The Sun. — London, England, 1861-02-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 19, 1861. IMP EgIAL PARLIAMENT. 110ZSE 'OF COMMONS :ESTERDAY.) PO 3D SEA "I'ELEGRAPH, &c. Gen. UP' k."'"—N aalr'..4 the Secretary to the Treasury if all means had. been + .aken by the official director of electric telegraph oro:gaskita—himself one of the ex officio directors of the Re d Se% Telegraph Company—to insure complete and unint ferrupted insulation in the Red Sea telegraph cable by an el' ieent and continuous testing of the cable during the VT ,v3ss of ita manufacture ? F. PEEL said that the testing in question had been effi' ..f'ently performed by the servants of the company. BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY (SALARIES, &c.) BILL. After a short discussion the bill went through cora =Wee. BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY BILL. The house went into committee on this bill. Clauses 1,2, 3,4, and 5 were agreed to, with some modification. On. clause 6, which gives jurisdiction to county court judges in reference to bankruptcy and insolvency, BOLT strongly objected to the clause, and moved it,, omission. After a short discussion, the clause, with some amend .xuent, was agreed to. Clause 7 was also agreed to. Mr. A. SMITH moved the omission of clause 8, which gave Government power to create county courts at dis cretion. Mr. WALPOLE did not intend to oppose the clause, but expressed strong apprehension as to the effect of the intro duction of clauses giving jurisdiction to County Court judges in bankruptcy. The County Courts and the Bank ruptcy Courts were essentially distinct. In the first the litigation went rapidly, and in the latter the administration was necessarily slow. He therefore feared that the combi nation of the two' judicatures would be injurious to the con:is and detrimental to the public' %West & Sir H. WILLOUGHBY said the aoUntry was charged with a sum amounting to nearly £600,000 for the payment of judges, and contended that upon constitutional as well as economic grounds it was expedient that a limit should be fixed to the power of increasin g th em under the operation of the clause. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL maintained that a Go vernment had two important duties to discharge, —the one being the protection of those whose interests were committed to its keeping from external violence; the other their pre servation a 3far as possible from internal injustice and wrong. The former duty th e H ouse of Commons always performed in a liberal spirit ; the latter, he regretted to say, was by some hon. gentlemen dealt with after a somewhat niggardly fashion. (A laugh.) In that circumstance lay the great difficulty of making provision for such cases as those to which the clause applied ; but he could assure the commit tee that they need not be under any apprehension that the prerogative of the Crown could be unduly exercised under its operation by the appointment of new County Court judges, inasmuch as it would be necessary to come to Parliament for the purpose of obtaining a vote for the payment of their salaries, and a sufficient check upon their creation would thus be established. He might add that the adminis tration under the Bankruptcy Court in the provinces was frequently not at all satisfactory, owing to the fact that there were large districts throughout the country —some 60 or 70 miles in extent—and embracing a considerable number of populous manufacturing towns, in which the present machinery of the court was not ade quate to the due performance of its functions, and ho had, therefore, deemed it right to take the poWer to create additional courts in those localities. Mr. E. JAMES was disposed to look upon the clause as Placing too great a power in the hands of the Crown, while be very much doubted whether the authority to turn loose upon the country some 20 or 30 County Court judges would be regarded by the public at large as promoting that internal protection which the Attorney-General had very properly stated it to be the duty of a Government to afford. (A laugh.) If it were found that additional judges were re quired under the operation of the bill it would be very easy at any time to apply to Parliament to effect that object—a course, in his opinion, far preferable to enabling the Lord Chancellor, as the clause proposed to do, to create those functionaries ad libitum. Sir F. GOLDSMID was of opinion that if the committee were to pass the clause as it stood they would be as it were recognising the probability of new judges being created by the Crown, and would thus be incurring to some extent a moral obligation to grant their salaries when applied for. Under those circumstances it would be perhaps advisable that a limit should be placed to the number of such appoint ments. Mr. M. SMITH said that if power were given to the Crown in the present bill to appoint additional judges, and an application should afterwards be made to Parliament for salaries, Parliament would in that case find itself clogged by the action previously taken by the Crown under the authority of a public act. It would be under the necessity either of quarrelling with the appointment of the Crown, or of granting the salaries as a matter of course. Another reason for opposing the clause was that the jurisdiction would be much better exercised by district commissioners than by County Court judges. The ATTORNEY- GENERAL explained the course which would be pursued under the clause. When her Ma jesty shnuld be of opinion that there was a necessity for a new dist Act, the scheme would in the first instance be sub mitted to Parliament for its consideration, and if approved, would then be promulgated. Parliament, therefore, would not be surprised into any vote, nor would any ap pointment be made without its knowledge and sanction. Mr. SMITH asked whether the hon. and learned gentle man would have any objection to introduce words to that effect into the clause at a future stage ? The ATTORNEY -GENERAL replied that the scheme for a nr,w district must necessarily be submitted to Parlia ment before promulgation; but he had no objection to insert words to that effect. The clause was then agreed to. Clauses 9 and 10 were agreed to without discussion. 'On clause 11, relating to officers of the court, Mr. NE WDE GAT E asked the Attorney-General whether the salaries of the officers of County Courts were to be in creased in proportion to the expected increase of their duties, and whether the salaries of the judges themselves were not to be dealt with Ina similar manner ? The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said the officers of the County Courts were remunerated by fees, and the addi tional business would, of course, give them additional re muneration. lie did not propose to augment the salaries of the County Court judges. Mr. NEWDEGATE could not see why, if they could command the fees in the case of the registrars, they should not also bo able to give a just increase of salary to the judges with an increase of business. The clause was then agreed to. Clause 12 was agreed to. Clauses 13 and 11 were postponed. On clause 1.5 being proposed, "" . 11Ir. MURRAY expres,ed a hope that the official assig nee, as regiitrar, should not combine the offices named in the 20th clause in connection with that now under conside ration, otherwise there would be no audit in the district. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL admitted that it would be the most unreasonable thing in the world to allow the - registrar of a County Court acting as official assignee to send in his bill of costa and charges. 'I he clause was then agreed to. Clauses 16, 17, and 18 were agreed to. On clause 19, Mr. MURRAY complained that in some local districts fees of the most' exorbitant kind were charged. It would be a great advantage if arrangements were made by which one taxing master were appointed, all business being trans ferred to London, so that a uniform system might be adopted. