The Sun. — London, England, 1854-04-05 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS—(THIS DAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at 12 o'clock. NEW MEMBER. Lord ADOLPHUS VANE took the oaths and his seat for North Durham, in the room of his brother, LordSeaham, called to the Upper House. MIDDLESEX INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL BILL. On the order of the day for the second reading of this bill, Lord R. GROSVENOR moved the second reading of the bill, and stated that it had received the cordial sup port of the noble lord at the head of the Home Depart- 3 went. Lord D. STUART opposed the bill on the ground that ` ratepayers of Middlesex could have no control over the school. The real object of the bill was to increase the power of the Middlesex magistrates and the Bishop of -London, and since the ratepayers had no voice whatever in the election of these functionaries it was unfair to call upon theta to contribute the funds required for the bill. The subject of Reformatory Schools was a most important one, not only to Middlesex, but to the whole country, and it ought to be dealt with in a general and not a local bill. He therefore moved that the bill be read a second time this day six months. Mr. LUCAS seconded the amendment, on the special ground that the bill made no sufficient provision for the religious instruction of Roman Catholic children. The 4 2d clause was framed as if ail the children who were t to enter this school would belong to the Protestant re ligion ; but he contended , and he b elieved, th e moble lord at the head of the Home-office agreed with him, that prisoner's of all descriptions should be called ' upon to declare his religion on entering the prison ; and, a s a matter of right, he should be entitled to the instruction of a chaplain of his own faith. Now, the same rule should apply to these reformatory schools, 'Which were intended for the reformation of juvenile criminals. Mr. BUTT thought the remarks of the hon. gentle- Man the member for Meath applied rather to the details than the principle of the bill. Now, the principle of the bill was sound and good, and he hoped the house would sanction the second reading, and send the details to be arranged by a select committee. Mr. DIGBY SEYMOUR concurred in the view taken of this bill by the noble lord the member for Marylebone, and pointed out that, by the 44th clause, the expense of each child entering this school should be borne by the parish which was th e child's last known settlement. Now there was a measure before the house for abolish ing the law o f se ttl emen t altogether and, therefore, if that bill passed, the entire expense of the school would f all Upon the ratepayers of Middlesex. Mr. ADDERLEY objected to entering upon petty de tails when a great principle was a stake, which . ... v fas the case of this bill. It simply enunciated i'ne Principle that it was wrong to deal with ju venile offenders in the same manner as adult crimi nals, and no honourable member could object to that Who had the interest of the country at heart. A simi lar measure had been passed for Edinburgh, and it was too late now to complain that the principle ought to be dealt with in a general and not a merely local measure. Ile sympathised with the principle of local self-govern /tient, but he contended that this bill in no way inf ringed upo n th a t p r i nc ipl e , though it certainly did i nterfere with the principle of representation. It was to be regretted that: a general measure as the subject of r eformatory schools had not been brought in by the Government as they promised to do ; but the mere fact of the absence of such a general measure was no suffi cient reason for rejecting this bill. Mr. HUME was decidedly favourable to the principle of reformatory schools ; but he objected to its being dealt with in a private bill like this, which was being discussed in absence of all the Ministers. The principle 11 °uld be di s p ose d o f i n a genera l me asure applicable to "ue Whole country, and after the demonstrations and promises which had been made on this subject, it was the bounden duty of the Government to apply a geaeral lettiedy to th e un i versa l ev il o f j uven il e cr i m inality. He ha d no objection to the second reading of this bill as af6 iming the principle it contained, but he was most certainly opposed to its machinery and details. Mr. J. O'CONNELL suggested that the standing orders committee should in future have power to reprt to the house that, measures involving a great and gene ral principle like this should be treated as a public bill, a nd placed amongst the orders of the day. He also took the same objection to the 42d clause as the hon. Member for Meath. Mr. MIAL L announced his i ntention to support the aine ndment, and on this ground. This bill would affect, at le as t , a third of the whole juvenile criminals of the c ountry, and he insisted that, on this account, it in 'olved a principle of too much importance to be dis l°sed of in a p r i va t e bill a ft er an h our ' s di scuss i on . H e Id not oppose the principle involved in the establish ment 'of reformatory schools, but he required some addi tional information before it was adopted. It was pro- Posed to found reformatory schools for the education of Y o ung criminals, and it might prove a source of tempta tion for poor meii to send their children 'on the streets. Mr. ROEBUCIK was at a loss to understand what the objection v.'as to this bill. It was said that the principle involved in the bill could not be sufficiently discussed now. Why, according to his experience, many private bills gave rise to more discussion than toublic measures ; but an objection had been raised to th;3 42d clause, and this recalled to his mind the fact that the subject of education was never brought before the house without its involving some question of religion. Why, if the Roman Catholics w ere entitled t o a se p ara t e c h a pl a i n f or th e i r own u se, should not the Mormonites claim the same con cession ? The fuct was, whenever a good bill of this nature was brought forward there invariably arose a rnggle for pow er amongst the Protestants, the Roman atholics, and the Dissenters, but such cavilling should not deter the house from passing this bill. The principle an d object were good, and since both well deserved the ben ediction o f tsoc i ety, there was no necess i ty to wa i t for the attendance of a minister before the second reading Vas adopted. th p M r• HENLEY had also heard no so-and objection to I.cr oc-t,lPnag a passing of th e bill. It s p r i nc ipl e was j us t , and it Ind not b e too speedily adopted. Instead of i ts af third of the whole juvenile crime of the coun teuyeit would not deal with more than a tenth, and Surely that was not too much to be disposed of in a ,olvtiate bill. With re f erence t o th e genera l ques ti on , no bt it was desirable t o h a ve a measure applying to the framing such a general measure which did not apply r ee , e q . a nd he called upon the house to reject the amend- b, e ' ix G. GREY sa id th e on l y o bj ec ti on w hi c h h a d il h urged against this bill that had any force with b iz ?. w as, that it was a private and not a public bill, I;lthat was not a sufficient reason to induce him to 1 ) P"e the second reading. There were provisions d • the bill which were far too important to be . he Posed of by an ordinary select committee, and constituted, Sug g e s t that a select committee should be I, ecially for the purpose of arranging its details, sr that be recommitted in a committee of sel 'le whol e h ouse after it had passed through the ord i nary ect committee upstairs. T.Tr, ject • — '-o , DELL argued that as there was no prospect : u f b a : getieral public measure being introduced on the bay ry coo , of Reformato S h ls the house ought to °f Middlesex.e diffie u ty in passing this bill for the county After a few more words from Sir W. CLAY, who also the 8 bill e d the bill, the amendment was withdrawn and was read a second time. PETITIONS. lar th„ 0 g e nu m "ner of petitions were presented against penin g of public-houses on Sundays. against O'BRIEN. presented a petiti o n from Cashel' the app, intment of the Convents Committee. D l ‘ l r. TRORNL EY presented a petition from the isse nters of W o l ver h amp t on i n f avour of t h e opening the Universities to persons of all denominations. fro i r J. WA.LAISLEY presente d a s i m il ar pet i t i on n Bost on.l\ lr HUME presented a similar petition from De ptford. Colonel BLAIR presented a petition against the Education (Scotland) Bill, from a place in Scotland. Lord DUDLEY STUART presented a petition from the Marylebone Vestry in favour of a general measure fo r the establishment of reformatory schools. Mr. EwAnuo presented petitions from Birmingham, Manchester, and othe r pl aces , i n f avour o f t h e P u bli c Libraries and Museum s Bill. Mr. HORSF'ALL presented a similar petition from Liverpool. PLILLIC LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS BILL. On the order of the day for the secondof the bill,reading Mr. EWART rose and was (LEFT SPEAKING.) MARKET INT ELLIGENCE. Prom, the London, New Price Current of yesterday. CO FFEE.