The Sun. — London, England, 1834-07-26 00:00:00

of the our per Cents. He had set about that reduction in we most unbusin ess -lik e an d bl un d er i ng. manner that ever liyti a d s b h e ea d? r o dof. H e a d vert ised his scheme in June ; and what . How did he proceed to carry up the price of ocks ? From th e 11th o f_ J une t o t h e en d o f t h a t, an d thr oughout the ensuing month, he was found selling ten thousand of stock a day. His sales of three-and-a-half per e d e at• ware at 95 an d 96, an d h ow -was it possible then, un taer such c i rcumstances, that they could be other than losing s les ? Looki ng at the' ast returns, which came up to Nov., he found ound that th e C omm ii s i oners o f S av i ngs ' B an k s h a d re -5,747,000/., an d pa id i nterest to 6 , 8 32, 00 01., an d th e ff heerence in the loss, therefore, between the amount received and the interest paid to contributors, was 1,085,0001., and how % las this to be made up without creating an artificial rise in the v ?eks? There the Noble Lord's surplus was really nothing. hat would be done in the event of finding ourselves sud sdenly involved in a war ? Why, the fifteen millions in the hands of the Savings' Banks Commissioners would very soon e down to ten, inasmuch as stock would fall from 90 to 60. jneie3bhetrged the GovernMent with three things; first, with c i a.l , i n g; secondly, with carrying on their transactions in the th . course the most unsatisfactory and unjust . ; and n tr ulY, with the most stupid and palpable blundering in sell st°ek, when it ought to have been converted. The Noble i rd was the only Chancellor of thesExchequer that had ever and he in his operations in attempting the reduction of a stock, h` he must say, that his measures and - mode of working them ad excited the ridicule- of all those who were usually looked PT . ' as critics in these affairs.--( Hear, hear.) s et at l laird ALT EIORP thought that the Hon. Gentleman him had( mad e one or two m i stakes i n hi s pu bli c transactions— hear)--and that lie had added to those mistakes by uhe had just addressed to the House. The Hon. Gentle man objected to his (Lord Althorp s) proceedings, on the g r ound that th ey were contrary, if not to t h e l etter, at a ll ents to the spirit of the law. Now, in answer to this, he ;egged to state, that he applied to the gentleman who had for sedum and years be en em pl o y e d i n th ese t ransac ti ons , an d who adopted him th a t h e cou ld • t a k e th e course th a t h a d b een ts :Pted with out do i ng anything unusual, or in oppos i t i on to : 1 1 Acts of Parliament relating to these matters.--( Hear. ) tos to the operation itself, the Hon. Gentleman seemed also Alisasb`mir under a mistake ;forhe . supposed that his (Lord e rP's) mode of raisin.- stock was by selling stock. That .rtainly was a mistake. ''He certainly had, at an early period, directed a gradual sale of stock, but he certainly was not such tiertionjuror as to do it with any such intent as that ascribed to 41 • Then there was a mistake as to dates ; the Hon. Gen sa o f e a n argued as if the dissentients to the proposed reduction !he Four per Cents., declared their dissent in June, when, 4: a et, the last day on which the could do so was the 28th of Stock s Therefore, there could.not have been that effect on the 'elts which the Hon. Member supposed, and so there was anothert mistake. With respect to the effect of his measures, • a ehe ,gged leave to say, that instead of no advantage result- Sh"orn them, as further stated by the Hon. Gentleman, ock aving s B anks had ga i ned, on the 19t h i nstant , on th e cheer i sold t o pay dissentients, a clear sum of 118,877 1 . —( L ou d Vl-) But the Hon. Gentleman said that this was the only in fort e reduction of stock that had ever been known to h e The Hon. G en tl ema n was greatly mistaken.—( Hear, tn a r.) It had not failed. He had carried his plan, and begged to s ay that he was prepared, without any difficulty whatever, ach PaY thei r respective amounts to every in di v id ua l w h o chs teci•—( Loud cheers) Again, if the Hon. Gentleman _ould look into the Bill • authorising this reduction of stock, he :f °ll s id avln en find a specific power given to the Commissioners th em ,gs Banks to do that which he so severely censured Hear, hear. ) Then the Hon. Gentleman corn aetilenned of the manner i n w hi c h t h ey h a d carried on their trans but s•--that they had not given sufficient publicity to them ; g d i k e (Lord Althorp) begged to remind him, that there was e n f i rerenee in th e qua lity o f the duties of these gentlemen. r functi ons as Comm i ss i oners f or t h e re d uct i on o f th e i on th at debt were wholly distinct from those which attached fia/1 Sect ,Fm as Commi ss i oners of Savings Banks. As the latter l lmaries they had to purchase and to sell—they were in s i tu Position of bankers ; they were, however, in a very different ti e ati°4 in the former instance. By publishing their inten easils the Y might raise the market against them, in which „ e there certainly might be some ground for the charge anl plendering. There was nothing in these transactions of tt e lin P r oPer or illegal character; nothing which told against favour u ntrY, but, on the contrary, much that was in its th e There was no ground for the charges made, or for trans character which had been attached to the Government i h iatto e t v i i o e n w s by the Hon. Gentleman. The great object he was that the prices of stock should be affected as I se - as possible, because of course it was clear that if they whrerialfefected, the result would be to prevent him carrying his themeasure into effect. He never thought of operating on ss ou P i c ri .. e e of stock, or any such thing. He thought the House that the the futility of the charges that had been made, a . n_d o f th ue mistakes were rather on the other than on that side 1- I °ll se•—(Hear, hear.) Nobi r. BARING said that the simple fact was, that the lop .ei!,ord had been selling at 95 or 96 to invest again at 14 . e had been employing money in exchequer bills at Per cent. interest per day, while he was in fact paying deed i !el• If this would pay, then the Noble Lord must a in- Lord euniurer. Bost d A LTHORP said the same operation had been re „ e to i n ue 1830 ; and in this instance, as he before stated, Al an had been benefitted to the extent of 118,877/. fi r r • n ERRIES said there was a misunderstanding. In the I,: operation, as stated in the return, there must have been a 3 ; on the second there was enough to cover the loss, and secure the clear profit referred to. GOTJLBURN said he should preface the few obser r7lons it was his intention to address to the House by remind °n• Membors that he had ever maintained in the House e a:Sul a time of peace the resources of the country, if properly If e 4v ated, would be found capable of considerable increase. a s - was therefore not surprised at the surplus which bad been „" e tared. T o the financial statement of the Noble Lord, s •' w ever, h e had still the same fundamental objection as he had no step was taken for ti l e tt!l his previous ones, that The a permanent impression upon the . debt of the country. dimi e interest of that debt, he found, instead of being - ter,O had he fact been increased during the last three years, Y sh e compensation to the planters, and . other measures, to 4 , exten t of 200,0001. per annum. AS it appeared from the ell a b encial account before them, the funded debt had been re- IntTirtY converting ng a portion of it into annuities, to terminate otici years, from 749,000,000/. odd, to 743,000,000/. Cr ease b uy t on the o th er h an d, t h e un f un d e d d e bt bad been in std in a larger proportion. Thus, not only had n of ZPt been made in the last few years to reduce the weight of which had b een ca ll e d th e m ill- s t o n e r o und the neck ala i° e c ountry, but it had even had its weight increased, si al ugh we had enjoyed profound peace and great commer thenPr°sPerity. With respect to the budget generally, he ght that if t h e Noble Lord felt himself at liberty to make co 7 or nreduction of taxat i on, i t oug h t to b e to t h at port i on o f th e Pre sss a ,, tti tY which w as , a t th e p resen t momen t, the most op and The N o bl e L or d h a d to ld th em th a t th e com merce wase of the country was in a prosperous condition, and he a grie 'eieiced to hear it ; but he had not told them that the tva .ultural interest, either of this country or of the colonies, Pa t in t he same fortunate , situation. He had therefore to corn iasteaidu he did on a f orme r occasion, that the Noble Lord had, a PPli e - a °` applying relief to the classes which most required it, setestaitscoo. it to tho se w h o were con f ess ed to be in a prosperous a It would be difficult, upon merely hearing the i lo e o lr h ient o f t h e Noble Lord, to go into a detailed argument h p ad C 4 IS Plan respecti ng th e d u ty upon spirits ; but a few points • , ,r L ord uck i ts , him which he wished to remark upon. The Noble spi r i ts had said that notwithstanding the high rate of duty on 'taatl 1 9 England, the amount brought to account kept con whi4 increasing but that the duty of 3s. 4d. per gallon, not e both in Scotland and Ireland, had been produc !?son%,very different results. That in Scotland the amount ,rel a ,,%', to charge was increasing under that duty, whilst in Lor e lh" i! was . decreasing. The conclusion at which the Noble th e ti an arrived in considering this circumstance was, that tsa s ,„ u tY on spirits in Ireland should be diminished. Now, he t ea r t et quite sure that upon looking narrowly into this ques th er e ~W o uld be found th a t i n p ro p or ti on t o th e co nsumption 4in Se 48 a greater extent of illicit distillation in Ireland than sh e ,?tle n d . He did not know either upon what authority u so,it's4ed Noland. L ord had arrived at the distinction he had de- Lord -Li T .) krTHORP—That of the Commissioners of Excise. ,stiaaske ~ rs O ULBURN said that he of course had only the or sources of information to judge from ; but he should ItUrtion ask the Noble Lord whether he was aware what pro respe,.