The Sun. — London, England, 1845-03-21 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, March2o, The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock. Mr. SPOONER presented a petition praying for leave to bring in a Bill to make a railroad between Wells and Durham. Mr. WYSE presented a petition in favour of the Waterford and Limerick Railway Bill. Colonel T. WOOD presented a petition from Staines praying for a better observance of the Sabbath. Mr. WYSE presented a petition from the province of Munster, agreed to at a public meeting held in Cork, praying for the establish ment of p rovincial col leges in Ireland, and the extension of education. MANCHESTER AND SHEFFIELD RAIL WAY. But it was to the commercial classes of every degree that railroads were more particularly serviceable. The manufacturer had thus the opportunity of com municating in a much shorter time with those who purchased from him, and of transmitting the articles which he produced at a much smaller cost, which was to him precisely the same as an improvement in ma chine. y, inasmuch as whatever diminished the cost of transit must have the same effect as that which dimi • nished the cost of production. He could do with much less stock, and therefore to him it was equi valent to so much additional capital ; and both this diminished cost of production (as it might be called) and diminished call for capital must be fur the immediate advantage of the public. No class, perhaps, would benefit more than the farmers by lowering the cost of railway travelling. They would be able to go through the country, and in that way see the improvements which were being made in agriculture. The farmers dale west of England, where agriculture was not so well understood as in Norfolk, Lincoln, and the north of England, might visit those counties, and observe the various means of improve ment which were applied to the cultivation of the land. Why was it that in one part of the country he was found so much less advanced than in another ? Only because he was not in the hahit, of travelling from home, and observing the modes of cultivation adopted by other farmers. It was clear that there must be cheap conveyance to induce the farmer to become a traveller to any consider able extent. Unless the fares were lowered, the labourers could not possibly avail themselves of the benefits of railway travelling, but in a short time he hoped to see the fares lowered to a half penny per passenger per mile.—(Hear, hear.) In that case they would be enabled to leave those parts of the country where wages - were low, and go to those places where labour was permanently high, or where there was a temporary demand for it. Fuel and provisions would be cheapened con siderably where they were now dear. But the large towns would benefit even more than the country from an increase of railway traffic. He knew of many instances where articles had thus been brought from a distance to towns better and cheaper than is hen the supply was drawn from the surround ing district. One case he would just mention to the House. Previous to the introduction of railways the consumption of fish at Manchester was comparatively small, hut Captain Lasses had induced the railway proprietors to reduce the charge of transit, and got the fishermen on the coast to sell all the fish they could take at one regular price, whether the catch was great or small, and the result was, that the best cod was re duced from Bd. or ls. per pound to 11d. or 2d., plac ing it within the reach of artisans, and the demand had so risen as to keep a head of the supply. The former consumption of 3i tons a-week had vs ithin the last year given place to one of 80 tons ; and the under taking answered extremely well to ell perties cor.- cerned.—(Hear, hear.) '1 he inhabitants of towns would also derive great benefit in the articles of coal, stone, and other heavy things.—(Hear, hear.) If agriculture were to be iniprovad, it must be by a mixture of the soils; and there was no reason why lime and other heavy materials should not thus be transported from one district to another at a halfpenny a ton per mile.—(Hear, hear.) Extraordinary pro gress had been made in railroads already; though the thing itself was but of yesterday. There was scarcely a railroad in existence which had not almost entirely superseded the coaches and wa :eons. The canals, too, were almost deprived of their whole traffic, and, except where they were peculiarly circumstanced in point of local advantages, they would almost cease. To ba of any use they must become the property of the railroads, and be auxiliary to them.—(Hear, beer.) The effect upon the coasting trade was already con siderable, and would be greater still in retard to the transport of coal and other heavy articles. But there was to be noticed also the diminished opposition to railroads : formerly landowners opposed them, but now they were anxious to have the benefit of them close to their estates, and were becoming liberal shareholders. Another reason in support of his argument was, that the expense of constructing a railway was much less now than formerly ; for instant:e, an old line of rail way which cost, say 60,0001., might now be constructed for 10,000/. or 12,0001. Then again, the expense of working the lines was much less now than what it was some years ago, and the expense of main taining what was called the permanent way was now almost reduced to a certainty. There were parties to be found who would undertake contracts to keep the lines in repair at a specified sum for a. num ber of years, and he could, therefore, see no objection to his motion on the subject, for every day brought reductions in this respect. The whole expense of driving an entire train was found to be not more than the expense of posting with a pair of horses used to be—namely, 2s. a mile s and in some cases it was considerably less. The maintenance of the. way, again, was now reduced to a certainty. In fact, there was enough ascertained to ululate - tau Board of Trade (and they might have been quite as usefully thus employed as in some instances they had been) to give to the public a table showing what, according to circumstances as the traffic varied, would be a remunerating price—whether seven or eight per cent. interest on the capital, for example ; it would be a great assistance to Committees in fixing the fares. Railroads were altogether a commercial speculation, and perhaps the most sure and certain of all speculations; the results c ould be calculated with much more confidence than in the case of a bank, or iron or other works, because the great numbers enabled an average to be depended upon in the traffic. This was of great importance; as a mercantile_spceu lation they were become about the safest thing to em bark money in. —(Hear.) They provided for a want that was. perpetually existing; people must travel, and therefore the return for the money laid out might he calculated pretty surely beforehand.— . (Hear, hear.) All parties connected with railroads agreed that the advantages were only just beginning to be reaped. Notlong since the railway was considered as intended, almost exclusively for the conveyance of passengers, but it had been of late applied to merchandise, including minerals, and was daily more and more thus made use of. But its power to accommodate the public had never yet been fully tested. The expense would be very little increased, though the number of trains should be raised from 10 to 20, or even 40. There would be the same fixed expense, interest of money, stations, and so forth; it would merely be the employment of so many additional persons, end the use of so much more fuel; and that was a trifle. The expense, of the locomotive power in the carriage of goods was only about three-eighths of a penny per ton per mile ; it could be done at a profit on all goods at a halfpenny a ton.—(Hear.) The whole subject, then, deserved to be considered ; it ought not to be le ft to the Board of Trade along with a thousand other things. Railroads were the safest sort of speculation, and their capabilities to accommodate the public had not yet ?seen fairly tested. The whole question must come before them at a future time. With regard to rail- roads, their construction and management had now become a great national question. They had scientific power, and the command of iron, more than any other nation, and ought to construct railroads more cheaply than any other country. Yet, instead of having the cheapest and best railways, they were likely, unless something more effectual was done, to have the dearest line than any.—(Hear, hear.) Taking population and wealth together, this country was the most densely peopled in the world. France had taken advantage of their experience and their mistakes; and there were many things in which they might copy from the French.—(dear, hear.) He (Mr. Morison) w •ulti not dwell upon the Belgian because it eneld be said that that was a Govern ment undertaking, though he thought that no answer at all; the average fares upon it were about ld., and id. per mile, but it could be worked much cheaper than at present, for it was used by the Government as the means of patronage.