—TO-clay several parcels of Plantation Coffee were sold privately ra ther above last week's terms. I n a uction 61 casks and 26 bags were taken cwt. above the value ; mid a 60s toN6alti in is t o 1 8 6d per svfien(eleomrcalllssisedatitlol 665, and Triag e 45 s 6d to 475. t For on the increase and rates on the rise. decreasing. TE4.—There is still a dull market for ord,. and prices ha ve further declined, supply not ( l'ency is now for low to ood ord, Ild to 11 t ; o r p a e t k h o e e r blackish to blackish leaf, is to is 4d; and strong § , vour, is 40 to 2s 54 per pound. There is n s o_d.e . cr m ea id s: 14 Ply of green tea. Hyson, ord, is 41 to 1 lell d to 28 6d ; Is gapo Is 104 ; good, 2s to 2s 3d ; superfine, 2s 84 to 3s. Young hyson fi , n C e, a 2 n s to 4 n, li 2 d s t i o o l d s . V ; hyson kind, is 74 to 2s 2d ; fine, 2s 3d to -. w ankay, is id to is 3d. Gunpowder canton, lid to is 'l; hyson kind, is 7d to 3s 3d. COCOA. —.A. firm market for foreign and several pur ethse have been made, &his. at 268 t ' to 275, Para 28s 6d 0 29s 6d, and Guayquill ' 34s 6d. Stock is still deficient of last season -IpTALLow—The demand for Russian for all purposes has ch increased since this day week, and prices d e clined 2s to to: 3s per cwt. On the spot the rates accepted are 68s d 0 e1 93 3d for first sort P.Y. Candle, and 63s 94 to 693 for ' v ery op to June. Home melted is now only in limited !!Tiest, and can be obtained at 66e 64 to 675. Other sorts il l ., o of tallow are more freely offered for sale, spec oplartf! as well as the trade having been cautious in their Eellin op erations prices have given way; Australian, mutton A lti. , 4, mid to fine at 64s to 67s 9d, beef 63s to 665, South N r ' e l lean 6ls to 688, and French town melted 65s to 67s 4 5e : Stock of tallow is 3,000 casks more than last I ) , ‘-‘,:,, and deliveries are 1,800 less. Prices rule higher - v t u T B to 228 per cwt. f,r:,,';.—Thcre -ire now few buyers of linseed oil, and at 41a4,.ve given wa • sales o' t s of haviu- ;.;,:cli sellizi4‘,l)4.tl.B6d, and d elivery 428 to 4 1 4;per cw't. Cochin 0 il ! pa6.:',, 0 5 to 55s 6d, and other sorts 53s to 54s 61. Rape 011ytt Q":±ing at 468 to 46s 6d, and brown 444 to IN 6d, ' w Ole avid othor watt 6% to 624 Dove, vett— ?ort— r.N.E. ertch; Jrago- Jessie, —Gar lphia ; totter- 4af v York ; Evans, 'S'ailed, Emma t. Jor- Ldolpll, South, m Ayr, lwarks, rch, in E 3 from lore on er, and from )etween aorning ;tore of on the etsluys, aaloner, ; Flirt, 3, Born- nynges, h Regi- For Lon ndon. Jondon ; ,ochelle, ; Sophie %lestine, on sale was in aimed on imports ranee in rs, how ssols off prices. 'rid flour Flour• 1,270 11,460 br How's ; lamb, 3s 4d to It week SHARE MARKETS. (THIS DAY.) BRITISH RAILWAYS. Closing Prices yesterday. Business done this day. 21 - 210 4 - 4i 71 8} 13 —ll dis 15 17 8 -- 7 d 87 -- 89 501 -51 i 124 -- 134 8 - , 10 - 7 - 8 15i I /4 . ... -. ... 59 - 61 54 - 56 iO - 22 56 60 85 Be* 75 77 1118 120 85 89 71i - 72 83 - 88 10 - 12 t) 10 - 12 p i 59 - 59 81 -- 701 Ili ---: i. 7i -- 7i id — ll 3 91i1 95A 91 - 9 , 4 lid -14 d id—id d 73 -- 75 14 -- 13 AI 12 -- 11dI 19 - 20 56 -56 i 30 - 32 id— 4d l 7 5 cil 6 - 8 42 - 45 3$ 3k. 29k ... 30k 50 54 par ip 7 Cid 7 74 26 - 28 76 80 49 - 51 48 - 52 48 - 52 3i - 13 - 15 6i - 7i 10 - lz 4 - W i:i 15 57 58 31 33 4 2d 4 5 27 io 2i -3/ 1/ -2, 17A 18A 4 - 5 21 ..4, 23 4A - 6 - 7 63 64 ' 9A • 9d 51 40. 44 -- 45 Paid.' 3t. 100 !,0 i 0 an .3i all 11 I 28 ril I all 2 18.4 5 30 it. 100 t. 100 i() all !O all !CI 12 : 0 6 :5 I all 15 all 15 all .8 all !O all ;t. all ;0 all .1i all 8 ;t. 100 >t. 100 !O 12 .0 1 .2! it. 100 'lO 424 [0 34 ;5 all ;5 all it. 100 2s 4R• it. 100 it. 100 i 0 474 .),5 174 10 all ;t. 100 6i 5. 15 17! i 0 7 0 all ;. iioo it. 100 .6 16 L 6 116 8 all 8 8 i 0 I all 0 5.' .0 is * l'il O all .0 10 .0 1 it. 1100 D 2/ 2s it. 100 it. 100 it. 100 it. 100 o 10 ;6i all .3il all 0 all all it. 100 i 0 all :0 15 ) .,0 5 :0 2/ 2s . ) ,5 all 16i ;t. 100 .0 8 ft. 100 ',5 21 10 17 !O all i 0 all 14 ',O all .0 51s, ;t. 100 15 20 ?,5 1.:3 it. 100 t. \lOO St. 100 25 30 R. 1100 it. 100 l 5 all 64 64 64 all 31 all 5 all 7ji 2 6t all 6i all .0 all 0 all 5 all 0 all '. 100 5 all sk" It. 1100 ;t. 1100 ;t. I 100 .0 10 .0 6 61 all It. 100 It. 100 It. 100 L 6 6 It. 100 ,',O 13 ;Clio° a,. 1100 i 0 f all k. 1100 ;t. 100 .0 all 6 4: 121 all L 2 all 1.2 i 10 St. 100 it. 100 LO 5 LO 6 _lOO It. 100 - it. 100 it. 100 It. 100 n 1 all It. 100 L 5 15 8i all 8 all 10 all 0 110 I. 100 0,0 all ',5 all RAILWAYS. Aberdeen Anabg Nottng. Bost and Eastn. Junct Belfast & Ballymena Birming. Wolverh. Stour Valley Birkenhd. Lancsh. 4 1 Cheshire Juuct Do. Chesh. & Birk., £5O and £25 Cons. Do., £20..... 3lyth & Tyne original £25 (issd. at £45) Bristol and Exeter... Caledonian Chester & Holyhead. Cork and Bandon Cork, Black, & Pass Cornwall Crieff Junction Dublin & BelfastJunc Dundee Perth &Aber - deen Junction Do. New East .Auglian.... Do., (£lB E & H)... Eastern Counties Eastern Union, A Stock Do., B. Stock Do., New A East Lancashire Edinburgh & Glasgow Edinb. and Peebles Edin. Prtb & Dundee Forth & Clyde June. tlasgow&S. Western Great Northern Stk. Do., A. Stock Do., B. Stock Gt. Sth. &West.(lre.) Great Western Irish South-Eastern Lancaster & Carlisle Do., Thirds Do. Now Thirds _ Lancash.andYorksh. Do., Fifths D 3., Wst. Riding Un Leeds Northern Liv.Crsby.&Soutlipt London & Blackwall Lond. Tilb. & Sthend. Lond. Bright & S. Cat. Lond. and N. Westn. Do. Fifths Do.lo/. Sh.,M&B.A Do. Eighths London and S. Westn Do., £5O Do., £4O Lnndrry& Coleraine Lndndrry. & Ennisk. Manch.Shef. & Lineln Do., Man. & Lin. Un. Midland Do. Birmng. & Derby Midld. G. West. (Ire.) Do. Half Shares 'Newcastle & Carlisle , Newmarket 'Do., Bury Extension Nwpt.Aberg. & Hrfd Newry & Enniskillen Newry Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Norfolk . .. Northu.Counties Un North British North Devon, No. 1 0., No. 2 Do., 6 A Deferred Do., B Guaranteed North London I Do. New £lO N. &S.Wstru. ,llampl stead, and City Jn 1 North Staffordshire North Western N. & S. Westru. Junc Nuneaton, Hinckley, and Leicester Oxford, Worcesterok Wolverhampton , Portsmouth " ottish Central . Scottish Midland Shrewsbury & Biimg Do. L. & N. Western Guaranteed St Gok Shrewsby. & Bei efd Shrewsby. & Chester (N. W. Min ;., Do. Balveso. .1 Do. Oswestry Shropshire Union Do. A, B, C,& D,fully paid up at per cent South Devon South Eastern South Wales . S. Yrksh. & Riv. Dun Do Staines, Wok &W ok Stockton & Darling. Stockton & Hartlepl Taff Vale Do. £lO shares. Do. Pref., No. 1 Thames Haven Dock and Railway Vale of Neath Waterfd. & Kilkenny Waterford&Limerick West Cornwall. West End of London and Crystal Palace West London Wimbledn & Croydon York Newell. &Berw. Do. Extensions Do. G.N.E. Purchase York & N. Midland PREFERENCE SHARES Aberdeen .. ......... Do. No. 2, p. c. Blyth and Tyne 10 per c. pref. (issd. at 501) Bris. & Ex. 4 p. c. St. Do. 4 p. c. Shares Caledonian £lO Chester & Holyhead Guar. 5i per cent Cork &Bandonsip.c Dundee Perth &Aber deen Junction EastAnglian (£310x)1 6 per cent (X 5) 7 per cent Do. (.£7 17s) 7 p. c Eastern Counties Ea-! tension, 5 p. c. No. 1 Do. No. 2 Do.• New 6 p. c. St. Eastern Union, Scrip Guar. 6 per cent Do. 51., 10 per cent Do. 10/. Debentr.Sh- East Lancash. 6 p. cts. East and West York shire June. Pref... Edinb Prth. &Dundee 5i per cent. Glasgow & S. Western Guar. 5 per cent. . Great Northn. 5 p. c. Do. 5 p. c. Redeem., at 10 p. c. prem. Do. 4 p. c. Scup Gt.N. of Scot. Ist Pref Gt. Southn.&Westm. (Ireland) Eighths)... 'Do. 4 per c. Pref. Sh. Gt. Westa. (Berks & Hants Ex. 5 p. c)... Do. cov. red. 4A p.c. Do. con, red. 4 p. c. irred. 4 p. c.... Lan. &York. F. £2O Do. 6 p. c. Stock ... Leeds N. 6 p. c. No.l Do. Quarters, 1848... London and Brighton Guaranteed 5 p. c Do. Pref., 5 c. St. Do. Convertible, 5 p. c., 1852 Do. New Guar.6 p. c Lon. &N. W., Coy. & 94 -: -O6 6 - 6,} 34 - - 46 - P 1- i P - P 11i -12 i 23 - 24 ... - 3 —3 l .d - .05 -110 100 - 105 91 - 91 - 7f xd 64 7 92 94 87 89 88 90 Id pay 125 130 • • • '-' ... ... xdi 11 -2/ pl :I --- i d 125 130 1i lid ... ad ... ad ... ad ... ad ... ad 93 - 96 73 -- 'Bi -- 1 10 6i 9 4 11 -- 13 id -- p 213 -- 22} 15 - 20 = I'al 85 - 90 3i - 3i la 125 die uneatou London & S. Western Con. Thirds Londonderry& Coler Shares Londy. & Ennis. Sh sfan. , Shef., & Lin., Shares, No.l. ..: Do. New, £lO Do. £6 Karypt Carl. 4 p.c Do. 4A per cent Do - - Nfld. Consol.6 p.c.St. Do. Consol. Bristol & Firm. 6 per cent... Do. Pref. 4A per eev Norfolk Debenture . Do. Pref. 4 p. c. Stock Do. 5 p. c. Eat Do. 5 per ct .pref Do. Way. Val, 5 p. c North British North Staffordshire Oxford, Worcester ' & Wolverh.4ls 6pe Do.. ............ ... Scot. Cent., New Pref zihrews. &Birm.N.G. Shrewsby. & Chester (Nor.W.Min), 8 p.c. Do. 5 per cent South Devon Do. fixed, L 4 per cent S. Eastern (Reading Ann.) of £1 Os. 6d. Do. 40e1 cent. 3'.Yorksh. 4 p.c.G uar. Stockton and Dar lington, Bartlec e d n o t D S t o o l ; l o k g o Stockton do. till Ist July, 185 6 Watered &K lk .6 p. c : York, N eweastle,auu guar. 5 p. c. I Berwick,4 p.c. Pref. Do York&N.MidlandH MICI fig rurChttime, 95 I 20 x d 5 :6,.10 THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 5, 1854, C.HARTEBED BANK OF INDIA, AUSTRALIA, AND CHINA. RAILWAY STATION-MASTER KILLED. An adjourned meeting of the scripholderi of the above Bank desirous of a dissolution of that undertaking was held yesterday to receive a report from fee committee detailing the result of their interviews with directors. This document stated that the board refuse to entertain the views of the committee, and intimate that they shall proceed in order to preserve theprivileges of the charter. With respect to the allegation that the directors had originally signed the deed of settlement in blank, so that it was impossible to ascertain correctly the number of shares taken, they admit the irregularity to nave occurred, but urge that it was from accident, not from design. Un der these circumstances, the committee, representing from 19,000 to 20,000 of the 32,000 shares issued, pro posed to the meeting that they should be authorised to adopt such proceedings as may be recommended to effect a dissolution, in compliance with the wish of the majority. It was mentioned by some of the speakers that India and Australia are already supplied with banking in stitutions possessing the command of 10,620,0001. capital to furnish the ordinary accommodation re quired by trade, while stress was also laid on the remarkable change that has occurred in the financial and political relations of England since this particular project was brought forward. The committee stated that they have a sufficient case to go into Chancery, and that, if the directors determine upon carrying out the bank, they are prepared to seek the interference of that court. Some of the shareholders suggested that the best plan would be for the directors to defer the call un til the existing pressure shall have passed ; but it ap peared from the explanations of the chairman that even this concession has been declined, the scrip being threatened with forfeiture if the call be not paid by the 20th inst. In the course of the proceedings it was in cidentally mentioned that the directors had each taken originally 1,000 shares, and that in several cases the whole or greater part of these had been disposed of at a premium, but that one or tw• are known at the present moment to hold individually to the amount of 700. Finally, resolutions were passed condemning the policy of the board, and authorising a subscription, not ex ceeding 2s. per share, to raise funds to defray the ex penses attending a settlement of the question. An ad journment was then agreed to, it being understood that the committee are to announce the measures they may be prepared to take previously to the period named for the forfeiture of the scrip. John Lee, a wheelwright at Manchester, was charged before the magistrates of that city yesterday morning with a breach of the Railway Act, in attempt ing to enter a railway train at the Victoria station while it was in motion, and without having procured a ticket. The case attracted the more attention from the fact that his offence had been the means of bringing to an un timely end Mr. Thomas Reid, station-master, whose duty it had been to remove him from the train. Mr. Elackmore, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Com pany's traffic superintendent, was present on behalf of the company to prosecute, and called witnesses. The first witness was the doorkeeper at the first-class booking office, Victoria station. lie said, on Saturday evening the prisoner and two other men came to the door of the first-class office, and asked how soon there would be a train to Rochdale. It was then 8 minutes past 5 o'clock, and he told them the train had gone. The Oldham train had is start at 5.10, and immediately the time had expired, he asked if any one was going to Old ham, and closed the doors. The prisoner said, " I'll go to Oldham." Witness said, "If you are going to Old ham you will have to make haste, and get a ticket at the third-class office." William Wilkinson, booking clerk, said the prisoner applied to him for a ticket, when the train was three minutes overdue, to start for Oldham, and he refused to give him a ticket, on the ground that it was too late. The prisoner hurried away towards the platform the train would have to leave. The next witness was a railway porter, who said the Oldham train was ready to leave the station at 10 mi nutes past 5, or nearly so, and soon afterwards Mr. Reid, the station-master, raised his hand as a signal to the driver to start. Witness turned round as the train began to move, and saw the prisoner on the footboard of one of the carriages; but all the doors on that side the train were then locked, and the prisoner would not be able to get in. [lt should be stated that the train had to move upon the other line of rails when clear of the station, and the doors only on the other, which was the getting-out side, remained unlocked.] Mr. Reid told the prisoner to get off, and tendered assistance, but he refused, and Mr. Reid then got upon the foot board of the moving train to remove him, but appeared unable to effect his object. Mr. Eckersley, the second inspector, jumped upon the footboard to assist Mr. Reid, and the prisoner, after resisting their united efforts for a moment, suddenly loosed his hold on the carriage, and he and the two officers fell from the footboard and rolled down between the moving train and the platform. The prisoner escaped, with his clothes only torn, but, unfortunately, Mr. Reid rolled under the wheels of the train. Mr. C. J. S. Walker (magistrate) asked if the station master was killed. Mr. Blackmore regretted to say he was. Two-thirds of the train passed over him, crushing his skull so that his brains wore left on the rail, and otherwise frightfully mutilated his body. He was taken up dead, and Mr. Eckersley had a narrow escape, lying with his head within an inch of the rail while the train passed, and with his face upwards, so that the axle-boxes of the various carriages slightly scratched and tore his face as they passed over it, and cut one of his lips. He was now unable to attend to his duties. Mr. Bent, attorney, elicited from the prisoner that he had been drinking and was not quite sober at the time. Mr. Walker regretted that the act of Parliament under which the prisoner was brought up only empow ered them to levy a fine of 40a. The magistrates would inflict that penalty, and in default he was committed to prison. Mr. Bent said the money would be paid, and the pri soner was removed. It is said Mr. Reid has left a widow and three chil dren unprovided for. He was 37 years of age, and had been in the service of the company for 15 years. An in quest was held on the body yesterday. MELANCHOLY DEATH OF A FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. On Sunday morning last the death of a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, Seek place in a house of ill fame, under the distressing circumstances detailed be low. The deceased was Mr. Edward Brenton Vance, and he and his companion left the college but a short time before the melancholy event occurred. An inquest on his remains (which had been removed to his rooms in King's College) was held on Tuesday, at the Bull Hotel, before Mr. King, the coroner for the borough. A num ber of the members of the society were present during the inquiry. The first witness called was Francis Edmund Stacey, Fellow of King's College, who said—l was acquainted with the deceased, whom I last saw alive on Sunday morning, between 1 and 2 o'clock. He then seemed to be in pretty good health. He left me, and in a few moments afterwards my atten tion was called to him by a person who came out of the house. It was a woman, but lam not certain who, as