The Sun. — London, England, 1844-05-02 00:00:00

SIIORTING INTELLIGENCE. , i CHESTER RACES—TUESDAY. n the single item of sport the meeting as yet has ex 111,Rliie; r icithing very remarkable, the general . indications are "e o 'lleouraging. More horses are now in the town for 1 411" D than have been seen here on any former occasion ; and groanthe a l breaks- down should arise from the hardness of ,1 4 Y u l 7 we may look for at least 25 at the post. That wei g . h 'L be started without great difficulty, or, fairly under No, ' that they will get round so narrow and awkward a th eito wit hout accident or disappointment, is more to be desired • B :Pected. We are glad to find that in adopting the t "„ 4 rdi ~a t, ,e the clerk of the course has taken one step . t 0,4"0 ,4" , 4 " to t ,';eventing the " untoward " proceedings thatexcited - '"al At dissatisfaction and prejudice last year. The ar froh,B 11 P to th,qhp the present time are unusually numerous; and C l 4 af t ; c rowd that a moderate list attracted to the course s ti gr, ands; lll ,,oon, there cannot be a doubt that the Cup or aY will be a bumper. The only feature of any - ; s 4 ti r ti e y s- the racing to-day was the defeat of 1 ( 7 r na ' d ' e u a ; one of the favourites for the Oaks. old wretched exhibition, and, we take it F r aated will not see Epsom. The two-year I,lll(liffea-ea brought a field, average in number, but of a very - ',,erby r i , e "t qualitv We need not look amongst them for a ed - • / , " r Oaks (ay . ourite. The sport in other respects little t h arci of e o'clock, the last a few minutes before seven—a cbs q't ,'ne of the cardinal virtues of the Turf, punctuality, tis il litin at have been serviceable to the proprietors of tn n e , • h a bg,„ booths, but was anything but agreeable to those i ,s 4 eot, "„,of attending Newmarket, Liverpool, Goodwood, and wtTrial Sfakes not having filled, the racing coin " 44S IG UP TO TWELVE O'CLOCK ON TUESDAY NIGHT. 3 to THE CUP. i t o ` aglt Ke n t' s t wo —t. 20 to 1 agst Alice Hawthorn I /to a gst Red Deer 20 to 1 agst Everton /to a g B t Pagan 20 to 1 agst Rowland 1 1 t o ; agst Bramble 20 to 1 agst Jamie Forest IS agst Cattonite 22 to 1 agst Pharaoh 1 re, 411 to „ b: LILWII.II 25 to 1 apt Xanthus Est Freedom 25 to 1 agst Greenfinch. St o2 4 2 agst R DE Ratan—taken alPt IJAyßuck—t. 33Y. 11 to 1 agst Leander—taken 30 to 1 apt K. oftheGipsies. rile f ono . LIGHT ON CAPE ROCA. „ s wing has been received , at Lloyd's : • Admiralty, April 29, 1844. an - lilatt's—gltTlithreference.to my letter of the 2d instant, eon / De It o at no light will be shown from theLig o h f th r o e u p s air7, Zlla e a during die present month on account ty ctTlialttarnled by my Lords Commissioners . of the Ad . mi „ l' tr l .„ e.quaint you, for the information of the . Committee 4t i" a i; l ng the affairs of Lloyd's, that her Majesty's Consul 44 1)00°1111as stated that at his representation the rep . M . r n s Nl4 eri; ll "ed, and that the light will not be discontinued i enoe thereof until the 15th of next June. 4 1'e l t , (Signed) " • bobson, Esq., Secretary, L7o3 O d n 's. N,, 1 ,,T1 F , 1 , - BARROW. 01'4;e:tight Hon, the Earl of Lauderdale, Sir G. &Nil rider of Lochend ; Sir John Hall, of Dunlass . • Mr. t li : il i2.-Il tio 4il e ci r i s : °f Barney-hill, and other proprietors in the Il t ..eiz en , Qod of Dunbar, have already made . permanent ar- It lsh II as to the indemnity to be received by the North ''lle 'lvick al q,. lw a 3 r ra sing r through their respective properties. SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY. GLOBE.—The law of debtor and creditor in this country was, until the last few years, in a most imper fect state. Instead of being founded on the obviously rational and just principle of rendering the property of the debtor available to the payment of his debts— which in other -countries is principally aimed at by their laws on this subject—personal restraint, aptly described as a " power which exposes the liberty of one man to the passions of another," was the remedy provided by the Legislature for securing the payment of debts. The unfortunate and the fraudulent were treated alike. The dishonest debtor was no more subjected to imprisonment than the honest one. The man who had long struggled with misfor tunes—who had daily submitted to privations of or dinary comforts, that his means of meeting the pecu mary claims upon him mi. s ht be increased, and who had distributed every pound he could acquire and save to avert the calamities that eventually overtook him, was regarded with equal eye by the law with the reckless spendthrift, the headlong speculator, and the fraudulent practitioner ! An alteration in this cruel and im politic system was contemplated with reluctance. Partial ameliorations of its rigour were made at dis tant intervals, by the Legislature, which thus showed the confidence that was felt in the efficiency of imprison ment to coerce payment of pecuniary claims, not merely from the fraudulent, but from the unfortunate and impo verished. On moving last night in the House of Lords• the second reading of the Bill for assimilating the ex isting laws of creditor and debtor, Lord Cottenham entered largely into the legislative history of the sub ject. To the Noble Lord's masterly exposition of the imperfect principles and defective operation of the successive changes which were made by Parliament, we refer those who desire to become acquainted with the past. They will there see how unwilling the Legis- , lature showed itself to interfere with the system of in discriminate imprisonment ; and, when it did interfere, what inexplicable distinctions were recognised and ap plied to different class of debtors. The poorest, and most unfriended—alike destitute of resources and of help—were doomed to a prison. Persons who could not meet their obligations to their creditors, if their debts were of large amount, were relieved, partially or wholly, from the degradation and misery of incarceration. The law only reserved its un mitigated 'Vengeance for the poorer classes—those whose debts were small, and whose destitution was absolute! Lord Cottenham, by the Bill which he has in troduced, seeks to remove those distinctions, and to place the law of creditor and debtor on principles more consonant with sound policy. Its object is to assimilate the law relating to bankrupts and insolvents, by abolish ing altogether imprisonment for debt, and giving to the creditor greater facilities for obtaining cessio bonorum. Debts contracted without prospect of being able to pay them are to be treated as fraudulent transactions; and the delinquents may be tried before a jury, and punished according to the flagrancy of the case. The future pro. perty of insolvents, that of bankrupts, is to be ex empted from the power of former creditors; and all pro ceedings in bankruptcy and insolvency are to be assimi lated, and carried on in one court, before one set of judges. Such is the outline of this greatly beneficial mea sure, which will, we trust, shortly receive the sanction of the Legislature. The honest and unfortunate debtor will be relieved by it from imprisonment. Thus punishment will be reserved wholly for the fraudulent debtor ; whose case will be regarded, as it ought to be, in the light of a crime against society ; subject to be dealt with, as other offences against socieiy are, by a court of crimi nal jurisdiction, and be no longer left to the partial and frequently malevolent passions of individuals. Speaking . of imprisonment fur debt, Mr. Burke long since said, " Every process of judicial order is subverted by this proceeding. If the insolvency be no crime, why is it punished with arbitrary imprisonment ? If it be a crime, why is it delivered into private hands to pardon without discretion, or to punish with out mercy and without measure ?" The credi tors of an insolvent will, by this measure, obtain prompt possession and early and equal distribu tion of the assets of his estate, comprehending every de scription of his property. This principle of cessio Gonorum has been long found to work most advantageously in Scotland, and has been frequently urged on the con sideration and adoption of the Legislature, as well calculated in this country to secure the property of insol vent traders from waste, by delay and mal-appropriation. STANDA RD.—Lord Cottenhatn last nie ht introduced a Bill for the abolition, in all cases, of imprisonment for debt, leaving the fraudulently incurring of debt, or the fraudulently withholding payment of a just debt which the party is able to pay, to be dealt with criminally, as a substantive offence. The Bill met the unanimous ap probation of the House, and we trust will soon be the law of the land. The power of imprisonment for debt is the most unjust, and, in a country where ninety-nine men out of a hundred have no estate but in their time and their character, the most cruel tyranny that it is pos sible to imagine. Of the injustice of leaving with one subject the power of depriving, another of liberty, charac ter, and occupation—if the latter happens to be his debtor—whether by misfortune, venial imprudence, or the arts of the creditor himself—of the injustice of in vesting the richer class with this tyranny, to be ex exercised at their caprice, it is unnecessary to say anything after all that has been said and written upon the subject during the last 200 years. The injustice of the tyranny is acknowledged universally ; but the degree of its cruelty is . not so generally appreciated. The injury inflicted upon a debtor by imprison ment, is frequently measured merely by the amount of the pain of three months' confinement and by three months' loss of time ; .but this is a ridiculously inadequate measure ; in the vast majority of cases— we should say, that in every case where the debtor is really an honest and industrious man—imprisonment is ruin. They are only the knaves and the dissolute who make light of it. The poor labourer, the artisan, the clerk, the professional man, who has no prospect in life but the fruit of patient labour and of a fair character, finds impri sonment for three months a very dreadful matter ; turn ed loose at the three months' end, he finds the place that he formerly- occupied filled up, and has to begin the world