The Sun. — London, England, 1849-06-06 00:00:00

T FLANDERS RAILWAYS. The seventh half-yearly general meeting of the pro proprietors of the above railways was held yester day, at the London Tavern; W. P. Richards, Esq., in the chair. The report stated, that at the general meeting held in November, the traffic receipts for the half-year, ending 31st August, were stated to be 6,0191. st. 11d. "The total expenses of the half-year (including those of main tenance of way) were 5,9621. 13s. 10d. At the same time the directors expressed their expectations that the expenses of the succeeding half-year, which are now laid before the meeting, would be diminished. In this expectation they have not been deceived. The expenditure for the half-year, ending the 28th Feb. last, is reduced to 5,3071. 7s. ld. The receipts for the same period, the least productive of the two divisions of the year, amount to 5,713/. 16s. 5c1., being a falling off of 3051 . 95. 6d. u p on those of the preceding six months. ' The receipts, when compared with those of the corresponding half-year in 1847-8, show a diminution of 1,0981. 4s, Pd., which your directors believe to be the effect produced by the revolutionary movement in France, which began to ope rate in February, 1848, afflicted Belgium during the whole of last year, and is now only slowly modifying its influencp. Your directors have been anxious to enforce the most rigid economy ; the effects of their exertions are visible in the accounts now presented to the meeting, and will appear still larger in the next accounts. If the whole working expenses, including proper maintenance of permanent way, can be confined to 10,000/., which will be less than 3001. per mile, the directors can hope fur little more, and to this must be added a sum for the renewal of depreciated stock. The receipts since the end of February, com par©d with the same time last year, show an increase during the three months, amounting to about 2601., which it is hoped may be considered as an indication that Flanders is slowly recovering from its prostration and distress. The directors have to state that the pro ceedings in Chancery, which were abandoned by Mr. Robert Stephenson, as executor of his la tete father, have e been renewed by another party, e me solic being engaged; which course has caused some trouble and inconvenience. The directors have put in an answer to the bill filed by Mr. Pulsford; and under this suit have deposited all the books and documents of this company in the Court of Chancery. The directors beg to refer the proprietors to the resolutions passed at the last meeting with reference to the forfeited shares, and to state that they have considered it as the safest course they could pursue to allow those shares to remain in the state which the statutes of the company ordained, a 3 they were unwilling to incur legal responsibility hereafter, and involve the com pany in another Chancery suit. The directors have con sidered that they have best fulfilled their duty to the proprietors by simply laying before them the statement of the receipts and expenditure, with the report of the Directeur Gerant, without comment. The balance in hand is 3,607/. ; the ascertained liabilities of the com pany, as stated below, amount to about 1,8401. There are a few items, which are still matters of dispute, which are amply provided for by the balance. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, congratulated the proprietors upon the improved aspect of their affairs, and declared that the directors ware now convinced that ultimately the undertaking would turn out to be a most profitable one. Mr. LYAL remarked that the liabilities had been cal culated up to the present time, while receipts were only brought down to the 28th February. The CHAIRMAN said this bad been done in order that the sharehalders might know the exact amount of their liabilities. A PROPRIETOR calculated that the profits would enable them to divide 211 a share, and when he considered that the liabilities had been reduced from 200,0001. to 45,2001., he thought they had good cause for congratula tion. Ire was quite sure the accounts were strictly correct. The CHAIRMAN assured the meeting that they were. The report was then adopted, after which Thanks were voted to the Chairman, and the meeting broke up. POST-OFFICE NOTICE. CHANNEL ISLANDS AND ISLE OF MAN NEWSPAPERS. —Henceforward, the undermentioned newspapers printed and published in the Channel Islands and in the Isle of Man, respectively, may be transmitted through the post from these Islands to Great Britain and Ireland on pre payment of a postage of one penny; but this privilege is not to be extended to them if posted in Great Britain or Ireland for circulation within the United Kingdom: —" British Press," " Jersey and Guernsey News," " Mona's Herald and Fargher's Isle of Man Advertiser," " Jersey Times," " The Manx Sun," "The Manx Liberal," " Isle of Man Times," " Star," and the " Comet." These newspapers, though unstamped, may be sent by post to the colonies and foreign countries upon the same conditions as those which apply to newspapers, similarly addressed, forwarded from Great Britain and Ireland. The existing rules contained in instructions No. 13, 1849, in regard to the transmission by pit of newspapers other than the above-mentioned, printed and published in the Channel Islands or in the Isle of Man, are still in force, it being, however, understood that such of the newspapers as are printed in these islands in the French or in the Manx language shall in no way be affected by the restrictions imposed in this notice, or by the instructions, No. 13, above-mentioned, hut shall con tinue to enjoy all the privileges, so far as their trans mission by post is concerned, which they formerly possessed. 1110:3,TALIT Y in the METROPOLIS NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTERED IN TUE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 1549. Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases Diseases of Uncertain Seat ... Tubercular Diseases ... Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses... ... 104 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 46 Diseases of tho Lungs, and other Organs of •I expiration Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion... .., ••• Diseases of the Kidneys, &c. DO • •• • Childbirai, Diseases of the Uterus, 8,1. ..• Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles Diseases of the Skin, &c. ••• ••• ••• Malformations... ... .•• ••• ... Premature Birth ••• •• • •• ••• Atrophy ••• ••• ••• ... Old A g e ••• ••• ... ••• .• • Sil(ICII • • • • • • •• • • • .., ..• Violence, Privation, o , ld, or • Intemperance Causes not specified ... ..• .„. DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES ...*209 36 ... 23 ... 23 ... 33 Population Average weekly Deaths Enumerated, Deaths, 1844-8. in the 1811 Five Springs. Week. 4Qe :t Districts... 300,711 . . 145 ... 156 North D—tricts.. 375,971 .. 185 ... 184 Central Distr:zts 373,653 ... 168 ... 138 East Districts ... 392,441 ... 207 ... 187 South Districts.. 501,190 ... 258 ... 230 T0ta13... ..... 1,948,369 Males II • •• Females ... 895 ... 448 ... 447 Atalos Females BIRTHS IN THE WEEK. ... 705 ... 649 Total ... 1,354 *ln this number are included 9 cases of death by Chulcra, 29 by Scarlatina, and 23 by Typhus Fever. MARKET INTELLIGENCE. (From the London New Price Current, June 5.) SUGAR.—To day there was more disposition evinced by importers of West India Sugar to sell, but a reduc tion of 6d per cwt being generally submitted to, occa sioned grocers and refiners to be large purchasers. The total quantity sold amounted to 1,180 hhds, &e., in cluding 274 hhds 23 trca 57 barrels St. Lucia at public sale, which sold, fine yellow at 403 6d to 425, good 39s to 39e 61,, low and midding :37s to 38s 6d, good and fine brown 36s to 375, low 355, ordinary to good grey 37s to 395; 46 hhds 14 casks 76 barrels Ja maica, ordinary yellow 375 6d to 383, middling 38s 6d to 395; 74 hhds of Triaidad, low and mid yellow 37s 6‘l to 38s 61; 260 hhds 22 trcs 6 brls Barbadoes, fine yellow 403 fid to 425, mid to good 38s Gd to 40a, low 383; 29 hhds 39 trs 141 barrels St. Vincents crystalized, white 45; to 50s, yellow 40a 6d to 445, and brown 36s to 39s per cwt. REFINED.—To day former rates were well supported for refined goods, and home dealers were desirous to make purchases. Bonded crushed sugar is in steady demand at 293 to 30s per cwt. MAuarrius.—This afternoon there was less demand for grocery sorts of Mauritius, and refined kinds met with a fair sale, and generally realised full terms. At auction 7,726 bags were nearly all sold upon the follow ing terms:—fine yellow, 40s to 41s; mid to good, 383 6d to 39s 6d; fine brown, 37s to 37s 6d; ord to fine grey, 37s to 39s 6d per cwt. EAST INDIA.—This afternoon the market for Bengal Sugar presented a quiet aspect. At public sale the quantity offered amounted to 5,739 bags, and prices de:dined 61 per cwt; but the chief part found buyers—grainy white fetching 45s 61 to 475, yellow 43s 6d to 445, good and fine white Benares 42s to 43s 61, low to good mid 40s to 41s 6;1, low and mid soft yellow 36s to 37s 6d, good to fine 38s to 39s 61. Of Penang, 1,038 mats and 169 baskets went at about the former value—soft greyish yellow at 33s 63 to 365, and brown 343 to 35s 6d. 150 serons of damp white Santa Martha went at 41s to 42s 6,1 per cwt. FOREIGN.—To-day there was much firmness in the market for Foreign Sugar, end none was submitted to public sale. By private treaty a fair business was con cluded, and in some cases stiffer rates were paid. Moreasses—Teeday at auction 50 puns of Bengal Treacle were taken in at 17s 61 for old import, being hove the ;rain?. TEA.—The market for Black is not mere active, • although there is a smaller stock than in the former year, and home deliveries continue upon a large scale. Conon is not offered at lower prices, but on the part of town et* country dealers not much desire has been Qvieced to operate. The better sorts met with 'ZiEW `.-', i ' llielleik atten tion, and are in fair supply. The value leaf 7 s : sort t O d i t o s t 9doB i to Orel ry and good ordinary is . from z 4:47.:;,:,:v,..