The Sun. — London, England, 1855-05-01 00:00:00

THE SUN, L thetei -,,,e,---„......—_____- oi l th e ?raPh were intercepted by the Telegraph company Purp ose . wa Y to the papers, and used by them for their.own graph Co Nov, the principle on which she Electric Tele desnat")°VanY had alwa been conducted was that every tbri ch in to them was delivered to the person to hrow it was addressed, without any one, except the clerk soaugh whose hands it passed, being aware of its contents. PU01:111:1. a u tY intelligence, received in any manner, was . tea h th i the newevapeits it e asitninediately transmit the _Y e Electric Telegra p h Company to every part of tile country. When the list of the killed and woueded at an e l ' e s7le of the Alma arrived in this country, before half eip a ai 11 it was transmitted by the telegraph to every prin GI, e ' ° wma in the United Kingdom—to Aberdeen and th e o t: r on the one hand, and to Plymouth and Exeter on alarm o ; and he should certainly look with very great sa e , to ' l i the Passing of any law to prevent the transinise interest, Perts of the country of news of such universal copy of The Elect r i c T e l egrap h C ompany purc h a sed a cord ed, ..'ne Times, in whi c h such intelligence was re countand they telegraphed it down to eeery town in the telegr?ll but, if they were not to do that, if there were no ho urs _P a , then the Times would be sent down five or six p oste,i 4 ter, and the article itself would be extracted . and jut the Exchange rooms, or wherever the place might had eElletY• in the same manner as it wo . ulti have beam only difference Telegraph Company transmitted . it. The hours eece was that the public saw the intelligence some to thebefore they otherwise would do, and the injury done and the a pera was th e same ; it was neit h er more nor l es s, tel ee , e Puldic e n j oyed all , he benefit of the transm i tt i ng by p ati ta y t a i ltmh. It mete a di st i nct rule w i th t h e T e l egrap h Cow- Prete at nothing should be transmitted that had not been takeollud- printed in the newspapers. The company did not itheir bilityoftranstnittinganythieg l'ae_ti.luair Own authority. but, as had been explaimel by the oai u ttett member for Manchester, they stated that they trans ietelli, re the Times, the Post, or the Herald certain know i! t nce of great interest which the public ought to then if once- He thought th a t th e H ous e o ught to pause, the the Ch ancellor of the Exchequer had not set them anvnioille °fPausing' before they passed any such law as retetist _ vet lit i the p resen t c l ause . It was n ot tor the in of the the telegraphthat this clause should not Pass j u t e Icompany cl ause aw; he as a public man should vote against the the tier° Telegraph Company was concerned, nothing could be cease advantageous than that this clause shot& pass, be kereettePublic must have intelligence, and- if one corn oi aa t wanted the prices of «h eat at London or Dant c, others al all owed t so must have ii, and if the company were not take whit o transmit from the Times the prices current, to ich, of tira e y • au, under the present clause would be ay e t:„T s uch case each individuel merchant w r ould would , transmit a private message for the prices. This pang 1 ° ) of great advantage to the Telegraph Com inter; ilt , a great disadvantage to the doncommerial share •a of the country. (Hear, hear.) He di. ot flame" a the alarm of the member for 'takingOldham cea that he could not understand why the wa p off rendered copyright protection necessary now if it titer.ot necessary before. They had been told by the Soli be_ oyeeneral that Manchester would be flooded by a num par t small newspapers containing the news of the London h a t ers ; but these small newspapers could not afford to eettititelligence transmitted through the telegraph ; they laus', only take it from the Manchester papers, which atm s fro as at their intelligence at some cos s , Would bra them, at third, not first hand, the cheap p• per hon.— e "liged to take their intelligence. But when 1 e aataainsernber for Oldham, in these days of penny encyc oe 7p'etra and cheap publications, told them, that because Pa era . were cheap, they must deteriorate the press of _ _i r . iti 4n ear t7, and that their articles must be injurious,. he (M . • th e , "°) had mistaken the bon. gentleman's liberality in . .e matters, for he did not think cheapness , compatible iwalgththutility, , , (Hear.) He (Mr. Ricardo), so far from think cheaes" this measure would render the periodical papers and injurious to the morals of the people, be lievedtie el.not,hing would tend more to elevate their . . mpral t s o . betwe believed, moreover, that the public could discriminate b eet, et! what was good and what was had. They were d to re a e u ges of what they ought or ought not to bu an R and it was not forthis house to decide for theta. i r ' EENTINCK said that the Solicitor-General, speak illige with more candour than courtesy, had disposed of all hoosa_rguments clan en his (Mr. Bentinck's) side of m t e h re e eagainst these, by stating that ` they vltere of the imisrepresentations which gentlemen on this side . oase delighted to indulge in." Without troubling the th ale w ith a re mtition of these arguments, be would tell the Solicitor-General that it was he who had misrepresented h;rarguments used on his (Mr. Bentinck's), F3i e of the th e• The Solicitor-General had also stated that part of e "ju t . one in r(11 a dministration of justice must be put on side, Lig%legal to carry out this clause. his, coming from so ugh a legal authorit was a conclusive argument against a ou t' s nse, and after such an admission there could belittle m t as to how the committee would deal with it. , tee t r a. 33ll lGHT observed that the hon. member for Pon ti -e " nut, in his speech, raised so many puzzling ques °o6 for the Government that he was afraid his bon. friend Rated .... e , , so coax them to try some other scheme , and he (1 r `' l lght) had risen to express an opicion that. as the fu ° l-;:j a n aneot hail already so many puzzling questions be ael va 'aemt, they had better not unnecessarily involv t e a t t heif i s l them- Per this. (Laughter.) The house ageeed ith h , paper maki"e who carried on, or were connected h ht b w e remunera.- ti s , ng, should do 1110 bull a way whice wou . e to th •did' t follow that it should be Mad e r emselves but it no e mbarrassing as the pre soot. emunerative by a clause so vhic of all nthers, h ad , (Hear.) If they took the paper N which e pe e ' u tme Most t i Ite intelligence, . - -tm aed the ° c rcu 3 •'t and which of all other \vas, from e lareest sums to obtin i , 'information, most liable to pima the value of its as no necessity fo r Y , the house would find that there for w years the most pre;tclanse oft leis kind, for it had t baetenanynumber of men coultialla'l° business speculatien le to the Times. It h ao e aye followed. He alluded eo oo reaso n to complain ofthis a leader to complain repl a i °f R nt, but used this question as At this tootecieltething else which might be a i grievance. y if there hail been an y ob u, with the Times at 5d., surely, if been brought lit at 2 1 ' l nce of success, a paper could all that one de sir d '' Paying the stamp and containing e t o . not be established, I s ee • but such a paper could (al B • Alt) 80(-- coula not •restrict the sale of the Times. He _ r. r . i. o zeratia from ot the Times till . he could not obtain , h e b (i . a Manchester "m e St a -I ` 4l gby or Wolverton, and when in to . wn 7, a•e l s 2 i.ling i. ca'el • " al nes's-street he could not obtain it tin or "Ilene' 4 ' l oue day ' when he sent from his club to bnyou d e tbath "coder toldthe boy he could not get a copy, a . n Ile r , e w oula • him is. for every copy he could ootain. .ti n ,, , „glse brineing news from all 1 ) o th,:ao house had a paper ti l ea f f roito World, and nothing had 'hitherto withheld and communica -I°' Publi s trating its leading articles .o s p t ::Pa Ta• s l a ng them in a paper at 2d., and paying the a. en r o ;,' ',tit nth " a d indeed been attempted by severalldplis pa but to t a t failed—one of them had e b s een an (la‘ughteta— le d ; totillea c e eL l ex es t k to no t iv h T what they were going "o • le ° 4 Dodd7 tn d tract to obtain t t 1 t o a , .of tb. „,. a e a con ) —so that they were going vela tb. ' : : 14.tmes—(lan,hter . more senses than one. p aeee . Beeat a of the Times vi ma__ days, and a efie v u if it came out, did not last for nY to point ° tit an i n s Is hoe. friend the member for Oldham . the kind hail suc ceededance in whice an attempt of . the Am erica Th ey had he dgreat deal said about o il pa 11. a 1 found that when ge arse,pen, and he general y thi s , were i n a difficult as to what they should A sa m y e r eau queation they always had a kick at the - a coltat a a P e tm ; tie w e e sorry that he had not with bins 300 Pers on . ' 48 had at home containing, a list ofThey had to eoaseltployecl on the New York Tribune. , tin. Plalarght in America, and they never beard any c, ata o" ° f piracy from the New York Herald, the Couri er , dl sin h er Am 'the whole thing was a eu n ma (amen papers ha n ' d . People liked. to buy what they wanted at first this th is was so in America, and would be the same t u in t ot , t r untry, (Rear.) The piracy question had beengo members p of tbe,Uloment for the purpose of preventing bill in b 18 °°lls e from looking with favour on the brought introduced the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or that which was for ( 9 s cinee d by his predecessor the right hon. member address" xford University. The last time he (Mr. Bright) fro m d the house on this subject, he read a paragraph h ( t ti 'lae Globe, copied from a Caaebridge paper, iy titl e those gentlemen 4 the subject of piracy, Sir it stated t repeal of thet who had been most concerned in the . r o ep i n thilllP were preparing to bring out a paper, and engageby i fere is beicaniming kind of business, an _ _ om. h er :ce charged him (Mr. Bright) and honourable v an w ho sat near him with this intention. The paragraph 134°64 in aprominent part of the paper, and every body coald see the lads in the mind of the teti a _ . gnation which existed 15 _, u. if the Globe had a mind as to the question piracy, of out to the he took the liberty on that occasion of pointing Diver o ° house that the Globe was the most expeditious, u This al, and incessant pirate they had in this country._ o b a _ . _ .. „ the Globe al to "", it passed and carried, world suppress • gether : and what did the Globe soy when it was pro -Idi- f ? It looked at the question then from an entire paper area point of view. (Hear, and a laugh.) That t Published a leadin article against this clause infint s e a ler ( before and more logical than anything it had . i 1 ely in favour of such a provision, showing conclusie that the clause would be mast injurious, and if it we re operative, most unjust. The Solicitor-General h a d bl aa - a c ' e , some allusion to piracy in the city of Manchester, e-' the Times o lthat morning hail an article in which aaraeat indigtestion was evinced at a threepenny paperthere s ;"`„ lc h Published news appearing in the Times. That piper ,: e s ,n•hout the size of the Globe, arid would no doubt e t"rished at a lower price when the stamp was abolished u ; u" he would undertake to say, there was no person con netted with the Times who would declare that onesi ooeo. • Copy of that journal the less was sold in Manchester . in h quence of these miller papers which took portions of its had the ; ewe . It so happened