°f the spirit manufactured in Scotland and Ireland, Lillof co`ogvly, Was exported to this countr. The Noble Lord r s. k e knew that it had long been a complyint of the dis lers " nt h of England and Ireland, that the Scotch distil ep,o. :re able, they themselves F aid, from superior skill, their tie; sa i d t heref or by frauds upon the revenue, to send their spi advantage to the Irish and English markets. Before, bt t Spirit s ' he could acquiesce in the proposed reduction of duty tniti eit in Ireland alone, he should like to have some mote giv e , til m formati on upon t h e su bj ec t th an the Noble Lord had 4i ffer e cm • --- ( Hear.), The Noble Lord might tell him that a ther t i lt wish already prevailed with regard to England . and the tnfacatititnhitsvtt portions of the United Kingdom. He admitted the was an evil, and be would not increase the evil by , e essisyb h utese distinctions in duty, without a strong ground of ne- T rl a e ty O a ti Z i l e g , ma . de out.. Besides, ' unjust as the present rate of r ease ,, colonial spirits was, how much would its injustice be 0 4 rel am ' l °Y a further reduction of the duty on spirits distilled in . 4 ,l L7 a y v.ii ie ,R ‘ u v ra was admitted . into the United Kingdom at one P as calculated with reference to the heaviest duty t b e ,, d ,ctiOr l io un o f lion of England. The consequence was, that the hardlyconsump- Wduast3tin known in Scotland or Ireland. Every tft.!lrarnount nec either of those countries, unless justified thsetacolonial interesty was an infliction of drect injury upon which under any circumstances, it was that .4t Y " this counts to ' uphold and encourage • but if ever th at in had a claim y ~,L n e a ent, when its fate hung in the balance as it now did, and thss he defied r e r esult e f dbe any man to say with certainty what would _ th ret to it.great measure Parliament had passed with Before he sat down he wished to ask the Noble s i ,s.o. a. 0 ne „,! 0. , t S l 4 i v el s t g s s. a i n with respect to the period of the payment er planters were to receive for the liberation of their in aneipatio Car, at'eipa,tiouarl. hear.) The success of the measure for the el th e „, °I the slaves, must depend, in a great degree, lib: change"le:;is which the planters had of providing for r at i o circumstances which would attend their d b,„ n• They would be put to great preliminary expenses, I kl sa-tirse therefore anxious to know whether the Government estedat tar for the payment of the parties inte 41Teea, earliest possible period. If the payment was de st s n '' d l9' might be inflicted both upon the public and the ay fr a Planters which m ay fr o corii e the twenty millions would be a long ,at as ,_P e nsating. The change in the condition oft e b e a %We en t „' made on the Ist of August, so that the inter (thy., that time and the meeting of Parliament would '4l O ne. He did not put this question in a spirit of, 775, 0 „gi ° ) 44 .2,t ( 1 . fr 0 L 0' 131, 343,v" e 0 ba heir o • ag en abl' e t b _doe „oi' la l''ric 4 cou he he VI joase g isPe d b s ted• ds ~'bhBd r ` i!' crheY be/ evea i t re' c m I ° , i :f t °llc t°l ' le r t il ,aod•aro e nds , , .d c oo ° red hostility to the Government, but from anxiety that nothing should occur to impede the proper and safe working of the measure of negro emancipation. Lord ALT I-10R P'S reply was inaudible in the gallery; but he was understood to say that the payments could not be made before the month of April next-- Mr. GOULBURN thought that the six months the planter would have to wait before receiving anything for the libera tion of his slaves, would be attended with great injury to his interests. Lord ALTHORP was understood to say he was not aware of the details, but that it would be impossible to ascertain how much each planter would be entitled to of the sum appointed to his island before the month of Mr. POULETT THOMSON trusted the Committee would allow him to make a few observations upon the remarks made by the Hon. Member for Essex on the Bill he had the honour to bring before the House a short time back. He had been peculiarly unfortunee as rojtarded his Hon. Friend ; for when be introduced that Bill, Ise - tathered from the manner in which it was received that it was generally approved of by the House, and he did not even now despair of his Hon'. Friend doing that which was not very uncommon with him, viz.— change his mind. In the course of this evening, indeed, he had expressed an opinion with regard to one article affected by the Customs Bill different from that which he had expressed on a former occasion ; he meant oil. Mr. BARING said he had stated that that was the only article, the reduction of the duty on which he approved of. Mr. P. THOMSON said that he must, in common with others who had heard his Honourable Friend, have misunder stood him, and if so, what became of all his wit about salad oil. The fact, he supposed was, that his Noble Friend had found out, since he spoke, that oil was greatly used in the ma nufactures of this country. Mr. BARING begged to say that he had stated on the for mer evening what he had stated to-night, and which the Right Hon. Gentleman was pleased to call wit, viz., that the reduc tion of the duty, as far as regarded oil employed in manufac tures, was beneficial, although he certainly did not wish to see, if the distinction could be made, any reduction of the duty on oil used as an article of luxury. Mr. P. THOMSON was glad to have received the appro bation of his Hon. Friend, either now or on the former occa sion ; but the amount of oil consumed as a luxury was, he could assure him, a mere trifle, compared with that employed in manufactures. With the exception, however, of this ar ticle, there was not one of those which had been selected for a reduction of duty which, upon going through the customs book, he should not have placed last upon the list to be so selected, and that, in point of fact, it was a waste of the pub-' lic money to reduce the duty upon such articles. The articles, however, which had particularly excited his wrath, were those coming under the head of fruit, and especially currants. The Hon. Member for Essex treated these as articles of luxury, meaning, he presumed, that they were articles for the con sumption of the rich, and not of the poor. Now, as regarded currants, he could assure his Hon. Friend that he was com pletely mistaken in so describing them. It was notorious that all but the poorest class of all were in the habit of consuming currants to a large extent, particularly in the North of Eng land. His Hon. Friend near him, who was well acquainted with the mining districts of Durham and Northumberland,would sup port him in the assertion, that it was the constant practice of the miners to consume large quantities of this fruit. But he con sidered this arcticle as worthy of their attention, not merely because a reduction of the duty upon it would lower its price to a large class of the community, with whom price was a matter of consideration, but because he thought that reduction might be made with scarcely any loss to the revenue.—. ( Cheers.) The Hon. Member had stated that the reduction was intended to benefit the lonian Islands, but that they would not be benefitted by it because they were suffering from the competition of their neighbours. Now, it would be in the re collection of the House that the fact was that the reduction of this duty had been long pressed upon the Government. The answer which had uniformly been given to applications to this effect, and the answer which he had himself given, was, that it could not be done till the lonian Islands removed the export duty imposed upon the article ; but last year the lonian Legis lature took off the export duty, and he felt himself bound in justice to meet their expectations by some diminution of the duty levied upon it in this country. Now, what was the duty upon this article, which the Hon. Member said was the last he should select for reduction. The duty on currants was now forty-four shillings and two-pence; which, as their price was only thirty shillings, amounted to 175 per cent.