The Sun. — London, England, 1863-05-12 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARL. ROUSE OF LORDS—Last Evening, The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack ai the usual hour. ROYAL COMMISSION. The Royal Assent was given by commission to the fol lowing bills : Exchequer Bonds (81,000,000) Consolidated Fund (R 20,000,000) Inclosnre Local Government Act (1858) Amendment Workington Dock Van Dieman's Land Company Aylesbury Markets Denbigh Water North Brierly Gas St. Asaph Road Vale of Llangollen Railway Peterborough Cattle Markets Caledonian Railway (Carstairs and Dolphinton Branch: Candonian Railway (improvements &c.) Baby Railway Pet &trice anti St. Just Roads Cleeve and Evesham Road Hamilton Water Flint, Holy well, and Mostyn Roads Cleveland Railway Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway Rugby Water Whittle Dean Water Great Grimsby Water PRIVATE BUSINESS. The St. Luke's (Middlesex) Workhouse and Vestry Hall, the Loughborough, Ashley de la Zouch, and Rempstone Road, the Norwich Poor, the Cheltenham Roads, the Mer sey Docks and Harbour Board, and the Llanelly Railway Dock Bills were read a second time. The Vale of Neath Railway Bill, the Buchley Railway Bill, the Metropolitan Railway Bill, the Wear Navigation and Sunderland Decks Bill, the Marshland Smeeth and Fen Drainage Bill (amendments) were read a third time and passed. THE CASE OF MR. BISHOP. The Marquis of NORMANBY presented a petition from the Rev. Alfred Bishop, rector of Martyr Worthy, in the diocese of Winchester, and called the attention of the house to the proceedings of her Majesty's Go vernment and their local agents in reference to the case of the petitioner's son, Mr. James Bishop, now a prisoner in the fortress of Alexandria undergoing a sentence of 10 years' imprisonment. The noble lord stated the circumstances connected with the arrest of Mr, Bishop in the neighbourhood of Caprera a short time after he had quitted Naples, on suspicion of being in communication with Francis 11. He was forcibly taken prisoner by the Italian authorities, and all requests for an interview with the British Consul were refused, and all because he was sus pected of being an enemy to united Italy. The British Consul, he said, on being made acquainted with the arrest never troubled himself about the circumstance, but on the contrary, treated the whole affair with studied neglect. Mr. Bishop, he contended, had not received the protection he had a right to expect and receive, and he hoped their lordships would take the petition into their consideration, the prayer of which was for further inquiry into the cir cumstanees under which the sentence was passed, or to adopt such other steps for his son's relief as the house might think fit. The Duke of SUTHERLAND said he saw Mr. Bishop in prison in February last. (Hear, hear.) He had a beau tiful view of the Bey f Naples therefrom, a bed, two arm chairs, and, best of all, a tub. (Laughter.) He was allowed books ; and when he (the Duke of Sutherland) asked why this indulgence was given him, he was told Mr. Bishop was weak in the head and a friend of the Marquis of Normanby. (Renewed laughter.) He would recommend the noble marquis to go to Naples and speak with Mr. Bishop; he would then take a less active part in defending him in that house. (A laugh.) The Earl of HARDWICKE thought if the noble duke who had just slAken considered his language he would admit it was worthy of condemnation. Might not the noble earl the Secretary for Foreign Affairs urge that Mr. Bishop had already received as much punishment as he would have been visited with if he committed the offence in this country ? If this prayer was not powerful enough to release him for his light offence the influence of Eng land must be very smell in Italy. (Hear, hear.) Earl GREY said he could not listen to his noble friend stating this to be a legal offence without entering his pro test. If after the Revolution in this country an Italian had been caught carrying letters from the Stuart Pretender in the Highlands to the French Court at St. Germans, would not the fact of carrying these letters be considered an overt act of treason ? (Hear.) And would any foreign interven tion have saved the offender from the gallows ? (Hear, hear.) If a prayer of mercy were addressed in the present case it might be listened to ; but to say we should go fur ther, and claim a remission of punishment on the part of a person who committed an offence of this kind was absurd. He could make allowance for a person acting on behalf of a Government which he considered a righteous one, but this was not the case with Mr. Bishop. It was impossible for any man who had at heart the freedom and liberty of man kind, not to take a deep interest in the experiment at pre sent going on in Italy. (Cheers.) When their lordships re membered how many years Naples was under a tyranny—a tyranny the worst on the face of the earth—(hear, hear) — which of them would not sympathise with the efforts of the entire of Italy to unite herself under one free constitution ? (Cheers.) Was not this a question as important for the world at large as for the Italian nation itself? It was, then, hard that the worst interpretation should be put on the acts of the agents of the Italian Government. (Hear.) He confessed he looked with astonishment at the rapid progress made by that nation ; it certainly contrasted with the slow progress made by Great Britain after the ti evolution of 1688. The Parliament at Turin was now carrying on business in a man ner which commanded the admiration of the world. (H ear, hear.) Steps were taken to consolidate the laws, and there was much .to inspire them with great hopes for the future. He therefore thought that many of the observations made in that house on the state of Italy were hardly fair. The Earl of CARNARVON said he agreed with what Earl Grey had said on the nature of Mr. Bishop's offence, but thought that the Government of this country should see that he obtained a fair trial, and that his sentence was not disproportionate to his offence. He (Earl of Carnarvon) thought there wasnonnfairness of trial, but rather a strain ing of the law in this case ; and looking at the state of Mr. Bishop's health, and that he was an English subject and could do no mischief, he ought not to have been condemned to the galleys for ten years, which was equivalent to a sen tence of death. Earl RUSSELL having expressed much sympathy with Mr. Bishop's family, and detailed thenatureof Mr. Bishop's illness, said that gentleman was a most unfortunate person in mixing himself up in the troubles of Italy ; and, more over. in having his noble friend the Marquis of Normanby as an advocate in that house. (Laughter.) The Italian Government would naturally say, "We are obliged to punish persons conspiring against our government. We cannot show particular favour to Englishmen:or Frenchmen, for we should lay ourselves open to the suspicion of giving them a favour which we would not show to Italians." He (Earl Russell) wished, however, to show that from the first no exertions had been wanting on his part. On April 11, 1862, a letter from Mr. Bishop was published, showing that he was anested. On the 15th, Sir J. Hudson got instruc tions to attend the trial, and urged that Mr. Bishop should have a speedy trial. He wa- brought to trial, and found guilty of conspiracy. The noble marquis said the offence was not sufficient, and that he was convicted against evidence. (Hear, hear.) Bat he (Earl Russell) begged their lordships not to make that house a court of review on the Courts of Italy. (Cheers.) There were three questions put on the trial to the jury. W as Mr. B:shop guilty of conspiracy ? Was he guilty of endeavour ing to make others enter into the conspiracy ? Did he use outrage us language or not ? On these three points the jury found him guilty. el gninst that conviction there was an ap peal lodged, and the sentence was confirmed. It was Lot then right, on the faith of the counsel for the defence, to arraign the conclusion arrived at by this jury. He had re ceived a letter from Mr. Panizzi, of the British Museum, in which h e stated that he attended many trials at Naples_ and was astenieh e d at the impartiality of the judges and the fair ness of . the j ur i es, and that inquiries led him to t hi n k t h a t Mr. Bishop's trial wes conducted with the same fair ness on the part of th e juries and impartiality of the judges. As soon as Mr. Bishop was convicted, he was sentenced, Sept. 6, to 10 years' imprisonment with hard labour. The n oble earl then ref erre d to the attempt made by Mr. Bi s hop, at the instigation of third partial,rtolinduce Prince Torelli, a nobleman remarkable for his liberal op f in t i b ons, to engage in a c onspiracy against the Government o especially dwelling on the circum stance of the King l(ing of Italy, people en - el ease, urin g to get Mr. Bishop t o d o what they we the re afraid d t letter d o themselves. The noble earl ridi cu l e d the ideaekfe emanat e d merely Mr. Bishop wrote upon the occa s i on h avin e mer ely from an idle curiosity to know whether IPce To relli could be induced to commit treason. S uc h a view of the easo might be put forward by Mr, Bishop's counsel, but it could not proceed from any one else. The noble earl then re counted the efforts which her Majesty's Government had made from the moment they heard of the condemnation of Mr. Bisbep to procure, in the first instance, his pardon, and then a partial remission of his sentence. 