The Sun. — London, England, 1864-03-11 00:00:00

I TERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS—Last Evening, The LORD CHANCELLOR, took his seat on the woolsack 91 , 5 o'clock. Lord CHELMSFORD presented a petition from the C !orporation of Carlisle in favour of an amendment of the regulating the commencement of legal proceedings in ti le three parts of the United Kingdom. The LORD CHANCELLOR admitted the importance of tho szbject, and agreed with his noble and learned friend that some amendment was necessary, but there were great difficulties in the matter; but with the assistance of his leap ned friend be did not despair of surmounting them. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Land Mortgage Bank of India bill was read a second CHIEF RENTS (IRELAND) BILL. Tbis bill passed through committee, and was reported without amendment. TURNPIKE ROADS BILL. This bill was read a second time. SIR JOHN LAWRENCE'S SALARY BILL. This bill 'gas read a third time and passed. Th it lordships then adjourned. HOME OF COMMONS—Last Evening. The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The f)llowing bills were read a third time and passed : Hull Docks—Marple, New Mills, and Hayfield Junction Railway —and Southwark and Vauxhall Water. The London, Chatham, and Dover Railway (No. 2) Bill) was read a second time. LISBURN ELECTION AND BERWICK-ON TWEED ELECTION PETITIONS. The select committees to consider these petitions were appointed, and the first was ordered to sit at half-past 11 o'clock to-morrow. SALE OF LIQUORS PERMISSIVE BILL. A. very large number of petitions from different parte of the country were presented in favour of this bill. THE INVASION QF DENMARK. Mr. D. GRIFFITH gave notice that on Monday next he would move that, in the present opinion of the country, as to the outrage committed by the invasion of Denmark, it would be proper to suspend that portion of the law which would prevent the Danes from being supplied with ships from this country. The Railway Companies Powers Bal and the Railway (Construction Facilities) Bill were, on the motion of Mr. GIBSON, postponed until the ith of April. PRISON DIETARY.: Mr. BUXTON asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention had been drawn to a statement recently made by ➢lr. E. Chadwick, before the Society of Arts, that "taking 104 prison returns, which enabled a comparison of the twenty gaols where the expense and the quantity of the diet were the lowest, the twenty where the expense and the quantity of the diet were the highest, and the twenty where they were intermediate, the results came out as follows : 20 Lowe3t 20 Inter- Prison mediate 20 Diets. Diets. Highest. Ounces of solid food per week 188 213 228 Cost per head per week Sick per cent 3 18 23/ Deaths per 1,000 and whether he would cause any inquiry to be made on the subject ? Sir G. GREY said he had not seen the statement re ferred to, and he could not say on what grounds it had been founded, but the subject should be investigated. RIFLE VOLUNTEERS. Mr. BENTINCK asked the tinder Secretary of State for War, upon what grounds the prayer of a petition to the War-office from four companies of Rifle Volunteers, viz., the sth, 16th, 17th, and 23d, raised in the county of Nor• folk, the petition praying that according to the 'War-office regulations these four companies should be formed fnto a separate administrative battalion, and having been pre sented to the War-office by the Lord Lieutenant of the county of Norfolk was refused ? The Marquis of HARTINGTON said that under the present regulations battalions should be composed of six companies. SUB-INSPECTORS OF FACTORIES. Lord J. MANNERS asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps, if any, had been taken to comply with the requests contained in the memorial of the sub-inspectors of factories presented to him last year ? Sir G. GREY said that the subject had been brought tinder the consideration of the Government, and on a future occasion he would make a statement on he subj ect. CONCENTRATION OF THE COURTS OF JUSTICE. Mr. A. MILLS asked the First Commissioner c f Works whether it was intended to introduce any measure during the present session for the concentra ration of the courts of justice,: And whether his atten tion had been called to the serious depreciation of property on the site recommended by the Commissioners of 1859, in consequence of the uncertainty which had prevailed during the last three years as to the intentions of the Government on the subject ? Mr. CO WPER, said that he was unable to give a full explanation on the subject at present, but hoped shortly to be able to satisfy the hon. member. Mr. TRACEY asked the Secretary of the Admiralty whether, having regard to the demand for lieutenants as gunnery instructors having become so much greater than the supply, that during the last five years no officer had been allowed to remain in the school of gunnery long enough to obtain a competent knowledge of the sulject, it was the in tention of the Admiralty to hold out any inducements to officers to qualify as instructors? Lord C. PAGET sail that at present he could not state the intentions of the Admiralty, but he trusted ho should be able to do so on a future occasion. Sir R. CLIP ro:v asked the Under Secretary of State for War, by whose authority an order has been made in the storekeeper's department of the It ,yal Military Clothing Depot at Pimlico, by which the pensioner clerks, non commissioned officers, are required to apply for a pass for the police on accidentally leaving the building, the same order not existing in the other branches of the establish ment ? Tho Marquis of HARTINGTON said the clerks were not required to apply for passes, and they had only to give their names to the porter's clerk in passing through the building. THE RECENT CASES OF ALLEGED STAR VATION. In reply to Lord ROBERT CECIL, Sir G. GREY said he could not then state wha measures would be adopted in reference to this subject. REGIUS PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN THE UNI VERSIT Y . OF OXFORD. Mr. G. CLIVE asked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to make any provision for placing the stipend of the Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford on a proper footing, he being appointed by the Crown. The CHANCELLOR ct the EXCHEQUER said that there was no fund at the disposal of Government available for this purpose. THE PENAL SERVITUDE BILL. In reply to Sir J. PAKINOTON, Sir G. GREY said the further consideration of this bil should stand over until Thursday next, THE GOVERNMENT ANNUITIES BILL.—STATE MENTS OF THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EX CHEQUER. Mr. SHERIDAN drew the attention of the house to the statements of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in regard to the British Provident Society, which he opined were quite unfounded. That society was estab lished only eight years, and had regularly registered their b a l ance s h ee t s . The action to which the right hon, gen tleman referred was not an issue sent to a jury, but merely I a question tried before the Court of Chancery between the official manager and a shareholder, and there was no foundation for the statement that the shareholders of the society were obliged to apply to the Court of Chancery for protection for their policies. He vindicated himself from personal allusions which had been made to him, and he trusted he should not again be called on to make any further statement on this subject. The CHANCELLOIt of the EXCHEQUER said he would refer to the documents on which his statements had been founded, and, if in error, he would be prepared to cor rect himself. THE STATE OP THE NAVY. Mr. IL BERKELEY drew the attention of the house to the defective state of the armament of the navy. He said that an improvement had taken place in the building of ships, but he could not say the same with regard to their armament, which he contended was in a defective state. Re contrasted the superiority in this department of the Russian and American nations, referring particularly to the feats performed by the Alabama and o f t h e Russians during the Crimean war. He strongly condemned the wholesale adoption of the Armstrong guns, and entered into different details in illestration of his views, THE PRINCE CONSORT AND THE LIVELY. Sir J. ELPHINSTONE asked the Secretary to the Ad miralty the circumstances under which her Majesty's ship the Prince Consort was ordered to Liverpool in November last, the state of the ship when the orders reached Devon port, and various other particulars. The hon. baronet also askel some questions relating to her Majesty's gunboat the Lively, which had been ordered last November to the North Sea, to relieve certain