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

y'p • SPORTING IN TELL IG CE, TATTERSALL%;-YESTERDAV. CHESTER ,t h e betting o n t h is event was tr i v i a l i n amount, an d rend Pri ces so nearly s i m il ar to t h ose laid , on Monday as to er %,„ r comment superfluous. The following were the !go quotations at the close:— 11 to 1 agst Mr. Ja J ues's Semiseria—take 12 to 1 13 1 2 to 1 agst Mr. A. ohnson's Obscurity—t. and aft. of. to 1 agst Mr. A. Johnson's The Era—taken „s too 1 agst Mr. W. Scott's Cataract 25 1 Mr. Bell's Winesour—taken to 1 agst Duke Duke o f Ri c h mon d' s Strathspey 5., - " t ° 1 agst Mr. Davis's Yheonntn-ac-Knuck—taken •- , o to 1 agst Mr.H. St e bbi ng ' s C e l es t e —t a k. an d aft. off. to 1 agst Mr. Cuthbert's Queen of Tyne--taken to 1 agst Mr. Hesseltine's Fitz Allen—taken 4 0 5 to 1 agst Mr. Irwin's Ould Ireland—taken 4 , 1 ag s t M r. J. Day ' s Portrait 54,,0,,t0 1 agst M r. Ongley's Mystoy I Q to 8 agst M r . C o ll ett ' s Th e D ean 100 0 + to 15 ag st M r. Irwin ' s Faugh-a ballagh—t. sev. times I° 20 agst Mr. Ilutchinson's Ratan—taken The DERBY. 0 4 0 ,, - ,..sPeculatio ns on t h is t ace, a l t h oug h not genera ll y e „,"' t it, Were in some respects of considerable interest. tad t in stance Clear-the.way, Pew, the Cobweb colt, 14 to Wo or three outsiders. Against the first of this lot teni m i t o nearly 2001., laid in the early part of the af who—n, was followed by current offers of 15 to 1, those I so liberal i n th e i r i n vestments on Monday theg g very little dispositi o n to add to their re p ; s 18 to 1 was taken freely about Pam, and 20 to )01111V of thr ee or f our po i nts) to two or t h ree h un d re d ttroabout the Cobweb colt, whose opponents, we tii 4 tY susiket: were willing to go on ; 25 to 1 was 44 4 ° fifties about Newsmonger—the same to a small ke nt , s 4t about Miss Whip colt ; 1,000 to 30 each about 4 2 1 4 and Pantasa, and 35 to 1 in fifties about Old pr...4d, and a few (Aber bets, of which the list of . ; ri ,PPended will be a sufficient index : l ib '' , I agst Forth's lot—taken to 100/. i? to 1 agst Mr. Greville's Alarm 15 to 1 agst L or d S tra db ro k e ' s Id as - -t a k en to 1 agst M r. F erguson ' s C lear - t h e -W ay 18 to 1 agst Colonel Anson's Kedger 20 to 1 agst Lo r d Ch es t er fi e ld' s P ain —t a k en f re ely 25 1 agst C o l one l P ee l' s C o b we b co lt 25 to 1 agst L or d Ch ester fi e ld' s N ewsmonger —t a k en ,0 00 t° 1 agst Lord Glasgow's Miss Whip colt 4000 to „_ 3O agst Mr. St. Paul's Mentor—taken as ;° ° ` ) t ) agst Mr. M os t yn ' s Pantasa—taken ‘1 agst Mr. Gully's Old England—taken -`vo to 25 agst Mr. A. Johnson's Annandale—taken to 1 agst Mr. Lint o tt' s Cabin Boy (1,000 to 20 laid 1,0 00 once) 1,0 00 to 20 agst Mr. Coleman's Young Eclipse—t. freely 0300 t° 10 agst Mr. Me ry a s Collier—taken 1 400 to 10 agst Mr. A. Hill's Libel—taken 1p t 0 8 agst Mr. I rw i n ' s H erm it—t a k en . 4 ne It - o 4 CESTER STEEPLE CHASES—WEDNESDAY. , lßirth-day Haica of 25 ovs each, withloo !fed. 1 5ft, and - 5 only, p if declared, s &c.. (51 Subs.) Holman's The Page, list 101 b....... 1 k,.,1 Collins' named Albert, list 71b 2 141 R othschild' s Consul, lOst 121 b 3 11 1 c, • ~ I'D onough's Ploughboy, lOst 101 b 13 Tamworth, lOst 101 b re ll° w l og also stated, but were not placed :—Mr A l ° Robin Add 12st 71b—Mr. W. Scott's nd the Re -114,4ed,' 19 1 st 101 b —Mr. J. Gaylad, list 101b—Capt. t at: it's „" st-- Boxke — eper ' . list 21b—Mr. J. Bosley's Quarter 111r.-Draper's Sam Swipes, lOst 101b—Mr. J. Itt u's Pickwick lOst 71b—Mr. Melville's Tantalus,lost 1 4;i i N. Powell nd Preissnitz, lOst—Mr. Hussey's B et 9st 101 b. g- 1 6 to 1 agst Robin Adair (t)-7 to 1 agst ;9-8 tht agst Albert (t)-8 to 1 agst Lazarus ktoi agst The Page-9 to 1 agst the Cardinal (t)- 1 ,7101 a a gst Duenna (0-10 to 1 agst The Returned (t)- 410 1 g at Sam Swipes (t)-12 to 1 agst Preissnitz (0— LAtteragst Ploughboy (t). k. , 7 thel. th e first round Albert took up the running, followed W° -a ge to the hurdle where the latter went in front, 1 ,8,1 t4 11 , easily, V„wiPes broke his back. 12 e eY Stakes . of 5 ova each, with 25 added, 4 yrs old, k r kil ts 5 yrS s S, list 71b; 6 yrs and aged, 12st. Heats, kt Laurel, nd d , age ...... • ..... 1 uers nd mby Ebury-, 4 yrs ... fell IRISH RAILWAYS. LlV e i (From the Dublin Evening Packet) ernt, th e a from the letter of our London Correspo.n -,,10w Government is about to issue a Commission LhiC r e into the merits and demerits of projected Nop -- ; 8 for Ir e l an d. Thi s i s as it should be. Speen ,"otili are running fearfully high, and a re-action SthP r ave ruinous to the country. We are d hic k every scheme shall undergo a scrutinising by a competent tribunal, and be disposed B llng to it s mer it s . It is our first duty to cau iNi.l'" against gambling—that is to say, against '3. a ch ase of shares of scrip at a premium, where L tl the t ! not competent judges of the intrinsic value "nclertaking wherein they are about to embark L i le tn Z le Y• t,, cr i st consequences are likely to . result . from ein ti ,:s e nange gamblings. After giving this eau h,_ll%; next duty is to bespeak for each project its h ,Ati ;, a of consideration from the Government. The 111 711 ° „af some lines by the Board of Trade has Ors s h'sfaction to many, while the rejection of ,has caused loud complaints in very influential b 7gr t ' s °' We do not intend to do more than report ;', i tty 0 8 f : Our opinion as to the propriety or impro qWl~ of these rejections would be of no value, th not comprehend their schemes, and we Ou t ere fore carefully abstain from the expression Old °Pinion s , mere ly premising that caution C 4 R I „ b a ll( every step taken in these great under -ILuteli, if conducted with skill and honesty, to great public good. In the way of re ttyfirierogress, we may mention that the rejection Csc c alled " the Royal Canal Scheme," has )pNti y ~ el ` l. 3' general dissatisfaction at this side of the 1 1 : 1 ,as 14,000 ou t of the 20,000 shares issued d4ll II parties resident for the most part in te n t s w ho entertained a favourable opinion of the * i lld ril ) a nd reposed confidence in the directors, many tZith r are highly respectable and esteemed to be 01)6' 4 as merchants and landed proprietors. The O h .traerit felt in this respect seems to have been I Ziti f iZet! by the circumstance of the Galway project 1 511 Ii t jen more fortunate, though in bad odour 0, t o ll : merchants generally, not one of whom be -441,1`",,e direction, which presents the names of but L' 4 t 15 ' Proprietor ' s . rPrietors of die stock Of both the Grand and ti lt ' , ,'anals (between which lies the course of the tep o Galway line) are loud in condemnation .of t eo (24. the Board of Trade, whilst the public 1 / 4 a . th ttl ' et el atrespecting the grounds upon t r decision sea has bee founded. The Galway „)'t 4. 