The Sun. — London, England, 1863-04-18 00:00:00

SERIAL PARLIAMENT - HOUSE OF LORDS—Last Evening. The LoRD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at the usual hour. Viscount GAGE presented a petition in favour of legality of the marriage with a deceased wife's sister. . _ Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY presented a petition from 'Walsall, against the sale of intoxicating liquors on Sunday. PRIVATE BUSINESS. Stirling Estate, Buck and Hants Extension Railway, Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway, and the Leeds Gas bills were read a second time. THE GREEK THRONE The Earl of MALMESBURY called attention to a statement which appeared in the papers of that morning, relative to the statement of Earl Russell last night with respect to the throne of Greece. The papers in question sts ted that the answer tf Earl Russell was, that the King of Denmark had consented, that Prince Christian and Prince William had al.o consented, and that the British Government had no objection to the selection of Prince William to fill the vacant throne of Greece, and that he (Earl Russel) had obtained the consent of the King of Denmark to such an arrangement beford he communicated with the Greek Government. What he understood Earl Russell to say was that, before any com munication had taken place with the Greek Government, Nail Russell had c. , mmunicated with the King of Den mark, and his Majesty said he had no objection to the selection of Prince William, providing his f ather (Prince Christian) and the Prince himself did not object to such a proceeding. According to his recollec tion, Earl Russell did not say that he had obtained the consent of Prince Christian and his son to the letter filling the throne of Greece. As the noble earl was not present perhaps the noble earl, the President of the Council, would say what was his impression of the noble earl's answer. Earl GRANVILLE was understood to say that the noble earl was correct as to the words of his noble colleague Earl Russell. T FIE lONIAN ISLANDS. Lord CHELMSFORD rose to call the attention of the house to the case of the removal of two judges of the Su preme Council of the United States of the lonian Islands, and for the purpose of moving for correspondence and papers on the subject. The noble lord said it was advisable, if we were destined to break off our present con nection with the lonian Islands, to do so without leaving behind any remembrance which might have a bad impression upon the inhabitants. The officers were removed without even the compliment of notice. The noble and learned lord th-n proceeded to give an outline of the constitution of the Islands to show the extreme injustice which had been in flicted upon two very able gentlemen. His case rested on the removal and not with the successors appointed in their places, but it was somewhat untortunate that one of the members of the senate who assisted in the removal of the judges was appointed to the office. It had been remarked that the circumstances connected with the case justified the removal, but what those circum stances were he failed to discover. What he thought was due to the two gentlemen was a public avowal that it was not from any disqualification on their part that they had been removed, in order that no stigma might rest upon them. He trusted there would be no objection to the production of the correspondence he moved for. The Duke of NEWCASTLE said he was surprised his noble friend had confined himself to only one point, espe cially as he had admitted that the proceedings had been legal. The noble and learned lord defended the principle of making all officers in the lonian Islands removable alter five years' service, and although judges were generally re-elected in this case, it must not be oonsidered illegal because that proceeding had not been carried out. The Earl of DERBY would not continue the subject of the inferior judges. But as to the superior judges, he con tended that practically they were irremovable, and they were obliged to contribute to the pension fund. The case was one of great hardship, aad it was with deep regret he heard the noble duke give but scant praise to gentlemen, one of whom had devoted forty years of his life, and the other thirty-five, to the public service ; one of whom had sat upon the judicial bench for twenty years, and Th, other for four teen; and both of whom had received from their present and late colleagues ample testimonies to their integrity, their ability, and their zeal in the discharge of their duties. (Hear.) The noble duke said they were liable to be super seded, 'Well, then,why were they not superseded at the com mencement of the lonian Parliamentary session, at the pro per period for the issue of such documents ? The noble duke would acknowledge that the strongest remonstrances had been sent to him upon the subject, not only by the colleagues of the two learned judges, but by English judges, But not only was the session of the lonian. Parliament suffered to pass, but the Imperial Parliament had risen before this step Wad taken to supersede the judges. The Duke of NEWCASTLE begged leave to interpose. The noble earl was conveying an insinuation in those re marks which was quite unfounded. He could state from his own knowledge that the sitting or the rising of the Imperial Parliament had nothing whatever to do with the removal of the judges. The Earl of DERBY said that every one knew that an appeal lay from the Secretary of State to the Imperial Parliament. (Hear, hear.) If the Lord High Commis sbner thought those judges were dangerous persons from their political feelings, why were they kept in igno rance of the intention to dismiss them ? Why were they kept in ignorance until the last moment ? Why did the Lord High Commissioner congratulate and compliment them, and press leave of absence on them, and request that that absence might be shortened, as matters of great import ance might possibly come before their courts ? The Lord High Commissioner, who had thus lauded them, had at that moment resolved to dismiss them because they were dangerous. (Hear.) He did not dispute the technical right to supersede them, but he thought that their dismissal with out any cause being assigned, was a course of proceeding which it was impossible to vindicate either by lonian rules or by the rules of this country. (Hear.) The noble duke had made a rather ungenerous insinuation when be alluded to the admission made by his noble friend behind him, that habitual corruption had marked the native courts. But his noble friend behind him had in these words alluded to times long past—past 40 years ago. There never was the slightest whisper made against the integrity of the judges whose case was under consideration, and it was very hard that the dis missal of such men should be vindicated upon the general ground that suspicion of judges existed 40 years ago. He hoped their lordships would not be satisfied with the rea sons given by the noble duke for the dismissal of these gen tlemen, It they had suffered themselves to be led away, if they had become dangerous, if they had raised by their conduct well-founded discontent, it was only right that they should have an opportunity of hearing and meeting the charges against them. (Hear, hear,) He hoped the noble duke would not adhere to his intention of keeping back the correspondence. He did not ask for corre spondence which might compromise persons in the islands, but he thought they had a right to see what were the reabons given by the Lerd High Commissioner for the high-handed course which he had pursued, and what were the reasons which the Secretary of State had for adopting the grave responsibility of approving of that course. (Hear, hear.) He was satisfied to leave the matter to the decision of Parliament, but as they were about to separate from the lonian Islands, let them not allow the last act of their Government to be one which would cast a stigma upon their justice and upon their respect for the character of the judicial bench. The Duke of NEWCASTLE explained. He had for gotten to allude to the papers. He had no objection to pro duce them, with the exception, of course, of such as would compromise the public service. It never was his intention to refuse the correspondence. (Hear.) As to his allusi on to the politica of the jud,,,ee, he merely meant to convey that he objected to judges taking any part whatsoever in public politics. It was not as to the side they chose to adopt be objected, but to their taking any part in politics. