The Sun. — London, England, 1849-03-02 00:00:00

OPENING OF THE PRUSSIAN CHAMBERS. THE KING'S SPEECH. BERLIN, FEE. 26.—The Prussian Chambers were opened this morning, at half-past eleven o'clock, by the King, who came in from Charlottenburg before nine o'clock, not only for that purpose, but in order to hold a council of Ministers. Neither of the build ings selected as temporary Houses of Parliament being spacious enough for the reception of the whole of the Members unit ed, the noble saloon in the palace, called, from its fu rniture and silver orna ments, the White Hall, was selected for the purpose. Soon after ten o'clock, t he diplomatic corps, in full dress, and nearly the w hole of the deputies, reached the Palace, and were conducted . by the Master of the Ceremonies, Count Portalts, and household officers ; the former to the places reserved for them, and the latter to the benches and chairs arranged in front of the throne. The ante-chambers were guarded by the Garde de Corps, in their full dress surtouts, and by detachments of the grenadiers of Kaiser Alexander Guardo, in their canonical caps and full dress. Soon after eleven o'clock, the King, attired in a general's uniform, with crape on his arm and sword, as a token of mourning for his Royal Highness Prince 'Waldemar, entered the White Hall, accompanied by the Princes of the blood, and attended by the grand officers of the household. His Majesty was received, upon entering, with a triple burst of loyalty from the whole of the members So soon as the King had ascended the throne, and the viva: had ceased, Count Brandenburg delivered the follow ing speech to the King, who read it with a firm and loud voice, seated, and wearing his helmet " Gentlemen! Deputies of the First and Second Chambers!— " Circumstances that must be fresh in all your recol lections rendered it necessary for me in the month of December last to dissolve the Assembly, invoked for the purpose of concocting a Constitution. Being con vinced of the indubitable necessity of the ultimate resto ration of a durable public state of legality, I at the same time acceded to the country a Constitution, through which the promises made by me in the month of March last have been faithfully fulfilled. " Since that period the state of excitement which at that time prevailed throughout the country has been tempered. Confidence, so deeply shaken, is generally in progress of restoration. Commerce and industry commence to recover from the wounds that threatened to destroy them. Convinced of the gravity of the present times, I see the members of both Chambers, elected in virtue of the new Con stitution, assembled round my throne. You know, gentlemen, that I have placed it in your power to re vise this Constitution. It rests with you, then, to agree among yourselves, and with my Government, upon this point. Iregret that it was requisite to sus pend the state of siege over the city and its imme diate vicinity, in order to restore public security and supremacy to the laws. Propositions relative to this measure will be laid before you without delay. Inde pendent of the urgent dispositions announced in my protest of the sth of December, other dispositions have been made in accordance with the 105th Article of the Constitution, in regard to subjects which, for the sake of public good, required immediate arrangement. In consequence of the numerous pressing propositions for an immediate reform of the relations of the ope rative classes one to the other, I found myself com• pelled to promulgate two depositions to that effect. These will be placed before you, without delay, for your assent. You will, moreover, be called upon to occupy yourselves with deliberating upon other laws, partly required for the carrying out of the Con stitution. The projects for the same will be laid before you in succession. I recommend to your special consi deration the project for the new commercial ra;ula- Cons, the new circle district and provincial regulations, the law on education, the law on church patronage, the income-tax law, the land-tax law, as well as the law on the cessation of the summary charges (on land) ; on the abolition without compensation of some of them, and upon the establishment of discount banks. Measures have been adopted to bring about the independence of the different religious com munities promised by the Constitution. They will be carried into effect so soon as the importance of the sub ject will permit. The public budget for the current year, 1849, together with the necessary explanations, will be placed before you for your acceptance, as directed by the Constitution. You will perceive, therefore, that notwithstanding the diminution •f certain branches of revenue when compared with former years, and notwithstanding an augmentation of certain expenses, such, for instance, as those for sums expended on public works, all demands can be met without any increase of public burdens, or employment of public credit. An account will be rendered to you of the use made of the 15 millions of voluntary loan authorised by the united Landtag. I have to acknowledge with gratitude and satisfaction that the readiness with which persons of property from all parts of the country, and from all classes of society, took part in this loan, notwithstanding the pressure of the times, has rendered it unnecessary to have recourse to more expensive measures. A report will also be made teLenn relative to the future employ ment of the Loan sosonns ;., sues on toe aubleotre , y of the Landtag, for the relref ot suffering industry. By this means many serious mis fortunes which menaced the welfare of large dis tricts and entire provinces have been averted, and the activity of industry has been maintained. The budgets of the year 1850, together with a project for the enact ment of definite laws on this subject, wiil be laid before you, so soon as your deliberations upon the tax-laws to be presented shall be sufficiently advanced to enable you to form a fixed basis fur the general receiptl. The com pletion of measures of defence for the country has, not withstanding other increased demands upon the public treasury, not been interrupted. Prussia may look with confidence to her army, while organisation, effective ness for war, and devotion, have been maintained amidst severe triple. (The King, on reaching the last passage, raised his face, which, from being very short sighted, he approached close to the paper, and read the words with greater earnestness, and in a more emphatic tone.) The intimate union of the German States, in a Confederate State (Bunderstaate), is the continued sub ject of my most lively desires. My Government has la boured with honourable zeal towards the attainment of this great object; for which Prussia will not refuse to make sacrifices. The path of understanding between all German Princes and the National Assembly at Frank fort is opened. [This announcipnent, especially the ac cent laid upon the word produced a great sensa tion in the audience, and this sensation will find an echo out of doors.] My Government will continue its exertions in the same direction. I need not remind you, gentlemen, how much your co-operation can tend to the attainment of this great object. The present condition of the negotia tions for peace between the Provisional Central Power of Germany and the Crown of Denmark justifies the hopes that these differences, which caused interruption to peace, and to navigation and commerce,, last year, will be settled in a satisfactory manner. The peaceful and friendly relations of my Government with other states have met with no interruption. I most deeply de plore the loss of a Prince of my royal house, who was removed but a few days past, in the bloom of life, from the noble career of devotin g hi s w h o l e strength to his country. " Gentlemen of the First and Second Chambers " The country awaits with confidence from the united labours of its representatives and my Gov ernmen t t h e definite consolidation of legal order now restored, in order that it may enjoy in peace its constitutional liber ties. The protection of these liberties and of legal order—the great foundation of public welfare —will always be the object of my conscientious solicitude. I trust in this to your co-operation. May your exertions contribute, through Almighty aid, thereto; so that the honour and glory of Prussia, whose people, united in one bond with its princes, have fortunately overcome many diffi cu lties, may be raised aloft,peaceful and blessed future be the lot of our fatherland,and a far and with the Minister s in n i e s a te r r stoo d ea r .” s Count Brandenburg , who , le on the King's left side, now exclaimed, " I hereby , de the two Chambers to be opened, and I invit e th e same to meet, each at its destined chamber, under the Presidency as re t hassiidency of the eldest member s. I be g to remark, that been found impossible to complete all the arran gements this day, the great meeting must be postponed until to morrow at 10 A.u." The King now rose, and having bowed to the Members, withdrew amidst loud cheers. leusut al tranquillity DISTRESSING kiCCURRENCE.