The Sun. — London, England, 1861-02-08 00:00:00

IMPEB JAL PARLIAMENT. HOU FE OF COMMONS.—(YESTERDAY.) The h( Atse re-assembled at five o'clock. THE ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN. The SPEAKER. reported to the house that the Address had b ,een presented to her Majesty, who was graciously plea' led to return the following answer : " • Your loya) and dutiful Address affords me much satis „faction, and I rely with confidence on your careful consi derettion of the bills _relating to the amendment of the law t4i Le laid before you, and other important measures," PRIVATE BUSINESS. It was announced that the standing orders had been com plied with in the case of several railway and other bills. Several private bills were also read a first time. PETITIONS. Several petitions were presented in favour of the aboli tion of church rates, for ah alteration in the present mode of rating for the relief of the poor, and for Parliamentary Reform and Retrenchment, &c. INDIAN ARMY. Colonel SYKES gave notice that he would move for certain returns in connection with the Indian army. TRANSFER OF SEATS. Lord ENFIELD gave notice that on Friday week he would move for leavo to bring in a bill to transfer the seats of St. Albans and Sudbury to the parish of St. Luke's, Chelan. BULLION. On the motion of Mr. HANKEY the following was ordered :—Return of the amount of bullion purchased and cold by the Bank of England, distinguishing gold from silver, and bar gold from foreign gold coin, in each month from 31st Dec., 18,59, to 31st Dec., 1860; also the excess of Payments to or of receipts from the public, of British gold coin ; and also the amount received from the Mint during the same period (in continuation of Parliamentary paper, No. 86, of session 18Q0). REDUCTION IN THE DOCKYARDS. Sir F. SMITH asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether a considerable reduction in the number of ship wrights and other workmen in her Majesty's dockyards had taken place since the close of the last session of Par liament, or is now contemplated; and if so, whether it was in consequence of any intention to substitute iron for wooden ships of war, or to employ private builders more extensively than heretofore. Lord C. PAGET said that no reduction to any extent had yet taken place, but it was contemplated to reduce a certain number of men employed in the dockyards next month. Such reduction was in consequence of the substitution alluded to. RAILWAY ACCIDENTS. In reply to Mr. BHNTINCK, Mr. M. GIBSON said that the facilities afforded by railway companies to the railway inspectors to obtain every information in reference to railway accidents rendered unnecessary the recommendation of the committee last year with respect to issuing commissions of inquiry. It was not intended to introduce any bill to interfere with the free action of railway companies. The inspectors had reported on the railway accidents that had occurred since the pro rogation of Parliament, and their report would be laid before both houses. TRADE MARKS. In reply to Mr. Bess, Mr. M. GIBSON said that two bills had been prepared on this subject, and would be introduced in a fortnight. THE QUEEN'S SPEECH. The Royal speech was considered, and the usual order for supply was agreed to. BANK OF ENGLAND (CONSOLIDATED FUND; ACT. The house having resolved itself into a committee on this subject, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he rose for the purpose of moving resolutions on a subject of considerable importance but they were not of a nature to call forth any expression of the judgment of the house on the most important parts of the plan that he should have to propose. They were not resolutions containing the main propositions of that plan, but resolutions required by the house as a necessary preliminary to allow him to submit that plan to the house. He should move two resolutions for the purpose of altering the anode in which up to the present time the Bank of England received payments from the State on account of its management of the national debt, and likewise the mode in which the Bank of Eng land made certain allowances to the State, first of all on account of exemption from stamp duty upon its notes, and secondly on account of the profit which it was estimated , the Bank of England derived from the issue of bank notes. The mode in which that matter was regulated up to the' present time was as follows :—The act of 1808 assigned to the Bank of England, without any specified limitation of, time, a certain rate of remuneration for its trouble and cost in managing the public debt. The actiof 1844, introduced' by Sir It. Peel, fixed the amount which the Bank of Eng land was bound to pay for its exemption from stamp duty on bank notes. The amount was fixed under a certain rule by which the bank was to pay upon the full amount of the profits on its notes issued, and then it provided that the sums due on these several accounts should be deducted from the remuneration;payable to the bank on account of its , management of the public debt. That rule in the act of 1844 would be pe:cfectly eouiformable with the mode of dealing with the public revenue in use at the time ; according to wb ich it was common, if the public convenience was served thereby, to make large deductions from the public revenue before it was brought to account in the exchequer. The only question on which he asked the committee to give a vote that night was this, that they should apply to those transactions the principle established by the act of 1854 namely, this, that the allowance the bank made to the state in respect of certain privileges, should be paid directly to the state, and so constitute part of the public revenue. On the other hand, the charge against the state in regard to the cost of the management of the public debt should be i likewise charged upon the consolidated fund, and which thel bank should receive in gross, instead of receiving as it now did the residue of that charge. It was, therefore, a very' simple matter. With respect, however, to the subject of certain communications between the Bank and the Govern-: ment, the committee would be, probably, more or less aware, they had embraced other changes. Those changes he! thought would be more conveniently discussed when the bill which he hoped to introduce would be before the house, particularly as that bill would be very simple in its terms, and carry on the face of it, in a great degree, its own expla 'nation. He had only just presented to the house, in obe dience to its orders, certain papers whicli he thought would make any further explanation unnecessary at that hour on Ids part. Ile might, however, state, in a very few words, what the general effect of the arrangement would be. There were four points over and above the changes which he would ask the committee to sanction by direct resolution as to the method of settling the accounts. The four points wore these. In the first place, he proposed to substitute a specific period or term of years during which, on the one band, the public, and, on the other, the Bank, should be liable to pay and receive respectively a fixed rate of remune ' ration for managing the national debt, in lieu of inserting that in an Act of Parliament with a specified limit of time. In the second place, it was proposed to change the basis on which terminable annuities were now reckoned for the pure pose of determining the remuneration to the Bank for the management of the national debt. They were now reckoned at 25 years' purchase, hereafter they would be reckoned at 15 years' purchase when granted by Parliament for a term exceeding 15 years, and 10 years when granted SIT that term or a less term than that. He proposed, also, to alter the rate of remuneration, and that course was the point to which the attention of the house and the com mittee would be principally directed. He would not enter then into a statement of the present or proposed rates, which be thought hon. gentlemen would gather for themselves from the papers now before them. The remuneration now received by the Bank for managing, he thought, L'736,000,000 of the public debt was about £250,000 a year, and the new rate would be as near as possible £200,000. The difference of £50,000 would be a saving effected on the part of the public; and lastly, in agreeing to reduce the rate o f remu neration the Bank of England had likewise undertaken to render increased service to the public—for they proposed both to give new facilities for payment of the public divi dends at their branches in the country to those persons who may wish to receive them, and likewise they proposed greatly to shorten, if they could not altogether abolish, those periods which were known as the periods of " shut ting," the shortening of which would, he believed, afford rda very material increase of facility and convenience in all transactions connected with the funds. He did not at pre tient anticipate in any manner an expression of opinion from the members of the committee upon this subject. They would, he hoped, understand that if the papers had only just been presented to them it was in fact because the docu ments n case try for that information were only completed that morning, when a tneei ing of the proprietors of the Bank of England was held for the purpose of considering that arrangement. 