The Sun. — London, England, 1856-02-13 00:00:00

IVoperly framed except by some person who was acquainted._ with the whole state of the law with regard to its subject matter ; but, under the present system, private members brought in MILS with some *Willer object, and without any . knowledge of the general state of the law on the subject to which they referred. The thevernment were afraid to oppose their introduction lost they should be defeated ; and the pas sing of the bills thus introduced became ultimately a sort of scramble among those who supported them. He believed that ' if his proposal were carried out it would be found a remedy • for this state of things. As one instance of the anomalous state in which the statute-book was at the present time, he would call the attention of the hOuse to one Or two Irish statutes. The statute 7 and 8 Vic., c. 76, was passed to facilitate the transfer of land—a very important object, but one requiring that the law upon it should be clearly intelligible to all. The very next session it was found necessary to amend it, and an act was passed for that purpose. The third section of this latter act was intended to meet a peculiarity - of the Irish' law with regard to leases and surrenders, but by one of those blunders which bad driven him to trouble the house on the present occasion, the word "release" was substituted for " lease,".and thus a fruitful source of litigation was opened. So, again, in the year 1849 a statute (the 26th chapter of the session) was en acted, and in the very same year, by cap. 110, the former act • was suspended. Another instance occurred in the case of the ' Common Law Procedure Act. When the bill was going through • that house, by its 101st se c ti on it ex t en d e d certain sections having relation to the important subject of evidence to courts of justice in the United Kingdom. When the measure went up to the other house varionstalterations were made, which had ,the effect of throwing out the original numbering of the sections. No proper alteration, however, was thereupon made in the 101st section, and hence, as it happened, Eng land was deprived, as to the inferior courts, of one very im portant provision, while upon Ireland there was conferred by another section, which was in the manner he had just described extended to all courts, powers which were quite unnecessary, inasmuch as they had already been possessed by the judicature of that country, for a long series of years. • Such wretched mistakes ae these could never occur if there . were a proper department duly charged with the preparation of the statutes. No doubt there would be some little extra expense incurred by such a plan, but that ought not to be the consideration in a matter of such vital necessity. The coun try h a d a right to the best talent .and.the best ability that , could he procured. ;Wherever that ability and these talents were to be had, the 'country ought to possess the benefit of them. (Hear.) In truth he believed that no increase of ex penseewould be incurred by such a plan, for it would obviate the necessity for their perpetually recurring to acts to amend and acts to explain acts which ought never to have required amendment. Another fruitful cause of mischief and doubt was this, that acts on kindred subjects, or on subjects touch ing in some of their parts upon the same points, were prepared by different commissioners. Thus, not very long back, there were two bills brought in, the one founded upon the report of a common law and the other of a real property. commis ' Siort: l in one of these bills the 'Hesitations of actions with respect to certain claims in connection with real estate was fixed at sliyeare, while in the other 20 years was theiimit • Both bills became acts ; and there were upon the statute-book two equally binding, but yet directly conflicting laws. An other sample of the inconsistency which the present system led to occurred in the year 1.848. In that year he had introduced a bankrupt act for Ireland,. and in that act lie inserted a clause which he too7a from a proposed measure of Lord Bronghanfs. The bill, with the clause, p ssed through that house without objection. Meanwhile a hill canto down from the House of Loals with a clause in it similar to the one to which he had already averte 1. This identical clause, 4 - although it had belt a short time previously passed the house without a word, excited opposition upon its second appear ance to mich an extent that it was in the end withdrawn. • Another evil arose from the practice of pass:rig acts for England, and thou, in the following session, passing others for Ireland, sometimes with slight verbal alterations. An • example of this kind occurred in the ease of the act to amend the Fines and Recoveries Act, which was passed in a late session of Parliament. Another claSs of acts to w: ich be must refer were the Board of Works Acts. These were brought in about the middle of July, when it was extremely difficult to get the attention of hon. members to arty subject. At the hitter end of lest year a bill of thit class was brought in, which was most objectionable in some of its details. He (Mr. Napier) attended in the house from day to day, morning and evening (for it was when day sittings were being held), in order to prevent the measure being hurried through without opposition or comment. Ultimately,. finding that every day it made its appearance and wag passed over, and fearing that an ouportueity would occur when it might be get through, lie we'd to the Secretary for Ireland to canoetulate upon the sub. ject, but was toll that it was not in his department ;• thence : ho went to the Irish Solicitor-General, and got the same' re s.,: ply,; in the end he "caught uo" the bill in the Treasury De partment, and it was only by using the strcmgCst expostu lations that hes succeeded in his Object. Now, this was a not a emuTe to which a private member of the' house anxious to do his duty ought to be subjected. Had there been a pro per responsible hoard of officers entrusted with the supervi sion and care of bills, to them he shohld hate gone and stated • his objections. The project which he brought before the house was not a new one, nor was there wanting to it many distingifehed advocates. .• Some years since Lord Brottigham had stated his views upon the subject, and urged the neeqs ', sity that existed for the organisation of a board to soperintend - the drafting of the statutes, and at the header this board his • lordship was of opinion that the Minister of Justice ought to be placed.. " Without some such system," said Lord Brougham, " it jsimpoasible to work out any plan of safe and efficient law reform." So also at a much more recent period the subject had aszain been brought Under consideration by Lord_ Lyndhur d , who pointed out how necessary it was that the. present system should be amended. His lordship referred • to a mite in which a court of law had been for' many days engaged .in endeavouring to put a meaning upon the word mat!' in an act of Parliament, with respect to which' they - ultimately came to a conclusion diametrically opposed to that . at which another court had arrived. Upon that occasion the LordiCharteellor admitted that the _evil calledlondly for re medy. The fact was - that in the framing of statutes the re. • sponsibility was too much divided. (Hear.) lion. members' • came into that house perhaps for half an hour only when the house .was in committee and proposed off-hand important al terailos disturbing the eutira scope of a Rightly and properly to draw- up the written laws of a country like this - was £,great, a gigantic task. (Hear.) That was all the more reason that it should be attended to by men whose duty it should be to give their whole attention to it. At present it was . everybody's, and therefore nob Ody's-business. (Hear.) As the snetter stood, statutes came before courts of justice, they were there laughed at - the judges were in the habit 60 stating that • they wore unable to say what was the intention of the Legisle. tune. On the other hand, the Legislatnrcswere sometimes in the habit of charging courts of justice with passing over and orgetting the spirit of the law in the mere verbal criticisms. neh a course was not of a character to raise in dignity our conception of the law or of those who. administered it. The plan which he advocated would put an end to all this, and would have the further advantage of leaving the House of -7orentons free for the discussion of broad questions of prin ciple instead of its being engrossed, as was at present too often the case, with mere petty questions of detail. Nor would this be all—the statutes would be uniform, would be classified, and, at least, would not carry upon the face of them actual contradictions. Let an honourable member take up a volume of the statutes, they would be found ann g together as if bound into the cover with a pitchfork. (Hear, 'hear.) _There would also be a body who could re ceive the suggestions of practical men throughout the country, who could also take into consideration the reports of committees and commissioners. None of the existing means of information would bo passed over, but a depart ment could be found able to take that information into con sideration, and turn it to practical use. There were depart meats for war, for trade, for the navy; •why should not jus tice-sof ail things the most essential to the internal well-being of a country—have a department also ? hoped that. the house now that it had got the subject fairly before it, would give him its opinion upon the proposition.: He had proposed it at the end of last session, and every hour's reflection which he had since given to the subject had confirmed him in his determination to persevere in the matter. (Hear, hear.) He called upon tho house to unite in rescuing the law and the administration of justice from its present defective state. Much remained to be done. , The house hail still to settle the jurisdiction. of our different courts, to amend their pro cedure, and to. lessen as much as possible the difference between England and Ireland. if they persevered in such n .course, voices from. the noble dead would honour them the recollection of the noble , miuded and manly wisdom of Romilly would be with them, they would. have the good wishes of one who yet iemained, whose eye was not dimmed, and whose natural faro was not yet,decayed—he allotted to Henry Lard Brougham. (Hear.) He (Mr. Napier) did hope •that the house would join in giving effect to those propositions which ho should submit. He hoped by these means that our laws might be rendered consistent, rational, clear, and intelligible —worthy to be deposited in the sacred ark of the respect and affection of our country. (Hear.) • Mr. COLLIER roan to second the motion of the right hon. gentleman. He , thought it almost bnpossible to overrate the importance of the question before the house. .