11111 , i ts junction at or near Sallins, (twenty tt:: Dublin), traverses a barren and was . te than forty miles in length, while i ngar peo'ect follows the bank of the m a eat et 14 1, running through some of . the l ands in Ireland, towards Mullingar "Otl i ,'" ) rd, near which latter town it forms 1 0. o i n ,,,with the Shannon. The reasons of the Vit o Trade for the rejection of this line are . t tl lPp o i r with considerable anxiety, as no Irish rail rtecit appeared to attract more general atten ,lolwa's an extraordinary fact, that the shares of Y.scheme are heavy in the market, and Ve h ln value since the decision of the Board of Vire e as to announced ; while . the determination of t k 4 . stli a ,, r s of the Mullingar Company to proceed h ( I th: e nt, in opposition to such decision, has shares of the latter scheme to advance. Ptel tt ,; ( .l L ai . Trade and the Railway Commissioners ic be, - , l a ve, within an interval of a few years, 11104, — ,,he most contradictory opinions respect i°` the principal projects now before the e have said so much, for the purpose of "Ittli "le Mtention of the Commission about to be all the circumstances of the case. to it ttl tletkofr r o , tkPutANcE M ovEmEL NT We are happy , it 0 411 e si': Sol n newspap Fr paragraph that " the spots on the are . considerably less this year." This looks 1 1 ,14 Z tn it p „1 , 1 been taking the pledge,. and that this Owing to his having entirely renounced the h a ° lltain dew" and other alcohol. Let us hope, turned teetotaller, he will get up somewhat .. a lit.," future, and endeavour to show his face in 'le before 1 or 2 o'clock in the day.—Punch. \tik il to T t l i, ° , ll PROPERTY IN PUBLIC MUSEUMS.— 15< 4 3 1 11,7" 3 Purpose now before the House of Commons, I t That o ught in on M o nday by the Solicitor-General, i f kt k zrt anythi any person shall maliciously destroy or 4,411.eain hip any or pub, in any public muse . um, be tt, library, or other ic repository, whether DO' 4 ° of& din be not of any intrinsic value, every such h'' °o t ' in n . ,g shall be guilty of misdemeanor, and being i ll ti l tt . l :sat t i;" a ' thereof, shall be liable to be imprisoned, with ip t ; IA labour, for any period not exceeding . two 141041/tC once,` a male, during the period of such imprison roantrtwice, or thrice publicly or privately whipped, ) 4 t.hall tried form as the Court, before which such 0 1 . 14 4 11 e; ',nod, shall direct. t•-.. 1, HISTORY or THE CONSULATE AND 14 '4. 141 '111' 4 he first and second volumes of Mr. Forbes diet 40 e t , 4 au thorised English translation . of this ti have just appeared. Having filled, at t 'ut ) Q( t l lf p r • n in e t :, the high offices of Minister of the . Inte- NNh of Foreign Affairs, and President of .: of ' 4 , 1-• Mien . hasenjoyed facilities beyond the t li , t 44 g "e tY otl rop l e _ ler biographer of Napoleon, for pro- Ms for 4,e!usive and authentic sources, the choicest C ot Z of the his present work. As guardian of the i v tl vAv n 4 doe, State, he had access to diplomatic papers only aient s of the highest importance, hitherto Vt lttn tttl i ;',:,, ll . privileged few, and the publication of plth;tie u , e ' e ml to produce a great sensation. From of ti e 41 tu t bi e s i Thiers, it appears, has also derived . tti t ;', and l e ,`,rination. Many interesting memoirs, 4 1 's 1 1 des all !—all hitherto unpublished, and most O te een , for political reasons, to remain so— ‘l4lt,to ors of th eu at his disposal ; while all the leading e empire, who were alive when the author br k ' t ; l4 : ,4l( i t ii h e e p P e resen t history, have supplied him with kle t i ek tir ed tits and anecdotes which have never be taa b n Print th e f , and the accuracy and value . of b ten „ n erred from the fact of these parties r"ttt ey "lernselves eye-witnesses of, or actors in, ents Nt k of the period. 4 tei fitillth4l" EXCUSING.—Man Nt,-• $ -3' being tardy in overseers have a •iii...„, ° ' 3 ner in excusing poor persons from poor -0.1a,;"4: th ose ' l 7 l n a ,carry into the excused column in the teNtZliip of this other Zl: to pay, they will press upon them by t itle t tat e , th is, the result • Independently of the wrong and t es titl 3 , re p ayers by is frequently of much consequence 4t lt B essi r ' igv al to settElL family becoming chargeable ; fre t p er oi ls , a t Settlement follows, and nut 'infrequently, :° llB wh o re nal, and all this for want of excusing d ot al to a y ought to be exempted, for a time at ether. How unwise, unfeeling, and unjust. 7 - -4 1 LITERATURE. REMARKS AIVD CO.II,IIE.V7'S ON THE ALE DICA 7, AND CHEMICAL EVIDENCE ADDUCED AT THE TRIAL OF JOHN TA WELL. By G. L. ,'_trauss.. This is a pamphlet of most painful interest, and if Mr. Strauss be right, a very heavy responsibility rests upon the medical men on whose evidence a verdict of guilty was returned against John Tawell. It struck us from the beginning that the medical evidence given before the Coroner was of a rather slovenly charact.-r, and in this opinion we were borne out by an article, which appeared shortly afterwards, in the Medical Times. The contradictions in the medical evidence, as given before the Coroner and at the trial, are most important, and are thus pointed out by Mr. Strauss : " Mr. Champneys stated before the Coroner, that not the slightest trace of the peculiar odour of prussic acid was perceptible during the pest mortem examination ; and, probably, aware that the absence of this odour militates most decisively against the supposition of free prussic acid being present, he, as well as Mr. Norblad, endea voured to account for the absence of this odour by assuming that cyanide of potassium might have been administered instead of prussic acid ; this proposition, however, is quite untenable, as these gentlemen them selves seem to have discovered afterwards, since at the, trial they made no mention whatever of cyanide of po tassium. (Mr. Cooper had probably told them in the meantime that cyanide of potassium in solution is rea dily decomposed, even by weak acids, such as carbonic acid, with evolution of hydrocyanic acid ; and in the stomach the cyanide encounters one of the strongest acid, known to us—viz., hydrochloric acid.) Mr. Champneys, however, mentioned to the Coroner that during the examination he thought he smelt prussic acid, that he made a remark to that effect to Mr. Norbiad, who replied that he perceived no smell. As this is a most important point, I think it will be better to quote from the evidence as taken down before the Coroner : _ " Question—By a juryman—Would not the smell of prussic