two or three called me at the same time. The house was in Victoria-road, Chesterton. I went in, and found him on the bed partly undressed. He did not speak, and showed no sign of consciousness. I continued with him a few moments, and then left him and procured medical aid. A girl named Chamberlain was with him. I left him in another woman's charge—a neighbour. I found Mr. Bumpsted, surgeon, of Cambridge, and returned with him, but deceased was then dead. Sarah Chamberlain, who was much affected, and swooned on entering the inquest room, on being restored to consciousness, deposed with much difficulty and amid the deepest manifestations of grief—l last saw Mr. Vance between one and two o'clock on Simday morning. He had come to my house in the Victoria-road unexpect edly. lam a single woman. Mr. Vance had nothing to drink at my house. He came up into my bedroom, and laid himself on my bed. He did not complain of ill health at all. He bad lain about five minutes, when he appeared to be speechless, but moaned very slightly, and lay quite still. I said, " Will you speak to me ? What is the matter ?" He made no reply, and I ran down stairs and called " Jane !" who lived next door. Jane and Mr. Stacey then came to my assistance. Mr. Bumpsted, surgeon, of Cambridge, said, I knew the deceased in his lifetime ; he had been constantly and was at the time of his death under my treatment. He consulted rae about a fortnight since for disease in his heart, symptoms of which he exhibited. On Sunday morning, a little before two o'clock, I was fetched to see deceased by Mr. Stacey. He was dead when I ar rived. I have since made a post-mortem examination. I did not examine the stomach, aim I discovered sufficient disease in his heart to account for immediate death. The actual disease was the bursting of an aneurism of the aorta or large vessel which carries the blood from the heart. There were no outward marks of violence. The deceased most undoubtedly died from natural causes. Mr. Deck and Mr. Ficklin were at the examination, and perfectly concurred in my conclusion. The Coroner said the cause of death was the only matter for inquiry by the jury, so he forbore from mak ing any further remarks. The jury returned a verdict that " Deceased died by the visitation of God." It is singular that the father of the deceased (a sur geon) met his death at the hands of an insane patient whom he was attending professionally, his patient hav ing thrown him with violence from a window in a par oxysm ; a brother of the deceased died from the effects of a fall, while at college at Oxford ; a second brother was drowned ; and a sister now surviving was nearly burnt to death. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE METROPOLITAN COMMISSION OF SEWERS. Yesterday the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers met at Greek-street ; Mr. Jebb in the chair. Lieut.- Colonel Dawson and Mr. Gibson inquired of the chair man if he had any communication to make respecting the relations of the commission to the Government, and whether, after the want of confidence which they had experienced from the Government, they were likely soon to be relieved of their responsibilities. Mr. Jebb said he had no communication to make further than that the Government intended this session to bring in a bill for reconstructing the commission and for making certain alterations in the law. He (the chairman) regretted extremely the sentiments expressed by his col leagues and their impatience to be relieved from that work they had undertaken for the benefit of the public. He had no authority from Government to make any statement, but he would say thus much, that there was no wish to get rid of the commissioners, to protract unnecessarily their services, or control them in the exer cise of those powers that the law gave them, which, as long as they were constituted commissioners, they had a right to exercise. For his own part he could not alto gether acquiesce in the view taken by his colleagues in attributing any expression in the letter from the Home office as a want of confidence in the commissioners. His own interpretation was that Lord Palmerston merely meant to elicit an answer to the communication of the Board of Health as to the best mode of drainage, After a few words from Colonel Dawson, the rates were or dered to be made. The court then proceeded to some routine business devoid of public interest. LINES LEASED AT FIXED RENTALS. Leasing Compass. Closing Prices yesterday. RAILWAYEI. Bedford and Bletchley.... Buckghamsh. Clydesdale Jc. E. Lincoln gr. 6 per cent. Glas. Barr. & Neils. Direct Do. New.....• Cilstr.& Dn. Fr Hrtlpl. Dk. & Railway Hull & Selby Do. Shares. Do. Shares. Lon. & Greeuw Do. Preference Lowestoft gr. 4 per cent. Do. 6 per et. Mauch. Bxtn. and Matlock Middlesbro' & Redcar. . Midld.Bradfd Northern and Easternsp. c. Do. 6 per ct. Do. Fixeds p ?rest. & Wyre Do. ?; tibares. aoystn .& Do. Shepth. St Shef.Rotha• - ( Goole g. 5 p. c S. Staff ordsb Wear Vaileygr 6 per cent Do ' Wilts&Sommt London & N. West. L. &N.W. Gt.Nrthn. Calcionian. -?t. Westnl 7- Ic.. New. & Berw. tY.&NXid o ,`S. Eastern 'Norfolk. L.& N. AV. & Midi& Stckton Darli.ugt. E. Count Do L. & N. W &Ln&Yk Do iGt Northn Do Lancash&l Yorksh. A.MClear Stockt. Darlingt. GtWestn FOREII 9 A.ntwerp&Ro tterdam 3 Belgian East'. June.' 8 Beziers to Gra issessae 2s. Bombay, Bar( >da, and Central Ind ia,Serip ... Central of Italy all Charleroi & &cluelin all Demerara 14 Dijon and Besancon 8 Dutch Rhenigh all East Indian 2 Do. Extension all Gt. Indian Peninsula 10 Gd. Junct. of France 10 Grd. Trunk of Canada 30 Do. Debentures all Do. d 0..., 10 Gt. Central of France all Gt.WesternorCanada Shares Do. Bonds (Ist is.)'s7 156 Hamilton & Toronto all Do. 6 per cent. 5 Lake Const. & Basle all Lucca & Pistoja 5 p.c. pref 15 Luxembourg.. 10 Do. (Railway) 2 Do. Pref. 3 Do. (Canal) 5 Do. 6p. ct. prof 8 Lyons and Geneva 12 Lyons & Mediterran 10 Madras 33A Maria Antonia all Do. do. New 2 Melbourne Dk. &Ry all Namur & Liege (with' interest) all Do. (ex interest) all Northern of France Do. 201. 3 p. c Bds all (fniy.B.&Ams.Shs.) all NorwegianTrunkPref 10 Paris and Lyons all Ditto Bonds all Paris and Orleans.... all earis and R0uen...... all Paris and Strasbourg 10 ParisCaen & Cherbrg 10i Quebec & Richmond all Rouen and Havre ' 12 Royal Danish 2 Royal Swedish all Sambre and Meuse 6 Do. 5 p. cent. Pref 6 Southerp of France- , 6 St. Andrew's and Quebec (A) all West Flanders all Do 5. per c. Pref 10 Western of France , 7 West. of Switzerland' 2 Wiesbaden 15 Zealand all Agua Fria all Anglo Austen. Gold 11 Anglo Californian 2 Australasian 6 Australian all Australian Cordillera all Australian Freehold all Ave Maria all Baden (Urd. Duchy of) all Blaenarvon Ir. & Coal all imitish Austen. Gold 13.5 British Iron 24/ Brazilianlmp.(issued at L 5 pin all Do. Cocaes & Cuiada 15 Do. St. John Del Rey . Carson's Creek 1 Clarendon Con. Min Co. of Jamaica all Cobra Copper 1 Colonial Gold 15 Copiapo all Copper Min. of Eng all Do. Pref. 71 p. cent all English and Austria Copper Smeltg. Co all General all Great Nugget Vein._ all Do. Registered all Great Polgooth all Liberty all Linares all Lond.&Californ.Gold Quartz Crush. Co. all Mariquita 9 Aexican&S. Xmericn. all New Granada all New Linares Mining and Smelting Co all Nouveau Monde all Pontgibaud Silver Lead Min. & Smelt 1 Port Philip all Quartz Rock all Rhynaney Iron 15 Do. New I.oi Santiago de Cuba all i:nith Australian 7 Fin Croft all United Mexican all Waller all West Granada all West Mariposa 12s. Worthing Mining 01 Australia all \uba JOINT-S' all Australasia all I British Colonial Bank and Loan Company all British N. American 5 Chartd. Bank oZ Asia 2 Chrtd. Bnk. of India, Australia, & China 25 Colonial 20 Commercial of Lend 10 English Scottish andl Australian 15 bond. Chart. Bk. of Australia 20 London and County 10 London Joint Stock 20 Loud. & Westminster 35 liatioual Provincial of England 10 Do. New 226 National of Ireland all Yew South Wales all Oriental Bank of Corporation 5 Do. New 25 Provincial of Ireland all Do. New 1 Royal Australn. Bkg &lcl Imp Co all south Australia all Union of Australia 26 Do. New 10 Union of London MSCEL: all Nubin Coal and Iron' 171 Australian Agricult. 1.4 tiustralsn.Pcific.Mail 8 Australn. Royal Mail 4 Berlin Water Works 40 3rit. American Lanci; 1 Brit. & Coln. Smeltg and Reduction Co 32, Canada 5 Crystal Palace 4 Do. New... ....... 2 Crystal Pal. of France 3 Eastern Steam 20 Electrit Telegraph(A) all Do. (B) 1 Electric Toleg. of Ir 14 Gen. Steam Navigat. 