'But although he asked for no expres sion of opinion, and although the resolutions he proposed 'involved no approach to an expression of opinion, yet he certainly should not think it right to address the house, even at that preliminary stage of the subject, without ex- Pe ssin g his hope that it would be thought that all things considered this would be a fair and equitable arrangement, and above all his strong sense of the cordial and con ciliatory manner in which the whole communications connected with it have been conducted by the autho rities at the Bank, and the wise and enlightened spirit in which they approached the con.sideratien of the ques tions, which would have been far more difficult if they had been approached in a spirit more narrow and with a less appreciation of the public interest. With that exp lanation 1 he should place in the hands of th e chairman the tw o reso lutions relative to the meth o d o f account with the Bankof England. • The following resolutions were then agreed to That it is the opinion of this committee that any su m . which are or may be by law payable to the Governor -- nd Campany of the Bank of England, on socount of the char ge for management of the unredeem ed public debt, shall hence forward be pail without deduction out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom." " That it is the opinion of this committee that the pay ments now made by the Governor and Company of the Bank a England, as prescribed by the A . ct of the ith and Bth of Vie., cap, 32, by way of deduction from the charges of management of the unredeemed public debt shall hencefor- I ward be payable and paid by the said Governor and Com pany of the Bank of England as follows—that is say, the sum of £60,000, being a composition for stamp d , ea to her Majesty's Inland Revenue • and the whole allow nee out of profits of issue, being at this present time £l2 078, to the Exchequer, to form part of her Majesty's thiscellaneous revenue." POST-OFFICE SAVfNGS BANKS. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER again rose, and said he had now to propose another resolution, which was also of a character strictly preliminary, and which re- lated to a point entirely distinct from the former one, al though both were connected, and both involved considerable liability for the Consolidated Fund. The resolutions which he had now to propose related to a subject on which great interest was felt in the country, and relative to which he entertained a sincere hope there would not be found any ir reconcileable or -very serious difference of opinion. Her Majesty's Government had been for some time back prepar ing a plan by means of which a very effective and easy ma chinery of the Post-office in connection with money orders might be made available for effecting a great extension of the facilities now— The CHAIRMAN (Mr. Massey) called the right hon. gentleman to order. The present committee could only consider a resolution relative to the Consolidated Fund. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he would then give notice for a committee fin* to-morrow. The house then resumed. PAROCHIAL RATING. Sir G. C. LEWIS rose to ask for leave to introduce a bill for the amendment of parochial assessment in England. He did not intend to propose any alteration in the existing law of rating, nor any alteration in the rules which determined the liability of property to local rates, or which defined the different proportions in which that liability affected different kinds of property. He proposed to introduce an improve ment in the made of assessment. It was well known that the present mode of assessment was defective, and it was in the power of the parish officers to depart from the general assessment of the parish, and to adopt an arbitrary assess ment of their own, and his object was to introduce greater uniformity and greater certainty in the mode of making the assessment on which rates were levied, and depriving parish officers of the power of departing from the general assess ment. The measures would be confined to the poor rate and the county rate. With regard to the county rate, he proposed that the county justices should appoint a board of their number, of not less than five or greater than 11, to be called the assessment board of the county, and he proposed a similar board for boroughs. These boards would be em powered to require returns from the parish officers, and to enforce their production, and to examine witnesses. The board would have the power to direct a revision of the lists, and in case of necessity to appoint valuers whose valuation would be open to inspection. Persons would be allowed 14 days to make objections, whitb. the board were to hear. Appeals to the sessions would be allowed on questions of law, but not on questions of fact or value. The valuation so arrived at by those boards would be the assessment of the respective parishes, and from that assessment the pa rish Officers could not depart, and upon it every rate would have to be made until such valuation should be revised and new property had grown up. In the discussion which had taken place last year on this subject it would be recollected it was stated that in rural parishes the assessments varied from 10 to 20 per cent. below the proper rateable value. The right hon. gentleman concluded by moving for leave to bring in the bill. Mr. DEEDES said he agreed it was desirable that a uni form system of rating should be established, as there were very'great discrepancies in the existing system, especially in the rural districts. With regard to the county rate he could not gather that the proposed measure would materi ally amend the present system. In the county which he had the honour to represent there was at this moment a standing committee of the justices charged especially with the supervision of the assessments of the different parishes, in order to see that wherever new property had grown up, or property had become of greater value, it was properly assessed. Sir G. C. LEWIS said the object he had in view was to assimilate the system throughout the country. In reply to Mr. S. ESTCOURT, Sir G. C. LEWIS said the bill would not extend to high way rates. Leave was then given to bring in the bill. HIGHWAYS BILL. Sir G. C. LEWIS moved for leave to introduce a bill for the better management of highways. It was, he observed, almost identical with the bill of last session. The great ex tension of the railway system had rendered improvement absolutely necessary in the law with respect to highways, for the highways had been entirely changed in their cha racter, and country roads that led to railway stations were of more importance than those which were maintained under turnpike acts. After a short discussion, Leave was given to introduce the bill. THE BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. Lord PALMERSTON then rose to move the following resolution :—" That a select committee be appointed to con sider whether, by any alterations ix the forms and proceed ings of this house, the despatch of public business can be more effectually promoted." The noble lord said—Sir, I rise in pursuance of the notice which I have given to pro pose the appointment of a committee to consider whether any change can be made in the forms and proceedings of the house which will tend to accelerate the progress of public business. It is well known that both in the house and out of it there has prevailed for some considerable time past an opinion that some of the forms which have hitherto been in force might be dispensed with without injury to the public interests, and at the same time provide for a considerable ac celeration of public business. It is also well known that seve. ral improvements have already been made in this respect— for instance, much time has been saved by the regulation that no speeches shall be made upon the presentation of pe titions, as was formerly the practice ; much time has also been saved, and no injury caused to the public service, by the rul3 that a bill once in committee and progress made shall be taken up at, the same point without any specific motion being made for that purpose. Again, much time has been saved by referring bills of the same kind to the same committee. Thus various improvements have been made, all of which have tended to accelerate the public business of the house, and I am not aware that any complaint has been made against those changes, or that they have in any degreeinterfered with a full and free discussion by the house in dealing with the matters brought before them. (Hear, hear.) Undoubtedly the house ought to be very cautious in making changes of this sort, because while on the one hand it is desirable that the public business of the country should be expedited and no time lost in transacting it, yet on the other hand expedition is not the sole purpose for which the house meets. The house meets for the purpose of amply discussing all matters which are brought under their consideration, and they are not to adopt short methods