The Sun. — London, England, 1844-03-23 00:00:00

of C°llsir BUch 01, t he jolt a' e l r - gen e ch we re As broom • dif refully CO e cw , . firwlY , ou id.to de , that c0a 66W1 71 :10Per'w iPt the sufferings of their . fellow countrymen, that fi g` Would seem to juStify those excesses,--( Hear, hear.). infir, WAIW liras of opinieh that ll the state -enti of tte Coble Lord tended to- bear outy the ar °otzr, nrged-by thnse who opposed • the - motion. th e ,Noble Lord had slid, from his own observation, that s ' #. 4 bitritions of the poor were, in snitee and iiirinesS, t h l h e l er i. iiir to th ose o f the agricultural labourers, and that t e ,,,` I v ag'es averaged ten shillings. a head. The' Noble ti e "' hall further testified 'that in_the diStriet, Which the 1 0iernb e r for linareshorough represented as a Pan rllll°Dinfo, the people" were far . better . off than in iealtural districts. That ,was the district in which th: 11 : rt. 'Member for Manchester had told them that th - E ln,Migrant s from the agricultural districts . said 11:,,Vney would prefer transPortition to going back to ber' uli onshire.-- . =(Cheers.) With all these proofs th le - it, he hotietFthe'CoMmittee would re-considet• e ,„.."eisjosi to which it had come, and that they would . 1 1 • '''eensider it upon the - evidence of the Noble Lord tVlielfrig- to What he had` seen. ' All were agreed that ere sv.. fen ~ , a great pressure , upon the la bOUring ipiipula cksi'°i' t Ue - conntry. He could_show`tiri infinitely worse th e ,„" the town - which he represented than any which n e eLlble Lord had adduced. The children, from stern lin g - 'itY, and not- TrOin ' avarice, were compelled to la ,r f,;„___ . ti c% ~ - .11 an early age. There was no time for recrea ,.(it-T,O thrie for education—no time for moral training. irtca;rt.) It Would' certainly be better for' all classes lis i n e ; ° Peratives - . could ' earn as much in ten hours Uteri - , ' we lYe.' • They didnot want Mr. Horner to inform pi rs ' ' 4B - to the evils of* excessive •werking. But the .. bare was. universal—every one was compelled to of thssalear; hear.), He was the yepresentative of one eo tth r large - it working men's constituencies in . this th,i!!rY, and he said that•he knew the evil existed, and defier could not be cured by an• Act of Parliament. He ei, ' l ed that the prOpolitinn' of the Noble Lord had, eh a t, tr reat -litr ilse . , ti - i -Chartist ' principles.—(Hear„ *liie'h and Oh, oh.) - Ire - believed. thatiall the . theories be e , - . be had heard in the course of this debate had l hoZ. vrev iOlislYadvdeated . in the ChartiSt press, and at Il e - singsalee - whbre Mr. Oastler and his party attended. toil regret na te that. the respectable names which were 'N'Et.' amongst the leaders of -the party to Which he v.attem. N e w -tied had- lent their sanction to thOse doctrines ,*ll 4 - ...ue had often heard before, but never betbre frQllllllOll Z o l„ i "' e,..r0 not too ridiculous to be se ri nus.ly at tended to. The "1 i h .„` l 'ord the Member for Sunderlan I did not indee I - t - i i ' s an entire' concurrence in these , doctrines'; ktici ,- ,, e expressed a' modified concurrence With them, 1 N: 1 e result Would be to associate the . concur 7 11 , N , ° i luatiy respectable Political men in that Itc ! ; e titli the names of mere demagogues ' out of it. , 1 ,, 1 R11 -1 / 4 :`,.._ 4( terwards .he wished 6i-cry - man to earn as stirtose 4 as he. could, amd .contended that a slight lia craelit of the hours of labour would not affect them NoL' 4l .'' Ro(Mr: Ward must entreat the House to 'bil F r,„tthat the' home trade of this country was wholly t kiti;;;; 6ll t Waupply the-slithteSt diminution that might ki„r t : a ee in the - forei klI ; ThaY Were warned the other `',it t gn the Right Hon: Baronet Opposite (Sir It. Peel) '' f'' the had to ' deal with an export trade' 4 Ni 4 Y EnilliOni,' thirty-Six di . which belonged p i , 0 Y to the foreign trade of ,thia, .coiintry; and he, for 4 11Z 1 ' Part, sra,,s - mtis6egl that in, ,any_ new curtailment 4 41p,cuar that Committee might authorise,. it. would be tit .4i blo to fill up' therap::-Therproposed to cut off 4 4113 0. 1111 t of production which was 'eanifalent to seven 'ohs t.n the year; and it had been said by the sup ,..st;,.„,f the curtailment, that in consequence of it N s " s 'Wouldbe ereetek - and. new hands 'be put to (4 . .. Ile eitr i h (Mr. ward). very . match doubted this.- I, ( ttli al e e s j.) It must be recollected they had been 441riii..: ,this Bill was only the 'firat step in this sort of . 11 ,"un,- for the Niible Lord (Ashley) - and others, it d bit;„ l) Nale(l.-to, had 'admitted that - Other branches of \ '''ttn• - •',_ Would be subjected - to: the same .process.-- I,ipittuear.) Every business which - called for their k t eY and assistance was- to have it ff(Elear, hear.) o i„ .1 %(4 i 1-lhey were told - 14 thellon: - Member f0r...1d- li . ',_sroo l :. 4 jelden),that eightdiours Was the. roper.. One Oletile proper roportion of the twenty-fonr illi hi a t Man should give to-labottr:- But the working , i'ttleAlatself went much further - than this, ' for he th r 'l,`` for , six hours, , for' four.. hours, for two, IlLsZ l o ,1" -- (. Laughter.), Jr& did not . Say . that -1 r tk l l lg people advocated getting a liveli 011,*„iout :labour at all,—but they almost ati. tN - " - , \ l• "They thought and argued that the same l/Pl t ep n" wages would in the end be divided. amongst it ii fib - ,,, f tw hours' labour as fur fourteen.-••-("- No.") t b : - , e,,, i - ,Ar.-Wa r d) could show - evidence of ' what he bl a nd ti;merfee of the operatiVes 'themselves,- who main ,lllltht at within three months of the assing of that " L i / would get the same wagee . for ten hours as they t °,4 k it ; for twelve, and - they calculated on another ad i(Lvinri a aloely; that there'svouldbe the same demand t,,,_'"Y h „ - al before, and which would call into action Cliit`-"3011s who - now did no work at all. - And, if ne. l4p,„neY were prep a r e d t o r e q u ir e that no per. forson - ty 9 4id , lir for m ore t h an n i ne ,- or ; even eig h t h ours , tk t l4 ti tec , 4 was better they-should be compelled, by le ttia•VQ 4 6 'oactinent, to ,work thoSe hours only, 'rather an 4 4 ._ L Y persons whatever that Aid not work at all. tn'at e .“..ear, fro m M r . Ferrara) Well, then, who would L'`!ti,,l;Pltal under suc h a p recar i o u s s ystem as this ? tll ll tbe e l ir .) No one !—(Hear; hear ? ) . And the con -4 th e 4 `,.Ckld be that foreign c apital would - step in and ;1.14: t ,,• xeade whi c h now b e l onge d •to us. And Ntel 'working - people themselves,k t i ° theselVes, they would t ., •_. , 1 :1 ;-si R Y 4 . Place the m ~at the' mercy"' of . mere ti 4 k . *) and - they . . would.- sharpen the competition tit‘N rlt 4 Already too intense.—(Hear, hear): Now,' 1 1,e, til t .. be 'decision : which the House came to the M 1 , 71, st et' u t g would certainly have its advantages, but 11ik.,4 W ool should find sense enough in that House thOh e i, li '_l induce . Hon. Members' to -do manfully Nit; - n t uer (night to de. `They 'must Combat the 'il li n t i , - " Is s o widely. disseminated, not only by iodi- - 'Oyre"„"Y the press,. and which were reallyealcu- Net "'rile all thersound notions which had hitherto tit) f, 4 4 0 11 . these subjects.—(Hear, hear.) He . (Mr. t ' a hioi," 4 ' the :Govern:tient accused by those Jour, li th e 't ) -" Ospally • . h with being parties hrit,,,, supported,t em, •,, L 4 tre l d'Vng of - the Queen's name. into •contempt, and 'Pt e - "' a g between - her 'Majesty and that House ;,''',l'e..„l:l4l°liairdently wished . to grant, by 'reducing to - ~, i % . 48 theyt ard the labour of her sex.—(Hear, hear.) ~'llld'Pg• 11 ,e a man in that Committee—was there A ' l ;t - ,,"ethc s a in the cOuntrY—that, believed the Queen i 15.,, %1 4e . . ---- (Ch ) The dire hecessi ty for labour 1 7' th':' ' li cl e a . ;` l ,eul all, - their best intentions .too.--.- IL 't T., 1 4 % .,. ) ' If A Committee' of that House could i's b l'hil e , "was it that the Noble Lord, the Member - 'Ait - ;,, ( Lord 'John Russell)." had not 'attempted . ~,4 t .,") 4 i,"bg the ten 'years he had been' in office ?-.-- r l Z s l, and anguish,. was; responsible for all the tinneces ,ll for !•I_, nguish,.and immorality which had been s'iL:.'ird‘ I ne last ten years.---(Hear, hear.) - If he lo ll e ' lelt• that the house was .competent to this ,:'k l t 4) 'O - f t o ftl he tould indulge 'the honest hope - d it— it 014 4 join with the .Noble Lord (Ashley), and Zki l ,klip,' ' l ot for a• T - Roma' Bill=for that would 'Ni ti 'llr,;.; - '4lll.tta.nee—biir he would go .at once for an i,'llielt„tip f di•-•-he'ivOilld give at once the means of itNnoni n t : the misery and long suffering which the -o.th' tli; 6 °Peratives ' hid' . go '6.. 'through. That ,tk,,e4t...ere... -'ttrcinal course. But' the House Tiny not k',t,,,••rs,) thet did' hey Mean to do with agricuiture? 4,'itt!'sdier t :(Mr. Ward) knew something of theie ILl, t s I lki ad seen the miserable' shifts to which the 1i r ' 4 ,21 1 :,t ther,,been redneed.4--(Flear, hear.) They could yi:iged t " or their wages as they now were, if they 0 ~, t,,, , i i 11 ter fe re with` the aperatives.• As to their ti t ' l l,„_ ` ti 4 h4l,te•Wage a it was mere ninsense.. If they k I N7 th'e - .."', benefit operative and labourer they 1•4„`N‘,... 1 ,''otojt` r uggie for bread: . They could- do . . this; ,‘ "SC,l,y m ,,,. ,flot,Tor to their corn-laws they clung as I A '' ,lttit \ nOt -'. "et*: The 'Net& Lord scnietimes . kl,'tiri e of i rrsonally certainly), bat 'classes with \' -tied • uni allitY," while • 'at " the same time . 1 4,,, 1 v , )..„ ,... 14 . what he (Mr. Ward) must .be '',, i ,'! ti e hY, 0.1- as. -a spurious humanity of his , , r e i,„, ,tiota of e Quld tell _that Noble Lerd that a very !Ikl..is tl i t . his fellow-countrymen looked' ith ex-, i'7l: l :tb et, 4-41 upon hi m , so l ong as 'th e y saw hire.. ticllii,ot 4 e ruel I3ill, which enhanced the price of :1 1 ki „ t ftl 4 4. ad•--(Loud cheers.) There must .be no 110,:,so,;; mot ters.—(Cheers.) He made no accui 1 N Say,! t e i . not against the Noble Lord ; but he and : sl , y , , ,..1 by t g b e blog to stand - there to - be tarinted . with - In hop" oCc`° se very peraons whose - votes in that V 1) „ -s b t !I-toned; bY thehigh price of bread, 'all k,to b e "exhausting to i• which they affected - so . ' 'visa, . - bl e ,. As to married females, the No, e iiog.er u . i as ue had done On several other polhts, bil l , kill s "s• The employment of married fe-. tilltr,ll4y vywea.ssi.,extitertiely small. He believed, that: Ik i 10"Irri e4 "pm find in the northern districts of 4 11 ;1 4 0 i 4_ ,1.. 44 ~,,..rernales performing their domestic oi,' l ll 4L - u hi s ,7"u Part.• he - should. go with perfect li,,tt, i pr t ,_`• °l ?stittient s , in consequence of the vote . LN 4 ' 't_L thene subject.—(Hear, hewn) 1 t -... S , O tth i4--...roSe t O address the House. .11 . e : Sit' t4 ,eii L a rk in 37„ but 0 11 • the present occaironliad ti 4o ''abii it l' e e of Ministers deriving support . liss,ltif,,:'lla ' eylnuoPponents; and being• opposed by. to. It v ,:hetiley , v ,P_Ported them.(Hear, hear.) The: ,N, r fi i , -re now called upon - to Affirm was. 'b t 41 4 . to V s hould reseind• a solemn decision of )1 4 1 rali v 'h . lb Com mitt ee '' after • say s 61e`, .. ,16- 4 , e had come, • ~4 4 ),Zte V P ,ell:tOvate, And to which a larger MR,' ivq, d J, , 4ist erQ r sup_port then attended her Ma it ~ b ',which -• ' (Hear, hear.) He recollected an !1 4 4 i t l" . th Ett a resolution - of the House was re tt4t t,tip o uri ll p. t ., / _ v ita with ;respect to the • malt-tak. Vie votior. the Government of Lord Grey; but d 4, War he r t Uld not be , sacrificed.:- , -(Hear, ,1 5 4, e1 e ! .4 _ Men t t4l3.llB.ltglit Hoti.Triendat the head 11._. N ittt e , p on. the econsider this question well before 0; , ; 4 44 s to su cflarge.he would pursue. They had loyp ets _bey raus PPose that they would have less 100t a rtio N. . !..teake eare how, they disappointed (Sir 111 Inglis) had received t t l;t;: \ t- I (ta L eeds ti I I "i flz Sl ite e,- ., J il t t r , 44_ll.ti r e a t U b d e , ;n, Bolton, Huddersfield,- PLeei; in all: of which r\ t c l . 