'I hey had sue ceded in releasing him from the galeys and in getting rid of the addition i f bard labour to the term of impri sonment; they had induced the Italian Government to al er the determination to confine him in the fortress of Alexandria, at the foot of the Appennines ; and they in fluenced his removal to the infirmary, where he was at pre sent confined (so we understood) ; and, above all, they had obtained an assurance from the Italian Government that Mr. Bishop would be pardoned when the fitting time came. (Cheers.) Web, that being so, how could her Majesty's Government be accused of having been indifferent as to the fate of Mr. Bishop ? hear.) On the other hand, Mr. Bishop had undoubtedly engaged himself in a treason able conspiracy ; an i every one knew that the man who engaged in a treasonable conspiracy did so at his own risk, Oa that part of the case he had only to express a hope that, in the interest of Mr. Bishop, the noble marquis, who was r*etaaded as so formidable an opponent of the Italian Go vern ment, would abstain for the future from all interference in the matter. (Rear , hear. ) The noble earl then refer ring to the noble ena m re o cuis d 's llusion to the society in which . he (Eaei Russsell) Italy together, said thatat a time when they were both in there could be no doubt upon this point, whatever there mig ht be as to others, that,two ofthe .—e....--..., _ he mixed in much the more agreeable society. (Laughter.) His noble friend must be well aware that those Italian Liberals were about the most intellectual men that cne could meet ; they were full of all kinds of knowledge e , th respect to literature, and remarkable for their taste in ~rt. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the present state o I , tl irs in Italy, he would confine himself to remarking t , a great expe ment was being worked out in that country—an experiment having for its object the conferring unity and freedom upon Italy. May the Italians prosper in that experiment. (e:leers.) May it be remembered that, if their revolution was not without fault and without spot, our own revo lution was marked by the massacre of Glencoe and the Treaty of Limerick. In conclusion then ble earl declared that the time had come when the Italian Government ought to be treated with respect. (Cheers.) After some observations in reply from the Marquis of NORMANBY, the subject dropped. HARES (IRELAND) BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. ELECTIONS DURING THE RECESS BILL. The bill was read a second lime. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS BILL ; AND LONDON, &c., DIOCESES BILL. The reports of amendments in these bills were respec tively received. AUGMENTATION OF BENEFICES BILL. The report of amendments in this bill was received. Their lordships adjourned at 2 i minutes to eight. HOUSE OF COMMONS—Last Evening. The SPEAKER took the chair at the usual hour. THIRD READINGS. The following bills were read a third time :—Bristol and Portishead Pier and Railway—Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Gateshead Equitable Gas--Southampton and Netley Rail way—and Surrey Gas Bill. SECOND READING. The Blackburn, Chorley, and Wigan Railway Bill was read a second time. ROYAL COMMISSION. The Usher of the Black Rod appeared at the bar and summoned the Speaker and the house to hear the Royal assent given, by commission, to several bills. The Speaker returned at 20 minutes past 4 o'clock. THE COTTON DISTRICTS. Mr. FERRAND gave notice that on this day week he should ask the President of the Poor Law Board if the report which he promised three weeks ago from the engineers who had been sent down to the cotton districts had been received, and if so whether he had any objection to lay it on the table of this house. _ _ _ ELECTION PETITIONS. Mr. HUNT gave notiee that on Thursday he should move for leave to bring in a bill to amend the law with respect to election petitions. IRISH FISHERIES. Sir R. PEEL gave notice that on Friday he should move for leave to introduce a bill to amend the laws relating to fisheries in Ireland. CIRCUITS. Mr. HADFIELD asked the Attorney-General whether the Government intended to make any and what alteration in the existing circuit arrangements; and whether such arrangements would be completed before the next sum mer assizes, and would include a winter circuit, and in what places ? The ATTORNEY-GENERAL replied that the subject had been for some time under the consideration of the Go vernment, and that some alteration would shortly take place could not be doubted. Various projects had been under their consideration, and within the last few days a written state ment containing several suggestions had been received by the Lord Chancellor, from the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench. These suggestions would, of course, receive the attention which they deserved ; but he feared that there could be no possibility of carrying out any pro posed alterations in time for the summer assizes. VOLUNTEERS AND COUR TS-MARTIAL. Sir W. SCOTT asked the Under Secretary of State for War whether the act 44 Geo. 111., c. 54, or any regulations for the conduct of the volunteer force, framed under the provisions of thator any other act relating thereto, rendered volunteers amenable to a militai y court of inquiry, or to military law, when they were not under arms, on duty, or in the uniform and accoutrements of the corps ? L)rd HARTINGTON replied that no volunteers, except members of the permanent staff, were amenable to military law, and then only when called out and in actual service. A volunteer committee could be summoned, to be named by the commanding officer or the L'.rd Lieutenant of the county. POWDER IN EDINBURGH CASTLE. Mr. BLACK asked the Under Secretary of State for War what had been the average quantity of gunpowder kept in the Castle of Edinburgh during the last twelve months, distinguishing the various forms in which it had been made up, and whether the quantity would not be diminished; and, whether there would be any objection to furnish copies of any report, which might have been made on the subject of this magazine by officers of the Royal Engineers during the last four years ? Lord HARTINGTON cited the quantity of powder in the magazine 12 months ago, and said the quantity there now amounted to 250 barrels, which it would be probably satisfactory to the hon. gentleman to learn would constitute the maximum amount. BELGRADE. Mr. CJRIFFITH asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether a written protest against the bom bardment of Belgrade was not made and signed by the English and European Consuls, on the 17th June, 1862, which did not appear in the blue book on that subject; and, if so, whe her it would be laid upon the table of the house. Mr. LAYARD replied that a protest was sent to the Pasha that commanded the citadel. But as a copy had not been sent to the Foreign-office, one had been required from Mr. Longworth. There would be no objection to pro duce a copy. MR. ODO RUSSELL'S RECENT DESPATCHES. Mr. HENNESSY referred to three despatches which had, he understood, recently been received from Mr. Odo Russell, relating to our relations with France, and involving a question of personal honour. The first despatch said, he was informed, that certain brigands crossed the Papal lines dressed in French uniform ; the second stated that he had been misinformed, and withdrew his first statement ; and the third that the second statement was incorrect. He de sired to ask if that third despatch had been