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that although it was rot his intention to take any part in the debate, yet he felt that a few observations were necessary, in consequence of a ppeals which had been made to sentiments and feelings that were dear to English minds, but which were foreign to the subject. The noble and learned lord deprecated car rying into a consideration of questions affecting the lonian T,lands the sentiments which were applicable to affairs in this country. It was wrong to say that these lonian Islands,es had b een dismissed. By the const i tu t ion of the I3ni t t t the native judges were a pp ointed b y the Senat e for a period of five years, and the ar g ument of the irremovablity of judges was wholly inapplicable to a people. who started with that principle. Their lordships were not in a position t o judge of the propriety of the act of the lonian. Senate iu declining to re-appoint these gentlemen. The Lord ' High Commissioner had approved of the determination of the Senate, and the Secretary of State , for reasons of State,had approved of the course of the Lord H i g h Com missioner. The noble earl (Derby) had endeavoured to show that this great principle of the lonian constitution had been superseded by practice and custom. Such, how ever, was not %Baum. That constitution was of too recent or i g in to allow of such rightright a had have fallen into disuse. The on ly reason why the not oc been exercised was be cause for 24 years no case h a d in which the re appointment of a judge was not benefitfor therareness of the coun try. It was fair to assume fro m the d With right being enforced that, when exercised, it was of this exercised i ee ly and prudently and on su ffi cient grounds , e g ard to the manner in which it had been exerci se d i n there gard pr - esen t instance, he though t it conclusive that justice had been done from the fact that no complaint had been made by any one but by the two gentlemen themselves. (Hear.) The noble and learned lord defended the reticence of the Secretary for the Co lonies, in regard to the grounds out upon which these gentlemen had been removed, by pointing how severe a sentence of condemnation such a statement Aot td probably have been. He urged that the lonian authorities ought to be suffered to exercise a judgment in t'ile which judgment ought to be credited unless their lo d I PR were convinced that it was wilf ull y p erverse, or prompted and induced by some feelings not onl y errone ar‘ and mischievous character. Earl GREY said that though the judges were technically and legally removable in the lonian Islands, the principle of judicial independence was of such extreme importance that they ought n3t to be removed except for m.,Londuct in their office, The motion was then agreed to. COURTS OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND BILL• This bill passed through committee. Their lordships adjourned at eight o'cloc HOUSE OF COMMITS—Last Evening. Tue SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. THIRD READINGS.. - _ The following bills were read a third time :—lnverness and Perth Junction Railway, and Wear Navigation and Sunderland Docks. WESI HARTLEPOOL HARBOUR AND RAIL WAY BILL. On the order that this bill be read a third time, Mr. ROEBUCK said the house and the Board of Trade had been impos.d upon by the chairman of the company, Mr. Jackson, and that the bill would permit the public to be swindled. The hon, and learned geLtleman adverted to a petition whioh he presented sometime ago to the house, an d held that the allegations in it were strictly true, though the contrary was held by the hon. member for South Durham (Mr. Ferrer). Arr. FARRER defended himself from the aspersions cast upon him by the hon. member. He took his stand upon public documents. The bill would be of public benefit, and an especial boon to the Inhabitants. Mr. PEASE supported the bill. The bill was then read a third time. The following bills were considered and read a third time :—Busby Railway; Ely Valley Extension (changed from "Ely Valley Extension Railways);" Furness Rail wa Company and Barrow Harbour Commissioners ; Sowerby Bridge Local Board ; Tees Conservancy ; White haven, Cleator, and Egremont Railway ; and London and South Western Railway. Mr. MILLS gave notice that to-worrow, on the third reading, he should move that the bill be postponed for a month. THE COTTON DISTRESS. Colonel W. PATTEN presented a petition, signed by 6,000 operatives of Rochdale, praying the house to afford them aid to emigrate, as they could perceive no permanent means of occupation in the vicinity. REUNION. On the motion of Mr. CAVE, an address for copy of a letter from II B.M. Consul at Reunion, respecting natives of British India held to labour in that island, was agreed to. DOCKYARD SERVANTS. Mr. FERRAND asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the board intended to comply with the memorial of the masters of dock and victualling craft for increase of pay, or to restore the pensions to their widows ? Lord C. PAGET replied that the matter was definitively settled in 18 7, and that it was not therefore the intention of the Admiralty to again reoi en it. But the Admiralty had under consideration whether it would not be well to dispense with '• craft" now, and to replace them by warrant officers, who might, if requisite, be called upon to fight for their country. BRITISH FISHING VESSELS IN FRENCH PORTS. Mr. BENTINCE. asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether any, and if any, what steps had been taken by the Government for the re-adjustment of such articles in the Convention with France of 1843, as appeared to bear hardly upon our fishermen; and whether it was true that our fishing vessels frequent certain Ports in France for the sale of oysters; and whether the Convention of 1843 was not in contradiction with the Treaty of Commerce of 1860 on that point ? Mr. LAYARD replied that by arrangement with the French Government British fishing vessels were allowed to frequent French ports for the sale of oysters, and French oyster boats British ports, but it was found that this amounted to an infraction of the treaty, could not be done without a special act of Parliament, consequently the per mission given had been withdrawn. GREECE. In reply to Mr. B. COCHRANE, Mr. LAYARD, stated that it was not usual to publish telegrams, and beside it would not be usual or convenient to lay on the table of the house the recent proceedings in Greece with respect to the election of Prince William whilst the negotiations were pending. DEPUTATION YESTERDAY TO EARL RUSSELL WITH tt ESPECT TO THE SEIZURE OF AME RICAN SHIPS. In reply to Mr. BENTINCK, Mr. CRAWFURD stated, that the report of the inter view in the newspapers of that day was strictly correct, and the document perfectly correct. CHINA. In reply to Colunel SYKES, Mr. LAYARD replied that he had only that morning received some particulars with respect to the matter re ferred to. He could not yet tell whether guns lost were the property of her Majesty or not. It appeared that Capt. Holland had accompanied the expedition, which, he under stood, was a very foolish one, and it was well he did so. as the results would have been far more disastrous than reported. SUPPLY—HARBOURS OF REFUGE, On the motion for going into Committee of Supply, Sir F. SMITH moved that so much of the report of the Commissioners on Harbours of Refuge as applied to Wa terford, Wick, and Padstow be carried into effect. The hon. and gallant member urged, at some length, the propriety of losing no time in constructing these important harbours. Mr. KENDALL, in seconding the motion, particularly advocated the claims of Padstow, on the double ground that not only had Padstow done much to improve itself, but that more could be effected there by the expenditure of a small sum of money than anywhere else. Sir J. D. HAY, while supporting the motion, took mea sion to recommend that a harbour of refuge should also be formed at Filey, which was the only spot cn the north -1 eastern coast between Flamborough Head and the Firth of Forth where such a harbour could be advantageously formed for the use of the Baltic traders. In the evidence taken before the commission, it was stated that on one occa sion, namely, the 7th of Feb., 1858, there being upwards of 100 sail at anchor off Flamborough Head, the wind suddenly changed to the southeast, which compelled the whole fleet to go to sea; and the result was that 50 of them were lost. As many as 1,300 vessels had taken refuge at a time in Filey Bay, while 700 ware frequently to be found there. Mr. BEECROFT called upon the house not to hesitate as to the formation of a harbour of refuge at Filey, in order to check the dreadful loss of life which now annually oc curred on the north-east coast. Sir J. ELPHINSTONE had been on the Harbours Of Refuge Committee, and he bad afterwards accompanied _ _ the commission during a considerable portion of their in. spection, and he could strongly corroborate the opinions wriLla had been expressed with respect to the necessity for the formation of a harbour of refuge at Filey. But he had also to direct attention to the desirableness of form ing a similar harbour at Peterhead, which was a salient point on the coast, and one to which onr northern trade converged as it approached the land. He would press the question upon the noble lord at the head of the Go vernment, ano point out that it was no light matter that the recommendations of a committee which had sat during two sessions of Parliament, and which had been backed up by the report of a commission, should be ignored, while the public money was being so lavishly expended on works of questionable utility elsewhere. Mr. BLAKE concurred in the views expressed by the lion. and gallant member for Chatham, and stated that many of the wrecks which took place off Waterford Harbour might be prevented if the recommendation of the commis sioners had been carried out. Mr. G. DUFF observed that in regard to Peterhead, the recommendation of the commissioners was a dead letter, The commissioners recommended a grant of £lOO,OOO, but the condition on which it was made