment this morning in this case, which was argued before him a short time since upon ap peal from the decision of the Master of the Rolls. During the argaments we gave, at considerable length, the facts of the case, and also the principal points in the arguments of counsel, and it will, therefore, be only necessary now shortly to recapitulate the facts of the case. The bill was filed by William - Allfrey, against the executors of his uncle, Edward Allfrey, to re-open accounts that had been settled and signed in May, 1825. William Allfrey, was one of the children and next of kin of George Allfrey, a wine merchant, in Essex, who died in 1802, possessed of certain lands held on borough English. He died intestate, his widow renounced ad ministration, and it was taken out by the uncle, who became sole manager of the property, both real and personal, and dealt with it as he thought fit. The plaintiff, who is a barrister, attained the age of 21 in September, 1823, and on the 7th of May, 1825, be wrote in the books of his uncle a memorandum to the effect that "he had satisfactorily investigated the accounts of his father, and confirmed the then stated balance due to him of 171. 125." This balance was afterwards received, but in 1841 he had occasion to examine the accounts furnished by his uncle, and he then discovered in them errors of such a nature as to afford conclusive proof of the intentional misrepresentation and fraud. In 1843 he filed the present bill for a declaration that the alleged settlement of account was invalid, and ask ing that accounts might be taken of the personal estate of the late George Allfrey possessed by Edward Allfrey, and of the application thereof, and that it might be ascertained what balances were in his hands at the end of every half year after the expiration of the first year, and that his estate might be charged with interest on such balances, and with any sums of stock that might have been purchased with such balances. The defendants, in their answer, relied on the settlement of the account and the time that had been suffered to elapse before the plaintif made his complaint, and they contended that, as he was a practising member of the profession, he must be presumed to have fully known the extent of his rights at the time he signed the memorandum in his uncle's books. The cause was heard before the Master of the Rolls, and his Lordship being satisfied that there were numerous and appa rently fraudulent errors in the accounts, declared that the plaintiff could not be held bound by the memorandum, and being of opinion that the uncle stood in loco parentis to the plaintiff, his nephew, his Lordship sent a reference to the Master to take the accounts as prayed. The executors ap pealed ' from this decree, and upon that appeal the Lord Chancellor now gave judgment. His Lordship, after going at some length into the case, stated his clear opinion to be that the Master of the Rolls had come to a right conclusion, and ordered the appeal to be dismissed with costs. BItANDMOILL V. THE LONDON AND NORTE•WESTEIIII BAIL- VAT COMPANY. The further arguments in this part-heard appeal motion occupied his Lordship the remainder of the morning. The Vice-Chancellor of England had granted an injunction in this case, to restrain the defendants from continuing to make an embankment, or from altering the levels of Hill street and Navigation-street, Birmingham, to a greater ex tent than that laid down in the original plan. The plaintiff's house is at the corner of Hill-street and Navigation-street, and the complaint was that the company, at the requisition of the Paving Commissioners of Birmingham, had altered the levels of their works, and carried the embankment fur ther than they originally proposed, and further than WAS warranted by the plans of the Stour Valley Railway Com pany, which the defendants had purchased. The Vice- Chancellor considered the company bound by the plan, and refusing to lend assistance to the coercive powers of the paving board ; his Honour granted the injunction, which it was now sought to set aside. Mr. BETNELL, with whom was Mr. Speed, opened the appeal motion on Saturday, contending that the 16th section of the Railway Clauses Consolidation Act empowered the Company to make the alterattitin in their plan, provided there i was no deviation. , Ir. STUART, with whom was Mr. Craig, supported the order of the Court below, and submitted that if such a con struction was given to the section of the Act as had been contended for on the other side, it would take away all the power given in the 14th section. The arguments of Mr. Craig, following Mr. Stuart, omit , - pied the Court the whole morning. ROLLS' CO URT.