—(Hear, hear.) But he would take the (Means Railway. The French had borrowed our experienced, and taken advent:lee of our mistakes, ant there was muc h th a t m i g ht be copied by us with advantage. Th e O r l e a n s line was the model which the French i n t en d e d to adopt in all their proposed railways. The tariff was about 1 ad., ld., and Id., for the three cla-ses ; 10, and 5 centimes per kilometre. Ours was very generally 31., 21, and Id. Now surely, under our circumstances, 2.1., and would be quite an ample remuneration for most of the new lines; and he himself believed, that a lad e ld., and ad., would be the common charge by and by, if proper measures were taken by the House for in suring to the public the full benefit to which they were entitled.—(llear, hear.) It_ was remarkable, that we had gone on enacting tolls to be levied in every Railway Bill from the very first down to the end of last session, copying probably from the Canal Bills, forgetting that the canal proprietors were always the mere owners of the canal, and not carriers. Those tolls had never been levied, and, in fact, they could not. If a person were to claim the right of using any railroad. in England the company's agents had the power of determining when it should be, and that would render it valueless to the private speculator. On the large lines indeed they could hardly find an interval for what would be called " the indepen dent train - --(A laugh)—the time was filled up— there was not an hour to spare—and, of course, to passengers it would he useless for the coinpany to ue.,givei.dsleea, the co veto run m a p t a r ny train in the middle of the night. wouldnot allow the use of their pumps and their stations and other necessary things. let some lion. Gentleman some three or four years ago moved that the companies be compelled to place against the stations along their lines a board setting out what their charges were under the Act and this was done. The absurdity of it was evid en t: because these were not like turnpike-gates, where - the charge to be made was truly stated; but this was ft charge which nave: was, and never could he, Lrought into practice ; and yet the people looked at the beards • as if Parliament had been doing something for their Mr. G. S. WORTLEY brought in a Bill for con structing the Manchester and Sheffield Railway, which was read a first tune. HUNGERFORD BRIDGE. A Bill was also brought in for constructing the Hungerford-bridge terminus, which was read a first time. LONDON AND WESTMINSTER CEME TERY. Mr. MACKINNON presented a petition from the London and Westminister Cemetery Company, pray ing to be heard before the Health of Towns Com mittee. BOARD OF TRADE RAILWAY REPORT. Sir G. CLERK brought up the report of the Board of Trade on the London and York Railway, the South Wales Railway, and the projected Rail ways in the South of Ireland. Sir G. GE} Y and Mr. T. EGERTON presented several petitions against the sale of intoxicating liquors on the Sabbath. MIDLAND COUNTIES RAILWAY. Mr. H. HINDE brought in a Bill for constructing the branches projected by the Midland Counties Railway Company. ABERDEEN RAILWAY. Sir G. GREY brought in a Bill for constructing this line, which was read a first time. EAST DEREHAM AND PRESTON AND WYRE RAIL WAYS. Petitions were presented from the promoters of these projects, praying for leave to bring in Bills. They were referred to the Select Committee on Pai ute Bills. ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE. Sir It. PEEL, in pursuance of a notice he had given on a former day, moved that the House at its rising do adjourn till Monday, the 31st day of March. —Agreed to. OPENING LETTERS. Mr. DUNCOMBE gave notice that he should, on the Bth of April, move for leave to bring in a Bill for securing letters from being opened at the Post-office. COLLEGIATE EDUCATION IN IRELAND. Mr. WYSE gave notice that he should, on the Bth of April, inquire the amount of the sums to be granted for the purpose of establishing collegiate in stitutions in Ireland, the extent of those institutions, and the places where they were to be located. MAYNOOTH. Sir R. PEEL gave notice that he should, on Thursday, the 3d of April, move that the House take into considecation a grant to the College of May nooth. TBE St , LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 21, 1845. protection.—(A laugh.) He hoped that, at all events, this would be done away with.—(Hear.) He believed that the late President of the Board of Trade had gone into the Committee of last year in the hope of snaking some material alteration, but he soon found that the old companies were too strong for him. Still he (Mr. Morison) was in hopes that some altera tions would shortly be made; but he must say that the additional accommodation which had been given to third-class passengers in consequence of the re commendations of that Committee were most praise-. worthy, and he was glad that the result showed, not only that the-operation of the cheap fares was to in crease the numbers who travelled by the line, and so benefit the Company, but that with di minished fares an increase of income was realized. He had been informed that on the Grand Junction line there had been an increase in the third-class pas sengers of 308 per cent. while the revenue from third class passengers had increased only 70 per cent. There had also been an increase in the second- class passengers, so that the increase in.the third class seemed to have been at the expense of the first class. The attention of Parliament should be directed to this subject. It would be manifestly cheaper for the companies to attach third-class carriages to the fast trains, as they would thereby carry third-class passengers without any additional power. They should certainly give the lower classes the full benefit of the penny a mile system. It was a great hardship upon them to be kept 19 hours upon the road when they could be con veyed in less time. It certainly seemed singular that the companies should choose to put themselves to additional expense, by put ting on slow trains, solely for the purpose of inconveniencing their passengers. The Government ought to be permitted to give notice of revision or purchase before the lapse of twenty-one years: There was no knowing what might occur in that period. It was holding out a vast temptation to job bery.—(Loud cheers.) In fact, the present sys tem held out a premium to bad manage ment, instead of an encouragement to good Ile then came to the-question of amalgamation. It was quite evident that they could not prevent amal gamation. He did not know that they ought to pre vent it ; but this was an additional reason why the) should be careful in their legislation on this subject At present, he believed that railway compenies could not be amalgamated without coming to Parliament ; but he observed, that a power to lease and hire had been granted in many railway Acts of late, and he thought that Parliament ought to be very cautious how they allowed that power. Ii the public were to derive any benefit from the practice of amalgamation, it must be by Parliament taking care that it should not take place without a proper security that the in terests of the public should be consulted ; but he thought that each company ought to have the power to hire or lease, without coming to Parliament. Amal gamation, therefore, was an additional reason why the House ought to be more careful in legislating on this subject than they had been. Great improvements had of late taken place in the construction of railroads, but nothing seemed to be done to give the public the benefit of any improvement, or any guard against the impositions that might be practised by the companies. He believed that they could not guard agTnst annalgsma tior, but when railways were completed in great districts of England and Wales combination would undoubtedly follow. Now, with reference to this point, it must be con sidered that the railway companies, would shortly, in all probability have ramifications to every town in England ; they would command the services of the most active persons in life—as for instance the law yers; they would always exercise a powerful influence on the House of Commons; and if the proper mode of dealing with them were neglected they might become to - ) formidable in the House—aye, too formidable even for the Right Hon. Baronet, with his large ma jority, to contend with. Ile (Mr. Morison) had said last year that the railway companies should not be allowed to add repairs to the amount of their capital. It had been said last year that all reforms were too late—that all the great lines were finished, that all the trunk lines were finished, and that it was pest the time for doing anything with advantage; and that as to the new lines, the small traffic on them did not allow of small fares ; and that if these conditions were imposed on them they could not answer. Now, he did not exactly know what was meant by trunk lines. Ile denied that the trunk lines were sufficiently extensive—in fact there were no trunk lines. They had no trunk lines to the Eastern Counties, nor any to Dover. There was no trunk line to Exeter. The Great Western was a trunk line, to Bristol, but it could not be considered as a trunk line to Exeter. They had no trunk line to Man chester, or, in fact, to any place that might be called a great market. Whether they , got threepence, twopence, or a penny, he thought that the remuneration might well be ascertained by the Coma ittee who sat to investigate the claims of any particular