acid be discovered if there was no other thing in conjunction with it, to destroy that effect (smell) ? " Mr. Charnpneys—lt was very unusual not smelling the prussic acid, but I mentioned during the examina tion that I thought I smelt prussic acid, but Mr. Norblad did not think he did, and afterwards, on opening the stomach, I did not thi;:k I did at all. " The Coroner—Then you abandoned that idea of smelling at all ? " Mr. Champneys—Yes, Sir. " Mr. Norblad likewise stated before the Coroner that there was no smell of prussic acid perceptible. " At the trial, however, Mr. Champney asserts most positively that he in reality smelt prussic acid immedi ately upon opening the body, and that he mentioned something to that effect to Mr. Pickering (before the Coroner it was to Mr. Norblad), that this was not a mere passing conjecture of his, but a fact, of the reality of which he was most positive. In cross-examination he stated that neither Mr. Pickering nor Mr. Norblad did smell it; and that he himself did not perceive it after having opened the stomach. .Mr. Pickering, on his part, asserts that it was upon making the first incision in the stomach of deceased that Mr. Champney s called his attention to the smell, and that he himself did perceive the smell of prussic acid. Here we have more contra dictions and discrepancies than would be considered quite sufficient to overthrow the evidence of witnesses in any common case. _ _ _ Mr. Champneys positively contradicts himself. Be fure the Coroner he admits that he simply fancied he smelt prussic acid, and tells the Coroner that he aban doned that idea subsequently altogether; at the trial, this passing conjecture having had two months' time to grow, had ripened into positive certainty. "'Phis assertion of Messrs. Champneys and Pickering was laid hold of by Mr. Baron Parke in his very impar tial summing up, in order to prove that the prussic acid existed as such in the stomach previously to the con tents of the stomach being subjected to digestion in the sand and water baths. It is this assertion which has most materially contributed to decide the issue of the trial; and yet it would have been so easy to confute it, simply by pointing out the discrepancies and contradic tions which appear on the face of the evidence on this point." Now, if these gentlemen really smelt prussic acid, how comes it that tests were applied in the first in stance, to discover oxalic acid, vitriolic acid, in fact, every conceivable poison but prussic acid ? How comes it that neither of these gentlemen who smelt prussic acid on opening the body, mentioned the fact to Mr. Cooper, for.— " From Mr. Cooper's own evidence, it appears that he himself was the first to hint at a suspicion that prussic acid might be present—' Well, if this woman has taken poison, it can be no other than prussic acid :' these are Mr. Cooper's own words, as given in cross-examination." Besides, as Mr. Strauss very properly remarks in a note— _ _ " Had Messieurs Champneys and Pickering really smelt prussic acid, they would have continued to smell it. No these gentlemen imagine that a definite minute proportion of odour enters into the composition of prussic acid? Perhaps the acid in this case retained only suffi cient to give a taste of it to two noses—which supposi tion would at once satisfactorily account for Mr. Nor- Wad's inability to smell it." Then, as to the quantity discovered. Mr. Cooper found only one grain in the contents of the stomach. Mr. Strauss says— " I myself have taken as much as three drops of pure anhydrous prussic acid—(equiNalent to about 2•1 grains) —of course largely diluted with water, without feeling any very considerable inconvenience ; and if Mr. Nor blad will read Liebig's lectures on • Organic Chemistry' (Lanc4), be will find that a cat can stand, without in convenience from two to three drops of anhydrous prussic acid, diluted with from four to six ounces of water." " I may venture to assert, that one grain of prussic acid introduced into the digestive apparatus in a high state of dilution, will not be sufficient to destroy lie. Messrs. Champneys, Norblad, and Pickering, and also Mr. Cooper and Mr. Baron Parke, however, deem even less than one grain quite sufficient to cause death. On this point these gentlemen take their stand, more parti cularly upon the case of the seven epileptic patients in one of the hospitals at Paris, who are reported in Eng lish works on the subject of poisoning by prussic acid, to have died from so small a dose as 7-10ths of one grain of this deleterious substance. Now this is a most egre gious blunder, occasioned probably by confounding the medicinal acid of France with that of Scheele." _ " The physician who treated the seven patients in question, prescribed eleven grammes fifty centigrammes of hydrocyanic sirup, which he intended to be prepared according to Magendie's formula. " Had the sirup been prepared according to the phy sician's intention, every one of the seven patients would in the 172 grains of hydrocyanic sirup which were ad. ministered to him have received only one grain and one third of absolute acid. But having been prepared by mistake, according to the formula of the old codex, the amount of pure and absolute prussic acid administered to each of the patients, was two grains and one-fourth, on the most moderate calculation, i. e. if the acid au sixinie was used; if the acid au troisi?me was used, the quantity , of pure acid amounted to six grains for every patient.' " Can there be a grosser blunder than this ? And yet it is upon such and similar (ex uno disce mites) authority, that a fellow-creature is about being con signed to an ignominious death ! 1 " It is by such evidence and such authorities that one of the most clear-headed judges of the land has allowed himself to be completely misguided." The highest authority in Toxicological science is undoubtedly M. Orfila, and— " M. Orfila states in his celebrated work on Toxico logy, that the mere detection of prussic acid in the di gestive apparatus, or in matter rejected,by vomiting, does most decidedly not entitle the physician and chemist, charged with medico legal investigations in cases of suspicious death, to affirm that this acid has been in reality administered to the subject of the investigation. Prussic acid is formed in some cases in the animal organismus, even though the individuals offering- this phenomenon be in a state of perfect health. It is a well-known fact, that the perspiration of some per fectly healthy individuals exhales the peculiar odour of hydrocyanic acid, and sulphocyanide of potassium has been detected in the saliva, by Tiedemann and Gmelin. Moreover it would be very absurd indeed to deny that prussic acid may be