— ( Hear, hear.) This was a fact the Hon. Gentleman could not be aware of, and he now asked whether it was not such a fact as, even in his own view of the article, namely, as one which was riot generally consumed, but which, upon the prin ciple of getting an equal amount of revenue with a less charge to the consumer, was so situated as to make a reduction of the duty upon it to 225., likely to be advantageous ?—( Hear. ) Then, again, there was the article of prunes. It was one of great consumption among the poorer classes all over the Con tinent, and there was no reason why it should not also be con sumed by the poorer classes of this country, if brought within their reach. The duty on that article was 275. 6d., which, as the price was only 145., amounted to 250 per cent.— ( Hear, hear.) He proposed to reduce the duty to 7s.— ( Cheers)—and he was satisfied that, if anything, the revenue would gain by the reduction.—( Hear, hear.) He would not go through the whole list of fruits on which the duty was re duced. It would be sufficient to say that they were all in about the same situation, viz., with a duty of from 150 to 200 per cent. upon them ; and if they could reduce that duty, without any serious loss to the revenue, he said, in spite of what his Hon. Friend would not allow him to call wit, he had no doubt that the majority both of the House and of the public would be with him.—( Cheers.) The amount of tax upon these articles, which would be abandoned, was about 120,0001. Then came the other article of coals. He knew that that involved a disputed question, and he did not intend to deny that he was one of those who agreed in the principle, that if you had the perfect monopoly of an article of this description, it was unwise policy to surrender it to neigh bouring countries. But to be able to stand by that principle, it was necessary first to be satisfied that we could maintain the monopoly, and next that, being able to maintain it, the doing so was not attended with concomitant disadvantages, which weighed against it. Now, with respect to the first point, he was perfectly satisfied, from the experience they had had in the three years which had elapsed since the duty had been re duced, that we could not maintain our monopoly. It was a notorious fact which any gentleman who would take thetrouble might verify beyond a doubt, that coal-fields were open in Holland, Belgium, and France ; and that the collieries of those countries could compete with ours, and would in a short time be able to furnish themselves with that article. Then, with respect to the disadvantages of attempting to keep a monopoly which really could not be kept. Even at the present reduced dutf, great quantities of small coal were burnt on the ground, and absolutely lost to the country, because they would not bear the export duty. Besides this loss, there was the injury we suffered from depriving our labourers of so much additional employment, and our ship ping of a great extension of trade. If Gentlemen would take the trouble to look at the statement laid upon the table yester day, they would perceive how large the amount of tonnage was now employed in the export of coals ; and that British shipping not only maintained a successful competition in the trade against the shipping of countries with which we had not reciprocity treaties, and the articles exported in which were, therefore, subject to increased duties, but also against the shipping of countries with respect to which they had no such advantage.—( Cheers.) Besides, the abolition of the present duty would be a great relief to several important interests in the north of England, now in a state of some suffering. In addition, therefore, to the great general public advantages of the proposed change, it would prove exceedingly advantageous to important classes of the community. But the Hon. Mem ber for Essex had said, that he should have preferred taking off the glass and the cotton duty. He was certainly not one who would object to the reduction of the duties on those articles ; but when the Honourable Member spoke of his (Mr. Thomson's) constituents not approving of the reduc tions made upon fruit and coals, he begged to say that he believed his constituents too intelligent and- enlightened to object to any reduction which was for the general ad vantage of the country.—( Hear, hear.) They might, with him be glad to see the duties on glass and cotton abolished ; but when his Hon. Friend recommended its being done, did he recollect the circumstances connected with each. The cotton tax was diminished more than one-half last year ; and other classes might have some right to complain if they had this year devoted the whole of the sum they had to spare to the reduction of the remainder, which amounted to a larger sum by one-half than the whole loss by this measure, viz., 350,000/. The duty on glass, on the other hand, amounted to 700,0001. He believed that no duty could be more beneficially taken off, but then it amounted to 700,000/.; and every one knew it would be useless to reduce the duty, for they would not thereby get rid of the machinery by which it was collected, and the mischiefs it inflicted upon the ma nufacturer.—( Hear, hear.) He would now say a few words upon the statements made by his Hon. Friend upon the sub ject of taxation generally. His Hon. Friend had found great fault 'with them in the first place for making any reduction, and for not devoting all they could spare to the Sinking Fund ; but he went further, and stated one thing which he ought to have known was not correct. He stated that his Noble Friend had come down to that House with a popularity budget, by giving up the principle of his predecessors of having a surplus. Now, the fact was, that after deducting the reductions made by the Right Hon. Member. for the Uni versity of Cambridge, his Noble Friend, when he came into office, found no surplus whatever.---( Hear, hear, hear.) If therefore his Noble Friend had proceeded upon this principle, he could only have entered upon it by refusing to reduce any taxes for a considerable length of time, in order to save up a surplus. But the advantage attending the great reductions of taxation made by his Noble Friend, was, that the revenue sprung under them to a degree that made up half, if not more than half, of the amount reduced. He would state in round sums the amount of the several reductions which had been made in the last four years. In the year 1831, he found, that taking the difference between the taxes repealed and the taxes imposed, there was a balance of reduction amounting to 1,253,000/. In the year 1832, the relief from taxation was 739,000/. ; in the year 1833 it was 1,636,000/., making a total for these three years of 3 ,628,000/. This, added to re ductions his Noble Friend had announced that night (after deducting the new duties to be laid on), made a total from the four years of 5,329,000/. The reductions made by the Right Honourable Member opposite, in the year 1830—some of which did not come into operation till 1831, amounted to 3,906,000/., which made a total re duction of taxation in the course of five years, amounting to 9,233,0001.-( Cheers.) And if the 750,000/. his Noble Friend had provided for the interest of the grant to the West Indians was taken into the account, it would amount to 9,985,000/. Now what was the loss of revenue consequent upon this reduction of taxation? Only 4,580,0004—( Cheers. ) THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, JUL 26, 1534. He considered that statement to be an answer to those gen tlemen who objected to taking off taxes, because they preferred having a considerable surplus revenue to his following out the plan of endeavouring to select articles for reduction, which either entered into the general consumption of the people, or were largely employed by the manufactures of the country. His Hon - . Friend complained that more had not been done for the agricultural interest : but mentioned two trifles, , , which came .with a bad grace from one who almost ridiculed his No ble Friend's attempts to relieve that interest of its trifling bur dens. The fact was, that there was very little in the way of taxation that was not of a trifling nature that pressed upon the agricultural interest, except the malt tax, which, he contended, pressed equally upon other consumers of malt. But his Hon. Friend ought not to forget this, that the farmers were as much a part of the public as the inhabitants of towns, and would be just as much benefitted by general reduction of taxation. He ought not to forget either, that the re duction of the duties on raw materials was not a benefit conferred on the commercial classes, but was largely, though indirectly, advantageous to every man who had capital to em ploy or labour to sell, by increasing the employment for capital and labour. In fact, it was utterly impossible for the pro ductive powers of this country to be in any way extended without every class in it being benefitted.