• It was notrone which appealed: to public excitement; or which called up party feeling ; .but it was of far greater importance than many matters which comprised both those characteristics. It was, is to speak, a question which concerned the general health of the body politic. Nations, like individuals, al though they were anxious enough when any sharp or sudden malady . Intervened, were apt to be .careless of their general health. That which his :right honourable friend at prc sent brought , under the consideration of Alt) house was a chronic malady, and such a disease one was apt to consider Inevitable. fact was, that the laws of the country were very far behind tits present condition. Thera existed at this entitribinalo and forms of procedure as out of place at the present time as a galley of Elizabeth's time would be in a Meet: ofeetearn , ships—some courts whose procedure was so un jn,t, thateother courts were . obliged to interfere' to restrain the'm ; not content with law and equity, we had a-third set of tribunals in the ecclesiastical courts. There was no need to call to thee recollection of the house the difference between real and personal estate, nor the, numerous abortive attempts which had been made to simplify the transfer of landed pro perty. Nor was there any need to advert to the defective state of legal education, through.. .which, although we had many able practitioners, haktfew men capable of comprehend ing in one view the law of England in its relation to the teneral principles of jerisprodence as a science. He needed no t t o call attention ti the state of the statute book after what had been said by the right lion: gentleman—it was • • indeed 'a collection without a form, and void an d d ar k ness • 'at on-the face of it, and one who had heretofore defeated • every attempt to set it right. •The worst thing about the matter.vvas this, that it was an evil perpetually increasing No doubt there were some who despaired o f ending a remedy . ceause the evil was gigantic. Should it be said that the Re ' man law, after- aving accumulated for ten centuries without any attempt to digest it, was yet reduced to order in three . y e ars —that Napoleon Was ablein a few years, notwithstand. log the difficulties of an excited political state, to codify th e law of France—that America had a codified set of laws for the state of New York—that almost every state of Europe posiessed a code, and yet England had not been able—ic would not say codify—to reduce her. laws to anything like system. If they had done their best and bad failed, then , in deed, there might be a scarcely even taken a step cause for despondency ; brit they had not done their best, orindeed had in the right direction. The true secret of the failures was that hitherto the reform of th e law had been, nobody's business. (Hear, hear.) The l a w officer s of the Crown wer e *made plate to the task, simply because they had no time to attend to it. The Lord Chancellor, wi th his combined judicial and political functions, was ecoady preoacnpied, an. l indeed, until very lately, law reform had been consilered it to be his duty his business. Lord Eldon never consd. o red.t) form no part of u to reform, made from another but, on the contrary, gave the most strenuouvor. position to any attempt that might .he General, what quarter. As for the Attorney and So l ecitor ce _ be tween their official business and their private P ru n ti ny assistance from them was entirely out of the questio mat , P. otirse then, had been the amount of extraneous aid given? e-" had been had from time to time to commissions ; but as a ge neral rule they had not been attended with any eritiefactory results. No doubt the Conanam Law Commission had, in So'far as it went, done som e geed, but unfortunately all these com missions seemed to have been nominated on the principle of balancing conflicting opinions, and the result was that novr, in ' so far as any definite conclusion was concerned, the nnimbees were at a deal lock, or the rasults were useless. (Heir hear.) Take, for example, the Commission on the Law of Partdership, w hiaroported that the lane was in a satisfactory stele, such 1 report br i n e ornSequently negatived by the almost inianituous 'decision if the bottle.. (Rear , ) nett there was the Eecle- THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FYIBRUARY 13 0 , 1846. siastical Courts Commission, in which, ou one question, five of the members differed from . three; 'on another, two from seven g and on another, one from all the rest. As a general rule each of the commissions seemed to take an individual journey through_the statute-book, but all to return to the smile point and with the same conclusion—namely, that the fortress of abuse was completely impregnable. (Hear.) It was quite clear, then, that if they meant to succeed with law reform they must turn to some means which: had not as yet been adopted. What were those means to be ? He did not rely on the example of foreign countrios,i nwhich the expedient was a minister of justice, but at home we had'a precedent in the ap pointment:of a Minister of war, who bad in a great degree re duced the military chaos of which the country had some time since complained to something,* like order. They had also a poor law minister who had rendered signal service, and a minister of health, and a minister of works ; why not a minister of justice ? (Hear, hear.) The task of consolidat ing our statute law was a great work, and would require the whole energies of the ablest man we could got. It could not be made the amusement of dilettante lawyers, or the casual occupation of busy.practitioners; no, it would require the whole time and attention of a first-rate man; and he believed that Government would acquire strength by the appointment of a minister of justice with sufficient qualifications. (Hear.) Such minister of justice, whether so called or Secretary of State, should have a competent legal staff, and his office should be the repository of all the judicial statutes of the country —a point in which we were at present singularly defi cient. That office should be open to complaints of the work ing of the various courts, and suggestions of amendment, it should collect information, and from that informb.- fion it should be the duty of . the minister to prepare measures which the Government could subsequently intro duce to the house. In addition to that, the Minister of Jus• tice might superintend the current legislation of the country, net interfering with the free action of individual members, but ready when called on for a suggestion—for he believed there were few individual members who would not be glad to, refer from time to time to a competent authority respecting the technical bearing of their measures. They would thus avoid the errors which were constantly creeping into acts of Parliament. A very striking instance of the imperfect man ner in which some of our statuteswere framed hadlatelybeen cited by Lord Lyndhurst. It appeared that some , time ago an act had been passed making it penal to forge a parish register, and the penalty was to be given, one moiety to the informer, the other to the parish. During the passage of the measure though that house an hon. member proposed to add to the Pecuniary mulct, 14 years' transportation, and consequently it became the law of the land that in such cases the in former and the Parish should divide the' fonrteen years' transportation between them. (Laughter.) He trusted that the statute-book weuld'be cleared of these absurdities, and its contents consolidated; and, in concluaion, he begged to express his opinion that the motion of his right hon. and learned friend, indicating, as it did, a want which had before been recognised by Lords Lyndhurst, Langdale,„Brougham, and the Attorney-General, and which was generally felt and acknowledged', would end in some real and energetic attempt at a remedy. He did not presume to dictate to. the Govern ment what that reraedyshenlcl be, but ha thought the remedy proposed by his.right hon, and learned friced an important attempt in the direction of law reform, and as such he con- mended it to the notice of the Government and of the house. , Mr. BAINES said that the pubic were greatly indebted to 'the right, hon. gentleman opposite for taking up the question, and for the temper and ability. with•which lie had introduced it to the . house. • (Loud cheers.) It would b e impossible to over-rate the impbitance of the subject indeed he had himself long hail occasion to observe and lenient the stitte of things existing with regard to the statute law which 'the right lion: and learned . gentleman had pointed out so clearly, He (Mr.Baines) believed that not only in that house, but generally thronghOut the country, there was a per fect doneurrence of opinion as to the existence of great evils in the etate, of the law, and thnneceseity there was of hitting . sonic substantial remedy. The only question left for them to consider was what the f remetly should-he. - His right hon. and learned friend had not proposed any diStinet remedy, although he had established to the satisfaction Of every. one that a state of th r higs existed whichloudly celled for a remedy. The right hon.geutleman spoke merely of a departMent of pubic justice; 'differing in his views on that 'point fromthe hon. and Teamed member for Plymouth,' who, it uppeared; would east on the /proposed department functions far More extensive than were, :contemplated by his right hon, and learned friend, A depart ment of politic justice, for this ,country might appear eesyin itself ; but they must consider what the idea involved. Sonia persons believed that the Minister of Justice ought to be a 'person having high political funct'ens He believed that that was the view of the lion, and learned member for Plymouth ; but his right hon. and leaened friend had confined himself to a narrowerissue—namely, whether it 'would bo desirable , oto have some authority to assist in the businesS of legislating, And to . that point only, lie (Mr. L'a'nes) should direct his obeerva- Mons; He had already stated that not only in his own opi nion, but in that of a great majority both in and out of the house, the conviction existed that • the present state of our lais required a remedy, and, a confirMation of (he general oPi. Ilion was teas) found in the report,,of the Sthtute Law Coning& skin, in which not only was the existence of evils stated, but the sort of remedy necessary was shadowed forth. The commis• oion reported that nothing 8 itisfactorycould be expected, until either a beard or some body was appointed whose duty it would be to revise all bills„ for Parliament. That was the report of the law commission, and was most deserving of attention, seeing• that it had attached to it the mutes of Lard Chanaeller, Lords Lyndhurst, Brougham, and Broaghamn, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, tho Lord Chief Baron, Lord Wensleydale, Sir W. Page Wood, &e. That being their view, and the cohcinsiOn to which they had come last session, he might perhaps be 'allowed to call attention to what they had done during the present, since their labours bad been re sumed. He Was happy to siy that most valuable suggestions lia,rl been laid before them, some by the hon. and learned member for Cambridge, °there by the hon. and learned mem ber for Suffolk, and a plan had been_ devised which ho be lieved he might ii . ty had received the sanctien of the commis sion. Tho end of that plan was shadowed forth in the passage lie had read; which, he took it, was identical with the motion of his right hon. and learned friend. He was not, Of course, permitted to' state that plan in detail, ''but he believed it wonid embody same most vithia.ble suggestions. The question then for them to consider was whether it would not be desir able to see this plan before they pronounced a definitive ovi hiOn; That, he was authorised to say; was the view of the d Lame members for Cambridge and Suffolk ; and; beingqW; perhaps it would be concurred in by his, right hog. and laarned friend, to whom the house and : the country were much indebted for the ability with which he Lad introducet the question. Mr: L. KING said that most of the evils in our laws might be' traced to the military system, which had 'at one time been found the most convenient for the Gwerantant of nil eoun try, the only change being, that for the savage barbarity of the dark ages we bad substituted tiih Mere refined mischief and legal subtleties of the presetat, time. The statute laws were now in such a condition that they could hardly , be un derstood by the lawyers themselves ; but there was another branch, namely, tie unwritten law, which was in r} still more unsatisfactory state. The law was, in short, the declaim of the judge, and remained so until some subsequent judge moo to a contrary conclusion, and the result was that a wise man would prefer submitting to injustice, rather than defend his right in a court of law. Reform might be difficult, but they must recollect that only a ` short time since our military was as bad as our legal system, but taught by the disasters in the East, we had already arrived at a better state of things. The right hon. gentleman who, had spoken last augured, great things from the report of the commission. , He must confess that he had no faith whatever in that commission- for he re membered one that was established in 183 ff, all the members of which had since died off. or been used up elsewhere, with out producing any result. The commissionerwho still remained wasn personal friend of the "Lord Chancellor's, and it was to be regretted' that' his lordship should have permitted a private friend to retain as a sinecure that which should be the most important office of the day. From the law officer 3 of the Crown they could not expect much, so, much was their time o!eupiec with other matters; besides, Lord Lyndhurst had pointed on, that in the commission, tberelad beep. a ,w4pt of, cp-operatioU between the ,law bfileers and the other commissioners. Neither could, they expect much reform f6n? the Government; indeed, tivi First Lord of the Treasury had Intimated as mush in reply to him (Mr. L. King.) Having quoted 'a 'short passage from Lord Canipbell's-" Live oc. the Lord Chaneellors," the hon. member concluded by giving his cordial support of the motion. Mr; WIGRAM "supported the motion, and thought th'at his right hon. and learned. friend had exercised a wise dis cretin!' In not pointing out the'partjeular lino of reform that _ _ _ ought to be adopted. 