communicated to the French Government ? Mr. LAYARD replied that the hon. gentleman had not given him any notice of his question, and if he would re peat it to-morrow he would endeavour to answer it. THE THRONE OF GREECE. Mr. B. COCHRANE inquired if the noble lord at the head of the Government could inform the house whether any definite arrangement had been come to with respect to the Throne of Greece—whether, in fact, the throne had been accepted by Prince William of Denmark ? (Hear ) Lord PALMERSTON replied that, strictly speaking, no final decision had been come to; but he had every reason to think that Prince William would accept the throne of Greece. (Hear.) PRISON MINISTERS BILL. The house then went into committee on this bill. On clause 3, Mr. PACKE moved the omission of the words which made the salary of the priest payable out of the county rate, and observed that the Government might have avoided all opposition by proposing the establishment of a central con vict prison for Roman Catholics alone. Mr. BENTINCK seconded the mo ion, and repeated that the bill had its origin in an unhallowed political cabal, which would in time react on all the parties to it (Hear, hear.) After some discussion, in which some hon. members ex pressed their opinion that the payment out of the county rates would lead to considerable differences of opinion among the members of the boards of guardians. Mr. HENLEY said he thought it worthy of the consi deration of the ight hon. gentleman the Home Secretary to endeavour to provide for the payment of the Roman Ca tholic priest out of the C,,nsolidated Fund, so as to prevent the heartburnings which would be sure to be created among the local boards. He believed the bill to be only an act of justice, and, as the sum would not be very large, he thought it would be better to have it included in the money voted by Parliament. If he could get an assurance from the Go vernment that they would adopt the suggestion, he would ask his hon. friend not to rtme the question until the repoit was brought up, so as to give the Government an opportu nity of introducing the necessary alteration. Sir G GREY said he was willing to give due considera tion to any amendment which might be propos e d i n cow. mittee for effecting tho object suggested by the right hon. gentleman. Sir S. NORTHCO rE thought there would be great difficulty in the way of having the payment made out of the Consolidated Fund, for it would take all control over the Roman Catholic priest out of the hands of the local magis trates. (Hear, hear.) After some further discussion the committee divided — For the amendment Against it The amenhlantrinttywas therefore lost. —66 Sir L. PALK moved en amendment, to add the words, d af ia te n r s ' o ' f t hainnyk cofi+u,:t4ry‘ the consent of the board of guar w:vttreuain _the,s,aid gaols, prisons, and iphsuoteutrietas oomfotanfhceoerrEaestethatoibollinicshmaedrienisesi le:greet:a within ehisame footing eituated,~. As the bill proposed to buildings, it was right that they should theb as of as those ttbone bill the in n an i l t e s footing in every respect. He complained t e h P a n t a th s e u m ? a lo g e is a; presenttrates that b f a o t r form oughtw ou l n d o t t h t r o o throw e a s t: o a n m t oat o . f odiumoomwn organisation at present existing in direct There ti on with the ratepayers, except in the case of boards of ratte r te d e i Sir G. GREY said the magistrates now appointed chap_ lains to gaols without consulting the ratepayers, andel); thought they ought not to take away the jurisdiction over the local funds now enjoyed by them. The amendment was negatived without a division. Sir B. LAYTON proposed an amendment, that when justices and other authorities of boroughs having separate jurisdiction committed persons to the county prison, the expenses incurred should be paid in proportion to the num ber of such persons sent to the country. After some remarks from Mr. lITIMBERSTONE and Mr. THE SUN, LONDON, TO ESDAY Ev MNINGI, MAY 12, 1863. VANSIT TART, the amendment was negatived without a On the motion that the clause as amended stand part of the bill, Sir A. A GNE %V moved that the clause be omitted. The committee divided— For the clause Against it Majority --95 The clause was then agreed to. Clause 4 was agreed to. On clause 5, Mr. HIBBERT moved, as an amendment, that when a minister of any other denomination than the Established Church discontinued his visits for 14 days, then the present law should again come into operation. After some discussion, in which Sir L, Palk, Sir B. Laytcn, and Sir G. Grey took part, Mr HUNT said that by this bill, when a prisoner said he was of no religious persuasion, he need not receive any re ligious instruction at all. Sir G. GREY said he believed that the Church of Eng land took credit for those prisoners. (Hear and laughter.) Mr. HUNT said he believed those prisoners claimed to be exempted from attending the religious services of the Church. Sir L. PALK said the bill would prevent the Church of England from taking charge of those prisoners who repre sented themselves as belonging to no religions denomina tion. The bill would destroy all prison discipline, and would subvert and destroy the principle they had been endeavouring to maintain and assert for years past. Sir G. GREY proposed the addition of certain words that would meet the objection. After some further discussion, The clause as amended was agreed to. The remaining clauses were then agreed to, and the bill was reported to the house. CUSTOMS AND INLAND REVENUE (RE-COM MITTED) BILL. The house then went into committee on this bill, and clause 1 was agreed to. On clause 2, Mr. BLACKBURN moved the rejection of certain sec tions, the effect of which would have been to place railway companies in the matter of assessment for income tax on the same footing as other companies. After some conversation between the hon. member and the right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the amendment was with drawn. Sir J. FERGUSON called attention to what he consi dered a grievance of the local assessors of the income tax in the suspension of yearly re -assessments under Schedule A, urging that the plan adopted of only paying those officers when their services were required would probably have the effect of depriving the Government of their services. He hoped, when re -assessments were made, local assessors would be employed. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER defended the course which had been adopted in regard to assessing and to local assessors, and said that, if any change in the mode of assessing was adopted, ample notice would be given of it. Clause 2 was then agreed to. Lord R. CECIL then rose to move the adoption of a new clause, the effect of which was to give to persons with in comes under £l5O power to appeal for surcharge to the com missioners for special purposes, upon due notice being given to the inspector or surveyor within the time of giving notice of appeal. He did so, he said, on the ground that he had been appealed to by small tradesmen, and had pre sented numerous petitions complaining of the present mode of hearing appeals before local commissioners, and asking to be placed on the same footing as persons over £l5O a year, and to be permitted to lay any case of surcharge before the special commissioners in writing; when, if not satisfied, it would be for the special commissionets to go to them, instead of, as at present, their going long distances to go before local commissioners. These small tradesmen and othere, assessed to the income tax under £l5O a year, claimed to have the same privilege which was granted to other persons assessed under schedule A, on the ground that they were as much interested in keep ing their affairs to themselves, and as liable to suffer from the dangers resulting from the inquisitorial nature of the income tax, as their superiors in position. He could not sit down without expressing his opinion that there was a great deal of hardship in the way in which the income tax was assessed. He had heard from many quarters complaints of the severity with which the surveyors carried on the business of surcharging, and be could not help thinking that those complaints made no impression at the time, or were treated with some contempt at the Inland Revenue Office—a state of things which would produce so deep a feeling of discontent in regard to the tax, that the Government would not be able to resist, The only way of meeting this difficulty would be by a more gentle adminis tration of the law. Mr. W. WILLIAMS had heard the same complaints of persons having to go many miles to get their appeals at tended to. He hoped the right hon. gentleman would con sent to admit the clause. Mr. HUNT said there were two reasons why small trades men were anxious to have the clause introduced. First, because they would be able to send their case to a special commissioner instead of exposing their affairs to their nearest neighbours; and secondly, because they would be able to send their appeal on paper instead of having to travel them selves, often many miles, to the courts of a local commis sioner. Mr, COLLINS, as an income tax commissioner, thought he introduction of the mortgage column in the assess • went paper very desirable, so that assessors might put the question whether the property was or was not mort gaged, and thus do away with bringing people 10 or 15 miles to prove that their property was not mortgaged. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he had always stated that any one who had a complaint to make of the conduct of the revenue officers in levying taxes ought to make his complaint kn , ,wn so as to give an oppor tunity of its being inquired into. He had come to a different conclusion with regard to the conduct of these officers to that which had been expressed. The process of extracting money by direct taxation was like that of extracting teeth-- it never could be made agreeable to the patient. There must be vigilance on the part of the officers if taxes of this kind were to be collected at all, because all the world were against them. Finding complaints against these officers exceeding rare, he had come to the conclusion that the diffi culty lay in the soreness and fretting against the collection of the income tax itself. It had always been the endeavour of the Government and the heads of the Revenue Depart ment that the officers should act with prudence and mode ration , and he would not be doing his duty if he did not state that the oficers acted in the spirit of moderation as well as vigilance, and that the difficulties which the tax payers complained of were inherent in the case. He did not know whether or not he understood the noble lord's mean ing ; but he might state that the phrase " £l5O a year" was fallacious, and the case did not not apply to persons having under £l5O a year, but persons having an income under£loo. When the Act of 1845 passed, the income of £l5O a year was the limit below which exemption could be claimed; but since the limit was cut down to £lOO, it was only per sons un Jer £lOO a-year who could claim exemption ; per sons over £l5O had no concern in the discussion that was going on. (Hear.) He had some difficulty in deal ing with the matter introduced by the noble lord --not that he blamed the noble lord for it, but because the parties complaining of grievances had not laid them before him specifically, so that he might discuss them with the heads of the Inland Revenue department. But he sup. posed the noble lord did not mean to press too suddenly for a decision, and that he would give the Executive Go vernment time for considering what steps could be. taken. With regard to the trouble and hardship to which persons were put who had to appear before the commissioners, he did not think that the appeal to special commissioners would mitigate the evil. They could not undertake to send spe cial commissioners to the door of every person. There would bo always a cir..uit ; and he believed that the special com missioners cauld not be brought nearer to individuals than the local commissioners. There was another point men th ned by the noble lord, namely, that persons were anxLus there should be secresy with regard to the state of their affairs It was true that secresy was a matter of greater importance to some persons than to others, but he could not see how there could be secrecy with regard to persons hav ing incomes under £ .00 a year, for the neighbours of those persons, seeing the collector did not call upon them, con cluded that their incomes were under £lOO a year. All that the income tax commissioners inquired was, whether the income was under or over £lOO. Lord R. CECIL had not the slightest intention of press. ing the right hon. gentleman for a decision in the present year. The amendment was then withdrawn, the schedule agreed to, and the house resumed. INLAND REVENUE BILL. The house went into committee on this bill. Clause 1 (Club Licences) was expunged. Clauses 2 to 8 were agreed to. Upon cruse 9, Mr. AYR lON moved that the tax proposed to be placed upon the public carriages mentioned in the clause should be •‘ one farthing," instead of " one halfpenny" per mile. What ground, ho asked, was there for main • taining a difference, whilst Chancellors of the Exchequer and statesmen bad admitted the injustice of the inequa lily. Tne only answer given to the grievance was that railway companies used roads of their own making, whereas stage carriages used public roads. That was, in fact, no answer to the question, their duty being upon the gross earnings, representing the number of passengers carried, and not the mode of their transit. Exemption from duty was allowed the railways where passengers were carried for lees than ld. per mile, Omnibuses did the same, and yet they were compelled to pay 10 per cent. on their earnings. If it was just to exempt one, it was just to exempt others from t he tax. He hoped the Chancellor of the Exchequer would see the necessity of adopting his proposition in dis criminating between the large omnibuses used in towns, and the smUall o nes used in the country. en. BCKL EY advocat e d relief to. stage coach pro prietors, and hoped a remission of taxation would be given. He gave an i nstance of the oppressive orking of the tax in his own neighbourhood. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, that for the purposes of locomotion it would be highly otitis factory if 'hero were no taxes. He could not acquiesce in the motion, as it would deprive him of X 70,000 per annum, and because it only dealt with one portion of the tax. He spoke of the injustice the remission of the tax in favour of omnibus proprietors would bo towards ha- cney carriages plying in London. The latter had their fares fixed at a reduced rate by Parliament, whilst there was no parliamentary limit to omnibus fares. The proposed change would act equally unjust to wards others connected with the trade in the country dis tricts. When the tax could be parted with he should be happy to do so. After some further conversation the committee divided— For the amendment Against it Majority... —lG The clause was then agreed to, as were the clauses to 20 inclusive. On clause 20, Mr. AYRTON asked for an explanation of the necessity for the alterations which had taken place in clauses 21 and 22, The CHANCELLOR of the EX‘'HEQUER said that the committee would recollect that on the last oeca,ion of the introduction of the bill the clause granting occasional licences had been put in generally, That, however, had caused much jealousy, of which the hon. gentleman him self had been the principal organ. The consequence was that the clause had been made too restrictive. Clause 21 re moved the restriction as to selling liquors only between sun rise and sunset, on such occasions as public dinners and balls, when such limitations would be harsh. Clause 22 was intended to remedy an error into which they had been led by over-confidence in the hon. member's suggestions. Be fore the act was passed last year, the law permitted publicans to sell liquors at public fairs and races without a licence. The hon. member had unwittingly taken away this privi lege, which clause 22 was intended to restore. Mr. AYRTON said that those who took interest in the matter thought that the alterations had adjusted the ques tion of revenue and public morality in a satisfactory manner, and they looked upon the change now suggested by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as a retrograde proceeding. It would be very satisfactory if these occasional licences were given as in Scotland ; and that it should be devolved upon the bench of justices to lay down general rules for the granting of them instead of leaving it to individual justices to grant them at their pleasure. Mr. HUNT expressed the conviction that the proposed relaxation in the occaional license system would give great satisfaction. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, admitting the inconvenience of forcing publicans in quest of an occasional licence to travel all over the country in search of two magistrates who were acting for the same petty sessions district, said he was willing, in case any hon. member would move to restrict the application to one magistrate, to support such a proposal. The cause was then agreed to, as were the remaining clauses, and the bill passed through committee. REGISTRATION OF ASSURANCES (IRELAND) BILL. On the order of the day for going into committee on this bill, The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said that in consequence of the opposition which the Irish Law Society had offered to the bill, and the small support which it received in that house, it was not the intention of the Government to perse vere with the bill, and therefore he should move that the order for going into committee be discharged. After some remarks from Mr. Whiteside, Mr. Hassard, and Colonel French, The motion was agreed to. CHURCH BUILDING AND NEW PARISHES ACTS AMENDMENT BILL, This bill was read a second time and referred to a select committee. SALE OF MILL SITES, &c. (IRELAND), BILL. This bill was read a second time. _ _ DRAINAGE AND IMPROVEMENT OF LAND (IRELAND) BILL. This bill was read a second time. POOR REMOVAL (No. 2) BILL. This bill wag read a second time. MARRIAGES REGISTRATION (IRELAND) BILL, This bill was recommitted pro forma for the purpose of its being reprinted. The house adjourned at 12 o'clock. respondent of which announced, with the customary fanfares of that journal, the advance of the flotilla, and all that it was about to accomplish, will record its disastrous discomfiture and headlong retreat. The canal or cut-off in the immediate neighbour hood of Vicksburg is more than ever considered what it appeared to me an entire failure. Of a third attempt--the perforation of a route through Lake Provi..ence, on the right bank of the Mississippi, by which an entrance into the Red River has been sought to be effected, but little information has reached us, but the impression is that the Federals have abandoned this enterprise. At Port Hudson two Federal steamers—the Hartford, the flag-ship of Admiral Farragut, and the Monongahela. have succeeded in getting past the batteries, leaving be hind them one of the finest of the Federal frigates, the Mississippi, sunk in the stream. - The two ves sels in question have possession of the river between Vicksburg and Port Hudson, but it is not pro bable that they will be long unmolested. It is understood that they attacked a Confederate bat tery at Warrenton, eight miles below Vicksburg, and after wasting their fire for several hours were compelled to haul off without having killed one of their adversaries. But let it never be forgotten in England that the uninterrupted navigation of the Mississippi from New Orleans to St. Louis, even if ever it could be gained by the Federals, would be of indescribably little advantage beyond the gratifi cation of Federal vanity. It is a never ceasing ne cessity for the Federal press to stimulate hopeful ness, and to point to certain definite and not unat tainable advantages as likely to put a period to an otherwise interminable war. An amusing narrative might be written of the variety of expedients which in two years have been suggested as destined to bring an indomitable and hopelessly exasperated people 'o terms. Pressure of starvation with which the Confederacy was at first loudly threatened is again feebly heard of in the Northern press; but, above all things, the capture of Charleston and Richmond, and the demolition of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, have been promised to New York end Boston. Of those places not one has yet fallen, and if reason had not utterly abandoned every Federal brain it might be as clearly demonstrated that the capture of all four could make no difference, in regard to beating down the Southern resistance anet breaking the Southern heart, as that the earth goes round the sun. But for a correspondent addressing an English audience fr 3m Richmond at this moment there seems to be occasion for little else than a stereotyped and em phatic contradiction of the statements which are carried to Europe on the wings of the New York press. lam wearied of again and again repeating that in such statements as the following, with which every Northern journal on which my eyes fall is constantly teeming, there is not one grain of truth, not even a grain of probability. The New York Herald lifts the hearts of its readers by the follow ing story : " Secretary Stanton is confident, from information in the War Department, that the rebels are about to fall back from Virginia to some point in the interior of the Confederacy. He says they are removing their foundries and machinery for manufacturing arms from Richmond, with a view to the concentration of their forces and material in a position less likely to be cut off by the operations of our army and navy." If Mr. Stanton has, contrary to all probability, indulged in such speculations, it is a pity that he cannot avail himself of the permission which, if he sought it, would doubtless be extended to him by the Confederate Government. One day in Richmond and its vicinity, one visit to the Tredegar-works and its small-arms factories, would satisfy him that from small beginnings Richmond has gradually grown into a mighty arsenal, defended on every side by works far too formidable for such soldiers as the Federals to be ever induced to attack them, and never likely to be evacuated until the crack of doom. If ever it were conceivable that want of pro visions might make it necessary to drive out from Richmond the non-fighting population, how much nearer to the attainment of their object would the Yankees be? It is strange that there is one fact which no Federalist or Unionist seems ever able to discern. Death has claimed for his own since this war commenced nearly half a million Federals, and at least 200,000 of their opponents. Because in the Northern States there is no more heed of their dead than of autumnal leaves on a New England hill side it is forgotten that the Confederacy mourns her fallen sons like Rachel weeping for her children. A reconciliation with the Yankee possible! The bones of tens of thousands of men would arise from their graves and denounce the craven hearts which threa tened by such a policy to make of none effect the costly sacrifice of their hecatombs of lives. If Vicksburg can be turned, or in some manner negatived, there remain hundreds of other points round which the Confederate batteries wculd imme diately cluster. Such a point is Warrenton, where the Hartford has recently been beaten off; such a point is Natchez, where the bluffs are said to be more favourable for defence than those at Vicks burg. It is not to Vicksburg, or generally to the Mississippi River that the eyes of the Confederates are anxiously turned, but rather to Charleston, where the long-delayed blow must inevitably fall shortly or never, and to Tullahoma and the army of General Johnston. My own impression still is that want of sagacity has been shown by the Confede rate Government in not strengthening the army of General Johnston by such reinforcements as would make the issue of the impending battle " beyond a peradventure." It is to an ordinary spectator in comprehensible how on both sides the policy of a Napoleonic concentration of troops has been neg lected and overlooked. It is known that many of the wisest heads in the Confederacy, and among them General Joseph E. Johnston, have warmly ad vocated the concentration of all available troops in Southern Tennessee, even though Texas and Arkansas should be left destitute of tr.en, and the defenders of Vicksburg should be reduced one•half, Non ita Dis placuit. For some inscrutable reason the strength of the Confederacy is frittered away by squandering troops in insignificant numbers over vast areas of territory, and by provoking such at tacks as recently led to the surrender of more than 4,000 Confederates at a place called Arkansas Post. The consequence is that war languishes on without any victory being gained by the Confederates in the West of such magnitude as confound the mendacity of Northern journalists, or to strengthen the hands of that large and growing party in the North-western States who see that out of the vast ocean of blood which irreconcileabiy divides the two sections it is not possible that peace and conciliation should have a chance of arising. If ever these words should meet the eye of the English public they will be