The Sun. — London, England, 1849-03-27 00:00:00

sib Le ex' ;e the did r clear ation ; but I for POOR LAW (IRELAND) RATE IN AID BILL. Lord JOHN RUSSELL proposed that this Bill be read a second time. Mr. HAMILTON said, that in his resolve to stop the second reading of the Bill, ho felt perfectly assured that he was incurring great responsibility, for he knew that it would be imputed to him, as to those with whom he acted, that he was uninfluenced by the miserable and starving condition of the pauperised population of the south and west of Ireland, because he was connected with a more independent portion of thet country. Such he should distinctly aver were not his. feelings, but because be was fully persuaded that the relief necessary for the sus+,entation of the poor of those districts could and ought to be afforded on better and more constitutional grounds than those unjust principle, which must necessarily extend and in crease pauperism. The Hon. Member objected to the Bill, because he considered it to be not only inadequate to the end it purported to have in view, but because it was absolutely unjust towards a large and important class of her Majesty's subjects in Ireland. It was esti mated that the rate would produce the sum of 250,000/. That ho doubted _very much; but, supposing that that sum might be received, then at least 180,000/ would bo required to meet the emergencies of nine unions, and all that could be collected beyond that must be applied to the wants of the twelve unions. He believed that there were very few instances of the principle of the rate in aid having been applied in England, though certainly the state of . the law and of past legislation admitted of it. That circumstance, however, did not form any foundation for the argument that there was an analogy between the imposition of a rate in aid in England and a rate in aid in Ireland; because they must be applied under totally different circumstances, arising out of the condition of society and the tenure of the land. He objected to the Bill, also, on the ground that it had a decided tendency to operate against the ad ministration of the poor-law system, and as, between England and Ireland, it went to establish a separate na tional interest. An Hon. Member the other night asked what he considered a very pertinent question, via.— " Was there to be a union, or was there not?" Hon. Gen tlemen who were prepared and determined to support the union in its full force and integrity, should consider that the operation of this Bill proceeded altogether, and undeniably, on anti-union principles; so that the two . could not consistently be supported together. In princi ple, too, the Bill was wholly wrong, an the policy of it far from wise. Could it be to their interest, for example, to withdraw from Ulster and Leinster the capital which was well employed in promoting agriculture and ma nufactures, in order to apply it to the support of pauperism in Connaught? The Irish claimed to be taxed in the proportion of imperial taxation falling to their share, according to the articles of the Union. They in England said they were not. Let the question be fairly tried, and the sooner that was doae the better. He was sure that the people of Ireland would be glad to submit to a fair proportion of taxation, and if he could have any assurance from the Government that only a fair amount of taxation would be imposed upon Ireland, he should not object to it, whatever its amount might be, provided that that amount was determined according to the principles of the Act of Union. The Hon. Member concluded by moving, as an amendment, that the Bill be read a second time on that day six months. Mr. CORRY seconded the amendment. He objected to the Bill because it was impolitic and unjust. It was impolitic, because its operation would be to retard the cultivation of the land in one part of Ireland without im proving it in another. It was unjust, because it imposed the tax on the industrious and prosperous to relieve the indolent and indigent in a remote country, over whose conduct they had not the slightest control, and in whose distress it was unreasonable to expect that they should feel any interest or sympathy, when it was considered that they had their own poor around them, who would not be in any degree benefited by the produce of the rate. The Noble Lord at the head of her Majesty's Government was of opinion that the proposed rate in aid would not be necessary for more than two years; but be would ask the Noble Lord, what prospect was there that the distress would disappear in two years? With re spect to emigration, he considered that the Government only threw obstacles in the way of it, and he could not approve of it as a remedy to obviate the distress from which the people were suffering.—(Hear, hear.) There , never was a time, he felt, at which it was more neces eery for the landed proprietary of Ireland to exert them selves to keep down the rates, for the Bill now under consideration was of a nature to convert the whole of Ireland into one great gigantic union. Ho felt it to be his duty to give expression to his opinions on this sub ject, and, thanking the House for the attention with which it had listened to him, he should conclude by seconding the amendment of his Hon. Friend. Sir WILLIAM SOMERVILLE said his Hon. Friend who had just sat down said, it it could be proved to him that Ireland was not taxed in proportion to her means, by inquiry before a Committee appointed for that pur pose, both he and those who acted with him would be quite ready to come forward, and to say, then apply the income-tax to Ireland. But his Hon. Friend should re collect that the case which called forth the measure now before the House was one of great emergency, and that it was absolutely necessary that something should be done to meet it. The Hon. Gentleman objected to the tax further, on the ground that it was a new tax; but to ob ject to it on that ground was. really blinking the ques tion. Was not the income-tax a new tax? He (Sir W. Somerville) remembered when the income-tax was first proposed for England by the Bight Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth, that he and those who acted with him, listened with breathless attention to the Hon. Baronet's statement, apprehensive lest he might propose to aeply it to Ireland too, and when the Hon. Baronet bad stated that it was not his intention to apply it to that country, there was a manifestation of applause among the Irish Members. His Hon. Friend who pro posed the amendment objected to the measures of the Government, on the ground that the distress was mainly attributable to the mal-administration of the poor-law in Ireland by the Poor-law Commissioners. Mr. HAMILTON explained, and expressed his .opinion that the law would i.ei more likely to be ad :ministered beneficially to the ratepayers, by boards of guardians answerable to those ratepayers, than by :Poor-law Commissioners not answerable to them. Sir WILLIAM SOMERVILLE begged to disabuse the mind of his Hon. Friend on those points, and to - assure him, with respect to the dissolution of boards of guardians, that there was not one of those dissolutions— ;Boyle, or otherwise, that he was not prepared to defend. Great stress had been laid on the circumstance of asking industrious Ulster to contribute towards relieving the distress of other parts of Ireland; but he did not sec the justice of the complaints. The distress was spread ing; Ulster might not escape; and he did not see how ;she could blow hot and cold on this question. It was maid that the landlords of Connaught were pauperised by the operation of the poor-law. He did not believe that to be the case ; but his belief was that otheir pauperisation was attributable to the failure sof the potato crops. He was extremely sorry to differ ,swith his Hon. Friends the proposer and seconder of the ,:amendment, but, connected with Ireland as he was, he rthought that the time was come when Irishmen should tmake some effort to contribute towards alleviating the I listress, and for himself—an Irishman—he should say 1 hat he preferred the rate in aid to the extension of the i aconite tax to Ireland. All that the House had now to decide upon was, as to the best manner of meeting the distress; and it should never be forgotten that the pro posed rate in aid was intended to be but a temporary Inca ure. His Honourable Friend who proposed the amendment expressed himself in favour of s emigration as a means of remedying the distress, A ad approved of it; while his Hon. Friend, the seconder e e f the amendm nt, disapproved of it, and said that the Government encouragement of it .seemed to throw ob stacles rather in the way of it; .so that he did not know how to deal with the arguments of his Hon. Friends. Tate believed the measure proposed by her Majesty's Go -I'ernment would be found, on the whole, to be the least oppressive; and he believed further, that if the Govern ment proposed the extension of the income-tax to Ire- Lind; tend that if Hon. Members should, in a moment 4:4' hurry, give their support to it, they would repent of it, when, perhaps, too late; for while the rate in aid wits intended to be but temporary, the income-tax might be permanent. Lord JOCELYN, in rising to support the amendment of his Hon. Friend, was anxious to state the ground on vvbich ho had come to the conclusion to give his vote in opposition to the measure of her Majesty's Government. e begged distinctly to state, that he was not opposed to tb o extension of all fair taxation to Ireland, if the Brie tish Parliament should be of opinion that that country did not pay its just proportion; but he was-opposed to the present measure from a sense that it was most unjust to call on one portion of the empire to contribute to wards the support of another, and that all temporary enactments were of a nature to turn the people away from their self-reliance. Ho contended that this desire to feed the paupers of a particular locality out of a gene ral fund was calculated to increase rather than to lessen Pauperism. This Bill did away with that local con trol over public funds, which was so essential to their .proper Management. He believed that