vessels which were blown about by the heavy gales which prevailed at that time. The result was what might be expected would befal a vessel so totally unfit for performing such a duty as the Lively. He wished to kno w who was responsible for the loss df this vessel, and for sending the Prince Consort to Liverpool, when in an in complete state, by which she was put in jeopardy. H e be lieved that both vessels were sent on those expeditions, the one to oblige probably a member of Parliament, and the other for the purpose of "bunkum," to show the Americans that there was a determination to detain the steam rams. (A laugh.) CASE OF HENRY CARLETON THOMAS. Sir J. PAKINGTON called the attention of the house the circumstances under which the Admiralty refused to appoint Henry Carleton Thomas, now serving as a tempo rary clerk in Portsmouth Dockyard after 8 years' service in the same capacity at Malta, to a permanent clerk pon the establishment at home; and asked the Secre'a•N to the Admiralty whether the case might be reconsidered. FRENCH ARTILLERY. Mr. DAMER asked whether there had been any trial in this country of the French breech-loading cannon, firing 301bs spherical shot and 601bs cylindrical shell, which have, by French accounts, answered so well, piercing 41 inchesof iron at 1,000 yards. MINISTERIAL REPLIES, Lord C. PAGET, in reply to tke last speaker, said that there had been no trials in this country of the French gun to which he alluded, and it was much np to doubt whether the gun was so powerful as had been stated. In answer to the right hon. gentleman the member for Droitwich (Sir J. Pakington) he had to state that Mr. Thomas was tem porarily, and not continuously, employed in the High Cotirt of Admiralty at Malta. The Duke of Somerset was anxious that he should be placed upon the establishmeut,and allowed him to be examined by the Civil Service Commission. He failed, however, in the test qualification, and,under these cir cumstances, the Duke of Somerset had no alternative but to reject his application for a permanent clerkship. His grace would have been glad if the rules had allowed him to place Mr. Thomas on the establishment, As to the camplaints raised by the hon. member for Pot tsmouth (Sir J. Elphin stone),'respecting the sending out of the gunboat Lively, the case was simply this—There was a fearful gale in the North Sea; a large number of trawling-boats were missing,and a very urgent application was made to the Admiralty to send a vessel to save the lives of the crews. The only vessels then in readiness were the Medusa, a fair-sized paddle-steamer and two gunboats, The application proceeded from the cor poration of Hull, and he believed some other borough in the north ; and what, he would ask, would hon. members have said if the Admiralty had refused to send the ships? Well, the ships were sent out, and the gunboat Lively, when near the coast of Holland, was caught in a severe gale, which carried away her foremast, and she was lost. The sending out of these vessels had been brought forward as a grave accusation against the Admiralty ; but he need only say that the step was taken at the desire of the Duke of Somerset, who was willing to accept the whole responsibility of it. He need not allude particularly to the circumstance which in duced the Admiralty to require the services of the Prince Consort. Reports were in circulation that certain 'vessels in the Mersey wore about to put to sea, and the Prince Con sort was sent to prevent their doing so. Unfortunately, the moment she left Devonport there came on a gale, and, in running up the Irish Channel, she was met by one of the heaviest gales which had occurred for many years. The vessel rolled; but that was a peculiarity of armour-ships. In the Race of Holyhead she shipped a good deal of water, and the officers were afraid to put into Holyhead. By this time the water was over the engine-room floor, and the cap tain, finding he could not bear up for Holyhead, ran for Dublin. For a certain time the vessel lay to and did not take in a drop water, but when she was again forced against the sea she again shipped a great deal, and when they arrived at Dublin they were extremely glad to get their anchors down. Now, in armour ships they did not like to make holes in the armour plates, and consequently the scuppers were nct of the ordinary kind, and the consequence was there was no free exit for the water. In fact, it was an experiment, which failed. When the vessel returned he examined her himself, and it was plain there had been no strain, as was in the first instance conjectured, and literally the damage done to the vessel in the gale was under £l,OOO. She was afterwards put into dock, and a considerable sum of money was expended upon her, which, however, had nothing whatever to do with the accident, but had reference to the prevention of galvanic action between the copper b;ttom and the armour plating. As to the question put by the hon. member for Bristol (Mr. 11. Berkeley), it would lead the house to believe that for some time past the Americans had armed their ships more efficiently than we had. The hon. gentleman, however, was entirely mistaken, for we had had for a great number of years past shells for every kind of broadside gun in our navy. In that respect we had not been behind the Americans, although they certainly had placed more reliance than we did on guns adapted for shells cnly. The Americans attached great importance to what they call " smashing effects"—(a laugh)—and did not attri bute great importance to a very high initial velocity. We, on the contrary, had always attached great importance to guns of great range. On introducing the navy estimates, he had stated that the Admiralty were not satisfied with the 100. pounder Armstrong gun, but let it not be supposed that they condemned it :7; toto. In the attack on Kagosima a 100-pounder was used on board the flag-ship, and the com plaints were that the vent-pieces blew out ; and, what was worse, in one instance the vent-piece jammed, and conse quently the gun was rendered hors de combat. But, at the same time, it was stated that the precision of these guns and the precision of the bursting of the shells was some thing marvellous. On board some of the ships, however, they did not report so favourably. After carefully reading the whole of the reports, he felt disposed to admit that there were great defects in the guns, though he could not conceal from himself that they also possessed great merits. However, under the circumstances, not being satisfied with the position of matters, the Duke of Somerset ap plied to Lord Hetb.,rt for a good and simple smooth-bore gun for the use of the navy. He proposed that the gun should be limited to 64 tons, as the Admiralty considered that that was the limit which a seagoing ship should carry as a broadside. In reply, the Wm Office told them they could give the navy a 9-inch gun, smooth-bore, carrying spherical shot weighing 110 pounds. No doubt they were satisfied with that gun for a time, for it pierced 5/-inch plates; and accordingly a requisition was made to the War Office for a supply of them, in order to arm the navy. Still, nut being ultimately satisfied, they decided upon arming the Minotaur and Bellerophon experimentally with 300-poun- ders, weighing 12 tons, and carrying spherical shot of 150 pounds. Honourable gentlemen might say that Parrott's and Brook's guns were both superior to those adopted by the Admiralty. Well, he was not prepared to say whether they were or not. As regarded America, his honest opinion was that neither country could say which had had the best of it in the matter of guns ; but, as regarded France, his belief was that they were more advanced than France. However, with respect to America, they had been enabled to send out a very intelligent officer, who would be afforded the opportunity of looking through their factories, and ascertaining what gun they preferred. At the same time, notwithstanding all that had been said out of doors, ho very much doubted whether any country was more advanced than they were in the matter of their artillery. General PEEL could not admit that the War Department should be made responsible for the arming of the navy ; it was for the navy to decide for themselves what was the best gun to be adopted. He declared the 12 -pounder Armstrong to be the best field gun in the world, and that the 40-poun der Armatrongs were equally satisfactory. Ho, however, blamed the 'War Department for having ordered so many as 500 of the 110-pounders, without sufficient inquiry as to the value of the gun. Lord LOVAINE, reverting to the case of Mr. Thomas, complained that it was very hard that that gentleman's promotion should have been interfered with, after a continuous