—( Hear, hear.) He therefore thought that the relief to be experienced from the reduction of the house or any other direct tax, little in compa rison-to that which would have been derived from the reduc tion of the taxes on glass, paper, and cotton ; but at the same time he admitted that in considering the expediency of main " taining a tax, they were bound to look to the greater or less pain, for so he must call it, with which it was paid. Now,un questionably, the House Tax had been a cause of general and loud complaint, and his Noble Friend was, therefore, right in taking it off. But he trusted that what they had to spare might hereafter be devoted to the relief of productive industry, and if that course were well followed out, he felt satisfied that they need not fear seeing those years of adversity which the Hon. Gentleman appeared to dread. They might, certainly, be subject to the fluctuations which visited all commercial coun tries ; but, upon the whole, he doubted not they should go on in a long career of industrious improvement.—( Cheers.) Sir ROBERT PEEL said that he quite agreed in the doctrine of the Right Hon. Gentleman that in all financial arrangements it was infinitely better to take off the duty on glass, &c., than to resort to other articles. But if that were true, he did not see why they should not perform their duty to the people of this country, and to act upon principle, rather that give way to clamour. The Right Hon. Gentle man had adverted to the feeling against the house tax, but he did not think that the Government were, therefore, called upon to give way to the clamour which was raised, and to adopt a principle which was in contravention of their duty to their constituents, and by which they allowed their own supe rior judgments to be borne away. Now he thought the glass tax was bad altogether, and he believed that its removal would give greater relief to those who were the objects of their con sideration, who were the greeter mass of the community, than the removal of the house tax, which was, after all, but a bonus to the landlord. The removal of the duty on glass was an object to the great classes of society, and if such were their conviction, he did not see why they should not act upon their own sense of legislation rather than concede the point to clamour. Such was his opinion. The duty on glass tended to deteriorate the quality of the article. Compare the glass manufactured before the present duty was imposed, and they would find that the quality of the present manufacture was very different since that circumstance. And why was this ? Why, because by their fiscal policy , they gave encourage ment to the manufacture of the bad article. Here then there was palpably a double objection. Now his course had been, not to urge the Noble Lord to a greater reduction of the taxation of the country than he should feel to be absolutely necessary. With reference to the observations of the Right Hon. Gentleman, coming from an Hon. Gentleman, so en lightened, and placed in so high a situation, they were en titled to every consideration and to great weight. lie ( Sir R. Peel) had, however, listened to the arguments adopted by the Right Hon. Gentleman, in regard to coal, but they had not removed the doubts which he entertained upon the question. He dared to say that some temporary relief might arise to persons in the North of England, from the adoption of the Right Hon. Gentleman's views. It might employ some more British shipping , but he thought that temporary advantages were dearly pur chased by depriving ourselves of the natural advantage which we had a right to avail ourselves of. With reference to the exportation of machinery, it might not appear that, by allowing this, we should encourage domestic indus try, but we could not prevent the egress of manufacturing skill. The persons manufacturing this machinery had a right to leave the country; and whatever came from the exportation of ma chinery, they had no discretion left in the matter, and it was therefore better to encourage the exportation of domestic ma chinery than of the persons who manufactured it. In the first place, as to coal, he was not satisfied of the abundant supply of coal in this country. He knew that the reproductive power of coal was not so rapid as the consumption, whatever chemical combinations it might possess. By the evidence which was given, the reproduction of coal was a problem by no means satisfactorily settled. But, surely, they were looking forward to a period of four or five hundred years. They were not to be content with the prosperity of a century to come nearly ; they were to look to remote periods, unless vast advantages should be proved as likely to result from an increased expor tation of the article. He was not satisfied that an abundant supply of coals for a long. period of years to come was to be procured on terms consistent with the maintenance of our monopoly. The Right Hon. Gentleman argued that coal fields were opened on the Continent; and this very fact induced him ( Sir Robert Peel) to encourage our own monopoly. Why should we not retain the present ad vantages which we possessed, and thus enable ourselves to contend with our rivals? Of the observation of the Right Hon. Gentleman, as to the consumption of the ashes of the pit, he would say nothing. Amongst all the financial arrange ments of the country, he regretted that the subject of banking had not been more seriously considered. The Right Hon. Baronet proceeded to advert to the Act 7 Geo. IV. c. 46, which enabled joint-stock banks to be established, making all the members of those banks individually responsible for the debts of the concern. Now all that he asked was that the subject should be considered as one deserving the attention of the Legislature. He could not help thinking that this Act 7 Geo. IV. was being acted upon in a manner which was not at all intended or anticipated by the parties who framed that measure. He saw continually prospectuses of these joint stock banking companies ; —there was, indeed, a man i a for this sort of speculation. Extensive branches of these esta blishments were being formed in every town by those agents who roved about to look for towns where they should open them—no matter whether the parties had any connection with these towns. He was disposed to leave trade as. free as pos sible ; but when a bank assumed that which was a royal privi lege—namely, that of issuing . coin, the Parliament had a right to take effectual checks against improvidence on the part of the proprietors. In illustration of this argument, the Right Hon. Baronet proceeded to read a prospectus of a co m p any, which had fallen into his hand, setting forth that parties should be a shareholders—that such persons should be entitled to a cash credit for the two-thirds of the amount of the paid up de posit--that should one-fourth of the paid up capital be lost, the company was dissolved, and that this would answer the purpose of a limited responsibility. Was this the law, he would ask ?—( Several Hon. Members, " No, no.") Aye, but it was the practice ; and was not this a sufficient reason for calling the attention of Parliament to the matter ? If this were not the law, it followed that it could not be right to hold out to the public inducements which could not-be realized. He felt, however, that at the present advanced period of the session, it would not be possible to do much in this question ; but he hoped that the Noble Lord would consider these pro posals of companies, and that part of the late measure which he protested against at the time, of making the Bank of Eng land note a legal tender. They had heard much of the buoy ancy or elasticity of the resources of the revenue of the country, and all this had occurred under a metallic standard, uncon nected with the increase of articles of consumption. He hoped that this would be an. additional reason for adhering to the untangible metallic standard, and that the House would view with all rational jealousy, any attempt at an increased pa per currency. He hoped that we should not be engaged in those evils which must arise from an unredeemable paper currency. Mr. HUME, after some preliminary remarks, expressed his opinion that the Noble Lord should lay upon the table a state ment of stock at the commencement of his office, showing the amount at that period and at the present moment. He was opposed to any Ministers buying and selling stock, for in most of these transactions, the result only