The Sun. — London, England, 1863-12-26 00:00:00

Mr. Unice, M.P., and his Constituents, Mr. H. A. Bruce, M.P. for Merthyr, has this we(ik met his constituents at the Temperance-ball in 'that town ; Mr. W. Harris, the High Constable, to:e the chair, and the room was filled. Mr. BRUCE, on rising, was received with loud cheers. lie said it was now two years since he had the honour of meeting them in that hall. At the time when it was his usual practice to call together his constituents an important and laborious office was offered to him by her Majesty's Government. At that time also it had pleased God to affiice him with serious domestic trials, and he hoped they would excuse him on those grounds in failing to meet those en gagements, which up t o th a t t i me h e had fulfilled s atisfactorily to himself, if not to them. (Applause.) At the present time there was no cause to prevent his meeting them, and he therefore came to render, 3.3 the chairman had said, an account of his s tewardship. The chairman had held out to him that among his constituents there were some who dissented from his opinions; as if that was a strange matter. He had never been led to expect unanimity of opinion among his constituents, and wished to be allowed a free exercise of his own. He would not weary them with going back over the routine of the two last sessions, but he thought it would be sufficient for all purposes to limit his remarks to the last session. There was the same Government in office. The same ruling principle was acted upon in both sessions. Of course, if he had given any vote in the session of 1862 in opposition to their views, but of which he could not then recollect, he hoped they would have the honesty to get up and tell him so. (Applause.) The last session of Parliament had been charged as having been in some respects an idle one. He could not agree with that statement. He personally had found it a most labo rious one. The duties of his office had generally more closely confined him than usual; but with these duties he could state that his attendance at the House of Commons was third in point of numbers. Although there was no great question brought forward during the last session in the shape of bills, 165 were passed, besides 38 private ones. Ho must say that the expectations pervading the public mind of large and important measures being carried out every session were impolitic. The Poor Law, the Muni cipal Act, by which cheap justice was brought home to the poor man ; free trade, and free trade not in corn only ; these, and many other measures, whose importance it would be tedious to detail, could not be carried out every session. Had no measure been introduced, the business of the session would have been completed. Of course, in these very changing times such an idea would he regarded as Utopian. But it was true that it was no longer possible to bring forward measures to improve the iaterosts of importance which have been passed in former ses sions. At the same time, though few bills have been presented, of what might be called by some of national importance, questions of very great in terest had been discussed. The debates on interna tional law, as in the case of the Alexandra; the question upon the subscription to the articles, the subject of charities, our relations with America, and one or two others, were topics of the highest national interest, and also the inquiry into our rela tions with America. All these topics were con sidered and discussed with a great deal of earnest ness; and he thought, if they looked at these mea sures, they would consider that the House of Commons had no need to be ashamed of itself at anything which might have been said respecting last session. One charge had been repeatedly made in the columns of the 7imes, that the liberal party seemed to have deserted its colours ; that they have given up bills, and had failed to perform the promises with which they started; that they were responsible for the want of energy displayed during the session. He was sure they would agree with him this was not a fair re presentation of the matter. It was quite true that government went into office pledged to carry a mea • sure of reform of a wider character than that of their predecessors. The measure, when introduced, found much opposition, and it received very little support frora the liberal party out of doors. The Reform. Bill was lost, but there was no sympathy for it in the country. At the time when the first Reform Bill was proposed the constituency amounted to 1,000,00 0 ; of these h` was holievpil n”l 3 -. xna longea to tho working classes. The proposition of the government during the last session was to extend the franchise to 400,000 more; this would have in cluded about 150,000 working men. The result would have been that the working class would have repre sented one seventh of the constituency. This bill, as might have been expected, met with strong oppo titian from the Conservatives, and the Liberals abandoned the bill because they feit they could not carry it. But when the bill was abandoned there was no expression of regret on the part of the country. When the Reform Bill was dropped the whole country was in arms ; there was tumult every. where. He could put his hand on letters that had been sent to a relation of his asking him to head a revolutionary movement. The country was then in riot from one end to the other. On this occasion there did not seem the ghost of a feeling iu its favour even among his own constituents, though Merthyr would 11 . ave be en benefitted by the bill more than any other ' a wn in the country. He thought by so doing their tonstituency would have been increased to 14,0e414,000 of whom would have been working but by this bill they would in a great mea sure hav e the reprei.entation into the hands of working 1 ,7" eta He did not support the bill, fur though he Nreot l re who advocated a fair representa tion of the Nvorg classes, at the same time he con sidered they ou hl not to swamp the whole of the eoestitueney. ‘I /4 h t t tesult would doubtless have been to put in the e heed,. of the working classes come puces entirely, t, e% whether it was proper or not, had the country desired it it would have been carried. Let this e e„„ iz ie lp 7 r set : their hearts upon and say that th e y are f this or that move ment, and in a very short time that measure is sure to be carried. He questioned 1 ,- ,lmemory in vain • he did not rememb er an y one of _ s al. constituents ex. ' pressing the slightest regret th at the bill was aban doned. At the same time the letaimth w ere acc use d of not having brought fo rward any 04%4 It was not lire makin g a radical organic chane• the business of the Government to bring — en they for ward a cp",, " had no chance of carrying. To give theel e th cr instance of the strange fatality wh ich reeessut ti that he" t3 country at this time—he did not k now ought to call it strange, for after all it expresse d a Vide contempt of what had been done, for had the com l , try set their hearts upon it the measure would have been carried, therefore the epithet strange was mis placed; but that in all this there wo na so mething remarkable he could not but express his conviction. Ho received a letter some time since asking him why he voted against the Irish Church Bill. His answer was that he did not vote against the bill, for the simple reason that it never came to the vote. At the same time, however much he respected Mr. Dillwyn, he should have supported the Govern ment, on these grounds :—lt was wrong to intro duce a bill there was no prospect of being carried, however well he might be satisfied that the state of the Irish Church was a scandal to their coun try that could not be denied upon any single principle o f j u stice ; b u t the G over n men t f e lt a the same time, in the present disturbed state of the public mind, that there was no chance of de aling successfully with that question. He need not as k them if they considered it fair that the endowments 'vehicle they believed were given to a whol e people should be given to one man or to one party. Thu question would not bear the least examination, But when such a question w as brought forward the Government were bound t o consider whether if they brou g ht forward the bill d real ch t h e re MS a n au CO 01 SUCCCSB. And be need wnettter they thought any question of nr:t tiEk them s uch a nature relative to the Catholic church would supported by a large h av e been eu majority. It was nof that t:justi ce to the people of Ire land which had struck a black s p ot en the history n England. Ire bad answered . the question n put to was of illustration, him in the lettcet ust by y though he did not think he should have gone qu i te so tar as Mr. DijIWY ; th e same time as a but: at membe r of the Government he must sen at there w as not the qu ea ti o the slightest chance of carrying e. bject of Irela n d , Cheers,) Whilst he was upon t he au ..........