dependent, namely, the subscription of £200,000 in the district itself, could never be realis e d. rd waLitoiwaitingf.r BURYgrantos of public that, while other places were public money, the inhabitants of Wick were turning their attention to raising money for themselves. The fishermen of Wick, who had to leave that harbour every day to follow their fishing avocation, did so very frequently at the risk of their lives; for the sea round that part of the coast often became so tempestuous that the fishermen when they left Wick in the morning never knew that they would be able to re-enter the harbour. Underthis mute of things they could not wait until such time as the Government might think proper to construct a harbour of refuge, and accordingly they were desirous of borr?wing a sum of money from the Exchequer Loan Commtihsasit the constructiononerstobuildapoiefra, although there could be nodoubt harbour of refuge by the Government would be of far greater benefit. o n str tr t . io L n l DofDhEaLr harbours u s a r i s d heof refute viewed as th oneeque s o t i t of national the cim portance, and he therefore advocated it in this general sense, and not th a t par ti cu l ar places should be selected while others we re neg l ecte d . It ap p ea red to him that har bours of refuge were of greater importance and urgency than fortifications. Fortifications were carried out for the purpose of providing against the contingencies of war, whereas harbours of refuge were intended to provide against natural contingencies in the shape of storms and stress of weather. He would not follow the course taken by hon. members of asking that a harbour of refuge should be con structed at this or that place; his desire was to see the principle generally carried out. Mr. GIBSON said the hon. member who spoke last wanted to have the principle of harbours of refuge gene rally applied, but if every harbour in the country were to ask for a grant of money for the purpose of improve ment, where would they stop? That was a principle with which he could not sympathise : as it was, perhaps, the most distinguishing feature in the English character that, of all other people in the world, they were the most forward in carrying on great undertakings by private enterprise, and without having recourse to State aid. As regarded Peterhead, he thought that question could be easily dis posed of. It was true, that the commissioners recom mended a grant of £lOO,OOO ; and if he applied to the Chan cellor of the Exchequer for that sum, hie right hon. friend would ask him whether the locality was prepared with the £200,000. Well, as the locality had no disposition to raise that sum, the recommendation of the commissioners could not be carried into effect. ,-The right hon(gentle- man - ,then reviewed the several statements whiel;, were made about the great saving of life and property which would be effected by harbours of refuge, and expressed his opinion that such statements were very much exaggerated, although he did not mean to deny but that some small saving would result from the construction of those works. It was an entire mistake to suppose that nothing had been done towards the encouragement of the construc tion of harbours of refuge and the improvement of harbours by the present Government ; or that the present Govern- ment had overlooked the recommendations of the committee of that house. On the contrary, they had contributed ma terially towards that end by the bill introduced by the hon. member for St. Ives, for allowing tolls to be raised for the purpose without the expense of a private bill; and also by a measure which he had himself introduced for enabling sums of money to be borrowed at a moderate rate of inte rest, and to be repaid on easy terms. A great deal had been done towards carrying out the object in view, and already EOO,OOO had been advanced or promised towards it through the agency of the Public Works Loan Commissioners. He had spoken of Waterford and Padstow, and the noble lord the member for Wick had told them that the inhabitants of that place were inclined to help them.elves. Last session they obtained a bill for making a new harb fur, and they were now asking the Public Works Loan Commissioners to assist them with £60,000, which there was every reason to believe would be granted. The effect of the motion before the house, if successful, would be that they would suspend those operations, and rely on assistance from the State. That, he considered, would Le a very bad policy for the house to adopt. The plan of the propos-2d harbour had been approved of by the Lords of the Admiralty, and he expressed a hope that the house would not interfere and check local and private energy as in the case of Wick, or give money to some places whilst others were raising large sums for the improv, ment of their harbour by the imposition of taxes on the local trade of the place, If they once commenced giving public money, there would be no knowing where it would end, and he believed it would be injurious to all concerned if the time of that house was to be occupied in settling rival claims on the public purse, and to be employed in a kind of general scramble for the public money. He thought he spoke the sentiment of the Chancellor of the Exchequer when sa deliberate a design was made upon that surplus which the right hon. gentleman said he was determined to keep and defend if he could. (Hear, hear.) He asked the house not to agree to the motion. Mr. BENTINCK said the right hon. gentleman had fenced with the question, becoming an official person of great experience; but he thought the house would rot be satisfied with his explanation. Tne time had come for the Government to act, but he regretted to find it was not the intention of her Majesty's Government to act in the matter. He did not support the motion, but he was of opinion that the country had a claim upon the Government for protec tion, and that they ought to deal with it as a general ques tion for the public benefit. 'I he Government might find sufficient support for the object in view without contributing money, and his suggestion was that local contributions in money should be aided by the Government in granting con vict labour; and he expressed a hope that future legisla tion with regard to convict labour would put them in a better position for carrying out his suggestion. Convict labour was now a farce. A certain amount of recreation was enforced for the benefit of the health of the convicts — (hear, hear)—but he wished to see it carried to the extent of making the convicts support themselves. By his plan he thought they might economically carry out a plan for the general construction of harbours of refuge, and get rid of conflicting interest. Sir J. PAKINGTON described the speech of the right hon. gentleman the President of the Board of Trade as not creditable to her Majesty's Government, and a speech that ought not to be satisfactory to the house. That speech would lead one to the belief that this was the first motion on the subject of harbours of refuge in that house; whereas the late Mr. Wilson, acting in the name of the former Liberal Government, was most active in re ference to it, and presided over a committee on the subject that sat for two sessions; and when the Derby Government was in existence, it was in consequenee of that gentleman's urgent request that he (Sir J. Pakington) appointed the Royal commission whose report had been referred to that night. Nothing could be stronger than the report of the committee and also of the Royal commission for something to be done for the protection of life, shipping, and commerce on our coasts. He regretted to find that the subject was pooh-poohed, and adjourned from session to session by eva sive speeches, such as they had heard that night from the right hon. gentleman the President of the Board of Trade; and he appealed to the noble lord at the head of the Govern ment to distinctly state whether they were to continue to go on in their present state and condition. Whilst he hoped the noble lord would be prepared to give the house some hope that the reports might receive some attention from her Majesty's Government hereafter, he suggested to the hon. and gallant member for Chatham whether it was prudent to take the sense of the house on the limited motion he had made rather than as a whole, and to be dealt with as a na- tional question. After the statement made the previous night by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that his surplus, after the large financial concession that he had made,would not be encroached upon, he considered it was somewhat in opportune to commence the evening after with the first inroad on the £500,000 surplus. A motion of this kind he thought should be made earlier in the session, so that the Chancellor of the Exchequer might be able to arrange hie financial scheme accordingly. He was unable under the circumstances, to give his support to the motion. Col. SYKES thought the Government should transfer the balances on the fortifications votes to this great work, which was infinitely more worthy of the humanity,the pru dence, and the good sense of that house. (Hear, hear.) The motion was then negatived a division. THE LIGHTING OF LIGHT-HOUSES. Lord LOVAINE moved for a copy of the reports to the Trinity House of the South Foreland, Verne, and Dunge ness light keepers, and