anew, and work out a new place for himself with worse than no reputation—with a damaged reputa tion. So dreadful are these consequences of impri sonment to industrious men of proper feeling, that they will submit to any terms of em ployers to avoid it, or make any bargain with usurers. Few who know the real lives of the struggling millions can have escaped seeing many examples of men who might have adorned and served their country in the highest stations creeping in obscure employments to mean graves, in terror of the horrid phantom of ignominious improvement. But it will be said, creditors are not generally so hard-hearted in this Christian country. We do not know what to say to this ; the love of money has a great tendency to harden the heart ; and with the example of Mr. Oastler's three years' suffering, and the knowledge of the fact that that gentleman's wealthy creditor, after wringing two or three thousand pounds from the compassion and sympathy of the people, still maintains his position in society, we can hardly say that such hard-heartedness is either rare or unpopular in Eng land. The truth is, however, that the creditor is not always the party to blame. He, a poor man, perhaps, wants his money ; a ready solicitor s t y,- gests that it can be had on a peremptory demand% the demand is made, costs accumulate ; these costs must be paid by the creditor himself, if he cannot extract them from the debtor or the deb tor's friends ; so that he (the creditor) having once begun, is forced to push matters to extremity, if he would evade greater loss. This is not hard-heartedness—it is merely folly at first and necessity afterwards. Abolish imprisonment for debt, however, and what do you effect ? You take from creditors the temptation to commit this folly, and you destroy at a stroke the trade of the worst description of usurers—the tnen who lend money at high interest upou bills of exchange; in contemplation of actions upon those bills, the lenders upon cognovits and warrant to confess judgment.. In nearly every case these loans are contracted in .order to pay detts, because debts unpaid drag a man to prison and to ruin ; but abolish imprisonment, and men will have no motive for changing cre ditors at the exorbitant cost of flying to usurers. In this way a pestilent trade will be extinguished, and a considerable amount of capital let loose for fair ,com mercial purposes; while the moral effect inu . stl?e hence the value of character by making character the only safe ground for giving credit. - • THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 2, 1544. Mr. OBBARD second e d th e reso l u ti ons . ! Mr. LAWRENCE objected to the resolutions. He moved the previous question. Mr. BURN seconded the amendment. The amendment was negatived, and the resolutions were agreed to.—Adjourned. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. (YESTERDAY.) MANSION-HOUSE. Two young nivn named Hart and Johnson, who were fashionably dressed, and had very much the appearance of medical students, and a little boy named Johnny Britton, who was what is called " very tidily togged out," and walked between the other two, in quality of a little brother, were brought before the Lord Mayor charged with having made repeated attempts to pick pockets. Richard Tyas, a beadle, who once belonged to the police, and, has a pretty extensive knowledge of the " pocket shakers " of the metropolis, stated, that between twelve and one o'clock in the day, he saw the three pri soners, all of whom he knew to he thieves, walking along Cheapside, and " trying it on " with the passers-by. Hart walked alongside of Johnny Britton, and contrived to hold a cloak before him, to enable him to work at his ease without detection, and the little thief, with very amusing skill, made several experiments, while Johnson was on the look-out behind. They at last observed that the whims was following them, and they quickly passed out of the street. The witness, however, continued to follow them, and told them that he should give all the officers he should meet notice of their business, and that they had better go over the water to the Borough,where they were well known. Johnson retaliated in strong language, but " little Johnny " scorned the use of words on such an occasion, and made a straight-forward blow at the beadle, who received it on his mouth, and speedily showed blood. Every one in the justice-room was surprised at hear ing of the pluck of so diminutive an antagonist, but Johnny looked contemptuously at the beadle. The witness added that Johnson and Hart showed every disposition to follow the example of the little-un, but were prevented by the interference of other people. The LORD MAYOR—Did you see them attempt to pick pockets ? Witness—ye s ; the last persun they . tried was a lady, and Britton handled her all about in an extraordinary manner. Chi th& constable, said he knew the prisoners to be expert and daring thieves. The boy was regularly co vered by the other two, and he could whip out a purse as cleverly as a handkerchief. A great deal was done in that way. Britton—That's a lie. You never saw me—not one of you—before ; and we were going quietly along about our business when you came up and called us thieves. Why should we stand that sort of rig ? We a'nt no thieves. A policeman said he saw the three prisoners upon the beadle, and he took hold of Britton, who, though much the smallest, was certainly the most formidable. They were all known at the station-house. The LORD MAYOR—I have no doubt that Hart and Johnson look upon the boy as an instrument with which to commit robberies. lam sorry I cannot send them to the Central Criminal Court fur trial, for they are most dangerous. I shall, however, send each of them for three months to Bridewell as rogues and vagabonds. Johnny Britton—There's 11. 3s. 6d. of ourn in the pockets of these here police fellows. They a'nt agoing to have that, are they ? Hart—These police ought not to treat us this way: Johnny Britton—Not a bit of it. I give these rubbish many a shilling.—(Laughter.) The LORD MAvoa—You are showing us that the officers are fully correct in their accounts of you. Johnny Britton—They ought not to take our money if they meant to go it this way. That a'nt fair, I'm sure. Arter all they didn't see us take anything ; and if they did, don't we tip 'em to keep 'em quiet ? The prisoners were then committed to Bridewell. The wretched boy left the bar vowing vengeance against the beadle. _ A young woman, named Louisa Johnson, was brought up charged by . Mr. Prentice, pastry-cook, of Cheapside. The complainant stated that the defendant walked into his shop on Tuesday evening, and demanded money , from his wife, as recompense for eight months' impri sonment. She had upon those occasions broken his windows, and been punished by the Lord Mayor, and she had visited him immediately after her discharge from gaol upon each occasion. Witness, the moment his wife uttered the name of " Louisa Johnson," naturally turned his attention to the defendant, whose name was associated with the word "smash," and asked her what she meant by persecuting his family. She replied that *he had been eight months in prison, and money she must have, or she would smash Mrs. Prentice and every thing else. As there was n , ) reason whatever to doubt the disposition or the power of such a customer, witness immediately took hold of her to prevent mischief, and called a policeman to deal with her. Defendant—l say, old fellow, what an out-and-out liar you are ! I never said no sich thing. The LORD MAYOR—I have often had occasion to punish you. Defendant—Not at all. You know nothing at all about me. The LORD MAYOR—You • are altogether incorrigib!e. You applied to me to take you out of prison, and you promised to conduct yourself well. Defendant—No sich a thing. You blame me for what other peop!e did. I never saw you afore. The LORD Maxon—You were locked up in a parti cular manner in prison, in consequence of your riotous conduct, which prevented the performance of divine wor ship in the chapel. Defendant—No, I wasn't.. I tell you I know nothing about you, and I don't want to know nothing about you. Complainant—For the last 'two ye - ars I have been subject to the most dreadful persecution from this woman. The moment she has been committed for smashing my windows, she has promised when she should come out to do the same, and she has performed her promise. I wish to know what reason she has for attacking me ? Defendant—l have reasons for it. • The LORD MAYOR—He asks you what they are ? Defendant—l don't choose to make him or you as wise as myself ; no mistake about that old fellow. The complainant declared that his wife was suffering in her health from the conduct of the defendant, and was unable to appear to give evidence. Defendant—" Take that you old rascal-(throwing a small scent bottle at the complainant), give it you." The LORD MAYOR, having censured the officers for not having searched so desperate a woman before they brought her to the bar, directed the complainant to ap pear at the Quarter Sessions on Saturday, to exhibit ar ticles of the peace against her. His Lordship then com mitted the defendant, in default of bail, to appear at the sessions. Louisa Johnson had, previously to her attacks upon the windows-of Mr, Prentice,gone-the ". whole hog" upon the windows of other t ra d espeople, and would probably have transferred her powers froM him to his neighbours, if he had not resolut e ly followed her up to punishment. The defendant, after leaving the bar, said she would " call again." i t y T as R ET. a eerStEaienrobUriSbesC,llini t iA P ; George West on , a sergeant of th e F division of police, was summoned befor e Mr. Twyf or d, c h arg ed with receiving certain parties aga i nst whom warrants had been issued. It appeared th at there have latterl y ile b C e - e o i ffi l a Ce g F, re t a O t s m er a e n e y n indictments issued by the parish authorities, for the sup pression of certain houses of ill-fame in this district. The warrants in these indictments were entrusted to Weston, to execute, al l a a t n ul tyn the appearedpresenthe fo chargerthe IVO , ' that he had into given, fix bribes, i n f ormation to the parties, w h ere b y they were complainant, and Mr. Clarkson for the defence. The enabled