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL thought the suggestion a valuable one; the only difficulty was as to the arrange • ment of machinery to give it effect with economy and de spatch. If the hon. member would embody his views in a clause it might be considered on bring ing up the report. The clause was ordered to stand part of the bill. Clause 20 was agreed to. On clause 21, reducing the number of official assignees, Mr. M. SMITH suggested that the clause se gto h ls o t u i l n dbe postponed, as it entirely depen ded on the cl ause s r the creditors' assignees, which would require a good deal of consideration. The mercantile community were expecting . a little too much if they expected that there could be any very inexpensive collection of a bankrupt's assets. bankrupthimself generally got in all the asse t s wh i c were e easy of col'ection, and left the rest to be got i n by the as signees. Mr. MELLOR saw no object that was to be gained _by delaying this clause, which was perhaps more strongly de manded by the commercial community than any other por tion of the measure. Mercantile men professed their readi ness to undertake the duties of creditors' assignees. Mr. ROEBUCK said they were told there was a cry among the mercantile public for divesting official assignees of.teir present functions. lie had learnt that cries were often very senseless things, and he thought the present one would prove one of the most senseless. When official as signees htut been got rid of he believed it would be found that inefficient and useless persons had taken their place, who would charge dearly for servicestbat were ill-performed, and that then there would be a cry to lave the official as signees restored. Mr. MALINS supported the r ecommidation that this clause should be postponed. The objections he had previ ously expressed to this part of the bill had been in no de gree mitigated. Official assignees had no doubt been paid too highly in the ease of large estates, but that was not sufficient reason for abolishing them. It was desirable, it the collection of assets, that there should be a public officer into kbose hands they should all go. Mr. MURRAY thought the time had arrived when offi cial assignees should be reduced both in number and in fees ; and he hoped the clause would be at once proceeded with. The ATTORNEY -GENERAL could not consent to postpone the clause. (Hear.) No doubt it was the duty of that house to consider whether any particular "cry" had a t, In this case the general foundation b e fore they yielded to i demand certainly was, that creditors should have restored to them the administration of what was really their own affairs—(hear) ; and he could not say that that de and was unreasonable. Ile fully recognised the value of t e services of the official assignees, especially in collecting mall debts, because they had a largo staff of clerks, and co • d easily re sort to the commissioner or the judge. On •of the provi sions of the bill, therefore, intrusted to them he getting in of debts not exceeding £lO, which they could do more cheaply than a solicitor could. The number of these gentle men was at present, however, far too many, and, indeed, he thought there would not be sufficient work for those whom the bill proposed to retain. Mr. M. SMITH did not assert that under no circum stances would mercantile men consent to act as creditors' assignees. What he maintained was that the provisions of this bill were too stringent and burdensome, and would tend to deter such persons from undertaking these daties. The clause was then agreed to. rpon clause 22, Mr. BRISCO wished to know whether it was intended that the judge should have power to dismiss messengers without any misconduct on their part. There were only five messengers in, the London district, and one of them had held his dismiss s ee fa those 45 years. eoffieers after lt would,so he thought, long a serve b service without il e hard houtan t compensation. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said the reasons for dis continuing any messenger would be stated in the order made by the judge. The messengers were employed to take posses: ion of property, and although the present holders of those offices were very respectable gentlemen, yet their duties were such as might be performed by very subordi nate officers. i Mr. HENLEY wished to know whether it would be a sufficient ground for dismissal that their services were no longer required. Mr. BRISCOE still thought it to be harsh to remove men who had held these offices for 40 years without any misconduct on their part. The clause was then agreed to, as were other clauses up to 26. Upon clause 26, _ _ Mr. MALINS referred to the position of the provisional assignee of the Insolvent Debtors' Court, who, by this clause, was to receive the same emolument as the other offi cial assignees. As that officer had always performed his duties in a moat satisfactory manner it would be unfair to reduce him now from £1,500, the amount of his present in come, to £1,200 per annum. He (Mr. Malins) proposed an amendment to the effect that the provisional assignee should continue to receive the same amount as he now derived from his office. Mr. MELLOR eaid the bill provided that the provisional assignee df the Insolvent Debtors' Court should perform the same duties as the official assignees. It would there fore be unfair that he should receive a different salary from the official assignees. Mr. 'WILLIAMS wished to know why the provisional assignee should be placed in a better position than the offi cial assignees ? Mr. MALINS thought it very hard that, after havinv. discharged the duties of the office for 42 years, the gentle man in question should norm havehis salary cut down, espe cially as he would still have to the same amount of work. Mr. HENLEY believed diet if they allowed the provi sional assignee to retain his present emoluments there would be a difficulty in dealing with the official assignees. He asked whether the emoluments wore in the shape of fees or salary ? Mr. MALINS—Partly fees and partly salary. Mr. COLLIER deemed £1,200, the remuneration which the provisional assignee would receive under the bill, amply sufficient for the duties he had to perform. The clause was agreed to. Clauses from 27 to 35, both inclusive, were also agreed to. In clause 36, providing for the payment of the salaries:of the present officers of the Insolvent Debtors' Court, Mr. MA LINS proposed to omit the words " as nearly:as may be out of the same feuds, and payable in the same manner in all respects, as if this act had not been passed," and to substitute for them, " and the same shall be paid out of the fund standing to the credit of the Chief Regis trar's account." The ATTORNEY-GENERAL promised to consider the matter before the report ; and upon that understanding the clause was agreed to. On clause 37, Mr. E. JAMES inquired on what principle the scale of remuneration to official assignees had been fixed. At pre sent he believed there was scarcely any uniformity in the manner of their payment. The different estates were bal loted for, and, while a fortunate assignee got hold of proper- ties which were largely remunerative, there were others who in 10 or 15 years cleared little more than the amount of their establishment charges. It ought not to be forgotten in determining the payment to which they were to be en titled, that their duties under this measure would be mate rially lessened. He therefore moved that a fixed sum be allowed them in place of the salary and allowances contem plated by the bill. Mr. ROEBUCK asked the Attorney-G eneral whether he had not last year been of opinion that these gentlemen were entitled to more than £1,200 a-year ? The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said he was induced last year, in consequence of representations made by a deputa tion of official assignees, to fix their maximum remuneration at £1,500 a-year. The clause inserted for this purpose led to a great deal of remonstrance, and was among other mat ters a reason why the bill had to be given up. Since that time he had caused inquiries to be made, the answers to which satisfied him that for several years previous to 1856 the average emoluments of these gentlemen did not amount to £1,200 a-year; but by a return extending from the 11th October, 1857, to the end of the year 18.59, it appeared that their remuneration had largely increased. These gentlemen, it should be remembered, were often placed in situations of considerable peril; in some instances they had been made de - fendants to suits and obliged to pay heavy costs; but to this liability the bill contemplated they should no longer be ex posed, On referring to the measure by which their offices were created he found that the original intention was that they should receive £BOO a-year ; but having reference to their length of service, to the altered nature of their position, and to their average receipts for the last 10 or 12 years, ho thought it would be found that £1,200 a-year was by no means an exaggerated estimate. Mr. M. SMITH remarked that this clause only provided that the income tax should not exceed a certain sum ; it did not provide for the other alternative, and state that it should not be less than a given amount. Sir M. PETO had been assured by one of the official assignees that for 15 years their average income had been £1,600 per annum; fur 12 years, £l,BOO ; and for 7 years over £2,000. Mr. MURRAY said that the official assignees who had the maximum of profit seemed to have no more business than those who had the minimum. He thought the proper course would be to adopt the principle of the bill of last year, and fix a minimum salary of £BOO, with fees. That was the only way to get the official assignees to do their work. Two of them had been examined, and both objected to take a salary exclusively. Mr. MALINS observed that by the clause, as it now stood, the salary could not exceed £1,200, but it might be only 12s. Something ought to be fixed certain, He could not see the force of the observation of the hon. member for Newcastle (Mr. Murray) that the official assignees could not be got to do their duty without a salary in addition to fees. As every other officer of the court was to bo paid by salary, wby should an exception be made in the case of the official assignees ? Mr. BRISCOE suggested that the clause might be amended by substituting the words " shall amount to" for the words " shall not exceed." This would secure the offi cers a salary of £1,200 a-year. Mr. A. SMITH said that so much depended on the dili gence used by the official assignees in the collection of the assets, it would be better to pay them partly by salary and partly by fees. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL was willing to so alter the clause that the proposed arrangement would apply to the existing assignees, but that no assignee hereafter to bo appointed would receive more than £1,200 a-year, Would such an alteration meet the views of the hon. and learned member for Marylebone ? Mr. E. JAMES would be perfectly content with such a settlement of the matter. The amendment of the hon. and learned member (Mr. James) was then, by leave, withdrawn ; and the clause was postponed in order to give the Attorney-General an opportunity of making his proposed alteration. On clause 38, relating to the messengers, Mr. MALINS asked the Attorney-General to postpone it. 1 The ATTORNEY-GENERAL assented. Mr. JAMES hoped the hon. and learned member for Wallingford would inform them on a future occasion what was the proper definition of the term messenger, what duties the messengers to Bankruptcy Courts performed, what amount of money they had received, and how much they returned to the income-tax. (Hear, hear.) Mr. MAL INS said the Bankruptcy messengers had had for many years very important duties to perform, and he had never heard that they had not performed them very well. Whatever they had received they had received under the law, and he thought tho house would be slow to leave them suddenly in their old ago with scarcely any provision. Mr. BRISCOE had just received two petitions from messengers in Bankruptcy, but had not had time lo peruse them. He had no doubt they contained important state ments, and he should take care to make himself master of them. Mr. SPOONER said that in the collection of assets much depended on the vigilance and honesty of the mes sengers. It was often the ease that fraudulent bankrupts concealed property, and it was the duty of the messenger to discover it. It was a more important office than the hon. and learned member for Marylebone seemed to suppose. The clause was then postponed, and also clause 39, as to the retiring annuity of the judge. Upcm clause 40, which provides that officers who have served 20 years, or who have before beco me incapacitated by ill health, shall be entitled to pensions to the amount of two-thirds of their salaries, Mr. A. S MITH move d t h e a dditi on o f t h ese words : "and these offices might b e fill e d by men aged 25 3 and, th e y - & would be entitled to retire, even though in good health, when they were 45. While they held office they ought to provide retiring pensions for themselves. (Hear.) Th© ATTORNEY-GENERAL saw no objection to the alteration if the officers were at liberty to retire when inca pacitated by ill health. • The amendment wasagreed to, and the clause as amendoi ordered to stand part of the bill. Clause 41, referring to annuitants who accept other offices, was agreed to. On clause 42, which provides that the compensations under Ist and 2d William IV., cap. 53, sections 52, 53, and 51, to the Patentee of Bankrupts, the former Commissioners of Bankrupts, the Clerk of the Hanaper, and other officers of the Court of Chaneery, shall be paid into the Bank of Eng land by the Commissioners of the Treasury out of moneys yearly voted by Parliament, §ir N. WILLOTIGHB? asked the committee whether they were prepared to see a new item in the miscellaneous estimates. The house last year refused to allow these pay ments to be made out of the Consolidated Fund, and he now called upon them to say that they should tot be an- nually voted by Parliament, bat continue to be paid out of the fund from which they had been drawn for 40 years. There was an ample find out of the interest of which these payments could be made ; and he objected to their being thteNvh itpoh the public purse. He =toted that all the words of the clause after the word "funds' be omitted. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL observed that these pay ments were now made by statute, which required that they should be paid ottt of a lima contributed by creditors in their capacity of suitors for justice. This was objectionable in principle, and wh.y should the committee refuse to cor rect the errors of past legislation ? If it was the duty of the State to provide for the administration of justice, it was also the duty of the State to do so at the expense of the community. So far as the 13ankruptcy Cottrt performed the public duty of administering justice in this important branch of the law, it was the duty of the State to find the funda necessary fur so doing. (llear, hear) All he asked the Committee to do was to relieve the unfortunate suitors in the Bankruptcy Court from an unjust burden placed on them, in return for which they had no specific advantage, and which had been imposed upon them by past legislation. (Hear.) The Commissioners of 1854 pointed otit the great injustice of this burden, and recommended that the Cold pensations hitherto paid out of the Suitors' Fund should be placed upon the Consolidated Fund of the country. In accordance with that recommendation the bill of last year proposed to put the payments on the Consolidated Fund, but an objection was taken to this on the ground that it would establish the payments in perpetuity. In the present bill ho had made an alteration which would have the effect of making the compensations payable by moneys annually voted by Parliament. He trusted this proposal would be adopted by the house. There was nothing more unwise or unjust than to tax suitors, in addition to the expense they necessarily incurred on going into court, for the justice which they sought to obtain. Mr. BARROW said the Attorney-General told them that he was throwing those payments into a charge which was to be paid annually by a vote of Parliament, but the words of the clause were to a contrary effect, for they de clared that the amount " should be paid into the Bank of England out of moneys to be from year to year voted for that purpose by Parliament." The sums were to be paid, and the Parliament was to provide the amount. (Hear.) He denied that there was any injustice in paying these compensations out of the fund contributed by the suitors. The Attorney- General might with equal reason contend that the law ex penses of all who went to law should be paid by the State. So long as there was a fund—as ho understood was the case, from the speech of the hon. baronet—from which these compensations could be paid, there was not the slightest justification for charging them on the tax-payers. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY wished the Attorney-General to state whether there was not a balance of the bankrupts' account amounting to £1,500,000, the interest of which, at 4 per cent., was £60,000. If that were the case, it was surely fairer to go to this fund for these payments. The committee could scarcely seriously intend to place an enor mous charge of this kind on the tax-payers, as long as this fund was unexhausted. If they would do that they would do anything. (A laugh.) He hoped that gentlemen, who, in words at least, professed to have strong objections to in creasing the Miscellaneous Estimates, would take this opportunity of making a beginning of giving effect to their professions. They would thereby save themselves from many tiresome debates, for there could not fail to be a debate every year when this vote was proposed. Mr. HFNLEY had voted last year against placing these charges on the Consolidated Fund, but the mode of dealing with them now proposed was ten thousand times more ob jectionable. Nothing could be more unfair both for the public on the one hand, and for the gentlemen who had had these compensations assured to them for the last 30 years, 1 than this proposal. The act declared that these compensa tions should be paid out of a certain fund, and for fear that fund should be sufficient to meet them this bill proposed to cut off a large portion of the stream which fed it. • The Attorney-General pretended to say that it would bo in the power of Parliament to deal with these compensations at any future time, but, in fact, the hands of Parliament would be tied neck and crop—(a laugh)—and the first time any hon. gentleman got up in Committee of Supply to object to the vote he would be met by the reply, "You consented to take away the stream which fed this fund, and you have no choice now but to find the money." It was a mere delu • sion to say that this mode of dealing with the matter would not fix the compensations on the public purse. He confessed he was at a loss to know upon what ground the country was asked to give the proposed compensation, and he knew not why it should not be paid out of the balance of a million and a half. (Hear, hear,) . Mr. MALINS was unable to vote for the amendment which the hon. baronet proposed. