The Sun. — London, England, 1844-02-27 00:00:00

,itiroto ;I'ol lo veniber, 4 ; a p 4 0? Jle 111 for Which "rin298,000/. were t o b e vote d t hi s year, an d g the last five years there was no less a sum than 21 411 01 1,123,000/ voted for the s ame . There was ,thi , 4 o l. o e o n /. voted f or t h e support of officers' widows and which allow e d a b ou t B s . or 9 s . a - wee k their supp or t, an d i f they were not a b le IT a on th a t t h ey must go to a workhouse. eiamount of the pensions of the widows and children °, l l the army list was cons id era bl y less than the navy, tit h° l lgh the number of men in the army was so much Teter.Fe T he reason was obvious ; the army accounts e„el•for reereshed, the navy accounts were not. Before asking e , t an)! vote he trusted they should be made acquainted of the number of widows and children, and the grades a n d the ir preterits. It was right that the House i the country should have the information. taat e t ° tamittee ought to inquire thoroughly into these er s. Were this done such an amount as that now neon the list would not be tolerated. Such a Committee ' th e Finance Committee of 1828, would look search- Mely Tito these pensions, and he was satisfied, without e ° o _ ll t injustice to any one, materially reduce the amount i.vr charged upon it. At F IELDING, who was scarcely audible in the e e' w asundersto o d to say, that before supplies Iv eee t ee ; Canted they ought to ascertain whether the taxes Id a mtposed were levied in a fair and proper manner. psZ a teated against the income-tax, as being the most op "ge tete in its o erationwhich had existed for centuries. kne e ° ‘ ' t . )v erilment P were bringing down the hatred and ireesity of the poorer classes by their support of the ti,jr at t p ° , llB poor-laws ; and there was a similar feeling ofth ,ll th.e minds of the middle classes in consequence to;operation o f t h e income-tax. He should ser f a 7 vote itechdalefor the moti o n of his H o n. Friend the Member es 'n in c l u . I'OVVRING wished to state briefly the reasons Ile E e i l e ag him to support the motion of his Hon. Frienc . 1 " so because he thought it was one . of those eat co nstitution a l" principles which a Member of the had • when he thought that the Peopl e right to adopt, . the an _ w ereunfairly represented, fur it was essential that perrtuPle, when the were taxed, should have some ef s no to reopl a represent their opinion thi n of thie country amounted to between twenty and Nu); Millions, and out of those, not one million were 4 e i B , s ed of votes ; and, therefore, the great mass had f v o ,p, to he dissatisfied when they saw such a want o of t h l '°, l oll their part, and of want of economy on that Nit Go vernment. I, 4 , e ' et i ern T . DUNCOMBE wished to ask the Right Hon. 4 411 opposite, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ec :n thg returns which he had moved for upon a former Vi e lt2 !°,n, With respect to the Income-tax Commission, P i k " laid upon the table. *es C UANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, who that 11 , early inaudible in the gallery, was understood to say had .`"of the the returns to which the Hon. Gentleman thi r est alluded were already nearly completed, and the e tr weilld be prepared as soon as possible. Ge e .' ROCHE condemned the course which . the dtt 14n 'fl; pursued with respect to Ireland in e.n -f 4 , r 01g to govern there by military occupation, in (lf 1%4,15' ,by justice and conciliation. Those grievances tlee 'Len the Irish people complained should be (lo f th aw aY with, and above all the incubus Itightl Established Church should be removed. The - ` l nn. Gentleman opposite had not attempted to tree tth difficulties" in Ireland; they had not striven to teitiPt with the causes o f the p resen t excitement. lie had t ma Eight lion, Gentleman that the Government kat e n d l u t military possess i on o f I re l an d, as h a d b een re tret, said in th e course o f th e p resen t d e bate. The of td possession of the barracks, the war steamers f th e ° harbours but the inhabitants held possession o t , l °YitT t il ,., llt ry• Theconntry was held by the deep feelings of t hat Yrnieh the Irish people entertained for their 1714 rite o gle Although Hon. Members might consider ,`',Vr e ' f ille ignorant, they understood the principle of a `ae l e e - e l nenarch - and did not attribute to the Sovereign Fell`l,lllltencies)' of her Ministry. They remembered tolv e ,r kindly feelings expressed by her Majesty did nos Ireland when she ascended the throne. He l altl l ° , t e: mean any disrespect to Hon. Gentlemen opposite, Ill'es ee - ‘(1 not consider they were equal to encounter the be t . - „," great and alarming crisis. h NI; " rI SHORNE said that if the Hon. Member . who er e thy a t ight forward the present motion had assigned 10413polibstantial reasons for the course, he would have p : 44 , him, but he did not see any practical reason igolile t tning the consideration of the estimates. Why „ eY not be postponed after, as well as before reglt'thNo reason - existed now for their postpone kr.„3‘ Would not exist them. If he saw that any e "* . ,, -- te " Could b e e ff ecte d, or any gr i evance re d resse d, 'te suPport th e mo ti o n, b u t as it was of so indefi nature, he must oppose it. House then divided, when there appeared— Por the motion ,itainst it Si re Majority against the motion —94 , • • om -1444 • 4N APIER rose, on the motion for going into C t taistr t ° f Supply on the navy estimates, to bring the n_ l'itla ri , 4 9 l ion Of the Board of Admiralty under the co °Y of the House, and said that it must be admitted pertztt Ron. Gentlem ' en opposite that up to a to ev en mode of ship-building was very defective, very late A orli ; 11 1 ,, i n this, the greatest maritime country in th Lc o'64Pbuilding was most inferior to other countries. t c um most clumsy, expensive, and inefficient pub :-Sern erta kings ever executed was the dockyard at ',, s 'iough" 3 . It cost four or five millions of money; !ind, ""'"st constructed at such enormous cost, it was in a 1, " the " t l ! l 'iQrit state of 'defence. The progress of steam V it t -lat h e ahould have shown that it could have been agre e d more efficiently at a much smaller expense. Vete , o t e -- ,,ath the Right Hon. Baronet in the . pro eS had 'l34olYing the different. Boards of Admiralty or h ad s“ 34o ; but then the question was, whether what . s ubstituted in their stead was efficient neth" e ci r llt i .. a L l for the purpose. Ire doubted very much i'lee A , s 'ilPy were so, as they tended to place 'or t i r s - "ewly appointed under the sole controlof the r "tti °f the Admiralty, who were changed with e f ve th y e Atitrlnistrittion. The way in which the Lords o lalralty conducted their affairs—he would not call it 3nies, . e ar—(Laughter) ,because that gave offence last 3 , most slovenl Th just went down to Somer- Ne s r a°l4 .e , and said, )4‘ Well, e itom,- do affairs go on?" The tile): alwa ys woof, " Very vvell."---(Laughter.) And on " after sortie little chat among themselves, they , put withtheir hats and walked (Laughter.) Then, eitt respect to the dock-yards, he thought that Ile. a e was much to be complained of relative to them. lieenitted th e Admiralty, as it was now conducted, l l titr 0 " " with a li ttle more' propriety in distributing its ase, ll , e tt ge than under the former system, but still there ea to T re a V e lerson s emp l oye d w h o h a d never gone to se e - "a tion. and Gallant Commodore then referred per or al returns which he had called for, showing the 11ti o ,, tis e mployed i n t h e navy, an d t h e i r previous occu- Nll ee • 'laving moved for these returns in 1842, h tNit e ta returns in 1843, from which gape i e e ell i t , ,Tat in that year 176 persons, who had never tth, the navy, were promoted to lucrative situations t ate e - , "Dekyrirds. Ile gave great credit to the Admiralty for the regulation which they Ilee e ad mft ‘ta that when Y a ship came into port, the corn `l4t abould be called upon to recommend his Officers and artificers for the situations ‘ , 41 1 might consider them competent to fill in the b P tes`,Partments and he believed that if they followed 1147,Prineiple,'itwould be attended with considerable 1 , 15 ' all ee ` e the public service. He had moved for a return 1 3 t tvtil `,: - . T.B °lls who had entered into the civil service in g i ta in-s:,4hlishments distinguishing whether they had ;"ttl, 1 - „‘„," navy before, ' and, if not, what situations they r,,, t ti;: : '''hn had recommended them. He wanted to fr he t inf ormation how many gentlemen's servants tntl enl il Placed in such situations. But the Right !ion. 1 lie said tha such a return would be inv . id . l?us; N om th ould give a i r eturn, distinguishing the civilians I,o`)*, bee h who had served in the navy.—(A laugh.) * h proc ure Id once a servant who wished him t t j ae oth situation at the time vacant—there ati e , er situation vacant at the same time, and a e7 t h 44 1 hie had a s i m il ar a ppli ca ti on . But . h they . ed, thinking it was unfair to the service, IYIN fre Itt Za3 the result ? the places were filled up, but Rfls Rho h' s. l navy —{Bear, hear.) One was 'iven to n ot lived servant in an hotel, and the other re te he r Ni ne some gentleman's servant ; but he would a „`_: names. Much had been said at the Ad holio,'‘, elsewhere about the management of the th: 11 A ee dmiral, but, notwithstanding all that had Royal Highness had given great spirit to v ic e dear, h ear) — an d had Introduced system t-ç o ted di sc i pline and the efficiency of the ser vi~ er ieal non and Gallant Officer then read several stat • IN and sta t ements relating to promotions in the ser oetOtlißtirointtnents in the dock-yar s, but so . rapidly t "ir e ,tIY, that it was impossible to collect his figures t tPe 4"eation ) From the returns moved for in 1843, iti ln of 141 ar that • pus t hat 332 commanders were promoted to the ...;aPtain ; 535 lieutenants were made corn trlter he 945 midshipmen were made lieutenants. f h ° at%) This was referred to as a proof that 'tte b ` - 2a4 "to great promotion, but what were the That-thell hadMnianders, 259 lieutenants, and 928 midof , , he T died since the late promotion.