The Sun. — London, England, 1863-03-21 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS—Last Evening. L-)rd REDESDALE, in the absence of the Lord Chancellor, took his scat on the woolsack at the usual hour. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY presented a petition from the Sunday school teachers, Trinity-road, Halifax, against the sale of intoxicating liquors on Sunday. CONSOLIDATED FUND BILL. On the motion of Earl GRANVILLE, the Consolidated Fund (L 10,000,000) Bill was read a second time. BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION. The Earl of BANDON moved for a copy of the report of the select committee on births, deaths, and marriages registration in Ireland. The document was ordered. The NOBLE LORD also gave notice that when the Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Bill was under the consideration of their lordships he should move an amendment to the tenth clause. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—Last Evening. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. MIDLAND RAILWAY (EXTENSION TO LON DON BILL.) This bill was considered, and ordered to be read a third time on a future day. PETITIONS. By Sir W. HE kTFECOTE, from the Lord Chancellor and authorities of the University of Oxford in Convocation assembled, against the Endowed Schools Bill; Sir H. WILLOtGIIBY, from the grocers of Evesham, pray ing that the tea duty be reduced to Is. per pound ; Sir H. STILACEY, from the grocers of Evesham, to the same effect ; Mr. STEEL, from Cockermouth, to the same effect ; Mr. WHALLEY, from building societies at Peterborough, praying for the modification of fire insurance duty; Mr. WHITE, from Brighton to the same effect ; Mr. STEEL, from Cockermonth, to the same effect; Mr. WHALLEY, from Ruabon, in favour of preventing the sale of intoxicating liquors on the Sab bath ; Mr. A.. FOSTER, several, to the like effect ; one from Bradford signed by 4,000 people. THE SHANNON. Colonel FRENCH gave notice that on Monday he should ask the Secretary for Ireland when Mr. Bateman's report with respect to the state of the Shannon would be lard on the table of the house. A CONVENTION WITH THE UNITED STATES ON NEUTRAL RIGHTS. Mr. FITZGE ti ALD gave notice that on Monday he should ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether the Go vernment had or had not accepted a proposition made by President Lincoln for a convention with the United States, for the examination and adjustment of complaints with respect to the infraction of neutral rights. THE cirY AND METROPOLITAN POLICE. Sir DE L. E VANS gave no' ice that immediately after Easter he should submit a resolution to the house, that, in its opinion, it is not expedient for the public benefit that the City and Metropolitan Police should have separate jurisdic tion or placed under separate control. MARYLEBONE AND AN IRISH PAUPER. Mr. VANCE rose to put a question to the President of the Poor Law Board, respecting the deportation of Mary Brophy, from the Marylebone Workhouse to the South Dublin Union ? The hon, gentleman read a statement made by the woman to the effect that when she desired to leave the Marylebone workhouse she was prevented, great vio lence being used, her shoulder dislocated, a strait waistcoat placed upon her, and finally removed to Ireland. Mr. VILLIERS replied that as yet he and his depart • ment were entirely ignorant of the case referred to. Pro bably the hon. gentleman would put the question another evening. Col, DUNNE said he had learned that the poor woman had been sent back and had arrived in London this morn ing, showing that the parish authorities had discovered that they had acted illegally. (Hear, hear.) _ . . Sir R. PEEL intimated that the statement of the hon. and gallant member was correct. THE DISTRESS IN LANCASHIRE. Mr. FERRAND asked the First Lord of the Treasury, whether he would give a Government night immediately after Easter to enable him to bring under the notice of the house the present state of the cotton trade, and of half a million of cotton operatives living in unwilling idleness. Owing to the extreme urgency of the matter he trusted to receive a favourable reply from the noble lord. (Hear, hear.) Lord PALMERSTON assured the hon. member and the house that the subject to which the question related was one which must necessarily create great anxiety in the minds of the Government, and that being so, he should be naturally desirous of giving any opportunity that might be required for the consideration of the sub ject. The two first Tuesdays immediately after Easter were very much engaged, otherwise he might have Fet aside a portion of either day for the discussion, but anxious to afford the hon. gentleman every facility he should set apart ono of the first Government nights after Easter for the discussion. PORTSMOUTH DOCKYARD. Mr. LAIRD asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whe ther he would have any objection to lay upon the table of the house any plans, reports, and estimates which might have been laid before the Admiralty in reference to the proposed extension of Portsmouth Dockyard ? Lord C. PAGET replied in the affirmative. THE EXPERIMENTS AT SHOEBURYNESS. Sir J. PAKINGTON asked the Secretary to the Ad. roiralty whether it was true that, in the trials at Shoebury ness- on Tuesday last, 52 inch iron plates were penetrated by shells, and the wooden backing set on fire; and, if so, whether the Admiralty still intends to build of wood the five new ships to be plated with iron? (Hear.) Lord C. PAGET replied that on Monday last very im portant experiments took place, not only with Armstrong, but with Whitworth shells, and undoubtedly these shells pierced 51 inch plates. As, however, the targets had not been taken to pieces he could not furnish the exact effect of the shells. Last year, owing to the anxiety of the house, he expressed an opinion on a similar subject which was very much modified on the examination of the targets. He could not venture, therefore, to express an opinion until the targets had been thoroughly examined. (Hear, hear.) Sir J. PAKINGTON argued that his question had not been fully answered. (Hear, hear.) Had the wood behind the plates been set on fire and blazed ? And did the Go vernment intend to continue building the five ships speci fied of wood ? (Hear, hear.) Lord C. PAGET begged pardon that he had omitted to reply to the latter part of the question. The Admiralty had not, in consequence of the experiments last Monday, altered their opinion with respect to wood versus iron. THE FRESCO PAINTINGS IN THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. In reply to Mr. C. BENTINCK, Air. COWPER replied that a commission composed of eminent artists and others had enquired into the causes of the deterioration of certain fresco paintings, and they had reported that they had been unable to discover the causes. The report would be laid on the table. THE POLISH REFUGEE, ABICHT. Mr. HENNESSY asked the First Lord of the Trea snry, whether the Russian Government recently applied to her Majesty's Government for information respecting a Polish refugee named Abicht ; whether her Majesty's Go vernment complied with that application, and afforded infor mation to the Russian Government; and, whether this Polish refugee was the individual referred to in a letter of Earl Russell, dated Foreign-office, Feb. 14, 1863, as " a per son lately arrested in Poland as a political agent ?" Lord PALME PISTON replied that no application of any kind had been addressed to her Majesty's Government by the Government of Russia upon the subject of the refugee .Abicht. Of course, therefore, no answer could have been returned to the Russian Government. On the 14th of January the British Consul at Warsaw sent a it, spatch stating that a certain number of Poles bad been arrested. On the 14th he wrote again to say that a person named Abicht had been found travelling with a British Foreign-office passport, in the name of Brett, which had been regularly vised at Vienna, and the various pieces he had passed through on his way from Eng land to Warsaw. Inquiries were made how this had happened, and it was found that in July, 1861, a Mr. Leverson, of St. Helens, in the City of London, had applied to the Foreign-office for a passport to Mr. Brett, his con& dmtial clerk, and also for another confidential clerk, N' ,ll o was to accompany him, but whose name he (Lord Palmerston) did not recollect, on the ground that they hadhad important business on the continent. r. Leverson had been communicated with, and a letter had be 11 received from him dated from Paris, stating that in rgeut i t ri h e a s d ha dbetter b e me d e o f M r . Brett himself. Mr. been written to, but up to that time no answer bad been received. (Laught er .) Probably he had not a e t e ntive memory ; at tbxkY rate he had failed to post a reply. (Laughter). THE MUSEUM ESTIMATES. Lord IL LENNOX asked arrangements e an Cb ge a r r eu l t lor of the Riche whether he had made Exche quer a for having the British Museum estimates moved in the house by a Minister of the Crown ? a The CIIANCELLOR of the EXCREQuErt replied that it had been u sual to permit these estimat es to be re vised eby a distingu ished member of this house, who was is one of the trustees of the Museum. The Government had not seen any reason to depart from the practice heretofore followed. (Hear, hear.) THE ROYAL OAK. Mr. DALGLISH asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the authorities at the Admiralty intended to try the effect of Whitworth's shells on a target representing the side of the Royal Oak, or of one of the wooden ships which it is proposed to build ? Lord C. PAGET replied that it was the intention of the Admiralty to carry out a series of experiments on targets representing various ships. These experiments were now going on from day to day, and the authorities would be h a ppy to offer every facilityfor the attendance of hon. mem bers. THE POLICE IN POLAND. Mr. TIENNESSY asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for the name of the agent referred to in the following paragraph of the Russian Ambassador's let ter, applying for the services of the English police in Poland :—" The first step to bo taken should bo to al low Sir Richard to put himself into communication with a gentleman to whose care the Grand Duke has directly and privately entrusted this object :" and, wthtther any money had been paid by the Russian Government to the English police since the return of the latter from Warsaw ? Sir G. GREY replied that he did not kn ).