‘ I::kiosnhgleaatt 40 itrit is Id to is 3d, Pekoe favour Is 4d to is 10d _ l ei AT.:O thong has been dealt in with caution at 6d Bd 9d to Is ° B 3 d, b a l n a d ek b l e h tter r -t'e.';eee -2, gde c :/, ‘ reen .Tea is offered at moderate rates, yet c --.0 _ sales have been made by town or country a" elnd the market is plentifully supplied; Tyson - .3f or tad g9Pd,wd,cmality is offered at ls,tQls 2d, but mid and mid li 3d to Irtd, good- is 7d to is 10d; tine • , and superior 2s to 3s, Imperial Canton is to is 4d, Hyson sort is 6d to 2s 10], Gunpowder is 3d to 4s; Canton made is 3d to is 6], Twankay ord 51 to 6d, better sort 71 to Is, Young Hyson 10d to is 10,1, supe rior 9 s to 3s, and Hyson skin low to fine 81 to is 6d. COFFEE.—This afternoon more desire was evinced to operate in Plantation Ceylon Coffee, and at the public sales of 540 bags 50 casks, full rates were obtained; middling went at 48s to 50s, low middling. 45s to 465, fine fine ordinary 41s 6d to 445, good ordinary 33s 61 to 35s 6d, ordinary 31s 6d to 335, pea berry 50s 61 to 56s 6d, damaged 33s to 425. Native was held for more money, which checked business privately, and at auction 420 bags were taken in at 32s 6d for good ordinary. CocoA.—This afternoon at public sale 241 bags Bahia Cocoa were taken in at 29s for fine bright red. RICE.—To-day there was not much desire evinced to operate in East India Rice, and rather lower rates are accepted. At public sale 1,000 bags of Bengal went at 9s for good, 8s 61 for middling white, and 5s 6d to 8s 6d per cwt for damaged. SPlCES.—Buyers of Pimento show no unwillingness to pay full rates, although the market is well supplied. The parcels offered at auction, amounting to 942 bags, were all sold, and went at 3-a1 to 381 for ordiimry to good middling. There are still several buyers in the market, Ginger continues in good demand, and last week's rates are well supported; there is also nct a more plentiful supply. At auction 100 plies of Jamaica were sold at 31 15s to 121 4s for low mid to fine bold white. The value of shipping sort of East India is 24s to 265, and home trad:, kind 35s to 80s per cwt. Several parcels of black Pepper have been taken privately by shippers and home dealers, whereas the rates obtained are fully equal to those current on this day week. Malabar heavy is worth 3ad to 3il, half heavy 2id to 3d, light 2id to 2i-d, and Sumatra from tad to 3d. White is wanted at from 5] to 9d. For Nutmegs the market is firm, and a fair demand exists ; low to mid brown at 2s 4d to 2s 101, and better sort 3s to 3s 9d ; the supply• is also small. Mace is wanted at 2s to 3s, and better sort 2s 6cl to 2s 101. Cinnamon is not cheaper. Bencoolen at is 31 to is 9d, Bourbon and Zanzibar 7d to Bd, and Amboyna 10d to Is per lb. SPIRITS.—For Leeward Island Rum the demand con- antics to improve, and several parcels have been dis posed of at is 4d to is 4id per gallon proof; on the part of holders there is also firmness. East India has been in good demand at is 3d proof, and only a limited amount is on offer. Of Demerara several parcels have been disposed of, but not at better rates, is 10d to 2s 4d having been accepted for 28 to 40 per cent over proof. A tall has taken place in the value of low and mid sorts of Jamaica • there has in consequence been a good business concluded. Sales to a fair extent have been made in superior sorts at former rates. The value of 19 to 29 per cent over proof is from 2s to 2s 3d, 30 to 36 2s 4d to 3s 3d, and fine 3s 4d to 4s per gallon. Former rates are well supported for brandy. Geneva sellers are willing to accept I.Bd for common export sort, and 2s 3d to 3s for fine suitable for home consumption. Former rates are supported for British made spirit. COCHINEAL—At auction 111 bags were only in part sold: Honduras silvers 3s 93 to 4s 4d, Mexican 3s 7d to 3s Bd, black 3s lld to 4s ld, and Teneritfe silvers black 4s to 4s 2d per lb. SALTPETRE.—Today there was more disposition evinced to make purchases in Rough, and full rates wore paid. At public sale 949 bags of Calcutta were all dis posed of at 26s 6d to 27s 6d for 4 to 51 per cent refrac tion of middling and good quality. INDIGO.—The quantity of East India declared for public competition amounts to 6,776 chts, and the amount to be offered is 15,000 chests. Orly a limited business has been concluded by exporters or home dealers, still no decline in the value has taken place. In Spanish not much busi ness has been done. TALLOW.—Prices are not lower for Russian on the spot. The value of first sort P.Y.C. is 38s 6d to 39s per cwt. For delivery in the last three months ot the year sales to a fair extent have been made at 395 3d to 39s 6zl, and the market is firm. Home melted finds a free sa!e at 37s to 38s net cash. In the value of other sorts of Tallow little variation has taken place. At auction 300 pk2,-s of Australian were nearly all sold at 33s 6d to 34s for low to fine; 1,220 pkgs ot South American 35s to 38s 6d, damaged 29s to 355; 150 casks P.Y.C., stranded 34s 3d to 36s 9d, and 147 casks of Cape, fine 36s to 363 6d. Prices are still much under those of this time in the former year, but the stocks continues extensives, and deliveries do not get much better. Rough Pat is, however, dull of sale at 23 Id. OILS.—In Cod the sales made have been upon a more extended scale at 261 per tun. Southern froai 251 to 271, and superior 271 lOs to 281 103. Seal, pale, 291 to 30/, straw and tinged, 371 to 381 105, and other sorts 251 to 261. For Sperm 721 to 73/ is the value of fine. For Linseed, the prices are on the decline, and rule 25s 3d to 25s 6d per cwt on the spot. There are edgers for delivery at 25s 6d to 25s 9d, but few buyers are met with. Rapeseed Oil, pale is offered at 37s 6d, and brown 36s 6d; there is a fair consumption. Palm met with little attention, and is de pressed in value. Sales of good and fine quality have been made at 303 to 31s, and the supply is upon a more ex tended scale. Cocoa Nut 34s to 36s for low to fine. In Olive the business concluded has been small. Gallipoli is at 411 to 41/ 105, and Levant and Portugal 401 to 40/ 10s. Lard Oil is 38s to 39 , , and Ground Nut 27s to 28s per cwt. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING. JUNE 6, 1819. THE BRAZILS. FALMOUTII, JUNE 2.—The Express packet, Lieut. Long, arrived this morning with the Brazil mails; the dates are:—Rio de Janeiro, 15th April; Bahia, 24th; and Pern imbue°, 30th; on freight about 21,0001., of which about 15,0001. is for the St. John del Mining Company. Passengers—His Excellency Marquis Doris, Sardinian Minister; his Excellency M. D. Butanville, French Minister; Mr. and Mrs. S:ern, Miss Adamson, Mr. M'Kennel, Mr. and Mrs. K-ller, Messrs. Pecher, Atkins, Holz, Andrada, Braga, Linley, and EMU. Ex change had continued during the former part of the month at 263., at which upwards of 100,0001 had been done; but, previous to the packet sailing, bills to a large amount had piissed at 25 , 11 A good deal of busi ness had also been done on Paris at 670 to 667. Sock had ranged from 86 to 854, with moderate business; Provincial, per cent. lower. Coffee, washed 375. 3d., superi ,, r 28s. 101, first good 263. 10d., first ordinary 245. 10d. Exports front lst to 15th April—To Balti more, 7,600 bags; California, 549; Cape of Good Hope, 500; Channel, 15,199; Gibraltar, 4,281; Hamburgb, 2,735; Havre, 838; Lisbon, 2,009; Malta, 3,725; New York, 4,8'5; Philadelphia, 3,600. The Crane packet was entering Rio de Janeiro when the Express came out. QUARANTINE NOTICE. Oporto, May 28, 1849. Sir,—l have the honour to inform you that the Board of Health in this city have notified that vessels having li ft any port of England, after the 16th of the present month, will not be subject to quarantine on arriviuz here. Ireland and Scotland are still reputed as suspected, and vessels from those parts will have to perform quarantine as hitherto. By a dispatch of same date as the preced ing, the quarantine is raised on ships from Riga and all ports in the Baltic, as well as Altona and Hamburgh. (Signed) THOMAS C. WIGHAM, Agent to Lloyd's. Capt. G. A. Halsted, R.N., Secretary, Lloyd's. Gibraltar, May 26, 1849. Sir,—With reference to my communication of sth inst., about the reduction of quarantine on vessels from Eng land to three days, 1 have now the honour to acquaint you that the steam-packet Iberia, which arrived last night, has been admitted to free pratique, and I am in formed that all merchant vessels from Great Britain, bringing clean bills of health, will not be subject to any quarantine whatever. (Signed) J. LOINTGLANDS COWELL, Agent to Lloyd's. Captain G. A. Halsted, R.N., Secretary, Lloyd's. THE Romer; CATHOLIC Cnuacu.—ln pursuance of directions to that effect from Dr. Wiseman, the Roman Catholic Vicar-Apostolic of the London District, and a notification to that effect made on the previous Sunday, collections were made on Sunday last in every Roman Catholic church and chapel in the metropolis and throughout the suburban counties, for the erection and completion of new edifices for the celebration of divine worship and the furtherance in other regards of the Roman Catholic faith in this country. In the appeals which were made in the several places on Sunday for the purpose mentioned, very extraordinary accounts were detailed or the increase of buildings erected or pur chased for Roman Catholic worship in England, and especially in and near the metropolis, during the past year, and a confident hope was expressed on the part of the bishop and clergy that the community would by their generous contributions render them every assist tuAL notice,r,. a T a n d e i s l a i k l e a l y a t t S b t e a w n fi e 1 1 , 1 d a t - t h e a a l d l e s assist ance to effect the advancements of th e o bj ec t s i n v i ew. attracting s o d. S rA Nr E g the present week ther e h ave been numerous i o n n u o te f ly num th b n e y l a e v o is r i d to u rs h t a o s t b h e e e l n oc a i l n i s ty p , e c a t n e d d t h m e During great . o m st an m si many persons. The furniture, &c., remains in pretty much the same state as it was in at the time of the mur ders; even the mat on which Mr. Jermy Jermy fell and breathed his last has not been removed; nor are the stains of blood yet effaced from the cocoa-nut carpet on which the elder Mr. Jermy expired. The great object of attraction was the drawing-room—the