-( THIS DAY.) The Master of the Rolls sat to-day in his Court in Chan cery-lane, but nothing of interest came before his Lordship during the morning. VICE-CHANCERY.--(THIS DAY.) (Before the Vice-Chancellor of ENGLAND.) MYERS V. PIAIGAL. The further arguments in this case were concluded. BROOKS V. THE LONDON AND WESTMINSTER BANK. The arguments in this case were postponed till the Court sat at Westminster. (Before the Vice-Chancellor KNIGHT BRUCE.) His Honour, the Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce was occu pied the whole morning with hearing bankrupts' petitions of no general interest. (Before the Vice-Chancellor WiosAm.) DOUGLAS V. WILLES. The further arguments in this part-heard case occupied the Court the whole day. SECONDARIES'.-(THIS DAY.) There was only one case heard, " Stonehouse v. Young," to recover the sum of 3251. 4s. 6d. The defendant did not plead, and a verdict was given for the amount. MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS. CITY, QUARTER TO THREE. The sales of Cotton at Liveipool yesterday were estimated at 4,000 to 5,000 bales, and included 3,500 American ; 200 Egyptian realised 5 3 4 d. to 7 1 4 d. ; 500 Surats, 3 1 4 d. to 4d.; and 300 Sea Islands, 8d to Is. The market was dull, and closed tamely. Compared with last Friday's prices, American sorts were %d. per lb. lower; other kinds were firm, except Sea Islands, which were rather dearer. In Railway Shares a fair business was done, but at lower rates. There are no further arrivals to-day, and the accounts from the Continent are not of special interest. The French Funds come lower, and this has some effect here. The Corn Market is heavy. The circumstance that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a reduction in the rate of interest on the bills falling due next month gives rise to the impression that the Bank of England will lower its discount terms, but a subject more attractive is the Californian gold affair, and the follow ink is some further reasoning on the subject derived from American sources : The labour of but forty thousand men, at only three dollars per day, will produce in three hundred days thirty six millions of dollars. We have po doubt that in less than twelve months there will be at least one hundred thousand persons among the mines engaged in digging for gold ; and if these average but two dollars per day each, they will pro duce sixty millions of dollars worth of gold in a year. This calculation is only at the rate cf an ordinary day's wages; but if the same number of operatives average a ' production equal to that realised by those already on the ground—according to official and other reports-- the annual extraction will amount to about four hundred millions of dollars worth. The labour of one hundred thousand men in the usual employments of life will, if properly directed, produce property to the value of at least forty-five millions of dollars, and will add so much to the aggregate wealth of the country ; but if the same lumber of men dig out of the earth five dollars worth of gold each per day, they add one hundred and fifty millions of dollars in gold to the currency of the world, which will represent one hundred times that amount of property. The conclusion we arrive at, in this view of the subject is, that at the most moderate calculation relative to emigration and production, there will be extracted from the mines of California, at least ode hundred millions of dollars' worth of gold, within the next twelve months. This, added to the gold currency of the world will, when distributed, have very little influence upon the movements of commerce; but at first it will tend to an inflation of prices at the principal points of accumulation. The production of one hundred millions of dollars' worth of gold in Cali fornia annually would give that country a more rapid growth than ever was realised in any other part of the world. It would attract emigration from all parts of crea tion, and enable the population, as it increased, to furnish markets for all the luxuries and all the necessaries of life, which the industry of other countries produced. If California has the gold, she has the means of becoming one of the most prosperous portions of the world ; if she has not, hun dreds of those who have already gone there will starve." 