showed a loss. With regard to the exportation of coal, he could not see how that branch of trade would come in competition with the manufac turing districts, seeing that it was required for the courts of France or Holland. It appeared to him, that if they created a market by the repeal of the tax on the article, it must be beneficial to the interests of the country generally. The Hon. Gentleman then adverted to the various proposals brought forward in the budget of the Noble Lord, and expressed his con currence in them, though he regretted the Noble Lord had not gone further. He approved of the Noble Lord's promise to take off stamps on Almanacks, and he had hoped that the remainder of tne stamps would have been also taken away. Let the Noble Lord do this, and he would do more to promote the welfare of the people than he imagined. Then as to the duties on spirits, he firmly believed that if spirits were as cheap as beer there would be no drunkenness. The Government had not taken the right course to put down drunkenness. He did not know what information had been obtained by the " Drunken Committee"—(A laugh)—but he certainly was anxious to know whether their opinion was in accordance with his own, for he found many persons even conforming to his own notions on this matter. The Honourable Gentleman proceeded to advert to the Sinking Fund, which, he contended, had done more harm than good. The Noble Lord certainly deserved the thanks instead of the censure of the House. He consi dered that with reference to the various estimates they might be reduced. Mr. O'CONNELL said he had one word to say for Ire land. He heard of prunes, currants, salad oil, stockjobbing , foreign newspapers—in a wo r d, o f re li e f t o b e g i ven in every way and to every article, but he heard little of Ireland.—( Hear and a laugh.) By the Grand J ur y Bill i t was recom mended to take off the duties on stamps, but by the decision of the Judges the parties, in order to make the stamp binding, should pay 1/. ; so that they were released from the duty of 3s. 4d., and were saddled with 1/. When the people were fined 11. for each award, in order to make it binding in a country where most of the disputes of the people were decided by award, and the encouragement of which system would tend greatly . to check litigation, they were effectiv e ly s h u t ou t f ro m the facili ties of obtaining justice. The Noble Lord said that he took off one half of the spirit license, and this he called a boon to Ireland. But it was in reality an injury ; for the effect would be to reduce in the country places the number of licensed houses, and increase .the number of illicit stills. Was it a re- lief to Ireland, he would ask, to increase the consumption of whisky ?—(Hear, hear.) The effect would be to increase the consumption of whisky in the large towns, where it must be a great evil. It would be no relief to farmers, for the corn would be still sold if the whisky be lawful or illicit. On the .contrary, by introducing the facilities of drunken ness, it must necessarily check all trade and industry. If the Noble Lord took up the duty on glass, and abolished the 236,0001. duty on flo.t article, he would grant a boon to the people, and consult the health and comfort of the people. That trade was utterly ruined. There were only two glass factories in Ireland, one in Cork, - another in Dublin, and he was told one in Waterford, all in a ruinous state. It was well to make a distinction between Scotland and Ireland, for the facility of transmission by the introduction of steam brought Ireland and England in such close connection that if some pro tection were not afforded to Ireland, she could have no trade. Mr. S. RICE said, as far as the country parts of Ireland were concerned, the project of the Chancellor of the Exche quer would prevent illicit distillation, and so far no one could deny that it was not a good one. But the Hon. Member for Dublin said that it would increase the consumption in the towns, where it was most desirable that the consumption should be diminished.—(" Hear," from Mr. O'Connell.) Now to prevent illicit distillation in the country was going far to pre vent the large consumption of whisky in the towns. Illicit distillation in the towns would have the same bad effect as the small stills in the country—so that in proportion as you prevented illicit distillation would you check the evil of drun kenness and its consequences. It was notorious that illicit dis tillation grew up under the pressure of high duties. Nothing was attended with more demoralizing and disorganizing con sequences than illicit distillation. It arrayed the police and the peasantry, the functionaries of the Government and the people against each other. Even the Magistrates, though they might be called on to crush the system, too often encou raged it, because it enabled the poor tenants to pay a portion of their rents. Then the great expense of collecting the duty was another great evil. As to the duty on glass, the reduc tion of that duty, if it were made, should be met by a corre sponding reduction of its exportation from this country and Scotland, in order to be beneficial to Ireland. In fact it was the assimilation, and not the inequality of duty that destroyed the glass trade. There were certainly some disadvantages under which the Irish and Scotch laboured with respect to the spirit trade, but as a Committee was appointed to inquire into that subject, and as it was important that justice should be done to both countries, Government would wait until the Com mittee gave its report. LordALT HO itP rose.—( His Lordship was for a few mi nutes inaudible in the gallery.) In taking off the tax on far mers' servants under eighteen years of age, his object was not so much to relieve the persons who employed them as to render those gervants useful, and to prevent them from the temptations that resulted from their living out of the houses of their em ployers. In confining the taking off of the window duties to farmhouses, his object was to do for the country what he had done for the towns by taking off the house tax. In the cir cumstances in which he found the country placed, he thought he was doing right when he took off the house duty, and if he could find any means to supply the deficiency that would arise from taking off the duty on glass, he certainly would be glad to remove that duty also. If Hon. Gentlemen pressed for so many different reductions, it would be impossible for him to make the reductions he thought would be most beneficial to the country generally. His Hon. Friend had suggested many reductions. He hoped, and even thought, that he should be enabled to make still further reductions, and he assured the House that he would continue to make reductions as long as he could make them consistently with the public service. He had every hope that the situation of the country would enable him to reduce taxation to a still lower amount. With respect to what he had done regarding spirit licenses, it would not have the effect his Hon. Friend supposed. Mr. PEASE was glad to congratulate the House on the removing of the house duty ; but what he especially rose for was to express his satistaction at the Budget that had been now introduced. He saw that such reductions had been made as might be expected from a liberal Ministry. The taking off the duty on coals would cause advantages to that trade that did not now exist ; but he would say, as far as regarded manufac tures, that that duty came two or three years to late. He did not approve of the protection given to English ships that carried coals to foreign countries, for he did not see the use of a heavier duty on coals exported in foreign bottoms. Mr. M. ATTWOOD considered that the Noble Lord ( Althorp) would have better consulted the interests of the mercantile world by taking off the stamp duties on bills of exchange than by any other reduction he had made. Mr. JAMES was glad that the house tax had been taken off. He was glad when any tax was taken off, but he would be more heartily pleased if he saw the tax upon malt removed. In answer to a question from Sir H. WILLOUGHBY, Lord ALTHORP stated that with respect to the unfunded debt, properly so called, there would be no increased charge. There might be issues of Exchequer bills for private purposes, but for general purposes there would be no increased issues, at least none that could in any way affect the surplus for the year. The cause of the increased charge on the interest for the un funded debt was, that permanent annuities had been changed into terminable ones. Some had been converted into life an nuities ; indeed a very considerable sum had been so converted ; and this also added to the increased charge.