18 General Screw Steam '4 Irish Beet-coot Sugar, 10 Magdalena St. Navig. all Nat. Pat. Steam Fuel ; 3 Netherlands Land 1 N. S. W. Coal & Inter. ' St eam Navigat. Co.l all N. B. Australasian Do. ew 10 Nrth.o NfEuropeSteam all Peel Rr. Ld. & all Peninsular & Oriental 35 Do. Do. all Portland Iron C 0..... GO Royal Mail Steam ... all Scot. Austral. Invest. 25 South Austral. Land all Submar. Telegraph.. all Do. Registered........ 282, Van Diemen's Land CT„t.SGOW ~IND SOUTH-WESTERN RAILWAY . —Traffio re turn for the week ending April 1, Itie4 £5,160 3 0 Vorresponding week last year 4,409 4 11 bacon in $760 18 10 [125 - 135 ---- tijo 102 50 52 25 —26 13 13} 24 253 ... -- • ... ."-- ••• 2 2ixd, ii -- k 54 - 56 ad xd ... "--. .3 d ii - 29 41 3tiv 1 5i 4ici id i p . p 30 1 — 14 P, par — j p ...d sd. .6 -- •id - 22 - I§p - 8 dis ii 3A 4 - ii 4 2 lid 4 3d id 6i - 61 - 28,1 - 1011)1 - 43 - 33 27i - pm .d d 7 7i ••• - pm - 4 - 21 ld 2 p -1) 1 d 2 9 11 A - g 6 d 34 44 16 2 28 30 39 - 41 - 10 - 12 - 60 - 4p 11 - 2i D - i i - $ 10 - 11 54 - 4 - 6 i li 15 17 - i d it — lip 28 30 8 —lO 3 3 / 4 i 4 3 / 4 3 34 i id ... -- ••• i - 011 I -- i 72 74xd; d li—id 5} -- 41(11 3 2d ••• ••• ... ..-- . . 44 -- 46 36 - 38 62 - 61 6 - 7 lOUs 36~ - 37~~ 75 - 80 6 - 6k 16 - 18 •• --- ••• 1 - 3 1 -- i 1— i d ••. ---. ... i - iP li - lip 34 - 36 I 1 9 lain ;hr. I Paid, '. 100 0 all k. 100 5 all 5 all )0 all i 0 all 15 all L2A all L3i all all !O 1.00 0 I tuo 5 all 03 I all 5 I all .23 12 '31,: 100 31. 100 ;5 18; .2 9 ill all 15 I all it. 100 Business this day. THE NEW WESTMINSTER BRIDGE. It has been at last decided that the building of this bridge is to commence in the ensuing month of May. It is intended, by the plan, to consist of three arches, the chief arch rising 18 feet from the springing. Sir C. Barry is the designer, and we doubt not that this bridge, when completed, will bring out in bold relief the New Palace at Westminster, and prove to the eyes of the world that the architect of that palace has been able at last to master a great difficulty, namely, that of showing to advantage one of the finest edifices in the world erected on a disadvantageous site. In designing this bridge the architect has followed the rule which we are surprised has not, even in later times, been more rigidly adhered to than it has been, which is, that in the con struction of a bridge the aim of the architect ought to be to have as few arches as possible, in order that the middle of the stream, or chief current of the river, may flow freely without the interruption which is caused by an unnecessary number of piers, large arches being at all times desirable, and by which, too, the expense of construction is considerably les sened, as is shown from the simple fact that the pre sent Westminster-bridge cost double the amount in its erection as compared with Blackfriars-bridge, on ac count of the number of arches. The present bridge is 1,220 feet long, and 44 feet wide. The new bridge is intended to be wider, but the inconvenience and danger of the rise and fall will be entirely obviated in its con struction. The present bridge consists of fifteen arches, and was finished in the year 1750, at a cost of 389,5001. The expense of the new bridge will, of course, be con siderably less ; but we do hope that the approaches to the new bridge will not be dealt with in a niggardly manner by the proper authorities. The houses, in order to give effect to the structure, both on the Surrey and Middlesex side of the river, ought to come down with " one fell swoop." The piers of the bridge are to be of stone, and the abutments er caps of iron. During the erection of the new bridge, the present bridge is in tended to be used for ordinary purposes. Banquets, or raised footways, will be erected in the first instance, and these will eventually be amalgamated with the proposed roadway of the new bridge, thereby avoiding the neces ' city for the erection of a temporary wooden bridge, while. at the same time, it will save an immense waste of public money, the lavish expenditure of which has unhappily been the bane of most of our modern struc tures. THE MAIM—SOUTHAMPTON, April 4.—The General Screw Steam Shipping Company's steam-ship Queen of the South, Capt. W. H. Norman, sailed this afternoon with contract mails for Adelaide, Port Philip, and Sydney. The mails taken out by this vessel are con tained in upwards of 300 bags, and measure 32 tons. The Queen of the South takes out nearly 90 passengers, among whom is Sir Chas. Hotham, the newly appointed Governor of Victoria, with his suite, and also a very full cargo of manufactured goods of a valuable character, for the Australian markets. Mrs. Chisholm having visited the port to-day, on the occasion of the departure of the Queen of the South, the Southampton Emigra tion Committee availed themselves of the opportunity to present this excellent lady with an address ; and she subsequently inspected the site of the proposed emigra tion depot about to be erected, and gave her approbation to the details of the establishment, which is intended to accommodate both Government and private emigrants. A plan of the building has also been presented to Sir Charles Hotham. The Peninsular and Oriental Com pany's steamship Colombo, Capt. T. S. Russell, took her departure at 2.30 p.m. to-day, for Gibraltar, Malta, and Alexandria, with the outward East India, China, and Mediterranean mails. The Colombo has 72 passengers, a very large cargo, and specie valued at 124,873/. 3s. 2d. for India and China, and 11,2031. 10s. for Malta and Alexandria. The Colombo also takes out several beauti ful English horses and ponies for the Pasha of Egypt, and some first-class carriages fitted up complete for the Egyptian railway from Alexandria to Suez. ARRIVAL OF THE MARCO POLO IN AUSTRALIA.—By the overland mail we have received accounts of the arri val of the celebrated ship Marco Polo, of the Black Ball line, after another unparalleled passage o f seventy-four days twelve hours, from port to port, the fastest ever made by a sailing ship ; and the third passage she has made from Liverpool to Melbourne, and beaten all competitors. But we are sorry to say that, after she was inside the Head of Port-Philip, she was got ashore through the inefficiency and mismanagement of the pilot who was on board. The following is an ex tract from a letter, dated Melbourne, January 30, re ceived by Messrs. James Baines and Co., from their agents at Melbourne, respecting the unfortunate occur rence ;—" It is our painful duty to inform you that the Marco Polo, after passing through the Heads, and while in charge of a pilot, was run ashore on a sandbank, about two miles inside Shot Heads Bluff, near Light house Point. This occurred on Wednesday, the 25th inst. Captain M'Donnell immediately proceeded to town, and the writer having procured the assistance of two steam-tugs, proceeded to the ship, in company with Captain M'Donnell and the harbour-master, to see what steps could be taken. Up to this time, we regret to say that the efforts used have been unavailing ; but suc cess is still hoped for, and every available me ans s hall be used to accomplish it. She is lying on a soft sandy bank, with 15 feet of water round her at low tide, and for the present has not suffered any damage. The at tempts to tow her off at high water were unsuccessful, and lighters have been sent to take out luggage, &c. All the passengers have landed, and to-day h©r Majesty's sloop Electra went to her assisrance. Captain M'Don nell is almost distracted with this sad termination to so successful a voyage. At lastaccounts she bad not made any water. The blame is altogether attributable to the inefficiency of the pilot, and an official investigation is to be held." ABDUCTION.