The Sun. — London, England, 1834-06-24 00:00:00

mission was issued in consequence of an address from the ' - Honse of Commons to his Majesty in 1824. This last corn . mission has led to ,nine reports.' So that you have now 23 reportt on the subject of education in Ireland. I will pre sent up a large folio volume) is one. (Peals of laughter.) Per haps you think that these reports do not enter into suffi cient details. Now, if ever a book was incumbered with details in quantity sufficient to afford the fullest information to the greatest statist that ever lived, this book which I . hold in my hand is one well calculated to sa ti s fy the most , . ravenous appetite for statistical information. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) It contains an account of every school in Ireland, of the barony in Which it is situate, of the diocese to which the barony belongs, and the name of the town land or place to which it belongs. (A laugh.) It is going a long way in point of information to give the name of the master and mistress of every school in Ireland, and Yet this information you have in these reports. (Laughter. ) t ,• Nay, more, 'under the next head you have information ..- .. whether the tehhol be a day-school or a f r ee-school ; then youhave an account of the income of the master or mis tress ; and next you have a very exact and minute descrip tion of the school-house. (Cheers and laughter) This ' volume contains 1,333 pages, and I will take one instance • out of it—the school at Ballybay And yet ' our trusty and well-beloved Thomas Doyley, sergeant-at-law,' with `, ten learned coadjutors, is to be sent to examine into the '.' state of this school. (A laugh.) The entry states that ' ' i the school of Ballvbay is in the diocese of Clogher, in the townland of Clogher. The name of the master of the school is Riley. His religion is Protestant. His average in come is 11/. 3s. The school-house is a thatched house, (A laugh) ; it has a clay floor ( Laughter continued); and it cost 6/. 14s. Among the scholars there are 15 Protestants of the church of Ireland, 36 Presbyterians, and 13 Roman Catholics. That, be it observed, is the Protestant return; but to check it a Catholic return was also sent in, and it ‘‘st states the Protestant scholar s o f th e c h urc h o f Ireland to ~. be 12, the Presbyterians to be 56, and the Roman Catholics • ' to be 26. Bet . this is not all—the number of males is stated et 50,-and of females at 40. It is assisted by the Hibernian Society in Sackville-street. The Scriptures are read in it, and in the authorised version. Here is information in abun dance respecting the school of Ballybay, and information of . this kind respecting every school in the country is at this moment in your possession. (Hear, hear;) You next say that you want information as to the state and value of the benefices in Ireland. You have three commissions now in Ireland making inquiries into that point. In the first year of his present Majesty's reign you issued a commission to inquire into the state of the several parochial benefices in the respective dioceses in Ireland ; first, whether they are separate or united parishes ; secondly, what is the annual value of the several parishes ; thirdly, the contiguity of the [' several parishes in a union to each other ; fourthly, the fit v.. ness of dissolving such unions ; and lastly, the amount of the salaries paid to curates. In the thi r d year of the reign of his present Majesty you issued another commission, and ' this is the recital of it—' Whereas we have thought it ex pedient, for divers good causes and considerations us there unto moving, that a full and correct inquiry should be . forthwith made respecting the revenues and patronage be longing to the several archiepiscopal and episcopal sees in I'' Ireland ; to all cathed ra l an d co ll eg i a t e c h urc h es; t o all ecclesiastical benefices, inchiding donations, per petual curacies, and chapelries, with or without cure of souls, and the names of the several pa trons thereof, and other circumstances therewith con nected.' In that' commission are the names of Lord Plunket, the Duke of Leinster, the Marquis of Down shire, Lord Ormond, Sir Henry Parnell, and Sir John Newport. Have you not then two commissions to supply you with the information which you want on this subject? But even this will not satisfy you, for in the last year you instituted another commission, and you _passed an act compelling a valuation of every living in -Ireland,—com pelling a valuation, in order that a tax might be levied upon the living,—and compelling a return of that valuation before the Ist of December, 1833. Moreover, you gave to that commission by statute the power of administering an oath to all persons who came before it. This com mission has not that power, but on the face of it, I ask for what object is it issued ? (Loud cries of ' Hear.') If_ it be not for the sake of postponing the decision on this • abject, which I say you are now competent to make, why issue it ? (Immense cheering:) Can it be for the tran quillity of Ireland that you should keep a subject of this kind in abeyance, and evade by every manoeuvre a decision .1„ upon it ? (Hear, hear.) The question is in my mind simply this :—Has Parliament—l will not say the legal right, for who can deny that it has?—but has Parliament the moral and equitable right to make this appropriation, 111. and is it safe . ; in the present temper of the times, to set an example to the pen le of confiscating the property of the church ? ( Hear .) You say that now, at last, you speak out. Sir, I deny that you speak out. (Immense cheering.) I say that the opinions delivered bydifferent members of govern went on this subject are at variance with each other. ("Cheer ing continued.) Every opinion I have yet heard from them leaves me in doubt as to the ultimate intention of the King's Government ; and that being the case, I do not see why you - should unsettle the tblintry to itt "core;' by declaring that if you shall find hereafter that you have a surplus beyond what is wanted to maintain the Pro testant church, you will devote it to other purposes. Why not 'reserve that 'declaration until you have ascer tained the fact to which it is to apply . At one time you say ' see our principle in our commission,' and at another you exclaim ' wait till we declare it.' (Hear, hear.) My right hon. f r i en d o p pos it e c h eers me w h en I say that he reserves to a future day the enunciation of his principle. 0 Why, has that not been the burden of his speech all this evening ? (Hear, hear.) The noble lord, however, says that if it should tarn out that there is a surplus, he will devote it to moral and religious purposes. Then, the noble lord must contest the right of Parliament to de vote it to merely secular purposes. (Lord Althorp, ' No.') - What then is the meaning of the noble lord's saying that he will devote it o n ly t o mora l and religious purposes? 