company, and might be introduced into the special Act. The chances were, that one-half of the present prices would be a sufficient remuneration. An impression had gone abroad, because 10 per cent. was generally realised on the most prosperous railways, that that per centage ought to be obtained from ;. railway schemes. Where the prospects of returns was uncertain; perhaps 10 per cent. was not an unreasonable amount of profit to anticipate. But it should be recollected that railways in England were not now an experiment. They had become a system. He thought that 7 per cent. was a reason able return, and indeed from the continental railways 6 per cent. was considered a suf ficient remuneration. A great deal of Eng lish capital had gone to France for the for mation of railways, and it was evident, from this outlay of capital abroad, that the anticipation of something like ten per cent. from English railways was almost universal. Now he thought that six per cent. from the old lines was quite up to the mark for profit. On a new line it might not be sufficient, but the old lines offered a security almost equal to that of Government investments. By his plan he would secure to the public the benefit of all future improvements. At present it did not mater whether the line cost 10,0001, or 20,000/., or 50,0001. per mile, the company always began charg ing the same fares,' whereas the remunerating price depended on the cost. In every other instance where improvements took place— in iron-works, or in cotton-mills—the public always got the benefit. Why should not the same take place with regard to railroads. If railroad companies knew their own true interests they would perceive that the only way of securing a monopoly to them selves would be to reduce the fares as low as possible ; thus making it not worth the while for others to com pete with them. That was the true commercial prin. ciple, and he was sub they might reduce the cost, and yet get ten per cent. With regard to the Board of Trade and their proceedings, that was a subject which would be fully considered on a future occasion ; but he might observe, in passing, that they seemed to have an especial fear of insolvency, and they instanced the case of the Eastern Counties and the Kent lines. But why should they carry on lines which they had reason to believe would not be profitable? They seemed to think that new lines offered less security to the pub lic than old lines; but he would observe that there might bl insolvency also in the case of the old lines. If there was any fear of that kind, let them increase the guarantee, and that would be sufficient. In such a case, he (Mr. Morisen) - should think it better to have recourse to new capital to form a new line; hut the Board of Trade always seemed to think that the old line would be able to transfer its shares, but that a new line would be less deserving of public confidence. The House had the power to take guarantees so as to give security to the public in this respect. Then there appeared to be a di position in the- 'Board to take lines which were not direct lines. Now, ha thought, as the railway system made pro gress, there would be a demand for direct lines. His constituents complained that in going to In verness . they were compelled to go fifty suPes out of their way. Why should that be ? The House would in no long time be called upon for direct lines, and he thought parties, on bringing a project for a railway before the House, ought to look, not at the minor object of beating an opponent, but a , what would be permanently beneficial. He believed he had said enough to illustrate the effects of the pre sent system and its evils, but he felt that they were creating in the railway department of the Board of Trade an enormous power, without the control which ought to be kept over it. He believed that, as the railway system progressed, there would be a demand for direct traffic.—(Hear, hear.) He did not, know why persons should be bound to go fifty miles out of their way, as they were tinder the pre sent system. If he were a director or an influential person connected with railways, he should advise the company not to look to their immediate profit so much as to their permanent interest, and by that means to endeavour to se sure their interests. He thought he had said enough in illustration of the present s) stem. He called upon Hon. Members to hear in mind that the railroad system hail superseded nearly all other means of conveyance ; whilst upon that system itself they had placed scarcely any control. Some lion. Members had entered into compacts against certain monopolies, without at the same time perceiving that they were creating new ones, in sanc tioning the present system of railway legislation. There could be no doubt that by and by the railway companies of the kingdom would unite themselves to serve their own purposes. They had - a common in terest amongst them, and ere long they would come to an understanding in the same way as water and gas companies had done in large towns. By this under standing they would secure to themselves a great and extensive monopoly, and it, therefore, became ime portant that Parliament should take some immediate and decisive step,e to avert this coming evil. He con 'eluded by moving the following resolutions: 7 e . I. That it is the duty of Parliament, in giving its sanetioa to the establishment of new railways, to render them the means of affording to the public the be,t and safest communication, and the greatest possible amount of accommodation, at the lowest possible rates. 2. That the clauses heretofore introduce°, into Railway Bills to limit the amount of tolls to be demanded for the use of the railway, having proved practically in operative, it is expedient to make more effectual pro vision against the undue i enhancement of the cost of travelling and transportation n every future Railway Bill, by fixing the highest rates which the Railway Company shall be allowed to charge for the conveyance ,of-passengers and goods. 3. That for this purpose every Committee on a Rail way Bill, introduced in the present or any future session of Parliament, shall report a table of fees and charges, the lowest which they shall judge to be consistent, under the circumstances of each case, with a fair and reason able return for the capital to be invested. 4. And that every Commi▪ ttee to which two or more competing projects for new railways may be referred, shall require the promoters of each to put in statements as to the rates of charge for the conveyance of passen gers and goods to which they are content to be limited, and the amount of accommodation which they will bind themselves to provide for the public at those rates ; and that, in determining on the comparative merits of com peting schemes, regard shall be had to the extent and nature of the advantages whi▪ ch can be thus reserved to the ON seconded the motion. A Mr. public r.l Nr A fe i o t m el au e a [t l first he had been inclined to sanction all the contem plated railways, believing them to be for the public interest, and that they woul 1 lead to fair and equita ble competition. But since he had read the railway reports which had come from the Board of Trade, he could not conceal from himself that they must give great dissatisfaction to all the established railway com panies. Indeed it was a matter of general conversa tion and dissatisfaction amongst those railway com panies, that these reports were founded upon Conser vative principles. That was the expression used, he believed, by the managers, directors, and proprietors of old established railways, when they happened to speak of those reports. The Board of Trade stepped in and decided on the question, whether those capi talists who were going to lay out their money were doing it profitably to themselves ? Did they act on this principle with respect to any other investment of capital ? Had they done so in case of turnpike roads? There was a turnpike road on both sides of the river Avon, quite parallel to each other. But he had never heard that any objection had been made to gentlemen who were disposed to invest their money in shares in these 'roads, or that they were impeded from doing so because it vvoull be an unprofitable investment of their capital. It appeared to be the de termination of the Board of Trade to throw the extension of railway communication as much as possible into the hands of the existing railroad companies. It seemed as if a partial monopoly was likely to be created, not only by the reports of the Board of Trade, but by the tendencies of these com panies running lines through contiguous districts to amalgamate, either by the purchase of the interests of one company by the other, or by scme individual taking a lease of the line. It was notorious that the line between Newcastle and Bristol was either leased or about to be leased to the same individual. It was necessary that Parliament should interpose some check to this. Why not adopt the same system as that of foreign railways, and establish a maximum of rates beyond which a company could not go. On turnpike-roads they fixed a maximum of tolls, and more than that, the Turnpike- roads Act required re newal after a certain term of years ; but the public had no such protection in the case of railway companies. Extend the time of those leases even so far as ninety nine years if