of disposing of the business, which by their very shortness will prevent that full consideration and discussion which are necessary to be given to the matters brought under the notice of the house. We have felt that it is not desirable that the executive government should take upon themselves to propose any specific measures to the house, as we think that these are matters which ought to be considered by a committee, and not a small commit tee, but a committee composed of members from both sides of the house whoare conversant with the proceedings and forms of the house, and who, by their number and impar tiality, can suggest improvements for the acceleration of the business of the house without, at the same time, per mitting any inter erence with the amplitude of the discus sions upon all measures proposed. (Hear, hear.) There are several suggestions which have been made in various quar ters, and I w :11 mention some of them, simply as illustra tions, but without intending to propose them as matters for the committee to consider. One of the suggestions which have been made has not been noticed so much in this house as in the Other house of parliament, and it is that bills which, haNing gone through certain stages in one house of Parliament, should not at the end of the session be dropped, if they cannot be passed before the prorogation takes place, but be taken up at the same stage in the next session of Par liament. (Hear.) That is one suggestion upon which I will not give any opinion. (Hear.) Another suggestion which has been made is that, in the early part of the session, say until Easter or until progress has been made in the esti mates, an additional day in the week should be given to the Government for their measures. At present the Govern ment have only two days in the week, This also is a matter which the committee will probably think it right to consi der; and further, whether to give another day to the Go vernment will be encroaching too much on the days allotted to private members. This is also a matter upon which I will give no opinion, but leave it entirely in the hands of the committee. It has been often discussed whether some limit ought not to be put upon the practice of giving no tices of motions upon the question, of :the adjournment of the house on Fridayto the succeeding Monday. (Hear.) This has been a matter very frequently discussed in this house, and many opinions are entertained upon it —some one way and some the other, and I presume it_is not too much to say that it will be a matter the committee will consider and report their opinion upon. It is thought by many that a great deal of public inconvenience arises from the extreme latitude taken by hon. members on going into committee of supply, on the house of frommo tions foorththereresuabrjeeettismetesnwdhteon the pre v interposition e n going into a committee of supply. Hon. gentlemen come down to the house prepared to discuss the estimates, and when they arrive here they find that instead of going into that committee the house is talking about the affairs of Syria, Italy, or India, or some other matter. This is also a matter which I think the committee will take into their consideration. Ou the other hand, it is an old maxim that " grievance and supply go together," and therefore it is thought that when supply is to be proceeded with hon. members may talk of everything else. (Hear, hear.) This is a practice which has grown up very much of late years ; so much, indeed, that you, sir, have not thought it right to interfere, but there has been a great departure by the house from the rules laid down, and particularly in this respect, that when an hon. member gets up and is beginning to make a speech without any specific motion—a speech wholly F ear—he says he will move the adjournment of the 'mle- and then he goes on and makes a speech altogether 1111 2 °T meeteal with the question whether the house ought to adjourn or not. , (Hear, hear.) It is a question whether the etriet rule not to be enlaced which requires that every THE SIIN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 8, 1861 member shall speak to the question before the house, ma that when he makes a motion "that the house do adjourn," he'shall not be confined to giving reasons that it shall adjourn. (Hear, hear.) Without giving any opinion upon this point, I think I may observe that it will be ono of the questions which the committee will have to consider. I have thrown out these various suggestions, which appear to my mind at present, and which have been referred to by different members at former times, I shall propose that the committee consist of 21 members—a number which will enable it to be composed of members from both sides of the house, and they will go fully into the question and report how far the public busi= nese of the house can be accelerated without any interfer- ence with the useful forms of the house being allowed. :Hear, hear.) I beg to move the resolution which stands in my name. The question having been put, Mr. HORSMAN said the terms of the resolution were so restricted that it would render the proceedings of the com mittee entirely inoperative. During the last 23 yearscom- mitten had been appointed for the purpose of reforming the proceedings of the house, and the alterations made had considerably reduced the opportunities formerly afforded to members to make speeches or motions. But had those al terations brotight them to a sttte in which they desired to be ? Had they not rather increased than diminished the evils complained of ? He believed that the experiments which had been tried had not succeeded, but that they had failed, and they were now about to proceed in the same direction, instead of first considering whether or not they might not, to some extent at least, have been mistaken in the course they had adopted. The committee of 1838 stated most clearly in their report that the impediments which existed to the progress of business rested with the Govern ment. The report of that committee recommended two classes of alterations—the one as it applied to the forms and proceedings of the house and the privileges of private mem bers, and that class of recommendation ,was carried into practice, but the other class, which applied to the business of the Government and their duties and responsibilities, had not only not been adopted, but was, he believed, forgotten and disregarded. He would now move an amendment to the noble lord's resolution, and that after the word " proceed ings" be added the words " by a more careful preparation of Government measures—by the early introduction—by a judicious disposition of the business in the two houses, and by the order and method of conducting the business, the despateh of public business can be more effectually pro moted." He thought this addition would enable the com mittee to consider the whole of the matter, and he would venture to suggest their insertion. He believed it was not so muchnew rules that they required, as that the business of the house should be properly conducted by the Government. When he read those words " more careful preparation o : measures and their earlier introduction," he asked whether of late years either of those suggestions had been attended to ? (Hear, hear.) Last year there were 120 or 130 Govern ment bills, whereas the advice of the late Sir R. Peel was that a Government should not introduce many measures, but only such as they thought they should be able to carry. He found that some of those important measures had been introduced in July, and the most important, the Indian budget, very late in August. (Hear.) They could not complain that the house had obstructed business by taking advantage of the forms. He had a list of all the measures that had been passed since the Reform By", and he found that the greatest number, 154 public acts, had been passed last year. (Hear.) The next year in numbers was 1853, when 137 measures were passed. A great cause of com plaint was the accumulation of orders at the end of the session. So far back as 1821 an unreformed House of Com mons passed a resolution limiting such orders to 20, but last year as many as 50 or 60 orders might be seen on the paper for a single day. For these reasons he thought that the powers to be given to the committee might be very much extended, and that thereby considerable assistance might be given to the Government in overcoming these diffi culties. As to the noble lord's suggestion, that an addi tional day should be given to the Government, he begged to observe that a new theory had recently been broached, to the effect that the function of the House of Com mons was merely to pass such measures as might be sub mitted to them by the Government. He demurred to that theory, which was the rule of conduct under despotic Go vernmentswhen Parliament had nothing to do tut register the edicts of the minister. The British Parliament had two far higher functions. The first was not to accept the mea sures of ministers, but to discuss, criticise, examine, and if necessary reject them; and therefore to provide that the measures of the Government should go through the same ordeal as the bills of private members. The