The Sun. — London, England, 1849-03-23 00:00:00

REPAIRS AND ALTERATIONS OF ---- - SHIPS ORIGINALLY MAL-CONSTRUCTED. The sums set down for " repairs" of ships in the re port on the navy and dockyards are thus detailed in a tract recently issued by the Liverpool Reform Associa tion. The history of the Vernon, gathered from official documents, seems to be the following : The Vernon was the earliest offspring in the official career of Sir William Symonds. Her keel was laid at Woolwich in October, 1831, and she was launched on the Ist. of May, 1832. Her tonnage was 2,082; her cost, " fitted for sea," 48,4871. In one winter and spring, six months only, the Vernon came into complete existence. Other ships, such as the Trafalgar, at Woolwich, begun in 1829, being without their own constructors to protect and foster them, were neglected, and all the favours of the new builder and the new Admiralty lavished on their own. The Trafalgar was not completed until 1841. A number of other ships were similarly delayed. Thus many thousands of pounds of the taxes of 1828, 1829, and 1830 were expended, and lay a dead loss upon the timber stock twelve years. Yet such a disposal of the taxes seems to have been more favourable for the nation than that disposal of 48,487/. which brought the Vernon into existence. _ _ It was seen by the evidence quoted at length in Sec tion 111., that the accounts of her " repairs " were de signedly misrepresented, to conceal her infirmities and costliness ; yet, even according to those accounts, she appears to have had, at a very early age, an extraordi nary power of consuming taxes. From May, 1832, to some time in 1833, she lay a helpless thing upon the breast of the ocean, or in her watery cradle at Sheer ness, not yet a tax-eater; but in the next twelve months her consumption became enormous, for a ship under two years of age. Her " repairs" cost 3,0811. ; and in the next twelve months—still lying at Sheerness, still unfit to leave the nursery-hospital—this young " wooden wall " of Old England swallowed tip 2,1111. more for " repairs." In 1835 she was either moderate in her tax-eating appetites, or the " falsification of accounts " made her appear to be so, the cost for repairs was only 2731. In 1836 it was less, only 1031. In 1837, the fifth year of her age, she made up for the moderation of the two pre vious years. Her " repairs" were set down at 9,0361. ; and in in the next year she consumed 3,4231. more. In 1839 she moderated to 4551., rising to 7071. in 1840, but decreasing to 1411. in 1841. In 1842 nothing is told of her; while, in 1843, she is put upon the homeopathic allowance of 771. She does not appear, however, to have thriven on such short allowances, for next year, 1844, she obtained 2,3721, and in 1845, 1,181/. ; in 1846, only 64l ; but in 1847, though there is the entry, Not yet received, being at sea," there is the ominous intimation of her return to her native country and her tax• eating, in the words " Requires a very large repair." There are vtatements of particulars of the cost of other ships given with those of the Vernon, to show, by corn pari,on, that other builders have given the country costly s;tipq as writ as Sir William Symoods. To this dispute about the merits of men the public are indebted tkr learn ing something of the merits of ships and their cost, which otherwise they might not have known. The Caledonia is a iir,q-rate, carrying 120 guns, and measuring 2,712 tons. She was launched in 1804, has been twenty—ne years in commission, and nineteen years lying unused. The first cost of the Caled , inia was ... ... £81,507 Her repairs cost, from 1806 to 1815, £10,448 from 1815 to 1831, 92,151 from 1831 to 1834, 3,575 from 1834 to 1839, 9,500 from 1839 to 1844, 4,715 from 1844 to 1847, 3,959 123,348 Total for cost and repairs ... £204,855 The St. Vincent, a ship now in commission, built in 1815— Cost And for repairs sinco then ~. £87,444 ... 63,088 £150,532 "Requiring a large repair when paid off," in the words of the Admiralty return. The Impregnable is an unfortunate instance of a mis applied name. She was built in 1810, at A cost of ..„ Fitted for sea in 1812, at a cost of And ha 3 seen been troubled with " repairs" to the cost of £60,267 4,739 95,426 Cost and repairs of the Impregnable, now a harbour ship £160,432 But the story of the Tremendous is a more interest ing one. The hair-breadth escapes of this ship, in the perilous service of lying in harbour at Sheerness and Chatham, boarded every year by her "enemy," the sur veyor, ordering repairs for her, and ultimately dooming her to be taken to rie:.es and sold for old timber, are ro mantic. Like the Impregnable, her name was a misap plication of a strong word. 'Clie Tremendous was, among ships. a friendless orphan. Nobody st emed to have any friendship to her. They ran up bills of repairs against her to take away her character, and still ordered more, until the event came which they seem to have had in view. Her name and fame became such a reproach; extravagances of other ships in their " repairs" being laid to her charge, that the Lords of the Admiralty at last signed her death-war rant, and she was taken to Deptford to be destroyed. The work of destruction began, but, like the heroine of a mile-drama, doomed to suffer for another's crime, her de liverers appeared at Deptford just in time to save her, and she was saved—has changed her name, and is now a respectable frigate, and may be heard of any day by itiquirin , for the Grampus. The ft7ll , )wing "Extracts from the Annual Surveys" give the leading ficts in official language:— " Sheerncs3, 1835.—Tranendous requires a middling repair." Sne••rness, 1837.—Tremendou3 requires a middling repair, arid wili colt 31,9871." 1843.—icenii;ndous requires a middling repair, and Will cost 31,9871.; atier suct► repair she may last six years." (These two sum are not explained.) "June 28th, 1843.—1 would recommend that the Tre mendous, as she wilt require more than 32 0001. to muk• her fficic.nt for service, be selected to replace the Duke a a laztret at Standgate Creek, being found unfit for further service. (Signed) W. SYMONDS." •• Admiralty Order, 15th July, 1843—Tremendous not to be fitted, as another ship in iieu o the Duke is not re quired." " December 19th, 1843—Proposed, with other ships, to be sold or taken to pieces, as more economical than to repair. (Signed) " W. 'SYMONDS." " Admfraliy Urder, 28th February, 1844.-2.&ire mendous, at Sheerness, to be prepared for being sent to Deptford, to be broken up." Next follows a report, dated May 2, by Captain Hill, stating how his attention was drawn to the ship after the breakage had begun; that she was in a sound con• dition, " not having been at sea, or in commission, since she had a large repair." Next comes an " Admiralty Order," dated May 4, 1844, stopping the work of up-breaking. And this is followed by an order to appoint surveyors to examine her, " Taking care," says the order, "not to recommend any who have been engaged in any of the former or present surveys of this ship." From this it would ap pear that the Admiralty doubted the propriety of en trusting her fate, though her sound timbers were now exposed, to those who had before passed sentence on her. She was saved accordingly. Next comes "A return of the expense of converting the Tremendous, 74-gun ship, into a frigate of reduced form ; number of days in hand, cost in labour and ma terials, in comparison with cost of building a new ship." In hand from 21st May, 1844, to 10th January, 1846:-- Cost of materials £8,028 Workmanship 6,006 Total Comparative cost of building a new frigate of equal class and armament:— Materials Workmanship ... £33,354 ... 11,813 Total -445,167 14,034 Difference ... £31,133 The difference is a key to many of the moat remark- able phenomena in ship-building, repairing, altering, and fitting up, now in progress in the dockyards. The ship was supposed to be worthless, except as for old materials. She was discovered to be worth converting into a fifty. gun frigate. The difference between the cost of her eonversion, and the cost of a new frigate, is credited to the country as a saving. Accordingly, steps are taken to enrich the country by a succession of such savings, of which a few specimens are subjoined. The Prince Regent was a three decker. A master shipwright and an admiral superintendent thought she would make a good two-decker, carrying 90 or 100 guns and would only cost 25,0001. to be cut down to that class. After a correspondence with the Admiralty, in which it came out that the razieing of the Windsor Castle, on some former occasion, had cost 4 0 ,5801., and of the Ocean 45,4321., the estimated cost for the Prince Regent was re duced to 24,500/. On the 16th of March, 1844, the Admiralty ordered the ship to be cut down. The surveyor of the navy suggested that, in cutting down ships, they cut away the soundest parts, and left the unsoundest, which were in the bottom. The sur veyor, Sir William Symonds, was not so potent as he once wa s . H e was now a builder of experien ce , but he was fast gr ow i ng out o f f avour . Th e prospect of having an excellent two-decker for 24,500/. seems to have charmed the Admiralty, and they seem, by the return, which they ordered, to have contemplated a number of other cheap e two-deCkers, to be made out of the Hiber nia, Quee c o har hioartlotte, St. Vincent, Britannia, Howe, Princess i impregnable, Camperaown, Nelson, Royal Geor ge , ai t :i ships that had never been Adelaide (the three Nit being Symonds reminded the A. en a " seal). B u t Sir William would be "redo eq „l twelve ralty oat such •i reduetioe decks mounting 240 guns," and would ce tthe effe cti a ve nr p w ow l !r ho f the navy." This seems to have let in upon the Admi- Ley paused, and the Prince il l e e r t -IS .o nt only was re ratty; h duced. The estimate for cutting a ninety gun ship had been 24,500/, more actuawllicotsot 29,315/. than the estitut e t i e ng a trifle more, namely, service done to the country, even by Si r Symonds, in preventing, e for a time, the reduction of 'n twelve decks instead of one, will appear to be consider able. Here is an official " return of the actual cost of the Prince Regent, repairs, alterations, &c., sailing from Portsmouth 24th March, 1848:" — Cost of cutting down and repairing her hu11... £37,673 Mast and yards • • •• ., 2,954 Rigging and stores ... 