they would ; but if they did not inter pose some limit, the lines would fall into a limited number of hands; and it was a matter of apprehen sion with him that if this should happen the result would be that the Government would eventually get them, and if so, then they would be dealt with, not as a public convenience but as a means of revenue, and then they mould be placed in the position of the Post office. He begged to apologise for delaying the House so long, and to second the motion. The SPEAKER then put the question, when — Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET rose and said it was not his intention to allude to all the topics introduced into his motion by the Hon. Member op posite. The Hon. Member had introduced a vast variety of topics, very few of which had any connexion whatever with the subject itself. But he (Lord Granville Somerset) would say he was not pre pared to deny that error had been fallen into in laving down the scale of charges. It was notorious that when Parliament fixed a maxi mum of toll, they imagined that they were protect ing the country against any overcharge on the part of the company, and not lending themselves, as had proved to be the case to an illusory management. — (Cheers.) He would not deny that in some instances the result of the present system had been, to enable charges of other hwfeoerlrleoPNeurn‘tihetli:ebi c a l ae t ' o railroad companies to impose higher charges in the carrying of goods and passengers than was fair or of passengers lookedton uslb,teenroinrweoonuetiy(ol. just.—(Hear, heer.) But he could not help suspect ing that hereafter these charges would be regulated i d nl e ig r n t e n ts 0 0. k thetAo by the same principles as those which regulated the afford acconnym e es.— or any sort to the public. It grene exact number terminus cheapness than th a an no t n o si t d i Other lines therefore would exert a great • fl in uenee in regulating the charges for passengers, although per haps they might not run to the same terminus. Let them take the case of "Worcester. There was a direct competition for railroad conveyance between London and Worcester, between two companies which were directly opposed to each other—the London and Bir mingham and the Great Western. The charges for the conveyance of passengers to Worcester would be regulated by the competition between these two com panies. The proposition of the Hon. Gentleman did not contain any great advantage over the present system. At the present moment all the matters to which he had alluded were made subjects of inquiry nb°andrdla3ii,sialtrloognoarrvemeeeisptieerthui competing before the Standing Orders Committee. The only material alteration he proposed to introduce was, the fixing a maximum charge. Now, he feared that if they fixed a maximum charge it would he an encouragement to railway companies to keep up their c harges.—(Hear, hear.) He did not think that it would do for the Committees of that House to adopt the plan proposed by the lion. Gentleman. If they once got into the habit, while Bills were passing, of listening to offers from companies as to which should carry passengers cheapest, he was afraid that, not only would the accommodation afforded to the public be lessened, but that serious danger would ensue. Now, with regard to the Honourable Mem ber's motion, they would have to co ns id e r how far their present standing orders were sufficient to effect the object which the Honourable Member had in view. Many of the existing standing orders would have to be struck out and others sub stituted, for it could not be supposed that the Committees would be bound by these resolutions. With regard to the mode in which the Hon. Gentle man proposed to carry out his proposition, he must say that all the railway Bills contained clauses carry ing out the proposition of the Honourable Member. Whether they were useful or not he had already stated his opinion, but they did state what ought to be the principles of the maximum of tolls. He thought it much better that the line from London to Exeter should be under one Management than under many. As it was now, people travelled in five hours from Exeter to London; but he thought it would be very different if it was in many hands. For these reasons he would advise the Hon. Member to withdraw these resolutions. But if he could de vise any other mode of attaining the object he had in view, so much was he impressed with the importance of the principle, that he was quite ready to go with him. For instance, if he would propose some alteration of the standing orders of the House, which would have the effect of obliging rail way companies, before their coining to Parliament, to lay down some rate of charges, it might accomplish the end desired. But us great inconvenience would arise from passing the resolutions in their present shape, he trusted that he would now withdraw them. Lord HOWICK said that he had heard with great satisfaction the declaration of the Noble Lord (Lord G. Somerset) that though he did not coincide alto gether in the terms of these resolutions, yet that he was prepared to accede to the principles which they contained. And if the Hon. Member should be in duced to withdraw them, he hoped that her Majesty's Ministers would adopt some other mode, and that speedily, to accomplish the object at wh ic h these resolutions ai me d. At any rate he trusted that the Government would take up the matter, and give it their best attention, before the great mass of railway Bills which had been introduced this session were committed, so that some general rules might be esta blished to give the advantage of cheap as well as speedy communication between different parts of the country, without having any check imposed upon the exorbitance of railway directors. His llon. Friend (the Member for Inverness) had said that the attempt to establish a maximum of tolls on railways had proved altogether nugatory. This he believed, and he thought the time was come when Parliament should interfere to protect the public against the ex cessive charges, both for passengers and goods, to which in many instances they were subjected by railway companies. It was well known that a re duction of fares generally produced an increase in the receipts. But in many instances a larger reduc tion of tares did not produce an immediate benefit. The income was at first somewhat reduced, and railway directors naturally felt a great inclination to try fresh experi men ts. On the Great Western and Birmingham lines the charges were considerably too high, and he believed that a reduction in their prices would be advantageous to the companies as well as to the public ; for experience had shown that such a result almost invariably occurred. He knew that it was difficult to interfere with companies which were already established, but ha thought that in the new Bills such clauses might be introduced as would im pose a low table of rates; and those low rates, as they would be levied by companies possessing in some respect lines competing with the old ones, would tend to bring down the rates of the old lines. Perhaps it was hardly fair to put the new lines under less advan tageous circumstances than the old ones ; but it should be recollected they were formed at less ex pense, and with greater probability of traffic. In France high fares were not necessary, to secure a fair remuneration for the proprietors. There were two plans by which railway proprietors looked for their returns, either by charging a considerable rate, and depending for remuneration on their first-class passengers, or else by very low fares to very largely increase their traffic. They could not, as the Noble Lord said, put up railways to auction, and knock them down at will. Their interests, he knew, were to be considered, but so also were the interests of the public. This was a very material element in deciding upon the rates which railways should be entitled to demand. lie deeply lamented that something had not been done long before this, and he hoped, therefore, that, though late, the present occasion would not be lost. There was one point which had been mooted by the Hon. Member, and which well deserved the consideration of the House. The French lines, by the Acts which authorised their formation, reverted, after a certain period, to the Crown. Now he thought some principle of this kind might be adopted with advantage He would not state any particular time ; he would give to the railway companies a sufficient time to realise their property, but after that period they should revert, like the French, to the State. He might name the ordinary terms for building leases, ninety-nine years. Now ninety-nine years was a long period in the lives of individuals, but it was but a very short period in the life of a country. They must recollect, as one reason why he would apply this principle to the new lines, that though several lines had already been formed, a great many more would, to a certainty, be hereafter constructed, and they must look to the future and legislate for posterity. A heavy debt had come down to posterity, and it would be a sort _of set-off hereafter if these railway lines should become the property of the public. He had always felt a facility in communica tion was one of the very great necessaries—one of the indispensible requisites in a high state of civilisation.