'The English Funds are still — affected :by a rather over abundant supply of money stock, but they seemed to be somewhat more buoyant than yesterday. Consols for transfer hare been 93 to 939, and for time, 93% to 93%. Bank Stock is 195 to 196. The New Three-and-a-Quarter per Cents. have realised 94 to 94%. Exchequer Bills realise 43s to 465. premium. The Foreign Securities have been very quiet, but Mexi can have improved to 25 3 / 4 to 26. French Five per Cents. are 82f. 50c., with the exchange at 25f. 25c. Spanish Five per Cents. have been 17% to 17%. Portuguese Four per Cents. have been 25 to 26. Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents. have been 50 1 4 to N. The New Danish Loan, it appears, is to be in a Five per Cent. Stock. The Railway Share Market is better to-day, and pricei hive risen. The Aberdeen Preference Shares have been all readily taken up it is said. ONE CLUEING r' ,. ) r; rf, or .atITIBii FUNDS. O'CLOCK. PRICES. dank Stock i ~er Cent. Reduced Arils 9 34% l ii 93 N I 3 per Cent. Consols Annuities 9 3 1 4 1,¢, % 93 93 1 4 Sew 3 1 4 per Cent. Anna.— 94 1 4 % 94 94 ~.ong Anne. to expire J an. 1860 Ditto, Oct. 10. 1859 ..... Ditto 30 years, Jan. 5, 1860 B 3A, 8 3 ,4 India Stock 243 243 ndia Bonds, 1,0001. .. Ditto under 1,0001. ... ..... ....... 53 p 53 p Consols for Account 93 lM4 N iii. 93% _xchequer Bills. 2M i d. & 2d. 1,0001. June 44 46 43 p 43 p 5001. June Ditto Advertised, June 37 40 36 p 36 p PRICES OF FOREIGN FUNDS ONE CLOSIN O'CLOCK. PRICES. Equador Bonds _3 1 ,4 _ Grenada Bonds, 1 per Cent. — 17 i, e Mexican, 5 per Cent. 1846 2 b 3 /4 26 25 3 / 4 Ditto, Account — 26 Peruvian Bonds, 6 per Cents — ' Ditto Account — 49 1 4 I, Spanish 5 per Cent. 1840. i Ditto, Account ' 1 7V 4 1,44 17 - Ditto, Passive 3 3 / 4 3% Ditto, 3 per Cent Ditto, Account . — 29 Venezuela Bonds, 2 1 4 / per Cent — 21% ' Dividends on the above payable in London. French Rentes, 5 per Cent B2f. lOc. 82f. 50c. Exchange 2sf. 25c. 25f. 25c. Dutch 2% per Cent., 12 Guild 5 0 14% 50 5 , A Ditto, 4 per Cent. Certificates 8044% 80% PRICES OF BUSINESS DONE CLOSING I :AILWAY SHARES. PAID. AT ONE O'CLOCK. PRICES. Birming, Wolverh'ton, and Dudley, calls duly ' pd, or with guarantee 10 ..... . Do. without guarantee 10 Caledonian Do. New 101. Pref..... 10 Chester and Holyhead... 50 Oublinand Belfast Junc. 35 4 , .ast Anglia, 251., L. & E. and L. and D...... 25 ...... Do., 3/. 10s. Eastern Counties........ 20 ...... 10 3 4% lO% Do. New Guaranteed . , 6 per Cent lO ...... 11% East Lancashire Ditto, New Ditto, New Quarters 6 1 4 44 4% Do., 6 per Cent. Pre- ._ ference Quarters ... 6IA 7 .. East Lincolnshire ...... 25 tireat Northern Do., 1 12 A Deferred ... 12 1 h...... 5 ....... 5 Do., I ,¢ B 6 per Cent... 6 1 ,4...... Do. Extension ___ 2% 3 /4 .34 •reat South. and West ' (Ireland) Great North of England.loo ...... Ditto, New, 30/ ..... . ... 30 Klreat Western 100 i Ditto, 1 ,4 Shares Ditto, New 171... Lancaster and Carlisle... 50 ...... _ Ditto, Thirds Lancashire & Yorkshire 93 Do. Quarter Shares... 17 1 / 2 13% 1 3 14 Do. Fifths.... Do. (W. Riding Union) 8 Do. (Preston & Wyre) 25 Leeds and Bradford 5O 103% ... . ... KG Leeds and Thirsk ...... 50 - •••..•.. ...... Ditto, New ..... ........ 40 -- •• ••• 1 5 14 London &Blackwall...l3/. 6s. 8d.... ..... 5% London, Brighton, and South Coast Ditto, New 51., guar. 6 per cent. London and Greenwich 12/1584d... 9 London and N. Western 100 ..,..138 Ditto, New Loud. &6. Western Do. New 50/. ... ..... 424.. Ditto, Thirds.. ......... 15 Manchester,Buxton,and . __. _ • 4 I,E ..1S Midland .. ......100 Do., do., 50/. Shares... 25 ... 19' 19 1 ,4 18 1 ,4 3 A 18% Do.Consol. Bristol and • Birming.,6 per ct.... 100 ......126 .........