furniture in which is very splendid, in the Louis Quatorze style, and at the same time being in most excellent taste • The - other apartments are well furn ished, some of the bed 3 rooms luxuriously; and the man sion throu g hout is fitte up with every comfort and convenience for the English gentleman. There are twu portraits of the late Mr. Jermy in the house, and a few good pictures worthy the attention of the connoisseur. The discovery of the blunderbuss on the Potash-farm still continues to be the subject of conver sation, and it is considered singular that it was not found at the time when the premises were, as it was understood, so closely and narrowly searched. Rush left behind him a document which he intended at one time to have submitted to his lawyer, as the ground work of his defence. He did not do so, however, but he did not destroy the paper, in which occurs the following passage :—" As soon as Miss Sandford was in her room I went down in my slip-shoes, and took my outside dress and my boots I had been in the habit of wearing when I went out in the night after poachers, as I did not wish to be recognised, and hid them in the muck in the shed, in the yard, by the dairy window. It is not material that those things should be discovered till after the evidence is given against me, because that outside dress will completely clear me as not being the person seen in the hall the night of the murder, and yet it is almost as important the parties I have described should be made out, which I have no doubt can be done." The dress and boots have been found.—Norfolk Chronicle. Letters from Trieste announce a considerable fall in the Austrian Government stock, in consequence of the reported capture of Agram, thq capital of Croatia, by the Hungarians. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, June 5. Their Lordship met at Five o'elf;ok. Etrl STANHOPE pr.sented petitions in favour of an amendment of the poor-laws; also for a repeal of the Sale of Byer Act. Lord STAFFORD presented a netition in favour of I an extension of the jurisdiction of the County Courts. BANKRUPT LAWS CONSOLIDATION BILL. Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition from Glasgow in favour of the Bankruptcy Laws Consolidation Bill. Lord BROUGHAM, after giving his strenuous sup port to the above petition, presented several petitions on the same subject. The first was from the bankers, user chants, and traders of Manchester, signed by 3,918 per sons, who in the course of ten minutes had subscribed 1,0001. for the purpose of defraying the expenses in curred in prosecuting the necessary inquiries into the details of the Bill. The second was a petition from the same parties in the metropolis, 'and, as a proof of the interest which it had excited, he mentioned as a fact that eighteen of the first bankers ia the metropolis had each subscribed ten guineas to defray the expenses of the mercantile community in pie , moting the success of the Bill. The third was a petition from the Chamber of Commerce in London, more commonly known as the Association for the Protection of Trade in the city of London. The fourth was the petition of the bankers, merchants, and traders of the borough of Salford, signed by eight hundred and twenty-:ix p , rsons. He then presented similar petitions trona the Man chester Association for the Protection of Trade, from Plymouth, from Coventry, from Dudley, and some other places. He then observed that he had so often entered at length into the description of this Bill that he would not detain their Lordships long upon it on the present occasion. Their Lordships were all aware that it had been prepared about eighteen months ago, arid that it consisted of two parts—the one containing a digest of the existing bankruptcy laws in 367 articles, and the other containing several improvements on those existing laws. Though the bankruptcy laws would still remain capable of improvement—and what human in stitution was incapable of it?—the digest of them con tained in this Bill would render the task of improvement more easy and more practicable. This Bill contained some valuable and important improvements in the transaction of mercantile affairs ; and, as he had stated on many previous occasions, the nature of those improvements, he would now merely state, first, that they simplified and extended the present bankruptcy Acts, and next, that they contained many most important provisions for preventing undue dealings with the property of bankrupts, for preventing undue preference from being given to particular creditors, for preventing undue preference from being given to the relations of the bankrupt—and a gross case of this kind had recently come before Mr. Commissioner Faue, in which a debt of 1.5001. to the mother of the bankrupt had been fraudulently set up by the bankrupt—and for setting aside all conveyances and equitable mortgages executed within a certain period before the bankruptcy as fraudulent preferences given to the creditors who held such instruments. All transactions of this kind were carefully guarded against by the new provisions of this Bill. They would also define certain acts of insolvency on the part of the trader w hick would let in the whole agency of the bankruptcy laws. They likewise contained several most valuable improvements in the whole juris diction of bankruptcy. The original intention of the Bill had been to appoint a Chief Commissioner of Bankruptcy, with an increase of 5001. a year to his salary, and a chief registrar, with an increase of 300/. a year to his; but that intention was now abandoned. No rotation of commissioners or registrars appeared to be necessary, and in the metropolis the number of corn missioners would be reduced from six to four, and so with respect to the registrars. The six commissioners now did not sit above two days in the week, and their business could be easily transacted by four commis sioners, who, instead of sitting six days in the week, like the judges, would only have to sit four. He had there fore, in compliance with the suggestions of his Noble and Learned Friend who now held the great seal, struck out of the Bill the clauses for increased salaries to the Chief Commissioner and to the senior registrar. To the proposition of restoring arrest on meene pro cess he had not been able to give his consent, although many of the petitioners had argued strenuously for it. Debt, if innocent, was a misfor tune, and not a fit subject for imprisonment as a punish. ment. He laid down this principle, that, excepting in three cases, imprisonment for debt ought not to be allowed; and those three cases were, first, where fraud had been committed by the debtor in contracting the debt; secondly, where the debtor exhibited contumacy by refusing to answer questions put to him by the Com missioner or his creditors; and, thirdly, where ho had been guilty of gross and wilful extravagance in contracting debts which he had no reasonable prospect of paying. In all these cases there was crime, and crime was a fit subject for imprisonment. But then the imprisonment should not be for ever; and, there fore, a discretionary power was given to the Commis sioners, wherever they thought fit to imprison a party guilty either of fraud, contumacy, or wilful extravagance. This power of imprisonment had been carefully consi dered by the Committee which sat last year, and the result had been that a considerable change had been made in the Bill which was submitted this year to a Select Committee—a change which would give a more efficient remedy to the creditor, and would be a greater in fltction on the debtor, but only in those cases where too much lenity was formerly exhibited towards him. Prima jacic the creditor was in the right and the debtor in the wrong. Prima facie the creditor was the injured, and the debtor the injuring party. The presumption wa, against the debtor, and in favour of the creditor; End hence he meant to give to the latter every help in his p )wer for the recovery of his just claims. Many persons wished to have arrest upon mesne process restored, be cauFe they knew that, it they waited till their debtor was taken in exectrion, his funds by that time were pro bably exhausted. He objected, however, to the reztora iion of that process, because under it the creditor often gut too much. Persons subjected to the magical touch of a sheriff's officer on the shoulder often paid debts which they did not owe, or compelled their relatives and friends to pay for them debts which they did not owe. The parties who advocated the revival of arrest on mesne process had attended the Committee, and had examined witnesses in support of their opinion; but, upon consideration, had accepted the Bill as it now stood. He then gave a history of the pro gress of the Bill in that House, and also in the Se!ect Committee, in terms precisely similar to those which he has so often repeated during the present session, and conclude it by declaring that the result of our various deliberations had been that the petitioners against the Sill had come to an understanding with such of their Lordships (himself among the number) as had had the management of its progress, and that their Lordships had come to an understanding with the petitioners, who originally opposed it. He had the Bill printed at the close of last session; on the first night of the present he had reintroduced it, and got it it referred to a Select Committee. That Committee had been attended by many gentlenn n from the provinces, from Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, and Hull. Many new sug gestions were made to the Committee. They were dis cussed and rediscussed. Those that were valuable were accepted; those that were not so were rejected; and at last all parties came to this conclusion—that the Bill as it now stood was entitled to the entire and unanimous and hearty approval even of those who had at first opposed it. Oaly one alteration of importance had since been made in it. He had acceded to the objec tion made by his Noble and Learned Friend who held the great seal, against the creation of an intermediate Court of Appeal from the decision of a single com missioner. There might be too great a leaning among the commissioners, from courtesy to each other, to con