formed in the decomposition and putrefaction of organic matter, just as likely as ammonia, acetic acid, and other similar compounds, to the forma tion of which the simple decomposition of organic matter gives rise. Bitter almonds and pomaceous seeds may be present in the stomach, and subsequently upon the distillation of its contents, yield hydrocyanic acid. Ferrocyawide of potassium is a perfectly innocuous substance ; this may by chance have been partaken of ; (as is frequently the case in manufactures of fer rocyanide of potassium—vide Liebig's Lectures on Organic Chemistry, in the Lance!) ; and would, of course, upon distillation, yield a considerable amount of prussic acid. "In the year 1841, M. Orfila was called in to refute the evidence of two physicians and four chemists, in a case of suspicious death. The physicians and chemists in question asserted most positively that a certain Mon sieur Pralet, procureur at Chambit.y. had died from the effects of prussic acid. M. Orfila proved, however, most clearly and satisfactorily, that M. Pralet died from apo plexy, and not from prussic acid. " According to M. Orfila, the detection of prussic acid in the digestive apparatus, &c., assumes the value of positive evidence, only in such cases where the sub ject of the investigation has exhibited previously to his or her death the characteristic symptoms which are con stantly attendant upon poisoning by prussic acid, and where the post-mortem examination reveals the patho logical alterations produced by the action of this delete rious substance upon the animal organismus." Now, were these symptoms observed in the case of Sarah Hart ? " Mr. Champneys states that he smelt at the mouth of deceased, and that he could not perceive any odour of prussic acid. Had prussic acid been administered, he must have smelt it, especially as the quantity must have been considerable enough to cause death within from ten to fifteen minutes. He, moreover, states that her eyes were fixed; he does not mention a word of that peculiar brilliancy of the eye which is generally considered one of the characteristic symptoms of poisoning by prussic acid, and which persists even for a considerable time after death. I myself have seen three cases of poisoning by hydrocyatic acid, and this symptom existed in every one of them. With regard to the repeated screaming of deceased, I will admit that this would not very much militate against poisoning by prussic acid, since its re sults from Coullon's experiments that animals poisoned by prussic acid scream repeatedly during the seconsl pe riod of the action of the acid. It is, however, gene rally held, that after, or rather with that peculiar shriek usually emitted by persons poisoned with prussic acid, THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY MORNING, MARCH 21, 1845. and which has not improperly been termed " death sereem," all power of volition ceases, and complete insen sibility supervenes. " The absence of the peculiar odour of prussic acid militates, however, most strongly against the supposition of poisoning by this deleterious substance. Mr. Champ neys, as well as Mr. Norblad, seem, indeed, to have felt this difficulty—at least they endeavoured, before the Coroner, to account for the absence of the charactcriAic odour of prussic acid. " The brain is • found in a perfectly healthy state ; the lungs are found perfectly healthy (this statement, however, Mr. Champneys modified at the trial, inas much as he asserted, in cross examination, that he found them slightly congested), with the exception of come old adhesions of long standing ; the stomach and the abdominal viscera likewise are found to be perfectly healthy, though rather fat : the internal surface of the coat of the stomach is found to be covered with more mucous than is usually the case, and its contents are found to manifest an acid reaction. There is nothing vvhatso • ever to indicate the action of a poison. The acid reac tion of the cornents of the stomach is owing, as is now genet ally admitted by chemists and ph3 siologists, to the presence of free hydroclorie acid in the gastric juice. " Not one single pathological alteration is found in the brain, nor in tie heart and lungs, stomach and ab dominal viscera of deceased; however Messieurs Champ neys, orblad, and Pickering seem to have settled to their own perfect satisfaction, that some poison or other must have been administered, the notion that deceased might have died from eatetral causes seems to have been scouted altogether and unanimously by these gentlemen. This point being thus satisfaeterity settled, there re mained simply one slight difficulty, viz., to find out what kind of poison had been administered to deceased. " All they know is, that death has ensued suddenly, and that the contents of the stomach are acid. It is upon these very slight indices that Mr. Norblad comes at once to the conclusion that oxalic acid has been the cause of death ! in which opinion his colleaeues see m to have joined at once, since it results from Mr. Cooper's evidence, that the contents of the stomach were tested in the first instance for oxalic acid. Now, it is very true that oxalic acid causes death, in some instances, almost as rapidly as prussic acid, especially when the acid is dissolved in a copious amount of water, so as to facilitate and accelerate its absorption ; it is true, moreover, that in such instances no remarkable alteration is observed in the brain nor in the abdominal viscera ; but the lungs exhibit a number of spots of a lively red tint, and the blood is either black in the two vasculary systems, or the venous blood is black, and the arterial blood of a vermilion tint. Nothing of the kind was observed in Sarah Hart's case, and yet Mr. Norblad actually stated at the trial (in cross-examination) that he firmly believed deceased died from the effects of oxalic acid, until he saw the special test for this acid fail detecting it." They did not examine the bronchial tubes—they did not examine the spinal chord, and they say no thing as to the appearance of the blood. " We are therefore justified in assuming that the ap pearance of the blood was perfectly natural, and this natural appearance of the blood militates altogether against the supposition that death was caused in this in stance by prussic acid." When Mr. Champneys was first called in he at once determines that his patient has been poisoned. " Having made up his mind upon this point, he pro ceeds, about three minutes after the death of deceased, to open one of her veins—not as he very naively stated be fore the coroner, with a view to bring her back to life, but in order to ascertain the cause of her death from the state and appearance of her blood. How this