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL begged to explain to the house that his proposal was, that the money should be voted annually. The bill of last year proposed to fix the charge upon the Consolidated Fund, but the house on that occasion objected, and they had, in fact, tied him "hand and foot, and neck and crop." (Laughter.) Mr. MALINS did not think it right that the creditors of estates in bankruptcy in 1861 should have their dividends. diminished in order to pay those compensations to whom it was guaranteed in 1832. The hon. and learned gentleman felt, and indeed acknowledged, the inconvenience of the course he proposed. Under the circumstances, he thought it would be better for him to throw the charge upon the Consolidated Fund, and he should have his support in such an object ; but if he shrank from that course, he would sup port the amendment of his hon. friend the member for Evesham. These compensations were made by Parliament, and ought to be I aid by Parliament. Mr. HENLEY observed that there could be no ground for saying that Parliament should direct these coinpensa • tions to be paid out of the, Consolidated Fund. The pre sent creditors had not contributed to the bankruptcy fund, and therefore the money was not theirs. These patent offices were abolished for the good of the suitors, and they had no right to resort to the public funds for the payment of their compensations. Mr. VANCE complained that the bill made no attempt to relieve Irish tax-payers from the payment of compen sations to offices abolished in Irelar d. The committee then divided, and the numbers were— For the amendment Against Majority against 5O The clause was then agreed to. Clause 43 was also agreed to. Clause 41 was postponed. Clause 45 was agreed to. Clauses 46, 47, 48, 49 were postponed. Clause 50 was agreed to. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL then moved that the Chairman report progress, as many members had left the house on the understanding that they would not proceed farther that night. The motion having been agreed to accordingly, The house resumed, and the Chairman reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again. PAROCHIAL ASSESSMENTS BILL. Sir G. C. LEWIS moved the second reading of this bill. Mr. HENLEY expressed his hope that if the bill passed its second reading that night, the right hon. gentleman would not press it forward in committee for some little time yet, in order that time might be afforded to consider any objections. Looking at the bill without any explana tions from the Government, he must say he entertained serious apprehensions that it would be attended in practise with great expense. Mr. A. SMITH said there were several objections to the bill, and he hoped the right hon. gentleman would consent to postpone the second reading. Mr. DEEDES thought the machinery of the bill was cumbrous and . expensive, and that it would not produce adequate results. He should like to see a system of inquiry by which parochial assessments would be placed on a fair and just footing. With a view to fuller consideration he desired the second reading of the bill deferred for some short time ; but if that were not agreed to, he trusted that there would be no objection made to sending the bill to a select committee. Mr. BARROW said he could only assent to the second reading of the bill on the understanding that the board of assessment was 0 be remodelled. Sir G. C. LEWIS said that the bill was intended to alter the present unjust system of parochial taxation. He would not trouble the house on the present occasion with the details of the machinery of the measure, but he trusted that the second reading would be agreed to. If there was a general desire to have the bill sent to a select committee he should offer no objection to that course. He should fix Monday week for going into committee on the bill, and the house could then determine whether the consideration of the bill by a select committee were necessary. Mr. Alderman SIDNEY objected not to the principle of the measure, but he suggested that the proposed boards of c l l t o w n a s should b l e e , c h o e • e b x e t l e i n e v s i e v d e , o e onlyb being h madethe im i a v o e n s r y . . i T u h r sd b 11: valuable measure. Mr. E. JAMES urged that the second reading should be deferred for a week or ten clays, and then referred to a select committee. In fairness ho thought that course should be assented to. If it were not, he intended moving that the bill be read a second time that day fortnight. Mr. PULLER criticised several clauses of the bill, and expressed a hope that the measure would be fully considered by a select committee. Mr. BRIGHT said the bill had been only three or four days before hon. members, and he thought that as it was one of great importance it was advisable that some delay should take place before the second reading, in order that their respective constituencies might have time to consider its provisions. He would therefore move that the debate be adjourned for a fortnight. (Hear, hear.) Sir G. C. LEWIS said if ho thought that was the gene ral wish of the house he would accede to lit, but as there was a general agreement as to the principle of the bill, he thought the second reading might be taken now, especially as ample time would be afforded for discussing details in committee, which the bill would go into on Monday week, after which it would be referred to a select committee. Mr. BARROW objected to going into committee at s'o early a period as Monday week. Mr. WALPOLE supported the motion for reading the bill a second time, as according to the Secretary of State's arrangement, abundant opportunity would be afforded for considering the provisions of the bill. Mr. DEEDES supported the second reading of the bill. The amendment was then withdrawn, and the bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed this day fortnight. EMANCIPATION OF THE RUSSIAN SERFS. The important Ukase for the emancipation of the Russian Serfs, expected to be promulgated in Feb ruary, is positively announced for March. A loan of a very large amount was considered a necessary preliminary to the appearance of the ordinance. The plan adopted by the Russian Government late last year—we are not certain how far it has been persevered in—was to give each head of a serf family the full property of his cabin, and of the small garden or spot of ground in which it is generally enclosed. In return for ceding this, as well as for abandoning his right to the forced labour of his serfs during so many days in the year, the Russian landed proprietor was to receive an indem nity, partly paid in money, which the loan was to provide, partly in bonds, which the gradual sale of Crown property for a certain number of years was to meet. It was also provided that the serfs them selves should by degrees and by instalments pay for the property they received and the liberation from labour granted them. We are exceedingly loth to criticise the Russian Emperor or his Government in their provisions for a social change so generous and philanthropic ; but it would be of no advantage to blink the great difficulties that await the carrying out of so vast and so weighty a project. In all countries the population of which has fallen to a state of serfdom, emancipation has been the work of time, attended with obstructions and relapses ; and perhaps there is no social revolution so difficult to accomplish as that which converts the cultivator of the soil from the condition of paying for the value of the ground he tills in labour or in kind, to the superior relation of paying in rent. This change is easily effected, and indeed comes of itself. in the ~e i7hbourhood of towns, where there is a ready market for agricultural produce. But in Rrussia these are few. In most countries of Europe the clergy favoured the emancipation of the artisan, and afforded him asylum and protection beneath the towers of the abbey or the church. When a town was thus formed, the ways of the peasants who supplied it became assimilated to those of the townsmen they supplied, so far as to receive a money price, and consequently to be ready to pay it. But the Church occupies no such position in Russia; and instead of allowing artisans to form independent congregations in towns, landed pro prietors have undertaken to employ them, keeping their serfs all the time. Imperial Ukase of emancipation will be all ^n it pretends to be to the artisan `he same blessing to those por• -gantry who are near to -cons in Russia in 'otter. In The_ and more ti,— class. It will prove b.. tions of the agricultural pc.._ a market. But there arc wide reg._ ^lns which emancipation will prove a dean many the landlords have no ready money, no la— to pay for the daily labour of the peasant, no faci lities for either raising or selling produce so as to find money to pay rent. In such districts things will remain pretty much as they are at present, ex cept that the peasant, made proprietor of his cot tagd and garden, will feel a very diminished incen tive to work, and will probably make use of his new liberty in not working at all. In that case, proprietor and peasant will both suffer, and both become poorer for the edict of forced emancipation. Notwithstanding, we