The Sun. — London, England, 1844-01-03 00:00:00

( CENSED VICTUALLERS' AND GENERAL FIRE AND LIFE ASSURANCE O FFICE. -ELECTION OF A DIRECTOR. A meeting of the Proprietors of the Licensed Vic teallete' anti General Fire and Life Assurance' Corns teeny was y es t er d ay h e ld at the Company ' s offices, ,1, MeWile-place, London-bridge, for the purpose of electing a gentleman to serve as Director is the room of John Harman, Esq., resigned. The room in which the meeting was held was crowded to ex cess before the commencement of the proceedings, which. appeared to excite the greatest interest sarong all present ; among whom were—Mr. Ali ll le . r r - . man Mu sgrove; M r. Alderman i looper e I__-) . Bleaden, the Chairman of the Comp a ny ; Mr. 1- -1 V- Wire, th e S o li c i tor of the Company ; Mr. Faw cett, th e Secretary; Mr. Addis, Mr. Bingley, min several other gentlemen connected with the C4iin pany. A t two o ' clock precisely, C. Bleaden, re (le tools the chair. The Ctiamerase said that he was proud and pleased to see himself su rroun d e d b y so large and so influen tial an assembly of the Proprietary of the Company. Ale regretted, however, the occasion on which they had met. He regretted the resignation of their Deputy Ch a i rman —(Hear, hear)—and still more did lie regret the circumstance which had led to the necessity of that resignation.—(Hear, hear.) In this commercial country every one was liable to the ups anti downs of life. They w e r e now called i 'l)on to fill up that vacancy, and lie felt assumed that _ they would do their duty by selecting that gentleman for the Office whom they conscientiously believed to be the best fitted for the performance of those duties which would devolve upon him. They had received corninunications from five gentlemen, each anxious for a seat in their Direction. He felt proud of this circ umstance, i nasmuch as it proved how anxious geetlemen of r es p ec t a bili ty and i nfluence were to 1e c ome connect e d w i t h t hi s I nst i tut i on. —(Cheers.) -felt . gratified that so man y gent l emen were enstou s to be pla ce d among th e . n . He was happy to fi n d th at t h ose w h o h a d recently con ned.thetn were glad to increa se th e ex t en t o f t h e i r the nection with th e C om p any ,' an d h e trusted that ir connections would be increased more and more. lie con gratulated th em on th e i ncrease w hi c h h a d taken place in past their pr os p er ity i n th e course o f t h e would year, and l ie hoped the same success had and attend theta in all their efforts.---(Cheere.) He was convinced that all were desirous of doing the best th ey , could topromote the wee's of their under taking, the e ; m and whatever difference of opinion r ' ' zn 'gnt be as to the eligibility of the various candidates, he felt assured that there vv nuhl be nothing personal in the discussions which %yore about take • place. • Every gentleman ' v9 ol, he trusted, receive a patient hearing, for they were . , all engaged in one general object. He was happy and proud to preside ,over such a meeting, and he would call upon the Solicitor to read the advertise ment convening tea meeting. advertise- Mr:` W. Wind then read the advertisement convening the - - meeting, which was for the election of a Director, in the room of' John Harman, Esq., re eesignecl and the Directors recommended John Addis, ''cle of Freeinan's-wharf, Southwark, to fill the vacant seat at the Board of Directors. • The SECRETARY then read the addresses of the variousva candidates, viz., one from Mr. John Addis, Freeman's -wharf, Dec. 1 9 , 1843 ; another from M. B. Bingley, dated Shoreditch, Dec. 13, 1843; anoth er from Mr. J. E. Bromley, dated 17, Commer cial-road, Dec. 13, 1843; another from Mr. Charles Salisbury BUtler, dated Lodge, Upper Clapton, Dec. 1 5, 1843 ; and another from Mr. Joseph Morgan, dated :Dec. '16,. 1843. The SECRETARY then read a letter from Mr. , B romley, d ated Jan. 2d, 1844, resigning in favour oi . i -3 , 4 . A.ddi seon the ground, first, that the claims oi . 4 4- Addis- were very powerful • and secondly, be cause he thought the wishes of the' Directors ought to be deferred to. t lIr • 1 ) . . IV. WIRE then r o se a n d sa id, th a t h e f e l t I , e as 'llis duty to state, that in his opinion the names . 'wo gentlemen had been mentioaed as candidates Pwho were disqualified under the provisions of the aragraph to be f oun d at th e 57th page o f their deed of ettle ment.---:(The Learned Gentleman then read the Paragraph alluded to, which set forth that no pe rson co uld be eligibleto hold ' more than one office, except that Dir ectors .might a l so ac t as T rustees.) Now there were two gentlemen,• whose names he need not mentien, among the candidates who already held office s in the Institution, and which, in his opinion, would 'prevent those gentlemen going to the poll.