The Sun. — London, England, 1849-02-23 00:00:00

)unce trade, 1111orkg being . wittt is nowt of the ;land; . :cause ply • of 3 than And 4: It tereby storm em at I pray g fur ; were two; , ssors. )orted i well men spect. mow, irman Id we ically, •Loa. i was 1g he act of ,t I , how any member of the Commission ceuld put his hand to the entire report who was not p7cpared for an altetation of the law, and probably a relaxation. Mr. HENLEY had misunderstood the Honourable and Learned Gentlemen. There was an extraoreinery omission in the evidence. Her Majesty's Commissioners . were bound to treat the most difficult part of the sub ject. But they had not touched on what would be the enrclition of the clergy of the Church of England if this law were relaxed. That question was touched on by Mr. Pwerson, by one of the Irish clergy, and by Arch deacon S nclair. The statement of the clergyman from Ireland was to the effect that many of the clergy would not celebrate such marriages; Archdeacon Sinclair expressed the hope that they would not be compelled to celebrate them ; and Mr. Paterson thought the clergy felt con strained by the force of the canon law. lie spoke from memory ; but in what position were they going to place the clergy by this Bill ? Would the Noble Lord sum• mon Convocation together, to relieve them from the obligations of the canon law ? The Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman had attempted to throw discredit on the canons ; but while be admitted that they had bt sanctioned by Cranmer and Parker, he omitted to state that they had in 1603 been ratified by the Convocation and confirmed, by the Crown. It was very (talk to lay how the clergy were to be released from the obliga tions of those canons. He should not at present vote on the general merits of the question. If ever there was a case artistically got up—he used the word advisedly— this was the case ; and the report partook wholly of that character. Any person reading, to copy the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman's language, one of the earliest paragraphs of the report, would believe that the Pope had to do with the earliest ages of Christianity; nor did the report advert to the fact that the Eastern CLnrch had throughout rejected those marriages, and without dispensation. The report was so carefully drawn that any one reading it would come to the con clusion that those marriages bad been dispensed from the beginning. He objected on social as well as other grounds to the proposed measure. The report described the proposed alteration as contrary to the sense only of the clergy in Scotland, though it was stated in the evi dence that the same feeling extended to the whole people of Scotland. The report was not a fair exponent of the evidence. In Ireland these marriages were regarded with abhorrence. Were they, for the sake of a small minority, who had gone deliberately, and,with their eyes open against the laws of the Church and country, itllogstaokfetha e s c t o ep mna w u h n iicthy7 and place confessedly shock the feel place the clergy in such a position as that they should either be obliged to act against their consciences, or that they should be left under an anomalous state of the law to do or not to do what he believed a great majority of the people thought contrary to the law of man and of God ? Sir G. GREY, having intimated to the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman (Mr. S. Wortley) that no op position would be offered to bringing in the Bill, did not intend at that stage to make any observa tions. Had there been opposition to the introduction of the Bill, he should have proposed to state the reasons why in his individual capacity he was prepared to give it his support in so far as it related to marriages with a deceased wife's sister, and why he should approve of laying on the table of the House a measure for carrying out an object which, not in terms but in substance, had been declared by a Royal Commission to be one that required legislation. If the result of that consideration which Hon. Gentlemen would have an opportunity of giving to the Bill should be any opposition to its further progress, he should then certainly assign the reasons which would lead him to vote for the second read ihg--(Hear, hear,) He would not say he would go ue further than the Right Honourable and Learned Gentleman proposed; but he wished to guard himself 'against being supposed to coincide entirely either inabe extent to which the Right Hon. and Learned Gentlemen carried his views, or to the limitations be approved. On that .question he (Sir G. Grey) wished to be left free in forming his judgment till the second reading. Having read the report of the Commission and examined the evidence, he did not concur in the reproach thrown on the Commissioners, or in the remarks of a depreciating natur e with respect to the evidence they had collected. They had collected a vast nnmher of facts bearing upon what to him had always been a paramount consideration, namely, the practical effect of the existing law for the best interests of society.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member for Oxfordshire (Mr. Henley) said it was the opinion of interested parties that was given in the evidence, and t hat it ought therefore to be disregarded. Interested Naha were alone capable of giving that information w hich the Commission was appointed to collect. It all the ev id ence ;A of interested parties, or of parties who were suffering from the operation of the present law, had Med'been set aside, the Commissioners would not have ful fill their duty. With respect to the practice of the an cient church, the prohibitions were so extensive, absurd, and unnatur a l, that a dispensing power bad been intro duced which had been exercised for many centuries in th e R oman Catholic Church; and, without falling back U pon that practice, it would be impossible to found tiny f marriage upon the practice of the ancient church. d ffd t t o n e 1 e " was at present in a state of uncertainty. It p e c England, from the law which prevailed with continent o f those marriages over the greater part of the o ( i ) s s il p i e n c g Lively, its Europe and in America. It had failed object f Be c n e tprlobject. Certainly effecting that which had in regard to those marriages taken place before Lord Lyndhurst's Act, it was • : I mpossible to deny that the effect of that Act was, tie it passed, to render those marriages indissoluble. tie could not imagine how any one who thought those Marriages contrary to the Divine law should have con curred in that Act. That Act set at rest questions which cr eated un eas i ness i n f am ili es b y su b stant i a l ly confirm tug Such m arr i ages o f t hi s d escr i pt i on as h a d prev i ously been contracted; but prospectively he was afraid as Uncertainty was proiiuced by the existing state of the law. On these grounds he thought the House ought to allow the Bill to be brought in. It would be a matter for consideration whether the measure would accomplish the object it proposed to gain, but, for one, he heartily assented to its introduction. Mr. NAPIER should give the Bill his most deter mined opposition. They bad the mind of the Church of England, the Church of Ireland, and the Church of Scotland, and the concurrent Christian testimony of cen turies that those marriages were forbidden by the law of God. If they had to make a choce—were they to Stoop in deference to the animal passions of those who had broken the law, or were they to reverence the long cherished feelings of the great majority of the people? There was a religious basis for the present law, and t here were very intelligible reasons for its existence, the freedom of intercourse which the degrees of affinity 4 hd earisanguanity allowed requiring to be guarded by vc ry , hallowed feelings. The whole principle on which t he law of marriage rested would be endangered. Mr. PLUMPTRE felt the subject to be not unattended himleith difficulties. More serious inquiry had brought to a determination to oppose the Bill. The change The law would introduce greater evils than now existed. e e k he children of a deceased wife, whom the measure was fo r intended to benefit, might suffer more than ever; 'Or jealousy and suspicion would be introduced into fa tellies such as did not now exist. tb li r• WORTLEY com pl a i ne d of the attack to whi c h l 'e C ommiesioners had been subjected by the Hon. and for Oxford. Member for Plymouth and the Hon. Member e (4 * Oxford. Seeing who the Commissioners were, it was ill:natter of surprise that they should have been made ° l3 ,lects of insinuation, if not of direct imputation. Sere was rea lly no gro und for alleging that the Com tsaioners had acted otherwise than impartially. It was dede a mutter of complaint that the report and the evi -1 a ce did not sufficiently,show what was the opinion of the , e :gy of the Church of England with reference to this q , li 4t , s ion; but that was not the fault of the Commissioners. p ui u e n ishop w ho pr es ided over the Commission cones ow e ated with the clergy, and did everything in his ° t e n , to make them come forward and declare their te n t ee ,' °43 ; but they did not do so; and the fair ide ate to be drawn from that circumstance was, that Th, —e rgy had not a strong feeling on the 'subject. e nonourable Member for Oxford thought the °Menissioners hid acted unfairly in stating in their e e Port th at the clergy o f S co tland objected to th e pro - Posed alteration of the law, without adding that the leeple of th a t country also too k the same view of th e s ubject; but in the very next paragraph of the report it w as announced that the feeling of the people of the p hited Kingdom was opposed to th e change, and surely i t e inhabitants of Scotland came un der that category. wad somewhat ungenerous to charge the Commis- Sinners upon such grounds with being guilty ofmaeny bLuerng,. lik e a suppreision of the truth. The Hon. rad isnoPttreeGssed th e t or Ozfor next alleged that the Commissioners had suppressed dispensations fact that there had been fir ' HENLEY Church. to "QNLEY—I said that the fact was not alluded i n L „ Ma t first paragraph of the report. first . WORTLEY—But, if it was not alluded to in the e e s ? Paragraph, it was' in another, in these terms:— te he Greek Church held such marriages to be inces tinous and unlawful,' and not to be allowed by dispense iu-rt er otherwise."—(Hear, hear.) It really was un vothsteirfisable to char go a peelate . of the Church, amongst hi, , upon such unsubstantial grounds, with lending a tt r.', B elf to a scheme for getting up a case. ' Then it . was wag that the Commissioners examined interested parties. 