object could be accomplished, I must confess I am altogether at a loss to divine. At the trial, indeed, Mr. Champneys, who has then had two months' leisure to find out the absurdity of such a proceeding, declares that he bled de ceased simply in order to satisfy the parties present that nothing was left undone ; but this after-statement has surely not the power to annul the deliberate statement made before the coroner. This part of the evidence is very wavering and contradictory in every respect. Mrs. Ashley, for instance, stated before the coroner, that de ceased died immediately after Mr. Champneys' attempt at bleeding her, whilst at the trial she asserts most po sitively that deceased was dead when Mr. Champneys bled her. If deceased was really still alive, bleeding, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, was highly improper, and could only tend to accelerate death. " The fact, perhaps, is, that Mr. Champneys fancied at the time, he had to deal with a case of cerebral conges tion, or of apoplexy, and that bleeding would restore animation." With regard to the cause of death, Mr. Strauss says It is my most conscientious conviction that Sarah Hart died from natural causes. It is of course quite out of my power to point out the precise cause of her sudden death. I neither witnessed the symptoms exhi bited by her during the few minutes immediately pre ceding the extinction of life, nor have I seen her body after death. It would perhaps have been easy to come to a correct conclusion on this point, had the post mor tem examination been made by men of sterling science; however, as it is, the cause of death will probably re main shrouded in mystery. " My conviction that prussic acid had nothing what ever to do with the poor woman's death, is based chiefly and principally upon the absence of some of those symp toms which my own experience (limited as it is) has taught me to expect invariably in cases of poisoning by this acid; and moreover upon the total and complete absence of any of the pathological alterations which I should invariably expect, at least in all cases where the acid has not destroyed life instantaneously, but after the lapse of a few minutes or so. In all cases of poisoning by prussic acid, without exception, the venous system is found gorged with very fluid blood of a dark violet or black tint ; the liver is gorged with blood of black colour. The brain is in most cases overgorged with blood, which in many instances is found to have extra vasated ; the lungs are almost invariably gorged with blood of a deep violet or black colour ; the oesophagus, stomach, and intestines are generally in a state of greater or le,ser inflammation, &c. &c. &c. Of all these indica tions of the action of prussic acid, we have none in this instance. How is it possible that any professional man, possessed of the slightest knowledge of his art, can, in the face of these facts, come to the conclusion that the death of Sarah Hart is chargeable upon prussic acid ; simply because some prussic acid was obtained by dis tilling the contents of her stomach ?" He thus concludes : " I have now arrived at the conclusion of my remarks. I beg it to be distinctly understood that I do not know Mr. Tawell, and that I am induced to step forward in his defence, solely because I believe him innocent of the crime imputed to him. " In conclusion, I beg to propose two simple ques tions : " 1. If the facts and allegations averred by me are true (and I challenge• the strictest inquiry into their correctness)—will any impartial and unprejudiced man be bold enough to assert that Mr. Tawell had a fair trial, and that he has been condemned on indubitably conclusive evidence ? _ " 2. If I have succeeded in shaking the medical evi dence adduced against Mr. Tawell, and to render the principal fact in the case doubtful, would his execution, under the present circumstances, not positively amount to legal murder?" After reading this pamphlet we cannot avoid coming to the conclusion that the result of this trial has been most unsatisfactory, and that, under the circumstances of the case, it is the duty of Sir James Graham to submit the whole of the evidence to a Board composed of the most eminent toxicologists, jurists, and chemists in the kingdom, and to respite Tawell until such time as that Board shall have made its report. This case forcibly illustrates the necessity of the appointment of a Council of Health, as pro posed in the Medical Bill, with as little delay as possible. DISPATCHES AND LETTERS OF VICE ADMIRAL LORD _VISCOUNT NELSON; with ;Vacs by Sir .Nicholas Harris A'icolas,'G.C.M.G, The present volume contains the Nelson dispatches and letters from the beginning of 1795 to the end of 1797, and include an account of Admiral Hotham's actions with the French fleet; of Nelson's proceed ings In the Mediterranean in 1796 ; of the battle of St. Vincent, and or the attack on Teneriffe, in which he lost his arm. These documents are many of them of a most interesting character, and as materials for the future historian they are invaluable. It is im possible to read this volume without admiring the de lightful style of Nelson's writings. Clear, distinct, and terse, his letters and dispatches are models of correspondence; and whether he be making a report to his superior officer, or issuing his directions to those under his own command, his meaning cannot for one instant be misunderstood. I MPERIAL PARLIAMEN T. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Match 20. The SPEAKErt 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. W 4 SE 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. YSE presented a petition from the province of Munster, agreed to at a public meeting held in Cork, praying for the establishment of provincial col leges in Ireland, and the extension of education. MANCHESTER AND SHEFFIELD RAIL WAY. Mr. G. S. WORTLEY brought b a Bill for con structing the Manchester and Sheffield Railway, which was read a first time. lIUNGERFORD BRIDGE, A Bill was also brought in for constructing the Hungerford- bridge terminus, which was read a fiat 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 Towris 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. GREY 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 brougl.t 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 Pri- Yate Bills. ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE. Sir R. 