•.• the name of ' the gentleman, and therefore could not 2 .ve it. Parties applying for the use of the police in special matters usually paid by a small allowance or gratuity. Such was the case here. The cost was not defrayed out of the police rates. Mr. HENNESS Y asked if they received their pay whilst in Poland ? Sir G GREY replied that he believed not. CEYLON. In reply to Mr. LYALL, Mr. C. FORTESCUE replied that the Government in tended to ask the colonists to pay more to the military ex penditure for Ceylon than at present. THE GALWAY SUBSIDY. Mr. BAXTER rose to move the following resolutions : —l. That, in the opinion of this house, in cases where ordinary traffic supports several lines of steamers, the present system of granting subsidies for carrying the trans-oceanic mails ought to be dispensed with. 2. That this house is not prepared to grant a sum of money to the Atlantic Royal Mail Company for conveying the mails between Galway and North America. The hon. member advocated a " fair field and no favour" for all commercial enterprises; and after referring to the history and present state of the company in support of his view, that it was wholly incompetent to carry on the mail service between Galway and North America, contended that if Government acted upon his suggestions, the mail service upon that sta tion would be well supplied without any subsidy whatever. Mr. Baxter urged that any promise of the Government to pay a sum of £78,000 a year not for commercial, but for political purposes, to secure the support of Irish represen tatives, was greatly to be deprecated, and if persevered in it would inflict an indelible stain upon the Ministry of this country. Mr. HORSFALL supported the motion of Mr. Baxter, expressing his opinion that it would have the general sup port of the h use. Mr. GREGORY represented that great distress and poverty existed in Galway and that part of Ireland, and in order to mitigate it in some degree, a variety of improve ments were contemplated in connection with the port of Galway, and the ocean mail service from that part of Ire land. He contended that no unsubsidised company could perform efficiently the postal service of the country on that station. Mr. BENTINCK thought that this Galway subsidy was originally a wasteful expenditure of public money for pur poses of popularity, and what he called a "job." After a trial it became perfectly obvious that the company was un equal to the undertaking, and with that fact before their eyes he believed that the subsidy proposed by the present Government was a job in a much greater degree, He hoped the time was not far distant when all subsidies by Govern talent would be discontinued. Mr. WHITESIDE said there was no doubt but this ques tion was one which affected the waking and sleeping thoughts of the hon. gentleman (dr. Baxter), who seemed desirous of destroying this "job," as he called it. The question of the Galway communication with America had been for a long time before the country. It was not a mere provincial ques tion, but ranked high as an imperial one. Now, Sir Rowland Hill, of the Post-office, had given evidence in favour of the point of communication between these countries and Ame rica being at the most western point of the coast. This opi nion was favourable to Galway as the port of departure for America. Allusion had been made to Belfast as regarded Galway being the point of departure for America. Now, what was the fact? Why, that a railway had been con structed from Belfast to Galway, and this would have the effect of enabling the merchants of Belfast to obtain their letters from America 20 hours sooner than they had them now through Holyhead. But this subsidy was to be ob je3ted to because it was an Irish subsidy. Again, because it had become an English question. But give it to Aberdeen, and then it would be all right. (A laugh,) It was said that a particular ship of the Galway company had been mort gaged, but what had that to do with the question ? Mr. ROEBUCK said that the statement in respect of the mortgage of the ship was not true. (Hear, hear.) Mr. WHITESIDE, in continuation, said it would seem from the statement of the hon. and learned member for Shef field, that the main fact of the argument of the hon. gentle man (Mr. Baxter) was no fact at all. (Hear.) But suppos ing it had been, what had it to do with the main question P The only question for the Government was this. Was the contract entered into by the company fully carried out ? If it was not, then the contract fell to the ground ; but if it was, then no objection could be raised to it, merely because one of the ships was mortgaged. The hon. gentleman had two re solutions. One was right and the other was wrong, and he withdrew the right one and retained the wrong one. He could assure the hon. gentleman that, so far as he was concerned, he should not support the Government one bit more than if this contract had not been granted. He would remind the hon. gentleman that Mr. Laing, who was a great economist, had stated that there would be no sort of justice in cancelling the contract on grounds of policy, unless the Government also cancelled the Cunard contract, which stood on the same grounds. A great many curious things were done by Governments, and in turning over the statute•book the other day he happened, quite accidentally, to light on the Act of the 23d and 24th of Victoria, cap. 48, which was passed at the close of the session. There he found it pro vided that the Commissioners of the Treasury should be empowered to accept £50,000, in commutation of a sum of £228,000 odd, due to the Treasury on bonds, payable by the city of Edinburgh, on security of the ducks and harbours of Leith. That was a case which he commended to the at tention of the hon. gentleman, and the paper on which he had noted these facts he would preserve as a piece of curious information. (Cheers and laughter.) It would appear from a return made to the house that the number of passengers carried by the Galway route far exceeded those carried by any other, and this might be accounted for by their endea vours to carry third-class passengers. According to the re port of Major Robinson, also, out of 89,000 persons, who emigrated in 1847, 2,593 perished at sea, and 10,000 died on their arrival. Now if, without doing any injustice to the empire at large, they could carry the letters more quickly, do a great service to Ireland, and at the same time effect a great saving of human life, he said there was a strong case made out in an assembly like that for the contract under conside ration. Even as regarded Scotland, it was easy to show that Glasgow would be benefitted. At Belfast they had admi rable steamers, and communication between those two ports was now so perfect that a man might dine at Glasgow and be at Belfast at four o'clock on the following morning, and from that place there was a railway to Galway. The hon. gentleman might be accepted as a disinterested witness, for he was the first Scotchraan who had spoken against the in terests of Scotland. (Laughter.) This compact, however, had been made, and affirmed by a vote of Parliament ; and could the house apply to public contracts a code of division which they could not apply to private ones ? That was an abstract resolution, and he had such a horror of them that when he heard them mentioned his mind recurred to Parlia mentary reform. The hon. gentleman had touched upon a topic which he might as well have avoided. He had stated that the contract was given as a political job; but, in oppo sition to that, he might mention the opinion of the late Lord Lieutenant of Ireland that no decision had ever been arrived at by a Government on more just and patriotic grounds. It would be a narrow and short-sighted policy to cancel this contract, for it should be remembered that America was the great market for Ireland, as up to this time Italy was not opened for her Irish linens, and the exportation to France was still small. If the Government expected the assistance of the Conservative Irish members on the ground of having given this contract they would not have it, but