0 (Hear, hear.) How does this property of the church, I would ask him, differ from other property, as for instance, property possessed by corporations? If it differs from other property, then I do not see why Parliament should not have a control over it. I can understand the man who tells me that he considers all property , as sacred. I can understand the man also who says, ' If I can promote the doctrines of the ' Gospel, I consider myself at liberty to promote it by another distribution of the revenue of its ministers than that which was originally contemplated.' But I cannot understand the man who tells me that he respects the right of property, and yet diverts the pro perty of the church from ecclesiastical purposes, to what he is pleased to call, moral and religious purposes. (Hear, hear.) I hope the house will bear with me, while I call its attention to the extraordinary manner in which the noble lord keeps perpettsplly shifting his ground. I can understand the noble lord, -if he says that the revenues of the church are given for religious purposes, and that he will therefore apply them to the maintenance of the Ca tholic religion ; but—. No,' says the noble lord, ' the object from which I would except the appropriation of the revenues of the church, is the Catholic religion.' How narrow, then, is the ground on which the noble lord takes • his stand. Appropriate the revenues of the church to New South Wales ? The noble lord says that ' it w ou ld be little less than sacrilege to do so.' But if Parliament has a right to appropriate the revenues of the cliurch at all, why has it not a right to appropriate them, if it pleases,_ to th e b ene fit an d improvement of New South Wales? (Hear, hear.) I see that you gentlemen who pride yourselves on speaking out, as you call it, do not even understand the distinctions which you draw your sely"- ( Great cheering.) The noble lord in this honk, and the Lord Chancellor in the other house of Parliament, have excluded religion from the benefit of this appro priation. ' ' We have provided,' say they, ' for the Pres byterian re li g i on , and have on princi p le we excluded the Catholic.' To w h at object then are you to appropriate the property of the church ? lam s peaking now of those veio say that they spea k out, and for my life Icannot un derstand them. (Immense cheering. ) The noble lord the member for Yorkshire, wh o speak s with great ability, and always with mature deliberatio n (H ear, and a laueh ; said that he much doubted whether we had a right to ap propriate the surplus, supposingit to exist, to the purposes of charity. The'nOble lord 9iis, ft appears, a lingering respect tor the property of the church ; but, says he, if the young men at Oxford makes riot in the theatre as a proof of their attachinent 'to . the church (Opposition cheers), I cannot respect church property any longer. (H ear, and laughter. ) The noble lord is uncertain as to th' sur plus t 'but if there he a large surPlus, he is doubtful whether we have a right to apply it to the purposes of charity. He abjures the notion of appropriating it to the maintenance of the•e at holie'religion. He will not do More than ap propriate it, f or I took down the noble lord's words as he . spoke them —h e will not, I ity, 'appropriate it to moral, spiritual, are! Chri s ti an consolation. ( A laugh. ) Lord MORPETH, s eking from the gallery, " One word only ; I did not sayPeconsolation—l said edification." (A *right lau 'h.) SiR, pEt t, strictly the called upon the house to observe how I , f ron .,... an _ pai-iieißoma n . Catholic religion was to be excluded Ireland. if ere be in the revenues of the church of moral, spiri*al - an , stsurplus, it was to be confined to the u Christian edification of the people of that country : ' Now, the a dvantage s to be derived from this species of spoliation a pp eared nsmt to be to him to so small, that he for one would not c violate the principle of prescription to . obtain them. (Loud cheers.) He would not undermine the foundation of al l prop er ty , i n or d er, if prop er . there were an excess of church perry over the legiti mate wants of the church, to devote it to the moral, p . ritual, and Christian edification of the peopl e (Hear, hear,s-i -and a la ug h), even th o ugh by that arrang ement the Roman Catholics were excluded from participating in it. Here was a specie s of property resting on the prescriptio n of 300 YaetatrU Chee"), the maintenance of wh i ch was decreed gentlem e a n n i°° of the two kingdoms . (Cheers.) An h on . there was .n 'in his speech the other night, had said that time of the union such bar imposed upon Parliament at the support of that p os • t • as he (Sir Robert Peel) supposed. In certain ministerl'al %o n the hon. member had . referred to Mr. Pitt, in which d ocuments having the e , signature of the right was - asserted to certain claims which deal with , he (Sit R. Peel) affirmed w ere th a t t h e express i ons o f M r. Pitt had no reference w hatever to the right of Parliament to ' deal with the property of the church, but had reference to the necessity of reserving to Parliament the right of re moving the disabilitie that. eretiee of i Cee Catholics. To prove that position lie stated that the liesti Parliament-had sent over to this country certain resolutions as the condi tions on which they would assent to the union, and those resolutions were confirmed by the Parliament of this country, and sent back to Ireland. In those resolutions it ! was expressly stipulated that every right and privilege which the church of Ireland had enjoyed before the union should be preserved to it after the union. Now, under the terms " rights and privileges" it appeared to him that the right of the church to its property must have been in cluded. He had now stated sufficient reasons why they should scrupulously abstain from interfering rashly with the property of the Church. First, it was defended by prescription ; next, by the stipulations made at the union of the two kingdoms. If ministers had told him that they had ascertained there was 1,000,000/. of surplus, so that a splendid robbery might be committed, he could conceive that some profligate men might imagine this a magnificent prize, the attainment of which would form a ground, if not an apology, for spoliation. But what were the facts of the case? There were 2,450 parishes in Ireland, and 1,200 churches were now existing for the performance of the observances of the Protestant religion. Was it meant to abandon or maintain those churches ? Did they mean to appropriate them to purposes, other than those for which they were intended ? Deduct the lay advowsons, which stood on quite a different footing from the rest, and it could not be pretended to be the property of the state. The right hon. gentleman appeared to admit that fact. It was clear that such advowsons were possessed by Private individuals, and that government had no right to appro priate them to the purposes of the state, whatever might be asserted as to other ecclesiastical benefices. Now, if he took the whole church property of Ireland, - after de ducting the expense of collection, and divided it equally among all the parishes (a principle which he hoped never to see adopted), the result would not be such as to indicate any extravagant surplus, after making an adequate provi sion for the incumbents. He repeated, that he objected altogether to the principle of an equal division of church property—he did so because he wished to see the present incentives to exertion continued, 'and because he conceived it fitting that the clergy should be enabled to exercise an appropriate influence, not only on the lower, but also on the higher classes of society. (Hear, hear.) He saw no reason why the spiritual profession should • be degraded (Hear), and why there should not exist inducements calculated to attract men of talent and attainments to the church as well as to the bar and other professions. (Hear, hear.) But if we adopted the principle of equal distribution, he doubted whether it would give an income of 300/. a year to each incumbent. The right hon. gentleman seemed to rate the Irish church revenues higher, and he said, if he found that they would give an average to each benefice of 5001. a year, while in England the average did not exceed 300/. a year, the difference would afford a reason for diminishing the church revenues in Ireland. He denied that a good reason for diminishing the Irish revenues was afforded by this supposition. (Hear, hear.) There might be good reasons for paying clergy men more in one country than in another, on account of the privations which they must endure, and the other un favourable circumstances of their situation. (Hear, hear.) The hon. and learned gentleman made a remark pregnant with truth. He intimated that in these times revolutions were not effected in centuries or years, but months. He (Sir Robert Peel) was afraid that revolutions in opinion did occur rather too rapidly, and the foundations of property were sometimes hastily effected by them. It was on ac count of the revolutions which had occurred, or were likely to take place, that he had called on his Majesty's government to exert themselves to arrest