— of the border country has lately been somewhat dis turbed by the discovery that the heiress to a_ landed estate of 4,0001. p er ann um was betrothed to a domestic servant of the family. The lady is young, the fortunate swain, who is their gardener, is double her age, and it is believed that a similarity in their religious views has produced this result. Be this last circumstance as it may, however, the family, which is an old one, claim ing the rare distinction of being embalmed by the name in the unfading page of Shakspere, is in deep; distress on account of the match. It may be added, that the gardener is of unexceptionabl e character, but it is diffi cult to excuse such a proceeding on his part, being un doubtedly a breach of the fidelity implied in the relation between master and servant, and which a mere simi larity of religious views cannot palliate. The marriage is expected to take place in a few days. VISIT OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE TO LITER- Pool , —Yesterday afternoon his Royal Highness the Prince of Orange Nassau (King of the Netherlands) arrived at the Adelphi Hotel, accompanied by Admiral Arriens, Sir Henry Johnstone, Bart., and Captain Ju dicher, who formed his suite. His Royal Highness and party were entertained at dinner at the Town Hall last night by his worship the Mayor. The mayor's carriage was in attendance at the Adelphi to convey his Royal Highness to the Town Hall, where he was met by his Worship. Amongst the guests present who had been invited by his Worship to meet his Royal Highness and his suite, were the Earl of Yarborough, the Hon. C. W. G. Howard, the Hon. Coleael Lowther, J. Willinck, Mayor of Stock port;watch consul), J. .Marsha . ll, Esq. Major-General Sir William \ arre Lieutenant- Colonel Garrett, Captain Pennell, R N , J. A . Tin n e Esq., E. Marsland, Esq., R. M. Coo • pe . y,E sa ., J. B. Lloyd, Esq., T. S. May, Esq., &c. We _ . believe . th a t the Mayor will have the honour of conducting his Roy % Highness and suite to the steeple chase at Aintree to. day.—Liverpool Courier of Wednesday. NOT AT ALL A BAD WAY Or LOOKING AT XT..-- Two architects were looking at the new front of Buck ingham Palace. The one abused it very strongly, and the other prai se d i t i ust as war mly. " What can you see in it to admi re i " inquired the first- "It is not what I see, but what Ido not see," said the second ; it has the beauty of hiding the remainder of the building. I call it a clean front put on to make the best of an in different ihirt.".—Punch, THE SUN, .LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 2, -1849. ..... THE RATE IN AID. (From the Cork Examiner.) Lord John Russell's resolution, which fixes on the whole land of Ireland a rate of 6d. in the pound for two years to come, was carried in committee on Tuesday. It will be the law of the land in a few days. The first report of the committee will, of course, recommend such a proceeding, and the principle ;rill then be carried out in resolutions of the House, or in a Bill pro pared for the purpose. Lord John Russell rules this committee with a high hand. In fact, they are only a body for registering his edicts—passing his resolutions. As to its being a deliberative assembly, we have no faith in such a doctrine. We mention this merely to show that the landlords, as a body, are utterly powerless with the men now in office, and that whatever changes, or amendments if you will, of the poor-law, shall be effected, those changes or amendments, will not be the result of the suggestions or deliberations of the landlords of Ireland. It would be out of the way to attempt upholding this 6d. rate in aid, for national purposes, on any fixed prin ciples of equity. The necessity is the great justifying cause for its adoption. And when we admit this neces, sity to exist, in full and stringent force, all other argu ments are beside the question. If we admit that it is the land of Ireland which must support the poor of Ire land, any modifications of this large truth cannot hurt the principle. It was absurd to be drawing a line of demarcation round the north, and segregating this pro vince, morally, politically, and religiously, from the other provinces of Ireland. It was dividing the country in twain, and giving separate interests, and separate no tions of prosperity and freedom to each. This, on the face of it, was absurd. It was as if Yorkshire and De vonshire took it into their heads to be antagonistic to each other. When we are told then of the North, or rather of Ulster and Leinster, being up in fierce indig nation against this rate in aid, we must designate it as more than folly; the poor of Ireland call imperatively on the proprietors of the soil of the island to see that they shall not die of hunger, and the British Minister and British law will only laugh at the unavailing opposition, when they have the power of decreeing. flow can this be otherwise, when most of the unions in the west and south are bankrupt, from having past through three years of death of famine? The substance of Lord John Russell's resolution, car ried by a majority of 17 to 7, after a long discussion, is as follows: That a rate of 6d. in the pound be struck imme diately in every electoral division in Ireland—the pro ceeds to be placed at the disposal of the Poor-law Com missioners, for the purposes to be hereinafter men tioned." The correspondent of the Freeman says that— " Some of the Irish popular Members (Mr. Fagan, I understand, among the number), who are really anxious to have the best possible amendments introduced into the Poor-law Act, voted with the Government, because they considered that the delay certain to come from the examination of witnesses on the entire question of rating, would prove most injurious to the interests of the poor." At the meeting, Mr. Reynolds moved that the vote in aid should include a tax on all property in Ireland—that of mortgagees and annuitants not excepted. Lord John Russell said it might be a subject for con sideration whether annuitants should not be taxed; but he thought no such rate as that contemplated could be levied off mortgagees. Sir Robert Fergusson submitted a prop6sition that a tax of sevenpence in the pound on all property ought to constitute the rate in aid. He thought this would be a fair way to meet the question. The resolution was not pressed, and the Committee adjourned to Friday next. The following are the names of the seven Members who voted in the minority on the division which took place in the Committee on Lord John Russell's reso lution, mentioned above :—Messrs. Bright, Monsell. Adair, Stafford, Sir D. Norrey, Blackall, and O'Flaherty, LAW INTELLIGENCE. HOUSE OF LORDS, Mareh 1. The House sat again to-day, to hear Scotch appeals. The Peers present wcre the Lord Chancellor, Lord Elphinatone, and the Bishop of Hereford. BONAR V. MACDONALD. The arguments on this part-heard appeal from the decision of the Court of Session in Scotland were con cluded to-day, and their Lordships reserved their judgment. The examination of the witness was then proceeded with, and he stated that in 1835 he saw some money in the prisoner's hand, and he accounted for the possession of it by saying that he was on sentry at night, and as a gentleman was passing he seized him by the collar and put him into his sentry-box, and either got or took his money. Cross-examined—Witness did not give any informa tion to the commanding officer or to the police that the prisoner had committed this robbery. Of course he thought it was a robbery. Witness had been a corpo ral, but was degraded to the ranks for not reporting himself to the commanding officer, and for being absent from duty. Joseph Walker, also a private in the same company as the prisoner, proved that on the night of the 9th of January he heard him say that he had given a gentle man in charge, and that he had got notes and gold and silver upon him, and if he had been in the "colour" post he would have had the lot. Ho also heard the prisoner say that if Mr. Sellers had given him a sovereign he would have let him go. The prisoner had repeatedly told him, after he came off guard, that he had got money from people. He had said this to his knowledge three times, and witness had seen him with a sovereign in his hand which he represented he had so obtained. Cross-examined—Some of his comrades might have done the same thing. He did not wish to speak against his comrades. He never had a watch himself or asked the prisoner to get rid of it for him. Thomas Bryant, another soldier belonging to the prisoner's battalion, also deposed to hearing the prisoner make use of the expression that if ho had got a sovereign the man might have gone to h—, and if he had been on the colour post he would have had all he had got. Thomas Gunnaway, lance sergeant of the regiment, deposed that the prisoner was under his orders, and it was his duty to place him at the different posts. He had repeatedly heard the prisoner boast that he had got money from the public, and would continue to do so, but he did not say . in what manner. By Mr. BALLINTIND —The prisoner belonged to the 9cl battalion of the Scots Fusilier Guards. This closed the case for the prosecution. 1 Mr. BALLANTINE then addressed the jury on behalf of the prisoner, but it was evident that the Learned Counsel felt that the evidence was too cogent for him to hope to struggle successfully for a verdict. He made some observations upon what he described as the extra ordinary conduct of the prosecutor,a clergyman, walking about the streets at night, with a cigar in his mouth, and also remarked upon his conduct in entering into conver sation with private soldiers under such circumstances as appeared in evidence ; and he urged upon the jury that, if they were not perfectly satisfied of the falsehood of the charge that had been made, the prisoner was entitled to an acquittal. Mr. Justice CRESSWELL then summed up, and The jury almost ,immediately returned a verdict of Guilty. His LORDSHIP, in passing sentence, said, that he quite concurred in the verdict of the jury ; and notwithstand ing the ingenious observations of the Learned Counsel respecting the thoughtless and inconsiderate conduct of the prosecutor, in walking about the streets at night as he had done, he did not see any reason to doubt that the charge had been made against him by the prisoner without any foundation. It was an offence of the most odious kind. The crime which ho had suggested as having been attempted was one which every decent mind shrunk from contemplating, and was of a character to drive from society any man supposed to be guilty of it. The false accusation of such a crime was next in de gree to and almost equally disgusting as the crime itself; and it was the duty of the Court, in all such cases, to pass a sentence calculated to protect the public from the repetition of such an offence. The prisoner was then sentenced to be transported for fifteen years. Just before the rising of the court the grand jury re turned four true bills for manslaughter against Bartholo mew Peter Drouet. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MANSION-HOUSE. William Wilkinson was brought before the Lord Mayor in the custody of Daniel Forrester, the officer, charged with having uttered two forged cheques upon the banking house of Hankey and Co., Fenchurch-street the one for 2351. 10s., the other for 1541. 17s. 6d. Mr. Bush, of the firm of Bush and Mullens, solicitors to the Committee of Bankers for Protection against Forgeries and Frauds, attended. Mr. George Barrett, cashier to Messrs. Hankey and Co., said—On the 22d of September, 1848, I remember a person, named Kirkman, presenting to me the cheque produced for 2351. 10s., and dated 21st September, at the counter. I asked him how he would have it, and I paid him with a note for 2001,, num bered 33,206, and dated 11th January, and 351. 10s. in gold. I did not take particular notice of the person then. An hour or so afterwards he again came, and presented a cheque for 1541. 17s. ed., dated 22d Sept., 1848, and I recognised him as the person to whom I had paid the other cheque, and he acknowledged such to be tho fact. I was in the act of paying him when I asked him the question, and my suspicion was excited, and I detained him. The drawers lived in Essex, and as I had received a cheque from the same parties, on the same day, I had ground for suspecting its authenticity. He said he expected to meet the party from whom he received it at the Post-office, and that he had received it from that party in Little Britain. I went with him to the landlady of the house in Little Britain, and I saw her there, —.a T ascertained that the cheques were both forgeries. Mary Ann Thomas, of No. 80, Little Britain, said I ( am in the habit of letting part of my house in lodgings. In September, 1848, the prisoner came to my house and inquired for lodgings. He said he wanted to engage two young men, one for his master and the other for him self. He did not say who his master was, but he gave Jenkins as his own name. Next day he came and said he was going to engage two young men, and he would let me know about the lodgings. He pro posed engaging a parlour on the first floor, but said he was going to the country, and he would let me know. After that I got a note from him, hearing the post-mark of the 14th of September, to say that he would come that day week. He accordingly came about that time, and paid me 7s. in advance, for one week's lodging. I remarked then that his whiskers had been shaved off, and he said he had been ill. He had no bed room. Several persons came to him, prin cipally young men looking like porters. Mr. Birch—Do you recollect a person named Kirk man calling upon him? Witness—l do, well. I also recollect Mr. Barrett coming afterwards, with Kirk. man. They waited for some time, but the prisoner never afterwards returned to my house. J. Kirkman said, I am now living at Weston, near Bath, with Mr. Legg. I advertised on the 18th of Sep tember, for a situation as cellarman or barman, having bean then out of work, and a person much older than the prisoner called on the Thursday following, aid in con sequence of what he said to me I went to Mrs Thomas's, in Little Britain, and inquired for Mr. Jenkins, and was introduced to the prisoner. I had a note in my hand telling me to inquire for Mr. Jenkins, and I showed it t o hi m , an d h e sa id it was a ll r i g ht ; an d i think he put the note in his pocket. The prisoner asked me several questions connected with the situation, and I think he told me the wages would be 265. a week, and appointed me to call next day at a quarter before eleven. I did so, and saw him in the parlour. and he said he was glad I was come, and he gave me two 5/. notes, payable at different banking -houses to get changed, with direc tions to get as much silver as possible, and to call at a place to learn the price of isinglass. When I returned to him with the change and the information he required, he gave me the first cheque produced, which I believe was drawn by Messrs. Lemmon and Co. upon Messrs. Hankey's bank, and he gave me a bag and a pocket book, and told me to get the cheque cashed. I went and got the amount, and returned and handed it to him, and he counted it, and gave me eighteen-pence to get my dinner. The witness then detailed several particulars which took place between him and the prisoner, all tend ing to show that the prisoner took ingenious methods of avoiding suspicion, and then proceeded i—After I had my dinner I met him, by his appointment, in half an hour, and we walked together to Little Britain and the Ge neral Post- office, and he there put the second cheque in my hand, and told me to go to Hankey's and get it changed, for a 1004 note and the rest in gold, and to meet him at the Post•office. I went to the banking house accordingly, and was detained, and I afterwards went with the cashier and the inspector of the police to the Post-office and Little Britain to look for Mr. Jenkins, but I never saw him till this morning. Mr. Bush—Were there other persons in the room when you saw him this morning? Witness—About a dozen. I pointed him out at once, and have not the least doubt as to his identity. The LORD MAYOR—Prisoner, do you wish to ask any of these witnesses any questions? The prisoner —No. Mr. F. W. Lemmon, banker, at Brentwood, in Essex, said he had for nriny years been in the habit of drawing cheques upo❑ Hankey's. The cheques produced were forgeries. The signatures resembled his and might pass for his. He never authorised any one to sign tor him, and he had never to his knowledge seen the prisoner before. Mr. Bush submitted that the evidence in the two cases was complete. He had, however, to request that as there was a third case of forgery upon the same day for 1741. 10s., on the same house, and as the prisoner was be lieved to be implicated in that transaction, the prisoner might not bo fully committed to Newgate until a future day, and that Mr. Lemmon might give his testimony with respect to the last instrument. Mr. Lemmon then looked at the third cheque, and at once pronounced it to be a forgery, and The LORD MAYOR said the prisoner stood committed upon the two first charges, and was remanded upon the last. The prisoner, when apprehended, was not possessed of ono farthing. COURT OF INLAND REVENUE, TRURSDLY.—(Before John Thornton, Esq., deputy chairman; Alfred Mont gomery, Esq.; and C. J. Herries, Esq.)—The consolida tion of the Boards of Excise and the Stamps and Taxes being now completed by Act of Parliament, the court rn ,, t this day for the first time under its new title, of the " Court of Inland Revenue," which, in addition to the functions formerly exercised by the Court of Excise, will now possess jurisdiction in all matters connected with the inland revenue, whether arising from the Lae Stamps and Taxes or Excise Departments. Mr. Hugh Timms, the solicitor of the Stamps and Taxes, has taken the place of Mr. Carr, solicitor to the Excise, who re tires on full pay; and Mr. Filsey will succeed Dr. Bate man, as assistant-solicitor, in the course of a few weeks. Thomas Adams, George Dickson, and William Brown, otherwise Bailey, all from the east end of the town , w6ra fined 2001. eacb, for possessing and working illicit r Sir John Pelly had an interview with Earl Grey on Wedneaday, at the Colonial Office. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, March 1. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool sack at Five o'clock. Earl FORTESCUE presented petitions from Oak bampton, and other unions in Devon, praying for an alteration in the county of Devon. Also petitions com plaining of the treatment experienced by the Rev. Mr. Shore, and praying for an alteration in the laws respect ing clergymen seceding from the Church of England, in the prayer of which he cordially concurred. Lard LYTTELTON presented a petition from cer tain rural deans, praying for additional security in the appointment of bishops; also petitions praying for an alteration in the law of settlement and for a national poor-rate. TURNPIKE TRUSTS. The Marquis of SALISBURY moved that an address be presented to her Majesty, praying that certain papers relating to highways and turnpike trusts might be laid before the House. _ _ After a few words from the Earl of GRANVILLE, the motion was agreed to. WOODS AND FORESTS GROUND RENTS. The Marquis of SALISBURY wished to call the at tention of the Noble Lord the Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests, to the report of the Committee of the House of Commons on the Woods and Forests, which had been published in the papers, and from whic h it was made to appear that several noblemen and gentlemen had obtained houses and grounds in the Green Park upon almost nominal rents. As far as he was concerned he begged to state that the amount which appeared in the return as paid by him was paid solely for the garden in front of his house, and not for the ground on which the house stood, and that the rent had been fixed by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests and his ancestors many years back. The Earl of CARLISLE was much obliged to the Noble Marquis for having afforded him this opportunity of entering into explanations on a subject with regard to which much misapprehension existed. There was great misapprehension existing as to the ground for which rent was paid to the Crown by the occupiers of houses in the Green-park. The sums which appeared in that return as the sums paid by the occupiers of those houses to the Crown were paid in respect of the strips of ground occupied as gardens, which ex tended from the fronts of the houses to the boundary of the park. The Noble Marquis himself appeared in that return as paying 101. 