of all reports from Professor Fara day subsequent to that of the sth day of July, 1862, upon the electric light now in operation at Dungeness, and asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it was the intention of the Trinity House to include the use of the electric light in the alterations contemplated at Portland. Colonel CLIFFORD, in seconding the motion, was happy to be able to state that if they were to introduce the electric light into the national lighthouses, it would not be neces sary to make any attack upon the surplus in the hands of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as the Trinity House were in possession of ample funds, which might be available for the purpose. It was certainly most extraordinary that the electric light had not lac en already introduced into our lighthouses, while the Dutch, who were not usually re garded as a very quick nation, had applied it in two in sta.,ces. Indeed, it was to be feared that, as regarded light houses in general, England was in a very backward state. Even Spain, which was not a particularly precipitate country, had lighthouses far superior to those of England. He could himself bear witness that no lighthouse which England possessed gave so brilliant a light as that afforded by the Spanish lighthouse at Ceuta, on the African coast. Mr. M. GIBSON s Lid it was not competent for the noble lord, according to the forms of the house, to make a motion upon such an occasion. Nevertheless, h a would offer no opposition to the production of all the papers for which he had asked. With respect to the introduction of the electric light at Portland, the Board of Trade had refused to sanction the expenditure necessary for the purpose until further experience had been had as to the adaptability of the light for the illumination of lighthouses. Everyone admitted that the brilliancy of the electric light was far superior to the light produced- by oil lamps, and likewise that it was far more capable of being distinguished than any other light. Certainly light was a matter of the greatest importance. The electric light had been in use at Dungeness for nine months, but it required constant atten tion. It was found occasionally to undergo a partial or momentary extinction. The cost of lights was borne by the merchant shipping, and no further burden should be thrown upon that interest until further experience proved the adap tability and superiority of the electric light. Mr. BENTINCK hoped that on a future occasion the right hon. gentleman would give the house a fuller ex planation on the subject. It was his own impression that the Trinity Board wasted more money than would suffice to establish the electric light all over the kingdom, The matter then dropped. THE SEWAGE OF TOWNS. Dr. BRADY called the attention of the house to the re port of the Royal commission appointed to inquire into the best mode of utilising the sewage of towns, and apply it to beneficial and profitable uses, and moved a resolution de claring the inexpediency of granting any further public money for the use of the commission. He referred to the report of the commissioners who visited Rugby, which, he said, contrasted strangely with what Mr. Lewes stated had been done at Edinburgh. They condemned its application, whilst Mr. Lewes and the Edinburgh experience showed the sewage it manure an d i ts app li cat i on to the l an d , an d urge d of contrary. He ne x t re f erre d t o th e ch e mical properties use was obj ec t e d to b y English farmers from that pre judice, which was increased and kept alive by the manu facturers of, and d ea l ers i n, artificial manure s , their paid agents, and that portion of th e press that was under their influence. He called attention to the at iraulsting qualities of town sewage, and its satisfactory results when properly applied to the land. The hon. member proceeded at great length to prove that the conclusions of the Royal commis. sion, namely, that sewage was not applicable for any crop but grass, that the grass produced by it was so inferior that it was unfit for fattening, that it was not good for milk and, finally, that to produce any result at all, it must be used in onormous dressings upon limited areas—that each and every one of these conclusions were not only incorrect, but were diametrically opposed to all practical experience. Having done that, he called upon the Government to dis solve a body which had so ill discharged the important du ties entrusted to its care. Whatever might be done in the matter by the house, he trusted that the &omission of the question would be productive of benefit to the country at large. Mr. K. SEYMER remarked that the hon. gentleman's \ motion had, been before the house for about six weeks, and yet he had not apparently had time to put it into a gram matical form. Setting aside, however, the question of gram mar, he mai n t a in e d th a t th e o bj ect of the comm i ssion was not to disc over th e b es t mo d e o f application, but the best plan of utilising, th e sewage o f towns. The hon. gentleman then reviewed briefly the various steps adopted by the com mission to obtain accurate results from the experiments submitted - to them in the course of their inquiries. The hon. member proceeded at some length to show that the sewage of towns could only be applied with advantage in large quantities to small areas of grass land. He believed that if the Royal commission had reported that sewage was worth 2d. a ton, and that it might be spread over large areas in small quantities, the house would have heard no thing about stopping the further expenditure of public money to enable them to continue their experiments. The fact was that there were various projects kept in check by a belief in the correctness of the views of that commis sion. If, however, any slur were to be cast upon their proceedings, those projects would burst forth into flower, but, he ventured to predict, without producing any fruit. He believed that sgriculturists were not likely to be de ceived though town-councillors might, very much to the cost of the rate-payers. If the house thought that the time had come to put a stop to the expenditure for the experi ments at Rugby, of course the commission would have to bow to that decision ; but he would observe that the £2,000 asked for in the estimates of the present year referred to an expenditure the greater part of which had been incurred. No further sum would be asked for by the Royal commis sion, and that would enable them to complete the experi ments at Rugby, which he believed to be the only accurate experiments ever made with reference to the value of sew age. (Hear, hear.) Mr. CO WPER said the question of utilising sewage had hitherto been considered one of science relating to questions of engineering arrangement and agricultural knowledge; but the hon. member for Leitrim had raised the question in an entirely different manner. He had certain opinions on this subject not shared by other per sons, and which had been thwarted and condemned by the publications of the Royal commission. Not being able to answer the report of the Royal commission, the hon. member now suggested to the government that they should be prevented from making any more experiments. That was a view to which it was impossible for him (Mr. Cowper) to accede. He thought the commission had answered the purpose for which it was appointed. It was appointed at a time when towns did not know what to do with their sewage, and be thought the report of the commission contained very valuable suggestions for muni cipal bodies. He trusted the commission would continue its labours and experiments, and..it could do no more use ful work ew tho proapnt moment than to show municipal Lodies how to dispose of the sewage of their towns. The municipality of this great city would do well to turn its attention to this question, They were going to turn the sewage of the metropolis into the Thames; but if the re sults obtained in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh—results which raised the value of land from ss. an acre to £25 — could be accomplished in the barren and sandy lands near London, it would be better to apply the sewage to this purpose. Mr. PAGET said, as he was a member of the commission, he merely rose to request that the Government would not agree to the proposition of the hon. member for Leitrim, but rather extend the grant, so as to enable the commission to enlarge their experiments. Mr. AYRTON thought it was useless the commission should continue their experiments, as they could be of no practical benefit to agriculturists. After a few words from Sir J. SHELLEY, the subject dropped. POLAND. Mr. GRIFFITH rose to " inquire of the First Lord e the Treasury as to the existing state of relations between Russia and Sweden on the subject of Poland." He appre hended the answer of the Russian Government would be that the amnesty had answered all the claims which the Go vernment of this country were justified in demanding from Russia. That appeared to be also the opinion entertained in a neighbouring country, which was more enthusiastic en the subject. In the meantime cruelties were being perpe trated against the Poles, which increased the animosity be tween them and their oppressors. The hon. member quoted extracts from various documents, and referred to the rigours exercised