The Sun. — London, England, 1863-06-13 00:00:00

rirepp. , nrPERIAL PARLIAMENT S.OUSE OF LORDS--Last Evening. Th , .3 Lord Chancellor took his seat at the usual hour. PRIVATE BUSINESS. 'The Seaton and Beer Railway, Horsey Island Reclama tion, Bann Navigation Improvement, Hemel Hempstead and London and North-Western Railway, Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway ; Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchnrch Railway ; Drayton Junction and Ogmore Valley Railways bills were read a second time. THIRD READINGS. The Pembroke Township—Dublin, Wicklow, and Wex ford Railway (Amendments)—Ware, Hadham, and Bunt ingford Railway (Amendments)—and Stockport District 'Water bills were read a third time, and passed. THE CASE OF MR. BISHOP, The Marquis of NORMANBY said he would on Mon day ask the noble lord the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he would lay on the table of the house a copy of the despatch relative to the pardon of Mr. Bishop by the Sing of Italy. Earl RUSSELL, immediately on the noble marquis taking his seat, said he should not have the slightest ob jection to produce the document referred to. THE STATUTE LAWS. The LORD CHANCELLOR rose to call the atten tion of the house to the present state of the statute law in the courts of law and equity, and for the purpose of introduc ing a bill for the revision of the statute law. The noble and learned lord said he proposed to do little if anything more than revise the proposition of that great man, Lord Bacon, which appeared in a production of his entitled "The amendment of the laws of England," the wisdom and excel lency of which, although it had been admitted from age to age, yet, from that singular inertia which characterized English legislature nothing had been done. The object of the measure would be to insure a greater certainty in legal decisions that a case might be recorded according to the statute rather than by precedent. The noble lord, in assert ing the necessity for such s measure, quoted statements made by Lord Eldon, Lord Ellenborough, and other learned lords, in various cases that had come before them, Until they could say that they had but one law and one rule of procedure, they would not be in a condition to: approach the formation of a code. The formation of the statute law to regular form bad been first proposed in the reign of Ed ward VI. Again the proposition was made in the reign of Elizabeth. And in 1816 their lordships came to a resolu tion to arrange the statutes under distinct and proper heads, but the resolution had fallen to the ground. The bill which he held in his hand was the work of many years. It had been prepared with :very limited means, which the Government had thought fit to place at the disposal of the law officers of the Crown. T wo gen tl emen on ly were allowed to assist the law officers, and their salaries were so inadquate that they were obliged to follow their profossion at the bar besides. Aa to the revision of the reports, he hoped that a commis sion would be appointed for that important task, and that the commissioners would compare and revise the decisions as he had suggested. lie had confidence in inaugurating the measure which he now brought forward. Their lord ships had time for the great work, and he hoped they would not allow it to fall, as they had allowed their resolution of of 1816 to remain as a reproach to them. His lordship con cluded by moving the first reading of the bill, and resumed his seat amidst loud cries of (" Hear, hear.") Lord BROUGHAM th oug ht t h at t h e i r l or d s hi ps were deeply indebted to his noble and learned friend for the admirable statement which he had made and the measure he had introduced. (Hear, hear.) It had often been his own duty to make statements complaining of the state of the law, but never had he drawn so dark a picture of the common and the statute law as that which his noble and learned friend had just painted. His lordship cited several cases in support of the views put forward by the Lord Chan cellor, and described the process of a bill through Parlia ment, to show the difficulty of passing statutes carefully and uniformly. He should support the bill. Lord CRANWORTH had listened with great interest to the statement of his noble and learned friend, But as to the measure which he proposed t and the plans which he laid down, he (Lord Cranworth) considered that his noble and learned friend had undertaken, with regard to the common law, a simply impossible task, As to talking about the difficulty of ascertaining what the law is, there was no such difficulty whatsoever really existing. The real difficulty was one which could never be got rid of; it was the difficulty of making laws ante to meet cases to come thereafter. No statute could provide for the shades of difference which /night arise subsequently in cases which might come before the courts of law. The most complete code of laws that probably was ever made was the Code Napoleon, and yet under that code they found the judges differing in opinion, revising judgments, and reversing decisions on appeal. And they found the French courts even sometimes divided in opinion, half the judges taking one view of the case and the other half the opposite one. He, however, gave his best wishes to the effort of his noble and learned friend to revise and improve the statute law, and he gave him his best thanks for the trouble he had taken and the lucid statement which he had made. Lord KINGSDOWN thought that the difficulties of the proposal made by his noble and learned friend would be found t) be almost insurmountable. When difficulties arose in the law, the Parliament could be applied to to rectify what was wrong. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that he had guarded himself very carefully against the use of the word " codifi • cation." He had distinctly said that the English law was not, as yet, fit for codification. He did not even propose to , use the word " consolidation." He merely proposed by nis bill the revision of the statute law. The bill was then read a first time. REDEMPTION OF RENTS (IRELAND) BILL. This bill went through committe DUCHY OF CORNWALL . ".,;IANAGEMENT BILL. The adjourned debate Or a the report of the amendments to this bill was resumed. The new clauses having satisfied the Opposition the P.menilments were agreed to, and the bill as expended was ordered to be reported next Monday. LONDON COAL AND WINE DUTIES CONTINU ANCE BILL. _ _ This bill was read a second time, and ordered to be com mitted. Their lordships adjourned at half-past 7 o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS—Last Evening. The SPEAKER took the chair at twenty minutes after twelve. NEW MEMBER.-KINSALE. Sir George Coulthurst took the oaths and his seat. The hon. member was introduced by Mr. Herbert and Mr. Beamish, THIRD READINGS. The following bills were read a third time --Elginshirs and Nairnshire Roads, Bridges, &c. ; Hadlow Railway ; Waterford and Passage Railway and Ferry. FISHERIES (IRELAND) BILL. Col ITANDELEUR said he understood that the right hon. baronet intended on the second reading to make a statement with respect to the purpose of the bill. It would be doubtless exceedingly satisfactory to the Irish members if he would do so on the present occasion. Sir R. PEEL said he was quite prepared to do so ; but he considered that the discussion that would to-day be entered upon would fully answer the purpose of an expla natory statement: (Hear, hear.) Col. .VANDELETJR expressed his satisfaction at the statement of the right hon. gentleman. Sir R. PEEL moved that the house should go into committee on this bill. Mr. SCULLY said if they were legislating for a new country like New Zealand they would probably not permit viers and bag nets in the rivers, but it was impossible that they could take away the rights of proprietors without compensation. He did not altogether approve of the bill of the hon. and learned member for Wexford (Mr. M'Mahon), but at the same time he did not like to see its chief features plagiarised by the bill of the Government. He proposed in regard to compensation that the value of the fishing rights of the various parties interested should be estimated and capitalised, and paid by annuity or in some other way. The bill did not appear to him to make proper pro vision for compensation. No time ought to be lost in pig the law on a better footing. Anglers ou g ht to tamed about 4d. per lb. for each " individual " salmon ththe breeding etught because they materially contributed to lessen of the fish. (Hear, hear.) the h on. BRUCE said there was no doubt that the bill of and learned confiscatio n et member for Wexford was one for the th2'n, cleat rights, confirmed and secured under e Act of 18 4 was simply I, comino and t ta h,t the bill of the right hon. baronet were so injurio u , ha r ib . e He denied that the sea fisheries in the rivers that mated the stated; it was the sweep nets creat g Mr. BRUCE said any s ea fi r :Lt nage. month of rivers would b e i nterf ar — ed . within miles of the After a few words from Mr. cox and Sir R . PEEL in ex planation, the house went into committee, e, and the various ame ndments, occupying no less than closely printed pages, and chiefly of a technical nature, were pr ocee d ed with. The discussion occupied the remainder of the sitting. The house resumed at six