— (Cheers.) - .... The SECRETARY then read letters 'from Mr. Mor ga, and from Mr. Butler, retiring from the contest. The letter of Mr. Butler stated that at the time he had announeed himself as a candidate he was not Ware that - Mr. Addis had been recommended by 'Pthe Board of Directors ; and he earnestly requested the roprietors to support the nomination of the Board tDirectors, as the most likely course to promote he welfare of the undertaking The C . . lIAIRMAN then called upon any gentleman dilatesNvllO had anything to say, in propoeingany of the can ,, to come forward, as the present -was the tinme when they would be heard. 111.-r.r. Eveies, who was received . witlt loud cheers, ' '- N erS. great pleasure in proposing John Addis, lisq., cif -Pree inates-wbarf, to fill the seat at the Board of Direetion rendered vacant by the Ilan ' resignation of John nan, - Esq.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. Addis was no str ait - sser to that institution. lie bad' been qualified t o s; . -.- I . f4l 1 1 70 t at' that Board six years agoe-eeCries of _ - m 11° (.1 :") Well, then, five or six years . agte—(Cries of fo e -ni e ,Y t wo."). At all events he - had been qualified t• —4 l ung time. He had-lately beconie'even More 41- ,71 -lately connected with this institution.—(Cheers.) l e3 n e katl insured big own property in the institution in d .and 1840, and he- hail " recently intro .aeed to - the. Society many of his highly re !pectable friends, who . had also become share 1101ders.—(Cheers.). ' He : proposed Mr. Addis,. a sgentlemari ef equal standineewith Mr. Harman, as his el,iceeesor. Mr. Addis was a member of _ the Corn -"•,‘ %Change, second to none of the gentlemen con 9tiveted with that esta b lishment; and the greater the ainber of - gentleme n - l .like Mr. Addis w h om be l they timeinfluence c and ex t ent . o f their institution. they llew'and vast field would be 'opened to them, and ~would rea abundant harvest. Mr. Harman eas e e ee . Pan. one - unected.svith the trade of a brewer, and if any anueontiected with a firm of brewers—if a Barclay, eh "Lary, Or a Whitbread had ccmne forward, he 1 9 1 _ 01, 1 have paused befor e he proposed Mr. Addis. ROT_ -bd determined to issue 30,000 new shares. the ew the difficulty of getting fresh members of ;:1,, attrade to- take new shares. It was of importance ._,cthose shares . 'eh mid 'be advantageously distri :s,9o%(.l, and, therefore, it "was important that they mld cultivate new interests from fresh connections Addi s to place them to advantage.—(Cheers.) Mr. Its had been strongly recommended by the Beard (if Directors; in that r ecommendation he heartily con einUrtrsrced. 'lt hasl - been said that they were about to (Cri (ri le an attempt to throw the trade overboard.--- es f u eh e o Yes, ye = 11 " "No, no !" cheers and counter ;"er.s.) He would not concur in any such effort. :-(elteers.) What object could_ the Directors have in ° f the but - the • promotion c r the prosperity e ' tne Institution, and the associating with themselves il'.Bmitlentinii with whom - they could concur oit all teilta4iotis ?)—(Cheers) - This, he thought, was most i _ p?rtant for the Society. The Proprietaey, at large, 1 ," (, his into ought to be thankful to their Direction Air Pointing out a . gentleman so highly qualified as the Addis. He would not endeavour to depreciate jo i. - claims of the other Candidates; but when be . (I ^Sil at the claims of Mr. Bingley as connected 'with the trade, and as having sat at the Board of Di - t e ( l eti( nim and still open to re-election upon the City Mmitte e end no doubt, if a resignetion took ;sleets er a , , tif,_ gentleman connected with the trade, he knew he arPerson who had greater clahns than Air.ilingley ; ;:e: tno.ught the present, however, was not the period iv:',1•_:m.:1:1, Mr. Bingley should' press his cleims. Ile hart that , „Ins preference to Mr. Addis, and lie was happy 01 . ips nomination would be seconded bya gentlemita to ." (1 elty Committee. If the Proprietary wished Hate their shares at a premium, theyomist disserni '_7l. their ICAV shares such a course being adopted w t i .l l _(l . area n y enhance' their profits.—(Cheers.) . t eea v seconded the nomination of Mr. Addis, I „ i ,e in doing so lie thought he should be :et le,%notss to increase the interests of the Society in a --„.:: eminent degree. thTr. PeatousoN, in proposing Mr. Bingley, believed , Itl iit , the candidate lie was about to propose was not 1 1(4 an honest, but hard working and upright maim. tu,,oad been a working man in support of the lnst-7- w Z i n ever since_ its commencement. He believed it ali t , ; I b ' the (minion of all honest men that IYIr. 4'e'Y Ought to haVe a seat at the Board of Directitro. Haggle P' TEARS bore testimony to the usefulness of - Mr. ti ri Y, amid most cheerfully seconded his ilornina he e-' "`'lie v ing that h av i ng him as a Director w ou ld Thgereat acquisition to the Society. Remit' CuaitteieN then asked v; Nether any- other sse ih4 e lnan had any other' candidate to propose, or .ivr,to address the meeting. 