that the paper . in question before it n ews of the battle of the Alma just one day Ras the Manchester Published in London, and Guardian, the Manchester Examiner, the Leeds Mereury a " had Papers of that class frequently d very ener getic the and. able coirespondents in some portions continent, so that it did not follow that because early news therefore, e as Published in Manchester it must necessari y f "iitelligence ae taken limn the London papers. A piece o 1 come direct from in the Manchester press might have thatin -rotn 'Vienna might be almost the same as though in the Times , ; and was the Times t o be armed with power t o se nd down to Manchester, and drag these respectable .. editors before two justices of the peace? The whole tho qu d e i s s : n had been torn to pieces, and shattered by the ctuestons which had taken plaee that evening, and with hoped the t he Chancellor of the Exchequer would agree bill '' e use, and the house would a g ree with him, that the Hear.) :should pass as ithout any of these obnoxious clauses. _( . , The Ca aaNCELLOR of the EXCHEQUEIr-1- ePPre 'lend there in no doubt that, by the law as it at present . . fla stands, nevrepapers do enjpy a copyright for the ortei I 1 articles and other paragraphs inserted by them- In law, .., conceive, it; makes no difference whether a publication t su nny 1 00 ;or app ears w ith th e name o f the author. It is a new (loot ,nine—new to me at least—which I have heard Preached t o-night, that it is necessary, in order to enjoy a co pyright ' that the n ame o f th e author should appear . Take, for instance, the case of an encyclopm lie. An en °YeloPmrl'er. publishing anony mous ar ti c l es unque stionably e l m i°3's the same copyright as a poem, a history or an ori eine' i„ vee rk published with the name of the author. (Hear.) ,'.' nas however, been found in practice that the greateet uifficulta_es exist in enforcing the legal claim to copyright v i bl eb , 1 newspaper enjoys. A newspaper proprietor can ti.eith r , in effect, apply to a court of equity for en in) tine leen to prevent the publication of an article, when that Valle %tams is so ephemeral, nor can he, with any proles anttY of success, enter an action for damages. In intro cir q a measure, therefore, by which the number of ?" e ,_‘ l 1 newspaper s would b e l arge l y augmen t e d, it was f e lt '° Pc a matter of common justice to the proprietors of ex istitr r newspapers to give them an effectual rem e dy by • Wbic h their present rights might be enforced. 'W'ith that N I cv 1 the clause now under the consideration of the corn nai a tee was prepared and submitted to them, as it WAR PI Light but just to guard th e r i g ht s an d i n t eres t s o f exist "' g newspapers. But, si r , a ft er t h e manner i n w hi e b that Pm oposition has been received on b o th s id es, I d o no t con -6i der it is incumbent upon me to press the matter farther, a . ad I shall not, therefore, press the cl ause u pen the corn la tittee. (Cheers.) The object which I had in view was, t m tat this question shoul.l be fairly considered by the com ra ittee that they m i g ht s ee what was the existing state of til ii law' , and how far it met the circumstance" of the case. If they believe that there is no danger of considerable abuse, and if they prefer to wait until the effect of the pre sent measure has been felt and developed in practice, so as to see whether any additional remedies are needed, I can make no objection to that course, and therefore I shall not think it necessary to press this clause. (Hear; hear.) Mr. DISRA.ELI—I am very glad to hear the right hon. gentleman has come to that conclusion. He has told us that as the law now stands newspapers have a right to copyright. 'No doubt there are many rights which exist at present, but which are never asserted. There is the right of free warren, for instance. (Hear, ant a laugh.) I know a great mrny individuals who possess that right; but I don't suppose there is anyone who would exercise it. The hon. member for Manchester has spoken of our press as compared with the American press and has alluded to the fears of those who apprehend that very injurious con sequences are about to ensue to our press. Now, I believe myself that the tendency of this alteration in the law is to assimilate the press of this country to the American press: The tone of the American press is not occasioned by laws_ of this kind, but that tone is lower than the tone of the. English press because it is the press of a younger country —(hear. hear)—and, therefore, there are many influences at work in England which have elevated, and which will raise for a considerable time, the tone of the English preit, because that tendency is to lower its enterprise, the amount of capital invested in it, and the degree of talent enlisted in the exercise of its functions. We have, how over, at the present moment. opportunities of counter acting to a certain degree what we may consider the in jurious effects of the proposition of the Government in this particular case. I think we are bound, if we do not admit a copyright — and lam m y self opposed to any such admission, because I think that, in the first place, it is un a great scale impossible, and in every respect vexation.; —I say' I think we pre bound to facilitate as much as possible the competition of the newspaper which invests and btuploys a larger capital, and which engages a gra iter amount of talent than all those journals which are in a very different 'and contrary position. (Hear.) My own opinion is, that the proposition of the Times newspaper, which has been alluded to this evening by one or two members in a certain spirit of derision, is a just and sound proposition ; and if you say that you' will give no copyright to a newspaper at present existing, you are bound to facilitate in every possible manner its means of competition with all other j ournals which may pirate its news and its intellect. ' At the proper time, therefore, I shall support that amendment which will propose that newspapers should circulate by the post without any limi tation of weight. I think, sander these circumstances, you will be able to remove to some extent the injustice which must necessarily be committed, and which no one can doubt in theory exists as regards the newspaper which invests the, pitai and engages talent, when placed in opposition to journal whic does neither the one nor the other. But, practically, will it happen, that an established London newspaper existing on thd present scale wilt suffer by this kind of competition ? I doubt it. At the present mo ment (as has been remarked almost to' surplusage in this discussion) the system of piracy exists. At your club you may receive information of what occurs in this house this very ()venir , . You can get the news of the debate there, but does that preventyou from taking i n the morning pa per which gives you that debate more at length and more authentically ? The same principle occurs when you come to compare the circumstences of a distant town with e those of the metropolis. The pu blic will always go to th foun tain head. There is no po ssibilit y b y any piracy, or by cribbing in thecontemptible mode in which all these forms of larceny are executed, of your competing with the origi nal article --that which appeals to your sentiment, your reason, and your sense of utility in a thousand ways which the stokes articles fail to do. , And I feel persueded that we shall not in the long rutloWer the tone of English journalism provided we study,-",by, every possible meas, to facilitate the communication of intelligence. lat as it iked to give a copyright in news.. Now, my idea is, that s my duty to facilitate the communication of intelligence, and, in order to facilitate the communication of intelli gence, I must not give a copyright in news, but rather devise some mole by which intelligence can be circu lated, so that the largest num ber of peOple in the country can become acquainted with i t . ' An hon. g entleman, anti cipating that the principle of copyright in newspaper liter ature might be conceded, his ventured. to maintain that the only condition on which that prieciple ought to be conceded is, that uo copyright Sheuld be allowed in the case of anonymous literary compositions. By the preseht law of England we do not in point of fact give a copy right to au anonymous writer, because; it is the posses sor by of a copyright and not the cr eator of a: copyright, who our laws possesses a vested right in the composition. (Hear, bear.) lam far from, inclined to throw any discourage- went upon the proposition of my noble friend the member for Northumberland ; imeteed I have more than once had the pleasure of conversing with him on the subject. No dots tit there is something that recommends itself to every , manly mind in the principle that every one should be re sponsible for the seutimens he expresses, but if you come to practies, it is very doubtful whether you will be sable to secure that result. (Hear.) What law can you devise by which you can secure that the writer of a leading article in a journal should certainly be known to every one who reeds that article? You may pass• a law making it incum bent that a name shall be signed to each article in a news- paper ; but what name will appear ? (Hear, hoer.) How can you secure that it will be the name of the writer ? No doubt there are circumstances under which such a law would increase the authority of the press. The writer who bears anilinstrioas name would not hesitate to sign it, and thus increase the influence of the article and the circula tion of the journal ; but the writer who does not come bear an I illustrious name, though he may si g n one that B ay ou be ce lebrated, will hesitate imfore he si g ns it ; an y may have one, formal and technical, but utterly inoperative , for the purpose you require, and the result will be far from bringing under your scrutiny and supervision the names of those you suspect or wish to become acquainted I with. My noble friend has spoken to-night , of the calumnies of the public journals of this country. My i noble friend thought himself justified, no doubt, in the remarks he made, from cortein circumstances which , may be fresh on his mind and memery ; but I think, , on -the whole, that my noble friend expressed an opinion that cannot be justified with regard to the netvs pepers of this country. That they may be arrogent, th this at , they may employ the libe rt y which, fortunately for country they possess, in a mar ner which seine of us m my often regret, is very possibl e ; but that the general tendency of their labours is to maintain the public spirit of the country and to guard and uphold the public liberties, I think no impartial person can fora moment doubt. (Hear.) Several hon. members, and particularly an hon. gentleman opposite, have refered to-night to an anonymous writing. Why, sir, anonymous writing is not the exception , but it is the rule of the literature of this country. It seses not :apply to political literat ure el me, but it applies, on tkie contrary, to 'the whole of the literature of the country. Who wrote " Thom is a Kemnpis ?" Nobody km ewe. Who wrote the " Whole Duty of Man ?" Now, there is a book which every one of us ought to have sta lied—(a laugh) which for generations our predecessors have sty. ded—ansi which has had more editions than any book in the world, and which is not a scandalous book, a libellhus book, or a political book, but which is an anonymous 000 k. (Hear) [ noticed some anonymous works that occurred topee when the hon. gentleman was speaking, and leaving t higher order of literature —the religious literature—" Thomas a Kempis" and the "While Duty of Man," let rite ask who was the author of " Waverley ?' An anonymous writer. Who was the author of " Rubinson Crusoe?" An option oy f mous writer. Who was the author of " A Vindicat Natural Society?" "Why, he was one ,who became after wards one of the most brilliant ornaents of this house, t o whom we are always referring as -the m most eloquent of ora tors, the most profound of sages, and if we refer to him as a statesman it is only to abuse the Whigs for not having pieced him in the Cabinet. I mean Mr. Burke. What are the most brilliant performances of political literature ?