service of eight years in one department. Sir F. BARING argued that when a temporary clerk had been employed in a department for a number of years, and his superiors reported satisfactorily of him, he ought not to be subjected to any further test in order to entitle him to promotion. (Hear, hear.) After all, the proof of the pud ding was in the eating. Sir F. SMITH, having been a member of the ordnance select committee, could state that the committee had not been able to get guns from Mr. Whitworth wherewith to make the necessary experiments. He also declared that the Armstrong guns had not produced the effects hoped for, and they had no guns of a large calibre on which they could rely. He thought the 110-pounders mi;ht prove a very useful gun if they could be made sufficiently safe. THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. In reply to Mr. H. SEYMOUR, Sir G. GREY said the Government had no hopes of being able to introduce a measure for the reform of the ecclesias tical courts during the present session ; but the Lord Chan cellor did hope to bring in a bill for the reform of the registries. The house then went into committee of supply on the NAVY ESTIMATES. The first vote was for a sum of £1,275,316, to defray the wages of artificers in her Majesty's establishments at home, The vote was put and passed sub silentia. However, On the next vote, which was for a sum of £69,205, to de fray the wages of artificers abroad, Sir 11. WILLOUGHBY rose, and complained that the last vote had been put without almost any one being aware of it, and that the civil lord (Mr. Stansfeld) had not made his promised statement accounting for the increase in the vote. Mr. LINDSAY moved that the chairman report pro gress, as the vote had been taken without the fulfilment of the distinct pledge given by the Government that full explanations would be previously made. • Sir J. ELPHINSTONE seconded the amendment. Mr. MASSE Y - said he had put the vote in the usual way. Unless it was desirous to move the reduction of the vote, it would be competent for the civil lord to make whatever ex planations were necessary upon the amendment now before the committee. Sir J. PA.KINGTON did not attribute any blame to the chairman, but was surprised at the rapidity with which that vote had been placed in his hands. (Hear, hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EX.CHEQU ER regretted that a miscarriage had occurred, and suggested that the vote should be recommitted on a future evening, and considered in the usual way. Mr. BRIGHT—This is not what has been called a mis carriage. It seems to me to have very much the appearance of a trick. (Hear, hear,) Ido not know who is guilty of it, but 1 do not think the hon member for Halifax would, on his own mere notion, have taken the course which has been taken. My hon. friend and I were in our pl a ces, and yet this million of money slipped through without our was noticing it, although the lion member was understood to be ready to begin his speech. Certainly there is in this some thing very insulting to the house ; and although there may Le some difficulty, I do not think the proper way will be to report progress, and take the discussion of the vote on a future evening. The last thing a Government should do is to take advantage of the house on a question of money and a vote of this kind. (Hear, hear.) After a few words with Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. LINDSAY said he must press his motion to report progress, inasmuch as it would bring the house back to the position it was in when vote No, 8 was taken. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the hon. member for Birmingham had made use of language which he thought was not easily justified. The hcn. mem ber, he thought, should not make use of the terms " trick " and "insulting to the house," when a misfortune or mistake occurred, unless he were prepared to say to whom he applied these terms. After what had passed he would not proceed with the navy estimates that night, but it was necessary that the vote should be passed in order to obtain the Act of Appropriation, which must be agreed to before the Easter recess. (No, no.) After a brief conversation, the motion for reporting pro- gress was withdrawn, on the understanding that no more votes on the navy eztimates should be taken that night, and _ . that vote No. 8 should on a subsequent evening be recom mittd. with a view of hearing Mr. Stansfeld's statement, and for discussion on it, THE SCHELDT DUES. Mr, F, PEEL moved a vote of £179,000 for the redemp- tion of the Scheldt toll. A treaty had been made by the Powers of Europe, but more especially between Holland and Belgium, for the purpose of relieving vessels navigating the Scheldt from the tolls, and a sum equal to £1,450 was paid by Belgium, she receiving from the different countries of Europe about £900,000 according to their relative inte rests in the navigation of the Scheldt, as represented by their respective amounts of shipping on that river. By a treaty of 1839 the Belgian Government undertook to pay the toll itself, and to reimburse the Government of Holland in the same manner as if it had the toll on the vessels going up. This arrangement had continued in force , but for some time past Belgium had complained of the increasing sum annually required to satisfy Holland, and had represented that if this continued she must leave other countries to pay the toll for themselves. The tolls had increased from 1,449,000 f in 1856 to 2,176,000 f in 1861, which was the last year of whichhe had any returns. The amount of toll charged for British vessels had increased in the same proportion, and from `200,000f in 1851, had risen to 536,000 f in 1537, and 668,000 f in 1861, the share which this country was to contribute was £350,000 or thereabouts. Belgium having be pay these dues for foreign ships, had compensated herself by levying heavy tonnage and pilotage dues. In considera tion, however, of the Scheldt dues being redeemed, she had consented to :remit the tonnage dues altogether, and to greatly reduco the pilotage and harbour dues in her ports. The direct relief afforded by these deductions and remis sions provided for in the treaty of commerce would be £5,000 a year. It was proposed that, of the amount to be paid by England, one moiety should be paid during the present year, and one moiety in the second year. Mr. A. SMITH asked for certain explanations in regard to the Scheldt dues, and replies were given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The vote was then agreed to. _ The Marquis of HAB.TINGT ON then brought in a sup plemental army estimate for army services for the year 1863.4. The principal item in it was one of £119,892 for disallowances made by the India Office in respect to troops serving in India from the year 1854 to 1861. In the latter year the payment of a capitation allowance on our troops serving iu that country commenced ; and from that period there would, he believed, be no difficulty in settling the, accounts of each year within the year. Previously it was, however, impossible to close the accounts within the year. A sum of £401,000 had been received from the India Board in settlement for past claims against them in respect to the army, but it was impossible for the War Office to take credit for this, and it was necessary to take a vote for the £119,000 with which we were debited. The war in New Zealand had been the cause of nearly the whole of the remainder of the vote, which amounted altogether to £409,000. This was due to the increase in pay and regimental allowances to the troops serving there ; to extensive purchases of horses for the cavalry and military train; and to heavy commissariat expenses, caused by the high price of provisions and th• large sums which had to be paid for lodging the troops and for providing storehouses. The noble marquis then moved the vote of £409,000. Mr. WILLIAMS commented upon the expense entailed upon this country by founding colonies, for the establish ment of which it was requisite to take the property of savage tribes. Sir H. WIl. LOUGHBY asked if they were to understand that the accounts between the War Office and the India Office were now finally closed ? The Marquis of HARTINGTON raid that they were closed up to the year 1861. The sum included in the esti mates of the present year which was due to the war in New Zealand was about £300,000. The supplemental vote of £-109,000 was then agreed to. WAYS AND MEANS. In committee of ways and means, Mr. PEEL moved the following resolutions :-1. That, towards making good the supply granted to her Majesty, for the service of the year ending ivlarch 31, 1864, the sum of £584,650 be granted out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2. That, towards