o'clock. DI STRESS IN THE WEST OF IRELAND, Mr. GREGORY gave notice that, in the event of the hon. member for the Queen's County bringing forward his motion, he would, on going into committee of supply outhe 19th, call the attention of the C onionrary to the h the great distress existing in the w estern p of Ireland wit view to the expediency of making grants for public works. • THE SUEZ CANAL—FORCED LABOUR. In reply to a question from Mr. GRIFFITH, Viscount PALMERSTON said her Majesty's Govern ment had not received the statement from M. Lesseps al luded to by the hon. member. But with regard to the main question, the prohibition of forced labour, the Sultan, who had long prohibited forced labour in the other portions of his dominions, had an equal right to do so in Egypt, which Was part of his empire ; and no foreigner, whether engaged in commercial speculation or an agent of a foreign Govern ment, was justified inobatructing the Sultan in carrying out such a law. Of course her Majesty 'a Governmen t would give the Sultan every support in carrying out that law. TIM PROTESTANT PRISONERS IN SPAIN. I mr. n reply to Mr, WHA LLEY , ARD recounted the proceedings which took place with reference to procuring a remission or mitiga tion of the sentence passed upon the Protestant prisoners, Matamoros, Alhama, and Trigo, lately condemned in Spain for reading the Bible. The hon. gentleman sai ttl at depu tations from this and other countries had gone to Madrid to present memorials to the Queen of Spain, prhyh2g for a commutation of the sentence passed up /tl ti e prisoners ; and the result, he was happy to announc was that the sentence of imprisonment had been commuted to banish ment fur the same period—it was generally supposed by the deputation —as the original sentence of imprisonment, viz., seven years. INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION BUILDING. Lord R. CECIL asked the First Lord of the Treasury whether he had been rightly understood to say that no plan was in existence of the architectural alterations which it was proposed to make in the International Exhibition building ; and, if so, on what data the estimate of the cost of those alterations had been framed. Viscount PALMERSTON said that no plan had been framed with regard to the conversion of the building ; but it was intended to complete the front of the building, as it now stood with stucco. (Laughter.) It was also intended to convert the glass domes into brick domes. (Laughter.) The plan was the building, and all that was proposed to be done was to make such changes as would produce con formity between it and other buildings, by covering it ex ternally with stucco. (Laughter.) CONVENTION WITH PARAGUAY. In reply to Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. LAYARD stated that there was no positive con vention, but an agreement had been signed by the repre sentative of the French Government and the Republic of Paraguay, which was also endorsed en behalf of this coun try; and there would be no objection to produce the papers, THE OFFER TO MESSRS. KELK AND LUCAS. In reply to Mr. CRAITEURD, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the offer of £BO,OOO to Messrs. Belk and Lucas for the re movable portions of the Exhibition building was not in writing, but was made in conversation by himself on the part of the Government to the hon. baronet the member for Fins bury. The estimate referred to was made by Mr. Hu n t, th e surveyor to the Office of Works, with great care; but, as hon. members would readily understand, any such estimate could only be an approximation to the actu a l va l ue o f re movable materials which were liable to great fluctation. The estimate of the contractors showed that £BO,OOO did not re present the value of the removable materials. Mr. GREGORY asked whether it was not a fact that the paper prepared by Mr. Hunt represented the value of the removable materials at £30,000. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQ ER said he was not aware of that; but he thought that calculations and de tails of this kind would in no way assist the house in com ing to a decision. (Hear.) MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE INDIAN ARMY. In reply to Mr. M'Evoy, Sir 6. WOOD said he was not aware whether the amal gamation had been yet settled, and whether there would be any objection on the part of the War-office to produce the terms of the arrangement. JESSIE MACLACHLAN. Mr. MUM asked the Secretary for the Home Depart ment whether he would have any objection to lay upon the table a copy of the presiding judge's notes of the evidence at the trial of Jessie Maclachlan. Sir G..GREY replied that no judge's notes were ever produced. The copy of the official report of the trial did not contain the judge's notes, but the observations which had been made. BRAZIL. Mr. S. FITZGERALD gave notice that next week he would call attention to the state of the diplomatic relations between this country and Brazil. THE MOTION ON POLAND. Viscount PALMERSTON appealed to the hon. member for King's County not to bring forward his motion on Monday next with reference to Poland, and he hoped that other hon. members who had notices for Monday would postpone them, so that they might take the discussion on the purchase of the Exhibition building. Mr. HENNESSY said he could only agree to postpone his motion on the understanding that the noble lord would give him Thursday or Monday week for the purpose. Viscount PALMERSTON thought there would not be much difficulty, but always assuming that other hon. mem bers would also postpone their notices. PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS. Some discussion then took place of a rather desultory character with regard to the rule regulating the order of precedence of notices of motion on the paper of the house. Lord NAAS complained that on account of the ques tion put to the hon. member for King's County the pre vious night he got precedence over himself, whose name stood before that of the hon. gentleman. Mr. HORSMAN said that the practice, as now carried out, operated very unfairly towards hon. members who had notices below that of the noble lord. For a long time the noble lord had a notice of motion on China on the paper ; and he thought when his name was called he was not in his place, yet by keeping his motion on the paper he blocked out all those below him on the list. THE SITE OF THE EXHIBITION BUILDING. Lord ELCHO asked the Chief Commissioner of Works whether, in the event of not purchasing the building, the Government would think it desirable to purchase the 161 acres of land on which the building now stood. Mr. COWPER said that there was no report of Mr. Hunt which would give the noble lord the information he desired. The proposal with regard to the building contained three items—the purchase of the building, the purchase of the land, and the repairing and altering the building. IRISH CHURCH. In reply to Sir J. TnELAWNY, Mr. DILLWYN said he would again appeal to the noble lord on Monday, who might then be in a more relenting mood to give a night for the discussion of this important subject. The noble lord gave a night for Poland, but re fused to give one for the discussion of a matter affecting Ireland. (Hear, hear.) THE NOTICE PAPER. Lord NAAS wished to correct the statement of the hon. member for Stroud, namely, that his motion on the paper had blocked other members out, whereas the fact was that, though he stood fourth on the notice paper, he was now at the bottom of the list. The SPEAKER said that the clerks at the table had every wish to discharge their duties with fairness—(hear) — and that which was complained of as irregular was but the obvious result of the course taken by the hon. members themselves. LANCASHIRE. In reply to Mr. FERRAND, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that there was every desire on the part of the Government to proceed with the bill for providing loans in aid of public works in Lancashire with all the despatch in their power. LABOURERS' COTTAGES IN IRELAND. On the motion for going into committee of supply, Sir H. BRUCE rose to move that the restrictions placed by the Board of Works in Ireland and the Treasury on the advances of money for the building of labourers' cottages in Ireland were inexpedient and calculated to render the act sanctioning the advances in a great degree inoperative. The hon. baronet referred to some correspondence between the Treasury and Sir Richard Griffith in support of his motion. Mr. F. PEEL reminded the house that it was not with out considerable difficulty that the principle of the Land Improvement Act was extended to building operations in Ireland—in the first instance to farm buildings, and ulti mately in 1860 to the erection of labourers' cottages. When Parliament authorised Government to make advances for the purpose, it was necessary at the same time to lay down conditions under which they should be made, and the hon. baronet now asked whether the restrictions created were not unnecessary. He believed they were quite defensible, not merely as protecting the Government, but likewise as pro ' tecting the owners of property, and especially those who had eventual interests in land. Sir F. HEYGATE called attention to the extraordinary character of the specifications required by the Treasury. Why, for example, should the best description