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 fur 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 con.tidel ation a grant to the College of May nooth. ability had a few years longer turned their attention ' to the means of improving them. He would not speak of locomotive or atmospheric railways, for it was his impression that these, if not superseded, would be rendered much more useful than they now were, when the House con sidered the great advantages which were possessed by the manufacturing interest in holding more frequent and rapid communisation with their agents in distant ; places, and also with the persons who purchased their goods. Indeed, from the facility and cheapness for this communication, he could only compare the effects of railways upon commerce with the improvements wrought in manufactures by machinery. 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 of the west of England, R here 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. Unless the fares were lowered, the labourers could not possibly avail themselves of the benefits of railway travelling, bu • 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 considerably where they were now dear—as an instance of which he would mention, that fish, which before the railroad system was very scarce and dear in Manchester, was now plentiful and abundant. If agriculture were to be improved, it must be by a mixture of the soils. There was scarcely a railroad in existence which had not almost entirely superseded the coaches and wagons. The canals, too, were almost deprived of their whole traffic, Another reason in support of his argument was, that the expense of constructing a railway was much less now than formerly ; for instance, an old line of rail way which cost, say 60,000/., 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. Railroads were the safest sort of speculation, and their capabilities to accommodate the public had not yet been 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 dcne, to have the dearest line than any.—(lrear, 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.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member then stated the comparative rates of charges on the Orleans, Belgian, and English lines, and showed how much cheaper the former were than the latter • but the exact figures were uttered in so low a tone of voice that they could not be heard in the gallery. He was understood to say that if the measures he suggested should be supplied, the great benefits of which he had been speaking would be sure to follow, and they were benefits to which the public were entitled.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to tolls he had heard a good deal ; but if the railway companies were to be made toll collectors, the tolls could not be collected. Some years ago an Hon. Member proposed that toll boards should be put up, with the rates of tolls upon them ; that was done, but then the rate of travelling pre vented passengers from ever reading them. 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. He 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 they should be careful in their legislation on this subject. He 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 Committee 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 investments in 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 matter whether the line cost 10,0001., or 20,0001., 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 sure 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 be 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. 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 under the pre sent system. If he were a director or an influential person connected with railways, le 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 secure their interests. He thought he had said enough in illustration of the present s 3 stern. lie called upon Hon. Members to bear in mind that the railroad system had superseded nearly all other means of conveyance ; whilst upon that system itself they had placed scarcely any control. Some Hon. 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 bad 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 im portant that Parliament should take some immediate and decisive steps to avert this coining evil. lie con eluded by moving the following resolutions :-- 1. That it is the duty of Parliament, in giving its sanction to the establishment of new railways, to render them the means of atlbrding to the public the best and safest communication, and the greatest possible amount of accommodation, at the lowe::,t possible rates. 2. That the clauses heretofore introduced 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 exkedient to make more effectual pro vision against the undue enhancement of the cost of travellinc , and transportation in 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 Committee 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 coin peting schemes, regard shall be had to the extent and nature of the advantages which can be thus reserved to the public from each. Mr. WARI3URTON seconded the motion. At first he had been inclined to sanctien all the contem plated railways, believing them to be for the public interest, and that they would 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, lie 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 woull 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 some 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 tols, 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 would 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 GRAN VILLE 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 laying down the scale of charges. It wets 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 railroad companies to impose higher charges in the carrying of goods and passengers than was fair or just.—(Hear, hear.) But he could not help suspect ing that hereafter these charges would be regulated by the same principles as those which regulated the charges of other public bodies which undertook to afford accommodation of any sort to the public. It did not exactly follow that railroads running to the same terminus were the only competing lines. A great number of passengers looked more to cheapness than to time, and a great number would go round a considerable distance to save money. Other lines therefore would exert a great influence 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 IVestern. 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 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 be an encouragement to railway companies to keep up their charges.—(Hear, hear.) He did not think that it would do for the Committees of that House to adopt the plan proposed by the Hon. 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 consider 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. lie 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 be would propose some alteration of the standing orders of the House, which would have the effect of obliging rail way companies, before their coming to Parliament, to lay down some rate of charges, it might accomplish the end desired. But as 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 lion. 