• What are those works that were writtenby one who in this • house occupiedthehigheet post, whose name tra will ever be lives re remembered, and whose orator y , though a dition, in the memory of the nation—l mean Lord Bolingbroke. Whatare Lord Boliugbroke's works? All those works which We are continually quoting are anonym - ins. When told of anonymous writing, I referred naturally to the most bril liant and permanent, creations of the imagination—and I find that the finest .poem intim English language, if for a moment we forget Shakepere—the " Essay ll on Maneref " waso an anonymous work. (Hear, hear.) Reay, th when we remember those instances which have hav d re e d only oth this momen t occurred to me,and recall the ne ex amples which might be referred Breit is too absurd, ten speaking of anonym ous writing, yto appeal al letters o leading articles of a news p a p er, or to the politic to which the hon. gentleman has referred. (Hear.) I c annot help thinking that in effecting a vary great change, which in its origieal conception I believe to haVe . been just, but which, as applie d b y the present Government, seems to me to be uncertain, cumbrous, and unsatisfac tory, we have in this instance to combat and meet a diffi culty which it is in vain for us to cope with. We cannot give to the rumour, or to the whisper of the day or of the hour, even if authentic, the same permanent privileg those es which we avoull give t a n epic poem or to one ,of histories which are .possessions for ever. We are bound to give to the communication of intelligence the utmost faci lities which the law will permit, and the provisions of this bill, which are to limit and restrict the circulation of newspapers or works, on which so much intelligence is ex pended, so much talent employed, and so much capital used—the at , ernirts to restrict the pi ivileges of the post office according to the we i gh t of the paper, by singling out the particular qualities which make it interesting to the multitude are, I think, not to be tolerated. But while you assert that all the news a journal 'circulates, all the charms of thought or expression it may diffuse, cannot have that miserable privilege and monopoly of at few hours rs which has been suggested, while yop assert at would be incompatible with our civilisetion and the age and manners in which we live, at the same time it is rn tifi- tolerable and n ot to be endured that we should blr ar cial restrictions hamper the circulation ofintelligence. Let me impress upon the committee that it is our interest that the newspapers in this country should be supported by the capital and fed by the intelligence of the country, be cause it is only by this mode that we can retain the supe riority of the English press, and maintain that superiority overthe American newspapers to which the hon. gentle man has referred. (Chews.) • • that Lord LOVAINE rose to explain be had not pro posed to compel the authors of any articles, e xcept those who claimed the light which would be- conferred by the present clause, to sign their names. No man was more ready than himself to acknowledge the talent whi was i h was displayed by the writers in the public press, but t the inaxim of English law that no Mall could have a right in another's wrong, mind upon that principle lee thoug h ht that leading articles in a newspaper which contained libel lous matter upon individuals ought not to come within the protection of time law. Mr. J. G. PHILLIHORE did not think tha th" Essay on Man," referred to by the ri g ht hon. gen donen oppo site, was published anonymously, and as to "Thomas a Kempis," it was written by Tivoris a Kempis, the author of another treatise entitled De Imitation() Christi. Mr. DISRAELI was sorry that the hon. and learned geutlemon disagreed from him.bmit ho had in his possession a copy of the first edition of the " Essay on Man," and he could state that it was published anonymously. Who Thomas a Kempis was he the no one had ever kno en, bet if the hon. and learned gentleman could inform him he woeld be notch obliged for the information. Oise wa s then negatived. ES rose to move a clause enacting "thatt every peT3rithoret.liMcciai rs pu blication that shall bedays print be ed and published a t intervals not exceeding sevenbetween the wo consecutive parts or numbers of such publications, and the superficies of which shall not exceed 3,500 inches of printed matter, shall be entitled to . the stud privileges of stamped with the appropriate die of lii.; provided always transmission and,retransmission. through the post, if duly that such publication shall be subject to the t er ms and conditions imposed in the third clause of this act." He felt himself, he said, in a peculiarly difficult position in moving this clause, because his right honourable friend the member for Bucks had, inchingdealing with another subject, anticipated almost every he had intended to say with regard to it, and had, in his eloquent speech, so completely dealt with the subject that he was compelled in a great measure to rely upon his arguments. The immediate object of the clause which he held in his hand was to take as the measure which be transmitted through the post for ld. a standard rather above that Of the paper which had the largest circa, lation. He might be asked why he had chosen dimension rather than weight. To that he would reply that in such cases weight was uncertain, and if the act became one of a permanent character, under the competition which it might give rise to there might arise circumstances connected with the manufacture of paper itself which would r ender weight no criterion as to the amount of matter contained, and he had, therefore, felt it to be his d ut y to shape his clau found that hie right hon. friend the member for the University of Oxford, then Chancellor of t he Exchequer, whe brought in a bill to alter the Stamp Act, had thought that it was only justice to take as the measure for transmission by post the dimensions of the largest paper then in circu lation, and he (Mr.'Milnes) now asked the committee, in altering the present law, to-take as th e measure of dimen sion the largest paper at present in circulation. It had been said that it would be much better not to enter on the question of weight or dimension, but to allow any daily paper to be transmitted by pest for ld., without regard to its weight or size ; and it had been argued that by confining that concession to the daily papers it would be without the range of possibility that any very extraordinary weight would be imposed upon the Post-office. In reply to that opinion, the argumentum ad absurdum had been used, and it had been asked whether, if the editor of a newspaper chose to wrap himself up in a co py of his own journal. he Would be conveyed through the Post-of f ice for Id. ; but the argument which weighed with him was, that he did not see how such a concession could be made to the daily pa pers alone without acting most injuriously and unjustly upon'and -against the provin cial and weekly pape, and upon that consideration he on had felt that he could nong t fairly argue the question up the ground of conv e ying the daily papers through the p o st for ld. without a limitation whatever as to their size.. He hoped that t the Government would not have any objection to lay i is down as a principle tha t the daily papers of the met l ay which had by their diligence, exertion, and ability raised themselves to the position of distributing over the whole leegth.a.nd breadth of the kingdom an amount of intellec tual matter never produced in the same way in any other nation, should enjoy a full share of justice, and that their chances of circulation should not be diminished at a mo ment when power was being given to very large papers to circulate an enormous number of copies within a certain Tadius without going to the expense of a stam p. It was, m he thought, a matter of simple ju stice topapers which me bers of that house had become accustomed to look upon almost as political rivals, and of which it was impossible, however one might disagree from the principles contained in them, to think without respect. _Pill that those papers s asked for was that they sh ould not be placed in an unfai position, but that they should be allowed a reasonable chance of keeping up the high intellectual position which they now enjoyed. The late Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Gladstone) stated the other day that the question 01 weight was at present so nicely balanced that the railways ware unable to carry into the country by the early train a complete supply of the Times; that portion of the paper containing news being sent by the early trains, and the supplement by later trains. He (Mr. Milnes) had 'made in luiries on the subject, and he found that, though the fact was true, the inference was entirely false. The question was one depending altogether upon the manipulation of newspapers; and now, when the circulation of newspapers was so fionsiderably increased in consequence of the war, the difficulty of manipulating the large number of the Times required to be transmitted by the early trains was too great to be overcome, and it was solely on this account, and o not in consequence of the excessiv e wei g ht, that one portin of the paper was conveyed by one train and the remaining portion by another. He did not think that, if the pre sent bill should be passed, it would have the effect of destroying the great metropolitan journals, for he be lieved they had sufficient energy and power to overcome any difficulties to which they might be subjected by the measure. Hon. gentlemen were aware that when, during the last century a penny stamp was imposed would n p er iodicals it was predicted- that such publications be destroyed, but the Spectator, though shaken temporarily, not only survived the blow, but rose with redoubled vigour, and in the very last article, in the 7th volume of the Spec tator, sir Richard Steele congratulated himself that that piper, by the buoyancy of its own merit, had attained au enormous circulation in defiance of the stamp. Although, however, the Spectator of that day, and the best periodicals of the present day, might possibly) survive such an iejury it was impossible to avoid the reflection that the Spectator might have had a tenfole circulation if it had not been sub ject to a stamp. He had no doubt the newspapers of the present day would derive great advantage from the aboli tion of the stamp which now limited their circulation, but he asked the cenitnittee, as a matter of public policy and justice, to assent to his proposal. He did not ask a privilege for one newspaper or another, but he asked them to enable every newspaper, metropolitan or provincial, to rise to the same height of intellectual merit, to deserve the same pub lic attention, and to exercise the same influence over the country as had been attained and were exercised by