the progress of destructive opinions (hear, hear), and lead the public mind by a positive declaration of their own. (Cheering.) There would have been less danger in the government declaring their opinion that a surplus did exist, and they were prepared to appropriate it, but to pre serve the remainder, than in leaving the question open, as they now did. God forbid that the government should ever see reason to come to such a decision as he had referred to with respect to a surplus, but even that might be less dangerous than their present mode of dealing with the Subject. He hoped that they would not on 'merely hy pothetical opinions consent to any appropriation. (Hear.) Nothing could be more unwise than to raise a cry of " church in danger" on fictitious grounds, because false alarms produced distrust and negligence, and rendered appeals vain when the period of actual danger arrived; but when the noble lord told them that the church of Ire land was one of the greatest grievances of the country, when the King's Government assented to the assertion, and when the Dissenters required a separation between Church and State, let not gentlemen scare us from the performance of our duty,_ and let them not tell us that we were not in danger. (Hear, hear.) We asked not the removal of civil disabilities or religious penalties, but on this ground we stood, we would protect the connection between Church and State, and the integrity of church property. (Loud and continued cheering.) If you told him that Was novel doctrine, he said no; he spolie not of the opinions entertained y Burke or men of his day, or of the sentiments professed by individuals of his own party, or of the notions that prevailed in an unreformed Parliament ; but he referred to the sentiments avowed by members of the present Govern meet, in reference to the Irish church. What would the: house say to the opinions of Lord Grey on the subject ? The noble lord had quoted his (Sir R. Peel's) sentiments, and placed an erroneous construction upon them ; but he was ready to abide by the opinions he qad expressed. He was ready to eoreeet the abuses of the Church, and pro mote, by. every means in his power, the expansion and maintenance of the Protestant religion in Ireland ( Cheers); and if they showed him any mode by which men whoreally wished well to the Church intended to appropriate a share of its funds for purposes directly connected with the ex tension of revealed truth, according to the doctrines of the Protestant church in Ireland, he would be ready to agree to such an appropriation, but only in reference to strictly ecclesiastical purposes, and those connected with the Es tablished Church. (Hear, hear.) In February, 1832, Earl Grey presented a petition from the inhabitants and landowners in Rathclaren, praying for the abolition of tithes and church rates, and that the church lands might be resumed and disposed of for objeCts of common interest to all the inhabitants of the realm. He presented the pe tition as a peer, and in that capacity only. He, however, need scarcely state to their lordships, not only that he did not approve of such a measure as the petitioners recom mended, but that if a project of that nature were pro posed by any one, it should receive from him the most de cided and determined opposition. He saw the urgency of effecting some improvement in the mode of making provision for the clergy in Ireland ; but he would unequi vocally state, that he never could think of making any such improvement in the modes of providing for the clergy without fully securing to the church its just rights. (Loud cheers.) Were these the sentiments maintained by the King's ministers ? (Cheering.) What did Lord Plunket say in a speech delivered on the same subject?—" Obscure and humble individuals in Ireland might entertain the ex travagant notion that the Government of this country was not unwilling to sacrifice the rights of her church. That such persons, looking at their station in life, might enter tain such opinions, was not very surprising—in them, perhaps, it was excusable. But it was a very different matter when suspicions of this nature were cherished and were disseminated by persons of high rank and influence in society." (Cheers.) What was the report made by the tithe commtitee, of which the Marquis of Lansdowne was chair Man? On what Conditions had he (Sir R. Peel) been invited to accede to measures of church reform ? Those questions would be best answered by a reference to the reports of the Lords' Committee, and to a apeech de livered by Lord Lansdowne in March, 1832. The report stated—" That with a view both to secure the interests of this church, and the lasting welfare of Ireland, a permanent' change of system will be required ; that such a change, to be satisfactory and safe, must involve a complete extinction of tithes, by commuting them for a charge upon land, or an exchange for an investment of land, so as effectually to 'secure the revenues of the church (as far as relates to tithes), and at the same time to remove all pecuniary collision between the parochial clergy and the occupier of land." The second report had this paragraph— The clergy are thus, in too many instances, deprived of that ' just and beneficial influence which their general conduct ' and habits so well qualify them to exercise, even over per sons of a different religious persuasion ; that for the pur- ' re oftnse should oth,ifacilityled church,be to e e ff ni e rt c t et exchangeuea nhidnvg government fN t . m e r landn investments s ef no i n rt tithes, a nf" all g it hvei stamps nbge.ng:fie at enabled to ma k e a d vances to lan r dl i o n rds." , Lord Lansdowne, : 1 1 7 k inr in ds g } u p o tn n r t e h n e on sa nn me i.n, s t ub t j h e n c s t e ,- m sa n id d;s : b ‘ ny F t a rt b aenh it t f i r n. om so m m e e , bein s g places, the tithe has been removed spoliation, and without an equivalent principle I t P o le t; ' :e f church to which it belonged, and 1 only allude to the mo difications which have taken place for the purpose of shw ing ; that wherever the tax had b een i n pperatien it has been dealt with according to the circumstances of the couiatry. • In some places, as I have said, the church has been spoliated of its property, but this is an example to be avoided and not to be imitated. It is impossible for your lordships not to see in what an independent condition the clergyman will be placed by a commutation of tithes, as compared with the mode in which he receives his income under the present system. It gives me great pleasure, as the organ of the committee, to move resolutions of which this was the last—'that it is the opinion of this house, that with a vieW to secure both the interests of the church,and the lasting welfare of Ireland, a permanent change of sys teni will be required, and, that such a ,change, to be sa tisfaction and' secure, Inuit involve a complete ex- , tinction of tithes, including those belonging to lay impropriators, by commuting them for a charge upon land , or are exchange'for, or an investment in, land.'" These were the opinions of meml)ers of the Government in, 1832. If thexihad,sin ce changed their opinions, he was not. the man te,degar • thein from the right of reconsidering their previimrsaiiinents, but it was right that they should fairlyjtatifilieogiounds of the alteration. Such, however, , h a n c n c . or fr di i i e l wele-til"iltragatk2 r;igadima-made. thoughtte rs ii by itaaie of hiOhjeSty's Minis gndtointhaededencnlartahteionhuwsthiniegsh he t Cambridge, it seemed to him that his right hon. friend ex chided the idea of the appropriatio of church property except for purposes connected with the church. He com plained that Ministers had unsettled the minds of men as to their ultimate object. In November next this property must be collected, eiflier by the church, or the Govern , ment. What was then to he d o ne ? The difffciflty you might have to contend with would have been obviated by a declaration in defence of church property, and the expres sion of your determination to abide by the principle. When you