firm their own decrees, and therefore, as he had agreed to dispense with a fifth commissioner, he also agreed to the proposition that there should ba an appeal to such one of the Vice-Chancellors of the High Court of Chan cery as the Lord Chancellor should appoint from time to time to sit in Chancery. He then proceeded to ex plain the reasons which had induced the Committee first to introduce into, and afterwards to strike out of this Bill, the clauses which were generally known by the name of the " Deadinen's Clauses." If an insolvent trader happened to die after a fiat was struck against him his estate could be administered as that of a bank- rapt; but, if he died before the fiat was struck, no such remedy could be had by his creditors, and their only re• source was a creditors' suit, which was a very irksome and your - expensive proceeding. To remedy this state of things he had introduced the deadmen's clauses. His Noble and Learned Friend had objected to them on the ground that if they were made law, there must be a creditors' proceeding and a bankruptcy pro ceeding to. He had given in to that objection, and had struck out in consequence the deadmen's clauses. His Noble and Learned Friend (Lord Cot• t prub e oe n is h epesrd a e m insthe ) had pledged himself to provide a remedy for the inconvenience of which he complained, and, as a substitute for the clauses which be had struck out, pro posed the Master's d i mn without t a h s e te ceass eofiffiol office, e t g r aaadnbedri bill only the er apur practice petitioneieres uinbthe et s ct h o o o t u uh l r d et of Chancery. The Bill, then, as it now stood, bad ob tained the unanimous suppor ' t of all the respectable pcla sses ray A b t ataht proofti h n e t r o t, w o m f n this measure with as and country; and they anxiously i t th e tbe no delay in converting it into factnecessity which existed for pass inglaw. the startlinglittle tiia delay as possible, he men tionedbeen annually lost for some . e t 50,000,0001. sterling bad distress of the times, ly the law, t ltahwataffecting two p a os r It importantsr o°sil3eiaeus past, partly taaeorvet t ler icie owing t o imperfectth e ots bankruptcy. woul d b state of the conceived e produced by this Bill—one upon h other upon the morals of the country.—(Hear, hear.) In the first place the new law would make the trader, who gave credit—and in this commercial country credit must be given—give a more limited credit than he hitherto had done; and, in the next, when the debtor found that he could not elude the legal operations of his creditor, he could exhibit greater honesty, frugality, and care in all his dealings. He would be compelled to become more honest and more prudent, and to square his expenses more accurately to his means. These two results would be of inestimable value to the community. He therefore gave this measure to the House as an important im provement on the present condition of the law, and that with a pledge, if it should be found that further improve ments were necessary, he would be ready to give them full and mature consideration. He could not conclude his observations without giving his warmest praise to Mr. Miller, an officer of the Court of Chancery, who was the person who had drawn up this invaluable digest. Before he sat down he must inform the House of a com munication he had received from the Lord Chancellor. After he had acceded to the suggestion of his Noble and Learned Friend, that no increase should be made to the salary of the Chief Commissioner and of the chief registrar, his Noble and Learned Friend had expressed his entire approval of this measure. He would not have pressed it on the attention of their Lordshipp in his (the Lord Chancellor's) absence, had hs not known how perilous any delay would b 3 at the present period of the session. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE expressed the great satisfae , ion he felt at hearing from his NAle and Learned Friend that he thought himself justified in in troducing such alterations into the Bill as did not affect its spirit—[Lord BrtouGuam- 4 ` Its pricciple"]—altera tions which had insured the support of his Noble and Learned Friend the Lord Chancellor, and of the best and most learned authorities in that House. So amended and so altered as he had no doubt the Bill would be, he felt, with his Noble and Learned Friend opposite, that it was of the utmost importance that it should advance without any delay, and should become the law of the land before the end of the present session. Dry as the details of the Bill might be, they involved considerations of a most popular character, involving as they did the most inti mate relations of society, into which they would intro duce the most sound and practical amendments. For, when he was told that no means now existed for sepa rating the honest from the fraudulent debtor, who was preying on the resources of the community and making bad debts every year to the amount of 49,000,000/. —an amount sufficient to shipwreck the fortunes of any other country, and attended with a salvage which did not ex ceed a fourth or fifth part of th it 1 trge sum—he could not but feel that an attempt to remedy such a state of things, founded as it was on the experience of various bodies of men from all parts of the country, all uniting in approbation of it, was an obi. ct of the highest public im portance to the country. It was also a matter of the highest social importance ; and one of the provisions of this Bill, which he viewed with the highest approbation, was that in which a mode was prescribed for separating debtors into three cl asses—the virtuous debtor, whose bankruptcy arose from unavoidable losses and misfortunes; the unfortunate debtor, whose conduct was, neverthe less, satisfactory ; and the spendthrift, the outcast, the speculating, and the fraudalent debtor, whose conduct was not satisfactory, and whose bankruptcy did not arise from unavoidable misfortunes. The Commissioners were hereafter to distinguish in their certificates the bankrupts who were not to blame for their misfortunes—those who were unable to meet their engagements, but whose con duct was not blameworthy—and those who preyed on the interests of society, and sacrificed individuals, and even bodies of men, to their own dishonest and nefarious projects. Such a change in the law would work a bene ficial effect in the constitution of society itself. Consi dering, therefore, that the machinery of of this Bill, ap proved as it had been by his Noble and Learned Friend who generally sat on the Woolsack, was a machinery which would be attended not only with economy in its own administration, but also with a larger economy to those individuals who were to be benefited and saved by its operation—considering also that it would be subject hereafter to any improvements which experience might suggest, he did hope that it would be received as a boon of great value by the commercial interest; and, hoping so, he trusted that the House would pass it through all its stages with as much speed as possible. He gave his entire concurrence to the Bill, and thought his Noble and Learned Friend entitled to public gratitude for the laborious attention which ho had bestowed upon it. Lord WHARNCLIFFE heard with great satisfac tion the statement of the Noble Marquis in reference to the B;11 before the House, and he hoped the Govern ment would give the measure its support in its passage through the other House of Parliament. One of the advantages of this Bill was, that it would effect a saving of 12 0001. a year in the machinery connected with bankruptcy. Lord CAMPBELL would only say, that both in form and substance, this Bill was a great improvement upon the existing law last session, and he had no doubt but it would effect great good. Lord BROUGHAM said he had, in the former draft of the Bill, given to the Commissioners the power of im prisonment for a year. He bad, however, at the sug• gestion of Noble Lords, taken away this power. Ho did so, and chiefly on the ground that the committal of the bankrupt would arise from his own stbtemen% The Commissioners would still have the power to refuse the bankrupt protection, in the event of his conduct meriting this exercise of the Judge's power. The creditors would then be enabled to deal with him, and thus justice would be obtained. The Bill was then recommitted, and the report re ceived. INCUMBERED ESTATES (IRELAND) BILL. On the motion of Lord CAMPBELL, the Incumbered Estates (Ireland) Bill was read a first time, and was ordered to be read a second time on Monday next. CANADA. Lord BROUGHAM wished to know whether the Noble Earl (Grey) had ri ceived any report of the Go vernment of Canada having cut down the classes of claimants for losses, during the rebellion in that colony, to two—namely, those who had been convicted, and those who had been imprisoned, at the period of the re bellion in question. Earl GREY said his information on the subject re ferred to was received from a source which was equally open to the Noble and Learned Lord, namely the news papers. He must decline giving any other answer than this to the question put by the Noble and Learned Lord. Lord BROUGHAM—Did Lord Elgin send any dis patches home on the subject? Earl GREY—Lord Elgin sent home some news papers containing the debates in the House of Assembly, on the subject, and to these debates he (Earl Grey) was referred. DENMARK AND PRUSSIA. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE, in reply to Lord Brougham, said be had every reason to hope that the hostilities which bad occurred between Denmark and Prussia, would terminate{ in an amicable manner, and he assured the Noble Lord that this country was most anxious, for the peace of the countries referred to, and for the benefit of the commerce of the world, that this settlement should take place at the earliest possible moment. LEASEHOLD TENURE OF LANDS (IRELAND BILL. Lord CAMPBELL moved that the report on the Leasehold Tenure of Lands (Ireland) Bill be received. The Earl of LUCAN obji eted to the Bill, and moved that it be recommitted to a Select Committee. If he did not succeed in this, he would move to exclude its appli cation to all leases with special covenants; and if he did not succeed in this he would then object to the Bill ap plying to property in towns. Lord CAMPBELL said that the Bill was brought in on the 2d of April; it was not read a second time until the 26th of April, and it was not committed until the 25th of May. The report was to have come before their Lordships last evening. This was a proof that the Bill had not been hurried through the House. His Noble Friend the Lord Chancellor bad paid great attention to the Bill. Ile thought-the Bill was all tight, and ought to be adopted, and if his Noble Friend was present he would say the same thing, notwithstanding the Noble Earl (Lord Luc sn) stood up and moved that it should be referred to a Select Committee. The Noble Earl corn plained that the Bill was compulsory, but if it was not so it would be useless. That was, in fact, the great merit of the measure. The Bill bad been very generally ap proved of, and he had himself received various applica tions from different quarters to press it forward. He d r l said rnilothrm n:de measure s h cotut e wl :rdrbneaieeetds between w w wwt naoae a ot ue s ste hnl estates. e. inconvenience looabtt landlord aer( s therefore called upon their Lordships to negative the b motion. eilacimont question ed e l thought, s a n t r d ai i no e ty n d d ho between L w r v d er th t o h s a ; taen temporaryur MONTEAGLEe an arisingbweittwh egreat ewn f r al o sa from landlord theseodrvgdamnatst andaei g n eul landlord, landlord; for the holder of a lease of lives, renewable for re servedever to the original landlord was in the character of an annuity overriding the lend. He did not think any pecuniary compensation could satisfy the landlord for the inconvenience of waste with regard to timber that would arise to him from a lessee under this Bill. He would not vote for a motion that would injure the measure, but he would suggest the adoption of this motion to facilitate the progress of the Bill in that House, and in another place. Lord CAMPBELL said he could not agree to the sug gestion. There was ample indemnity provided against any waste that might be attempted by the lessee. The Earl of DEVON said that which ought to be the foundation of the Bill had been omitted, which was an explanation of the practical evils resulting from these tenures. He had heard no such explanation. The po licy of the measure was that it would facilitate an im provement of the land. This Bill proposed to substitute a fixed sum for a periodical fine, upon payment of which the landlord should transfer his property to the middle man; but he could not see what advantage such a change could be to the occupying tenant, who was in tact the cultivator of the land. lie thought it would have been better to have the Bill promissory 'ither than compul sory, as was proposed. Lord REDESDALE said, when the Bill was intro duced he did not wish to press an opposition to it; but since that other, information had been obtained, with re gard to the lands of the Irish Society, and the covenants contained in their leases. By this Bill they proposed to create a fee simple, which might be destroyed under these covenants. He could not see how that could work. This was a material point, and ought to be discussed and explained, which could only be done by referring it to a Select Committee. lie thought the proposal a very reasonable one, and that it would be better to postpone the measure for another session. The Earl of GLENG ALL said there was a great deal of property in Ireland which would be affected by the be postponed t o next session, that it might be more fully Bill, The end Earl he thought WICKLOW L i; dbe very desirable it should considered. one e ll wwohridehonwthought he never heard a thoroughly-discussed in that House than the present measure. Wth regard to what had been said about a Select Committee, he had heard not except against the principle of the Bill. The case which was urged so strenuously on a tOrmer night against the Irish Society as a reason why the e m s o u r b e j ec, the Bill should be postponed, was now abandoned alto gether, and no case whatever was made out against it. In as far as it went, he believed it would improve the condition of the tenantry in Ireland, and therefore the cultivation of the land, for which it should receive his support. The Earl of LUCAN was of opinion, notwithstanding all tl , at had been said, that the Bill had not been suffi ciently discussed by their Lordships; but in consequence ofthe ithennstsetad of ateofeothmepHulosouryse., he would not press his motion to a di v i s i on . O n the third rending, how ever, h e would move a s an amen d men t that the Bill b e ma d e per missive The report was then brought up, and on the motion of Lord CAMPBELL, the third reading of the Bill was fixed for Friday. Their Lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, June 5. The: SIPEAKEn took the Chair shortly before Four o'clock. THIRD READING. The Edinburgh and Northern Eitilway (Formation of Slip Q lay and other Works at Granton, Extension of Station. at Elinburgh, Iteulation of Perth Stations, end Amendment of Acts) Bill was read a third time and passed. CONSIDERATIONS OF REPORTS. On the motion for the consideration of the report on the Lancashire and Yorkshire and London and North Western Railway Companies (Transfer of Interest in the Preston ane Wyre Railway Harbour and Dock, and regulating the Management or the Undertaking) Bill, Mr. BROTHERTON moved that tha Bill be recom • milted to the former Committee, with leave to sit and proceed to morrow, At the suggestion of Mr. WILSON PATTEN the motion was postponed. On the motion of Sir W. SOMERVILLE, it was ordered, that the examiners of petitions for private Bills do proceed forthwith in the matter of the Dublin Im provement Bill, referred to them upon the 31st day of May last. Captain PECHELL presented a petition from Brighton in favour of Parliamentary reform. Mr. HENLEY presented petitions in favour of a national poor-rate. Mr. cluasropHEß presented a petition from Lincolnshire in favour of agricultural protection. Sir H. DAVIE presented a petition from the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, praying that the Borough Police Bill might be postponed. Mr. CAYLEY presented a petition from several places in Yorkshire complaining of the effect of free trade, and also petitions against the increan of licenses to beer-houses. On the motion of Mr. JOHN B. SMITH it was or dered that the petition of inhabitants, householders, and owners of property in the New North road, Hox ton, and its vicinity, against the New North road (Continuation Act) Bill, (deposited in the Private Bill Office on the 15th day of May last) be referred to the Committee on the Bill; and that it be an instruction to the Committee to entertain the same, notwithstanding it was not de posited in the Private Bill Office within seven clear days after the second reading of the Bill, by reason of the illness of Mr. Hume, the Member to whom it was en trusted. Mr. BURROUGHES presented a petition from Nor wich against the Marriage Bill, one against the national education grant, and one against the Affirmation Bill, from the same place. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. Lord J. RUSSELL wished now to state the day on which ho proposed that the House should go into Com mittee on the Irish Poor-law. He proposed that it should form the first business of the day on Friday. The Right Honourable Gentleman the Member for the University of Oxford was anxious to call the attention of the House to the affairs of Canada, and to enable him to do so, he proposed to postpone the resolution for going into supply on the votes relating to Canada till Thursday wet k. Mr. GLADSTONE was willing, of course, to take any day that best suited the convenience of the Govern ment, but he hoped nothing would be done in the mean time to prejudice the question. Lord JOHN RUSSELL was not aware that there could be. CLAIMS ON FRANCE. Mr. HENRY BERKELEY moved for returns of all unsettled demands on the funds provided by the Go vernment of France for the liquidating the claims of British subjects, and of the balance which remains unappropriated to the liquidation of such claims, including interest thereon; together with copies of Treasury minutes relating to the surplus fund arising out of the treaties and conventions of 1814, 1815, and 1818, between his late Britannic Majesty and the King of France (in continuation of the returns already printed by order of the House of Commons of the 26th day of May, 1833, 3d day of March, 1834, and the 22d day of July, 1840).—Agreed to. PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. Mr. HUME, in rising to move for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the national representation, by extending the elective franchise so as to include all householders, by enacting that votes shall be taken by ballot, that the duration of Parliaments shall not exceed three years, and that the apportionment of representatives be ren dered more equal to the population, said, in addressing himself to this important subject, he must ask for the indulgence of the House, as he did not feel himself physically able to go fully into it. As an old re former, addressing a reformed House of Parliament, he could speak from experience as to how unsatisfactory it was for an independent Member to address the House on subjects of reform. During the last thirty years he had scarcely ever known a private Member introduce such a subject that it was not treated as it were unworthy of the time bestowed upon it. lie took a full share in the reforms of 1831, and he was happy that they had proved so successful, because their success had convinced many parties of talent and influence, who opposed them, that they had placed this country in the unenviable position it now occu pied. He was confident, though the Reform Bill was not carried out to that extent which many expected, that it had been productive of the greatest possible benefits; that it had put an end to the direct nomination for boroughs which formerly existed; and though it had fallen short of what they anticipated, they must yet look with gratitude to the change that was produced, and thank those who had contributed to bring it about. He believed an opinion now existed very generally among