byßussia over the Poles, and the determination of the latter to reject the amnesty, and insist upon the restora tion of Poland according to the extent of its original fron tiers. The sympathy of the Swedes for Poland was as great as that of the people of this country ; and therefore anything that the Swedes might do in. furtherance of the cause of Poland would excite the animosity of Russia : and no op portunity would be lost on their part for finding a cause of quarrel with Sweden. He said he had been favoured with a letter received by a member of that house from his brother, who was located in Sweden, dated March 26, which stated that 20,000 Norwegian and 40,000 Swedish soldiers had received orders to march towards Finland. THRONE OF GREECE. Lord H. LENNOX, who had given notice of his inten. tion to ask a question of the First Lord of the Treasury re specting the recent election of Prince William of Denmark to the Throne of Greece, said he had addressed his question to the First Lord of the Treasury in consequence of the answer he received from the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs. On Monday he gave notice of some questions to the Under Secretary with respect to the election of Prince William of Denmark. He also forwarded to the Under Secretary full details of the questions he intended to put- During Tuesday he was at the house, but he received no intimation from the hon. gentleman that it would be incon venient to the public service to answer his questions. He therefore rose at the usual time and put his questions. The Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, not meaning doubtless to be guilty of discourtesy, replied that the only answer was that he would give no answer to his questions. Whereuport feeling, as he would admit, some what snubbed, he told the hon. gentleman and the house that he would put his question again the next day, in the hope of getting a more satisfactory answer. The hon, gen tleman, however, told him it would be useless to do so as he would receive the same answer ; that there was no answer, and that it would not be for the benefit of the public ser vice to make a statement on the subject. The hon. gentle man was, of course, cheered by hon. members on the Minis terial Benches, and he (Lord H. Lennox) left the house half convinced that he had been guilty of an indiscretion. What then was his surprise to find that, 48 hours after wards, in another place, the interests of the public service gave way, and that the noble lord the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs gave full and ample details of everything that had taken place. That noble lord did more, for he put up the President of the Council to give further information thethhe which e hh a eh s e t es e a a s had and to answer a noble earl, and thus official intimation was communicated by two members of her Majesty's Government to another assembly which had been denied 48 hours before to the House of Commons. He did not regard this in the on Monday, not with the wish a itself. given k a e s d a t m he atte qu r e a s ff ti e c e n tin o g f e s n on (nc a o l htiecoere. ques ti on,H e bu ee t to interfere with the election of Prince William, but because ' he had reason to know that the conduct of the Foreign office had been so precipitate as to peril the very object which the Government had in view. (Hear.) Pleasant as it usually was to be contradicted by the noble viscount, yet that pleasure would be denied to him in the present instance, because he was in a position to assert that when the tele gram was despatched to Mr. Elliot, asking the Assembly to offer the Crown of Greece to Prince William, it was stated that the Government did so with the authority of the King of Denmark. That statement was true; but that authority was given conditionally on the consent of Prince Christian and Prince William being also obtained. And when this telegram was despatched, not only had Prince William not given his adhesion, but no longer age than yesterday he was still offering innumerable objections to the negotiation. He believed that when the King of Denmark and Prince Christian learned that the National Assembly of Greece had proceeded to the election of Prince William they were extremely surprised, and that Prince Christian was summoned to Copenhagen to explain to the King of Denmark how the matter had been brought about. The whole thing was such a mere matter of conversation and private gossip that the accredited Minister of the Crown of Denmark in London had up to the period of the offer never even received a communication that the candidature of Prince William was on the tapir. He should not have put his question at such length had it not been for the manner —the unseemly manner, as it seemed to him—in which all information was denied him on the plea of inconvenience to the public service, while it was willingly accorded by two Ministers of the Crown in another place. (Hear, hear.) Lori PALMERSTON—My hon. friend the member for Devizes will excuse me if I do not follow him into the dis sertation upon which he entered with regard to the Polish question and the matters connected with it; but I will an. sorer the question which he has put upon the paper with regard to the relations now subsisting between the Court of Sweden and the Court of Russia. Her Majesty's Govern ment are not aware that anything has interrupted the good relations between those two Governments. But, of course, the hon. member and the house will feel that we do not stand here to answer for that which may be passing between foreign Governments. (Hear.) As far as we know, there is no reason to suppose there is any unfriendly feeling between the two. The noble lord who has just sat down, I think, made an un fair charge against my hon. friend the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The noble lord seems to have overlooked the distinction between the nature of a question and the nature of an answer. It is quite possible that a question may not be indiscreet, though it may be very in discreet to give an answer to it. (Laughter.) No blame at taches to the noble lord for the question he put to my hon. friend (renewed laughter), but some blame would have at- tached to my hon. friend it he had gone into those details which were involved in an answer to the question. Now, the noble lord has mistaken what passed in another place, because, if he will look back to the record he will see that a noble friend of mine in answer to the question put to him entered largely into detail, yet he was reminded afterwards by another noble lord that he had entirely evaded the ques tion. (Much laugh t er) That is a course which is often fit and becoming to adopt when questions are put to which it would be indiscreet to give a direct answer. And, there. fore, the noble lord will excuse me (renewed laughter) if I do not tell him all that has passed in regard to communi cations which have taken place with respect to the election of Prince William of Denmark to the Crown of Greece. But this I will tell him that her Majesty's Government lid not act with the precipitation which he ascribes to them, and that they made no co mmunications to the Greek which they were not authorized to make. The actual election of Prince William at Athens was so entirely the result of the impulse THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 19, 1863. of the moment that it was a surprise to the Ministers of the Greek Government. The Assembly met, and an inde pendent member got up and proposed that they should elect Prince "William. It was known that Prince William had been mentioned as the person who would become a candi date ; and the Greek Assembly were so anxious to come to a decision in reference to the accession to the throne that they elected him by a cclamatien—not on the proposal of Ministers, but on the motion of an independent member. The noble lord will excuse me if 1 do not tell him the exact state of the communications now going on, but I have good reason to hope that the election which has been made by the Greek Assembly will be completed by the acceptance of Prince William and those who are answerable for his deci sion. In answer to a question from Mr. B. COCHRANE, Lord PALMERSTON said the election was so far the result of a communication from her Majesty's Govern• ment, that the Greek Government had been informed that communications were going on to ascertain if Prince Wil liam would consent to be a candidate. After some remarks from Mr. PEACOCKE, who denied that the Russian Government had taken umbrage at the conduct of Sweden, the subject dropped, and the house went into committee of supply. SUPPLY, On the vote of £1,143, balance of the sum required for the maintenance of the Royal palaces, Lord R. CECIL complained at the Government going on with supply at so late an.hour (11 o'clock), especially as the understanding was, when the alteration was made in the standing orders of the house doing away with the motion of adjournment on Fridays, that as a rule supply should not he taken on Friday night:. He moved that the chairman report progress. The motion to report progress was agreed to, after some conversation, and the house resumed. THE BUDGET The report on ways and means having been brought up, Sir S. NORTHCOTE said that he should take that op portunity to make a few observations on the