said that you might hereafter change your opinions, and appropriate the surplus to other purposes, men would naturally say, " we were content to abide by the laws which protect and reco gn i ze your proper ty, but if you give them up, and go the length of spoliation as regards the church, wesee no harm in following your example in other matters." (Hear, hear.) Church property was protected by law, by prescriptio n , by positive stipulation ; and if evils should now ensu e , and difficulties arise in its collection, he held the King's overnment chargeable for the despoliation or injury it *light sustain,' and for all the results of their present crime. (Loud and continued cheering. ) Lord J. RUSSELL said that two accusations of an opposite naturehad been brought against the Government. It was alleged in the first place that it ought not to have exposed its intentions owe question of such delicacy and importance ; and secondlV, that it should' have spoken out with more decision. Now, without setting one of these objections against the other with a view to answering them in that way, he must say that it was impossible for Go vernment to come to a conclusion as to the appointment of a commission, without looking before appointing it at the possible or probable consequences of its report, and mak ing up their minds, if a certain result took place, not to shrink from the consequences, but propose a particular ap propriation, such as theg might think advisable. (Hear, hear.) It was the' necessity of looking that question in the face which caused the late separation in the Govern ment, and it was the resolution to consider the question of appropriation, when the commission now appointed en abled them to do so on proper grounds, that constituted the foundation of their present agreement. (Cheers. ) It was asked what reason was there for the appointment of the commission? The answer was obvious—in order to obtain the information necessary to enable the Government to make up their minds on the subject. His reason for making the speech which had been referred to consisted in the pain he felt at our being obliged to conduct the govern ment of Ireland by measures such as it had been necessary to carry. On that occasion he did not say, as the right hon. gentleman supposed, that the church of Ireland was the greatest grievance that any country had ever suffered— so far from it, he stated that he thought the revenues of the church ought to be reduced, because theyi were too great for its stability ; thereby implying that he desired and contemplated, by means of the measures to be adopted, the future stability of the church. (Hear, hear.) What was the passage which the right honourable gentleman had misquoted? He said that the complaint of the people of Ireland against the appropriation of the church revenues was as just a complaint as any people ever made. That was his opinion then and now—he had seen no reason to alter it. (Hear, hear.) That was hi s reason f or concur ring heartily and cordially in the appointment of a com mission. (Hear, hear.) We had seen Tory governments passing insurrection acts ; we ourselves had been obliged to adopt severe and unusual measures; and if it were pain ful to any statesman to propose measures of an unconstitu tional character, such measure s mus t b e pecu li ar l y abhor rent to those who'prided themselves in the name of Whigs. (Loud laughter from the opposition, followed by cheering from the ministerial benches.) Not only had Tory and Whig governments proposed such measures in turn, but the hon. and learned gentleman opposite showed himself willing last year to agree to many severe clauses in the protection bill, which were rendered necessary by the sys tem of maraudieg and outrage daily and nightly prevalent in Ireland. While for temporary purposes such measures might be necessary with a view to the security of peace, life, and property, it was the duty of government to look deeper into the causes of the' long standing and perpe tuated evils of that country. (Cheers.) It was their duty to consider, that while there existed an affluent church on one side, there were wanting on tie other the means of moral control, which might guide the conduct and affect the behaviour of the people. In reference to these causes, he would endeavour, first by inquiry, and afterwards by ap propriate measures, not merely to proiide a temporary re medy for the evil , but to found some system by _which future governments might be relieved from acts of coer cion, and by mewls of which the affections of the people of Ireland should be conciliated in favour of government and law. (Hear, hear.) The noble lord here read a paper drawn up during the Duke of Bedford's government of Ireland by Messrs. Grattan, Ponsonby, and Curran, which ascribed the disturbances and insurrections of that country to the evils of the tithe system, which the document de scribed as requiring a permanent remedy. If that opi nion had been listened to in 1807, and a measure of per manent commutation of tithes had been effected, what evils might we not have avoided—what contests might we not have been spared ! (Hear, hear.) But the Go verninent which _succeeded the Whigs in 1807, se fax. from providing a remedy for tithes, employed itself in raising the "no Popery" clamour, and the original evil continued the source of renewed and augmenting irrita tion. Now it was made matter of reproach to to the' Go vernment that they endeavoured by means of inquiry, and measures to be founded on it, to repair the faults of for mer Ministers, and, if possible, retrieve the evils that cruel misgovernment had created. ( Hear, hear.) The right hon. gentleman asked what effects the commission was to produce? He would mention one effect which it had already produced on the speech of the member for the University of Dublin. During the last year and a half the house had heard the honourable mem ber discourse on the vast increase of Protestantism in Ireland, and inform them that it was only necessary to build churches in order to fill them, and that the nominal majority of Catholics in Cork and other places spoken of by the hon. and learned member for Dublin was all a mis. take ; but now, no sooner was the commission appointed, than the hon. member for the University of Dublin said, " Do you want facts ?—I am ready to' admit your facts." (Hear, and laughter.) It was no inconsiderable point gained with him if, after hearing certain questions dis puted by the hon. members for Dublin and the Univer sity, till his mind remained almost in a state of abeyance between their conflicting arguments and evidence-.-it was no trifling matter if, after all, the commission having hardly met to lay down its course of proceeding, one of those an_ tagonists came down to the house and said, in his usual manly and straightforward manner, " Don't mind what I have been telling, you about the increase of Protestant.. ism for the last year and a half. I admit your facts." (Cheers and laughter.) But he was not satisfied with this admission, be wanted facts established by the best evidence that could be procured on the spot. He thought that the inquiry could take no long time, perhaps not longer than till the next .session. (Hear, hear.) He wi s h e d t o ascertain the num b er of persons belonging to the Esta blished Church, the number attending divine service, and the gAvth and increase of the Established Church of late years. With respect to the great principle involved in the present question, he would state as clearly as he could his opinion to the house. He considered a part of the funds of the church were intended, and might be properly devoted to the purposes of moral and religious instruction. Not less than four prelates of the establishment had re cently published charges on, the subject.. He found them all concurring in this point—that the main use, if not the greatest use of all, of the Established Church, was the religious instruction of the poor. Now admitting, as he most fully did, that their.defence of the Church of Eng land on that ground was solid and perfect, and