13,188 The last thing heard Total of the . S Prince Regent was her " behaviour " in a stormy passage to Lisbon, at the be ginning of Jana. dry, 1849, in the squadron of Sir Charles Napier, which " behaviour " is reported to have been so good, in comparison with the bad behaviour of certain three-deckers, and of herself when she belonged to that class, that a case seems to be made out for the reduction of the rest. The arithmetic of the Admiralty will de monstrate what the country gains by cutting down three &vizors, which dip their portholes into the sea in the gentlest of breezes, some of which they dare not send to sea at all, as a breeze would lay them on their beam ends or send them to the bottom; or if ballasted sufficiently to be steady, the quantity of ballast required would bring the water mark above the lower ports. One of these three-deckers which has not been and cannot be sent to sea, is the Nelson, built and named in honour of the most famous of the working admirals, but lying in dock, a monument of satire upon the political jobbers who take upon themselves the management of the navy. But the cutting down of larger vessels to a smaller size is carried to a greater extent among ships of the inferior class. There is a return, dated the Ist of May, 1848, showing the saving, and, consequently, the accession of wealth, to the country by cutting down nine 42-gun fri gates to corvettes. It is shown that, to have built cor vettes, the cost would have been 27,0001. each, whereas the nine have only cost as follows: Curioa ..• .. • ... ... Aigle (expense returned as " unknown; not in Office")Magicienne Amazon Daedalus Brilliant Havannah Trincomalee Amphitrite £3,790 6,610 8,104 5,464 8,321 9,707 11,721 15,238 Making a total of ... ... ... £68,955 Nine at 27,0004 each would have been £243,000 Deduct ... ... ... 68,955 And there is an accession of wealth to the country, according to the Admiralty, amounting to 4174,045 ••• There have been many more ships cut down than those referred to in this section; but the specimens here given are deemed sufficient to illustrate the Admiralty system. That system seems to be founded on the supposition that nobody is likely to have penetration enough to see, or power of reasoning to comprehend, that the cost of building the large ships should be the proposition in the question of profit and loss on cutting them down. As thus:— Cost of building a three•d4 cker Cost of rtducing that three-decker to a two- ... £82,000 decker Total cost Cost of building a two-decker 53,815 ... ....£135,815 ... ... 60,000 Loss by the Admiralty system of getting a two-decker 75,815 But the " cutting down " is a trifling matter compared with the " adding to the length " of ships to make them into steamers. This leads to an examination of the steam navy, a more serious financial subject now than the sailing navy. Thirty-four sailing frigates, which cost 45,0001. each, or upwards, were found to be useless from mal-construc tion. One of them WAS lengthened. and made into a steamer, at a cost of 59,4891., and the rest are to be similarly dealt with. And this is to be done because the steam-frigates, built of iron, are now alleged to be unfit for ships of war. Thirty of those first-class iron steamers were built by order of the Admiralty, in opposition to the opinion of the practical servants of the dockyards, without the iron being put to the proof as a material for war. One of them, built and named in honour of the town of Birkenhead, is, however, talked of as a ship fit to be placed under fire, to prove how many broadsides she will bear before going to the bottom. No less costly method of proving the applicability of iron to war ships has been suggested than a battery upon one of the most expensive naval steamers. Proofs were not sought until thirty such frigates were built, and others ordered; and now, still without the proof, thirty-three timber-built frigates are being transformed into steamers, to supersede those of iron, at an expense for transformation greater than their original cust iu THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 23, 1849. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. APPOINTMENTS. Chaplain—L. Bell, to the Vengeance, 84, in the Medi terranean. Mate—J. Trevenen, to the Southampton, flag-ship on the Cape of Good llope station. Midshipman—F. H. Collingwood, to the Arrogant, 46, at Portsmouth. CHINA AND THE SQUADRON. HONG Kowa, JAN. 29.—There has been much gaiety both in the squadron and on shore since the last mail. I went up to Canton on the 23d, for the purpose of wit nessing the rejoicing with which the Chinese usher in their new year, which commences on the 24th of January. The shops were all shut early on the evening of the 233, and the people, already dressed is their holiday attire, thronged the narrow streets in gay groups, exchanging salutations with each other. Atter nightfall I repaired to the fair, which is held " for that night only " in the outskirts of the suburb, where the foreigners reside, where, at countless stalls, brilliantly illuminated, we saw an • infinite variety of Chinese manufactures displayed or sale, generally of a coarser description than those uff•red tiir purchase in the shops. Toe. awls midnight the crowd had increased so greatly that it was with much (litiieulty we could make any progress at all; but about that time a smart shower dispersed them for a time as speedily as the Chartists vanished from Kennington• com mon on a memorable occasion, from a similar cause. As the gongs sounded the last hour of the old year, a simul tane.,us explosion of fireworks took place all over the pity of Canton and the suburbs, and from that time until daylight the noise of crackers was incessant, while the air seemed filled with rockets and other fireworks of :every imaginable hue, constituting altogether a curious and not unimposing spectacle. As no business is ever transacted by the Chinese during the first week of the year, the shops were all shut next day, and the streets thronged with their owners in rich and pie turesque silk dresses, of various colours and descrip tions, according to the rank and eh gree of the wearer. When passing one of the gates of the city, I en deavoured to enter, but was immediately repulsed by persons stationed there for the purpose of prevent ing strangers from entering under any circumstances. They were, however, very civil; nor did I, during several days' stay, remark anything in the demeanour of the people towards myself or my friends with which we could have reasonably felt offended. Perhaps they remember how often and how dearly they had to pay for the indulgence of their impertinent propensities on former occasions, and are not unmindful of the ap proach of April, when it is just possible that they may call down on themselves chastisement once more. While pulling round the flower boats on the river, we were fre quently saluted with cries of " fanqui" (foreign devils), and other complimentary phrases from the children, with which we were Not a little amused. It would appear that there is no immediate prospect of the abolition of the punishment of death in China, no fewer than 146 individuals have had their heads cut off at Canton alone since the Ist of this month. We left the Hon. East India Company's steamer Phlegethon anchored off the Factories, and at Whampoa (13 miles down the river) we left the Arab, 16, Comman der Morris; and the United States men-of-war Plymouth, 22, Commodore Geisinger, and Preble, 16, Commander Glynn. The Fury steam-sloop, Commander Willcox, towed the Arab up to Whampoa. The Inflexible steam sloop, Commander Hoseason, ar rived from Singapore and Labuan on the 25th; and on the 26th the Medea steam sloop, Commander Mason, ar rived from the northern ports. The Mariner, 16, Commander Mathison, is still at Shanghai. The Scout, 16, Commander Johnstone, is refitting at Foo Chow, preparatory to coming here en route for Bom bay, where she will undergo a thorough repair. About the 10th of next month Mr. Bonham, the Governor of Horg-Kong, and General Staveley, com mander of the Forces, will embark in the Hastings, 72, flag ship of his Excellency Sir Francis Collier, the naval Commander-in-Chief, and accompany Sir Francis up the Canton river, where the Hastings will anchor in Anson's Bay, below the Fort of the Bocca Tigris. The object of their visit is to communicate with the Chinese authorities respecting the formalities to be observed at the opening of the gates of Canton, and other matters which have not yet transpired. The Pilot, 16, Corn. Lyons, and the Albatross, 16, Com. Farquhar, are daily expected here to augment the squadron. Th© Inflexible leaves here to-morrow for Cochin China, in search of the Kelpie, a clipper, supposed to have met with some very serious disaster, in the ty phoon of October, as she has never since been heard of. The Meander, 44, Captain the Hon. Hon. IL Keppel, is at Singapore. . TheCitnibriun, 40, Commod ore Plumridge is at Bo - bay, with the Childers, 16, Cora. Pitman, and m the Ring dove, 16, Com. MALTA, MARCH 12.