„ ' he could not avoid making a few remarks upon the effect of emigration on that country He could not conceive why people should be astonished that the ' inhabitants left a country where wages were 10d. a day for another country where wages were from Os. to 7s. Was it to be wondered at that people desired to better themselves, and leave for another rather than starve in their own unfortunate country ? (Applause.) They all knew that Ireland suffered 1 from an over population. It had an immense 1 amount of people. Ten millions depending upon a soil which was scarcely sufficient for their support in good seasons. In 1846, this country was visited with a blight upon its root crop, and since that period there has been a decrease of the population, from emigration and other causes. What had been the result ? The greatest beneficial change which he believed had ever taken place in any other coun try. Up to 1860 the principal change had been a diminution of the population, and an almost marvel lous increase in the value of property. Let him ask them to consider what a great and silent revolution was going on there, and whether they didtnoatt rank tnink that in a few years Ireland would take that which was her inheritance (applause) both from the nature of the soil and the character of her inhabi tants. One of the evils they all knew which afflicted Irelatid was the lawlessness of the inhabitants. While in this country all the people ranged theme selves on the people were directly opposite. He I held in his hand a paper relative to the decrease of the population of Ireland. In 1841 there were 8 millions of people, in 1851 it had fallen to 6,550,000, and in 1861. still further to 5,750,000. But with this decrease of crime ; so closely were poverty and crime united. In 1851 the committals were 24,600. In 1861 they had fallen to 5,760; not one-fourth. Murder, as they knew, was at one time a dreadful f ea ture in Irish history. The number of murderers punished in 1851 WEIS 118; in 1861 these were re duced to 30. In these times there were also many cases of conspiracy. The number of cases occurring in 1851 were 10, in 1861 they had'failen to nothing. These things strongly illustrated the fact how closely poverty and crime were connected. They saw here that the population had decreased 25 per cent. Property had in the same time increased 25 per cent, and crime had decreased 75 per cent. What was the cause of Irish misery ? It was the occu pation of small patches of land. In 1851 there were 301.000 of these pieces of ground, from one to five acres in extent. In 1861 there were only 81,000. Here they saw a gradual change going on, and he was satisfied that in the future they would find them by no means inferior to any of the agricultural parts of the British Empire. He remembered when he last met them, that Lanca shire and Ireland were the principal subjects which occupied the public mind. It was time to make a few remarks upon the patience with which the English people have borne their privations. Many persons believed then that the failure of the cotton supply would not only be the ruin of Lancashire, but the destruction of almost every other branch of trade. Now, after two or three years of this failure, instead of the country being less prosperous than formerly, this, in some respects, had been the most fortunate year that Eng land had ever known as a country. (Cheers.) There wn.s great distress in Lancashire, no doubt, but in almost every other part there had been considerable prosperity, and yet at this time two of the greatest orators—two of the greatest statesmen—took upon themselves the trouble of informing the working classes that they were the most miserable, as a class, of any in a similar position in any other nation in Europe. There was one thing in which he should like to see English workmen improve, and that was in welting the most of their wages, toiearn to make their money go as tar as they could. In this they might perhaps learn a lesson from their continental brothers. But to say that the English workmen was inferior to the continental one was opposed to his conviction, and must be so also to any one who had examined the question. The same persons asserted that an easy remedy might be found in altering the tenure of land. That was a subject that might meet with some objections ? Was it the desire of the working man to possess land. England stood in a peculiar position ; it was the most thickly populated country in the world. The consequence was, that being full, it caused a competition for land. The alteration of laws would not reduce comopt;t;neelmt would serve to increase it. The possessor of land could scarcely realise more than 3 per cent. on land, and was it likely that the man who only possessed perhaps £2GO or £3OO would be content with 3 per cent. when by investing it in cottages he could rea lise 6or 7 per cent. ? Some considered that if the law of transmission was swept away competition would be reduced ; but in fact this was not the point. The most important question was that the French law should be introduced into England. Then trans mission of land to their children would be dispensed with, for it would be the duty of the Government fairly to divide the land among the chil dren. The first effect of this system would be that a number of persons now very miserable would be very much improved in their circumstances. But how long would that last? In England within the last ten years the population had increased 4,500,000, of which 2,000,000 had gone to the colonies. He had not the census of France, to compare its increase with England. A Frenchman, writing about the condition of the French peasantry, gives us an in stance of the miserable condition of their own peo ple in comparison to the inhabitants of this country. The greatest desire of the Frenchman was the pos• session of land. What was the result ? He com plains that the conscription, which as they know prevailed over all classes of the people, had en feebled the people, that the stature was declining. He had read an account a short time ago upon hos pital management in England and France. The article was written by a French physician at Paris, and he asked how it was that English surgeons could perform operations in English hospitals which Frenchmen dared not attempt. Their hospita's were as good, as cleanly, as well ventilated as those in England. In the Crimea England lost 25 per cent. ; France 70 per cent. If the people in Eng.- were the miserable class persons would have us be lieve, how was it that the people of this country could bear this last trial of man's strength ?