being ready on the same groun d t o d e fend the Ch urc h o f England as far as his humble powers would permit him to do so, he must say that when he turned to Ireland and inquired what was meant in that country by the religious instruction of the poor, it was a very bad answer to point out a parish containing 1,000 or 2,000 inhabitants, in one corner of which might be found a single Protestant family. ( Hear, hear, hear.) Such being the case, he was obliged to ask, with reference to the revenue of the Irish Church, whether it might not be applied, if not literally to the use of the Established Church, to kindred purposes connected with the religious and moral instruction of the poor? And here be must say that he thought those pur poses of education and of charity which, thought not men tioned in the resolution before the house, had been alluded to in the speech of _the hon. and learned member for Dublin, fairly came within the scope of legislation on the part of Parliament, when the results of the commission appointed by government should be obtained. (Cheers.) For while he agreed with his noble friend, and, he believed with every member of the government, in thinking that the revenues of the Irish Church ought not to be diverted from their present uses for the purpose of endowing the Catholic Church, he at the same time saw nothing incon sistent or wrong in the appropriation of a part of them for the purposes' of education, which, while being a religious and moral education, should also be of such a nature as would allow-Roman Catholics, as well as Protestants, to ,partake therein. (Cheers.) Thinking that in the further ance of this object, and the object of charity, these re venues of the Irish church would in all probability be ex hausted, and considering the church revenues to be a fund set apart for the religious and. moral instruction of the poor more especially, he felt relieved from the necessity of enter ing into the discussion of the question which the right hon. baronet the member for Tamworth, and other hon. members; desired to raise,—viz., whether the revenues could be ap plied to any secular purposes. With respect to the ab solute right of the state to appropriate the revenues of the church to any - secular purpose whatever, no man pro bably ente r t a i ne d a doubt ; but as to the moral and equit able right of the state so to do, that was a question not likely to arise until every demand which could be made for the proper and due instruction of the people, and for the purposes of charity, should be satisfied ; and he, seeing no prospect of its arising with respect to these particular re venues of the Iri s h church, did not think it necessary to enter into a discussion es to what measures it might pos sibly be expedient to, propose, if the Irish church should be found to possess any superiluous' wealth not needed for the purposes he had mentioned. (,Hear, hear.) lie might lit Mating, at least might be stipposed to be stating, the doctrines merely of a lay-m an , w hi c h were not j ust ifi e d b ) sating or - a due regard for the interest of the church,--doctrines which would possibly meet with reprobation if broached in those meetings to which allusion had been . made in the course of the night. He would, therefore, shoW the house that these doctrines were the doctrines of churchmen themseves, by reading . a short quotation from one of the charges of a most eminent and enlightened prelate—he meant the Bishop of Llandaff. (Hear, hear.) Speaking of church property the right reverend prelate said :—" All property is the creature of the law, and the same law which secures to individual owners the iirocitice of their estates without limitation, and without inquiry as to the mode of its disposal, has wisely reserved for public uses a fixed portion of that property. The true question is, whether the uses to which it is appropriated are such as an enlightened Government can approve of, for •we (alluding to himself and the clergymen whom he was addressing) by no means contend that every appropriation once made, whether bene ficial to the community or not must be perpetuated." (Hear, hear.) Notwithstanding all that had heen uttered against doctrines of sacrilege and spoliation, as they had been called, his opinions on this question went no further than those of the right rev. prelate the Bishop of Llan daff. (Hear, hear.) All he wanted to know was whether the uses to which the revenues of the Irish Church were at present applied were or were not beneficial to the com munity? .( Cheers.) This was the inquiry which the con cluding words of the newly-issued commission, which had been so tauntingly alluded to, directed to be made, and he said, with the Bishop of Llandaff, that because an appro priation of the revenues of the Irish. Church had once been made, it must not therefore be per etuated, whether bene ficial to the community or not. Cheers.) Though not immediately bearing on the point e was now considering, he would, with permission of the house, quote a passage from the charge delivered by another right rev. prelate. It was as follows :--" Great as are the advantages of a spe cial endowment for the support of the Established Church over a universal system of stipendiary payment, it must not be forgotten, sacred as the rights of property are, that the conditions upon which the endowment is held are quite as sacred as property itself." He, therefore, said he had a right to inquire whether, in the case of the Irish Church, the conditions upon which ,it held its present revenues had been properly observed (Hear, hear), whe ther, in the first place, they had been observed on the part of the clergy, and whether, in the next place, however zealous the , clergy might have been to perform their du ties, there might not exist causes which in many instances prevented those conditions being complied with ? There was another right reverend prelate, whose opinions he would quote to the house, but for whose authority he did not entertain so high a respect as he did for those of the right reverend prelates he had before alluded to, because he was in the habit of introducing a great deal too much of imprec a ti on an d violence into his di scourse s—h e meant the Bishop of Exeter. (Loud cries of " Hear.") In one of his charges that right reverend prelate said, " Whatever politicians or statesmen may say, if the revenues of the church are insufficient for the proper instruction of the people, it i s the duty of the Legislature to increase them." (Hear, hear.) Now, would any man contend, that if Lord A. or M r . B. h a d no t su ffi c i en t p ro p er ty f or th e i r i subsistence, it was the duty of the Legislature to increase their incomes ? (" Oh, oh !" and cheers.) He had heard it continually asserted that Parliament had no more right to interfere with church property than it had to in terfere with the property of any individual.; yet the Bishop of Exeter said, and said truly, that if the church property was insufficient for the purposes for which it was granted, it was the duty of the Legislature to increase it ; and it was equally true that if the church property was greater than necessary for the uses for which it was granted, a part of it might be taken from the church. ( Cheers.) He was afraid of wearying the house or he might quote from the work of one of the best writers on constitutional questions—he meant Mr. Hallam- -a passage in which the writer drew a distinction between corporate and individual property. Should the present question be again discussed, he should certainly come prepared with the pas sage to which he had referred. It had been said that the various commissions appointed by preceding Governments had exhausted the whole question of inquiry—that the amount of the revenues of the Church and the state of edu cation were fully ascertained. With respect to the reve nues of the Church, and those individuals who were in the enjoyment of them, he was ready to admit that a very am ple inquiry had been made, and that a full investigation had been made into the relations of the members