making good the supply granted to her Majesty, the sum of £4,500,000 be granted out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The resolutions were agreed to. THE MUTINY BILL. The house then went into committee on this bill. Clauses 1 to 21 inclusive were agreed to. On clause 22, which sanctioned the infliction of the punishment of flogging, Mr. COX moved the ornisson of the clause. He believed that this punishment was brutal and demoralising. Nor was it necessary for the maintenance of discipline. For the dia. cipline of the French and Austrian arinli e was quite as good as that of our own ; and yet in neither of these armies was there any corporal punishment. Certainly, if it is resorted to at all, it should only be for serious offsnces. But the fast is that men were now flogged for the most trivial offences. In one instance during the last year a man re ceived 40 stripes for the use of bad language. Why, if every member of that house who used bad language wore to be flogged, how many of them would escape corporal punishment? (Laughter.) While a civilian who com•• mitted a theft was only punished with imprisonment, a soldier was subjected to lashes inflicting marks upon him for life. This ought not to be. The infliction of this pun ishment was an outrage upon our c vilisation and our Christianity; and it was utterly inconsistent with the sup port which we gave to the Northern States of America for relieving the negro from the lash, or with the indignation which we poured out upon Russia for the use of the knout. Mr. WILLIAMS seconded the motion. It was dis- graceful to allow the infliction of this punishment upon men whom we regarded as the pride and honour of the country, He thought the committee would be doing a thing highly creditable in assenting to the motion of the hon. gentleman. Mr. AYRTON observed that at one time as many as 2,000 lashes were inflicted upon the soldier, and when pro posals were made for a diminution of the number the same arguments were resorted to in support of corporal punish ment that were heard to-day. But the maxim number of lashes had been since reduced to fifty, and yet the charac ter and discipline of the British army had suffered no detri ment in consequence. In India flogging was not allowed in the native army, and the native soldier was in the habit of pointing with scorn at the English soldier, because he was subjected to the lash, which was a state of things that ought never to exist in that country. Mr. WHITE also supported the amendment. The Marquis of HARTINGTON reminded the house that the British army was largely recruited from the most degraded classes of the community,and said unless a soldier had proved himself a man of incorrigibly bad character he was never subjected to the lash. The total number of such punishments in the army had materially decreased within the last few years. Mr. BASS suggested a remedy that the bad characters in the army should be got rid of without flogging, and not flogged first and dismissed afterwards. Major STUART, whilst expressing dislike of the use of the lash, was of opinion that there were many cases, which he indicated, in which no other punishment would be sufficient. Mr. COX having briefly replied, The committee divided, and the amendment was nega tived by 45 to 42. The clause was then agreed to. Mr. COX next moved the omission of clause 26, relating to the punishment of branding, which ho denounced as even a more brutal and degrading punishment than flogging. The proposal led to a warm and animated discussion, in the course of which Mr. HEADLAM (the Judge Advocate General) ssid that whatever sympathy he might have with the gentlemen who had spoken against flogging, he could not help thinking that a good deal of zeal and humane sen timent had been wasted in reference to branding, for the fact was that it inflicted little or no pain at all. It was re • sorted to in consequence of men of bad character on being dismissed from one regiment enlisting into another for the sake of the bounty money. He considered, therefore, that the punishment was necessary and indispensable. Mr. BRIGHT observed that almost the only other coun try in which branding was practised was the slave States of America, and there the negro was marked with the name of his owner. Ho warned the house that this country was approaching a revolution in regard to labour, in consequence of the extent to which emigration was being carried on. The demand for labour was even now overrunning the sup ply. Wages would probably rise very much, even in the agricultural districts, and that being the case they would by and bye find greater difficulty in recruiting the army than at the present moment. To maintain our Indian army alone 10,000 recruits were required annually; and ho should recommend that the army should be made as little distaste ful and as honourable as possible to those who took service in it. Colonel KNOX said there were men in the army whom it was impossible to control without having recourse to the most coercive measurEs. So far as branding was concerned it was resorted to to protect the State from a fraudulent transaction. Captain JERVIS stated that there were very many offi cers opposed to the infliction of these punishments, unless for cowardice or misconduct in the face of the enemy; and he himself would be glad to dispense with them, provided an equally efficacious substitute could be found, and the House of Commons would vote a sum of money equivalent to the amount which the re•enlistmv. n t of desertes would be sure to entail upon the country. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER consi. THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 11, 1864 dered it necessary to retain the punishment of branding as a part of our military code, if for no other reason than the influence which the example must exercise upon other re• giments. _ _ The committee divided, and the amendment was nega• tived by 80 to 50. The clause was then agreed to, and the bill passed through committee. The Marine Mutiny Bill also passed through committee, In committee of the whole house, Mr. LAWSON moved for leave to bring in a bill to enable owners and occupiers of property in certain districts to prevent the common sale of intoxicating liquors within such districts. Mr. H. BRUCE intimated on the part of the Govern ment that there was no objection to the introduction of the bill, but they could not pledge themselves to give it their support in the future stages. On the CHAIRMAN putting the question, the opponents of the motion insisted on a division, which resulted in leave being given by 70 to 36. Subsequently the bill was brought in and read a first time. The house adjourned at 10 minutes to 11 o'clock. RAILWAY INTEL LICENCE, CALEDONIAN. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Tuesday at Glasgow ; Lieut.-Col. Salkeld, the chairman, presided. The report was taken as read. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, said it afforded the directors great pleasnre be enabled to recommend the shareholders a higher divie.end than on any former occasion. (Hear.) For some time past the receipts of the company had been gradually increasing, owing, in the first place, to the general prosperity of the district occupied by:the railway; in the second place, to the increased facilities which had been given from time to time for the development of the traffic on the older partion of their railway; and thirdly, owing to the additional traffid which was brought upon the main line through the medium of branches which had been recently opened. They had expended upon new branches during the past half-year £124,000; and when the branches now in course of construction were opened for traffic ho felt sure that they would not only yield a good in terest on the capital invested, but, by opening up new sources of revenue, they would be the means of bringing to the parent line additional amounts of traffic which would prove highly remunerative. The total amount which had now been expended on the new branches that were not yet opened was £565,000 ; and, although they had paid interest on this large sum out of current revenue, they still were enabled from the same source, after a most efficient maintenance of the permanent way and plant, after fish-jointlng the rails upon the old line when they were retewed and rebuilding bridges with a durable, instead of perishable material, of which they were originally constructed, they were still erabled to cffdr a dividend for the past half•year at the rate of 6i per cent. per annum. (Hear, hear,) The working expenses hai been somewhat higher than during the half-year ending January, 1863, but so long as the working expenses continued