• 11Ir. BUCKINGHAM said that the well-wishers of Ireland would not approve of the reduction that had been made in the duty on Irish whisky. Mr. SHAW said that that reduction would not have the effect the Noble Lord expected from it. It would increase drunkenness and the consumption of that spirit in large towns. Mr. R. WALL ACE protested against the reduction of the duty on Irish whisky as not being fair towards Scotland. Besides its having the effect of increasing smuggling, it gave an undue protection to Ireland, which, on the score of fertility of soil, had already an advantage over Scotland. Mr. O'RE ILL Y contended that instead of making a re duction in the duty on Irish whisky it would be far better to equalize the duties on that article throughout the three countries. Mr. E WART said that the duty on tobacco was most un equal, and that the part of the mercantile community engaged in that trade complained bitterly of it. Mr. M. P HILL IP S.hoped the Noble Lord would take the earliest opportunity that was allowed him by any surplus in the revenue to repeal the duty on raw cotton. Mr. T. ATTWOOD concurred with the observations of the Right Hon. Baronet (the Member for Tamworth) respect ing joint-stock banks. They were invented merely to bolster up the present rotten banking system, which was bloated up with disease, and which would end in a fourth panic. The Resolutions were then severally put and agreed to. The House resumed, and the Report was ordered to be re ceived to-morrow (this day.) The Newspaper Postage Bill was read a third time and passed. On the motion of Mr. L ITTL E TON, the Arms Impor tation ( Ireland) Bill was read a third time and passed. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the H ous e adjourned at half -past two o'clock. IRELAND. KINGSTOWN REGATTA—MONDAY. The weather on Mond a y, un lik e t h e preced i ng few d ays, wa s most propitious, but the attendance of spectators was by no means numerous. Two matches came off during the day ; one for the Adelaide Cup—the other for the Gore Booth Challenge Cup. Both prizes were carried off with ease by the yacht Clarence, 15 tons, the property of Mr. R. Sinclair, R. N. Y. C. The Hawk, 30 tons, John Scott owner, R. N. Y. C., was placed second in the two matches. A rowing match followed, between Mr. Robert Walker's Sally and Mr. Henry Kennedy's red gig. It was won by the latter, after a hard contest. TUESDAY. In consequence of the fineness of yesterday, vast crowds of the inhabitants of this metropolis attended the Regatta. Dur ing the entire day the pier, and all the avenues leading to it, were thronged from an early hour with fashionable equipages, which could hardly make their way even to the monument of George the Fourth, so dense was the concourse of pedestrians, both nautical and terrestrial, that lined the road. At the ap pointed hour of twelve o'clock, seven of the yachts which had been only entered the previous evening, for a cup given by the club for R. I. Y. C. yachts not exceeding 15 tons, started. The following are the vessels which sailed in this match : The Tippo, 14 tons; Lancer, 15 ; Morning St;,ls;Sans Souci, 12 ; Pearl (the Little), 14 ; the Shamrock, 10 ; and Caroline, 15. At starting the Little Pearl was decidedly the favourite amongst all the crafty knowing ones. However, the disci ples of Neptunian recreation were disappointed in having their anticipations either realized or falsified, for shortly after the yachts got into the offing, they were completely becalmed, and even after the sun-set gun had been fired from the flag ship in the harbour, it was the opinion of several persons skilled in naval tactics, that they had not rounded the Kish light. Up to eleven o'clock last night there was no intelligence what soever of them. They must therefore be allowed to rest on their oars pro tern., and even in the event of any of them arriving this morning, a considerable difficulty must arise in the decision of the club, as to the real winner. A couple of rowing matches were got up in the bay during the evening. The first match was between three boats, for which the people of Kingstown subscribed 8/. ; won by Mr. Ball's boat, the Legge coming in second. The next was a skiff race, for which the ;following boats were entered for the Garrison Cup : Sylphide Sally Liver Mr. Gibbs. Red Gig Mr. Kennedy. Swan Mr. Banks. The entire number did not not start. Mr. Kennedy's Red Gig won it, stans pede in uno, quite at her ease, and the Swan held next place. There was another unentered race between fishermeu's skiffs, in which the Legge, which had been the second boat in the first race, was victorious. At five o'clock, about two hundred persons sat down to a dijeilne which had been most sumptuously provided by Mr. Hayes, in a marquee, in the terrace in front of his hotel. There were a couple of marquees also pitched opposite the new buildings on the terrace, where the company retired after the dejane, and continued dancing till a late hour in the even ing. The fine bands of the 15th Hussars and Ist Royals were in attendance during the day, and contributed much to the entertainment and gratification of the company. Several pri vate sailing matches were talked of as likely to come off this day, and it was also announced that the yachts were to sail in fleet at the termination of the Regatta. —Freeman's Journal. The Lord Privy Seal, Lord Carlisle, accompanied by Lord Morpeth, proceeded yesterday to St. Leonard's on sea, where the family of the Noble Earl is now sojourning. THE ARMY. (From the Kilkenny Journal of Wednesday.) THE 90TH R&GIMENT.—Two companies and head-quarters of this regiment marched this morning, en route, for Naas, under the command of Captain Wilton. The company to remain till after the assizes, when they are to join the detachment in Carlow, under the command of Cap tain Goulby. The 90th arc succeeded by the 60th Rifles, the first division of which is to arrive here to-morrow from Mullingar. The Hon. Colonel Ellice, and Major Markham, have already arrived. NEW ARRANGEMENT OF PRESBYTERIES. The following distribution of the 230 Congregations, under the care of the General Synod of Ulster, into 24 Presbyteries, was drawn up and sanctioned by the Synod, at its meeting in Londonderry, on the 27th of June 1834. The Presbyteries are to continue to act as at present constituted, and to hold such meetings as may be necessary, until the Ist of September next. They are appointed to meet for the first time, agreeably , to the new arrangement, in the places specified in the follow ing list, on the first Tuesday of September, the Senior Minis ter present to be the Moderator at that meeting ; and should any case, at present pending in Presbyteries, remain undeter mined after the Ist of September, the former members may continue to act together until such case may be issued. 1. ARMAGH.—Armagh, Ist Keady, 2d Keady, Market-hill, Clare, Tandragee, Richhill, Vinecash, Loughgall, Portadown, Benburb--to meet in Armagh. 2. BALLYMENA.-Ist Ballymena, 2d Ballymena, Ahoghill, Randalstown, Duncan, Grange, Portglenone, Cullybackey— to meet in Ballymena. 3. BANGOR.-Ist Bangor, 2d Bangor, Donaghadee, Glastry, Millisle, Kirkcubbin, Grey Abbey, Ist Newtownards, 2d New townards, Ballyw•alter, Portaferry, Dundonald—to meet at Newtownards. 4. BELFAST.—Belfast, Rosemary -street ; ditto, Donegall street ; ditto, Fisherwick-place ; ditto, May-street ; ditto, Townsend-street ; Hollywood, Ballycairn, Lisburn, Ballin derry, Castlereagh, Carnmoney, Saintfield, White Abbey—to meet at May-street, Belfast. 5. CAVAN.—Cavan, Baillieborough, Ballyjamesduff, Coote hill, Drum, Killyshandra, Corboy, Longford, Carrickmaclin, Bellasis, 2d Ballybay, Ballytrain—to meet at Baillieborough. 6. CLOGIIER.—CIogher, Clogerney, Enniskillen, Cavana lock, Maguire's Bridge, Aughnacloy, Ballygawley, Ist Omagh, 2d Omagh, Fintona and Dromore, Cross-Roads—to meet in Clogher. _ _ _ 7. COLERAINE.-Ist Coleraine, 2d Coleraine, Port-stewart, Ballywillan, Dunluce, Ballyrashane, Macosquin, D un b o , Aghadoey, Garva, Carranmore—to meet in Coleraine. 8. CO:VNAUGHT.—KiIIaIa, Westport, Sligo, Turlough, Bal lymote—to meet in Turlough. 9. CONNOR.—Connor, Glenwherry, Buckna, Broughshane, Glenarm, Newtowncrommelin, Clough, Antrim—to meet in Broughshane. 10. DERRY.—Derry, Knowhead, Burt, Faughan and Bun crana, Monreagh, Inch, Moville, Malin, Donagh---to meet in Derry. . . _ 11: Dowx.—Downpatrick, Killyleagh, Clough, Ballyna hinch, Killinchy, Comber, Kilmore, Dromara--to meet in Ballynahinch. 12. DaomoßE.—Dromore, Annahilt, Drumlough, Lurgan, Tullylish, Banbridge, Anaghlone, Magherally, Hillsborough, Drumbo—to meet in Dromore. 13. DUBLlN.—Dublin, Mary's Abbey ; Dublin, Usher's Quay; Stratford, Mullingar, Lismore, Kingstown, Carlow, Cork, Clonmel—to meet in Dublin. 14. GLENDERMOT.-Ist Glendermot, 2d Glendermot, Ist Donagheady, 2d Donagheady, Cumber, Upper Cumber, Ba nagher, Faughanvale, Donemana.—to meet in Glendermot. 15. LETTERKENNY.—Letterkenny, Ramelton, Ramullan, Fannet, Dunfanaghy, Kilmacrenan, Newtowncunningham, Ray—to meet in Letterkenny. 16. MAGHERAFELT.—MagherafeIt, Maghera, Tubbermore, Kilrea, Swattera, Castledawson, Bellaghy, Rasharkin, Finvoy —to meet in Magherafelt. 