nevertheless it was the duty of the noble viscount and of the Government to advance the interests of Ireland. In this instance he be• lieved that duty had been performed, and that the contract had been framed on no other grounds than those of its jus tice and policy to that country. He trusted therefore that the house would affirm the decision of the Government, no valid reason having been assigned for rescinding the contract. Lord PALMERSTON said,—My hon. friend moved two resolutions, or rather announced his intention of moving two resolutions, but he tells us that he will not propose the first. It becomes us, then, to tread lightly on the ashes of the dead. (" Hear,' • and laughter.) My h on . f r i en d has launched againstthapresent Gove rnmen t a charge, which is easily made, which always obtains ch eers , an d which pleases those who entertain very superficial and shallow notions of Government—(a laugh) —and are willing to adopt anything that may be uttered throwing disparagement on an administration. He has said that the present Govern ment, in adopting this Galway contract to the extent w e have done, have committed, or have attempted to commit, a great public joh—narriely, that we hope , an d had reason to believe, that by adopting this contract, we should obtain support from the Irish members. Well, certainly, he has in that statement pronounced a double censure on the Go vernment, because, in the first place, he impeaches their political morality, and in the next place he impeaches their political sagacity—(cheers, and laughter) —because—and I would appeal on this point to my hon. friend the late Irish Lord of the Treasury—experience has shown that if we did reckon on the support of Irish members by reason of adopt ing this contract, we have been more woefully deceived and disappointed than often falls to the lot of a Government of this country. (Hear, and laughter.) But I entreat my hon• friend who brought forward the present motion, to raise his views a little higher than that state of morality by which he seems di spose d to j u d ge of the act i ons of others. (Hear.) Cannot ray hon. friend imagine that it is possible for a Go vernment i n d eal i ng with a public question to be influenced by legitimate public consideratioos of national advantage ? Can he not believ e it possible that, in recommending to the house a confirmation of this contract, we may have been in fluenced by the desire to promote the interest Ireland, of one-third of the letters passing to America, being sent from that country P Can he not imagine that, in looking to the state of the United Kingdom, we may have seen a large por tion of the people inhabiting a country to which nature has denied many of the advantages this island enjoys, in which that abundance of coal, which is the foundation of the ma nufacturing industry, is in a great measure wanting, and where all local circumstances have been so arranged that in it the accumulations of national defence, the mar i ne eau,. blislunents of the empire, are not placed, (Hear) Ireland THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 21, 1863. is a country where, though it has harbours in abundance, circumstances beyond the control and discretion of the Government of the day have so ordered it that there are not in it any of those great naval establishments which, in a considerable degree, contribute to the welfare and pros perity of the districts in which they are placed. (Hear, hear.) Cannot my hon. friend—if he would only enlarge his mind and liberate it from the narrow scope of considera tion by which he seems to be guided—can he not believe that the Gov( rnment,whose duty it is to watch equally over the welfare of every part of the dominions of her Majesty, may have been influenced (if there were presented to their consideration an arrangement which was calculated in the opinion of the Irish nation to contribute to their prosperity and welfare, and which would, even with a view to the whole United Kingdom, be useful and desirable) by considerations of the same sort, and not by such a flimsy hope as that of simply gaining support in this house. (Hear, hear.) But they may indeed have thought that the best chance of a Government obtaining support, not only in this house but in the country, was to do the best they could to promote the interests of the whole empire, including Ire land. (Hear, hear.) That was one of the main grounds on which the Government thought it right to adopt the course they have. My hon. friend has argued this question as if no interests were concerned but those of Scotland and Liver pool. He has totally forgotten that Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom and has an interest in speedy communi cation and in getting its letters and goods transmitted across the Atlantic, independent of considerations which attach simply to the different ports of communication. (Hear,hear.) For Irishmen to be compelled to come to England, if they want to go to America, or to wait for their letters from America until they are forwarded to them from England, or to send their goods from Ireland to England for the pur pose of being transmitted across the Atlantic,is a great evil, and any arrangement which gives them a more direct and ready communication from the western part of Ireland across the Atlantic must obviously be an advantage to Ire land, must tend to assist the development of the natural resources of the country, and to increase the commercial and, to a certain degree, the manufacturing prosperity of the country (Hear, hear.) These were the views the Government took on the general question with respect to this contract, which, if well carried out according to the en gagements offered by the contractors,would ontribute to the benefit of the Irish people. (Hear.) But there is another consideration which could not fail to prey on the mind of any Government who had to deal with the question, and that is the consideration that the faith of one Government had been pledged, and the faith of Parliament had been pledged to a certain degree. A great number of Irish people —l,BOO my hon. friend stated—had embarked their limi ted means, their all, in this enterprise. All this, though no engagement may now exist, constituted some claim on the present Government, who would not have acted right in repudiating it, unless in the case of a great failure on the part of the company to complete the conditions of their contract. At first they did fail—(hear)—and no doubt their contract was at an end, but the committee appointed by this house recommended the company to the favourable consideration of the Government, and we certainly did think that if they should be able, by enlarged arrangements and by getting more capital at their command, to fulfil the en• gagements they offered to enter into, it would be fair to the parties—to those of them whose only chance if was of mak ing good the money they had invested—to renew the con tract, from which they expected to derive some interest for their money. that is the way in which the question at present stands for their consideration. My hon. friend calls on the house to do that which I think would be art act of great cruelty and injustice—(hear)—to interpose and say that the contract should not be renewed but should be ex tinguished. In that case, whatever chance these unhappy 1,800 people had of retrieving their losses, and deriving some interest from their money, would be disappointed and their ruin completed. With respect to those who have invested their money in the enterprise, my hon. friend thinks he will persuade this house to perform what I think an act of cruelty and injustice. Ido not believe that this house will grounded his remarks upon the report of two engineer offi cers, appointed by Lord Herbert to inquire into the neces t.ity of erecting defences for the protection of the harbour. Assurances had been given more than once to the May or of Yarmouth that batteries would be erected if -land was ob tained for the purpose ; but although the land had been purchased, and was in the possession of the Government, the batteries had not been erected. After a few words from Sir H. WILLOUGHB Y, com plaining of the course adopted by the Government of taking a supply on a Friday night, the motion was agreed to, and tie house went into committee of supply on THE ARMY ESTIMATES. On the vote of £321,884 for the volunteer service, Sir G. LEWIS said there was a distinct understanding when the change was made that the Government shouldbe at liberty to go into Committee of Supply on Friday night if time permitted, and he certainly never had heard that it was too late at 10 o'clock to pi oceed with Government busi ness. Frequently on Mondays and Thursday s there were motions which prevented the house going into Committee of Supply befo: e that hour. With regard to this vote, there was an increase in it of £199,000, which was based on the recommendation of the Royal Commission. After careful investigation, they reported that the Volunteer force had arrived at a point when a large part of it might fall to pieces if it did not receive some Government support. (Hear, hear.) He did not quite understand the meaning of that cheer, but any one who referred to the history of former Volunteer movements—that of 1801, for instance— would see that the country came to