read at a moment when for more than two full years the whole strength of the Free States of the old Union will have been lavishly exerted to beat down the resistance of the Slave States, and will have been exerted in vain. Isolated from all direct communication with the ex ternal world, misrepresented and traduced by the ingenious sophistries of Mr. Seward, admitted to no intercourse with the Foreign -office of Great Britain, bitterly reviled and execrated by Mr. Bright and all the organs which echo the clamour of Exeter-hall, the Confederate States have, nevertheless, won for themselves the respect of all who hold matchless valour in honour, and thrill with electric sympathy at the thought that the stubborn energy of their resistance stamps them as what they claim to be— blood of England's blood and bone of her bone. The confident and minatory language of the Northern press and statesmen has dwindled into a treble ex pression of hope that starvation will accomplish what force of arms has attempted in vain, while from the whole of united Europe ascends a voice proclaiming that the subjugation of the Confederate States is an idle dream. Still recognition of their independence, or such moral intervention of diplo macy as cou'd not fail to command attention at Washington, and to stop an effusion of blood which scandalizes civilization and outrages humanity, is stubbornly denied to them, and the whole strength of the North continues to be hopelessly exerted to attain an object which Europe, by hor silence, en courages them to believe that she deems them not incapable of attaining. It is not in the vain ex pectation that any words of mine will assist in moving England from her attitude of passiveness that I now write; but in the belief that the very pride and vanity of the North forbid her taking the initiative in recognising the South,l venture to ask whether England has maturely weighed the conse- In mercy to the reader I forbear further quota ,ons from the speech in question, and from another o favour of Greek independence, delivered by Mr. Clay in 1824. Every line of these speeches, every sentiment that they breathe, prove that the tradi tional policy of the American Union has been to held out a hand swiftly to all struggling nationali ties, and to do upon very slight grounds of justifi cation that which they so deprecate Europe's doing when justice, humanity, and reason call for her in terference in trumpet tones. Can it be pretended that stability and order have not been maintained in the Confederacy since its secession ? In a resi dence of six months, in journeys throughout the length and breadth of the Southern States, I have encountered but two Unionists, Mr. Pettigrew, of Charleston (who was sorely shaken in his faith be fore his death a few weeks ago), and Mr. John Minor Botts, of Virginia, who is unmolested and left at liberty, though utterly disloyal to the Con federacy. Again, can it be pretended that this war has been so conducted by the Federals as to win the sympathy of England to their cause ? The tale of its atrocities will some day be told, and if anywhere during the last 100 years so black a page of plun der and cupidity, and ravage, and outrage of de fenceless women can be shown, it has not yet been my fortune to light upon it. These things are told to prosperous and thoughtless England, and pro duce as little impression as did the narrative of Sepoy outrages in this once happy country. But here on the spot, face to face with persons who re peat to you incidents far too horrible and shocking for publication, and bring such evidence of the truth of their report as to extort belief from the most incredulous, it would be strange if the lowest depths of a man's nature were not stirred with "a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation." The growing frequency and boldness of the skir mishes which the enterprise of Confederate cavalry officers in the West has lately brought on, gives indication of the approach of that desperate battle in the West which nothing but the tenacity of the mud in Tennessee has so long deferred. It will pro bably have transpired, in spite of the distorting haze through which the truth has to percolate, that recently General Van Dorn pounced down upon a Federal post at Franklin in Tennessee, and carried away with him 2,200 prisoners. On the 26th inst, General Forrest attacked a Federal garrison at Brentwood, nine miles south of Nashville, destroyed the railroad which connects Nashville with Colum bia, and walked away with 800 prisoners and 35 officers, and a large supply of stores. Brentwood lies thirty miles to the rear of General Roseerans' advanced pickets, and that able general takes no pains to conceal his mortification at these raids of the enemy within his lines. It is probable that the advance which he seems desirous of undertak ing by the route of Columbia will be delayed by General Forrest's handiwork. It is strange that i❑ the exchang3 of prisoners the balance should, as regards rink and file, be largely in favour of the Confederates; as regards officers, slightly in favour of the Federals. The Confederates have taken nearly 15,000 more privates than they have lost ; the Federals have an excess of about 150 officers in their favour. I know not whether the explanation which is here commonly given of this fact is the correct one; but it is asserted that with Federal officers it is the fashion to say to their men, " Go on ;" with Confederate officers it is the fashion to say, " Come on !" Be this as it may, there is in the Confederacy a growing dig satisfaction at the want of straightforwardness and integrity in the policy of the Washington Government and their representative, Mr. Com- the North of reb e l p r i soners f or w h o m Federal missioner Ludl ow , w ith regar d t o th e transfer soners have already been given in payment. Cher circumstance, which does no:, seem to suggested itself to Mr. Charles Sumner, is l i hereafter greatly to embarrass the negotiation an amicable exchange of prisoners. Recently, for the first time in this war, two negro sold dressed in uniform, were taken prisoners in N Carolina and sent to Petersburg. The abject to of the unhappy wretches, their urgent entreats' be allowed to go to wor k on a S ou th er n plantar their bitter penitence for having been induced the Federals to take up arms, would have see ludicrous had th e y not b een p i t i a bl e . It is prob that Mr. Sumner and his associates will striv insist that negro prisoners shall be rega rd° white prisoners, and exchanged for white men. this it is my imp ress i on t h at t h e S out h w ill el consent. But it is irn2ossible to resist the COn tion that every day of continued strife increases probability of the abandonment of all usages ef c lised warfare ; that the utter want of faith in F' ral honour is inducing many calm and tetoPe l men to advocate the most desperate and bloodY of warfare as the true policy of the South ; and!, in addition to a ll th e f r i g h t f u l m i ser i es w hich Sumner and his fellows have brought upon this c tinent, it is but too probable that they will neeel tate such measures as the indiscriminate alaug h , of all comb a t an t s , or, i n other words, the re fusal take any prisoners. There will, of course, be a howl of indignation England at the mere suggestion of such a possibili The South will be called barbarians, brutalised slavery, lost to all sense of shame or of Christian at the bare notion that they should deliberati adopt so obsolete a policy. It is not necessary stop and inquire whether, in the event of Bog beinginvaded by theFrench,there would not bab y dreds of voices heard in favour neither of giving! asking quarter, and to Virginians the old Domini is at least as dear as his own beloved island to an n lishman. But in justice to the South it may he ask 4 what are they to do ? Two Confederate prisooei both of them officers, are confined together in B° . . , Federal p r i son i n t h e same room, and are si°3; taneously exchanged in the place of two Fe d o e i prisoners, who are at once sent to the North. , of the Co n f e d erate pr i soners comes to Ri c braosu l f e asked afte r hi s compan i on, and answers tha t be him, say i n C amp Ch ase, i n Ohio. A complai lit i k at onc e a dd ressed to Mr. Ludlow, who answers tP t he will i nqu i re . I n a few days he repor ts there is n o suc h o ffi cer in Camp Chase. Some wee after, haply th e m i ss i ng officer arrives and reP r t that he has b een i n fi ve or six prisons, that be be 0 been