—James Waterhouse, 22 years of age, a married man, with one c hild, has been committed for trial, at Huddersfield, for the abduction of a girl under the age of 16. The person whom the prisoner had made his victim is a young girl, rather stout, of ruddy and somewhat childish appearance, named Ruth Bar row, daughter of Mr. Dan. Barrow, clerk and sexton at Cumberworth church. The prisoner was employed as a Blubber at Bird's-edge Mill, situate about two or three miles from Newmill, and about one from Cumberworth ; and the girl worked for him as a piecer at the same mill. The prisoner's wife, a young and beautiful-looking woman, about the same age was in court during the hearing of the case before the magistrates, and watched with i ntense interest the pro ceedings. Ruth Barrow, in her evidence, said—About two or three months previous to th e 20th Februar y , the prisoner began to talk to me abo ut g oin g away with him, and I agreed that I would. On Thursday, the 23d Feb., he said he was going to his father's in Scotland, and if I would go with him he wo uld make me as goo d a home as I had. The same night I met him about a quarter of a mile from our house, and he gave me half a sovereign to go with. He said he was going on Friday morning, and that I was to follow him on the Sunday morning, and he would be waiting for me at the Hud dersfield station. I set off on the Sunday morning, and took the train at Denby Dale. When I got to Hudders field the prisoner was waiting for me at the station. We then walked to Littleborough, about 16 or 18 miles from Huddersfield. We went to a public-house and stayed all night there. The prisoner did not sleep with me. He had criminal connection with me at the mill several times. On Monday morning, the 27th of Feb., we took the train to Manchester, and from thence to Liverpool, where we stayed all night. He told them I was his wife, and we slept together. On the Tuesday morning he bought a ring, which he put on my finger, and said I was to wear it. We took ship from Liverpool to Glasgow on Tuesday, and arrived at Greenock on Wednesday morn ing. We then walked to Harot station and took the train to Hawick, where we arrived at half-past eight in the evening. We went to his father's lodgings. His father did not know him, it was so long since he had seen him. He told his father that I was his wife. We slept together every night. I remained at Hawick 12 or 13 days. My father then came and fetched me away. I knew he was a married man. The prisoner was com mitted for trial.—Liverpool liferCUry. LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST RAILWAY. — Traffic return for the week ending April 1, 18.4 £10,521 3 7 Corresponding week last year 10,382 7 1 Total of the half-year to this date, 1854 127,015 1 5 Total of the half-year to this date, UN 110,884 3 4 IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.) The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. BILLS OF EXCHANGE BILL. Lord BROUGHAM moved the second reading of this bill, "to permit the registration of dishonoured bills of exchange and promissory notes in England, and to allow execution thereon." He said that the system he pro posed to introduce here had prevailed in Scotland for upwards of a century and a half, greatly to the benefit of the suitor, of the trader, and of the mercantile interest. When a party in England or Ireland held a bill of ex change or a promissory note, of the genuineness of the signatures to which there could be no doubt, and though there might be no flaw whatever in the title of the holder—though it was a matter of course that he should obtain his verdict, judgment, and execution—he had yet often to go through the form of an action at law for the purpose of enforcing his right. In nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of every thousand there really was nothing like a defence ; because the party who had signed, unless his signature was contested, unless for gery had been committed, had admitted his liability, and must ultimately pay. Scotland was far better situated than we were in this particular. Here the holder of the bill ran all the risk of the delays of the law, and incurred the expenses of law proceedings. Ife might be stopped by quibbles and niceties for a while, and had the absolute certainty of a considerable delay before he could obtain judgment and execution. In the interval between the accruing of his claim and his ability legally to enforce it, the party to whom he looked might become insolvent, and then, instead of his 20s. in the pound, he might get only ss. or ls. Preferences might be fraudulently given, and in various ways he might suffer grievously from the delay. In Scotland it was other wise, and we might very advantageously take a leaf out of their book to guide us on this subject in our legisla tion. The law there was as follows :--A protest of a dishonoured bill or note became a judgment against parties whose names were on that bill or note. This protest must be registered within six months from the date of the instrument ; and then, within six days after its being recorded, a judgment and summary exe cution might at once issue. If the party from whom payment was sought had a defence, there was full and ample opportunity allowed him for urging it. He might come forward and stay execution by what was termed a suspension. He might suspend the pro cess of law altogether if he was not liable, or he might suspend it until it was ascertained whether he was liable or not. He had only to apply to a judge, who at once examined into the grounds alleged for staying execution, and if they were such as would be incompetent in law, the petition was at once dismissed. When the grounds, however, were such as, if proved, would entitle the . . debtor to resist payment, the prayer of the petition was granted, and execution stayed till the grounds of suspen sion were discussed, in which both parties were allowed an opportunity of deliberately making good their pleas, and averments ; and upon the proof and argument thus submitted the court finally determined whether execu tion was to issue or not. But in general no suspension was granted without security given by the party apply ing for it to pay the debt, if it should be found due, and the costs of suit. The bond into which the sureties were required to enter became, if the holder was successful in the suit, a warrant for instant execution against the sureties. This system, he could assure their lordships, was found to act most admirably, and had for many years had the most beneficial effects. It was originally introduced very many years ago, when the trade of Scotland lay in a very narrow compass, but till the reign of George 111. did not apply to promissory notes, nor, except in certain cases, 6 drawers and acceptors. Since then the benefits arising from it had been very great ; for though not of course the only, it certainly was one great cause of the prodigious increase in the Scottish trade. Look at the river dues on Glasgow. Forty five years ago the lessee paid 5001. a-year for the har bour dues. By the last return they were 80,0001.; an increase which he would venture to say was unexampled in any other part of Europe. He called their lordships' attention next to the number of protested bills as com pared with the number for the non-payment of which there was any legal defence. In 1845, he said, there were in all Scotland 3,600 bills protested; of these there was not 1 per cent. on which any attempt was made to dis pute theliability, and of the few attempts so made not above one-tenth were successful ; so that if there were one thou sand protested, net above one per cent. of that number were the subject of a suspension ; and of the ten contests which did take place, this defence was successful in only one. He would not Stop to dwell upon the obvious ad vantages of this system, which took from the debtor the possibility of pleading defences for the mere purposes of embarrassment and delay, at the same time that, in requir ing security, it tested his solvency and position. Either he must provide acceptable securities who would be liable for debt, interest, and coats, or he could pay the money into court merely by way of security, and then try the cause and decide which party was in the right. There had been various meetings in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, and elsewhere in favour of this bill, to which he trusted their lordships would at once accord a second reading. It was then his intention to propose that it should be referred to the committee, which his noble friend had moved, or was about to move, on the Common L tw Procedure Bill. Lord CAMPBELL expressed his entire approval o the bill. After a few words from the LORD CHANCELLOR, the bill was read a second time. ARBITRATION LAW AMENDMENT BILL. This bill was read a second time. CHIMNEY-SWEEPERS' BILL. On the motion of the Earl of SHAFTESBURY, the Chimney Sweepers Bill was referred to a select com mittee, as required under standing order 175. In the course of his observations, the noble earl stated that children of tender age were still argely employed in the great towns to cleanse chimneys, notwithstanding the prohibitions of the law. THE WIVES AND CHILDREN OF SOLDIERS ORDERED ON FOREIGN SERVICE. Lord ST. LEONARDS moved for a return of the number of the wives and children ofsoldiers on service in the East, or ordered there. His object in bringing before the notice of their lordships the condition of these women and children was by no means to interfere with the regulations against the marriage of soldiers without , leave. At the same time it might be desirable to revise those regulations, bearing in mind the altered circum stances of the case. Of late years they had done much to ameliorate the condition of