44 " not that always the case under similar circum e Ile "? Would not a Committee on the navigation• laws aminex • interested parties? Would not a Commission to e o r i re into the Ecclesiastical Courts do the same ? Did nee n ,9 2e Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Wh e l e Lid corporations examine interested parties ? loe,: c would they get information if they did not do ki s . ; (near, he a r.) Why, it was aiked, had the Com tep„'Plers confined their attention to marriages within w ere green? Because, upon inquiry, they found there be ef r iu marriages in any other degree, end like prac ham Merl they confined themselves to the matter in tle k : in conclusion, the Right Hon. and Learned tap, !°n expressed -a hope that future discussions on this tap, !Olt would be conducted apart from any feelings of d "3. ' P, L 1 " .0 was then given to bring in the Bill. ImALTIES AGAINST CLERGYMEN SECED airG FROM THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. see er r ; l l3o lJVEltlE, after presenting petitions from ti e , A e Places praying for an atnendment of the Tolera aib.o t, preceeded to move the motion of which he had a 0, 4 ti eP, " That this House will resolve itself into 18tnrnittee to consider the Act 1 William and Mary, vie w t (c °inenonly called the Toleration Act), with a t;iviits benefit, and "° its amendment, by extending chhrg,,,"•ol.nption from all penalties to ministers of the te e , t w" England d ec l ar i n g themselves to be dissen- ILm s ne refrorn."• 'lt was not his intention to detain the any length ui on the subject ; he would confine se„l eft to a brief teem, nt of the present stated the law, Th e naude in w hick he - proposcd to alter and extend it. re;iegl.o_le,r.ation Art might be called the great charter of soli „ f `l' Liberty in this country, and was the gradual re ajou,. eae.ceenviction.that, instead of le rsecution for reli eiliti',2ll:lll,rene(•s being a duty, no penalties or civil disa titne be imposed on such grounds. From the the„ _or theeleeth tili that (if Charle, 11. all who took WIAL of =wane@ and supremacy, and against the THE SUN, doctrine of transubstantiation, were exempt from all penalties against non-conformity in ecclesiastical courts, and also from what was called the Conventicle and Five-mile Acts. The ci:eration of this Act, how ever, was limited. It excluded Roman Catholics. and persons who did not believe in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. These exceptions were from time to time gradually abolished, and the benefits of the T oleration Act extended to Unitarians, and in the fullest extent to Roman Catholics, and also to persons in holy orders, oe pretended holy orders, who were not called epoti to eign a declaration of belief in the Tirarty•nine Articles of the Church, but merely that they net e Protestant Dis seuters, and believed in the Holy Scripture s. This was the sta'e of the law with which he proposed to deal. The Court of Queen's Bench had lately decided that though a minister dissenting from the Church of England was exempt from penalties under the common law, he was still liable to be proceeded against in the Ecclesiastical Courts for a breach of disci pline. He could be fined 251. a month for not attending his parish church, if residi ng w i t hi n fi ve miles, 40/., he believed under the Con vent i c l e A ct. Other Dissenting ministers, who had never bcen connected with the Church, were exempt f rom a ll t h ese penalties. but they were still held binding on those who had once been tiler gpyer(mseinn! ld o e f ou that no C t h b u y rc ty Church; and the Court held that such act of their own release thems selves from these burdens. A person in such a situation was in fact a su', a slave fur life.—(Hear.) lie be lieved that the doctrine wits even pushed to the ex treme, that deposition itself did not relieve the person so deposed from these burdens.—(Hear, hear.) They were of course all bound to bow to the decisions of the Court of Queen's Bench as to whiit the really was, but he thought the House would agree with him that it involved great hardship, and he con tended that such a construction of it was not in ac• cordance with the intentions of the trainers of the Toleration Act themselves. In fact it reimposed the very grievances of which they complained. He would merely mention the case of Richard Baxter, a name which would be respected as long as learning, piety, and worth were reverenced.—(Hear.) Richard Baxter was episcopally ordained, and could it be believed that an Act framed for the relief of Nonconformists would be framed in such a manner as to exclude him from its benefits? He thought the House would be prepared to give relief from the burdens which the Court of Queen's Bench de cided were imposed by law. This was not a mere theoretical question, but a practical one, and he needed only to refer to the case recently decided in the Queen's Bench to justify him in asking the House at once to resolve itself into a Committee on the law. For all that the Howe knew, the person aff,cted by that decision is now in prison; it not, he was liable to be put there at any moment, and might remain there, as far as the law was concerned, for the re mainder of his life. He was not going to enter into the details of the particular case which had directed atten tion to this matter (that of the Bishop of Exeter and Mr. Shore). He would merely say, with reference to the conduct of the Bishop in that case, that he thanked God there had been few such bishops in this country since the Revolution—(Hear, hear)—and he believed that if they had many such biehops the state of religion in this country would have been very different indeed to what it now was.—(Hear, hear.) there was no man to whom this country was so deeply indebted as John Wesley, yet he was episcopally ordained; so was Whitefield; and if the bishops of that day had entertained the same views as those which had been acted upon in the case he had referred to, both Wesley and Whitefield would have been shut up in prison all their days, instead of labouring as they did in the diffusion of religious knowledge and sen timents among the people.—( Hear, hear.) In order to show the House, however, that he was not alone in the view he took of this question, he might state that he had the approval of no lees a person than the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose authority was high, not only on account of his position in the Chureh, but from his eminent virtues and his piety as a man. The Archbishop of Canterbury said he entirely concurred with his (Mr. Bouverie'e) opinions, that there ought to be some amendment in the Toleration Act.—(Hear, hear.) He proposed that any clergyman who dissented trom the Established Church, should, in addition to the oath he was required to take as a Dissenting minister to escape these penalties, likewise make a declaration of dissent from the Established Church. He would require that that declaration should be registered in compliance with the provisions ef the Toleration Act, and that it should be forward, d to the Bishop of the diocese, and having been registered by bun, that the person so departing from the Church, should be relieved of all the burdens which attached to him while in connexion with it, and at the same time, as was but just, that he should lose all claims and privileges which he possessed while a clergy man of the Church.—(Hear, hear.) In short, he merely wished to put a person in the simple state which he would have occupied if he had never been a clergyman at all. Sir JAMES GRAHAM—WiII you let him have a seat in the House of Commons? Mr. I3OUVERIE—I shall propose to do so.—(Hear. The Hon. Member concluded by moving for the Come mittee. Mr. GLADSTONE regretted that the Hon. Member, in moving his resolutiori, had thought fit to speak it; terms of grave censure of the conduct of a Bishop of the Church in the case to which he referred. The Hon. Member might be better informed on the subject than he was, and might, for all he knew, have authority for the statement; but certainly, as far as he was informed, he did not think the Hon. Member had given a just view of the matter. He understood that the Bishop of Exeter had offered to Mr. Shore to relieve him from all penalties as far as he (the Bishop) was concerned. Whether it was Mr. Shore's refusal to accept the condi tions, or the defect of the law, which prevented the offer from being carried out, he knew not. With respect to the resolution, he heartily concurred in the object in view— and if at any future stage theie should arise any difficul ties of detail which prevented its attainment, he should feel both surprised and grieved.—(Hear, hear.) The principle of the measure was a simple one—to release a man from burdens imposed upon him while in a certain situation, when he ceased to fill that situation, and at the same time to deprive him of all privileges enjoyed while filling it.—(Hear, hear.) There was no theological question raised by the Measure. He hoped that in Com mittee it would not be necessary to dwell upon details; and all he would further say was, that he thanked the Hon. Slember for the introduction of the subject, which would, be hoped and believed, effect a valuable improve ment in the law. The motion was then agreed to, and the Speaker hating left the Chair, the House went into Committee, and the resolution that a Bill be brought in having been agreed to, the House again resumed. Mr. BERNAL reported the same, and a Bill was or• dered to be brought in. LONDON, r after the 1011 g experience of the Hon. Member, he should that night have contented himself with bringing forward an abstract proposition, the truth or which no man in his senses could think of doubtieg, instead of laying a Bill upoa their table for the pure se of practically carrying out the real object which he had in view, and containing provisions by which such a measure could be made to work. Reviewing the speech of the Honourable Member, it would be impossible to deny the likeness of the picture which he had drawn of tha state of Ireland, the distress and the embarrassment of the landlord, as well as the condition of pauperism to which the population were reduced. Thatthe Honourable Mem ber represented to he the condition of the great mass of the country, and with that condition he contrasted the prosperity of the county of Down—a prosperity which the Hon. Member did not hesitate to say was owing al together to the tenure by which land was held iu that county, and that that prosperity was in a most especial degree owing to his favourite tenant right. Now, really, notwithstanding the strong