second and still higher function was the exercise of the privilege of initiating discussion, because these much abused prelimi nary discussions were the bases of legislation, and there was not an important measure which had become law which had not first gone through this preliminary stage. The noble lord the member for London had himself told them how he had commenced the discussion of Parliamentary reform in 1819, which discussion had been commenced by other mem bers long before, but he (Mr. Horsman) should like to know how many times had the noble lord had to address a weary house and impatient treasury benches before he was able to introduce the Reform Bill as a Government measure? (Hear, hear.) There was not one great measure in short which had not been the subject of these preliminary discus sions, and even the very measure which was now on their table, the Bankruptcy Bill, was first introduced by the noble lord, and by him brought under discussion when he sat on the Opposition side of the house. There were therefore two things which this committee must bear in mind. The noble lord had very truly said that, although this was a very important consideration, it was not the most impor tant, and therefore due care must be taken of the rights of private members. They must also take care of the rights of the minority. The struggles of minorities, their battles, and final victories, had been the best tests of, and the highest tributes to, our free institutions, and had furnished the best and brightest chapters in our constitutional and national history. (Cheers.) He feared that giving the Government more time would only have the effect of making them more slovenly; and there fore he hoped that the committee would remember that whilst on the one side they should be anxious to give every facility to the Government for the preparation of their mea sures, on the other they should take care to secure the pri vileges of private members. He moved as an amendment, after the words " business of the house," second line, to insert these words, "And by a more careful preparation of measures, their earlier introduction, a judicious distribu tion of business between the two houses, and the order and method with which business is conducted." Mr. DISRAELI was surprised to hear these complaints, as he had not been aware of the existence of the grievance of which the right hon. gentleman complained. He thought that the house got through a great deal of business, and get through it in a very satisfactory manner. They had even suffered from too prompt legislation, as they all knew that measures had been passed in such haste that it had been subsequently found necessary to bring them back for re vision. He should not think of opposing the motion of the noble lord, because he knew that occasional criticism of their forms and proceedings must be advantageous. The character of their business changed with time, and no doubt modifications in the mode of carrying it on were absolutely necessary. He had served on two of these business com mittees, when they were favoured with the evidence of gen • tlemen from America and France—when France had a parliamentary Government—and he believed that on the whole the recommendations of those committees were ad vantageous; but still he should object to anything which was calculated largely to alter the character of that house and its mode of conducting business. (Hear, hear.) The principal duty of that house was not merely to pass the measures of the Government, It was a House of Parlia ment, the great council of the nation, specially nominated to carry on the business of the country, and to state the opinions of its constituents. The legislation of the govern ment was often the result of these expressions of public opinion. Whenever measures were laid before them, they had shown that they could carefully attend to those measures. He could not approve of the right hon. gen tleman's amendment as much as he did of his speech. The amendment implied a censure on the government mode of transacting business. and it must be remembered that the language borrowed by the right hon. gentleman was not from the formal resolution of the committee, but from the critical observations which wore to be found in their report. (Hear.) He had no doubt that the present government had, like all other governments, occasionally shown a want of skill in the conduct of public business, and it was quite certain that in skilful management much of the remedy might be found ; but the noble lord and his colleagues had at least profited by the experience of last session, and had not in the present announced any measures of an unusually comprehensive character. (A laugh.) It was a question, then, when nothing that the most captious critic could object to was brought forward, whether the house should agree to a resolution which was certainly of an uncourteous chardcter. He thought, therefore, that they could not accept the amendment, but should be satis fied with the motion of the noble lord, because the latter contained everything with which a committee of the house ought to deal. They could deal with the forms and pro ceedings, but they could not deal with the discretion and capacity of government. They could not attack a minister for being clumsy—nor could they, by providing that mem • leers should speak only on the motion before .the house, restrain what was called unnecessary oratory. As to the form of those proceedings, he thought that advantage might be gained by adopting the motion of the noble lord, and therefore he should vote for it, hoping that the right hon. gentleman would withdraw his amendment. Mr. BRIGHT agreed with what both right hon. gentle men had said, but he totally disapproved of the amend ment. He took it for granted that a committee would not prescribe that bills should not be brought in aft er a certa i n day, or pass an order that certain bills should bo intro duced in the other house. It was quite obvious that all that should be left to the practice of parliament and the public opinion of the house. Ile hoped that the right hon. n g o e n b l t e l e l m o radn wouldwouldonmo tmpressa t h e i t s o t a h m e en d committeemen t , but a w t i h s h a t t the h a t the house should have all possible assistance. They all knew that the principal difficulty lay in the nicely balanced n o e f s s th as e h st o a us te e o to f p s a e r e tie th s a;titthbeeointhgerthgeotbtushrinouegssh aosf Possible. EO soon as they should have a considerable t n t l e e h b u a l s if jority on one Sidt. 4 ; the business of the country would be got through with much gfeatet iiiitsidity; (Hear.) Sir G. C. LEWIS said that last session the hon. member for Dumfries had brought forward a motion on this subjecti and the hon, member for Finsbury had brought forward a - - similar Modal ) gild both members had withdrawn their motions on the distinct understanding that his noble friend would bring the subject forward during the present session. Besides this, a noble earl had brought the subject forward in another place, and the remarks with which that noble earl introduced it shelved how, in his opinion, business ought to be transacted. lie thought that these circum stances fully accounted for the Motiou of his noble friend ; and he was of opinion that nothing that could be in eluded concerning the transaction of their business should be shut out from the attention of the committee. The right hon. gentleman proposed to insert, as the subject of in quiry, a recommendation of a previous committee. They were all agreed that a careful preparation of measures was very desirable, and also that at an early period of the ses sion all measures which the house could possibly consider should be brought under its attention. These were Par liamentary truisms which they all admitted, but to make them subjects of a committee quite independent of all ques tions of censure on the Government seemed to him (Sir G. Lewis) to be quite superfluous and uncalled for. He there fore felt it his duty to object to the insertion of the words proposed by the right hon. gentleman. He did got desire to anticipate the labours d the committee, but inasmuch as his right hon. friend had wished to make it appear that the Government had a sort of interest in diminishing the time at the disposal of private members, he wished to place before the house what he considered to be the main defect in the present arrangement of Parliamentary business. The Go vernment, looking simply to their selfish interests, could have no object in increasing the time at their own disposal. The labour was greater to them on the nights devoted to Government business than on the nights devoted to motions of private members. The effect of the arrangement by which the business was now conducted was this, that out of five days in the week, three or four were almost entirely devoted to business brought before the house by individual members, and the Government could only command before Easter two nights in the week. It so happened that in the early period of the session the principal part of the Government business before the house comprised the army and navy estimates. There