7s. 7d. a year on a lease of ninety • nine years, but that was merely for the garden in front of his house, not for the ground on which his house was built, which ground did not belong to the Crown. The houses were built upon land which was not Crown property. The rents which appeared in the return varied from 4/. a year to 1151. a year, and were paid for the gardens merely, which added to the fragrance and beauty of the park, and from which the public derived this benefit, that they could never be built upon. —(Hear, hear.) There were but two houses in that row which paid ground rent to the Crown, those were the residences of Sir John Lubbock and of Mr. Rogers. Sir John Lubbock paid 1001. a year for the ground on which his house stood, and Mr. Rogers paid 601. a year ; but it should be remembered that Mr. Rogers had almost rebuilt his house when the lease was renewed. Then with regard to the ground-rents in Re gent's-park, the land had been grass-land, which had been let to Mr. Nash for building, and it had always been the custom in such cases to demand a certain amount of ground rent for a patch of land, leaving it to the builder to apportion the different amounts of ground among the houses built upon the land. This rule had been followed in the case of Mr. Nash. Augustus street and Regent's-park had been grass land when let to him for building in 1819 ; and for that which in 1819 was grass land, the Crown now received 6461. per annum; and in 1857 the Crown would receive for the same l a d 1,3741. per annum; and in 1919 the whole of the buildings erected on this land would be come the absolute property of the Crown. This charge of having let lands at a reduced rate to Mr. Nash had been on a previous occasion brought before the notice of Par liament; an investigation had taken place, and the transaction had been satisfactorily explained. The next case was that of Mr. Bell, who was stated to have obtained the property of twelve messuages on a lease for 99 years, at a rental of 6/. per annum. The fact, however, was that Mr. Bell held a quantity of land on lease for 99 years at a ground rent of 731. per year, but their Lordships must remember that the houses which Mr. Bell had built on this land would revert to the Crown at the expiration of the lease.—(Hear, hear.) Then came the case of Mr. Burton, the charge against whom was that he held thirty-one messuages in Chester terrace for ninety-nine years, at a ground rent of 61. per annum. The fact was, though this gentleman held a lease from the Crown of certain land, he had built forty-one substantial dwelling-houses, at a ground rent of 7111. per annum. There was only one other class of cares to which it was necessary to direct the attention of the House, and one of those cases would illustrate the whole. It was the case of a lady who held a lease of some land in Chandos-mews upon which her husband had expended during his lifetime 2,5004 in building stables, for which she had to pay a rental of 111. per annum, besides the interest on the 2,5001. already expended in the buildings, which would revert to the Crown at the termination of the lease.—(Hear, hear.) Now, in the last case but one which he had mentioned to their Lordships, so far from Mr. Burton making a profit out of these mismanaged Crown lands, h e had actually lose 40,000/ _ . by them.—(Hear, hear.) No doubt these erroneous im pressions had gone abroad through the party who made them, having bad to collect his information from a volume consisting of 750 folio pages. Doubtless, in relating the many transactions described in these 750 pages, errors and miscalculations might be found, but the greatest care would in future be taken to guard against inaccuracies. With respect to the arrangement of the Crown lands there was always room for improvement in the manage ment of a large public establishment like the Woods and Forests, and a Committee was now sitting for the purpose of discovering and remedying any existing defects in the department, and, in con clusion, he would take the opportunity of declaring that this Committee would always be ready to listen to any suggestions that might be made to them on the subject they were investigating.—(llear.) The Earl of ELLESMERE, as one of the in• dividuals referred to in these charges, must be allowed to say a few words on the statement of the Noble Lord, which he could assure their Lordships bad taken him somewhat by surprise.—(Hear, hear.) He a mansion quite unsuited to a Laughter)—on a pi e ce of lwansdhis represented wh s i t e a h ti o h n e itn fromr o en sbo t e e c d bieutyiid—ig n( the Crown for 691., but which ought to yield 5001. per annum. (Hear, hear.) Now, he did not complain of the press or newspaper correspondents complaining of defects in public departments, but before they made their complaints public it was their duty to ascertain that they were well founded. These writers seemed to forget that any such strong moral obligation as that rested upon them; but, nevertheless it was their duty to ascertain that their facts were correct and founded on truth, before they attacked a public institution in a style and manner which equally reflected upon the character of private individuals._(gear.) Now, with regard to this charge of his renting from the Crown for 691. per year land which ought to yield 5001.. all that he had to say in answer to it was simply this, there was no foundation whatever for it, inasmuch as he paid no rent at all for the land, as the freehold was vested in himself. The subject then dropped. CONSOLIDATED FUND BILL. This Bill was brought up from the Commons, and read a first time. Their Lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Marsh 1. The SPEAHNR took the Chair a few minutes before Four o'clock. SECEDING CLERGYMEN. Mr. WILLIAMS presented a petition signed by 11,000 electors of the borough of Macclesfield, calling the attention of the House to the decision in the Arches' Court and the Court of Queen's Bench, in the case of the Rev. Mr. Shore, end praying the House to take such measures as shall secure full religious liberty to clergymen seceding from the Established Church. INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION. Mr. H. BERKELEY presented a petition, signed by 7,000 inhabitants of Bristol, praying the House to take prompt and decisive measures to negotiate treaties with the Government of this country and the Governments of other countries, in matters of war, by means of inter national arbitration. MARKETS AT GREENWICH, Admiral DUNI)AS gave notice of motion for leave to bring in a Bill to enable the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital to regulate and manage the mar kets held at Greenwich, in the county of Kent. NAVIGATION-LAWS. Sir R. FERGUSON presented a petition from the inabitants of Londond e rry against any alteration in the navigatioa-laws. THE CASIIEL UNION. Mr. SCULLY presented a petition from the guar dians of the Cashel union, praying the House to inquire into the appointment of the present surgeon of the kever Hospital in that union. LAND TENURE IN IRELAND. Mr. ROCHE presented a petition from certain inha bitants of King's County, attributing the present condition of Ireland to the operation of the land tenure in that country, and praying the House to pass some Act which may give security to the tenure of land. IRISH POOR-LAW ACT. Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL presented a petition from the Roman Catholic clergy and ratepayers of Tuna its Ireland, against what was sometimes called " The Beg gary Clause" in the Irish Poor-law Act, but commonly known as the Quarter-acre Clause. CLEARANCE SYSTEM IN IRELAND. The HoN. GENTLEMAN also presented a petition from the clergy and laity o f th e u nion of Tuam, deprecating theinjustice of fixing on the inhabitants of towns instead of the landlord class the support of the poverty created by the clearance system. INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION. Mr. LUSIIINGTON presented a petition from the borough of Ashburton, praying the House to take prompt and decisive measures to negotiate treaties between the Government of this country and those of the other countries in the world, binding them for the future to the more humane cause of settling national dis putes by means of international arbitration. PAYING CLERGYMEN OUT OF THE POOR- RATES. Mr. G. THOMPSON presented a petition from the Tower Hamlets against the payment of clergymen out of the poor -rates. NATIONAL EXPENDITURE. Mr. EWART prcsentai a petition from Woodstt:Tk in favour of the reduction of national expenditure. NEW METROPOLITAN BOROUGH. Mr. 14ACGREQQ1i preoeut , ed a petitim tom certain of the inhabitants of Kensington, praying the Houie to associate the districts of Kensington, Chelsea, Hammer smith, Fulham, and Chiswick together, and to confer upon them, when so united, the right to return two Members to Parliament. tien far exceeding that of many English counties.