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 which these resolutions aimed. 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 haring any check imposed upon the exorbitance of railway directors. His Hon. 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 fares did not produce an immediate benefit. The income was at first somewhat reduced, and railway directors naturally felt a great inclination to try fresh experiments. 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 he 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. He 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 lion. 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 that no one could more highly estimate the great importance of the subject than himself. But, the more he considered it, the more difficult it appeared. Railroads were put out of the ordinary class of commercial competition. If an inn keeper let out post-horses at the rate of 2s. a mile, and another charged only Is. 6d., the competition would soon annihilate imposition, if tl ere were any; or, if the charge was excessive from both, a third would soon be introduced to remedy the evil. But, if one railway were established, and imposed exorbitant fares, there was no means of preventing the extor tion except the interference of Parliament. A second railway might be constructed, but it would be a long time before it would come into effect—the whole process of raising subscriptions and going through the preliminary forms, and then they had the uncertainty of having their scheme adopted by Parliament. And if it were adopted, a long period must elapse before the railway could be finished. Yet he felt that thy railroads were a great increase to the capital of the country, and they promoted a facility of communica tion, which was of the last importance, and it was ne cessary to consider the interests of railway companies. They must not forget the liability to which these un dertakings were subject from scientific and mechani *al improvements. He believed the principle that the shortest line was the best would ultimately be adopted. In 1825, when a scheme for a railway between Liver-- pool and London was discussed, he had ventured tg predict that the people of Manchester and Liverpool would not suffer themselves to be long sent Pound by Birmingham in order to get to London. 175,000/. had been expended in committees, and now, in 1845, a scheme was introduced for the very purpose of forming a branch of nine miles, between Rugby and Stafford, in order to avoid the loss of time which had been hitherto suffered in their communication with the metropolis. By the shortest lisle, he did not mean that which was shortest in point of distance, but that by which most time was to be saved. In. making this estimate the gradients were to be con sidered, for he believed that very great loss had beers incurred by the attempt to establish railways with unfavourable gradient s ; for a great impediment was occasioned by the mechanical power of the locomo tive engines. They might establish a maxitnue,,, an d put on a pecuniary check, but he was fearf•al th a t no supervision would be sufficient to ensure the com fort of the passengers ; and it was difficult to say what course it was b est to 'pursue. The London and Birmi ng h am li ne, it: was true, returned they committed m proprietors of themselves of this to rail wayan a large per tentage, b u t it t t ould be recollected how great ran,the risk he v ri tts th \. e .- lleh h expenditure of no less than 6,000,000 of money. Mr. M'Culloch, writing in 1834, said, that though the Liverpool and Manchester line had proved a success ful speculation, it was by no means a certain criterion. It would be a difficult matter to erect a tribunal which should adjudicate upon the prices which railway com panies might charge. The great doubt in his mind was, whether they would not establish too high a rate. A railway might be formed, and in the course of three years the traffic might so increase upon it that they would obtain an ample recompence from a much lower rate of fares than that which they had originally charged, and the country would then suffer by the imposition of a rate according to Act of Parliament. It might be said that he was taking a special case ; but he had no doubt but it was one which might frequently occur. Then there was the atmospheric principle likely to work a great economy. He believed, that if a rail way were formed between London and Oxford on this principle, that the prices would be very consi derably lower than could, under the present circutpe stances, be anticipated. He thought, therefore, that it would be difficult to establish any general rule by which to direct Committees on Railway Bills, and he thought that Committees on special Bills, keeping the principle of these resolutions in view, might be safely left to take care of the public interest. Before the House should sanction the principle of laying down the maximum of fare, he thought the matter ought to undergo much more discussion and conside ration than had yet been given to it. Mr. DENNISON thought the House should not only consider the reports of the Board of Trade, but the grounds upon which these reports were founded. Air. S. WORTLEY said it should be recollected that these reports of the Board of Trade were not final. He thought that Board had discharged its duty in an able mummer, but should be very sorry that their proceedings should be regarded in any other manner than as preliminary, and that those great speculations which had been canvassed, but discou raged by the Board of Trade should still be fit sub jects for consideration in the house. He did not an ticipate any difficulty in dealing with companies at present in existence, and with those yet to be formed, nor in distinguishing between them. Sir G. GREY said there were certain principles regarding railway legislation, which would frequently be forced on the attention of Parliament during the session, and they should be speedily settled and laid down in a distinct and decisive manner, so that uni formity might be ensured.—(Hear, hear.) The re port on the West York Railway line preferred the line with had gradients to the line which had good gradients, and could be constructed with much less expense, because locomotion was every day be. coming much more perfect and certain. IN ow, here was a principle involved in this, that the opinion of Parliament ought to be at once expressed upon. H e hoped, also, that Parliament would impose some check on the rates of charges, so that monopoly might be prever.ted, and cheapness and uniformity secured.