was, however, a power of making motions upon going into committee of supply, and therefore the Government could not be said to have even two nights, for the time was very considerably diminished by motions on going into committee. Independent members, who came down perhaps at six o'clock, expecting the army or navy estimates would be taken, might find before the house a debate about an Indian rajah, or an island in the Pacific, or some other subject wholly unconnected with the subject of the estimates. This was a great inconve nience to hon. members, because they could not know how long the motion would last. This was a slight grievance, but it was of perpetual recurrence. It was quite correct that only one motion could be made on going into com mittee of supply, but a series of resolutions or observations could be made which might occupy a long time, and it was only in the case of a division taking place, and the question being decided by a vote of the house, that the rule men tioned by the right hon. gentleman would come into force. The consequence was that a large portion of the legislative business of the session was thrown forward to the months of June, July, or August. Lord Derby particularly called the attention of the House of Lords to the subject at the end of last session, and said that the House of Commons having one stage more on every bill than their lordships, and the Government having only two days a week, these being greatly occupied by motions on going into committee of supply, and thus being liable to interruption and great delay by the introduction of new subjects, the real time at the disposal of the Government was almost nil, and that therefore the number of bills which received the royal assent before the end of July was comparatively small. For several years previous to the year 1860 the number was 61, while the average number receiving the royal assent from July to the end of the session was also 61, so that a large portion of the public business was transacted while very few hon. members were in attendance. The remedy proposed by the noble earl was, that bills should continue from one session to another, and that those passed by one house in one session might be taken up by the other house in the following session, without being assented to by both houses. He would not now stop to inquire whether that recommen dation was entitled to their consideration, but only say that the present mode of transacting matters necessarily threw over:a very large portion of the legislative business to the very end of the session, and that any general resolution for the early introduction of business would be entirely barrels until time were afforded for the due consideration of bills. It was quite clear they could not lay down any inflexible rule on the subject, and that it must be left to the discretion of the Government for the time being. If the Government did not conduct the public business in a creditable and pro per manner the house had the remedy in its own hands. (Hear, hear.) He trusted they would not think it neces sary to insert the words proposed by the right hon. gentle • man, but agree to the motion as originally proposed by his noble friend. . Mr. NEWDEGATE said that he felt deeply indebted to the noble lord for having fulfilled the pledge first given in answer to a motion made by him (the hon. member), that the house should appoint a committee to consider the best mode of proceeding with public business. It would be within the recollection of the house that they were nearly worn out last session, by finding about 50 orders of the day repeatedly placed on, the notice paper. He felt that the words proposed by the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Hors man) would rather narrow the subject submitted to the committee. He quite admitted that it was useless for the Government to introduce measures to the house if they had not time to proceed with them. He trusted the committee would proceed to consider gravely whether it would not be to the advantage of business that the Government should have more time before Easter for the consideration of their measures. It was idle to coaceal the fact that the practice of the house was to expect the Government to originate the most important business of the session. He should be sorry, however, to see any limitation put to the right of independent members to make motions on going into committee of supply. The object of the com mittee should be to enable the house to discuss all im portant measures with the largest number of its members present, and not when they were so fatigued that they would pass measures hastily, which they had not the strength to inquire into. He trusted the understanding . would be come to that the nights appropriated to the Go vernment would be considered sacred to Government busi ness, and that they would not seek to invade the time already devoted to private members. There was also tho question as to what hour their debates should usually ter minate. He thought it would be a provision consistent with the dignity of the house and with the health of mem bers, that no debate should be originated after one o'clock in the morning. (Hear, hear.) Mr. M. MILNES thought the house had not much to expect in the way of expediting the public business by the Government committee. He very much agreed with his right hon. friend opposite that the business of the house was on the whole already expedited with great skill. He believed the speedy advance of public business would really rest in quite another direction. It might be expedited by bringing the business of the House of Lords into co-opera tion with the business of that house, so that at the same moment both might be going on with important business, instead of so much to be transacted, first in one house in the early part of the summer, and afterwards in the other house. Sir J. PAKINGTON thought that some of the hon. members who had taken part in this discussion had lost sight of the 'practical question, how wes that house best to conduct the business of the country ? He hoped his right hon. friend (Mr. Horsmsn) would not press his amend ment. He felt bound to go further than his right hon. friend the member for Bucks, in giving his assent to the motion of the noble lord. He felt greatly indebted to the Government for having made the motion, and he agreed to it most cordially ; bat he must say he thought the House of Commons had born more odium and blame than it deserved for the delay of business during the last session. He thought the cause of our late legislative failures must be attributed to the Government itself rather than to the house, and he thought it was very much the programme of the Govern ment which led to those failures. (Hear, hear.) When they called on the house to accept their commercial treaty, their budget, and a bankruptcy bill of 500 clauses, they called on the house to do that which was simply an impossibility. He was quite free to own that the Government had corrected their errors in the present year. Their programme was a much less ambitious one, and it also appeared that the mea sures they were about to introduce were ready at the meet ing of Parliament. He felt great regret, however, that the noble lord had this year departed from the precedent which he established last year, of calling Parliament together at an earlier period. He very much wished that Parliament had been called together fully three weeks earlier, and he saw no reason why it was not. He really thought one of the evils to be corrected was the intolerable length of the session. The object of the motion was for a committee to consider whether the forms and proceedings by which they transacted business did not require amendment. Hon. mem bers had praised the manner in which the business of the house was conducted, but, without the least disrespect, he must say that he could not concur in that opinion. He be lieved they might perform their business very much better. Minor evils were complained of, one of which was great loss of time, and he thought that was to be attributed to their forms of proceedings, and not to the conduct of individual members. Nobody would deny, again, that every year a great deal of business was left undone, and, in the third place nobody would deny that of the business done a considerable part was hurried over in a very inde corous manner in August, and after a great portion of the house had ceased to attend to their duty. At the end of the session they endeavoured to hide under a very bad cloak a want of attention to the business of the country of which they ought to be ashamed. Every July the minister pro posed what was called the "massacre of the innocents ;" namely, announced what bills of the year would be aban doned. That annual ceremony was nothing more nor less than a confession that the House of Commons was unable to transact the business of the country. The fact was that the immensely increasing business of the country had out , growt% the forms of its proceedings, and they ought to adapt: those arms so as to enable them to transact that business in - a Sirs'factory manner. He had been long convinced that those forms might