4 ti e C' e -, l3ns " wished, although almost a s' ranger to 1, °- Pany, yet taltine. large view of the interests " e 8 " t• ' a in f • of Mr. Adli, -i, e 3, to say a few . words favour % tll s. He was glad to hear that a gentle man of pr(,sanigli station and such great connexion.; sl oull be e g il s *,( l as a Director to the. Company. Mr. i t nad &elle to him with the intro it etion of 1 P;entleina lrel h ... a Member of Parliament ; hut if he 1V43,,i,"n introduced Ly Sir Robert Pcel himself, it )• teo - e lni ' c 't have had half the effect with him that the seas t':,endation of the Board of Dicec:ors had. It 't% I)„,,,,°Pinicn that the 'Board shaulds'.e ae cordial ,eii.,l_lll!e, believing that the first eleine ats to make a eiei',tY successful. was the cordial; sy with which 4- hreetur worked with the Othgres—(Cheers)_ TILE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EV.ENING, JANUARY' 3, 1844 and that disunion in the Board of Management Was the certain destruction of any Company. Before their application to him, he was unacquainted with either of the present candidates ; he believed both of them to he highly respectable and honest men.— (Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman who had spoken last had talked of honesty. Did he suppose that any ona came there to act otherwise than honestly ? (Cheers.) He believed the great.body of the licensed victuallers deserved well from society, for the nume rous excellent institutions they had founded, and the valuable charities they had created.—(Cheers.) He respected the body highly, and it was his anxious wish to see all their praiseworthy en deavours prosper.—(Cheers.) He was in favour of Mr. Addis as a Director, principally; because he was recommended by the Board of Directors, and he was also well calculated to work and co-operate with that Board.—(Cheers.) It was by electing such men that they would raise the character of the Institution,. •in creas-..e their connections, and enable them to gain a hold upon the public, that nothing could shake.— (Cheers.) In his opinion they ought not to elect any man of a less standing than the one they had lost.— (Cheers.) They ought to have men of rank and cha racter in the City of London in their Direction. Mr. Addis was connected with some of the first persons in the City, he was also connected with the corn trade, the distillers, brewers, and others who were likely through his exertions to benefit this Institution, in crease its business, and thereby extend its useful ness. Such being his opinion he felt compelled to support, the election of Mr. Addis as a Director. He did not know that he had any thing else to say, or that he should wish to say. He hoped they would take these matters into consideration, believing that they also came from an honest heart, and put forward by a man who had no connection with one class or the other, but who only wished to see his shares paying five per cent. instead of four . . . The CHAIRMAN asked if Mr. Addis wished to ad dress the meeting ? Mr. Annts said he had nothing to say. Mr. RINGLET then rose. He hoped, as his worthy proposer had stated, that he stood before them with a face of honesty, and with a feeling that was always desirable, that of promoting the welfare of the institu tion. The first point to which he had to draw their attention was the assertion that he was disqualified under a clause of the deed of settlement in the 57th page. He knew that doctors differed both as to the nature of a complaint, and the mode of cure ; and it was the same with lawyers ; they also were of dif ferent opinions. He believed this matter had been discussed on the last occasion. The plain clause said that a man should not hold two offices at one and the same time that was to say that a man was not to be at the same time a Director and an Auditor, or a Committee-man and a Director. The moment an Auditor was made a Director, he ceased to be an Auditor, and. the moment a member of the Committee was made a Director, he ceased to be a Committee-man. But the clause did not state that a man should not he eligible to offer him self as a candidate for that or any other office. If that was the opinion of the Learned Solicitor, he dif fered with him ; if the clause were submitted to three of the most eminent counsel in the land, two of them would be of his (Mr. Bingley's) opinion, and one of the Solicitor's.