4 lll4& `:le oth er ' .tueni fo r the vote came to by • r'll' ted tbk,:nlght.—(llear, hear.) The people. :',. l. l ttiq . re ~,,h , „ , they gave their joyftil thadks to the NNii „s..(the ii_,T,eted for the .Noble Lord's proposi . dear v , h !Ole Lord himself fur the part he had N I clt 's •Jikelf-r•)none. himself he believed, that V'lt - ger th_. but ~t .--io Govern • `Friend at present at the Avi,,,.x. j„.74e , ,N,..,_,ment remained there, or k i ,l,',Otle ll ii.."_ul Lord the Member for , the N . 4j 11 ,, ti t 'x fo r tj o uuld be there, or his Noble Friend 10i 1 y iZers.) I r . se lsbire, the Bill was, in fact, car iti:ll,l9 4,, i 4 !) , „, was useless .to suppose, whatev .I;lvplvir.:',ll,:iii(;""cvi'a_gsotargrae jt,eidn that llonse that whe er against them' a Ministry n L! 4 k 'aim re theetiari,,,h.ear.) When the . Ecclesiastical r ikti e tit ' '''t• car t -s ' Year, he urged upon them that .540 e s hin 4' the Bill, tind he told them not to 4. , . b.- .4t . &through the dirt, as he was sure a \e(''',l4‘ liell664‘xfult-,n1,64 l as t n' t ioa- uirt would • Nelott saletll‘triy4tdthheein.—(Hear, hear.) might be - fur a mo th:k.ti eci rilmi lit ;resent Ministers . ttl,y aar,ol44.,,,,_Alanaectellio:p3t:Swit6itilin4S-betif h y at, 'i:tly , 11. 'l l to coi*, I 'ol%w-tied- .with a Bill `c‘'n thhil4oNobluZfiriiiitteridii the grace of concession.— • (Hear.) . They - were dealing now . , with the bOdies and souls of their fellow-men, They allowed no time, not even for recreation or education, because. the Sunday was looked to for repose and not instruction. He had listened to the speech of the Right Hon s l'aronet at the head of the Government, and the Hon. Member for Clithern, but he had heard nothing from them . that did not apply equally to the existing law as to.that proposed by his Roble Friend the, Member for Dorsetshire. The 'whole was a'qtiestion not of principle but degree, and not that only but of time. (Hear.) -The question must be carried, and it did not matter whether it , took place in 1844 or 1846. - .If there was any error in the conclu sions of his Noble - Friend, it, lay . in their hands to rec tify it, as - the Bill - Would not take effect till October, 1844, and it' did not attain' its minimum till 1846.—(Hear.) In that interval, if it should appear that any error had been-coMmitted, they .would be able to correct it, for they.'retainect the power in their own hands. It was his 'conviction that no 'such dangerous eonseqUences would ensue, and he believed that ',any. unfavourable conse quences would be more than compensated for by-the ins creased physical comfort of the labouring population. He believed that the' increase in their physical comforts, consequent upon the diminution of the hours of labour, would more than compensate them for the loss.of the few hones' extra pay. It had been stated by his Hon. Friend, the Member for, Pontefratt, that the' last two hours of labour must, in, the nature of things, b e th e most unprofitable; and. here he came to . the factory sta tistics. It appeared that the greater number of accidents to children occurred during the last two hours. The la bourers were exhausted, with their toil, and they went through the last two hours of their work unconsciously. There would:therefore, be a diminution of the number of aceidents, in consequence of a diminution of the hours 'of labour. They bad heard, on high authority, of the sufferings of the agricultural population: On Monday, they had been - told that even women had been kept to hard labour in the - fields of England for seen .or eight hours of a winter's day without changing their clothes. Now he would ask any one to point:out in what county of England the women laboured in the fields for eight hours of a winter's day ? An Hots. MEMI3IIII:—NOt of a winter's day. Sir It H. INGLIS—The whole argument was, that it was during the inclement season -of -winter. For his part, he believed that, the thing was physically impos sible: ' At all exents; lie . 6,,t never-heard of it. - But they had not the same power of remedying- the suffer ings of the agrictiltural popitlatimi. It Was not politi cally pessible to redress the sufferings of, the agricul tural.poor as they could the. sufferings of the manufacs turing - poons . In the case "of the manufacturing poor they had the power of regulatingthe hours - of labour by stopping thilgreat machine by which the labour of all the human accessories was regulated. They bad not the power' of regulating the . hours 'of agricultural labour; and where there was no power there could be no 'responsibility. They had the power of regulating the hours of, abour in the manufactories, and therefore it was their duty. to da, so.—(Checrs.) . He bad on fOriner occasions stated his opinion on this subject, and he thanked the Coinmittee-for the attention with which they had listened•to'him.—(Cheers.) Mr. CoLLETT and Mr. C. BuLLEtt rose together for the purpose of addressing the Committee, and for some time neither Hon. Gentlemen would give way. There were lciud - calls for Mr. C. Buller. After the lapse of about a miuute both Hon. Gentlemen sat down, but im mediately afterwards both rose together again. There were loud cries of " Buller,' "Buller," " Chair, Chair," and the greatest uproar and confusion . pre vailed. Mr. Hawes, . who had previously been in com munication with Mr. Collett, then advanced to Mr. C. Buller and said something, in consequence of which Mr. C. Buller resumed his seat, but the cries of " Buller" " Buller," still continuing, he rose again and advanced to the table ; Mr. Collett, however, continued on his legs., The cries of " Chair, Chair," then became general throughout the House. and Sir C. Napier addressed some words .to the Chairman, which were inaudible. At length after a lapse of 'four minutes, during which time Mr. Collett and Mr. C. Haller retained their respective positions, Mr. Collett gave way, and ' Mr. C. BULLER proceeded to address the Committee. He said that her Majesty's Government were going to night to adopt the extraordinary step of calling on the House,,on the eighth clause of the Bill, to make the Bill nonsense by nullifying the vote to . which they had come on Monday.—(Hear, hear) Now it was the duty of the Government, before taking such an extraordinary step, at the earliest possible Moment to lay before them the grounds upon which they called . upon them to adopt such a sproceeding.—(Hear, hear.) He had'expected that if the Government had intended to make the House rescind the vote of Monday night, that they would have brought forward some new argu ments, but theyhad brought forward none. They had left everithing in doubt except' their determinati on , if possible, to rescind the-vote of Monday night. He had to state the grounds upon which he intended to repeat the vote which he had - given on Monday night, and he had to grapple with the arguments of one Member only who had risen on the opposite side, and, in doing so, he was undertaking no easy task, for seldom on a . question so exhausted had. he heard a speech containing- artsuinents of Such novelty and such force 7 -(Cheers)---and he could assure the Hon. Member that,M making that statement, he was paying no unmeaning compliment ; for he, could assure the Hon: Gentleman- that he p had' put his argu ments so ably as to elicit more than'. one cheer from hims self (Mr: C. Buller). He' had also to grapple with the speech of, his Hon Friend the Member for. Sheffield. That speech was remarkable hot so much for the strength of the arguments as for the strength Of the languages= (Cheers and laughter.) His Hon. Friend seemed most sensitive to the charges made against those who took the course which he had taken. He complained of the Jan guage which had been used regarding those who enter tained Similar opinions to himself. He complained that all who voted with him had been described as destitute of the common feelings of humanity. NoW he entirely acquitted his' Hon. Friend Of any such charge. He gave him , creditior as much humanity as any Hon. Member who voted on .the other side ; but, in return, be asked his lion.' Friend to' give those who voted against him credit for something like a little ' common sense. Those who were going to Tote' ought' to show they did -vote upon principle. 'lf' the Noble Lord's' proposition was wrong, and was carried into 'operation, 'it would very seriously interfere 'with the staple interests of the country, with the employment of' a large portion of the people, and with' the absolute security and maintenance of Millions.—(Hear, . hear.) The Legislature must in tere notwitstanding. The 'evil was great,''and must be grappled With—the mischief was frightful in its maitre and extent, and was so acknowledged even by those who, opposed it. The peace. and prosperity of the country— its many institutions, were perilled—and; if the Legis. lature did- not interfere, it must be subdued.—(Hear, hear.) The • old principles of legislation must 'in this instance be departed ' from. He avowed his .willingness to depart from those principles. New circumstances had- arisen, and they required new re medies. , The social state had undergone a revolution, and must, he repeated, be legislated for upon new prin ciples. He was prepared to enter into these new prin ciples, and, to defend them against those who advocated the old principles of legislation, which left the people to shift fur themselves, and did not apply to that new state of things, which existed - since the revolution, 'which the course of time had effected. (Hear, hear.) He would briefly state the grounds upon which he formed this opi nion. The important social change which had taken place could be hardly - exaggerated, and he would venture to say that 'no 'man, whatever his opinions on this subject might be, 'could contemplate the present condition of the people without amazement and dread. A hundred- years ago, the great mass of the labouring popnlation ' were agri cultural labourers, 'scattered over the country without any means of communicating with each. other, without intelligence or the means of acting in 'concert, without Combination or centralisation ; but they'were restrained by adherence to old institutions, and 'acted under, the guidance of those whose • authority was 'sanctioned by hereditary -power, and - '(he 'felt' happy to say) by, hereditary attachment. . The towns were thinly popu lated-; but the citizens, for the most part, possessed a comparative degree of intelligence,, and were able to .protect themselves. But a new race had arisen within the last fifty years. Millions of men were collected together within a small space, for the first tiine—an immense - competition grew up between unskilled la bourers, Who worked from the first moment they could work until they could -work no longer:—(Hear, hear.) The greater part of this population consisted, as he had already said, of unskilled: labourers; which was the cause Of the - extraordinary pressure. Wages were beaten doWn, - not •by masters, but 'by, competition ; their numbers prevented them from combining, and, with all these phenomena together, and without those, influences. which formerly bound _ the :population. together, let ' him ask the House could they look on* this state a- things - without deep con tern?