—(Hear.) It lltrOtti4ttiln°llght, was enough to show that the principle g one an d one-third had not been carried out ' ' t t)ei r° ol ( e ir witB still of opinion that unless they came . e t . in i 3 Y Bt eal of a retiring list for the navy, it -,Possible to look for proper economy in pro er thee, 'ill thought that the present Government eft tlet i „ L e for not bringing the navy into a state tli et Mee ( o ' "Y e xpending a small sum of money to in e4t, point, retire from the service. Having attained 44 1 tie r 3 hOUld say that no man should be promoted the t hir d t o s'eae,Y occurred, and.then he should give one tak Ad w n '"rity. and one-third to what was called hefeirr:lty appointments" In the evidence Nel cleat i l) :sho wo . the Shipwreck Committee it was • ie r. Alt umie "W Just and expedient it was to promote to h °se ßeoe 3 , 1 ? 8 'IR landing waiters in the Customs, and Ui t een i;ttllitions in the Dock-yards—(A laugh)— / h e th e u in tne coast guard service, who had distill tile en. be lYes, by their exertions in saving life. ta i etre, and Gallant Officer then read extracts from .W:l ( A tte ' , to show that such was the opinion of the aeeeteeefereXaMined before the ' Committee. Ho as a r 1 navy to the regulations respecting masters gle s tllet e e Ple rate of remuneration to those officers s e „ e. A the most extraordinary manner ima hs`elte as Molester of a three-decker received 2121. per )4, w as p g . 3 salary, which was never increased unless h °lll °ted e s " la 0 a situation in the Dock-yard l aceti e st er of a small brig, or any other small craft, (")1 , than 4th?iearly salary of 2191., thus receiving 71. th:re bei n ter of the larger vessel, on the ground ai rier small Un it e . g n e ° warrant officer to attend to the stores ale„`;ttion alt in While it seemed to be left out of con thoe tote to oeether, that themaster of the first-rate l e e. stor e _ c glee e, but notcertainly to what was known as *e s Were "e Yards rigging, spars &c., all of . 11 e i l l t„ d Iv e t t y ll Ae P w a n " th ci a l t a if his charg, ad this, ' too, when_ . it the Master of a three-decker did Ille e t :,"er H e te t : e a st be generally' up all ni g ht on deck, tttld, e na,s a gale or the vessel was in near 'act, whenever and wherever (and such occasions were very frequent) the least duty connected with his important office was required. So important were the duties of the master that he (Sir C. Napier) would not enter upon the command of any ship unless he had a master upon whose skill and knowledge he could rely with the greatest confidence ; yet so badly were things managed that this important officer in a first-rate vessel was actually paid less than a similar officer in a small craft. He hoped the Board of Admiralty would re-consider the position of those officers. He next came to his own proposition. He repeated, he approved of what the Right Hon. Baronet had done, and he only wished to make the Right Hon. Gentleman's plan a little more perfect, which could be effected with very little trouble. He would now read to the House what was his own opinion in the year 1828, previous to the Right Hon. Baronet's being in the Admiralty, respecting the constitution of the Board of Admiralty. Those opinions were addressed to a Member of Parliament, who in the year 1830 became First Lord of that Board. (The Honourable and Gallant Member then read the following extracts:— " As it is generally supposed the office of Lord High Admiral is too high a situation for an individual, re course must be had to a Board, which, though an irres ponsible body, may be constituted much better than it now is. If a civilian must sit at its head he should be First Lord ; if an Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet ; he should be assisted by the Vice and Rear- Admirals of Great Britain, which situations should be abolished as sinecures, and conferred on the two senior naval Lords, thereby causing a saving of 9001. a-year. Their duties should be the same as they now are ; an Admiral as superintendent of the Dockyards, another admiral to superin tend the victualling and medical departments ; a cap tain of the fleet to assist the First Lord of the Admi ralty in his inspections, and be the man to whom officers should address themselves, instead of to his pri rate secretary, and he should be accessible at all times. The Treasurer of the Navy, who should be a good financier and speaker, and who should bring the esti mates before the house ; the two lay Lords should be abolished, and if they really hare any duty to perform, let our naval officers do it. Attached to this Board (be side what there now is) should be a surveyor of the navy, storekeeper-general, accountant-general, superin tendent of transports, physician of the fleet, purser of the fleet, and adjutant-general of the marines. All cor respondence should be carried on with the members of the Board charged with the department you had busi ness with, and, if dissatisfied with his decision, a letter, addressed to the Secretary of the Admiralty, should be submitted to them on board-days, and each individual member should also bring forward such subject as he did not think himself competent to decide on. When the First Lord of the Admiralty had not time or in clination to make his inspections at the different naval stations, the vice or rear-admirals should be dis• patched, they should hoist their flao.s, and, for the time being, be superior to all admirals; the chiefs of the other departments, in like manner, should be paramount in the dock-yards, victualling departments, and hospitals, but should have nothing to do with the fleet. The First Lord, accompanied by the captain of the fleet, to in struct him in the particular parts which he did not understand, should be commander-in-chief in all the departments.") The Honourable and Gallant Member then went on to say that he wanted to see the naval Board conducted in the same way as the Board of Ord nance was. It was quite impossible that the Accountant- General could attend to all the things imposed upon him—such as the description of the fleet, courts-mar tial, the management of the various stations throughout the world, &c. It was thereupon necessary that some remedy should be adopted for the present state of things. In respect to the building of ships he admitted there was a great deal of talent displayed. He gave to Captain Symonds great credit for what he had done, but Captain Symonds, like every other man, had his crochets, and re quired the superintending eye. There was no doubt he had built some of the finest ships in the world, and the Admiralty in employing him had done quite right. They were right to secure six or seven builders, in order to have the best work in the end that the country could se cure. But he must tell the Admiralty plainly that in their building they were not so clever as they thought themselves. The French had a far better class of steam vessels than England, and the Navy Board ought to be ashamed of such a fact. Even the Royal steam yacht, the Albert and Victoria, was a failure in its construction, and could not sail steadily and properly until 100 tons of ballast had been placed in her. Take the Albion. She was to be the largest in the British navy, and it was boasted she should be superior to the Rodney. Experience had proved that she was not to be compared to the Rodney. He had now finished the observations ho had to address to the House, and he apologised for detaining it so long.—(Hear, hear.) It was not his habit to trespass on the House, and he had occupied its attention much longer than usual. But he hoped what he had said would be received indulgently by the House, and command the consideration of the Board of Admiralty.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. WILLIAMS said a few words, which were in audible in the gallery. Mr. SYDNEY HERBERT said the Hon. and Gallant Officer had at considerable length criticised the manage ment of the Board of Admiralty, with respect to the construction of different classes of ships and other mat ters; but he should recollect that these defects existed in former Boards of Admiralty. Sir C. NAPIER said he had admitted that to be the case. Mr. SYDNEY HERBERT—He did not wish to mis represent any thing that had fallen from the Hon. and Gallant Member, but those defects ought not to be charged entirely on the present Board of Admiralty. With respect to the statements made by the Gallant Officer, the first related to the patronage of the civil department of the Admiralty. As a general principle, it would be intelligible to say that where naval men were necessary, naval men should be employed in the civil department, -and were civil men were necessary they should employ civilians. But they had gone much farther than this; they had made 612 additional appoint ments of that kind to the civil departments of the dock yards. He was not opposed to the principle where it was practicable, that naval men should be employed in the civil services. He had himself introduced it into Somerset-house. But he was not blind to the fact that some inconvenience had arisen from it. If a naval man was taken as a clerk, he was still looking out for a ship, and when they went to sea there was a continual interruption, so that they were constantly teaching men what, as soon as it was learned, the service could derive no advantage from. He defended the special promotions for particular services as absolutely necessary, as rewards for the dangers not only of war, but of such pestilential climates as the coast of Africa. With respect to the Coast Guard, all names for promotion in that service were sent up to the Admiralty by thp Comptroller, and his selection was always adhered to ; there .was no in stance of the Admiralty having chosen any others than those so selected. There was, besides, an objection to the principle of giving promotion in the navy for services that were not naval. With regard to the masters in the navy, he should not dwell on the particulars of their keeping the stores in small vessels, but he might state that no class of officers occupied more of the attention of the Admiralty than the masters. They had been promoted to the rank of commissioned officers ; one had been promoted to the rank of Com mander, and two had been made Lieutenants. —(Sir C. Napier—" Out of 450 ! ") With regard to the construction of vessels, no one had a higher admira tion of Captain Symonds than he had ; but the Board of Admiralty did not consider any man to be infallible. In addition to the ships constructed by him, the Board had allowed other builders to compete witk him, and they had at that moment no less than nineteen experi mental vessels building, on lines laid down by different persons ; that competition induced the greatest anxiety in all of them to give the greatest attention to the science. With respect to the alterations that had been made in the ships with round sterns, and the altera tions in the bows and magazines, he contended they were necessary. They must recollect that as time advanced science advanced also, and if the Board of Admiralty confined itself to the present plans of construction only, they would be behind other nations. Those changes and experiments could not be made without expense, but that expense was no more than necessary. He believed the Hon. and Gallant Officer's own plan of placing the magazine on board vessels had been reported on, and stated to be very dangerous. With regard to the steamer, Penelope, though many accusations had been made against her, yet on reading the reports from the officers on board of her, he found her per formance highly spoken of. She was stated to have beaten every war steamer she had met. 