— (IJ ear, hear.) How could, he asked, any practical system he carried out in connexion with so large a num ber? The evil was twofold; first, with retpect, to the practical system itself, and, secondly, with respect to the inferior clergy who officiated in these districts. Surely a minister at the bead of a parish should know the people over whom he was placed; surely there should be a constant interchange of good offices between thew, for a minister to transact his duty had not only to deal with the spiritual but the secular interests of his flock; for it was most important that the minister of a parish should be enabled to relieve the wants of the suffering poor. In many of the large parishes a minister was scarcely known except in the vestry or in the pulpit. He would mention but one instance in support of his statement. The population of St. Pancras exceeded 140,000, and as several acres were being built upon, the population would be increased one half, if not doubled. For instance, the population of that parish exceeded that of many counties, since the population of Westmorelend was but 56,000; of Retford, 109,000 ; and of Hertford, 114,000. Now church accommodation for those numbers should be provided—taking the rate of provision to the amount of one-third of the amount of population, there should be church accommodation for 47,000. As it was, the whole accommodation amounted to only 17,000. He would observe that the statement he had then made in respect to the parish of St. Pancras was accord ing to the condition in which it was two or three years ago, before the reforms were introduced by the present vicar; but it was a very good exemplification of the parish before the reforms were applied. Those reforms have been only effected by those principles which his proposition would endeavour to make universal. But before that time the whole church accommodation amounted to only 17,000. Thus the House saw church accommodation for 51,000 atithe rate of one-third had been made for 140,000. Now take the number of clergymen officiating in that parish at that time. The whole number of clergymen amounted to 18. Upon the division of the parish to each of those clergymen were assigned 8,000 souls. But it did so happen that the distribution was very unequal. It was not that every clergyman had the cure of 8,000 souls, but the distribution of the clergymen was very unequal, and it did so hap pen that to. twelve of these clergymen were as signed 120,0010 souls, or one clergyman for every 10,000 souls. It was impossible too highly to praise the conscientious self-sacrifice made by Mr. Dale, the vicar. —(Hear.) He determined to use all the power which he possessed, when he first entered on the living, to subdivide that great parish, notwithstanding ho was very much thwarted. Still, after all his exertions, a vast proportion of that parish remained undivided. Look at another fact that was warranted by that want of sub-division. Take the great parish of Saint Pancras, and see the number of the children of the Church of England schools. The number of children amounted to 4,000, whereas under pro per organization, with reference to the proportion of other children, found in other parishes, where there was an effectual organization, the number should be at least 14,000, and in that he made due allowance for the numbers usually educated by Dissenters; and he (Lord Ashley) could answer from personal know ledge and investigation, having been induced to examine that parish with a view to the institution of what wore called ragged schools, that there were 20,000 children who went to no place of worship whatever. But Mr. Dale, by making that sub-division, imperfect and inadequate as it was, had so far suc ceeded that he had opened schools giving accom modation for 6,000 children, in addition to what existed before. He held that, in every respect, the case of St. Pancras proved the necessity of sue-division, and that that sub-division could take place only on the application of the principle for which he contended. Mr. Dale, in a letter which he had written to the churchwarden of St. Pancras, said " there was no union between the clergymen and the parishioners; a great many of the labouring population had altogether abandoned attendance on public worship."—(Hear.) Mr. Dale said further—" The ordinances of the Church have to a great extent fallen into Josue tude, and the consequence is that a great num ber of parents feel no interest in the moral and religious instruction of their children." The con sequence was, that we had scattered about London a great number of proprietary church schools. Every man must give credit to the great good which had been done by those proprietary churches; but they were not the churches which he (Lord Ashley) wished to see in this country.—(bear, hear.) It would be found that none but persons of easy and affluent circumstances were seen in those churches, and that a great portion of the working classes attended no place of worship at all, or went to such places, where the complete distinction of classes that was kept up served only to hurt and repulse them. Now, there was another view of the matter which re quired serious consideration, and that was the position held by the inferior clergy, as respected the country at large. He must say that their position was not only disagreeable in itself, but also one not at all calculated to elevate them in the eyes of the country. They had to a certain extent, and in some respects to their inferiors, the power of the bishops; but in other respects they had the responsibility without the power. He thought that their position was such that, both for their own sakes and that of the church, the sooner it was done away with the better, and further, that the number 01 thuali irrcoPo..il i clergy ishouti be greatly re duced. He had received a number of com munications, complaining of the position of the curates in the several parts of the country, stating that they were unable to fulfil their respective duties in some instances, and in others that they had no vicars whatever, to whom they were responsible. Now, he had said that it was indispensably necessary for the welfare of the clergy themselves. Let any person go into any of those large parishes and he would immediately see that nothing was more glaring than the discrepancy in the respective conditions of the clergy in these several places. In some parishes the labours were, ten times in amount as compared with those of others. On this subject he had received a great many letters from different parts of the country, from three or four of which he would read extracts, in proof of the position which he had advanced. The Noble Lord then read extracts from letters from different parts of the country, complaining deeply of the responsibility imposed upon the writers, and the obstructions thrown in their way, and stating the utter impossibility of ful filling their responsibilities whilst the circum stances of their parishes remained as they at present were. Ono clergyman in Lancashire wrote to say that he had under his personal superintendence parishes which collectively contained no less than 200,000 ieha bitants; another had upwards of 175,000 people under his charge, and certainly if they desired to ad vance the interests of the Church they would alter this state of things. A memorial had been presented to the Archbishop of York, and he be lieved also to his Noble Friend at the hsad of the Government,- complaining of the utter inadequacy of those who signed it to fulfil their duties. Some of those clergymen had as many as 12,000 , and others is many as 14,000 souls to attend to. It was manifestly evident that this system could not continue, and that it' the Church was to continue that instrument for the public welfare which it was designed to be, some changes must immediately be made, Another person wrote to him and stated that no person could be married at his church without paying double fees, and that church was not situate three miles from the place he then was. The Noble Lord then referred to several other letters he had received from clergymen, complain ing of the restrictions that were placed upon them in the performance of their duties, and stating that these restrictions totally prevented them from the proper exercise of their duties. He proposed to appoint a Commission, for the purpose of considering the sub-division of these matters, feeling convinced that if such sub-division should take place they would not only remedy all that was complained of, but give great satisfaction to a great body of the people. The parish of Bethnal-green had been sub-divided, and the beat results had followed. There had also been a sub-division in the parish of Chelsea, but it had caused no diminution in the rector's salary, nor had it left the parts divided without sufficient means to carry out all re ligious and charitable purposes. So far from that, the rec tor finding the population increasing, wished to have the parishes further divided, and believed if it were so that the moral and religious condition of the people would be better attended to. The parish of St. Dunstan's was within the limit he suggested ; its popula tion was 3,400, and it was not without its share of poor population. It was only a quarter of a mile in diameter, and in consequence of that most of the inhabitants were known to each other, and the rector and his curate were acquainted with every human being within it; it was impossible that any of those frightful cases of destitution cnuld prevail in that parish which were to be witnessed in the large parishes of Shoreditch, Marylebone, and St. Pancras. If the parochial system suggested were carried out in all great towns he believed that the mendicant and vagrant class, which had a distinct natural history of its own, would be almost entirely done away with. He would suggest that a Commission should be appointed to in quire into the best plan that could be adopted to carry out the object he had in view. He could not understand why any objections could be urged to his motion, since they did not ask, but repudiated any advance of pub lic money for such a purpose. Funds, he be lieved, would be found in the present districts to meet the expenses of small benefices. The funds to which he looked were to the existing revenues, to the result of the inquiry into the revenues of church lands, the funds of which might be made available to this purpose; but, above all, he looked to the munificence of the Church, which had not yet been fully tested.—(Hear, hear.)