—(Hear, hear.) He would not represent the fac tory labourer as crippled-or disabled (nor would he say anything offensive to the master manufactnrers, for he believed there were a great, many 'among them who :dia.: . charged the relations between man and master in a very, becoming manner, and who, exhibibited the greatest benevelence and forethought. 'No man could look itt.the physical condition of the people, end say it was as it ought to be.—(llear, hear.) He , would confine himself to one or two great statistical facts. Let them look to the labourers in .Dorsetshire and Wiltshire,' who ave raged 33 years, and contrast it with the average of life in the manufacturing districtss-in Manchester,: for in.' stance, where the average of human life did not 'exceed 17 years.—(Hear, hear.) He did not say this by way of attributing blame' to the Uaillowners, but he Men tioned the appalling fact, as imperatively demanding the interference of the Legislature.---(Hear: hear.) The brevity of human life in the manufacturing districts did not arise from casualties, or from epidemics, but from the physical condition of the people, from over-exer tion, and from causes connected-with labours=-.(Hear, hear.) further than this; the present condition- of the. people .in those districts must lead to a de terioration of the physical strength and moral habits of their children.—(Hear.) The mere temperattire in these. factories was most injurious to the. human con stitution. He had been visiting some of the factories in 'the north of England a few months ago, and he found the temperature there • most inconvenient and un pleasant. tolimself. - It was an Indian, a tropical climat e , :in those, factories, and could not but-be injurious. to the human frame. .On -passing through one of these-facto -ries, be was greatly surprised at not seeing any 'males— they were all females ; and Lord Ashley had justly observed upon the order of things being reversed in these districts ; that the women and children did the work of the men, who subsisted inidleness On their labours. .The relations which bound the higher and lower orders toge ther in other parts of the country, did not exist there. They were without religious or literary instruction, and their condition especially called for the. interference. of the land e d proprietors of ,England, whose especial duty it was t o interfere.. Mr. M'Culloch was no sentiment-. tahst,. an d yet he shook 'his head gravely at the present' state o€-things; and-:said : they required- -a-change::: an:' such a state , of 'circumstances, it was the p9sitive duty of the Legislature to- interfere, and they would be neglecting their duty if they did not. Now, what was the state of things in Lancashire? What did Mr. Horner say? Why he said that bet Ween twenty and thirty young men were employed as pieeers, at wages from Bs. to 9s. a week, while in the same mill there were girls of eighteen years of age employed at lls. and .12s; a week.—(Hear, hear.) :The Noble Lord had -shown that more girls were , employed than male , adults, and it was therefore clear that they would- have a large portion of the adult population to fall back upon. He did not know what the Hon. Gentleman opposite meant when he asked whether this was to be a Ten Hours' Bill, and then went on to -argue that they could increase the labour of the children in the samepropor tion that they diminished that of the men. A (great many charges had been brought against the supporters of the Noble Lord's motion, but, for Heaven'asake, let them only deal with those charges which could be fairly brought against them. Ile perfectly admitted that' the argument used on the other side was perfectly sound that, humanity should give way to the commercial and financial interest of the country. Of course it stood to reason that it would be unwise to shorten the hours of labour with the certainty' of depriving -the operative po pulation of employment altogether. Now, how did the Hon. Gentlemen opposite show that this proposition would hive that effect? In the first place they made it out by a great many very vague appeals to theirlears. They said they . were embarking_in a new course—it was very dangerous; they said;hut they gave no other reason for their opposition to the proposition. He (Mr. Buller) had always found that suchalarma as these were started when the interests of certain parties were affected. It had alwayi been said when any particular change was going to be made, that if another feather were• to be placed on the particular brand' of trade which was to be affected, it would be broken down. 'He recollected that this was said at the time of the inquiries into the condition-of the slaves.—(Cheers.) They were always told that a perfect paradise existed in the West Indies. He (Mr. Buller) was perfectly ready to yield in opinion to practical men, and to her Majesty's Government, upon whom great responsibility was thrown. It was; however, upon one condition, which was, that they should give up all shaking of the head, and come down with a plain ar gument upon the subject. What was the argument used by the Right Hon. Baronet, in terrorem, as it were, for the purpose of scaring the supporters of the Noble Lord? The Right Hon. Baronet sai d" How far will you go, if you interfere with the factories—what will you do with the cotton manufactories and others?". Now, he (Mr.-Buller) would answer the' Right' Hon. Baronet. He would, first of all, tell him what he would do with. the principle. He would try it in- every instance.- , - (Cheers.) He would carry the principle of interference just to that point where it was impossible to go further. —(Cheers and laughter.) Some of.his friends laughed at him. Should he state the proposition in converso. He should not go further than the point to go beyond which would not benefit the operatives. Why, after all, the Government did - this themselves.—(Hear, hear.) They limited their interference to twelve hours in the • factories.— (Hear, hear.) Now, with regard.to, the in- stance the Right Hon. Baronet had - mentioned of the screw-makers. He (Mr. Baler) did not know the par ticUlar circumstances of that trade ; and he could not, of course, pledge himself without inquiring into them; but he would say that he saw no earthly - reason why, if they legislated for the factories, they should not legislate for them also. The Right Hon. Baronet mentioned the case of domestic servants. Now, in the first place,. he (Mr. Buller) did not believe that • that was' a class that was very . much Over-worked.—(Hear.) He did not know" how flOnourable Gentlemen opposite. used their servants, but he did not think that generally they were very much overworked,—(Laughter.) But, even supposing that they were, no arrangement could be made with respect to them,. for any interference in such a case would do more harm than good. Then there was another class—that of the agricultural labourers. He did not think that, if they took the whole miss - of the agricultural labourers of the country, they would complain of being - Overworked. • Although they were badly treated in other respects, yet they did not Com plain of overwork. The Right Hon. Baronet mentioned the harvest, and: he said they worked a great many hours during the harvest. Why, who would complain of overwork in the factories if it were confined to three Weeks, and if the custom of the -country required it? He did not think that the arguments of the Right Hon. Baronet ought to scare them from their purpose.— (Cheers.) One of the wisest men in the world - once remarked, " The slothful man said . there is a lion in the street:" Now he (Mr: Buller) must say, that in 'that question there had been most extraordinary lions.— (Cheers and laughter.) The Right Hon. Baronet said, for " God sake do not go that way, or the lion will be sure' to be at you."—(Laughter.) He would now glance at the • arguments of the two Right 'Hon. Gentlemen, the Secretary for the Home Department and the First Lord of the Treasury. Now he thought he could set the two Right Hon. Gentlemen by the ears. It was impossible that the arguthents used by each Could stand together. One Right Hon. dentletnan said, " Don't- interfere in this matter-it is our export . trade, and the foreigner is competing with you." -He (Mr. Buller) hoped this. would be recollected in the debate on the corn-laws. The Right Hon. Baronet dreaded the competition with the foreigner. " The foreigner," he said, will compete with you, for you 'will have to raise your prices." The other Right Hon. Gentleman referred - to Mr. Horner, and proved that nothing of the kind would happen, Ns the price depended "on the foreign market, and therefore the prices would be kept low, to preserve the foreign market. Let him (Mr. Buller) take first the argumept of the Right Hon. Baronet, the First Lord of the Trea sury. His argument was the most formidable, after all. They could not over-state the importance of the export trade. The Right Hon. Baronet dreaded the increase of prices. What was that increase to be ? Some calculation might be made. Surely those who apprehended all this danger, could shadow to themselves the amount 'of • the increase. Mr. Kenworthy, a gentleman' himself connected largely with the manufacturing interests, had made a calculation to show the 'sum which was expended in. the manufac- , ture of a yard of cloth. It appeared that this sum was threepence per yard at present Now, a common rule-of three sum would-prove that, by a limitation of labourto nine hours, instead of its present duration, there would be a loss of only seven-sixteenths of a penny; and if to a Ten Hours' Bill, it would be five.isixteenths.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Yet the Right'Hon. Bhronet came forward, and said this 'Bill would be most ruinous to the" manu facturers, and that, in consequence of the cotton-yarn trade of this Country, they would be unable to compete with foreigners. He would now refer to a simpl e financial fact in connection with taxation, and he re gretted to see that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had not announced in his last budget that there was any in tention of altering this duty—he alluded to the duty on raw cotton—(Loud cheers)—that raw material, of which those manufactures 'were composed. This duty 'was 5-16ths of a penny; so that they' who railed against this measure, and said it would ruin the manufacturers of this country, had the remedy in their own hands without injury to any particular :interest, by reducing it 2-16ths of a penny —(Cheers)—or to reduce, it altogether.— (Renewed cheering.) If they thought that this tended to injure the manufacturers, her Majesty's Government had the power of 'applying the acquired 'remedy. The Right Hon. Baronet, he thought, was much mistaken in saying that all the injury would fall upon the operatives,. and he made this assertion from premises drawn from' statements in Mr. Horner's work. He (Mr. C. Buller) could not at all understand the arguments of the Right Hon. Baronet. The Hon. Gentleman then read the ex- tract alluded to, and proceeded to say that the change made in the amount of wages would. be only a diminution of one-tenth • but the same' amount of cotton would 'b e manufactured as before, for it would not be that the quantity of work to be performed would be reduced, but that a greater number of hands would be employed ; and the only inference which he could draw from that passage from the work of Mr. Horner was, th a t th ere would - be a reductioq in the amount of labourers'•wages of about 301. in evert' 4004 now. expended. Honourable Members on the. Opposition side of the House -had been taunted with endeavouring to prove that a low rate of wages would increase domestic comforts and happiness ; now r in reply to this taunt, he would ask, did the com forts of the people bow a proportion to the amount of the weekly income? He had seen • much of the country, and he would beg to call the attention of the House to the state of the population in the collieries. Misr, in these localities, although the 'An receive, very. high wages, yet, surely, no person could say that domestic comfort was the result of this ? He saw numbers of the labourers, who had not half the 'wages of the colliers, who were much more comfortable ;- and he thought, even were it to lessen- 7 -which he denied—the wages or the ope- . 