17. MONAGHAN.—Monaghan, Glennan, Clontibret, Castle blaney, Ist Ballibay, Stonebridge, Lisluney, Ervey, Minter burn, Criggon and Newtownhamilton—to meet in .Monaghan. 18. NEWTOWNLIMAVADY.—Drumachose, Macgilligan, Bal teagh, Dungiven, Boveva, Ballykelly, Largy—to meet in Newtownlimavady. 19. NEWRY.—Newry, Ballyroney, Ist Rathfryland, 2d Rathfryland, Donaghmore, Drumbanagher, Ilountnorris, Dundalk, Loughbrickland, Hilltown, Mourne, Narrow Water—to meet in Newry. . . 20. RAPlloE.—Raphoe, Convoy, Ballylennon, St. Johns town, Ballindreat, Castlefin, Strauorlar, Raws, Donegal, Bal lyshannon—to meet in Raphoe. 21. ROUTE.—Ist Ballymoney, 2d Ballymoney, Billey, Croaghmore, Ballycastle, Ramoan, Armoy, Kilraughts, Der vock—to meet in Dervock. 22. STRABANE.-Strabane, Badoney, Drumquin, Pettigo, Killetur, Urney, Newtownstewart, Derg, Ardstraw, Clady, Douglass—to meet in Strabane. 23. TEMPLEPAFRICK.-Templepatrick, Dundrod, Killead, Donegore, Ballyeaston, Ballynure, Carrickfergus, Island Magee, Ballycarry, Larne, Cairncastle—to meet in Ballynure. 24. TYUONE.-Dungannon, Carlan, Stewartstown, Brigh, Coagh, Moneymore, Cookstown, Orritor—to meet in Cooks town.—Belfast News Letter. POPULATION, &c., OF IRELAND. It is known already that the last census makes the popula tion of Ireland 7,767,401. Of this number 3,972,521 are females—from which it appears that the females exceed the males in Ireland to the extent of 177,641. The population is divided into 1,385,066 families, which occupy 1,249,816 houses. There are 15,308 houses building, and 40,654 uninhabited. The families chiefly employed in agriculture are 884,339 — those in trade, manufactures, and handicraft 249,359—and those in other occupations 251,368. The males 20 years of age are 1,867,765. The occupiers employing labourers are 95,339 ; those not employing labourers 564,274 ; the labourers employed in agriculture are 567,441. The capitalists, bankers, profes sional and other educated men are 61,514, of whom about a seventh are represented to be inhabitants of Dublin. The male servants are 98,742, and the female servants 253,155. _ The greatest number of educated, monied, or professional men, in proportion to the population, is in Leinster, and the next in Munster. The occupiers of Munster ex cee d those of the other provinces. There are fewest occupiers in Con naught. _ _ _ A summary has been taken of the males upwards of twenty years of age who are employed in retail trade or handicraft, as masters or workmen, in each of the counties, cities, and . towns The totals of the most numerous class e s are th e fol- lowing ; Bakers 4,565 Barbers Basketmakers 675 Blacksmiths Brassworkers 1,595 Broguemakers Bricklayers 1,537 Painters Masons Potters Plasterers Papermakers Slaters 2,818 Butchers 7,362 Carpenters 24,404 Cabinetmakers Sawyers Wheelwrights 2,474 Carriers and Carters 4,190 Clothiers 1,415 Drapers Coachmakers 997 Coachdrivers, &c. Coopers Cat tl edealers Corndealers 865 Cloekmakers Curriers Fishdealers 605 Flaxdressers Glaziers, Plumbers Grocers, Green Grocers 3,594 Harnessmakers Hatters, Hosiers 3,137 Horsedealers, &c. Hucksters, Pedlars, &c. 7,569 Marblecutters 1,154 Milkmen l,lBB Millers 2,839 Nailers Old Clothesdealers 1,030 Printers Publicans Ropemakers Saddlers 1,515 Shoemakers Villagedealers 6,943 Spirit-shopkeepers 3,961 Stonecutters Tailors Chandlers Tanners " 1,130 Tobacconists 761 Turners Weavers (not specified) 40,926 Linen Weavers Whitesmiths Woolslubbers, &c 1,720 It thus appears that weavers are far the most numerous of the Irish tradesmen, and that after them come shoemakers, then carpenters, then tailors, then blacksmiths, and then ma sons. The total of all these and similar classes of the popu lation, is 298,833, of which 23,576 are in Dublin. The male servants of the city of Dublin (ancient boundary) are 3,459, and the female servants 11,574. Within this boundary every eighteenth house is uninhabited. The popu lation of this city, within and without this boundary, is 265,316 inhabitants.—Dublin Morning Register. EXTRAORDINARY HEAT.—Such was the intense heat on Thursday the 18th instant, that the Merthyr Mail (from Cardiff) was detained nearly an hour at different places on the road in preventing the wheels being set on fire ; the axletree was so hot, that a passenger severely burnt his hand in endeavouring to turn the screws.—Merthyr Guardian. Elisondo, in the North of Spain, which Don Car los has made his head-quarters, is a small town at the left bank of the Bidassoa, the chief place of the valley of Bas tan, and eight leagues and a half north of Pampeluna. It contains 1,100 inhabitants. It is not generally found on the smaller maps of Spain, nor the Gazetteers in general use. DECREASE OF POOR R A TE.--A detailed ac count of the poor-rates in England and Wales, for the year ending March 25, 1833, has been printed, from which it ap pears that the whole amount levied was 8,739,8811., of which 6,790,799/. was expended for the relief of the poor, 254,4121. in suits of law, and 1,694,6691. for other purposes. The diminution, as compared with the year before is 4 per cent. A very brilliant meteor in the heavens was observed at Stamford on Saturday night, between eleven and twelve o'clock, diffusing a light as powerful as the full moon, with a clear sky. Its duration was about three seconds; and what is remarkable, it was raining fast at the time, though there was a break in the clouds at some distance off.—Boston Herald. It does not appear to be generally known that no person who refuses or neglects to pay the rate for the relief of the poor, which shall be due from, and shall have been de manded of him, shall be entitled to vote, or to be present in any vestry of the parish for which such rate shall have been made, until he should have paid the same. Overseers would do well to enforce this salutary provision, as it would save them much trouble and inconvenience. A ROYAL FROLIC.—There is now living at Bra ding, in the Isle of Wight, an old woman of the name of Ja cob, who relates the following anecdote: —In the early period of his present Majesty's naval career, and during the Ameri can war, Princo William and two other youngsters landed near Ryde ; and as it blew a gale with a tremendous sea, they remained all night on shore, at the house where Mrs. Jacob lived ; and as the room had no shutters nor blinds, they hung blankets against the window to avoid observation, while they enjoyed themselves over their wine, of which they had pro vided themselves a hamper to take on board. In the morning the damsel assisted them to convey the wine to the boat, wait ing for them at the landing ship ; and while she. was engaged in handing it into the boat, the young Prince took her in his arms and seated her, to his apparent great delight, up to her _waist in water, from which situation she was soon relieved by the crew. The Prince then gave her a silk pocket handker chief, with likenesses of King George 111., Queen Charlotte, and the Royal Family, with the remark that she would re member, as long as she lived, that she had been in the arms of the King's son. The old lady had the handkerchief in her possession a sho r t ti me s i nce .—Brighton Guardian. The Rev. Mr. Arundel', the brother-in-law of Mr. Morier, the celebrated author of " Ayesha" and " Zohrab," has just published a narrative of his travels and discoveries in Asia Minor. In this work the writer has brought to light more curious facts connected with gie Seven Churches of the Apocalypse than have ever been collected. The Acts of the Apostles are elucidated in many material points, particularly as regards the travels and ministry of St. Paul. Mr. Arun dell has resided nearly thirteen years in Asia Minor, and his attention has been constantly directed to the elucidation of the geography of this interesting region. LARGE PIKE.—A pike was caught in the Der went Lake on Thursday last, by trolling, measuring three feet seven inches in length, and weighing twenty-two pounds. It afforded the truly old veteran fisherman, " Joe:Jolson," who was accompanied by Mr. Wm. Clark of Keswick, an excellent treat, and called forth a full display of all his scientific know ledge before he succeeded in securing his prize, which he in forms us was attended by another immensely large pike, that approached close up to the boat, as if to scrutinize the cause of, and endeavour to rescue its companion from so perilous a situation.— Whitehaven Herald. NEW COINAGE IN RusslA.