general aspect of the budget, which, he believed, had excited a general feeling of satisfaction, both in the house and throughout the country, (Hear.) It was not therefore his intention to offer any hostile remarks upon its general complexion or charac ter, but he should point out that, in regard to the esti mate for Excise revenue, the Chancellor of the Exchequer had repeated the error which he had fallen into for the last three consecutive years. In those years the accumu lated crrnra of tho right hon. gentleman had amounted to no less than £3,500,000. He still persisted in believing that he would get from the exci• e revenue on spirits that increase of duty on which he had calculated in 1860, when the duty was raised from ss. to 10s., and ignored the fact that while the consumption of every other article was increasing, the consumption of spirits was decreasing. What probability was tht re that the consumption would increase this year ? And yet the estimate was based on the assumption that it would. It was true the trade returns had kept up in a won derful way ; but if they looked below the surface they would see that it was not altogether an unmixed piece of good. Al • though we had been importing but a small quantity of raw material, we had been paying ruinously high prices for it. He wished to point out that, after such an expenditure out of the savings of the country, there must come a period of distress. The people would suffer, and continue to suffer, in Lancashire and Ireland; and, on the whole, he feared that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had over-estimated the consuming power of the people, and, as a consequence, the yield of the exciee. Although this was the case, he did not think that, on the whole, the estimate was t sanguine, or, if the country was preserved from any great calamity, it would not be realised. The budget was founded upon the only true and safe basis—that of a broad and wise reduction of expenditure. On the whole, it had given him as much satisfaction as it had given to the louse. (Hear, hear.) Mr. FERRAND wished to explain that large quantities of rags were brought into the country composed of wool and cotton mixed together, and that by some means the cotton was burnt out, and the woollen portion made up into what was called " shoddy" and " devil's dust." Mr. LOCKE said it had been supposed some time ago that not sufficient rags would be imported into England to carry on the paper manufacture. The Board of Trade returns, however, showed that the export of paper had largely increased, and therefore the supply of rags must have increased also. TELEGRAPHS BILL. Upon the motion for the third reading of this bill, Mr. AYRTON dissented from clauses 31 and 32, which he hoped would be withdrawn, as they proposed to confer powers which interfered with the common law rights of every householder affected by the bill. After some observations from Mr. HUMBERSTONE, Mr. M. GIBSON defended the bill from the criticisms of the hon. member for the Tower Hamlets (Mr. Ayrton). Mr. LOCKE and Mr. HARVEY LEWIS supported the amendment. The house divided. The numbers were— For the third reading l9 Against it Majority The bill was ordered to be recommitted on Tuesday. OFFICE OF SECRETARY-AT-WAR ABOLITION BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. GARDENS IN TOWNS PROTECTION BILL. This bill, as amended, was considered and agreed to. OATHS RELIEF IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS (SCOTLAND) BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. METROPOLITAN TURNPIKE ROADS. Mr. HARVEY LEWIS moved "That the petitions presented to this house respecting the Metropolis Turnpike Roads Act Amendment Bill be referred to the select com mittee on the bill, and that such petitioners as shall have prayed to be heard by themselves, their counsel, or agents, be heard upon their petitions, if they think fit, and counsel heard in favour of the bill against such petitions."— Agreed to. The house adjourned at a quarter to one o'clock. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.—An excusable doubt as to the authenti city of a document we published yesterday raised a conversation in the House of Commons last night which placed that point quite beyond question. Mr. Crawford, who introduced to the Foreign Secretary the " deputation of shippers and merchants inte rested in the Mexican trade," confirmed the accu racy of the report of what took place at the inter view, and one portion of the proceedings was cer- ' tainly calculated to excite astonishment. It was the production of the form of licence, permit, or protec tion issued by Charles Francis Adams, Minister of the United States, by virtue of which he allows British merchants to trade with Mexico unmolested. Let ail the interests concerned take good heed of the new authority from whom they must "request" —not necessarily to receive—the safeguard of a "certificate" of the origin, description, and destina tion of their shipments. Without the laissez passer of the Sovereign Republic all British vessels bound to a Mexican port wilt certainly be seized. By no precedent of international law are they at present liable to legal capture; bat the passport or certifi cate of exemption issued in favour of Messrs. Howell and Zlreaan is in effect an order to Admiral Dupont to seize all vessels not provided with the protection. If they cannot show this new form of licence to " carry goods and passengers" the Federal com mander must assume it has been refused on sus picion at least, and will act accordingly. Mr. Adams has constituted himself a kind of "Prize Court," sitting in London, passing judgment on cargoes before they are despatched from the port of ship ment, and pointing out to the commander of the blockade the ships which are to be intercepted, and those which may be allowed to proceed to their desti nation. That their destination in this case is the coast of Mexico, to which no law or usage of war can extend an American jurisdiction, is now only a minor feature of this extraordinary assumption and exercise of power. The recent date of this novel maritime passport, which seems to have been drawn up on the 9th of April, and at the "request" of the firm it protects,warran ts a hope that Mr. Adams has acted without instructions, and that the document represents nothing but his own capacity of making a very grave mistake. We know from the history of the war that the Americans expected the laws of nature would be expended on behalf of the Federa tion, and that the material difficulties under which other nations have fai,ed and " armies whole have sunk" could not exist for a Republic of boundless resources. In the same spirit they have not only expected the law of nations to be suspended in their favour, but reversed and superseded by a special code, of which all the articles should be to the ad vantage of the Federal side. Europe has not done this, being unable to promote the ends of " manifest destiny," in any such manner. To supply the short comings in this respect of the world in general and England in particular Mr. Adams has thought proper to publish and declare valid, on his own au thority, an article of the " higher law" that ought to govern the universe for the special benefit of the Northern Federation. This unwritten code is too much consulted by American Admirals and Generals of recent promotion. Admiral Wilkes and General Butler have both drawn on it for the liberty of being a law unto themselves. The acts of both have been officially disavowed ; but one has been reinstated in command, and the other has become popular. Is their example perverting the judgment of a diplo matist and tempting him into a course of action which, unless speedily retraced, will render his future official position embarrassing and almost im possible ? The commerce of England will not ac cept an exemption that gives it freedom of action on an American " ticket of leave." The trade to Mexico is open, fair, and legal. All the coast of Mexico is neutral territory, and by no right can one of its ports be blockaded. In continuing our commercial intercourse With the Mexican people we deny even the liability to any detention or inter ruption. The traffic is legitimate, and cannot be carried on in the fetters of permits and " certifi t cates" from the United States' Legation. English merchants cannot go as suppliants to a Foreign Minister for licences to transact business, as if their dealings were crimes that required a "conditional pardon" given in advance for some possible infraction of a blockade clearly il legal. The last official correspondence relating to the manner in which the blockade has been already enforced has just been published. Prom these papers it is evident that the outrageous conduct of the Ftderal cfficers has given considerable uneasi ness to Mr. Seward himself. He has found it neces• sary to issue fresh instructions to the naval com manders, which are virtually a rebuke for their total disregard of the usages of civilised nations. The spirit of these instructions is so totally opposed to the arrogant assumption of Mr. Adams's " permit," condemning to seizure all vessels which may be found without, that we entertain a strong hope his directions to Admiral Dupont will be cancelled or disavowed at Washington. Mr. Seward forbids all seizures, except on sufficient evidence that