by no means address any reproach to the Government. Without an impulse from the higher power everything will stand still in Russia. And it is better that innovations should be made, and inconvenience arise, which may be met by legislation and exertion, than that so fine a country should stand still. There is one circum stance, and it should be largely taken into account, which renders the great question of the relation of the peasant to the soil a much more dangerous ques tion at present throughout the whole east of Europe than it was in the west when the great change took place there from serfdom to tenantry. Throughout the east of Europe the peasant con siders that he has a right and property in the soil. Any legislative act that would totally dispossess him, and make a mere day labourer of him, would create serious discontent and inevitable explosion. Government, therefore, or assemblies who make a grant of the fee simple of cottage and garden, do a foolish thing, perhaps, in one sense, but an inevi table concession in the other. Such a grant renders the Russian peasant half independent of either labour or landlord, and is a terrible incentive to idleness. But to propose to the serfs emancipation without this, would to them wear the character of spoliation ; and from all we learn, it would be met by a general and formidable insurrection. The worst of such social revolutions by ordinance is, that they do not always find the people able or instructed enough to profit by them. In the law collections of England and France we find grants of emancipation for several lands and districts re peated over and over again. The peasantry could not profit by freedom, and were obliged to relapse into servitude. In the West then, as in Russia now, the serf was but a grown child. He had land marked out for him, seed provided for him, labour in sufficient quantities directed now to this spot, now to that. Is the serf everywhere ready, even at the voice of the Emperor, to do all this for himself? No doubt intelligent and philanthropic landlords might do much. But these are rare, as is sufficiently indicated by the fact that the Russian nobles or gentry are universally opposed to the Imperial measure. Government commissioners might be sent down to aid and to direct ; but any one acquainted with the corruption of Russian functionaries must feel that such agents would make matters infinitely worse. We sincerely hope that we exaggerate the ob stacles in the way of the Emperor's noble act. We shall watch it with care, and we shall be de lighted to note and to admit that we have been mistaken. But, however slow or obstructed the progress of emancipation may be in remote dis tricts, it is impossible to conceive a larger act of justice and liberation to the immense numbers of ingenious and industrious Russians who inhabit towns. There every mechanic, smith, carpenter, builder, baker, even shopkeeper, was a serf, com pelled to pay the greater part of his hard-won earn ings to a distant lord, who very often gathered his whole income from this lucrative slave-gang. If the Imperial Ukase did but put an end to this, it would be in itself a blessing, of which it would be impossible to extol too highly the beneficent re. sults. Even here, however, there will be for the present generation the drawback of indemnifying existing proprietors to a certain degree for what they lose. The Emperor insists on cancelling no property in serfs without indemnity ; and his financiers insist, that since the State cannot, the serfs themselves must pay this indemnity. For this, however, the better class of serfs are prepared. Nor will any dif ficulties be found in this, not the least important part of the transaction. But as to the rustic popu lation, it will be a very serious matter to free them, yet induce them to work, to demand money pay ments of them in regions where no money pene trates, or to require provident habits of those who have never worked but at a master's bidding.— Daily News. FREIVCLI ACA DE3II OF SCIENCES. At the last sitting Dr. Jobert de Lamballe gave an account of a most singular surgical operation peformed by him, in the case of a soldier named Gustin, aged 21, who had been wounded at an ad vanced post before the Malakoff tower in the Crimea. A ball had penetrated through his forehead, mak ing a clean circular opening of the sizo of about a one-franc piece; the man thus struck fell down from the parapet, a height of seven feet, and was taken to the nearest ambulance in a state of insensi bility, which lasted 24 hours. Eight days after he was shipped off to Constantinople, where he staid four months in a military hospital. However, being well provided, it would seem, with the organ of combativeness, he asked and obtained permission to return to the Crimea, although his wound was in full suppuration. He subsequently fought at Traktir, and afterwards returned to France, where he continued in the army, but without being employed in any active service on account of the state of his health, his wound still suppurating as before. At length, in February, 1857, he entered the Hotel Dieu and placed him self under the care of Dr. Jobert, who, upon ex amination, found that a ball was still lodged inside his skull ; this, with a variety of pre cautions, was successfully extracted, and the man is now perfectly recovered. The ball had re mained in for the space of twenty-two month ! M. Gaudry sent in a paper on the excavations exe cuted by him in Greece by order of the Academy. Among the numerous kinds of fossils discovered by him at Pikermi, there are the hones of a nonde script kind of nntclope, to which he has given the name of Palaeotragus Rouenii. The animitl must have been a large one, but M. Gaudry has found a still larger species, exceeding in size any of those preserved in the Museum of Paris, and to which he proposes to give the name of Palaeoryx. There is a second, but a much smaller species of the same genus, which, on account of its small teeth, he calls Palaeoryx and . Parvidens. M. Prost sent in his usual half-yearly account of the terrestrial trepi dations experienced at Nice up to the 31st of De cember last. A very intense one on the 25th of August coincided with an earthquake in Saxony ; one on the 22d of September, with an earthquake at Broussa, and a third on the 22d of October, with an earthquake at Algiers. . BOOTS OF A GOOD MORAL CHARACTER.—An advertisement says :—" Wanted a female who has a know ledge of fitting boots of a good moral character." JIIGHWAYS BILL. On the order of tha day for the second reading of this bill, Mr. DISRAELI said--A committee was recently ap pointed to consider whether any changes could be intro duced into the mode of conducting the public business which Would tend to facilitate its progress through the house. One of the great objections raised against the pre sent system in the debate on themotion for the appointment of that committee was that the privilege of bringing forward questions on going into Ccnamitte,e of Supply was carried to such an extent that it was impossible to know when the main business of the evening would come on for discussion. When the Navy Estimates, for example, are on the paper, le come down and find some gentleman bringing forward the grieVances of Whitechapel. Perhaps there may be good reasons for that course of procedure, but I beg to call atten ticrn to the manner in which the programme of business is prepared for the information of the house by the Govern tient. I came down to-night to discuss the Highways Bill, a siihjeet iii 'which my constituents, and the constituents, no i nte rested. The Highways Bill stands first on the paper, but doubt, whenbt, anamy hon. gentlemen on both sides, are m uch cant nobody proceeded with it. It ought d Wag at least, those responsible to have been proceeded with, - to the house for the bill ought to have given some reaso.... . re why it was postponed. The second order is the Post-0i.., Savings-banks Bill, a subject which at present engages public attention. I know that many members came down to-night purposely to receive information respecting that bill, and to offer their opinions upon it ; but it was passed over in silence, and the Minister responsible for it did not appear in his place to explain why the second measure appointed by the Government was not proceeded with. The next order on the paper—the Bankruptcy Bill—was cer tainly proceeded with, but only to a certain point. (Hear.) The Minister responsible for that bill told us he believed there was an understanding that progress should not be made beyond a certain clause; and the consequence is that, at a comparatively early hour, there is no Govern ment business before the house. As the Minister respon sible for the Highways Bill was not in his place when it was called in its proper order, it was postponed, according to our usual practice, until after the other orders. It has now been called again; but, although the Minister is pre sent, he has not condescended to give us any reason why the arrangement of business devised by the Government has not been followed. I want to know what prospect there is of our conducting the public business