—(A voice— To be sure ; when a Common Councilman is elected Alderman, he ceases to be a Common Councilman. Everybody knows that 1") He knew no community of men more grate ful than a body of Englishmen, and.he asked them on the sound principle of gratitude, as •one who had en deavoured to promote the well-being of the Company from the very commencement, and who had originally ventured his capital in it, when it was difficult to get gentlemen to assemble on the Board of Directors, when they asked men in vain to become Directors —it was well to hear gentlemen eulogise the licensed victuallers as men, who, from what they had done in life, deserved to be eulogised, yet after having given up eight or nine years to attending to the best interests of the Institution, if a licensed victualler asked for a seat at the Board of Directors, they told him that he had no right to ask it. They were told that the , Board of Directors thought it better that they should seek sortie other food, some new connection; but if they abolished the name of licensed victuallers from the Association what would become of it ?—(Hear, hear.) They might go on ad infinitum in forming new con nections among timber merchants, and coal mer chants, or any other merchants, for the purpose of bringing new grist to the mill ; but they might go on in that direction till the feeling of the powerful body of the licensed victuallers would be estranged from it, and they would no longer possess it to guide them to the object which they so much desired. He had heard from the worthy proposer of Mr. Addis, and from another gentleman, the principle of self-election laid down, and had wondered at it; he denied that the Board had any right to give a recommendation to any particular individual. But had not the capital of the Proprietors a right to express an opinion ? The Directors had one strict line of duty to perform, that of announcing that there was a vacancy in the Direc tion, and that it was to be filled up at a given period ; if there were one thing to be more deprecated than another it was the liberty the Directors had taken in advocating the interest of any one man in preference to any other.--(Hear, and " Shame.") As long as the liberty was left to Companies, as to nations, to elect their representatives, dictation from any quarter was to be deprecated. The Directors had no right by a public declaration to signalise any individual. If they did, it became self-election. It appeared from the letters of the candidates who had resigned to-day, that they had resigned in favour of Mr. Addis. That appeared from their letters, as they stated their re signation to be the consequence of the recommenda tion by the Board of Directors of Mr. Addis. The Society began business in 1835, but it was not till chant affixed to his name. That title `° merchant" seemed indeed, to have great weight with certain folks ; but it should be recollected that there were lucifer-match ma nufacturers who might by and bye be called lucifer-match merchants, and why not consider those as more eligible than the licensed victuallers for the Direction? During his connexion with the Committee, he had discharged his duty fearlessly and faithfully, and he now appealed to the gratitude of the Company—he appealed to their feel ings as Englishmen (fur Englishmen ever possessed a grateful recollection of services rendered them)—and now that he had pointed out the relative positions of the can didates, he trusted they would show to him that he had not only earned, but a:so obtained the toward of his exertions in behalf of the interests of the Company. Should they do him the honour to elect him, he would pay every attention to the discharge of his duties, neither swerving to the right nor to the left to serve the interest of any man, but looking solely to the welfare and success of the Society. From the frankness and liberality of the worthy magistrates en the board, he had no doubt that they would treat the hum ble publican, who might be elected to serve among the Directors with every respect, and consider him while sitting at the board as perfectly their equal there, so long as he conducted himself respectably. He ventured, then, to ask the Proprietors to reflect before they gave their decision, and he trusted that common gratitude would induce them to pause before they re jected him when he presented himself as a candidate. In February next he should in all probability cease to hold the office of Chairman of the Committee, as it might so happen be would not .be re-elected to that office. He trusted, then, that they would not allow him to appear as though his long services to the Company were not gratefully remembered ; but that they would prove that they deemed an holiest, humble, licensed victualler worthy to sit by the side of the worthy magis trates who graced the Board of Directors.