—that English people have so much more strength than tee French, although they possess land, while the English do not ? lie now came round to the Prison Ministers Bill. At present they knew that ever 3 prison in England and Wales had a chaplain, and that chaplain was a clergyman of the Church of England, If the prisoner himself wished it—which :as not often the case, because prisoners were not glotia ry religious set—if ho wished for the reli justiceetionsolation of one of his own denomination t a t ak a for it, The bill was brought in to enable ode_ nominations in their jail a number of prisoners o .4 nations to appoint a chaplain of tha The number of dissenters in jail was o h t e e h r ul s e a r u4t , pUB OU. r.. very small—(„, a 1 cognise as below attached they did not re of thei r attached theroseb, z _ g to their body any who had not la members, or had not given t it P t e i c ti t_abil . ity , —while every die d in the list as belong ing, bat 15 some token to the Church of t nti 4 reputable fellow was end. They found there 1 ses Roman Catholics. was a large number of pelsoe The Irish form a very ar t , „, r . population e °Portion of the cri -17. They a f t o th rm ey 3 ee p er e e r cent. of the entire urinal population of this count per cent. of the criminal that the Irish population. It was not were more subject to crime naturau y ,, . surrounded with to them stronger tern _ . fall more easi ly, Their poverty made them y. This bill the Government was able to carry thvon b gI although there was some strong opposition, aim —o ne other bills to evhich his votes had b een objecteZ were that of Mr. Bornes' and the Oaths Lill. Formerly they kucw that every WWI who refused to take an oath in a court of juetico wese liable to imprisonment. The Quakers, as a body, took a strict interpretation of the words, " Thou shalt not swear," and refused to make any other than an affirmation in a court of justice, Tll6 Moravians were determined to avoid taking the oath, and sub mitted to imprisonment rather than take the oath. In consequence of this a bill was passed excepting the Moravians and the Quakers. But there were a great many other persons who conscientiously oh jented to take an oath, and a bill was pasted which allowed every person who had a conscientious ob jeCtion to take an oath to make the effiemition. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 26, 1863, He was one who considered that every man should rege s rd his word as sacred as his oath. The oath was a superstitious failing and not a religious feeling; but they knew there were thought any man large masses of the people who attached a greater importance to the oath, and he must think twice before he took any step to do away with that sacred feeling that was attached to the oath, and his experience had led him to the con clusion that it was not expedient to do away with that form. The next objection was taken to his vote upon Mr. Somes's Bill. He had no doubt that the vote was unpleasant to a very large number of his constituents, because be had received 40 peti tions in its favour. He liked to stand well with his constituents, but he could not give up his judgment. He must exercise that judgment in voting for what he believed would best serve the interest of his country, and it was upon that principle that he re corded a vote which he then proceeded to justify. There were a grea t num b er of persons who, seeing existing evil s , were always in a hurry to get rid of them, but do not always take the right road to do so. There was a great deal of drunkenness, especially on the Lord's day. They all knew that drunkenness was the parent of crime, and they all also liked to see the Lord's day reverentially observed. Mr. Somes's Bill was brought forward for the better observance of the Sabbath and the diminution of crime. He wished to be understood that he gave great credit to the promoters of Mr. Somes's Bill and its sup porters in the object they had in view. But what this gentleman proposes to do was, that because a certain number of men were in the habit of getting drunk, a body of men 50 times as numerous were to be deprived of rational enjoyment. Such priva tion in some places it would be impossible to act upon. In order to prevent one man from getting drunk, 99 men would be prevented from having their glass of beer. He had spent a large portion of his lifetime in London, and he had seen hundreds of persons at the dinner hour carrying home their jugs of beer. They would see thousands of persons strolling out on a fine day to some village a short distance from that great city, and they would expect to find some place open to receive them. This bill was, however, part and parcel of the great temperance movement, and he knew that all all such experiments to make people adopt a certain view had failed. Philip 11. thought he was right in adopting the strongest measure he could to prevent any one straying from catholicism, and he put to death a few of those of opposite opinions as a terror to others. There was a desire at one time to fetter the liberty of the press, because occasionally immoral and seditious works were published, but the experiment miserably failed. If, for the sake of preventing the drunken ness of the few, they prevented the enjoyment of the many, they were doing wrong. (Cheers.) It was upon that principle that ho opposed Mr. Somes' bill. He did not expect universal assent even from some friends in that room he highly respected. If they differed from him, he respected their views. He had given them his reasons for not voting in support of the measure; it was for them to consi der whether his reasons were just. (Applause.) He had been informed that an answer he gave to a question had caused some dissatisfaction. Certainly there had been a considerable amount of misappre hension respecting it. For a certain amount of mis apprehension he Was, to some extent, responsible. beengyan The subject was thi s . Si r M orton P ete as k e d a question of Sir Geo rge G re y respec ti ng t h e mar riage sy by a cler marriedmparties who had pre viously ofb so yth m e e regietrar. The ques tion asked was—" Would the Government prose cute the clergyman under the statute 4th George IV., chapter 75, section 79 ?" In a letter sent to him it had been mentioned that he had been put to answer the question as Sir George Grey did not like to give the answer himself, and that the reason he gave the answer was that he was a high church man, and was closely connected with several cler gymen. The reason that he (the hon. gentleman) gave the answer was that Sir George Grey was very unwell at the time, and scarcely able to speak above a whisper. He, therefore, looked into the section mentioned, and found that according to the statute any person so committing himself was liable to penal servitude for life, as the clergyman had entered the names of the parties in the register RS if than had not her,n peee;enely seeere,a_ it man clear in this onaa that thorn wno no intention to vio late the register, and he answered to that effect. What the clergyman intended to do was to cast a slur upon the previous marriage, and he (the speaker) said at the time that he had shown a want of good taste and feeling, but he could not consider there was anything in it to justify transportation. He Was ignorant at the time, nor did he know till after the session, that there was a more recant statute, and in this the offence was very reasonably made a misdemeanour. The law allowed marriages to be celebrated in the church that had been previ ously celebrated before the registrar, but in these eases the names were not inserted in the register. There was no question therefore that this gentle man's offence was a misdemeanour. At that time he was ignorant of the latter statute. He hoped it would not occasion them any surprise that the Uoder-Secretary of State did not know by heart all the statutes. In the answer he gave he did not think be had cast any slight upon the Dissenters. If there was one thing for which he bad struggled it had been to do justice equally to all. He had not confined himself to votes, although they would find his votes upon the side of religious freedom ; but his words had been directed to the same end, and they should judge by his actions whether he had not always respected the religious feelings of his neighbours. The hon. gentleman then entered into a lengthened explanation with regard to the foreign policy of the Government. Though he respected the Poles, it was impossible that the British Go vernment could maintain any other than a neutral position. He regretted the war in Japan, but he said that could not be avoided. An Englishman had been killed, and a lady wounded. The Japanese had been made to pay an indemnity ; and had been requested to give up the murderer. This they refused, and the Admiral of the fleet was ordered to seize three vessels. He did SO. In passing back with his seizures he was tired upon by a fort; he had returned that fire, and in so doing had set fire to a town, containing a popu tion of 150,000 people. But though much was to be regretted in this, he could not see how it could have been avoided. Ho alluded to the war in America, and though he had read much, he could not offer an opinion as to whether the South had a right to secede or not, but under the present deve lopment of the armed resources