with satisfaction to our selves or to the country if the house is to be treated in this manner by the Government. (Hear.) I have always thought that, although there are many means by which the business of the house might be expedited, much must neces sarily depend upon the course pursued by Ministers. See what has happened to-night. Upon an important Govern ment night, at the beginning of the week, wo have a pro gramme of business prepared and circulated for two days, and when we come down we find it is not realised in any respect. The only conclusion at which we can arrive is that the conduct of business in that manner, if not the only cause, is a cause of the unsatisfactory state of public busi ness. (Hear r hear.) I think an explanation is due to the house by the Government upon these heads, and I await it with some interest. Sir G. C. LEWIS—I regret that any inconvenience has been caused by the circumstances to which the right hon. gentleman has referred; but I think I can give an explana tion which will be satisfactory to the house. I was perfectly prepared—indeed, it was my wish—to move the second reading of the Highways Bill to. night; but the hon. mem ber for Leominster on Friday evening asked me across the in consequence of the short time during whichtab ew t h h eh e t er bill, had been in the hands of hon: members, I would consent to p3stpone the second reading. I said that as the time had been short I would consent to postpone the second reading, and I added that I would mention on Mon day the day to which I should postpone it. Perhaps I ought to have moved the postponement on Friday night, but I distinctly stated that I would not move the second reading this evening. (Hear, hear) 'With respect to the Post Office Savings B anks Bill, I believe the Chancellor of the Exchequer is confined, if not to his bed, at all events to his room, by illness, and consequently it was not in his power to come down to the house to-night. (Hear, hear.) If he had been able to attend in his place, he would have moved the second reading of the bill. Such are the circumstances un der which the Bankruptcy Bill came to have precedence, and I, for one, was under the impression that the Attor ney-General had stated publicly that he would not proceed beyond the 50th clause. I presume he expected, remem bering the long debates which took place last Session, that the first 50 clauses would occupy the House the whole of the evening. I am always sorry when hon. members have reason to complain of any want of notice, but I trust they will see that there was no intentional omission on the part of the Government upon this occasion. (Hear, hear.) After a few words from Mr. BARROW and Mr. HENLEY, The second reading of the Highways Bill was postponed till Friday next. RED SEA AND INDIA TELEGRAPH. Mr. FREDERICK PEEL moved the appointment of a select committee on the Red Sea and India Telegraph Bill. Mr. WYLD objected to the motion being brought for.. ward in the absence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in whose name it stood on the paper. Mr. P. PEEL said the object of the bill was simply to carry out certain arrangements entered into between the Government and the Red Sea Company-. Sir MINTO FARQUHAR said that all the answers of the Government on this subject were so vague that they could not be understood by those who were interested in it. The question was of great interest to the public in general; for public faith was deeply identified with it. It was understood that the Government were responsible for the interest to be obtained by the shareholders. The statement now made by the right hon. gentleman made confusion worse confounded. Mr. GREG SON said it was certainly understood that the contract between the Government and the company was unconditional, and that the Government was to gua rantee the rate of interest to the shareholders. Mr. Alderman SIDNEY said the house ought to know if the company had carried out their undertaking with the Government. All they knew was that the Government had entered into an unconditional contract with the company, but whether the company had performed its portion of the contract did not appear. All they knew was that there had been a failure by the company, and the surprise was that the Government had pledged the public money in respect to the scheme in question, without an assurance being given that the company would carry it out. Sir G. C. LEWIS said the question before the house was the appointment of the committee on the subject under con sideration, and he hoped the house would adhere to this question. What was the engagement between the Govern ment and the company was the subject to be considered by the committee, and when the committee made its report that would be the time to consider the whole question. Mr. RICARDO said he believed that the object of ap pointing this committee was that it should in effect not make any report at all. What the house wanted to know was this, did the company carry out its undertaking with the Government ? Ho believed they had not, and ho must say that the explanation given by the right hon. gentleman was far from satisfactory. Ile should move, at a proper time, that it be an instruction to the committee to say whether the company had performed their portion of the contract. Sir C. WOOD repeated the statement made by Sir G. C. Lewis, and said he believed it was true that the whole line of telegraph had not been in operation, but a part of it had been. The simple question to be considered by the com mittee was the contract between the Government and the company. The following gentlemen were appointed members of the committee :—Mr, Peel, Sir S. Northcote, Mr. Dunlop, Mr. Cave, Mr. Sch o l e fi e ld , Mr. E. Egerton, and Mr. Bonham- Carter. The house then adjourned at 11 o'clock. TILE TEA TRADE, Feb. 18.—The deliveries in London estimated for the week were 952,5561 b., which is a decrease of 15,1641 b. compared with the previous statement. [ADVERTISEMENT.] Pills and medicine invariably ag gi and perpetuate diseases ; their annoyance, dis appointment, and expense may be avoided by persons in indifferent health sending only their address to E. S. Barry, Esq., 77, Regent-street, W., London, and they of indigestion (dyspepsia), will receive gratis and free by post the " INVALIDS' OWN f r lu f irens:,:gor Natural Restorer, without medicine or ex p 'llse, of perfect digestion, strong nerves, sound lungs, and d t o y s the pep s m i a o ) s , t constipation, enfeebled, liverinsuring theremoval complaints nausea, epilepsy, paralysis, debility, nervousness, palpitation, cough, asthma, consumption, dropsy, flatulency, diarrhma, dysentery, biliousness, fevers, sore throats, catarrhs, colds, noises in the ears, rheumatism, gout, impurities, eruptions, hysteria, neuralgia, irritability, sleeplessness, acidity, palpi tation, heartburn, headache, despondency, cramps, spasms, sinking, fits, hvouchitie "Unguestionably the safest Outdo to health." THE COMING STOR.If. (From the Derbyshire Courier.) Ten days ago we all began to think that the win ter had done its worst. It was supposed that the weather could not go on getting worse and worse for ever. So everybody imagined that Spring was about to appear. As we are to have an early Easter, why not an early Spring ? But nothing of the kind. England has caught a shocking had cold, and cannot get rid of it. Will any one pretend to say that he has a Rose bush or a Rhododendron alive in his garden ? Can any man in the county show us a sound turnip ? But worse things have happened than the destruction of flowers and fod der. Last week was one, not only of snow and hail, but of storm and tempest. All along the north east coast the gales of Friday and Saturday, Feb ruary Bth and 9th, have strewn the shore with wrecks. The loss of the lifeboat at Whitby, with 12 out of 13 of the gallant crew which manned it, and the melancholy fate of Captain Boyd of the I Ajax, with 14 of his brave fellows, at Kingston harbour, in the very act of attempting to rescue the crew of a vessel which had gone ashore near the l'Pier, have excited the mournful sympathy of every household throughout the kingdom. Admiral Fitzroy assures us that much of this disastrous destruction of life and property might have been prevented by the exercise of common prudence and intelligent observation. The coming storm was foreseen, and notice of its approach was sent by the Board of Trade, by way of caution, to many of the great sea-ports three days before it occurred. In spite, however, of all warnings, many vessels appear to have put to sea with the most reckless indifference to consequences, and thus many cargoes and man's- hardy mariners have been sacrificed, not to the fury of the gale, but to the thoughtless fool-hardiness of eile shipown,ers and captains. There is an importan't lesson to be gained by the nation from the recent gale. It is impossible not to perceive that the politiOal bar 0- meter indicates rough weather. In the first plact the extraordinary season of 1860 has not .been without its serious effects on the supply of t, 11 30 nation's food. The wheat crop of last year is' 1 turning out quite as bad as was expected, if not worse. The long continuance of severe weather has caused an increased demand for food for cattle, while it has most extensively diminished the supply. The turnip crops, and indeed all roots, have suffered very severely from the frosts. Every appearance indicates that the price of all kinds of food for some months to come at least will be high. But something else is high besides food. Taxes are exorbitantly high. Never in time of peaco ha,.. 