7 ; One point he thought should be deter mined on, namely, that the minister of justice, if appointed, should have a seat in Parliament. Such a minister might initiate measures of law refOirn, a thing which it was hope less to expect froin a Goierfilnerit: 'He did not recollect any which had been origiAated in that quarter since Sir R. Peel's valuable alteiations in the criminal Jai. What they wanted was something done in the same business-like manner. lie did not expect much.from codification, s:eing that the codifi cation of the merchant shipping acts had: required a bill 'of _ . 500 Or 630 clauses; but Clio riatutesinight bo taken up sub ject by subject, and thus practical amendments might be car .ried out. At present Government did not take up the rait-: ter, - and when a• PrkVate“nieniter carried a bill through with groat labour,lit,was generally foand to be unsatisfactory, and ultimately rejected by the House of Lords. Thinking that his fight hon. Mead's motion offered the nearest appro::ima- Mon to a remedy, he • (Mr. Wigram) should give it h's support. -• • •• .. . • •? .Sir G. GREY—My right hon, friend (Mr. Baines) has ex pressed, on the part of the Government, net only their sense of the importance ofthe subjeCt, but their concurrence in the spirit of the resolutions moved by the right hon. and learned gentleman opposite (Mr. Napier). They `agree with hint,' there are very great defects the present statute book, and itill:gTeater defects in the mode in which acts are passed year by year through the Legislature. They agree with him that it is most important and desirable 6.l;remedy should-be applied to those defects, and . that, in the'words of the resolution, some meaue.should be provided " for securing the skilful pre= paration and proper structure of Parliamentary bills, and for promoting the progressive amendment of the laws of the United Kingdom." I hope that, having met the proppsition in tliat spirit, the right ion. gentleman will not ask the house to pledge itself as to the mode in which the object shall be attained—viz.; by the•appointment of a public department, at the head of which shall be a Minister having a seatin this house. (Hear.) I hope that he will, at least, wait u n til . . _ . _ _ ,he subject haireceireci the cousideratiOn of the embientanT ;earned men •who constitute the Statute Law Commission to whom it baa been referred, that we may have the benefit pt. their-, opinion on some points to :which thd right honourable gmtleman has called the attention of the house: (Hear.) The report of that commission, having been laid .b.efore the,Lord Chancellor, will be submitted to the Statute Law Commission anew, and it will afterwards be submitted . • fit•merf '• hope the berCelit of the opinion of those emine to the. Crown and, to Parliament. We shall then have then Government p.ame„t will not n „N ot aar be so as o k r e a d tari to o p f le( s lg t e lto th , eaamsehlevehsataob' bees. *l e l :A .) 114 tb-niiiit • and who is to be invested with +functions far • 0 le,yond•the power of any individual, unless assisted by a nu merous learned and highly paid staff. While I cannot lint agree in much that has been said relative to the careless mode in which acts of Parliament are worded, lam afraid that nO . Minister of Jaatice will I) event many of these evils unless Parliament abandons something of its free right of legislation and its arrangement of details, which are the cause of much . of the inconvenience of which the right hon. gentleman com plains. . leve Theight hon. gentleman wou ld appear t o b e dis posed te ninny of ,he details of acts of Parliameot to be settled out of this honse ; but this would be difficult, if- of impossible, under the present practice, for there is hart Y, a bill passes in which amendments are not made in committee, many of them verbal, .many important, and Many proposed'without:notice. These amendmenthirecommittee are the chief cause of the inaccuracies and in,convenience to which the right hon. gentleman has .(I+rerted. The evil may lie partially re medied by the draughts of bills being first snbmitted to the public department which the right hon. and learned•gentle man proposes to create ; but the house regard with ex tram 3 jealousy the proposal to entrust any. .department of the Government with the reiision of the bills of mdependent hers, end the control over that right of making ;iroludinents in committee which is now so frequently exercised. I 'ag ree with the right hon. gentlem an in thi n king it desirable that the h ous e should suppo r t th e Governmen t in objecting, to also passing. the the introduction t h h i e ll r e ig lv h h t ic h h on l o ia ti v ra e b n le o prospectaonf upon Agrelior; , hasty steps being taken gewral question,ncleprreezeaarte ding as a subject of great importance, when a competent body' are considering the subject, and I think it inadvisable that the Gov ernment s h ou ld 'h e at - present asked to pledge themselves to one .particular mode of effecting .the object. I caneot agree with the hon. and learned gentleman the member for Gambridge when ho complains of the absence of any attempt: to. improve the legislation of this country. He has alluded to :the important reforms introduced by Sir R. Peel for the improVement of the criminal law, and says that nothi ng h as beendoile for the im provement f legislation since that period. , I. think ho has scarcely done justice to som e o f Sir It. Peel's Successors. I cannot take any credit for myself, but when I was Secretary of State before, the valuable and iniportant consolidation of the criminal law, known. as Jervis's Acts, was' effected, and this is justly regarded as one of the greatest improvements in modern legislation. The Statute Law eon/Mission have pro ceeded in the same'course, and we shall soon, I trust, have the opportunity of passing our opinion npon the labours of that commission in classifying and codifying the statute law. If you want a great deal of Work detie in a short time you must have a dictator, and whatever the le,botirsnf individuals may be, the bills to give effect to them ratist undergo a first. and second reading iu both 'lonics, and that examination of the details by independent Members, which renders the codi fication of the statute law a sloWer process hi thit4 than inother countries which do not possess the unnnestiotiable advantages of free institutions. The subject is one that has enga g ed the attention of the Government, a nd.l hope we shall soon be able to take a decided step upon it. I therefore hoe the eight hon. gentleman will not now ask the house - to . pass a resolution without knowing what must be , the staff, what must be the expenses, and the duties which the new:minister is to be ex pected to perform. Lord J. RUSSELL—I think that tive IniuSe 'is greatly in debted to the right hon. gentleinan (' ft. Napier) for having brought before us a grievance of great extent and importance and I think. that he has likewise propieed with great mode ration a proper remedy. I do not think that the remedy he has proposeclis open to the objection taken to it by my right lion. friend the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. &Lines), • namely, thatit is vague and indefinite. It was the duty of the right hon gentleman not to enter upon details, or to dictate to the Government - in - what matinee theineW ,office was to be constituted, but simply to state the,principle 'upon which he wished into 'be established: Bet while l think the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Napier) qUite justified hi making his motion, I do not see how the ,house, eta ovhat lies been stated by the Government, can proceed to adopt the resolution o f th e right hon. gentleman, since it appears that persons of great authority and learding are noW.asSembled,`tor the purpose of considering. ies subject, and haat°. nearly agreed - upon a report which is about to engage the - seriOue attention Of the Govern ment.' But whilewe are bound to wait:to s see the recom mendation of the commission in a mature state... Mid in its de tails, there is a great difference between the proposition of the right hcn. gentleman acid that *pounded ,by the Government. The right hon. gentleman proposes' that a re sponsible Minister shall be appointedbyewhat name he is to be called is not very. materi 4 —byt reephnsible to Parliament, avhose duty it shall be to propose ancl'condlice through the House of Parliament in - which lie may Sit—and I stippose lie would have a seat in this house—ill such inea4ures bf , legal reform as the Government may approve— I think the ap pointment of such a Minister would be of treat.adVantage and convenience. Whatever amendments to his billg . tiiey ho proposed, he will either be able to defend his menSurcs,-and to show in what respect they are,hetter than the amendments proposed, or to give way to those ern-mar:its if lie secs rea son to do so, and this house will be disposed to listen with greet deference to the arguments .of Such a Minister. It is a totally differeatthiug.to have, as it seems intended to have, certain officers under the Lord Ohmic:dicta' or :same other _Mi nister, whose businese wouhr6e to frame the details and to correct the language of nets of Parliament, Starch an arrange ment would be exeellent ln. eider ta avoid these ,gross blun ders of which an illustration • has been given. to-night ; but, with regard to the general:principles of nur legislation; officers or that kind, not having seats here.,-not being able to explain themselves Ae; the house, and not knowing thc•vislies of Par liament, would have, very little weight and authority. They would, indeed, to a certain degree, improve the language of bills brought before us, and prevent the' introduction of in- consistent clauses when those bills were abont.to pass, and . so far they would be useful; but for the great objects which the right hon. and learned gentleinati has iii view their utility would, I conceive, be very little. What.' should be glad to see, and what we have,wanted for many years, is a depart ment, -with an officer at the head of, it who should make