—(Hear.) Mr. Alderman MUSGROVr said it was not his inten tion to take up so much of the time of the meeting as the worthy candidate had who had just s a t down,ber cause he had very little to say to them on the subject. He doubted exceedingly whether it should not have been thought entirely out of place for him (Mr. Alder man Musgrove) to address them on the present occasion, if it had not been for one or two observations that had been made by the worthy candidate. That gentleman's address was a matter with which he (Mr Alderman Musgrove) could have nothing to do. He had felt it his duty to appeal to the Proprietors' gratitude for past .ser vices. To that appeal they would make their response ; but at the same time they would probably permit him, as feeling a deep interest in the prosperity of the Institution, to say to them that they must have something more than gratitude for the past.—(Cheers.) They must take en larged views for the Institution. They should not be unmindful of their present position, which looked not only to the estimation of the licensed . victual lers, but to that of the public at large,—(Hear, hear.) They had heard from a worthy Proprietor, who had spoken in the course of the meeting, that he had taken that view of the subject, and that it was after much consideration he had come before them to recommend to them the candidate who, in the judgment of the Directors, was the best fitted to fill the vacant office. The worthy candidate who had last spoken had charged the Directors with two acts—one the act of dictation, the other of ingratitude. With regard to the first, he (Mr. Al derman Musgrove) would put it to their respected Chair man and the Board as a body, whether they had 4ver attempted to dictate to the Proprietors?—(No, no.) From what he could gatsier on the subject, the object of the Directors, in the course they had taken in this respect, was to save the Proprietors any unnecessary trouble in ascertaining what might be their Opinion as to the eligi bility of the candidates, as they had ever, from the com• mencement of the Institution, been called upon to offer their opinions to the Proprietors on occa sions similar to the present. Beyond that they had never intended to go, nor in fact had they. They felt that. it was due to the Proprietors that they should know their opinions on the matter, and it was only to prevent them .coming to the office and asking what do the Directors think of this candidate, and what do they think of that, that the Directors'acted as they had done in the matter. Beyond saving the Proprietors that trouble the Directors had no desire to exercise any in= fluence in the affair. With regard to the ingratitude with which the Directors were supposed to have acted, he would answer without any personal feeling or any desire to undervalue the services of the Hon. Candidate. At the same time he was bound to state certain facts in reply to the charges which the Hon. Candidate had thought proper to make against the Board of Directors. Tho Hon. Candidate had stated, and . the present was not the only occasion on which he had done so—the Hon. Candidate had stated that for the benefit of the Institu tution he had taken upon himself great responsibility- 7 - that he had been its prop from the commence ment, that he had risked his all, that he had stood up for it when no one would look at it, and that he had run the greatest risks for them. Doubtless the Hon. Candidate felt that such was the case himself, ot he would not have told them so; but he (Mr. Aldermen Musgrove) had made inquiries as to the position in which they were at the commencement. It had occurred to him that the statements which had been made by Mr. Bingley at the last meeting were deserving of the greatest consideration, and that unless those statements could be answered. it would undoubtedly appear that Mr. Bingley had not been properly treated. The Hon. Candidate had told them that he had been one of the first to take shares, and on looking back to the book for 1835, he found that such was the estimation in which the lion. Candidate held the Institution, that he had actually risked in it the enormous sum of 301.