of America, he thought it better, putting the question of slavery on one side, that she should be divided. He was not going to enter into the question as to whether these separate States have power of indeper.dent govern ment. As to what were the terms of the Union, it was never definitively stated. There were argu ments used, that the States had power to secede; and, on the other side, arguments to show that they had not. Some men said that the end of slavery would be more quickly attained by the success of the South than by the reunion. There were, they knew, in the Southern States extensive tracts of cultivated swamps where no European could live; and was it likely that the South would give up cul tivating those tracts ? He also spoke strongly against those who violated the laws of this country, and cast a doubt upon the good faith of her Govern ment, and thus endangered a rupture by such pro ceedings. It might be that the evidence in the case of the Alexandra was insufficient. It might be that the judges, who were then considering the question as an infringement within the meaning of the Act, may pause; but did any person doubt that she was built as a vessel of war ? Then there were the steam rains. The question respecting them was, fur what power were they intended? There might b, some difficulty in proving that point. A.s r e iv a , b the justness of the war, he gave no opinion. 'arguments on both sides were strong, and he w a , sure °f to one thing, they would not wish implicate the G overnment, and bring it into con tempt by the acts o f those who, it must be said, were violating the laws. He next touched upon the Schleswig-Holstein clues • hen, passing from that to the war in New Zealand, He regretted that war, but it was one the natives brought on them selves, and it was simply another chapter in uni , vereel bistorT, tbßt 7'7 1 -len the civili sed and the un civilised met, the uncivilised went to the wall. It seemed to be the rule in such cases that might made right. The strong race succecded. They saw in their own history the British yielding to the Saxon, the Saxon to the Norman, and however much they might regret the extinction of the Maori race, he was sorry to say that these people appeared to bring this result upon themselves, and like all other uncivilised nations, bring on their own extermination. "1 have now," he said, passed in brief review the principal events of last session. I was going to say that I was alarmed at the statement of the chairman at the opening of the meeting, that this was to be an exception to all others in respect to the harmony of our discussions, but I have been accustomed to discussion, and I believe that the reason that I stand well with the electors is that I respect difference of opinion. (Applause.) The hone gentleman resumed his seat after an address which had occupied nearly two hours in delivery, and much applause. After a few minutes, Mr. JONES, of Thomas-town, rose and made some observations in favour of Mr. Somes's Bill. He was glad to hear Mr. Bruce make a few remarks upon the desirability of the-working-men making the most of their money. He had often advo cated to them the desirability of their making the most of their money. He was glad to notice that Mr. Bruce had slightly changed in his opinions in respect to the teetotallers. He called them now excellent people, but formerly he called them superficial observers. After a short time he thought that perhaps he would be drawn still closer to them. He afterwards remarked that Mr. Bruce had formerly stated that drunkenness was only rational recreation. This was iollowed by strong cries of "No, no." He considered the closing of the public-houses on Sundays would be the greatest blessing that could fall upon the land. Mr. W. GoULD advocated the ballot. Mr. T. COOPER made a rather amusing address in Welsh on the misappropriation of charity funds for educational purposes. Mr. W. DAVIES, a workman, from the body of the meeting, spoke,very eloquently at ti m „,,, ,o i nst the truck system which existed at Aberdare. He said they had put the truck master into the County Court, from that court the case had been removed to a higher court, where they could not follow it. He was glad that ho worked for men that paid him in the coin of the realm ; but there were many as good workmen es he who had to submit to the truck, who, when they received a £1 order would take it to the cashier, but they could draw no money, they must take it to the big store, where that was reduced in value ös. 'There were instances of great privation caused by this system, and he asked th e tradesmen to support such men as would seek to abolish the obnoxious system The Rev. Tuos. JENKINS also made some obser vations in favour of Mr. Somes' Bill, adducing the success in Scotland of the Mackenzie Act, and its effect in the diminution of crime, Mr. BRUCE rose to reply. He stated first that the success of the Mackenzie Act was not so great as would appear, that though criminal cases on the Monday were reduced, the amount of crime in Scot land had not decreased. He also considered that it was the custom to observe the Sabbath in Scotland more strictly than in England; that beer was not drunk there so much as spirits were; that spirits would keep but beer would not, which, if purchased on the Saturday would be flat on Sunday. There was also a great deal of private drunkenness in Scot land on the Sabbath. Mr. Bruce alluded to the de crease of the amount of spirits used in this country. He also noticed that there were petitions from New castle, Halifax and Sheffield, against the bill. One was signed by 10,000, another by 20,000, and the f'hierd remedyy people. He told Mr. Davis that th 200 4 f o or the truck system was in the b hands of the workmen ; the system was illegal. They could summon the master for wages, when the order for goods would not be considered pay ment. In this opinion he was supported by the opinion of a very eminent legal gentleman ; but they must not go and fire a shot here and there, they must go on with a systematic course ; a nd only when the law was found to fail must they appeal for stronger measures. With regard to the charity question, he felt sure, after the able re• , n arks mart. b r ltlr nicat l etnnes ertmn upon this question, i t woul d not long remain in its present position. A vote of thanks and an expression of undimi nishedaopte d confidence in their representative was ad Metropolitan Board of Works AnnuaL Report The following is an abstract of the report of the Metropolitan Board of Works of its proceedings for the year : The Northern High Level Main Drainage—The sewer, commencing at the river Lea, Old Ford, extends to Iloilo. way, eight miles in length, and nearly 10ft in diameter; is completed, at a cost of £181,722. Acton Branch—This sewer extends from Acton-bottAn to Notting-dale, 1 mile and 2,070 ft in length, about 4ft in diameter ; is completed, at a cost of 4:9,820. Rauelagh Overflow Sewer—This sewer commences in Knightsbridge, passes under Hyde -park and Kensington gardens, 1 mile 420 ft in length, about Oft in diameter; is completed at a cost of £.31,680. Southern Outfall Sewer—This main drainage extends from Halfway reach at Crossness along the ErithlMarshes, through Woolwich and Greenwich to ,the Deptford pump ing station, a length o f nearly 71 mil es , lif t Gi n in dia meter, is completed at a cost of £310,681 2s Gd. Northern OutfallWorks — These works form the outlet for the whole of the sewage north of the Thames. They extend from Barking Creek to Old Ford, 141 miles in length. These works are formed principally upon arching orsolid embank ment passing over the Lea, six other streams, and over two lines of railway. These works aro nearly completed, the contract being taken by Air. Furness for £615,000. Middle Level North Sewer—This work extends from Old Ford to Kensal-green, passing for nearly two miles under houses. It will be nearly 121 miles in length, half of the work being excavated by tunnelling. It varies from 4ft to 12ft. in diameter. The work is taken by Messrs. Brassey and Co. for :5329,300, and is rapidly progressing. Western Area Sewers—These works are intended for the interception of the drainage of Fulham and Hammer smith, about 41 miles in length, and the contract for them has been taken by Moxon and