this particular sort of reform his business, 'Who should obtain from Government certain days to bring for Ward measures; and sufficient time for their discussion, instead of, having them brought on at, the end of the session, and who should call the serious attention of - Parliament to those measures. There are instances - without end of cases in which such an officer would have been useful. It is a great many years ago since Ibearcl the late hishop of Lincoln—a very learned awl able man—call the attention of that Most °Anent judge, Lord Stowell, in the other house, to the defects in our law with respect to the diecipline• of the Clergy.. , He mentioned a case in which a clergyman had been guilty of gross and notorious immorality, to the scandal of his neighbourhood, and he had been obliged to institute proceedings,' which had then (ix tendelover 'four or five years, awl .had cos: hiin 3,0301. or 4,0001., bathed notarrived at a satisfactory conclusion. Here was a gross defect in the law which &d not apparently re quire any great. effort-of legis l atien•, to • reach it, bat it had never been corrected to this day. Gross cases of immorality still occur; Psheps are still 61)11;0(1'0 institute proceedings at great expanse and loss of time to themselves, and I do not know that the facility of legislation upon the subject will be increased by its halting been taken into the especial care of lateictinvocation. It appears to me that if we 'dottld get rid of the ecclesiastical notion, that , ecclesiastics .alone are fit to judge 'ef:snelt subjects, a prosecutor or' attorney-general of the Church might be appointed, who - might bring cases of thi: kind before a tribunal which might . speedily decide them, and the Church would then get rid of the scandal of having such notoriously unfit ministers, nnrt the - bishops would be relieved of an unfair claim upon them. :There are othee in stances of the same kind. Many yaars,ago i at, the end of a session, .I took charge of a bill for tho - tforin of the ecclesi astical courts. 'Sir R. Peel, who was then in office, was about to commit that massacre 'of bills_ which takes place every year, and I was obliged to give it up; and the• gees tion of the reform of the ecclesiastical 'courts is still waiting 1,,r the attention of Parliament. (gear, *heir.) Do not tell me that the laW officers or the• Crown can prevent these things ; With their wilelic duties and their private practice they haVe already a great deal too much on their bands. The .right hots. gentleman who spot:el - 1A se 'fined to think that even a new!Minister of Justice would hardly have sufficient , time for the important duties that -would- be thrown upon him ; but if a Minister, with no other bhsincss to occupy him, would find the ,task too much, how could it be undertaken by the Lord Chancellor or the law' Officers of the Crown ? , Many cases must occur to hon, gentlemen in which m e a sures involving no party questions have been delayed for•years and years_ in that way through this lieuse, When I introduced the Charitable Trusts Bill, I Mentioned that the question had been under consideration about . 30 years ; the qUestion of County Courts was under: consideration about 25 years ; yet I find that atthough„tho twalouses of Parliament are employed almost every year upon those subjects; their task is not yet completed.. This house; intact, appears, to be taking a course the reverse of that'which has beentaken with regard to the steam-engine. When the steam•engine was first invented much of ite'power was wasted, a great dealrof the steam produced being of very little use ;' but Witt arid other 'inventors con trived in-time - that nearly all the power ge.uerated should be applied`to the purpose for which it wiaS intended, and very little waste now takds place. But Parliament, 50 years ago, got through whatever business it had to do; whereas now, although lron, air, very often sitintliat chair from 12 to 4 o'clock in the day, and then, from 6in the evening 'till 2in the morning, many bills have to be given up at the end of every session, and all the power created, by i . ueh, Protracted sittings does not contribute to the effect of useful' and wholesome legislation. I am perfectly ready to wait, at the iequest of the Govern ment, until new propositions, recommended by learned authorities, shall be •placed before the houee ; but I have already made up my mind upon thiE t -oint—that of the two propositions of th e ri g ht hollow:tire and learned gentleman opposite, on the one hand, and of appointing a certain num iser!of clerks to mend the details of bills before they are passed, on the other hand— the proposition of the right hon. and learned gentleman is the most philosophical, the most prac tical, and the most conducive to that'improvement in our le gislation which is One of the great objects to whichPaadiament ought to direct its attention. Mr. DRUMMOND could see no poSsible objection to the re solution, the usefulness of Which he thought was self-evident. Mr: MALINS thought that .instead of regretting that so little had been done, they should rather, take credit to them selves that they bad accomplished so much. With regard to the proposition of appointing a minister of justice, he thought thatymcka functionary: being removed from the practice of profession would soon loco the qualifications necessary to the efficient performance of his duties, and would overlook those defects in the 'law which every-clay prictico brought under the eye of the ; law officers of the Crown 4nd barristers prac tising icr the - courts.. ' - • • Mr. EWART believed that, - whatever the present decision of •the house, the end would be the appointment of a minister of justice. lie called attention to the advantage which had re. suited from the Presence of a Minister of poor laws in that 'house,aad expressed his 'conviction that equ a l benefit would follow from the appointment of a minister of justice and a minister of education. The hon. .gentleinati then referred to several of the valuable improvements whicli had been made of late years in the technical process. of legislation, and urged •that.still greater advantages might be. obtained by th e crea ti on of a Minister ofjustice;Which Would'supply the motive power of law reform, %instead of• merely perfecting the legislative machinery. • Mr. WILKINSON had every disposition to take the word of the Government that they 'would, premise something, and did not •advise the- right hon. and learned gentleman, there fore, to persevere in his motion; but if the motion were per seyerad in, he should feel bound to vote for it. If the scheme which the ChanceßM- of the Duchy of Lancaster had hinted at was to involve.thc creation of a department or ministry of justice, there could be no harm in-, such a resolution as this having boon passed ; and if not h.o thought It would fall short of what was wanted. Not only in framing new laws, but in the.repoplpf .obsoieo. statutes, the house required such au official adviser, lie would ment!on as au instance, that the re was a statute of George a hundred and twenty years old, wilich imposed a penalty of 50D1. upon every man who should sell stock which he had not got in his own name. Now, if that obsolete statute Were acted upon, it would interfere most seriously with all. the operations of the money market. It would have this effect, that every man on the Stock Exchange would be asked, at . once, -whether . he, was engaged in any • . other business ; becgUse• then, since be must sell no stock which did not sta,nd.in his own name, all his. dealings would be Unhinged in ease' of his 'failing in business, and therefore he couht not be admitted. This was an example of the ano •nialies and inconsisteneas - which; were allowed to remain on the statute book, and which reAuired'for their remoVal the - assistance of such a departinebt'aS was proposed., Lord PALMERSTON—Sir, there can be no doubt that this subject is-one of the deepest importance, and one fully de- Servling the afttentiva eonsideration of the house. At the s.Vme time, however plausible the proposition may bo of the'ap pointment of a minister of justice, I think that many of those who have adopt e d th e n o tio n have perhaps not made , to.thanselves a sufficiently 'clear idea of the funetiOns which such a minister would have to perforth.; and that upon more minutely going. into it they might find greater diffi- 1 ealties than at first sight present themselves to view. I do not, however, , mean to, say that such an appointment may not possibly be advisable, 'but I think it is one that ought to be. Well considered before the house comes to a resolution, affirming positively nod at once that such an °Mee should be :created. Now thel hon. 'and learned gen tleman who spoke last on the other •Sicle (Mr. Malins) hag, I think, adverted to the difficulties which' would ari , e 'in re , - gord to some of the functions proposed to be assigned to that office. I apprehend , the, ebjelts' in view 11,1*.) times. 034 'would be to direct the legislation of this lions°, while another Would be to originate measures, and the third would be to endeavour to reform and improve the existing mode of legis lation. Now, in regard to the „firet two, it is very easy to sly that a minister of justice Would prevent Parliament from falling intworrors in measures 'that pass through the two , honses of P ar li amen t. We ha ve h ear d the story, AV:11C:1 is not *r of a' very !new one, about" the penalty Of transportation, half going one way,.and.balf the other. NO doubt there are many cases, in whi c h bills i pass into law, co nt A i u ing errors, either conflicting to Other existing statutes, or errors by which they d"naombzn not accomplish the purposein view; but I .think lunch may be entertainel whethe r th e a ppointra nit of a peciall the Government, Whose duty it might be . more, eS y to attend to those' matters, would be sufficient Co prevent althge.her the occurrence of such mistakes. But it is impossible that this house and the other house of Parlia ment should be called upon to abdicate their functions, and individual members would not yield their own opinions im plicitly at the dictum of the officer in question. That member of the Government might say—" I think that such a proposal a bad one; I think it liable to this objection or to that ob jection if the words proposed are inscribed in the bill ;' but individual members would persevere in retnining their own opinion, and the house would verb often back them, and so the minister of justice might find himself, as other members oC the _Government sometimes do, left in a minority if a di viSion should take place upon the 'question. Therefore you could not combnee the absolute power of a member of the Government to direct legislation in what he might think the proper course, with the inherent Constitution of a delibera tive assembly like this. . Certainly there might be some weight attached to the recommendations and the objections of such' a public officer; that would depend upon the legal attainments and professional knowledge of the individual who might happen to ha.vo. been selected for the.offiee. . Now, my noble friend behind me has quoted the difficulties which have been experienced, and the length of time which has elapsed, in passing a great variety of important Public measures ; but if he will allow me to say it, I thi n k th a t those difficulties and delays depend not upon the abseneP of such a member of the Government as that whose-appointment is •now under consi deration, but upon the resistance in Parliament arising from the variety of opinions, the resistance which always is opposed to the progress of any great system of improvement in your laws; and that resistance Will always be found, let who may be the officer of the Government by whom such measures are proposed. Suggestions for the amendment of the