'retires, yet the increase of domeStic comfort consequent upon she women having more time . to devote to their household duties would_ be more than an equivalent for any loss of . wa g es which might possibly accrue from this 'measure. The argninent he •_must. grapple with Was one that had frequently been thrown out, had been frequently used, had been circulated among the gentle men opposite with some assiduity, and ,probably . with some sticcess. It was said that the corn-laws were Mixed iip - With . this question.--(Lo ud cheers.) It was said, if we venture to 'do this—if we thus interfere with manufacteres—if we lay these_ fresh restraints on them; how will a paternal Government be able to resist the demand of the people . for food?,--(Cheers.) How. shall we next year stand by the sliding setae ?—(Cheers.) The members of the League, it is said, - are cunning men ; - the 'Bill is - doing the work Of the League.— '(Cheers . and laughter.) He ' could net '• say there was not something in thet.--(Cheers.) It was not his business to defend the corn4aws 7 --(Cheers)—, nor should he do so ; but he told theni, after all' that he had mentioned. a much simpler remedy. - There was no prOtectire duty on raw cotton.—(Cheers.) There were no Anti-League leagued with respect to that article.— (Cheers and laughter.) But, . suppose . ' the House rescinded its vote, the public would know - who voted—(Loud - Cheersy-:the public would know who Changed their votes—(Cheers)L--the public would know who stayed away(Lood cheers and lazighter)—the . publie 'weed know where " the 'whip" had been ap plied--(Cheers)—ag well as they would knoW those who. had changed, these who were absent, And those whowere suddenly present.—(Cheers and laughter.) Look how the decision of. Monday • night had .been received. ; then . let the friends of the corn-laws tell 'him,. those who sacrificed every* consideration of policy to the maintaining - olthose laws—let them tell 'him, whit the masses of operatiVes from whose lips they would dash' the cup of hope--what the intelligent and thinking "classes, the mass of Whom believed that humanity. and' .policy Went' together—how could theSe people reconcile their conduct with their opinion ? Would it not be much more fatal to the corn-laws, if intelligent -men should see that it was for the maintenance of these laris the country gentlemen were ready to sacrifice the edit cation, the morality, the social relations, and the phy sical - well-being 'of'• the people of England ? Let - them tell him what could be, . *the feelings -of-- the operatives -- when— Carrying—oil- — their:- - bour for those two other holm or the day, A A er • r • e - - ; -1 . 11 cr TT , " TRE gU - N, LONDON, SATURDAY MORNING, MARCH 2 -1 3 - 1844, and working hard at their -task, when they were com pelled to say, we are not working for our hread,lout to pay the landlords their bread-tax ?—(Cheers.) He wive them the best advice for their own interest. --(Hear, hear.) If they really -wanted, to 'maintain the corn-laws let them maintain them as a-corn-law- only. But let thetn not make th e people of this country be lievelhat those laws were linked with all = the abuses 'and all the evils they were compelled to suffer.- He had done with the arguments, he - intended to use.on this subject; r he had stated those arguments in a manner that had satisfied his own mind, but . he was . not sure that he had been as able to satisfy others, though there .might be some who would perhaps think he had made out a tolerably, plausible case.— (Hear, hear, and laughter.) It now remained to be seen what the House would do on this most important clues tion.--(llea,r, leer.) The Government bad taken a course which : whatever might be the right or wrong of the question, would always be a dangerous and impolitic one. It might give rise to feelings that never ought to be excited—feelings that might long outlive the decision itself. But he was prepared to give the Government credit for the honesty of the conviction under which they had.been bold enough to encounter such a load of bblo. quy and unpopularity. 'Would those , Hon. Gentlemen who voted for this amendment the other night—would they be less bold than they were?—(Great cheering.) Would they have less confidence in their cause—would they . shrink front .their-duty ?—(Cheers.) They had a gratifying division the other night.--(Hear.) Let them say what they would, they could not deny that they had men of all parties, of all interests, united in a great pub lic" eause.—(Cheers.) Let the same feeling that ani mated them then, animate the gentlemen new so that neither absence nor change should affect that-b old course of humanity and sound principle , which the House had done itself honour by. adopting.—(The Hon. Gentleman sat down amid loud cheering.) Lord FRANCIS EGERTON rose amidst much confusion, to address the Haase. He said he did not intend so much to join in the discussion as to rescue a constituent of his from an accidental misrepresentation which had been made with respect to him by the Noble Lord who had brought this question before the House. In the course of his observations he had read a statement of the ages of operatives employed in factories, and alleged that Mr. Peter Holroyd had refused employment to a man in his factory because he was 43 years of age, and there fore, too old for the occupation. He could contradict the state ment ; such an event had sever occurred. Having said this much on the point, he would not trespass any longer on the indulgence of the House at this late hour.—( Cries of " Di vide, divide." < • . Mr. COLLETT moved that the Chairman report progress. —(Loud cries of " Divide, divide," ' s Go on, go on," " Ad journ, adjourn," in the midst Qf which— Mr. T. DUNCOMBE asked whether the Committee was disposed at once to adjourn ?-4 4 ‘ Oh, oh.") He wished to know whether it was the intention of her Majesty's Govern ment to go to a division without some expression of opinion on their parts--without alleging some . reasons for the course they would pursue ?—( Hear, hear.) What the Hon. Member for Liskeard said was perfectly true, that the Government were sanguine of substituting twelve hours for ten, and reversing the decision which the House had come to on the other evening. He could . only . say: that the people of :the country were prepared for any injustioe and inconsistency on the part of the House and : the Government.—( Oh, oh, and Hear, hear. ) When they were called on to commit this gross inconsistency they. bad a right to know what were the sentiments of her Ma jesty's Government. If they reversed their former decision it would create great consternation amongst the working-classes of the manufacturing districts.---(,Cheers.) The Honourable Member for Sheffield said that he had no fear of perilling his seat by the vote he gave. He (Mr. Duncombe) thought he would not say so if the operatives possessed the franchise. He (Mr. Duncornhe) had presented a petition to the House, signed by 3,000,000 of the working classes of the country, and one of the grievances of which they com plained was the excessive toil which they were obliged to undergo to enable them to live. The Noble Lord the Member for Dorsetshire,had brought forward this grievance, and they decided thit it ought to be \ redressed. —( Hear, hear.) The House gave the subject its best consideration, and divided upon it twice. They might disguise the question as they would, but the country looked upon it as a question between avarice and liumanity—between an insatiable thirst for gain and mo rality.—( cheers. ) • This was called a spurions'humapity, but it was that, humanity which, as had been truly said by the Hon. Member for Liskeard—which obtained negro emancipation, and forced the lash from the hand of the slave-drtver.—( Cheers. ) And it was that Spurious humanity which Would set free the white slaves of this country.—{ , Cries of Hear, hear.") It was a question which -could not be long de layed, and -it was well known in - the• manufacturing districts, that 'it would ameliorate the condition, social and moral,_of the working elasses.—(Sear, hear.) Ai far, there• fore, as his individual vote. was concerned,.it Ins very much at he Noble• Lord's service. • •-• . Sir J. 'GRAHAM Jose amidst loud cries of " Divide, divide," responded to by cries of ." Go on, go en." The Right Hon. Baronet said, if it was the pleasure of the House to go . - to a division that evening—(Cheers)—he certainly wished to_address them very' shortly.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. HINDLEY moved the .adjournment of the debate.•-•-- (Cries of " No, no," and confnsion.) . Sir J. GRAHAM said,. es-he..wis ,in possession of - the House, he should certainly avail himself of the opportunity of making a•few observations. If he were of opinion, with the Member for Finsbury, that the social and physical improve ment of the working classes in the manufacturing districts Would really be advanced-by the adoption of the proposal of the Noble Lord, no person in that - House would more willingly ric cede to it than himself; but it was because they had arrived at the opposite conClUsion..thatlie felt it his duty to persevere in his opposition to -that proposal.-4 Cheers. ),- Notwitstanding the threat of the Honourable Member for Pontefract that her Majestyl, would be, addressed by, that House, in an address expressive of disapprobation of the Govern ment—notwithstanding the haughty contempt of the Noble Lord_ the Member for Newark, and the threat thit great convnlskills.woulct come, unless the motion of the Noble Lord was carrieds-notwithstanding the taunt, he must say, not a very. friendly, one,-,of the Hon. Member for the University of, Oxford—notwithstanding the accustomed j eers •of the Hon. ember fur Liskeard—he was bound to say that, consideiing all, the circumstances of the case, he had newe r Come to a less hesitating conclusion than that at which he had arrived on this occasion—namely, that it was his imperative duty to take the sense of the House ag ainst the proposal of the Noble Lord, the Member for Dorsetshire.—(Cheers.) With regard to. surprise, be' must say that _he had endea voured to avoid as far as possible any such charge, by stating to the Committee, immediately after its decision, what course it was his intention to pur sue. It was necessary that he should e xpl a i n t o th e Committee why he had adopted such an unusual course. In the firstplace he was taken by surprise by the result of the former division, He was taken by surprise on finding himself opposed tp the ./sToble Lord the Member for London, and seve ral other members of the l ate G overnment. H e (Si r J ames Graham), harings on several occas i ons , i n t h e Government of 1833, and as late as 1839,, when, in opposition, given his cordial and st renuous su pport to the very course which her szonsty,s advisers w erenow pursuing. —( Hear, hear.) He had thought it necessary , considering the very great interests at .stake, that time should 'be given for public opinion to operate upon the proceedings of that House., The Noble Lord tbe Member for London had on.the last occasion rested his vote very much on the speech o f hi s H on . F r i en d th e Me m be r for. Leeds.—( Hear , hear. ) Avery important declaration had been made , on that occasion by his Hon. -Friend. He stated that 300 master manufacturer, in the West Riding of York shire, were favourable to the proposition of the Noble Lord, and that thirty-three master manufacturers in the city which he represented,.bad come to a similar conclusion.