of slates be required for labourers' cottages, and why should none but the best foreign timber be used? Mr. POLL A.RD -URQUHART hoped the Government would do nothing to induce Sir R. Griffith to relax the very salutary regulations laid down by him. If the working of the act were not so guarded it would lead to the greatest abuses. Sir W. SOMERVILLE asked the hon. baronet to re member that such legislation was entirely exceptional, and that it was with great difficulty the bill was passed by the House of Lords. In the interest of the remainder man espe cially, it was necessary to fence the act with conditions, and under those circumstances he asked the hon. baronet not to press his amendment. Sir H. BRUCE withdrew the amendment. THE STATE OF IRELAND. Col. DUNNE rose to bring before the house the present depressed condition of Ireland, together with the amount of taxation imposed upon that country, and to move for a select committee to inquire into the cause of such depres sion, and the effects of the taxation she now bore. The hon. member regretted his inability to bring forward the motion of Ireland at af an earlier period of th e sess i on, C ompar i ng th e re t urns i e tt a he ha r d etu d rn eer s e o aa f e l d B6 w l i , th h i e n f 2 o o un y d ee t r h e a t t e thethe numberpopula tion of 2,000,00 0 and more. That could not be a matter for w con gratulation, as I re l andlar as capabl e o f suppor ti ng a muc h ger population than she possessed in 1841. Ag a i n , s ince 1847, whi c h was the first year after th e p o t a t o f am i ne, h er agricultural prod uce of all her cereal crops were less, sorts u had diminished enormously; the quantity of stock in the cou ntry was crops were less, and • Ireland had been au exporter of gra in, was less. Heretofore had been obliged to import grolagrtaail but of late years she t or £5,000,000. Then the value of railweae;Dtennteerftf4L"L°° i depreciated, and there was a falling o ff in-trhoe' ---pr oduction -4 --• been ; every species of Irish manufacture. So th at, ju d ged of I every possible test, there could not be any doub t itato by the depressed condition of Ireland. It might have b een n ee- sary to have detained the house at great len g th in developing his contention, but that had been rendered unnecessary by the frank admissions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his budget speech. The hon. and gallant member then proceeded to take a general review of the taxation of Ireland from the Union to the presert time, comparing the public debts of the two coun tries at that period, and contended that throughout the period since the Union the taxation of Ireland had been so unduly severe as to bring about a state of things quite con trary to the spirit of the Act of Union. The theory , always had been that the Union was to be for the benefit of the two countries ; but when it was found that one was pros pering, while the other was being exhausted by over-taxa tion, it was clear that the Act of Union was not being fairly carried out. He had no wild or absurd notions ahou'; the future of Ireland; but, instead of seeing the population frittered and driven away in emigrant ships to foreign shores, he sincerely hoped and trusted he should live to see the people of Ireland happy and prosperous in their own country, That day would not arrive, however, until some different system of taxation were adopted; and, with the view to obtain some recognition of that by the house, he would conclude by moving for the committee of which he had given notice. Colonel FRENCH seconded the motion. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the question was one that deserved serious consideration, and there was no necessity for any apology for bringing it be fore the notice of the house. He could not, however, agree with the hon. and gallant member in all his views. For instance, he could not agree in the general statement that taxation was no diminution of the wealth of the country so long as the money was spent within the limits of the country. With regard to " absenteeism," as it was called, that was undoubtedly a matter for very deep regret; but he could not see how it could be made less frequent except by setting before the landlords' eves the better example of the British landlords. The hon, and gallant gentleman complained that Ireland paid more than her fair share of taxation, and that, though the figures showed but seven millions, she actually paid eleven mil lions; the difference being made up by her in, as he said, the Irish tradesman taking duty-paid goods from England to the extent of £4,600,000. If that were so, Ireland must be richer than England, because England did not pay £4600,000 on Customs' duties annually. The Customs re venue levied in England was equal to 186 Id per head, and in Ireland 7s 10d ; excise in England was 13s 6d per head, and in Ireland 9a ; stamps in England 7s 6d per head, and in Ireland is 'Old; land and assessed taxes in England 2s lld per head, and in Ireland nothing; the income tax in England was 9s Id per head, and in Ireland 2s fild ; but those figures were no proof that Ireland was lighter taxed than England, because the low rate of taxation might, ow ing to the poverty of the country, be in fact more oppres sive than the higher rate in England. Ireland, however, paid no duties which England did not ; but England paid duties which Ireland did not. The right hon. gentleman then entered into minute details of Irish expenditure in com parison with England. The property-holding classes in Ireland must not be considered poorer than those in Eng land, but in the adjustment of income tax in Ireland con siderable modifications had been made in favour of the lat ter. In England the owners of landed property were as sessed up to the rack rent, and in some instances on more than they received (exception only being allowed for the land tax and sewerage), but in Ireland the assessment was based on less than the owner received in rent, viz., on the poor law valuation. The operation of schedule D in the two countries was similar; for where in England a tenant would have to pay on £250, in Ireland he would only have to pay income tax on £125. It was difficult to imagine himself an Irishman, and to inform them what was for their interest and benefit; but he was convinced that equality of taxation lay at the root of full political equality. Admitting distress to exist, the remedy must depend, in a great measure, on Ireland's own energies and powers; and he saw no injustice, danger, or inconveni ence in assisting that country with loans of public money for internal improvements. He hoped the hon. gentleman would not press his motion, because the Government could not assent to it, Mr. LONGFIELD admitted that up to 1852 Ireland was improving. It had prospered, despite of its exhaustion after the famine, and would have continued to prosper had the same circumstances prevailed. What were those cir cumstances?. He answered, lightness of taxation. At that period the taxation of Ireland was about 1114 s. the head. What was it now ? Double that amount. In 10 years its taxation had been doubled, and in that would be found the cause of its present depression. He could not deny, in the abstract, that the taxation of Ireland should be the same as that of England; but he held that the condition of the two countries should also be considered in the matter, and that in this case what was just in the abstract was neither just nor wise when reduced to practice. He should support the motion. Mr. GREGORY also bore testimony to the importance of the motion, and then proceeded to call attention to the con dition of the western parts of Ireland. He described it as being of a most lamentable character, and reminded his hearers that what was last year denied was now admitted to the full by the Chancellor of the Exchequer himself. The right hon. gentleman, in the course of his speech, had stated that equality of taxation was the basis of political equality ; but what they complained of in Ireland was that, while ex penditure was going on in every part of England, there was nothing done for Ireland but in a grudging spirit. The right hon. gentleman had also claimed credit for the Govern ment with regard to the Galway grant, and said they had dealt with great liberality in the matter—thus setting at nought the decision of the committee of the House of Com mons. This was one of the prevalent causes of discontent in Ireland, that whenever an act of justice was carried out in that country the Government proclaimed it to be a conces sion. The people of the west of Ireland were desirous of ob taining a loan for constructing a work of great local impor tance—a harbour of refuge ; and as he believed the right hon. baronet was anxious to alleviate Irish distress, he trusted he would turn his attention to this matter. (Hear, hear.) Sir P. O'BRIEN said that something more than the tem porary relief of distress, which was general all over the country, was required for ameliorating the condition of Ire land, and he believed that nothing would tend more to the improvement of Ireland than the settlement of the relations between landlord and tenant. Mr. COGAN said it was a melancholy position for an Irish member to get up in that house to confirm the ex istence of distress in Ireland ; but, coming from the more favoured district of Leinster, he could bear testi mony to the statement that great distress existed in all parts of the country. They did not, however, claim on this occasion any grant from the Consolidated Fund, but merely asked for a committee to investigate the causes of the distress, and also the mode in which the taxation of the country was regulated. There were other questions, also, which required to be considered. And these were chiefly tenant-right and religious equality. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentleman then referred to the presence of the Chief Secre tary for Ireland at a meeting in the City the day before, the object of which was to raise a sum of £50,000 for the pur poses of proselytising in West Connaught. So far as his po litical experience went, and his reading of history, it was new to him to see a Minister of the Crown placed in so deli cate a position as the right hon. baronet taking part in a meeting the object of which was to destroy the faith of the people of West Connaught. (Hear, hear.) Sir R. PEEL complained that the debate .had wandered far beyond its original limits, and took exception to the course pursued by the hon. member for Galway in importing the Galway grant into the question of Irish distress. He had also reason to complain of the severe terms in which the last speaker had thought proper to comment upon his appearance at a meeting yesterday in the City. He could assure the house that when he entered the room he had no intention of speaking; but he was merely led to attend the meeting in consequence of a book which he had received, entitled, "Good News from Ireland." (A. laugh.) After Lord Hturowby had taken him to the meeting, it was cer tainly true that he got up and said that he had gone there for the purpose of hearing the remarks of the speakers; but at the same time, as a man who was firmly attached to his own religious creed, he took a true liberal Protestant view of the observances of others, and had no desire to interfere withi those observances. Upon those grounds, and those grounds alone, he ventured to take part in the discussion, and to move a vote of thanks to the chairman. But no ex pression with reference to the Roman Catholic religion had escaped his lips ; and, in conclusion, all he had to say upon that part of the ease was that he felt himself, under t To circumstances,h eprove right t that at ail to p nu e perfect fbetaco baronet ot n l h i eebte year to ea rawleB a ns t t t9 e i n nl d troe meetings e n e d ti h n a gs variety d o os u f f ct s hh t a e t i k i s t n i c s d . made more prodigious strides in the march of civilisation and general improvement than any country in Europe; and if since that period her progress had been checked, it was owing to the excessive drought of the season of 1859, and the excessive wet of the season of 1850 and 1861. Un doubtedly there had been an enormous emigration from Ire land, and even at that moment it was going on; for great inducements were held out by the American Government to persuade vigorous young Irishmen to leave their country, and take service in the American army. The Irish Govern ment, however, had been at some pains to prove to those poor people that they were being deluded in the grossest manner, and the recent declarations of General Meagher showed that the gallantry of the Irish was not meeting with the consideration which it deserved in America. He entirely dissented from the declaration that the Irish who left their country retained to their last moment a hatred of England ; however, if it was the fact that they did, he could only say that the realm whence they went was no loser by the de parture of such people. In conclusion the right hon. baronet stated that. from all the information before him, he was led to believe Ireland was likely to be blessed with an abundant season ; and he expressed a hope that the hon. and gallant member would rest satisfied with having origi nated a most interesting discussion. Mr. WHITESIDE accused the Chancellor of the Ex chequer of attempting to perplex and puzzle the house by a display of statistics. The chief point of the right hon. gentle man's speech seemed to him to be that the Irish people should submit to the taxation put upon them with patience. The hon. gentleman (Col, Dunne) had charged the British Government with not carrying into effect the terms of the Act of Union. That he thought a very fair charge to make, and he thought that the hon. and gallant gentleman had . treatedt the question with great moderation. He hoped beemes e o G ii vo o en v tewarx]nt di e oe n na t e. r w v A : tingle country take u lltr would into o n l d theirne never e r c consideration i m d e a r d a e t i on how best to relieve the people from the distress caused by prospe rousex- Ir b . y M e° A n G tin U tl l ai ß ly E carping or. religious questions. said Ireland co lr n el s an ide d ration of ht itnheedhohauset. The public money was not expended there, and co h m e P instanced t ther was no dockyard in that country, as protnised at the time of the Union. Every statement he made on a former occasion relative to Irish distress was substantiated by reliable evi dence. With regard to the religious question, he asked the Protestants to leave Roman Catholics alone, and their harmony would be complete. The conduct of the, right hon. gentleman the Chief Secretary for Ireland in attending an aggressive meeting of an aggressive body was an insult to Ireland, and it was a gross violation of civil and religious liberty. The right hon. gentleman had said that he was induced to attend the meeting in consequence of his reading a book entitled "Good News from Ireland." He (Mr. MagUire) had read the book, and he declared it to be a mere trap for the religious credulity and fanaticism of England. The meeting was an attack on the Roman Catholic Church, and the right hon, gentleman had acted imprudently in attending it. The tenant question was one of the causes of the misery of the country and the exodus of the people. He supported the motion. Mr. WHALLEY hoped the Government would accede to the motion. He should vote for it, believing that the inquiry might result in something that might assist the house in the future discussion of the subject. Col. DUNNE replied, and said, considering the period of the session, he would not press the motion to a division. The motion was then withdrawn. THE CASE OF SERGEANT•MAJOR LILLEY. Viscount PALME Li.STON appealed to the hon. member for Brighton not to bring forward his motion on this sub ject, seeing that the Commander-in-Chief had decided upon referring the conduct of Colonel Crawley to a court-martial, (Hear, hear,) Mr. CONINGHAM replied that there were other per sons in high places compromised in this matter, and upon this ground he could not agree to postponing his motion. This matter was only a part of the whole military system, and as long as he had a seat in that house he would stand up for non-commissioned officers, whether against general officers or royal highnesses and commanders-in-chief. The hon. member then proceeded to call attention to the court martial held upon Paymaster Smale. Col. NORTH rose to order, and asked whether the hon. member was justified in referring to the proceedings of a court-martial ? Gen, PEEL supported the motion of order on the ground that the hon. member was not justified in quoting from a document not in the possession of the house. The SPEAKER, ruled that the hon. member was in order. Mr. CONINGHAM then proceeded to read quotations from the protest addressed to Col. Crawley by Paymaster Smale on the subject of his court-martial and with respect to the gross infringements of her Majesty's regulations of which he had been the victim, and continued—Those quo tations, which have been corroborated by the memorandum just issued from the Horse Guards, conclusively manifested that the mere trial of Col. Crawley by a court-martial would but imperfectly fulfil that wide and searching investigation in this country into the conduct of all concerned, which public opinion demanded. They had never had the opinion of the Judge Advocate upon the question, although that opinion had been referred to in the memorandum of his Royal Highness. He should like to know what was that opinion. It was perfectly idle to attempt to burk and suppress inquiry; the interests of justice, the disc:pline of the army, required that it should take place. If non commissioned officers were liable to be treated as they had been in India, not only by Colonel Crawley, but like wise by general officers, the disaffection would be wide spread through the army. He would therefore entreat the noble lord at the head of the Government, if he was without doubt as to the authority of the Secretary of War, not to hesitate, but to enforce that authority to its utmost limits; and that, notwithstanding his high position and his high birth, his Royal Highness should be made to feel, in common with the most humble individual in the realm, that if he had done wrong he should not escape jus tice. He appealed to the noble lord not to make a scape goat of Colonel Crawley, but narrowly to investigate the conduct of every one engaged in a most discreditable transaction. The Marquis of HARTINGTON said that, although the Speaker had decided that the hon. member for Brighton (Mr. Coningham) was in order, there