case was t o goneescap e pu t s Im th e i lit thi n s d . Mr. B ay week, but owing to its length it was adjourned till to-day, in order that the defendant might have an opportunity to prepare his defence. The facts are shortly these as detailed in the evidence :—ln the month of June last, indictments were preferred against a man named Orchin and his wife for keeping a house of ill-fame in Shire-lane. In that month, the defendant called upon a hairdresser of the name of Clem2nts, who was an ac quaintance of the Orchins, and told him to write to them to inform them that there was a warrant out against them. The witness wrote to them at Maidstone to guard against it. After this Weston called again, and said that Orchin had not given him what he had promised, and told wit ness to write to them about it. The witness did so, and t n b e y s s was the order cashed, and the mon e y cross-examination sabpoops-tb-ooyfficegootrder was returned for 10s. The witn ess ' s and they corroborated The Orchins were called , the evidence of the other witne ss. An other witness was subjected e cgiven t o to a Clarkson, but his evidence was not shaken. th s e eve d re efen c d ro a s nt sexit called, named Anne White , a nd she swore in that she had paid Weston several sums of mone y , order th a t h e should protect her against the effect of a w arrant t h at was out against her for keep in g a ho use of ill-fame.B h Mr. Clarkson addressed the Bench at great length, and called witnesses (policeme n ) , w ho stated that they had often heard the witnesses who had been called stat e that they would have the coat off Weston's back. Mr. TWYFORD deferred his judgment tin Saturday. QUEEN-SQUARE. Six lads were placed at the bar, charged b y M r. Elliott, the master, with riotous and disorderly conduct in St. Margaret's woilehouse. From the statement of Mr. Sewell, an inmate of the workhouse, and who has the - direction of the boys, it, appeared that he was desired to send the defendants with a truck, containing stones, to a stonemason's in Regent-street, Westminster. They proceeded a short distance when they threw up the shafts of the truck, and upsE t the stones in the middle of the street. They laughed and made fun of the matter, and were not in duced, without much trouble, to reload the truck, and convey it to its destination. On their return to the workhouse they became exceedingly riotous, and set the " powers that be" at defiance. Their language was most offensive and abusive, and the master and the more peaceable inmates were sorely vexed and embarrassed by the utter recklessness of the juvenile law. bre a k e rs. The police were called in, and the master begged of them wast o take the soonerth e saidde delinquents n t q h u a e n nt s done.into The o custody.lde This, however, and most incor rigible of the party, mounted some railings, and de fended his position with some courage and perseverance; He was ultimately taken into custody,.but not before he had assaulted the policeman. -The other lads, whose conduct was equally violent, decamped on the first appearance of the police. Some of them ran up into one of the wards, and ensconced themselves under the beds, and were only taken after considerable exertions on the part of the constables.. They were ultimately lodged in safety in the cells of the station-house. - Mr. Elliott said the lads were an incorrigible set, and were continually causing broils and battles in the work house. They were occasional inmates. The defendants severally entered into the 4 merits of the case." One (he who mounted the railings ad defied of t he tisiastie lief' 11; isteu For hi e l l ass ur he I °l bs" With respect to admitting sugar tainted with slavery. Now he was going to let out a secret. There was a secret correspondence going on between the Govern ment here and the Government of Brazil, and it was to this effect.—(Hear, hear.) These statesmen some times wrote private letters of instruction to their agents, which were not published till a hundred years aft erwards. —(Laughter.) Now he would give them one which would be published in about one hundred Years to come, passing between our Government and the Government of Brazil. The present Ministry turned out the late Administration on the question ofsugar, and Lord Sandon grounded his argument on the allegation that it was very impious to use slave-grown sugar. Therefore inform the Brazilian Government that we Stand pledged i n th e art i c l e o f sugar, an d w h en we bring on the budget we shall be obliged to tell the People of England who are "gullible," that it would be very improper to encourage slavery by taking Bra zilian sugar; but to convince the Brazilian Govern ment that we don't mean to do them any harm, we will take their coffee at 2d. per pound less than we did formerly; and whereas four out ;of five of the slaves in Brazil are employed in the coffee planta. ti °os ; and whereas three-fifths of all the exports from Brazil are coffee and sugar, which are compara tively insignificant articles—(Laughter)—this will convince them that we do not mean to inflict any injury on the Brazilian planters, by refusing to take their sugar. We are s i m ply bound to do it by the Peculiarity of our position, after having tripped up the heels of the Whigs.—(Great laughter.) That was the dispatch which would be published a hundred !aI•S hence, as having been sent to their Envoy and zainister Plenipotentiary at Brazil. Now, no doubt they were honest, well meaning philanthropists who were opposed to the admission of Brazilian lager, but philanthropy should always be guided by reason ; and there was a class of men growing into considerable notoriety in this country, who wanted to Subject them not to the dictates of enlightened bene v, but to the control of pure fanaticism.—(Hear.) C O was regar d e d as a con d uc t or o f mora li ty, to ()tr ee as a non-co n d uc tor. He remembered talking one of these very benevolent gentlemen upon this slbject, who had on a white muslin cravat. He (Mr. Cobden) immediately said to him, " Before you say another word, strip that slave-grown cotton from Your neck . "--- (Great laughter.) He replied that it end Practicable, but this he (Mr. Cobden) de- pied, for he knew a gentleman who had taken to Worsted stockings in the summer, and would not allow !,".,3 garments to be put together with _cotton thread. hat right had they to go over to Brazil and to fill their ships with cotton, and then turn up the whites of their eyes, and shed crocodile tears over the slaves ? Ile thing was, in the first place, inconsistent, and in the s econd, hypocritical. Did they say that he was an it th'ocate for the continuance of slavery because he was an advocate of free trade ? No. He maintained that one just and sound principle could never be at war with another just and sound principle.—(Cheers.) ! r e they could sho w him that free trade was promotive -e slav ery —, he should hesitate between freedom of t rade and freedom of person. Nay, if they could Sho w him that free trade would propitiate slavery he would be prepared to abandon it. But he had al ways held a contrary opinion. He had always thought, with all th e greatest wr i ters on t h e su bj ect, that slave a' hour was more costly than free labour : and that if both were brought into fair competition, the latter h lll d supe rse d e th e f ormer. —(Ch eers. ) H e f ound v u aself borne out i n this by the Anti-Slavery Con intim), which sat in 1840. (The Honourable ember th en read a resolution of the convention in confirmation of his statement.) This ,'"nlvention had, he continued, declared that slave l b ahour was more costly than free labour. It would ti ! a monstrous anomaly in the moral government of e u . ,,e World if it were not.—(Cheers.) But if the itunvention believed this, why did they wish to prevent wi l i !oln being proved ?—(Hear, hear.) He was V., mg to believe that they were honest, and they .w r . proved themselves disinterested by: the labours atoll they had gone through ; but he warned them I‘,s,inst being made the tools of designing men who 4 7 4 an interest in upholding this monopoly of sugar, • out who were usi ng th e an ti- s la ver y p ar ty t o carry be their selfish and iniquitous purpose.—(Hear, tar.) Before he sat down there was one point At w hich he particularly wished to adv e rt. el ?. Ricard o h a d spoken of the probability of an do to H e would tell them what the people must ,to carry out the principles of free trade. Sir , on ert Peel had, on a former occasion, advised his at .Y to register, and, by following his advice, they the succ ee d e d i n p l acing hi m in power. Now, re were a number of persons in this country who a "tve at that m oment vo l untar il y di s f ranc hi se d. Th ere te were forty or fifty thou s a n d p ers o ns i n the metropolis r" who were entitled to vote who had not regis led) and ther e were many t h ousan d s b es id es i n anchest er , L eeds, and other towns.—(Hear, hear.) t 7," v entured to say that, in th e City o f L on d on , there was hardly a s i ng l e h ouse ra t e d at l ess than 101. o,ear. Ho w many o f t h e i n h a bi tants were there who it u,pot registered? Let all such persons remember that w the next e l ec ti on th e L eague meant to b r i ng for :2l four free traders.—(Great cheering.) In about ti;" Weeks the time would have elapsed for cl a i m i ng vote. In order to have a vote for the next year a 11 ° 1 1 must have occupied a 101. house for a twelve p°oth. Previous to the 31st of July, he must have 41 an the, rates and taxes due up to the 6th of April, d the n h e would b e ent i t l e d to h ave hi s n a me re ( ea 'Pre& h on the list of voters for the next year.— r th a t b' e ar-) It ought also to be generally known ever Y a late decision of the Court of Common Pleas, Nvere y e man who rented a room in a house, if that room of th at seParate tenement, that is, if he had the key of rcwznn t and could go into it and out vote f tin, he pleased, he was entitled to rate th a °I• that room. If his landlord paid the Were t was a sufficient payment, provided his name of the ut down along with the landlord's in the books the ov erseers. Now that decision alone had given pity la ndlords ab ou t 1,500 o r 2,000 vo t es i n th e pai°f London, besides many thousands in other thi ng o f the country.