to oscillate between 40 and 42 pe: cent., there could be no good ground for complaint. For his own part he could not but regard a very lo fee rate of working expenses with some degree of doubt and misgiving ; for, unless they were subsilised from some extraordinary fund, they conveyed b his mind the idea of ineffi cient maintenance o! permanent way and rolling stock; and when they remembered the appalling effects of railway accilents, attended too often with much personal suffering, and not unfrequently with loss of life, to say notaing of the destruction of pro perty which always sccompanied them, it behoved the directors of a company like theirs to avail them selves of every means to insure the safety of the traveller which modern ingenuity and skill had placed at their dispoeal. Hence it was that a larger surd had been expeneed in the maintenance of the permanent way, in signals, and other appliances connected therewith, than on any former occasion. Moreover, the directors were impressed with the belief that increased safety and additional accom modation provided 'or the travelling community were calculated to earn for the company an in creased amount of pinlic patronage, and that view, they thought, was materially verified by the results of the past half-year, during which period they had carried 265,387 more passengers than during the corresponding period of last year, yielding to the company an increased amount of revenue for pas senger traffic alone during the same period of no less than £14,443. He thin adverted to the bills now before Parliammt in wlieta the company were in tnesta d for extending taeir lines in Glasgow, and regretted that the Eliuturgh and GlasgowCcmpany had refused to become joint owners with them of a line from Buchanan-strict to the north harbour of Glasgow, on condition that the Edinburgh and Glasgow Company shend withdraw a bill they were promoting in Parliarneat for a similar object. They wanted no monopoly, and w ere quite prepared to give the Edinburgh Ind Glasgow company the same advantages and floilities that they might ob tain for themselves; tut the traffic on the north side of the Clyde wasof such magnitude and im• portance that they cculd never consent to be de prived of it. Tho bi) which was promoted in the present session for aualgamating the Caledonian, the Edinburgh and Glasgow, and the Central Companies was lost cal the second reading. This he regretted, for mole than one reason. Had it been allowed to go into the committee-room, the misrepresentations wlieh had been published, and which had hoodwinks and blinded the public re- specting the bill would have been dispersed. He also regretted it bectuse the facilities which the promoters of that bil • were prepared to offer, not only to the public, but to the east coast companies, as well as to the west coast companies. By the operation of that bill :he North British, the North Eastern, and the Greet; Northern companies would not only have had the most ample facilities for the transmission of their traffic to Glasgow and Perth, but in the event of those facilities not proving satis factory to these co m p an i es , they would have been empowered to run th e i r own trains to Glasgow and Perth, to appoint their own booking clerks, their own agents, and th e i r own carters, so that the public would have had all the advantages of com petition as between the companies. By utilising existing lines, and opening these lines up to all corners, the necessity for duplicate lines would have been entirely:done away with—(cheers) —and those gentleman who had invested their property in the existing undertakings would have still derived a fair remuneration from that investment. The 5 not only proposed to give facilities, sup ported by running powers, to the three east coast , companies which he had named, but it was also arranged with the London and North-Western and the Midland Companies to give these two great companies running powers both to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and in return those companies were to give to the Caledonian Company running powers over the whole of the Lancaster and Carlisle line, which would have pat this company in direct com munication with the Lancashire and Yorkshire and all the main lines in England. In short, a bill framed on a more liberal principle never was brought before Parli-ament. (Hear, bear.) Mr, T. HILL seconded the motion for the adop tion of the report, and it was carried unanimously. In reply to a cinestion it was stated that the cons. pany were now paying interest on £505,000 of un productive c a pit a l e zpended on lines that were not yet ready for traffic. sh H ar a e B B o l l ,o u r tio t n h s e werehair passed declaring the usual divi dends on th e p re t erenyceear an e d nd g i u n a g ra t u n t e ee 3 d is s t io j e t k u s u a a n ry d last, and also at the rate of 61- per cent, per annum on the ordinary consolidated stock of the company, less income tax, in each case payable on the 22d inst. and re-electing Mr. Fleming, the retiring auditor. The meeting was then made special, and the direc tors were authorised to raise £325,000, under five Acts of last Session, by the creation of orainary stock to that amount, and to borrow in respect thereof on debentures £108,300, and also to exercise the bor rowing powers confarred by two other Acts. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the proceedings. GREAT EASTERN. A meeting of A shareholders in this company (late Eastern Union) was held yesterday at Radley's Hotel, Blackfriars ; Mr. S. C. Cobbold, M,P., in the chair. Mr. AYRES read the notice conveDing the meeting. The CHAIRMAN, after giving an account of the various disagreeable transactions between the Eas tern Counties and Eastern Union Companies during several years up to the amalgamation of the com panies in the Great Eastern, explained that the only question now remaining to be decided was the amount they should take of Great Eastern stock for their A stock: A committee of shareholders and directors was appointed last year to consider the matter, and after careful inquiry and consideration had come to the unanimous opinion that the holders of A stock should accept £9B of Great Eastern ordi nary stock for every £lOO of their A stock. The Great Eastern Board had subsequently endeavoured to induce the holders of A stock to part with it at 95; but he (the Chairman) and those who acted with him took immediate steps to resist that unfair course. This resulted in an offer by the Great Eastern to abide by the decision of the committee, and to give the 98 in exchange for every 100 of A stock. With a view to put an end to further litiga tion, trouble, and expense, he recommended the acceptance of that offer, which he had reason to elieve would now be carried out fairly by the Great Eastern Board. He concluded by moving a formal resolution to the effect that the offer to ex change the A stock et 98 should be accepted. Captain JERVIS, M.P., seconded the motion, and it was carried unanimously. It was agreed that the balance of the fund re maining in hand, after paying the necessary law expenses, be placed at the disposal of the committee for their expenses. A cordial vote of thanks to the members of the committee for their valuable services, and also to the chairman for presiding, was passed. SHROPSHIRE UNION. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held at Shrewsbury yesterday, the Earl of Powis in the chair. A dividend at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum was declared, and the Hon. R. C. Hill, M,P., Mr. H, Tootal, and Mr. G. Stanton, retiring directors, and Mr. C. Towsheud, the retiring auditor, were re elected. The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman. ARGENTINE CENTRAL. It is proposed to construct this railway, with a guaranteed capital of £1,600,000. The guarantee is 7 per cent. from the National Government at Buenos Ayres. The line is to b 3 constructed by Messrs. Brassey, Wythes, and Waeelwright, who, it appears, are to undertake its completion in every respect for £5,400 per mile. It passes almost for its entire length of 247 miles over a dead level, and its working expenses are expected to be low. It is to commence at the port of Rosario, on the river Plate' and terminate at the city of Cordova, reputed to be one of the most healthy in the world. In addition to the 7 per cent. guarantee, the Government are to make a free gift of land on each side of the line, half of which will belong to the shareholders, the other half being taken by the contractors. GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA. It appears that the directors of this company, with a view to provide additional plant and accom modation for the increasing traffic, intend