this Bill would press heavily upon the tenant-farmers of Ulster; and he might here mention that the grand jury of Louth, ,in objecting to the rate in aid, consented to take upon them, if this measure were not pressed forward, their ,share in the general taxation of the country. Mr. F. FRENCH, in objecting to this measure, said that the Members who opposed it were willing to bear any impost that would raise the taxation of Ireland in proportion to that of England. But it was a mistake to Say that no income-tax was paid in Ireland, for he con tended that tax was paid on 8,000,000/. out of the 1 3 ,000,000/. which was the estimate of the value of rish property. The Hon. Gentleman, after declaring that the poor-law had failed in Ireland, said that this ,measure was intended to prop up that law, which, if con- Wined, would bury All, classes in Ireland in One sommon ► the s the t the in he lived pen the Se- ion, had on for ; ; ; C making of treaties with foreign nations relative to the v ruin—a result which could not but operate injuriously navigation-laws, and he thought it was highly desirable on England at no very distant period. that theist) words should not bo departed from. Mr. FAGAN said his constituency had expressed Mr. HENLEY was perfectly aware of that; but 'now their approbation of the vote which he had given in tbey were going very much to extend this principle of favour of this measure. Ho aed they were opposed law which sanctioned the paying of dock dues out of the to an income•tax. It was a mistake to say that he Consolidated Fund, and he thought some care ought to was hostile to the landlords. Ile thought the landlords be taken to see bow it would act upon private interests. of Ireland were much to be commiserated, and that Mr. GLADSTONE said he entertained some doubts their condition was much to be deplored. A Noble as to whether the clause, as it stood, was sufficient to Lord (Lord Jocelyn) had told them that they ought enable her Majesty to direct payments to be made out of to look to sell-reliance; but was it reasonable to speak the Consolidated Fund. to the people of Ireland of self-reliance placed in After a few words from the SOLICITOR-GENERAL and the position they were at present by the failure of the the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, potato crop?—(Llear, hear.) He (Mr. Fagan) supported Mr. LABOUCHERE said he would agree to the the Ministers in the present measure, in the hope that clause being withdrawn for the present. it would be the means of rescuing thousands from The clause was accordingly withdrawn. starvation. He believed there was a doctrine passing Clauses down to 28 were then agreed to without any through the minds of some statesmen, that there was no discussion. remedy for the present state of things in Ireland, and After some discussion, the remaining clauses, as alio that they should be allowed to take their course. He the preamble, were agreed to, Mr. Sanders having with• thought, however, such a doctrine was unworthy of drawn his amendment, the Speaker resumed the chair, statesmen, and unworthy of that House. He and Mr. Bernal reported the Bill to the House. believed that the measure proposed by the The report was ordered to be brought up on Monday Right Hon. Baronet (Sir Robert Peel) had met with next. the approval of the people of Ireland, and he hoped that the Right Hon. leitronet would have an oppotunity afforded him of carrying out that measure, not only as re garded Connaught, but as regarded the whole of Ireland. —(Hear, hears) With reference to what the Hon. Mem bsr for Roscommon (Mr. F. French) had said, he ad mi ted that it was quite consistent with that Hon. Mem ber's opinions, as he had always been opposed to the poor-laws; but he (gr. Fegan) would say, being as he was, the oldest guardian in that House, that he had always found the Poor-law Commissioners most anxious in the performance of their duties, and that they were much more desirous of attending to the wants of the poor than the poor-law guardians were themselves. Mr. HERBERT had not heard a single word of argu ment in support of the mode which was proposed for raising the money which was required for relieving the destitute poor in Ireland.—(Bear.) What he com plained of was, that her Majesty's Government, with all the information they possessed, had not come down with any measure to meet the difficulty, but were placing their reliance on a temporary measure like the present. Ho would have given his support to any system of taxa tion that would operate fairly ; but he could not give his support to a mode of taxation which would fall upon a certain class of farmers, and the question was, should they place the tax upon a class least able to bear it? He (nr. Herbert) would say that rather than do so he would give his consent to an income-tax, or to any tax that would operate fairly. He was a friend to the poor-law, but he complained of the neglect exhibited by the Poor law Commissioners in not attending to the suggestions they received in Ireland. Much as he was opposed b the present measure, he altogether condemned the lan guage which had been used at various meetings in Ulster on the subject. Mr. PO ULETT SCROPE said that in the worst pro vince, that of Conmiught, the poor-rate last year did not exceed two shillings and sixpence in the pound. Now, it was not this amount of rate that had created such distress, but the attempt still made to enforce the rent or ta - enty shillings, which was fixed before the failure of the potato crop. Had the rent been reduced in proportion, the tenants would not have been driven from their country, and forced, as many had been, to seek shelter in America. The condition of the people 'of England could not be raised without also elevating the condition of the people of Ireland, and, as a means to this end, he thought the English sys tem of poor-laws ought to be brought into operation in Ireland. He then enumerated the measures which he had proposed iu order to render the Irish people self sustaining and self-improving. The main cause of the destitution of Ireland, us testified by the universal assent of the inspectors and guardians, was the want of em ployment, and nothing was done to meet that state of things. They repudiated the idea of employment iu Their Poor-lava Act, although for two centuries and a half the principle of employing the able- bodie.l poor was admitted. Would it be contended there was no field for employment? It was absurd to think that Ireland was over-peopled. The evidence of the inspectors went to show that a finer or more profitable field for labour could not be found than presented itself even in the dis tressed unions. The fatal point in the policy of Ministers was omitting some means of rendering the people self sustaining. He objected to a rate in aid, as being con trary to the principle of the poor-law--local responsi bility for local destitution.—(Hear, hear.) According to the authority of the Dublin Evening Mail, the warmest advocate of the landlords in Ireland, there would not be one farthing of the rate collected west of the Shannon if this measure was -carried. He would provide the money'necessary for Irish destitution on the security of the lands in Connaught, and take power for the sale of those estates on which large arrears of rate accrued. This would be a just principle, and carrying out the principle of the 'poor-law, for he did not see why the land should not be taken from the landlord just as they took the ass or pig from the poor tenant. Why should not those who created extreme pauperism in the west of Ireland be respon sible for its relief ? If the powers he recommended were carried out, they would obtain repayment in full, and effect that which was admitted in the present circum stances of Ireland to be most desirable, namely, the change of proprietary.—(Hear.) An auxiliary system for the employment of the poor should follow. Sir JOHN WALSH complained that the Hon. Mem ber for Stroud had wasted the time of the House in re iterating his former observations, and he promised that he should not follow his example. The out door sys • tem of relief was the most disastrous that could have been adopted for Ireland, as it tended to the de moralization of the people. Already the estates of many landlords in the west of Ireland had been practically ciufiscated, for they received no rents during the last two or three years, so that in some re spect, at all events, the wishes of the Hon. Member for Stroud were fulfilled. With regard to the measure under consideration, it would not meet the evil which it was proposed to remedy. If they referred to the evidence taken before the Poor-law Committee now sitting, they would find it proved, beyond a doubt, that the rate pro posed must become a permanent one, as the bankrupt unions, for whose behalf it was granted, would not for many years be able to support themselves, and he thought it extremely hard to saddle upon portions of Ireland, which were maintaining their own poor, the burdens of those unions. —(Hear, hear.) When the Poor-law Com mittee was appointed, several measures were hinted at as about to be brought forward as a means of remedying the distress in Ireland, but there was, as yet, no symptom of their being produced. The sugges tion thrown out by the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth had met with much attention, but he viewed with suspicion all those " great and comprehen sive measures," as they rather indicated the existence of great and deep-seated evils than provided remedies, and he thought the Right Hon. Gentleman would have acted more wisely had he observed his usual reserve on the stilject. The Right Honourable Gentleman spoke of appointing a Commission under his plan to nego .tiste .in the purchase of land, and letting such land :out under the sanction of the Government. That -was nearly allied to the plan of the Honourable Member for Stroud, which, in some degree, had already been acted on, and bad proved a complete failure. Such a plan would not get rid of the difficulties which at present existed in Ireland, for no purchaser would in vest money in land so burdened as the land in Ireland was; and although it was said that the present Irish proprietors were bankrupt, which he denied, and, con sequently, unable to improve their properties, yet, were new proprietors placed on these properties, their efforts must be as ineffectual, let them have ever so it uch money, so long as the burdens on land in that country remained as at present. He could not see how the Noble Lord at the bead of Government could ask for an advance of 100,0001. on the credit of this rate, for the measure sanc tioning it might never become law. Such a course ought to be reprobated and resisted by all those who were affected by this measure, and he trusted that it would be so successfully--(Hear) Sir G. GREY considered that during previous discus. sions two principles had been established, namely, that the amount of distress in the western unions of Ireland was not overstated, and that extraneous aid was required to relieve it. The Hon. Gentleman had admitted the extent of distress, and on a former occasion it was ad mitted that without extraneous aid the poor in those districts would have died from starvation. That, then, relieved him of the necessity of referring to the official returns on the subject. These two principles, then, being admitted, the question turned upon whether this extraneous aid was to be afforded by means of a rate in aid or the income-tax.