marched, to inflame the rag e o f the F eder b i mob, through c it y a f ter c i ty, that all that cos h' , done to b rea k hi s sp i r i t has been unsparingly e b 0 , ployed, that he has been told that he is never t° exchanged. Th e S out h erner i s sensitive an d hig o strung, and in many cases his heart, impervi oll ; bi craven fear on the battlefield, sinks under pressure of hatred and of captivity. In thiE.,. Wet Feder a l vengeance i s constantly gratified. iietbsl not be said by some fli ppant Northern writer ' there is no truth in these aspersions. Facts, n° °l o dates, and f u ll est part i culars of a dozen such e,11,0 have been laid b e f ore me; if necessary, they !m -all be communicated to the English public. ve y Meantime, in S ecess i a still more than in Yang et dom, the rapid and incessant manufacture of P a l l e promises to p a y cont i nues to depreciate theeif lle rency from d a y t o d ay, and it is idly fancied in iisti York that n o na ti on w hi ch is giving 5 dole. se." for coffee and 75 d o l s. a b arrel for flour (its P, ric- 0 0 Mobile) can l ong protract its resistance. D . effect are the Yankees told that never was a de fie r, mined nation c h ec k e d b y d epreciation of its Pisir Board in the hotels, which six months ago 11 „0. dols. a day, has r i sen t o 8 d o l s. ; the scarc i t y 0' "dif plies, and still worse their uncertainty make it har . possible for h o t e lk eepers and owners of board for l a , houses to furnish f oo d f or t h e i r guests. B a t pat ' moment let it be thought that scarcity wi ll :poi ascend to famine, that a nation which is more t he equal to its enemy in the field will yield t ° gaunt dictates o f a mon i tor who, if necessity 91."0,, would be resist e d as M assena resisted him at Gen and the indomitable Protestants of Ireland foog him at Londonderry. Everywhere evidese e e , offered to prove that no such necessity can ar il ' I,d orit' everywhere it is admitted that three short 133 will carry us over the pinch. Desperate inu Q must be the cause w hi c h req frog to be bolst ered by any other h o p es than those resulting i honest fighting. I hav e con fid ence that i n the de ath s grapple now imminent between the two as c o ts i success will still attend the efforts of a higiver to race, which add s t o super i or fighting qualiti eS o igh inestimable advantage o f fi g hti ng on t h e def . ° t he but which may possibly be compelled to car r Y f its menace of the arm s i n t o th e rich provinces of neighbour b e f ore t hi s sore l y str i cken and distil land shall again know rest. THE CONFEDERATE STATES. (From the Special Correspondent of the Times.) RICHMOND, March 31. March, like February, has rolled away without any advantage having anywhere been gained by the Federal, or aggressive party, and it is the opinion of all thoughtful men that every day during which this miserable strife is protracted is an un questionable gain to those who are acting on the defensive. Still, three months of inaction and of dexterous mendacity on the part of the hundred mouthed and unscrupulous press of the North have again created a soul beneath the ribs of death, have depressed the premium on gold in New York to less than 40 per cent., and have persuaded the gullible and sanguine populace of the North that the object to attain which they have in two years spent as many lives and millions as all Europe has expended in two centuries, is on the eve of accomplishment. Well may an impartial spectator, resident in the Confederacy, rub his eyes and ask whether the un broken spirit of resistance which he everywhere sees around him is a hollow delusion—a bubble which is about to burst, or whether it portends such a termination of this struggle as is confidently antici pated by every man, woman, and child whom he meets. Let the North make the most of the lull which winter has interposed between the savage passions of the belligerents ; it remains to be seen whether the third and most sanguinary campaign of this war wilt effect more towards the restoration of the Union than its two predecessors have done. One thing, however, may be confidently predicted ; in the battles which are now apparently impending there will not be such absence of great results and critical denouements as hasattended the bloodshed of tee last 24 months. The terrible apprenticeship through which the two sections have passed, the experience which at least on one side the Generals have gained, will, it is everywhere believed, be fruitful of events, and the achievements of an army which has witnessed 100 engagements will excel the achievements of raw recruits as far as the army of Toulouse excelled the army of Corunna. The moment is a solemn and serious one, likely to be de e ply impressiv e t o a spectator to whom are entrusted by dozens of officers with whom he has contracted friendships com missions to be discharged in the event, so generally anticipated by many of them, of their falling. Never since war fiist desolated the earth has such slaughter attended the collisions of mighty hosts of men ; never have such death-dealing weapons or such exuberance of artillery been brought into the field. Chiefly in the terrible battles of the West, of which only an imperfect record has ever reached New York or Richmond, and of which not much more is known in Europe than of the battles o Charlemagne, has this fearful slaughter been appa rent. At Murfreesborough, out of 45,000 men whom General Rosecrans led into the field, at least one-third lay dead or wounded at the close of those frightful days of bloodshed. In the battles around Richmond, and in none others, the Southern loss was upon a similar scale; but in those battles the Federals fought behind entrenchments, against which storming patties of Confederates were again and again led. But if ever again the fortunes of war shall lead to the collision of great hosts of com batants in the vicinity of Richmond, let no such ad- vantage be looked for by the North. On every hill and crest in the neighbourhood of this city, on every stream and point of vantage in the neigh. bourhood of Petersburg, works and fortifications o every description have, Under the inspiration of the best engineer officers of the old United States'army, been elaborately prepared, and well may the confi dent allegation, that against such works the whole might of Yankeedom will expend itself in vain, find credence in the breast:of any observant spectator. There is little apparent ground for the belie : which seems to have found favour in England, that the greatest and most eventful struggle of this war will occur at Vicksburg. From accidental circumstances, and chi e fl y f ro m the " sensation" writing of th e N ew Y ork • press, an amount of interest has attached itself to Vicksburg which is by no means entertained with regard to it in the Southern Confederacy. If ever my letter from that remote point has made its way to England, it will have been seen that the chief strength of Vicks burg consists i❑ its inaccessibility. From the river alone can it be formidably attacked, and all the immense hailstorms of shot and shell which have hitherto been thrown into the little city from the river have produced indcsci ibably little effect. In half a dozen different ways the Federals have tried to flank or evade it. Apparently, the least formid able of ail their efforts has been through what is called the Yazoo Pass. A fort at the mouth of the Tallahatchee River has driven the Yankee gunboats and transports headlong back to the Mississippi ; nor is it likely that the New York Herald, the cor- quences of abstaining from the use of her moral in , fiuence in stopping this sanguinary war. It is idle o search for precedents for inaction with "Hist°. ricus" when inactio❑ commends itself to the instinct of every thoughtful man by its material advantages; but there ace moments when the moral responsibili ties of nations at the head of civilisation outweigh material considerations, and such a moment is un doubtedly at hand. Where is there on the Conti nent of Europe an intelligent human being who thinks that the thousands of lives which are about to swell the vast aggregate of the last two years of slaughter will produce the slightest change in the present attitude of the two sections? How, then, will posterity regard England and France if, with out a murmur of remonstrance from them, this great sea of unnecessary blood is poured forth lika water when it is incontestably in their power to stop it by a word ? It is said that because New Orleans and Nash ville are in the Federal grasp Southern independ ence cannot be recognised by Europe. Was it any bar to the recognition of American independence by France that Philadelphia, New York, Charles ton, and many other leading cities were in British possession ? Why sophisticate as to the mode of recognition ? When, in 1820, Henry Clay was warmly arguing in the House of Representatives et Washington in favour of the recognition of the South American provinces, he was asked to enume rate the particular States whose independence he acknowledged. His answer was remarkable Suppose the French Minister had asked of Benjamin Franklin what number of States he represented ? `Thirteen, so please you,' Franklin would have replied. ' But, Mr. Franklin, will you tell me if Pennsylvania, whose capital is in possession of the British, be one of them ? 