those who opposed that grand proceeding, that it had been productive of much good, and had satisfied many clesses who were aggravated at the state of things which then existed; and it was because he thought that reform was not carried out to the extent which it ought to go; it was because he saw in refusing to yield that which was the right of the gri at masses of this country ; it was on those grounds that he was induced to make the motion which was on the paper, although very unwilling to do so, for he had promised as long as he remained in the House that he would not let a session pass without using his humble endeavours to forward the reforms which he proposed. He was not prepared to deny that the House, and Parliament generally, was slow in making reforms, but it was better to go slow and sure than to make rapid strides, which were liable to danger. But he was prepared to submit that hich he thought was not in any way attended with danger, because it would produce great content and satisfaction among the community at large, who were anxious that it should be carried out. Every one, he believed, from the Crown to the peasant, were equally interested in having a good . government. He was aware that Parliament, instead of being an engine to promote that good which was in tended, was an engine which extracted from the people a greater amount of taxation than their circumstances could warrant. Under the great improvements, however, which had taken place, it was no longer in the power of any aristocracy, of any oligarchy, or of any class of individuals, as on former occasions, to dictate to the Sovereign, who had now the power of choosing her own Ministers.—(Hear, hear.) Up to the Reform Bill the Sovereigns of' this country had been the leading string of the oligarchy, and the revenue and the expenditure which was carried on in the different establishments had reference more to their own individual interests, and the interests of the classes belonging to them, and the in terests of the community at large were not at all taken into account. Now, he would say, that unless Parliament was what it purported to be—unless it represented the whole population—it was defective in its constitution. He did not say that any proposition of his could make Parliament perfect; but where they had evidence of acts of injustice committed in regard to the rights of those who ought to participate and have a share in the elections to that House, ho did say that every proposition that would tend to improve that Par liament ought to be supported by the House, and by the Ministers beyond all others; they Lad taken an oath to her Majesty to support such measures as would tend to the security of the Throne, and the welfare of the community at large. He would ask those Ministers if they c o u ld l a y th e ir h ea d s on their pillows with the reflection that they had acted as honest and faithful advisers of the Crown, to allow a state of discontent to exist which at times had threatened alarming consequences? Were he (Mr. Hume) in their situation, and had taken the oaths they had taken, he could not lay his head upon his pillow, and, as a Minister of the Crown, say that he had done his duty. He recollected Mr. Canning, on a motion brought forward by a late Member for Westminster (Sir F. Burdett) standing up in his place, and saying:--" As for me I take my stand against all reform; I am for the rotten boroughs; I wish to maintain them, and I do so because England has enjoyed a greater proportion of prosperity under the system which has existed . than in any of the continental powers; but (said Mr. Canning) I go further, Parliament has been ready to meet the cir cumstances of the times, and I will uphold, until I see reason for thinking otherwise, Gaston and Old Sarum as the bulwarks of the Constitution."—(A laugh.) He (Mr. Hume) had visited Old Sarum a few days previously, and seen not even a house there, and nothing but an old building for protecting the fort ; and he asked Mr. Can ning if that was a place to be represented. He replied, no ; but it is property, and property ought to be represented. As to Gatton and Old Sarum, and all the other rotten places, they w ere now removed; and at the period of . which he spok e , d e f ect i ve although that House was in its representation, still it stood at the top of the ladder among representative governments. No state in Europe could say that there was a greater degree of popular power or of p o p u l ar re p resen t a ti on ex i st i ng than existed at that time in England. The times were changed, and they had to consider whether they ought not now to make other changes. When his Ho nourable Friend Mr. Duncombe brought in a Bill to repeal the rate-paying clauses, which formed a great impediment to the working of the Reform Bill, it was thrown out by Ministerial influence. He (Mr. Hume) recollected the Noble Lord rallied his Hon. Friend on the danger of interfering with the Bill that had passed, and talked about progressive reform. What had been the Noble Lord's progressive reform since that? Why, the Noble Lord gave notice of his intention of bringing in a Bill for repealing the tax-paying clauses so tar as they related to the assessed taxes. He (Mr. Hume) thought the proceeding 3 of the two last years bad been perfectly delusive, and therefore he came to the c nclusion that the Noble Lord and his colleagues, reformers as they were in his day, had made up their minds to stand fast by the Reform Bill. They were now at the very bottom of the ladder of represen.ative government, and that which had been supposed dangerous to Englishmen had been conceded to Frenchmen and to almost every continental country.— (" Hear, hear," from Lord J. Russell.) Look at the result What had the result been? The result bad arisen from the reckless conduct of the sovereign of France, who, having agreed t o re f orm, gross ly violated his faith. He appeal e d to any man whether this had not been so ? Let them mark the progress of universal s u ff rage i n o th e r countries, and its growth in oar own, ln other countries, where it had been Con, coded to the people, had there been any alarm ? No! On the contrary, the returns at recent elections shored a prepenitrance of the Conservative party. Though the people of these countries had been up to the time when they were end ,wed with the right unaccus- ' turned to popular institutions, they had exercised the right, to speak justly of them, in the most praiseworthy manner. The Noble Lord was the first to cheer his interrogatory. Look at the result ? Why, if he looked to the condition of Prussia, of Vienna, he could not fail to be struck with the result of the conduct of the " dear darling Sovereigns," who, after taking solemn oaths on the altars of their country, to concede reform to the people, openly broke those solemn asseverations. Those were the parties against whom the Noble Lord should direct his complaints and taunts, and not the people who had been outraged, and who had no interest at heart beyond that of the whole mass of the population. Of late, however, he had not heard the ar gument broached that the people could not be trusted with the unlimited exercise of the suffrage.—(Hear, hear.) Indeed they were obliged to arm against the people to awe them from arising in their might, and de manding their rights in a way which could not be refused.—(Hear, hear) He looked with deep regret upon this, because he recollected the days when the Kings of this country could trust the preservation of the peace of the country to the keeping of their own people, and the peace was in those days preserved by such means. He recollected the time when the military was kept up to pro tect the country from foreign invasion, and when garrisons in other lands were simply kept up to protect places likely to be attacked by foreigners, when the only display made by the military were recruiting par ties; when the expenditure in respect of the military establishments was from 25,0001. to 26.000/., and when the Noble Lord (Lord Palmerston), when Secretary at War (es we understood), stated before a Committee that he only required military for foreign countries, and that he was content to trust the preservation of the peace to the people. Instead of the Government adopting means whereby they might repose in the affections and respect of the people, they adopted coercive and harsh measures. In 1792, Mr. Pitt, who was then in power, studied economy in the government of the State; the military cost but 25,000!., and the whole expense of the Civil Government was limited to 12,0001. or 13,000/. They had then very few barracks; now there were bar racks ha almost every town. Last year, for instance, 100,0001. was spent in building barracks at Preston, because they feared that the people would rise, and the whole country was covered with barracks— not to attack our enemies abroad, but to coerce and keep down the people at home. They had, for instance, twenty barracks scattered throughout the country, for no other purpose than the one he had stated. Ile appealed to the House, then, to protect the commonweal, which would effect far more than bristling bayonets and pointed artillery. What was it done for ? From the fear of reform. He admitted that there were ardent and wild Reformers, but because there were was no reason against their taking the claims of the people into consideration. In 1792 the taxation was 16,000,0001., now it was 60,000,0001., so that it had been quadrupled. The debt had been increased from the beginning of the war, from 230,000,000/. to 800.000,000/. He did not blame any one, but he declared this lay upon the oligarchy, who dreaded the spread of democratic principles, which drove them to a war against France, and brought that enor mous burden upon the people, which, unless some relief was given, must press them down. When men were well employed and well fed, matters progressed, and things went on well; but let a change take place, and then the convulsicn came. Why not, then, take this opportunity, and prevent such catastrophes by checking the extravagant expenditure of the State. He appealed to lion. Gentlemen who represented counties, and par ticularly those in the south, where men and their fami lies were subsisting upon 7s. and Bs. per week, to join him in the reform movement. If they were true Conservatives they would do so at once, for nothing could preserve the institutions of the country so much as timely concessions and wise changes.