the cargo is contraband. Mr. Adams directs Admiral Dupont to make prizes of all ships which have not his certificate of the " honest neutrality" of their lading. By this means the American Minister in tends doubtless to supply the want of that " preven tive co-operation" against the Southern States which he demanded from the English Government in the name of neutrality. He has transferred the police of the Mexican land frontier to English ports of shipment by a system of passes for English goods and merchandise, without which they are not to reach the Mexican coast. The one safeguard he has granted evidently had a money value, since it was produced at Lloyd's in order to obtain an insurance. If it was likely to reduce the premium, it gave the shippers an unfair advantage over all the firms to which Mr. Adams, from caprice or misinformation, might refuse his pass. The whole proceeding is mon strous, whether as a calculation or a blunder. For the assumption of power in a written instrument by a foreign Minister there has been nothing to equal it since the Legatee of the Pope published Bulls, dated from the Vatican, overriding the laws of England. The present attempt to control the commerce of the country by an authority exter nal to it very much resembles the old Papal ar. ragancc which assumed a superiority to the law, written or unwritten, when it thought it incon venient. But on the table of the House of Com mons there is always to be found the text of a certain oath, declaring that "no foreign Piince or potentate hath, or ought to have," any dominion or authority within the realm of Great B r itain. Mr, Lincoln is not a Prince, but he is certainly a " potentate," and the exercise of the slightest authority here on the part of his Minister is not to be permitted one moment after the assumption of any kind of power, either condemning or absolving, is made known. HERALD.—There are not a few questions which, through frequent handling, acquire so fine a polish that they turn smoothly in the mouth of even the feeblest orator. Foremost among them is that of slavery. The institution is detested in England. It has been abolished by law—it is denounced by society. All Englishmen—with a few rather eccen tric than infamous exceptions—unite in reprobating it as a deadly sin inherited from barbarous and pagan nations. Therefore, to anathematise this crime against nature is to make sure of a cheer at a public meeting, since the hearts of Englishmen are characteristically warm, full of generous sympa thies, and impulsive in proportion as their minds are occasionally illogical. Hence we account for the numerous local gatherings in the metropolis and in the provinces, at which certain gentlemen endeavour to make out an identity between the policy of Federal America and the cause of human freedom. With disingenuous effrontery the clique which pesters the American Minister with addresses arrogates to itself a monopoly of sympathy with the slave population. This, again, is not only unfair—it is irrational. For suppose the American people were at length persuaded that all of us who do not desire to see the Southern Confederacy crushed by Northern violence were favourable to the institution of slavery, what would be the moral result of that impression ? What, but that a belief would spread that the vast majority of Abolitionists in these islands had recanted? No; the English public remain true to their principles; but they are too clear-headed to make those prin ciples the basis upon which a demagogic cabel may erect the worst of all conceivable despotisms—an irresponsible coterie, reconciling en ignorant multi tude to lawless power by the cant of liberty. Resume the whole history of the quesion, and where is the evidence that the North is not bur dened with the whole blame of this disabtrous and unnatural war? Not on account of its opposition to, but on account of its complicity with, the South, in the maintenance and encouragement of slavery. But now, of course,it is convenient, for the sake of moral support from Europe, to proclaim a crusade on be hail of the negro. The message of peace ; however, is only the firebrand of war : the African is insti gated to become free by becoming criminal ; his hands are to be loosed that he tray raise them mur derously against his master ; and the wonderful — perhaps, however, not very wonderful—issue of the Washington imposture is that the slaves are not in arms, not excited in favour of the North, not burn ing and ravaging the planters' homes. A singular incident of this controversy is, that those who repro. sent the Federal Government as devoted to the cause of human freedom appear to read backwards every item_ of intelligence brought to Queenstown by successive mails. Their comments are little else thau errata upon the published tacts. For "failure" they almost invariably substitute "success,' as is the fashion in Russia and China. Possibly there may be an exaggeration in the Southern statement, that, " notwithstanding the blockade, Charleston is enjoying a larger direct foreign trade than she ever had before ;" but it is incontestable that the Federal navy has broken down deplorably, both in its capa city as a blockading fleet and in its capacity as an assailing power. It cannot guard the seas, it can not penetrate the rivers, and it cannot extirpate the Confederate privateers. Then, where is the steady progress talked of ? Is it on the Mississippi ? Is it at Vicksburg or Port Hudson ? Is it where General Banks has sat down with an army humiliated by defeat, or where General Rosencranz is threatened with annihilation ? What has become of the canal that was to have brought ruin to Vicksbarg P It is an abandoned trench, commanded by Confederate cannon. Where are Admiral Farragut's steamers ? Running away from the Confederate rams. On all sides demoralisation, bickering, recrimination, and falsehood—mere evidences of discomfiture and disappointment—prevail, and this, we are told, is proof that President Lincoln, the emancipator of negroes, is victorious. It would be cold comfort to the men of Lancashire to tell them that they must expect no relief, no mitigation of their sufferings, until these and similar triumphs have not only re stored the Union but shed a new light over Africa. Why, instead of trusting to President Lincoln for the final abolition of American slavery, we should distrust him even as President of Liberia. It is only making a bad cause worse to confound a war of aggression and conquest with a struggle for principles sacred to civilised mankind. Cense quer tly, however deeply we may sympathise with the amiable multitudes who throng to public halls, and vociferate their hatred of slavery in the ears of delighted Radical orators, it is with regret that we perceive how far their enthusiasm is misled, while it is with gratification we recognise the fact that the country at large, though to its inmost heart friendly to the negro and to all human freedom, has the sagacity to distinguish between the pretence and the motive of the Northern crusade against the i South. ADVERTISER.—There is no doubt that ever since the American war broke out agents of both parties have been active in this country ; but there can be be quite as little that the spy system, so hateful to the English mind, has been confined to the Federal side of the question. When in our sore need in the Crimea we thought that on the friendly soil of America we might rally to our side some of our own subjects, although the effort was made with the utmost delicacy, we all remember what an outburst of indignation there was upon the part of the Yankees; how Mr. Crampton, our Minister at Washington, was dismissed, and the most violent threats levelled at our heads. But when it comes to be the turn of America to be in peril, and in need of men to fight her battles, she has no scruple whatever in sending her recruiting sergeants to Ireland. Nor does she hesitate to establish a worse body of aficials upon our shores. There is no man in Liverpool who is known to take an active sympathy in the events passing in America, and who, from his wealth or position, is able to give effect to his sympathy, who is not under the sur veillance of the secret police of Mr. Lincoln's Govern -1114" This has long been notorious, and it is a sign of the sincere neutrality of the British Government that such things can be done. Whatever the Con federates may have gained from us the Federals have gained a hundred times more. We do not say they have done this through any friendliness on the part of the British Government, for that would exclude the idea of neutrality ; but it so happen s , partly from their greater command of money, but principally, of course, from their command of the seas, that the Yankees have the best of the bargain in the dealings of private merchants between this side of the Atlantic and the other. Now this is quite enough without say direct interference on the part of our Government to throw the weight of 1 advantage still more into the Yankee scale. Yet it appears that not only are the Federals allowed to have t heir own spies) in this country, but the British Government has actually undertaken the task for them. We can attach no other meaning to the state ment of the Home Secretary on Thursday. He said that not long ago he received a letter from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, transmit