their soldiers ; and inas much as they had shortened the period for which men were enlisted it would be desirable to discourage marriage as far as possible, at least during the first period of their service, after which they were at liberty, if they chose, to quit the army. It was, however, necessary, for ob vious reasons, that a certain proportion of the soldiers should be married ; and he should be glad if the Government would consider souse means of providing for their wives and families while they were abroad. It was obvious that their families must be maintained in ' some way, and the only question was which would be the best plan to adopt ? It might be asked, why raise this question at the present time ? His answer was that the number ordinarily required for the colonies was not large, and they were not taken away without du e no ti ce , so that they Gould make arrangements beforehand. In the present case, however, the number taken away was very considerable, and it had come upon the men suddenly. With respect to the war in which we were embarked, there was but one feeling throughout the country ' • and there was a no less general determination that the fami lies of the soldiers we sent forth to fight our battles should not be neglected, otherwise the cheers which had accompanied our armaments from our shores would have been meaningless ; but those cheers were intended to assure our soldiers that those who were nearest and dear est to them should be taken care of. (Hear.) Now there were only three ways in which that could be done. The first was by means of Government aid, which he hoped would not be resorted to except it should be found abso lutely necessary. The second was the state in which these poor women and children would inevitably be left unless something was done, viz., dependence on parochial relief. But if there was one thing more odious to a soldier than another, save only disgrace before the enemy, it was the idea that his family might be driven to the workhouse. The third plan was, by benevolence properly directed. A considerable sum had already been subscribed for this purpose ; but if it were distri buted in the usual way, it would only afford a temporary assistance ; and, moreover, it might hair wivese positively to live injurious effect, by accustoming soldiers upon alms. Now, what he (Lord St. Leopards) ards) pro posed was that the inhabitants of th e parishes to which the women belonged should take upon themselves to re lieve them of the burden of maintaining some of their children, where they had more than they could possibly provide for themselves. He would give them an instance. He knew a woman of excellent character, the wife of a husband equally d e serving. She w as l e f t with six children, and it would have been perfectly impossible for her to have maintained herself and her family. Two of them were taken from her, and with that assistance she was enabled to provide for herself and the rest of her children, without recourse to the union, into which she must otherwise have been inevitably driven. He could narrate several other cases in which, by means of a little assistance of this kind, women had been enabled to avoid the workhouse ; and thus they would see that this mode of affording relief was not only the most con sonant with the feelings of the soldiers, but would also be the most effective. (Hear, hear.) The only objec tion that could be brought against it would be that it would sever the ties between a mother and her children. But that he denied, because the children that would require a mother's care or that could maintain them selves, would not be removed from her. He proposed that there should be no spoiling of these children, or treatment of them in a manner that would unfit them for their proper station in life; but that they should be so brought up that when their father returned he should find them much in the same state as they would have been had he not been ordered on foreign service. (Hear, hear.) He hoped that their lordships and the public would give this plan their best attention, for he was convinced that if properly carried out it would an swer the end they had in view, and cheer the hearts of our soldiers more than any other that could be devised. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH did not oppose the motion, but he should be glad to hear some member of the Government express sentiments on the subject. For his own part, he thought that any plan, whether adopted by the Government or by individuals, which should induce women more freely to marry soldiers, would be the most unkind thing that could possibly be • done to them. The noble and learned lord had not suf ficiently considered the fact that in the line regiments SHIPPING RETDRNS. The shipping returns of the Board of Trade for the month ending the sth of March show a considerable increase of arrivals and departures both of British and foreign ['hipping, as compared with the corresponding month of last year. It must be remembered, however, that at that period the activity of the ports of London and Liverpool was considerably checked by the continued detention of vessels in Australia. Subjoined are the general entries and clearances a all classes of vessels : Entered inward : TONNAGE FOR MONTH ENDING MARCH 5. 1852. 1853. 1854. British vessels 206,603 177,3 8 8 263,563 United States' vessels 41,378 60,613 89,356 Other countries 63,022 53,320 58,338 311,003 291,321 411,`,:57 The clearances outward were :- 1852. 1853. 1854. British vessels 295,823 218,437 261,747 United States' vessels ...••• 63,019 64,199 101,531 Other countries 69,114 102,590 121,925 427,985 385,226 488,203 With regard to the coasting trade, the returns show that the tonnage entered inward was 1,055,312 in the month ending March 5, 1852 ; 865,617 in 1853 ; an d 1,041,077 in 1854. The clearances outward were 985,413 in March, 1852 ; 891,413 in 1853 ; and 996,705 in 1854. A tendency for steam-vessels to supersede sailing ships in the coasting trade continues to be exhi bited. 511 1 I 86 754 7 6 PP 20 PP 20 PP 20 119 20 ~ 5 " 20 25 100 100 20 20. 94A i i i 29f 31 10 ~ 2O PP 1 PP 1 50 1 20 t, I 40 5 5 64i 4 10i 20 2 444 5 2 1 10 1 1 109 i 8 10 20 20 20 20 10 20 40 25 20 10 10 4i 5 28i i 26i anew 72 x d .36i 7i 61 61 x new els 3~~~s ~ . 'ti the soldiers, after remaining at home for five' must necessarily go abroad for 15 or - sometime 20 ; years. If, then, women married soldiers they did not , marry them for life like other men but, practically speaking, they married them for five years at ithe ; most, And in most cases it was better for the women that they should be separated from their husbands than' they should go with them. If she had young chilvlrenQ —and if she had children at all, they must be tder five years of age—they were sure to die ; for more than half the troops and all the young children that went either to India or the West Indies, must necessarily fall victims to the climate. If any new system respect ing soldiers' wives and children were to be adopted, he thought it would be a hardship if it were specially con fined to the families of the troops ordered on the Turkish expedition ; because the only peculiarity in the case of those troops was that they were ordered abroad a little sooner than they would have been if war had not broken out. He understood that it was proposed to remove the depots of all the regiments ordered abroad to the Isle of Wight ; but he thought that that would give rise to much inconvenience, and would cause the wo men and children left behind much misery and distress. Those women earned their living chiefly by washing, and though when the regiment was ordered away they lost a great part of their customers, they were not entirely deprived of the means of subsistence. He thought that the best they could do would be to make the town from which each regiment was removed to go abroad its home until it returned again, and he ended as he be gan, by deprecating anything that would hold out any further inducements to women to marry soldiers. The Duke of NEWCASTLE agreed with what had fallen from the Earl of Ellenborough as to the undesir abieness of holding out any undue encouragement to women to marry soldiers ; but he thought it had hardly been justified by anything that had been said by the noble and learned lord, who had carried out in his private capacity the recommendations he had offered to the house. He thanked the noble and learned lord for bringing the subject before the house. He could assure him that the subject had not been neglected by the Go vernment, who took the subject into consideration when it was determined to send troops to the East. The Earl of DERBY