—The news of the island is en tirely confined to incidents connected with the navy. The French steam trigate Panama has quitted Malta for Triesto and Venice, after having undergone a thorough repair of the injuries received in her machinery. The Locust went to the islands with the last mails, under command of Lieutenant-Commander Glin, of the Triton, and is expected to-morrow on her return. The Indian mails may be expected here to-morrow, or at the outside by the 14th, by the Ripon steamer, trom Alexandria. The screw-steamer Osmanli arrived here from Con stantinople on the ith, and on the 9th proceeded on her homeward route. News having reached the island that her owner had suspended payments in Liverpool. she was arrested here, and not liberu.ti,d till her c iptaiu had given security for the debt owing. Fearing a sin.ifir detention at Gibraltar, she will push through the straits without touching. The Sultan steamer arrived here yesterday, and is de tained in port iu consequence of her inability to dis charge several 32-pounders she bas on board, as it is blowing a stiff gale. SOll3O say the guns are for our batteries, others for the Sicilians. The agent here pre serves a prudent silence. The Ardent, Lieutenant-Commander Nowell, from Trieste and Corfu, arrived on the 6th, and is coaled ready to proceed to the fleet. After the loss of the Minnie she was employed in getting up her stores, and succeeded in obtaining the best bower and sheet anchors, and half another snapped in two at the fluke, 90 fathoms of hemp c a bl e and 60 fathoms of chain, all the gun car riowginegs'tose t v h e e r several d l n stores, d including ivers w would d rum, not g o slops, dow & n c f . o ; r but, the gu e n r s. eompSpbhaorr2go on a n h l a 3 beentosls, l wood sold for 620/. to a Mr. Barlow. to ,o alone od sold imported fbr Tinto l,so v o L e n ; and, ne2 a owing had. an c some thing was made by break ing her up. PORT/YOUTH, THIIRSDAY.—A list of 84 names of workmen and labourers from the different departments of the dockyard has been transmitted to the Admiralty, with a recommendation to be superannuated. The list was sent up on Tuesday, and will, without the slightest doubt, be carried into, effect. The electric telegraph will, in the course of this week, be, completed into the Admiral's office in the dockyard. The posts are all up from Fareham into the yard, and workmen are engaged in fitting the wires. The Hermann steam-ship passed through Spithead this morning, from Bremen to Southampton and New York. The Panama, of Glasgow, from Penang and China, passed the Wight this morning, for London. The Caraatic, Captain Hine, one of Green's fleet, ar rived this morning from the River, bound to Mauritius and Madras; passengers embark to-morrow. The Independence, for New York, and the Hong-Bong packet, to embark passengers, are expected into this port from the River. The remnant of Sir C. Napier's squadron is expected daily at this port, when his flag-ship will be paid off. Wind, E.; moderate breezes, and hazy weather. WOOLWICH, MARCH 22.—The Diligence store-ship has unloaded a cargo of timber at Woolwich dockyard, and will be towed to Deptford to-morrow to have some repairs effected and load for the western ports, The Gladiator steam-frigate, lately paid off here, was taken into dock yesterday to be again made ready for commission. The Firebrand steam-vessel, in the adjoining dock, is in a forward state, and will shortly be ready for service. The Vulcan iron steam-troopship fitting with engines and a screw propeller at Blackwall, is progressing rapidly. The Bombay steam-vessel, recently detained by the Custom-house officers on information that she was to be employed as *Ea war steamer on the coast of Sicily, and was to take out troops and arms to that quarter, has been relieved of the embargo laid upon her, and yester day again hoisted the Sicilian flag at her foretopmast. DISTRESSED CONDITION OF THE COMPOSITORS OF LONDON. TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY NEWS. Sir,—Amongst the numerous artizans in London who are suffering through non-employment, the deplorable condition of the members of that heaven-born art— printing, is to be commiserated. Of all the arts and sciences that have been discovered, that of the art of printing has conferred the greatest benefits upon man kind, yet there never was a time in the history of print ing in which compositors have suffered so much distress. Throughout the late eventful year only one-third of the compositors of London were in full employment. Now that the Parliamentary ses,ion has commenced, there are still great numbers out of employment. This is, in a great measure, to be attributed to the recent altera tions in Parliamentary printing, which has been con siderably curtailed. The only remedial measures that will benefit the compositor are the repeal of the paper and advertisement duties. The paper duty is a tax upon thought and reason ; by repealing this duty a great boon would be bestowed upon the working classes, by placing within their reach for a small sum the treasures of literature. The advertisement duty is a fetter upon the poor tradesman, inasmuch as the high duty p events him from advertising his goods—even the poor servant girl must pay eighteenpence to the Government before she can advertise for a situation. From the vast numbers of cheap publications which everywhere meet the eye, a careless observer would imagine that printing was the best business going. Let him look but a little beneath the surface, and he will find the contrary to be the fact. Out of fifteen months, I have only received three months' casual employment; and, from present appearances there is no evidence of returning prosperity, as in the history of all nations literature follows commerce ;_ and until the manufactur ing districts are fully employed will the compositor re main in " virtuous poverty." As your paper has the largest literary circulation, I hope you will give inser tion to this letter, that the literary world may take note of the depressed condition of the London compositors. I am, Sir, &c., A COMPOSITOR. THE STAMPS AND TAXES AND 'TIE EXCISE. The consolidation of the department of Stamps and Taxes with the Excise will lead to considerable altera tions in the mana,.,ement of the distribution of stamps and collection of the duties in provincial districts. Under the old system each county possessed an officer styled distributor of stamps for the county. In some cases, however, especially in Wales, where the amount of stamps ustd is but trifling, two or three counties were placed under one head dis tributor. Again, in some of the manufacturing districts, such as Yorkshire and Lancashire, where the amount of the population and the extent of business to be trans acted, rendered it impossible for any one officer efficiently to attend to the whole duties, the districts have been divided into two or more head distributorships. In all cases the head distributor has been required to reside in that town within his district where the largest amount of stamps was usually disposed of. In every other town of sufficient magnitude to jus tify the appointment, an officer, called a sub-dis tributor, was stationed, who was supplied from time to time by the head distributor for the dis trict with the necessary stock of stamps, and who accounted to thr.t officer for the sums collected by him for .f t:nalp duties; security being given, both by the head distributor and the subordinates, to an amount sufficient to covcr the average value of the stock of stamps in their hands, as well as the amount of their remittances. The head distributor was remunerated by a per centage on the amount of stamps sold by him in the town where he resided, such per centage varying in different dis tricts; and in addition to this emolument, he was allowed a poundage of about 1/ 103. per cent. upon the stamps sold by the sub•distributors in the other towns comprised within his district, and who were themselves munerateel by a similar per tentage. The total amount of poundage in England alone, tor the last year, was about 33,000/, of which about two-thirds, or 22,0001, was paid to the head distributors, and the remain der to the respective sub distributors. Of this 22,000/. about 10,000/ was the amount accruing► on the collec tions made by the head distributors in their own offices, and about 12,0001. arose from the poundage on the stamps sold, or the duties received, by their sub-distri butors in the other towns of the district. It should be borne in mind that the aforegoing state ment has no ref( rence to the amount of stamps sold or stamp duty coil , cted in the metropolitan district, where the entire business is conducted at the office at Somer set-house. It is now decided that, with a view to the saving of this double poundage, and also to the more speedy remittance of the revenue, the present system of supplying the officers in the minor towns through a head distributor shall be discontinued, and in future these officers will no longer be treated as subor dinates, but ,will act as independent distributors, com municating with the controlling department in London, and accounting directly to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, instead of through the present head distribu tors, whose powers and emoluments will thereupon cease, excepting in so far as they may be derived from the sale of stamps and collection of stamp duties in the towns wherein they respectively reside. It is proposed to make this change gradually, in order to prevent inconvenience and embarrassment in the con duct of the business in the central office in London; and as soon as it shall have been brought fully into operation, the benefits resulting from the new arrange ment will be confined not merely to the pecuniary saving, but a better system will be introduced in checking the accounts