Co., for £56,740. Southern Outfall Works—These works comprise two contracts—one for engines for lifting the sewage to heights varying from 10ft to 34ft. This contract was taken up Watt and Co. for £11,900. The other contract was for the construction of engine and boiler houses, sheds, reservoirs, ac., and was taken by Mr, Webster for £300,000. These works are nearly completed. Deptford Pumping Station—This work is also divided into two contracts. Ties engines were taken by Messrs. Slaughter for £22,300, and the boiler-houses, chimney shaft, coal-sheds, &e,, were taken by Messrs. Aird and Son for £113,136. High Level South Sewer—This sewer extends from the pumping station at Deptford Creek to High-greet, Clap ham, with a branch to Dulwich. It is about 91 miles in length, the sewer varying from 4ft to 10ft sin. The con tract was taken by Messrs. Lee and Boulez for £217,000. This work is completed. Northern Outfall Reservoir—This contract comprises the erection of penstock houses, cottage, culverts, reservoir, and other works, exteeding over nearly 11 acres, and the reservoir will receive the whole of the sewage of the northern area of the metropolis,where it will be stored until the ebb of the tide, when it will be discharged at the bottom of the river, about 300 ft distant from the river bank, so as to be conveyed down the stream. The contract was taken by Mr. George Furness for £104,000. Southern Low Level Sewer—These works commence at High-street, Deptford, passing through New Cross, Cam berwell, Kennington, Battersea, and Wandsworth, termi nating near Putney•bridge. The length will be about 91 miles, varying in diameter from 4ft to 7ft 3in. This con tract was taken by Mr. Webster for £214,000. Bermondsey Branch Sower--• These works extend from near Deptford Creek, and terminate near St. James's Church, Bermondsey. This line is nearly 2:1 miles, vary ing in capacity from a single sower, sft 3in, to 7ft in dia meter. The contract for this work was taken by Aird and Son for £107,000. The Fleet bewer—A work of considerable difficulty has been executed during the year, which was a reconstruction of a portion of the Fleet sewer, arising from the damage done to it by the Metropolitan Railway Company during the fel mation of that part of their line near Victoria-street, Clerkenwell. The cost of this work amounts to £24,92816s Bd, and application has been made to the company for payment of the amount. Thames Embankment—The board has obtained powers for making an embankment, to commence on the northern aide of the Middlesex end of Westminster -bridge, to termi nate near the eastern boundary of the Inner Temple, to be continued thence by a viaduct to the western side of the northern end of Blackfriars-bridge ; to make an approach r o?,cl from the embankment. communicating with Surrey street, Norfolk-street, and Arundel-street; to make a new street from the embankment roadway near the east side of theMiddlesexend of Hungerford-bridge toWellington-street, Waterloo-bridge, and also short streets to communicate with Villiers. street, Buckingham-street, and Cecil-street, and new streets near George-street, Adelphi, and from the em bankment at 'Whitehall-stairs to Whitehall, opposite the Horse Guards. The first portion of the embankment has been taken by Mr. Furness. Deodorization of the River.—ln consequence of consider able fall of rain it has been found unnecessary to incur any expenditure under this head. Utilization of the Sewage.—ln consequence of the report of the committee of the House of Commons to inquire into the best means of utilizing the sewage of the cities and towns of England with a view to the reduction of local taxation and the benefit of agriculture, the board invited applications for taking the sewage, and it is hoped that the information which has been obtained would assist in the settlement of this important question. Subterranean Survey—The subterranean survey is be ing reproduced, of which 169 sheets have been eanpleted, and the rest are in progress. New Covent• garden Approach—This communication ex tends from the western-corner of Long-acre and St. Martin's lane to King-street, and affords the means of egress from and approach to Covent-garden Market and the thorough fares immediately adjoining. It is 140 yards in length and 50ft wide. Victoria Park Approach—This improvement commences at Mile-end-road and term►nates at the East India Dock road, Limehouse. It is 1,162 yards in length and 701 t wide. The expenses were £11,390 17s 3d. Receipts and expenses—The receipts during the year were £1,125,610 19s ld , the payments during the same pe riod, £1,115,610 7s 4d. _ _ . Metropolis Gas Acts—The Board have erected two per manent gasmeter testing offices,i,one in White Lion-street, Spitalfields, for the eastern divisionlof the metropolis, and the other in Castle-street, Southwark, for the southern dis trict. A site for a testing house for the western district has been obtained in Great Smith-street, Westminster. During the past 12 months the number of gasmeters stumped was 29,327, and the fees received in respect of the same £976 7s. Finsbury Park—The Board have selected for Finsbury Park a site immediately adjacent to the Seven Sisters-road, at Holloway, bounded on the west by the Great Northern Railway, and on the east by the Green-lanes. It contains about 120 acres, and from its character was easy of adapts tion for the purposes of a park. Safe keeping of Petroleum—On July 29, 1862, an act was passed by which licences for keeping petroleum were re quired to be granted by the Board ; 13 applications were made, of which two were granted and 11 not granted Lines of Frontage of Streets—During the past year 382 applications have been made to the Board, of which 277 were granted and 105 refused. Formation of Streets—For the formation of new streets or the regulation of width of others there were during the year 135 applications, of which 117 were granted and 18 re 'used. The report thus concludes —ln concluding the report of their proceedings the Board would advert to the great improvements which will be accomplished under the Northern and Southern Embankment Acts and the Act for the formation of the new street to the Mansion-house, but there will still remain to be executed many others of vital importance to the metropolis. The opening up of new lines of thoroughfares, the abolition of toll• paying bridges, the for mation of public parks and the preservation of open spaces, are works to which the best energies of the Board will have to be devoted, but they are still of opinion that for these other means than those derived from direct taxes now ought to be afforded, and they can only again express their earnest hope that the period is not far distant when such additional means will be placed at their disposal. They cannot also but observe with great satisfaction the increased confidence reposed in them by the Legislature and the public. They trust they are justified in the conclusion that, from the ad ditional duties with which they have been charged, the Me tropolitan Board is accepted as the body to which are now confided all matters affecting the general interests of the metropolitan ratepayers. Terrible Fire in Birmingham—Six Lives Lost. BIRMINGHAM, Friday. Shortly before Christmas-day dawned upon the sleeping town, a fire broke out which has resulted in the loss of six lives. The first house in Little Hill-street, abutting on the Horse Fair, is the Hill-street Tavern, kept by Mr. George Gameson. Oa Thursday night, when the customers had left, the following were the occupants of the house:-- George Gameson, landlord ; Mrs. Gameson, his wife; Mrs. Bradley, an old lady who came that evening to spend her Christmas holiday; a general servant (name not ascer tained) ; a nurse girl named Spratt, aged about 12; and Mr. Gamesvo's six children, varying in age from 2 years to 17. Between 4 and .5 o'clock on Friday morning some persons in the street discovered that Mr. Gameson's house was on fire, and the flames were ascending from the upper windows of the house. The fire had evidently originated in the lower part of the house, in one of the back rooms. A few per sons crowded to the spot, and the alarm was at once given to the fire and police offices. The fire escape was the first to i•c, du d was immediately got into use- The erigt..a