the assistance of the Volunteers at a winch earlier period, and to a much greater extent. (Hear, hear) The Commissioner proposed that each Volunteer regiment should receive a grant to be applied to certain definite purposes, calculated on the principle of a capitation grant. The sum was not to be paid to each indi vidual, but in the aggregate to the adjutant, who was to dis burse it and account to the War-office. It was proposed that the amount should be 20s. for each man in all regi ments except the Artillery, who had passed a certain scale of drill, and 10, , . for each man in addition who had passed a certain course of military instruction. The Artillery were to have 30s, each. The Government was, he thought, upon the whole justified in making the proposal; and the charge for the Volunteer force was, he believed, the only head under which a real increase in the Army Estimates for the present year would be found. Lord LOVAINE moved that the vote be reduced by £154,676, the amount of the capitation grant, contending that the expenditure upon the Volunteers, which had mounted up from £Bo,ooo—the sum granted in the first year of their existence —to £32 1 ,000 in the present year, had begun to assume extravagant proportions. It was, in his opinion, quite Lime that the House of Commons should refuse its assent to so large an expenditure in the case of a body of men who performed no regular duties for the money; who, as had been stated on the best authority, could not be called out in the event of any social disturbance to aid in the maintenance of order with arms in their hands ; and whose arms were, as he had seen by statements in the public press, sometimes actually a source of danger. In moving the reduction of the vote, he must not be under stood as seeking to impugn in any way the spirit of the volunteers, or to maintain that as a demonstration of the warlike feeling of the country they had not produced a good effect on foreign nations. He at the same time, now that all apprehension ( f invasion had passed away, and that no danger appeared to threaten the country, must ask hon. gentlemen, especially those who sat below the gangway on the Ministerial side of the house, to join with him in pressing upon the attention of the Government the expe diency of calling on those corps as far as possible to main. tain themselves. Mr. W. WILLIAMS was astonished to hear the noble lord complain of an expenditure of £321,000 upon 160,000 men, while there were £14,000,000 asked for in connexion with the maintenance of the regular army, which numbered only 148,000 men. For his own part, he thought the vote for the volunteers constituted the most economical portion of the expenditure embraced in the Estimates. (Hear, do anything of the sort. (Hear.) I believe that this house has a greater regard for political morality—(laughter)— than my hon. friend seems to give it credit for. I think it would be an act of political immorality and an arbitrary act if, in consequence of an abstract proposal, which my hon. friend is afraid to bring to the decision of the house, and which he does not make the foundation of his second resolution, the house were to call on the Government to crush all the hopes which these unhappy contributors to the enterprise may yet retain of realising the profits of their investments, and were immediately to pass a resolution putting an entire end to this Galway contract. (Hear, hear.) I say that if the company, whether consisting of preference shareholders or ordinary shareholders, can make good their engagements, I think that the good faith and pledges given by Government in this house will lead the house to negative the motion. (Cheers.) Gen. UPTO N, who spoke amidst loud calls for a division, said that the establishment of the Galway and American line hear.) Colonel BARTTELOT said that the Royal Commission of which he was a member, came to the conclusion that in order to maintain the numbers and efficiency of the volun teers it was necessary that they should receive some assist ance from the State. The estimate proposed was a very moderate one, and the expenditure of this sum would se cure to the country, in case of need, the services of 120,000 men, not five per cent. of whom would enlist in the army, navy, or militia. (Hear, hear.) Mr. H. LE WIS considered this one of the most economi cal votes which had been proposed to the committee—(hear, hear)—but suggested that in another year it might be de • sirable to diminish the number of adjutants, and apply the sum saved from their pay to other objects. Sir G. BOWYER said that the speech of the noble lord would be received with dissent by all classes. (Hear, hear.) A body of men who made such sacrifices for the country as the Volunteers had done deserved to be assisted by the of packets was much wanted, It would effect a great saving of time in the Transatlantic voyages. The house then divided. The numbers were— For Mr. Baxter's motion Against it Majority against the motion —63 The announcement of the numbers was received with loud cheers, THE MURDER OF MR. BRADDE LL. Mr. WHITESIDE rose to call attention to the circum • stances connected with the assassination of Mr. Braddell in July last, in the town of Tipperary, and to ask for an explanation of the conduct of the police, and of the course taken by the Government in reference to that transaction, He said that Mr. Braddell was in the back room of an hotel in the town of Tipperary, when his bailiff, Hayes, an old man, whom he had discharged and removed from his tarm in consequence of his son having been tried for murder and acquitted, entered the room, and in the presence of another bailiff named Moare, tendered his rent to Mr. Braddell, who refused it, whereupon Hayes said, " Then take this," and fired three shots, which took effect upon Mr. Braddell, who died shortly afterwards without giving any account of what occurred. Twenty minutes were suffered to elapse before any alarm was given. Hayes was suffered to leave the house unmolested. There were above a thousand police in that district of Ireland, a large number of whom were in the town, yet this murderer was suffered to walk off. Some explanation was desirable from the Government as to the conduct of the police in the matter. State. (Hear, hear.) Colonel DUNNE fully admitted the patriotism of the Volunteers, which appeared to be valued at 20s. per head. (A laugh.) He believed Volunteers would be quite as ready to tight the enemies of their country as soldiers could be, but the virtues of the force were civil—not military. The great value of the movement was that it taught the people how to assemble in masses in case of invasion. (Hear, hear.) In the meantime men were not made soldiers by clothing them in suits of blotting-paper, arming them with old muskets, or teaching them to take up four times as much ground as soldiers would do. (Laughter.) When the report of this debate reached Ireland some surprise would be felt at the facility with which money had been voted for the purposes of the Volunteer force atter the fuss made about so small a sum as the Galway .1-übsidy. (Hear.) Colonel NORTH asked whether it was not worth £1 a head to instil military ideas into men who, in case of inva sion, would admittedly be relied upon as soldiers. (Hear, hear.) The bounty would not be received by the Volunteers themselves, but was mainly intended to overcome the diffi culty of bringing members of administrative battalions together in rural districts—a difficulty which was exceed ingly great when they had to travel 30 or 40 miles to attend drill. Without discussing the amount of room required by a Volunteer battalion to move in, he maintained that the aptitude exhibited in learning their drill and the precision with which their movements were executed were astonish ing—(hear, hear) —and it was impossible for any old soldier to refuse them his admiration. As to making Mr. BAGWELL expressed it as his belief that Hayes had sailed for America from Cork immediately after the murder, and condemned in the strongest manner the pre sent organisation of the Irish constabulary. THE CASE OF MICHAEL O'CONNOR. them perfectly disciplined soldiers, that could only be done by the continuous discipline of the barrack yard ; and if the amount of time requisite for that purpose were demanded at their hands it would be necessary to pay, not £300,000, but £3,000,000. To the Volunteers their Mr. O'HARA called attention to the circumstances con nected with the prosecution of Michael O'Connor at the last spring assizes for the county of Sligo for the abduction of Elizabeth Davey, and also to the fact that no bill of in dictment was preferred against him for violently breaking into the house, and that he was discharged with the nominal punishment of entering into his own recognisance in the sum of £lOO. The hon. member complained that so light a punishment was calculated to bring the law into con tempt, and to lead to dangerous results. Sir R. PEEL said it appeared to him that this was a case of rough courtship. (Laughter.) The parties were engaged to be married, though resisted by their friends. They were now married, and he hoped they were living happily together. (Hear, hear.) He did not see that in what had been done there had been any great infringement of the law. With regard to the murder of Mr. Braddell, every at