the e leading journals of the metropolis: He asked them t assent to his proposal in recognition of the merits of those great newspapers Which formed their daily delight. If they neglected this opportunity they might have cause for per manent regret hereafter, when they discovered that they had destroyed or damaged an important means of promot ing the intellectual advancement of this country. Mr COWAN thought he owed an apology, or at least ap explanation, to the committee for no t having p re ssed the a mendments of which he had given notice. Having found, however, that those amendments were u npalatable to the Government, that they were objected to by the late Chan cellor of the Exchequer, and also by the noble member for Lynn (Lord Stanley), whose manly and independent con duct ou this question did him great credit, he felt it woulo have been very unwise on his part if he had pressed them upon the attention ofthe committee. He thought, consider ing the various parties whose interests were affected, and taking into account also the transition state of the Post office iu connection with the duties it was called upon to discharge, that that house was a very unfit tribunal to db termino what amount of weight or chat ee should b 3 fixed. andthet the subject was o ne which should be left to the decision of the executive Government. lie imagined that the Government would not be disposed to assent to the motion before the committee, which seemed to be based upon the assumption that the State must convey by post tiny amount of weight. There were newspapers in exist ence, such as' he Illustrated London News, which weighed as much as 10 ounces, and if the committee agreed that newspapers of the dimensions of 3,500 inches should be carried at a rate of one penny, he did not see why they should not go a step further, and convey such papers as the Illustrated London News at the same rate. Ho would call the attention of the committee to the enormous weight of newsp ipers the Post-otlice now carried, as contrasted with what was the case 40 or 50 years ago. He found , f rom au article in the Europea n Magazine of ISOi, that l the num fie';be of newspapers in En g land, in 1782, was . 2 ; in 790, and in 1801, 135. The number of newspapers in Scotland in these respective years was 8,7, and 31; and in Ireland, 3,9, and 56. The circulation of the London morning papers In 1808 was 16,000; of evening papers 14,000; of Sunday vipers, 25,0.10 ; of weekly p (seers 20,000 ; and of others, 10,000 ; making, as the writer of the article ob sesved, the " enormous number" of 85,000 newspapers, using five tons of paper in the course of a week. There was another article on the subject in the European Maga zine of 1822, when the circulation of the Times was stated to be 5,700. The average daily circulation of that journal at the present time was stated to be 60,000. The circula tion of the Observer in 1822 was stated to be 6,860, of the ilforning Chronicle 3,180, and of the St. James's Chronicle 3,7; .0 ; and the writer of the article, after referring to the circulation of other nar y observed that the result pre sented an extraordinary proof of the activity of the periodi cal press. How would the writer have been astonished if. he had seen t he progress that had been since made in ex 'tending the irculation of the newspapers? Instead of the consumption of paper by the London press being five tons a week, as was' the case in 1808,d the Times alone , pub it was now between 130 and 150 tons weekly. He believe one sheet, would. consu me 25.. tons of paper wished in weekly, da if cy p l l ub Ito% l u a u s t - w o N u s h w e e w t s h a t t h e was s d u u m u p e ti t o u n . w w o a u rd lwouldb d e a es n a i n , l by rai s lway ? It was stated before the committee, which a nnually this e normous weight of newspapers h ra adco w a n y s , i d t e h r c, e t d l t a h s e t s year ulej e c t t h s o f a t v h e e r a c g o e n v w e e y i a s p h c t e u o f f t m h e a i m l s abi il. that left Londo n daily was 279 cwt., of which 219 cwt. consisted of newspapers. It was clear that if the weight of newspapers sent by post continued to increase, duties properly discharged, and very consi of the mails not probably take place in the transmirion 'would be thrown upon the Post-offic,etewrahbilcsh dcoeulalyd not t u b st e adopted for dep isiting the mails at t speed. of the traie Is. It without materially checking the Withstanding the ingenious contrivancheas vtahraituushs.4l:tbieoeuns should impose such a rate of charge for con t. voefvfilcne'for the papers as would duly remunerate the Polls appeared to him, then, very important that . th: u h e or . . He believed that service it was called upon to perform. published pishneewi 2 s o pe o p r e 3 rs o , yoefaarssms4ao_ll size--about to some classes of the community, for the newspapers no v f a u t h t a o gal now published, however bly conducted, were inconveniently large. If we were to have cheap papers, why should we impose so high a postage as ld. for what perhaps might ;d ab : e t t g he rest ßiz advantage not weigh more than an ounce ? He was much disep pointed at the Government not taking the plan which he had pointed out to them into their favourable considera tion, as he believed it would have proved beneficial to the press, to which this country owed so large a debt of grati tude. The adoption of the u4iversal penny receipt stamp was likely to prove highly advantageous to the revenue ; and this fact ought to encourage the G o vernment to make a t least an experiment in the wa y of cheap postage for newspapers. Lord. STANLEY understood that th e principle which his hon. friend (Mr. Miln es) wished to affirm was this — that every newspaper should be transmitted through the post. at the same charge of ld., altogether irrespective of its bulk or weight. That he understood to be the prin ciple of his proposal, because, though he took a limit, he took one that would cover the size of the largest newspa per now known, and he was prepared to increase the limit indefinitely so as to cover the largest size that could be published. (Heel - , hear.) He agreed with his hon. friend when he said this was a question of simple justice ; but he did not think that justice lay on the side which his hon. friend contended fur. (Hear, bear.) The committee could not deal with this question as if it were personal to any particular journal. If they did so, they w ou ldou the be acting on no sound basis of ascertai i ed principle, result would only be inextricable confusion (Hear hear.) He understood the principle of the bill before them to be generally this—that, whereas formerly we had a tax on newspapers, imposed on certain conditions, we were now asked to abolish that tax and substitute for it a simple postal charge. A tax, p r perly so called, might be in its self unequal ; it might fall more severely on one class bin on another, and yet that inequality, the result of the incidence of the tax, might be balanced by c ountervailing advantages which would make an weber tax e ntlem in fair u r eality ; and that was his answer to the hon . g ()pp site. A postal charge was the result of a contract between the Government and the public, by which the Government undertook fur a certain compensation to per form a certain service. Now, what we were bond to ob serve in such a case was, that the charge imposed should always and in ovary case- be proportioned to the service rendered. (llar, hear.) That was the fair principle of a contract, and we were especially bound to observe it in regard to such contracts as thoso of the Post-office. Now what his hon. friend proposed was to carry any, weight to which a newspaper might extend through the Post-office at the same price—an unlimited weight to be carried for an unlimited number of miles Would he apply that pria ciple to all printed matter ? (Hear.) It was laid down clearly the other night that we desired neither to give the newspapers any advantage on the one hand, nor to put' them under any disadvantage on the other. If we carried them on more unfavourable terms than we ought we were taxing them, which the house bad declared it- intention not to do. If we carried them on more favourable terms wo were subsidising them, and preferring them to other publicatinps. (Hear.) Or was it proposed to carry this principle to all printed. matter and to all private docu ments? [" No, , ' from Mr, Milos.] Then, it weuld be unnecessary for him to argil° that question. Bat let the committee recollect that a latter weighing under half-an ounce was sent for ld., while the largest newspaper printed and weighing nearly Bounces, was to be sent alsta•for Id., according to the prepoiition of his hon. friend. (Hear.) Thus the privilege given to the newspaper was 12 times greater than that given to the letter, and, in addition, there would be the `privilege of retransmission. The news paper might pass 6 times through the Post-office in the week, and these two multiplied—the weight and the quan tity—it would be found that we were conferring on the newspaper 72 times the amount of postal privilege we were conferring on the letter. (Hear.) B thadidcould not see ariy argument of justice or , sound p olic y urged in favour of such a proposal as that. In dealing with this question, the principle on which we ought to act was, to carry a certain quantity, say 4 ounces, of all matter, whether printed or manuscript, for the sum of ld. (Hear.) Let there be no distinction between printed mat ter and manuscript letters. On the other hand, we must remember.that we could not afford t o loss any revenue, though, if we came to argue that point, it might be found that the additional revenue derived from letters weighing , half-an-ounce was less than might be supposed, and, there fore, that that diffieulty might not be so formidable as some people imagined. We should also have to tolerate another anomaly, and that was the, privilege of retrans mission. Already we were sending eight times the weight of newspaper matter through the post for the same price at which we sent manuscript matter un der halt-an-ounce, and that eightfold advantage we added to by sending the newspapers during the week for as many times as their owners pleased. He thought that sufficient allowance had already been mule for these interests; and that, if the privileges were further extended, the committee w ould only confer in another shape that which in a former case had already been abolished. (Hear.) Mr. LOWE was sure that the committee would believe him when he stated that he ventured to address them upon this subject with great reluctance, and that he should not be induced to do so did he not believe that he could give them some little information with regard to it. .The noble lord who had just sat down had argued the question as if they were about to establish a totally new principle for the conveyance of printed and written matter through the Post-office. It might or might not be right for the House of Commons to do so, but he would not enter into that sub ject, because it was not the question before them. The question simply was whether Id. should be the amount of postage to be charged upon a certain qu antit y of matter published at intervals within a certain date ? Whether that were just or unjust depended materially upon the principle which was applied in viewing the question, and he submitted that it should not be the principle which had been laid down by the noble lord. It could hardly have escaped the committee, and the noble lord must himself have felt it, that his argument iinffered from some amount of inconsistency, because