law, and va rious matters of that sort, Can only be carried through by a conjunction of the majority of the two houses of Parliament, and that conjunction may certainly be hastened by the argu ments urged by a member of the Government; but the de lays which had been alluded to do not arise from the difficulty or impossibility of framing proper bills, but from the diffi culty of persuading Parliam en t- t o a d o pt those bills, when prOperly framed and submitted to their judgmont ; therefore, so far as the functions of a minister of justice could consist in assisting and directing this and the other house of Parliament in the act of new legislation, I think that somewhat of an ex aggerated view has been taken of the advantage which would arise from the creation of such an office, though I do' not mean to say that there might not sometimes bo conveniences resulting from it. Now, in regard to the other point, viz., the reform of the existing mode of legislation, I think that gentlemen have rather lost sight o f w h a t h as been done when they represent that no considerable improvements have b en made in the direction of legal rel'orm. It is, perhaps, rather. a good tendency of the human mind to undervalue what has been done, and to fix attention mainly upon that which remains to be done ; and it is not a tendency that "one would feel at all disposed in the abstract to quarrel with ; but nevertheless, when we are endeavouring to fix is our own minds the real st , te of things, we must not forget that-great progress has been made elate years in the ImprOve ment of the law in its various branches, although that is rather a reason for going rn, and by no means a reason for objecting, or opposing any obstacle' to measures of great and further im provement to be Made ! Now, my right lion. friend the Chan cellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has told the house that the Statute Law Commission are at the • present moment engaged in considering propositions that are to be submitted for adop tion. My hon. friend who spoke last behind me (Nfr. Ewart) said that it is a question whether-the proposal which is to be made is a proposition for continuous or 'merely for a tempo rary—improvement.. I believe tai it very • question is under consideration, and therefore I -think -that, considering that thos ) eminent men who have been appointed to the task have at the present moment under their consideration proposals which miy eventually go farto meet the views of the right hon. gentleman opposite,' and of the house at large, I think that tight hon. gentleman would do well to adopt the sugges tion of my right hon, friend, that is to say to waive for the present asking the House of Commons to agree to the resolu tion which he has proposed, reserving to himself, later in the session, if he should find that the result of the labours of the commission have not been such as the house feels entitled to , expect; are not calculated to lead to any sufficientlysatisfactory result, the right to renew his proposition either in its present shape or in any other shape that may appear to him to be better calculated to lead to a practical result. (Cheers.) I can only assure him and the house that her Majesty's Government are deeply sensible of the extreme importance of this matter, and that they, so far from wishing to throwany obstacles in the way of the improvement of the law, feel that it is undoubtedly one of those matters which it is the duty of the Government to pay the greatest and most earnest attention to. I should hope, therefore, that the right hon. gentleman will not press his resolution on the house,:at the- present moment, but wait and see what shall be the result of those deliberations in which the S. t ante Law Commissioners are at the present moment engaged, Mr. M'MAHON was not satisfied with the working of the statute commission, which had cost the country upwards of 10),000.t. and no beneficial results had proceeded from it. He thought that great benefit would result from the appointment of a minister of public justice, for he could do the same duty that the chairman of committees did for private bills, and he hoped the motion would be persevered in. Mr. CRAUFURD urged Mr. Napier not to press the house to a division on his motion, but to wait to see what the Go vernment intended to do. , Mr. ROUNDELL PALMER contended that they could not appoint a minister ofjustice without altogether disturbing the present functions of the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney- General. It would be a further inconvenience that such an officer must go in and out with the Ministry, so that they would not get any eminent lawyer to give up his practice by taking such an o ffice, unle s s they awarded him a large salary and a large retiring allowance. Mr. NAPIER, replied, offering to amend his resolution by omitting the words, " securing the skilful preparation of bills," and substituting generally, " with a view to promote the better amendment of the laws of the United Kingdom." Sir G. GREY could not agree to the resolution in that form, but offered to accept it If the right' hon. gentleman would omit the words, " the creation of a department of public justice," and allow the resolution to stand thus:—" That in the opinion of the house provision should be made with a view to secure the skilful structure and preparation of Parliamen tary bills, and promote the progressive amendment of the laws of the United Kingdom." Mr. NAPIER had no objection to consent to that altera tion. (A laugh and cheers.) The resolution was then put, and passed nun. con. HAR'BOUff OF REFUGE AT CARDIGAN. Mr. L. DAVIES rose to move for a select committee to quire into the advisability of constructiqa harbour of refuge and defence in Cardigtn-bay, and whether it may not be ad vantageous also to employ convict labour in the said works ? The hon. gentleman began by urging,the groat importance of the snbject in reference both to the preservation of humaulife and property, and the defence of the country from foreign in vasion. He then proceeded to bring forward a number of facts, which could be authenticated, and on which he founded his motion, simply for inquiry into the matter. He stated that the distance between St. David's-head and Holyhead was 92 nau tical miles, and along that whole line of coast there.was not a single point in which a ship could obtain shelter, an evil so enormous that all the shipping going up St. George's Chan- . nel were obliged to be insured at an advance of 3:3 per cent. ou the premiums, although he admitted that a part of that large per tentage of insurance had reference to some difficul ties of navigation of the Mersey. Looking to the shipping tonnage that went up and,down that coast, which was in so defenceless a state, ho thought that he had only given some few statistics to induce the house to grant the committee he sought. It might be supposod that to mention the shipping of Cardigan as compared with that of the rest of the kingdom it would appear very small ; but still there was no less than 210 ships using that bay in the year, with a tonnage of 11,891 ; while of strange ships passing by it there was an average of 710 vessels, with a tonnage of 39,000. The ship ping going up and down the Channel was estionateel to con voy property to the value of 20,000,0001. a year, with a tonnage of 11,000,000. , The honourable gentleman then stated the number of vessels lost near Cardigan Bay lost year, giving their names and the number of lives lost in each, and stated the amount of tonnage known to be lost amounted to 12,000. He also stated the number lost or injured off Fishg,nard Bay, and mentioned that in one day in October last no less than 22 vessels were wrecked or damaged. He next read a letter from a, person whom he said was an authority, who stated that if a harbour of refuge was esta blished on that coast none of the casualties which had been described would have occurred, and that the cost of its con struction need not be more than 60,0"e01. or 80,00 0/. All ho asked for was inquiry, in order to see if some inexpensive structure might not be erected, with a view to the saving such a sacrifice of life and property. The hon. gentleman then treated the subject with reference to the question of defence against foreign invasion, and referred to the opinion of the late Duke of Wellington with regard to the.defenceleks condition of this country. •He also entered into a historical review of the proposed inveoian of this country by Napoleon in 1797. The hon. gentleman then quoted the celebrated de claration of the late Duko of Wellington, in his letter to Sir John Burgoyne, as to the vulnerability of the south coast, and urged the importance of attending to our coast defences generally. He should be glad to see ticket-of-leave convicts employed in useful works of this description. In Pcntonville there were 412 prisoners ; the average cost was 291. 6s. NI, and the average earnings a trifle over 5/. In Parkhurst, where there were 514 prisoners, -the less was still greater, and tho case was mooch the sane in Millbank. In- Portland, where there were 1,400 prisoners employed on productive labour, their earnings exceeded their cost, and the ease was the same at Portsmouth. He hoped the noble lord at the head of the Goiernment would grant this committee; and if it were fooled that the project was practicable that it might be carried out.. For the sake of humanity, some immediate attempt ought t be made to step the present frightful loss of life from shipwreck, as well as to lessen the dangers of invasion. The hon. gen tleman then concluded by moving for a select committee. ' The motion being seconded, Sir C. WOOD said he would first dispose of those por tions of the motion which load no reference to the proposed object of the committee. Referenpe had been made to the threatened invasion of Bonaparte, but he did not see that any defensive works in Cardigan Bey would have been of much service in such a case. It was true that a descent was made on the Welch coast, some 50 or 60 years ago, but ho believed, such was the bravery of the inhabitants, that the invaders were put to flight by a bevy of - Welefirwomen in red petticoats. There :already existed a large Government dockyard at Pem broke, which must be fortified, and it was not necessary to have another fortified place so-near. As to the proposed em ployment of convicts, ho had to state, that a very large build ing h rcl been erected at Chatharea where they would undertake to employ as many convicts as were likely to be available for several years to come. On neither of these grcundi was a her blur of refuge necessary. to be formed in Cardigan Bay. It should also be remembered that since 1846, a harbour of refuge lead been established in St. 