could be no difference of opinion in that house as to the good taste and command of temper which the hon. member had displayed in advert ing as he had done to the court• martial on Paymaster Smale, when his motion only referred to the memorandum of his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief on the case of Sergeant-Major Lilley. Now, he did not think that was the proper place to discuss questions of detail affecting the discipline of the army. (Hear, hear.) Nor would it be consistent with the feelings of hon, members generally that an hon. member should come down to that house and make detailed statements against the characters of officers who were not present to defend themselves, mad against the cha racter of the Commander•in-Chief, who was not present to defend himself—(hear, hear)•—and when those whose duty it was to defend his Royal Highness could not be adequately prepared to do so. He utterly declined to follow the hon. member in his observations, 'either with respect to the court martial on Paymaster Smale, or as to the conduct of the Commander-in-Chief in India or the Commander-in-Chief at home, who had sanctioned the proceedings of that court martial. He would only say that he was corroborated in that view by the opinion of the Judge Advocate-General, and on the proper occasion he should be perfectly ready if neces • sary to defend that opinion. The hon. gentleman had made a somewhat violent attack upon his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief. The grounds of the attack he was utterly at a loss to discover, seeing that the finding of the court-martial never came before his Royal Highness at all. The final decision rested entirely witth the Commanders in-Chief in India. Mr. PIGOTT—But the memorandum. The Marquis of H ARTINGTON —His Royal Highness did certainly, in that memorandum, make some general ob servations upon the discipline of the regiment, and stated his reasons for retaining the two officers referred to in the service, which he had a perfect right to do. The hon. gen tleman said he did not want a victim, or a scapegoat. The course, however, now adopted by his Royal Highness would probably be satisfactory to everybody. The officer who was stated by Col. Crawley to be responsible for the severity and cruelty of Sergeant-Major Lilley's imprison ment had made a directly contrary allegation, and it had now been resolved, in justice to both, to summon Colonel Crawley before a court-martial to decide whether he or Capt. Fitz Simons was really responsible. (Hear.) He had only to add that, pending such an inquiry, it was highly improper and unjust that warm discussions should take place in that house. Col. NORTH also protested against discussion before the inquiry took place. No one had heard with greater astonishment and regret than himself the lamentable occur rences that had taken place in one of the finest regiments in her Majesty's service, and he could only say that where an officer converted what might and should have been a bed of roses into a hell upon earth, the sooner he was re moved from his command the better. The only question was, was it really Colonel Crawley who was responsible for that state of things. The honourable gentleman had quoted from the proceedings of the court-martial, but he was pro bably the only member of that house who had seen them, and it was hardly just to ask the house to form an opinion on evidence they had never seen. (Hear, hear.) So far us related to the Commander-in-Chief in India he was one of his oldest friends, and he could assure the house that whatever that officer did was what he sincerely be lieved to be for the honour and dignity and the interests of the service. (Hear, hear.) After a few words from Sir P. O'BRIEN,. . Lord PALMERSTON mach regretted the course taken by the hon. member for Brighton (Mr. Coningham). He stated that he was only standing up for justice, whereas he had in fact done the greatest possible injustice himself. He had launched into abuse of his Royal Highness the Com mander-in-Chief without the slightest ground, and no doubt to-morrow morning when he returned to his ordinary calmness of mind, he would be sorry for the expressions he had been tempted into using while defending his friend Captain Smale. Mr. CONINGHAM—Captain Smale is no friend of mine. Lord PALMERSTON said he had only to add, that the character of his Royal Highness, as Commander-in-Chief of the British army, stoc.:l far too high to be in the least de gree affected by the animadversions of the hon. member for Brighton. Mr. BOUVERIE complained that the hon. member (Mr. Coningham) had attempted to make the house a court of appeal from the decision of a court-martial. (Hear, hear.) If such a course were pursued. there would be an end, at no long time, to the discipline of the army in India. (Hear, hear.) A more unwise, imprudent, unfair, or harsh course could not have been taken towards any officer than that which was adopted by the hon. member for Brighton, and he trusted that, whatever might be the attempts to in fluence public opinion against Colonel Crawley, ho would still have a fair trial, and prove himself innocent of the ac cusaUon with which he stood charged. The subject then dropped. The house then went into supply pc. forms, and imme- diately resumed. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JUNE 13, 1861 1 VOLUNTEERS BILL. The motion for the third reading of this bill was post poned until Monday. The Drainago and Improvement of Land (Ireland) Bill, and the Cayman Islands Bill were read a third time and passed. The Reimental Debts, &a., Bid was passed through com mittee. The Innkeepers Liability (No. 1) Bill was considered as amended, and agreed to, and ordered for third reading on Monday. Mr. BRUCE obtained leave to introduce a bill to con firm certain provisional erders under the Local Government Act, 1858. THE EXHIBITION BUILDING. Lord ELOHO gave notice that, on the vote for the pur chase of land and buildings at Kensington-gore, ho should move that it be limited to the purchase of land. The house adjourned at 20 minutes past 1 o'clock. Full benefit of reduced duty obtained by reur chasing Horniman's pure Tea; very choice at 38 4d. and 4s. "High Stand ar d " a t 4 s . 4d. (f orme rly 4®. Bd.), is strongest and most delicious imported. Agents in every town supply it in packets, SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES—it is little to the credit of English law yers that a Lord Chancellor, in the reign of Queen Victoria, should be planning for the first time a comprebeusipe digest of our law. From the age of the Norman conquest something like a regular sys tem of civil and criminal justice has existed in this country, and tor several centuries the principles and practice of jurisprudence have been the special duty of a learned profession. Vet it would be hardly too much to sly that not a single law-book worthy to be called philosophical has emanated from this body during all these long ages; that no attempt whatever has been made to abridge, or e'en to ex purgate the eleven or twelve hundred volumes em bodying the Case Law, which by a strange perver sion of ideas we call " unwritten;" and that not one considerable branch of our Statute Law has been consolidated, much less codified. Again anC again the need of a thorough revision has been recognised, but it has been recognised as men recognise the value of a blessing which they never hope to enjoy. Edward VI. expressed an honest but futile wish that useful enactments might be simplified, and the useless and tedious ones eliminated from the Statute- book. Bacon pointed out in his weighty language the formidable growth of precedents and statutes, and indicted the remedy in a treatise every word of which Lord Westbury could adopt without quali fication. The Reformers of the 17th century applied themselves, though in vain, to the same subject, and now and then in later times the awakened con science of Parliament has feebly echoed the despair. ing cry of the la wyer-ridden public, and committed itself to some abstract pledge to roduce the bulk of our law. Mean while the two famous maxims, that every man is presumed to know the law, and that the law expects impossibilities of no man, are left to stand together in the glaring antagonism to each other which Romilly ridiculed so :sappily. Nothing —that is nothing amounting to a first instalment of this colossal work—has yet been done—a few Con solidation Acts, copying the provisions, and often stereotyping the defects of those which they superseded, have been passed within the last twenty years. The Criminal Law has been condensed into several consecutive statutes which were happily taken on trust by Parliament, but which are far from perfect as specimens of legisla tion. One or two similar experiments have been tried in Ireland, and that is all. The rules of com mon law and equity have still to be extracted from a series of reports which fills whole libraries ; our statute law still reposes in more than forty huge quarto volumes. We are assured on excellent authority that above half the business of all the courts consists in settling disputed questions on the construction of the latter; and, of the rest, at least half consists not in applying but in ascertaining the legal purport of the fanner. This is the state of things which lawyers of the old school tell