—(Hear, hear.) To night, however, matters had taken a turn. He had heard nothing to-night of the income-tax, but they were told either to leave the people to their fate or supply their wants from the Imperial Treasury—(Hear, hear) —by drawing upon it to an indefinite amount. The Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Hamilton) had argued that it was unjust to tax districts for the support of the poor of other districts with which they had nothing to do, but that argument seemed to him to run as much counter to anlmperial grant as to one raised by a rate in aid; for the former, was to a far greater extent making parties liable for the support of that with which they had nothing to do than was the latter. The Hon. Gentleman admitted that the western districts being unable to maintain the poor, the tax-payers of the United Kingdom ought to b made to support thcm ; but why should Ulster, which was able to - support them, be allowed to escape, and the tax-payers of the United Kingdom have any such additional burden imposed upon them? Already-those tax payers severely felt the burden ; for not only had they fur long been contribut ing to the support of those distressed unions, but in consequence of the increase of Irish poor both in Eng land and in Scotland, the burdens had been greatly in creased. In Liverpool, and some of the metropolitan parishes, no less than 77,000/. had been applied last year for the support of Irish poor ; and it was a fact that there was scarcely a parish in England in which the poor-rates had' not been considerably raised to supply the wants of those Irish poor. In Scotland it was the same. And he would venture to say that both England and Scotland were at the present time paying a rate in aid for the support of Irish paupers, to a much higher extent than the present measure authorised.—(Hear, hear.) The Honourable Gentleman had also said that were the present measure carried it would aggravate the evils of Ireland, as it would do away with the prin ciple of self-reliance among the people. If, as the Hon. Gentlemen said, they should leave the people to their fate— to provide for themselves, then certainly the prin ciple of self-reliance would be given full effect to; but if they were to give them extraneous assistance, he could not see how the giving it by a sixpenny rate in aid, or by a grant from the Treasury, would make much dif ference to that principle. It there was any difference, there was not so much injury done to the principle of self-reliance by the former as the latter system.—(Hear, hear.) The rate in aid was not an indefinite rate, and were it put into operation to-morrow it would only ren der the poor- rate in Ulster identical with that in Ing- 111001 then then miy pieces. land. The lion. Gentleman had also complained as to the inadequacy of the rate, but it did not follow that, be cause it was inadequate, he should reject it, without suggesting how the deficiency should be supplied. It was said there was no rate in aid in England, and why have one in Ireland? But the principle of the rate in aid was in existence in England, and he could assure the Hon. Gentleman that the people of England would rather have the rate in aid in fall operation than be running to the Imperial Treasury at every emergency for a grant. It was true there had been few cases in which the prin ciple was carried out in England, but the cir cumstances of the country did not require it. As to the objection against the principle of the rate in aid, certainly, if Hon. Gentlemen preferred the income-tax, Government might be prevailed upon to extend it to Ireland—(Laughter)—but still its machinery could not be set a-going in time to meet the exigencies of the pre sent case. Besides, on the present occasion the entire arguments used had been against charging Ireland with any portion of this rate in stal whatever. Give us a Committee, said the Hon. Gentleman, and we would show you that Ireland is paying her full proportion of taxation; but did he take into account the extraneous aid which had been given to her by this country ? He wanted a Committee to ascertain the fiscal duties paid by that country, but such Committee could form no estimate of the proportion Ireland bore of taxes, unless they at the same time took into consideration the aid he had referred to which she ob tained from this country. The Honourable Baronet who had last sat down had complained that the House was about to be called upon to vote away 100,0001. on the security of this measure, which had not as yet received the consent of the House, and which might not receive such consent. But the Honourable Baronet must have misunderstood what the Noble Lord at the head of the Government said when he made his statement to the House in regard to the matter. What his Noble Friend did state was, that as soon as the Bill passed through a second reading he would move in a Com roittee of the whole House that the sum of 100,0001. be advanced to meet the prevailing distress, on the security of the Bill, and that a clause be inserted in the Bill, au thorising such advance, but that the advance should not be made until the measure passed through that and the other House of Parliament.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped that explanation would satisfy the Honourable Baronet that there was no wish on the part of the Government to take any advantage, but that, so soon as the measure should pass, that the sum he had alluded to should be given to meet the present demands. The Honourable Baronet had also complained that no measures had ac companied the present one, as promised by the Go vernment. Now, at the Limo when the Committee on the Irish poor law was appointed, it was stated on the part of the Government, that those measures would not bo propounded, at least none but what were absolutely necessary to meet present circum stances —until the Committee had given the fullest con sideration to the subject, and indicated what measures would be most expedient. He needed not again inform the House that the Committees appointed by that and the other House, were taking evidence on the subject, and giving the fullest considerations to the propositions submitted to them, and he would venture to affirm, that had these measures been brought forward, they would have been met ly the objection, " Why so much haste; wait, at all events, until the Committees you have ap pointed to consider the subject report upon it." But the Hon. Member for Kerry (Mr. Herbert) had said that the Government were sheltering themselves behind the want of unanimity among themselves, from bringing forward these measures. So far, from that, however, he could assure the Hon. Gentleman that there was no such want of.unanimity in t!'e Government as to what ou g ht to be the system for th e management o f t h e poor of Ireland. Thv Hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. P. Scrope) had also complained that Government relied on the poor-law for giving relief, and neglected the means, of affording employment for the relief of that di s t ress . But while it was true that Government had relied on the poor-law for relieving the distress of Ireland, th e y h a d at the same time not been backward in stimulating em ployment for the purpose of aiding in doing so. They had given upwards of two millions and a half of money to be distributed among proprietors of land for the im provement of their estates, and for the formation of rail ways and other improvements, in order that employment might be given to the poor. That had been expended within the last two years, and had been attended with much benefit. Mr. STAFFORD said he could not think the Govern ment would take advantage of the speech of the Member for Cork, for it was anything but a defence of the plan of the Ministry. He wou ld as the Government whether they would carry out the plan suggested by tho Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamwortb. The Right Hon. Secretary for the Home Department might laugh at such an interrogatory—but considering the sensation which that plan had'exaited in Ireland, they should not allow the session to pass on, the Government remaining silent upon that suggestion. He had not yet ascertained why the precise sum estimated to arise from a 6d. rate should have been fixed upon. It was, however, one thing to fix a rate, and another to collect it. In September last there was 800,0001. poor -rate uncollected in Irelund. He knew by their present course of legislation they could ruin the province of Munster, and reduce it to the same state as that of Connaught, which be believed would soon be the case. They talked of this rate being limited to that amount, but he had heard no Member of the Go vernment state any, reason wby it should be limited to that amount. Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL said he feared the Govern ment had overlooked the objections made to this tax. The first was the injustice of imposing this tax npon parties already too heavily burdened. The other, which was made out of doors, that ono part of Ireland should be called upon to contribute to the distress of another, when the Imperial Treasury had not been called upon to contribute its aid. He preferred voting for this stage of the Bill, rather than have the people of Connaught suffer as they were at present, and he would add to those the condition of the people of Munster. He thought that the best plan for the Govern ment to carry out this rate in aid, would be to allow the tenant who was obliged to pay this extra rate, to deduct from his landlord in the rent, and to allow the landlord again to deduct from the incumbrances on his property. He thought that the amendment of the Hon. Member for Dublin (Mr. Reynolds) to place part of this tax on the Imperial funds and another part on those public officials who had over 3001. per annum, was worthy of con sideration. Mr. ,NAPIER moved the adjournment to the debate to Wednesday next. After mutual explanations between Mr. Stafford and Sir George Grey, the motion for the "adjournment of the debate was agreed to. The consideration of the postponed resolution on the Supply was then agreed to. The House then resolved itself into a Committee for Supply. Colonel ANSON said that in asking the House to vote the excess for the Ordnance, he trusted that he would give general satisfaction, so as to remove any doubts or objections from the minds of every Hon. Gen tleman; for before the year 1836, the Ordnance accounts were not made up, and, consequently, no balance-sheet was laid before Parliament, but the account was con stantly running on. He hoped that :the present plan would be beneficial to the public service, as the accounts were now made up. He proposed, as a vote of excess of the Ordnance, 97 , 9541. 15s. Mr. HUME said that he knew that the Government were most anxious to pass that vote, and he should say that he had given notice of one instance of excess in con sequence of the tax and loose manner in which the accounts were formerly made up. He did not wish that any of these votes should be taken, because it was generally understood that twelve o'clock was to be the latest hour at which the votes on supply were to be taken. He hopcd that Government would fix a time for the navy esti mates, and then he would be prepared to develop his opinions on those accounts and on other matters relevant to that subject to the House. The vote was then agreed to. The Prisoners' Removal (Ireland) Bill was read a second time. The lelemnity Bill was committed. The Passengers Bill was read a second time. Lord PALMERSTON proposed that the order for the correspondence between the Two Sicilies and her Majesty's Government be discharged, and that an ad dress to her Majesty to the same effect be substituted. Agreed to. The House then adjourned at Half-past Twelve o'clock THE WEATHER.—Dr. Forster's statement to the Royal Astronomical Society will, we suspect, go for nothing. Dr. Forster says that, according to observations extending over the time since 1767, whenever the new moon fell on a Saturday, the following twenty days were wet and windy. What is there in a Saturday to influence the weather? It is simply a day so named, causing in the minds of men, in consequence of the peculiarities which custom has al lotted to it, certain associations, as the last business day of the week, the day preceding Sunday, the market day, &c.; but it is neither a solstice, nor an equinox, nor a division of any particular season, so that it can have no influence over the moon, neither can the have any over it, or in conjunction with it. Well, was a new moon on Saturday, and, lel ever since the weather has been dry and calm, and, if we judge by the barometer, is likely to continue . Throughout the past week the wind has been very inconstant. It has visited in su ccess i on every point of the compass, and the atmosphere has been correspondingly unsettled, the northerly and easterly winds bringing cold airs, the west fresh and pleasant breezes, and the south fog and rain. On several of the nights and mornings last week dense fogs hung over the town and river, and in some cases there was not a little danger to the vessels plying to and fro, as will bo seen by a paragraph in another column. Yesterday the wind was from due north, and the air cold and bracing) The day was, however, somewhat gloomy.—Liverpool Albion of yesterday. The purchase-money paid by the Central German Government for the American steam-ship United States, now a member of their navy, was 265,000 dollars, or, in sterling, 53,0001. The ship cost originally 270,000 dollars; and ran her proprietor considerably into d e bt during her short career. The United States is now be- ing fitted out as a war steamer by one of the first ship• builders of the Hudson River. ' Amongst the acts of the late United States Congress s ono authorising a coinago of 20 and of 1 dollar gold PROPOSED INTRODUCTION OF HOBITOUSE'S ACT INTO PADDINGTON PARISH.—The poll closed on Satur turday. The number of votes polled is 3,203, by which there appeared—For Mr. Hobhouse's Act,1,999; for Mr. Bourne's Act, 1,204; majority for the former, 795. The season has commenced earlier than usual in the Isle of Man. The markets have been glutted with cod fish, quantities having been sent to England by the steamers, and there having been large eatehings of other fish, THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 27, 1849. LAPrIARTINE'S NEW WORK. MEMOIRS OF MY YOUTH. de Lamartine. By Alphonse One of the principal attractions of the brilliant journal of M. Emile de Girardin has recently termi nated. The poet of Jocelyn, the pilgrim of Holyland, the historian of the Girondists, the hero of February, has closed that narrative of his youth which has long been appearing in fragments in the feuilleton of La Presse. Now that these remarkable revelations have been completed, we find them in a little volume* translated into our mother tongue. The fascination of the work is singular, and its singularity is attri butable more to the novelty of the theme than to the genius of the writer. Charming as the poetical de• lineations of scenery are throughout the twelve books, winning as are the sentiments, inspired as is the elo quence, and touching as is the pervading melancholy of the whole confession--we cannot but see at once that the spell which binds one to the volume from the first sentence until the end of the last chapter, from the infant remembrance of Milly to the twilight walk among the suburbs of Chambery, is the knowledge that we are perusing a record of the obscure childhood of a great man penned by him in the midst of his greatness. We are permitted to penetrate into the darkness and lowli ness of the past guided by a beam of glory from the present. On beginning to read the introductory passages it is impossible to conjecture that behind the curtain of that calm and monotonous infancy there lie so many strange and enthralling adventures. You linger over the descriptions of the little household in which Alphonse Marie Louis de Lamartine first saw the light. You hear his sorrowing but melodious voice chaunting the apotheosis of his mother's virtues until you acknowledge with reverence the truth of that beautiful phrase (p. 22) " our mother's look is a portion of our soul which penetrates into our being through the portals of our eyes." You pause over the account of that parent's maiden existence— brought up in the palace of St. Cloud with the chil dren of Egalite, learning the . same lessons, and en joying the same sports with the King Louis Philippe —until you see the child Alix des Roys blooming into the wife of the Chevalier de Lamartine. You watch the career of that honourable but impoverished gentleman from his, marriage, when thirty-eight, to his death, when ninety. You gaze again and again into the parlour of the little house near Moon, until your imagination becomes familiarized with the group formed there fifty-two years ago by that father, and that mother, and those eight children. You follow the eldest of those children until he emerges from the Jesuit College at Belley, on the frontiers of France and Savoy, where he has been educated, and gradually, little by little, the conscious ness that so much fire of heart, of mind, of soul, and of ambition, cannot remain long within the limits of common-place boundaries dawns on you—and you read on chapter by chapter with the curiosity of one reading something more severe than fiction, some thing more surprising than romance. One by one you obtain a glimpse into the mysterious obscurities (p. this 19 p 4 o ) e — t (p. 95)—the " f irs t of this destiny—the "first love" L ucy L s' —. the first sorro w i n s th pe e ec ‘ hl r o s f t tvheLsoeras" ofto this life of calamities—the first enterprise in this ca reer of vicissitudes. When the reader has gone so far he recognises the force of that plaintive excuse made by the author for his constitutional seriousness (p. 34.), his life dating, like so many others, from those gloomy days which have "imparted to French literature a tinge of sadness and an impress of me lancholy." In the course of the narrative of his youthful griefs and pleasures it is impossible but that such a mind as that of Lamartine should scatter here and there thoughts sparkling with the lustre of his genius and coloured by the hues,of his imagination. Occasionally the thoughts are odd enough, as where he terms (p. 157) the fruit called medlars " those grandchildren of the orange." But more frequently the ideas are golden, stamped with th e e ffi g i es o f rhetoric. Like Aladdin passing through the garden of precious stones, some of these jewels have clung to the trailing folds of our memory. We cull them from those recesses of recollection and present them to our readers : PATHOS TRUE GENIUS.—" He who knows how to melt the heart knows all. There is more of genius in one tear than in all the museums and in all the libraries of the universe. Man is like a tree which is shaken to make it yield its fruit; he is never moved that tears do not fall." A HOUSEHOLD.