—More especially did he expect much from this munificence, if the efforts were properly localised, and the expenditure of the money was clearly shown. As a proof that they had not tested the munificence of the Church, the case of Bethnal-green was a remarkable in stance, as in that miserable district sufficient money had been raised by a benevolent gentlemen to erect and endow 10 churches. Again the Archbishop of Canterbury had stated in a recent charge, that during the time he was connected with the diocese of Chester he had consecrated more churches than had been consecrated during the last century. He considered the addition of .500 clergymen would meet all the exigencies of the case, for whom 3001. each, or 15,000/. in all, would be required, which he did not think too much to seek from the patriotic people of the Church of England. The Noble Lord concluded by moving the address to her Majesty of which be had given notion. The motion having been seconded, Lord JOHN RU SELL said he had list,ned with the deepest interest to the statements of the Noble Lord, and he felt convinced thtit the SUbstikfill9ll4 he proposed would lead to the best results. His Noble Friend had stated that he required no public grant for carrying out his propo,dtien, but that it sheulti be left to the friends of the Church itself. He believed that the Church had ample funds for t' e purpose. —(Hear, hear.) It was gratifying to find how the efforts that had been made by the bishops of din. rent dioceses had been responded to for the er, ction of additional churches in their dioceses, He was disposed to think that the sub-division could not be carried to the extent which his Noble Friend expected. He, therefore, did not feel it necessary to trespass longer on, the attention of tho Houses but he could not sit down without saying that there was no member of the Church of England, or no person who had disssented from that Church, who could feel otherwise than greatly indebted to the Noble Lord for the exertions he had made in bringing this subject before the House.—(Hear.) Mr. HUME denied th it the building and planting of churches in the metropolis or throughout the country would remove the difficulties which the Noble Lord deplered, and which he now sought to remedy. If the Church was in such a lamentable state, it was the duty of Government to interfere to correct its abuses. There were plenty of churches. %% hat the people wanted was assistance for their physical neces sities. What had the ten new churches in Bethnal green done for the physical wants of the people? Was not the distress there greater then ever? The Noble Lord had begun in error. Fe would, he said, apply the church rat( s to this purpose. Were not church-rates public property? How, then, could the Noble Lord say that he did not intend to touch public property? How did the House agree to that? The Noble Lord had not mentioned the Dissenters. Why, in most of the popu lous parishes the large proportion were Dissenters. A church for every 4,000 inhabitants, when, perhaps, almost all of them were Dissenters. Was anything more absurd? Let every clergyman attend to his own duties. Abolish pluralities. It would have been better to consider how these pluralities could be done away with. That would be the way to make the people moral and religious, The Dissenters had done more to promote education in the country than the Church people all together. The Church people did not come forward in support of education, or to extend the know. ledge of religion, except wren it was thought necessary to supersede the efforts of the Dissenters. The Noble Lord said that there were only 279 parishes that would be benefited by his motion. Did he mean to say that the other parishes were properly attended to ? He feared not. In the populous districts of England it was the Dissenters who did most for religion. He said this to dissipate the idea that there was no body hut Church of England people in the country. He moved, as an amendment, atter the word population to insert the words " belonging to the Church of England," and to add the words " and to abolish ecclesiastical sinecures and plura lities, and to have small parishes in which there was little to do included in new parochial arrangena nta." Mr. HEALD said the object of the motion had his en tire concurrence. As a Nonconformist, he heartily con ceded to the Church that power he claimed for himself. He preferred the plan proposed by the Noble Lord, be cause it was one upon which they could act, and it was action, not inquiry, that was wanted. He must at the same time observe that the plan he proposed would be attended with considerable difficulty in the large manu facturing towns. He feared in these towns it would tend to generate strife and discord between the clergy and the ministers of congregations. In Stockport, the town which he represented, for instance, there were two or three chipels to every church.—(l.lear, hear.) In that town, 12,000 children, out of a population of 60,000 souls, at tended the Sunday-schools, and of these 10,000 children were taught by the voluntary contributions of Noncon formists.—(Hear, hear.) Something similar might be said of the district in the neighbourhood of Stockport, and the effect of the education thus voluntarily pro vided was strikingly manifested in the extraordinary outbreak of 1842, when, although the whole left their work, they scrupulously abstained from the violence which had marked former events of that kind.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped the Noble Lord would modify that part of his plan which referred to those towns ; and, in conclusion, begged to repeat his cordial acqui escence in the general principle and object of the Noble Lord.—(Cheers.) Mr. BRIGHT said ho forgave the Honourable Mem ber for Stockport the opinions he had expressed in the first part of his speech, for the sake of the facts with which he bad concluded it. With respect to the motion of the Noble Lord, he did not object to it on principle, but to the details. In the interesting speech with which the motion had been introduced, the Noble Lord said that he did not ask for any money. He (Mr. Bright) had heard that statement before. It was not impossible that a Commission might go from place to place and make up a grievous case of spiritual destitution, by excluding the efforts of Non conformists, and then, upon the faith of the case thus made out, come to that House and ask for money. — (Hear, hear.) If he was a member of the Church of England—which he was very thankful ho was not—(A laugh)—while he would be in favour of the principle of the motion, he could at the same time found many plans of a more tangible character. For instance, he lived in a parish of about ten miles square, and with a population of 80,000. They had a vicar who was sot unknown to fame, a sort of semi bishop, without any of the responsibilities, and having the appointment of all the curates; it was complained that ho never ap pointed an evangelical one. It was complained also by those who lived at the other end of the parish, and who never attended the mother church, that they bad to pay double rates. He thought that should induce them to con , sider the case of Noaconformists, who were forced to pay rates, though they did not use the church at all. He was afraid that the Noble Lord was mistaken in his ideas, as to the possibility of making the clergy of the Church and the people come together in the spirit he had spoken of. The education, habits, and position of the clergy unfitted them for such intercourse with the people, and he believed that no efforts of the Noble Lord, or of Parliament, could ever force the mass of the people back into the Church of England, or into any chapels either.—(Hear, hear.) Even in that House going to church or chapel was not considered of that importance which it once was. But he would call the attention of the House to the proportion of the clergy to the popu lation, from which it would be seen that, if what he might call their clergy power—(Great laughter)—was properly distributed, there was quite sufficient of it. He found that there were 10,500 benefices, 5,263 cu racies, and a number of dignitaries connected with cathedrals, which made the total amount to 16,800 places in the Church of England. Of this number more than 3,000 places had no duties attached to them, so that the holder of each of them might be called two clergymen.—(Hear.) Taking the whole population of England and Wales at 18,000,000, this gave one cler gyman to 1,182 persons; but it was admitted that there were 3,000,000 persons in connexion with Dissenters of various denominations, who might fairly be taken to re present four millions and a half of population. This would leave thirteen millions and a half; and giving the Church the whole of that number, it would provide one clergyman to 856 of the whole population. The Hon. Member then proceeded to give a series of statistical re turns as to the numbers and relative proportion of Dis senters in the manufacturing districts to the strength of • the Established Church. In the various denominations of Dissenters, Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Moravians, &c., there were 7,950 con gregations not connected with the Church. When the population in the different dioceses was looked at,it would be seen to be very unequally divided, one eighth of the population had seven-eights- of the clergy, and seven-eighths of the population had only one eighth of the clergy power alloted to them.—(Hear. hear.) There were more than 6,000 parishes containing not more than 300 persons, the remaining parishes were all above 2,800, yet the Noble Lord began at the wrong end, and proposed to leave the small pa rishes of 300 untouched, while he meddled with the larger populations. Taking the manufacturing districts around Manchester, he found that the Dissenters had 168 chapels more than the Establishment had churches, - all of which were erected by voluntary contributions-- (Hear, hear)—that they had a majority of 81,000 of the population; they had 328 more Sunday schools, 18,70 0 more Sunday-school teachers. and 42,000 more Sunday.. school scholars than the Established Church. Instead of making out a case of spiritual destitution in these tricts, it would be found, that whereas the proportionate increase of the population in Lancashire and York hire since 1801 had been 48 per cent., the increase of chapel and school accommodation had been 104 per cent. Ur. der these circumstances, he hoped that the Commissioners would not get up a report a b out sp i r i tual destitution, excluding from it all notice of what had been done by Dissenters.