'With respect to the Albion, he read a letter from Commodore Bowles to Captain Symonds, expressive of admiration at her con struction, and stating her to be the finest three-decker in the world • he also read another letter from Mr. Northcote, the master, who stated that he rejoiced at the opportunity of refuting the diabolical assertions with respect to their noble ship.—(Laughter.) The report of the particulars of her depth of water when loaded, &c. contradicted those of the lion. and Gallant Officer. lie did not quite see what the objections of the Hon. and Gallant Member to the present system were ; he did not see what advantage his plan would have over the present system. The Gallant Officer said, that the Board was changed at every change of Ministry, and those who came in were obliged to depend on the information of the inferior officers. The same objection applied to every department ; it applied to the offices of the Secretaries of State. If it was an evil, it was the neces sary result of their representative system, which created frequent charges of parties ; but it did not apply to the Board of Admiralty more than to any other department. It was a mistake to sup pose that the members of the Board of Admiralty con fined themselves entirely to Whitehall; there was also a regular attendance of the officers at Somerset House. Before any organic change was made it was necessary to prove an absolute necessity for it ; it was necessary therefore, to prove the inefficiency of the present Board. The present duties were not too much for the Board to discharge efficiently ; he would not say an addition might not be necessary in case of a war ; but at present the Board was quite equal to the discharge of its duties. He had no doubt that the alterations introduced by the Right Hon. Baronet (then the Member for Cum berland) were required ; they had stood the test of ten years, and had been found to work well, and he did not think the alterations proposed by the Hon. and Gallant Officer were then required. Captain PECHELL said, the argument that no or ganic change ought to be made till the old system was proved not to have worked well, was used by the Right Honourable Baronet opposite, and the Gallant Officer next him, when the sweeping measure of Reform was proposed, which they both resisted. The Gallant Officer, not only complained of the con struction of the Board of Admiralty, but of the course pursued by them. He always looked on these matters without any reference to party. The Board of Ordnance was arranged in a different manner, and it worked far better than the Admiralty Board. There was no re sponsibility in that Board. On one occasion, Captain Berkeley proposed an improvement with regard to the complements of ships ; and, though he considered he had a majority of the Board with him, he afterwards found that his proposal was upset in the private room. He in consequence left the Board. Ile gave the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, the' Secretary! of State for the Home Department, full credit for the im provements which he made when at the head of the Admiralty Board ; but he could not give the present Board much credit for the mode in which they con ducted the navigation of the country. It was a disgrace to the country, that while France and America had the Archimedian screw in full operation, the navy of this country had not a single vessel to which this great im provement was applied. He recollected, that in March last, he complained of the manner in which the Board of Admiralty had acted towards Mr. Smith, who inven ted that invaluable improvement. He was then told that the Rattler was being completed, and that this improvement would be applied to her ; but at this very moment, though twelve months had elapsed, there was no Rattler in commission. He was aware she was cruising up and down the river for the purpose of mak ing experiments, but it was not Mr. Smith's screw which was applied. Other machinery had been applied, but it was always found that the speed of the vessel had diminished. The Hon. and Gallant Gentleman then referred to the contemplated employment of the Pene lope and Prometheus vessels on the coast of Africa, for the suppression of the slave trade, and said that they would be of far more service at home. He complained of the navy being employed to collect the poor rates in Ireland.—(Cries of " Hoar.") He recollected that complaints were made with regard to the employ ment of naval officers on the coast guard service. It was not now looked upon as an invidious service ; but he certainly was of opinion that it was a disgrace to the navy to be employed in collecting poor-rates on the coast of Ireland, and to bring an 84-pounder to bear on some farm-house in Connaught. It was something equal to what had been done at Tahiti. He complained of the ignorance in which they were left with regard to the experiment made upon the Fox frigate. From the bow of that vessel 15 feet had been cut off, and 20 feet of new material had been added. She had been sent to the Shannon ; and though the whole naval world were most curious to know the result, they were left in entire ignorance on the subject. With reference to the subject of shipwrecks, it appeared from the Report of the Shipwrecks' Committee, that officers frequently risked their lives without receiving any pension as a reward; and even where officers lost their lives no pension was bestowed. He thought that some alteration ought to be mile. Great complaints had been made on the other side of the appointments of Lord Minto as being of a political character. He thought there was no foundation for that charge. Admiral Stopford would not have been appointed to the Medi terranean if the First Lord of the Admiralty had been actuated by political considerations. He would reserve any further remarks which ho might be desirous of making until after the Secretary for the Admiralty had made his statement. Dr. BOWRING regretted that some uniform mode of preparing these estimates was not adopted by the Admiralty. The great error was, that the department of expenditure was always made the department of receipt. In the estimates of this year, there was 171,4791. received by the naval department, and de ducted from the expenditure. He thought it was ex tremely important that the gross revenues should come into the hands of the Government, and that a different mode of preparing the accounts should be adopted. The accounts could never be satisfactory till the princi ple was established that whatever was realised from and for the public service should be paid into the Exchequer, and that no department should realise for itself. All ought to be paid into the Queen's Exchequer. He hoped that, little by little, they should reach the ultima Thule of his desires in these matters ; but, until they did so, he should not cease to protest against the esti mates in the form and extent which they now assumed. Captain PLLTMRIDGE had only one suggestion at that moment to offer to the House. Considering the high and responsible duties attached to the master of a vessel in her Majesty's service, he thought it but fair that ,that meritorious class of officers should be entitled to gain the rank of captain.—(Hear, hear.) The House then went into Committee on the Navy Estimates. Mr. S. HERBERT (who spoke so hurriedly and so indistinctly, that it was with the greatest difficulty a whole sentence could be heard in the gallery) was understood to say, that after the miscellaneous conver sation, which always took place before the question was entered into, a good deal of matter was cleared away, and he would show his anxiety to save trouble to the House by postponing any vote on which there might be any strong difference ofopinion. Upon the Admiralty vote, there were two alterations which were not very material. There was an item for the manufacture of an instrument to make lunar observations. He was not very well ac quainted with scientific pursuits, but this instrument had received the approbation of Sir W. Herschell and other eminent astronomers. With respect to the ordnance survey seventeen surveys were in progress. It was the inten tion of the Government to re-establish Deptford as a building yard. He mentioned last year that a large steamer had been building there. It was now completed, and two or three others were in progress of completion. There was an increase of two hundred shipwrights in this yard, and of an inspector, necessary for supervision. At Woolwick dockyard there was an increase of two in spectors and fifty shipwrights, There had been also an additional item of expenditure for this dockyard, viz., lighting with gas instead of oil. A school for naval ap prentices had likewise been established, and he could speak from personal knowledge of its efficiency. There was likewise an item for the manufacture of steam engines, and salaries to additional inspectors for superintending their manufacture. At Ply mouth there was no alteration of any importance. At Chatham an extra expense had been incurred in con sequence of the construction of works. He should next (as well as we could understand firs lion. Gentleman) refer to the item which showed the expenses incurred by the copper-sheathing of the several vessels of war in the dockyards and in the year 1834 the number of tons of copper applied to