preference which the Hon. Gentleman entertained for this tenant right, it mouid not be very difficult to show that the difference between the two parts of the country on which s much stress had been laid was not altogether owing to the dif ference of tenure subsisting in the one province as com pared with thet prevailing in the other. He would take the case of Donegal. There was no part or Ireland whatever in which there was more of what was called tenant right than in that county. He, there fore, did not think it was a fair deduction to say that the difference between Ulster and Connaught was altogether owing to the existence of tenant right in the one province and its non-existence in the other. He believed it c.eald easily be shown that the rundale was one of the causes of the marked difference between the two districts, end then, again, the system of joint tenancy might be considered another. But, in making these ob servations, he wished it to be understood most distinctly that ho did not deny the general accuracy of the descrip tion given by the Hon. Mover. His Hon. Friend alluded to the expediency of adopting a law somewhat like what in Scotland was called Montgomery's Act, and be (Sir W. Somerville) the more particularly adverted to this, as it gave him an opportunity of stating that Mont gomery's Act had been most carefully considered by the commission which sat under the presidency of Lord Devon, and it wasahe deliberate opinion of that com mission, that neither that Act, nor the machinery by which it was worked, could in any respect be rendered applicable to Ireland. He was, however, far from say ing that some measure of the kind might not be advan tageously introduced; but what he meant to show was, that there was extreme difficulty in dealing with subjects of this nature. His Hon. Friend next alluded to the Bill of last session, which had been introduced by him self, aided by one or two other Members of that House, the chief object of which measure was to enable proprie tors in fee to charge the whole estate with sums of money to be borrowed for the purpose of improving those estates, end the machinery for carrying that object into effect was to have been the Board of Works. Let them only imagine for a moment every landed proprietor in Ireland using the machinery of the Board of Works. That Board must in all cases examine the nature and practicability of the projected improvements before issuing their fiat. The board must in all cases have made themselves responsible for the whole of the outlay. Now, he need hardly suggest that this would have had the effect of involving them in disputes with every landed proprietor in Ireland. And how much worse would matters have been if the more en larged ideas of his Hon. Friend had been carried into effect? He was sure that his Hon. Friend would soon have found such schemes to be impracticable. It was to be hoped, however, that the objects which his Hon. Friend had in view might be differently attained; at all events he felt assured that little good could be accom plished by throwing upon Government boards that which the proprietors of lands ought to do for themselves. The next subject to which his Hon. Friend directed the attention of the House was the necessity of providing some means for remunerating tenants who at their own expense had improved their holdings. It could not fail to be in the recollection of the House that measures on that subject had been proposed by Lord Stanley and by the Noble Lord the Member for the Falkirk district of burghs; there was also his own measure on the same subject; and yet, after all, those various measures afforded only additional proofs of the difficulties by which these subjects were surrounded. ' Although he estimated those difficulties very highly, .he could not say that he was at all deterred from engaging with those subjects; and he hoped that even early in the present session he should be enabled to introduce to the House a measure for the purpose of securing to improving te nants the fruits of their industry, and of the capital which they might expend. It would be recollected by Hon. Members, that in the course of the last year a measure had been brought forward upon this subject— it had 'been submitted to a Committee, and several useful suggestions had been made; he hoped, there fore, that the Bill to be proposed this year would be a decided improvemeat utn the former measure. In the course of the speech which the House had that evening heard from his Hon. Friend they had been told that the state of uncertainty in which the people of Ireland were placed paralyzed every effort of industry and enterprise. He confessed that he could not assent to that statement, for he did not at all see how voluntary arrangements were to be prevented by any such means. His Hon. Friend went on to say that it was the duty of Parlia ment to come in and define the tenant right of the north at the same time his Hon. Friend could not but adm the difficulty of legalizing any such iighi. -- i;;Ti; pert, he never distinctly understood what it was. Mr. Lamont (we believe) had written a pamphlet on the subject, and had made statements which pretty clearly showed that it would be almost impos ble to reduco any account of it to algal definition. There were several other subjects mentioned by his Hon. Friend, but he hardly knew whether it would be neces- sary for him to touch - upon them. Two of those subjects were the reclamation of waste lands and the grout work of arterial draining. They were both very important subjects, but he must be permitted to say that the ques tion whether waste lands were to be improved on a large scale by the Government was a question not now very warmly entertained in Ireland. He hardly knew any question that of late years had lost so much ground as that of extensive reclamation of land in Ireland by the Government. No doubt the industry of the country was not sufficiently tasked. Every one knew that the soil of Ireland was capable of maintaining a much more numerous population than at present lived upon that soil, but those statements might be perfectly true with out its necessarily following that alt the recommenda tions of his Hon. Friend should be carried into effect. Having maple these few observations upon the speech of his Hon. Friend he should now say a word or two with respect to the measures which he himself intended to in- troduce. He trusted that he should be able to propose to the House a Bill to enable holders of renewable leases to convert their holdings into tenacies in fee. This measure he hoped to bring in early in the present session. He also proposed to bring in a Bill for altering the law relating to grand juries, land, having said thus much, he hoped the house would be content, without adopting any such resolution as his Hon. Friend had proposed.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped that the House would not adopt anything so undefined till they could have an opportunity of seeing what the Government in tended to do.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. O'FLAHELL ry expressed a hope that the mea sures promised by the Right lion. Baronet would be in troduced as soon as possible. He professed himself con ter it with the intimations which they had recoived from the Goverment. Mr. J. O'CONNELL agreed that they should wait to see what the Government intended to do. If the lion. Gimtletnan pressed his motion to a division he (Mr. O'Connell) would vote for it; but *he recommended his Hon. Friend to withdraw it, on the understanding that the Ministry were pledged to bring in a Bill during the present sessio n t o a men d th e l aws e ff ect i ng l an dl or d s and tenant. Lord BERNARD advised the Hon. Member for Roch dale to withdraw his resolution, for he believed that if it were adopted by the House hopes would be excited in Ireland which could never be realised. He considered that the wisest course Parliament could take would ho to abstain from legislating with regard to landlord and tenant ; for ho believed that, in the case of the larger tenants, a mutual good feeling between themselves and their landlords would ulti►nately prevail, even where it might not already exist; and with regard to the smaller tenants, whose holdings were not large enough to enable them to support their families, to give them a permanent tenure would be to perpetuate misery and distress in Ireland. He would recommend the Government to accede to a suggestion which had recently been made to the Lord-Lieutenant, and which had been made to that House some time since by the late Lord Georg-Bentinck—to — affrrd assistance to the railway companies in Ireland; for by so doing they would afford 'employment to the people, and would aid in developing the resources of the country. The Secretary for Ireland had alluded to the subject of arte rial drainage. All that was required to carry out that system was, that funds should be provided which, under the present Act of Parliament, it was found difficult to obtain. If the Government would only lend the money upon . undoubted securit3 , the works which had been already projected J . might be instantly com menced. If encouragement was given to the establishment of railway communication in Ireland, the fisheries of that country might be made most valuable and productive. He wished to call the attention of the House and the Government to the fact, that although a large seam had been voted by Parliament some time since for the establishment and improvement of piers and harbours, nearly two years had elapsed be fore any steps were' taken for erecting piers in those places where they were most needed. With regard to the poor-laws he should be glad if the Noble Lord (Lord J. Russell) would explain wh e th er h e i n t en d e d to ....._- _ 'ollow out the report of tho Boundary Commission, and o form new unions, leaving the temporary workhouses o be occupied in those unions until funds were obtained o build now houses, or whether the auxiliary work louses were to be taken into the present unions? He also wished to know whether the Noble Lard concurred with the Boundary Commissioners with respect to the electoral divisions.