tempt had been made to apprehend the murderer, but up to the present time without success. Everything had been done to mislead the authorities relative to his whereabouts. The T, ish Government had done and were doing everything in their power for the purpose of bringing the murderer Hayes to justice, although up to the present time their efforts had proved unavailing. It was his own impression that time was money, and he believed they cheerfully sacrificed as much of it as was consistent with other engagements, for frequently the men were not their own masters. They were an honourable force, and one that it was a pleasure to com mand. (Hear, hear.) Sir J. SHELLEY said there had been no falling off in the payments from enrolled members, but the public had ceased to give subscriptions as freely as they used. Th e ques ti on was whether it was worth while to pay the sum proposed in order to retain 150,000 men'as part of the permanent defences of the country. (Hear, hear.) Mr. DILLWYN said the volunteer force found favour with members below the gangway because it was the cheapest and most efficient organisation for defensive purposes which had yet been proposed. Mr. BUXTON was happy to say that in the battalion he commanded, consisting entirely of working men, there was as much zeal as ever. Since it had become known that the Government grant would enable the corps to reduce its ex penses 170 recruits had joined its ranks. He felt grateful to the Ouvernment for having proposed a measure without which it would have been impossible for the force to keep together. Mr. JACKSON explained that in the case of the riot at Hayes was still concealed in some place in Ireland , the constabulary were constantly on the look out for him, and he had that morning received a letter from Gen. Lamm, in which he expressed a hope that the police would yet find him. But Hayes was not the only murderer who bad sue- Birkenhead, to which allusion had been made, the volun teers were told that it was not their place to come forward as volunteers to put down the disturbance, but as citizens', and lest any of their arms might fall into the hands of the rioters the nipples of the guns were removed. ceeded in escaping the hands of justice. The parties impli cated in the murder of Lord Norbury, and more recently, in the Kent and Waterloo-road murders, had baffled all efforts to bring them to justice ; and this being so, and taking into account all the circumstances of the case, he thought he was justified in saying that the complaints against the Irish Mr. ADI)INGTON thought the efficiency of the volun teer force was greatly exaggerated. There were not more than 50,000 thoroughly efficient volunteers in the kingdom. The volunteer force in the country districts fell far short of the efficiency which might be seen ia the volunteers of the towns. It was incumbent on the Government to see that constabulary were not well founded. The right hon. baronet, in reply to a question put to him by an hon member in the early part of the evening, said it was not the intention of the money voted by Parliament was spent iu making them really efficient. Sir G. C. LE WIS said he thought the vbjections which Government, considering the difficulties of the question, to introduce an Irish marriage bill in the present session, but he hoped to be able to frame a measure on the subject next session. had been male to the volunteer force and its aficieney had been satisfactorily answered. (Hear.) It' it were assumed that the regular force available for the service of the coun try did not amount to much more than 40,000 bayonets, it THE CLOTHING FACTORY AT PIMLICO. was impossible to conceive a more efficient auxiliary body Colonel DICKSON, after pointing out how ver y ser i ous a t l ess expense than the volunteer force. (Hear, hear.) a matter it was to find the Government obstinately bent With regard to the number of volunteers, he had it on on upholding the Irish constabulary force in its present authentic information that there were on the muster-roll form ; and, after denying that the constabulary had any- 157,000 men, of whom 138,000 might be considered effective. thing to do with the discovery of the perpetrators of the Lord LOVAINE explained that what he said was that murder of Mr. Fitzgerald, proceeded to call the atten- the arms of the volunteers were a source of danger. The tion of the Secretary of State for war to the fact, that volunteers could not act as military men in case of riot, but the clothing made up at the factory at Pimlico had not if there were soldiers present they could. He would not been subjected to the same inspecti on as th a t supplied trouble the committ eto divide, but would merely enter his by contract; and to other matters connected with that este- protest against what he considered au unnecessary piece of blishment. The factory at Pimlico cost the country £70,000 extravagance, end would leave it to those gentlemen who a year; while the amount of work which it turned out was were always anxious for economy with regard to the regu only va lued at £AO,Ot , O. Nevertheless it exercised a most lar army to justify themselves in voting so large a sum for injurious effect upon the private clothing establishments, 170,000 men who were not soldiers in time of peace, and without which it would be impossible for the Government could be converted into soldiers only in time of war. to get on in case of a war. And he was the more justified in The amendment was then withdrawn, and the vote awakening attention to its influence by the statement now agreed to. current that the clothing for the Canada militia was goin g On th e vote of £55,817 for enrolled pensioners and army to be made up there, and that the Government were like- reserve force, wise about to manufacture for the volunteers. t Colonel DUNNE asked what was the nature of the latter Sir G. C. LEWIS could not understand how the gallant body, officer made out the factory at Pimlico to cost £70,000; ho i Sir G. LEWIS said the reserve force received a sort of estimated its cost at no more than £8,400. [Col. DICKSON retaining fee, and attended a certain number of drills in the —I take your own figures.] Well, at all events, the vote year. had been agreed to, and there was an end of the matter. Col. NORTH said it was a very useful force. (A laugh.) However, he had no objection to the clothing In reply to Lord W. GRAHAM, made up in the factory being inspected in the same manner Sir G. LEWIS said there wa s a stoppage from the sof as that manufactured by contractors. dier's pay for washing sheets, He was rather opposed to YARMOUTH ROADSTEADS. those small stoppages, but the present one involved a co n- Sir H. STRACEY ca ll e d attent i on to t h e d e f ence l ess siderable sum in the agg rega t e , an d did no t press heavily on state of Yarmouth r oa d s t ea d s, an d to the necess i ty o f t h e i r the individuals who paid it. being fully protected from attack by sea. The hon. baronet The vote was agreed to. On the vote of £956,365 for the manufacturing depart- meats, Sir G. LEWIS observed that there was a large de crease under this head as compared with last year. A short time since the contract with the Elswicje Factory was terminated, in consequence of the inability of the Government to supply the company with a sufficient amount of orders to render the works profitable. The diminution of orders was due to the fact that while the present ordnance experiments were going on the Government did not like to proceed with the manufacture of cannon at a rapid rate. By the terms of their contract with the Elswick Company they were bound to make compensation if the works were not profitable, and under these circumstances they deemed it better to pay the forfeit and put an end to the contract. Sir W. Armstrong had there upon resigned his post as head of the Ordnance Department, because he wished to be perfectly free from all connexion with the Government and to devote himself entirely to the Elswick factory. This change would necessitate a revision of the existing ar rangements in the department, and an opportunity would be afforded of correcting certain abuses of the old system. It was a most important question whether the Government I should maintain manufactories of its own or employ con tractors. !n discussing that question some confusion arose from the application of abstract principles of political economy to circumstances where they required some modi fication. In general the Government could not employ con tractors with advantage unless the article to be produced was one for which there was a natural demand, and which was required not merely by the Government but by the general public. Clothing, for instance, came under that category. In the case of iron ordnance, however, there was no general d , mend. No one wanted that commodity, except our own or perhaps a foreign Government. The con sequence was that, if a contractor undertook to supply the Government with guns, it was necessary to enter into a special contract, either to take a certain quantity of guns in the course of the year, or to advance a sum for plant and fixed expenses, or else in some other manner to maintain the contractor in his special manufacture. Thus, a contrac tor producing an article for which there was no general de mand became almost a Government