that purpose was 463, while in the year 1840 it had increased to 1,239 tons. In consequence of an alteration made by the Right Hon. Baronet the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the disposal of convicts, a considerable difference would be made in the amount of the regular paid labour which would be required for the operations to be carried on in the several dockyards; but he (Mr. S. Herbert) had no doubt but any extra expense thus incurred would be more than compensated for by the superior manner in which the work would be done. He had now gone through all the separate items, with the exception of the smaller and more insignificant, and all that remained for him to say now was, that a large sum had been ex pended in the improvement of the docks ; and besides, they were gradually getting rid of the more expensive portion of the machinery in those different stations. Although it was not possible, at the present moment, to make any diminution in the numerical strength of the navy, yet the House might depend upon it that the strictest regard had been paid to economy, consistent with the interests of the empire. The number re quired in the present estimates would be 30,000 men, with 10,500 marines, and 2,000 boys. Mr. WILLIAMS wished to know what were the cir cumstances of the country, which could justify the vote of a sum for the naval service this year which exceeded that of the year 1835 by nearly two millions of money. He felt strongly bound to object to the vote for any item for the support of the marines who were requited to do duty on shore, for he considered them as part and parcel of a standing army, and bound to act in common with the soldiers. What he wanted to know from the Hon. Gentleman opposite, the Secretary of the Admiralty, was, what were the necessities of the country now above those of 1837, which required an increase of 25,000 men? Sir G. COCKBURN said the Government were anxious to have a certain number of marines in the case of our going to war suddenly. Marines were useful, too, on shore in dock-yards, &c., and in the event of a war suddenly occurring, when it would be necessary . at once to man ships fully, they would suit the service much better than soldiers, who would become sea-sick. Besides, it was necessary that we should compete with other nations, which were extending their marine ; and as two-thirds of our seamen wore generally on foreign service, unless we could get the entire command of the Channel at the commencement of a war, those seamen would go into French prisons instead of into our ships. To prevent such a misfortune, an increase in the marine force would be requisite. Sir C. NAPIEIs hoped his Hon. Friend would not press his amendment, as in his opinion they should rather increase than decrease the number of marines. He left to the Govermment the responsibility of saying what number of men were required, but he trusted that the three guard ships would be efficiently manned, and not made the depots for decrepid old men. Ships had been kept seven, eight, or nine months in port before they were fully manned ; whereas, if the guard-ships were properly manned, our ships would be able to be sent to sea without any such delay. He complained of the provision for supplying the guns from the magazines with powder, if the guns were fully worked : he had tried experiments in the Powerful, and he found that one-third of the men were lying down waiting a supply. He had her altered accordingly, to give greater facilities. When the magazines, however, were attempted to be made bomb-proof, they could only fire nine rounds on both sides in ten minutes ; and if a better supply could not be furnished, the ship would be in great danger of being taken, as the French would fire much quicker. He complained that the Penelope and Albion had their ports too low. He advised the Government also to exer cise their officers, from the admirals down to the lieu tenants, for our men had no practice : whoa first sent to sea they did not know what a ship ahead or a ship astern was : and if we suddenly went to war, our ships would be disabled more from our other ships than from the enemy. Admiral DUNDAS was under no such apprehensions as the Gallant Admiral, of a navy sweeping our navy from the Channel—(Hear)---for he knew that we had mercantile steamers, 200 of which were furnished with 32-pounders, and with those he defied all the navies in the world to take possession of the Channel. Sir GEORGE COCKBURN explained that he had entertained no such apprehension, but he had advocated keeping up marines in case of an emergency. With re spect to the alterations in the Powerful, made by the tTI iGh The steamers p a ae n r nd t e clGallantt Commodore,tougpdae Admiralnihusagtdtwhicheuco mas t up h t sdal they had completely yraaei lses oudbce reportedce e n e c that and l tes o hdhe o efi peu e psx d i eifdeue a vnr t ebomue b ware y a y i r . as Withb high b respect a s ecould to d tbhee wished, Albion, but she for did her rt theca.r carry present t p tna o t r eho t rer. Go vernment were not responsible : in calm weather she would sail as well as the Rodney, but the latter had the advantage of higher ports. Admiral Bowles wrote in the highest terms of her. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27, 1844. Dr. BOWRING said tho objection of the Hon. Member for Coventry had not been noticed, namely, that an increase in the marine force was, in fact, an in crease in the standing army. Captain PECIaELL hoped that an explanation would be given to induce his Hon. Friend to withdraw his mo tion. But if a satisfactory explanation was not given, he would more an amendment. He hoped, however, it would not be necessary to press the motion. Before he sat down he wished to ask if it were true that the crews of her Majesty's ships had been employed in levying poor-rates in Ireland 7—(Hear, hear.) He thought that a great improvement might be effected by employing steam-vessels instead of frigates to carry out Governors to such places as Gibraltar. He was sure that such employment of frigates gave very great dissatisfaction to the officers, and served to change her Majesty' s s hi ps into floating ta verns, and caused the dismissal of the Commander of the Warspite.—(Hear, hear.) The whole system of ap pointment to places in the dockyards was one of Parlia mentary patronage, and the only questions asked of a candidate were—Who recommended you ? and, Whom did you vote for at the last election 2—(Hear, and a laugh.) He hoped the whole system would be changed, and that the Admiral Superintendent should have the power of appointing fit persons, and selecting them from the naval service. —(Hear.) He also trusted the Hon. and Gallant Officer (Sir George Cockburn) would induce the Admiralty to take into their consideration the situation of the masters in the navy. Mr. WILLIAMS (as we understood) expressed him self satisfied with the explanation which the Hon. and Gallant Member had given. Captain PECHELL wished to have his question answered by the Hon. and Gallant Admiral. Sir G. COCKBURN said that he did not know that vessels had been employed for the purpose spoken of by the Hon. and Gallant Gentleman. Whenever any ex citement existed in Ireland, the vessels on that coast were ordered ; but the officers all bore testimony to the civility of the people, who went on board the ships to see them, and conducted themselves with the greatest propriety.—(Hear.) As to the other question, he had only to say , that the widows of officers who lost their lives in the coast-guard service got increased pensions, the same as in any other brand of the service. The vote was put and agreed to. The next vote put was, "that 1,170,4761. be granted to her Majesty to defray the wages of seamen and marines for the year ensuing." After another observation from Dr. BOWRING on the involved state of the " explanation," This vote was agreed to, and, On the motion of Mr. BROTHERTON, The CHAIRMAN then reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again. HORSE-RACING PENALTIES BILL. Mr. WORTLEY moved the second reading of this Bill, and proposed certain verbal amendments on it. Mr. C. BERKELEY would not oppose the motion if the addition he had to propose were acceded to. Mr. WORTLEY was not prepared to accede to the addition. Mr. BROTIIERTON moved an adjournment ; but from a few words that passed, believing the subject would soon be brought to a termination, the Hon. Gentleman declined to persist in the motion. After a short pause, and cries of " Adjourn," and " Go on," Mr. FIAWES said he wished the House would either adjourn or go on. Mr. C. BERKELEY said, as it seemed the wish of the House that he should go on, he would shortly state the nature of his clause. The object he had in view, was to extend the operation of the present Bill to the second clause of the 4th and 6th of William IV., and to the 47th of the 2d and 34 of Vic toria ; so that no information should be laid under those clauses until within three months after the passing of the present Bill. They should then have the Report of the Committee sitting up stairs on gaming, and they would be able to determine whether certain sports and games to which those clauses related continued to exist or not. There was nothing so objectionable as legis lation, which it was impossible to enforce, and they could not enforce the clauses of this Act of Parliament. If they did attempt to enforce them, they would not be doing justiee by thus legislating for one class only, and therefore he would move the insertion of the following clause:—" And whereas, by the third clause of an Act, passed in the sth and 6th year of the reign of his late Ma jesty William the Fourth, intituled, ' An Act to consoli date and amend the several laws relating to the cruel and impreper treatment of animals, and the mischief's arising from the driving of cattle, and to make other provisions in regard thereto,' and also by the 47th clause of a certain other Act, passed in the second and third years of the reign of her Majesty Qneen Victoria, intituled, ' An Act for further improving the police in and near the metropolis,' certain penalties are recover able by summary process against parties engaging in certain popular sports and games therein mentioned : be it enacted, that it shall not be lawful for the space of throe calendar months from the passing of this Act, to lay any information for the recovery of penalties under the