—( Hear, hear.) He would recommend .he Government to extend the jbjpets of the Land provement Act, and to adopt measures for instructing the people in . the science of agriculture. The position of the great numbers of children in the poor-houses of Ire land was most distressing; and he would suggest that CP • steps should be taken for sending them to the colonies. It was utterly impossible in Ireland to give out-door .re lief to the aged and infirm. In many unions, when there was a prospect of out-door relief being given, suddenly, as if the whole population had been at once paralysed, those who the day before were well and healthy become cliimants for relief. He urged the Government to state to thR House what course they intended to pursue, in order that the doubt and uncertainty which hung over every part of Ireland might as soon as possible be removed. M:. REYNOLDS thanked the Hon. Member for )chd.,,l , for having originated the present discussion. With respect to the cultivation .of waste lauds, he re- IRELAND.-TENANT-RIGHT. Mr. S. CRAWFORD then rosy to move " that the laws relating to landed property in Ireland, as affecting the rights and powers both of landlords and tenants, require the immediate consideraion of this House, with a view to such alteration of those laws as will re move the obstacles at present existing to the improve ment of the soil and employment of the people." The Hon. Gentleman said that, in consequence of the failure of the potato crop, the people were rapidly being ex terminated trom Ireland, partly by ejectment, partly by death, and partly by emigration. The people had be come degraded is mind and body. That was the case in Connaught and some parts of the south, but there was an exception to that scat.; in one part of Ireland—and that was in Ulster. In no part of the United Kingdom was there a lower degree of poverty than in Ulster. In other parts the occupiers of the soil had no interest in it, but in Ulster the tenants held immediately under the landlord, and under a syitem which gave encouragement to improvement and. security to the tenant for the money he eXpended by the custom of what was called tenant right. He should propose that a landlord laying out money for the improvement of an estate should have the power of charging it on the inheritance, for it was hard that a landlord should he called on to expend money on an estate, the whole of which would go to enrich his eldest son. Another measure required was to enable landlords under entail to grant sufficiently long leases to encourage the improvement of ill-cultivated and un drained lands, charging the inheritance with the money expended on those improvements. The rights of inter mediate landlords subsisting between the occupying tenants and the head lakidlord also demanded attention. Provision should be made for satisfying those rights in some way, either by allowing those inter mediate parties to claim a title in perpetuity or to sell to the landlord on a valuation, so that the real occupier of the soil might be brought into direct communication with the landlord-in-chief. The next measure was the most important of all, namely the security of the tenant who laid out his money in improvements. Neither landlords nor tenant knew how to make agreements for leases in the present state of uncertainty. If nothing were to be done, let the public know it immediately; but if the Government did not intend to propose a mea sure, he entreated them to bring it forward with as little delay as possible. Until that was done they need expect neither improvement nor increased employment in Ire land. Another beneficial measure would be for the State to enter upon waste and uncultivated lands, which could be profitably improved, paying the owner for them at a valuation proportionate to their present condition. These lands might be drained, and then re-sold, with a certainty of ample remuneration to the Government, besides providing at the same time for the employment of the people. Was it not melan choly to think that in Connaught, where the greatest distress existed and where the people were starvini for want of employment, there were 1,560,000 acres of im- provable land now lying waste? He thought that the lands of those who did not pay their poor rates should be sold, and these defaulters treated like other bank rupts elsewhere. He did not FCC why the industrious people of England or Ireland should be called upon to make good the deficiency of such defaulters until their property had bee❑ made answerable. Govern ment ought also to bring in a Bill to amend the En cumbered Estates Act of last session, so as to render it more simple and wore applicable to the wants of the country. It was his firm opinion that if the proper measures were taken Ireland could provide for double or treble her present population. But the Government must take bold measures for the improvement of that country. If they stood upon ,the abstract rights of landlords, and would' pss no 'lnew,ures for _lreland but such as were suited io England, ,they would never do any good. Ire land required extraortikuary measures, as the Govern ment had admitted when they set aside the liberties of the subject in that country. It was necessary that mea sures of a somewhat arbitrary character should be passed with regard to the relation of property in Ire lond, while ut the same time he would provide for the rights both of landlords and tenants: Ile brought for ward the present motion with no hostile feelings to the Government, who, he trusted, were determined to pro pose those measures which the urgency of the case re quired.—(Hear.) Sir W. SO NIERVILLE frankly acknowledged that it occasioned in his mind no small surprise to find, that FRIDAY EVENING-, grettcd to hear from the Right 11;m: the Secretary for lroland, that there was something like apathy on that question in Ireland. He believed that that was the c,he; but it was easily accounted for, as the dc,!3truction of the potato crop, the famine and consequent calaraiiic s, had, to a great degree, depreciated the worth of the most valuable land. In that country, containing twenty mil lion of statute acres,-competent authorities had declared that there was close upon seven millions uncultivated, and of the latter five millions were capable of reclama tion. Notwithstanding that this was the state of the case, the able-bodied were being forced by tyrannical and unnatural means out of the country, in order that they might go and cultivate the wastes in North Ame rica. The Noble Lord (Bernard) called that a compre hensive measure. Lord BERNARD—I said nothing. about emigration being a comprehensive measure. Mr. REYNOLDS thought the Noble Lord had done so, but at auy rate certain members of his school held that opinion. Connected with this subject he woald mention a remarkable fact which had been communicated to him within the last forty-eight hours by the lion. Member for South Lancashire (Mr. Browne), who stated that his house America had drawn on his house in Li w rpool bills from Irish emigrants in favour of their friends to induce them to • emigrate. These bills amounted in numher t, 8,000, and were for sums vary ing from 11. to 301., giving an aggregate sum of 51,000/. That might be called a comprehensive measure, but he called it opening the, arteries of the prosperity of Ireland and bleeding the country to death. With respect to the Committee on the Irish Poor-law, he entertained great hopes from it. Ile was totally opposed to disturbing the principle of that law. He looked OR it as the poor man's charter, though he believed that it had sometimes turned out to be the rich man's warrant, assisting him in his tyrannical measures for depopulating the country., But he believed that such arrangements were likely to be made in the poor-law and its details as would punish the landlord for carrying. out his depopulating Mr. MONSELL was very glad to hear the promise given by the Right Hon. Secretary for Ireland with re spect to the three 13111 s he proposed to introduce. He was quite sure that if the Right Hon. Gentleman intro duced the Bill on the subject of landlord and tenant, as amended last year, with some few alterations, he would confer a great benefit on Ireland, and induce tenants to expend capital on their lands. Nevertheless, he (Mr. Mousell) must express his regret that, with respect to one Bill of almost paramount importance, the Right Hon. Gentleman had said nothing. He alluded to a measure in reference to the management Court of Chancery. of estates under the Mr. R. FOX dissented from the proposition of the Hon. Mover of the present proposition with respect to undertaking the cultivation of waste lands, and thought that the application of freestrade principl e s in respect to Ireland had rendered it' impossible to cultivate those lands with any success. Mr. CRAWFORD said he should not press his motion to a division if the Right Hon. the Secretary for Ireland would intimate that there was a prospect of the mea sures he had referred to being introduced within a rea sonable time. Sir W. SOMERVILLE was understood to say that two of them, referring to renewable leaseholds and the improvements upon land, would be introduced almost immediately in the House of Lords. Mr. S. CRAWFORD, under these circumstances, withdrew his motion. DUCHIES OF CORNWALL AND LANCASTER. Mr. THELAWNY rose to move for a "Select Com mittee to inquire to what extent the public are entitled to claim an interest, present or prospective, in the manage ment of the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, respecting which returns are annually presented to the House, and whether there is not reason to hope from those returns, as well as other circumstances, that an improvement in the management of those estates in particular, by the sup pression of antiquated and superfluous offices, and the diminution of the salaries of officials, would greatly in• crease the joint net income of the two Duchies." The Hon. Member explained that when he last introduced the subject, he was met by the Noble Lord at the head of the Government with two objections, the first of which was that he (Mr. Trelawny) had admitted that those properties were much better managed now than they were formerly. Now that Was perfectly true, but it did not follow from that that they could not be much better rnanag, d still ; indeed, the slightest in vestigation of the recent returns to Parliament on the subject of their revenues, would made convince any one that a l a r ge saving might still be in the income s o f t h ese Duchies. The other objection was that he (Mr. Trelawny) proposed to sell those Duchies, and apply the proceeds to the public ser vice. Now, if it could be shown that the ancestor of the proprietor of any estate within the Duchies had paid threepence five hundred years ago to the Duchies, and that hie land became liable in consequence, to be claimed by the Duchies, he had no doubt that it would appear to the House to be a fit subject for inquiry. The Hon. Member then read a series of returns for 1846, setting out the expenditure of the Duchy, which amounted in the gross to 20,816/. 