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") They were in a crisis of railway legislation, and he hoped that her Majesty's Government, before the Bills now in the House went into Committee, would take the subject into their serious consideration, for the doing so would, he was assured, be a great advantage to the public. Sir R. PEEL said, this was a subject which the more it was considered was seen to be surrounded with the greatest difficulties. On the one hand, it was impossible not to feel that competition in the case of railways did not give that perfect security as to charges which was afforded by competition generally in other undertakings. In the case of stage-coaches and of post-horses an effectual check was given to high charges by competition ; for, if one innkeeper charged 2s. a mile for a pair of horses, and another ls. 6d., the latter would be most likely to secure the patronage of the public. But, in the case of railways, a long period must elapse before any check in the form of competition could be brought into operation ; for, if a railway company now establshed, knd having a monopoly, adopted exorbitant charges, a long prepa ratory system of concsrt and consideration was neces sary before a competitor could enter the lists. A com pany mest be formed ;. subscriptions must be obtained; then there was great uncertainty as to the grant f a Bill by Parliament; and, before a Bill could be passed, the monopolising company might have reduced its charges, and the necessity of competition would conse quently be materially diminished. He agreed with the Noble Lord the Member for Sunderland that it was difficult to overrate the importance of this sub ject. It was of the highest importance that they should increase the facilities of communication, and that they should diminish the charges of locomotion. He (Sir R. Peel) did not look merely at the pecuniary saving to be effected, but he could not conceive a greater political advantage—anything more likely to improve the social character and habits of the people, than the extension of the means of intercourse be tween different parts of the country. He would make no reference to any individual railway schemes ; but he thought they ought to look forward to the result of mechanical itnprovements as applied to those schemes, and they might depend upon it—speelting of ultimate results—that the shortest lines would be pre ferred.—(Hear, hear.) The tendency of the im provements which were almost daily introduced WAS decidedly in favour of the shortest lines. He (Sir R. Peel) had expressed this opinion in the year 1839. They chose to establish a railroad between Liverpool, Manchester, and London, and it was thought desirable that the line should go round by Birmingham. It was said, " Include Birmingham by all means in your line between Liver pool and London ;it is use to take a shorter line through a oeuntry much less productive." He (Sir R. Peel) then ventured to predict that the people of Liverpool and of Manchester would not be sent round ten or twelve miles out of the direct line in their journey to the metropolis. In 1845 it was found that the shortest line was the best, and that Birmingham ought not to be included in the route ; but 170,0001. had been expended in testing the merits of the scheme, and, without in any degree undervaluing the legal profession—(A laugh)—he must say that so large a sum spent in such a manner was worse than thrown away. Now, in order te save a distance of nine miles between Liverpool and Manchester, this new line, making a cut from Rugby to Stafford, was about to be established with universal consent. This ought, in his opinion, to be a lesson to the House. He did not wish to refer to any particular line of rail% ay, but speaking generally, and contemplating ultimate results, he was certain that when they were estab lishing communications between different parts of this country and between Scotland and Ireland and this metropolis, whatever course they might now take, many years would not elapse before the shortest lines would be preferred. It must be under stood, however, that he did not mean the shortest line merely in respect of distance. lie thought there was too great a tendency to adopt the shortest lines, without reference to gradients. Though in recent instances unfavourable gradients had been overcome by the construction of new en gines, he doubted whether there was not an unprofit able expenditure of power in such cases—whether the mechanical power of locomotive engines was not ma terially interfered with by unfavourable gradients ; and whether the exertions made to diminish the gra dients, and to run as nearly as possible upon a level, would not be amply repaid. He was alluding not to the shortest lines merely with regard to distance, but to the shortest lines in point of time. Though the question of controlling the charges of railway com panies was one of great importance, it was encom passed with numerous difficulties. Suppose that two companies undertook competing lines, and that one of them said, "We well efford the public most ample accommodation; our carriages for every class of pas sengers shall be most convenient, end our third-class carriages shall be constructed with a view to the health and comfort of the poor who travel by them; but in order to do this we must make certain charges." Then suppose another company said, " We will un dertake the line at a lower rate of charges;" surely it was not fair to assume that a decided pre ference shoal be given to the latter ?—(Hear, hear.) They ought not to disregard altogether the advantages held out by the former. But all the check that was to be imposed was a pecuniary check. [Lord Howick was understood to say, that was not the oily check thet ought to be im posed.] How were they to provide against imperfect vigilance, ill-conducted establishments, inconvenient carriages, and disregard of the public comfort and accommodation ? He did not see how this check could be made perfectly effective in these respects. It was difficult to say what was the proper cheek, and to reconcile the difficulties by which the question was encompassed. It must be remembered, that it was necessary to hold out inducements which would lead men of capital to embark in such undertakings as railway schemes. It was very well to say, " Look at the profits of the London and Birmingham and Great Western Railway Companies—are they not extravagant ?" Hon. Gentlemen must recollect the risk of those persons who invest'id money in these speculations ; they must remember how uncertain was the return upon the millions invested in the Lon don and Birmingham Railway, and what must have been the consequences to the shareholders had that undertaking proved a failure. Mr. M'Culloch, writ ing in 1834, said, "It is true that the railway between Liverpool and Manchester has answered, but the cir cumstances of that railway are so peculiar that it i s no criterion of the probab'e success of other railways." That eninent man, writing only ten years ago, ex pressel his belief that profitable lines of railway comm unication could not be established to any great extent. Yet the proprietors of the railways he (Sir R. Peel) had mentioned, when the result of the speculation was so uncertain, committed themselves to the extent of 6,000,0001. ; and was it to be said n ow, when railroads could be conducted at se much less expense, that 4 per cent. was enough to remune rate them for their enterprise, while, had the capital they embarked been lost, the country would have made them no compensation ? The Noble Lord (Lord Howick) scented to think that if a maximum rate of charge were prescribed in the case of new railways, the old companies would be induced to adopt a similar scale of fares ; but of that he (Sir R. Peel) was by no means certain. It Might happen that, on a railway where only 10 trains were now run daily, it might become necessary in a year or two to run 20; and, while the public called for this increased accommodation would they provide by an inflexible rule that, under no circumstances, should the Goni• pany charge more than a certain amount of fares ? He (Sir R. Peel) wished that the influenee end POST-OFFICE ESPIONAGE. Mr. WAKLEY gave notice ti at, afte r the Distil recess, he should move for a copy of any warrant or warrants issued by any Secretary of State , for oPeire ing or detaining any letter or letters sent through the n Post-office, and addressed to Thomas SlingshY Du. combe, , the Hon. Member for Finsbury. The remaining orders of the day were then d . u.es 's posed of, and the House adjourned at twenty min' to Eight o'clock. authority of the Government'could be clearly exerted for the purpose of insuring a good principle of action ; but the more he considered the subject the more was he convinced of its difficulties. In order to achieve a temporary object, in order to reduce the extra vagant charges, it was now proposed to act upon a principle with regard to railways which Honourable Gentlemen who suggested it would hesi tate to apply to ordinary commercial legislation. They did not say to the dealer in ordinary coinmo dities, " Such is the maximum charge you ought to make for your goods." The present case might be rather special, but he doubted whether it was so special as to justify them in departing from the rule applied in other cases. He thought that it would not he desiiable to lay down any general rue for the conduct of the Committees; but he trusted, as their number was limited, that each would feel that it had a public duty to discharge, and that each would do its best to turther the public interest. He did not know how the Government could interfere, except by the expie , sion of a hope that the Committees would do ali in their power for the benefit of the com munity.