of the distributors, their remittances will be more regular and frequent, and their conduct and proceedings brought more immediately under the cognizance of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue; while the employment of the collectors of Excise in superintending the stocks and sales of the dis tributors will be a guarantee for the security of the revenue far more effectual than has been hitherto exer cised under the old system. FRA N CE. General Petit delivered yesterday, at the Hotel des Invalides, into the hands of Jerome Bonaparte, some articles of value entrusted to him, viz., the sword worn by the Emperor at the battle of Auster litz, his hat, and his cordon of the Legion of Honour; the Imperial crown presented to him by the inha bitants of Cherbourg, the crown of gold worn by !aim at his coronation, the keys of the tomb where his ashes repose, the pall adorned with the emblems of the Empire, and which enveloped the coffin brought from St. Helena, and 52 standards taken at Aus terlitz. Jerome Bonaparte distributed, in the name of the President of the Republic, eight crosses of honour to as many invalids of all ranks. The Rev. Father Rootan, General of the Jesuits, has arrived in Paris, from Rome, on his way to Por tugal, where he intends establishing the head-quarters of the order. FRaNKFORT. The adjourned debate on the election of his Majesty the King of Prussia to the Imperial Crown of Germany was resumed in the sitting of the Frankfort Parliament of the 19th inst. The discus sion was on this occasion opened by M. Wydenbrugk, who said the speaker before him (M. Vogt) had proposed to appoint a dictator, and to-make war with Austria. M. Wydenbrugk showed the evident folly of such a step, and concluded by saying " the house of Hohenzollern will be but the representative of that majesty to which he will bend—of the ma jesty of the nstion." M. Raveaux warned the House walla Prussia, and protested he should vote against M. iv'elker's motion. M. Schulz (from Darmstadt.) then rose to move an amendment, which was received with loud and general laughter. M. Schulz's amendment proposed to elect the King of Prussia with the condition that that monarch should immediately declare war against Russia. Messrs. Waitz and Mohl made lengthened speeches against the motion before the House. M. Eisen mann, too, mode a long and rather confused speech on the relations of Prussia to Germany, and of Germany to Austria, and after M. Ahrens had spoken against the motion, and M. Bauer (a Bavarian) for it, the debate was adjourned to Tuesday, the 20th inst. UNIVERSTTY OF DURHAM.—An open scholarship in this university, of the annual ♦alue of 301., tenable for three years, w:I1 be filled up in October next. The Venerable Archdeacon Thorpe, D.D., warden of the university, has given notice that the examination will commence on Wednesday, October 17. FOREIGN FUNDS. AMSTERDAM BOURSE, MARCU 20.—The Inland funds were again at a minimum rate to day. Spanish and Portuguese were very firm. Russian were more offered. Austrian were flat, in consequence of the low exchange at Vienna. There was a good deal of business in Peru vian stock. DUTCH FUNDS.-AMSTEIDAM, Mum 20. Money. Bills Actual Debt, 234 per Cent........... 47 7-16 47 11-16 Ditto, 3 per Cent • • .............. 56% 565 Ditto, 4 per 7554 751 Amort Syndic, 314 per Cent.......... 75 76 Commercial Company, 434 per Cent • • Spanish New 5 per Cents. • ... ..... Ditto, 3 per Cents. East India Loan, 4 per Cent.......... Exchangeon London, at sight ...... 11 9734 Two m0nth5............... 11 9214 On Hamburgh, at sight •• • • Two m0nth5............... 34% On Paris, at 5ight.......... Twomonths..... •......... PRUSSIAN FUNDS , —BxaLfrf, Meacu 19. Bills. Money. St.Schuld Sch., 334 per Cent ........ 79 78% Prussian b per Cent • • • Foreign Exchanges— On London, three months 6 28% On Hambargh, two months 1504 On Paris, two m0nth5................ 81 1-3 80 1-6 BELGIAN FUNDS.—Baussxts, Miacu 21. Actual Debt, 234 per Cent ............ Rothschild's Loan, Five per Cent •• Loan of Thirty Millions, Four per Cent •••• Ditto Threeper Cent.................. Ditto Thirty-seven Millions, ditto ••• • •• Ditt0,d1tt0,1848...................... .„ Ditt0,d1tt0,1842...................... ! 87% LP , . Ditto, 1844... 79 Ditto, 1836... •• ...................... Ditto, 1838 57 Ditto of the City, 1832 Ditto, 1843 Bank of Belgium.... Issue of 1841 ....... ..... .......... fig Exchange on London, 25.42%. AUSTRIAN FUNDS, —VIENNA, Mexcu 15. 5 per Cents. ... 84% 4 per Cent... •••• . • • ••• . • 67)4 234 per Cent. Loan, 1834. Ditto, 1839.• Bank Shares •• • ....................1,125 Esterhazy's Loan EIAMBURGH FUNDS, MAncu 17. Angle-Swedish n m eioetlgrwgt s wioio s ase i .sn a gspt n :wteae s ronc aicpiiinsateeinhnr2:CL:L. Cent., ......•• • •• •• •• Bills. Money. Hanoverian New Loan, 5 per Cent. •• .. 103 102% Ditto, 3% per Cent. .......... Bank Shares.... .........• ••••• • • • • • 100 Russian Certificate • . .• •• •• •• 95 % Anglo-Russi Ditto, Certi fi cate •• " Russian 4 per Cent... •• •• •• " •• d o. ea a .l nBno.r4i. Hope . e.. n .. t.. c. . 10 :89_6 2 :1: :is yi 8034 • Anglo-Danish Loan, 3 per Cent ••▪• • • • 66 Ditto in 100/. shares .... ••.•• • • • • • 90 % 99 % Ditto, Transport Loan ••• • • • • • •• ▪ " • • — q71,4 Spanish New 5 per Cent ••••• • • • " •• Ditto 3 per Cent .••••••• • • • • • • •• • 2134 20% Ditto, 1846.........• •• •• - • Anglo - Portuguese Loan, 2% per Cent • • Dutch Actual Debt, 234 per Cent ••• • • • Ditto 3 per Cent. •••• •• • • • • • • National Bank Shares ••••••• • • • • • •• -- American, 6 per Cent. •••• • • • • •• • • 105 RAILWAYS. Berlin Ditto a , Priority ndll bsuhrg . . . .. . ..... .. 100 Shares 67% 67 • •• 51W 50% Ditto, Priority Shares .. ••••• • • •• 91 :% 90 Cologne and Minden •••• •• • • •••• • '• 74 % TiU . Ditto, Priority Shares .• ••••• • • • • • ' 2 Mecklenburg— .... —..••••• • • • • • •• 34 % 34% . Altona and Kiel ..... ... ...... .•• .. 86 85% Gluckstadt .......... ••••••• • •• • • •• Rendsburg.. ........ •••••••• •" • • • • • • 93 Hanseatic Steam Company ••"• • " •• LAW INTELLIGENCE. HOUSE OF LORDS, March 22. The House sat this morning, as usual, at ten o'clock to proceed with the appe*l cases. The Lords present were the Lord Chancellor, Lord Brougham, Lord Camp. bell, and Lord Morley. _ _ JUDGMENT.-MARRIAGES IN THE ISLE OF MAN: PIERS V. PIERS. The full details of this case appeared in our columns a few days since, and it will be in the recollection of our readers that th e ma i n q uestion in issue was, whether a certain alleged marriage, which had taken place between the late Sir John Bennett Piers, Bart., and a Miss Denny, in May, 1815, in the Isle of Man, was a legal and good marriage. In the year 1821 the parties were a second time married, in Dublin, and the two appel lants were born between the two marr iages. By the law of marriage in the Isle of Man, no marriage can be celebrated in a " private residence (which was the case in the present instance), without a special i li t ce w nc a e s from eehtehd th e e d B by ishop of the much as there had been no such licence granted, nor r e S s p c' d o t3 n r d en a t nd tri a a t n , ; e a a n s d . any registry thereof, that the marriage was not legal, and therefore that the appellants were not entitled to the charge of 4,0001., which Sir John had created in their favour upon the family estates. By virtue of a deed of 1794, it appeared that Sir John Piers was entitled to create a jointure in favour of his wife of 6001. per ann., and to create a charge upon his estates of 4,0001. for his younger children. Both of these powers he executed. The respondent, on his accession as heir- at-law, made no objection to the payment of the jointure to the widow, but refused to raise the 4,0001. for the younger children, the present appellants, who thereupon instituted a suit to compel the performance of the terms of the deed. The Lord Chaneeilor of Ireland dismissed the bill, but said he would direct an issue as prayed, to try the validity of the first marriage, provided the appellants could ob. tain the attendance of the Bishop (now of Rochester), to depose us to the granting the special licenc e . Th e Bishop declined to visit Ireland for such a purpose, and the present apped was against that decree. A reference to our paper a f ew d ays s i nce w i ll put our readers in possession of the whole of the facts. The LORD CHANCELLOR this morning moved the judgment of the house. He h a d been unable to find any rule more satisfactory than that which had been laid clown by Lord Lyndhurst with respect to marriages, in the case of" Morris v. Davies," in Clark and Finnelley's Reports, where his Lordship stated that presumption was in favour of marriages, and th at suc h pr i nc i ple ought not to be set aside by th e doctrine o f pro b a bili t i es, except upon the most positive, certain, satisfactory, and conclu sive proofs. Applying, therefore, that principle to the case then before their Lordships, he was of opinion that the first ralrriage ought to be held a good and valid mar riage. With regard to the difficulty which had been raised by the respondent, that, by the fact of there having been a second marriage, th ere f ore that there bad not b ee n a previous legal marriage, that argument went for nothing, because it was a well known practice where parties had been married abroad, that they were after wards again married in their own country. He, there fore, moved that the decree of the Court below be re versed, and that the charge which Sir John Piers had made upon the estates should be declared a good and valid charge. Lord BROUGHAM concurred in this opinion, and fur ther said, that in all cases where the marriage abroad wascounty a wase g ra ge n second marriage in this Lord CAMPBELL was also o f t h e same opinion, and as to the second marriages, they wer e , w h en t h e marr i age abroad had been legally perform e d, a l together unneces sary. He might instance the marri age o f t h e l ate L or d Eldon. That Noble and Learned L or d h a d run away lady, to whom h e was legally married in l unnecessary. mar with i f t o h re a ign 'ou c ng country, and on their return they had been again married in England. Then the first marriage having been legally performed, there was not the least necessity for the second ceremony. The decree of the Court below was reversed, and the charge of 4,000/. upon the estates of the respondent in favour of the appellants, was declared to be a good and valid charge. n was recently made t o beWNrelveEnußitA `n a.