—(Cheers and laughter. Mr. Bingley attempted an interruption, which was put a stop to by the Chairman.) Shortly afterwards his ability and energy pointed him out as a proper person to serve on the Committee, and .he was appointed one of the twenty-four gentlemen of whom that Committee was composed. He was returned by the Committee as one of the three members of that body who were to be their representatives at the Board' of Directors, and he had taken his seat at the Board accordingly. Oa taking his seat he found that the qualification necessary was the holding of forty shares, and accordingly he increased his risk by ten additional shares, which it was necessary he should hold in order to be qualified to sit as a Director. He knew these facts from having looked over the accounts very carefully before he became a Director, and he felt bound to state that the Chairman and the Directors had afforded him every facility in making those inquiries.—(Ch eers. ) Af ter Mr. Bingley had been at the Board for twelve months. finding that his two companions from the Committee held ealh 250 shares, he, in 1837, finding the Institution to be in a very prosperous state, took 210 shares, making, with the 40 which he held previously, 250, the number which his colleagues on the Committee had held long before. In 1841 Mr. Addis took 250 shares, at a pre tnium.—(Cheers.) He was anxious to remove from their minds the idea that the Institution had ever been in a state of apparent danger. It never had been in such a state.—(Cheers.) Then, with regard to the responsi bility which Mr. Bingley said he had taken upon him self. They all knew what the responsibility of a Pro prietor in an Insurance Company was, and that the holder of five shares was as responsible for the liabili ties of the Company as the holder of 500. Therefore, all parties who, at the commencement, had been share holders, might make the same b3ast as Mr. Bingley, that they had been liable for it to the full extent of their property.—(Cheers and laughter.) lie had no wish to the 19th of October, 1837, that' Mr. Addis became the holder of 25 shares, which were made up to 250 shares in 1841, in order to qualify him for the Direction. Mr. WinE said these statements were not correct. It was impossible Mr. Addis could take any shares from the Company in 1841, as they had all been issued. He purchased them in the market. Mr. BINGLEY said he might hare taken them at the first, when others did. He was only placing be fore them the relative position of himself and the other candidate. Mr. Bromley, in 1840, only held twenty-one shares, and it was only on the 13th of December last, that he qualified for a Director. The letter of Mr. Butler was dated on the 15th of December, and it was only on that day he qualified ' to be a Director. He was not depreciating either the influence, the talent, or the respectabily of any gen tleman; he had not a word to say against Mr. Addis ; it was the principle that he deprecated. The resignation of Mr. Harman was dated the 12th of December, and did not reach the office till that day; on the 13th the circulars of Mr. Addis, appeared. Ho deprecated the proceeding by which Mr. Addis must have received his peculiar information. He had been eight years the Chairman of the Committee ; he bad never missed an attendance, had canvassed every quarter of the town; he had attended all the meet ings of the Sub-Committee ; and if one thing more proved it than another it was that the Society was established by the exertions of this Committee, they were the instrument by which it became firmly es tablished, and when a particular crisis arrived, he thought it would only have been kind and consi derate in the Direction towards the Committee, if not personally to himself, to have supported those who had chiefly contributed to the formation of the Com pany. Now that the capital and the exertions of the licensed victuallers had quite succeeded they could find gentlemen to join them. But let them bear in mind that if they ever lost sight of the great prin ciple that it was the licensed victuallers by whom the Association was established, and that if they ceased to be interested in it, it would prove a great injury. The licensed victuallers were not to be excluded from detract from Mr. Bingley's merits, but it was right Oat they should be made aware that Mr. Bingley had not risked more than any other man. Ile had adverted to Mr. Bingley's having been returned as a Director by the Committee. The services which Mr. Bingley had rendered in that capacity were invaluable.—(Cheers.) Mr. Bingley, as the representative of the Committee, had been indefatigable in his attention to the business of the institution, and, as far as his influence went, it had been exercised in their favour.—(Cheers.) Mr. Bingley had talked about their kicking down the ladder which had _ . raised them up. Now it seemed to him that Mr. Bingley was anxious to kick down the Committee.