—(Hear.) He regretted that he was not in the House the other night when the miscellaneous estimates were under consideration, for then he should have had an opportunity of attacking the civil list, which was ore great cause of the enormous increase which had of late years taken place in the burdens of the country. The course, however, he was disposed to take upon that subject was to make an appeal to the Sovereign ; he would ask the Reuse to address her Majesty on the subject, and say to her— " We granted you the civil list, but let us see in what way it is expended." Let them set an example by making reductions at the fountain head. In the extravagant reign of George IV. the civil list was increased to an enormous amount, but at his death, and on the succession of William IV., the matter was referred to a Select Committee, and the civil list fixed at 385,000/. Now, he thought it due to her Majesty to state. that out of all that sum, only 60,0001. was at her own disposal. The re maining 325,0001. was spent by the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chamberlain, the Lord Steward, and the Master of the Horse. No doubt many of the servants of the Palace were maintained out of it, but he believed many of those servants were my Lord This and my Lady That, who had only duties to attend about once in two or three months. This was not the way to spend the money of the country ; and therefore, wittiout interfering with the votes of the foreign or other departments, in the first instance let them rather address her Majesty on the subject. Let Chain remind her that this was not a fit state of things, while the eye, passing along the unions of England, Scotland, and Ireland, would find four millions of people in an absolute state of destitution. In such a state of things there ought not to be expenditure of 320,0001. in keep ing a system of tawdry finery. A more simple style o: living would better become the Sovereign while there was so much suffering in the country. — (Hear.) The other night ho was at the Lord Mayor's dinner, where he met the ambassador of Constantinople, and an excellent friend of his who had been appointed to go to the United States as the repre sentative of this country, but he declared he was almost afraid to speak to them, as he could only do so through the instrumentality of tawdry-laced footmen.—(A laugh.) And so it was with the Ministers of State, who never went out without the attendance of tawdrily dressed footmen, whose general appearance only served to please and excite the admiration of children.—(A laugh.) He did not consider the sum of 60,0001. at the private disposal of the Queen too mueh, considering the calls that were made upon her charity—(Hear, hear) but when he saw how the other establishments of the Court were kept up, the gold lace and tinsel that was frittered away from tali. pockets of the people, be thought the time was come when they ought to have a House of Commons who would address her Majesty on the subject of such useless and wasteful expenditure. Ile would, therefore, begin at the head, and in saying that he was sure that her Majesty would be the first to say that her people ought not to be so un necessarily pressed upon, and that she would willingly yield to the suggestion of the House of Commons. Now, as a proof of what might be done, if only properly attempted, he would say, look at Belgium. When mat ters were represented in the proper quarter there, the franchise was extended immediately, and every public officer reduced his salary one-third towards the urgency of the State. Look again at the case of the present King of Wurtemburg, whose father was over head and ears in debt. When the present King ascended the throne he reduced his establishments one-half, and for which he obtained the love and affec tion of all -his subjects. He thought the time bad now come when similar steps should be adopted in England, and for that purpose he asked that the House of Commons should be made the real representative of the people.—(Hear, hear.) Unless they changed the pre sent system of the House of Commons, no good could be done.—(clear, hear.) The present House might be seized with fits of economy, but they would not be permanent.—(Hear, hear.) The change of the system of election was the only way to make things permanent in this country.—(Hear.) He longed to see that state of things return to this country which existed in the time of Elizabeth, who, when asked where were her troops, answered that her troops were her sub jects.—(Hear, hear.) Ho contended that Parliament did not represent the different communities that existed in this country, and if Parliament would only allow him to bring in the Bill, the details might be settled afterwards. There was a diffi culty even among his own friends to find those that would agree with every measure that he pro posed—(Laughter)—but if the House would allow him to bring in the Bill he would endeavour to modify his views to meet the wishes of all parties.—(Hear, hear.) If the people were to have a share in the representation of the country, they ought to have it effectually. If they were to do justice to the people they must extend the overst i u o f f n r, eins head—th(al I t e o a uu r g , oh h ut e s e a tor.") haveEveryue a a r voiceh emaar in thatt .) But eu had tr e hr h ee o n u t e e . was anxious to extend and bring within the pale of the Constitution those who ought to have a vote, he thought they ought to have the opportunity of voting secretly, namely, by the ballot.—(Hear, hear.) Having stated what his view of the constitution was, he would not read the opinions expressed by the Noble Lord below him (Lord J. Russell), which of late years he seemed to have thrown to the winds; nor to what fell from El rl Grey , when he introduced the Reform Bill; and he would only say that he was one of those who supported him with great enthusiasm, and raised the cry, " The Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill."—(Hear.) Al though he would not, as he had said, read the Noble Lord's (Lord John Russell's) speech, be would just state that the Noble Lord said every man under our constitution was considered to be represented in the House of Commons; that ho was considered to have a share in the election of those who made laws affecting his life and property, and, therefore, he recommended a reform, certainly not to the extent he (Mr. Hume) wished to go; but the principle argued by the Noble Lord went to show that what he proposed was right. There was one view in which ho thought the question ought to be sub mitted to the house—viz., that things were not remaining stationary, and that materials were being collected which must explode unless some timely remedy was adopted. The population of the country in round numbers amounted to about twenty millions; there were three millions of adults, and yet the number of electors only amounted to 826.000 ; but of the eight millions of the people of Ireland there were only 40,000 electors. From the returns of 1836, it appeared there was only one elector to 5i male adults; and since then the population had increased, and the relative num bers might now be taken at one elector to ten adults. The increase was not in the agricultural but in the ma nufacturing districts, where the people were, from their intelligence, more capable of exercising the franchise. In no disturbance that had taken place had the working classes of this country shown any disposition to plunder the property of their superiors—they had innumerable examples to the contraryi aAd would tll 110,160 refuse to :hone men, what had been given to the very Lezzaron of Italy ? What did the ire quality consist in? He had made a comparison be tween the great and small constituencies. He had taken 16 boroughs containing a population of 2,917,000, being one-i elf of the whole borough population of England. Those 16 boroughs returned 32 Members. He wished the House to compare them with 23 small boroughs, where th- re were only 100,000 inhabitants, and yet they returned as many Members as that immense population in the former 16 boroughs.—(Hear, hear.) Now, could any man say that was a fai r p art i c i pat i on i n t h e e lective franchise, to which all were entitled by the CO" . - stitution?—(Hear, hear.) He asked a fair partici pation not as a favour, but as a constitutional right. Would any man place himself in the situation of any one of those who were deprived of those rights , and see how he would act, if be was compelled to re main in that situation. What were the consequences the struggle ? Why the Chartists ; and they even took alarm.—(Laughter.) Was it not time to put an end to that state of things. He found there were 85 different' kinds of qualification for the electors of this country, from potwallopers to ten-pounders. Did net that lead to enorm ous expense, trou b le, delay, a nd ; complexity beyond an y t hi ng t h at could be conce i ve d 330 out of the 658 Members of which the Home Wl' sisted represented 3,127,000, and 328, 23,817,000. The larger number, or the majority, showed that on the aver' age each Member represented 9,500 electors, and that each of the minority represented 73,000 voters. Now th' s was called the people's House. Was any man s ° brazenfaced as to contend that it really was what it w st : styled?—(Laught er .) Th e aristocracy had one House e` their teen, and he saw no reason why they should possess that House also. Under the present system they, hole ever, possessed that House also.