17s. 6d., incurred in getting a sum of little more than 50,000/., which appeared to be the income. The returns of 1847 appeared to be about the same. In these times of financial reform, he thought it was the duty of the House to look narrowly into those matters; and he could assure the House, if it granted the Committee, that he would make out such a case of oppression and mismanagement as would in every re spect justify the inquiry. The motion having been seconded, • Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he had on a former oc casion stated reasons why the motion of the Hon. Gen• tleman ought not to be agreed to. With regard to the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, they were the pro perty of the Prince , of Wales, and the m anner i n w hi c h the affairs of that buchy were managed in former times was different from the present. It appeared as if the Hon. Gentleman wished to appropriate the revenues se the Duchy, in great part, to the public service. Nos that was an appropriation to which the House ought not to assent; neither, in his opinion, would the House. The lion. Gentleman stated that there was great oppression and bad management in the collection of those revenues ; but he was of opinion that the Honour able Member was under a misapprehension. The Honourable Gentleman had complained of the expendi ture Incurred in the collection of the revenues. Now, he (Lord John Russell) believed that many large pro prietors in this country gave as much, if not more, to their collectors.—(Hear, hear.) He knew, in his own family, some of the agents receive as much as 2,0001. a year, for their services in that way. By the law the pro perty of the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall was in the Crown, and according to the practice and usage or the Parliament, it could not be taken from the Crown; and such being the case, both by law and fact, ho hoped the HOUS3 would not agree to the motion. Mr. P. CAREW felt that great thanks were due to the Hon. Member for Tavistoek for having brought for ward this motion. The system complained of ought not in his opinion, to be longer tolerated; and he hoped th. House would grant the Committee, and pledged himselt should it, that they would show such a case of intolerable grievances and oppression as would justify the inquiry. Mr. HUME must say the Noble Lord had not taken the proper view of the subject, and in comparing th , revenues 'in question to the Duke of Bedford's property he should recollect that those revenues were public pro perty. The revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster wer; 40.000/. by the last returns, Including 7,0001. surphus balance of a former account. That left 33,000/. actual revenue in rents and sales for the year, and 12,000/. out of the 33,000/. were all that came into her Majesty, al: the rest was waste. The public had a right to know whether the property was properly managed. He main tained it was nut; and he would ask any gentletna; in that House whether he would say, if bo only go 12,000/. out of 33,0001., that his p ro perty was well ma naged? The Hon. Gentleman who brought forward the motion had shown that a great deal of waste was' in curred in " sixpences." It would, he contended, be fur the interest of the Prince Royal and the Crown that the Committee should be granted, for it would lead to better management of the property in those revenues. The Hon. Member then directed attention to the rat, levied on metals, end said that the country gentlemen in Cornwall had induced the Parliament to take off the royalty so levied . to the amount of '15,000/. or 16,0001, and to put it on the Consolidated Fund, in order to re lieve themselves from payment of it. With respect to the pensions derived from those Duchies, he saw tine Chancellor " John" L or d Camp b el l , received 2.0004 He did not know whether he did anything for that pen sion; perhaps he did—oh, yes, he kept "the seals."— (Laughter.) Then, again, he saw th.e name of Edward George Anson, as " Axe-bearer" to the Prince of Wales, 306/.; while the Forester received only 35/, for keeping the forest. He should like to know what Mr. Edward George Anson did ? The Hon. Member con cluded by saying he should support the motion. Mr. MILNER GH3SON thought,that inquiry into the management of the Crown lands was much ,callea for. Those lands were vested in the Crown by Parlia ment, it was the duty of Parliament to see that the) were properly managed, and he believed that her Ma jesty's Government ought to allow some inquiry, which would be for the advantage of the Crown. Mr. RICARDO was of opinion that if it were only for leading to the adoption of a better system in the working of mines, that the inquiry asked for ou g ht no; to be opposed. Under the present system, th e most serious dilapidations were caused by mining under towns, and instances of great oppression were the consequence. In his ow n pl ace —S to k e - upon -Trent-4h ey were so un dermining th e pl ace t h at t h e y were actually breaking down the town; and recently 30 or 40 houses had fallen from that cause in the Duchy of Lancaster. It' then, it was only to put a stop to such a syatetn and state of things, the House ought not to refuse the inquiry. Sir GEORGE GREY said that those cases of destruc tion of property, o f w hich the Hon. Memb er for Stoic( complained. did not at all relate 05 the property of the Crown. They were cases of private property, in which individ ua l s were exploring f or ore; and the d amage d one had been made subject of inquiry before a court of law. He hoped the Ilouse would look rightly a t the question, and not consent to the inquiry. The Earl of LINCOLN, as associated with the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, might be expected to say a few words on the subject. His object would bt , to show that the Hon. Gentleman had no right to deal with the Crown properties, in England, in the way sug gested. If they so dealt with these properties, they would uptifiru many of the rights of privat e property of this country. He would deal with the Duchies of Corn wall first. How stood this Duchy? It was granted by Edward the Third to the Black Prince, by charter, which was confirmed by Act of Parliament, and by this Act the Duchy was vested in the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall, for ever, until ho was raised to the Throne; and if he had a son, the duchy was to pass to him. Therefore the public had no present interest in this duchy. The only right which the public could have in this duchy was prospective; but then that only applied to the time which preceded the birth of a Prince' of Wales, after the former Prince FEBRUARY 231 had ascended the throne: The Noble Lard then pro , ceededto observe upon the management of the Duchy of Cornwall. He admirted that formerly the management of the property was bAd,• but that system had been ms terially changed since the appointment of-;,the Council which now regulated its affairs. Formerly the tenants used to get leases for lives, but now only leases for years were given. and the result had been most advantageous to the property generally. He admitted that there had been great abuses in respect to the salaries paid to the officers, but these abuse's had been got rid of to a great extent. The office of Lord Warden, for which 2,000/, a year was paid, was now held by Prince Albert without a salary. The Chancellor. (Mr. Pemberton Leigh) wee also unpaid. But it was true that the Surveyor-General and the Receiver-General were paid a salary of 1,0001. a year. These offices were to. be got rid of. The.whole of the Council were unpaid.,. Mr. HUME—That is the objection ; I think there ought to be a paid officer' to - manage the affairs of the duchy. Lord LINCOLN said if ,the Hon. Member had waitrd would have found that he inte:•:ded to have said that there was a paid secretary, and his duty was to lodt with care to the interests of the heir to the duchy... With regard to the Duchy of Lancaster, he must admit that it was not in a favourable state, but he had every rea son to believe that Lord Campbell was most anxious to place the property of that duchy in a better position than it then was. The Hon. Gentleman said that only. 12,00 W. had been paid into.the proper fund out of a. re ceipt of 33,0001. lie thought the lion. Gentleman was not exactly right in this stateMent. Still he was bound to admit that the property of.the duchy was not as well managed as could be desired. But that was one of the conseopences of the property being spread over a large space of country, and the 'agency in connexion with it was, therefore, necessarily very extensive. After a few words from Mr..BASS, Mr. TRELAWNY replied; and the House divided, when there appeared— For the motion Against it ... 27 Majority ... ...-47 Mr. ANDERSON then .moved for a Select Com mittee to inquire into the practicability of providing, by means of the commercial steam marine:of the country, a reserve steam envy, available •for the national defence when required, and of thereby effecting a large reduc tion of the naval expenditure.--Agreed to. Mr. HUME moved an address for an account of the aggregate amount of fees received by the Commissary Clerk in Scotland, under the Act: 4, Geo. IV., 97, as regulated in 1838, in each of' the ten years 1839 and 1848, both inclusive.—Agreed . to. The Hort. GENTLEMAN :1180 moved for a.." Copy of the minute or minutes of the.. Treasury, granting , a re tiring allowance to Mr. Grahain in 1823. on the aboli tion or reorganisation of the office of principal com missary clerk in Edinburgh; stating the amount paid to Mr. Graham in each year since that date as pension for the loss of that office, and also the amount paid to him for loss or remuneration in the appointment of depute commissary clerk in each year for the same period."— Agreed to. VANCOUVER'S ISLAND. Mr. HUNIE theu moved an " Address for copy of the correspondence between the Hudson's Bay Company and the Secretary for the Colonies, in which the case submitted to her Majesty's Attorney and Solicitor General, and opinion thereon, respecting the capa bility of the Hudson's . Bay Company to hold land as a grant from .the Crown on the North-west Coast of America, was specially forwarded and referred to in the letters of Mr. Hawes and Sir J. 11. Pelly, printed in the Parliamentary papers presented to this House in August last, respecting Vancouver's Island." He said the conduct-of the Government was very blameable in granting this island to a company who had no means of-colonising it. It was of the utmost importance that they should have a port at Vancouver's Island, at which British ships m i g ht re fi t i n case o f war. He considered it material that the return he moved for should be granted, and if there was:any rule against the production of these documents,. it ought to be got rid of. Mr. HAWES said it was not in the cower of the Colo nial-office to procure the return moved for. The case was now in the hands of the Hudson's B a y C om p an y ; but if it was in pos sess i on of the colonial-office, it would be contrary to precedent to 'produce these confidential opinions of the law-officers of the Crown. Ile hoped, therefore, the Hon. Gentleman would not press his motion. After a few words from Mr: AGLIONIIY and Mr. WT.I.D, he motion was withdrawn. The Consolidated Fund (8,000,0001.) Bill was reported. The House then adjourned Half-past Twelve. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. ;From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Cannons.) THURSDAY, DIGB. 22. DUCHIES OF CORNWALL AND LANCASTER. Motion made, and Question pat, "That a Select Com mittee be appointed, to inquire to what extent the public are entitled to claim an interest, present or prospective, in the management of the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, re spectmg which Returns are annually presented to the House, and whether there is not reason to hope, from those Returns, as well as other circumstances, that an improvement in the management of those estates, in particular by the suppres sion of antiquated and superfluous offices, and the diminution of the salaries of officials, would greatly increase the joint net income of the two Duchies." The House divided : MINORITY-AYES, 27. Adderley, C. B. Gibson, T. M. Ricardo, J. L. Agllonby, It. A. Gwyn, Bowel Smith, J. Benjamin Bass, M. T. Ilardeastle, J. A. Thicknesse, R. A. Blewitt,:lteginald Ilastie, Alexand e r Thompson, Colonel itrotherton, Joseph Hey Worth, L. Thornely, T. Carew, W. 11. Pole Kershaw, James Walinsley, Sir J. Cobden, Richard Mort.* David Wawn, J. T. Cowan, Charles Pearson, Charles TELLERS. Ellis, John Perfect, X. Trelawny, J. S. Fox, W. J. Pilkington, James Hume, J. mAJoutty.-ISTOES, 74. MAY, T. N. Fordyce, A. D. Parker, John .Inderson, Arthur Grenfell, Charles W. Pugh, David Baines, M. T. Grey, Sir O. . ' Robartes, T. J. Baring, Sir F. T. Hallyburtnn. Lord Russell, Lord John Baring, Thomas Ilawes, Benjamin Rutherford, A. Barrington, Viscount Henley, J. W.• Sanders, George Beckett, W. Herbert, 11. A. Shell, R. L. Bellew, It. M. Herbert, Sidney Sheridan, R.B. Berkeley, Captain Ilobhouse; Sir John Simeon, Jelin Bernard, Viscount Hodgson, W. N. Smith, J. A. Birch, Sir T. Ilellond,;Robert Smith, M. Tucker Blackall, S. W. Hood, Sir A. Smythe, George lioyle, Colonel Howard, Lord E. Somerville. Sir W. Campbell, W. F. Lewisham,' Viscount Spearman, 11. J Castlereagh, Viec. Lincoln, Earl of Stafford, Augustus Chichester, Lord J. Littleton, E. R. Tenison, E. K. Christy, Samuel Kagan, W. Y. Turner, G. J. Cobbold, John C. Maitland, Thomas Ward, H. G. Cochrane, A. .....„; Matheson, -A. : Willcox, Brodie Coles, IL it. Mauls, Fox Wilson, Matthew ;owper, W. F. Maxwell; J. P. Wood, Sir Charles Duncan, Lord ; Miles, Philip W. S. Wyld, James . Duncuft, John Mulgrave, Earl Dundas, Admiral Napier, Joseph 7 , :dwards, henry O'Brien, J., Ferguson, Sir It. Palmerbton, Vie. TELLEIS. Tufhell. H. IEI4 L.rd Marcus NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. THE NEW EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF San JOHN FRANK ux.—The North Star, 26-gun frigate, was taken into the basin at Sheerness yesterday, to 'be masted, after which she was to be docked to be "doubled," and otherwise fitted for an expedition to Baffin's Bay, to which place she is destined to carry out a full cargo of provisions, in the hope of falling in with Sir John Franklin and party. One hundred extra ship wrights are to be employed upon her to finish her in six weeks. The flag of the Portsmouth commander-in-chief, Admiral the Ho n . Si r T. Bl a d es Capel, K.C.8., was struck on board the Victory at sunset, on Wednesday night, the gallant Admiral having gone on leave. The Port duties devolve on Rear-Admiral H. Prescott,,C.B., superintendent of the Dock yard, during his absence. The Fearless steam- vessel, Second Master Commander Chapman, arrived at Portsmouth yesterday morning from ' Plymouth with supernumeraries; she railed again in the evening far Sheerness and Chatham. The Superb, 80, Captain E. Purcell, was docked at noon on Wednesday at Portsmouth. The Sappho, 12, Commander Michell, is ordered to be ready to leave Portsmouth harbour on the Ist of next month. The Myrtle steamer, Mr. Alfred Balliston acting master commander, returned to Portsmouth on Wednesday morning from Brighton. Pttuourrr FEB. 21.—Th e Fea r le s s s t eamer , M r . J o h n Second Master, commanding, arrived on Sunday with seamen and marines paid off from the Juno, at Chatham. She has been placed under the charge of Sir W. H. Gage, as a tender to the Impregnable. The second master, engineers, and stokers are to remain in her, but the remainder of her crew are to return to the Ocean. KEYIIAX WORKS.—These works are progressing rapidly. The foundation of the whole of the sea wall is in, and the south basin and No. 1 Dock are in a very advanced state. On Saturday last the foundation stone of No. 2 Dock was laid by Mr. J. Jole, jun. The stone was a beautiful specimen of Cornish granite exceeding in weight twelve tons. There was a supper provided on the occasion at Townshend's Hotel for the foremen of the different departments. Mrs. Charles Kean, we regret to say, has been suffering from an attack of influenza, which has rendered her incapable of performing since Monday. There is no doubt, however, that this distinguished actress will be well enough to re-appear on Monday next, when she will perform Emilia, in the tragedy of Othello, to her husband's lago. We are requested by Mr. Macgregor, M.P., to state that he is in no way connected with a bank called " the Na tional Security Bank." FOREIGN WOOLS.—" At the recent wool sales, the whole of certain qualities of foreign wools, after some com petition, were purchased for Messrs. Nicoll, the extensive woollendrapers and clothiers of Regent -street and Coraltill. They are all marked for Gloucestershire, as in that county the mills are situated wherein the raw material will be con verted into the beautiful fabric known as the Nicollian Cloth, a species of manufacture introduced by the firm from whom it derives its name."—The Globe. Woollen buyers and con sumers are reminded that Messrs. Nicoll were the first, and continue to be the only house in the United Kingdom that ever offered to the buyer and consumer, for cas'a payments, the saving of all the several profits of the intermediate grades that continue to exist between the wool-growers and them selves. As will be shown by the above extract trom one of the public journals, the wool used in the manufacture of the Nicollian Cloth does not leave Messrs. N.'s possession until it is produced in the piece ready for sale, either by their agents or themselves, at the wholesale warehouse, 120, Re gent-street, and afterwards, when made up into the fashion able and patented garments known as " The Nicoll," " The Registered Paletot," and "Nicoll's Morning Ceat," all of which can be purchased singly of the several recognized agents, as also of the patentees, 11. J. and D. Nicoll, at their retail ware-rooms, 114, 116, and 120, Regent-street, and 22, Cornhill, London. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—An Abscess in the Breast Cured by Holloway's Ointment and Pills.—About three years since Mrs. O'Flaherty of Mill-street, Cork, accidentally bruised her breast, for months afterwards the pain increased and the part b eca me fearfully swollen ; various applications were tried without giving the least relief. Ultim atel y an ab scess formed, discharging a great quantity of hum our,t whisk th debilitat e d h e r constitution to an alarming extent ; at stage a lady strongly recommended her to try Holloway's_ effects on Ointment and Pills, having witnessed their good former occasions, which advice she followed , and these fine medicines answered most satisfactorily, for the wound was soon healed, and her health is now completely renovated.— Sold by all Druggists and at Professor Holloway's Establishment, 24:4, Strang!, London. 1849.: 1 THE PROVIDENT CLERKS' ASSOCIATION. The annual meeting of the members of the Benevo• lent Department of this very prosperous association was held on %Vedeesdav evening, at the London Tavern — John Abel Smith, Esq., M.P., occupied the chair. Among those present, we noticed— Baron L. de Rothschild, M.P., Thomson Hankey, jun., Esq., .T. W. Gilbert, Esq., R. H. Jones, Esq., Chairman; T. W. Welch, Esq.. Deputy-Chairman; W. J. Jordan, Esq., Willian Maitland, E•q., John Clarke, Esq., W. S. Sawtell, Esq., S. Notley, Efq , James Lintott, Esq., Samuel Jepps, Esq., John Dankaerts, Esq., A. Dawson, Esq., Richard Price, Esq., members of the board of management; Wm. Ratray, Esq., J. J. Iselin, Esq., Wm. Rennell, Esq., Alfred Smee, Esq., F.R.S., %V. B. Rey nolds, Esq., Richard Bell, Esq., Richard Randall, Esq. The usual routine business having been transacted, Mr. R. H. JONES (the chairman of the board of management) read the report and balance-sheet, as follows: " The Provident Clerks Mutual Benefit Association and Benevolent Fund, 42. Moor;zate- street, London. " REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1848. •" On presenting their eighth annual report of the Benevolent Derartment of this Association, the board of management have much pleasure in congratulating the donors, subscribers, and members, on the favourable result of the past year. " The continued depression of commerce, and the difficultie, created by the embarrassments of previous years, would naturally have checked any rapid accumu lation of the funds of this departmen,; of the Association, hut, by increased exertions both in Lonlon and the provinces the board have not only kept alive the inte rest of the Association, but have also increased the amount of donations and subscriptions. " During the past year the following sums have been received, viz. ; From 102 new subscribers ... From 383 old subscribers ...Xlll 2 6 ... 444 9 6 Making the total amount of subscriptions 555 11 6 And in donations ... ... ... ... 239 8 6 Together ... 0 0 being an increase over the former year of 1991. " In addition to these sums the board have the gratifi cation to announce the receipt of 7111. 