«.... 126 'orth British ... .... ... 25 ...... 16w..... ... 15% Ditto, Quarters Ditto, Thirds ...... North Staffordshire Oxford, Worcester, and . Wolverhampton ...... 50 Reading, Guildford, and Reigate 12%..... 135%.........” 13% Scottish Central Shrewsbury and Birm... 10 Ditto, New Guaranteed 8 ...... 10 9% ...... Shropshire Union ~oath Devon.... ...... ..... 50 ...... 18 Do. Preference South Staffordshire 7% — South Eastern '..... 33% 25% %...... .. .. 23 1 / 2 Do., No. 3 —.... ...... 30 South Wales ...... ......... 33 ...... 19%.... .. lB% York, Newcastle, and Berwick. .... .. 25 .. ... 28 27 1 ,4 ... Do. E Etension No. 1. 20 Do. do. No. 2. (N &B) 20 - ........ 21 Do. G.N.E.Preterence 8 York and North Midland 50 ...... 54 1 ,E 53% 5454... 54% Do. East and West Rid ing Extension FOREIGN RAILWAYS. Central of France (Or leans and Vierzoa) ... 18 Namur and Liege ...... 20 ... Northern of France Orleans and Bordeaux... 7 ...... 3%... pis and Rouen ... ..... 20 .... 21 20ki ex. d Paris and Strasbourg ... 9 RiArin and Havre Sambre and Meuse 2O ••• .. 4'%, 5 Tours and Nantes .. 9 . ..... 2% 2 14 JOINT STOCK BAN KS. Australasia LLOYD'S SHIPPING.—(TH ; LoNno:sr, FEB. 21. --Winel-W,S,W., light. .b teL Ape_ weather LoWESTOFFE, FEB. 19.—The Mary and Jra ne, of NeW castle, whilst lying at Matford-bridge, calk tjht Bre this morning and scuttled ; crew saved. GALWAY, FEIS. 19.—Fourteen pieces of Am e rican square timber have been picked up in this bay duri n g the week; 1:10 pieces have also been picked up at sea, a nd all along the coast. LOUGIISWILLY, FEB. 17. The Maid of the e bull, from. Glasgow, for Rio Janeiro, put in here to-day: with part of bulwarks, &c., carried away. PETERHEAD, FEB. 19.—Wind S.W.—Sid. V ictor, Green -. land ; Traveller, ditto. LONDONDERRY, FEB. 13.—Arrd. Vermont, Is ew Orleans. DEAL, FEB. 20.—Wind N.—Arrd. Ann and 3 lary, Bahia; Jane Henderson, Baltimore; Charles Walton, 8.1 ker, Boston; Louisa, Pictou. Arrd. from the River, Haid ee, Stewart, Launceston, Van Diernen's Land; Castle Lackla w, Jamaica. BERWICK-ON-TWEED, FEB. 20. -It blew a very severe gale here yesterday, during which the folio wing vessels went on shore :—The Mary Ann, of Dundee, at Holy Island; the Dispatch, of Dunbar, and the Admiral Dun,can, of Leith, the latter is very much damaged, and not expected to be got off—all for the north. The Keel Ant, of Suna erland, is on the Big Fern, and likely to become a wreck. Vhe Friends burg, of Leith, was dismasted off North Sunderlimd; assist ance has been sent to her. SHIELDS, FEB. '4o.—The Baron Eccles, from Antwerp, which went on shore at the entrance of the harbour on the 29th ult., came off to-day. I:Luau-Brow, FED. 19.—The Hearts of Oak, of and from Stockton to Wainfleet, was abandoned off South Cheeks .of Robin Hood's Bay, having been in contact with a brag; mar saved. SCARBOROUGH, FEB. 20.—The Harmony, of Selby, hal! been towed in here with loss of bowsprit and foremast, having been athwart hawse of the John Waverley, of Rye, in the roads, during a gale from W.N.W. yesterday. HULL, FEB. 19.—The Stourbridge, from Bremen for this port, has put into Christiansand, after being within sixty miles of this coast. YAMSIOUTH, FEB. 20.—The Corradino, Naples, was grounded on the Sand yesterday. Newcastle to MARKET isIE Ws —( THIS DAY.) CORN-EXCHANGE-WEDNES.DA Y. The present week's arrival of English Wheat for OUT market, coastwise, has not exceeded 410 quarters, chiefly from Essex. To-day the show of samples was small ita the extreme, and the factors were somewhat firmer in ti.lelf demands than on Monday'; nevertheless, so little butine.s4 was transacted that, in some instances, the quotations were almost nominal. From abroad only 3,820 quarters of Wheat have come to hand since Saturday; but we were well supplied with that article this morning, from several large parcels having passed the Customs at the present duty. Fine picked samples mostly sold at full prices. The mid dling and inferior qualities were much neglected. Fine Making Barley, the supply of which was small, was held A$ extreme currencies. Grinding and distilling sorts were extremely dull. For all kinds of Malt the demand was in a very sluggish state, at last week's currencies. The best. samples of Oats were quite as dear. Damp qualities were extremely heavy. Beaus, Peas, Indian Meal, and Flour hen; on hand. ARRIVALS THIS WEEK. Wheat. i Barley. Oats. I Flour. 