the noble lord was very much shocked at the disparity of carrying six ounces of a news paper for ld. and a letter, under half-en-ounce, for the same Linount ; but the noble lord was not shocked at the du parity, almost equally startltog, of carrying fourounces and half-an-ounce for ld. They must fix upon a principle, umwever, and apply iLstrictly, fairly, and logically. The noble lord's principle would appear to be to treat news papers and letters as the same, and to apply the same rule of postage by weight to all. He did not gather how the noble lord intended to accomplish this; but if ho might be allowed the phrase, he thought that the proposition was " practically impracticable." If the noble lord took letters as his guide, he would impose a rate upon news papers which, however just according to the noble lord's abstract theory, would effectually exclude them from the Post-office. If, on the other hand, he took newspapers as his guide, and carried letters at the rate of four ounces for Id., he would snake such an enormous invasion into the postage revenue that it would be impossible to conduct the establishment upon such a basis; because. in the case of large concerns, a number of letters' would be sent under one envelope, and the Post-office would be, defrauded. If he took letters, then, as his guide, he would exclude news- i papers from the Post-office, and if he began with news papers, he would charge too little for letters exceeding the ordinary weight to permit of the establishment being re munerative. He therefore submitted that the proposal of the, noble lord was not a pr actical one. (Hear, hear.) Let them look at this question as men of business, and what, he asked, was the fact ? The truth was that the Post office existed mainly and primarily for the purpose of car rying letters. Those letters paid the expenses of the Post office, and if it did not carry a single newspaper it would be impossible to diminish the expenses of the establishment in any rtsp set, becau e it would l e necessary to maintain it for lie purpose of carrying the letters alone. Mr. Rowland dill had given his sanction to this statement, and there fore there could be no doubt about it. The principle, then, he apprehended, upon which the Government bad hitherto sroceeded was this :—Here was the Post-office existing for he purpose of carrying letters, and having, as it were, a surplus facility for carrying other matter, and Parliament, ieing of opinion that the conveyance of newspapers was a great public benefit which was worthy of being encouraged, tad chosen to carry newspapers at a rate infinitely cheaper than that which was imposed upon letters, and to give them he privilege of being transmitted and retransmitted through the Post-offiCe ad infinitum. (Hear.) Unless the sounnittee would grant him' that there was some public aolicy in carrying newspapers cheaper than letters, there would be nothing for it but to treat them both alike, and to charge newspapers at the same rate as letters. He concluded, sherefore, that there was some public policy in carrying lewspapers cheaply, and he imagined that the Government saw no reason for changing that principle. That was the ;round upon which he had started. In a country like this iree communication, freedom of knowledge, and freedom intelligence were the very life-blood of the constitution. (Hear, hear.) It was by such means that people acquired their information ; by it the public were made participa tors virtually is the deliberations of that house, and every one who addressed them in t hat chamber had the ad vantage of addressing, in fact, the whole civilised world. He thought that that was no small advantage, and that it was one which the Legislature had done wisely to consider. He came next to the question, what was the limit which ought to be imposed The limit at present was 2,295 inches, Was it enough or was it too little? That was the practical question. He coald only illustrate it by a refer mce to the most prominent case which existed—that of the Times newspaperwhich had been frequently referred to in the course of these debates. The case of the Times was this :—When it printed 12 pages, as it did three days a-week, its limits did Rot exceed 2,295 inches, and it was then enabled to print its inipressious upon a peony stamp ; but when it printed 16 pages, as it did on three other days of the week, it had to pay an additional halfpenny in the shape of stamp duty, which upon a sale of 60,000 copies, cost the proprietors of the Times 1251. ; and when to that onount was added the extra expense of paper and print ing, lie was toll, and he believed it, that the extra supple oents were not remunerative. The proprietors of tho Times, however, had no choice but to publish these supple oents unless they Preferred to send away advertisements. It was a necessity imposed upon them by the nature of the 'sews and the advertisements which they published that, three times a-week, this additional expense of 1251. a-day should be imposed upon them. Were that a uniform charge upon the proprietors of the Times it might be suet by an addition of one halfpenny to the price of the news paper, and then the expense VrOtild be transferred to the reader ; but:as the charge was only an occasional one, it fell upon the Times itself. He would scorn the notion of arguing a question of this sort with reference to only one newspaper ; but the matter affected a whole class, and what was the case with reference to thaties-day might he that-and he sincerely hoped it would be— of other newspapers in a few years. See how the circula tion of the Times itself bad increased within the last few years. In 1808 it was somewhere about 5,000, in 1841 it was 11,000, and now it was 60,000. What was there to prevent the other papers do in g the same thing? Upon what principle, then, he asked, should they fix a limit upon the size of newspapers? Why insist that newspapers, after increased they select am a ount exceeding n a ? curtain Upon wsize,hn what shouldground pay par ticular stage of advancement in a newspaper in order to sh should d levy a severe fine upon it ? The committee appeared to be of opinion that there was no limit to the size of a daily newspaper; but that be apprehended to be a mistake—the very circumstances of the case put a limit upon the size. First of all there was a natural limit. The news of the day and the advertisements of the day, to be followed by the news and,sdvertisements of the next day, imposed one limit. Another limit was the quantity which a man could aossibly read and get through in the course of a day ' • and he was certainly inclined to think that that limit had been reached already. But, besides these, there was another limit which was certain to prevent the increase of news papers beyond a certain size. It was quite obvious—for considerations palpable enough—that it was not the inte rest of the daily , newspaper, however large and well con ducted, to raise its price above its fellows, and therefore it was that wo had the publications of the Times and the r t s e s s e il always w withinitsay s the hte g a Globe sold at the same price. It was not a case in which the propri , tors of the former j ournal c mild raise their price because the competition of other news p a p er s kept down .pricegmleouo amount the which their ue limit,ritt oofothat aTthie,r,tei publish r nw withoute a l e t , o t therefore a reepflooi cir culation. There were two source s fr o m which a newspaper ts derived its income—its sale and its adv ertisements. There were also two sources of expenditure—that which was in volved in the circulation, and that which was implied in filling the newspaper with the matter which it contained. It was quite evident, therefore, that while the pr ice o f the the latter item increased, and that at which new s paper was sold remained the same, the paper might grow at length to such an extent that the " circulation " alone would cease to return a profit. Under those circumstances, it was absolutely necessary to put a limit to the increase of the circulation. That point the Times had reached. The hon. gentleman the member for Manchester had himself mentioned the difficulty of getting a copy of the Times, and the premium at which copies of that paper were ; and how did he account for it ? How did they account for the fact that anewspaper proprietary, if influenced alone by a regard for their own interest, should neglect to sapply the article in which it dealt ? The • reason was obvious, that matters had come to a point when rho Times was neces sitated to contract its circulation, There ion. There apprehension was, lest, the circulation by increas;n g the paper should become the mea ns of a loss ; and any lo ss w o uld be very serious, because it would be immediately multiplied by 60,000. That was the state in which things w ere sooner with respect to that paper and at which every Paper t hi n g he was quite certain, thater or if they must arrive. Of one ater desired to maintain the press at its present standard they jour nals, and therefore those o n which mast allow the largest h the greatest amount of cap ital and talent was employed, to circulate through the co untry with as little difficulty and Mr. M. GIBSON said the expense as possible. proposition before the house was simply this—that there w as a case for relief for cryi •' ng the Times through the post ; and that whereas the Times, with a supplement full of most profitable matter, was now carried through the post for lid., it was now proposed that it should be carried for Id,, being deducted from the public re venue. NOW, he mainfained that . there was no fair case for relief. Why, if the Times would give him the money received from their advertising connection, he would bind himself legally to pay the extra Id. postage. They ought.not to make excep tions in favour o f: any one concern, but should either carry all printed matter at th o el e ow rate now proposed to be applied to the Times, or-should not reduce the present rate at which that journal was carr i e d . When it was said that the Times newspaper was fined, and had a case for relief, lie (Mr. Gibson) would say it w as a monstrous appe a l, and the hou se ought to resist it. He, for one, would record his vote against the motion of the right hon this supplemental stamp, . gentleman ; for, if they repealed the proprietors of a certain portion of th e public prosperous commercial establishment a do so they had better voterevenue, and if they resolved to and say the Tim es was an i the sum at once—(hear, hea r )— nstitution, and ought to be sup ported at the public call attention to th e fact that expense. (Hear, hear.) He beg ge d t o occasionally weighed ten the Illustrated London News much larger amount of ounces, and would p ro b a bly h ave a printed matter in it than any other paper. Mr. E. BALL hoped the light hon. member for Manchester would excuse him if he did not follow the advice he had given to the house. He (Mr. Ball) was of opinion that the Post office could convey any newspaper at a much less cost than penny, and that the l'oet-office would suffer no loss by carrY ing a much larger newspaper than any published in this country. Mr. WARNER was of opinion that every newspaper con veyed through the Post-office was carried at a loss to the re venue, and the more they discouraged the traffic the better for the public revenue. (Cries of divide.), The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that if the proposition of his hon. friend the member for Kidderminster, that a uniform principle should be applied to the' postage of newspapers and of every article carried by post, was practi cally enforced„ he feared that nearly the whole of the pre sent system would have to be abolished. If they compared the rates of charge upon letters, upon newspapers, and' upon bo•ks and other printed publications not being newspapers, they would find the discrepancy so great that if it were the pleasure of Parliament to reduce them to a uniform scale it would be necessary to sweep away all the existing rates and to commence de novo. In the bill which he had the honour to lay before the house he limited himself to carrying into effect with the smallest possible alteration of the existing law what he understood to be the decision and wish of the house, namely, that the compulsory newspaper stamp should be converted into an optional stamp. That bill' was founded exclusively upon the existing principle, and therefore maintained the present rule. 