of the church with one another. But there was one point, the gist of the whole question, which had not as yet been inquired into, and, that was, the bearing which the Church in Ire land had on the condition of the people. (Hear, hear.) This was the point with respect to which the commissioners were particularly directed to inquire. ( Hear, hear.) " I am well aware, ' continued the noble lord, " that on this subject, above all others, an attempt will be made to raise the cry of ' the church is in danger.' Whatever success that cry may have, I am prepared to abide by the opinions which I have expressed. (Cheers.) I am not prepared to continue the government of Ireland without fully probing her condition. I am not pre pared to propose bills for coercion and the maintenance of a lal . ige force of military and police, without endeavouring 16 improve, as far as lies in my power, the con.lition of the people. (Cheers.) In the same way, witholt intending in the least to injure the Church of England, but, on the contrary, wishing to maintain it, I am ready to relieve the Protestant Dissenters from everything like a civil disability of which they justly complain. On this subject, as on the other, I know perfectly well to what we are liable. If the cry to which I have alluded should be raised and prove successful, and if that dissolution which had been invoked with such loud cheers by many gentlemen opposite take place, I do not Care, I consider lam doing my duty. (Loud cheering.) I will not be a minister to carry on systems which I think founded on bigotry and prejudice. (Cheers.) Be the consequence what it may, however loud may be the cry raised, and whatever its success, I am con tent to abide by these opinions, to carry them out to their fullest extent, not by any premature declaration of mere opinion, not by attempting to introduce a bill before I know the particular nature of the measure required, but by going on gradually, from time to time improving our institutions, and, without injuring their ancient and vene rable nature, rendering them fit and proper mansions for a brave, free, and intelligent people." (Loud and general cheers, which continued for some time after the noble lord had resumed his seat. ) Mr. SHAW, in explanation, said that he had never de nied that the number of the Catholics was greater than that of the Protestants. All that he had said was that the latter were increasing. Mr. WARD put it to the hon. and learned member for Dublin whether, after having effected so much by his mo tion, after having obtained a promise from one of the 'Mi nisters, that if the present number of the commissioners should be found insufficient to enable them to report before the next session, the propriety of adding to their number would be taken into consideration, and after having drawn from the noble lord (J. Russell) those declarations which had so deservedly elicited the cheers of the house, it would be expedient to push the principle involved in the resolu tion to a division at the present moment. The advocates of that principle had never been able to meet the gentle men who conscientiously opposed it single handed. If the right hon. baronet opposite (Sir R. Peel) was anxious to try the strength of his party, let him move in committee the re-introduction of the appropriation clauses. This would be a tangible point, which would serve to show the strength of parties in that house. The present motion would not, however, answer that purpose, and it was for this reason that he entreated the hon. and learned member for Dublin not to press it to a division. Mr. O'CONNELL said that no gentleman could have a stronger claim on his gratitude than the hon. member for St. Alban's ; and if he did not comply with his request, it was not from any want of respect to him, —from any want o f thatMulness for the manly, open, and decided part taken by the right hon. member for Coventry, or from any want of admiration for the noble sentiments with which the speech of the noble lord (Russell) was replete—more espe cially that transcendent sentiment with the expression of which the noble lord concluded his speech—but he wanted to know what was to be done for the people of Ireland ; and how could he ascertain that except by pressing his resolu tion to a division ? If that resolution should be shrunk from, it was not his fault ; but unless it was carried, he should feel it his duty to oppose the bill. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the house I divided— For Mr. O'Connell's resolution 99 Against it Majority against the resolution —26l During the exclusion of strangers, we understood that the bill %vas committed pro forma, and ordered to be re considered in committee to-morrow (this day). (Just before the division, one of the strangers sitting in the gallery rose up, and attempted to address the Speaker. He was immediately taken into custody by.the messengers. ) The Green w i c h Hospital Annuity Bill was read a third time and passed. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the house adjourned at a quarter to one. o'clock. INFLUENCE OF FASIIION.—Madame Pasta was announced to appear in 7'ancredi, in which she would have to sing that generally considered chef d'oeuvre of Rossini, " Di tanti palpiti ;" but the scene in which this song occurred happened to be in the first act of the opera, and as it would not have been consi dered etiquette for any person of fashionable preten sions to be seen at the theatre before a certain hour of the evening, a communication was made from some of the subscribers to the manager, requesting him to trans fer the song to the second act of the opera. This proposition was, however, strenuously opposed by the queen of song, and the manager, in this dilemma, waited upon the subscribers, and after informing them of the fair vocalist's refusal to transfer the song in question from its proper place, said that he had thought of a small device which he believed would answer every Purpose, and that was to commence the opera with the last act, and to conclude it with the first. This expedient satisfied the scruples of all parties, the opera was performed with the change of acts, and the sub scribers declared that they were never so delighted with the representation of any opera before.—Phil lips's Lectures on Singing. POLICE iIkitELLIGENCE. MA RY LEBONE. Yesterday Mr, :William Busby, a gentleman resid ing at St. Katharine' Hospital, Regent's Park, was brought up in custody, charged ivkli the follolving un provoked assault on Mr. Wm. Walbottitty the well known dancing-master, at present residing ai Morn ington-gardens, Hampstead-road. Complainant about half-past ten o'clock the preceding night went to the . Regalia public-house in; AugUstusLstreet,. to get his supper beer, at %vhicli plate he also purchased some cheese of the landlord. On arriving at horse,, how ever, he missed the cheese, and suspecting that he had dropped it on his road he went back to look fur . it, ac companied by his son, a lad about fourteen years of age, who carried a candlestick and lighted candle. On. reaching Augustus-street the d e f en dant, who was on the opposite side of the way, crossed over, and ad dressing vtritness, exclaimed, 4 f What do•you want with a light?". and at the same time blew it out, and struck him in the face. Witness remonstrated with him, when he seized his son by the neckcloth, and nearly strangled him. Witness tried to get him away, then the prisoner wrested the candlestick from the lades ;rasp, and struck witness several severe blows with it over the forehead and nose, in the course of which the - candlestick broke in half. He then called out for the police, who on coming up took the prisoner into custody. The prisoner was ordered to find bail to answer the charge at the sessions. • UNION.HALL SUSPECTED MuRDER.