410 qrs. 1,140 qrs. 3,4 M qrs. I 1,180sks• --- 690 510 I English ...... 1ri5h......... Foreign ...... , 3,820 770 Malt, 2,680 qrs. BOROUGH flop IV/AZ/CET. The finest Hops were in improved request to-clay at a trifle more money; and the value of all other kinds were mostly supported. The show of old Hops was on the in-. crease. New Hops: Sussex pockets, 21 4a to 21 17s; NV ealdi of Kent ditto, 21 12s to 31 8s; Mid and East Kent ditto;; 31 3s to 616 s per cwt. WHITECNAPZL. Our market was lieaiy,s7lllFric;Tuf a downward ten dency. Beef, from 2s 4d to 3s 4d; Mutton, 2s 8d to 45 2d ; Veal, 3s 8d to 4s 8d; and Pork, 3s to 4s 6d per Sibs. by the carcase. GENERAL THEATRICAL FUND. (THIS DAY.) The annual meeting of the members of the General Theatrical Fund Society was held this afternoon in the saloon of the Lyceum Theatre. Mr. J. B. Buckstone was to have presided on the occasion, but the accident at Liverpool prevented him doing so, and in his absence Mr. Young, of Sadler's Wells, was voted to the chair. Mr. WILLIAM CULLINGFORD, the secretary, congratu lated the meeting upon the prosperous state of the asso ciation whose members were daily increasing, while the general public had latterly shown a greater disposition than formerly to support it. The members numbered as many as 180. The financial statement represented the receipts of the past year to amount to 7261. Is. 7d., and the expenditure to 3861. 15s. lid., leaving a balance in hand of 3351. 51. Bd. The total assets o+ the society up to the present time amounted to 4,600/. Os. 9d., of which there were invested in the funds 4.492/. ss. Bd. in the London and Westminster' Bank 50L, and in the Treasurer's hands 57/. 15s. Id. The balance-sheet proved highly satisfactory to the meeting, and was unanimously adopted on the motion of the Chairman. The following directors, trustees, and officers, who went out by rotation, were then re-elected. Mr. Serer jeant Talfourd, Mr. Bond Cabbell, and Mr. Charles Dickens as trustees. Messrs. Craven, Saville, Worrell, Williams, and Searle, as directors. Messrs. young and Osbaleliston as auditors, and Mr. Cullingford as se cretary. Thanks were then voted to Messrs. Arnold, C. Mat thews and Roberts for the services they had rendered the society. The SECRETARY then announced that there were four an nuitants., but he had-received a communication from Mr,; Isaac Butler, the father of the " Walking Gentleman, who wawatrpresent playing at Bath, stating that on the 28th of August be should be sixty years of age, and it was then his intention to claim to be relieved as an au' nuitant from the funds of the society. He was bappf to intorm the meeting that the funds of the society Mould easily meet the claim, and it was a gratifying circuity stance that Mr. Butler had had the good sense to secure. this provision for his old age by subscribing to the fund' of this institution. Mr. J. B. Buckstone was elected chairman of the society for the ensuing year; after which Thanks were voted to the Chairman. and the meeting , which was rather numerously atteeded, broke up. COURSE OF Amsterdam 12 1 34 Ditto, at sight •..... 12 0 Rotterdam ...... 12 236 Antwerp • • 25 70 Hamburgh 11.8 . 13 113( ailtona ...... .. •• .. Paris, 3 days'sight 25 25 Ditto, 3 months .... 25 50 riarseilles ............ 25 50 . , 25 55 Frankfort on Maine.... 171% Petersburgh, Sil. Rble.. 36% Berlin.... Vienna, effec. ffo. • .. 11 27 Trieste, ditto.... • • .... 11 la Madrid 48% Cadiz • . ,• 49 Bilbao.. • ..... •• Barcelona •• • • ........ Seville• • • • •• •• • • • • •• • EXCHANGE. Gibraltar •• •• •• ••'•• •• Leghorn ......•••••••• 32 2 u o Genoa ...• 16 Milan • • •• • • •• •• •• •• •• Venice.. Naples .............. 40 41 ralerrno, 1134 1 134 Messina Lisbon.. .. 152 Oporto ••••••••• • • • • • • • 1525 Rio Janeiro •....... • Buenos Ayres New York, 21 days'sight Philadelphia .......... PZICXS Or BULLION, PBB of Foreign Gold in bars.. X 3 17 Portsgal Gold Coin .. 0 0 u Spanish Doubloons 00 0 , L New Dollars ......0 4 10 7 Silver in bars ........ 