manufacturer, and would scarcely be considered in the light of a free and inde pendent contractor. On the other hand, artiela like cloth ing, in proportion as they admitted of verification by in spection, might be supplied by private manufacture. There was an exception in the case of shoes, since soles might be filled up with an inferior article and might not be quite solid. The practice, therefore, was to cut up one or two pairs here and there to see if the soles were perfectly made. As a general rule, however, articles for which there was a natu ral demand and which admitted of being verified by in spection ought almost invariably to be supplied by con tractors. Where, on the contrary, the article was one for which there was no natural demand, and one of which the Government were the exclusive purchasers, and where also the inspection could not be verified, a Government fac ory was more economical and advantageous than a supply by contractors. If this principle were sound, the house would see that the factory at Woolwich had not undergone any unju-tifiable enlargement, and that the Go vernment would be better supplied by its own factory in this instance than by employing con. rectors. (Hear.) Sir H. WILLOUGHBY said that the question raised by the Secretary at War was rather too important to be raised and discussed at half-past 11 at night. (Hear, hear.) He had given notice of a motion for reducing the grant to these establishments, and should propose a small reduction in the present vote to enable the committee to consider the effect of the Government manufactures upon the public expendi ture He agreed in the principle that there were certain ar ticles which it was desirable to produce by Government fac tories. But it was well Parliament should know how this source of Government expenditure was increasing. Previous to the amalgamation of the War-office with the Ordnance this expenditure was very small. It had, however, gone on gradually increasing from about £15,000 in 1855, until it was now about £30,000. The present vote was considerably reduced since last year, but there had been no reduction in the establishments. It appeared that Sir W. Armstrong had wisely retired from a position inconsistent with his other pursuits, and his retirement left perfectly open the question of the reduction of the establishment with which that gen • tleman had been connected. Did the right hon. gentleman propose to appoint another person in his place, and, if so, on what terms ? Were the committee aware of the immense expenditure employed for wages and stores in the manufac tories supplying the army and navy? During the last two years the items of wages and stores for the army and navy amounted to not less than £15,120,000. In the present year there was a considerable reduction in the stores, but no reduction in the establishments, and that was the point to which he wished to direct the attention of the Com mittee. If they meant to reduce the stores, they should act on the same principle, and reduce the establishments as well. The witnesses who gave their evidence before the Committee on Military Organisation, and who were likely to form a sound opinion, thought we had carried this system of manufacturing too far. Sir B. Hawes was in favour of relying more on private enterprise, and less on public establishments, and did not believe that the contract system had had a fair trial. The house had not the accounts of the store branches and the manufacturing branches be fore it. Without that information, and particularly without balance-sheets, it was impossible for them to know what they were about when voting these large sums, (Hear, hear.) Messrs. Anderson and Arbuthnot, well-known gen • tlemen, whose evidence was conclusive on matters of finance, stated that the system was entirely unsatisfactory in the store branch. The late Lord Herbert admitted that proper financial control was wanting; and there could be no doubt that the accounts were faulty and unsound both in the store and the manufacturing departments. Unless they took stock and knew the prices of the articles so as to be able to tell whether they cost more than those produced by private manufacturers, the basis of any correct system of accounts must be entirely wanting, and they must be left, as Mr. Anderson said, on these points " very much in the dark." He did not wish to make any violent change, but was for a moderate limitation of these establishments. His complaint against the system was that it did not give them the cost. He should like to know the expense of the artillery and gun factory for the last two years. The accounts were rac ically faulty, and the same remark applied to some extent to the gun-carriage, department. But the foundation of the whole, the valuatien of the store, was a perfect blank at the time when Capt. Gordon gave his evidence. What he now proposed was that a small reduction should be made upon the suer of £35,871 for the nine establishments embraced within this vote. He would therefore move that that amount be diminished by £2,000; and if he received sup port he would divide the committee. At all events, before they were called upon to agree to this large vote the right hon. gentleman ought to afford them some explanations of the system carried on in these establishments. Colonel DUNNE said there were many kinds of stores which ought to be taken from private contractors, but there were certain special articles which Government alone could produce. Among the latter might be mentioned gun-car riages, but he saw no reason why clothing should be made exclusively in Government factories. Our public establish ments were becoming too big, and he thought they might be reduce , with advantage. Sir J. FE RGUSSON concluded that there had been an enormous excess in the estimates last year, or there could not be such a reduction this year. He warned the committee against the expense of what the right hon. baronet called a new subject of inspection. Sir U.C. LEWIS did not contemplate any great increase for the purposes of inspection. There would be a saving on the salary of Sir W. Armstrong. He begged to move that the chairman report progress. (Hear, hear.) The house resumed. Sir G. C. LEWIS obtained leave to bring in a bill to abolish the office of Secretary at War. The bill was brought in and read a first time. The other orders were then disposed of, and the house adjourned at half-past twelve. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIO N. HOUSE OF COMMONS, MARCH 20. TIIE GALWAY CON TRACT. Order for committee read. Motion made and question proposed, " That Mr. Speaker do now leave the chair." Amendment proposed, to leave out from the word " That" to the erd of the question, in order to add the words " this house is not prepared to grant a sum of money to the Atlantic Royal Mail Company for conveying the mails between Galway and North America," instead thereof. Question put, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the question." The house divided—Ayes, 109; Noes, 40. AYES -109. Acton, Sir J. Gladstone, W. E. Northcote, Sir S. /I- Addnigton, lion.W. Gore, W. R. 0. O'Conor Don, The Annesley, Col. H. Gower, F. L. O'Hara, C. W. Archdall, Capt.M E. Gowet, G. W. L. O'Reilly, M. Bagwell, J. Greene, J. Padmore, It. Barbour, J. D. Gregory, W. IT. Paget, Lord C. E. Baring, Thos. Geo. Greville, Col. F. Palmer, Sir R. Barttelot, Col. Grey, Rt. Hn. Sir G. Palmerston, Visct. Beach, W. W. Grogan, Sir E. Parker, Major W. Beecroft, G. S. Haliburton, Justice Peel, Sir R. Bellew, R. M. Martopp, E. B. Peel, F. Blake, J. A. Ilassard, M. D. Peto, Sir M. Bowyer, Sir G. Ileadlam, Thos. E. Pollard UrquhartW Brady, Dr lfennessy, J. P. Pugh, D. Brooks, I:. I lodgson, R. Redmond, J. E. Browne, Lord J. T. Howard, Hon. C. Roebuck, J. A. Bruce, 11. A. llowes, E. Russell, F. W. Burke, Sir T. J. Hutt, W. Seymour, IL D. Cardwell, Rt. Iln. E. Kekewich, S. Seymour, A Cave, S. Ker, D. S. Stacpoole, W. Cecil, Lord R. Icing, J. K. Stanhope, J. B. Clay, James Knatchbull-Hugess Sullivan, M. Clive, Capt. G. W. Knox, Lt.