--(Hear, hear.) Ile did not wish to notice the resolutions in detail, but he trusted that the Hon. Gentleman opposite, after the discussion that had taken place, would consent either that the previous question should be moved or withdraw his motion. In the first place, he thought it was very unwise for the House to agree hastily to any resolution laying down what it was "the duty" of Parliament to do. — (Hear, hear.) Then, as to the " maximum charge," he had already-stated his reasons-for not hurrying on to a conclusion as regarded that paragraph of the re solution ; at any rate, he was 'sure that before the House sanctioned the principle of establfshing a maximum of charge the subject ought to undergo a much fuller consideration than it had received in the course of that discussion.—(hear ) Mr. J. E. DENISON said that the Right Hon. Baronet, in an early part of the ses-ion, had stated that the reports of the Board of Trade were by no means intended to be final. He (Mr. Denison) was of opinion that, when a report was issued by the Board, the grounds upon which it was founded should be discussed in that House before such report was sent to the Committees, as a guide to them in the decision they should come to.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. J. S. WORTLEY (West Yorkshire) did not exactly see how the suggestion of his Hon. Friend who had just sat down—though he agreed that great inconvenience had arisen from the present arrange ment—could be carried out. He did trust, however, that the Committee would not consider the decisions of the Board of Trade final, though an opinion, he believed, had gone abroad, amounting almost to a belief, that their decisions were to be regarded in that light. He (Mr. Wortley). was ready to concede to the Board of Trade every credit for the manner in which they had conducted the business which had been intrusted to them; but, notwithstanding, he should he very sorry to have it assumed that their reports were final decisions, when they were, in fact, merely preliminary inquiries entered into with the view of assisting the Committees; and he did hope that the Committees appointed by that House would be sensible that with themselves still rested the responsibility of sifting the merits of every scheme brought before them, and that they would express their opinions freely and independently, both as to the merits of the schemes and of -the suggestions of the Board of the Trade. With regard to limiting the charges on railways, he must admit that that part of the question was full of difficulties ; but that was no reason for abandoning all attempts to overcome it. Originally he believed that Parliament had intended to have applied some limitation of the description pro posed, and though it had failed hitherto, he did not know but that the principle would be consistent with the practice of Parliament and advantageous to the public. He hoped if his Noble Friend (Lord G. Somerset) could see any means of meet ng the propo sition, that he would not fail to act upon it. Lord G. SOMERSET was understood to say that he would direct his attention again to the subject. Sir G. GREY was of opinion that the best plan that could be adopted was that which the House had acted upon lately—viz., to establish as competent a tribunal as possible for the examination of the details of the Bill, and to discourage, as much as possible, any appeal from that tribunal to that House ; but there were certain great principles which must come before Committees,in the course of the session, affect ing the guidance of railways, which, though it was difficult to determine how they should be disposed of, were, he thought, worthy of the consideration of the House. It would be extremely unadvisable, and it would be a blot in our railway legislation, if there were to be a great want of uniformity - in- -the Bills and in the decisions of the Committees. Let them look at some of the principles which the Committees would have to decids upon. First, there was that great and important principle which had occupied a prominent place in the reports of the Board of Trade —the principle of " competition," to which also the Right Hon. Gentleman had referred. Were the railway Committees to act upon the principle that competition was undesirable, or were they to trust to competition for the purpose of secaring to the public the benefits which might be supposed to arise from it ? Then again, there was the subject of " gra dients,gra- dients,'.'which had been also referred to by the Right lion. Baronet. Let the House look at the report of the Board of Trade upon the West Yorkshire Rail way. They entered there very fully into the sub ject, and took exactly an opposite view to that which the Right Hon. Baronet had taken of it. They jus tified their preference of a line which had worse gra dients than another that was before them, by saying that the improved power of locomotive engines now was such, that it was not worth the while of com panies to incur a great expense in looking for good gradients and good curves.—(Hear, hear.) That report would go before a Committee of five gentle men, and would naturally have a great influence with them. These were subjects which he thought it was desirable that the House should determine on.— (Hear, hear.) With reference to the principle w hich had been introduced in the resolution of his Hon. Friend, he would say, that Parliament had from the first proposed to limit the charges on railways, but that it had been attempted in a way that was per fectly illusory. He repeated, that Parliament having originally felt that monopolies might be created by railway companies,_ did attempt to guard against ' them, but that in that attempt they had utterly failed. —(Hear, hear.) He quite agreed with the Right Hon. Gentleman that the country was greatly in debted to those companies and gentlemen who had originally risked their capital upon railway schemes, and whe had brought the railway system to its pre sent state; but looking at the great number of Bills to be brought in this session, and considering that a short time railways would supersede every other mode of travelling, he did think that the Government ought seriously to turn its attention to the question whether some more effective method might not be adopted with the view of preventing the evils which had been referred to in the course of the debate, and to the existence of which it was impossible that they could shut their eyes.—(Hear, hear.) He bad risen, however principally to state his opinion that there should be some uniformity in the decisions of the Committees, to insure which he thought that great matters of principle should be discussed in that House.—(Rear, hear.) Mr. PARKER had no doubt that every. one was desirous, or that it was the duty of the House to see that the public should be carried at as low a rate as possible upon railways; but if the House laid down any plan for limiting the charges, founded upon the supposition that acting upon that plan every railway company would receive a fair and just remuneration for their entvprise and the outlay of their capital, had the House not also a corresponding duty to perform on the part of the comp-lilies ? Should not the House in such a case guarantee to the companies an amount of remuneration somewhat approaching that which their enterprise merited?—(llear, hear.) Mr. MORISON then contented to withdraw his motion, and it was withdrawn accordingly. LIGHTING THE HOUSE. ASSIZE INTELLIGENC E. OXFORD CIRCUIT.-ad ford, Marc h 19. ) CROWN COURT.-(Before Mr. Baron PLAIT . M tTDER.- John Though, aged 39, farmer, a athletic bruthir, m T a h n poi verft. o Thomas ss indicted for tßheidliu.iilpfuhl, January last. I , e Mr. Yardley and Mr. Iluddlestone appeared for t prosecution ; Mr. Allen conducted the delence. irk Th..particulariof this offence, which happen ed at - led dulph, a very wild district of Staffordshire, e n fu cOP-A;, by a very primitive class of inhabitants, were l, ' A '; tailed in The Sun at the perbel of the inquest. Th e -. ceased, a person of sating habits, but of passionate tens; per towat di his relatives, resided at High Bent, where illonirttibeerldhlesi he had acquired several small estates, one o hehich 5... r. prison er. o H c i e s upied by his mother and her second sun,t stoned the lamentable catastrophe which produced his violent cl , ath by the hand of his brother. A 1 1. or rent, amounting to 261., was due from his W iller t wits put these premises, to recover which debt a distress us on the 31 of January, when two boxes of weariefqr; parel belonging to the prisener and another hr°l" to the rest;ors James Brough, were seiz •d, and carried alvs) deuce of the deceased by his bailiff, in spite of the t e e . and ri entreati , s-of the mother for time and f'orbettral • 'Phis adverse proceeding appears to have prodllee;„ collision betivi en the deceased and the prisoner, ,t. d i o of mild and affectionate distiesition, who had j,,, ° , 9 " - teto his parent's int ffectual appeal for mercy. - -Lu e (ter brothers quitted their mother's presence togeth er, k B l ci, the removal of the boxes, and Thomas was killed. according to the statement of the prisoner, by & 1 - u t ' t he the back of the head with a stone-hatneler, at distance of 120 yards from the house, where the - Th e of blood were discovered by several witnesse.,• r the prisoner communicated the fatal c 1 s• q uences °' A• st blow to his brother James, who s'l3led with a farol'r-_, TP..I , .. w hom , four miles from the 1 p ace of the murder, and fr om _ a James he ß requested assistance in concealing the b"4- and the Brough refused to comply with this reques t " 5 ,, - dee? corpse was found on the Saturday morning ill " of es dente • pit, about three-quarters of a mile from the morning - . • the prisoner. Thep ria. The trial was of a most painful character. , na rest cipal witnesses against the prisoner, being tt s ; o nce relatives, presented the most distressing eqeo,eis)ll when called upon to give their evidence ; mer e at Ole his aged mother and h's brother James, vvlio was to be time so completely overcome by his feeling? ss • hun t obliged the enslot obliged to leave the box. The w retched self, wl:o appears to have borne acharacter for g..