said he had heard a rumour that a regiment which had recently returned from Canada had been ordered to the East. A considerable number of the men had married in Canada, and their wives, who were ignorant of our language, were left behind. He inquired if this was true. The Duke of NEWCASTLE said the matter had not been brought to his attention, but he thought it very possible that such a circumstance had occurred. If it had it was an exceptional case, and he should feel it his duty to inquire into it. Earl PO WIS suggested that the wives of soldiers who went abroad for garrison duty should be allowed to go out with their husbands in greater numbers. The returns were then ordered, and their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—(YESTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. NEW MEMBER. Lord BECTIVE took the oaths and his seat for Westmoreland. PRIVATE BUSINESS. On the'motion of Mr. W. PATTEN, Earl Jermyn was discharged from further attendance on the Committee of Private Bills (group 2), and Mr. J. G. Smyth and Mr. Grenfell were added thereto. The Birmingham Waterworks Bill and the Lanark Police Improvement Bill were ordered to lie upon the table. PETITIONS. Mr. C. BRUCE presented petitions from Elgin and Strathbogie against the Education Bill for Scotland. Mr. BAILLIE presented a petition from the Con sultative Council of British Guiana on the subject of the duty levied on sugar, the growth of the colony. Mr. MULLINGS presented petitions from certain electors of Canterbury in reference to the leave given for bringing in a bill for their disfranchisement, and praying that that bill should not pass, and that the petitioners be heard by council against it. Mr. BUCK presented a petition to the same effect as the foregoing from the corporation of the borough of Barnstaple, which he moved should be read at the table, and which was reri by the clerk accordingly. Mr. PIGOTT presented a petition from Reading against the Oaths Lill. Mr. MIALL presented 21 petitions from London, Lincoln, Swansea, Manchester, Salford, and other places, praying for free admission for all classes to the universities. Mr. BOOKER presented several petitions from Worcestershire against the sale of intoxicating liquors on the Sabbath. _ Mr. G. DUNDAS presented a petition from Auck land, New Zealand, praying for the withdrawal of mili tary at elections of the Legislative Council there. Petitions were also presented by Mr. WICKHAM against the Oaths Bill, from the Abbey Wesleyan Chapel, Bradford ; the Richmond-place Wesleyan Chapel, Bradford ; the Kirkgate Wesleyan Chapel, Bradford ; Low Moor .Wesleyan Chapel, Bradford ; Centenary Wesleyan Chapel, Bradford ; and from the inhabitants of the Chapelry of Thornton, in the parish of Bradford, in favour of closing public-houses on Sundays. From, the members of the Bradford Lodge of Odd Fellows against the 4th clause of the Friendly Societys Bill. Sir B. HALL presented a petition from the inhabi tants of .Marylebone, assembled at public meeting, in favour of the Reform Bill. Mr. F. SCULLY presented several petitions from places in Tipperary against the proposed inquiry into Conventual Establishments. Mr. LUCAS presented also petitions from Tipperary to the same effect, and from places in Scotland against the,Lord Advocate's Education Bill for Scotland. Mr. ROEBUCK presented a petition from Sheffield in favour of University Reform. DAY OF PUBLIC PRAYER. Lord J. RUSSELL said in reply to the Marquis of Blandforci, there was no day yet fixed for a special ser vice to be used in the churches throughout the kingdom for the purpose of asking the blessing of Almighty God on her Majesty's Naval and Military forces to be em ployed in the war. SEIZURE OF A SHIP BY THE CUBAN AUTHORITIES. Lord J. RUSSELL, in reply to Mr. Hutchins, who wished to know whether the Government had autho thorised Mr. Crampton, our Minister at Washington, to act in behalf of the Spanish Government in the affair of the seizure of the Black Warrior by the Cuban autho rities, said there was a prospect of the affair being speedily adjusted. SUPPLY OF HAY TO THE ARMY OF THE EAST. Mr. SADLEIR wished to ask the hon. gentleman the Secretary to the Admiralty a question relating to the at tempted fraud in the supply of hay to the army of the Eiist. He wished to know if it was true that there was no ground for holding Sturgeon and Sons, of Grays, Essex, responsible for the consequences of this attempted lraud. Mr. B. OSBORNE said there was a notice in the paper to-night for a motion on this subject, and it would perhaps simplify the matter if he stated at once that the Admiralty had no objection to produce all the corres pondence that had taken place about it. As regarded the particular case of Sturgeon and Son, in looking over the reports made to the Admiralty, he found that there was no ground for charging that fi rm with deliberate fraud. The truss of hay containing the lamb was not in any of those supplied by Sturgeon and Son. DUBLIN UNIVERSITY. Mr. FAGAN rose to move for leave to bring in a bill to make provision for the better government of the University of Dublin ; for the establishment and m ain tenance of a second college therein, with co-ordin ate authority, and, as near as may be, equivalent income, with Trinity College, to be called, in pursuance to the act 14 and 15 Charles 2, c. 2, the Queen's College ; and further for the extension, in pursuance to the act 33 Geo. 3, c. 21, to students of all religious denominations, of the honours, degrees, benefits, emoluments, and offices, in the Queen's College. The honourable member said he regretted to have to state that while the Dublin University was the most richly en dowed educational establishment in the world, it gave less contributions to literature or science. The Dublin University was endowed with the enormous property of 200,000 acres of land, which was valued at 93,0001. a year ; and though in point of fact that land at present did not produce above 64,0001. a-year, the University was still as it would be seen by what he had just stated, most richly endowed. The Provost of that hUniversity received an annual stipend of 3,5001,, while the heads of houses in Oxford and Cambridge had not quite 800/. ; the seven Senior Fellows in Trinity College, Dublin, had 1,8001. a-year on an average. The first class of Junior Fellows in the Dublin University, six in number, had 9001. a-year. The second class Fellows, also six in number, had 6001. a-year ; the third class Fellows, five in number, had 4001. a-year ; while the Junior Fellows of Oxford and Cambridge had not upon the average above 2501. a-year. The ill success of the Dublin University as a national establishment he attributed to the strictly exclusive character of the system, by which the scholarships, and all the prizes of the University, are confined to persons of the Protestant religion, and the systematic exclusion of Roman Catholics, by which the great body of the people of Ireland avoided that University altogether as a seat of learning. (Hear, hear.) The present Provost of Trinity College to his great honour had expressed his opinion that the scholarships at least should be open to persons of all re ligious . .per suasions ; and he (Mr. Fagan) was of opinion that the time was now come whe n not only tne scholarships, but the fellowships also, should be thrown open to persons of every religious denomination. It was clear that the charter of the University should be and till Miller stated separated from Trinity College, which he maintain ed was the te o d bj t e h c a t t o t f he the statutes tu a te c s ol o i e of college ets shouldfoundation,be maintained another university was founded—the college and the university being originally distinct. He had every re spect for the provincial colleges of Ireland, but every one must admit they had not the prestige of a university; and besides the Roman Catholics and the Dissenters of Dublin had not, as they ought to have their own separate provincial colleges. The honourable member after giving a brief outline of the plan of the measure he intended to bring forward for reforming the constitu tion of the Dublin University, moved for leave to bring in the bill. Mr. G. a AMORE seconded the motion. M r G. A. HAMILTON rose to give the motion of the hon. member for Cork his most decided opposition. This was the first time in his life that he had ever heard that the Dublin " • University had been established for the benefit of Roman Catholics. (Hear, hear.) Was it reasonable, was it natural to suppose, that at of lop 'p the has ges Key • on I Y.) W. ; red 3ailed east- riton, urne; Nep- itress, ► A•m. I.) . a.m. .61 all 11i i 72i f 59k k i li 75 I 56i i na