said recited clauses of the said Acts." Dr. BOWRING seconded the motion. They had by their legislation encouraged informers, by trusting to them the enforcing of certain laws, and now because those men turned round upon the rich and powerful there was this outcry raised against them. He disap proved of the measure itself, and of the clause that was proposed to be added ; but, from a wish to do equal jus tice to the humbler classes of society, he felt bound to support it. The clause was then brought up and read a first time. On the motion that it be read a second time, Mr. WORTLEY said , he thought that the Honourable Member had not informed the House, nor the Hon. Member next him (I)r. Bowring), to what sports the clauses of the Acts he alluded to referred. He would find that they were directed, not against the sports of the poor only, but to sports which had received the highest aristocratical protection—such as cock-fighting, and other sports of the like description, which ho need not name. His objection to the clause was, that it had nothing to do with the Bill. The Bill merely suspended, for a limited time, certain actions brought to re cover penalties of so large an amount—an amount totally disproportionate to any offence the parties might have committed. Now, the penalties to which the Hon. Gentleman's clause referred were against sports of a cruel and inhuman character. He might propose an alteration in the general law, but this Bill had nothing to do with that. If those gentlemen had not been of aristocratical ranks and connections they should not have had so much opposition to the Bill. Captain PECHELL denied that there was any ana logy between the present Bill and the motion he had made for suspending actions brought against newspaper proprietors in 1835, to recover pvnalties incurred by the violation of one of the regulations of the Stamp-office. Mr. C. BERKELEY would not trouble the House, as he saw, from the number of gentlemen opposite who were adverse to his motion, that it would be perfectly useless. After a few words from Mr. MITER BORTIIWICS the Report of the Bill was brought up and agreed to, and the Bill was ordered to be read a third time to-morrow (this day). The House then adjourned at a Quarter to One o'clock. ----- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. The Parliamentary Paper (No. 40, Session 1844), or dered by the House of' Commons to be printed, on the 16th instant, was entitl e d an " Account o f all Supplies remaining in the Mint, o f Advances for Coinage, Seignorage arising th e refrom, and , Repayments into the Exchequer on A cc ount of Ad vances." has been prep are d under n i ne h ea ds. From Table No. 1, it appear s th at the supp li es rema ining in the Mint on the 31st of DeceDecember,Bl,B9ll 13s. Bd. (of thi s e 1 5843 for amounted Purchase t of o aggregate , 1 8041• 10s. 2d. was " Balance remaining on the Exchequer at the Bank of England, and 27,275/. 16s. 11d. balance, or cash ac count, also at the Bank." The silver bullion, uncoined, at 665. per lb. troy, was 26,251 L 4s. 3d. The silver coin in the stronghold, 19,837/. 18s. 2d. The copper, uncoined bullion, at 2241. per ton, was 3,322/. ls. 7d. Coper coin in stronghold 9351.25. 3d. Cash remaining in the latter, silver and copper, 2,4451.) No. 2 shows the total of the sums issued out of the Cons olidated Fund for the purchase of silver and copper bullion, under the authority of the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury (including balance on Exc he q uer credit at the Bank, on 31st of December , 1842, 1,8041. 10e. 2d.), at 351,804/. 10s. 2d. In No. 3, headed " Purchase of Silver Bullion and Dollars, and the Seignorage of the Coinage," it appears that the prices paid for silver between January 1 and December 31, 1843, ranged in the following proportions ; namely, for dollars, from 575. op. to 595. Ofd. per ounce; for worn shillings and sixpences, their nominal value; for silver in bars, from 595. Ofd. to 595. Old. per ounce; colonial seals (to the amount of 584/. ss. 10d., whereof the Mint Mint 7 d v . al ; seignora ge ( or dif ference), 26,649/. 14 s. 4id . value), No. 4 shows the " Nomina l Val ue " of " Old Worn value was 6501. 17s. lid.) at 59 5. (id. Total of purchase value for the year , 339,106 /. 1 4s. Bd.-Mint value, 356,273/. 6s. sd. Loss on the purchase of worn coin nf b or e recoinage,oveen market 9,4 a B nd 3/. 2s Silver Coin" (i. e., shillings and sixpences) " received from the Bank of England, purchased for recoinage, from 31st of December, 1843, to 31st of December, 1843," to have been 107,000/, whereof the Mint value, at 665. per lb. troy, was only 97,516/. 17s. showing total of loss on said purchase, as 9,4831. 2s. 7d. No. 5 (for the year, January 1 to December 16, 1843, inclu sive) gives the total "Purchase Value of Copper Bul lion" at 12,160/. Os. 7d.; of which the Mint value, at 224/. per ton, was 34,1241. ss. 10d., leaving to the Crown a seignorage of no less than 21,9641. ss. 3d. From No. 6 it appears that the " Total of Coined Silver Moneys delivered into the Mint-office in all 1843," amounted to 276,606/. ; and of Coined copper, ditto, to 10,935/. Is. 10d. No. 7. The " Cash Account of Payments for Silver and Copper Coin," during same period, shows an aggregate of 293,913/. 53. 2d. Under No. 8, " A Return of Payments made into the Exchequer out of Cash received for Silver and Copper Moneys," we find that the repayments in the like term, on account of advances out of the Consoli dated Fund for purchase of bullion, amounted to 265,000/. ; and the "Payments on account of Seignorage or the purchase of Bullion," and excess of "Tale on the Coinage from Ist October, 1842, to 30 th of September, 1843,' were in all 16,121/. 18s. i Id.-Total, 281,121/. Bs. 1 ld. No. 9 is the General Debtor and Creditor Statement of " The Mast' the Mint in account with her Majesty's Exchequer , r the ye:i,r 1843. Debiting the assets (shown in No. ,1,891/. ; the advances from the Exchequer (set 6, in No. 2), 350,000/, the seignorage accruing on oinage of elver and copper (given in No. 3), 48,6111 and the fractional excess by talc for the whole year of 4s. 6d.-this ide of the ac count gives a total of 480,505/. 17s. 7d. On the credit side, after the payments into Exchequer cn account of advances and paymerts for Seignorage (as a: No. 8), and credit for less on silver coin, called in for recoinage (ex hibited in No. 4), mating, together 290,602/. lls. 6d.- the " Assets remaining vn 30th December, 1843," are brought in ; and these (including 11,5004 due:from Com missariat, and: Exchequer credit balance 5374 135.) amount, for siver and copper bullion, coined and un coined, collectively, to 149,8331. 12s. 11d. Cash balance to creditor of Master of the Mint on the Bank of Eng land, 40,0671. 13s. 2d., exhibiting a total corresponding aggregate of 480,505/. 17s. 7d. GREEK LOAN.—The Parliamentary Paper (No. 39, Session 1844), presented on the 16th inst., and since printed and delivered out, entitled, "An Account of Money paid out of the Consolidated Fund, under Acts 2 and 3 Will. IV., c. 121, and 6 and 7 Will. IV., c. 94, in the year ended Dec. 31, 1843," shows such payment, for in terest and Sinking Fund (on that portion of the Greok Loan which had been guaranteed by this country), for six months, due on the Ist of March, 1843, to be 23,323 t 55.; sum to be applied to making good the de ficiency of the interest and Sinking Fund on that por tion so guaranteed, for six months, duo on the Ist of September, 1843, 10,2604 128. Id. ; together, 33,5831. 17s. ld. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. (From Me Vales and Praceedonge qf Me House of famonons.) MONDAY, Tan. 26. SUPPLY. Order for Committee read; Army and Navy Estimates (presented Bth February), referred; Motion made, and Ques tion proposed, " That Mr. Speaker do now leave the Chair :" Amendment proposed, to leave out from the word " That" to the end of the Question, in order to add the words " the con sideration of the Estimates for the several branches of the Public Services be postponed till after the Easter Recess," instead thereof :—Question put, " That the words proposed to be left oat stand part of the Question :" The House divided:— MAJORITY-AYES, 10. MINORITY—NOES, Blewitt, R. Hindley, Charles Wi Marne, W. •owring, Or. Maher, Nicholas Duncan, Oeorge O'Connell, D. TELLS is Duncombe, T. I. Plumridge, Captain Crawford, W Feelden, J. Roche, F.. B. Bowdon, J. D. THE THEATRES. FRENCH PLAYS. Achard added, last night, another link to th• long chain of his successes, in the character of Jerome, in Ls Famille du Fumiste. As Jerome, Achard revels in the wild freshness and boisterous spirits which are so fre quently to bo met with in humble life amongst our neighbours on the other side of the Channel. It is in such characters as these that Achard's peculiar excel lence appears to far greater advantage than in the first piece in which he played last evening, Stradella, when he is compelled to twist his merry features into a triste ful vissgo, and to incase his burly frame, all bursting with fun, in a rich dress of velvet. Mademoiselle Bachelet also deserves honourable mention for her acting during the first act, and Mdlle. nilia Henri, acquitted herself to the satisfaction of the audience. The quaint little episode from Paul de Kock's novel, "La Maison Blanche," was again performed as the afterpisce, with, perhaps, even greater success than on Friday night ADELPHI THEA7RE. Last night a burletta, called Anthony and Cleopatra Married and Settled, was produced at this theatre. This piece is one of those light and humorous entertainments which depend for their success more on the individual exertions of the performers than on any interest attach ing to the structure of the plot. Anthony and Cleo patra (not the Roman General and the Egyptian Queen, but a poor tailor and his spouse) fall out without suffi cient reason, and after maintaining a recriminatory dia logue, spun out, perhaps, to too great a length, conclude by becoming more sincerely attached than ever. These two characters were sustained by Wright and Miss Woolgar, who were, in fact, the only performers in the piece. They celebrated their reconciliation by a dance en costume, a sort of medley in which the figures of some of the most popular dances were introduced. This was the most diverting part of the performance, and it gave so much satisfaction to the audience that it was unani mously moored. The