—( Hear, hear.) Now, as that statement Was calculated to produce a great im pression on the House, it was of the last importance that her Majesty's Ministers should ascertain what was the opinion of that great manufacturing city, and of the cot ton district of Manchester. Now he spoke in the presence of his Honourable Friend who had formed part of a deputation from the flax manufacturers of Leeds, beaded - by Mr. Marshall ; and that deputation stated that a Ten hours' Bill would be fatal to their interests.— ( Hear, hear,) There was a great division among the woollen manufactures, but it was understood they would consent to an Eleven Hours' Bill, though the majority had insuperable objections to a Ten Hours BIL But what was far mere important, what were the' communications which he (Sir J. Graham) had received from 'the great- manufacturing districts of Lancashire ? It would be impertinent in him, at that late hour, to occupy the Committee 'by going' over all the statements which he had received, and of which the substance was already familiar to the House. But he would briefly state what had been com municated to him from that great commercial interest. He had this day received a deputation of eight or ten gentlemen, employing 10,000 workmen, and representing 140 firms in Lan easbire—(Hear, hear)—and the summary of their , opinions was this: that M earnestly entreated the Government not to agree to the proposition of the-Noble Lord, as to any reduction of the hours of labour below twelve. Seven were in favour of eleven hours, and the remaining Nur were in favour of ten hours.—(Cheers.) The Hon. Member for Liskeard asked for fresh arguments and reasoning to induce the Committee to re-. consider its decision. Now he (Sir J. Graham) was obliged to admit that his powers of reasoning were so imperfect, that he was not able to give any fresh arguments; but all subse quent consideration led him to the conclusion, that beyond all doubt the proposition of the Noble Lord would be fatal to those whose welfare he had at heart, and whose inte rest he had so ably and consistently espoused.--( Hear, hear. In the first place it would lead to a diminution of wages. The chairman of the Factories Deputation, now in London, admitted that he was not very sanguine that a reduction of wages would not be the consequence of. the reduction of time.—(Cheers from Mr. Ferrand.) The Hon. Member for Knaresborough cheered.— ( Renewed cheers from Mr. Ferrand.) Notwithstanding that cheer, he would say that he was satisfied that an early and large reduction of wages viola: be 'the. necessary consequence of the Noble Lord's proposition..-(Hear, hear.) He was convinced that the disappointment would be most poignant, and he would make any sacrifice rather than be a party to the preparing of such disappointment as he clearly foresaw must be the result of the Noble Lord's proposition.—(Hear, hear. ) Mr. FERRAND.—Give us a trial.-(.Laughte r . ) Sir J. GRAHAM- said, there were many experiments of which the result might •be very doubtful; but let the issue be what it might be, the good, if good it were, might be bat small ; but the evil, if evil, was not to be repaired, and might go on for ever, with a velocity impossible to check, and an accumulation impossible to reduce.—( Cheers. ) He entreated the Committee to remember the declara tion of the' Hon. 'Member for Oldhatn—the honest, faith ful, and persevering coadjutor of the Noble Lord—that the Hesitation to ten hours was not sufficient, and that he would hhiself persevere until he attained 'an Eight Hours' Bill.— . (Hear.) Was this their settlement ?—( Hear.) His oPinion was this; that our manufacturers, with their expensive ma chinery, were to be placed under such an arrangement as this, in competition with • foreign countries—with Austria, France, Switzerland, and Belgium—the proposition wa s t o limit the labour of the English operative to sixty hours a week, whereas in those other countries, they worked eighty-four boil's - a week—the'effect would be ultimately to drive British menufactures out (of the foreign market. Bat it was - said that the Noble Lord's proposition would not be brought into nperation in its full extent at once, that the limitation in the beginning should be to eleven hours—and that in' two years the ten ' hours' system should come into ope ration: Now, be should - 'say, that if the- system was to be adopted at all, it should be adopted at once. There existed it present many opportunities and many inducements for transferring our manufactures to foreign countries. What would be the effect of our.restricting our operatives to certain 'hours of labour, when they had to contend with other countries where there was no limitation as to hours of labour ? It was true that in France there was a law to regulate the hours of 'labour; but it was totally ineffectual from the want of a system of inspection ; and there was a fir m on the confines of Switzerland, under which the people were 'employed fourteen and sixteen hours a s day. - In 'America, next to-Belgium, our greatest rival, there was no limitation upon the hours of labour. The inevitable effect of ' tbe.Bill would -be -to drive away all our best machinery, and 'with it ultimately . our capital would follow, and seek a profit• able employment in other lands. And what, then, would be the effect our the immense masses of our labouring people when ! . `iiitiehinery and capital being gone, the 'MAW fOrlahonr should cease ? -- He had every respect for the Statements and calculations "of the Hconourable Member for Lisketu:d . (Mr.. Charles Buller), but those ealculaticrns had been read so rapidly by him that he was unable to follow him through them even were he willing, which at that late hour he was not, to trouble the House by replying to them. But since he had submitted his own calculations to the House on a former occasion, .be bad sent to the Factory Inspectors, who had submitted them to sit of the Most etperienced master manufacturers in Lancashire. That - calculation showed that the necessary reduction of wages, consequent on this measure being carried, would he between 23 and 25 per Cent. ; and he could assure the House that the master manufacturers he -al luded to had made calculations from their own books,' and - they all concurred that his calculation was' thoroughly a correct one. Now if the House Should be of opinion that one of the two things which be (Sir J. Graham) feared would happen—either that this dreadful dimi nution of wages would occur, or that our machinery and capital would fly to other lands, and cause a consequent awful diminution in the labour of our own ; if the House should think either oe both of these evils would result, surely it must pause before consenting to a measure like this.—( Hear; hear.) He was bound to state he felt himself and his Hon. Colleagues behind him most painfully situated in being opposed by a great body of gentlemen with whom he had voted with very great satisfaction, and from who m th e Government' had received a constant and cordial support. Rut he (Sir J: Graham . ) was so deeply impressed with the magnitudeof the interests involved in the principle then under discussion, that he felt—and said it most sincerely, and with pain —that he could not yield one point on the present occasion.—( Loud cheers.) All was &esti° the -balance to him compared with the sense of duty which controlled him.--(Loud cheers.) He was quite satis- - fled our.-manufacturing and commercial prosperity was at stake, and on this prosperitythe House might depend that the peace, happiness, and'_future prosperity of this country were indissolubly connected.—( Loud cheers.) To nothing could he (Sir James Graham) consent which might threaten Seriously to interfere with our commercial end manufacturing -greatness. And it was, he conceived, the duty of those who felt as he did, who entertained the same opinions, the 'same views and the same fears that he did, to resist the attempt which was now niade to confirm the vote of the other night. He put it to the H ouse t o resc i n d th at vote, believing as he did, that it was a most dangerous one. . —( Cheers.) He did feel called upon to entreat the House carefully to reconsider the decision they had come to on former occasion. If it was re-affirmed he should view it with the deepest regret; if it was reversed with the highest satis faction; for by such a vote only could he now look forward to the maintenance of the greatest interests of this country. Mr. COLLETT (amidst tremendous uproar) was under stood to say that he should vote for the Noble Lord (Ashley) and against the proposition of the Government. Mr. BECKETT said that it had been stated that he was not justified in stating what he did on a former occasion. Did the Right Hon. Gentleman who had made that statement recollect what he did state? If he did, he was sure he would not have made the statement. He hoped he should stand in in the opinion of the Committee as incapable of making statements that he did not believe. He had stated that he was for an Eleven Hours' Bill ; but he was decidedly opposed to a twelve hours' one, and that was the opinion of his constituents. Now, there was a memorial that had been presented to the Government, and what was the statement in that memorial? Why, they wished the present Bill to be withdrawn, rather than have the ten hours, and they' said that they would get as much out of an Eleven Hours' Bill as a thirteen one. Sir J.-GRAHAM wished to read part of the memorial. It was signed by Mr. Marshall, and most of the principal flax spinners in Leeds, and a considerable portion of the woollen manufacturers. Now what was stated in that memorial ? Why that the hours of working fin. women and young people were not oppressive or injurious to health—that the reduction of time by fifty-eight hours per week, which would bo the effect of the Noble Lord the Member for Dorsetshire's propositio n , would be followed by a serious reduction in the e arn i ngs o f the women, and would inflict upon the memorialists the most serious con sequences. The Honourable Member for Leeds had stated that the manufacturers were desirous of an Eleven Hours' Bill. Now what did the memorialists themselves state? Why that they were desirous that no legislative enactments should be made that would infringe upon the present system and they trusted that the Gov ernm e n t wou ld wit hd raw the Bill, if the ten hours' clause was insisted on. Mr. ALDAM said that the memorial was signed by six or seven of the largest flax-spinners in Leeds; in fact, he be., lieved that none of the manufacturers of that article had refused to sign it. It was signed also by a great number of the woollen manufacturers of th a t t own , and he believed ' that only ten manufacturers in the place • had refused to append their names to it. On the whole, the opinion of the ma nu f ac t urers i n L ee d s was against a Ten Hours', and in favour of an Eleven Hours', Bill. —(Cheers.) In point of fact, the adoption of an Eleven Hours' Bill would not make any material difference. The present hours of labour were eleven and a half in the flax manufacture, and eleven in the woollen manufacture. The manufacturers of Leeds were anxious for an Eleven Hours' Bill, as a final settlement of the question. Mr. MITCHELL had on Tuesday conversed with one of the largest flax 'manufacturers in the kingdom on the subject. The Leeds manufacturers wer e mere l y fl ax spinners. That gentleman was a flax manufacturer, he employed upwards of 4,000 people as bleachers, dressers, weavers, and spinners. In answer to his question as to what would be the effect of a reduc tion of the hours of labour to ten hours, that gentleman had stated that