arrived soon afterwards, and got into play, but the fire had made great headway before they COMM , need work, and the house is completely gutted, though the outside stands fair and un marked, with the exception of Some broken windows. The house has a ground floor and two storeys, the first floor front being occupied as a club room. Pending the arrival of the fire escape, some men had scaled the walls, and gained the leads over the bar windows. The landlord had by some means got out of the house, and was frantically calling on the people to aid in rescuing his wite and children. When the lire escape came it was reared against the upper windows of the house, and sonn.men who had penetrated into the upper storeys commenced to get out the bodies. Old Mrs. Bradley was found under the bed in her room, with two of the children. They were all horribly burned and charred and had been dead for some time. Two other children were also dead, besides the nurse-girl. Ont of six children only two were saved—John and George Gamcson. They aro very badly injured, and when our hurried inquiries were made it was considered very doubtful whether either of them would recover. Mr. and Mrs. Gameson, and the elder servant; escaped unhurt. The bodies were removed to the Acorn Tavern, opposite, kept by Mr. T. Briggs. They present a most horrible spectacle, wrapped in bed-clothes and other coverings hastily snatched up by the rescuers, and lying in the horribly grotesque distortions of violent death. It appears as if the old lady had nor been in bed, for she was partially dressed. In each case the flesh of the victims is burnt up until their limbs only resemble sticks of charcoal rather than the remains of humanity. The eldest daughter of Mr. Gameson was a fine grown girl of 17, and now she lies a charred mass of ruin sickening to see—the only part of her body comparatively uninjured being her rich brown hair falling in wild dishevelment over the blackened re mains of her body. The following is a list of the victims : —Mrs. Bradley, an old lady ; Amy Spratt, aged 12, nurse; Matilda Gameson, aged 17; Emily Garneson, aged 6 ; Betsy Gameson, aged 5 ; William Gameson, aged about 2 years. ANOTHER ACCOUNT. A man who was present on the spot when the fire broke out, and who remained till all was over, states that the first alarm of fire was given by two young men who used to fre quent the house, and who happened to be passing up the street at about half-past four o'clock. The landlord,who was sleeping in the back bedroom on the first floor, got out by the window. He had nothing on but his shirt, and seemed to be half mad as he raa about the street, calling for some one to help to save his wife and children. A crowd soon collected, and a young man brought a ladder, by which Mrs. Gameson was enabled to get out at the window. Nothing could be done fur the other inmates, who were all sleeping in the attics, as the fire had taken the stairs, and thus cut off all access to the upper pars of the house. The servant girl jumped out of the window, and before doing so was heard to say, " Jump for your life, Tilley," to Matilda, the eldest girl, but the latter was afraid to do so. When the fire engines arrived the house was one mass of flame from floor to roof. There was a fair supply of water and a stream was soon being thrown on the burn ing building both from back and front, but it was nearly an hour, and in the intense excitement of the moment appeared to be many hours, before anyone could go into the building. Many people volunteered to do so sooner, and the landlord had to be held back by main force from rushing to what would have been a certain death in a hopeless attempt to save his children, but those in authority on the spot refused to allow it. When the firemen could go into the building the attic rooms presented a horrible sight. The bodies were much burnt and charred, but from their appearance there is reason to believe that the unfortunate people had died from suffocation before the flames had reached them, The first body brought down was that of the old lady visi tor, and then there wag the baby, the girl Amy, the little boy, Betsy, and Matilda. It is easy to understand how the fire originated, There is nothing left of the furniture of the back parlour, which is directly opposite the staircase, from which it is only divided by a narrow passage. When the people went to bed,a good fire was left in this room, and a large kettle full of water was placed on the hob, so that there might be warm water, ready when they came down in the morning. It is evident that the fire must have begun in this room, and at once been conveyed the whole height of the house by the stairs, which acted as a chimney to it [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Ointment and rills, — Unerring Precision.—When the health is breaking down from the continuance of some weakening discharge—when ulcers refuse to heal, and extending mischief is threatened, then is the time to try the potency of Holloway's healing ointment and purifying pills. No treatment for giving ease and safety to a cure can be compared to this. The oint ment cleans and cools the foulest and most angry sores, diminishes the inflammation, reduces the swelling, prevents the growth of proud flesh, and spares both pain and dangtehre. Hundreds testify from their own personal experience unvarying success attending the use of Holloway's '"'"' ments in cases of ulcerated legs, enlarged veins, and swelled ankles. se ur y skin, SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS, nereteen.—Notwithetantlirg all that has been written in the recent controversy upon the law of entail and primogeniture, we are not aware that anything has been put forward on either side ex planatory of that law. It may be useful, therefore, to inquire what its effects really are, and what would be the consequence of repealing it. Now, the law of entail does not, as a gnat many even educated people and nearly all uneducated people supp ose enable any man to tie up his land in his fainilY for , ever; that law has been abolished for centnejes• All that the law now permits is, that a man shall tie up his property to a tenant for life, and after his death to his sons successively, till the first son entitled shall attain 21. That is the utmost limit; for after the death of the tenantefor life the son then entitled may, on attaining 21, cut off the entail, sell the land. and do what he likes with the money ; or keep the land if he likes, and do what he likes with it. Nay more; if the tenant for life is living when his son attains 21, the two, if they agree about it, can cut off the entail, and sell the land or divide it into as many shares as they like. So much for the terrible law of entail. As to the law of primoge niture, it is simply that, if a landowner dies intes tate, and under no other circumstances whatever, the land goes exclusively to the heir-at-law, a con sequence which every man may prevent, and which nine-tenths of all landowners, and ninety-nine hundredths of all considerable landowners, do pre vent by making wills or settlements. How, then, it would be asked by the anti-entail school, does it happen that estates are perpetuated in the same families for many generations ? Simply because the owners of considerable estates almost always like and choose to resettle their estates, when they might sell them or subdivide them. Landowners have a fancy for making what is called " an eldest son"—or, in other words, they do not like their land to be divided. Their taste may be very bad ; it might be more patriotic—though we do not at ail concur in the opinion that it would—to subdivide their land among their children, and so on from generation to generation till we should reach the blessed millennium of every man owning, as lord in fee simple, his acre or his half-acre of land. We are not going to discuss this question of political economy. M. Chevallier, no mean authority on such questions, has discussed the ef f ects on Agricul ture in reference to the law of France, which foeci bly subdivides land ; and we will leave that pee tion where he has left it. But be the choice and taste of English landowners good or bad ; be their consequences beneficial or the reverse, it is the choice and taste of English landowners, as a body, to keep their