--Orders have been issued by the Emperor of Russia for the coinage at the Mint at St. Petersburgh of silver pieces of the value of 15 and 75 kopecks, and of one and a half ruble, to have also the denomi nation of legends of one, five, and ten Polish florins, and also a gold coin of the value of three gold rubles, to be called the imperial of three rubles, or Russian ducat, the legend to be in Russia three rubles, and in Polish 20 florins. These coins to be equally current, whether in Russia or Poland, and may be also struck in Warsaw, having a mark of distinction in ad dition. Authority is also given for the issuing of pieces of 30 kopecks or two florins. The exportation of the precious metals from the port of London, from the 11th to the 17th instant inclusive, was as under :—. Gold coin to Hamburg 2,450 oas. Ditto to Oporto l,llO Ditto to Lisbon 5,000 Ditto to Mauritius 5OO Silver coin to Mauritius 20,814 Ditto to Calais 430,000 Ditto to Cadiz Ditto to New York - 42,193 Silver in bars to Lisbon 24,000 HOPS.—We have received a letter from Hurst green which states that the generality of hops are going, off very fast in that neighbourhood, particularly where they have had much vermin. Where they have had none, the hops are doing well, and are expected to produce from two to six bags per acre, while in many places there will not be a pocket per acre. The hops at Penshurt, Ashurst, Speldhurst, and Tun bridge are completely cut up ; but at Frant, Wadhurst, Tice.. hurst, Burwash, Brightling, Etchingham, and Salehurst, they are doing better, as there are some good lands in those places. Squibs, Willow-hill, and Sneps, are very ",platty." The mill grounds are good in general, except the young ones in the brook, which are gone.—Brighton Guardian. IMPORTANT TO PUBLICANS.—On Saturday last James Hayes, of No. 8, Pembroke -street, publican, appeared at the Court of Conscience, before the sitting magistratea, Alderman Bagnell and Gibbings, charged, upon information, with not having delivered a notice to the Clerk of the Peace, of his having obtained a license within six days after obtaining the same, pursuant to the late Act of Parliament, 3 an. 4. Wm. ch. 68, thereby subjecting himself to a penalty of 101. The magistrates, ou the hearing of the case, convicted him in the mitigated penalty of 21. 10s., the lowest that could be adjudged against him—some peculiarly favourable circumstances appear ing in his behalf, and its being the first penalty of the kind. sought for.—Cork Southern Reporter. At our first Summer Fair, on Friday last, fo ur thousand sheep were penned, th e grea t er part of which were sold at good prices. One lot of lambs belonging to Mr. Long, of Sparkford, sold for 235. a-head. The prices may be quoted as follows :—Wethers, from 30s. to 425. ; Lambs, 16s. to 235. ; Mutton, sd. to 51 per lb. The Bullock fair was very thinly attended, and beef sold readily at 7s. 6d. to 9s. 6d. per score. The sellers of wool demanded 20d. per lb., but the buyers were not disposed to offer more than 18d., and some sales were effected at this price. Our next fair, on Monday the 28th inst., is expected to be much better at tended, and that prices will improve, as the late growing showers will have ensured a considerable quantity of keep._ Sherborne Journal. MEAL HOURS.—Our hours of meals are wonder fully changed in little more than two centuries. In the reign of Francis the First (about 1515), they used still to say-- To rise at five, and dine at nine, To sup at five, and bed at nine, Will make a man live to ninety-nine. The custom of dining at nine in the morning soon relaxed. Still persons of quality long after dined at the latest at tea ; and supper was at five or six in the evening. Charles the Fifth used to dine at ten, sup at seven • and all the court were in bed by nine. Th ey soun d e d the curfew, which warned them to put out their fires at six in the winter, and between eight and nine in the summer. In England a similar change took place. But in some degree it is a change rather of name than of meals themselves. Our ancestors would have called our luncheon dinner, and our dinner th e y wou ld h ave called supper. It is a curious fact that in some of the colleges in Oxford, where allowances are made by the founders for the meals of their scholars, a much more liberal sum is given for their sup per than for their dinner, implying that the su pp er was t h e more substantial meal.— Saturday: Ilfaga2ine. CAUTION.—An inquest was lately held at Corn wood, before A. B. Bone, Esq., on view of the body of a child about fourteen months old. The child had been unwell for some days, from teething. The mother of the child gave him some laudanum for three nights successively, previous to his death, to compose him. On Friday, the 4th instant, the child was seen by a woman lodging in the same house, in com pany with his mother, in the kitchen, apparently in the same state of health as usual. This woman left the house ; on her re turn about two hours afterwards, and going up stairs, she ob served the mother and child lying on the mother's bed, and on the same bed was lying another of her children, who was about seven years old. The younger child was dead, and the mother was in a state of insensibility. On being roused she became sick, and the boy also was sick. On inquiry of the mother she stated that she had felt herself unwell, and had gone to lie down on the bed, taking the child with her, that she had fallen asleep, and on awaking observed the child in a fit, which so alarmed her that she fainted. On opening the body the stomach and bowels were found in such a state as to make it evident that the deceased had died from the effects of some poison, but not from the effects of laudanum. No poison could be found in the house, nor, though diligent inquiry was made, could it be shown that any one resident in it had lately purchased any. After much consideration the Jury found that the child had died from the effects of poison, but by whom administered they could not determine.--Devon Advertiser. EFFECTS OF BUCK WHEAT ON FLEMISH SIIEEP.—M. Ivart, in an article on the succession of crops, mentions a curious fact with regard to the effects of buck wheat on sheep. He says a flock of sheep had been turned into a field of it which was in flower, and after feeding for some time they appeared perfectly intoxicated, and their heads afterwards became very much swollen. M. Vui+ry, in a letter addressed to the Society for the Improvement of the growth of Wool, gives an account of a similar occurrence to some sheep of his own. He says a large number of his flocks were attacked with a violent inflammation two days after having fed in a field of buck wheat which had just been flowering ; the shepherd had never before remarked any such symptoms as those which now appeared. In this case the head swelled, the face broke out in pimples, and the ears elongated and swelled till they were nearly an inch thick ; the poor animals lay on the ground in almost a lifeless state. Cure was, however, effected in a iew days by frequently scarifying the ears. From the ears which were most swollen, the blood came quite in a serous state. The English sheep did not suffer from the effects of the buck wheat at all, and those cross bred between English and Flemish were not so violently attacked as the purely Flemish. The same plant will cause hard swellings in the ears of animals if they eat it before the dew has subsided. The best means of averting all danger is to cut it, and let it partially dry in the sun.—Journal des Connaissances Usuelles. THE POPE'S ROSE.—The Pope has this year sent the golden rose, which he consecrated on the Sunday, styled Lmtare, to the city of Venice, as a token of regard to the capital of the Republic, of which Belluno, his nativaplace, formed a part. The institution of the golden rose goe* back to, the year 1049, in the time of St. Leo IX. That head of the church was anxious to subject directly to the Holy See the celebrated monastery of St. Croix, in Alsace, which w as founded by his ancestors, and over which he had the rights of patronage. By an arrangement the monastery engaged to gseonlddehnimrosaen,dorhi2s oz. successors, onld. Th th e e s fo u u n r d t a h y S is un c d a a l y led in L L:n ta t x , ea, in virtue of the homily of Pope Innocent 111., in order to ex. cite'the Catholics to spiritual joy at the approach of Easter and the end of their penitence. From this idea was established the ritual of the consecration and unction of the golden rose, i o rsh u r etgs e . hi vneet Formerly pronounces st e ohu r ie l na y csetohsveehr Sovereign polishedgse benedictionwasgpo lnd c 4 1 coloured r edv.44 on r y which figures Christ, the King of kings, represented by gold, the most precious of metals, and by its odoriferous balm the for resurrection hihis people, stehri at ts a re v ipg i with carmine, to represent the blood which the Redeemer OWL Pope, after its consecration, carries it in procession in his left P lls. rince or City of Christendom, entitled to the favour y t h h e a e a n r d fii o w th a h fu i of the Church. The Venetian Republic, which was the cradle of several Popes, possessed five of them in the treasury of St. Mark ; they disappeared during the last wars in Italy. The first was given in 1596 to the Doge Vendramin by Sixtus IV., and Gregory XVI. has sent the sixth rose to the capital of his country.—French Paper. 1