to issue "equipment mortgage bonds" to the amount of £250,000, being half the amount authorised by the Arrangements Act, 1862, which constitutes those bonds as a first charge upon the railway, works, and rolling stock of the company, the option of sub scribing for them being first given to the holders of bonds of the company or of stock issued in exchange for bonds. The bonds are to bear interest at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum, payable by coupons attached, and to be repayable i❑ 15 years. RAILWAY BILLS. Yesterday in the committee of the Commons the case for the London and South Western Railway Com pany's Kensington Extension Bill closed with the opposition of the London and North Western, and the committee took into consideration the case of the North and South Western Junction, which was opened by Mr. Burke, Q.C., and evidence taken. The committee rejected the Chichester and Midhurst (No. 1) and passed the Chichester and Midhurst (No. 3). They adjourned the consideration of the London, Brighton, and South Coast (steamboats), and other bills, until their second reading. The bill for the South Yorkshire was passed, and Mr. Cripps opened the case for the West Riding and Grimsby. The bills for the Blockley and Banbury and for the East and West Junction were passed, but the bill for the Chipping Norton and Banbury line was rejected. Mr. Denison, Q.C., and Mr. West opened the case for the promoters of the Market Harborough and East Norton was proceeded with, and evidence adduced. The bill for the Reigate and London (West-end) Junction was withdrawn. In the Lords the case for the third competing scheme of the Carnarvon and Llanberis was stated by Mr. Deni • son, and evidence taken in its favour. Naval and Military Intelligence. THE NAVY. About 150 tons of armour plating for the ironclad frigates Bellerophon and Lord Warden have been received at Chatham dockyard during the last few days from the Atlas and the Millwall ironworks. The plates for the Lord Warden average between six and seven tons each, and those for the Belle rophon rather more than seven tons each. One of the Bellerophon plates has been selected from those sent in and forwarded from the dockyard to Ports mouth, where it is to be experimented upon with the spherical steel shot. The plan suggested to the Admiralty by Admiral Tucker for the construction of steam engine boilers on a new principle, which the Lords of the Admi ralty ordered to be tested at Chatham dockyard, is now to be tried at Sheerness. The Ariadne, 26, 800 horse-power, Capt. E. W. Vansittart, is being dismantled in the Medway, pre paratory to being taken into the steam basin to be paid off into the third division of the steam reserve. Donald M'Gregor has been appointed Hon. Lieut. in the Royal Naval Reserve. The following appointments and promotions were were made yesterday at the: Admiralty :—Lieut. T. B. Barnett, to the Research ; Lieut. C. W. S. Blount, to the Duncan ; Lieut. J. L. Way, to the Bulldog ; Lieut. A. H. Webb, to the Majestic ;Lieut. John J. C. Smail and Lieut. A. K, Wilson, to the Gladiator; Silas Vieary, master, to the Gladiator; Robert Brown, master, to the Research ; William J. Eames, surgeon, to the Gladiator ; Henry Calloway, paymaster, to the Gladiator. ; George V. Wright, assist.-surgeon, to the Edgar; Peter Burgess, acting assist.-su►geon, to the Gladiator : B. Corrie, assist.- paymaster, to the Gladiator; George D. Dasnet, assist.-clerk, to the Gladiator; William 'Thomas, of the Fox, promoted to be engineer; and John B Grant, supernumerary in the Asia, promoted to first class assist.-engineer. THE WATCH TRADE,—" The number of watches pro duced at Ludgate-hill is something enormous, touching 15,00) yearly, manufactured en the most approved principle of division of labour, under the personal superintendence of the principal."—Mechanics' Magazine, Sept. 5, 1862. Chro nometer, duplex, lever, horizontal, repeaters, centre seconds, keyless, split seconds, and every description of watch adapted to all climates. Benson's illustrated pamphlet on watches, free by post for two stamps, contains a short history of watchmaking, with prices, from 3 to 200 guineas each. It acts as a guide in the purchase of a watch, and enables those who live in any part of the world to select a watch, and have it sent free and safe by post. Prize medal and honourable mention, classes 33 and 15. J. W. Benson, 33 and 34, Lud gate-hill, London. Established 1749. Watch and clock maker, by special warrant of appointment, to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Consumption, all nervous, bilious, liver, and stomach complaints, in every stage, are only ag gravated and accelerated by drugs of every description, but perfectly curable by Du Barry's health restoring Revalenta Arabics. Food, as proved by thousands of cases which had been considered hopeless. We quote a few.—Cure No. 62,914. Miss Lange, 18 years of age, cured after the medical men had abandoned all hopei of her recovery from the last stage of pulmonary consumption, with fearful cough, expectoration, exhaustion, spitting of blood, perapirations, hollow cheeks, emaciated to a skeleton. She is now, thank God, a perfectly health-, blooming, fleshy girl.—N. Lange, Commissaire de Police. Cure, No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Friniley Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting; of blood, liver derangement, and partial deafness.—Cure, No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion, gatherings, low spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure, No. 54,816. The Rev. James T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, of indigestion and torpidity of the liver, which had resisted all medical reatment. In tins, Ilb, 2s 9d ; 21b, 4.s 6d ; 51b, lig; 121 b, 228; 241 b, 10s. Barry du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London ; also Fortnum and Mason; and all grocers and chemists in every town of the United Kingdom. SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS, Timm —Among the many troubles incident to the present position of Denmark, perhaps the least evil is that everybody considers that he has a right to offer her advice. There is something gratifying to our natural love of superiority in lecturing our neighbours; it costs so little, and it does ns so much credit. If we advise them to be brave, we feel so valiant ourselves; if we advise them to be prudent, we feel such thorough confidence in our own wisdom and foresight. We do not pretend to be more free from these foibles than our neighbours, and therefore shall presuma in our turn to offer a word of counsel to a nation which many persons are endeavouring to lead astray in this the supreme moment of her destiny. There are not wanting those who tender to Denmark the advice usually given to the smaller boy in a street fight to " go in s ' and overthrow his gigantic antagonist. The advice is easily given, the whole difficulty is in the execu tion, with which the bystanders have no concern. There is something very agreeable in watching the process of a gallant defence against superior power, "How can a man die better," says Macaulay," than in facing fearful odds ?'"rhe question we wish to raise with Denmark is, not what is the best method of dying, but whether it is absolutely necessary to die at all. Before she accepts the advice of these fire-eating counsellors, Denmark would do wisely to consider what aid they are willing to extend to her in the struggle for life and death in which she is involved. Will they risk their lives, will they stake their money, will they so much as wet their fret, for the sake of a cause for which they urge Denmark to sacrifice her last dollar and her last man ? If her cause is so good, and the sympathy of other countries is so warm, why is itthat_she stands alone among such unexampled perils ? Why is it that even Sweden, whose very existence is threatened by the events that are now passing in the Cimbric Peninsula, makes no effort for her assistance? Let Denmark take a calm review of her present position. Like the Southern States of America, she doubtless at one time entertained a hope that some Power would come to her aid. But time wears on, and the expected aid comes not. She is alone in the world, confronted by two great military Powers, before either of whom it would be no disgrace for her to yield. It is quite clear that France, for whom she did and suffered so much in the wars of the Great Napoleon, has no intention of doing or suffering anything for her. It is equally clear that England does not understand the violation of a Treaty to which no guarantee was attached, or a matrimonial alliance which forms a link between two Royal families, as calling upon her to come to