'George'S Channel. The attention of the Government had been calleacto the subject ; and they de cided that Holyhe od . was the most convenient place en the coast of Wales. A harbour of refuge had been formed there, and no less than 3,000 vessels load taken refuge in it last year. On this subject he had consulted the Hydrographer of the Admi ralty, and his opinion was that it was not only unadvisable to do this, but that it would b.) a positive injury to the trade of the Channel ; for no mariner who knew his business would go into Cardigan 13ay if he could help it. The Trinity House had talen.great pains to light that portion of the Welch coast, so that vessels might be able to avoid that bay. Lights had been specially placed there to keep vessels clear away from that spot. It was true that the distance from Milford haven to Ho lyhead was about 100 mile 3; but that was no great distance for vessel; with a good harbour on each side. With the, de opinion of tb,e Hydrographer to the Admiralty that it would be daugerons to construct a harbour of refuge in q' rdi gan'PAY, by enticing vessels there instead of keeping on the other side of the Cioann 1, ho Was' not disposed to accede to the motion. He thought it would be a mere wasteofpablic money to construct a harbour of refuge either in Cardigan Bay or anyw h erdnear it. Oa that ground b e should resist the motion. ' Mr. L. DAVIES. said that if anything would impress him with the conviction that a naval luau ought to be at the head of the Admiralty, it was at the spzeeh of the right hon. bort. To talk of Milf ord-haven b e i ng a point of refuge after round. ing St: David's [lead betrayed unparallelled ignorance. One of the lights referred to by the right hon. best. -us in such a position that it could not be seen above 5 days in the year. it was too much that the wishes of the inhabitants of the district shonld be controlle.l by the opinion:of a single eal. Let the house ho warned against relying on this by what load. occurred, iu the late Crimean campaign. He felt Joanna to prese hie motion to a division, even.if .he went out alone. Mr. WYNN said k has applied to the Trinity-house for leave to erect a sea-mark and place a light ship-on St. Pat rick's Causeway—a reef in Cardigan Bay, which was ex tremely dangerous-to shipping. A- promise was given, but nothing whatever had been done. Mr. PHILLIPS, though he shared in the anxiety of his hon. friend for the establishment of a harbour of refuge in Cardigan Bay, recommended him not to press for the appoint ment of a eommittee in the face of the unfavourable opinion which they had just heard from the right hon. gentleman. The house Ayes Noes 44 118-74 The motion was thus lost. THE IRISH MAILS . . Mr. M'CANN moved for a return, for the quarter end ing the. 31st day of December, 1355, of. the number of let ters received in Dublin by the mail which leaves Euston Station at, five o'clock P.m.., and of the number of those lett ers which were forwarded by the morning mails from Dublin to the provinces ; and similar return of the letters received by the mails which leave Easton Station at 45 minutes past 8 p.m.; and of those forwarded by the nig:it mails from Dublin. Mr. WILSON would have no objection to the return were it not that the Post-officp accounts did not contain any mate riats:for main g it. Colonel DUNNE hopk that the Government would as sent to the re-appointment of the committee on the Irish mails. The motion was then withdrawn. "TIM CURRENCY. Mr. MUNTZ said that as he understood the Government intended t 3 oppose the motion of which he had given notice on ties subjedt, hewould not bring it on at that hour of the night (a, quarter to 11). ile would bring it on again on Tues day, the 19th inst. ADULTERATION OF FOOD, &c. Mr. SCFIOLEFIELD moved for the re-appointment of the committee on the adulteration of food, drink, and drugs. —Agreed to. CONTRACTORS DISQUALIFICATION RE 310 V AL. Mr. T. MITCHELL Moved for leave to bring in a bill to repeal the act 22 'Geo. 111., di qualifying contractors from being elected to, or meeting and voting as members of the House of Commons. The act in 'question was of such a sweepiig character that hon. gentlemen were continually being involVed, quite unawares; in its meshes. He might refer to several instances which had occurred within a 'very short period. Amongst others there was that of Sir S. M. Peto, who hart been permanently disqualified from sitting in the present Parliament by simply undertaking what was really an act of kindness to her Majesty's Government. A yet stronger ; case was that sof Btrou Rothschild last year ; and without pretending to be a lawyer, he must confess he could not see the distinction which had been drawn by the committee appointed by the house to sit upon the matter, between a contract to supply a small quantity df goods and a contract to' supply sixteen millions of money. He always thought that the constitutional check upon malversat:oh was to be sought fin• in the responsibility of Ministers, and not in bills ,of pains and penalties. Besides, the act was r.sally quite useless to prevent that against which it' ha - 1 been aimed, for it was perfectly noto rious that it could be evaded with the most perfect ease. Every Government was most ready to transfer contracts to those members of firms who were not seeking to enter parliament; and that equally with respect to gentle- . mea who were their political opponents, as with those who were inclined to give theM their support. On the part of the mercantile community he must repudiate all desire to enter into collusive bargains with the members of the Government. In the Admiralty all large contracts were put up by adver tisement for public competition, and he supposed the same rule was adhered to in the other departments. The hon. gen tleman concluded by moving for leave to bring in the bill. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he had no elojeetiea to the motion of his hon. frimid. The repeal he pro posed to effect would have a double operation. First, it would remove all chifibt as to the liability of loan contractors under the Contractors Act. That question came before the committee which sat last session in the case of Baron Roths child. The greatest discrepancy of opinion existed amongst the members of the committee upon the interpretation of the act with regard to these contractors, but the majority decided that they did not come under the operation. He should not venture to express an opinion on the legal question, but ho had no doubt that thi committee decidedly rightly in the view of expediency. There was a great difference between loan contractors in this respect, that in the case of loan con tracts, the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the one hand and the parties who Made the tender for the loan on the other hand, were merely negotiators and not principals—the'one representing the Government and the others the subscribers to the loan. The agreement made by them was merely a pro visional one, which required the confirmation of the House of Commons, and,•therefordthe act tvhich imposed penalties on persons contracting with the Commissioner 'of the Treasury could not be held to apply to agreements for loans. The case was different where par ties entered into other contracts—as the supply of coals, for instance, to the Admiral Board or to the Commissioners of the Treasury. If anyreasonable doubt existed as to the exemption of loan contractors, he agreed with his bon. friend that that doubt should be removed, and that the Go vernment ought to support a bill having that object. With regard to other contracts, there was some doubt; and whilst reserving to himself the opinion he might feria as to that por tion of the bill, he should not object to its introduction. Mr. J. G. PHILLIMOitEstid that be was unable to under stand the ground ofthe'deeision of the committee, because any person who• read - the debateS when the Loan Contractors' Act was passed, could not 'fail to see that it was especially directed against nit very class of contractors which the com mittee by their decision . declared to be exempt from its ope ration. As to the other part of the bill, ho thought the house should consider well before acceding to them. The SO :_ICITOR , GENERAL said that if his hon. and learned friend who had just spoken with so much confidence studied the question' ou which he spoke, he would see that he was in error in point of fact, for Baron Rothschild had en tered into no contract at all. If his hon. and learned friend had road the Loan Act, which, with great deference to him, he begged leave to say ho had not—(laughter, and " Yes I have," from Mr. Phillimore)—he would Clad that it was ex pressly framed in such a manner as to operate with regard to the subject matter of the act as a repeal of the Contract Act, and therefore if the persons negotiating a loan had enter ad into a contract,, bu,t_ which they could not perfect till th e persons competent to do so concluded the contract, till in fact a loan act was passed, that subsequent loan act was so worded as to operate as a repeal-of the contract act, and exempted the parties from coming under the penalties imposed by that act. With regard to loan contractors, therefore, the present bill was unnecessary, and with regard to the other parts of the bill he sari great danger from them on public grounds.. Mr. PHILLIMORE said that he confined his observations to the object whiclithe,framcrs of the Contractors' Act had in view. He said nothing about the Loau Act. The house then divided-- For the introduction of the bill Against Leave was then given to bring in the bill. QUALIFICATION OF JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. Mr. COLVILLE moved for leave to bring is a 'bill to amend the .11,ws relatiug'to the qualification ofjustices of the peace. Leave was given. • RETURNS ORDERED. IRISH POOR Lew,—On the motion of Mr. HORSMAN.—Re. turns showing thetotal number of paupers (in-door and out. door) in receipt of relief on the first Saturday of January, 1855, and the first Saturday of January, 1856, in the unions of Ireland ; specifying the increase or decrease in the latter, as compared with the former period. Of the total number of paupers in receipt of relief in the workhouse in each pro vince in Ireland, at the elese of the first week (ending Satur day) of January, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, and 1856, die. FEES ox:BanoxErcrxs, &e.—On the motion of Mr. GUINNESS, Address for return of all:fees chargeable upon baronetcies, Order of the Bath, or other honourable distinctions confer red by her Majesty in reward of distinguished services, and of any expenses incident to such creations and distinctions. BANK NOTES.—On' the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, Copies of the cJrrespondence between the Chan cellor of the Exchequer And the Governor and Deputy-Go vernor of the Batik of England, on the subject of issuing ad ditional Bank notes within the limit of the act 7 and S Viet., c. 32; and of the order in Council authorising the issue in question. CHARITABLE USES BILL. This bill was readit socoa , l time. SUPPLY—NAVY ESTIMATES. Mr. FITZROY brought up the report of the committee of supply on the navy estimates. JOINT-STOCK BANKS (SCOTLAND) BILL. . On the order of the day for the second reading of the biil, In reply to Mr. BLACKBURN; Mr. WILSON stated it was not'a continuance of any exist ng act; but almost an exact copy of a bill which had passed ~ he house last session. .; The house then adjourned at 20 minutes to 12. Naval and Military Intelligence. Portsnionth garrison presents jest now the appearance of a town "beleaguered from the sea and the garrison pre paring busily for its defence. A large fleet of ships and gunboats is at anchor in the roadstead off the town, and new batteries and' quarters for soldiers are being constructed rapidly within the walls of the fortress. At the top of the town a large range of dwelliog-houses and the theatre, have. been pulled down to create more room for military acceinmodation, while at the bottom a heavy battery of 16' 68-pounder pivot guns is in course of completion, having taken the place .of the old platform of 6-pounder saluting guns. In the rear of these has been erected a large shell maeazine, flanked by a high earth mound to protect it .from the shot of an enemy seaward; new erubrasures for heavy 32-pounders have been cut in the curtain of the ram parts at various points commanding Southsea, where a mud fort has been built near the old stone fortress, Southsea Castle, to strengthen that defence. A new double draWbridge is in'course of erection in lice of the old single one at St. JaMes-gate "Point," where a bat tery 'and Royal Artillery quarters in, rear have for some time been built to protect the mouth of the harbour on tie right of the entrance. The Government are also endeavouring to negotiate for a large extent of house p.operty in Green-row and the rear for further enlarg ing the barrack accommodation, and this to the extent (says military. rumour) of 30,000 men ! If so, Ports mouth and its. adjacent dependencies alust become al most exclusively A citadel. The new strain-gun and despatch-boat Lapwing, 4, was put in eatnniiasion on Monday by Commander Thomas Saurnarez, and the new class 6-gun screw despatch boat Pioneer was put in commission yesterday by Commander Mends. Her Majesty's ship 131enaeiru, 60, captain 'W. H. Iztall, was undocked at Portsmouth yeeerday after refit. Sh h as b. r e e le w in. b a a PP w ePa i, isn i ot n n.3,dat4s! chargeliisetraonfhtlyeegseitnnygeiilord'eess.e) a t t h ' I gun-vess el - 13 ;:s Ifer Ata jelt y's.s.erew steam- off alli p A from; the:M e dit eeran ean, , was p lf y ie in rs b , u C t:m .r t. the Talbot, lbof, yesterday or ' afternoon, and, in -cense Admiral Sir William Parker, quenee p o r f o o c r :.s. d d e e d r e sfr up Chann e l steatning wasll l o ie ff s p er i e y w ino s:" l t t e t a , z o n n t; l a o n n sp ia n y rt at ß u la o c o k n - , flitaatintobn, edCN. Crimea, fur the eastward. The _hea stea m transport Cumberland, Capt. Rivers,P3Nro( er .15 . 