be simplified, modified, and greatly im provedi .without the slightest undue encroachment on the liberties-and privileges of individual members. So strongly was he of that :minion the:: he himself, in 1854, moved for the committee to whleh allusion mad been made, and he ear nestly hoped that the committee now pcoposed to be ap pointed would carry out the important object referred to in a spirit less cautious and less timid than that wii.4.ch cha racterised the committee of 1854, over which he presisied• To show that the recommendations of these committees were:not:always adopted by the house, he might mention that one of the few resolutions to which that committee had agreed was, that the house at its rising on Friday should stand adjourned until the following Monday, unless the house otherwise ordered. Without wishing to pay any disrespect to that committee, he said that they were not disposed to alter the forms of the house, and that though they passed eight or nine resolutions, they referred to very trifling and unimportant matters. He submitted to them 30 or 40 resolutions, proposing changes which he thought might be advantageously made in the forms of the house, but they scarcely entertained them ; yet there was not one of them which had not received the consideration and con currence of the late distinguished Speaker of the house, now Lord Eversley. When he told Lord Eversley how in disposed the committee was to make any change in order to ;expedite the proceedings of the house, his answer was, " Don't be discouraged ; the same thing happened to me in the early period of my Parliamentary career ; but I have seen every one of the changes which I then proposed gra dually brought about ; and depend upon it you will sit long enough in the house to see carried every one of the resolu tions which have been rejected by the committee." The committee proposed by the noble viscount, when they en tered upon their inquiry, would be surprised how moderate those changes were. He was glad that the subject was now taken up by the Government, and he hoped that in their hands it would be placed on a satisfactory footing. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said the right hon. bart. gravely asked them whether they did not think that the proceedings of the house might be very much improved. He (Mr. Dun combe) said decidedly yes. The whole matter lay in a small compass, but he would ask whether much time was not wasted in the vicinity of that table in a long speech about nothing at all. (Laughter.) From a number of years' ex perience in the house he thought that much time was so wasted. Some how or another also they heard of arrange ments being made contrary to the rule of Parliament, to the effect that so-and-so should follow so-and-so in a de bate. It would be far better that the member who first caught the Speaker's eye should have an opportunity of speaking. The arrangements to which he adverted were an encroachment on the right of debate, and ought not to be allowed. If they were to have a committee upstairs, consisting of 21 members, he thought that committe would leave the question very much where they found it, and would not prove so advantageous as a committee of nine or 11 practical men, fully acquainted with the business of the house. There was one branch of inquiry which ought not to be committed to the gentlemen upstairs—namely, that with regard to bills in that and in the other house of Parlia ment, near the time of the prorogation. The Earl of Derby on the 19th of July last made a very rational and sensible proposal in the House of Lords, that that house should ap point a committee to ascertain how Parliamentary business might be better conducted. How was his proposal met ? This case was that there were 58 bills before the House of Commons in their different stages, and 45 sent up from it to the other house ; 19 of which had only come up that morning to the House of Lords to be discussed. It was utterly impossible for the House of Lords or the House of Commons, on the 19th of July, if they were to prorogue at the beginning of August, as they generally did, to get through those bills in a satisfactory manner. The Earl of Derby proposed a committee to consider whether some plan might not be devised by which those different bills might be taken up in the ensuing session at the stage at which they had errived at the prorogation. The answer madeiV the Government was that it might be right to appoint a joist committee on that subject, but that the House of Commons was in such a state of indignation with regard to the paper duties that it would not be safe for a committee composed of members of the two houses to meet. (Laughter.) That was Lord Granville's opinion, and he recommended the noble earl to withdraw his motion. Well, there they were with the paper duties, and the insult which had not yet been resented. Certainly resolutions were pro posed by the noble viscount at the head of the Government in reference to the privileges of the house, but they never mentioned the paper duties ; and pesterity might read them without knowing that such a difference had arisen. Lord Granville's reply to the Earl of Derby was, therefore, quite imaginary. He (Mr. Duncombe) did not think that the in quiry should take place by such a committee as the noble lord now proposed, but by ajoint committee of the two houses. The Earl of Derby proposed that the prorogation should be considered as an adjournment with respect to bills pending, and that they might be re-introduced at the same stage the next session. No harm could proceed from such an arrange ment ; and it would always be competent for either house to reject, if necessary, a bill treasured in that manner. A great deal of public time might be saved by such an ar rangement, and also by gentlemen curtailing their observa tions on matters in which the public were interested. Up to 11 o'clock en notice days, however, the house was fre quently occupied with adjournment questions, merely be cause some members would make speeches, first on China, then on France, then on Italy, then on Austria, and then on India ; so that the Foreign Secretary ought to be like ono of Colt's revolvers, in order to answer them all. He repeated that he would prefer the committee to consist of 5, 9, or 11, instead of 21 members. Mr. V. SC ULLY agreed with the hon. member for Fins bury that with a committee of 21 the matter would be left in much the same state it was in at present. Col. FRENCH said that if the statement of the hon. member for Finsbury were correct, and the proposed com mittee did not embrace the point as to continuing bills from session to session, he did not think that committee would do any good. Mr. HOMMAN then withdrew his amendment, and the motion was agreed to. CHURCH RATES. Sir J. TRELAWNY moved for leave to bring in a bill to abolish church rates. The motion was agreed to, and the bill was brought in and read a first time. CHARITIES. Mr. DILLIVYN obtained leave to bring in a bill to re move doubts as to the eligibility of certain persons to be trustees of certain charities. The house adjourned at 25 minutes to 9 o'clock. LAW INTELLIGENCE.—Feb. 7. COURT OF CHANCERY. (Before the Lord Chancellor.) THE FARL OP RADNOR V, THE SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY COMPANY. This was an appeal from a decision of Vice- Chancellor Kindersley, pronounced on the 15th of November last. The object of the suit was to obtaiir an injunction to restrain the defendants, their servants, agents, and workmen, from digging or removing any rock or gravel, &c., from lands and quarries belonging to the plaintiff, under these circumstances:—The plaintiff is the lord of the manor of Folkestone, and owner of the shore and cliffs running to the north-east of the harbour, which, having been erected under powers conferred by the 47th and 58th of George 111., was purchased by the South-Eastern Railway Company, under the powers of an Act of Parliament in 1843. The company under the first two Acts had power to take stone, rock, &c., from the shore belonging to the plaintiff, for (keeping and maintaining the har bour, such taking being compensated by a sort of percentage upon the toils of the harbour, and pay able to the plaintiff. The defendants had, as is well known, formed a railway and station on the west and south sides of the harbour ; the beach to the south side in front of the station being low and open, and vessels of any burden, being unable to come up there were obliged to go into the inner harbour. In consequence of this, and to enable steamers to land passengers, the defendants pro posed to construct, and were actually constructing, a pier or jetty along the south beach of the outer harbour in connexion with their railway, and for the purpose of forming these works had laid down a tramway on the plaintiff's land, and were taking and using his rock, gravel, &c., for the purpose of thesamorks. It was also proposed to form an extra and,Aslinct pier to the south-east of the harbour at the back of the railway station. The case for the plaintiff was that under the powers conferred by the above Acts of Parliament the company were not at liberty to take the plaintiff's rock, &c., for any other purposes than maintaining and keeping in repair the harbour itself, and that such rock, &c., wild not be taken and applied to any other new works, such as were now being made. The Vice-Chancellor granted the injunction prayed for, and the defendants now appealed. The question turned entirely upon the construction of the before mentioned Acts of Parliament. Sir H. Cairns and Mr. C. Swanston appeared for the plaintiff; Mr. Baily and Mr. J. T. Humphry, for the company, appealing. The Lord Chancellor, without calling for a reply, said that he felt no difficulty in the case. The Vice- Chancellor had arrived at a correct conclusion, and the appeal must be dismissed. [A DVERTISEMENTI—HoIIoway's Pills—Life's Grand Baue.