1 the country such a burden of taxation to bear. And ' we can at present see no prospect of adequate relief. The state of the Continent absolutely requires that England should be prepared to stand on the defen ,ve. It would be the extreme of shortsighted -4. to keep both army and navy in a thoroughly folly in,. • '4 -ion. No great fault can reasonably efficient cowl,— , foreign policy, as it has been be found with out , m 'ston of late. It may not managed by Lord Pal - L'ed, but we have been always have been - very dignib. , the principle of en d ea vouring honestly to carry on. e:od , eff i e . cts non •intervention, and. we are reaping the of our conduct in the respect and arnica t ble . Lee , ll . ll g with which we are for the most part rega r d ea y the nations of Europe. But there is a gale getting up on the other side of the Atlantic. The accounts which arrive from the United States give no ground for the supposi tion that even a temporary reconciliation can be patched up between the North and the South. The President is evidently unequal to the emergency. The Senate and the Representatives talk and form committees, and report and hesitate, and blunder and temporise. The democratic form of government which Washington and Jefferson elaborated did very well for a few small States just starting into life, but it is proving itself' quite unequal to the efficient go vernment of a large Empire, w ithvaried and compli cated interests. It breaks down in the hour of trial. And what will the free and enlightened slave-drivers of the South do for themselves ? Proud, ignorant, self-confident, and poor, basing their system of go vernment on .a barbaric institution, at which com mon sense and the innate sense of justice in man revolts, what future can be anticipated for the South but one of anarchy, ruin, and servile war ? And how soon must this state of things begin to tell on Manchester and Lancashire ? We believe that ultimately this country will obtain better and cheaper cotton from Africa, India, and Australia, than has ever been got from America. But the falling off in the cotton supply is a breaker ahead. We may weather this storm, but a storm there cer tainly is to be encountered. And much must be done for India before we can hope to render the enormous outlay of capital Ahich is required there fully remunerative. All our splendid colonies re quire much assistant:, e from the mother country be fore they can repay us. To give them up would be about as wise as it would be for a landowner to suffer his land to go out of cultivaijon to save the expense of seed and labour. And h 0.7 grievously have we mismanaged our colonies. Lows: at Aus tralia, where we have encouraged democratit: In; stitutions in servile imitation of the United Statet: Republic, as if we were ashamed of the Englitth Constitution under which, be its faults what they may, England has become the foremost country of the world. Every year our Australian colonies are drifting into extravagant, inefficient, and unma nageable democracy—for which result we have only ourselves to blame. We have taught them no better. Well, then, with dear food, high taxes, a threaten ing state of commerce and trade, and enormous drains on our resources from various quarters, who cannot foresee a coming storm ? And to aggravate all these unpleasant indications we have a financial and monetary system the very perfection of insane absurdity. Can anyone believe that we can go on with a rate of interest at 7 per cent., and a con tracted circulation ? And Gold is still leaving the country. Even this last week the exportations have been large. Is the country in a position to bear the effects of another Panic ? And with a panic will inevitably come discontent and civil disunion, the invariable attendants of commercial depression and distress. strong and es It is a good strong ship in which Engla n d r id es andth the ocean. brave l e V a e r hearts a v oe hands, We n board. do not cool d heads, pair "though the weather should be worse." But it is folly to shut our eyes to the appearances around us on every side. And these appearances, we repeat, indicate so plainly that he who runs may read, A Coming Storm. THE CONVICT REVOLT AT CRATHAM. CHATHAM, MoN DAY. Only about 200 of the convicts belonging to the establishment at St. Mary's have as yet been allowed to leave that prison to resume their daily labours in the dockyard and on the other public works, the remaining 900 prisoners being rigidly confined to their cells. Order and quietness have, however, been completely restored within the prison, and no attempt has been made by the inmates to repeat the riotous proceedings of last week. Now that order has been once more restored in the prison the number of convicts sent out to their daily labour will be gradually increased each day, until the whole are permitted to resume their work on full labour diet, and there is no doubt that the lesson the convicts have been taught from past events will not be without its effect upon them. Ey direction of Sir Joshua Jebb a general order issued by him has been read to the whole of the convicts by Captain Powell. Each convict is informed of the position in which he has placed himself by his late mutinous conduct, the privileges hitherto en joyed by them being entirely forfeited and all their gratuities confiscated. Sir Joshua Jebb also informs them that no extra diet will be served out to them. It is understood that some important changes arc likely to be effected in the interior of the prison, by the removal of some of the officers whose con duct has rendered them obnoxious to the convicts, and with this view several of the warders have already received notice that they are to be dis charged. It now appears to be pretty well under stood that the governor and deputy-governor are not armed with sufficient authority in the manage ment of the officers and prisoners, their efforts being altogether cramped by the fact of sufficient powers not being delegated to them to carry out the proper system which should be observed iu the prison. It is hoped that recent events will show the higher authorities the necessity for giving greater power in the management of the prison to Captain Powell ox any other governor. That the convicts have no ground for complaint, either on the score of the insufficiency or inferiority of their food, is evident, their diet being infinitely superior to that afforded the inmates of our work houses. The following figures will show the amount of food given weekly t o eac h convict : 189 ounces of bread; 7 pi n t a o f tea; 15,1 1 pints of soup; 7 pints of cocoa or gruel; 7 lbs. of vege tables ' • 42 ounces of cook e d meat, free from bone or fat, &e. [ADVERTISEMENT.]-11olloway's Ointment and Pills.— Anti-rheumatic Remedy.—For all inflammatory affections of the joints, muscular pains, and neuralgic tortures, the sufferer need:only turn to Holloway's unrivalled remedies to find present comfort and future cure. Whatever be the predisposing cause of such pains every one knows that exposure to wet or cold induces them ; and it should be as universally known that Holloway's Ointtnent we ll rubbed upon the aff e ct e d parts, is a safe and certain antidote. It soothes the severity of the attack, and effectually wards off its future ret urn. When the pain is allayed continued friction with thi s curativelOintment, soon restores strength to the muscles and flexibility to the joints. It regulates the local cixculatieli prechicleo otittalmi DIUI WEB IN THE ISLE OF TVIGIIT. As the people chape.ls of Ry 07de were comin g fr om th e i r churches Sunday m orn i ng th e y heard man named H enry L acy, a small far mer latedy or the charge of h av i ng mur dered 3 d, an d well known in the rc i nhe thats l the a n e end i The ri am our un f ortunately proved true. Lacy occu ivied s. farm at West r id ge , k nown town,dered his was wife,in c as Old-house-far% ti, situate about a mile and a half from Hyde on tht %Bra ding -road. Ho is the son of a labouring neighbourhood, b u t b ecom i ng possessed omfansoimn( meant, ean by his marria ge h e wa s enabled to . take thin farm, which h e h a d oc . cupied now for 11 )or 12 years. Lacy is a g i an t i nt both size and st! eugth, and it i s muc h f eare d that, the evidence w' rich will be given at the inquest will show that he had been habitually ill-treating h.;s wife. Theft ermhouse is situated in a lonelyspot, thcre not being - ; a habitation within half a mile of it, and the or inmates were Lacy and his wife,. and a woman named Susan Wilder, a niece of the , latter. In isro' v. last a summons was issued against. Lacy for' an 'assault upon this woman, but it was arranged without magisterial interference. Lacy was of very it