—(Cries of " No, no.") He had been returned to the Board of Directors by the Committee. Had he any fears as to his re-election ? (Cheers.) Why did he not appeal to the gratitude of the Committee ? Was it not as honour able to be returned by the Committee as to be returned by the Proprietary ? (Cheers.) The Committee was composed of twenty-tour gentlemen, who possessed the exclusive right of returning three of their own body to take their eats at the Board of Directors , and who pos- sessod all the powers and privileges of Directors, while in their election the Proprietary had no voice at all. The Committee had acted most judiciously in the sekc-' lion which they had made, and he would appeal to the Cotnmittee to return Mr. Bingley again out of gratitude for the services which he had rendered to the institution, and ,he would ask Mr. Bingley whether, under all the circumstances, having at heart the extension of the in stitution, such a course would not be the most proper that could be adopted? Within the last ten months of the past year they had effected upwards of one million and a quarter of insurances against tire-three-fourths of those insurances had been brought to the office by the public, and the other fourth by the licensed victuallers. Was it right then that they should throw overboard the public ? Ile had never heard anything of overthrowing the originators of the Institution. The idea was absurd. Why, six members of the Board of Directors were licensed victuallers. There was their worthy Chairman, a licensed victualler—(Cheers)—there was Mr.. Game, a most amiable and excellent man, and who had been of the greatest possible utility to the Institution.— (Cheers). There was their excellent friend, Mr. Float. (Cheers.) There was Mr. Bingley, with all his talents it, or to be told that they had no right to ask ;tieh a position in the Committee till there should be a vacancy by the death or resignation of one of the Directors already attached to the licensed victuallers body, but that till then the licensed victuallers must rest upon their oars. The licensed victualler might become a member of the Com mittee. He might be a dog to fetch, but he must not raise his views ; he must not assume the plumage of the peacock—he must not raise his views to the Director's chair. Such doctrine he, for his own part, never heard without heartily deprecating it, because he conceived it an insult to the trade which had been the foundation of this Society ; because it in effect said to a licensed victualler, you may become a member of the Committee—so far shalt thou go, but no further. Upon the last occasion he was eulogised because he had not gone to the ballot, and he then in dulged a hope that he stood well with the electors, and that he would h ave th e i r i L t erest at the next election. It had been said that when a vacancy occurred among the Direc:ors, who were connected with the trade, then, and then only—(Dissent)--should a Proprietor who was a member of the trade offer himself as a can didate. Was not Mr. Harman connected with the trade vHad he not been connected with a brewery at Croydon ?--(Hear, hear, and cries of " Not at the time of his election.") According to that doctrine, the licensed victualler must wait till Mr. Float or Mr. Game was removed from the Direction - , either by death or resignation, before any one of their members could present himself to the Society as a candidate for a seat among their Direction. Was that to be borne by the licensed victuallers ? Eulogies had been passed by some of the gentlemen who preceded him on the pre sent occasion, upon the licensed victuallers. He delighted at all times to hear such eulogies, because he believed that no body of men deserved them better —no class of men better performed their duty t o th e State amid to society at large than licensed victuallers, aild therefore it was that he deprecated their being ex cluded to make room for a timber-merchant, a corn merchant, or in fact any man with the title of mer and energy.—(Cheers). Thei:e was Mr. Walter, a gentleman entitled to the highest praise, and a holder of five hundred shares—(Cheers). And there was Mr. Fergusson.—(Cheers). No.v, looking to the position which they held as a Licensed Victuallers and General Insurance Society, he would ask, had the licensed vic- tuallers any reason to think that there existed any in tention to swamp them, when they saw six such men sitting at the Board of Directors ?—(Cheers). Of the fire insurances he had already stated, that two-thirds had been brought to the office by the public, and the remainder by the licensed victuallers. Then, with regard t:.) the Life Department. Of the life policies, he was going to say, that five-sixths, but he might certainly affirm that four-fifths of all the business in the Life Department had emanated from the public, and the other fifth from the licensed victuallers. Why did he mention these things ? Not in disparage ment to the Licensed Victuallers, but because he felt convinced that these statements vvould rouse in ther;;; greater feeling of energy, and would cause them to say, " We must go on, and not allow the public to do all."