—Application rities P a P t i o ic n a e ti° of the docks, to be allowed o take off the marks or brands from some casks of wine 'or shipment to France, and the request was demurred D, on the ground that by altering the marks the casks could not be traced in case of necessity, and also that by making a general use of such a permission some fraud might be committed by making the wine to appear of more value than with the original import marks. The mark alluded to would not be recognised for any re venue purposes, and was stated by the parties to be solely for trade purposes, in which no revenue considerations would be involved. It was, however, considered that the request to cut out the quality mark of the wine, and also the mark by which it was imported and bonded, and substitute another in its place, was objectionable, the bange, or quality mark, being equally it not more Important than the brand, as denoting the quality and value of she wine. It would, however, bo permitted to the parties to put the required mark on the casks as the export mark, w ithout erasing rived at Grantou Pi er HIGHLAND D E STITTITIoN.--On Thursday after rang arrived tohreigirinawlaoynetso. f n r o o o m n t r e y e la , i l fe fishing g b v o i a l i t a s g e n s r , the West Highlands, for the purpose of instructing the natives i n d ee s ea fishing. There were three p large boats with their crews, amounti n g to twenty - four men, from Cellardykes, and two large and two a rto hardy-looking l)roceed to t Sl e cr ws, and their boats are i n small boats with s i x t een m en from St. Monance. They were engaged by C apt . R oss for the Edinburgh commit tee,e n are and fine e and Wester Ross. Th e m first-rate order, and well supplied with fishing mate rials of all kinds, In each boat there was a smart active looking w oman f or cook i ng an d baiting the lines, who are to initi ate t h e Hi ghlan d w omen in the art. Early on Friday morn i ng they a ll ass embled at Granton Pi e r, and after b e i ng inspected by Mr. S kene, the secretary, who addre sse d a few wor d s o f encouragement to th e men, they d e p arted in h i gh sp i r its for their new field o f enterprise.— Edinburgh Adeertiser. MAN UFACTURE OF GOLD.—We have read that Boyle once very nearly succeeded in making gold ; that he showed the experiment to Sir Isaac New ton, when both became frightened and threw away tho ingredients. A gentleman communicates to the editor of the Minin Journal, that having experi mented so me ten years a go on the stratification of the earth, and th e f ormation of m i nera l deposits, he beli eves with truthful resu l ts, he turne d up one of his old experim en t s accidentally a few days ago , when he found r unn i ng in a kind of spiral string through one part a s ma ll quantity of go ld. No gold wa s use d in the e x p er i ment, and the conclusion arrived at is, that it h as b een formed f rom s ome of tho oth er substance s . Thi s, h oweve r, is nothing to what is asserted by an ironfounder of this town. This gen • tleman must have discovered the true philosopher's stone, which so many sages of the olden time spent out their lives in trying to obtain. He declares that he has found out a process by which he can change any quantity of iron into gold. Before three months are over he sa y s we shall hear more of this marvel. He promises to produce gold in tons ; in short in any ' , quantity.--L iverpool Albion. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Arareit 22, The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly b o'clock. PRIVATE BITSINESS e Four The report on the resolution of the.lZocl - Life Assu tance Company, for the imposition of stamp duties on memorials of enrolment, was considered and agreed to. ROYAL ASSENT. Sir Augustus Clifford, the Usher of the Black Rod, appeared at the table to summon the House to attend at the bar of the House of Lords to hear the Royal assent given, by commission, to the Overseers (Cities and Boroughs) Bill. PRIVATE BUSINESS. On the return of the SPEAKER, the following Bills were read a third time and passed :—Darlington Gas and, Water Company Bill, Epsom Rates Bill, Felt% ell Se cond District Drainage Bill. PETITIONS. Mr. HAMILTON presented a petition from the Skibbereen Union, praying that some teinporary mea sure of relief might be passed to mitigate the di*tress of that district. Mr. TOLLEMACHE pmienterl a petition from a: place in Cheshire against the admission of Jews into. Parliament. Lord RENDLESHAM presented several petitions, praying for the repeal of the hop and malt duties. Captain PECHELL presented a petition from Brighton, praying the House to sanction no interna tional relations with Spain or Brazil till those powers consented to suppress the slave •trade. Mr. GEORGE THOMPSON presented a petition from the Tower Hamlets in favour of international arbi tration. Mr. Alderman HUMPHERY prescnted a petition from Southwark to the same effect. Mr. BUSFEILD, Mr. BRIGHT, and other Hon. Mem bers, presented petitions to the same effect. Lord CASTLEREAGH presented a petition from the Ulster Railway Company, complaining of the present system of rating railways. Mr. HUME presented a petition from the inhabitants of Westminster, setting forth the abominations of the Palace Court, and praying for its abolition. The HON. MEMBER also presented a petition from a public meeeting in Finsbury, praying the House to in terfere in the attempt to force Pope Pius On the people of Rome. The Hon. Member intimated that he did not approve of this country interfering in the affairs of other nations. Sir W. CLAY presented a petition from Whitechapel, praying for a repeal of the window-tax. WORKING CLASSES. Mr. SLANEY postponed his motion with reference to the condition of the working classes till after Easter. POOR-LAW (IRELAND). Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL moved for copies of all correspondence between the Rev. Mr. Donovan, Cathulic curate of Kanturk, and the Poor-law Commissioners of Ireland, relative to certain charges made by the former against the managers and officers of the workhouse in that union ; also, of Major Bolton's report on the satire. —Agreed to. Mr. CURTEIS gave notice that on an early day he should move " That the Excise duty on hops is local, partial, and oppressive in its operation, entailing peri odical distress, and not unfrequently ruin upon the grower; that it greatly limits the means of employing labour, thereby promoting pauperism with its attendant evils; that it forms but a precarious source of revenue to the Exchequer; and that such duty ought to be forth with repealed." WAR IN THE PUNJAUB. Mr. HUME wished to know whether it was the in tention of the Right Hon. Baronet the President of the Board of Control to lay on the table of the Hausa any papers with reference to the late extraordinary proceedings in India? It appeared, from the accounts which bad been received, that alter the victory was gained, for which salutes were tired, the Commander- in- Chief, Lord Gough, entrenched himself within a few miles of the enemy. Sir J. C. HOBIIOUSE, in reply, stated that the papers which had been received from India were very voluminous, but that he would give his best attention to them, and lay such of them as he thought necessary before the House on as early a day as possible. In reply to a question from Mr. HINDLEY, Sir J. C. HOBLIOUSE stated with reference to the distribution of the prize money among those engaged at the victory of Moultan, that a questio❑ had arisen as to whether or not theCummander-in-Chief of the forces in In. dia was entitled to any share of it. That question had been referred by the Governor-General of India to the authorities at home, and it would bo decided according to precedents in the usual way. As to the other question, with reference to the plunder said to have been committed by the British troops after the taking of Moultan, he had to state that the whole transactions in India had been exceedingly misrepresented—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear ")—and he could assure the Hon. Gentleman also, unless some facts should be made known which did not appear or were 'even hinted at in any one of the dis patches, that the rumours which had got abroad were totally unfounded.