—(Hear, hear.) Wes it likely, when they put so many out of their doors' only admitting one out of every eight, that either property or the Crown could conti nue to be respected? Of what class did those consist of whe e l they excluded. Many of th e ar i stocracy f avo ured the establishment of b a th s , washhouses, 1113 lodging-houses, but he fou n d th at t h ey wer e the very persons who Would not 'admit the „," within the portals of the constitution, and!raise them te, the social scale. Give them their r i g h ts a nd t h e y 'wale work out their own redemption. The Lionourable tlember then referred to a speech delivere a f by Lord Ashley on the presentation ,° prizes for essays on th e Sabbath, in which 0 much complimented the ability and morality of 03 ,1 working classes. t that Nobl e L or d woo not give the people those rights which woul d enable them to accomplish all this for themselves, be: cause it would enable them to direct and feel an interes t in the welfare of the country, elevating them, therefore, in the social scale. Having then shown the elective franchise to be the right of the working classes, the question came to be in what mode ought the suffrage i t ° be extended so as best to rea c h an d b e ren d ere d a vai l s' ble to those classes. On thi s h ea d many p l an s wets issued. Some thought population ought to be the basis of the suffrage; others that property ought to be 6°. Some, again, thought that education ought to be the basis, while others were for household suffrage. Ile ' l , l° anxious to know how far a suffrage founded on porn!' Lion would infringe upon the right s o f property , and s found, from a table which had b een care f u ll y prePat`i by gentlemen residing in Leeds and Manchester, the were property taken as the basis of their representati on, England, Scotland, and Wales would return 553 Me l t * hers to Parliament, and that were population taken they would return about the same number. To take poptue tion as the basis, England would return 455 MemberS, Scotland 76, and Wales 22,.and to take property as tile basis, England would return 450 Members, Scotland 71, and Wales 32.—(Hear, hear.) I t was, therefore, the same thing whether they took population or property b° 0 the basis, but population bein g th e eas i est, he shou ld- inclined to submit to it. He was aware that many lit Gentlemen had consid era bl e apprehensions as manner in which he intended to form electoral - 'lire tricts, but he had no he s it a ti on i n say i ng that what' intended to do would not be attended with the least con' fusion. All he wanted to do w as , b etter to a pPertie those districts, to class different towns together, so al . they might join in returning a rep resentat i ve or rePro, sentatives between them, conformably to the populstie j, That had been already done to ome extent in Scotism' for the district he represented had five boroughs ° ri d ' fleeted with it. No difficulty would, t h ere f ore , be tou t in doing the same with other pl aces . H e con sidere d ' therefore, that there was no gr oun d f or d ou b t or aPPr e o hension on that point, and at the proper time, wer e 0 . allowed to bring in a Bill on the subject, he would t 1: 1 „a duce a scale in which these distri c t s were m i nu tely e' carefully arranged, and which, if a d opte d , would secur e the return of Members to that H ouse i n strict preVrtibnoe to the number of the populati on . H e had beside bile the b l actual extent which in Fr a n ce an d ot h er countr i e s such extension had been made w ith out any r i sk, b ut they bad an example in Scotland of h ow th e di v i s i on o f distrl to. had operated, and these details he would not go le o ,. Having, therefore, shown that it was necessary 10 e, s tend the franchise, and that to insure the free exere4 of that franchise, the ballot was also necessary, 4 0 thought the measure would be altogether incorePl_r4 without an equalisaticn of electoral districts, 11 4' 30 , or those reforms he appealed to the justice of ; s0 House. He thought no one could deny the justice o' l3o reasonable a proposition. He might be asked, as i : e d Noble Lord at the head of the Government was "T e a when he introduced a measure to repeal the navigat,.. o laws— , Where are your petitions in favour o f suea, measure ?" In answer the Noble Lord said, and truly said, that it was the duty of the Minister to propose wha t measures he thought proper for the good of the country, whether there were petitions calling for them or n° and although he would not exactly give the same ans we e yet he would say, that while last year petitions innue! • cable had been presented to the House in favour oi sc similar motion he then made, men had begun to see tb r it was useless to petition a trib una l w hi c h paid no ante. 003 tion to them; and e therefore, they bad refrained on petitioning on this occasion. But he would impress 11 ,P in t Government and the House the danger of allowing feeling to gain strength in th e country, and looking to o . o . liament simply as a me ans b y w hi c h good (301,,,ht went could be secured th e country, he thto they were bound to d o w h at they could cn , improve that Parlia ment , an d render it ntri. sonant with the wish es an d f ee li ngs of the eel l- t he Did, then, that House at present faithfully represent is country? He said, no . I t m i ght represent eerersl classes and certain interests, but the country in g el % go it did not represent. Under the old system, pre ha ve the passing of the R e f orm Bill , t h at system rnigh l , 0(4 done, but now it would not. Could any man stat r e e lloW in the present state of thi n g s so many o f t h e ir , 00 0 countrymen would lon g qu i et ly rema i n excluded yesn' electoral privileges? And it wou ld b e w i se in- LO the sa went and that House to yi e ld a t once an d give theie men justice, lest the withh o ldi ng o f i t m i g ht drive 0,100 to despair. He thought th e ti me h a d now come fil d at Government, if they could not go all the way, sh o 7, for. all (vents thew that they were anxious to go s t Let them show the people that they had an earn i e g ;,, be sire to give the people justice, and with that ja 0 begged to conclude by moving for leave to bring ding Bill to amend the national representation, by e x t , te idere , the elective franchise so as to include all house the by enacting that votes shell be taken by ballot; :"` l e ad, duration of Parliaments shall not exceed three Yea rs c i e rea that the apportionment of representatives be re o re' more equal to the populatio n . Th e H on . Membe r sumed his seat amid considerable cheering. m the Mr. H. BERKELEY said he begged to secon d o c motion of his Hon. Friend the Member for W e t So He was not aware what course Government m ea ns.: take in reference to it, whether they would take o gO disrespectful course which they took a f ew n ights air s° in reference to his motion on the b a ll ot — a colataid respectful to the constiHttruoelnn.ctioFesrtievehnhediciihwohsuesneht m il u ou ch se de a fe n r d enc d e is t r o es h p i e s e this motion, he considered that the queostioan be br eug „, th e before the House the other night (the ballot) lc" - , the most popular of those questions connected with pas reform movement, and that in consequence "„ s , proper it should be brought forward by itself, "iber carried, it would be the means of having those, e o att reforms, which he considered so necessary, carrie.l. t io o for it must be evident to all that so long as intirril• re' and corruption were mixed up with their system i e ep se' i d tths ee i r t o el °18 : e ie b 4l : presentation, so long would the people be t hat sented. The ballot had also more adherents in fi g ht House than any other reform m easure , for it f ibis! be said that not fe we r th an 150 Members o f ht House were it s warm supporters. He st ill t' ,u w t e 'o' therefore, that the Noble Lord at the head 6f the re ; vernment might hav e met t h at quest i on i n a WC)-r spectful maneer than he had done. But whether e 0 the the Noble L or d wou ld f o ll ow a s i m i lar cour se 2 GO' present instance, there were oth er mem b er s of the hone st v o te to vernment, who he thought were bo un d in hent e "eots their constituents to come forward an d ex plain t'l, o for they had given oa his motion, or rather to s polog eo t he it. He thought it became the Right Hon. Baro n dor' Secretary fur the Home Department for one t that course. That Right Hon. B arone t h a d voted be be on one occasion and black upon anoth e r ; an d v ibe ° not condescended to explain why h e vo t e black 18 41 ho ought to have voted white.—(L a u g hter.) - 1. 2/ the Right Hon. Baronet gave his support to t"' o terS tection of Voters Bill, in 1849 h e cons id e rs that h i f ei l ° require no protection.—(Hear, he ar .) He aske u ,, 04 9 : explain what had happened b e t ween 1842 am' su re which had caused the nece ss i ty f or suc h a mea Or?' disappear? Would he tell th em t h at t h e people 18,0: less to be depended on in 1849 than they were ' l ?etli ti ; —(Hear, bear.) If h e did so, i t would b e base /1-ruat tude on his part, fo r no man had better 01)40 of seeing the fidelity and honesty of the people I ' w :ba t Right lion. Baronet h a d b a d , ar id h e cou ld tell (10; had it not been for that fidelity and that honest'', 7 to ea" ties of the Secretary of State for the Home der' th e la would have been more arduous during 1848 t h. b ri had been. But there were others upon wbe in thef e e also a right to call for explanation, and among the` ce nt' the Master of the Mint.---(Laughter.) He we t tlepsit lected the effect the speech of the Right Hon. ue° sis in reference to the ballot in 1842 had upon 1 1 - 11:° • ds tbs earnest and impressive reasonisig, urged in woe vetting burn, depicted the system in its most clear and ..ve , got form; but that Right lion. Gentleman having 1 pyier l seat on Treasury Bench, contents himself withs of s ec ) that he does not think the people are so desirous a measure now as they were then.—(Hear, and,l oo , Gu, He must say that, by acting as they had '4, 0 sun" vernment had lost all the confidence theirui.ord, porters reposed in them. And now the Noble w , se prl o o ,, stead of looking for support to that quarter n o,`". IQ: ciples gave him the best claim to do so, hadc! .a ?, was !: to the R ght Hon. Baronet opposite, and the v t_f h iby r o could depend upon no support except that gt T ings /2% the Tories.—(Hear, bear.) Such a state o . l , r ed conceived to be deplorable. He was hinssep t _re: l ; ,fent ‘ L that House not in any way connected w_ l ,7* he ' r , SOL'. Corn-law League, but, as an independent Do. "'"%eg him right, 1444 oppose yaiOri he ing to support the Noble Lord h w t h h en ba la w ei cogi 51;tot