'With respect to superficial inches of the newspaper, that rule ' , being that the newspaper printed on one or two sheets might con tain 2,295 inches of letters for one penny ; and any number of additional supplements might he printed at the rate of one halfpenny for 1,148 inches. That was the rule now iu exist ence, and was the result of legislation two years ago by which the then existing charge upon newspapers was diminished, and the charge for that which was previously carried forthree halfpence was reduced to a penny. The effect of the measure now before the house would be, that every newspaper pro prietor would be at liberty to stamp such portion of the cir culation as they thought fit, butno part of it could go through the post without the impression of a stamp: That change in the law, would confer a considerable benefit on all existing newspapers. They would be relieved from the compulsory stamp on a certain portion of their circulation, and to that extent they would be benefitted by the measure before the house. (Hear.) Unless the house was prepared to sacrifice not only that portion of the revenue which was necessarily lost by the abolition of the compulsory stamp, but also that further portion which would be included in an offer on the part of the public to carry at a lower rate a larger sized newspaper than at present, there seemed no reason for departing from the arrangement at present in force. It had been argued that as a portion of a newspaper was given gratuitously to its sub scribers, and as no additional charge was made for an addi tional quantity of matter, it was unreasonable that an addi tional charge should be ade by the Post-office. But the Post office had nothing to do with the question as betweena news paper and its customers. All the Post-office had to look to was the bulk and weight of the article. To the Post-office it was utterly indifferent what the price might be, or whether in deed the article was priced at all. With regard to purely adver tising sheets, which were circulated gratuitously, the trouble and expense to the Post-office were as great as in the case of a high priced newspaper ; and therefore the argument that was derived from the gratuitous circulation of a portion of a newspaper containing advertisements appeared altogether destitute of weight. He admitted, however, that the whole question of the transmission of newspapers, as compared with other, printed matter, required the most careful consideratim, and that the present system must soon undergo a considerable change. But tho alteration of . the law which he now proposed was one of great magnitude and importance, and he thought they should wait to see how' it operated before they plunged into a fresh series of changes. Mr. DRUMMOND said that he objected the other day to the whole conduct of the press, because it was a system of stabbing in the dark. Ho equally objected to that house stabbing the Times in the dark, for there could be no ques tion, after the debate which had just taken place, that this was an attack upon a single newspaper. They were begin ning to indulge private pique under the pretence of public virtue. (Hear, hear.) They hated the Times. (A laugh.) They were afraid of it, and instead of standing up boldly against it, they were giving it this dirty stab in the dark. The house then divided — For Mr. M. Milnes's clause B6 Against it 260 Majority against the clause —l74 • The preamble of the bill was then agreed to, and the bill was reported with amendments to the house. The report or dered to be brought up to-morrow (this day). REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS, &c. (SCOTLAND), BILL. This bill was read a second time. PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION (SCOTLAND) BILL. The Parliamentary Representation (Scotland) Act Amend ment Bill was read a second time. The other orders of the day were postponed. MILITIA. Mr. PEEL obtained leave to bring in a bill to attend the laws relating to the militia in England. He stated, in reply to some remarks by Colonel Fibthorp, that the object of the bill was of comparatively minor importance. It did not affect the point of the liability of the militiamen to serve in the embo died militia. It simply amended certain details relative to the apportionment between counties and boroughs of the ex pense of storehouses and arms to the militia, regiments. CINQUE PORTS. Mr. WILSON obtained leave to bring in a bill for the better administration of justice in the Cinque Ports. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. On the motion of Mr. Cowan, copies were ordered of all minutes and orders, and all papers and correspondence, in the Colonial-office, relative to the medical department of Sierra Leone, from the appointment of Governor Keene ly in 1852, down to his removal from the colony. 'And of all papers, minutes, documents, and letters relating to c rtais charges preferred by Governor Kennedy against Mr. William Nicoll Aitkin, late colonial surgeon in Sierra Leone, and to his re moval from office, with the correspondence which has passed, and the memorials and petitions which have been presented, on this subject, between the said Governor Kennedy and the Colonial-office, and the said William Nicoll Aitkin, the Colo nial-office, and the Lord President of the Privy Council. RETURN. On the motion of Mr. LOCKS KING, a return was ordered of the sum total of all moneys paid or allotted for salarie4, fees, or allowances to draftsmen by the several public depart ments during the year 1853, the yell. 1854, and the Prst three mouths of the year 1855, for drafting, settling the drafts of, or advising on, bills laid or to be laid bcfor t Parliament ; specifying the fee or allowance for each and every bill, and whether such bill has been passed into a la..v ; and in case \the draftsman thereof was or is a member of or empl o ye d under any statute law or criminal law commission, the name of such draftsman. _ _._ EXCISE Mr, WILSON moved that the house at its mxt sitting (this day) should resolve itself into a committee of the whole house on the excise duties. The house then adjourned at one o'clock. SPORTING IN T 11,LL1GLATCE. TATTERSALL'S.-MONDAY. A very thin attendance, moat of the members - having taken their departure for Chester. Speculation was pursued to a limited extent only, as will appear from the subjoined quotations CHESTER CUP. 11 to 1 agst Scythian (taken) 11 to 1 agst Early Bird (taken) 13 to 1 agst Nabob (taken) 15 to 1 agst Arthur Wellesley (taken) 15 to 1 agst Joe Miller (taken) 15 to 1 agst Escape (taken) 100 to 6 agst Gamekeeper (taken) 20 to 1 agst Noisy (taken) 30 to 1 agst New Warrior (taken) DERBY. Bto 1 agst St. Hubert (taken to 1501.) 9to 1 agst Rifleman (taken) 15 to 1 agst Kingstown (taken) 16 to 1 agst Dirk. Hatteraiek (taken) 40 to 1 agst Rylstone (taken) MANCHESTER STEEPLECHASES—MONDAY. The City Steeplechase. About three miles and a half. Burnt Sienna Rosa Star of England Sailor Handicap Hurdle Race. About two miles. Parchment Novelist 2 The Stretford Selling Steeplechase. About three miles and a half. Massaroni . Gradeley Lass Royal Blue ARRIVALS AT CHESTER. Jack Sheppard, Paletot, Mosquito, Blanche, Stork, Venison, Ephesus, Testy, Johnny Taft, Falcon, Noddy, Sister to Singapore, Chatlow Boy, Rataplan, Merry Monk, Mortimer, Medal, Michaelmas Maid, Heber, Homily, Chalis, Hothorpe, Octavio, Bright Phoebus Scythian, Escape, Instructress, Pumicestone, Typee, Shoreham, Orson, Palmerston ' Polestar, Early Bird, C Bolton, irosbus, Crotchet, King of Trumps, Lady Tatton, Alfred, Lord Alfred, Seducer, Fanuy Fern, Nancy, Ida, Gamekeeper, C os s e y, New Warrior, Knight of St. George, Jenny Wren, Ireland's Eye, The Gem, and Tom. STRIKE OF THE NAVVIES AT SUNDERLAND DOCK This strike still continues, the men adhering to their demand of 3s. 6d. per day. The contractors are endea vouring to engage fresh hands at the old rates of 2s. 6d. and 3s. per day, At present the dock works are nearly suspended for want of navvies. [AnvERTIBEKENT.]—Many thousand cures have been effected without medicine, by Du Barry's Delicious Reva lenta Arabica Food, of indigestion (.17,,pepsia), constipation nervous, bilious, and liver complaints, paralysis, &c. We quote a few :—Cure No. 52,612.—Fr0m the Dowaget Countess of Castlestuart.—" Rosstrevor, County of Down, Ireland, 9th December, 1851.—The Dowager countess of Ca.stlestuart feels induced, in the interest of suffering hu manity, to state that Du Barry's excellent Revalenta Ara bic& Food has cured her, after all medicines had failed, of indigestion, bile, great nervousness an d i rr it a bility of many years' standing. This Food deserves the confidence of all sufferers, and may be considered a real blessing Inquiries will be cheerfully answered." Cure No. Ti iOf dyspepsia, from the Right Hon. the Lord Stuart __ Decies.—` ' I have derived considerable benefit from Du Barry's Revalenta, Arabica Food, and consider it due to yourselves and the public to authorise the publication of those lines.—Stuart de Decios." Cure No. 32,836. —From the Venerable Archdeacon of IteAs.- "Three years exces sive nervousness, with pains in my neck and left arm, and ge neral debility, which rendered my life very miserable, has been radically removed by Du Barry's health -restoring Food. —Alex. Stuart, Archdeacon of Ross Skibereen." Cure No. 4,203.—" Eight years' dyspepsia, nervousness, debility, with cramps, spasms and nausea, have been ole i c Wally removed by Du Barry's delicious Food in a very short time.—Rev. John W. VI avail, Ridlin,gton ,Rectory,_ae Norfolk." Cure No. 51,416.—" Fifty years' agony from dyspepcia, nervousness, h , pation, flatulency, spasms, sickness mitings, have been removed by D —Maria Jolly, Wortham,, aarr No. 3,9o6.—Thirteen cough,'years_ ral debility have been removedh.s root, cants- Food.—James Potter, At (A t tars, suitably packed for all: consti ionadyel indescribable c i b b I Ttthien's'ltoemach and ve. B y's excellent FoLd. ear Dies, Norfolk." Cure Ling,n indigestion, and gene by Du Barry's excellent Perth."—ln limats,and with full instruc Mons —llb., 2s. 9d.; b.,. 11s • 5113 P. 225. ;bib., 335. 21b.,.4 6d. ; blb. 11s. ;121b., 225. ; landlib., 6s. ;21 • , , •at of post. super-refined , -, carr i age f r ee, on receipt The 101 b. and 121 b., ti Barry Co., 77, Regent office order. Barry Fortnum, , _ iii hi y a ; son, and Co., purveyors o also at 68, Cornhill ; 60, street, London ; o Fo r cca her Majesty, 1a.., , 1 30 d cuseochurch . stree t ; 3 . and 451, Strand ; 63 and 150, Charm - ,4, . g cross • Cheapside ;25 and Oxford-street ; 5 5, 54, Upperßakerftreet. PA.RiIAMEIVTARk DIVISIONS. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—APRIL 30. NEWSPAPER STAMP DITTIES BILL. Clause (Every periodical publication that hall be printed and published at intervals not exceeding seven days between the two consecutive parts or numbers of such publication, and the superficics of which shall not exceed three thousand five hundred inches of printed matter, shall be entitled to the said privileges of transmission and re-transmission by the post, if duly stamped with the appropriate die of one penny; provided always that such publication shall be subject to the terms and conditions imposed in the third clause of this act) brought up and read a first time. Motion made and question put, " That the clause be read a second time. The committee divided—Ayes 86, Noes 260. AYES-86. Annesley, Earl of Galway, Viscount. Bailey. eir J. Gaskell, J. Bailey, C. George, J. Ball, E. ciladstone, Capt. J. Baxter, W. Goderich, Vie. Bowyer, G. Greaves, E. Rnck, G. Greene, John Cayiey, H. Grogan, Edward Cholmondeley, Lord Gwyn, H. Christopher, Robt. A. Hamilton ' J. H. Clifford, Col. H. M. Heywood, J. Jollier, R. P. • Hughes, W. Colville, C. R. Irtott, S. D ilrymple, Viscount Kendall, N. Deedes, W. King, I'. Denison, J. E. Klnnaird, A. Hod, J. W. Layard, A. H. Drummond, H. Liddell, H. G. Duke, Sir J. Lindsay, W. Duncan, G. Lovalne, Lord Dundas, G. Lowe, It. Egerton, E. C. Maguire, J. Ewart, J. Montgomery, Sir G. Fagan, W. Morris, D. Farrer, J. Mowbray, J. Feilden, M. Naas, Lord Fergus, J. Newark, Viscount Forster, Sir G. Worth, Col. J. Fax, W. Otway, A. frauklyn, G. ; Packe, C. Pakenharn,T. Parker, R. Paxton, Sir J. Pecbell, Sir G. Pennant, Col. E. Phinn, T. Pigott, F. Repton,. G. Roebuck, J. Scholeffeld, W. Scobell, Capt. G. Seymer, H. eyrnour, W. D. Smith, J . A. Stnollett, A. Stafford, A. Stirling, W. Taylor, Col. Tyler, Sir G. Vance, J. Vivian, H. H. Walcott, Admiral Warner, E. Whitmore, 11. Woodd, B. Yorke, E. TELL Milnes, M. Whiteside, J. NOES-260. Acton, J. Gooch, Sir E. O'Brien, J. Adair, R. Goodman, Sir G. O'Connell, D. Adderley, C. Gordon, A. O'Connell, J. Anderson, Sir J. Grace, 0. Oliveira, B. Antrobus, E. Greenall, G. 0 borne, R. Arkwright, G. Gregson, S. Ossul ston, Lord Atherton, W. Grenfell, Chas. Paget, Lord A. Baird, J. Grey, Sir G. Pakington, Sir J. B 11, J. Grey, R. Palmer, Robert Baldock, E. Grosvenor, Ld. R. Palmer, Roundell Baring, T. Guernsey, Lord Palmerston, Viset. Barnes, T Gurney, J. Peacocke, G. Barrow, W. Hadfield, G. , Peel, Sir R. Bass, T. Hall, Sir B. Peel, F. Bateson, Capt T. Hamilton, Lord C. Pellatt, A. Beckett, W. Hank ey, T. Percy, J. Bective, Earl Hamer, Sir J. Philipps, J. Bell, J. Harcourt, G. Phillimore, J. G. Bennet, Capt P. Bostic, Alex. Pilkingtond. ifentinck, G. H istie, Archd. Pollard-17rquhart, W. Bethell, Sir R. Headlam, T. Portal, M. Power, N. Biggs, W. Heard, J. Price, Sir R. Bland, L. H. Ileatheote, Sir G. Bonham-Carter,J. Heathcote, G. Pritchard, J. Ramsden, Sir J. Bouverie, Hon. E. P. Heneage, Geo. F. Bramley-N Ricardo, J. loore, J. H e nley, J. Ricardo, 0. Brand, 11. B. W. Herbert, H. Ricardo, S. Brocklehurst, J. Hervey, Lord A. Brown W. Heyworth, L. Rice, tiroce, ' Lord E. Hillyard, R. C. It•ch E. ardson, J. Buckley, Gen. Hill, Lord A. E. Robertson, P. Burrowes, R. Hudson, G. Bolt. P. .. Butt, G. Hume, W. Rmhout, Col. G. Byng, G. Hutchins, E. Russell, F. C. Cahbell, B. Hutt, W. Sadleir, James Casilerosse, Viscount Ingham, R. Sawle, C. Caulfield, Col. J. Jerniyn, Earl Scrope, G. Cavendish, C. Johnstone, sir J. Se - ally, F. Cavendish, G. Jolliffe, Sir W. &ally, V. heetham, John Jones, D. lie,, , monr, H. Child, Smith Keogh, W. Shatto, It. Christie, Samuel Kershaw, J. Shelburne, Earl Clay, Sir W., Bt. Ktnr, J. / Shelley, Sir J. Clive, Hon. R. H. Kirk, W. Shirley, E. ' Cobbett T. M, Knatchball, W. Smith, J. B. Cobden, R. Knightley, It. Smith, M. Cockburn, Sir A. J. E. Knox, Col. B. W. Smith, R. Cogan, W. H. P. Knox, W. S.' Smith, Abel Cole, H A. Lacon. Sir E. Sotheron, T. ,Cowan, C. Lang ton, H. G. Spooner, R. Cowper, W. F. Laslett, W. Stanhope, J. Craufurd, E. H.J. Lee, W. Stanley , Lord Crook, J. Lewis, Sir G. C. Stephenson. R. Crossley, F. Lisburne, Earl Strickland, Sir G. D ivies, J. L. Locke, J. Strutt, E. Denison, E. B. Lowther, Capt. ' Stuart, W. Dering, Sir E. Macartney. G. Sullivan, Michael De Vere, S. Mackie, J.j , Sutton, J. Dillwyn, L. 31'..lann, J. Talbot, C. Druml inrig, Vie. Macgregor, Jas. Tancred, H. Dirk worth, Sir J. T. Mandeville, Vie. Thornely, T. Duncorabe,Hon. A. Manners, Lord G. Thornhill, W. Duncombe, 0. Manners, Lord J. Tr %ill, G. Dundee, F. March, Earl of Trollope, Sir J. Dungaavan, Viscount Marjoribanks, D. Tudway, R. Dunlop, A. Masterm an. J. Vane, Lord H. Dunne, Col. Al eux, Sir H. Vansittart, G. East, Sir J. Milligan, R. ' Vernon, L. F.brington, Viscount Mills, T. Villiers, C. Egcrton,Sir T. Michell, Dr. W. Vyse, Col. Elliot, J. Mitchell, T. Waddington, H. Fsmonde, J. Moffatt, G. Watkins, Col. Euston, Earl .3lolesworth, Sir W. Watson, W. Ewart, W. Monck, Viscount wells, W. Farnham, E. Mon creiff, J. Whatman, J. Fenwick, 11. Monsell, W. Whitbread. S. Filmer, Sir E. Mowatt, F. Wickham, H. W. Fitz Gerald, Sir J. Mulgrave, Earl of Wilkinson, W. Fitz Gerald, J. Mundy, W. Willoughby, Sir H. Fitzgerald, W. Murrough, J. Wilson, J. Foley, J. Neeld, John Wood, Sir C. Follett, B. Newport, Viscount. Wortley, J. S. Forster, C. Noel, G. Wynn. Lieut.-COL Forster, J. Norreys, Lord Wyvill, M. Freestun, Col. North, F. Frewen, C. Noetheote, Sir S. 01h.on, T Oakes, J. Goddard, A. O'Brien, I'. TELLERS TTayter. W. /33rkeley, 4. LOAN BILL. As amended, considered ; amendment proposed, in page 9, line 9, to leave out from the word " respectively" to the word "if," in line 39. Question put—" That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the bill." The house divided ; ayes 210, noes 111. AYF,S.-210. Acton, Joseph For/ter, Charles Morris, D, Vair,ll. Fort( scue, C. S. Mowatt, F. A leoek, T. IF reestun, Colonel Mowbray, J. P. 'knderson, Fir J. French, Fitzsteplieu Mulgras e, I. arl of Biteshaw. J. Gibson, M. Mulling& J. R. Baines, Rt. Hon. M. Girl, G. Murrongh, J. P. Baird, J. Goodman, Sir G. Newark, Viscount II all, J. (lore, W. Norreys, Sir D. Baldock, E. 11. Grace, 0. North, F. Baring, T. Gregson, Samuel 0 , p, - rte l ,, P. Barnes. T. Grethen, Charles O'Brien, Sir T. Barrow, w. Grey, lit, Hon. Sir G. O'Brien, C. Beckett, W. Orey, it. O'Connell. J. Bethel]. Sir R. Grosvenor. Earl Olive'ra, B. Him, W. . Hadfield. George Csborne, IL Bland, L. H. Hall, Sir Benjamin o ssu iston, Lord B nhaua-Carter, J. Haokey, T. Palmerston, Viscount R onwer i e , H on . E. P. Harcourt, G. G. Peehell, sir H. Brarnston, T. W. Basile. Alex. Peed, F. Brand, H B. W. Mastic, A rehd. Pell At, A. Bright, J. Ileadlam, T. Philipps, J. Brockman, E. D. Heatheote, Sir G. rtitannore, J. G. Brotherton, J. Heat hcote, G. Pigott, F. Brown, W. Herbert, H. Poliard-Urquhart, W. Bruce. Lord E. Heyworth, L. Portal, M. Buckley, Gen. Higgins, G. 0. Portman, W. Burke, Sir T. Ilolford, R. power. N. Butler, C. S. Horsfalt, T. Price, Sir It. Byng, G. 11. C. Horsman, E. Pritchard, J. Castlerosst, Vie. Hotham, Lord Pugh, D. Cautfeild. Lt.-Col. J. Hughes, W. Reed, J. Cavendish, G. C. Hutchins, E. Repton, G. Challis, T. Hutt, W. Ricardo, S. Chambers, M. Johnstone, Sir J. Rice, E. Chambers, T. Keating, R. Rushont, Capt. G. Cholmondeley, Lord Keogh, W. Russell, Lord J. Christy, Samuel Kershaw, J. Russell, F. C. Clay, Sir W., Et. Kinnaird, A. Seymer, H. Cobden, It. Knatchbull, W. Seymour, H. Cockburn, Sir A. J. E.Knightley, It. Seymour. W. Collier, it. P. Lacon, Sir E. Shafto, R. Coote, Sir C. H. Langton, U. G. Shelley, Sir J. Cowan, C. Laslett, W. Shirley, E. Cowper, W. Lee, W. Smith, J. A. Crook, J. Lemon, Sir C. Smith, J. B. Crovsley, F. Lewis, Sir G.C. Smyth, J. G. Dalrymple, Viscount Liddell, H. G. Smollett, A. Davies, D. Lindsay, W Somerville, Sir W. Davies, J. Mackie, J. Sotheron, T. Denison,E. Mack'nnon, W. Stanley, W. Denison, J. E. M`Cann, J. Steel, John De Vere, S. E. MacGregor, James Strickland, Sir G. Duncombe, 0. MeTaggart, Sir J. Strutt, Hon. E. Dundas, F. II agan, W. Sullivan, Michael .. Dungarvan, Viscount Manzes. /t. Thomson, G. Dunlop, A. Marjoribanks, D. Tomlin, G. East, Sir J. Martin, J. Townshend. Capt. J. Egerton, W. M asterman, J. Vane, Lord H. Egerton, Edw. C. Matheson, Sir J. Vansittart, G. Euston, varl of Milligan, R. Villiers, C. Ewart, W., 35.1 ills, T. Vivian, H. H. Ewa' t, J. Milnes, R. walmsley, Sir J. Fagan, W. • Michell, William Whatman, J. Farrer, J. Di Rebell, T. A. Wickham. H. Feliden M. Moffat, G. Williams, W. Fergus:John Molesworth, Sir W. Willoughby, Sir H. Ferguson, Sir R. Monck, Vis. Wilson, J. Ferguson, J. Moncreiff J. Wood, Sir C. Fitzgerald, J. Monsell, W. TELLEILS. Fitzroy. Henry Montgomery, Sir G. Hayter, W. Foley, J. H. Morgan, 0. Berkeley, G. • NOES—ill. Adderley, C. B. Gladstone, Capt. J. Palk, L. Annesley, Earl of Goderich, Viscount Palmer, Robert Antrobus, E. Gordon, A. Parker, R. Ball, E. °reeves, E. Pennant, Cot. E. Baring, H. Grogan. Edward Philinnore, R. J. Barrington, Vist. Gwyn, Howel Pilkington, J. Baxter, W. Hamilton, Lord Claud Ricardo, J. Bective, Earl Heneage, Geo. H. Ricardo, 0. Bell, J. Henley, J. Robertson, P. rennet, Capt. P. Herbert, S. Rolt, P. Bernard, Vist. Herbert, Sir T. &obeli, Capt. Bramley-Moore, J. Hervey, Lord A. Sibthorp, Col. Buck. L. W. Hildyard, R. C. Smith, W. Cardwell. E. Hill, Lord A. E. Spooner, R. Cecil, Lord Irton, S. Stafford, A. Christopher, Robt A. Jermyn, Rt. Ha. Earl Stanhope, J. Clifford, Lt.-Col. H. M. Jolliffe, Sir W. Stanley, Lord Corry, H. T. L. Jones, Capt. T. Stirling, W. Craufurd, E. H. J. King, J. Stuart, W. Dalkelih, Earl Knight, F. Sutton, J.- Deedes, William Labouchere,Rt.Son.H Taylor, Colonel Dillwyn, L. L. Langston, J. H. Thornely, T. Disraeli, B. Langton, W. IL P. G. Tyler, Sir G. Duckworth, Sir j. T.B. Lowe, R. Vernon, G. Duncan, George Macartney, G. Vyse, Col R. Duncombe,Hon.A. M'Gregor, John Waddington, D. Dundas, G. Maddock, Sir H. Waddington, 11. Dunne, Colonel Malins, Richard Walcott, Admiral. Ebrington, Viscount Mandeville, Viscount Walpole. S. Farnham, E. Manners, Lord G. Walter, J. Filmer, Sir E. Massey, W. Wells, W. Fitzgerald, W. R. S. Maxwell, J. Whitbread, S. Foyer, J. Meux, Sir H. Wilkinson, W. Fox, W. J. M all, E. Wynn. Lt.. Col. Galway, Visct. Naas Lord Wyvill. M. Gaskell, J. Neeld, John T ELLES,. George, J . Northcote, Sir S. Kelly, Sir F. Gladstone, W. Paking ton, Sir J. Butt, G. M. —............ de ...----- - --,d th The Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland any su.les Royal Dublin Society are at present concerting gee r y ade tp have the agricultural interests of that co quately represented at the approaching Paris. funds contributed fur It lr.s been determined that the fun show of u cottlein for the late Mr. Vivian, g.P. for Swansea, s 1 be e_ the purpose of marking the sense of esteem ehnateirtainded voted to the erection of's fountain in some conspicuous pert of that town, and that this fountain shall have, as its centre, a statue of the deceased. The subscriptions a d s I R V il y e b U o ia lm a , at present are about 6501. •.—" To Professor [ADVERTISEMENT.I—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills lately iBs2 come under my t t i i most l.