---(Hear, hear.) THE CHARTIST SHAW. In reply to questions from Mr. F. O'CoNrcon, Sir GEORGE GREY was understood to say (for his voice was scarcely heard in the gallery), that the prisoner Shaw was subject to no special regulations with respect to his con finement in Newgate. A regulation was made at the last court with respect to him, but it would be re considered at the next meeting of the justices. Some of the books sent to Shaw by his friends were deemed by the chaplain of the prison improper books for his pe rusal, and were therefore rejected by him. ABOLITION OF Till; COURT OF EQUITY (IRELAND). Mr. OSBORNE wished to know whether it was the intention of the Government to introduce a Bill for the abolition of this court? Sir G. GREY said, neither the Chancellor of the Ex ch( quer nur the Secretary for Ireland were present; perhaps the Hon. Gentleman would renew his question when they were. GRAND JURY BILL (IRELAND). Mr. J. O'CONNELL gave notice that he intended to ask, on a future day, whether it was the intention of the Government to introduce a new Grand Jury Bill. INDIAN RAILWAYS. Lord JOCELYN inquired whether any arrangement had been entered into between the Board of Control and the Court of Directors of the East India. Houie relative to railway communisation in India; Sir J. C. HOBIIOUSE replied that the Board of Control, atter giving a great deal of attention to this most important subject, had felt it their duty to present to the Court of Directors the statement of a plan from which, he believed, the Court could fairly come to terms with the railway companies. It was laid before them on Monday, and they would give immediate attention to it. So soon as they came to a decision, he would convey its nature to the House. PARTY PROCESSIONS (IRELAND). Lord CASTLERE UGH drew attention to the tact that a fatal collision had taken place in the county Down in consequence of a party procession, and gave notice that, on a future day, he should ask whether it was the inten tion of the Government to introduce a Bill with respect to them. EMIGRATION. Mr. SCOTT wished to ask the Under Secretary for the Colonies the following questions :-1. Whether any official information has been received by the last packet from any and which of the Australian colonies. upon the subject of emigration.-2. What debt has been incurred in New South Wales, on account of emigration, since Ist January, 1847.- 3. Whether any further loan has been recommended forestalling the annual revenue derived from the Land Fund in New South Wales.-4. Whether such proposal has been rejected by the colony. -5. Whether the funds applicable to emigration to that co lony are not expended, and if not, how much remains. —6. How such of the Colonial Fund available at the meeting of Parliament has since been expended in Dorset and Wilts alone, to pay the whole passage money of emigrants from those counties only.-7. Whether it is known to the Government that shoe makers and other mechanics have been passed by the agents of the Government as "agricultural labourers eligible for a free passages" and whether those agents have received a commission of fifteen shillings a-head for passing such emigrants, and if it is intended to continue such a system of per-centage to agents. Whether her Majesty's Government mean to persist in restricting the number of emi grants, and limiting the benefits of emigration to persons whose entire passage money is paid for them, or whether it is intended toeconomise the funds, and pro mote a continuance of emigration upon a principle of mutual advantage, by giving a prelerence to equally eligible emigrants who contribute towards their pas sages. --9. Whether there is any intention of reducing the numbers of clerks or others in the emigration de partment in Park-street, Westminster? Mr. HAWES said, with regard to the first question asked by the Hon. Member, none but the the ordinary information had been received, and none of that official character which the Hon. Gentleman desired. To the second, third, and fourth questions, a mode had been pro posed for meeting the difficulty, but that mode had not yet been called into operation. With respect to the fifth and sixth questions he expected to have had an account sent hits before to-day, in order to have been able to answer the Hon. Member's question, but he bud not received it. He hoped to have it to-morrow. With respect to the seventh question, he was, not aware of that circum stance. He had made some inquiry whether any me chanics had been passed by the agents of the Government as " agricultural labourers eligible for free passage," but he was not aware of any such parties having been so passed. In reply to the ninth question, he had only to say, , that- the correspondence in that department was daily increasing, and increasing to such an extent, that rather an augmentation than' a diminution of the clef ks would become necessary.. CANADIAN REBELLION OF 1837 AND 1838. Mr. GLADSTONE rose to ask her Majesty's Govern ment-1. Whether any instructions have been given to the Governoi-General of Canada as to the course which he is to pursue, in the event of its being proposed to him by his advisers to allow them to introduce into the House of Assembly any Bill giving compen sation to any persons known to have been implicated in the rebellions of 1837 or 1838, on account of the damage abstained by them in those rebellions, or in the event of the passing of any such Bill through' the two Houses of the Provincial Legislature. 2. Whether, according to the usage of Canada, if any such Bill should have passed through both Houses of the Legislature, and should have become an Act by the Go• yernor-General's assent, without a suspending clause, the money thereby authorised to be paid would be payable forthwith, or before *her Majesty's servants, had had an opportunity of advising her Majesay with respect to the allowance or disallowance of such Act. 3. Whether any official intelligence had' yet been re- ' ceived in respect to that transaction from Canada? Mr. HAWES said, in rnswer the 67?! had to stato that no instructions wimtever were the Noble Lord at the head of ti,,? nt into sse b I Secretary of State for the aolk::1,s had (..rit;;;, deuce in that Noble Lord, `,t‘:: rza, of in tly.: et let tering him with instructions. With regard to the second question, he had to state that all the colonial laws—he believed universally, having passed through their formal stages, and having passed through the House of Assem bly, come into immediate operation, unless they con tained a suspending clause. That would apply, of course, to all Acts, whether for the appropriation of money or not ; and they would come into operation immediately, unless disallowed by the Queen. In that case it would only cease to be law on the arrival of the Queen's disallowance in Canada. In , reply to the third question no dispatches had been received from Lord Elgin whatever on that subject. Lord Grey had received a private letter—(Hear, hear)—which was, however, only received yesterday. Mr. HUME asked, in connexion with the subj ,, ct. whether or not the sum of 100,000/. had, .Jr itryi swot, been voted as a compensation to those actually rebels, in compliance with the report of a Com mittee of the Canadian Legislature? Sir G. GREY said that the Hon. Member for Mon trose seemed to consider the Bill which was before the House as already passed. When it had really passed then he might give a definite answer to the question. Mr. HUME said the question which he wished to ask was, whether her Majesty's Government had or had not received a communication from Lord Melcombe, to the effect that this grant of 100,0001. had been voted on the recommendation of the Committee of the Canadian Le gislature. Sir G. GREY said something of the sort bad cer tainly been stated, but he was unwilling to enter into the matter, as it might very possibly raise a discussion which could be only mischievous without any equiv2lent benefit to be derived from it. Mr. GLADSTONE wished to ask whether the House of Assembly could have justified such a proceeding? Sir G. GREY rose to order. If the matter had been one of which the House had a right to take any cognizance— Mr. GLADSTONE conceived that the matter was in the hands of the Government, and therefore that it was competent to deal with all that concerned it. After a few words from Mr. Ronmsorr and Mr. lIAwEs, the matter dropped. INTERFERENCE WITH THE ARGENTINE REPU BLIC. Mr. URQUHART rose to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty by what adjudication the vessels of war of the Argentine Republic, specified in the return of the 9th March, have been transferred to the British Government ' or to that of Monte Video. Lord PALMERSTON not having received any notice of the question until that afternoon, could not give any reply. Mr. URQUHART said that the question which he had addressed was one which more concerned the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the Admiralty than itey other person. Sir F. BARING said that his Noble Friend at the head of the Foreign Department would give a reply to morrow (this day). MOLDAVIA AND WALLACHIA. Lord D. STUART then rose, pursuant to notice, to move for copies or extracts of any correspondence be tween this Government and the Governments of Turkey and Russia, relating to the occupation by Russian troops of the provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia. The Noble Lord said he was quite aware how very little atten tion questions of foreign policy generally excited in that House, and he regretted his own want of ability to invest his present subject with the interest which he conceived it deserved. He trusted, however, the House would give him some indulgence while he en deavoured to the best of his power, and in as short a time as he cauld, to lay before the House a statement on the subject of which he had given notice, and in which he hoped he could show that the honour and interest of this country were both deeply concerned. His Noble Friend the Secretary for Foreign Affairs had some years ago made use of the following language in reference to our foreign relations:—" I know that there are many persons in this House who look with great indifference, if not with actual repugnance, at discussions w hid] turn upon our foreign relations ; who think that they suffi ciently perform their duties in this House, by devoting themselves sedulously to our domestic concerns; who are willing to leave our foreign affairs to the unquestioned