—(Hear, hear.) It was a sad that Ply b e so many persons should have no vote, sim ter. Ile they would not take the trouble to regis hear, Ile hoped that every individual who either if him, or read his remarks on that subject, would, "titled to do s o , VOt immediately register his name as by e r• Even the non-electors might do something ur • tia. tne gln all who were en titl e d t o vo t e t o enro l th e i r would. It was by suc h means as th ese that they gr an be t prepared to meet th e ir o pp o nent s in that rou st '' constitutional fight by which that question ti p' be decid e d ; an d if th ey were t rue t o their prin h es ' th 9 Y would not suffer another election to pass Withoutwe sending a majority to Parliament who T h i n favour of free trade.—(Great cheering.) e cmeeting on the 414 , HAIRMAN congratulated the th e i„ t he enthusiasm, and patience which had marked tale Proceedings, auguring well for free trade, and the m'ated to st r ike terror into their enemies. Let ra but break down the corn monopoly, and they Ivh e fi lad the landowners, like the fox in the fable, dow u ha d lost hi s t a il, rea dy t o j o i n w ith them to break 1, , all others.—(Cheers.) e Meeting then dispersed. THE FACTORIES BILL. The factory question is now in the hands of the land owners. So it has ever been in fact; but just now their intimate relation to it happens to be more evident than ever. Its opponents cannot be called a party, either Whig, or Liberal, or manufacturing; for it has its sup porters from all classes. " The' Opposition" is divided upon it. The agriculturists, then, can; if they please, pass Lord Ashley's amendment—not quite scot-free, perhaps, for they are threatened with the perils and ex penses of a dissolution, or even a ehaage of Ministry. Still, if they choose to run these risks, they can pass a Ten Hours Bill without the smallest difficulty in the world. They have only to s a y aye, an d t h e t hi ng i s done. Now this is a very important fact, and deserves to be remembered hereafter, whatever the present result may happen to be. ',Ong hours are generally considered the sin of the master manufacturers. These unnatural monsters, it seems to be commonly supposed, in order that they may accumulate enormous fortunes, get thirty per cent. interest on their capital, —as the Agricultural Protection Society informs' us,—buy up the estates of the impoverished landowners, ruin all the other manu facturers in the world, and perpetrate other like atroci ties, forcibly and illegally impress and detain from their natural guardians myriads of helpless women and chil dren, regularly drain their life's blood out of them, com pelling them to work till they drop. By alternate seduction and violence they get the miserable creatures into their clutches, and only resign them as a spider— the original of all cotton - spinners—resig,ns his prey, viz., when he has sucked it thoroughly dead and dry. The agriculturist, on the other hand, is represented as a dis tracted mother deprived of her children' roaming over .the face of the earth, and finding them at last in the den of the millowner, from whom she in vain demands her own. The philanthropist, like another Theseus, is to attack the Iliinotaur in his labyrinth, and by the extinc tion of the monster is to put an end to the cruel tribute which lie has hitherto been suffered to exact. Such is the ordinary picture. But, like many a scene of ro mance, the course of human affairs has now made it a practical question. It comes home to the landowners. Here is the monster; here are his victims. It is in the power of the landowners to set the victims at liberty, a t least to alle7late their misery. What they have wished and talked about so many 3 ears they now can do. Do it. Why hold back? What's the the matter now? " If we do," they reply, " we shall turn out a Minister or two, get into a Bess perhapeith our own labourers, and, horrendum dictu, have cheap corn." 0 rare philan thropists! 0 easy compassion! 0 flummery of talk! It is an atrocious cruelty in the millowners to overwork women and young people, because otherwise they cannot sell their calicoes ; what is it then in you to acquiesce willingly in this cruelty, because otherwise you cannot keep your friends in power, or get a good price for your corn ? Whatever you have said of the manufacturers, posterity will surely say of you. Wise men have always been chary of benevolent talk, from a sort of presentiment that they might some day find a sort of necessity to eat their own words. The wisest man could not have foreseen such an emergency as this. There is no doubt that the agricul turists can pass the measure, but then it may possibly touch their pockets. Yet how little mercy had they on the pockets, and even the bare solvency and subsistence, of the manufacturer! So long as somebody else was to pay, their generous indignation knew no bounds. The merest shadow of a possibility of the price coming out of the landowner's purse, puts to flight the whole army of philanthropists. We will confess that we never have thought the land owner and the millowner to be different orders of hu manity. They are both of them capitalists ; and, as capitalists, are generally found to possess a decided leaning towards the fnterests of capital. They like other things, but perhaps nothing so decidedly and constantly as a good per centage. Amongst the things which they do not like, unprofitable burdens, useless and superfluous mouths, human waste and refuse, all that itepedisnent and friction that clogs and cripples speculation, are the most odious. The treatment of the agricultural la bourer at the hands of the landowner is a sufficient indi cation of what every other industrial class must expect from him. They who acquiesced so easily in the New Poor-law will never pass an effectual Factory Bill, if they can help it. Both of them are ultimately questions of rent. The old Poor-law charged the land, or, what comes to the same thing, the process of production, with certain expensive social duties. A good Factory Bill might 'possibly involve greater freedom of trade. That is all the landowner wishes to know about the matter. Everybody can point to the localities, and the councils, where the fate of the factory question has been decided, for decided we believe it is, for this turn at least. The cause does not fare much better with the manu facturer. Just now, perhaps, rather better; but there is still the old story. "Do not limit labour, but remove our burdens." For thirty years or more, two questions have always presented themselves to a Lancashire mind as a sort of disjunctive duality, viz., the factory cause, and the duty on raw cotton. Innumerable meetings have been held to consider petitions on these two sub jects ; and have universally ended in rejecting the peti tion for restricting factory labour, and unanimously re solving on that against that obnoxious import duty. Last Tuesday a meeting was held at Manchester osten sibly for the latter purpose only ; and most pathetic was the tone in which this grievance, real enough we think it, was suesessively deplored by the speakers. But we must confess to a slight abatement of our pity, from the fact that almost every speaker, i n th e m id st o f some most piteous whine about the d u ty h e annua ll y pa id on his raw cotton, interjected some angry flings about the factory question. Has it ever occurred to any of these lugubrious gentlemen, that if they had done their part, the State might have done its part ? It is but natural that a Government which knows more of definite treaties than of uncertain speculations should refuse to sacrifice revenue without securing that the benefit shall light on the heads of those who most need it. The Manchester meeting presents rather too close a resem blance to that committee of ironmasters the other day which agreed to raise the price of iron 20s. a ton, and before they separated signed a petition against a Ten Hours' Bill. Yet there is some hope from this quarter. Some of the arguments used in the House on Friday, including those of Mr. Cobden, are encouraging. He considers shortening the hours of labour not only desirable but possible—compatible with social prosperity, and that in England. We have sometimes heard what seemed a contrary doctrine. " More work, more produce, more wage:, mare comforts," &c. Not so, Mr. Cobden. Holding. that the desired result will be obtained by com mercial freedom, but retarded by legislative restrictions on labour, he yet considers that shortened hours are a result to be desired " Instead of the supporters of free trade advocating the system of long hours, they maintained that the surest way, and the only sound and practical mode, of shortening the hours of labour was by abolish ing restrictions upon trade. He would in two words tell the House why he thought carrying into effect the principles of free trade would diminish the hours of labour. He did not say, with the Noble Lord the Member for the City of London, that by reducing the price of bread, it would compensate the labourer for the reduction of the hours of labour. lio repeated what he (Mr. Cobden) had often stated to the House, that he did not think reduction in the price of wheat, coffee, or sugar, would afford a sufficient compensa tion to the operatives fur a reduction of the hours of labour. But if they enlarged their markets, and allowed a free exchange to take place with the commodities of other countries, the effect would be, that the value of labour would increase in this country, and the capitalist would also derive great advan tages from the interchange. Under such a system the labourer would derive as much benefit from working ten hours as he did now by working twelve. It was only last night that he had a conversation with ,a large capitalist. That capitalist instructed him (Mr. Cobden) to go into the House of Com mons and make a bargain for him. The capi talist said, if the House would consent to remove all the restrictions upon trade, ho would at once pro mise to give his workmen the same wages for 10 hours' as he now gave them for 12 hours' work. Dr. Deacon Hume said that the only effectual way of giving the ope ratives a Ten Hours' Bill was by removing the restric tions upon the commerce and trade of this country." This may be all true. We hope there is this road to a Ten Hours' Bill. But it cevainly does considerably damp one's sympathy for the free traders to see the order in which they always place these two questions. Trade first, the factory women and young persons next, is not the order of humanity—perhaps not the order of success.