—lndigestion, dyspepsia, or disordered stomach, are more or less the companions of most men whose time is occupied by literary, legal, or commercial pursuits, which prevent the. out-door exercise essential to health. This last is increased in winter in females, and all whom the weather makes prisoners. Holloway's pills have long been famed as the easiest, safest, and most certain corrector of weak stomachs, disordered livers, or torpid bowels. They ensure a healthy action throughout the alimentary canal: without distressing or debilitating the system ; they are the most efficient and painless anti dote of all visceral disturbances; they stimulate, mode rate, or repress any exceptionable function; they make the iligelti9p geed; the body 001 1 E7 and the iniud Tigerns, RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. GREAT WESTERN. The directors of this company have decided to recommend the payment of a dividend at the rate of 31; per cent. per annum for the half-year ending the 31st day of December, 1860, leaving a balance of about £13,000 to be carried forward to the next half-year, BRISTOL AND EXETER. Tho half-yearly accounts of this company to the slst of December last were submitted to the Board yesi,erday, and the directors resolved upon recom rnendirig to the proprietors at the approaching meeting 0. dividend at the rate of 5t- per cent. per Annum. CHARING-CROSS. The report of the directors of this company states that s:nce the last meeting the works connected with the' bridge at Charing-cross have made satis factory prOgress. The necessary foundations and piers at the Surrey side will be sufficiently ad vanced to ens •le three spans of the bridge at that i. point to be plact.'d in position. The company has obtained actual po , , session of sufficient property to enable the contractor'to proceed with the southern abutment and part of t. he viaduct ; and the nego tiations for the purchase of the whole of the land up to the immediate vicin. ty of the Blackfriars t the company will road are so far advanced the very shortly be in possession of the principal pro perty required for the purposes of the railway between these points. The. total expenditure during the half-year has been £68, 956 , of which £55,887 has been paid for land and compensation. The directors have given notice of an intended application in the ensu:ing session of Parliament for a bill to enable the railway to be extended into the city, to a ter minus opposite London-stone and Walbrook, in Cannon-street. As at present laid out, the station accommodation of the railway will be at Lon don-bridge, at the crossings of the great thoroughfares lee,ding to Southwark-bridge, Black friars-bridge, and Waterloo-bridge, and at Char ing-cross. The railway, as at, present laid out, approaches very near to the river Thames, in the immediate neighbourhood of London-bridge. At the crossing of the Borough market it is only 200 yards distant from the Routh bank of the river; and on the north or city side. of the Thames the new broad thoroughfare of Cannon-street is situated only 300 yards from the river. It is accordingly proposed to form a branch line out of the Charing-cross Rail way, a little to the westward of Wellington-street, Borough, and carry it across the Thames by a bridge to a City Terminus in Cannon-street ; the whole length of the proposed line being only 900 yards. The terminus in Cannon-street will be 150 yards from the Mansion-house, 250 yards from the statue in King William-street, and 560 yards from St. Paul's. The estimated cost of the proposed railway . is £525,000 ; and it is submitted that the expendi ture of such additional amount will be amply justi , fled by the large additional traffic which may with confidence be expected from its construction. Tne capital account shows that £195,903 had been received, and £127,581 expended, leaving a balance of £58,322. SOME RSET CENTRAL. The report of the directors states the total receipts on revenue account for the half-year ending the 31st of December last to have been £4,059, and the dis posable balance £3,491, which admits of the usual dividend at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum, less income-tax, leaving a balance of £BOB to the credit of the current half-year, The directors recommend the working of the. line upon the narrow gauge exclusively, and an application is to be made to Par liament in the present session for powei to abandon the broad gauge. The lease of the line to the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company expires on the 28th of August next, and measures have been taken to work it independently when that time arrives. A subscription of £30,000 has been made to the share capital of the Dorset Central Railway, oc,er which this company has obtained running pow e i n and it is expected that the section of that line from Bruton to Temple Coombe will be ready for traffic in the autumn of this year. The exten sion to Bruton is to be completed in the course of the summer. The ca ;lite account shows a total expenditure of £320,236, being an excess over the receipts of £9,589. NEWRY, WARRENPOINT, AND ROS TREVOR. The report of the directors of this company states that the traffic receipts for the six months eliding the 31st December last amounted to £3,073 against £2,479 for the corresponding half of 1859, and against £2,360 for the same half of 1858 ; the work ing expenses were £l,OBB, £1,230, and £756 re spectively. The balance to the credit of revenue was £1,586, out of which had to be paid on the 6 per cent. preference shares £387, leaving £3,199 applicable to dividend. The directors recommended a dividend of 3s. per share for the past half-year, leaving a balance of £454. The junction works were not quite finished, but were expected to be so in the course of next month. To meet the very large in crease in the traffic, consequent upon the opening of the junction line, it would be requisite m,..terially to add to the rolling stock. The revenue account showed that £3,283 had been received and £1,654 expended, leaving a balance of £1,629. DUTCH RHENISH. The receipts for the fortnight ending Jan. 15 amounted to £5,864, and for the corresponding period of last year to £5,136, shawing an increase of 428. The receipts since the commencement of the present book year, on May 1, including the above, amounted to £129,618, showing an increase as compared with the corresponding period of last year of £12,212. The working expenses for the fortnight amounted to £2,884, or 49.16 per cent. of the receipts; and for the corresponding period of last year to £2,539, or 49.42 per cent., showing an increase of £345. The working expenses from May 1, 1860, to Jan. 15, 1861, amounted to £48,233, or 37.21 per cent. of the receipts. The working ex penses for the preceding year amounted to 4002 per cent. RAILWAY BILLS. Yesterday the Standing Orders of both Houses were complied with in the following cases : WHITEHAVEN, CLEATOR, AND EGREMONT.—For an extension to Lamplugh, and enlargement •of existing lines, stations, and works, and power to raise £45,000. WORKINGTON TIDAL BASIN AND RAILWAY. — For a railway and works, at a cost of £24,000. HORSHAM AND GUILDFORD DIRECT. For amendment of Act. HAMMERSMITH JUNCTION. CORK AND MACROOM DIRECT.—For a line be tween these points, at a cost of £120,000. BLANE VALLEY.—For a;railway at an estimated cost of £45,000. WEST LONDON EXTENSION—To raise additional capital, to be contributed as follows :—London and North Western, £35,000 ; Great Western, £35,000 ; South Western, £17,500; Erighton, £17,500; total, £105,000. There is also to be a dock at Fulham. GREAT SOUTHERN AND WESTERN.