us is beyond remedy, but which the present Lord Chan cellor has undertaken at least to mitigate. His object is twofold—to bring into a manageable compass all the precedents which have any real value, and to divest the statute book of all superfluous matter. Of these two enterprises the first is probably the more difficult. A pernicious theory has long domi nated over judicial decisions. That theory is that a principle of law, applicable to every possible com bination of facts, already exists, and that the judge has nothing to do but to discover and declare it. The consequence of this theory is that the plainest rules of inference or analogy have to be strained or set aside in order to make the ratio deezdendt in some obsolete and irrelevant case cover an entirely new group of conditions. No sooner has this been done than the fiction is dropped, and the next judge whe has to deal with a similar point does not scruple to quote and follow his predecessor's judgment as a substantial addition to the law. A very good in stance of this clumsy and absurd process was given by Lord Westbury last night. When the sudden development of railways created a new class of associations called provisional committees, it was necessary to make out that such a contingency had not eecaped the foresight of the common law. The only thing that looked at all like the relation of provisional committeemen was the relation of partners, and accordingly the stringent Law of Partnership was brought to bear on a totally different status, to the ruin of many, while the false analogy governed the practice of the courts, and to the ruin of many more after it was at last detected and abandoned. It is vain to deny, as Lord Cranworth appears to do, that such a system produces uncertainty in the law itself. When it lies entirely within the discretion of an individual either to interpret a previous decision as though it contained a doctrine of universal application, or to narrow it so as to deprive it of all significance ex cept where the circumstances are precisely identical, consistency is impossible, and without consistency how can there be certainty ? As the Lord Chan cellor truly says, our Judges become law-makers ex arbitrio, and Judge made law fluctuates as much as the course of legislation. The real doubt is, not whether the law is now uncertain, but whether the standard could be fixed by analysing, abridging, expurgating, or amending the Reports. To do so would be in effect to distinguish between sound and unsound decisions, to select some as deserving of respect, and to set aside others as mischievous,un• intelligible, or effete. This would require great judgment, but we cannot see why it should be con• sidered impracticable, and we are quite sure that ii done it would infinitely facilitate further reform In " revising" the Statute Law Lord Westbury will not meet with so much opposition. Every one admits that Statutes should not contradict each other, either expressly or by implication, and the ground has here been already broken by the Statute Law Commission and the two gentlemen who have suc ceeded to its labours. " Revision" is but the first step towards the dreaded end of codification, which, of course, would not be complete unless it included the whole corpus juris of Common Law and Equity. Let us see, then, what revision involves. We must excic de from the new edition all Acts that are other I than general and public ; all that have been speci fically, implicitly, or virtually repealed; all that have ceased to be in force either by expiration of the term to which they were limited, or by failure of the purpose for which they were passed ; and all that have been superseded or become obsolete. All the misquotations in the residue would still remain to be corrected, all the inaccuracies of language to be amended, and all the doubtful con structions to be replaced by less equivocal terms. When this has been done, it is calculated that four, five, or at most six volumes will contain all the operative parts of our 15,000 or 20,000 Statutes, being from a seventh to a tenth of the space which they now occupy. Then will come the still more arduous task of classification—that is, of arranging under proper heads and titles the chaotic materials hitherto rudely stratified in chronological order. Later still must be the endeavour to give harmony and symmetry to the mass thus formed out of the ruins of an earlier legislative epoch. Last of all, if we may look forward so far, is the grand consum mation which we call codification, an aim which, as the Lord Chancellor wisely reminds us, cannot be realised, and ought not to be entertained, till our system of law shall have passed through the tran sitional, and shall have entered the stationary, period. We have briefly glanced at a grand subject of which Lord Westbury did but trace the outline in his lucid speech last night. It is a subject which deeply concerns every one of us, and which we have been too long content to leave in the hands of lawyers. Here is the secret of our failure. Lawyers are not only trammelled by professional interests and prejudices, but prevented by their professional engagements from doing effective service. A brief less barrister cannot venture to turn Reformer, and would have little influence if he did ; a retired bar rister or judge seldom cares to leave the law better than he found it; while a barrister in full practice is too much engrossed in construing and evading statutes and cases to devote much time or thought to systematising them. To this, as well as to the want of any responsible authority, whether a minis ter of justice or a board of commissioners, we are disposed to attribute the apparent a p a thy of the country at large to the state of its law. The highest legal intellects have never been brought to bear on this great work, and until such men are employed upon it in sufficient numbers, for a sufficient time, and at a sufficient salary to command their exclusive devotion to it, it will never be taken up in earnest. Let this be done, and we firmly believe that in 10 years' time our law would nave emerged from its present barbarous condition into a state which would enable us to compare it without shame with that of modern France or Imperial Rome. POST.—Turkey has at length regained the ser vices of her ablest and most trusted Minister in the post of Grand Vizier. Fuad Pasha has returned to the headship of the Government ; and it is one of the least important incidents of his restoration that the notcrious Rita Pasha and his two auxiliaries, Hassib and Saffeti, are put on their trial, and that five other fernier official peculators have been ban ished the empire. Some three months ago Faud's retirement created a general alarm at Constantino ple, and an undisguised satisfaction among the enemies of the Porte. To him had been owing— under Abdul Aziz at least —nearly all the vigorous measures of reform that had been introduced during the present reign. It was Fuad Pasha who went to Syria with a Turkish force, and suppressed the civil war between the Drnses and the Maronites, before the French troops that were sent out osten sibly for this purpose had so much as landed at Bey rout. His success in this mission gaining for him the Grand Viziership of Turkey, his appointment coincided with inauguration of the leading reforms of the present reign, and with the financialanission of Mr. Foster and Lord Hobart from this country. This circumstance, combined with his own acute ness and integrity, led him to become the principal Turkish gent in the elatoration of the system of commercial, financial, and agricultural Teforms, the substantial progress of which Lord Hobart's newly published supplementary report attests, Being thus identified with most of the various improve ments which the present reign has set into motion, it was impossible that the unfortunate misunder standings which led to his retirement from the headship of the Ottoman Ministry could be other wise than temporary, His restoration to the place of Grand Vizier, moreover, is at this moment p ecu liarly opportune. The budget for the new financial year is now almost daily expected, and Fuad, pro bably beyond any other Minister, possessed both the authority and the disposition to reduce the public expenditure ; while he exhibited that ingenuity in devising augmentations of revenue without inflict ing pressure on the population, which is one of the most useful characteristics of a practical financier. The comparative results of the taxation for the financial Tears 1862-63 and 1861-62 are now before us, although the budget has not yet arrived ; and they serve in a striking manner to vindicate the expectations which were formed at the commence ment of these reforms. It appears that the total revenue for the financial year now ended has been in excess of the revenue for the previous year by more than 20 per cent. In only two items does a diminution take place. In the "special revenues of the Ministry of Marine" there has been a falling off from nearly 19,000,000 to something more than 12,000,000 piastres. In another department some what less. The total, however, shows an increase of between 750,000,000 and 800,000,000 piastres in the revenue for 1862-63 over the revenue for 1861-62. This difference accrues in the following manner. The " direct taxation" has increased by 