- wing mildness of temu to te dof his cotton 14 t o the dreadful deed , , seemed, a P s eri he stood ill t he d(lc fil l • be utterly crushed by the consciousness of his fear situation. w ith i Mr. ALLEN, in a speech which was listSned tf or the great. attention, urged that the oldn& .. d i ct of prosecution was more consistenrwith the le t i o r the manslaughter than murder; attributing the d ee b r othe rs deceased to a blow in a sudden conflict, after the dio tion had quitted the house, and not to an act dr eg° ' ed on the part of the prisoner. , %Ph ° The Learned JUDGE, in his summing ; 11-9 e d or °- to the jury the distinction between niuraer and slaughter, cautioning them against allowing t h rii i,,bt 1 to be led away by those natural feelings of the Ilrat" Le t well have been excited by the speech of th e ,_. f ee Counsel who had just sat down. Ills li °r" gst O re through the whole of the evidence with the gre wid re; and minuteness. . ,rjiet, oe The jury r .t . el L ire- to consider their T'-' rele r mained in consultation for flvehours et'ore they i, Ole acijotirrb"eits in with their verdict. The Court was meantime,_ but Mr. Baron Platt returned verdict Os-- formed that they were agreed. Th eir ver nlis ti°ll W Guilty of wilful murder, with a recoMele ea &Ire° mercy. nd 0 the His LORDSHIP assumed the black car , a'iconer a" a nd „ a the prisoner to the following effect r " o f car es" t bar, the jury have given your case a d e gree nd 1 tales attention hi i s,hly creditable to theinselvei, a :., ,--eisietu say that I fully concur in the justice!o tel... Your case is a sad proof of the fearfu co e 1... domestic feuds, and of the ills attendant tll diencc to parents. The words of the Pet ro other. these, " honour thy father a nd thy days may be long in the land ." The wree, his of your crime brutally spurne d frorn him iv , parent in her agony of distre ss ; his u ff r ee ' eas with the vengeance of the Almighty ' See Pe f t'r his sins, for he was not perm itted to eet ° au But you, who were made th e instrum wrath-you, who must have cherished in in,l, the seeds of wickedness and revenge-3 1°u ,: by-your death the horrid deed you have v_ l e u r i i outraged laws of your country cannot otu , 0 o °' tisfled. And may the God of mercy have - upon your unhappy soul. 13 ill His Lordship passed senten ce of death terms. he d : The Court was ..rowded to excess all t . great number of young women of respectable f e on - , were preicht, whose levity of c ondu t, d i se reol most distressing scenes of the trial, was the highest degree. Mr. HUME called attention to the mode of light ing the House. The Hon. Member moved for a copy of any report of experiments for lighting the House of Commons in the last and present year, with a copy of a plan for altering the existing lights, and an estimate of the expense of the same. Lord LINCOLN said the lighting of the House did not belong to the department over which he had control, hut slene experiments for lighting the new Houses of Parliament were in course of being made under his sanction, and with the concurrence of Dr. Reid. Economy would, of course, be duly considered in any decision the Commissioners of Woods and Forests would come to. In the lighting of the pre sent Houses of Parliament, he did not contemplate any change. He could not furnish the Hon. 'Mem ber with any documents relative to the subject matter of his motion, for none existed ; but if the Honourable Member wished for a report of any future experi ments, he could have it with pleasure. The subject then dropped. SUPPLY. The report of the Committee of Supply was brought up and received. RAILWAY CLAUSES CONSOLIDATION (SCOTLAND) BILL. The LORD ADVOCATE brought up several amendment clauses for insertion in this Bill, whiek were severally real a first and I.:et - lurid time, and then committ ed. The - .douse then resumed, and the clauses were read a third time•and passed. The Bill was also read a third time and passed. LANDS CLAUSES CONSOLIDATION (SCOTLAND) BILL. The Lord ADVOCATE brought up several new clauses for insertion is this Bill, which were com mitted and agreed to. The House then resumed, and t h e Bill WO3 read a third tir), , e and passed. 1 41. t °t °4 P cb , de l h e n g. r l 'ear 4 8 t Y ei ° nr . q 4 " 3 441 A ra t rt 0 4, Atir th last () N, r• V 1 4- 0 , 1 qu a wul 44' INSOLVENT ACT. Mr. 11. BERKELEY gave notice that, on the 11th of April, he should move for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal the Insolvent Act of lest session, and to pro. mote the recovery of small debts. Sir R. INGLIS gave notice that he should, imme diately after the recess, move for returns of the pur chases of land in New Zealand other than those con tained in the papers moved for by the Ilan. Member for Cockermouth (Mr. Aglionby), and extending over the same period of time. RIVER SUIR NAVIGATION. Mr. WYSE begged to move for a return of the number of ships that have come up to Carrick-on- Suir since the passing of the Suir Navigation Act, names of ships, and captains, and where from; also tonnage and how laden, coming and going. • WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Captain ROUS begged to give notice that lie wouk, on an early day after Easter, move for returns of all persons who had been fined for using deficient weights and measures in England during the lad three years. MAYNOOTII COLLEGE. Mr. WARD said he held in his hand a motion of which he intended to give notice, but before he did so he would wish to ask the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of her Majesty's Government a question, namely, whether it was not customary, in moving for a money grant, such as that of the proposed grant to Maynooth, to first bring it before a Committee of the whole House? Sir R. PEEL said that the Hon. Member opposite was correct ; such was the course pursued by the 12 - ,ercc 1,2 aII ,i 44,7,01 of cuv ti vus Air tn.-rricy 6 raute, and such certainly was the course he intended to adopt in reference to his motion for the increased grant to Maynooth. Mr. WARD then begged to give notice that he would, at the time it was most fitting to do so, move that all further money grants for the purposes of re ligion be made out of the funds at present appro priated for the maintenance of the Protestant Epis copal Church.—(Hear, hear.) UNIVERSITIES. Mr. CHRISTIE moved for the following re-1 turns . :—Amount of paper duty remitted to each of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in each of the last ten years; distinguishing the amounts re mitted for books in the Latin, Greek, Oriental, or Northern languages, and for Bibles, Testaments, Prayer-boolcs, and Psalm-hooks. Account of any annual payment to the Universities . , of . Oxford and Cambridge , cha r g ed on the. starlit); and taxes revenue, with the origin of and authority for such payment. The date of the first payment of each of the sums voted in the Miscellaneous Estimates of 1844, to professors in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, with a statement of any conditions at tached to the grant of any of those sums. Copy of any correspondence or Treasury minute relative to,the discontinuance, in 1826, of an annual vote of 1001. to a professor of the laws of England in the University of Cambridge. Copy of so much of a Treasury minute, dated the 28th day of August, 1832, as relates to payments to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, charged on . the Civil List till 1834; and a statement as to which of these payments are now charged on the land revenue of the Crown, and which are now toted in the annual estimates. Sir R. H. INGLIS would make no objection to thlse returns, as he understood they were sanc tioned by her Majesty's Government ; but he would move, by way of addition, for returns of the pay ments made by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Mr. F. SHAW would move for similar returns in relation to the University of Dublin. The returns were ordered. Mr. DODD presented petitions from the Croydon Railway Company . praying for leave to bring in a Bill to extend their line into various parts of Kent. Sir G. CLERK brought up the Customs' Duties Bill, which was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time, on Monday, the 31st inst. DARTMOUTH ELECTION COMMITTEE. Mr. TUFNELL moved that the minutes of pro• ceedings and evidence taken before the Select Com - mittee on the Dartmouth election petition be printed. Mr. PAKL.NGTON said he believed that very exaggerated statements had been- made to the public as to the facts which had come out before that Com mittee. It had been his intention to make a timilar motion to that of the lion. Gentleman, but as the motion had been made, he had gnat pleasure in seconding it. Sir R.. PEEL thought it would he advisable to adopt a general rule, that the proceedings of all elec tion Committees should be printed, as it was some what invidious now to move that the proceedings in a particular case should be printed. Points of law might arise on election petitions which the House ought to he in possession of. He, therefore, thought it would be better to establish a general rule. Lord MA HON would venture to remind his Right Hon. Friend, a; a "Member of the Printing Commit tee, of the large expense that would be incurred in carrying out such a rule.