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. PARKER said a few words, which were not audible, after which The resolution was withdrawn. kr. HUME called attention to the mode of light ing the llouse. The Hon. Member moved for a copy of any report of experiments for lighting the llouse of Comm o n s i n t h e l ast 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 How did not belong to the department over which he had control, but some experiments for lighting the new llouses 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 anti Forests would come to. In the lighting of the pre sent Houses of Parliament, he did not contemplate m M a e t m ter . a be n r y c h. d l o l e e u clu n h ts l r n e o l t at f i‘ u ,e rn t i o sh tbe th s e ub l - f e o e n t . wishedmotion, fo n r fo o r n e aexistedreport; of f u i a t n f y th f e ut lno u f r o ee u x ra pe b r l i e . The subject then dropped. o i A n tf e eh n mi t s s b , he could have it with pleasur e. e r SUPPLY. The report of the Committee of Supply was brougi. up and received. RAILWAY CLAUSES CONSOLIDATION (SCOTLAND) BILL. The LORD ADVOCATE brought up st verai amendment clauses for insertion in this 134, whisk ADVENTURES OF PHILIP CLINTON. A striking and original work of fiction is now in the course of publication in a London weekly newspaper called the Sentinel. It is entitled " Philip Clinton; or, a Tale of Modern Times," and is written with the in tention of embodying certain political occurrences connected with the movement which took place a few years ago among the working-classes for obtaining the " Charter." It is well-known that these attempts failed as much through the folly and treachery of some of the leaders, as from a want of proper organiza tion among the people themselves. A fine scope is thus opened for the skill of the writer, who, in de scribing these events and unmasking the villany of baser agents, may preach a useful lesson, and unfold a moral of the greatest importance to all classes, namely, the necessity of education, political and otherwise, to fit the people truly to comprehend their duties as well as their rights, and to enable them to distinguish their true friends from their false misleaders. The work opens with great spirit, and immediately interests the reader. There is a domestic story of singular beauty interwoven with the detail of political matter, which affords relief and contrast to the work, and carries the reader fon% and with an intense relish of the characters and the subject. In tracing the political occurrences of which we have spoken, the author treads on ticklish ground, for he must necessarily sketch the characters and doings of certain well-known popular leaders ; nevertheless, he walks over the " glowing embers" fearlessly. The work must excite great notice, and its progress will no doubt be watched with consider able anxiety. ATTORNEYS' BILLS.— After Lady-day parish officers can, whenever they see necessary, have solicitor's bills, for parochial business, taxed by the clerk of the peace. GROSS CARELESSNESS.—The Brighton Herald says—" Incendiary fires are raging to a frightful extent in Beds." Really servants ought to be more careful with warm ing-palm—Punch. INSOLVENT ACT. Mr. H. BERKELEY gave notice that, on the 11th of April, he should mere for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal the Insolvent Act of last 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 Hon. 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. WEIGEITS AND MEASURES. Captain ROUS begged to give notice that he would, 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 last three years. MAYNOOTH 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 House in all cases of motions for money grants, 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 tl'e time it was most fitting to do so, mov 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 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-books, and Psalm-books. Account of any annual payment to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, charged on the stamp 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. C o py o f so muc h o f 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 voted in the annual estimates. w. Sir R. H. INGLIS would make no objection to those 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 Du.ies 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. PAKINGTON 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 similar motion to that of the Hon. Gentleman, but as the motion had been made, he had great pleasure in seconding it. Sir R. PEEL thought it would be 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 be in possession of. He, therefore, thought it would be better to establish a general rule. Lord MAHON would venture to remind his Right Hon. Friend, as 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 House the papers he had in his possession relative to the Ornithological Museum in Ireland ? The Earl of LINCOLN had no objection to the production of the papers. Mr. DENNISTOUN wished to know whether it was the intention of the Government to support a measure 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. MORISON, in putting the resolutions of which he had given notice , thought th a t th e H ouse and the country were sat isfied I that the railway system was permanently established i n the c oun t r y. t was needless to refer to the great advantages possessed by this system over the old plan of communica tion. It was not only advantageous to the trade and commerce of the country that greater many case s a matter thought it was unwise to fa cilities should be obtained . bet ween the great depots extent sin to which they were look o o f or absolute merchandise,oplonnter ailnecessity.vrailways b s u i n t t t ha Na e v e established, for he believed that so p ro fit a bl e prove, that the whole cou n t r y wou ld ted by them lik e ne t wor k. s w o o o u n l d b t they y intersected He believed that the advantages derived from rail ways was comparatively a very small part of that which would be enjoyed, when men of science and L 1) L pony tilß sal S" ee also nd 11le 0016 e e Ag in` querri en °° ea to vi rde ge ntry void , ited $1 re irj r wel teo 0 te a ou to the ,iief e a ' ' The se a IVO reo lr ie save, ers° l l' 1 2 11 1 ly P : ii, itek ibtitoi coP e a N bo t ' Oa bf to the ft tie l e D u ": rfor ce i Joi e P 1 :V I ii a o" . )00' 10 t be .or, 'l3is b°P old', Aelef On er e 'fian c° t o f of otio' 10 16 o p ktio bet te $s I" t i s 04 4 1 , 0 1 ig - i is - d oete b. bill t . a" & burg 0 0 ° r ii # l* :. t°' Mil 1; 0 I