ting to him a copy of a communication addressed to him by the United Stites Minister in this coun try, alleging that certaifi vessels which he named were being fitted out, at Liverpool in violation of the provisions of the Foreign Enlistment Act. The Foreign Secretary inquired of the Home Secretary whether the allegation was true, and the Home Secretary at once applied for information to the Mayor of Liverpool, requesting him to havein quiry made according to the terms of the Foreig n Enlistment Act. Upon receipt of this communica tion the Mayor took counsel with the Watch Com mittee, and certain members of the detective com mittee were told off to investigate the matter. Now it is said, and the Home Secretary can only reply' that he has no reason to believe it, that these de tectives have had resort to bribery in prosecuting their inv. stigations. But putting that aside, we should like to be told what right the American Minister in Lordon has to interfere in the govern ment of this country, and whether Earl Russell thinks that he is maintaining the honour of the Crown by permitting that interference and acting in deference to its dictation. The Fureign Enlist ment Act is no part of international law, and it is quite as indecorous an act, on the part of Mr. Adams to meddle with our administration of that law as it would be if he were to meddle with our Game Laws. But his impropriety would be harmless if Earl Rus sell had the nerve and manly spirit to resist it with becoming dignity. Besides it this were really a question arising out of our international relations, and not merely a question of purely domestic law, there could be nothing more unjust, when it is notorious that the Federals have been drawing enormous supplies of ammunition, rifles, &c., from this country, to permit them to do as they please, and only to become on the alert when we can foil the weaker opponent. This would be a winking neutrality and a cowardly one. We regret to say that we do not see in Earl Russell the determina tion which is requisite to deal with our transatlan tic friends at the present juncture. There is a great deal too much of truckling and servile complaisance shown to these gentlemen. In the reply sent by Earl Russell the other day to the owners of the Peterhoff, the noble earl laid it down as good law, that a British ship might be seized anywhere by a belligerent, and carried into a prize court, so long as a legal ground of seizure is alleged. We cannot believe that this is law; because, if it were so there would be no possibility of commerce, except at the mercy of the officers of a belligerent's fleet.. We feel sure that Earl Russell would not have laid. down this elastic position if Admiral Wilkes had been in command of a Danish vessel. We should then have had a very different story. But at pre sent the whole aim of the noble earl's policy, as far as America is concerned, seems to be to conciliate at any cost and all cost. And what, let us ask, is the return we get far this extremely considerate forbearance on the part of our Foreign Secretary Let him read it in the speeches of Gen. Butler, in the harangues of the Unionists, who hate England even more fiercely than they hate the South ; and who detest an Englishman almost as much as they do a negro. Amidst the frantic cheers of a New Voris meeting of ladies and gentlemen, war with. England is clamoured for. And this is not the ebullition of an hour of madness; not the fury born of a passing event, like the waylaying of the Trent. It is the inborn sentiment of the Yankee breast; sentiment which he imbibes with his mother's milk, and which has now reached the point of boiling heat. Let Earl Russell rest satisfied that it is not by truckling to such men that they will be conciliated. The nettle must be clutched with a strong grasp, the cur must feel the weight of your foot, before the one will cease to sting, or the other to snarl. COUNTRY MARKETS. I.' WAKEFIELD-APRIL 17. The wheat trade is quiet to-day, and prices were about as dear as last week, In other articles there was no ma' terial alteration. STAMFORD-APRIL 17. White wheat, 48a to 50 s ; red, 418 to 46s per 36 stone• Barley, malting, 308 to 425; grinding, 28s to 30s per qr• Oats, 22s to 27s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 40s to 42s per qr. ; new, 36s to —s. LIVERPOOL—APRIL 17. At this day's market there was a small attendance of the town and country trade, and wheat met an inactive de mand, at Tuesday's rates. Flour was rather lower, and difficult to sell. Oats and oatmeal at late rates, but a slow' sale, Indian corn in fair demand, and firm Barley and peas ruled easier. Egyptian beans rather dearer. EXETER—Arum 17. Wheat, white.. 6s 3d to 6s 4d Barley. 4s 3d to 4 s O d I Ditto red. .6s Od to 6s 3d Oats .. ..... ..2s 9d to 3s 6a Flour, fine, 36s to 375; seconds, 34s to 35s per sack. CATTLE. Fat beef, p se., 10s0d to 10s9d Ewes, per lb ....sid to 61 3 Pork carcases, 7s 6d to 8s 6d 1 Wethers, d 0..... 61d to 73 Lamb, p 1b.......—cl to d Fat calves, d0...61d to 7d• Rough fat, 3d per lb. BRISTOL SUGAR-APRIL 17. ----- --- . Business has almost been suspended this week, ow i n g to the uncertainty as to an alteration in the duties. The tra de appear inclined to work out their large stocks rather tha n purchase at the present asking prices. Refined goods are in moderate demand. COAL M . Yrfoes of Coal per Ton at ARKET. the clotie of the market. s. d. Holywell 15 6 Byass's Bebside West Hartley .... 15 3 Davison's West Hart ley 15 3 Carway and Dufrryn Malting . .. 19 6 Tantield Moor Butes l2 6 Walker Primrose 11 3 Eden Main 14 9 Wylam l5 6 West Hartley 15 3 North Felton Gas . 13 0 Walls End. Haswell .. . l7 , 6 , Hartlepool 1 6 7 Kelloe South Kelloe l6 f', / Riddell . . . Whitworth 15 ° Hetton l7 6 Fleugh Hall 1 6 6 Tunstall Ti irudon Hartlepool l4 6 ;t, 22 ; sold, 15. Ships at marke Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. AuKralia and Mauritius, via Southampton ~Apr. 1 8 : via Marseilles Apr. 1 ' brazil and Cape V er d s , b y B r i t i s h pac k et. May `±' Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena. May 3. 0. China, Penang, and Si ngapore, v i a S out h alopton. A pr . %. via Marseilles Apr. l'' Falkland Islands .. Nay 1: Gibraltar, via Southampt on India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton—Apr. 1 , 8 " via Marseilles Apr. l i ,"' India (Bombay), via Southampton .. Apr. „l v t ,' via Marseilles Apr. r" Portugal.... , May '' Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Apr. II : via Marseilles May. iug - Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... Apr. 16 ' by U.S. packet... W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and 1 u. Apr., Bahamas, via New York May i' Mexico.. Apr. 26 ' by Canadian packet... Apr. lq. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, I A p r, 2 8 ' California, and British Columbia.. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Pills.—Restorers Uf Health.—This medicine concentrates in a surprising 1) 0 : 1 ner all the artificial means of purifying, regulating, ana strengthening the animal powers. Holloway's pills has for many years enj o y e d th e mos t ex t ens i ve p a t ro nage, and 1g have had testimonials awarded to them, which eV to volumes in their praise. In many cases these pills see l3l exercise a specific effect over diseases, which i s ma nifes 94 by the comfortable feelings of the patient, and by the 1 0 provement in the character of all th e secret i ons. The P i % act mildly 3et effectively on th e b owels; they do no t n ec°': sitato the habitual use of purgatives, like drastic drugs' they do not weake n t h e system, nor does their laxa tive action leave greaten liability to the patient's taking 00_ p Ol t London : Printed and Published by WILLTAM vll ly° l' fi ; of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office.—ty. Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the 0 31 i Middlesex.—Saturday, April 18, 1803. Births. far BATIIIIRST.—On the 17th inst., at 10, Upper Hyde - 1 3 ,4* gardens, the wife of Algernon Bathurst, Esq., " son. Ref' COLE.—On the 16th in st,, at Southsea, the wife of the T. H. Cole, Chaplain to the Forces, of a daughter. 0 f DREW.—On the 16th inst., at Plaistow, Essex, the Wif e Richard Drew, Esq., of a daughter. wife WARE.— On the 13th inst., at 3, Woburn- sq uare, the - of C. T. Ware, Esq., of a son. Marriages. FREEMAN—MERIVALE.—On the 16th inst.. at St..- -- v e ary Paddington, Willi am P eere, el d est son o f William ko,t-009 Williams Fre eman , E sq., o f P y l ewe ll -park, to Isabella, eldest daughter of Herman Merivale, P" . p WHITING—PRICE.—On the 16th inst., at West fi eelll to o lit Charles William Whiting, Esq., of Stoke New to Ann, eldest daughter of G. W. Price, Esq., of Newington. Deaths. void CASTLEMAN. —On the 16th inst., Henry Castleman , of Beech House, near Christcurch, Hants. ;t a 0 146 GILKES.—On the 17th inst ,at Steward-street, SP---1 Gilbert Gilkes, a ge d 57. , GIJRNEY.—On the 16th inst., at West-end, Northill Gurney, Esq., aged 47. - o r 0' HEWITT.—On the 16th inst. at Bath, Lieut.- Gen' Hewitt, Bengal Army, aged 72. VENNELL.—On the 16th inst , at Minerva-plae e t cross, Charles Yemen, Esq o f 11, C s anuon . tree , aged 60. 0 re, VERULAM.—On th e 16 t h inst. at at 42, G ro svenor - A Charlotte, D owager Countess' of Vetulam, aged