--:Yesterday Peter Bullock, alias Williams, was charged on suspicion with having murdeied a woman (name unknown) in the neigh bourhood of Leatherhead. In the month of January last, some gentlemen were out coursing in the vicinity Leatherhead, and it happened that one of the dogs entered a thick copse, where he remained and could not be called off. Some of the parties went into the brushwood ta-aseertain the cause of the animal remaining there, and on their arrival they found the dog standing dose at hand to a heap of human bones, and amongst them a skull, the hair on which was in some places visible. In con sequence of the extraordinary circumstances under which the discovery took place, notice was immedi- - , ately transmitted to Epsom, and upon medical exami nation it was found that the bones were those of a female. On further investigating the matter, the me dical gentleman was of opinion that a female had been murdered at or near the spot, for the skull had evident marks of having received serious injury, a portion of the bone being beaten in, apparently with a sharp in strument ; and another fact which strengthened the belief that the unfortunate woman had come to her death by violent means was, that on examining the. mouth it was apparent that several of her front teeth had been knocked out, and had• not dropped from the sockets owing to long exposure to the weather. Upon this discovery handbills were printed describing the particulars of the finding of the skeleton remains, and other publicity was given at the time, but still no clue could be had or information obtained' relative to whose remains they were, or the party who had committed the crime. In the month of March following, when the. Banstead murder was under in vestigation at Epsom, a man suspected of the mnrder of the woman alluded to-voluntarily resigned himself, and after an examination before. Mr. Goss and other magistrates he was discharged. Since then informa. tion has been collected which led to the apprehension of the prisoner Bullock alias Williams. • The prisoner is a travelling tinker and kuifegrinder, and some time previously to the discovery of the bones of the female he had been following his usual avocations in the country. In March last a little girl was sent up to town from Tunbridge Wells by the magistrates, who described that she was in possession of some important evidence relating to the suspected murder perpetrated near Leatherhead. Upon the examination of the girl alluded -to at this office she made .a state ment to 'the effect that she travelled about the country with a man and his wife, and that she knew a man an swering the description of the prisoner, from the circumstance of meeting him at times in the country when she was on the tramp with the persons who em ployed her. That on one occasion, when she was sleeping with others in a barn near Dorking, the pri soner, who also slept the - re at the time, returned from the town in liquor, and commenced talking to himself (for all the others in the barn were asleep, the witness believed, except herself) about a woman whom he called his dear Nancy ' he lamented her death, and upbraided himself with having been her murderer, and at the same time said that he did the deed with a ham mer, after leaving a public-house, where they had a quarrel, in Leatherhead, and that he dragged her body to a wood and left it there. The girl who had made the above statement gave a very minute descrip tion of the man whom she alleged had made the dis closures, and it agreed with that of the accused, who was not taken into custody until Sunday morning, although the police have been on the look-out for him ever since. The following is the result of the investi gation which took place at this office yesterday rela tive to the suspected murder :--. Sergeant M'Craw, M division, stated th a t h e heard the girt from Tunbridge Wells make the statement alluded to, ever since which period he has been endea vouring to trace the prisoner. On Thursday last he at length had private information that he had ap proached London, and on- Sunday morning, between one and two o'clock, during the heavy rain, he suc ceeded in taking him into custody as he was going into a lodging-house in Kent-street. When he seized the prisoner the exclamation the latter used was, " Is it for murder you are taking me ? Are you going to hang me ?" The sergeant added, that the prisoner had a wife,.but they were not living together, and that when he asked him where she was, he replied that she was at Canterbury, living with another man. He (the sergeant) then asked him where was the woman that he was in the habit of travelling the country with, and he denied that he ever travelled with any female. Mr. TRAILL asked the prisoner what was the reason he asked the sergeant whether it was for murder he took him into custody ? Prisoner—l don't recollect saying that. The prisoner was then remanded, in order to have the attendance of all parties who can throw any light on the subject of the suspected murder. THAMES POLICE. Yesterday a respectable young man, accompanied by a seaman, who described himself as the chief of ficer of the ship Britonzart, which was advertised to sail to Sydney from the London Dock ten weeks ago, but is still in the bason without any signs of going away, applied to Mr. COOMBE, and asked him if he could not compel the parties in charge of the ship to deliver up his goods which he had sent on board. The appli cant stated that he and .70 or 80 other emigrants had been put to great inconvenience in consequence of the detention of the ship, and many had been utterly ru ined, and compelled to sell every thing they possessed to support themselves and families. His detention for upwards of two months had been a serious loss to him, and he had at last got back his passage money, but his goods were detained on board. Mr. COOMBE advised the applicant to go to the Lord Mayor immediately, to receive his instructions. A man and his wife in John-street, who had a son in his eighth year that for five months past was subject to violent periodical headaches, having read in the Glasgow papers of the great cures performed by a physician there, resolved on Saturday last to make a trial of his skill, and went for this purpose with their son by the canal-boat to that city. The boy was able to walk from his father's house to the boat, but had to be carried at intervals between the boat and the doc tor's house. The doctor having heard the history of the boy's illness, and examined the body, performed the operation of cupping, gave the parents some me dicines with directions for their use, and the parents took their leave. The boy finding himself very weak had to be carried, and the father, by way of cheering up his little charge, was showing him, among other things, the statue of Sir John Moore. The boy had only strength to ask if that was the cloak, pointing to it, in which "he was left all alone in his glory." The mother then wished to direct his attention to a small horse that appeared in a window, but when he raised his head he could only articulate, " I cannot see," and immediately his eyes closed, and his head drooped in death ! To prevent the collection of a crowd by the mother's agitation, the body was carried into a public-house, when the doctor and two other doctors were sent for, but their efforts to restore animation were fruitless. The mourning parents then wrapped the body in a cloak, and being disappointed of a seat in the coach, carried it to Port Eglinton, entered the boat, kept the boy on his father's knee as if asleep, and sufficiently sup pressed their feelings of grief to prevent the other passengers from knowing, until their arrival at Paisley, anything of their mournful state. The body h s since undergone a post mortem examination, and we under stand a legal investigaton also into the circumstances has been wade.