—(Hear.) The lion. Member then proceeded to advocate a redistribution of the Church revenues, arcl of the ministers of the Church. Looking upon the re venues of the Church as State property, and worth a principal sum of at least 150,000,000/. sterling, he saw immense educational and religious benefits that might be realised by its proper application, and he would gladly aseist in relieving the Church from all the fetters which restrained it from making that application. Mr. W. P. WOOD said he would not be seduced by the discursive speech of the Hon. Member for Man chester into the discussion of any of the numerous points; mooted in it, but confine himself strictly to the question. It was admitted that there was an awful amount of spa' ritual destitution, and the Noble Lord proposed a distinct and specific plan to remedy that evil. It was by 1 20 means desirable that there should bo more than 2,000 individuals, not 4,000, es the Honourable Member for Manchester had stated, under the charge of each clergyman. The question, however, was not one of numbers, but of numbers as well as space, and both should be taken into consideration in discussing the question then before the House. He directed the attention of the House to the case of the two parishes in which they were then situated, St. Mar garet's and St. John's. When he first became a resident of those parishes , t wen t y - two years ago, there were on ly two parish churche s , f our c l ergymen, a n d the chape l at Broadway, and the state of things with regard to educa tion might be j u d ge d o f f rom the f act that on l y that,y' seven children attended the schools connected with th e church. A course somewhat similar to that pursued by the Noble Lord the Member for Bath had been &teach'y pursued in these parishes. The first step taken was the appropriation of t wo s t a ll s , w hi c h produc e d 1,2001. a year each, to the payme n t o f a dditional clergym en , and was the stimulus given by that measure, that, by th e aid of voluntary contributions and the munificent sup. scriptioes of individuals, instead of two churches an d one chapel, with four clergymen, they now bad six ad' ditional churches, nine additional clergymen, and 2, 00 . 9_ children attending the schools. The sub-division of the parishes led to these happy results, and the working o f the clergymen produced the greatest possible adva teges. Still, however, cut of the 60,000 inhabitants there were to be found from 30,000 to 34,000 who attended e .?. piece of worship, nod bed no t th e s li g ht es t regal(' I ,f tie Deity, a circumstance whi c h i n itself showed the necessity for increased s pi r i tua l su p erv ision .—( Hea r ' Um.) Timing alluded is highly cemmeudaterY tun' DYKES V. STRUTHERS. The arguments in this appeal were commenced, but sot having concluded when their Lordships rose, the further consideration of the case was adjourned to Monday next. JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL, March 1. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council sat to day in the Council-chamber, Whitehall, for the purpose of hearing appeals from the Arches' Court. The Lords present were Lord Brougham, Lord Campbell, the Bishop of London, and the Judge of the Admiralty Court. CRAIG V. FARNALL. This appeal from the Arches' Court occupied their Lordships the whole day. The Master of the Rolls, the Vice-Chancellor of Eng land, and the Vice-Chancellors Knight Bruce and Wi gram were occupied the whole day with motions of no general interest. 'lra7t"§isPrEnuEs,XorEe EXCHEQUER, E F. R l'oi e L b o . c 2 K B. and a (Sittings Specill Jury, at Guildhall.) PEARCE V. THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY. Mr. Cockburn, Mr. Lush, and Mr. Barnard were counsel for the plaintiff ; Mr. Martin and Mr. Hogging appeared for the defendants. This was an action on the case in which the plaintiff, who is, or was, the valet of a gentleman of fortune, claimed compensation at the hands of the Great Western Railway Company for injuries received by him through the negligence of their servants. The circumstances out of which this claim arose must be rendered familiar to the public, when we premise that the locus in quo was Shrivenham and the train the express, which, as may be remembered, came into collision with a cattle-truck at that station, on the 10th of May las!, as it passed that station at full speed. It appears that the usual signal was left standing to denote all right, and as that station was not one at which the express train stepped, the driver held out his speed; but it so happened that the truck had not been removed quite far enough into the siding, and came into contact with the carriages of the train. The consequence was that the truck and some of the car riages were considerably damaged, and about thirty pas sengers strewed amongst the fragments of the train along the line. Of these four or five were killed on the spot, and all were materially injured. Among the latter was the unfortunate plaintiff, who was taken up insensible, with several wounds on his head. On being taken to a public •house he recovered his senses under the torments of an operation, and, on a care f u l examina tion of his person, it was discovered that one of his legs was broken above the ankle joint, which was dreadfully crushed, while his right elbow-joint was broken. His flesh was torn from his limbs in various parts, and one eye was lost, while the other was damaged so seriously as to render the preservation of it very problematical in deed. In addition to these painful injuries it was ascer tained that some splinters had been driven into the lid of his eye, which it was necessary to open and sew up again; so that, taking all things into consideration, the poor man may be stated to have endured as much bodily anguish and suffering as could well arise from a railway accident; and though comparatively speaking pronounced to be recovered, he yet was in perpetual pain, the shock to his nervous system being one from which, in all pro bability, he will never recover. On the part of the plaintiff it was urged to the jury that the case was one of extraordinary negligence on the part of the defendants' servants, both porter and policeman at the station being to blame in not removing the truck and giving the signal " all right." Had the policeman attended to his duty, he would have seen that the truck was projecting on the main line, and he ought to have satisfied himself that all was clear before he gave such a signal to the express train as would warrant the driver in running through the station at the rate of sixty miles an hour. On the part of the defendants it was urged, that though great negligence had existed, they were not to be made to pay exorbitantly for that which was after all attributable to one man alone, the policeman, whom they had punished by prosecuting and convicting for manslaughter for this lamentable occurrence, up to which time he had given great satisfaction to the com pany on account of his steady and careful conduct. The company, therefore, had done all :that could be expected of them, and, however they might regret the accident and suffering s of the passengers, it was submitted that the jury ought no t to lay a heavy hand on them, es pecially as they had paid all the expenses attendant upon the illness of the plaintiff, and could hardly be expected by the utmost possible vigilance to do more than they had done to avoid accidents such as that which had led to such lamentable results. The Omar BAR ON, aft er h av i ng gone through the evidence, told the j ury,. th a t as the defendants were c l ear ly liable in this case for the n eg li gence of their serva nts, the only question in the case was the amo un t o f compensation to which they might think the plaintiff was entitled. The jury deliberated for an hour, and gave a verdict for the plaintiff. Damages 7501. CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. OLD COURT. THE TRIAL OP SAMUEL COOPER FOR AN INTAMOVS CHARGE. John ( s C t o e n w t a i n rt u , e d a n f o r t o h m e r T p h r e i v S a t u o en in the y t n o e s t same erday regimenth d w e a p s o i s n e d t h t e h a b t a a r r d a c a k y r o o r o tz a a n f d ter ha t d he a 9 c t o h nv o e f r j sa a t n io u n ar w y ith e the prisoner on the subject of the charge h and the prisoner gave a statement of the ehad made, circumstances under which he had made the charge. He then described the property that was taken from the gentleman, and said that if he had been on the " colours" post, he would have had the whole lot. The post called the " colours" was a more retired one than the place where the prisoner was sentry on this occasion. He added that he had heard the prisoner, after he came off guard on several occasions make statements as to the manner in which ho had obtained money and other property which he saw in his possession. Mr. BALLANTINE objected to evidence of any state ment of this kind being admitted against the prisoner, as it was only calculated to prejudice him in the minds of the jury without having anything to do with the present charge. The Learned JUDGES, after some argument, ruled that the evidence was admissible under the circumstances of the case. No direct demand of money had been proved, and therefore it was important, with a view to ascertain what the intention of the prise,ner really was, to see what his own statement as to his conduct had been on other similar Occasions. INTERNATIONAL ARDITRATION. Mr. V. SMITH presented a petition from Northamp ton in favour of referring national disputes for settlement to international arbitration. NAVIGATION-LAWS. Mr. CARDWELL presented a petition from the Shipowners' Association in Liverpool against the navi gation-laws. Mr. HERRIES presented a petition, signed by a ma jority of the Board of Trade of Quebec, praying the House to repeal the navigation-laws. MINISTERS' MONEY. Mr. FAGAN postponed his motion on the subject of ministers' money to this day fortnight. SIR ROBERT Sir THOMAS ACLAND moved for and obtained leave of absence for Sir R. H. Inglis, until after Easter, not on account, as he observed, of any apprehension of increase of the Hon. Baronet's malady, but simply in accordance with the desire of his medical advisers, in order that that recovery, which is uninterruptedly and steadily progressing, might not be hindered.