one-sixth of the men of his establishment, who were employed in dressing, weaving, and bleaching, would be thrown out of employment. Lord HOWICK reminded the Hon. Member for Leeds that they were about to divide on the question whether twelve should be the number of hours of labour or not, and if they vote t against the motion, if twelve should be rejected, it would be still competent to either of them to propose that the blank should be filled up with eleven. Sir I. GRAHAM reminded the Committee, that the qua tion was. whether they should adopt ten hours or not ? Mr. HINDLEY wished to ask the 'Chairman what was the question upon which they were really going to divide? Mr. GREENE (the Chairman) said that the amendment before the House, and upon which he should first put the question was, that the blank should be filled up with the word " ten." If that should be rejected, it would be competent to any Member to move that the blank should be filled up with the word " eleven." If that were negatived, then the next question would be that it should be filled up with the word " t welve." Mr. MUNTA wished to draw the attention of the Com mittee to a very paradoxical statement made by the Hon. Member for Clitheroe. He had stated that no masters paid so little as the English masters, and no men received so much as the English workmen. Now he knew something of the manu facturers on the Continent, and h• believed that, in many cases the foreign manufacturers paid much less than the English manufacturers, and that the English workmen received much less than many of the foreign workmen. He believed there was not any one acquainted with the manufacturers of the Continent who could not contradict the statement of the Hon. Member for Clitheroe. Strangers 'were then ordered to Withdraw, and the Committee divided, when there appeared— For the twelve hour clause Against it— lB6 Majority against the Government --3 A second division then took place before strangers, were ad mitted, on the ten hours' clause, when there appeared— For the clause Against it Majority against the clause -7 On eur return to the gallery we found Sir JAMES GRAHAM addressing the House. He said the House had decided that there should neither be a Twelve Hours' nor an Eleven Hoene Bill. He respected the decision of the House, and he had a great regard for the great interest con cerned; and be thought he would best discharge his duty by postponing till Monday any further proceeding. He thought, therefore, that all would agree with him that the Chairman should report progress and ask leave to sit again. Lord ASHLEY, amidst much confusion, said—No one can he more ready than lam to bow to the decision of the House. I ventured at the outset to make a very solemn appeal to your feelings, and I will not presume to impugn, even in thought, the justice or humanity of this august assembly.—( Hear.) Although defeated now, I think I am not guilty of presump tion in saying that I have a right, and that I will reserve to myself that right, of endeavouring to assert the principle I have this evening advocated, on every legitimate occasion. I will persevere to the very latest period of my existence ; and I have not the slightest doubt that, in a very short time fro m thi s period, by God's blessing, I shall hare a complete triumph. The CHAIRUAN then reported progress, and the House resumed. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned, at a Quarter before Two, to Monday next. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. (From As Votes and Proceedtngs of the House of Commons.) THURSDAY, MAZCIII 21. EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW, fn., RAILWAY BILLS. • Motion made, and Question put, " That the Order made on Friday, the 15th day of this instant March, That it be an in struction to the Committee of Selection to refer the Edin burgh and Glasgow, the Slamannan and the Edinburgh, Leith, and Newhaven Railway Bills to the same Committee, be discharged, in so far as relates to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Bill ; and that the Committee on the said Bill have leave to sit and proceed on Wednesday next, without further notice :" The House divided : MINORITY—AYES, 6b. Baring, F. T.—Portsmouth Hodgson,lßd.—Berwick.on Tweed Barron, Sir H. W.—Waterford Houldsworth, T.—Nottinghamsh Bell, M.—S. Northumberland Howard, C. W. o.—Ctunt , erland Bellew, R. M.—Louth Howard, Hon. E. G.— Morpeth Berkeley, Hon. H. F.—Bristol Howick, Viscount—Sunderland Blake, Martin J.—Galway James, William—Cumbertind Bowring, Dr.—Bolton Johnstone, A.—Renfrew, Aro Brotherton, J.—Salford Labouchere, Right Hon. Henry— Buckley, E.—Newcastle-on-Tyne Taunton Butler, Him. P.—Kilkenny Co.' Leader, J. - Temple—Westminster ' Miller, P. S.—Kilkenny County Macnamara, Major—flare Byng, George—Middlesex ' "Murray,. Alex.--Kirkcudbright Childers, John W.—Malton Mitcalfe, H.—Tynemouth • Collett, John—Athlone MorrliOn. Ames—lnverness Cowper, Hon. W. F.—Hertford O'Connell M. J.-Kerry Denistoun. J.—Glasgow Pat 'hon. James—London - Divett, Edward—Exeter :.Pbilips, U. R...-Poole Duncan, Viscount—Bath Plurnridge, Captain—Peuryn and Duncan, G.—Dundee Falmouth Duncombe, T. S.--Finsbury Ramsbottom, J.—Windcor Ebrington, Lord—Plymouth . Russell, Lord John—London Ellice, Edward—St. Andrew's Russell, C.—Reading Forster, M.—Berwick-onTweed dcholegeld, J.—Birmingham French, F.—Roscommon Stock, Dr.—Cashel Gill, T.—Plymouth Strickland, Sir o.—Preston Gistorne,aThomas—Nottingham Turner, Edmund—Truro Greenall, P.—Wigan Walker, R.—Bury, Lancashire (frey, Sir George.:—Devonport Wall, C. Baring—Guildford . . Grimsditch, T.—Macclesfield Wallace, Robert—Greenock Guest, J. J.—Merthyr Tydvil Wawn, J. T.—South Shields Hastie, Archibald—Paisley Wilshere, William—Yarmouth Hawes, B.—Lambeth Wyse, Thorns—Waterford Hay, Sir A. L—Elgin, &c. Hinde, J. Hodgson—NewCastle- TELLERS. upon-Tyne Gibson, T. M.—Manchester Hindley, Charles—kshton Macaulay, "I' B. —Edinburgh William—Lanarkshire MAJORITY...:NOES, 66. . • • Alba, J. P.—Cambridgeshire Loch, Jam —Kirkwall H. B.—Marlborough Macke nzie, Thomas—Ros s - shlre Borthwick, P.—Evesham i g , r ett Leo ,,rd minster i‘ Loc po k e l a ns c r h t y .. Mackinnon, W. A.—Lymlegton Baring, W. George—Leominster L perb isbu y r i n h e ir Darby, Bradshaw, Jamea—Canterbury Mahon , V is c oun t — Hertford Bruges, W. H. L.—Devizes M anners, Lord J . — Newark Buller, Edward—Stafford ~ Marshall, Wm.—Carlisle Burrell,.Sir C.—Shoreham ' Marsham, Lord—West Kent Clerk. Sir G.—Stamford Marton, Geo . — Lancaster Colquhoun, John C.—Newcastle. Master, T. W. C...Cirencester under Lym e _ Cosperblya.nd W...Stoke-urron.Trent Mundy, l E.7l ta . in H.—Lisburne G e orge.—East Sussex . - Patten, J. Wilson —Lancashire Denison, E. B.—West Yorkahir Peel, Col. Jonathan—Huntingdon Dodd, G.—Maldstone Praed, W. T.—St. Ives Douglas, Sir H.... Liverpool Pringle,lAlexander—S .1k rksh ire Douglas, Sir C. E.—Warwick Rashleigh, W.—East Cornwall Duncombe,Hon A.—East Retford Round, John—Maldon: Egerton, W. Tatton—Cheshire Rui.hbrooke Colonel—Suffolk Ewart, William—Dumfries Shaw, Bight' Hon. F.—Dublin Un Filmer, Sir E.—West Kent ' Shirley, E. J —Warwickshire _— Flower, Sir J.—Thetford Shirley, E.—Monaghan Fuller, A. Es—East Sussex Somerset, Lord G.—Monineuthsh. • Gaskell, James Milnes—Wenlock Sotheron, T. FL—Desires Gladstone, W. E.—Newark-on Staunton, Sir Geo.—Poi tsmouth Trent • Stuart, H.—Bedford 1 Gladstone, Captain—lpswich Strutt, Edward—Derby - Glynne, Sir S. 11—Flintshire Thompson, Ald.—Sunderland Gordon_, Hon. W.—Abenteenshi re 'horn ely,Thos.— Wolr erhampton Gore, M.—Barnstaple . Trotter, John..-West Surrey . Goulburn, Right on. IL—Cam. Winnington , Sir T. E. — Bewdley, bndge University . - Wrightson, W. B.—Northallerton 3 .Greene, T.G.—Lancashire TELLERS. .., ~... , - 1. . Heithcote, Sir W.—Hampshire Mackenzie, W. F.—Peebleeshlre Hume, Joseph—Montrose, &e. Johnstone, J. 11.—Dtuagiesehirs • - THE CAPE -OF GOOD HOPE. Although emigration has very much.subsided in very distant parts ot ;the globe—for instance, in Australia and in Isir Zealand—we opine this does not apply ID those regions more highly favoured by nature, and not at such a fearful - distance frotinP.,ngland ; for instance, the Cape of Good-Hope. Our advertising columns hold out great promise - to those who would pay this- healthy. spot a - visit ; but let us glean _ only .from atitithrity. " It should - seem Mr. George Robins has beeome ttosSessor of A' LITTLE KINGDOM, that is, so far as applies toits.extent ; and we learn that. it is in , tended to have a christening, to redeem it from its ill favoured name. It is called Slabberts Poort ; now, to our minds, " GEORGE ROBINEN TERRITORY" will be more - refreshing term. But let us see what he proposes in:order to enlist a little army o f Scotch, and. English, and Irish agriculturists, into his little kingdom —we will repeat his own "sayings and doings." "All those who propose to emigrate will do well to enlist under the banners of a good landlord, in a genial, healthy elimate, and with prosp ec t s o f i n d epen d ence, nowhere else so cheering and so certain. Mr. George Robins'aterritory consists of •e - • 43, - 000 ACRES . OF LAND. It ;is not far from several ports, and is oontiguous.to the sea. It is to be diVided into farms suitable to the views of. tlie - riot the industrious, and the poorer class of society, of from 200 to 2, - 006 acres each. 'He requires no - rent, for twelve months ; he then proposes to let it for siipence an acre only for three years, and at a shilling an acre for as many years after as may be required.' -Here is temptation not to be resisted. A man whose capital exten6 to 1,0001 cannot fail to realise an independence it,a railway pace ; and 4001 or 5001 is sufficient to hold out great encouragement. There is no time now for delay. .This Spring—that is in June—Scotland, Eng land, and Ireland should furnish their quota of honest, jolly agriculturists, who will have great encouragement from Mr. Robins, if their credentials be Satisfactory." A NEW PROPHET. PAW, WEDNESDAY, ' MARCH 20. Yesterday, an affair took place at the . College .de France, which...brought the course of lectures' on Sclavonic literatUre to a sudden ter mination. It appears that , for so m e ti me s i nce , a nat i ve o f Poland, of the name of Towianski, -has been making soiree sensation in Paris. He -declares himself to be inspired by, God to introduce a new interpretation to the coming of Jetus Christ into the world, an d t o th e m ys ter i e s o f Catho lic sm. M. Mickiewi c z, the P ro f essor o f S c l avon i c Li terature in he College of /Prance has warmly espoused the d oc t r i nes 'of 'the Proph e t, an d, i n p lacei of finishing his course of lec tures on literature, has taken the opportunity of pro mitigating the new doctrines to his scholars. - The Minister oflPUblic Instruction having got notice of thi s a ff a i r , Sent the Professor -notice that if he continued to address his hearers upon the subject of the new pprrephecies his course of lectures would be stopped. M. Mic kiricz, however, persisted, and on Tuesday, in addressing his auditors, among whom he has a great number of prose lytes,- he asked them if it was possible to doubt the revela tions of M. Towianski. A great number 'of the pupili, and especially the women, immediately went down upon their knees, and, lifting .up their hands, exclaimed that they were ready to swear to the truth of all the Towianski pro phecies.. Thisscenewas soon bruited forth, and the Minis ter of Public Instruction immediately sent orders inter dicting M. Mickiewicz from lecturing, and it is said that he is dismissed from his' situation as a prOfessor in . the college. But this is not the only matter that has occurred to trouble the repose .of the Minister of Public 'lnstruction. In the College of Stanis lads—an institution partly under the control and direction of • the clergy—the students, being dissatisfied with the chaplain appointed to instruct them, and being worked up with some of the feeling which causes so tremendous a quarrel beiween the clergy and the University, revolted. They entered the room of the chaplain for the purpose of wreaking their vengeance upon 'him, but, fortunately for hiinself, he had time to escape by the window. Finding their victim had escaped, they broke his bed, mirrors, furniture, arid - did net spare even a figure of Christ which they found upon the table ; and having completed their work of destruction, they tossed the whole out of the window, " to search for their master."