—" Every family is a history in itself, and even a poem, to those who know how to search its pages." A THUNDERBOLT FOR THE SOCIALISTS.—" I CaII un derstand the wish to extend the boundaries of family ; but to destroy it !---it is a blasphemy against nature, and an outrage on the human heart." THE COUNT DE MAISTRE.—" His genius was only rough hewn, but it was of mighty proportions. He was a savage Rossuet, and an illiterate Tertullian." PAUL AND VIRGINIA.—" That manual of artless love; a book which seems a page borrowed from the childhood of the world, torn from the history of the human heart, and preserved all pure and all bathed in tears contagious for the eyes of sixteen." OSSIAN.—" That poet of the vague and undefined, that mist of the imagination, that inarticulate plaint of the northern seas, that foam of the waves, that murmur of the shadows, that eddying of the clouds around the tem pest-beaten peaks of Scotland, that northern Dante, as grand, as majestic, as supernatural as the Dante of Florence, and more sensible than he, and who often wrings from his phantoms cries more human and more heartrending than those of the heroes of Homer. Curious scholars have pretended, and still pretend, that he never existed nor wrote, and that his poems are a forgery of Macpherson's. I should as soon believe that Ureter Rosa invented nature." CRIME.—" Open depravity is the ideal reversed ; it is the parody of physical and moral beauty; it is the crimo of the mind ; it is the b ruta li z i ng of the imag i na ti on ." MICHAEL ANGELO--" Is the Moses of architectural Catholicism. He has erected an imperishable ark for future times, a Pantheon of Reason purified and rendered divine, an apotheosis in stone, a monumental transfigu ration of the religion of Christ." As a final quotation, we give a paragraph descrip tive of the writer's appearance when a child : " I was permitted to grow up, to become strong and handsome, by battling, winter and summer, with the ele ment?. This regimen agreed with me to a miracle, and I was at that period one of the handsomest children who ever trod with their naked feet the rocks of our moun tains, where the human race is nevertheless so healthy and so fair. Eyes of a dark blue, like those of my mo ther; features pure an d almost iomaa in their outline, softened by a rather pensive expression like her own; a dazzling ray of inward joy lighting up the whole coun tenance; soft, fine hair of a golden brown, like the ripe husk of the Chesnut, falling in waves rather than curls over my neck, ernbrewned b y exposure t o the sun; a fi gure already tsll fo r my age, agile, flexible, and grace ful in its mov e m en t s; w i th merely an extreme d e li cacy of skin, which also d escen d ed to me from my mot h er, an d a readiness to blush an d grow pale, wh i ch di sp l aye d t h e fineness of the tissues, the rapidity and the power of the emotions of the heart on the features; in a word, the por trait of my mother, with the addition of a manly accent and an expression —such was the child I was at that age," Anecdotes of the most entertaining character abound throughout the " Memoirs," from the stolen interviews between the father and mother of the author, when the former was a prisoner during the Reign of Terror, to the episode of the love story of the Abbe Dumont before he became an ecclesiastic. But the whole charm of Hie work is concentrated in the exqui site narrative relating to Graziella. One portion of this latest of the productions of M. de Lamartine we have reserved until the last for consideration—it is that in which he speaks of the greatest Emperor who ever existed on this earth—Napoleon. Upon the subject of Napoleon, M. de Lamartine evinces a littleness of mind which is absolutely astounding in a man of such enlarged and remarkable genius. He not only displays upon this point a pre judice unworthy of so noble an intellect, but a detes tation unbefitting a .heart so good and generous. When first he mentions the name of the Emperor, he avows at once, in so many words, his profound and inextinguishable HATRED " for the hero of the age," a hatred, (these are his own words, page 109), " a hatred the offspring at once of feeling and of reason, which reflection and time have only justified, not withstanding the vile flatterers of his memory—a hatred which lam proud to have preserved through life, and which I hope to retain till death." Even supposing this were spoken of a man still living, it would be hideous. But when we remember that the august remains of the imperial conqueror are reposing in their tomb " on the banks of . the Seine, in the midst of the French people whom he loved so well," when we remember that the great heart of Napoleon has ceased to beat, that his glorious eyes are closed for ever, and that his anointed brow is cold in death, we may well ask if such harsh and cruel expressions are worthy of a believer in Christianity. Our whole soul revolts from them, and we pass on. So deep and virulent, however, is the animosity of M. de Lamartine for the Giant who saved the Revolution from being trodden into the dust by five successive coalitions, and who raised his country from being the opprobrium to be the arbiter and mistress of the world, that he condescends to degrade hi s p en into the miserable _weapon of a caricaturist. After the ignominious flight of Louis XVIII., a flight which he absurdly attempts to gloze over as an act little short of the chivalrous, M. de Lamartine returns to Paris. Recollect—it is the Hundred Days. He goes to the Place de Carrousel and witnesses a review of the troops by the Emperor. - Here is his ignoble caricature of Napoleon's appearance on that occasion : " His head was buried in his shoulders. His large and livid cheeks protruded beyond the tight collar of his uniform. His features, which were a s y e ll ow as an orange, seemed to perspire with anxiety. His forehead was wrinkled with the cares of his situation." We call this a vile caricature, and we do so not so much because every other account of N a p o l eon ' s appearance proves its falsity in each particular, as by reason of the circumstance that we happen to have at our elbow at the time we are now writing, a contra dictio —in point—of every line in that caricature. Our authority is the present Right Hon. the Presi dent of the Board of Control, Sir John Cam Hob house. In 1815, during the whole of the Hundred Days, Sir John Cam Hobhouse was living in Paris. He there witnessed a review of the troops before the Emperor, in the Place de Carrousel—it may have been the very review witnessed by M. de Lamartine. Writing a description of this review to his friend Lord Byron, Sir John thus sketches the portrait of Napoleon _ _ 'Two officers of the guard were kind enough to push me forward within ten paces of him [a distance rather calculated to afford the writer the opportunity of a severe scrutiny]. . . . The troops were two hours passing before him, during the whole of which time any assassin, unless disarmed by his face of fascination [large livid cheeks, yellow, wrinkled, and perspiring, would hardly come within that definition; and two hours' view at ten paces' distance would scarcely conceal such cha racteristics from a keen -sighted observer] might have shot or even s t a bb e d hi m .1 saw nothing but Napoleon—the single individual to destroy whom the earth was rising from the Tanais to the Thames. . . . The principal charm of the spectacle arose from the contemplation of the great peril to be en countered by the one UNDAUNTED mortal before my eyes [no mention here of any ' perspiring from an xie ty.'] me like any of his portraits, except that one in the saloon of the palace of the legislative body, nor did I ever see any man just like him. His face was of a deadly pale [not as yellow as an orange']; his jaws overhung, but not so much as I had heard; his lips thin, but partially curled, so as to give to his mouth an inexpressible sweetness His hair was of a dark, dusky, brown He was not fat in the upper part of his body [not a syllable about his head being ' buried in his shoulders.'] looked about him, not knitting, but joining his eyebrows, as if to see more minutely." [After describing a beautiful incident which occurred in the course of the review between the Emperor and a poor mendicant, Sir John thus concludes his letter]— " I see Napoleon at this moment. The unruffled calmness of his countenance at the first movement of the soldier relaxing softly into a look of at tention and kindness will never be effaced from my memory. We are not stocks, nor atones, nor Tories. I am not ashamed to say that on recovering from my first surprise, I found my eyes somewhat moistened; a weakness that never fails to overpower some persons, when alone and unrestrained by ridicule, at the perusal of any trait of unmixed heroism, especially of that un daunted tranquillity of mind which formed and finished the master-spirits of antiquity."