1 . , from Woolwich, for th e C r i mea, put 1010 • Ply m outh S o und, wind- b ound, on M on d ay . Aisi4ant Adjutant-General Yorke, commanding the Royal Sappers and Miner:, with his ofßeied depertmena, • I Woolwich • having been eetasnec a tuntil the present mo ment ,• 4 jonsevenee of en insufficiency of room for their accommodation at Chatham, yesterday removed thanee. C. s pt. Tilley's - 574 company is now the ouly portion of that corps stationed. at Woolwich. The gun-boat :Forward, 2, Lieutenant Commander Nelson, has arrived off Woolwich Arserat from Deptford, to receive her ameinnition, ‘Sec„ preparatory to joining the squadron. The pontoon mortar raft has returned to Woolivich from Shoeburyness, having gone through the second series of experiments ~with Colonel Chalmers' 10 inch hoWitzer . gun. Since the pontoon metal' has been strengthened all the experiments have turned out satis factorily, consequently the raft has been pronounced in p-m.fect service condition. A curious experiment was on Monday tried in the Arsenal marshes at Woolwich with anew description of shell, being the invention of a Mr. Stevens. A piece of wood fitting the bore of the gun was attached to a shell, a?c.lrding to the inventor's contrivance, to accelerate its flight, which ho 'expected would be a very long one. Several of the shells Were then fired from a 6 pounder gun, and in each instance the wood was shattered in pieces, and the shell rolled to a distance of about 200 yar 1 , . In fat, the experiment completely fade. The following promotions and appointments were made yolterday at the Admiralty Tht;Rev.. W. W. Campbell, Chaplain to the Dragon J. G. Barnes, Paymaster to the Archer ; A. Rowe, C. W. Harris, T. .T. Loy, T. C. H. Shears, H. Gilpin, A, Ovey, A. T. M. Robert- , , and B. Lnxmore, Assistant. Payinastrn, promoted to the rank of Paymasters. ' JOINT-S l'Or2K BANKS. Dividend i Amount Name of Company, per I of Paid. Price. - Annum. ! Share. ----- X s. d. ' X ti. d. Australasia........... 20/. per cent. 40 0 0 all . 92% British North American 61. per cent..; .50 0 0 PO 66 ConnnerciAl of London. lol.per cent. )100 0 0 20 0 0 - Colonial ... ••••• • • - - 151. per cont. 1100 0 0 25 0 0 - lonian.- . .......... 6/. per cent. )25 0 0 25 0 0 - Lend . Gila:, Bk. of Aus. - 20 5 0 all 0 17 London and County • . 101. per cent. 50 0 3 20 0 0 - Loner' 45d Westminstr, I4d. percent. 100 0 0 20 0 0 46M London •Joint• Stock .• • 121. per cent. 50 0 0 10 0 0 31N Frovinclal of Ireland.. 81. per cent. 100 0 0 25 0 0 52 N ew ._ , ..... 81:per cent. 10 0 0 Ditto, all - Nationr.l of Ireland.... 1 61. per cent. ,50 0 0 22 10 0 - Nat. Provincial of Eng. 1 81. per cent. 100 0 0 35 0 0 73% /mac, New ........i 87. per cant. 20 0 0 13 0 0 - Orienttd Ranh Corpora. 18c p. ct.&bs. 25 0' 0 all 40 South Australia • . .... l4? p.a.& bs. 25 0 0 ~, 30 Union of Australia.. • • !301. per cent. 25 0 0 „ 71% % Ditto .............. ,31!. per cent. - 210 0 - Union of London ..... 20% per tent. 50 0 0 10 0 0 if; Union of Madrid ... - I - 40 0 0 all - CANALS. I . • Name.? of F . Dividend ' , rice Names of ~.,., , j Dividend I Companies. 5 ca per Companies. Fi, Annum. - 4 Annum.perFrier!. cr) ~ X _ _ - Ashin &Oldh 03 7/, r. ct. 145 Nfacclesfield.lloo 21. les. bl Barnsiny.... 'l6O, - , - Neath ...... I too 161. - firknii&A.brg 150' 41. I - Oxford.. •• •• 100 - - Birmingham 1 40, ; 41. 9114 Peak Forest. 78, 51. Os. 76 Coventry....llooi 257. - Item t's •• • • 30; 1/ 14% Derby ••• .. 'lOO 67. 15s. 84 Rochdale.... 85' 11. 10s. 76 Elinnre&Clis 60 211 p. ct. - Soinrset Coal 140 - - OrandJunclii 100 3 , . pr. ct. 26 Do. Lk FdSt 12 - - Do., 6 or.Ct.l 10 61. pr. ct. 11% Stfird &Wor e 'l4O, 281. 420 Grand , tirrey' 101 1 41. - tithrewsbary.. 12 5 - Grand Ynion 100' 17.05. - ~ F ,tostrbrldge.. , 45 121. 290 Kent & Ayn 39' 6e. Od. 6% Severn and ] 26 21. .. Lancaster , ..., 1001. - - Wye Bail. Leeds &L'vrp' 100! 25/. 470 Warwick &7 5 2/. 25 Leicester.... 1001 5/. 493 firming. 100 Leicstr &Ntla 83! - :,- Warwick &I 21. 10 LoughLorogh:l42' . 701. 550 Napton.. / 100 Moninouthsh 100' - - Worcstr & i I 78 21. 21 ' Alntgmerysh 100' - - Eirming. Meltn3.lwbry 100; - - Wilts & Brks -10 s. Od. - . INSURANCE COMPANIES. Dividend Amount Name of Company. per of I Paid. Price. Annum. Share. .£ s. d. 'Z s. d. Albion .... •• •... •..• 31. 10s. 500 0 0 50 0 0 83 Alliance E:i:. ar.e. For. 71. 14s. lid. bs. 100 0 0 11 0 0 - Ditto 51artne ....... 01. p.c.& bs. 100 0 0 25 0 0 40•74 Anchor .............. 6 per cent. 5 0 1 0 0 - Atlas • 155.0 d. 50, 0 J 515 0 17% Argue Life ..........• 4t.per cent. 100 0 0 25 0 0 - rlritish Commercial .. 71. 10s. 50 0 0 50 0 6.74 GlericLaled.& Gen. Life spr et. &bs. 10/ 0 0 10 0 0 214,E County - ... ........ 4/. 100 0 0 10 0 0 120 Crown ...... • ... • ... 17s. Od 50 0 0 50 0 181 x, 50 0 0•5 0 0 - Eagle .. - _ ••53. Equity and Law...... 4% per cont. 100 0 0 5 0 0 5% European Life l/. 20 0 0 ell 18% General ........ _ ~ 5% Globe ••••• •• .., 8/. per cent. Stock. 04% Guardian ............ 5/. per cent. 1100 0 0 47 5 0 ,l 511,1, Imperial Fire......... 12/. per cent, 500 0 0 50 0 0 340 Imperi:.l Life Indemnity Marino ...• 11.3 i k 3/. 100 0 0 20 0 0 77 Law Fire ....... •.. • • 2s. & 2s. bs. 100 0 0 210 0 - Law Lite............. - 100 0 . 10 0 '0 61 Legal and General Life - 50 0 0 2 0 0 11% London 25 0 0 12 10 0 2.4, London Ship ... 10s. & bs. 25 0 0 12 10 0 - Marinc......... •. •• - • 181. per share 100 0 0 28 0 0 40 Mcd. Frvlid&'Gcn. Life 4% 7, per et. 50 0 0 2 0 0 31A Minerva .• .....• .. sp. et. & be. 20 0 0 2 0 0 6 Monarch ..•.. -.• .-.-; -•- 5 0 0 1 0 0 - National Loan Fund.. 51. per cent. 20 0.0 210 0 - Palladlititnife;`,.. Pelican - -.- 45,,,i Phautix - - - 178 • PrOCCBF*Iai Life...... 5/. per cent. 5 0 010 0 Pro r.n vidt Life ......-•-• 11. ss. & bs. 100 0 0 10 0 ii 3:14 Rock Life.. ...: _ 8 53 0 010 0 ,! .... , 7s. all 228 Royal Exchatige........ led. per cent. Stock. Sun Fire •• • •• 61. 10s. -- 11 248 0 43i Ditto Life •.... , 11. 14s• --11 - United ;;:ing•dom .. •• 41.11" t. cent. 20 0 0 4 - 4 1100 0 0 io 0 0 2 6 b si Universal Life ... .. ... 4.• per Cen Victoria Life •....:"-• 51. per cent. ... , MISCELLANEOUS. Dividend Amount Per of Paid. Price. Name of Compat.y-. , Annum. Share. ......._4J-.---•_ ------- ---- .£ 8. d. 1 X s. d. Assam • .: , 5/. !5000. 20 0 0 - AAlsctii,, ,--f,!,era .... ert.. :: :: . 214 percent.lso 0 0 - - Australianiq ii. Is. 100 0 0 17 10 0 201' Aurlelo tu 81. per cent. - 25 0 0 __.4 AnstrallAn Trust •• •: all 4 Austra,i.an incßoiyialiMint.al.l 51. . 10 0 0 11. 10s. 10 0 0 Atiglo-p‘ex all _ British •AmericaarLand 158. - 40 0 0 Ca_ .............. 81. percent. 100 0 0 .32 10 0 131 pn;10„, o. 5 percent Bonds ! 5/. per cent- - Ditto, 6Or cent. ••• 5i.161. per cent. - City Nt‘Tigation Bonds ~, - '- 107% - - Electric Telegraph .. 6 per cent. 25 0 0 24 0 0 20 - - - - 4 Equitable Eeversionry 7l pr. cent. 100 0 0 100 0 P • - DIU,: New - - .... _ 50 0 0 17 10 0 Gen, Not•.'crs• 6r rily(s/. sp.c. & bs, 100 0 0 - - Oen .S team Navigation 10 p ct. 15 0 0 1114 0 0 27 Hudso's 1tn..,.'...•• , Stock. - - 4 i 1 riungentford ••y •• ~ •• .. 2/. 03. 100 0 0 100 0 0 London Inditution ... . . London Reversionary 5/per 0 0 cent. 15 all - Kussell Iratltation.• .. - - l --Yriee's Patenteand. Co 101. percent. - 20- 0- 0 1172 10 --- '.l ° 0 - Reversiooary Int. Moe. 4%1. Pr cent. 100 0 0 100 0 90 Royal 51311 titiam...l ' 11. p. share. 100 0 0, 60 0 0 78% South t ustrallan Land 6/. per cent. 25 00 , all - -Trust and Loan Cemr• '- I Upper Canada ...- - -..20 AAI kA n -.. i. o o f S 0 0 I 20 0 0 ) 5 0 0 1 — "'" ,- 7 --- --------. LIST OF SCOTTISII COMPANIES' PRICES. , Dividend Amount Name of Compan y . per of Paid. Price. Annum. Share. ------- Tank of Scotl an d X s. d. X s. d. .... 71 per cent. 100 0 0 100 0 0 184/ 0 British Linen Comriany 81. Per cent. 100 0 0 100 0 0 220153 Caledonian Bank ... EH. per ee4t. 10 0 0 2 10* 0 3/. 18s City of tilaBgol7 4411 c. Al. per cent. 10 0 0 10 0 0 11148 Clydesdale Bank •• 5%/. p cant !20 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 14 s C minercial Bank .. n. per cent 500 0 0 1 00 0 0 223/es ] Eastern 33 ank.....• .. 61. per cent. 25 0 0 10 0 0 1 /3 3 Ediiib•& Glasgow,... 3%d ' . p cent. 5 0 0 5 0 0 41.18 s 1 Exchaigte Bilk of Scot.. National Bank .... .. 5% percent . 100 0 0 10 0 0 17120 s North or ,: eotiand Bank bl.per cent 20 0 0 210 0 IL 17 8 c licyal Bank 0f . 3 co n; .. 52. per cent. 100 .0 0 100 0 0 132110 ( !Union Bank of Scot. •. 8/. per cent. 100 0 0 50 0 0 921 5 3 Western stank •....... 7/. per cent. 50 0 0 60 0 0 75/ Os L Alliance Fire and Lice.. 8%1.pr cent. 100 I) 0 11 0 0 181 105 1 British Guarantee . .. 41. per cent. II 0 0 , 2 0 0 I/. 10s Caledonian Fire liver . 10,per cent. 100 0 0 10 0 0 KillOs City ottli,a, go . 3 , Lite , 61. por cent. 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 . 8 3 g CO oulil Lt ~........ 51. per cent. 50 0 0 1 0 0 51. 7s I Edinburgh Life Instir. 62. percent. 100 0 0 15 0 0 27/108 Eng. & Scot, Lase Life Al., , er cent. AO 0 0 3 5 0 U. 88 Life AS3OC. o iic. , and 5/. per cent. 10 0 0 110 031 10 % •r. National Fire and Life 64 per cent. 10 0 0 1 0 0 21. Os 46 North Ilthish :11 , ittr.'.. 71. per wat. 200 0 0 20 0 0 t2l !Os Scottie' Union Monte. 7 1 %1. pr cent. 20 0 0 1 0 0 ii• ICS Standard Life •• •• •• •• 51. per cent, 50 0 0 7 0 0 20110 s United Dep Assurance W. per cont. 10 0 9 1 9 9 —. , _ MI LITI A. The Ist Regiment of Somerset Militia has left Taunton for Aldershutt camp. The Royal Cornwall Ringers' Militia Regiment, not being able to recruit its istrJogth up to 400 men by the time appointed, has been dissolved, but many of the me❑ have entered regiments of the line. PRICES OP SHARES IN BANKS, ASSURANCE, AND OTHER COM PANIES' STOCK. Front the Official List. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING LONDON, TUESDAY, FEB. 12, 1856. GAS-LIGHT AND COKE COMPANIES. Dividend i Amount Name of Company. , per of Paid. Price. Annum. Share. Z a. d. £ a. d.' ..... British • • •••• •• •• •• •• ._ • Ditto Irovincial.• •• 71. 20 0 0 20 0 0 244 Brighton ••—.••• •• •• 5/. 20 0 0 20 0 0 1 - ) City of London .. •• •• C. Os. 100 0 0 Lit) 0 0 Continental (4th Cap.) . 00 0 0 20 0 0 -- Equital)le.. •• •• ~..• •• .21/. 10s. 50 0 0 a ll as k,:l-eat Central ....,... 81 per cent. 10 0 0 all 11 1 A Imperial .. • ......... 10t.&:. bonus. 50 0 0 all 85 Independent .......•• . 51. 40 0 0 PIP I .---. il.M(ioll 9, •• •• .. ...r •• .., • ,_. 50 0 0 ff - Do., Part. Preference 61, per cent. 25 0 0 9f P:7osulx ............. 41. per cent. 60 0 0 02 0 0 Ratcliff ..... ....., . 5 /. 100 0 0 16 0 0 16 United General —•• •• 2/. 10a. 50 0 0 all 19i Weatmioster Chartered 41 per cent. l5O 0 0 ff 55 Ditto, New ........ 150 0 0 10 0 0 10 • WATER-WORKS. • I Dividend Amount Name of Company. 