70,312,000 piastres, the receipts for 1861-62 having amounted to 662,992,000 piastres, and those for 1862-63 being 633,000,000; while the "rachat" on account of military service is more or less a fixed charge of 120,000,000 piastres. We turn next to the indirect taxes. Foremost among these stands the tithe or land revenue. The elevation in the produce of this tax is stated at 86,000,000 piastres—the figure being 868,000,000 in 1862.63, against 782,000,000 in 1861-62 ; although there is some reason to doubt whether the whole amount of this difference has yet been paid into the public Exchequer. That revenue department, however, which exhibits the greatest inOrease is the customs ; and the extraordinary rise which has taken place in this branch of revenue is naturally owing to the commercial tariff promul gated by the Sultan about a year and a half ago, as well as to the growth of public confidence resulting from the changes which have been introduced into every branch of Government. The customs receipts for 1861-62 were 316,060,000 piastres ; while for 1862-63 they are not less than 565,000,000 ; but from these, again, a certain, though comparatively inconsiderable, reduction must be made on account of the receipts of such Adriatic ports on the Monte negrin insurrection prevented from flowing direct into the Turkish treasury. The increase, according to these figures, is, however, 250,000,000 piastres; of which Constantinople and Smyrna in them selves represent a large portion. The miscel laneous department has an increase of 55,000,000 piastres—the tobacco tax, which is one of the secu rities for the loan of 1862, represents an increase of 116,000,000 piastres—the stamp department an in crease of 40,000,000 —the salt monopolies, in con sequence of recent legislation, an increase of nearly 120,000,000—and the mines an increase of 4,000,000. This last result is the last considerable article of increase in the main elements of wealth in the Turkish empire. It is, however, pointed out by Lord Hobart in a recent despatch to the Foreign office that the mining wealth of the Government is at present an undeveloped engine of great future revenue to the State itself—and among the joint projects of Fuad Pasha and Lord Hobart during the previous Grand Viziership of the former, was that of utilising and thoroughly working, the more promising of these mines. Such are the main sub jects of increase,in the Turkish_ revenue. In other departments the augmentation is too insignificant to note—and again in others the receipts are fixed. Such are the tributes from Egypt, Wallachia, Mol davia, Servia, Mount Athos, and the island of Scio. The total revenue, however, for the financial year of Mahomet 1276, or 1862-63 of our era, after de ducting for the approximate amounts which have fallen off through the want of proper persons to collect and transmit them, under the changing sys tem of revenue collection, appears to be consider ably in excess of 3,000,000,000 piastres, as distin guished from 2,500,000,000 for the proceeding year. This, moreover, is the result of a pressure of taxation averaging only 10s. a head—and this yield is larger than the revenue of France would be if the pressure of taxation were no greater in that country than in Turkey ; whereas the pressure in France is five simes as great. There remains, nevertheless, a vast deal yet to be done. The an nual accounts and the system of public audit which stand among;.the financial measures of Fuad will assure us of learning the future condition of the revenue from time to time. Measures are now being resumed for the extinction of the remainder of the floating debt. The paper money, too, is now en tirely withdrawn, and trade thus freed from one heavy obstruction. But material reforms, the mul. tiplication of carriageable roads, the increase of drainage, are works of time, which respond less quickly than commercial tariffs. Of such works, however, Fuad Pasha has, after the Sultan, been the main promoter ; and there is reason to believe that they in turn will now engross the attention of the Sultan and his Ministers. HERALD.—There can no longer be a doubt that Puebla has fallen. The news, first received from a source favourable to French interests, has been con firmed by advices from New York. The cannon at the Invalides has given the assurance of victory to the Parisian public, and the French press is already discussing the effect of the triumph of French arms in Mexico upon European politics. So far es Mexico is concerned the result of the operations before Puebla leaves little to regret. The gallant resistance offered by the Mexican garrisoJ to a powerful army, composed of the elite of the French troops, is at once a redeeming honour to the Mexican flag and an additional credit to the intrepidity and endurance of the expeditionary corps. There was a general feeling amon g st Frenchmen that their soldiers were battling with a foe whom it would be little honour to vanquish; but the desperate fight ing along the lines and in the streets of the Mexican stronghold has added fresh lustre to French arms, and will doubtless give popularity to an enterprise which has hitherto been regarded with great mis giving and repugnance by the public. The Emperor has now a fine opportunity of getting out of an unpleasant situation, which, it is rumoured, he will not be slow to avail himself of. Puebla fallen, the Mexican Government will probably not be indis posed to accede to terms which it would have re• jetted with scorn three months ago. Altogether, the beginning of the end of the Mexican effair may be said to be in sight. But precisely on this account the danger to Europe is the greater. Our Paris correspondent draws attention to the fact that the Opposition journals in France are already making the victory in Mexico the starting point for a crusade in behalf of Poland. A protracted war or a disaster in Mexico would have occupied all the energies of France for months to come. The news of a great military success and the probability of an early termination of hostilities have inspired all the aoi.disant friends of Poland and the revolu tionary party with new hopes, and the great topic of conversations in all circles is the chance of a war with Russia. The Emperor of the French is far sighted, but he is the author of " Les Ideas Nepoleoniennes." There is no Polish Cavour to lead him into action ; but, on the other hand, the opportunity is far more tempting than it was in 1859. The French army is in a far higher state of organisation than it was on the outbreak of hostilities with Austria. Prussia has given the example of intervention, and is incapacitated by her internal convulsions from vigorous action. Eng land, under the auspices of Lord Russell, is blindly playing the game of follow my leader, as she did in 1854. We cannot shut our eyes to the truth that the prospect is a gloomy one, and that the Polish question requires more delicate handling than ever, if we are to avoid drifting into the unfathomable perils of a European war. Our correspondent alludes to a rumour that M. Drouyn de Lhuys is on the point of retiring from the Foreign Office. We sincerely hope the rumour is unfounded. His resignation at such a moment could have but one interpretation. It would be an obvious menace to the existing peaceful relations of the European Powers. It must not be forgotten that the Polish cause is, of all causes, that with which the senti ment of the French nation is most closely identified, and that a war waged in behalf of freedom would, at any rate for some months, have the approval of all classes. The army and the peasantry of France would, of course, favour it, as they would any war ; the clergy already regard the struggle in Poland as one sanctified by the highest interests of their reli gion. There would remain the bourgeoise alone to count the cost of the enterprise, and even the monied class in France shares too largely the passion of its countrymen to be very strongly opposed to war in aid of the Polish patriots. There are some arrears of unpopularity to wipe off, o ne or two matters to set right. A well-struck blow for Poland might effect all this. There is no telling how far the victory of Puebla may tend to bring it about. Let Lord Russell look to it. He is playing !a difficult game. He is endeavouring to pursue a straight forward English policy at the same time that he is ccquetting with the party of revolution. He may learn too late that he is playing with edged tools. CITY SEWERS COMMISSION. Yesterday the accounts of the Commissioners of Sewers , for the year ending Michaelmas last were printed and cir culated amongst the members of the Corporation. The consolidated account shows that the outla. has been —for paving, £23,376 7s 9d ; lighting the public lamps, £13,452 7s 9d ; cleaning the streets, £8,106 ; watering ditto, £1,231; and sanatory works, £1,295 Bs. The salaries to the medical officer of health and inspectors amounted to, £B9B 12s, and there was incurred in prosecuting parties for the sale of diseased meat, &c., £2ll 4s 4d. The commis sioners expended during the year no less a sum than £32,7 92 12s 8d for widening and improving certain streets within. the city, and the legal conveyancing and surveying expenses. incident thereto cost £1,618 ss, and the sundry expenses came to a further sum of £676 158 3d. The law and Par liamentary