discretion of his Majesty's Ministers; or who, at least, believe those affairs to be matters of peculiar mystery and craft, upon which none but the fully initiated are capable of arriving at sound and satisfactory opinions. Why, as weli might a man think that provided he looked care fully over his estate, and managed his household with economy and order, it was unimportant to him what might be his behaviour towards his neighbours. When we consider how much our purely domestic interests are concerned in our diplomatic relations with other coun tries—when we reflect what influence the foreign policy of so great a power as England must necessarily have upon the transactions of the world, and how much it must affect the welfare and peace of nations—it is plain that both those who look only to our own selfish inte rests, and those whose views take a higher flight, ought equally to watch with jealous anxiety every step of the Government in these matters. But then, as to the dif ficulty of understanding these things. It may suit the purposes of some to endeavour, like the high priests of Egypt, to keep knowledge to themselves, by locking it up in mystical and unintelligible language; but the days are gone by when diplomacy was an occult science; the intercourse of nations must now be conducted upon the same principles as that of individuals. I say, then, that every English gentleman, who brings to the debates of this House an honest mind and a manly and generous spirit, will find it just as easy to judge of these matters, if he will only insist upon having proper information, as he would of anything else to which he may direct his at tention. I, therefore,implore this House to rouse them selves from that apathy as to our foreign affairs, which has prevailed so long ; for they may be assured that never upon a matter of high national con cernment was the salutary control of their interference more urgently required." The House should, not thick for a moment that he was about recommending this em pire to adopt a hostile position towards Russia. He was not an advocate for war. He thought the best inte rests of this country were bound up with the cause of peace. It was not for war, then, he was about asking in his present motion, but for information. If his Noble Friend the Secretary for Foreign Affairs said there was no correspondence on the subject referred to, then there was an end to the question. But his Noble Friend knew and the whole world knew, that there had been a great deal of corresponednce on the subject, and that it had occupied the attention of many countries for a long time. The Noble Lord then went into a brief history of the condition of Moldavia and Wallachia, which he said formed part of the Turkish empire; nearly 600 years ago they agreed to pass under the dominion of Turkey, and to accept the Sultan as their Suzerain, and entered into treaties or capitulations for that purpose by which their rights and liberties were carefully guarded. Those capitulations had been acknowledged and confirmed not only by Turkey, but also by Russia, even so recently as in the treaty of Adrianople in 1829. The inhabitants, notwithstanding that they were of the same religion as the Russians, and notwithstanding the intrigues of the latter, had remained firm in their allegiance to the Porte, and were more so now than at any former tine. It was true that for some fifteen or twenty years they had been anxious to introduce reforms into their insti tutions; and that desire, though not occasioned by had doubtless received an impulse from the electric shock communicated to all nations by the events of February, 1848. This had led to petitions, on the part of the Moldavians, for reforms. The Hoapodar, instead of - - agreeing to them, threw the petitioners into prison, and Russian troops then entered the territory. In Wallachia a new constitution was adopted, with the consent of the flospodar, who, however, shortly after abdicated. No violence was employed—no blood was shed— no disturbance occurred; a Provisional Government was established and governed the country to the satisfaction of the inhabitants for three months. Meantime a depu tation was sent to Constantinople. The Sultan ap peared at first to approve of what had been done, but required some alterations in the composi tion of the iGovernment, which were immediately assented to. The Emperor of Russia, however, thought proper to interfere, and he declared to the Porte that if she did not put down by force of arms the new state of things in Wallachia we would. The Porte appiled to England and France for advice, and was re commended to submit to the wishes of Russia. TurkiNh troops were then sent into Wallachia, they entered Bu charest, accompanied by the Russian General Duhamel, overthrew the Provisional Government, and re• established the former order of things, not withstanding that all pretext for further interference was thus removed, a Russian army entered Wallachia a short time afterwards. General Duhamel proclaimed that he took possession of the province in name of the Czar, his master. This occupation was ac companied with circumstances of insult to the Turks and oppression to the inhabitants. A Turk ish subject was arrested in the house of the Turkish Commander-in. Chief. An - English sub ject was dragged to prison. In spite of the remonstrances of the British Consul, all persons obnox ious to Russia were thrown into prison —and, what was worst of all, the Russian army, amounting to no less than 60,000 men, was maintained at the expenco of the wretched inhabitants. When it appeared that the troops were in danger of starvation, the Emperor generously permitted the Wallachian Government to open a credit at St. Petersburgh, thus saddling the country with a heavy national debt, and preparing pretexts for future oppression.—(Hear.) Towards the close of the last session he had asked his Noble Friend at the head of the Foreign Office whether it was true the t Noble Friend troops h a d ent ere d M o ld av i a; an d his Friend had stated in reply that they had so entered . without the authority of the Czar, and at the request of the Moldavian authorities; but that that movement had taken place solely for the purpose-of restoring order la the province, and that the occupation was not to con tinue for any length of time. His Noble Priced, how ever, must since have found out that he had been grossly deceived on the subject, for the Russian troops were still there. But was there anything to ju s tif y that interference on the part of Russia? lie con tended that there was not. In the treaty of Kainardji -adopted in the year 1774 it was declared by the 16th article, " The Porte consents, that according to the circumstances of the two principalities, the Ministers of the Imperial Court of Russia may speak in their favour ; and promises to take into consideration such representations comformably t o t h e amity and respect which it. has for th e P owers. " But that stipulation, which strongly contrasted by its moderation with the arrogant tone now assumed by Russia, could not give her that power of interference which she claimed. Again, he found that in the treaty of Adria nople there were stipulations in favour of the Molda- 1 Tltt? VIO' x‘ • i au, ss tech was ci so extraordinary a nature, that it must excite the greatest surprise, as it certainly had not been claimed. He referred to the stipulation by which - Russia guaranteed the prosperity of the peo ple of Moldavia and Wallachia. That was cer tainly a strange guarantee for any earthly power to give. He wished such a guarantee could be given in favour of Ireland, and the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Temworth might then giVe up his benevolent scheme for the regeneration of that country. There were, it was true, some words introduced in an or ganic regulation or statute in which Russia was termed " the protector" of those provinces, and Russia had en deavoured to procure the insertion of a stipulation that the C, nstitution should not bealtered without her consent —but the National Assembly refused to admit it; al though it was introduced into the official copy of the Act, the Assembly having iintre liately and formally i fetus :t (and the protest may be oad in Martin's collection of treaties), it cannot be considered as having any validity. It is upon such pretexts that Russia has violated ate territory of a neigh bouring state with an army of 60,000 men, and forced the inhabitants to maintain them for more than six months at their own expense, and Russia has been eulogised for its moderation, dignity, and forbear ance, and which has received this eulogy from those who can set no bounds to their vituperation of Charles Albert and of the King of Prussia, for their inter ference in Schleswig-Holstein and in Lombardy. Let those who are so loud in their denunciation of Go vernments whom they accuse ofdisregarding the obliga tions of treaties, in order to assist and defend popular and national rights, display equal indignation at similar conduct when the object is to oppress and to trample down such rights; or let them stand forth in their true colours, not as the scrupulous defenders of good faith, but as the friends of despotism, and let it be seen that their pretended attachment to the faith of treaties is but • &meek to dieguise their hatred of liberty, and of the de sire which lurks in the bottom of their hearts to put down all popular rights, and to see mankind subjected to the degrading yoke of arbitrary power. But such a circum stance could afford no justification of the conduct of Russia in violating the territory of a neighbouring power. The preservation of the integrity of the Turkish empire had always been considered an object of the ut most importance by our statesmen; and that was the opinion which had been expressed by his Noble Friend at the hew! of the Foreign-office, in the course of a de bate which had taken place on the 4th of February, 1834. His Noble Friend had said on that occasion-- " The Right Hon. Baronet (Sir R. Peel) appears to think very lightly of the importance of maintaining Turkey in the state of independence which is yet left to her. I must confess that I differ from him on that point, for I consider it of the greatest importance to this country, and to the balance of power in Europe, that the Turkish empire, such as it subsists, should be main tained in all its independence and integrity; and it was not without due consideration that this was pointed out in the Speech from the Throne as a matter deserving of the serious attention of Parliament." Now it appeareet to him (Lord Dudley Stuart) that the military occupa tion of these provinces should be looked upon as the first step towards the dismemberment of the Ottoman empire. The House should not forget that Turkey had acted more liberally in her commercial policy than any other country in the world.