—(Laughter, and cries of " Oh, oh." Mr. SHAW wished to know whether the Noble Earl at the head of the Woods and Forests had any objection to lay on the table of the Housgthe papers he had in his possession relative to the Ornithological Museum in Irelanl ? The Earl of LINCOLN had no objection to the production of the papers Mr. DEN IsTISTOUN wist.ed to li•iow whether it WdS the intention of the Government to support a mrasare for preventing burial in towns, and whether that was intended to be extended to burghs in Scot land? Sir J. GRAHAM was not prepared to prevent in- terment in towns. RAILWAY FARES. Mr. AIORISON, in putting the resolutions of which he had given notice, thought that the House and the country were satisfied that the railway system was permanently established in the country. It waF. needless to refer to the great advantages possessed by this r.ystem , over the old plan of communica tion. It was not only advantageous to the trade and commerce of the country that greater li- A-csilitiksiskoldf obtained between the great depots or ,yierZa.,_.. . ., but it was in . many cases a 700 After - '-ofe::-.,.•., olute uccessity. Little had 5 \ b„. .-- been done :A - If-4. t as yet, comparatively ' with ;.7 , What might beigPected, as men of science applied ,11 0 • , • te .,; their tgl‘mts to the subject of improved methods of ...fi,: propolling le.cmotivca, whether nu the: atmospinrlc principle or 0040/_6ther. Alccs.dy, howevir, the poor aria their faits were enabled to enjoy one of the most useful orluxuries at comparatively a small cost. TIER Havin g b ei Z e i ' l a n g in C O r 'unscr e ipt reg i Paeles, I her with that t° aolo t a atin th e b e stated • ne l a In the , cre ased um CAL, 41J8I N - COUR' _____-- --..,--'----_ ---____ ~1-iq or comuois- coy -I_i i 1 Yesterday a Court was held specially t° d t fsrib_ oheuna effects rt e ,fm3teem.o a. C i el Parliament ,d t Aayi, doors ulol o ilrooa f 4r,ft)n: L nnage o ,nt n ldh, t , Bill A intreduced into the House of Lords eije o r Act fur enabling all persons to trade awl 0 ederoesni.ibject on whiol l the °3e dr m tt o ho l ue i e apß d co , cinlol mtandthope accomplish constitution Committee,nr s . stt ii A ltlu s tf h i ouurnrshotteforstrutel b ep I n ocr i ittttyae ci s, at 0 : 2 iscusoio t:o t p o e o n k ed . pia t e o e, s a t s ra w ng e e b ras to , inoproverrth, sures in accordance with the institutions 0 . ~ more comprehensive charactei;t 1`..0 other busimansacted. ( y srrs''' liii 1 ,ttn etTvoeht,eetrodCa moo considerationup prtosuel ttihmetah,Bee ii)ml i and to appoint a Cot 01 COURSE OF EXCHAN Gr. E. -- -• - CF. 12 7i Gibraltar.. ••• ••''s ..., ~ Ditto, at sight o r c s e a t po ul a e r reported to tioll h a ve dec ta ls l i ; 12 5i Leg horn ••• . ..... .. ... Rotterdam Paris, 3 days' 2U. 12 7i Ge n° ..... ..'. ... Antwerp 22 56 8 1 7 5 i 1 7 a i l l e till ..... ...•••• 4 5 0 3 i dvisable za0....-....,. w aamburgh M. 8.3 r i 'Venice .... ••• '• ... • a ......• -• .. 119 i Altona — Naples .... ~. 0.... 5:3i Ditto, 3 months ... ..... .... Marseilles ..,....• ..., Bourdeaux 26 15 Rio Jano° ..... ...... , Frankfort on Maine l22i Bahia ••••••••--• ..... , , Petersburgh, 3Us --- 13nenos AP' s " . gight 't Berlin Vienna, effee. f4.3]11 To 2 I'Nlie'whild'irllk'i".:'l.a.).:g.lo4.: /411 1 „: c. ,- 1 , null- A s li Trieste, ditto Madrid Cadiz Bilbao N e w 1 oti .. 0 New ,-)• ..310••• .. . V Barcelona .'- v 5... ., , • , 3106i2i fro%iacr.- ~...oi.;,idbal :0., 107, i, Seville com T m il e E n M ced " s ir o —7-- " --.---..'r i" 5 . t_o , - pe edilf rt y, , if poly goy. iii of this ill-fated vessel, similar to guns o f t 1 . 1 .0 ! i i , (120 guns). One of the recovered reno, Wooiri` t Hose is now in her Majesty's RoYald''ai:otber iirsooltvicit l a to s stEO.-L-remOrweerations it.r.ee: evert rot? in a good state of preservati on, 3n ositorY, S 'asili f e grounds of the Royal Military common ; and they have attracted _otifottirftso ) 13ePthouslied3 pi see such specimens of ancient 1 1 0 0 : t in l ar iner l unfortunate Mary Rose was und. r the command of Captain C. e a, wit' g oe r Spithead, through the mutinous conloreetw°,fPf.ehrll7°ool°.4l Navy, when she " heeled " and founciri_ the PI.Fog tbe; men on board, who were an drownoed I' A be it 4s P ecti iic i°llo King Henry VIII., who happen e- to the destrt. D, his vessels of war, whea he witnes ~ritob ticeerty 00. one of the finest vessels in the wholVticii proP to:; loss greatly afflicted the Wog. _ . ,,, A are 1:130_c sre,, various munitions of war of that pelowy-ead, sowoia oF on board, and a portion has been ll's'', masetllo. mem of which are now , in the Brit u ....-- * obletu en. in the y-session or vartons n l a tt o e n , .t1:0100- ____.-------____ • ise ; 13111'111S. ~ of tit' vrorh), , On the 12th inst., at Dublin, the wo° O' * thelal of a son. On the 12th hist at Paradise,llenle),'-orrll/3°lth yt: of Nathaniel Micklem, Esq., of a 501 1 . J3aysolter, On the 12th inst. at Porchester-gardens, ,w e . George Seddon, of a ' pon. le °I A On the 14th inst., at 13instead, near IZterl: eet.r the lady of W. R. Worsley, Esq,.of 3d'igo_.,, of S ir H(OjunsethnecUtLiintst.eho wiffca s(f,i'.. ln Lard . 5 t 00,04,01 th ( e. ) l,lvi t f l e te ol l . B T tl i t ion in la s t s ., p E: G te i r o .nE cess4.t.erl frottel. On the 18th inst., IClrs. WM..son, of Sou is fl° Bloomsbury. square, of a daught2er. ~ t he Itev ° r at Glouce:.4ter-.squar" Somerville t_ 1728... th inst :______-- omerville Head, Esq.. of a son. -Nk .0,...4.11/iOW. 5,,, winger? f On the 18th inst., at St. Margarpt's, N' '$ A ter ° - - Dampier, Esq., surgeon, to Annie, only do" Pratt, Esq., of Westminster. 1 11 mi9.l4E!'r.c.laiyi;otmhea,l4otilithiensdt.,:tiklil,caith;:oril. _' 10:11;4:' Anne,On the 31st of January, at last Presto , 95 , yi d / relict of M Edward Brown. rAdingt°ll / On the let., at Rome, the Rev. Kenny s-- . f ii- Ware-cum-ltundridge, Herts. On the 13th inst., William 'Vassal!, I.Eq', Dl. o ice place, Bristol, aged 64. . Cli tir On the 14th inst., at Hillingdon, I‘liddcse'-' red' Hunt, Esq , M.D. Cathori° , • On the lath ilia , at Cheam, SurreY, the late Charles Butler, Esq , of that plce. d 30001, "i, On the [4th inst., at Seething-laue, O re it,,vl ' of Great Ormond -street, aged 27. , g r . W. 1:4.1 On the 15th inst., at. Wilmington, M ilt., ..,,taliol, iii.! On the 16th inst ,at Wands. \*,.,'"-",fosil, i. On the 18th inst., at Yorl.— i% CO rv j i Stephens, Esq., aged 67. of A I " d On the 17th inst., Mrs. Sarah MON , ao Catnberwel, i n 7. Louisib're• 0 On the ISth inbt., at Richmond, Surrepreolobt rei of the Rev. John Dymoke, of Boughto, 1ifL1„.,4.00' On the 18th inst., at South Lambeth, Nail Mr. John Samuel Rely, aged 85. '0 y 0 ? 11 , figpo :ko•if London : Printed and Published by bt., incydr— N. 112, Strand. Printer, at The S?' the - Strald, in the Precinct of the Suvoy, )11 Middle;ii.m, Friday, Marcia 21, 18-15. - reet adri rc_ alcr to i ,be a A Lt Li '''ll Zet -- i care o n il ' ( ad I M 135111 LIN PubreC r cleeisiooit onpve oc s quelices ° I I"l4trl'e 4' iskneei linrgi '1111)tQR lik-Ne was r_.it , i wtbk, _I),(14 Ion: g II s t: I I beotciceglibrdtt ' a idetii°:°lrytt'b el iiiror:l: : 4 t r t , ~ 1 11:1) °4;:s:118:11,":44te:ellal 84:,:11::',' t oar bree st b 'lays ianta List espial!, ~, , Light. '5 ~ ~„, wise b ° 1° ~ 4 l ICI L COOP 46511111 j , Illirtetitty I il tveto n 4, i c l, i' thtl,, tolp 3 1111 us 1/4eyor:4ll:' tt cs'illattl)l4(s(i dell 011 0 , ~1 44 ,( 114 1 '. ePPe°lltt . , i4tit'i4 kts, (how% • • ~:e I, edita ble i t4,l7ttn,"rid (,(. 01,. I\_: l t . titN jrlClf-, ti. Th ,J A risider " t vtrtz Sol, ''' O C° , 0 Ott` 3 ' , a, thv atitleo '. ; tt.N o (I . A work fithl' I i;'11,,ti,1,,,, . ~,,,,,,,,,.,,oia, , duringTertaii, e ve LO DI" wiir4st°t,', obe ale N,,,,h,u,1.,)pr r soti on tic:4 2 0 0 1 t,, -Ti, its 11 t Ike tlt ato ince ~rii‘st 1 a olci 1i,,,, ~()Z1 fitS ~,i ' tittth, tit r , 1 , l'nhi, rite - ti ,jrte,,, er the Ca' he: ttS4? 48,„4411i , e v-- ~. , t ar -8, t ion, l,,ii ;!„ '4,,r tte e, cell Pr es irdd 1 t4:t te,,Datt, itiee t° w'„' 4,4lj.tta'air, Of OPP °6I. ta,'l'' c:,'n 4 , 1 44 t h , .4, i181 )A1 kett:o, al'nitr ..1Z -4q t:', ~