—For a navi gable cut from the Grand Canal to Inchicore. The following bill was withdrawn :—Limerick and Castleconnell Railway (Extension to Nenagh and Roscrea) ; and the following miscellaneous bills also passed through standing orders :—lsle of Wight Water; Wigan Gasmeter Company ; Kings town Improvement; and New Ross Port and liar bour. MEDITERRANEAN EXTENSION TELE- GRAPH. The ordinary meeting of this company was held yesterday at the London Tavern ; Mr, Moore in the chair. The report stated that the company had expended nearly £9OO of its capital in the construction and laying down the Corfu and Otranto cable, and the land lines connected therewith. The cable laid down by Messrs. Glass, Elliot, and Co., from Malta to Sicily, remained in excellent order, and as soon as the Italian disturbances came to an end a more regular system of transmission would be established between this country and Malta, via Naples and Sicily. It was generally understood to be the in tention of her Majesty's Government to lay down between Malta and Alexandria the cable which was originally made for the purpose of connect ing Singapore and Rangoon. The directors saw no reasons against ultimately realizing the ori ginal intentions of the company in a communica tioa between this country and Malta and Corfu. It was true that this would be effected by a dif ferent route from that originally intended ; never theless, the plans now being adopted were more likely to remain permanent. The directors regretted that they were unable to recommend at present any dividend on the original shares, but they were of opinion that the dividend should be paid on the first issue Gf preference capital shares. The CHAIRMAN. in moving the adoption of the report, said the William Corry was run into wili!e laying a cable for the French Government. The vessel left Malta on the 24th of January, with the Corfu and Otranto cable, and laid it up to within 18 miles of its destination, when she fell short of cable, which was owing to incorrect charts. The loss of this cable would fall on the contractors. 11 is believed that a cable would eventually be laid between Malta and Alexandria. Mr. DEVON seconded the adoption of the report. 4 11 0Wer to questions, the CIIAIRM&I 'Mid the contractors were bo't Ind, under a penalty, to com plete the Corfu and 'Otranto cable by the 31st of December last ; thei , efore they were under a daily penalty of £5 for the nor i-completion. The subject of the appointment oi at editors would be considered at the next meeting. tae rent they paid for offices amounted to £lOO a-yea The report was then adopted, and the meeting separated. EAST INDIA IRRIGATION. Yesterday the Standint - r Orders of both Houses of Parliament were doclar ed complied with in the case of this undertaki lag. Powers are proposed to be taken to enter into ter ms with the Secretary of State in:Council, or the ;supreme local Governments, for these purposes, and raise in the first instance a capital of £2,000,000, with power to increase the same. ,PORTING nTTELLIGENCE. TATTERSALL>S'-THURSDAY. A very small number of subscribers attended this afternoon, and the betting was of the most unim portant character. The Liverpool Steeplechase engaged the largest share of interest. An atis was supported in good quar ters at 10 to 1, 14 to 1 was taken about the Em peror, and a point more to £5O about Franc Picard; 16 to 1 each was booked a gainat Cockatoo, Tattler, and Jealousy to small sums. Old Ben Roe was asked after, but 20 to 1 was refused. 100 to 3 was offered against Kilcock, and 100 to 15 laid against Lamp lugh's Lot. The Chester Cup was not touched upon until late in the afternoon; 100 to 6 was offered against Man ,at-Arms without a response, but his stable com p, anion, Chere Arnie, found admirers at 100 to 8. North Lancashire and Satellite were backed at 1,000 to 30 each, and left off with an upward tendency ; 400 to 10 was taken once about Herne, and 40 to 1 to a; small sum was laid and afterwards offered against Wallace. They Two Thousand Guineas.—Scarcely a blow was st ruck. 7to 1 was freely offered against Dio phantu.s, 9 to 1 each was booked to a little money about Kettledrum and Russley, 8 to 1 was offered age inst Preceptress and 12 to 1 against Klarikoff. The Derby.—The anxiety manifested to " get on" the favourite during the afternoon caused layers to be Farticularly " shy," 4 to 1 being the highest offer on the field, 9 to 2 would have been taken to money ; 20 to 1 was offered, " bar one," Dictator being second favourite. Klarikoff had an unhealthy appearance, 30 to 1 being freely offered against him; 40 to 1 each was laid against Kildonan and Overton, and the like odds against Preceptress. King of Kent was again in demand, 2,000 to 36 being booked abaut him, 1,000 to 15 was laid against Aurelian and Walloon, and 1,000 to 10 Cassia. LINCOLN HANDICAP. 7to 1 agst Golden Pippin (taken) LIVERPOOL STEEPLECHAU. 10 to 1 agst Amalfi (taken) 14 to 1 agst Emperor (taken) 15 to 1 agst Franc Picard (taken) 100 to 6 agst Cockatoo \ taken) 100 to 6 agst Tattler (taken) 20 to 1 agst Old Ben Roe (taken) 20 to 1 agst Jealousy (taken) 33 to 1 agst Kilcock (taken) TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS STAKES. 15 to 2 agst Diophantus (offered) 9to 1 agat Rusaley (taken) 9to 1 agst Kettledrum (taken) CHESTER CUP. 100 to 8 agat Chere Amie (taken) 16 to 1 apt Man-at-Arms (offered)• 33 to 1 agst North Lancashire (tak en) 33 to 1 agst Satellite (taken) 40 to 1 agst Herne (taken) 40 to 1 agst Wallace (offered) DERBY. 4to 1 agst Dundee (take 9to 2) 20 to 1 agst Dictator (taken and offend) 30 to 1 agst Klarikoff (taken) 40 to 1 agst Overton (taken) 40 to 1 agat Preceptress (taken) 40 to 1 agat Kildonan (taken) 55 to 1 agst King of Kent (taken) 66 to 1 agst Cashio (taken) 1000 to 10 agst Aurelian (taken) 1000 to 10 agat Walloon (taken) NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STAKES.-13en Webster, Checsecake, Pounce, and Rose did riot accept for this race. They were struck out after our parcel had been forwarded from Northampton. Reading Steeplechases are appointed to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 19th and 20th of March. The programme is likely to be highly attractive. HORSES STRUCK OUT OF THEIR ENGAGEMENTS. Feb. 1, at 2.55 p.m.—Chere Amie, out of the Metropolitan Handicap. Feb. 5, at 3 p.m.—Confidence, out of the Lincoln shire Handicap. Feb. 6, at 9 a_m.—Chere Arnie, out of City and Suburban Handicap. Feb. 7, at 11.50 a.m.—Lustre, out of the Lincoln.. shire Handicap. COUNTRY M.ARKETS. BIRMINGHAM—JAN. 7. With a short supply to-day, Engfish wheat of all de• acriptions must be quoted at fully late rates. Barley de clined slightly. Beans and oats only taken in retail, at former rates. Peas neglected. MANCHESTER-PEB. 7. A moderate attendance to-day, and business was rather firm. Best English wheats brought last week's prices. Foreign wheat and flour at full rates. Oats and "oatmeal were a slow sale at scarcely late prices. Indian corn raled steady. MELTON MOWBRAY —Fen. 5. There was about an average show of wheat to-day, which sold at last week's extreme rates for every description. Barley little inquired for, at fully late rates. For oats our quotations were sustained, Prices :—White wheat, 545 Od to 63s Od ; red, 508 Od to 60k per 36 stone ; beans steady, but slow, at 50s to 55s for old ; new 50s per 38 et. ; barley, 32s to 42s for malting, and 28s to 34s per qr. for grinding; oats, 29s to 38s Od per 24 stone. EDINBURGH GRAIN—FEB. 6. Wheat on the top 2s Od up .. .. average le Id up. Barley on the top is 6c: down ...average Os 4d up. Oats on the top is 6d up average Os 4d up. Beans on the top is Od down. average 4s 4d up. . Averages per Imperial quarter. Wheat.... New wheat . . .. 0 0 0 0-12 the Barley . 1 19 0 6-12ths Oats 1 9 2 0-12ths Beans -12ths :EiTotal Supply and &les. Wheat ..1013 qrs cold 922 qrs 8ar1ey........1370 qrs .. Sod 1116 qrs Oats 2341 qrs.... Sold 1697 qrs Beans 5O qrs Sold 0 qrs CORK—FEL 6. The following were the quotations this morning wheat, 19s Od to 29s 6d; white, 23s 6d to 334 3d; barley 14s Od to 20s Od ; oats, 12s Od to 16s Od. DERBY SMITHFIELD—FIa. 6. _ _ _ _ ---- - There was a rather moderate supplfof fat beasts to-day. The best quality of beef was in good demand, and a clear ance effected, at high prices. The supply of fat sheep was rather short, and they fully maintained former prices. Fat and store calves were scarce. Fat pigs again in rather better supply. Beet 7d: to 7ld 1 Veal . 7d to 7id Mutton .... Bid to 9 2 d Pork 6O to 614 Lamb —d to --d Rough fat, 50 6d per stone Hides, 21d to 4;d ; calf skins, 5d to 6d. BIRTHS. MATHESON.—On the 6th inst., in South•street, the wife of Alex. Matheson, Esq , M.P., of a son. SAvoRY.--On the sth inst., at lA, Argyll-plaee, Regent. street, Mrs. C. H. Savory, of a son. MARRIAGES. DYKE—MORGIN.—On the sth inst., at St. Mary's, Mon mouth, the Rev. Wm. Dyke, 8.D., rector of Bagendon, Gloucestershire, to Anne, younger daughter of the late Charles Morgan, Esq., of Dixton, Mdnmouthshire. WREN—CuA.PmAN.—On the 7th inst., at St. James's, Pad - b olington, Robert, son of the late Wam Weld Wren, of Esq., of Eastwood, Essex, West to e, errac Hyde t ourne- M illi enella, ;daughter of Thomas Chapman, Esq., park. DEATHS. BAKER. , the 6th inst., at Leamington, Captain George Baker, R. second son of the late Sir Robert Baker, aged 6. BANDINEL.—On the 6th inst., at Oxford, the Rev. Bulke -8390hn Brown, Esq., F.R.G.S., BROWN. —On ins aged t. ac., at his residence, Camden-road, aged 64. Commis. —On the 6th inst., at 2, Chester-place, Regent's park, William Collins, Esq., of 314, Oxford-street, aged 71. DE LA MOTTE.—On the sth inst., at 15, Craven-hill-gar dens, General Peter De la Motte, C.B. , of the 3d Bombay Light Cavalry, aged 79. LONDON : Printed and Piiblished by MURDO YOUNG, at No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tuz S UN Office, No.ll2,Btrand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County (4 Middlesex nth% February mho»