—(Hear.) It appears, "from official returns, that only three countries are better cus tomers than Turkey—viz., Germany, best of all, Hol land, Italy, and the Italian Islands. France, though . our nearest neighbour, is on a par with Russia. No ether country comes near. Russia is more than half million below Turkey. Prussia, Belgium, Denmark+ Sweden, Norway, all together, do not equal her.—(Hear, hear.) Portugal, with the Azores, and with Madeira and Spain, with the Balearic lelands do not reach her ; and even if our own po.s ssion, Gibraltar, which annually takes more than halt a million, be added, barely surpass her. His Lord ship then called the attention of the House to the follow ing extracts from the Manchester Guardian, of the 24th orAugust, 1848:—" Few Englishmen, few English ma nufacturers even, are aware that the narrow passage of the Dardanelles is continually traversed by fleets freighted with the produce of English looms, of English. mines, of English workshops, and of English colo nies; that this great stream of commerce, having sr' rived at Const a nti no pl e , an d having suffered there such diminution as serves to supply the wants of that capital and its surrounding provinces, passes on to the Black Sea, where, dividing into two branches, the smaller seeks the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, through the mouth of the Danube, ' whilst the larger, reaching Trebizond, is again sub divided, diffusing itself over Persia on the one hand, and on the other stretching, by means of the great cara van lines, into the boundless east, as far as Caubul, Itho* kand, Bukhara, and Chive." " The ignorance which prevails respecting its resources can only be explained by the circumstance that it is carried on almost exclu sively by the agency of foreigners." "Yet this trade is important on account of its present magnitude, and still more important by the promise which its rapid increase affords of an almost indefinite future development. ° " The question is sometimes asked, what interest can England, a Christian ration, have in the preser va ti on o f the Ottoman empire ?. When the facts which we have just slated are known the question admits of an easy answer." " Whilst countries, which boast of a higher degree of civilization, have vied with each other in inventing complicated contrivances, having for their object the protection of native manu factures, to the certain injury and sometimes to the utter destruction of their foreign commerce, the Turkish. Go vernment _has_ _adhered to its ancient maxims, and on this point as well as on some others has set an estample of liberality which has been little applauded, and still less imitated, by western Governments. Now, suppose for a moment that any European • power—Austria , France, or Russia, obtained possession of Constantinople , would the manufactured goods of England be permitte d in that case to pass into the Black Sea, as they are per ; mitted at present, o n p ay i ng a small advalortm duty 0 : between 3 and 5 per cent.? Is it not. more rational to conclude that any European power, on gaining th e command of the Dardanelles, would extend its presen t tariff to its new dominions ?—(Hear.) Now, the tariU of France, Germany, and Russia are prohibitive 01 British manufactures, with the exception of the hal f ; manufactured article of cotton twist, which is admitted into the two latter countries as a great favour, at an 6 16 valorem duty of 30 per cent We must, therefore, ex pect, if the rapidly approaching frontier of the Russian empire should ever reach the banks of the Hellespontv not merely to see th e i ncrease of our Eastern, or Gree k trade, as it is termed in Manchester, receive a sudden check, but we must be prepared for the almost total annihilation of that valuable branch of our commerce; Nor does this opinion rest merely on a calculation of probabilities ; it h as rece i ve d t h e confirmation o f ac tual experience.—(Hear, hear.) Up to the time when the Russians took possession of Georgia, merchants from that country visited Constantinople in considerable numbers for the purpose of purchasing English Ins' nutactured articles; but a few years after its annexe ion to the Russian empire this commerce ceased, and the Georgian traders have entirely disappeared fro/ Constantinople. The late Lord Grey is reported to have said that the meanest anizan in the kingdom is in terested in preserving the balance of power. The obsere vatiou is no doubt correct; but the interest must ill !espy instances be somewhat remote. The interest, how - ' ever, of the Manchester operatives in preserving the in dependence of Turkey is direct and obvious." It appear s from the revenue and population returns for the Yea t 1846—a year not the most favourable for his purP°.__ A se " but it is the n earest to the present time to which he ow' access—that the trade with Turkey was not only large, but steadily and rapidly increasing. In a speech made by him (L o rd D. S tuart ) i n the year 1836, he sh o w ed ) that the declared value of our ixports to Turkey was the year 1827, 500,0001. ; in , 1 834,1,20u,0001.—i. e., t" exports to Turkey had i ncrease d b y 700,0001. Since the last-mentioned period they had further il l ; creased by 1,200,0001.—i. e ., f rom 1834 to 18: , they have doubl e d ; w hil st f rom 1827 to 18,11 in twenty years, th e y h ave increased fivele.h,,h Now, compare the pro gress o f t h e tra d e of Tur k ey with that of Russia. In twenty years, while our annual ex ports to Turkey have increased by 2,000,000/.. our ef ports to Russia have in crease d only by 500,000/ Twenty years ago the declared value of our exports to Turk!, was less than half that of our exports to Russia. kle"..; our exports to Turkey exceed those to Russia by more than one third. But this is but an imperfect picture of the relative value of the trades; we must inquire of. what the the exports consist ; a large portion of those ge tn r' n to Russia, nearly one-half, is composed of the half m being factured article o f co tt on twist, for the purpose of being worked up into goods, an d afterwards brought into "m. a petition with our own. Th e va l ue o f cotton manu facture goods exported to R u s s i a i s per f ect l y i ns ignificant ; it does not amount to 50,0001. The trade to Turkey pre,, sents an aspect pr ec i se ly th e reverse. The a The lm v o a s i t ue th o e l cotton twist exported is small, and whole of our exports to that country consists of cotton manufactured goods. It is well knows how much more valuable the trade in cotters geode is than than that in cotton twist. This has been well expounded in a pamphlet which has lately been published, from which the following were extracta;— ,.. " Of course the greater the amount of labour and capital required to produce any manufactured art i c l e, t h e g reater is ita_value,in proportion to th e va l ue of t h e raw ma; terial of which it is compo se d." " Out of the pr i ce 01 plain and printed calicoes must be paid, not merely th e expense of the labour and the interest of the capital C ployed . . producing the yarn, but also the labour of weaving and printing, end the interest of best employed . in those processes; and according to the estimates which have been formed on this subject, whilst the value of cotton twist is about double the value of the raw material which has been worked up in making it, the average value of the plain and printed calicoes, of win e " than that our exports consist, is about five times greater of the raw material." "Deducting, then, on this accounth one-half from our exports of cotton twist, and one-filth from . our exports of plain and printed calicoes, we sha ll find a residue of 1,424,5481, which must have been re ceived in the I. shape of profits and wages, by our . cap the capital talists and workmen engaged directly or indirectly in tb& cotton manufacture, on account of our exports to Turkey" in the year 1847; and the sum of 413,1771 only as the amount which they received in profits nad wages, during the same year, from cur exports to R uss i a ." "As ' 81 ; as the cotton manufacture is concerne d, the Turkish trade is therefore more valuable to England than the Russian, nearly in the proportion o f fi ve to two, and se L , this remarkable difference arises from the liberality 0 1 the Turkish tariff, which is uniformly low for all ntee lectured goods (from three to five per cent. on thl.acter , value), whilst the Russian tariff is almost as uniformly prohibitive, it is probable that an exam i na tion of t he re lative value of the Turkish and Russian trades w i th re t urabl range! detrim in the balam -. , , -