—Hobhouse's Letters to Lord Byron. Vol. 1., p. 33. Now Lamartine, be it remembered, is a Frenchman, and Hobhouse is an Englishman—Hobhouse pro fesses neither partiality for, nor antipathy to, Na poleon—Lamartine avows, as we have shown, that he regards Napoleon with a hatred he is proud to preserve and hopes to retain until his death. The proportion of credit to be given to the two witnesses is, therefore, clearly manifest. Besides what we have already quoted, it may not be superfluous to mention in disproof of M. de Lamartine's villanous and pitiable caricature, that another Englishman, Captain Basil Hall, in his voyage from Loo Choo, " men tions his interview with the Captive of St. Helena, and remarks, among other phy sionomical traits, the marble-like smoothness of his forehead--not a wrinkle having blurred its serenity, even under the hell of Sir Hudson Lowes insolence. M. d e L amar ti ne s p ea k s o f th e Emperor's image having been, since 1815, flattered in bronze and marble—and yet it would be rather difficult to point out a bust of more superb beauty in feature, or of more sublime grandeur in expression, than the colossal statue in white marble by Canova, now preserved in the hall at Apsley House. And Cermea was a Re publican in his predilections, and certainly no flatterer. Elsewhere M. de Lamartine has the coolness, we had almost said the effrontery, to declare that the French people, detesting the imperial regime, had no part whatever in the enthusiasm of the Return from Elba. In the recent election of the representative of the Napoleonian dynasty, by universal suffrage, through the ballot, to the office of President over the French Republic, six million voices have given that assertion the lie I We lament the falsities to which we have here referred, as being derogatory to the great ness of mind and the goodness of heart of so great and good a man as M. de Lamartine. SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING THE AMENDMENT OF THE LAW. LAW OF PARTNERSHIP. The ordinary general meeting of the society was held last night at their rooms, 21, Regent-street,-for the pur pose of further considering the recommendations of the committee as to limiting the liabilities of dormant part ners; Mr. Yates occupied the chair. Mr. SYMONDS, the secretary of the society, in reopen ing the debate, which was adjourned from the previous meeting, as he considered the question now before them was one, not of principle, but of detail, proposed to sub mit several suggestions as to the practical means of car rying out with safety the recommendation of partner. ship en commandite, as it was called in France, or the system of limited liabilities in the case of dor mant, and it might be secret, partners. He re commended that every company based on this prin • ciple should be registered in a public office, such as that now existing for joint-stock companies; and that the form of registration, differing from that adopted in the case of joint-stock companies, should be a common form, similar to that adopted in the advertisement of in. surance companies, showing at a glance, where the proper conditions were present, and where absent. Ho pro posed that this registration should Le published regu larly, as, for example, the " Law List" was, with supple ments if necessary, perhaps once a quarter; and that this list, where every partnership en commandite must appear, should be framed by the registrar in the same manner as the certificates of attorneys for the "Law List." All this would fall short of what was required without a tribunal, formed on the model of the Bankruptcy Court, to which questions arising out of this kind of partnership might be referred; the Attorney-General prosecuting wherever failure was the consequence of fraud, and the expenses of the court and of the annual list being supported by a fee charged upon the issue of each company's certificate. Such were his suggestions for carrying into practice the principle of partnership en commandite, and, in making them he disclaimed any participation in the alarm expressed by some, which he thought entirely arose from the abuses of the present system. Mr. WILLIAM HAWES refused to have the principle assumed, and contended that those who would change the law, as it now is, must prove there was a necessity for the change, and that the present system was in sufficient for the purposes of trade. The principle which repudiated debts beyond a fixed amount, if good for companies, must be valid in the case of individuals. Were they prepared to carry out their principle? He considered that the agent, or gerant, or acting partner en commandite, was an uncontrolled trafficker, because the moment his dormant colleagues interfered by advice or voting, at a private meeting, they immediately became responsible for the whole amount of liabilities contracted. The consequences of this were, that the world would cease to trust a concern where the managing partner was uncontrolled; and the difficulties occasioned in law, as French lawyers knew, by one and another of the dor mant partners appearing to pass the limits of non-inter ference in the affairs of the concern were inextricable. He believed the proposed change would be productive of great fraud and immense abuse. Mr. Commissioner PANE, who supported the recom mendation of the committee, considered that the remarks of Mr. Hawes went entirely to the qualifications of the main principle, which was simply this, that a man might give a certain amount of money to a firm but withhold his name. Some gentlemen were confounding the pub lication of the names with the main principle involved. He saw no :necessity for the name being known at all, and if not known of course the secret partner could neither be guilty of deceiving nor of defrauding any one. He would have such a partner also take an active superintendence in h teconduct of i oft he concernts affairs. In ft, h sofar as to ac consult e an counsel cl dis missed all the restrictions proposed by the committee as absurd, and adopted the simple principle as expressed in the first of the resolutions drawn up by the committee in the followimg terms :—" That it is advisable to allow the formation of partnerships, in which, while the liability of the ostensible and active partners continues unlimited, parties who take no active share in the business, and whom it is proposed to call limited partners, should be able to restrict their liability to the amount of capital agreed to be advanced by them." This was just that principle which by the union of small means accom plished marvellous ends, that was required by society as it now existed. Mr. Alderman Salomons, Mr. A'Bcckett, Mr. Frede rick Hill, and Mr. Neale, afterwards addressed the so ciety in support of the committe e ' s report, and M r . Wil son, Mr. Goldsmid, and Mr. Elliott against it. The CHAIRMAN then put the following questions to the vote, namely:—That the report be received; carried by a majority of eight to four. That the rule of English law, by which partners are unable in any case, except by special sanction of Government, to limit the amount of their responsibility for engagements made in the business of the firm requires amendment; carried by ten to fivo. That the introduction into England of the system known as partnership en commandite, due precaution boing taken against any fraudulent abuse of it, would be desirable; carried by ten. to five. The meeting then separated. SMITHFIELD -MARKET. Ye-sterday afternoon a public meeting was held at the London Tavern, for the purpose of taking into consideration the most efficient measures to be adopted . _for the removal of Smithfield Cattle-market. xir. Bennoch took the chair, and briefly a dd ressed the: l meeting upon the combination—a great and growiAg monopoly, possessing much power — which had for a series of years usurped the whole trade of the cattle and dead meat markets of the metropolis. In the open area of Smithfield-market the greatest in decencies were constantly being committed, while gross cruelty and brutality was hourly practised towards the cattle exposed for sale. The health of the public was likewise materially affected, by the horrid effluvia that arose from the filthy slaughter-houses in the vicinity. Several gentlemen addressed the meeting, and resolu tions in accordance with its objects were unanimously agreed to. A committee was then appointed to carry out the objects of the assembly ; and after votes of thanks had been passed to the Chairman and Hon. Secretary, each of whom acknowledged the compliment, the meet ing adjourned. N ORTH-AMERICAN RAIL WAY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRIGHTON GAZETTE. Sir,—The very flattering notice you were kind enough to give in your paper of yesterday to the contents of the pamphlet I had the pleasure to forward a few days ago for your perusal and consideration entails upon me the necessity of again intruding upon your valuable time,—in the first place, to have an opportunity of returning, which I do most sincerely, my grateful thanks for the highly favourable remarks you have, as an impartial public journalist, considered it 3 our duty to make on my perhaps rather too enthusiastic endeavours to arouse general attention to what has long appeared to me a question of vital importance to the British empire. That the subjects in favour of which I have ventured to appear before my countrymen should have enlisted your powerfal aid did not in the least exceed my expec tations; but that you should at once so fairly and so boldly stated, when alluding to the other proposed routes across the American Continent, and more particularly to the one of the Lake of San Juan, de Nicaragua, that— "We think that the views developed in the able pam phlet of Major Carmichael Smyth. will go far towards effscting a revolution in public opinion," is so gratifying to my feelings, and so encouraging to my labours, that if I am now troublesome in urging forward this great national undertaking through the medium of your co lumns, I trust, with you at least, I shall meet with some excuse, particularly for not quietly allowing the follow ing remark, extracted from the Morning Chronicle of the 7th instant, to pass unnoticed : " The fact is that from various circumstances, such as the vicinity of the United States, the manner in which the public lands of the colony have been disposed of, and the feelings of the present inhabitants with respect to immigration, we have long ceased to regard Canada as a proper field for settlement at once systematic and ex tensive." Now, Sir, we have the highest authority on points of honour to warn us that (I quote from memory) no man has a right, by speech or in writing, to impute improper motives to another;" and far be it from me, therfore, to insinuate even, that the writer of the article in the Chronicle asserts other than what he firmly believes; but when the columns of a public journal, extensively cir culated (and, as we are led to believe, powerfully sup ported), contains opinions so highly detrimental to the welfare and prosperity of a most important section of this great empire, it would indeed be a neglect of duty on the part of those holding different opinions to remain silent. Let the writers of the articles for the Chronicle bring forward whatever reasons they will in favour of any sys tem for New Z . aland, the Cape of Good Hope, or any of our other colonies, let them use their