lands together as much as their circumstances will permit. On what ground then should that choice and that taste be forcibly in termeddled with by law ? It is said the result of entail is frequently suffering any privation to younger children. Equally so is extravagant living on the part of any parent; yet scarcely even Mr. Bright and Mr. Cobden would on that ground ask for an act of Parliament to "confine the expenditure of every man within a fixed limit. Then it is said that during minorities the result of entailing is to suspend the power of improving land, and to cause inconvenience to tenants ; but that is the result of ee ere , minority, whether under an entail or otherwise; and yet Mr. Bright would scarcely propose that a man should not be allowed to leave his property to children be cause they are under age. The great objection, how ever, made to the law of entail—and that is its real sting—is that it tends to accumulate too much power in few hands. But the same might be said of the absence of any restriction upon the accumu lation of money. A lord with £20,000 a year in land is no doubt a very powerful person. But so is a cotton spinner or a banker with half a million of money, and yet though the Bright school appears to think the law of entail should be abolished, in order to prevent lords having £20,000 a year of landed property, we never heard that they propose any direct or indirect limitation of the fortune that a cotton spinner may acquire, nor any compulsory meddling with his right to settle or will it As he pleases; and unless they can show some very geed distinction between money and land, some good reason why merchants should be at liberty to keep their fortunes in brick and landowners should not, their warfare against entailing seems unfounded. But there is another thing to be considered. Sup• pose the power of entailing and the right of primo geniture were abolished, while the taste of land owners continues the same, what would the aboli tion do ? Just nothing. Instead of entailing, a man would by settlement or will give his eldest son his land absolutely after his death; and the eldest son would repeat the proceeding with his eldest son, and so 'on, and the land would remain undivided as much as ever. So that really one must go the length of saying that, for the benefit of the com tnonwealth, we will abolish the right of every matito give his property as he likes, either during hi, or sfrcr his death ; we must make, es the French low does, a compuleoey division of heed on a man's death, if the object is to prevent the supposed evils of lands been; kept together in masses. Of course, if that were the law as to land, it ought equally to be the law as to money, for there can be no good reason why a man should do as he likes with his money, and not do es he likes with his land. Both money and land, in different ways, confer power on their owner; the mischiefs arising from that power are just as much mischief with regard to money as with regard to land. We do not apprehend, however, that either the prophets or the alumni of the Bright school would like to be told, " wnen you die you can only leave half your mill and machinery and half your money as you like—the other half must be divided equally be tween your children, whether you like it or not." One word more, and we have done. It is quite a mistake to suppose, as Messrs. Bright and Cobden so often appear to do by their speeches, that the desire of creating entails is a purely aristocratic disease. Nothing is commoner than to find entails of very small estates in the hands of quite humble people. A man with a few freehold cottages almost always gives them by will to his eldest son, or dies intestate, so that he shall have them; ho has no more notion of splitting up his humble landed estate than a duke or a lord has, and as strict an entail as ere ever saw was made by a small country tailor of land worth about £6OO. ADVERTISER. — The Duke of Cambridge, in dis tributing the prizes to the cadets at Weolwich, addressed to these young gentlemen some observa tions which indicate on the part of his Royal High ness a due appreciation of the important duties he had undertaken to discharge. He reminded the young gentlemen who were about to receive com missions in her Majesty's service that they must not consider their education completed—that when they left those walls they would enter pn a career which demanded of them to continue their education and endeavour to keep pace with the spirit of the age. It was essential if they desired to be reai;v efficient officers to make themselves acquainted with the improvements and discoveries that were con stantly arising. He knew many officers who had made themselves truly scientific after obtaining their commissions, and he hoped that the cadets present would on a future occasion emulate their example. We regard this utterance from the illus trious Commander-in-Chief as highly Appropriate to the position of the officers in the British army in the present day. There have been periods when this address might have been regarded as a well-merited censure on too many of our British officers rather than as a word of encouragement to our cadets. Per sons whc were 'gentlemen by virtue of their rank were singularly in need of learning, but remarkably in disposed to labour for its attainment. Very scant were their libraries, but quite large enough for men who never intended to read, whose days were spent in the routine of the parade ground, and in lounging idleness, while their nights were consumed is the orgies of the mess, The Royal Corps of Engineers being excepted, it would have been difficult to find any class of gentlemen who were less acquainted with the discoveries of science, or who knew the value of a book, except as the means of whiling away the hour in which they were waiting for dinner. We have reached a much better era, and one in which his Royal Highness is fully justified in speaking of highly scientific officers who have be come so after obtaining their commissions. We have in our army gentlemen, who, besides their knowledge of the subjects essential to their profes sion, are distinguished for their scientific attain ments, and for their literary eminence. Many of them holding high positions among the most dis tinguished authors of their day, and having con tributed lalgely to various departments of iitera.n byryeeie I hoped observations lure. It is not now as easy as it was for gentlemen e every where and in all cixeretthelaw examinations al ti teneeesykeeo: r c y -P of to find their way into the British arms. ai r favour some circumstances persons have thherou were Very pushed themselves into positions t appoint lad to find that unworthy to fill, and we s hould b :c g es the standard much above its r that whilet e the press of attainment wash raised low is level.bebeing t ments, the military servic Were tlie stan darddirection.provemen of the Royal whichelevatedrmay ei a mt y ihet ail since the aval strengt . 'h, • com menced. t Thes competitive m Duke are the more deeerving of attention from the fact which Nye noticed a f cw owes sine©, that our military, as well as n measured by th© anion t is not now to be cf our brute force, but by the extent of our Weir fare. The mind, attainments in the science of war• th e science, the inventive skill of the great Europe an Powers have the elements now actively em of amman employed in guiding them in the pursuit m 9 ' n e.Y; and there can be no doubt that in any great struggle that may hereafter arise, the superiority will be on the side of that nation whose military and naval science has acquired the greatest development. As we have said in reference to our naval rivalry, the battle is fought in the dockyard and in the gun-foundry. So we may say in reference to armies, that the foundations of victory are laid in the military school and in the studies of officers, and those who aro assisting to give effect to their ideas. We shall not be understood to deny the necessity of personal courage and bravery in our officers and men, as without these qualities the most powerful implements of war would be forged in vain. We know the value of the prudence and scjrit which distinguisned every general by a whom victb:iy has been gained, and we know too that bravery ho always p rov ed Ps