expenses incurred amounted to £1,813 16s 9d, and the charges for sundry artificers reached no less a sum than £3,199 17s 4d. The officers' salaries and retiring al lowances amounted to £1,224 6s, whilst the charges for wages, rents, rates, &c., in respect of the stone yards, were £5,067 is ld. Under the head sundries, which includes the rents of offices, rates, stationery, printing, advertisements, 1 &c., it appears that the amount expended was £2,145 7s Id. The total commission paid to collectors amounted to £3,161 198 Bd, and further on account of the erection of the neW offices the sum of £2,535 lOs 5d was paid. The sum ex pended in carrying into effect the Gas Measurement Act was £2,542 Os Bd, and several other items, including wages to clerks of works, annuities, &c., raise the total outlay on the consolidated account to £113,139 12s 3d. On the other side we find that the sum raised by the con solidated rate, after deducting the estimated deficiencies,. was £98,606 13s sd. £3,871 4s lld was voted by the Me tropolitan Board in aid of improvements within the city, the rents, old materials, &c., produced £545 is 11d, while the produce of the sale of ground-rents, and other incl. dental receipts, reached £11,289 88 2d. The sum of £1,036 158 8d was received by fees on hoards and scaffold ings compositions in aid of payments, and fines on contrac tors and others. The sum received from the justices under the provisions of the Gas Measurement Act was £1,526 ls. £54 is 9d was received on the sale of condemned meat; £l7 19s 8d by balance of interest; raising the total amount of the revenue on the consolidated account to £116,947 6s 6d, being an excess over the outlay of £3,807 14s 3d. The expenses of the City of London Cemetery at Ilford during the year reached £4,851 7s 10d, whilst there was received by sale of ground for vaults and interments and other charges £5,227 Os 3d, leaving a balance of revenue over outlay of £376 is sd. The consolidated account shows on the debtor side et balance due to the treasurer of £24,830 4s 9d ; to contract creditors, £19,475 19s 3d; to ditto in suspense, £13,817 lOs 5d ; annuitants, £35 9s 6d ; warrants in hand or not paid, £5,958 6s ; contract creditors on the cemetery account,. £SOD 4s 10d ; which, with the sums of excess of revenue over outlay on the consolidated account of £3,807 14s 3d, and of the cemetery account of £376 is sd, give a total of £68,810 10a sd. On the creditor side we have, per balance in the hands of the clerk, £243 13s ; arrears of rates July 1861, January 1862, July 1862, with estimated deficiency, to the amount of £51,503 12s 8d; sundry debtors, £1,74G 6s 9d; and debtors on dangerous structures account, £2,581 19s 9d, giving a total on the consolidated account of £54,329 5s 5d ; by sundry debtors on the cemetery account, £330 19s Id ; total, £54,660 4s 6d. These, together with a balance of outlay over revenue, being the total of outlay for cemetery to 29th September, 1861, less excess of revenue over outlay on the consolidated rate ac count to the same date, of £14,150 5s 11d, gives an exact balance of the grand total on the debtor side of £68,810 10s sd. The sewers account of revenue and outlay is as follows : To charges incurred in building new sewers, £590 Is ; cleans ing and repairing sewers, £4,208 Os 2d ; building private drains, £312 12s; and for minor works, and law and par liamentary charged connected therewith, £lll is lld ; total, £5,225 15s ld. Amount of calls on the city of London by the Metropolitan Board of Works towards their general expenditure for the year 1862, £6,094 17s 6d, together, £11,320 12s 7d. The account shows an excess of revenue over outlay of £6,186 15s Id, leaving the grand total £17,507 7s Bd. The debtor side of the sewers account with the Metropolitan Board of Works on the main drainage rate, :862, with the collector's commission thereon, making rate books, &c., is set down at £16,829 2s 10d, the creditor side furnishing £16,530 16s 5d as the amount of the metro politan main drainage rate at 3d in the pound, leaving a balance, being excess of outlay over revenue on that rate of £298 6s sd. The sewers account balance-sheet for the year shows cash in the hands of the treasurer and clerk of £8,876 7s 7d; the gross total, by arrears, less estimated de ficiencies on the year, &c., being £10,380 14s. Messrs. H. Croysdill, G. H. Jay, and Win. Turquand, the auditors appointed by the Corpoi ation, have duly passed the accounts, which have been certified as correct by the Commissioners of Sewers, and signed by the chairman, H. De Jersey, Esq., deputy. COUNTRY MARKETS. LIVERPOOL-FRIDAY. At this day's market there was a fair attendance, with a limited demand for wheat, and sales could only be effected at a slight reduction on Tuesday's prices. Flour remains as quoted on Tuesday, or 6d per barrel and sack below last Friday. Oats and oatmeal a slow sale. In Egyptian boanS the trade was firm, at late rates. Peas unchanged in value. Indian corn 6d per qr cheaper. STAMF ORD—FRIDAY. White wheat, 49s to 51s; red, 46s to 48s per 36 stone. Barley, malting, 36s to 408; grinding, 30s to 33s per q r • Oats, 20s to 25s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 40s to Per qr. ; new, 38s to —s. W AKEFIELD—FRIDAY. Wheat quiet, at a little concession in price. Burley W 5 steady. Oats, beans, and shelling slow. Averages for the week : Wheat 1,195 qrs., at 49s 21d Rye Oats Beans EXETER—FRIDAY. Wheat, white 6s 3d to 6s 4d Barley. 3s 6d to 4s 3d I Ditto red .68 Od to 6 s 3d Oats .. ..... ..2s 9d to 38 aa Flour, fine, Ms to 36s ; seconds; to —s per sack. CATTLE. 1 Fat beef, p sc., 10s0d to 1186 d Ewes, per lb ....Rd to 61d Pork carcases, 7s Od to 8s Od Wethers, d 0...., 7d to —d Lamb, p 1b.......—d to —d Fat calves, d0...61d to 7d. Rough fat, 34d per lb. BRISTOL SUGAR—FRID►Y. The market this week has been rather firmer, although we cannot boast any particular activity. Sales amounted to about 600 hhds., of which 200, chiefly Barbadoes and crystallised Demeraras have been taken by grocers at steady prices. Refined goods a dull demand, and pieces scarce• Rum—A fair business doing; Demeraras, is 6,1 to is 7cl per gallon, and Jamaicas 2s lld to 3s 6d. COAL Id Prices of Coal per Ton at ARKET. the close of the market. s. d. Wylam 15 9 Carway and Duifryn Malting , ...19 6 Eden Main .. ..15 9 Byass's Bebside West Hartley . ..15 6 Hastings Hartley ....15 6 fanfield Moor 8ute2..13 0 Lambert's West Hart- _ _ S. :d• 1ey.... 15 3 North Pelton Ga 5..... 13 3 West Wy1am.........14 9 Buddle'sWest Hartley lb 3 Ships at market Walls End. Braddyll's Hetton 16 6 Hartlepool 17 0 Heugh Hall 16 3 East Hartlepool 17 0 South Hartlepool 16 61 James l5 9 Harton 15 a Framwellgate.. l5 9 Russel's Hetton 16 3 elloe 6 Hetton l7 Trimdon Hartlepool 16 6 It, 46 ; sold, 44. CANADIAN MAIL.—The Canadian mail steamship Bohemian sailed yesterday from Liverpool for Quebec with the Canadian mails, besides which she also took out a fair extent of cargo, and had about 40 cabin passengers. VhDVERTISEMENT.j—IfoIIoway's Pills.—Heat and iust• ese are both trying to the health—the former by lowering the nervous tone, the latter by poisoning the cir culation at its fountain—the lungs. Holloway's pills are invaluable for correcting these sources of ill-health. They purify the blood, brace the nerves, strengthen the stomach, improve the appetite, act mildly on the bowels, and invigo rate the whole system. Thus these pills prevent headache, heartburn, biliousness, nausea, and a host of other annoy ing symptoms which, when neglected, are almost certain to be the forerunners of disease. Births. ADTE.—On the 11th inst., at 115 A, Regent.street, W., the wife of Mr. Scott Aidie, of a son. A'CotnT.—On the 11th inst., at Upham Cottage, Bishops Waltham, the wife of the Hon. W. J. Holmes A'Court, of a son. KNox,—On the 12th inst., at Copse-hill, Wimbledon, the wife of Henry Needham Knox, Esq., it.N., of a daugh ter. Marriages. ARBUTIINOT—THOMPSON.—On the 11th inst., at Alder minster, Captain Arbuthnot, 18th Hussars, eldest son of Sir R. K. Arbuthnot, Bart., to Alice Margaret, fourth. daughter of the Rev. M. C. Thompson, vicar of Alder minster, Worcestershire. BURTON—SLADE.—On the 11th inst„ at St. George% Hanover-square, Lieut.-Colonel Burton, C. 8., to Sophia Louisa, th e daughter of the late General Sir John Slade , Bart., G.C.H. - - - _ _ SIMPSON—JoNEs.—On the 11th inst., at St. Pancras. Eliza, eldest daughter of the late G. P. Jones, Esq., O Edinburgh, to Mr. John Simpson, of Kentish-town. Deaths. BERRY.—On the 9th inst., at St. John's-wood, Charles Berry, Esq., aged 80. Cox.—On the 10th inst., John Henry, eldest son of Henri Cox, Parkfields, Detby, aged 41. DAVISON.—On the 10th inst., at Clapham-road, Therea o R. Davison, Esq , aged 72. FITZGERALD.—On the 11th inst., at The Convent, Roe hampton, Augusta, widow of the late Sir James Fitz' gerald, Bart., aged 60. FOOL—On the llth inst., at 101, Gloucester-terrace, Hyd e park, Mary, wife of W. Rayne Foot, Esq., and only sur' viving daughter of Lieut.-General Sir Scudamore Steel, K.C.B. RUSSELL.—On the 10th inst., at Northfieet, Kent,Williaal Russell, Esq., aged 30. London : Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDEEWO , of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at VIE Sux Office. No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County of Middlesex.— Saturday, June 13, 1863.