best endeavours for the happiness of them all, let them point out how in every way they may be benefited ; but let them pause before they again lend their a id t o th ose w h o w i sh to induce the pulic to believe that our magnificent and loyal colonies, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada, are unfit for the reception of our emigrants, either from vicinity to the United States, from local arrangements regarding land, or from auy other cause whatsoever. The author of "The Art of Colonization" says— " But whatever may be the cause, I have no doubt that the love of England is the ruling sentiment of English colonies;" and with him on this point I most cordially agree. By neglect, we may certainly oblige our colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada to look to America as their best friend, and thus drive them from us; but we may depend upon it they will go with a heavy heart, and England may repent with a broken spirit. I can look forward to the continually in creasing greatness of our extensive empire, if we expect ourselves to fulfil its apparent destiny; but " there is a tide in the affair of "nations as well as in those of "men," and its " ebb" may carry away the landmarks of our glory and of our prosperity not so easily hereafter to be replaced. In the Executive Council Chamber of Canada on the 20th Decembsr, 1848, it was resolved—" that the Com mittee of Council have no doubt that the Canadian Legislature would be prepared to sanction any measure having for its object the transcer to her Majesty's Govern ment of the unsettled crown lands, through which the proposed railroad would pass, to the extent of 10 miles in depth on each side, and that it would further under take to obtain, at the expense of the province, all the private propery required for the railroad line in Canada and for the several stations." In the Council Chamber of Fredericton, New Bruns wick, on the 6th of January of this year, present his Ex cellency the Lieutenant-Governor, it was decided that— " The Council having considered these documents with great attention and satisfaction, fully concur with the opinion expressed by Major Robinson in his very able report, that while the projected railway will be of great advantage to provincial interests, it is at the same time a work of imperative necessity, in a national point of view, for the preservation and integrity of this portion of her Majesty's dominions. " Participating in this conviction, the Board anxiously desire to co-operate with the adjoining colonies in a practicable scheme for the completion of so important an undertaking. " No question of greater importance to British colonial interests could be presented for the consideration of the Government. Upon it hangs the destiny of these pro vinces as portions of the empire. In its favourable ter mination we view the only guarantee of colonial unity and British supremacy in British North America; and so deeply rooted do we believe to be the attachment of this colony to British institutions, that we are of opinion no opposition will be offered in our legislature to the pro position of the Canadian Government however its adop tion might bear on what has hitherto been the principal staple of the province." These resolutions of the Council have reference to the proposed Halifax Quebec Railway, and also to the in crease of duty from is. to 7s 61. on colonial timber, as a security to the :British Government for any advances they may make for the completion of such railway. I will now, Sir, conclude with a few observations from the report of Major Robinson, presented to Parliament by command of her Majesty, and just printed:— " For any great plan of emigrating or colonization there is not another British colony which presents such a favourable field for the trial as New Brunswick. To 17,000,000 of productive acres, there are only 208,000 inhabitants. Of these 11,000,000 are still public pro perty. On the surface is an abundant stock of the finest timber, which in the markets of England realise large sums annually, and afford an unlimited supply of fuel to the settlers. If these should ever be exhausted, there are the coal fields underneath. The rivers, lakes, and sea coasts abound with fish." Then as to the practicability of carrying on the line of railway to the Pacific. It can be clearly shown that a similar description of country, and indeed in many parts far superior for agricultural purposes, runs through the whole length of that parallel of latitude in which would be constructed the great British colonial railway com munication that has been proposed in my letter, to the author of the Clockmaker; and as a means of affording permanent work to our starving and unemployed popu laticn, as a means of enabling the country to make a per • manent system of national colonization, and, at the same time, of assisting the legislature to relieve the country from the expense of what the Times so justly observed on the 19th February, " We cannot afford to spend 50/. a year on a convict at home." As a means, then, I say, of materially assisting in the solution of all these im portant questions, now agitating public opinion, I do not believe any better plan can be suggested; and I believe also, if judiciously and systematically undertaken, the ultimate consequence of this great national work, instead of being a drain on the finances of England, will increase, to an immense extent, both her revenue and her capital. With many apologies for the length of this communication, I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient and much obliged servant, ROBERT CARMICHAEL SMITH. 17, Preston-street, Brighton, March 9, 1849. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. APPOINTMENTS. Lieutenant—Augustus C. Strode (1847) to the Excel ent gunnery ship at Portsmouth. Midshipmen—C. H. Smyth, to the Hydra, steam sloop, Monte Video; William H. Liddell, to the Ocean, flag-ship at Sheerness. Naval Cadets—Christopher Borth wick, to the Impreg nable, flag-ship at Devonport ; William R. W. Hewett, to the Vengeance, 84, in the Mediterranean. DOCKYARD SUPERANNUATIONS.—The Admiralty have signified to Chatham Dockyard their determination to superannuate the following ()Ricers from Chatham Dock yard:—Master shipwright's assistant Mr. John Moore; foremen of shipwrights, Messrs. James Babb and James Wyatt; foreman of joiners, Mr. William Binsted; and inspector of joiners, Henry Carter. At Sheerness it is expected that the superannuations will include Mr. Boys, master shipwright's assistant, and Mr. Brock, foreman of shipwrights; at Portsmouth it is reported that Mr. Wallis, master shipwright's assistant, will shortly retire; and a t D evonport, assistants to the master shipwrights, Messrs. Spiller and Aylward, both of whom are officers of long servitude; and also one or two fire men will be reported. The Warspite, 50, at Chatham, has been reported to the Admiralty as ready for commission, in three weeks after having been taken in hand. In Devonport harbour are the Impregnable, 78, Captain Sir T. Maitland, flag of Admiral Sir W. H Gage, G.C.H.; Agincourt, depot ship of the ordinary, Captain W. J. Hope Johnstone, flag of Rear- Rich; Sir John Louis, Bart.; Vanguard, 8 0 ,Cr 6 a , packet Ranger, 8, Commander Newland; Peterel,- Sylph, tender; brig, Lieutenant Commander C Wells, second master, cm- Fearless, steam-tender, Mr. n m e r t v d r i g a ; n (IC Duck, onfian g , for the naval appren hstteeras.m-7 e tug; s, and Hamm:lse, M a _ tices, Lieut.-Commander Lieut.-Commander C. 0. B. The Lqrk, 2, schooner, In the Sound—Nautilus, in readiness to take of itthendwehrtetho thisthe Hall, arrived a t ke Dc o v u o t np th or e t, ne fr x o t m ma S t h l ee to rne t s h s e , t e o oa b s e t expedition a w e President o Africa, whefreLsihheertisa.to The em ee p x l p o e y d e vessel has been manned and fitted, and actually got to sea, has excited astonishment. The Avon, 2, steam-vessel, Lieut.- Commander B. Cater, is ordered from the coast of Ireland to Devonport, to be paid off. The hired shipwrights employed in fitting the North Star. 26, at Sheerness, for the North Polar expedition with succour for the squadron in search of Sir J. Frank lin, have had their time prolonged fourteen days. Tho La Ilogue, 56, steam guard-ship, was removed from dock at Sheerness on Friday, and will be masted today, when she will proceed in otherwise fitting for service. The Edinburgh, 56. steam guard-ship, was taken i nto clock yesterday at P o rt smou th, t o b e fitted for service. THE SLAVE TRADE.—The Cygnet brigantine, Com mander George Kenyon, captured a fine Brazilian brig, the Vingador, of 247 tons, equipped for the slave trade, and sent, her to St. Helena for adjudication on the 12th of December--her third capture. She was cruising in the 13 igl4 of Deuiu, PORTSMOUTH, MONDAY.—The Sidon steam-fri gate, 1,328 tons, 560-horse power, Captain W. 1 Henderson, C. 8., is, we are informed, ordered to be paid off in this port. The ship is in first-class order for any service that a steamer can perform. In these economical times, then, we may with propriety be allowed to question the policy of laying her up before she has completed at least the usual short term of a elmmission on fine weather stations—three years. She would work another year ' well without further expense. Letters from Rio, dated the sth ult., state that the Amphitrite, 25, Captain T. R. Eden, had arrived there from the coast of Africa; and the Daphne, 18, Captain Fanshawe, from Plymouth. The former bad sailed for Valparaiso. The Alert, 6, Commander H. Dunlop, was at Ascen sion on the 31st of January, about to proceed to Am brise, to relieve the Contest, 12, Commander M'llurdo. The Stromboli steam-sloop, Commander Lord A. W. Beauclerk, came into the harbour last evening. She has received Admiralty orders to proceed to the Chops of the Channel with relief for the homeward-bound trade, calling at Plymouth to hind supernumeraries, and put some stokers on board the Conflict steam-sloop, at that port. Preparations are making in Portsmouth dockyard for the workmen to be paid their weekly wages in the same manner as the men employed in the factory at Woolwich. It has hitherto been done by the leading men of the divisions of workmen receiving their wages, and then distributing the money; now, every man is to go to the pay-table. It is said that about 700 men can be paid is a quarter of an hour; but there are three clerks to do it—one to take the tickets, one to check off, and one to hand over the cash. Moreover, it will occupy the same parties two hours previously to count out each man's money. The number of men to be permanently attached to the dockyard will be about 2,500. Wind, N.E., fresh breezes and cloudy. PLYMOUTH, MARCH 24.