— Times. STATE OF TRADE. (From the Manchester Guardian of yesterday.) There has been, upon the whole, a fair and steady business in the yarn market this week, especially for mule yarn, which is in rather better demand than for two or three weeks past. For goods, too, the market is rather firmer, especially for light fabrics above thirty inches wide, which are in general demand at full prices. Printing cloths and domestics, however, continue dull ; and the prices are still rather tending downwards. ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, MONDAY, APRIL 29. —There have been rather more inquiries after prices to-day, and some merchants have purchased more freely, but, upon the whole, there has not been much more business transacted than on the preceding Moaday. A spirit of speculation has been excited among the buyers, as many are inclined to think that ere long there will be will o afu further b r advance inthe market . In in n etw sotl prices n d i i e n e g s - the rem n a in firm,ewcli and the demand steady. COURT OF ALDERMEN. On Tuesday a Special Court was held, for the purpose of receiving a report from the Committee for general purposes, on the petitions of several solicitors to be admitted attorneys of the Mayer's Court. The report of the Committee was read, and proved to be to the effect that the Committee did not consider it expedient to agree to the applications of the petitioners. Upon the motion that the Court should agree to the report, Alderman WILSON rose to dissent. He could not see why the Court should put the petitioners to the heavy expense of applying to the Court of Queen's Bench for a mandamus, to compel them to accede to the application, when it was for an object the most palpably just and necessary. The recent Act of Parliament provided in the most unequi vocal terms, that attorneys who practised in the superior Courts should have the power to practise in ali the infe rior Courts, and contained no clause of reservation. He should move that the petitioners be admitted attorneys of the Mayor's Court_ Alderman Sir C. HuNTEn seconded the amendment. The RECORDER said that without entering into the merits of the question, he should advise the Lord Mayor that it was inexpedient to comply with the request of the petitioners to practise in the Mayor's Court. The question was one of consider able legal difficulty, and that very circumstance rendered it more necessary that hesitation should precede decision. His Lordship would assume that by the general words of an Act of Parliament it could not be meant to confiscate the offices of four gentlemen who had purchased those offices from the Corporation. The Court decided against the prayer of the peti tioners, four hands having been held up for the motion in their favour, and seven having been held up against it. The Court then adjourned. COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL. Immediately after the adjournment of the Court of Aldermen, a Court of Common Council was held. THE CITY RIGHTS. Mr. R. L. JONES brought up the report of the Committee appointed to consider the report of the Select Committee relative to proceedings having been instituted in the Court of Chancery, at the suit of her Majesty's Commissioners of Woods and Forests, as to the City's rights to the soil and bed of the river Thames, with power to confer with her Majesty's Ministers and others on the subject, and to report thereon. The report certified that the Com mittee had proceeded in the reference, and had been attended by the Recorder, the Remembrancer, and the Solicitor, and subsequently held a conference with Sir Robert Peel, which would be likely to lead to a satisfactory result, and that it was desirable to open a communication with the law officers of the Crown ; but the unexpected change which had i taken place, and other circumst ances h aving occasioned con siderable delay, and the time approaching for filing an answer to the Bill to provide for the defence, it was re quisite that they should be empowered to give the neces sary instructions for that purpose. THE THROWING OPEN OF THE MAYOR'S COURT. , Mr. ASRURST then rose,_ and after having made some allusion to the course just pursued by the Court of Alder• men on the application of several petitioners to be admitted attorneys to practise in the Mayor's Court, submitted the following resolutions to the Court :—" That it is desirable that the Mayor's Court should be thrown open .to the public. That it be referred to a Committee to consider of the steps necessary for that purpose with reference to the present and future constitution and practice of these Courts, and also to inquire what, if any, compen sation ought to be made to the couriscr and attorneys of the Mayor's Court for the surrender of their exclusive offices, rights, and privileges, or any portion of them." the police), said the • policeman had nearly twisted his arm off. Another, that a waggon ran against the truck, and upset it ; and the rest denied that their conduct was improper.—One was committed for three weeks, and the others for a fortnight each. The defendants were then locked up, looking " unut terable things" at the master. One, a rather chubby faced lad expressing his opinion that the " grub ought to be inquired into." CLERKEN WELL. Yesterday, William B. IVewenham, who has been so often remanded, charged with the abduction of Miss Wortham, a ward of Chancery, was again brought be fore the magistrate. The prisoner looked pale and dejected. His health appears to be suffering from anxiety and confinement, and be seems particularly anxious to avoid the stare of a crowded Court, which invariably meets him. Mr. CONDE ordered William Frederick Clane, the at testing witness to the deed, conferring the property on Miss Wortham, to be called and examined. Mr.lSouthee said he was not in attendance, as they had not been able to serve the summons on him, he !4aving removed from Royston, his late place of resi dence. Mr. CoalßE—Then I shall be under the necessity of remanding the prisoner again. Prisoner in a most excited tone and manner—Re manded again! I have been most cruelly treated ; I have been hampered and harrassed by these repeated remands. Mr. COMBE—I certainly understood the witness was to be here to-day. I have nothing to do with these remands. Prisoner—More than you ought, a great deal ; there have been private interviews. You have manifested throughout a strong feeling against me, one not at all consistent with the impartial discharge of your duty as a magistrate, or with the fair administration of justice. Mr. COMBE-Mr. Newenham, the insolence of your language shall have no effect whatever on me. It is seldom a prisoner is satisfied with the magistrate; and I am so accustomed to hear such language from persons placed in your position, that I always treat it with in difference. But I must say that lam surprised that a man of your education and position should so far forget himself as to be guilty of such indecorum. Prisoner=l have not been indecorous, but I have just reason to complain of these frequent remands. Mr. COMBE-It was my anxious wish that the case should have been completed before this. If I had not been assured by Mr. Southee that the witness would be here, I would have issued a summons for his attendance, which I shall forthwith do. Inspector Penny was then directed to obtain two sum monses for the attesting witnesses to the deed, one of whom is a female 100 years of age, and to have one of them in Court at eleven o'clock on Monday morning, Mr. Combo observing, that the evidence of one of these witnesses was absolutely necessary to complete the case. At this moment Mr. Humphries, the prisoner's attor ney arrived, declared he considered the repeated remands were very cruel, and he must add very persecuting to wards the prisoner. He did net mean to convey the slightest imputation on the worthy magistrate, who was not at all in fault. Mr. Southee said it could not be avoided ; the delays arose from unforeseen circumstances. Mr. COMBE —This I know ; I will not send the case for trial unless the attesting witness be here to give his or her evidence, and I will use all the power the law gives me to compel their attendance. Mr. John Hawkins, who sat on the bench, deposed that he was trustee to the property bequeathed by Henry Hawkins, his brother, who died in January, 1843. B y his death Miss Northam became entitled to property in Cambridgeshire amounting to between 4001. and 5001. per annum. She was now the tenant entail in possession of this property. An attorney's clerk named Long produced in evidence a judgment for a debt had against the prisoner, but Mr. Humphries made a technical objection to its production, which was considered valid by the Magistrate. The prisoner was then again remanded. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, May 1. The SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour. Colonel CONOLLY presented a petition from a place in Ireland against the Dissenters' Chapels Bill. Mr. M. BELL presented a petition from Yorkshire against any alteration in the corn-laws. Captain LAYARD presented a petition in favour of a Ten Hours' Bill. Sir B. HALL presented a petition from the parish of St. Pancras against the Masters and Servants Bill; also petitions from the same parish against the New Poor law. ➢lr. WILLIAMS presented a petition from a place in Yorkshire in favour of a Tell Hours' Bill. Mr. WILSON FATTEN presented a petition from Chorley, praying for the abolition of the duty on cotton wool. Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD presented petitions from Carrickfergus, Donaghadee, Glascar, Baloo, and Winterton, in Ireland, praying that a law might be passed to render valid all marriages solemnised, or hereafter to be solemnised, by Dissenting ministers between persons of proper age and not within the prohibited degrees of affinity. Mr. GISBORNE presented a petition against the Masters and Servants Bill. Mr. GLADSTONE moved that Sir John Young be added to the Committee on the Hull Docks Bill. Mr. KEMBLE presented a petition from the inhabi tants of Wandsworth, Battersea, and the adjoining dis tricts, against the Common Lands Inclosuro Bill. Mr. W. 0. STANLEY presented a petition from se veral ministers and inhabitants of North Wales, praying that the 10th clause might be expunged from the New Poor-law Amendment Bill ; and that the poor might be buried in consonance with the wishes of their relatives: Mr. ALDAM presented petitions against the Mas ;er.i and Servants Bill. ARCHES BILL. The Court of Arches Bill was postponed to this day month. MASTERS AND SERVANTS BILL. On the motion for going into Committee on the Mas ers and Servants Bill. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE presented twenty nine petitions against the Bill. On the motion that the SPEAKER do leave the chair, Mr. T. DUNCOMBE rose for the purpose of giving effect, as far as it lay in his power, to the petitions that he had just presented to the House, and he must say that, as far as it was in his poe er to adopt it, there was no form of the House he would not use as a weapon to defeat an enactment which had been truly designated in some of these petitions as one of the most insidious, op pressive, arbitrary, and tyrannical attempts to oppress the working - el - asses that was ever made.—(A laugh.) It might suit Hon. Gentleman to laugh at an attempt to oppress the working classes— ("No, no")—but if the House would give him its attention, he would prove to it, and would satisfy the public, that this was the object— and the sole object--of the Bill. He had reason to complain that the Bill had arrived at this stage at all. To the original Bill no one could object ; it had a humane object in view, and though it increased the power of the justices, yet it was for the purpose of facilitating the recovery of wages. Under that belief, the House passed the Bill throu g h its first stages, but it was under false colours and false pretences. It was then proposed to go into Committee to make cer tain alterations ; those alterations were made, and the Bill came out of Committee without a single word, from the first line of the preamble to the last line in it, referring to that object. Therefore, it could not be said that the Bill had been r ea d either a first or second time. The Bill had been brought to its present stage under false colours and false pretences. Now, what was the reason assigned for this measure ? When his Hon. Friend, the Member for Lambe.h, asked for some ex planation the other night, the Secretary of State for the Home Department said he did not approve of the man ner in which the Bill was drawn, and he referred him to the Hon. Member for Somersetshire. The Hon. Member for Somersetshire said that the Bill Ras drawn up by the desire of the Government. Sir J. GRAHAM--The form of the Bill was ap proved by me, not the substance. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said it was the substance of the Bill which he had to deal with—he cared nothing about the shadow.—(Laughter.) Now, if • he went to the Hon. Member for Somersetshire, and complained of the provisions of the Bill, he said they were forced upon him by the Government ; whereas the Right Hon. Gentle. man said ho was not responsible for them. The Hon. Member for Berkshire said it was a totally different Bill from what he approved, and the Hon. Member for Not • tinghamshire expressed a similar opinion. Now he repeated that this Bill had not been properly read a second time. Now what were the provisions of this Bill which were so objectionable? A new principle was introduced by the Bill unknown to the Legislature of the country.— (Hear, hear.) The only legislatidi in reference to labour which had heretofore taken place had been in re spect to persons hired for a certain term, and the Ma gistrates had power to fine or imprison persons who had not fulfilled their contract. But this power was never given in cases of piece or job work.—(Hear, hear.) They were now going to confer a power of this kind on the Magistrates. By this Bill a person would be liable to be sent to the House of Correction for two months on the single oath of a fore man.—(Hear, hear.) If this were the case, could they be surprised that they had petitions on the subject from every species of trade in the kingdom. This Bill would affect every species of labour. The Right Hon. Gentleman intended that the Bill should only affect labourers employed in husbandry. But as it stood now it would affect those employed in factories. They might be imprisoned for two months upon the oath of the foreman or overseer if they were only five minutes too late.—(Hear.) In order to carry out this Bill they proposed to repeal six Acts, and it would be well before this iniquitous Bill received the support of the House, that Hon. Gentlemen should know what those Acts were. The first Act which was proposed to be the sth of Elizabeth, c. 4 ; but repealed was on referring to that Bill it would be found in the preamble that the object of the statute was to protect the labourer, and to secure to artizans wages of a higher rate than were paid at the time, which both Houses of Parliament affirmed to be too small. He wished to -call the attention of those who were in favour of a Ten Hours' Bill to the provisions of this Act, which was now sought to be repealed. The Act of Elizabeth re gulated the hours of labour at fourteen hours, from March to September, in thirty-two trades, and ten hours from September to March. Be tween the months of. September and March the time was still more limited; they were allowed th© same pe riod of time for their meals, and they were only to labour from sunrise to sunset,: and no one was compelled- to work - longer. Having limited the • hours `of labour and settled the wages of the labourers by law, it Av but right that the magistrates .should..have the power of compelling parties to work, but this Act was repealed, and nothing for the satisfac tion or security of the working classes enacted in its place. The 20th George 11. was also to be repealed by that Act, which was considered nearly obsolete. Any ser vants convicted of misconduct were liable to be corrected and imprisoned. There was nothing in that Act relating to piece or job .work. The 27th George 11. merely r. pealed a proviso of the last-mentioned Act ; and the 31st George IL, which was passed in 1757, made the law applicable to husbandry servants hired for a less period than one year. The Act of 4th Geo. IV., passed in 1823, said nothing of job work, but related to the violation of contracts for service, and enacted either that such contracts must be in writing, or else that the ser vant must hare entered upon his hiring, which was to be taken as evidence of the existence of a contract, in either of which cases, if the servant violated his contract by neglecting his work, he was liable to imprisonment. These were the Acts which it was now proposed to repeal. In this Bill it did not matter how much the master mis behaved himself, the punishment only related to the servant.—(" Hear, hear," from Mr. Ferrand.) This was nothing but a law for the rich and one for the poor —one fur the employer and one for the employed. He called upon the House not to sanction the principle which was contained in this Bill. What had Sir Augustus lisnniker said at the Suffolk Quarter Sessions lately?— That if they sent down the whole body of police from London they would not keep the people quiet, unless they materially altered in their treatment of them. Such was that gentleman's opinion —so great was the discontent ; and he (Mr.Duncombe) would advise them to take care that this feeling did not spread, that it did not work its way into the manufacturing districts. The other day when discussing the subject of the limitation of the hours of labour, Sir James Graham had said to those in the House favourable to limitation that the working classes did not agree in opinion with them—that they had forwarded no petition • in its favour.—(Hear, hear.) Well, th e y wou ld see now what was the effect of petitioning, for against this Bill nearly two hundred petitions had been presented.-- (Cheers.) He (Mr. Duncombe) asked him (Sir James Graham) where were his petitions in favour of it.—(Hear, hear.) Those petitions against the Bill represented nearly two millions of people asking the House not to pass this Bill. If the House went into Committee upon it, he should feel it his duty to read several extracts from these petitions •, but he did hope he had made out such a case as would in duce the House to reject a Bill which would create more discontent than any Act that, or any former House had ever been guilty of. Therefore, he trusted they would at once reject it, and so protect thousands, and hundreds of thousands, who were not there to protect them selves. Mr. P. HOWARD was understood to second the motion. Mr. HUME, in the hope to put a stop at once to this Bill, would appeal to the Right Honourable Baronet (Sir James Graham) to allow the order for Committee to bo discharged, and either introduce a new Bill, or send the matter to a Committee up stairs, where it could be thoroughly examilied, and then reported upon. The present Bill was not the Bill ori g inally introduced—it was a lt oge th er a new Bi ll. The only proper principle in such a Bill was t 3 make its provisions alike applicable to all, so that it might equally protect the master against the servant, as the servant against the master. This Bill did no such thing ; and he could assure the Right Honourable Baronet that it had created the greatest excitement amongst the labouring classes. He hoped the Right Hon. Baronet would give them his support, and not allow this Bill to go further. He did not think that the House was in a condition to legislate anew upon the subject. Sir J. GRAHAM had not the least difficulty in as curing the House, that he had no desire to do anything which which would interfere with the interests of the working-classes. His impression of the existing law was, that it operated injuriously to the workman, and too favourably to the employer. Under the present law a labourer might be commit ted to prison for three months, with hard