6s. 10d. from the benefit department, being one-third of the first division of profits, which amount, in conformity witk the rules, was duly invested in the Funds. " This fact may be considered as one of great im portance- in the early history of the association, and whilst it has more than realised the anticipations of the board it holds out a most encouraging prospect fur the future, more especially as the regular increase in the business of the Life Assurance Department, is a gua rantee that the benevolent fund will, in future derive very considerable advantage Irom this source. " The business of the past year, for the assurance department shows the following favourable result, and the board have the pleasure to state that 434 policies, representing 85,1104 were issued, which exceeded the amount of business of any previous year. " In accordance with the resolution of the last annual meeting, an election of three annuitants took place at the London Tavern on the 31st of May last, when One clerk was elected to an annuity of 25/. And Two widows of clerks, each to annuities of 151. making in all, Three clerks and seven widows of clerks, Annuitants on the funds of this department. " Towards meeting the expenses unavoidably in curred, and as a trifling compensation for the disap• pointment to the unsuccessful candidate, the board, as on the previous occasion of the election of annuitants, presented her with a gratuity of 10/. " On the evening of the day of election, the Right Hon. Henry Labouchere, M.P., President of the Board of Trade, presided at a public dinner at the London Tavern, in aid of the funds, and was supported by a large number of patrons and friends of the association; the net amount realised thereby was 3191. ss. " Connected with this part of their duty, the board have the pleasure to announce that through the exer tions of Mr. Lea, their agent at Liverpool, a public dinner was also held at that place for the purpose of promoting the interests of the association, and it is gra tifying to record that the warmest feeling was evinced by the Worshipful the Mayor, C. B. Horstall, Esq., chair man, and a large number of influential gentlemen in favour of the objects of the association, and the board hope that the example thus set by the great commercial town of Liverpool may be followed by others, so that the benefits of the association may develop themselves in every part of the kingdom. " Whenever the agents of the association gave encou ragement to hold public meetings, the board readily sent deputations; and during the past year a meeting was held at Gloucester, the Worshipful the Mayor, D. M. Walker, Esq., in the chair, and another at Nor wich, presided over by H. J. Gurney, Esq., a name uni versally known in the cause of philanthropy and bene volence. " The deputations also ♦isited Stroud, Monmouth, Newport, and Bristol, and they have pleasure in stating that in all those places the seed sown has produced con siderable benefit to both departments of the association. " During the past year fifteen gratuities have been made to 12 members, to the extent 0f,98/. 10s., and 115 members have received assistance from loans to the ex tent of 2,4611. Gt. 6d., being double the amount granted during the preceding year. This fact not only shows that the clerks were involved in the general distress which prevailed, but also shows the benefit they have derived as members of this association, and the managers are aware of 'nary instances in which this timely as sistance to distressed clerks has been of essential advan tage 0) them. A meeting of the treasurer and trustees was held on the 6th of February at the office of the association, when the balance-sheets of both departments were inspected by them, and they were pleased to express their satis faction at the progress which had been made. The balance-sheet for the year 1848, duly audited, is as follows, by which if will be seen that the increase made to the funds of the association during the past year is 1,2461. 19s. 9d. : "The invested fund on the 31st December, 1848, amounted to 11,6281. Three p e r C en t. S toc k. Wi t h re ference to the expenses hitherto charged to this depart ment, the Board, after mature consideration, and looking to the large amount received from the assurance de partment for the one-third share of profits, and also to the fact that the whole of the proceeds arising from dinners and provincial meetings have been applied to the benevolent fund, considered it equitable on this occasion to continue the course they pursued last year by charging one-third of the general expenses to this department, but they feel confident that for the current year they will be able to make a considerable reduction. " The board have now the pleasure to recommend, 'that at the election on the 30th May next one clerk and three widows of clerks be elected annuitants on the fund, and to give effect to the same a resolution will be sub mitted in the course of the evening. " Being fully impressed with the great advantages de rived from the public dinners in making known the ob jects of the Association, and considering the improved state of commerce, and the suggestions of some of the warmest friends and most liberal contributors to the funds of the association, the board think it desirable again to celebrate the election of annuitants by a din ner, and they will take measures accordingly, not doubting that they will experience the like hearty co operation which has attended their former efforts. " In conclusion the board congratulate the members on the steady progress of an association which offers to those for whom it was originally founded advantages peculiar to itself, and they again earnestly impress upon all the necessity of a warm co-operation in extending its usefulness, a course by which they will at once pro mote their own individual interests, and that of the asso ciation in general." The report was much applauded, particularly that portion relating to the election of four additional an nuitants—namely, one clerk and three widows of clerks. Mr. JONES said, before the adoption of the report was put by the Chairman, he wishe.l to say a few words with respect to the publication of the balance-sheet. At the recent meeting of the members of the benefit depart ment, the directors were blamed for not having published the balance-sheet of that department. lie wished to state that the directors had not the slightest objection to do so,—(Cheers.) The only consideration with them was the expense of doing so, which, he was bound to say, was treated by some of the members at the last meeting as a matter of little importance. If it was the wish of the meeting that that the balance-sheets should be printed, the board would at once accede to it.—(Cheers.) He concluded by moving the first resolution:— " That the report now read be received, adopted, and printed at the discretion of the board." Mr. J. W. WELSH seconded the proposition, which was put by the Chairman and carried unanimously. Mr. MAITLAND rose to propose the next resolution— " That on the 30th May next, or such other day as the board may appoint, of which due notice shall be given, a special general meeting be held for the pur pose defecting fuur additional annuitants, duly qualified according to the rules, viz., ono clerk being a member to an annuity of 25L, and three widows of members to an nuities of 15/. each, and in the event of no qualified . member offering him se lf, th en to e l ect four w id ows of ' members to annuities of 15/. each." (Loud cheers,) He said he submitted .it to two meeting with very p ecu li ar pleasure, . 111 ' C e ‘ years ago, in May, 1847, h e h a d the happiness submit to the members a s imilar proposition, with this exception, that but two annuitants wereproposedto be to elected, whilst on the present occasion t hey p roposed " elect four.—(Loud cheers.) They w ere often told that " one fact is worth a bushel of iscrituanir gratifying to ta. N ow this was a fact that must be p ( eu .) It was inde e d every member of the society. ebeers a source of great satisfaction that the progress of the institution had been of a nature to enable the directors to propose the election of four additional annuitants, and they felt that, strengthened by the members, it would continue to progress, and enable the directors at a future period(e to propose propose the election of additional an nu i tants. The managers had al ways f elt that the benevolent department of the Association had not altoge ther progressed as they could wish, and as its importance deserved. It had not increased in the same rapid man ner as the benefit or assurance department, for it must b e borne even in mind that b ut a tithe part of the clerks, of the metropolis, contributed to this department, though a large number had assured their lives in the other; yet, upon the whole, the managers were happy to congratulate the members on the progress it had made. They were all aware that much distress had prevailed during the past year among many of the persons engaged in commerce. This bad tested the value of this association, and as they had beard a very large amount bad been lent to members-- indeed, double the amount of the preceding year ; and the managers had reason to know that the utmost good had been thereby conferred upon many members. '!'ho , • •••• . directors had b een a bl e to meet every s,pplicritio a for a loan or gratuity without delay, and in _ell canes with the utmost sidvantige, granting ouch aid to distressed members as the nature of the case seemed to demand—(Cheers)—they had not only- been able to street all this, but to add 1,2001. to the invested fund of this branch of the Association.—(Cheers.) These.they would admit were strong facts with respect to the pro• gress they had made, and the paramount rains _of the association.—(Cheers.) If they continued to aid the managers in disseminating a knowledge of the_ instita tion, and by inducing their friends to contribute to its funds, and generally to strengthen them in their labours, he looked confidently forward to the time when they would be enabled to place on their books an increased number of annuitants. —(Cheers.) Mr. RENNELL rose to second the motion. He said he was called upon at an earlier hour of the evening than he expected, and, therefore, ho could not get his courage np to . the sticking p o i n t-- (Laughter)—though a giant in size, his nervousness rendered him almost powerless. As, however, he knew he was among frn.nds who would excuse his trepidation, he would merely observe that every ono who had heard the report must be d€eply gratified with it, more especially that the labour of the directors had enabled them to propose the election of tour ad ditional annuitants. Every one, he was sure, must be delighted that they were the mem bers of an association which conferred so much unmixed good.