-C01.8.W. Torrens, R. Cowper, lion. W.F. Layard, A. 11. Upton, Genet al Cox, W. Langton, W. G. Vance, Jolin Cubitt, Ald. Leader, N. Vernon, 11. Dawson, It. P. Lefroy, A. Villiers, Rt. Hon. C. Dickson, Col. Lever, John 0. Westhead, J. Duff, M. E. Lewis, Sir G. C. Whalley, G. If . Duncombe, A. Longteld, Robert White, L. Dunne, Col. Lowe, Rt. Hon. It. Whiteside, J. Fortescue, C. S. Macdonogh, F. Wyvill, M. Matins, R. French, Col. Yorke, Hon. E. Gard, R. S. Manners, Lord J. Gavin, Major Martin, J. TELLERS. George, John Monsell, Rt. Iln. W. Getty, S. G. Montagu, Lord R. Brand, 11. B. Gibson. T. M. Newport, Visct. D un b ar, Sir Wm. _ NOES - 46. Adair, H. E. Ewing, 11. E. C. Portman, W. H. B. Adam,'. P. Forster, W. E. Potter, E. Goldsmid, Sir F. P owell, F. S. S Aytoun, tt. Ayrton, A. S___. S. Greenall, G. Robertson, IT. Batley, Thomas Hadfield, G eo. Scholefleid, W. Blackburn, P. Hay, Sir J. Seely, C. l ouver ei, E. P. Ilesketh, Si r T . Shelley, Sir J. V. Buchanan, W. Ilibbert, J. Smith, J. B. Butler, C. S. Hunt, G. W. Turner, J. A. Cobbett, J. .M. Lindsay, W. S. White, Jas. Craufurd, E. IL J. Lyall, G. Williams, W. Dalglish, Robert Mackie, J. Woods, Henry Dent, John Dent Miller, William Dodson, John G. Mitchell, T. A. Douglas, Sir C. North, F. Doulton, F. Ogilvy, Sir J. Ewart, William Paget, C. TELLERS, Baxter, W. E. Stansfeld, J. Capture and Destruction of three American Vessels by the Alabama. SOUTHAMPTON, March 20. About half-past 12 o'clock this morning a Cowes pilot-boat arrived in the river with 37 men and officers of the American ships Golden Eagle, Olive Jane, and the schooner Palmetto, which had been captured and burned by the Confederate steamer Alabama, Captain Semmes. The officer,' and chews of the said ships were taken from on board the American ship Washington, by the pilot-boat, about 30 miles south of the Isle of Wight, and were landed here, and taken charge of by the United States Consul at this port, Captain Britton, who has kindly furnished copies of the fol lowing reports, as lodged with him by Captains Swift, Kallock, and Seland : "Report, of the capture and burning of the ship Golden Eagle, E. A. Swift master, by the Con federate steamer Alabama, in let. 29.17 N., long. 45,15 W. " The Golden Eagle was on her passage from Howland's Island for New Orleans, with a full cargo of guano, about 1,200 tons. At 10 a.m. on the 21st ult., the Golden Eagle on the starboard tack by the wind, saw a sail off the port bow, standing towards us by the wind. At 11 a.m. spoke with the barque Olive Jane, of Boston, for New York. At 11 a.m. made the sail on the port bow to be a gunboat, saw her smoke pipe, distance some six miles ; soon after the steamer fired two blank guns, the Confederate flag at her peak, and tacked ship heading as ourselves, the wind being very light at this time, the ship going about four miles per hour; the steamer soon took in sail, and steamed direct for my ship; soon after meridian she fired a shot at us, falling short of the ship. About 1.15 p.m. the steamer fired again, the shot passing very close ahead of the ship. About 1.30 p.m. the Alabama preparing to give us another shot, we brought the maintopsail to the mast ; an armed boat's crew boarded and took possession of my ship. The Alabama now started in pursuit of the Olive Jane, now distant some ten miles, came up with, took, and set fire to the barque about four p.m. At six p.m. the Alabama returned to my ship, and I was ordered on board with all the ship's papers. After examination of myself and papers by Captain Semmes, he gave his first lieutenant orders for the plunder and burning of my ship. They took eff all the ship's papers and log-book and whatever they wanted from the ship ; also all my private property (except a few of my clothes), such as chronometer, two sextants, glasses, charts, books, in fact, all of my nautical instruments were taken from me. 111 3 officers and crew were allowed to take one small clothes-bag with them. On my arrival on board the Alabama my officers and crew w ere put in irons, end remained on deck while on board. My baggage, and that of my officers and crew, was searched, and I was taken below and .ny person searched, and what little money I had with me, 157 dollars, taken from me. I was allowed to mess and sleep with the petty offi cers in the steerage; by them I was treated very courteously. At 9 p.m. the Golden Eagle was set on fire, and at 8 a.m. on the 22d February she went down. The steamer lay near the burning ship ail night. On the 27th the Alabama gave chase to a ship; after firing two blank guns and one shot, the ship hove to. An armed boat's crew went on board and took possession of the ship, which proved to be the ship Washington, of New York, from Callao for Antwerp. Captain White came on board of the Alabama. After an examination of his papers, and ascertaining the fact that as his cargo was English property they dared not burn his ship, Capt. White was compelled to give a ransom bond of 50,000 dol lars, and take all the prisoners from the Alabama, 39 all told. I was on board the Alabama six days. Two of my crow joined the pirates and remained on board. (Signed) " E. A. SWIFT. " Master of the late ship Golden Eagle," " Report of the capture of the schooner Palmetto, of Trenton, 0. H. Seland, master, by the Con federate steamer Alabama. Captured and burned Feb. 3, 1863, in lat. 27.2, long. 66.09. "The Palmetto was on her voyage from New York for Porto Rico. At 1 p.m., made a sail bearing south-west. I was steering at that time W.S.W., with the wind to the southward. At about 1.30 p.m. I saw that she was a gunboat standing directly for us. At 2 p.m. saw her set United State colours, and immediately fire a gun, and then set her Con federate flag. I then hove to, the steamer sent an armed crew on board and took charge of my vessel and ordered me to take all of my ship's papers and go on board of the Alabama, to be examined by Captain Semmes, and after Captain Semmes had examined all of my papers, he gave orders to the first lieutenant to take out what provisions would be necessary, and then to set fire to the vessel. And in the meantime they Okra ed me to take one small trunk full of my clothes, and each of my crew a clothes-bag of clothes, and to return on board of the Alabama. When we got on board they put my mate and crew in irons, and ordered me to mess in the steerage with the petty officers. The officers of the Alabama took all my nautical instruments, such as chronometer, qua drants, glasses, charts, &c. About 8 p.m., after they had taken all they wanted from the vessel, they set fire to her. The Alabama then went on her way, spoke and boarded a number of foreign vessels, and, on the 21st February, fell in with and cap• tared two American vessels—the ship Golden Eagle, of New Bedford, and the barque (Mee Jane, of Boston. They were both burnt. On the 27th of February the Alabama rve chase to a ship which proved to be the Washington, of New York, from Chiucha Islands, bound to Antwerp. At 3 p.m. the Alabama fired two guns, the ship not heaving to, they fired a shot, which came close to the ship. The ship hove to, and was boarded by a boat from the Alabama. The captain came on board, and was obliged to give a ransom bond of 50,000 dots., and to take on board all of the Alabama's prisoners, including my crew, and the crew of the two vessels above mentioned. We were all transferred on board the ship Washington, where we were kindly re ceived by the captain." Report of the capture and burning of the barque Olive Jane of Boston, Robert Kallock, master, by the piratical steamer Alabama, February 21st, 1863, lat. 29.17, long. 45.30. " The Olive Jane was on her way from Bordeaux for New York with 130 tons of French cargo on board. At 11 a.m. saw a sail to the nolChwesi ' steering direct for us. At the same time spoke ship Golden Eagle, of New Bedford, from How land's Islar.d bound to Cork. About 12 noon saw a sail in sight, a steamship, with the Confederate flag at her peak. In a few moments saw her fire guns to heave the ship to. She then got up steam and took in her sail, and steamed direct for the ship. The wind being very light she soon gained up with the ship. About 2 p.m. saw them board the ship, and then square away and made all sail, steering direct for my vessel, the wind being s o very light that I could use no resistance, but kept on my course. At 3 p.m. the Alabama com menced to fire blank guns, and in a short time came up alongside of us, and sent an armed crew on board and took charge of my ship, and ordered me to take all my ship's papers and to repair on board the Alabama to be examined by Capt. Semmes, and after he had examined my papers, he told me that it would be better for the Confederate Government to pay for what French goods I had on board than for him not to burn my barque. He then gave orders to the first lieutenant for the pluhdtr and burning of my ship, and to allow me 15 minutes to go on board and get one small trunk full of my clothes, and to allow my officers and crew to take with them one bag of clothes each, and to be sure we took nothing more. The officers of the Alabama took all my nautical instruments, such as my barometer, chronometer, sextants, glasses, and all my books, charts, ship papers, and ensign. They plundered the cabin of such things as they wanted, then immediately set fire to the vessel. When we got on beard the Alabama, the officers and crew were all put in irons and kept on deck during our stay on board. I was conducted down into the steerage, where they searched my person, and took what money I had about me. I was then permitted to mess and sleep with the petty o ffi cers , w h ere m y accommodaticn , were very limited. About six p.m. they brought Capt. Swift, who was treated the same as myself. We were on board the Alabama six days. On the 27Th of February the Ale bitna gave chase to a ship, which proved to be the ship Washington, of New York, from Callao, hound for Antwerp. Abut three p.m., they came up within gun-shot of the ship and fired two hltinks ; the ship not heaving to, they fired a shot, which came very near to the ship, which then hove to, and was boarded by an armed crew from the Alabama. The captain came on board, and was obliged to give a ransom bond of 50,000 tens, and take on board all the Alabam4's prisoners, including my crew and the crews of the Golden Eagle and schooner Palmetto. We were then all compelled to sign a parole, and then all transferred to the ship Washington, where we received a hearty welcome from Capt. White. (Signed) "ROBERT KALLOCK, late Master of the barque Olive Jane." TERRIBLE TRAGEDY AT BLACKWALL. Late