piece, on the whole, was received with approbation, but might be curtailed with advantage. P.RINCESS'3. Auber's popular opera of Fra Diavolo was produced at this theatre last evening, Mr. and Mrs. Wood sus staining their original characters. We remember well the time when this opera was produced at Covent garden, and Mrs. Wood's Zerlina is to the full as good as it was then, while Wood's personation of Fra Diavolo is greatly improved. Never has the innocent, naive, warm-hearted, yet somewhat coquettish Zerlina been so beautifully or so naturally represented as by Mrs. Wood, and never has Auber's delightful music been so de lightfully sung as by that lady. She made the character her own when the opera was produced originally, and albeit we have had many Zerlinas since, we have never bad ono who could approach her either as an actress or a vocalist. Notwithstanding this opera has been so hackneyed, yet the naivete and abandon of her acting, and the exquisite management of her powerful and richly cultivated voice gave the opera last evening all the charm of novelty. Tho celebrated scena " On yonder rock reclining," was magnificently given and rapturously encored. Beautifully too did she give the toilette scene in the second act; never was the inno cent vanity of an artless simple-minded girl more be witchingly represented. Wood's Fra Diavolo was a first rate performance. His acting throughout was excellent, and his fine rich voice, which is now cultivated to the highest pitch, and hat, in consequence, acquired that flexibility, the want of which was, in former days, its only defect, told admirably. He did full justice to the ex quisite music of the part. The barcarole was given with exquisite taste, and was loudly encored, and the opening scena of the third act was a master piece, both of singing and acting. Wood has as completely identified himself with the character of Fra Diavolo, as Wallack has iden tified himself with that of Alessandro Massaroni. Miss Grant made more of the part of Lady Allcash than we have ever before seen made of it. In her hands, it be came a character, and her beautiful voice told admirably in the concerted pieces. Paul Bedford was Beppo, and although not exactly the beau ideal of an Italian brigand, he was irresistibly laughable. The Woods were called for at the fall of the curtain, and received with all the honours. The opera was fol lowed by a new comedietta, entitled Aged Forty, in which Miss Fortescue made her first appearance at this theatre, in the character of Lady Clifton, the young widow of an old General. Neglected by her cousin, Sir Harry Wilder (Walter Lacy), that most heartless of beings, a male coquette, who, after having won her heart, deserted her, she had married old General Clifton, who, dying shortly after her marriage, left her a widow, with a large fortune. Sir Harry, who is "aged forty," and finds, from the appearance of certain grey hairs, that he is no longer in the bloom of youth, pays her a visit, with the intention of renewing his suit, and meets at her house with a certain Mr. Dapper (Oxberry), whom he immediately magnifies into a rival suitor. Dapper, it is true, loves the lady, but he has never told his love, and Wilder by his conduct actually forces Dapper to take upon him self the character of th e l a d y ' s c h amp i on. Wi lder seeks aninterview with his cousin, and makes her a formal offer of his hand. She recals to him all his former con duct, dilates on the anguish she has suffered from his former neglect, and tells him that she had become ac quainted with G enera l Clif ton, from having nursed his daughter on her death-bed. That daughter had con fided to her certain papers, which she had read, and r a o r those papers wer e h is own letters. He had won that or a t s es o c x_ poor girl's love and d eserte d h er, and she had died of a broken true heart.tragedy, edy T . h e Walter m aa nu Laicny's whichby-play pl A,istsooF ue , w narrated this tale o f m i sery was touchingly pathetic—it w ceed ingly good—hi s s h u dd er at the mention of Miss Clifton's name was true to nature. Of course she in dignantly rejects his suit, and Dapper entering just at the moment is attacked by Wilder as the cause of his rejec tion, and threatened with a challenge. Dapper, thus forced to avow his love, is accepted by Lady Clifton ; and Sir Harry Wilder, " aged forty," is doomed to expiate his heartlessness by an o ld age of celibacy. The piece, which is well written and was admirably acted through out, was announced for repetition every evening. The house was well attended. OLYMPIC THEATRE. Last evening the presentation, for the 25th time, of Mr. Leman Rede's drama of the Profligate opened the performance. A farce, which has been played with much success, was then revived for the first time this season; it is entitled Angels and Lucifers. The anxiously expected event of the evening—the revival of a piece founded on the popular tale of " Robinson Crusoe"— concluded the evening's entertainments. It was in 1817 that this drama was first produced, at Covent-garden Theatre, it being from the pen of the author of the favourite drama of the Miller and his Men. It adheres closely to the tale, with the exception of the incident that the wife of Robinson Crusoe having left England in search of him, is placed on shore by the mutinous crew of the vessel of which her son is the commander, and it so happens that they fall on the very island where Robin son and hie man Friday are located. SURREY. A new drama, in three acts, entitled the Last Shilling, was brought out last night, and was well received by a numerous audience. The author of the Miller's Maid, Ben Brace, and other successful pieces prepared on this occasion a new treat for the lovers of nautical exploits. Mrs. R. Honner played the part of Fanny with great ability, and Miss E. Terry, as a ♦illage coquette, kept the audience on the broad grin of laughter. When the curtain fell the applause was general. With the omis sion of some passages, which should not be retained, the piece will be a favourite. After the comic farce of 'links, or the Man that couldn't help it, Mr. Ambrose, the Armenian prodigy, made his first appearance, and per formed some extraordinary feats, called mrial pole dancing. The exhibition appeared new to the audience. Tho performer, with his head and shoulders resting on a cushion, and his feet elevated, balanced a weighty pole with considerable skill. The pole was balanced hori zontally, and he dexterously drew forth reiterated plaudits. FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE LONDON AND SOUTH AMPTON RAlLWAT.—Between five and six o'clock yesterday morning the young man, named Weller, who, on the night of Sunday, the 18th instant, was knocked down by one of the up-trains at full speed on the London and Southampton Railway, near to Ewell, in Surrey, as he was foolishly tres passing across it, expired at St. Thomas's hospital, whither he was removed directly after the occurrence of the accident, and has since remained. The particulars of this melancholy event have already appeared in The Sun. He sustained a frigktful injury of the scalp, and his death is supposed to have proceeded from affection of the brain consequent thereon. An inquest will be held on the body this day. ELEC'TRO-LITHOTOMY.—It is said that a patent is on the eve of being secured for the reduction of calculi by means of electrolytic action. The nature of the process and the character of the apparatus are not yet known. It is affirmed that instantaneous relief will be afforded, and calculi of the largest ie brought away. Bank of I Private England. Banks. X 1 X 16,411,000 4,288,180 June 24. Sept. 29. COURT CIRCULAR. Wrcrson, MoxnAr.—Their Royal Highnesses the Prin cess Alice and the Princess Royal, were taken an airing The Queen and Prince Albert promenaded in the afternoon. Archdeacon Wilberforce took his departure from the Castle in the forenoon. Mr. H. Lowcock has had the honour of submitting to the inspection of her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert, the model of a plough on a new principle. This plough is an ingenious contrivance to avoid turning, and has a coulter both ways. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge returned to his residence at Kew on Sunday afternoon. Mr. Rawson, from Canada, had an interview with Lord Stanley yesterday at the Colonial-office. Count de St. Aulaire, the French Ambassador, transacted business yesterday at the Foreign-office. The Duke of Richmond, the Duke of Buccleuch, the lion, Francis Scott, M.P.. Major Cumming Bruce, M.P., Mr. Loch, M.P., Mr. Lockhart, M.P., Mr. F. Mackenzie, ' Mr. Smollett, M.P., and Mr. Wallace, M.P., members of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, accompanied by Sir Charles Gordon, the Secretary of the Society, had an nterview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official residence in Downing -street. Sir John Henry Pelly had an interview with Sir Robert Peel yesterday. Mr. J. Barnett and Sir John Shelly had interviews with Lord Stanley yesterday. The Postmaster-General had an interview with the Chan cellor of the Exchequer yesterday. Dispatches from the Governor of New Zealand were re ceived yesterday at the Colonial-office. Dispatches were also received from the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, and from the Governor of the Mauritius. BANK OF ENGLAND. The paper (No. 38, House of Commons, Session 1844) ordered to be printed on same day as the preceding, comprises two accounts : (I.) of the Quarterly Averages of the Weekly Liabilities and Assets of the Bank of England, as published in the Gazette since Bth Decem ber, 1842. (II.) Account of the Notes in Circulation of the Bank of England and other Banks of Issue in Eng land, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland ; and of the Bullion in the Bank of England, in each month since the 7th January, 1843, as published in the Gazette, (in continua tion of Parliamentary Paper, No. 46, of Session 1843.) The dates at which these important averages (Account No. I.) were struck, appear to have been lunar months, varied only by the occasional non-coincidence of the days of publication of the Gazette. The account is drawn up in seven columns ; the first, showing the dates just alluded to ; the second, " Amount of Notes in Cir culation ;" the third, "Deposits ;" the fourth (which is the sum of second and third), " Total Liabilities ;" the fifth, " Securities ;" the sixth, "Bullion ;" the seventh (the sum of the two last mentioned), " Total Assets." There are, in all, fifteen of these quarterly averages ; the dates of their publication ranging from 6th January, 1843, to 2d February, 1844. The minimum and maximum quantities we have extracted from each column, and they may be stated, together with their respective dates, as under : IiAXI3IUM. A £ £ 20,239,000 13,172,000 32,783,000 23,587,000 13,933,000 35,870,000 April 218, Feb. 2, Feb. 2, April 28, Feb. 2, Feb. 2, 1843. 