—((;beers.) It was his earnest hope that no case of distress might come before the board which they should be unable to meet, in consequence of want of funds. As their worthy Chairman had not yet spoken, and as, doubtless, several other gentlemen in tended to address them, he would not detain them longer, and, without further preface, second the proposition. The CHAIRMAN put it to the meeting, saying —Those in favour of this cheering and gratifying proposal will be pleased to hold up their hands. The motion was carried by Reclamation. Mr. 11. JONES said, it had fallen to his lot on every occasion to propose the resolution which be held in his hand, and as each year rolled round be assured them he felt increased pleasure in doing so. It was to the follow• ing effect : " That this meeting tenders its warmest thanks to the treasurer and trustees for their uniform kindness and patronage in favour of the a ssoc i a ti on ." —(Prolonged cheers.) The kindness of the treasurer and trustees had so often manifested itself on very many occasions, of which the members at large could not be aware, that the applause which the members had bestowed on the proposition was no more than their due.— (Cheers.) The directors had often had cccasion to apply to them upon various matters, and they had ever found them most ready to assist with their co-operation and advice in all matters connected r with the society.—(Loud cheers.) In short, the deep interest they at all times evinced in the association ren dered it impers tire on him to make the statement he had. —(Cheers.) A proof of this was to be found in the tact of their voluntary attendance at the re cent meeting. They voluntarily came forward, whether the base insinuations that were thrown out on that occasion were just or not. " You heard," said Mr. Jones," on that occasion the expressions of our chairman, which I trust have convinced every one pre sent—indeed, I think, the meeting to which I refer tes tified as much—that those insinuations were most inju dicious; nay, I will go further, and stigmatise the iseu• ing of such a document as most wicked.' —(Hear.) The resolution was seconded by Mr. Wsecit. Baron ROTHsCHILD, M.P., who was much applauded, rose and said,—Mr. Jones and gentlemen, as on/ excellent chairman is to have the pleasure of addressing you shortly, he has requested me to return thanks for him, and for Mr. Hankoy and myself for the high com• pliments you have passed upon us for our trifling ser vices. At the same time I beg to thank Mr. Jonas for expressing his willingness to attend to the advice of the treasurer and trustees. Of course he is fully aware of the fact that the advice which we give is for the benefit of the society. At the last meeting we had the pleasure of being present, we advised you gentlemen to exert yourselves to extend the knowledge of the benefits of the society throughout the country,'end to do your best to induce your friends and others to sub scribe. We were happy to find from the report that your exertions have enabled you to accomplish, and to propose to accomplish so much good. We are glad also to find that the advice which we gave to the mans• gers to economise the expenditure as much se possible has been much attended to.—(Cheers.) Of course, if the association is carried on expensively, many parties may not subscribe who otherwise would do so. We are happy to find by the report that next year the expenses will be materially reduced.—Olear.) When you consider the amount of the subscriptions, and the sum realised at the last dinner, I think the benefits con ferred, and the election of four additional annuitants, is no more than you have a right to expect.—(Hear, hear.) The institution has met with much applause, and much credit is due to those with whom it originated ; yet the large subscriptions and the generosity of the public, leads me to the opinion that the benefits are net greater than might have reas onably been expected. The ad v i ce g i ven to t h e managers—who devote an unwearied attention to the charity, deserve as much gratitude on your part, and on that of the public, as it is possible to bestow upon them— is received in so excellent a spirit that I think we at. obliged to them for giving us the opportunity of offering it. When I steak thus I utter the sentiments of the whole of the trustees. Perhaps in the course of the evening the chairman of the board will state the amount of the reductions proposed to be made. If they have that gratifying news to make I shall be happy to hear it. It the society progresses SI during the past year—and I see no reason why it should not do so to a far greater extent—we may not be much under the mark if we reckon that before long we may be in a condition to elect six or even eight additional annuitants.—(Cheers.) In conclusion, I trust hat each year we shall see the number of annuitants increase. —(Cheers.) Mr. BELL said he rose with feelings of pleasure to offer a few observations—feelings altogether opposite to those with which he entered the room at the last meet ing. He trusted that the expenditure would not be so reduced as to cripple the efforts of the directors to extend a knowledge of the advantages of the association.—(Cheers.) He would rather see them en terprising in that respect, and in doing so overshoot the mark, than practise a false and consequently en injurious economy.—(Cheers.) It was impossible to carry out an undertaking of this kind, unlwe great enterprise was used. It was perhaps pre sumptuous in him to offer these observations, se he happened in some respects to be a stranger.-- -(No, no.) The management was above all praise. Many, he was sure, would confirm him in the statement that the officers attended most scrupulously to their duty—(Hear. hear)—and whenever he had occasion to seek any information from the directors he had iays riably experienced from them the utmost urbanity. Ho could say that never had greater care been taken . than was taken by their medical officers with those who . were about to become assnrers in the association ; and ' with regard to the medi ca l o ffi cers i n th e co untry, although he was not able himself to insure that result that had been already laid before the meeting, still, *hen at head-quarters matters were so admirablyerranged, it was undoubtedly the case that it was so at the'out posts. To their honorary solicitors, he understood, too. they were very much indebted, although he heard a tare• less remark thrown out the other evening as to the value of those gentlemen ; and he therefoW pro posed that the thanks of the meeting be given to tho auditors, medical officers both in town and country, ;and to the honorary solicitors, for' their valuable services during the past year.—(Cheers.) Mr. JORDAN seconded the motion, which was put from the chair and carried unanimously. Mr. H. B. REYNOLDS said it was his privilege to move a vote of thanks to the gentlemen who composed the board of management.—(Hear, hear.) He felt in making that remark that he could never by any words of his enhance the strong claim which those gentleman had on their confidence.—(Cheers.) If nn• limited confidence could be placed by one man in others, that confidence was placed by him in the present board of management. The report which had been read that evening was extremely gratifying, inasmuch • 111 1 it showed, among other satisfactory considerations, that this was no longer a society that could .be Of service to clerks generally, but it was really doing _ o no inconsiderable a mount of good to other claue:s'eari ~r whom it was n o t or i g i nally i nst i tute d .—( Ileac , h ear.) He was sur e th at to every cler k , es p ec ially t ho se is subordinate situations, the associatio_ne..was____ .in valuable for the assistance which m it ,_b_liont."' An . times of sickness and loss of s e oc l? e l7w did think, however, while rho ,ars, a l lni t s i t oaf w f st os e s tlrba . .pro gressing, gressing, that after so many shown) e them by their em kindness and indulgence under huusi• that aa pbeiorys.e—rs(Cthheeyersoufhlia.tnoy was rsupposeersseon g nt r s a am nt ib ed gehttt o e n r ly ca m e ets from othnelyto s s e o s e r b ut he he must be allowed to tell requiringhe contrary , they a did listing tanc e c f r r c o u m m circums tances ; so ciety them that members not come there to seek it in /ornid paupsrir ; but, on t usk f ora assistance from the fund which they themselves had c ted.—(Cheers.) He begged to move that the best thanks of the meeting be presented to the board of management. 1 Mr. PEARS said, that havin g _ . been for some time a member of' the association, and one of it. earliest supporters, he must say he felt certain that the board of management were deserving of their ' very be s t thanks. At the commencement of this association, and for about two years afterwards, it made but very slow progress; but owing to the assiduity evinced in the management • of the association for a period of five years, it had very much increased. He begged to second the motion, that the best thanks of the meeting be given to the board of management for their continued exertions in protecting and watching over the interests of the association. The CHAIRMAN said, he need not tell the meeting with what pleasure he put that resolution to them. The resolution was put and carried unanimously. Mr. JONES said, he assured the meeting that he felt extremely gratified for that renewed mark of their confidence.—(Cheers.) That expression of confidence had always been accorded to the board of management on every occasion on which they ,ineti:lie . sembled there, and so l ong as he continued one \of the managers of the association they would always , coOnue to deserve it. It wits t h e i r desire to Use evarY and every m eans i n the i r power to promote the sidrenvo- ment of the assoc i at i on, an d w h en they itt*l eticd it illa the greatest gratification which they coigct experiences. Ile would ju s t a ll u d e t o th e (Amerrsions which had —they should fallen from th e B aron R o th sc hild exertion not pas. unheeded.—(Hear.) One of theAost difficult positi ons iu which the board of managers had been placed was to upon it th at t h e know how to act with re f e rence to their expe n di ture-- (Hear)—and the meeting might d4. nd managers had every desire and everywish' to' reduce - that ' expenditure as much as Poilible. But than Ivor* rca- pre and most :!tion ; selves virig a merit) 'educe ) keep elves; There when hich ance. )eople lying took lit be and a the o find lh his irase- ice— ance, said, isfied ,t in disk- 'al.— i y he tem have endid the n re- done, f the ;take. ) and Lord i had !d: for gcoo• Tot t' 0 in .i wits ler it a to ,sion, ,s in slop. pee- [TY. ing but Jig I