on Thursday night or early yesterday morning an affray of a most desperate and sanguinary character, and which lasted for several hours, took place on board the hulk Venus, lying in the river off Blackwall-stairs, resulting, it is be‘ieved, in the deaths of two officers and several soldiers, besides serious if not fatal injuries to a large number of the crew of the Peruvian corvette Arica. For some time past the Arica has been lying in the West India dock, fitting out. On her arrival in the river the crew were transferred to the Venus hulk They numbered about 160 men, of whom it is understood, PO were soldiers. They were under the command of Gapt. Gaspar Ecurrae. It appears that on Thursday the soldiers were allowed to go on shore, and a number of them availed themselves of this privilege to get intoxicated, and upon returning to the hulk at night they contrived to smuggle a quantity of liquor on board. A scene of disorder and riot soon ensued, and the soldiers re fused to obey the orders of their officers. Thelatter, finding that all their efforts to enforce discipline were without avail, called out the sailors to secure the most disorderly, and to clear the decks. This apparently roused the soldiers to frenzy, and they resisted with fury. A fearful affray en sued over nearly the whole ship. The sailors were armed with muskets and bayonets, but were, it would seem, with out ammunition. Whether the soldiers were possessed of their side-arms we have been unable to ascertain, but it is asserted that they made use of 1111 the weapons they could lay their hands on, The tumult and disorder on the main deck were fearful, the soldiers, maddened with drink, en deavouring to overpower the sailors ; • but the latter, by the free use of the bayonet, drove them down between decks. Here a kind of hand•to-hand struggle took place, and the soldiers for a length of time managed to prevent the sailors following them. At this juncture Captain Ecurrae, who happened to be at his lodgings ashore, was sent for, and he speedily arrived. The fight still con tinued, and the sailors were openly defied and kept at bay. The captain, with drawn cutlass, dashed down amongst he mutineers, and the sailors followed. A ter rible encounter arose, and the yells and shrieks of the excited and drunken men could be heard up and down the river. For some time it was difficult to say which side would prevail, and it was no doubt during this dreadful period of the contest that one of the officers, Ensign Fran cisco Vidal, was thrown overboard and perished. It is feared that others also, who are reported to be missing, met with a similar fate. The glass and framework of the pot holes were broken out, and the weaker of the combatants were seen to scramble over the side of the vessel into the boats alongside, This state of things continued until towards daybreak, when the soldiers were somewhat over powered,;although the uproar was by no means silenced. When order had been partially restored, and some of the ringleaders secured and placed under a guard, an examina tion took place of the deck, when it was discovered that two soldiers were lying dead, and several others seriously if not mortally wounded, In the cabin were found the re mains of a young midshipman named Guardia Marina, who had died while the fight was at its height. It appears that he had been unwell, and it is believed that the extraordi nary excitement consequent on the fearful scene around him brought on his death. The two soldiers who were killed were named Pablo Vasquez, 25 years of age, and Simon Garcia, 24. Both had received bayonet wounds, and one of them had sustained a fearful blow on the head, apparently from the butt end of a musket, The three wounded soldiers were discovered to be seriously injured with punctured wounds over the head and chest. The doc tor attached to the ship, Don Manuel Gastaneta,was soon in attendance on them, but owing to the dreadful confusion that prevailed, it was difficult to administer aid. Shortly after daybreak the report of the fearful occur rence spread through Blackwall and the neighbouring dis tricts, and hundreds congregated on the river banks to view the scene of the painful event. The Thames police at once put themselves into communication with Captain Ecurrae, and measures wets taken for the greater security of the ringleaders. The Peruvian Minister and Consul were apprised of the outbreak, and they immediately re paired to the ship and instituted an inquiry into the cir• cumstances. In the course of yesterday Dr. Brownfield, the surgeon to the police of the district, was required to visit the ship to see the dead and wounded men, and advise the medical officer of the vessel as to tha treatment of the sufferers. Hopeless accounts are given as to the state of two of the wounded. The last report from the ship states that the men had become calmed down, but most stringent measures had to be taken to prevent a renewal of the outbreak, COUNTRY MARKETS. ‘, LIVERPOOL-MARCH 20. At this day's market there was only a small attendance of the town and country trade, and wheat met a slow de mand, buyers being exceedingly shy, the advance of ld per cental established in the interim was lost, and quotations cannot now be called higher than on Friday last. Flour was not improved in demand, and prices irregular, Indian corn dull, and 6d per qr lower. Oats and oatmeal quiet. Beans scarce, with a ready sale at 2s to 2s 6d per qr on the week. Barley and peas each is per qr cheaper. WAKEFIELD—MARCH 20. The wheat trade ruled steady to-day, and prices were fully as high as last week. Where an advance is asked it checks the sale. In other articles there was no material alteration in price. Averages for the week : Wheat .1,797 qrs., at 47s 61.1 8 ar1ey......... 663 ye — Beans 5O .. -- -s Od 37s 913 Peas ..•• -- Oats EXETER—MAum 20. Wheat, white 6s 3d to 6s 4d Barley.. ...... 4 s 3d to 4s 6d I Ditto red .6s Od to 6s 3d Oats .........2s 9d to 3, Od Flour, fine, 36s to 37s ; seconds, 34s to 35s per sack. CATTLE. I Fat beef, p sc., 1080 d to 10 s 9d E wes, per lb ....51d to 61d Pork carcases, 7s 6cl to 8s 6d Wethers, d 0..... 61d to 7d Lamb, p 1b.......—d t o d Fat calves, d0...61d to7J • Rough fat, 30 per lb. STAMFORD—MA.Iton 20. New wheat, 48s to —s—red, 43s to 45s per 36 stone. Barley, malting, ,36s to 40s; grinding, 32s to 338 per qr. Oats, 22s to 258 per 24 stone. Beans, old, 438 to —s per qr. ; new, 38s to —s. COAL r Prices of Coal per Ton at a. d. ARKET. the olose of the market. 8. d. Byass's Bebside West Davison's West Hart- Hartley ..15 0 ley 15 0 Carway and Duffryn Malting ... 19 6 Walls End. Wylam 16 0 I K elloe Lambert's West Hart- 1 South Kelloe.. 17 6 ley 15 0 Haswell Hastings Hartley ....15 0 Raton lB 0 Holywell l6 0 Heugh Hall.. 16 6 I'anfield Moor Butes l2 3 Cassop . alker Primrose 11 6 . Shincliffe 16 6 Ships at market, 10 ; sold, 8. LADVERTISEMENT.j--Holloway's Pills.—No part of the human machine requires more watching than the ner vous system. Upon it hang health and life itself. These Pills are the best regulators and strengtheners of the nerves, and the safest general purifiers. Nausea, headache, giddi•• ness, numbness, and mental apathy yield to them. They dispatch in a summary manner those distressing dyspeptic symptoms, stomachic pains, fullness at the pit of the stomach, abdominal distensions, and overcome both capricious appe tite and confined bowels —the commonly aocommpanying signs of defective or deranged nervous power. Holloway's pills are particularly recommended to persons of studi us and sedentary habits, who gradually sink into a nervous and debilitated state, unless some restorative such as his Pills be occasionally applied. Births. BETHELL.—On the 20th inst., at 21, St. Stephen's-road, Wesibourne-park, the wife of Mr. Henry S. Bethel], of a daughter. FELTOE.—On the 20th inst., Mrs. John Feltoe, St. John's_ road, Brixton, of a daughter. TuLLocu.—On the 19th inst., at 22, Cloudesiey-street, the wife of James Tulloch, Epq., of a son. Marriages. EMSLEY—WILKINs.—On the 19th inst., at Holy Trinity, Brompton, Joseph Emsley, Esq., of Barnsley, Y or k s ., to Sa_ri N ah t , aseEcNoTn.d_doanugthhteer lo4fthJ.inTs.t.:Vialtkinvs,esEeysq..l" Alexander-square, Brompton. HEAD Kingstown, Fleury Hahwell Head, E s .. r , ot, 28, Lower Fitzwilliam-street, Dublin, to Harriette Aunette Cathe rine, daughter of the Viscountess Bangor and Andrew Nugent, Esq. la2cel, Deaths. H RTON. — On the 17th inst., Elizabeth Saunderson, the AT rol E e surviving daughter of the late Rev. Wm. Atherton, and sister of the Attorney-General, M. P. BRIDGMAN.7On the 17th inst. Thomas Bridgman, E s , at Bury St. Edmund's, a 85. BUNBURY.-9a the 18th inst..,, ed , at Abergwynant, N.aleg Emily Louisa A ugusta, widow of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Hy. , E. Bunbury, Bart., of Barton Hall, Suffolk, aged 80. CouLsTori.—On the 18th inst., at 11, King's Bench-walk,- Henry Coulston, Esq., of the Inner-Temple, aged 21. - _ London : Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDREWS, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE Sur/ Office, No, 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County of ail dtilenes.—Saturday, Mara 21, 1803. 0 St na t Om ( 10, Ban Su trea ales' and and i n g l kat Si s a l ' Gret tl a3 o' ( VI Rel 8010 (I RA P p r i 'lief AR tent Pi V.ri co.