the rescue. Denmark is alone in the world, and all that we have been able to obtain for her is the offer of a Conference to be carried on without any cessation of hostilities. Let her pause before she rejects that offer, let her consider how she is for any long time to encounter the attack of Powers able to put ten men into the field against her one. Enough, and far more than enough, has been done for honour. Before the statue of that insatiable Moloch blood. has been already poured forth in reckless and over-abundant sacri fice. Denmark has confirmed for herself the etm• ratter which she long ago won in the face of Europe for steady and stubborn bravery, which adverse fortune can neither daunt nor depress. A further prolongation of hostilities cannot add materially to her renown, but may inflict such injury on her resources as centuries may not redeem. To push the struggle any further is to risk the destruction in battle of the flower and manhood of a scanty population without the possibility of inflicting a corresponding loss on her invaders, and to cripple the finances of a Monarchy by incurring a debt which every day of continued war renders her less able to pay. The struggle may doubtless be pro tracted, but success—such success as may enable Denmark to come out of the war in the condition which she desires—is scarcely within the range of possibility. Hope may suggest insurrections, re volutions, and civil wars; but all these belong to the domain of speculation, upon which no prudent man or wise kingdom presumes to build. If the Danish people will only look back to the last 12 years, they will see that it is from the very obsti nate and unbinding temper which we are now depre cating the present unfortunate position of the coun try has arisen. If Denmark would have listened during the last twelve years to such demands of Germany as were founded in reason and good faith, she would have averted that invasion which has been effected with such brutal and lawless violence. The sovereign people, who have so recently obtained absolute power, have yet to learn how necessary it is to control the popular will, and how easy it is for that will to encounter other wills as overbearing and headstrong as itself. After all, what is Den mark called upon to yield ? At the present moment she may, we believe, obtain peace on terms which leave not only her honour untarnished, but her ma terial interests prejudiced in a very slight degree. Denmark, we are told, hes only to make up her mind to a personal union between herself and the two Duchies—to a union such as existed for a hun dred years between England and Scotland—and she will be redeemed at once from the midst of the deadly perils which surround her. If such terms can be obtained, let Denmark compare her own de mands with that whioh it is in her power at once to secure, and duly estimate how much she may gain by how small a concession. The real difficulty of her position lies in the feeling of the populations towards her. If the people in Schleswig are well disposed, they will be a valuable accession to the strength of the Monarchy under a personal union; if their feelings are alienated, they will add little to her power though they be grappled to her with links of steel. We do not write as apologists of Germany. Were the question one to be decided before a judicial tribunal, we should have every confidence that the cause of Denmark would succeed. But the ques tion is not one of justice, but of expediency. It would be little consolation to Denmark that she were ruined even in defence of her just rights. The injured do not necessarily succeed because they feel themselves entitled to revenge, and an appeal to force is scarcely ever made in the interest of the weaker party. If the present opportunity be ne glected, no one can say that it will ever recur. The torrent of war once set loose sweeps before it all landmarks, and Denmark may neglect to negotiate for peace till nothing is left for negotiation. Tia'Z' Power that will not seize the opportunities of Dres den and Chatillon must look for a Fontainebleau, when no terms will be accepted. Denmark has had ample experience of the harsh and cruel spirit in which Germany is disposed to treat her. What mercy will she have to expect when her force is beaten down, and her kingdom lies at the feet of arrogant and imperious conquerors , who h ave found, for te first time, a point of union in their com mon desire for her humiliation, if not for her dew struetion ? Let not the Danish nation suppose that we offer this counsel under the influence of any in terested motives whatever. We are thoroughly persuaded, notwithstanding the warlike eloquence of the House of Peers, that Denmark has no rea• terial assistance to expect from England. The re jection of our counsels will not alienate us. 'I heir acceptance will not bring us the least nearer to war. We have cautioned the Danes against the advice of those who urge them to their extreme peril without the slightest intention of partaking it. We may with consistency recommend them advice which presses upon them the adoption of that peace which those who give it are determined to observe. POST.—Although the House of Commons refused to demand the production of the correspondence which passed between our Government and that of the United States on the subject of the detention of the steam-rams, the public are not left altogether ignorant of the circumstances under which that de tention took place. A blue-book has now been pre sented to Parliament which contains much impor tant correspondence upon the subbject. It includes despatches either addressed to, or written by, the English Foreign Secretary, the American Minister, our Ambassador at Washington, and Mr. Stewart, respectively. The only point on which the public were desirous of being enlightened is made abun dantly clear by the papers which are now published. Whether the Government were strictly justified in ordering the seizure of the rams, or whether they could subsequently establish the truth of their as sumption that they were intended for the service of the Confederate Government, were matters on which, of necessity, great diversity of opinion pre veiled. But it was suggested—and the suggestion was not devoid of plausibility—that the Govern• ment had seized the rams, not because they believed that they bad satisfactory grounds for adopting such a course, but for the mere sake of acceding to certain requirements, made in no very courteous tone by the American Government. However will ing the people of this country may be that their laws should be strictly enforced, even though they may press with increased weight on the weaker of the two American federations, still they not unnaturally resented what ap peared a compliance with foreign dictation. The Foreign Enlistment Act may have been (though some of the highest legal authorities doubt it) in tended for the protection of belligerent States at amity with this country; but even assuming such to be the case, the English Government must be the sole judges of the expediency of putting it in operation. If a belligerent possessed the right of demanding the sequestration of every vessel which by any possibility might be enlisted in the service of his opponent, shipbuilding in a neutral State would practically cease in time of war. A belli gerent is entitled through his ambassador to acquaint a neutral Government of circumstances lending to the conclusion that certain vessels are intended to be employed against him. and to request that any laws (if such exist) prohibiting such proceedings shall be enforced. But whether a prima facie ease of violation of the law has been established is for the neutral Government to determine. If such a case is made out, it is then the duty of the neutral State to put its laws in operation ; but if otherwise, then any compliance with the demands of the belligerent Power amounts to a pure abandonment of national independence. In a despatch, dated Sept. 5, Mr. Layard informed Mr. Stewart; that on that day her Majesty's Government had directed. the Commis sioner of Customs at Liverpool to detain the • steam rams. In the same letter, however, the Under- Secretary states that the orders had been trate." mitted previous to the receipt of Mr. Adams's despatch of the same date pressing the Government to adopt that course. Unless, therefore, we can suppose that the Under-Secretary made a deliberate misstatement, which of course cannot for a moment be supposed, we must conclude that the transmission of the orders for the detention of the rams preceded the receipt of the American Minister's despatch. There exists nt.; doubt that the Government gave directions for the seine() of the ironclads of the sth of September; and