1844. 1844. 1843. 1844. 1844. SCOTLAND. 1 INLAND. Chartered, Joint Stock Privateand Bank of Privateand Banks. Joint Stock Ireland. Joint Stock Banks. Banks. .e .f £ I .f 2,763,302 2,457,604 2,975,960 1,661,684 Sept. 29. April I. Sept. 29. Aug. 19. MINIMUM. Notes in Total , Seeurities.l Bullion. Total ssta. Circulation De P °sltB " Liabilitie— 1 £££ 1 £ £ 19,098,000 9,063,000 28,293,000 20,560,000 10,330,000 30,390,000 Jan. 15, Jan. 6, Jan. 6, Jan. 6, 1 , Jan. 6, Jan. 6, 1844. 1843. 1.43. 1843. I 1843. 1843. The account (No.II.) exhibits 13 statements for terms •f four weeks each respectively ; the terms ending—the first of the series on the 4th February, 1848, the last on the 6th January, 1844. The table consists of five divisions: (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Ireland, (4) Total, (5) Bullion in the Bank of England. We subjoin, in like manner for each of these divisions, the minimum and maximum quantities, with the respective dates of the several terms of four weeks, as published. MINIMUM. Four weeks (1843) ending respectively as under : ENGLAND. MAXIMUM. Four weeks (1843) ending respectively as under : £ 1 .£ 21,108,000 5,024,716 3,31 5,318 3,166,920 Feb. 4. Feb. 4. Nov. 11. Dec. 9. .i £ 3,511,475 2,404,045 Nov. 11. Nov. 11. MINIMUM TOTAL OP/ j £33,488,000 Ditto of Bullion in} £10,933,900 ABOVE AvkitAuka. Jttne24,1843 Bank of England. MAXIMUM, DITTO. £36,985,928 Ditto. £14,638,000 Feb. 4,'1843. These very important accounts were called for by Mr. Charles Wood ; and cannot fail to be of the utmost utility in reference to the approaching discussions of Parliament on the currency, and tho renewal of the Bank Charter. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. TATTERSALL'S--YEsTratrur. 14 to 1 agst Mr. T. A. Milbank's Sir Robert—taken 15 to 1 agst Mr. Sharratt's The Prior—taken 15 to 1 agst Mr. Collett's Cattonite 18 to 1 agst Mr. Bristow's Pharaoh 20 to 1 agst Col. Craddock's Pagan—taken 20 to 1 agst Mr. W. Dawson's Merry Andrew 20 to 1 agst Mr. Stephenson's Freedom 20 to 1 agst Mr. Tuting's Tacita 27 to 1 agst Mr. Gough's Greenfinch 30 to 1 agst Mr. D. Cook's What—taken 30 to 1 agst Lord Eglintoun's Jamie Forest—taken 50 to 1 agst Mr. Lovesay's Testatrix—do. 15 to 1 agst Greenfinch and Vin Ordinaire—do. 15 to 1 agst Greenfinch and Nutwith—do. Bto 1 agst Kent's lot. _ . The very small modicum of business transacted on this event had no other result than to give Sir Robert the call of The Prior, to give Pharoah a lift of two points, and to re store Tacita to the position she held some three weeks ago. DERBY. 5 to 1 agst J. Day's lot—taken and afterwards offered 11 to 1 agst Colonel Peel's lot—taken 1,000 to 30 agst Lord Exeter's lot—taken 1,000 to SO agst Forth's lot, bar Leander—taken 6 to 1 agst Mr. John Day's The Ugly Buck—taken 7 to 1 agst Mr. Crockford's Rattai—taken 16 to 1 agst Col. Peel's Orlando 16 to 1 agst Mr. Lichtwald's Leander 20 to 1 agst Lord Maidstone's Cockamaroo 30 to 1 agst Mr. Quin's Loadstone 33 to 1 agst Col. Peel's lonian—taken 33 to 1 agst Mr. A. Wood's Running Rein—taken 35 to 1 agst Sir G. Heathcoto's Campunero—takon 40 to 1 agst Mr. Bowes's Saddlebow—taken 40 to 1 agst Mr. Payne's Vat colt—taken 1000 to 20 agst Mr. Thornhill'a Apprentice—t. twice 50 to 1 agst Mr. Ongley's King of the Gipsies 1000 to 15 agst Sir R. W. Bulkeley's Bebington—taken 1000 to 15 agst Mr. Batson's Anniversary 1000 to 10 Mr. Bradshaw's Sir Isaac—taken 700 to 600 on The Ugly Buck agst Rattan—taken 1000 to 10 agst the Ugly Buck winning the Derby and St. Leger, and lloarding-school Miss the Oaks—t. 2000 to 10 agst Rattan, Boarding-school Miss, and Lean der, for the three events—taken 1000 to 5 agst Rattan, the Bee, and Ugly Buck, for the same event The betting on this race was confined to a " select few," and was strictly in keeping with that on the Chester Cup. It may be described in a few words. The two favourites were backed for about 1001. each, Cockamaroo and lonian for small sums, Saddlebow at 1,000 to 25 (in one instance only), the Vat colt at the same odds, to about 401., Running Rein at 1,000 to 30, the layers refusing to go en, Campunero at 35 to I, Apprentice at 50 to 1, about 50/., and Sir Isaac at 1,000 to 10 (two or three parties anxious to go on). Nothing done about Orlando or Leander, and not the slightest inclina tion to back either Loadstone or Foig-a-ballagh. The following well known hunters—" well known in Lei cestershire "—were sold yesterday by Mews. Tattersall's : Rocket, 460 guineas ; Negro, 220 guineas ; Pilot, 185 guineas ; Monarch, 170 guineas ; Volunteer, 120 guineas ; and Magic, 100 guineas. Total for the six, 1,255 guineas. TIM LATE ABDUCTION OF A YOUNG LADY.—There appeared last week a paragraph respecting the extraordinary abduction of a young lady, named Jane Page, only 13 years of age, by a young farmer of the name of George Gardener, from a seminary in high-street, Warwick. 50/. reward was immediately offered for their apprehension, but the police were unable to trace them out until last Saturday evening, when they were discovered quartered at an inn in Douglas, in the Isle of Man, having been away just a week, and cap tured full 250 miles from their native place. Gardener was instantly taken into custody by the police, and, having been conveyed to Stretton, near 'Warwick, he on Wednesday last underwent an examination at the public office before Mr. J. Fullerton, a county magistrate, the following being the substance of the evidence, which will be found to be of a very remarkable character :—The young lady is the daugh ter of a wealthy farmer at Stretton, and, upon her attain ing her 18th year, comes into possession of a large estate. The prisoner is also very respectable and wealthy, and, being desirous of becoming a farmer, he was apprenticed to the young lady's parent, so as to be instructed in the several branches of agriculture. He was considered as one of the family, and frequently had an opportunity of visiting the young lady whilst at school, but owing to her very tender age, not the least idea was entertained by their friends of an, intimacy existing. On last Saturday week the prisoner went to the seminary, and informed the Misses Kimberley, the proprietors, that he was instructed to convey Miss Page to her parent's residence, as she was going to stay there a short time with a few friends, and, under such circumstances, she was easily parted with. The magistrate, in reviewing the case, remarked that if the prisoner's defence should be that the young lady was a willing party it would not alter the offence, as he had absconded with her at such a tender a_ge that she was considered not to know right from wrong. He was then fully committed to take his trial at the next assizes at Warwick, being liberated on two sureties of 300/. each, and himself in a like sum. The Belgian Government has, on the proposition of the Commission of Trans-Atlantic Navigation, resolved to establish at the expense of the State five lines of sailing packets:-1. Between Belgium and the Levant, touching alternately at Smyrna, Syra, and Athena, to sail from An twerp on the Ist of April, 15th of May, Ist of July, 15th of August, Ist of October, and 15th of November. 2. Between Antwerp and New York, one departure every month, for eight months in the year, commencing on the 15th of March. 3. Between Belgium and Vera Cruz, four departures—viz., the 15th of April, August, October, and December. 4. To Bahia, two departures—viz., June 15 and September 15. 5. Valparaiso and Callao, two departures—viz., June 1 and December 1. THE STORM ON g.k.TURDAY MORNING. The gales of wind which blew heavily during the whole of Friday night and Saturday morning from S.S.W., were, we regret to state, productive of the most melancholy results along the coast, several valuable vessels having been wrecked and twenty lives lost. At Scarborough, in Yorkshire, it was severely felt, and the calamity that was witnessed at the en trance of the harbour will long be borne in recollection by the inhabitant& It having been reported that several fishing yawls had been out all night in the storm, and that fears were apprehended that they had been wrecked, at an early hour a great concourse of persons assembled along the shore, in quiring into the truth of the rumours. Shortly before nine o'clock a cry was raised that there were three of the missing boats standing in for the harbour, which, as may be easily imagined, produced no little degree of satisfaction, and amongst the eager crowds could be seen the wives and fami lies of those on board of the approaching boats, in a state of ecstasy at their apparent safe delivery. The scene, in a few seconds, however, changed to one of a most painful and heart rending description. The yawls (fishing boats of about 50 tons burden) were the Willing Maid, of Scarborough, the Jerome, and the Emulous. They were all apparently beating into the haven, the sales tightly hauled in, and although the weather had not abated, the wind still blowing heavy squalls, with showers of snow and sleet, it was fully expected they would reach the harbour in safety. Suddenly the wind in creased, and in the next moment a terrible sea capsized the whole three vessels, and they instantly sank, carrying with them the greater part of their crews, with the exception of those belonging to the Willing Maid, who managed to reach the beach near the Spa. The sensation which this catas trophe occasioned amongst the assembled throng was most intense. Some of the ill-fated crews being observed strug , filing amidst the waves, several boats put off to render them assistance, but owing to the terrific fury of the gale, the boats were unable to gain the spot until the whole of the poor fellows (fourteen in number) belonging to the Jerome, Air. Cammiah master, and the Emulous, Mr. Wyall master, had sunk to rise no more. Unfortunately, most of them have left families to deplore their fate, and none :of the