—Paisley Advertiser. COURT OF CHANCERY, RNE 23. BALGUAY V. CHORLEY. This was a motion on behalf of the defendant to hate** re6ord altered. A suit had been instituted, a lecrec hadheert made, and the plaintiff's solicit o r h a d ,:ntered into communication with the defendant's for :he purpose of compromising the matter so as to pre the. necessity of an appeal. Without any spe .ific ansifer ilavin b r been returned to this offer the :ilaintiff's solicikYV,ad had the decree enrolled, and on the folloWing day the defendant's solicitor had entered i caveat, but which was too hate to prevent the enrol-. ;tent. After which the only" Court to which the .natter could be brought by way' of appeal was the House of Lords. The defendant, con;lldering that he had been unfairly deprived of his recouive to this Court by itie proceedings of the plaintiff, had brought the present motion. The Loan CHArreat,Loit said that in the p;esent ease he was clearly of opinion that no prot.,-ee" - dings hail taken place sufficient to induce the defendant not to enter a caveat before the enrolment of the decree, and ,!onsequently he should dismiss the present motion with costs. SHERIFF'S OFFICE, JUNE 23. An inquiry took place before Mr. Wightman, Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Cooke, Mr. Burchell, the Under— Sheriff, and Mr. Maule, the Solicitor to the Treasury, for the purpose of ascertaining whether Mr. Henry Morgan Bulwer, late of Chester-place, Kennington, did not die illegitimate, intestate, and without issue, and whether his property had not therefore become estreated to the Crown. It appeared from the evidence adduced that Mr.. Bulwer was the natural son of Sir Frederick Bulwer and his servant. Sir Frederick Bulwer made a will in April, 18244-by 'which be left to his natural son, Mr. BulWer, the hoUse No. t!B3 in the Strand, three houses in Holywell-street, some houses in ,Angel-court, Strand, and two houses iu Surrey street, the annual value of which was between 3001. and 4001. Mr. Bulwer died in October, 1828; un married and intestate. These were the points the Jury had to determine, and they retained a verdict ac cordingly. NSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, JUNE 23. MARRIED WOMEN- Emily Phipps, a young married woman, was opposed by, Mr. CooKE, on the part of a lady named Smith ; a butcher, named Ford, appeared in person ; and a per son named Almond, who had been her " footman." She was supported by Mr. WOODROFFE. In this case a question of considerable importance arose affecting the power of the court to remand mar ried women for improperly contracting debts. The insolvent had represented herself to Mrs. Smith as A widow, and rented from that lady a furnished house' ati No. 22, Bernard-street, Russell-square, she being de , sirous of leaving town, and signed an agreement to pay 1961. a-year, in which she described herself as a widow, but she now stoutly denied that she had passed herself off as a widow ; she gave references, and one of them had been before the court for his discharge. She had kept possession for six months, and had not paid any rent. Whilst in the house she managed to con tract several debts with tradesmen. Mr. Ford gave her credit for 111., on the understanding that she was a widow, and that her trustees resided in the country.. The insolvent had, it appeared, told, Almond, who had acted as her footman in Bernard-street, and his wife as cook, that she was married, but did not, as he termed it, " inhabit" with her husband. He bad only re ceived 151. whilst in her service, and it now came out that she had been separated some time from her hus: band, who had instituted a suit for a divorce, and who had agreed to allow het 1001. a year as alimony, but had not kept up the payments. The COURT defined a debt to be a sum of money which a person in law was bound to pay. There were doubts whether the insolvent was bound to pay the debt contracted with Mrs. Smith, but the court held that she must describe herself .to the world as contracting debts as a widow, and adjourned her case sine die. COURT OF REQUESTS.--JuNE 23. TAR CDAtIIEAVIR AND lIIS aFICTEIt." A small made man, with a carefully cultivated pair of carrotty mustachios, whose seedy " toggery" pre sented a tolerably good imitation of a Polish " znili taire," came before the Cominiisioners to make good his claim to fifteen-pence, the price charged for a whole length portrait of Mister Robert White, a member of the worshipful fraternity of coalheavers. The complainant called himself Signor Benesontagi, but, from all the genuine characteristics of Cocaigno which he carried about him, it was evident he had Germanised his patronymic of Benson to suit the present judicious taste of the " pensive public." Signor Benesontagi, it appeared, was a peripatetic professor of the " Fine Arts," and accustomed to visit public-houses for the purpose of caricaturing the coun tenances of the company, at prices varying from six pence to half a crown per head. In pursuit of his vocation he stepped into the tap-room of the Vulcan's Head on Friday evening last, where a conclave of " operatives" interested in the coal trade usually as sembled to pay their devoirs to the genius of Barclay and Perkins; he announced the nature of his profes sion, and was beckoned into the box where the de fendant was sitting, who offered him a shilling to take his likeness ; this sum he consented to augment to fifteen-pence, provided he would draw him in his blue velvet Sunday " kicksies," which, he said, he• only wore on grand occasions. The bargain was struck, and the " portrait" was finished, but the defendant was so ill satisfied with the performance that he swore he would not have it, nor pay a " farden piece" for the " Artists" trouble. The defendant was called on by the Court to state his reasons for refusing to pay. Vy, my lords, said Mister White, my reason is this here :—That, 'ere covey comes into the crib vere I vos sitting, and ax'd me if as how I'd have . my picter draw'd. Veil, my lord, being a little " lumpy," and thinking it 'ud please my Sal, I told him I'd give him a " bob," and be my pot to his'n, if he'd shove in a pair of welwet breeches as I'd got at home. Yell, my lord, he said he vould, and that he'd make a " out and_ out " job on it, for he'd larn't phisogomony under Sir Peter. Laurie. It's false, said the complainant; the name as I men tioned was Sir Thomas Lawrence. Vere's the difference, said the coalheaver? Vell, my lords, he goes to vork like a Briton, and claps this here thing in my fist, vich arn't a bit like me, but is more likener the head of a bull with the bellyache. The defendant pulled out a card, and handed it to the Court. On inspection, though certainly it was an ugly likeness, yet there could be no doubt that it was intended for the defendant. The COMMISSIONERS were of opinion that the por trait was a good fifteen-penny copy of the defendant's countenance. T'ant a bit-like me, said the defendant. Vy, lookee here, he's draw'd me with a bunch of inghans sticking out of my pocket. A bunch of onions, said the incensed artist, I'll submit it to any gentleman as is a judge of the " Fine Arts," whether it can be anything else thin bis watch seals. Votch seals, vy, I never yore no seals 'cause I never had none ; so how can this here be like me ? said the coalheaver. The CommissioNEas admitted the premises, but de nied the conclusion ; and being of opinion that tho fifteen-pence was justly due to Signor Benesontagi, awarded that sum and the costs to him. Mister White drew out six shillings, and laid them down, one by one, with the expression of countenance of a man submitting to have so many teeth drawn. THE LION'S ROAR.—Having appointed our watch for the night (a service which all the male adults, masters as well as servants, agreed to under take in rotation), we had retired to rest, and, except ing our sentinels, were all buried in sleep, when about midnight we were suddenly roused by the roar of a lion close to our tents. It was so loud and tre mendous that, for a moment, I actually thought a thunder -storm had burst upon us. But the peculia r • expression of the sound--the voice of fury as well as of power_instantly undeceived me ; and, instinctively snatching my loaded gun from the tent-pole, I hurried out, fancying that the savage beast was about to break into our camp. • • The reader who has only heard the roar of the lion at the Zoological Gardens can have but a faint (on ..eption of the same animal's voice in his state of freedom ald uncontrolled power.—Priniles African Sketches.