as Mr. letter bears date on the same day, it is more reaso;:able to suppose that the despatch was received after the decision of the Government had been arrived at, than thet the Foreign Secretary should have, immediately on IN receipt, determined on modifying his policy, though in the absence of any additional evidence bearing on the ultimate destination of the suspected vessels. But, whatever may have been thought of the insuf ficiency of the evidence on which the Government acted in the month of September last, it is impos sible to deny that subsequent events have justified their conduct. We now waive the consideration of whether the building and equipping of these vessels does, in fact, constitute an infringement of the Foreign Enlistment Act—that is a question which still remains to be decided. But assuming that this statute is not a dead letter, and until it is proved to be so the Government are bound to pre sume that it is not, the Executive is unquestionably bound to put it in operation when acts are done which to all appearances it was intended to pro hibit. That the iron-clads in process of construction in Mr. Laird's dockyard at Birkenhead were not intended for the Viceroy of Egypt, as was at first alleged, but were in truth designed for the service of the Confederate Government, the Secretary of the Navy of that Government has himself expressly admitted. His admissions wiil, of course, be value less as against those who claim to be the owners of the vessels on the trial of a criminal information in. an English court, but they will go far to satisfy the public of the soundness of the suspicions en Pertained by the British Government when they gave orders to their officers of customs to detain the rams. Earl Russell, with no little dexterity, appeals to the report of the Confederate Naval Secretary as affording the most convincing proof that in the discharge of their neutral obligations the English Government have furnished no cause for complaint to that of the United States. If Mr. Mallroy, in the name of President Davis's Administration, com plains of "the unfriendly construction" which we have put upon our laws, and ascribes to that cause theinability of the Confederate Government to procure a formidable navy, it raises a strong pre sumption that England has not, as the Federal Go vernment are never tired of reiterating, treated witn favouritism the Southern States. The North provided itself in the English markets with every description of munition of war of which it had need, but although our markets are equally open to the South, the command of the sea possessed by the Federal Government n ecessar ily p r evented it from turning the advantages we offered to equal account. No one bat a Federalist will, for one moment, con tend that since the commencement of the civil war the Confederates have derived one-fiftieth part of the material assistance afforded by British manu facturers to the Government of the Northern States. But the fact is that, whether with or without cause, a Yankee Government must, if only for the sake of popularity, vituperate Great Britain. We are blamed for recognising the belligerent character of the Confederates, though they have for upwards of three years waged war in vindication of their in dependence, and are still unsubdued. We are re proached for permitting any of the natives of the Southern States to reside in our dominions, and these reproaches come from a Government which, like our own, prides itself on the hospitality which it offers to the political exile. It must be a source of regret to us that we have failed to give satisfac tion to either of the belligerent republics, but the fact that we have not done so would seem to de monstrate the strictness of the neutrality we have endeavoured to maintain. COUNTRY MARKETS. -.14 , MANCHESTER--THURSDAY. A fair attendance at market, and English wheat could only bo sold by submitting to reduction of is per qr from the currency of this day week, which holders generally' would not accede to. Foreign wheat was neglected, and receded 2d per cental. Flour met with a dull sale, at prices 6d per sack lower. Oats and oatmeal were very dull, and unchanged in price. Indian corn quiet, at former rates' English beans the turn in favour of buyers, but Egyptian sorts advanced is per qr. BURTON• ON-TR ,ENT-THURSDAY. Old whitevt:.43;;O 46s Old reci;lle;tT, 3Bs to 420 New do. ..41s to 45s I New do. 37s to 41 0 Malting barley....3ls to 36s I Oath 21s to 29 Grinding d0.....27s to 29s I Beans 34s to 400 BIRMINGHAM—THURSDAY. This morning there was a short supply of English whoa! , and the Flees of this day se'nnight were about realised' Barley, oats, peas, and beans at late prizes, and in retail sat —English wheat was sold at 40s to 46s for white, and 3 to 40s per 36 stone for red. Barley, new malting, 300 t° 38s per qr ; grinding, 24s to 28s Oats, old, 22s to 3 per 30 stone ' • Irish, 18s to 245. Beans, 34s to 40s per cl r ' Peas, 32s to 42s per 36 stone. MONMOUTH—WEDNESDAY. The local Markets have been fairly attended during ar" week, and the quotations have shown rather a downw tendency, especially for barley and oats. Wheat, white 4s 9d to 5s 6d Barley. 38 2d to 3e Ditto red .08 Od to Os Od I Oats .........2s 2d t. 2s v" BRISTOL—THURSDAY. There was a fair supply of wheat to-day, and sales WI. slow at a shade under previous quot a ti ons . F ore i gn when also a dull trade. Malting barley q u it e as d ear ; grind'," d sorto in moderate request, and no m a t er i a l c h ange i n Oats very restricted in demand, and p r i ces th e t urn lout w Beans and Indian corn tending downwards. EDINBIJRGH GRAIN--MARCH 9. To-day there was a large supply of wheat, which met e slow sale, at barely last week's prices. Barley met ag o sale, at former rates. Beans and oats sold slowly. Wheat on the top is 6d up ~average is 6d up , , Barley on the top O s 6d u p..... average Os 2d dol l ' Oats on the top Os 6d up.... , average Os 4d up- Beans on the top 4s Od up average Os 3d up , Average Prices. 200 0 neat . . 378:6a I Oats. 13 0 gj Barley ..29 8 2d 1 Beans Total'Supply and Sales. Wheat ..1292 qrs Sold 765 qrs 8ar1ey........1258 qrs Sold 915 qrs Oats Beans 275 qrs Sold 233 qrs 4: Flour sells as follows :—Whites, 398;0d ; extras ; 37s 0 superfine, 35s Od ; fine, 33s Od. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's PHlL—Enfeebled f, # d istence.—This medicine embraces every attribute retite in a general and domestic remedy; it overturns the fed dations of disease laid by defective food and impure air. 'of obstructions or congestions of the liver, lungs, bowelthj any other organ, these Pills are especially serviceable Plo eminently suecessful. They should be kept in readinenor every family, as they are a medicine without a faul d ,t io f young persons, and those of feeble constitutions. o f never cause pain, or irritate the most sensitive n erve o o most tender bowels. Holloway's Pills are the best ko°. o o purifiers of the blood, and the best promoters of a bsorpt i o and secretion, which rem ove a ll poisonous and obnoV ° particles from both solids and fluids. Births. , DAWSON.—On the 9th inst., at Duppas-hill, Croyuont to wife of Henry Dawson, Esq., of a son. r the 9' . P- th- ife o f fintnisori.—On the 9th inst., at Pengo, le wi. Harrison, Esq., of a son. lO MONK.—On the 9th inst., at Torquay, the wife of CW J. Monk, Esq., of a daughter. 0 2 WILLICOMBE —On the 9th inst., at Tunbridge_well a t wife of Mr. George Willicombe, of a son. Marriages. ri i ar # A ND REWS—LOCK.—On the 10th inst., at All Saints'f folk-square, Herbert Andrews, Esq., of East g° 11 04 4 Surrey, to Louisa, only daughter of George LoCk, 22, Talbot-square, Hyde-park. ROLFE —HYDL—On the 10th inst., at St. Saviour's, rtelltlf dington, Thomas C. Rolle, Esq., o f P on d- park, Fe l° ooo 9 Essex, to Elizabeth, youngest daughter of the lateoje J. Hyde, Esq., M.R.C.S., of Warwick-road, hill, W. Deaths. flifel BAIRD.—On the Bth inst., at Edinburgh, IVillian i 13 Lg., of Elie. P ' iz ° CHAMPION.—On the 6th inst., at Stoke Newington', y'f ...widow of th e l a t e Ch ar l es Ch am pi on , Commander x' aged 93. fi 00 HAY.—On the 9th inst., at Newcastle-on-Tyne, ''''' John Hay, late 9th Foot, aged 89. s9'' HENRIQUES.—On the 10th inst., Edward HenriqueB' lae of New York, aged 57. Jos e ph JAE t —On the Bth inst., at Devonshire-street, Joh n Lee, aged 55. f Oi lssl MILDALLY.—On the 9th inst„ Robert, infant so n °f ham Mildmay, Esq. ell if es O'BRIEN. -- At Blatherwycke-park, NortharaP t°ll Stafford O'Brien, Esq., aged 81. London: Printed and rrbitshed by WILL TAg ANI);0,;C ii;; of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at LUE SUN 0 1 " e „„04 --Friday, Mar& li, 1564, m St i r i d c , ec i: . the Precinct of the Savoy, ,n the L'"