- It is said that, in consequence of this escapade, sixty of the students have been expelled from the college. . • 'AMERICA (BY - ouz - Exrakss EITRAORDINART)-.- P R NN SYLVANLL — RsrumAnorir.—At a meeting of the Drab coloured men of Pennsylvania, the following resolution was moved by Governor Porter, and seconded by General Duff Green :—Reeolved: " That we, the united band of Penasyl vabian repudiators, do hereby utterly discard, abolish, deny, mid renounce the signs and symbols heretofore used as the ' Arms' of this State, and that m future the same be, in lien thereof, a statue of MercurA with the legend, Base is th• slave who pays " Carriennanimously.—Punch. !The Great Wizard of the North is at present shbwing off at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and will - shortly appear *tithe Adelphi, with wonders more astonishing than ever. 'PRINCESS'S THEATRE.—Thursday, on the ocaasion of Mr. Allen's benefit, an English translation of Rossinrs opera of Otello,,founded upon Shakspeare's play, reduced and altered to the limits and demands of the musical drama,_was produced,fer the first time. If it was hazardous in England to reprodiice it play of Shakspeare, translated into Italian and transmuted into opera, the hazard was doubly greater when the Italian was translated into English. The experiment, however, has proved successful, and Otello, as well as Othello, will take its place on the English stage. Mr. Allen, whose voice is pleasing, though net powerful, did more for the part of ptello than we expected of him, and frequently:drew down upbn his exertions very hearty and well- merited applause. Mitdame Garcia played the part of Desdemona, Weiss of Eliniro (the Brabantio of Shakspeare), and Burdini of lago ; and all three acquitted themselves in a manner which in no small degree contributed to the enthusiastic success of the pi?::. hm OVER'S i EVENINGS.—The first of a series of oncerts, under this attractive head, .was given on Wed nesday night, at the Princess's Concert Room, by Mr. Lover. It proved " a decided hit." The room was crowded by an elegant audience. Happy in his illustrations of Irish love and Irish song, and supported by the sweet and effective voices of Miss Cubitt and Miss Rollo Dickson, cash portion of the entertainment drew down rapturous ap• pl use. The antiquity of Irish learning and music w as ve pleasingly narrated by Mr. L over . H e s h owe d t h at 1 ,1 hi i erto neglected land to have been the seat of learning and of inusic so long back as the seventh century. The " sham rot" and "harp," and the origin of their being the national emblem of. Ireland, and armorially bearing in the arms of England, heals() very happily described. In his recitations, his narratives, his tales of Irish love, Irish sympathy, and I • h drollery, Mi. Lover was impassioned and humorous. T e "Irish Evenings" of Rory O'More bid fai r t o b ecome o p i j uI ERSITY INTELLIGENCE.--OXFORD MARCH , UNIV ERSITY v 21i —Iry a congregation holden this morning, the following detrees were conferred :—Master of Arts : Rev. W. H. ieS kes, Wadham College; Rev. Frederick William Robert s° , Brusenose College ; W. Mordaunt Edward Milner, C - stchurch ; Rev. Frederick Gace, Magdalen-hall ; Rev. Jo ph -Christian Moore, St. Edmund's-hall.—Bachelor of : Thomas T. S. Carlyon, Christ-church.—The election of thee Scholars and an Exhibition at Lin c ol n C o ll ege , ter mi iated last night in favour of M essrs . J o h n R usse ll B a k er , /an William Harrison D ave y, commone r s o f E xeter C o ll ege, an John Oates, commone r of Lincoln College, to the SC olarships, and Mr. Guy t o th e ex hibiti on . e vessels from Hull, for the Greenland and Davis's g itrh sits fisheries, will this year be more th an d ou bl e th e num be of those engaged in that trade last year. THE PHILOSOPHY or HANGING.—At an inquest held before Mr. T. Wakley, M.P., a few days since, on the body ofa boy who had, it was supposed, unintentionally hun himself, a juror expressed his astonishment th a t as de ceas ed' s g feet must have touched the ground he could not save himself. The coroner remarked that there was no accounting for the frequent occurrence of such cases, and proceeded to detail the following remarkable instances which had come und er hifi notice in his official capacity :—One was that of a man who was decidedly insane. He effected suicide by tearing a eet into long strips, and h av i ng ti e d one o f th e s t r ip s to th side of the bed-post, he m a d e a noose a t th e o th er en d, w ich was so low that he h a d t o li e d own t o p u t hi s h ea d in it, and when discov ere d hi s nose was a b so l u t e ly w ithi n ve little more than an inch from the ground. Another in -1 at ce was that ofa man on whom he (Mr. Wakley) hadheld an inquest at Hampstead. This man fi rs t of all tried to drow n hi self in it pond, but, findi ng h e cou ld n ot do so, he g o t ou t, .an sat for some time by the side of the pond, contemplating so4ie other mode of suicide. He at length tied his pocket listhdkerchief to the branches of two alder trees tightly, and th n knelt down and laid hi s nec k across the handk erc hi e f, an in that position he wa s f oun d d ea d. A thi r d case was 1 th t of a pauper in Isleworth workhouse, who sat down on tlui floor, and having tied a rope to a hook but two feet from th ground, he placed his neck iu th e noose , an d by p ress i ng for and succeeded in effe c ting hi s o bj ec t. A no th er an d m t extraordinary case was that of a lady residing at Islington, who having exhibited a determination to de s t r oy heitself, was watched by attendants night and.day. Not withstanding these precautions, this lady, whilst in bed, and in the presence of persons who were watching her, actually sudceeded in strangling herself with her capetrings, and she had been dead some hours when her attendants supposed her to be asleep. Medical science had as yet been unable to de velbpe accurately the causes which induced persons to take thii means of committing suicide. he Chancellor of the Exchequer acknowledges the rec ipt of a 501. note, No. 02,656, sent to him by a person un kn wn, for conscience' sake. This money has been placed in h! Majesty's Exchequer. :k. p,, uocuNG SUICIDE •TN FINSBURY CIRCUS.••••••OH Thursday morning, between the hours of six and seven, the residents of No. 47, Finsbury Circus, were thrown into the ,mpit painful excitement in consequence of a young single femiale, of the name of Martha Sale, who resided with her 'friends at the above address, having cbmmitted self-destruc ' tion. It appears that for some time past the unfortunate crea turd has been, from some unknown cause, in a very low and desponding state, but it was never imagined that she w ou ld lay Violent hands upon herself. Uowever, upon one of the family going into her bedroom en Miursday morning she was astonished at finding deceased suspended by the neck to the bedstead. An immediate alarm being raised other assistance came up stairs and cut down deceased. Mr. Townsend, sur geon, was instantly sent for, and that gentleman residing in the next house he was not long in reaching thd place. The usual remedies to restore suspended animation were resorted to, but with no beneficial effect, the vital spark having for ever flown. • . EY/TEM:MD/NARY RUN WITH HER MAJESTY'S STAG-Itourms'.—The meet on Wednesday, which was a bye day, was at Hedgerley, where there was a muster of abont 80, including Lord Sheffield, Mr. Warley, Mr. Staniforth, Mr. Goldney, Mr. Dyson, Mr. Baker, several of the officers of the Life Guards, &c. The deer, on being uncarted, ran direct throtikli the rocas-wood, and away over Lady Grenville's park at Dropmore to the Great Western Railway, and along hythe side of the line to the Orkney Arms, crossing the Thames close to Maidenhead -bridge. The hounds were taken .031 r the bridge, and again being laid on the 'Scent went-away right across the country to Marlow-bridge, where it again crossed the Thames. The deer then ran through Sir G. Nugent'S park, and away to Wycombe Marsh, vhere it was taken after one of the severest runs of the season, which ex ceeded four hours. Very few Were in at the take. The pace from the turn-out 0 Meidenhead-bridge*aitreinendous, but , slackened' after getting on the hills. • ACCIDENT. ON THE ])OVER RAILWAY.—A -dread ful accident'occurred on - Thursday on the above line, at Folke stone Harbour. Some empty 4riaggons" wire proceeding down the inclined ' plane at Folkestone to the harbour, for coals, when the men who were riding upon them, fearing they could, not slacken the speed, instead of putting on the break, jumped off and allowed the waggons to proceed full speed down the incline to the harbour. Such was the vio lence of the concussion that two of the waggons were driven into the sea. One poor fellow, a platelayer, Was nearly cut to pieces,,the waggons having passed . over him. . He . was still alive wheiA.4 l . l XepOrt Fat n Ae• . The. Man. -Stewart. M. ivos seribusry injured, on the above line last week, is fast re covering. S u ki 1 ('-:::, 2 :EA '- kit ~~~~~ • IRELAN NATIONAL .EDI.7C , DUBLIN, HARM 20.—The Duhlin. r,-rermaisgy uto afternoon, says—" We have an appalling conuninuargg make to our readers and to the country—one resting upon such authority, that its truth admits of neither question nor doubt." • This "appalling" statement is thus given, in the form of a letter " from a. private correspondent : " LONDON, MONDAY.—You may rest assured that the Pre mier himself has • addressed a letter.' to the Irish Executive' upon the subject of national education, in which he distinctly declares that no future patronage is to be bestowed on clergy men of the Established Church in Ireland, who not only are not inimical to the system of national education, but who will not undertake .to place all schools, in the parishes or dioceses in which they may be promoted, under the imme diate management 'of Dr. lkfurray's Ilhard." • "This (observes the Evening . 21fai1)' may be considered in the nature of a bribe. Or a threat, affecting he Protestant clergy,ind with a : view ofcarrying out both the nuire effectually, oureorrespondent adds that. Sir Robert Peel intimates an in tention of appointing English dergyinen (Puseyitus, we sup pose) to benefices.or bishoprics, as either may become vacant, should the clergy in Ireland continue contumacioue • • The Evening Mail, in its capacity of organ of - the Orange Church party, - Is in a perfect' paroxysm of rage atth!s intel ligence, and threatens to turn out Sir R. Peel, by a com bination of the Irish Tory Members in the House of Com mons, aided by a formidable agitation amonst the,Tory clergy of the Establishment in Ireland! The defeat of Ministers on Lord Ashley's amendment, on Monday night, is relied upon . as affording ground for hope that the feel. Ministry can easily be dislodged. IMPRISONMENT OF MR. O'CONNELL—" NATIONAL ICj 4 ~ ~ .', .t • ` , HUMILIATION AND 1711A.YER."- The deepest anxiety has been Ogiressed furious and dis tant gnarters of the country, that some very marked and de cided mode- of exhibiting the sympathy of the Irish people should be adopted, in the event of the incarceration of Mr. O'-Connell.