—Her Majesty's ship Van guard, 80, Captain Rich, when dismantled will be paid off alongside the jetty, where all the ships are in future to be paid. Several instances of smuggling have occurred in relation to the Vanguard, and there are no less than 10 Custom-house officers on board, irrespective of the look-out by the Preventive Service. She will probably be paid on Wednesday, the 29th. The Adventure transport sailed on the 21st for Rio Janeiro with stores for the squadron. Her Majesty's brig Racer sailed on Wednesday for Woolwich. The Manceuvrer lighter, with stores from Woolwich, and the Duck lighter, with stores from Portsmouth, arrived yesterday. The Heroine 8-gun brig, and the Scorpion 6-gun brig, are to be commissioned; and the proper officers are drawing up a report of the time required to prepare her Majesty's ship Albion, 90, for commission. The Ranger, 6, Command er N ew l and, will probably be paid off on the 27th. Her crew are to be turned over to the Heroine. Orders were received to-day to superannuate Mr. Spiller first assistant to the master shipwright ; Mr. Hosking, foreman of shipwrights; and Messrs. Fox, Lacey, Ansel!, and jury, inspectors of shipwrights. According to the recommendation of the Court of Revision, the following artisans will be pensioned off on the 31st inst., viz:—Two foremen, one inspector, nine leading men, and 10 shipwrights; one leading man and two calkers; one inspc ctn. and 10 joiners; three masons; nine smiths; 12 labourers; one tinman; one oarmaker; one wheelwright; one cokenaaker, and 30 ropemakers. The total effective strength then retained will be 2,158 men. Wind easterly, cold and dry. Wooewrcn, MARCH 26 . The Archer, 4 guns, steam vessel, built at Dptford Dockyard, is to be launched to , morrow, Tuesday, March 27. The Vulcan troop-ship, recently launched from Mr. Mare's building-yard, at Bow-creek, and taken into the East India Dock to be fitted with her engines by Messrs. George and Sir George Rennie, was taken out of dock to-day, and towed to Woolwich by the Monkey, Jasper, and Charon steam-vessels. The Basilisk steam-vessel has been fitted to-day with two of Captain Smith's paddle-box boats. The Widgeon steam-vessel, fitted for the surveying service, under Captain Bullock, is now ready to resume her duties, and was taken out of the basin to-day. Capt. Bullock on Thursday last submitted a plan to Commo dore Henry Eden for caving lives from shipwreck, and again showed the plan in the basin to-day. The inven tion is of the simplest description, merely consisting of four pieces of timber held together in the form of a square by swivel bolts, and supported on knee bolts attached to the inside of each of the paddle-boxes at the same elevation above the deck as the present pilot platforms are placed. The dimensions of the square platform adopted by Captain Bullock and placed on the Widgeon are 18 feet 6 inches by 16 feet 6 inches, having a railing of chains along the whole of the inside of the square and a cross plank placed lengthways with the line of the vessel, on which a boat is supported, and her keel so placed in an opening that, however crowded she might be with persons during a shipwreck, or the sink ing of a vessel from any cause, the boat could not be up set, although the sea might be runningligh at the time or it might be cast amongst breakers. Six seven-gall, casks were attached under the platform, and placed the basin, and twenty men went into the captain's smal boat, only 16 feet long, and the buoyancy of the platform or raft was so great that the boat was only immersed four inches and a half and the platform about an inch in the water. The gallant captain intends having the platform lined underneath with cork, which will give it a greater degree of buoy ancy and render it capable of supporting a great num ber of persons. He also proposes having casks half filled with fresh water as a means of support, which would bo found of great advantage in cases of shipwreck, or being cast on reefs or desolate islands, and a netting thrown across the inside of the square of the raft would support a large quantity of provision s an d necessaries. The swivel bolts for joining the four corners and the cross plank for supporting the boat are so constructed that the square frame may be made into a diamond shape, and steered towards any parti cu l ar point, and by the aid of a temporary sail raised on a spar, a great distance on the ocean might be traversed with safety to those persons placed in such a position as to have re course to it, as there would be no greater danger than the injury arising from being wet on the boat filling with water. The plan is so simple and easy of con struction, and of being taken to pieces and put together on the shortest notice, that it may be made available in every description of sailing vessels. CAPE YORK, NEW HOLLAND, OCT. 12, 1848.—A letter from her Majesty's ship Rattlesnake, thus dated. says : 7 -"Since the 29th o f A pr il , wo have been cut off from civilised society, leading a very tiresome and mono tonous life. O n ly one vessel during the past season took theinner route, on her passage to India, and upwards of thirty took the outside passage. So much for the esti mate made by the mercantile marine of the surrey under taken by the Fly. Captain Stanley has alingst com pleted the survey of the inner passage ; and, should the Admiralty charts be constructed on the same scale as the original, they will afford the world the beat proof of the labour and care bestowed on the work by the officers engaged on the survey. We start from here about the end of the month, for Port Essington." FORGED TEN-POUND NOTES: CAUTlON.—Several hotel-keepers hare recently been defrauded by means of forged ten-pound notes. A stylish•looking individual calls coolly for a glass of brandy, tenders a new and very plausible-looking ten-pound note in payment, and desires to have it changed. He receives nine pounds nineteen shillings and the odd pence, swallows his liquor, and departs ; some time a ft er w hi c h t h e host discover s th at he has given his good money and good liquor for that which is destitute of value. Mr. Morgan, of the Imperial Hotel, was thus duped a few days ago, and we have heard o: three other publicans who have similarly suffered. As the well-dressed in dividual will, probably, after this notice, decamp from Liverpool, where ho has obtained good booty, and commence operations elsewhere, we will, for the information of victuallers and hotel -keepers in other towns, mention one or two peculiarities of the notes in question. The principal point to be looked at in the notes passed by this person is the water-mark. As the note lies on the table at a little distance from the eye it looks exceedingly well, the water-mark appearing very distinct and genuine. The colour of the paper, too, is good. But examine the water-mark closely, that is the test. In the genuine note the water mark 1. is m anu f actured in the paper. In the forgeries is embossed, and on minute examination both the wavy impressed lines and the l e tt ers w ill be seen to be upon the of hurried surface of th e p a p er . P ar ties who are nhab i ts themselves retail traffic should accustom to examine will thus easily l earn marks and general execution. the y note to detect at a glance a forged when it is pres en t e d the peculiarities of good notes, particularly the wa t er - The copper-plate impress i on upon the f orge d to them. no t e s in ques tion is, to the practised eye, th oug h well execu ted, greatly inferior to that upon th e genu i ne notes o f the Bank of England.—Liverpool Alb ion . DIE LAND SAVINGS BANIC.--AIT. O'Connor, in the Northern Star of Feb. 3, said :—"istow that I have not only hope but certainty of the legisla tion of the plan, and not to encumber myself with complicated accounts, and not to practice another juggle upon you, and :seeing the hard ship of a man to a man who has not paid a sufficient amount of bonus to entitle him to iodation, remaining without his money, which may prevent him carrying on some other business, it is my intention to re turn the full amount of bonus money paid by those who are not located, instead of keeping it locked up, an d pay i ng t h em four per cent., which, after very anx i ous cons id erat i on, would, I think, be an act of great o pp ress i on ." T a ki ng him at his word, an unfortunat e mem b er o f the Land Company applied to Mr. O'Connor for the am ount of his deposit to be returned. The following reply was all that he received, or probably ever will get:— " 144, High Holborn, L on d on, Feb. 16, 1849, Dear Sir, I am instructed by the directors to inform you that they cannot return the share money to any mem ber under any circumstances whatever. I am, Sir (ter Mr. T. Clerk), yours faithfully, Wm. Dixon, To Mr. John Arnold."—Notts Guardian. ACCIDENT ON THE BRISTOL AND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY. —On Saturday evening a man named Orton, g a plate-lay er on t h is line, attempted to get on one of the waggons as it was descendin the Lickey, near Broms grove; in d o i ng th i s b e fell, and the wheels of the car riages passed over his legs, fracturing them in a fright.. ful manlier. He was conveyed to the Queen's Hospital at Birmingham cn Sunday morning, and died there last evening. The auxiliary screw steam-ship Sarah Sands, Captain Thompson, mill leave the Mersey on Wednes day next for New York. She will th en h ave been in port scarcely nine days, during which t i me, through the active exertions of her excellent commander she will have discharged and loaded full cargoes.—Liverpool .41Lion•I -.-~-~- '"VMPIONI