1 . per of Paid. Price. Annum. Share. --- £ s. d. £ a. d. East London Grand Junction ....•• 4 1 . per cut. 50 0 0 all 70 Kent • ........ 4'. per cut. 100 0 0 781 Lambeth New River Company.. .21.10 a. -- Southwark & Vauxhall , 51. per cnt. 100 0 0 59% West Midd!ovelt •.••.. Si. per cent. 61 0 '0 89% BRIDGES. Dividend Amount Name of Company. per of raid. Price. Annum. Share. — A s. d. £ s. d. fliingern,rd .... • • ~ 12 Sou: liwt,rk .. ..... ... 190 0 0 Ditto New of '7! p,c. .It, per cent. CO 0 0 Waterloo ..... .... •• • • ' 100 0 0 Ditto Old Ann. of 81. 11. 14s. tad. 60 0 0 Ditto Nw ditto of 71. ii. 10s. 4d. 40 0 0 2-1 Vratxhall ............ ' • 96g. 70 10 3 20% DOCKS. Dividend - Amount Name of Company. per . of 1 Paid. Price. I Annum: Share. £ —,-- --- s. d. ; £ s. cl. Commercial .• •• •••• M. pr cent. Stock. ' Stock. East and West India.. 6C pr cent. Stock. —11 9 1 A East C.ltntry 2og. per sh. -- .....1 - Lon d o n .••.••. •• •• Ditto Tionds.• •• •• i 41: per cent. ..t. Katharine •• ~ 1 , outtiarnoton Victoria .. •• Country Markets. LIVERPOOL-FEB, 12. A good attendance of mill ers an d d ea l ers to-clav At the beginning of the market holders of wnoat requires en advance over Friday of ld to 2d per bushel, which checked business, and only. a moderate one was effected. American red wheat sold at 10s, lOs 3d, to 108 Gcl per 701b3. In flour no change. Indian corn declined 6d per qr., and in slow demand. No alteration in the value of other articles of the trade. • LEEDS—FEB. V. Tho show of wheat is only moderate, and in consequence of the damp weather the condition generally ii; defective• For best dry wile:lts thero is a fair sale at rather over Fri day's rates; other descriptions move slowly at former prices. The supply of south barley is rather beyond Of demand, and the value recedes. Oats and beans, Wit' other articles, without material alteration. COVNTRIEN. Amorlca(byllrit.pack:CN kinetics. (by United Sts. packet) America (by U. St,tes , packet) —IT I Australia (via South ampton) Ditto (via Marseilles). NI Ditto (via Cap o of Good, Hope) ..; Africa (West Coast) ..N, Alexandria N Alexandria.......... 8ahama5...........M1 Belgium .• . • •. •• • • • •NI Brazil. Buenos Ayres Cape of Good Hope ..N Cape of Good. Hope ...N Cape de Verde ......N Ceylon (see:lndia) Ceylon ..... Channel 151e5.... ~..N Oh' Nina .... . Constantinople Constantinople .. Cont. of Europe M & N Egypt (see India) N Gibraltar Greece (ace India) areytovin •• .• •• •• •• re lir mthirgh ....N Elavannah M Hovland , Honduras India (viaSoutliampt.)M India (via Marseilles)M lonian Isles (see India) Ireland & N Madeira Madeira Malta (see India) Malta ••••• • • • , •• •• Mauritius (See India) Mauritius ..........N Mexico •• es •• •• Naples •• egg ••• •• •• • • •• New Granada......N New Zea1and.......... Papal States ........ Peninsula •• •• •• •• Id Peru ••.• •••• •••• ••M Port Natal Sicily ~ •••••• •• • • N Tuscany •• •• • • •• • • ••N Venezuela ........ Van riemen'sLand (se , Australia) We't Indies Whon any of these dal 'patched on the folio - Me outhampton), and the h preceding day. [ADVERTMENIANT.I Steer AND HEARING. POWERFUL TELESCOPES, OPERA, RACE AND PEREFECT CFE OLAgslo. —Messrs. S. and E. Solo mons , op ti c i ans, 39, ( Albenlar; ol. street, Piccadilly. Obs erve oppos it e the Stork 11.° _ 0 4 By her Majesty's Royal L e tt ers P a t en t f or v Wahl° extraordinary improvements in the most po f ,vorful r . brilliant Telescopes, Camp, R a c ecourse , Op er . I t , and r e el apective Glasses, to know the distances of ol c j ec t s vic‘!„, through them—of great• importance to the rlrmy, 11 1 " 7 „: and others. These telescopes possess su c h eet raordinar , powers that some three and a-half inches, with :in, extra ey e ' piece, will show distinctly Jupiter's moons, Raturn's 24 ' 11 4 and the double stale; with the same teies:mpe can secs a person's countenance three miles and a Julf and'an object from 16 ta2o miles. They are oflarger sizes;with incrcashig powe - rs accordingly ; while their s' o 4: ing from 4 to 6 inche s ena bl e us to discover more than above-, and the Georgian;with his 6 satellites, 30.—Thnit°,n Exhibition, 18 5 1 . Valuable, • new l y- i nvented, very err . bleb powerful waist coa t- poc k et glass,the size of a walnut, by w,P'"„r a person can b e seen and knownl miles distant ; they al el' every purpose o n th e race-coursei and at the opera it country scenery, and - ships are clearly seen at Bto 10 ilile s ' They aro invaluable• for shooting, deer-stalking, tach sportsmen, gentlemen gamekeepers, and (mitts. " o ,P e „f — g i race - course, camp, and perspective glasses, with essj,nu°';t.. power. Newly-con s t ruc t e d S pec ti e l e L enses or the 4 est transparent power. The valuable advantage &lin from this invention is, th a t v i s i on b ecoming in Ta i r a' , preserved and strengthened, and very aged pit rsons a ; enabled to employ th e i r s i g ht a t the mostmil Lute ne. u , 'anion, can see with these l enses o f a much les i nulg ul ing power—and they do not requi re th e f requea t n.floe to the dangerous •effects of further powerful assistan c e. Deafeess—New Diseevery:—The Organic Vibri I:I :or, an 7 0 ; traordinary powerful, small, newly-invented fin 4 ',trout deafness, entirely different from all others, to e DrpaSS a n S thing of the kind. that bas • been, or probably (o'er oan produced. Being of the same colour as the skin,j is not per ceptible ; it enables deaf persons to bear distlneV(y at °MO and at public assemblies ; the unpleasant Beneath ea of sing!!! noisels in the ears is entirely remov e d ; an d it alords al/ the assistance that possibly could be desired.—n. Alhentarla. street, Piccadilly. Observe—opposite the YorCETotel. BIRTHS. OF A SON. On the 12th inst., at 7, Glocester-place, Greenewich, Dire' Henry Graham Stokes. On the Sth inst., at Bath, th e w if e of Captaila E. J ose ph Thackwell. OF A DAUGHTER. On the 11th inst., at the Deanery, Carlisle, the wife o f the Very Rev. the Dean of Carlisle. On the 9th inst., at Dulwich-common, the wife of za' ward Horner, Ezq, MARRIED. On the 7th inst., at Northreppe, Phili p H ammon d , NA" of Annesley P ar k Yotte, to Richenda, daughter of the late Sir T. Fowell Buxton, B ar t., of Northrepra Norfolk. • DIED. On tho 19th inst., at Leamington, Grace, Countess of Farnham, aged 90. On the - 111h inst., at Newport, Isle of Wight, Thorns' Moorman, aged 85, On the 9th inst., at Richmond, Alfred Henry, only child of Alfred Reen, E sq . , Guarda. of the Mir Depaitruent, none O❑ the 7th inst., at Stanford, near WorceAter, Anna% hella Sophia, youngest dauffhter of Sir T. E. Winnington, Bart., M.P. . On the 7th inst., William Edwards, Esq., of Bethnal green, Into of St. Sepulchre without, and of Yetininstert Doiset, aged 85. LONDON Printed and Published by kautroto v0u23 1 0, of No. 112, 'Strand, Printer, at The 'guts °ince, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex, Widnesday, February 13,.1856.. IPSWICH-FEB. 12. Tho supply of wheat was not large, but the trade Was firm. Best sarnpl,es sold at a t r ifli ng a d vance upon 1 6 4 week's prices, whilst the damp and ill-conditioned saropleg were neglected. Barley in less supply, and the best quali ties sold readily at 18s and 19s per coomb. Beans and,P os hut few at market.and heavy to sell. TER QUARTER. rsa QUARTO' Wheat, red (old) 6is to 70. s Barley, grinding ... 32s to 44 6 Ditto (new) Ditto, white 72s to 76s!Peas Ditto (old) Barley, malting 30s to 3Si!Flour, per sack to AVERAGES FOG THE WERE ENDING FEB. 9, .18n6. Wheat Oats Peas - Barley I JI Beats HULL-FEB. 12. A moderate supply of English wheat, and condition ge . nerally indifferent. For dry samples Is to 2s moron:lon e / had to ho paid. In Foreign nothing doing. Barley dun. Beim lower. Oats ;without change. Linseed and it s products dull, but a better demand for cakes. In balled there Are no•transactions. 8• 8 i Wheat, English, red 66 to 7tjPeas, grey and black Ditto white ' • 74 to 761 Linseed, Black Sea.... Dantzic and Konigs- iDitto Petersburgh ... berg PomeranianandHars- 1 angel burgh Danish, Holste in, and Memel 5B t° 60 Frioslaud . - 68 to 72 Per Ten. Russian and Odessa 64 to 63,Lins. c., Hull OM; to 11 11 , 3 55 • Oats, English Ditto Danish 26 to 2S Ditto inf. for. 0/ Os Od. to 01 " Oo Ditto Friesland - not - 1 5..-. 0 Ditto Russian 26 to 3O Rape cakes —s Od to 13v.- Barley, malting - Ditto grinding 36 to 381Dittoforeign .:::::: 00 s to Beans ' 44 to 46!Guano OO/ Os 81 to 121 1: Ditto foreign Peas, white and yel. 58 to 60 Rye M ea l ... ....... 110°' 65,t0 63 tp 60 to 63 DUBLIN- 7 --FEn. 12. This day the supply of home growth con ti c ues era all. Factors hold for higher rates, which were iialised to i‘ trifling extent. The gener a l l one o f th e mar l ;e t fills, If . cept for Indian corn, i n w hi c h th e businecs do ale was ' 373 trifling, at late currency. • COURSE OF EXCI Amsterdam ....• ...... 11 18 Ditto, three months .. 12 0 N Rotterdam 12 0 1 A Antwerp • • • • • • •• • • .• • • 2.5 00 Brussels • . .• • • •• ••• • • • 215 60 liamburgh •• •• • • • • •• • • 13 10% Aliens • • •• • • • • •• • • •• • • :ANGE.-YESTERi&Y• Gibraltr.r •• •• ••• •• 3 22 , 4 lA - Thorn •• ...... •• b eV. GOMM ...... •••• • • • . . Milan •• - Venice........ •..... 44' iPalermo .... mvsina 1,:u• - s'o3i Llsho"' 53% Rio Janeiro ..... .•• •• Buenos Ayre5,....... •• New York,6o days. bt Philadelphia •• rxlces OF ELM ' Foreign Cold in Bars,,X3 Portugal Gold Coin •• it 0 Mexican Dollars New Dollars 0 Silver in bars 5 Paris— •• •• ••..•••• •••• 95 40 Ditto, three months 25 SO Marseilles 25 82 Rounleaux ... •• .• ...• Frankfort-op Maine.... 120% Berlin .. •••••••• • • •• • • Vlenna••••••••••••••••• 10 45 Trie..ste•• •••••••••••••• 10 47 Petersburg 36% Madrid ••• •••• •••,. r• •• 49% Barcelona ............ Stvillo.. •• •• •• .• •••• - SEABORNE MAILS. (N signifies that the mails aro B ent from the General yo i t Otli by the night—and M by the morning—despatch.) Day when in ale u; in General Po•st- ORlce, London.* Igoe' From wha , do , a Port t III t Dispatched V eb. " LlTOrpool - ' Every Friday ... ILlverpool 'Feb• 11 Southranpt Feb• 21 Southempl DA Dover .... •• ***** •• •• 23d of the month.. 18, 9, 24, fk 30 of m. 1 4th & '2oth of mon. 17th of the montl „ ,„ 9th of the month.. 9th of the month,. . 1 110cerl ail Plymouth IMa r. • • Dover ... • Soutbamr to If Soutliam, to If DoverDegy Southamir a Feb : 6 . Bouttian4. Feb 16 Various pc lUncortli° 9th of tho month Bouthamp xi f Feb. lb Bouthamp• Tp.Th aoutliamp I}far. 11:tori.,Wedjarril. 12,1 Sc 1 7 a. of montl:, !Once a month.... 8,13,18,23,&24 4th 2011: of mon j IT Mee daily Dover ... • Spat hump iv 1.. 43 ,1013 Dover ... Dover ..••4. Twice daily 1,7,17, 20, 27 2rici4k 17th of mon. trruesday & Friday I!2nd of the month [pally ......., „ 1117ta tithe month. I{ttht 20th of mon. , 9th& 25th of month .J 7, & 27 of men 'Twice daily . ,„ 17, 9, 17, & 27 of 1 9th of the month' 123 d of month I Southampl Loudon . • SklutllEillapt I)ovcr ..... a • Mouthampt• Plymouth Dover .... . Dover.. •. • }loll head Sout hampf 01 Sou! hampl a !Liverpool . •.. Tel). 16 I pailY t ,, 4 Et 20 12 *wife.'" Feb. 16 I, 18, &26 of mon. g, 200 ',Dover ' fa .40 114th of the month ' 2nd of the month.: 1 15th15th2Athoftnon. 21& 17th of month 187 private e Sth I 5 th2hthonnon. Tthl7th27thohnon.. 41 Si. 27th of Mon.,' By private ship... Sthistll2sthetinon, 5.11 1 60126 thofinon. 12d Is 17th °lntone • • ISoatharap 'Dover . ISouthampt /Various rOl t Dover southarnpt fn iSouthampt & Various pc ri Dover .... Ifeb 76 I irliseer I( 111 " 6°' Dover • • . . SOUthaniri 200 1 1 & 16 :2tl& 17th of mono P i & [6 Ole !Soutba-rpt ite fall on a Sund a y, th e mat I will ri ti oin )g day. with th e excepti . n of U .0 in,, df i ti Malta, both of whi c h w ill be d • is Pitt"— Fpm it i Ito r ho c he i 0 1 b e~, J. ~=- -. 11,4,,i 1336 tlto ktret 41 01 tn o , d ead uroti ---14 THE ti uttei the, bar