labour at the discretion of a single magistrate upon the com plaint of the master. On the other hand, if the servant had a good ground of complaint against the master, the magistrate had no power to adjudicate. But this Bill gave to the magistrate the power of giving damages against the master, and allowed the arrest of the servant only upon warrant, issued in cases where the servant was about to abscond, or had ab sconded. The power of imprisonment was limited, and confined within the limits of the Bill introduced by the Hon. Member for Montrose (Mr. Hume), called the Arbitration Act. The only novelty in the Bill was the question whether the House of Commons would extend the operation of the Act of George the Second to what was called piece-work. He thought that was a very fair subject of discussion to the House. lie had fairly stated to the House the present state of the law and the alterations contemplated, and he should oppose the motion of the lion. Gentleman, the Member for Fins. , bury, and should vote for the measure going into Com mittee. Mr. GRANGER opposed the Bill, for it would place servants in a far worse position than they were at present. The Bill bad excited from one end of the country to the other a feeling of opposition, for it was looked upon as a most arbitrary measure. The House, in the present state of the country, ought to be very cautious not to pass any Bill which might be considered as militating against the interests of the working classes. Mr. MILES had some difficulty in saying whether this Bill was his, or whether it belonged to the Govern ment.— (Laughter.) Ile thought if Honourable Gentlemen had looked carefully into this Bill, they would have found that there was not a very material difference between the present Bill and the former one. The Bill he considered to be necessary, for the present law was entirely against the servant. He admitted that formerly no damages could be given on either side, but now damages could be given on either side, and it would be a question when they got into Commit tee, whether, in case of a refusal to pay damages, there should not be a powerof imprisonment against the master. If he were to have the Bill at all, he should hope to have advice and assistance on every clause of it in a Commit tee of that House. But as to a Committee up stairs, they all knew what that would probably end in. —(Cries of Divide, divide.") He was aware it was a most un fortunate duty to bring so important a measure before the House, but it had been postponed from time to tim', and it was desirable to come to some decision upon it with as little delay as possible. Mr. BERNAL was quite satisfied of the kindly mo tives towards the working classes which influenced the Honourable Gentleman who had .affiliated the present Bill ; but, in his opinion, this was a Bill of such vast importance in its provisions and in its conse quences that it ought to havo Leen introduced by the Government, and on their own responsibility alone. — (Cheers.) He did not see his way on the present bill, as it now stood before the House, and he repeated that it was a question that ought alone to be brought forward by the Government, with the aid and office of their law-officers.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. ESTCOUIZT considered that the fourth clause ought to be fatal to the Bill. It was no argument in favour of this Bill that worse Bills had been passed in more barbarous times: Sir GEORGE STRICKLAND opposed the Bill. It would affect the relations between employers and the employed in every branch of industry. It would place in the hands of the employer an immense engine of oppression. —(Hear.) There was no analogy between the conditions of the two parties. The master could dis charge the servant without an hours' notice, and there was no reason why his power should be increased.. He felt, therefore, bound to vote against the motion. Mr. GALLY KNIGHT was convinced from what had been said by both sides of the House— Whig and Tory—that there must be some thing essentially bad in the Bill. He had been greatly surprised at hearing himself described as a monster and a tyrant, because his na:ne was on the back of the Bill.—(Laughter.) He believed that the oppo sition to the Bill in the House was owing in a great measure to its being coincident with the strike of the colliers in the North.—(Cries of " Oh, oh," and laughter.) He believed that the Bill would only effect such alterations in the law as would benefit the working classes. If the Bill were thrown out, the existing laws would press, as hardly as ever upon the colliers. The Hon. Member referred to the evidence taken before the Committee of the House on the subject of the colliers, to show that the law as it stood at present was oppres sive to the workmen, and concluded by saying that he would support the Bill. Mr. P. HOWARD said it might be very wise and prudent to consolidate the various laws upon one sub ject, but the House must recollect that they might have even gold too dear.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) On a subject like this, which required so much varied informa tion, and such a dispassionate judgment, he thought the Government of the country was the only quarter from which they could expect a sound and useful Bill. his must, therefore, give his support to the motion of hi Hon. Friend the Member for Finsbury. Mr. COLLET, amidst continued criehsisoifuto"nDtioivnidoef,_ divide" and great confusion, announce d voting d Addressedsix mr. R. PALMER, r th , e iL co m m E m r i t t , t a a m l i o d f s t t he gr ß e i a l t l t u h p a r t oa a r y , few words to the House, which were wholly inaudible in the gallery. The F H o o r u t s h e e th ß e i n li divided , when there appeared For the Amendment 97 Majority against the Bill —43 The Bill is consequently lost. DETACHED PARTS OF COUNTIES BILL. On the motion for going into Committee on`this Bill, Mr. COLVILE moved that it be committed that day six months._ — Mr. LIDDELL supported the Bill. Mr. M. SUTTON could not give support to the Bill in its present shape, as it interfered with the franchise. lie did not, however, oppose the principle of the Bill; and if the Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Scott) would consent to alter it in Committee, he (Mr. M. Sutton) would give it his support. After a few words from Mr. Scorr and Lord H. VANE, Mr. COLVILE withdrew his amendment, and the Bill %ent into Committee. On clause one being proposed, Mr. M. SUTTON . moved the omission of certain words, upon which the Committee divided, when there appeared— For the Amendment l9 Against it Majority for the Amendment —4 An HON. MEMBER then moved that the House do re sume and be counted, and there being but 38 Members present, the House adjourried at a Quarter past Seven. GRAY'S INN, MAY I.—The undernamed gentle men were this. day called to the degree of barrister-at law by the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn—viz., William St. James Wheelhouse, Esq. ; Henry Willis, Esq. ; Aldborough Henniker, - Esq. ; Edward Bennett, Esq. - ; and Samuel Dare; Esq. TUESDAY NIG E US 0 ..," .- 1 „ DIVI•,, . . At the Court of Bankrupts Z t,....,.. - i. :.. - , A W. Gofton, pawnbroker, Gilbat....C 4 r. ,_, !P . :, . i. , lay 23, at half-past cleven—W. Armfisa4 . r .-:. , N - 1 47., „ ,ipay 23, at twelve—C. Tapp, eoatt kge, Wig , -e , et, Nay 21, at one—C. Bouriot anf,...W• - •M'cht,,:li . „..V oisnct, merchants, Coleman-street-buildiVs,'Ali4 .24, Irt welfe = -C. Williamson, hosier, Regent-street oigayol .0 2 -- -. 2 foam id W ".:: 'E. aAgra an, . Utton, coach-makers, Hattan-sTie,et, itagraksquare, May 22 at two—E. Hodson, liner/kb:444We Itoti,lsiorth amptons'hire, May 22, at twelve -41. chant, Lower Shadwell, May 8, at one. • Country. E. Everall, coal h aut e mer Liverpool, May 23, at one, at the Liverpool District Court—J. Wright and J. Davies, grocers, Liverpool, May 23, at half-past twelve, at the Liverpool Dis trict Court—J. Stott, woollen manufacturer, Rochdale. May 22, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court—J. Brown, jun., Bassalleg, Monmouthshire, May 21, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court—W. A. Whinfield, draper, Newcastle upon-Tyne, May 23, at eleven, at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne District Court—J. Botcherby, iron merchant, Darli gton, May 21, at eleven, at the Newcastl e - upon- T yne District Court —R. Dunn and R. D. Dunn, corn factors, Wakefield, May 23, at eleven, at. the Leeds District Court—J. Knight, draper, Preston, May 24, at one, at the Manchester District Court —J. Goddard and H. Goddard, bankers, Market Harborough, May 22, at eleven, at the Birmingham District Court—J. Rose, ironmonger, Spalding, Lincolnshire, May 23, at * half -past eleven, at the Birmingham District Court. CERTIFICATES to be granted, unless cause be shown to the contrary, on the day herein-mentioned. F. Hillam, ale merchant, Cambridge -terrace, Edgeware • road, May 22—C. Tapp, coachmaker, Wigrnore-street, May 21—L Lumley, victualler, Cornwall-road, May 21—T. E. Lubbock, licensed victualler, Butcher-hall-lane, Newgate street, May 22—E. Levy and A. S. Levy, fruit merchants, 13etolph-line, May 22--C. Swill, grocer, Romford, Essex, May 22—J. Crump, miller, Stanway, Gloucestershire, May 22 —R. Lowe., innkeeper, Sunderland. May 21—J. Douglass, rope manufacturer, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, May 21—T. Bent ley, calico printer, Eccleston, Lancashire, May 21—W. Jack son, baker, Liverpool, May 21—E. Rayner, merchant, Shef field, May 24—W. S m i t h , smallwareman, Nottingham, May 23—8. F. Franklin, merchant, Liverpool, May 24—R. Gent, traveller. Manchester, June 4—A. Dakeyne, smallware dealer, Bolton-le-Moors, June 4—W. Putt, silk thiowster, Maccles field, June 4—T. F. Clark, draper, Liverpool, May 23—H. S. Hewitt, licensed victualler, Manchester, May 23 —R. Davesi port, jun., plumber, Birmingham, May 21,--H. Parker, 0. Shore, J. Brewin, and J. Rodgers, bankers, Sheffield, May 21 —E. Minister, tailor, Argyll-place, Regent-street, M a y 21—I. , Hague, W. Millar, an I W. T. Grant, engineers, Wapping.. wall, May 21—R. L. Sturtevant, soap.manufacturer, Church. street, Bethnal-green, May 21—C. W. Taylor, draper, Epping, May 21—T. Nor m a n , sa il c l o th manu f acturer, Penketh, near Warrington, May 24. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. W. hey and W. L. Henwood, ironmongers, Camelford, Cornwall—W. Spen ce , N. Bl un d e ll , J . Blundell, and R. H. Spence, colour manufacturers—J. F. Saville and J. Harroway, lessees of the Brighton Theatre—J. and G. Siddall, linen drapers, Doncaster— W. Hodge and J. Dovies, saddlers, Trurn —J. Watson, sen., and J. Watson, jun., common brewers, Wath-upon-Dearne, Yorkshire—NV. Fry and W. Kilner, en gravers, Sheffield—S. Thomas and R. Hinton, plumbers, Market Drayton—J. H. Wood and G. Scholey, joiners, Wake field—A. Bush, C. Birkhead, and H. Henstock, edge tool manufacturers, Sheffield—W. and E. Sharman, builders, Spalding, Lincolnshire—J. and W. Goodale, Derby—J. Glover and W. R. Elsey, accountants, Bucklersbury—H. Gibb and J. Heath, engineers, Cobourg-street, Euston-square —F. H. Nicholson and J. Hainsworth, linen drapers, Leeds—J. Brog den and W. Eastted, contractors—E. King and H. C. Lang ton, stockbrokers, Leeds—T. Smith and C. J. A. Melton, sur geons. Upper Seymour-street, Portman-square —J. Arnett and C. Wilkinson, Custom-house agents, St. Dunstan' s -hill—J. Entwisle and R. G arne t t , jun., merchants, Manchester—W. Petree and J. Phillips, shipbuilders, Southwick, Durham—L. H. and J. Newton, cabinet makers, Wardour-street, Soho—R. W. and T. M. Peacock, shoemakers, Tooley-street—W. Marsh, J. Marsh, T. Shepherd, and J. Marsh, jun., merchants, Shet. field (so far as regards T. Shepherd and J. Marsh, .jun. )—C. Belton and T. Belliss, chemists, Birmingham—G.,F., and J. Rivington, booksellers, St. Paul's Churchyard (so far as re gards G. Rivington). SCOTCH SEQUESTRATION. HUGH CAMPBELL, provision merchant, Glasgow, May 3 and 24, at one, at the writing-chambers of Messrs. A. and J. Morrison, Glasgow. GENERAL PENSION SOCIETY. The annual festival in aid of the funds of this institution took place yesterday evening, at the London Tavern, Bishop gate-street. At six o'clock the Marquis of Clanricarde took the chair, when upwards of two hundred gentlemen sat down to dinner. Over the chair was a well-executed transparency of her Majesty, with the following appropriate motto, "Our Royal Patron, she is the very soul of bounty." As soon as the cloth was removed, the usual loyal toasts were given, which were duly disposed of. After which, The Noble CHAIRMAN proposed the toast of the evening, which was " Prosperity to the City of London General Pen sion Society, and may it flourish for ever." The Institution, he said, had received in its very infancy the sanction and support of the parents of our beloved Queen, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and the King of the Belgians, and they would be gratified to hear, that her Majesty had followed their good example, and taken the society under her Protec tion. He then made a feeling appeal to those present in be half of a charity which had already conferred blessings upon many who were unable to help themselves, and which was also to be instrumental, if properly supported, in benefiting many more who might become fitting objects of its benevo lent operations. The Secretary, Mr. RICHARDSON, read the report, which was exceedingly voluminous, and included the namo of a vast number of Noblemen of high rank, as subscribers to the In stitution. Before reading the report, the Secretary made some preliminary remarks, in which he stated that the So ciety was formed in 1818, for providing permanent relief to decayed artisans, mechanics, and tradesmen generally, and the widows of such persons above sixty years of age—that the male pensioners receive 225. per month, and the females 15s.—about thirty of the pensioners were above eighty years of age, and upwards of twenty above ninety. The subscriptions for the evening were exceedingly liberal, amounting, in all, to nearly 1,100/. Among the numerous donations announced were—the Queen, 100 guineas ; the Queen Dowager, 10/. annually ; the Earl of Aberdeen, 201 ; Lord Beresford, 20/. ; Earl of Haddington, 10/. ; Luke James Hansard, Esq., 50/. ; Earl of Burlington, 301; the Trustees of the Cholmondeley Charities, 50/. ; J. Deacon, Esq., 101. 10s. ; Sir John Easthope, Bart., 5 guineas annually ; the Countess of Leicester, 5/. ; the Duchess of Cambridge, 10/. ; C. B. Wall, Esq., M.P., 10/. ; Miss Cotttts Burdett, 20/. : Matthias Atwood, Esq.,lo/. ; the Earl of Shrewsbury, 10/.los. ; Thomas Baring, Esq., M.P., 201. ; the Duke of Buccleuch, in addition to 1151., 251. ; Mr. Thwaits, 50/. ; Marquis of Bristol, 251. The vocal arrangements were entrusted to Mr. Bruton, assisted by Messrs. F. Martin, R. Smith, J. Perrin-, and Miss Steele, the last ; .named volunteering her professional services for the occasion. A military band was in attendance, enlivening the com pany during the evening with many of the most popular airs of the day. The dinner, wines, and attendance were excellent, and the manner altogether in which, the entertainment was given did great credit to the proprietors, Messrs. Bathe and Breach. COURT CIRCULAR. THE QUEEN DOWAGER.—The account of her Majesty's health yesterday, we are happy to state, was very favourable. his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge scut, yesterday morning, to Marlborough House, to learn the state of her Majesty. The other members of the Royal Family also sent, in the course of the day, to make inquiry after her Majesty's health. The following w as th e b u ll et i n issued yesterday " 'Her Majesty the Queen D owager h as passed a good night, and the inflammation of the arm continues to subside. " Marlborough House, " DAVID DAVIE,S, M.D. • " May 1, 1844. " ROBERT KEATE." A number of the Foreign Ministers, and many Of the No bility and Gentry, called during the day at Marlborough House to learn the state of her Majesty. Tim D'UCILESS OF GLOUCESTER.—Her Royal Highness, we regret to state, is suffering from pain in one of her arms— the effect of kfall. The Queen sent yesterday to make in quiry after the state of her Illustrious relative. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge paid a visit to his Royal Sister yesterday at Gloucester House. Her Royal Highness passed a tolerable night on Tuesday. The Queen and Prince Albert walked yesterday in th Royal Gardens of Buckingham Palace. His Royal highness Prince Albert afterwards rode out on horseback, attended by Colonel Wylde, Equerry in Waiting. The Royal Family were taken airings yesterday in the Royal Garden. of Equerry in Waiting on his Royal Highness Prince . Colonel Wylde has relieved Colonel Bouverie in the Alb ie dlit et. i r es ' included the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, the M ar q uis The Royal dinner party at Buckingham Palace yesterday of Granby, and Captain Francis Seymoun Noble Directors of the Concert deuce, Curzon House, to the by his dis tinguisheda_t his resi- Earl Howe gave a dinner yesterday evening,_ of Ancient Music. His Lordship, accompanied His Royal Highness Concert in the Hanover-square Rooms.. of Granby, Captain ' R o\' i a les il eb l ec gi k l- , l. Prince Albert, attended by the Marquis guests, afterwards went . to the performance of the Francis Seymour, an Concert the EExcise, c w i s i t e l.: t a h n e d i r iir. presence. Carr, High ness the Duke lone l attended Wylde; by an di'is Baron r Mr. John Wood, lain .. • • to the Excise, had an interview with the Chancellor Solicitor honoured the of the Exchequer yesterday, at o f Cambridge, dCo his official residence, in Downing-street. r ribrin Cl alle nt th o e f Mr. Dean, Chairman of the Cust oms , h ad an interview w ith the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstoneyesterday, at the office of the Board of Trade. Mr. Dean had also an interview yes terday with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Lieutenant-Colonel Barney, Royal Engineers, had an in terview with Lord Stanley yesterday, at the Colonial-office. The Governor of the Bank of England, and the Deputy- Governor, had an interview with the Chancellor of the Ek chectuer yesterday. Dispatches were sent off last evening from the Colonial office for the Earl of Elgin, Governor of Jamaica, and the Governors of the other West Indian Colonies. G RAND ENTERTAINMENT AT TIIE MANSION.. HOUSE.—On Tuesday, the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress gave a splendid entertainment to the members of the Corporation and their ladies at the Mansion-house. It was the eighth of a series of dinners given by his Lordship and the Lady Mayoress in the most splendid style to the members of the Court of Common Council. A precedent has been established for the invitation of the wives of the members of the Court in this succession of magnificent treats to the fair sex, and it will no doubt, be acted upon uniformly in future Mayoralties, cal culated as it is to give great addition to the pleasures and elegance of the civic hospitalities. The vocal and instrumental music was admirably performed by Miss Galbraith, Miss R. Dixon, Mr. Lover, Mr. Cruse, and Mr. Ilichard4; Mr. Jewson, and Mr. Thomas, of the Royal Academy. The dinner, and wines, and fruits, were of first-rate excellence, and nothing could exceed numeroild us g g i v u e e n s t b s y . th O e n L t o h r i d s and Bishops after the d i‘ t h i a e a y a splendid y g o r r at t i o fie tahtie° gratifi c ation ehlentertainmenttbibs3h-o t p h a per formances of Divine service in St. Paul's. The enter tainment will take place in the Egyptian-hall, which has been recently fitted up and embellished. Yesterday an unusual degree of interest was ex cited on the Whitstable road, from a wager between two Canterbury gentlemen. The following are the particulars: —A wager for ten pounds was made by a gentleman that he six in po les s he ° in na to would find a workman that w ou ld . s h arpen in a workmanlike r e n n ir h g o , ur a s n . d sTulerhe was s t th of e s i t n re te n r g e t s h t c n o lan inn ri l e e r nc l 9d°D at . h op that a large concourse of persons assembled to witness the re sult—all positive that it mid not be completed in the given time. Two thousand and forty-one poles were sharpened in seven hours and four minutes, to the surprise of tha specta tors,- and perfect satisfaction of the "gcntlemen' appointed umpires. —Kentish Gazette.