0 4 11% Mr. Gilbert A'Beckett has been appointed polic y magistrate in room of Mr. Jeremy.—Times.—[A very ge e appointment.—En. Sara.] It is reported of Mr. Chisholm Anstey that he positively did not see the fog last week in London. Tlll 5 , can only be accounted for by the fact that he is never out 0' one.—Pappst Show. IRISH POOR-LAW COMMITTER.—At the mee t i ng -nf the committee, which took place yesterday, Lord John Russell opened the proceedings by proposing that the sense of the committee should be immediately taken upon the first of his resolutions. To this an amendment was moved, that none of the ministerial resolutions should be considered until after witnesses should have been called. On a division the amendment was negatived by a majority of 15 to 9, and Lord John's first resolution was taken into consideration. The substance of the resolution is as follows :—" That a rate of 6d. in the pound be struck immediately in every electora l division in Ireland— the proceeds to be placed at the dispossl of the Poor-law Commissioners, for purposes to be hereili after mentioned." After a long discussion the resolution W i l d/ carried by a majority of 15 to 9. The Com m itt ee then 10 - 1. journed until Friday. PRINCE'S THEATRE ROYAL, GLASGOW.—A gra n d , military ballet d'action, founded upon the popular song 01 . Jeanette and Jeannot, was produced here with gre w ' success a few evenings back, and has proved one of the most successful hits of the season. Miss Lonsdale per' sonatas Jeanette with so much sweetness of expression SS to gain the plaudits of all parts of the House. Mie s Masseil, as Maria a vivandiere, was remarkabil sprightly ; her spirited execution of the Cracovierta e proved quite exhilarating. Ina mock polka with Sr' Lloyd she is also very clever, and receives much applause She is a great favourite with the good people of Ghee: gow. Miss Fairbrother sustained the part of Jeanne' very excellently. The business here is excellent. L „, A Lrge number of the police-constables on t . t: Great Western Railway haie been discharged during t 1 past week, in pursuance of a system of the Wiese" economy, which is being carried out in every depaS' ment of the establishment. CLASSICAL CLERKS. One day this week, M r : Miller, the official assignee, mentioned to Mr. S e egese; Ludlow a " fix" in which he was, in consequence of pankrupt, an apothecary, baring made out his accounts on ly e that wretched jargon—medical Latin, which is 00 '4 e quailed by the barbaric absurdities of the antiquejt, —Norman French—used in our courts of law. . 1 ", Learned Sergeant laughed at, the dilemma, and said 11 A thought that the Bankruptcy Act should have rende re i it compulsory on official assignees to have good classics scholars for their clerks.—Bristol Journal. ONE OF THE LATE , IRISH LEADERS.—Mr. EUge lie O'Reilly, the young gentleman who figured rather pro' minently in the councils ot the late Irish Confederagi ° ' „ has entered the service of his Majesty the King of Sao( dinia as a lieutenant of Lanc e r s ; w ith p a y a t the rate 180 f. a month. THE COD FzsmitiEs.--The vessel Lady You ot, arrived from St. John' s . N ew f oun dl an d, has brcugbt . t packages of codfish, 410 casks ot cod, three casks of Pl o head, and one cask of seal oil, 23 casks of blubber, 10 C O l5 of pitchings, 21 casks of dregs, and 18 tierces and 19 bel e of salmon, co m p r i s i ng t h e ent i re cargo , th e p ro d uc tion a bar` district fishery mentioned. The next mails for British North America al the United St a t es w ill b e ma d e u p on the evening of F ri tts ' the 23d inst., to be conveyed by the American steam e r, Liverpool, Halifax, and Boston • DIED. On the 10th inst., in London, L. Southgate Austin , 9(14 of the Warren, Wootton under Edge. of On the 15th inat., Abraham Hertz, Esq., late member the Stock Exchange, aged 80. On the 15th inst., at Holbrook-lodge, ChislehurstY genil Jeremy, Esq., aged 62. aged 68, On the ifith inst., at Rothetfield-street, Islington, Harriot, relict of Mr. J. Lees, late of the Bank of_ t of London: Printed and Published by MURDO YO.„„." Or No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun O ffi ce, . o °•,, of Strand, in The Precinct of the Savoy„ in the counv Middlesex, Wednesday, February 21, 1849.