'What would Dr. Franklin have answered ? Two years earlier, speaking in favour of the recog nition of the American Republic of these same Spanish provinces, whose independence Mr. Canning was eventually the first to acknowledge, Henry Clay laid down arguments which he little thought would ever be quoted against his own darling Re public:— " I maintain that an oppressed and dissatisfied people are authorized, whenever they can, to rise and break their fetters. This was the great principle of the English revo lution. It was the great principle of our own. Vette], it authority were wanting, expressly supports this right. Our revolution was mainly directed against the mere theory of tyranny. We had suffered comparatively but little, we had in some respects been kindly treated, but our intrepid and intelligent fathers saw in the usurpation of power to levy an inconsiderable tax the long train of oppression that was to follow. They rose, they breasted the storm, they achieved our freedom. I am no propagandist. I would not force upon other nations our liberty if they do not want it. But if an abused and oppressed people will their freedom, if they seek to establish it, we have right, as a sovereign Power, to notice the fact, and to act as our in terest requires. Moreover, if Spanish America be entitled to success from the justice of her cause, we have no less reason to wish her success from the horrible character which the Royal arms have given to the war. He who has looked into the history of the conduct of this war is con stantly shockei at the revolting scenes it portrays—at the refusal to treat, on the part of the Royalists, on any terms with the other side; at the outrage of women, the violation of flags, the instigation of slaves to rise against their owners; at acts of wanton and useless barbarity. , • • . . I will next inquire what course of policy it becomes us to adopt. I answer, one of strict and impar tial neutrality. It is not necessary for their interests, or expedient for our own, that we should take part in the war. It is compatible with this neutrality, it is required by it, that we should recognise any established Government, if such there be, in South America. Recognition alone, without aid, is no just cause of war. There is no com mon tribunal among nations to pronounce upon the sovereignty of a new State. Eash Power does and must judge for itself. It is an attribute of sovereignty so to judge. A nation in exerting this incontestable right takes no part in the war. It gives neither men, ships, nor money. It merely pronounces that so far as it may be necessary to institute any relations, or to support any inter course with the new Power, that Power is capable of main taining those relations and authorising that intercourse. In our own revolution it was not until after France had given us aid, and d e t erm i ned to enter into a treaty of alliance with us, that England declared war against her. Holland, also, was charged by England with favouring our cause, and deviating from the line of strict neutrality. And when it was perceived th a t s h e a l so was about to enter into a treaty with us England declared war. Even if it were shown that a haughty and powerful nation like England had made war on the ground of a mere recognition, the single example could not alter the public law or shake the strength of a clear principle. But what has been our uniform practice ? We have constantly proceeded on the principle that a Go • vernment de facto is what we can alone notice. So far as we are concerned the Sovereign de facto is the Sovereign de jure. Our own revolution stands on the basis of the right of a people, even on apparently capricious grounds, to change their rulers. I do not maintain that every immature revolu tion, every usurper, before his power is consolidated, is to be acknowledged by us; but that, as soon as stability and order are maintained, no matter by whom, we always have considered, and ought to consider, the actual as the true Government. Gen. Washington, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Math son, all, while respectively Presidents, acted on these prin ciples." COUNTRY MARKETS. JO - GLOUCESTER—MAT 9. tiro° To-day there w as a s h ort supply of English whivi' the farmers, w hi c h h eld for the prices of last wee'fretti foro3,ii fair trade. F ore i gn wheat also in fair demand, Itcittv prices. Oat s were 6d per qr advance. Barley o f _o lower. Beans and peas unchanged. COLCHESTER—MAT 9. Wheat, whit e ..46s 66 s B eans , Maz.agan••ou' red 42s 52s middle & 5ma11.360 8ar1ey...... 20s —s 2 - 6s s Peas, gray white ......... 35 0 0 5 5 131 Oats CHELMSFC At this corn exchange to. show of grain, with a dull tri Wheat, old white 30s 53s new 35a 49s I RD—MAY 8. d d a e y . there was an as ert3 4o 7 0 0 0 t'eas, Partridge 3 3 90 450 White Boili 4OO 3 80 ng ..... Dun 3 90 Ditto new 348 3 4 0 Beans, Tick, old new.: 3 6o Harrow Ticks • new•: 300 Q -111a,zagan ..... old red 373 46s new 35a 448 Barley 2' , /3 36s _ _ Chevalier 2Bs 40s Grinding 22s 31s Malt.... 6ls 67s Chevalier . ..... , 64s 69s Oats 20s 28s1 KI RKCALDY GRAIN—MAT 9. ueit 1111 a ..td We had sm a ll supp li es of barle but fair of vi.oy oats. Sale s Sales rea d y. Wheat is per qr cheaper. B ar much the same as last week, and oats 6d dearer. Wheat. Barley. Oats; First....36s Od I 24s Od I 24s Od Second ..40 8 Od 26s Od 24 0 Od Od —s Od COAL ft Prioes of Coal per Ton a' U.ARKET. r ot. j, it the close of the riki'• s, s. d. Buddle'sWest Hartley 15 0 Cowpen Hartley 15 0 Hastings Hartley l5 0 Wylam 15 6 Carway and Duffryn Malting , 19 6 Fden Main 14 6 Ellison Main Steam 14 6 Walls End. 6 Walls En d ' 1 3 4 6 Gosforth .......... 6 South Hetton ...... P.' 0 Haswell ~..• ,16 Hartlepool.. ..... • ' 0 South Hartlepool..•" 14 0 Tunstall Stewart's ........... lv Kelloe .• • Ib 4 0 South Kelloe..• • • ' Heugh Hall ........ Hetton 16 6 Triradon Hartlepool 16 31 Ships at market t, 74 ; sold, 47• Births. l II" BRIDGENAN.—On the 10th inst., at 30, Cl a-e a li gb tB L ' at street, the Hon, M rs . J o h n B r id eman , of ' a m Suo CHEESMAN.—On the 10th inst , the wife of th e la o al f A. Cheesman, Esq , o f a son. ' e w ife MORRIS.—On the 9rh i ns t ., at R ix, T i ver ton, . Major-General Morris, R A., of a son. ear re° VENAHLES. — i ns t., On the Bth at Coshestout lin broke, the wif e o f Wm. Venables, Esq of a 13-11. Marriages. oeo— Ilt ANDREW—JESSON.—On the 11th itlet.• at ' f 'CoraPglck' Hanover-Square, George And r ew, Esq., 9s on, le g Derbyshire, to Eli za b et h , w i dow of H en ry c igooe and daughter of th e l ate C o l one l Horton, °fli Lodge, Leamington, 19lic S Tno ursoN — Gumoun.—On the 9th inst. , ,t to ,ter" ret Mitchell, dau g ht er o f J n Alfred Hill Thompson, Esq., arc hitect, lateu" bon s at •law. Gilmour, .059..2 piiiigt'''' Deaths. AL Is L ir I . ST A O I N fr . e — d HJAoptiLnlNßzzoienr, a th g e ed l 6 o 7 th . A le IMlcgfrt ~ s -road• BRAZIER —On the Bth inst.,at 106 Blackfriars-r o A n ni t s h t e on B , th ag i e n d st 3 ., 7 at Gibson-square, nit re, mzir s- ar dh C Colonel Thomas Chaplin, late of the o Pi t aged 69. eo. ELVY.—On the Bth inst d Essen' ~ at Kelve on, Osd'f Commander n s t., at 13 6 r d : t n re 7,o Ou" - R.N., aged 71. LEWIN.—On the Bth inst. at Boston, IS rin. -"Will' n it. C.E., aged 70. ROBERTS.—O n the 9th inst at Keston, Kent, de WOOD,—On a 01 • 2 U. Roberts, Esq. s quare , ;O n n il , thewi wife e l o th f C in h s a c. l , e a s t W26,,wed:rsrgi.dge-scl _ r aft , London : Printed and Published by WILLIA M /go. o f of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TUE SUN Ow e oti Strand, in the Precinct of t he Savoy, tile & Mlcidletsex.—TuesdaY , May 12, WI