—(Cheers from all sides of the House.) REFORM OF CHURCH REVENUES. Mr. P. WOOD presented a petition from several places in the diocese of St. Asaph, praying for a reform in the distribution of the revenues of the Church. TITHES. Mr. HORSMAN presented two petitions, one from Workington and the other from Armagh, against tithes generally. DISPUTES BETWEEN NATIONS. Mr. MACGREGOR presented a petition from Glas gow praying that disputes between nations might be re ferred to arbitration. ECONOMY IN THE PUBLIC EXPENDITURE. Mr. LABOUCHERE presented a petition from Taunton, praying the House to adopt strict measures of economy. MERCHANT SEAMEN'S FUND. _ _ The Riowr HoN. GENTLEMAN 2160 presented four petitions from the seamen of Workington, Whitehaven, and two other places, praying for a reform iu the appro priation of the Merchant Seamen's Fund. VANCOUVER'S ISLAND. Mr. GLADSTONE wished to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, or the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether it is the intention of the Government to present to Parliament any papers, in addition to those for which addresses have already been voted, with re spect to the charter and colonization of Vancouver's Island, or with respect to the charter, constitution, or administration of the Hudson's Bay Compan}• ? Mr. HAWES said it was the intention of Government to lay additional documents on the table of the House connected with this subject almost immediately. Mr. GLADSTONE hoped all the papers of import ance bearing upon the question would be forthcoming. Mr. HAWES said ho would then move for the papers, and if they did not include all the documents of im portance, any others should be laid before the House. IRISH POOR-LAW. Sir LUCIUS O'BRIEN wished to ask the Noble Lord at the head of the Government if it was his intention to submit his plans for Ireland as a whole, or in parts, as he, for one, could only vote for the third and fourth pro positions. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said some of his proposals were of a temporary nature, while others were of a per manent character, and it was his intention to separate the two. Mr. OSBORNE asked the Noble Lord if ha had any objection to say whether he would bring his plans on to-night. Lord J. RUSSELL replied that he would, provided he could do so before nine o'clock. Mr. BRIGHT said the Noble Lord the Member for Bath had a motion on the paper for to-night which it was understood was to be disposed of without a debate. Now he (Mr. Bright) intended to address some observa tions to the House on that motion, and he believed other Hon. Members intended to do the same, and he therefore put it to the Noble Lord whether he had not better postpone his motion and allow the Irish question to come on, which was one of great importance, and of a far more pressing nature.—(Hear.) Could not some arrangement be made by which the Noble Lord's motion could be brought on in a week or a fortnight.—(Hear.) Lord ASHLEY said he had already postponed his motion more than once. He really could not consent to the Honourable Gentleman's proposition. Mr. J. O'CONNELL said he had twice postponed motions to enable the public business to be proceeded with, and he appealed to the Noble Lord at the head of the Government whether he ought not to intercede with the Noble Lord the Member for Bath to induce him to delay his motion.—(Hear.) Lord JOHN RUSSELL did not see how he could very well do so, the Noble Lord having already con sented once or twice to postpone his motion.—(Hear.) IMPRISONMENT UNDER THE HABEAS CORPUS SUSPENSION ACT. In reply to a question from Mr. E. B. ROCHE, Sir G. GREY said it was true that six persons had been arrested and confined under the powers granted by the Habeas Corpus Act. They were originally con fined on the debtor side of the prison, as an indulgence, and not by any directcorderfrtormrs which theLo w rd e - r L e i k eu n t o e w n n an t t o , but in conseaaenee nf nmfi ipt ho written by them appearing in the newspapers, inu matter was brought under the attention of the superin- tendents, and they directed that they should be confined in the criminal side of the prison. Two had given a pledge that they would not write any further letters to the newspaper, but the other four had refused to do so. The six prisoners were, however, confined in the best cells of the criminal side. TURNPIKE TRUSTS. In reply to Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. C. LEWIS intimated that Marylebone and other metropolitan turnpike trusts would come under the ope rations of the Act of which he had given notice yester day to introduce. AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS. Mr. DISRAELI laid upon the table of the House the resolution, of which he had previously given notice for the Bth of March, with respect to agricultural distress. Upon the motion of an Hox. MEMBER, the Clerk read the resolution, which was to the following effect:-- "That the whole of the local taxation of the country for national purposes falls mainly, if not exclusively, on real property; and bears with undue severity on the occupiers of land, in a manner injurious to the agri cultural interests of the country, and otherwise highly impolitic and unjust. " That the hardship of this apportionment is greatly aggravated by the fact, that more than one-third of the whole revenue derived from the Excise is levied upon agricultural produce, exposed, by the recent changes in the law, to direct competition with the untaxed pro duce of foreign countries, the home producer being thus subjected to a burden of taxation, which, by greatly enhancing the price, limits the demand for Bri tish produce, and to restrictions which injuriously inter fered with the conduct of his trade and industry. " Tbat this House will resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House to take into its serious consideration such measures as may remove the grievances of which the owners and occupiers of real property thus justly com plain, and which may establish a more equitable appor tionment of the public burdens." DIVISION OF ECCLESIASTICAL DISTRICTS. Lord ASHLEY moved that an humble address be presented to her Majesty, praying her Majesty to ap p Ant a commission to inquire into the practicability and mode of subdividing, into distinct and independent pa rishes, for all ecclesiastical purposes, all the densely peopled parishes in England and Wales, in such manner that the population of each, except in particular cases at the discretion of the Commissioners, shall not exceed four thousand souls. The Noble Lord said, seeing that it was the wish of the House that brevity should be observed on all occasions, and as he believed no opposition would be offered on the part of the Govern ment to his proposition, he should compress what he had to say into the smallest possible compass. He knew he should thereby expose himself to much disadvantage, because he should be compelled to omit much in teresting matter, which he should have wished to present to the House, and possibly to the charge hereafter of not having probed the evil suf ficiently deep ; yet he should adhere to the determina tion he had formed, and occupy as small a portion of the time of the House as was consistent with the im portance of the subject with which he had to deal. At the outset he wished to state without reserve that his pro position would not, either directly or indirectly, involve any grant of public money.—(Hear, hear.) Ho be lieved he expressed the sentiments of thousands when he stated, that though they admitted the principle of making demands upon the public purse when occa- , sion required; that with respect to this matter they wore not disposed to seek any pecuniary aid—nay more, they should be disposed to resist any such demands until such time as the Church should have exhausted the whole of her resources.—(Hear, hear.) Therefore assenting to the proposition would not involve any increase of the present amount of local taxation in the form of church-rates. Moreover he wished it to be understoood that the Commission would be instructed to respect all existing rights, all existing incumbencies, which would only be dealt with as vacancies occurred by death or otherwise. No one who had looked at the con dition of densely populated parts of the empire could have failed to observe the great want of proper paro chial distribution, and the consequent difficulty of suc cessfully carrying out efficient parochial government. This was not the case in other departments of the State. In the common law and equity courts, when the business increased, additional judges were appointed; and in the army, when occasion re quired, additional persons were enlisted; but this whole some rule had not been observed in the Church. Hence the machinery was as defective as it was fifty years ago. The main object of his motion was to render the Church more efficient in its labours than at present, and more worthy the appellation of the Church of the country. Many of the parishes of the me tropolis and in the large towns contained 100,000 souls. How could a rector efficiently exercise his spiritual functions over so large a number; how with so large a number co'ild any practical system be car ried out? He would 7.nerely mention half a dozen of the most populous parishes in the country to show the number of human beings confided to the care of the rector of a single parish. The population of the pa rish of Marylebone 138,000 Liverpool ... ••• 223,000 Stockport •••• ... ... 84,000 Sheffield 111,000 Bralf, - )A1„. . • c• - •. , Mar.chester ••,,) St. Pancras ... 140,000 And he could mention many more equally as densely populated, Almost all these places coutained a popula• r ' c ' r ci A th T hQ jo i e tlor Cjl l th e q . S . on Y to ra , th e ciu