____ E effectual x tr aet of remedies letter f r f o o m r th l e ir. G T ot i t i t o r , Hdrougugoiwsat,yE. to s n i , r, d_at jt ed c A as p e ri b l 2 a8 6, notice which I think should be publicly known. It is ' so dreadfully from that of a poor man, who suffered chronic rheumatism that he lost the use of one side, and en dured incessant pain. He was u n d er diff erent medi cal treatment, and at Westminster Hospital the faculty pronounced him it cura bl e case, for by the use h o e f ai your ointment a n d pill s he has . blishments, 244 Str d L il However, this was not the f t e r s e s n o g r th H ." o — llo S w ol a d y,s by esta all medicine ve n d ors. been restored t o ) an , on—on, ' an t d h at tli Pro B and 80, Maiden-lane, New York. NATAL ANDafILITA - Bir INTPLLIGENCE. The Bellerophon, 78, Captain Lord George Paulet, was put out of commission on Saturday at Portsmouth, and the remainder of her crew paid wages and granted 15 days' leave. _ _ Rear-Admiral Laynes returned to Polim - nab yester; day from leave, and rehoisted his flag in the Retribution} 28, Captain Fisher, a 9 third in command of the Baltic Fleet. The Malacca, 17, Captain 'arquliar, was undocked yesterday at Portsmouth aftei. refit, and got" up lien steam steam outside the jetty to pro4,ber engine before going, to Spithead to join the fleet. \ The Cruiser, 14, screw-sloop, Commp.nder the liOn. G. S. Douglas, and the Falcon, 14, CVniancler were ordered yesterday afternoon CO prepdie fo sea, and they both had the "blue peter" flying when this in telligence left (6.30 p.m.) Portsmouth. The Rol'a, 6, naval apprentices training brig, Lieut. Fenwick in charge, will be docked to-day to repair a few defects. The Avon steam-vessel returned to Devonport from Portsmouth yesterday, and the Sprightly to Ports mouth front the Down: , yesterday. The Porcupine steam-vessel arrived at‘Portsni'outh yesterday afternoon from Sheerness, with supernumeraries for the flagship Victory. The Retributio n t este d t he deviation of s her compasses in Portsmouth harbour yesterday. lATEST FrtOM GIBRALTNIZ By the arrival of the steam-ship Iberia, which reached Southampton yesterday, we have the following items of naval and military intelligence from Gibraltar :—On the 16:h April the Spanish steamer Independiente took on board 90 horses for conveyance to Balaklava for the use of the British army. She had also on board a corporal and six gunners of the Royal Artilery, besides seven iv f o or i t li h a e rr .va , who s go to t t onoe l ak 7t e h c i h n a s r t g of h . e This steamer rs te h a o me e She left rs. will, after discharging her freight in the Crimea, lie despatched to Alicante for the purpose of taking up another shipment of the same kind to Bala,klava. The Lucifer, a small steamer, of 85 tons, with some wooden huts and clothing for Turkey, arrived at Gibraltar from Liverpool on the 17th. On the 18th the sailing transport Canterbury, from Constantinople and Malta, put into Gibraltar for supplies. She bad on board invalids from the Crimea bound for Spithead. The British sailing transport, City of Carlisle, passed to the westward on the 18th. On the same day the Sardinian brig Regina Esther took on board 32 horses from the garrison at Gibraltar, for eon jwsveehasytesya se c asf e ktt ei t oan o ngi nttherhraeepx Medusa. s zr t A bombardier,un. progresssiand five gunners of the Royal Artille r y are p l ace d in charge of the animals. ng d T o i f e t t British w r e i a t l i r s 9 d h t s h l:a c barque w e L t i o o o r f d n wEisaerlboefenroeuhrahratemrpedstfeoart2tbraenespoonrtve,yaanndcethoef Samuelhor sea. her fitora aM thea an reception of horses. The Sardinian brig Enock has The like Laing, left for Plymouth emlttohueot o fi Is n eha t eht h rao e dpf a2wosaastrerhr,ni arrived el)efrdr. passengers :—Captains ao— T tr h tz e Gamp s io c t abu r r a e it n sh w l steam-transporttTahre,wf following tlhlow invalids ingi s T f y ra n o Hugessen, 57th, Falkner, 30th, Vernon, R.A., O'Brien, Carden, and Kent, Pi7th, Purcell, 50th Lieutenants Tucker, R.A., Antrobus, 50th ; Irby, 90th ; Harbord, 71st ; Cambier, Radcliffe, and Boulton, R.N. ; Staff- Surgeon Saunders, Assistant-Surgeon Scott, 57th ; Mr. Purchase, Mr. Mackham, Mr. erelwing, 223 non-com missioned officers and privates, including servants, and five women. Two deaths occurred on the passage from Scutari to Malta. The British screw steam -transport Argo, which arrived at Gibraltar on the 19th ult , shipped some horses or the Crimea, and took h er d e % parture on the 21st. The screw steam-transport Vic tory, from Plymouth, arrived at Gibraltar on the 21st. ARTILLERY FOR THE MORTAR VESSELS. A detachment of the Royal Marine Artillery, under the command of Captain G. S. Digby, consisting of First-Lieutenants E. H. Starr, H. Hewett, and F. W. Festing, with 6 sergeants, 4 corporals, and 38 gunners, embarked yesterday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the Pigmy tug, and were conveyed to Spithead, and put on board the Rosamond, 6, paddle-sloop, Commander Crofton, for passage to the eastward to join the new mortar vessels aliout being despatched, under charge of Captain Will cox, of her Majesty's ship Odin, to the Black Sea fleet off Sebastopol. Each mortar vessel will have six of these valuable and experienced marine artillerymen. MILITARY. The draughts at present 'in Cork barracks are very strong, including 200 of the 3d Buffs, 120 of the 9th, 152 o the 14th, 120 of the 39th, and 120 of the 89th, and upwards of 500 of the 2d Somerset Militia. The Commander of the Forces, Lord Seaton, pro ceeded to the Curragli, at Kildare, on Saturday morn ing, to inspect the progress of the works in the forma tion of the encampment. His lordship, attended by Major Culburne and Sir L. Newman, Aide-de-Camp, was accompanied by Colonel Doyle and Colonel Wood. THE MILITIA. The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland his issued his warrant for the embodiment of the Armagh Artillery; which is to be stat;oned at Hoy. All the militia artillery in the northern district are to be under the orders of the artil lery authorities at Charlemont. The Leitrim Rifles, which muster only 176 rank and file, wore embodied on the 26th of December last. They have 25 officers present, being about seven men to each officer ! . _ The Royal Tyrone Fusiliers are deficient more than one-half of their establishment, having only 460 rank and file present, and their e,tablishment is 1,000 men. They were enabudied-on the 4th of January last. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. -• CLE RIUN W ELL. —J ose ph Parminter, a rail way constable, was charged with stealing a portmanteau with its contents, the property of his masters, the Great Northern Railway Company. John Radford said—l ant and was constable in the service of the Great Northern Railway Company in March, 1854. The prisoner was my sergeant all the time. On the morning of the 25th of March, 1854, the prisoner came to me, when 1 was on duty at the Somers town-gate, and ordered me to go round the potato-market on the line. It was part of my duty to see that all was safe, and I went. The round would have taken me half an hour, but I did it in about 20 minutes. and when I returned I found the prisoner in my police-box. He had a portman teau in his possession, which he was trying to break open with a piece of iron bar. The portmanteau pro duced is the same one. He did break it open, and took out out the contents and made a parcel of them, and took them away. He at the same time placed the port manteau in a cupboard in the police-office in the station, where it remained for several days. Then Sergeant Parminter took it away openly at 12 o'clock in the day. Some time after an altercation took place between Mrs. Parminter and a Mrs. Alexander ; and then, on. the 26th of May, they brought it to my house with other things ; they lay there one night, but I said I would not have them remain there, and they were removed. Afterwards the portmanteau was brought to my box at the station, where it remained until Mon day week, when, after the charge of the other prisoners, Sergeant Parminter came to me, about 5 o'clock in the evening, and said, " I have been sent by Sergeant Wil liams to know where the portmanteau is." I told him that it was in the country. Mr. Corrie—Was that true l Witness—No, it was not, your worship ; but he re plied, " Let it remain there, and I will get another for you to take to Mr. Clarke's office as the portmanteau asked for, for Sergeant Williams has committed depreda tions, and has got others into it." I said I would, and then he asked me to meet him and Williams in the Cale donian-road at 12 o'clock on the following day. At 9 o'clock in the morning of that day, however, Parminter called at my house, at 8, College-grove, Camden-town, and said, I have brought this thing to you" (a portmanteau produced) "this is 'it." I replied, "But it is not so big. " when he said, " You must make it do ; you can take it to the lower office." I under stood that to be the office of Mr. Williams the inspector of the line, be remarking again, " Sergeant Williams has committed depredations, and got others into it." I afterwards met him in Brewer-street, Somers-town, when be asked me whether I had taken the portmanteau into the office. I said to him that a metropolitan officer had had it from me, and I supposed he had taken it there. Mr. Clark had previously seen the portmanteau, and marked it. He then replied, " I was dragged into it." On the same day later, I saw Parminter and Ser_: geant 'Williams together in Chapel • street, Pentonville. had some beer with them, but nothing was said abou t this matter. from Radford. Constableßadfnrd,s house, Francis, 0 v l e 4 r 6 h e S a , ri d n e g p o a s c e d o n t v o e b rs e a i being i g o concealed dadre. ceiving the missing portmanteau . I wish to be re. Prisoner — No, your worship ; but .s d examine the asked ts ? the prisoner if he wished to cross minded with bail until to-morrow .( this . ay), when I ° t rr he ie witne will at oncdischarge me. Wakeling, that your worship to b • hope, from the instructions that I will ive to Mr Mr. Corrie—l cannot admi t you ail, but you may come again to-morrow to allow your solicitor to explain your suggestion. The prisoner was then removed. ITANDCOCK .V. DELACO CASE. Lord Tire GREATri ancel M —T tor of Ireland st a t e d on Saturday that, in his o pinion, Mr. E. R. Handcock was not bound as one of t he next of kin by any decree, order, or compromise in either of the suits, and that, therefore, he was not en titled to have them reheard. - -. THE SCREW STEAM-SHIP SULTAN.—SOUTHAMPTON; Monday. —1 he Sultan. steam-ship, which has recently been con tert, d into a screw, took a private trial trip to• day, and the speed a taiued was highly satisfactory. The Sultan has alto been lengthened, and undergone various improvements snd alterations. 60CIEllt OP PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS.— On Sa. trr lay a distinguished company of the nobility and amat .t:,r3 of the fine Arts visited the gallery of the above society, in Pall-mall East, previous to its being opened d to the public this day. Among the company the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland L , w a awl Duchess of Argyll, the Marquis of Earl and Conn dtau, Earl and Countess of Ellesm n eii(,_ _ rg atn, h Lord Marquis and NI archioness of A ilesbury, t he f Eari n of Car tens Grosvenor, Elul and Counte ss Lady Effi an 1 Lady Overstone, Lord an d teh s : d Lan sdowne, Monteagle, Lor ford, Litchfiel , , and Wi nchester, the Provost of .EstionohhtthareHlellos a an nd d V ij i a sc u o Y u S n t t . t s L s e C n li n e 3 l r s t e lB a:, the Right Hoth --r . _ Labouchere, the lency Musurag Bey, President 'dent of theßoyal many mem bers th Bishops of London, Ox Lord Ravens worth, Viscount chaster, the Dean of St. Paul's Right Hon. t o h n e . R Si i r gh C t h H ar o le n s . N H V e o nr od Hon. Vernon Smith, his Excel Right Excellency Count Lavradio, th Academy, Sir Edwin Landseet bars of the Royal Academy, &c., &c. i e , W 1 0 aft '