bodies have as yet been recovered. At about three o'clock in the morning a vessel called the Gillnaerton, belonging to Mont rose, whilst on her passage to London, was totally lost by striking on the Navestone-rocks, on the Fern Island. It was within two miles of the spot where the Pegasus steamer was wrecked a short time since. Fortunately, the vessel re mained fast on the rock after she stack, which enabled the crew to get their boats out and escape ; soon afterwards, however, she slid off, and went down in deep water. The crew were quickly picked up, and landed safely at Sunder land. During the height of the storm a brig was seen by the Coast-guard Service near Cromer in distress. She was about throe miles from shore, and in about ten minutes she sank headforemost ; the entire of the unfortunate crew, con sisting of six persons, perishing with her. Between the en trance of the Humber and Grisby the gale was severely felt. At nine o'clock on Friday night a vessel was run down in Grimsby-roads by a brig called the Prince Regent, of Sun derland. She proved to be a sloop named the John and Hannah's Endeavour, belonging to Wakefield, and the mas ter and crew had a narrow escape of being drawn down by her. They all luckily reached the brig in safety, as also did the captain's wife, who was on board, and in the course of Saturday morning they were all landed at Grimsby, and forwarded to Hull. A vessel was lost near Hartlepool, and another off Shoreham, on the Sussex coast, but whether any lives fell a sacrifice we are unable to state The shipping in the Downs suffered considerable damage, although most of them had both anchors down during the gales. THE CASE of SUPPOSED TRANCE AT DEPTFORD. The deep interest excited in Deptford respecting the sup. posed case of trance continues increasing daily, and It is deemed one of the most extraordinary which has ever come before the faculty. It is necessary to observe, that two re ports which have appeared in some of the papers are wholly without foundation, and have caused great pain to the relatives. The first was that decomposition was apparent at the early part of last week, and subsequently another re port was made, that the body had actually been buried. Even up to yesterday not the slightest appearance of decori position had taken place. This assertion is made on the authority of the medical gentlemen who have from time to time, up to yesterday, watched the progress of the case. The following are facts which have not been generally pub lished :—On Friday, the 2d of February, Mr. Francis, Jim., the son of Mr. Francis, the landlord of the Oxford Arms, in Church-street, Deptford, was sitting in the tap-room of his brother's house, the Marquis of Granby, at the Lower Water-gate, Deptford, when he fell down apparently in a fit, and a medical gentleman pronounced him to be dead, and took no means to restore what has since been declared by competent authorities to have been only suspended animation. Mr. Taylor, surgeon of High street, afterwards went to the house, and made several skil fisi experiments; and although an hour after the young man had been pronounced to be dead, succeeded in bleeding him, but not to restore animation. On the jury being empannelled one of the jurymen was also taken in a fit, whether from the sight of the body or not can only be imagined, but for a few moments a fatal result was expected. The jary generally were not satisfied with the general evidence, and requested the atttendance of the medical gentleman who attended at the time, or that a post mortem examination might be made, but the dictum of the Coroner, that the deceased died from an enlargement of the heart, was submitted to by the jury, who appeared, however, not quite satisfied, butreturned a verdict that the deceased died from natural causes. Almost imme diately afterwards a brother of the deceased was seized with a fit intermittently for three hours. The surgeon then called in, on hearing the probable cause of excitement, at once pro nounced the verdict to be premature, and that the Coroner was exceedingly wrong in directing the jury in such a case, and ho himself doubted whether death had been so instanta neous. The brother was bled and recovered, and subse quently Mr. Atkins, the surgeon spoken of, afterwards saw the body, which then exhibited all the freshness and bloom of health. Several medical and:surgicalnen in the vicinity of the place, and from the London hospitals, also visited the place; from their vague expressions there appeared no doubt that life was not extinct, at least for nine or ten days after the holding of the inquest. On Friday Messrs. Downing (the surgeons to the police force) and Mr. Taylor, the surgeon before alluded to, again visited the house, and gave a most unqualified contradiction to decomposition having taken place. Mr. Heise, a professor of galvanism, recommended galvanism, but it was not deemed expedient to employ it. Yesterday Mr. Hope, surgeon, of Deptford, attended, pre pared with a galvanic battery, but, on viewing the body, con sidered it advisable not to make the experiment; he, how ever, recommended that the head should be raised more, so that if any life did remain,:the blood should not flow to the head. He also strongly recommended, that as no decompo sition had taken place, no interment should be made until decomposition was unequivocal, and then, for the satisfaction of the relatives and justice to the medical profession, a post mortem examination should be made. He observed that the limbs were not stiff and the sides were almost warm, and not like death. The relatives still entertain hopes, and the body is frequently washed. It is, however, in the coffin. The limbs are up to the present tins perfectly supple. Mr. Arthur, the surgeon whose name and opinions have been freely used in some of the reports, never saw the body after the inquest, but, on the contrary, was yesterday, en apply ing, refused admission ; 24 days have elapsed since the inquest, JUSTICE TO ALL. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SlR,—The cry of "Justice to Ireland," which, by the by, I am glad to notice, I think should be changed to " Justice to Ireland, England, and Scot land.' Doubtless the Irish suffer more from misrule than the English and Scotch, but we are all most griev ously oppressed, and the quiet submission of the Eng lish and Scotch is as great a disgrace to them as the attempt to obtain redress is creditable to the Irish. If the three kingdoms were to insist on Parliament doing justice to all, by legislating honestly, and not to promote class interests, Sir Robert Peel durst not treat such an appeal with indifference. He finds Ireland eniough for him, without the addition of England and Scotland. Union and determination are all that have been long wanted to compel a correc tion of abuses. The public mind is now ready, and only wants directing by the Liberal public press. What the Tories dare refuse to Ireland, they durst not refuse to Ireland, England, and Scotland. Thanks to the Anti-Corn-law League, we are enlightened on the infamous and wicked corn-laws, but are not the legacy-tax, which does not apply to landed property, the income-tax, which makes no distinction between income derived from realised property and industry, and almost every Act of the Legislature connected with taxation, equally unjust ? When the community are taught that unequal taxation and monopolies are only legalised robberies, we shall have a return of prosperity, but not till then. The slight improvement in trade will disappear as soon as a bad harvest causes the corn-laws to press more heavily us.—Yours, &c. Hull, Feb. 23, 1844. A REFORMR. MELANCHOLY REVERSE OF FORTUNE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR—We observe copied into your journal of Saturday from the Globe, and under the above head ing, a paragraph to the effect that Mr:Robson, who, after suffering the loss of his fortune, and beholding the wreck of his hopes, died in Peckham workhouse on Tuesday last, was the projector and publisher of the Post-office Directory. Such is not the fact; the Post-office Directory (in opposition to which Mr. Robson s book was pro jected) having been in existence twenty years before the work published by Mr. Robson. You will per haps do us the favour to correct the mistake.—We are, Sir, your most obedient servants, KELLY and CO., Printers and Publishers of the Post-office Directory. 19 and 20, Old Boswell-court, Feb. 26. BETHLEM HOSPITAL.—From the report of this Royal and Metropolitan Hospital for the Insane, just pub ' lished, the following statistics have been obtained :—The Hospital now contains 339 patients; of these, 65 males and 100 females are curable, 34 males and. 50 females incurable, and 70 males and 20 fem al es criminals ; thus one-half of the p a tients are curable, andne-fourth incurable—independent of the criminal lunatics. The admissions to Bethlem in the year 1843 have been 109 males and 175 females; making a total of 284 patients. The average number of cures in 1643, was 56 males and 103 females, or 56 per cent., and demon strating that the females are cured nearly in the proportion of 2 to 1 to the male patients. Occupation for the mind diseased is now being carried into effect at Bethlem Hospital, with the happiest results. Eleven workshops are now nearly completed, under the direction of Mr. Smirke, the surveyor; a library has been formed, and placed under the care of a pa tient as librarian. A bagatelle-board and billiard-table have likewise been procured, for the exercise and amusement of the male patients ; whilst additional work-rooms have been built for the female lunatics, with the use of a piano forte, which is a great consolation to a numerous class of our unhappy fellow creatures. Since the means of employment have been rendered available at Bethlem, restraint has greatly diminished; the average number under restraint o in 1843 has been only three per cent. weekly. s 1 of suicide has occurred during the past year, althougl . p ONLY DE SAID UPON A WORD THAT SHOULD tients, c o i r e s 2. 8 per cent., are reported to have had suicidal te the German poet, who HOLY DAYS.—In a poem by ; "°lr i m an an d l o ' minions, and the admis w so as lately expelled the . . " S teu erverweigerungsverfassungsmassigberechtig !" Mean of his works proh i b i ted, the following word appears : — n is exempt by the constitution from the pay. • a m an who ing meat of tux*.