temperate habits, and had been drink ing freely at :Newport on Saturday, which place he , bad visited, accompanied by Susan Wilder, the niece. He returned to the farm house about 10 o'clock in the evening. The horrible event, full particulars respecting which will not be known till the inquest, must have occurred shortly afterwards. a 111 that is at prese, at known may be stated in a few words. The murdered woman has been confined to her bed for same time past, and on Sunday morn ing her medical at'endant, Mr. 011ard, of Ryde, was called upon by the farin carter, and requested. to visit his patient at once, as she had accidentally fallen downstairs. When Mr. 011ard arrived at the farm he found Lacy ire a - violent state of excitement and evidently under the. influence of drink. He refused to allow that gentleman to see his wife, and. the answers given to inquiries by the niece were so unsatisfactory that Mr. 011ard considered it his duty at once to communicate with the police. Ser geant King and anothitr police-constable, with Mr.. Pinager, also a surgeon of Ryde, accompanied Mr. .011ard, on his return. As soon as Lacy saw the police officers he made u desperate attack upon the onstable, but the pi,lice sergeant at once closed ith bim, and after a short struggle he was secured by the, handcuffs. On proceeding upstairs a most hp i -rrole spectacle presented itself. On the bed lay the body of the unfortunate woman, her features pres e nting the strongest evidence of her having been brutaily murdered. Her head was one mass of bruises and there were wounds on various parts of the bod y, which was reduced by disease or want of ment to that of a mere skeleton. The bed dress is which she had been murdered had been taken 01. 1 ; and was not to be found. The corpse had been carefully washed and laid out, and it is evident th% it some idea existed of passing off the story of he, " having fallen downstairs. Sergeant King, findini . Lacy likely to offer great resistance, returned to ilyde for a carriage and assistance. The police of vie, era 'were compelled to strap his legs, and it was wi.`l3- gr.eat difficulty he was brought to the station. It' s not till the following morning that he became conk scious of his awful situation. COUNTIL.Y MARKETS' +--- COLCHECI:.O: II . —FEB. 16. A moderate st'pply of wl'leat 3 best samples readily rea lised the full priecs of last week ; inferior parcels difficult of sale. Fine malting bark) commands full prices, and other sorts dull. Beans and peas a.s dear. Wheat, white 605 to 68s f tieanfi, Mazagan.. 36s to 42s red 44s to 608 I Middle & small 44s to 50e Barley 4os to 48s White peas 4Bs to 523 Oats —s to I Grey 423 to 48s CIIELMSFOItd) 1 — -FEB. 15. A fair number of samples of 'wheat on offer, but the condition was still bad. A few d.ry . samples realised last week's priceb.; for those out of c , nid Awn few buyers could be found. Spying corn unaltere( 1. Wheat, white.. ~39s to 63s 1 I' eas, Partridge ..43s to 440 red 48s to 60s White 43s to 46s Barley 29,1 to 42s .Boiling 43s to 47s Chevalier ....3213 to 45s .I)un 39s to 42s Grinding " 26s to 37s Be .ans, Tick ....36s to 443 Malt 61s to 675 . Harrow Ticks 373 to 47s Chevalier 643 to Os Mazagan 30s to 41s Oats 26s to 311: NORTHAMPTOV-FEE. 16. At this corn-market the wheal t supply was an average one, with a fair demand, prices ranging from 64s to 68s for old, and 42s to 62s for new. In barley a steady business, malting 38s to 435, grinding 290 to 32s per qr. Oats in small supply, and prices as befo , re—quoted at 22s to 38s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 518 tt ' 665; peas, 40s to 50s. Rye, 37s to 425; malt, 68s to 72s ; flour, 338 to 34s per sack KIRKALDY—FEn. 16. We had only moderate supplies to-t. l aY of wheat, but large of oafs and barley. Last week's ,rates were taken for wheat, and barley and oats sold slowly at 6d to is less money. Wheat Barley Oats First.... 34s Od 31a Od 20s Od Second.. 568 Od 41s Od 28s Od Third .. 60s Gd 43s Od 32s 0:1, THE MAILS. MAILS DUE. Australia, Ceylon, and Mauritius (via South ampton) .. .. .. .. .. .. Feb. 18. Do. (via Marseilles) Mar. 156 Brazil and Cape Verds • • • • • • .. Mar. 6.. Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, &e. .. .. Feb. —,. Cuba and Mexico .. .. .. .. .. Feb. 28 Canada, 4-e. (via UderrY) • • .. .. Feb. 20. Cape of Go od Hope , &e ... .. .. .. March 1 . China, Penang, and Singapore (via S'ampton) Feb. 18. Do (via Marseilles) Feb. 27. Gibraltar (via ,couthampton) .. . .. Feb. 18. India (Calcutta), Ceylon, &c. (via Southampton) Feb. 18. Do. (via Marseilles) Feb. 27. 1 India (Bombay), (vies Southampton) .. .. Feb. 26. Do. (via Marseilles) .. .. Feb. 20. TA!, on .. .. .. .. .. .. Feb. 21. M a lt a , Egypt, and Aden (via Southampton) .. Feb. 18. Do. via Marseilles .. Feb. 20. Vigo, and 01).2 11 ° , United States Cl'ifortoa 7 We ;tern Coasl of h &C. .. • • o. Feb. 20. West Indies and Pacii. e , irica,, Madeira, Teneriffe .. Mar. 10.. (arthagena, Cuba, &c. Feb. 28. [ADYERTI9EMENT.I--. thousand expressions of graffiti, invalids cured with out medicine by Du Barry's de. Food :—Cure No. 71. The Right. on. the Lord Stuart de ~,,;(1 vomiting, have ; Revalenta Arabica Joly, Decies, of many years' A all its horrors.—Cure dyspepsia . 311 b` a ble agony from dys- No. 49,832. " Fifty years' indescri constipation, flatu pepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, lency, spasms, sickness at the stomach , g .„herings, been removed by Du Barry's excellent Fo Wortham Ling, near Diss, Norfolk."—CL7t. Ile. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of Nazing Vicarage, WiziOarn Cross, Huts, a cure of extreme nervousness, indigestion, low spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure No. 48,311. Miss Elizabeth Yeoman, Gateacre, near Liverpool, a cure t.'t ten years' dyspepsia, and all the horrors of nervous irritabih:tY• Avoid Pills and Medicines: they invariably aggravate slut perpetuate diseases ; their annoyance, disappointment, and expense may be avoided by using Du Barry's Foot which, at a few pence per day, saves 50 times its cost in: other remedies, removing effectually, w.thout purgingi constipation, indigestion (dyspepsia) nervous, bilious and liver complaints and all their consequences. Certificate No. 36,418. We find it the safest remedy. Andrew Ure, MD., F.R.S., Dr Harvey, Dr. Wurzer, Dr. Shorland, Pr. Campell. Let invalids avoid the fearful dangers of spu rious and injuriou, imitations offered under a variety of false pretences. Nevill's imitations are prohibited by the high Court of Chancery under a penalty of 15,000 against Alfred Hooper Nevill and his agents ; and the pretences that Nevin has a patent for Arabica Food and that Du Barry's are connected with such patent are utterly fake. No canister is genuine without the name Barry Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-street, in full, onthe seal and wrapper. Shopkeepers who attempt imposition in one article must expect to be distrusted in all others. Packed in tins 11b. 2s. 9d.; 21b. 4s. 6d. ; 51b. lls. ;•121b. 225. ; 241 b. 40s. The 121 b. and 241 b. canisters are split carriage free on receipt of Post-office older by Barry Du Barry and Co., 77, Ito gent-street, London; Fortnum Mason, and Co. ; Abbic,„ 60, Gracechurch-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 63 and 150, Ox bard-street ; 330 and 451, Strand; 49 and 60, Bishopsgate street ; Batty, 16, Finsbury Pavement ; Phillips and Co. tea-dealers •, Petty, Wood, and Co., King Wilham-street, City ; at 127 High Holborn and all grocers. BIRTHS. ASKWITII.—On the 17th inst., at Waltham Abbey, the wife of Colonel W. H. Askwith, Royal Artillery, of a son. BARTON.—On the 18th inst., at 22, Saint Augustine-road, Camden-square, N.V., Mrs. Thomas Barton, of a son. BLOSSE.—On the 14th inst., at Bray, the Lady Harriet B. Blosse, of a son. FiTzGERALD.—On the 16th inst. ,at Merrion-square, Dub lin, the lady of the Right Hon. J. D. Fitzgerald, of a son. Rou.o.—On the 17th inst., at 12, Hereford-street, Park lane, the Itight Hon. Lady Rollo, of a son. MA B.RIAUES. LL OYD — BROOKES.—On the 16th inst., at St. Stephen's, Coleman -street, Thomas Lloyd, Esq., F.R.C.S., Fins bury-circus, to Mary Ann, second daughter of William Brookes, Esq., Mark-lane. MURRAY—ALEXANDER.—At Edinburgh, Dr. J. Ivor Murray, F.R.C.S.E., &c., Colonial Surgeon, Hong . Kong, China, to Margaret Agnes, youngest daughter of James Alexander, Esq., of Wooler, Northumberland. DEATHS. ANDERSON.—On the 16th inst., at Stoke Newington-road, William Burnett Anderson, formerly of Billiter-street, aged 37. BURNETT.—On the 16th inst., at Chichester, Sir William Burnett. M. U., K.C.8., 8.7. c., late Director-General of the Medical Department of the Navy, aged 82. CLERKE.—On the 16th inst., at The Heath, Salop, Lieut.- Colonel Sir William Henry elerke, Bart., of Mertyn, Flintshire, aged 67. FITZROY.—On the 9th ult., at Sierra Leone, Arthur Geo. Fitzroy, Commander of 11.M.5. Falcon, aged 34. LorinoN : Printed and Published by 111IIRDO YOUNG, at No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office, No. 112,Strand , in the Precinct of the Savoy. in the County of Middlesex, PleidaYl EcDritikry 19, 16111. • I , rr 1 (11 T(