` 'No decision has been made - as to the course to be adopteddeut-itha.s-heen.proposed:that Whit-Monday, the 27th of May, should be fixed upon as a day of general prayer and humiliation ; that the people should on that day assemble in their places of worship, to implore the proteotion of. Heaven for this country, and the removal of the evils that afflict her. It has been also suggested that the Liberals and Roman Ca tholics throughout Christendom should be invited to partici pate in this °bled. It said' the adoption of this project only xequireethe sanction of particular authorities, without whose approval no step would be taken. FIRE , AT LIVERPOOL. (Ahridged from Gore's General Advertiser.) On Wednesday. morning a fire was discovered in the back part of the house Occupied by Mr. Robert Clay, chemist and druggist, situated at the upper end of Bold-.street, Liverpool, on the right-hand side. There were only • three persons steeping on the premises, namely, Mr. Keane, Mr. Smith, an assistant in the shop, and a servant maid. Mr. Clay resides at Drerton, and knew nothing of the catastrophe for an hour or two after it had taken place. The discovery of the fire seems to have been made by Mr. Keane, 'Sir:, Smith, and servant almost at the same time; for Mr. Keane, hearing a noise, and finding his bed-room filled• with smoke, rushed down- stairs, and found Mr. Smith On the staircase endea vouring to effect his escape. The lower, part of the premises was so densely,filled with smoke and flume, that Mr. Keane became dreadfully alarmed, and returned up stairs to the two-pair front room, where he was speedily joined by the servant maid. Just at this time some gentlemen, who lodged in a house nearly opposite, were taking some refreshment, after having returned from a ball, and hearing the alarm they ran into the street, as did also a young man in the em ploy of Mrs. Brown, a milliner, next door. While they were standing opposite Mr. Clay's premises, Mr. Keane and the servant were observed at the window, Mr. Keane endeavour ing to prevent her from jumping out. She succeeded, after a struggle, in releasing herself, and the moment she was free she jumped into the street, a height of between 30 and 40 feet. One Of the gentlemen opposite, a Mr. Todd, seeing the frightful des cen t, en d eavoure d to catch her, and succeeded in laying hold of her arm, by which means he broke her fall, otherwise her brains would, in all probability, hive been dashed out. Her arm was found to be severely burned, and she was otherwise so seriously injured, that at first her life was despaired of. She was immediately removed to the house in which Mr. Todd lodges, where she lay for several hours in a delirious state, but at the expiration of that time she rallied, Considerably, and was taken to the infirmary, where she re mains at present. Mr. Keane, almost immediately, followed her rash example, by jumping out of the window upon the cluster of gentlemen who were standing round the girl at the time. He fell upon one of them—the young man from Mrs. Brown's establishment, whom he pressed to the ground, and who was considerably contused, though not to any very serious extent, by the fall and pressure. : Mr. Keane himself was dreadfully injured, to - such an extent indeed that his life at first was considered in great jeopardy. He was also removed to Mr. Todd's lodgings, where he was placed in a separate bed, and where he continued for sonic hours in such an excited state that it was deemed advisable not to ask him any questions, or to allow any others but the medical men near him. As the day advanced he became calmer, and, to all appearance, out of danger. The greatest possible care was taken of the patients ty-the inmates of the house. With respect to the fire, we have only' to say that the ravages were wholly confined to the manufacturing part of the premises, to the staircase, and also to the front and rear of the second or upper floor, and that neither the draw ing-room nor the shop, which, perhaps, was one of the hand somest druggist's shops in the town, has been burned. How the fire originated is involved in mystery. Damage to the house and property to the extent of 1,0001. or 1,2001. was ef fected; but we are happy to learn that no pecuniary loss will fall upon Mr. Clay, as he was insured. There was a steam engine of five -horse power on the premises, upon which the flames took little or no effect. It was supposed for a long while that Smith was buried in the ruins ; and when the smoke had in some degree cleared away, Mr. Dowling or dered some of the men to ascend the staircase, for the pur pose of ascertaining his fate. While they were engaged in this manner, tidings were brought that the young man had effected his escape at an early period of the conflagration, and that he had fled to the house of his uncle, in Preesen's row, in a state of alarm scarcely to be imagined. lie was uninjured. ANOTHER ESCAPE FROM NOT TINGHAM GAOL. Norm:colt:km, MAncit 20.—Considerable astonishment has been excited, and perhaps not without reason, by the circum stance of another convict (Thomas Shelton, under a sentence of transportation for life) having escaped from the Notting ham county gaol. It will be recollected that no longer since than last New-year's eve six burglars broke prison, after making a murderous attack upon the turnkeys, one of whom was so dreadfully beaten as to render it for_ some time a matter of doubt whether he would survive or not. It would have been supposed that every possible precaution would be taken to prevent the recurrence of so serious a calamity as the let ting loose of such characters upon the community. This certainly may have been done, but it is equally certain that, at about half-past four o'clock, the prisoner Shelton, who is 60years of age, contrived to elude the vigilance of his keepers, and to get clear away. He had been tried on the Saturday previous for stealing a wether sheep, the property of Mr. W. Bramley, of Arnold, near Nottingham, and convicted upon the cleasest evidence. Two former convictions were proved, for one of which he had been transported for seven years. He had been for two or three weeks before the assizes in the hospital ; and it appears that on Tuesday night the door was by some means left open. There was a turnkey sleeping with him in the same cell, but the prisoner managed to get out ofthe apartment without waking him, and to let himself over the wall with the assistance of a clothes'-line into the Unitarian Chapel-yard adjoining. The prisoner had on at the time of his escape the usual party-coloured dress worn by convicts. He had, however, stolen a small frock, the property of one of the debtors, for the purpose of concealm:nt. A. pair of trou sers belonging to the prisoner was found - in the chapel-yard ; and it is said that he went to his house at. Arnold for a fresh pair of trousers. Information has been given to the police, who are making every exertion to effect his recapture. Two O'CLOCIL—The prisoner has just been brought to town in custody, and once more lodged in gaol. He was ar rested by the county police in Sansom-wood, near Mansfield, which is about 14 miles from Nottingham. THE CONFECTIONERY TRADE. On Thursday .a numerous meeting ofthejonrneymen confec tioners who are engaged in the manufacture of hard confec tionary, was held in the large room oLthe Jacob's Well, Bar liken, for the purpose of memorialising the. 4ight. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, President of the Board of Trade, relative to the importation of confectionary from Halifax, Nova Scotia, at the .nominal duty of one penny per pound ; Mr. John Smith in the chair: From the statements of the various speakers, Messrs. Hol loway, Hodges, Taylor,Paliner, and - others, it appeared that the amount of duty paid by the wholesale hard confectioners of the United Kingdom, for sugar used in the trade, is about 2,000,0001. annually ; and in this department alone, the enor mous quantity of from three to four thousand tons of sugar are used in the metropolis. As only refined sugar can be used in the trade, cost price to the manufacturer is 848. per cwt. In 1842, a very extensive trade was carried on by some parties in the Channel Islands, and as a very consi derable drawback was allowed, and the sugar re-imported into England at a nominal duty, immense quantities were solely imported for the uses of distillers, capillaire-makers, and coffee-house-keepers, and it was bringing total ruin on the journeymen confectioners. This led them to memo rialise the Earl of Ripon, the then President of the Board o f Trade, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and upon an interview, both the Noble President of the Board of Trade and the Chancellor of the Exchequer acceded to tie wishes of the journeymen, and upon the tariff coming into a law, the ex portation .of confectionery was prohibited.. The result was, the whole of the men got into fufi employ. The large profits, coupled with the impossibility.of competing with the foreign trade, caused, at a subsequent period, some factories to be established at Heligoland, and from here the articles were imported, at a nominal duty of one penny per pound, as being the. production of a British possession, but this system was exposed by the, journeymen to the present President of the Board of Th.de, when that was stopped by an order in Council. Sinecthan the manufacturer has directed his atten tion to Halifax, and as sugar superior in quality can there be purchased for 305., for which the home manufacturers are paying 845., and the goods in their manufactured state can be brought over at a freightage of from 2/. to 31. per ton, it prevents the possibility of a competition—for the. Ifalifax lozenge is offered at I Id: per lb., after all expenses are pa i d, which cannot be manufactured at home under 2s. or 2s. 2d. per lb. ; and as sugar is not the produce of Halifax, the trade cedisiderthat it is one of the prohibitory articles under the new tariff, and unless British industry is protected, the result to them will be disastrous in the extreme. A memorial setting forth the aboe facts, coupled with the ruin which would fall on the journeymen in general through out England and Scotland, was then agreed to, and the meet ing separated. CHURCID.RATES.—On Thursday, at the Greenwich Police-court, Mr. Jarman, one of the collectors of the church rates for the parish of Greenwich, applied to Mr. Traill, and obtained his signature to orders to pay church-rates, which had been refused to be paid by a great number of Dissenters and others. By this proceeding, it is evident; after the dif ferent discussions on the subject, that the churchwardens in tend to enforce the rates by distress warrants, and not to carry the matter into an ecclesiastical court. On Thursday afternoon, a fine female infant, about three weeks old,' was discovered lying on the steps of No. 1, St.. Agnes-terrace„ Bayswater-road. It had been left, no doubt, on the step by a female poorly clad,. who. had been seen near the house. The child was taken to Hammersmith union. LANDING PIER AT VAuxuallenßii)Gx.—On Thurs day a special_ general meeting of proprietors was 'held at the George and Vulture, Cornhill, Mr. Barron 'in the chair, to consider and -decide upon the propriety of constructing a landing-pier at Vauxhall-bridge, for passengers by steam • boats. The matter having been referred to the Directors, the Secretary read their Report thereon. The Directors were unanimously in favour of the project, which would prove not only beneficial to the shareholders, but also extreinelyadvia tageous to the inhabitants on either''side of the bridge.. The construction ofitha_pior...wenirl cost 900 i, 'Why is a bill-sticker like a gambler P—Bece,use he does nothing but placartla (play cards).—firsich.