necessary as skill. We suppose, top, that we may be, in any fut ure engagements, somewhat on a par, in these respects, with any nation with whom we may again come into collision, or anticipate defeat a 0 inevitable. All these things we assume when we ara' speaking of the necessity of military skill in our ari." l Y ; but all these things being present, personal co.grag e t good generalship, and numbers equal to the eng:ge ment, it still remains true that we must expect to fail if our skill in the art of war and its materials should prove, inferior to that of the enemy. If we' allow their rifles and their cannon to be of a longer range than our own ; if we should employ on the sea Warriors less strongly clad; if on the field we should be found relying on weapons which have become in any degree antiquated; if we should be engaged in our experiments when the enemy ha s successfully concluded his, we may calculate Co defeat and disaster as certain. We have therefore to regard the address of the royal Duke not only as a wise and excellent recommendation which we mei heartily commend, but as a fair exposition of the qualifications which the officers of our army o ught to poseess. We are as a people concerned deeply on this subject. We know by recent and very bitter experience what it is to suffer the loss of our brave countrymen, to have the flower of the British army mown down or left to perish from sickness and disease, in consequence of the inefficiency of those to whom the conduct of our war with Russia wee entrusted ; and if we are to maintain an army for the defence end honour of our nation in the future, we must have for its officers gentlemen who enter the profession not for ease, or honour, but from an enthusiastic love of its duties, and who spend their time in diligent studies, that in the day of conflict they may discharge those duties with effect. COUNTRY MARKETS. LIVERPOOL—T HURSDAY. At this day's market we had a fair attendance both of millers and dealers, with a moderate business in wheat• which remains steady at the decline of 2d per cental. The holders of flour would be glad to make a further slight con cession to promote business. Indian corn totally neglected, and 3d down. All other articles a dull sale. WAKEFIELD—TIMILSDA.Y. The show of grain to-day was moderate. The trade la wheat limited, and last Friday's rates were rather lower. Barley in slow demand. Averages for the week : Wheat , 991 qrs., at 44s 1/41 Oats P. - Beans - Peas .... 7 8ar1ey.....•• . • 652 Rye ..... ..... STAMFORD—THURSDAY. fFa White wheat, 42s to;44s ; red, 36s to 40s per 36 stone• Barley, malting,§34B to, 6e; grinding, 29s to 32s per qr. Oats, 20s to 24s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 40i to 42s per qr, ; new, 34s to 365. LINCOLN-' L'HunsDA.Y. offer at out' market today, .s to 2s per qr dearer. 1 Barley, grinding 28s to 30s Oats '.old .. 24 s to 284 New do 20s to 24s I Beans- 403 t o 425 1 Beans, new,. 37s t 40s o A fair quantity of wheat on with a moderate business, at L White wheat new, 44s to 48s Red do. 3Bs to 42s Old white —s to —s Red do. —s to —s Barley, malting 33s to 38s RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. TRAFFIC RECEIPTS FOR THE WEEK. Miles Opened. Receipts.-• Railways. 1863. 1862. Belfast and N. Counties 136 136 Belfast and County Down 49 49 Blyth and Tyne 2B 28 Bristol and Exeter l2ll 1214 Caledonian Cockermouth & Workington Bt 86 Cork and Bandon 2O 20 Cork, Blackrock, & Passage 6l 8 i Cork and Youghal Cornwall 6l 53/ 5 Deeside l7 17 Dublin & Belfast Junction 63 63 Dublin and Drogheda 75 63 Dublin anti Meath Dub. &Wicklow and Wexld 9ll 484 gelinburgh and Gliasgow 169/ 1694 Furness, &c5O 5i Glasgow & South-Western Gt. Eastern,Nrfk.,&E.Union Great Northern 353 351 Great North of Scotland 5B 58 fat. N orthn. & Westn. (Irel.) 7ll • 711 ( it.Soutlin. & Westn.(lrlnd.) 3131 329 Great Western 10561 10321 Inverness & Aberdeen June 864 863 Inverness & Perth Junction 1191 Irish North-Western 145 Lancashire & Yorkshire 412 Limerick and Ennis.. Limerick and Foynes 265 Llanelly 461 Londen & North-Western London and Blackwall 5l London & South-Western Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast 2Oll London, Chatham, & Dover 72 Do. Metropolitan Extension 104 Lond., Tilbury, & Southend Man.,Sheffield,& Lincolnsh Manch. S.Jun.&Altrincham 9l Maryport and Carlisle 2B Metropolitan 3l Midland (incl. N.-Western) 641 Midland Gt. Westn. of Irind 2591 Monkland 7ll Monmoutlish. Rail. & Canal 44 . North British, Edin., Perth and Dundee N-Eastern and Stock. & Darl 1 095 1 0 ?7/ 54, 938 54,25 ',, North London 9 9 3,354. 3, 95 ' North Staffordshire 254 252 8,833 7.95. Oswestry and Newton... 5O 42 1,112 958 Rhymney.„ St. Helen's Canal & Railway 52 52 2,134 2,0 43 , Scottish Central Scottish North-Eastern l3B 1321 4,910 4.6 50 Somerset and Dorset 66 39. 638 3 51 4 South Devon .. .... 751 756 3.594 3, 37, South-Eastern 306 306 19,388 18, 07 ' Taff Yale .. . 57 55 6,005 5,1 7 9, Ul s t er 644 51 2,019 I,B l ' Vale of C1wyd......... lO 10 135 1 31 ,, Vale of Neath 321 251 2,320 2. 07 ' W a terford and Kilkenny 3l 31 302 3 ,, 5 5, Waterford and Limerick 77 77 1,141 I,o','A' W es t Cornwall 271 271 758 7 r, W.llartlepool 11 arbr.&Rail 52 52 3,705 3. 1 r W'haven,Cleator,& Egrmnt 7 7 55 2 4ui Whitehaven Junction l3 13 945 636 x,, Whitehaven & Furness Jun 35 35 932 7 " FOREIGN AND COLONIAL. Antwerp and Rotterdam 52 52 1,167 97,6 Austrian B2B 828 32,219 32, 13 ' Belgian Eastern Junction 26 204 332 2;4 Bombay, Baroda, & Cen. India 185 1674 2,467 2, 91 1 Buffalo and Lake Huron l6l 1614 2,906 1,r;;; Detroit and Milwaukie lB9 189 5,360 4 ..!, Dutch Rhenish loB,f 1081 3,940 3, 0.1 ' Eastern Bengal llO - - Eastern of France East Indian - Grand Trunk of Canada lO9O 1090 21,822 21, 55 6 „ treat Indian Peninsula 5381 i:95 8,068 5,3,,,,,; Great Luxembourg 334 154 3,607 3,9 1 Great Southern of India Great Western of Canada 345 343 12 , 975 12,8 / 4 Madrid, Saragossa &Alicant 659 490 14,710 '13,74.4 Northern of Canada .. - 14 671 Northern of France ...... .. - 697 698 - -. Norwegian Trunk Ottoman Paris, Lyons, & Mediterrn lBO5 1676 336,682 121,72 4 Paris and Orleans 1614 1431 63,510 58,01 5 P e rnambuco 774 - 518 - 1,345 1,613 Royal Danish 69 69 Sambre and Meuse 6B fie 1,345 1,634 49,331 49,2 92 South Austrian Southern of France ....- 770 680 27,381 2 3,099 Victorian 196 151 - Welland West Flanders W. and N.W. of France. 932 813 340 8 34,829 145 3951 241 26k 46f 11791 4411 211, 72i 5/ 42t 239 t 8144 192 Horniman's Tea is choice and strong , moderate in price, and wholesome to use. T hese adventar have secured for this Tea a general pr eference. It is sold in packets by 2,280 Agents. Births. FAWCETT.—On the 24th -yuen haw, the wile of tip• inyt•+ at §_pring.!odge, R A vv . Fawcett, Esq., o f a daughter, LIDDELL.—On the 23d.in5t.,.t4 Sutton Honse, in .H.01,31er. Surrey, the wife of ness in the East Riding- of the minty of York, the le wt of d. W. M. Liddell, .Esq., of a daughter. TAl3on.—On the 24th inst . .. at the e •R• •• b'A Ler. TA.LBOT..—On the 21st inst., at 10 CI Westuans , ' ter the lion. Air of a daughter. ) —reat George-strut, s. John Gilbert Taibot, of a s•fie. 'I ab o r , deugßltt:r.R Marriages. COOPER—ANDEItsON,—O n the 24th inst., in London, Mr. T. Cooper, of Canterbury, to Miss Mercy Anderson, of Blean ; near Canterbury. IVALKEIt—PETo.—On the 22d inst., at St. 11.1atthew's; Buxton, William John Pilkington Walker, Esq., of t:'tockw e ll. grean, Surrey, to Fanny, younges t d a ughter of the late John Peto, Esq., of Larkhall-lane, Clapham Deaths. BUTCHER —On th© 233 inst. , at Richmond-road, Dalstont George Butcher, Esq., aged 81. CIIAPLIN.—On tho 23d inst., at Tathwell Hall, Lincoln- minre, Fracll:. Chaplin, Esq.,agad 61. COULCIIER.—On tho 19th inst., at Wattiefield Rectory, the Rev. George Couleher, aged 58, EnwAßDs.—On the 19th inst., at 8, Reigrave-read, John Edwards, builder, aged 58. HARRIS.—On the 18th inst., at Radford, Devon, Colonel Harry Bulteel Harris, K. 11., aged 75. POLLARD.—On the 21st inst., at Southland: 3 , Torquay' Win. Pollard, lik.q., aged 76. - - - London Pr;nzed and rublished by WILLIAM ANDE.F.:I 01 o. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office No. 1 1- ; Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy. jn the Count) ? " Middleeex.--Saturday, December 20, 1863, I 3 ] Fit F 1 J