— (Cheers.) He would now say one word with regard to the important step they had taken during the past year —one, he believed, of the most important strides any in stitution had made of late years.—(Cheers.) They had determined to issue 30,000 new shares, and he (Mr. Alderman Musgrove) was prepared to tell them, that out of those 30,000 share s , between 15,000 an d 20 , 000 h a d Leen taken and)paid for at a premitua.—(Loud cheers.) S And this, still further, h e was p re p are d to st a t e , th a t out )of the number taken, four-fifths were by the public, and not by licensed victuallers. Ile himself had already al lotted between 500 and GOO shares—not to himself— but to some of his friends whom he had persuaded to take them. Now, thoSe present at the meeting must allow him to say, that they could not do a greater service to thc Institution than by prevailing on their friends to take a few of the new shares.—(Cheers.) Such pro ceedings would place them on a pinnacle that could never be thrown down.—(Cheers.) In all he had said he was anxious to steer an even course. He had said nothing in favour of Mr. Addis, or in disparagement of Mr. Bingley, and he was sure, if they did not elect him, it would be from no disrespect to him. Mr. Addis was a man of influence, and would devote it to the benefit of that Institution.—(Cheers.) Mr. BINGLEY said a few words in explanation. The CHAIRMAN then took a show of hands, and de clared the numbers to be as follow : • For Mr. Addis For Mr. Bingley Majority- fir Mr. Addis —4B The CHAIRMAN then declared Mr. Addis to have been chosen a _Director, upon which Mr. 13iscr.}:v demanded a ballot. Mr. WIRE said lie could not adopt that course. He Must get 25 shareholders of 12 months' standing to de mand one for him. TILE CURRENCY. TO THE 'EDITOI? OF THE SU2V. Sia,—l am glad to perceive that you are turning your attention to the currency, and that other able persons are doing so likewise. The effect has already been the dealing heavy blows to the preposterous " metallic currency".illusion ; but I regret to observe, that two enormous errors* still pervade the reasonings of those who have made the greatest advances in the right direction. The least of these is, the confining the term "cur rency" to the Bank notes and specie in circulation, overlooking the fact that bills of exchange form, in truth, the main part of our circulating medium, a part so vast, that all others sink into insignificance. It can scarcely he requisite to prove that these bills are as strictly a part of our circulation, as a Bank note of 1001. Their conversion into cash cannot, indeed, be enforced before a cer tain date, but practically they are exchanged as often as bank notes of equal amount. Every commercial man is accustomed to see bills with halt a dozen endorsements indicating as many pay ments and. transfers. In fact, while a million in bibs changes hands and effects transfers nearly as readily as a million in 1001. Bank notes, the number of millions represented by bills immensely exceeds those repre sented by bank paper. The second, and more important and fatal error, is the admission of depreciation in paper currency. Now such depreciation is impossible, except from doubts of the solvency of the issuers. If a bank or a State issues any given amount of paper, and the holders do not believe in the power (America compels one to ,add inclination), of the issuer to pay what has been promised, the paper becomes- depreciated in the ratio of doubt—if the holder-expects to get only 90/. for the promised 100/., the paper is depreciated 10 per cent. ; if he looks but for 60/. the depreciation is 40 per cent. • • The demand for the ballot was then signed on behalf of Mr. Bingley by the required number of shareholders (25), but on being checked by the bo9ks,•three were found not to be qualified to sign the document. Mr. WIRE said three names being unqualified, he should, as Solicitor to the Company, advise the Chair man not to accept it, it being un imperfect demand. Mr. BINGLEY contended that, a demand having been put in, signed by twenty-five shareholders, he ought to go to the ballot. The CHAIRMAN adduced the practice of the City elec tions for Members of Parliament, where a demana of a poll for each of the candidates must be delivered by one of the Livery. After some conversation on this point, The CHAIRMAN declared Mr. Addis duly elected to serve as a Director for the same period as Mr. J. Har man would have been in office. He trusted that before another vacancy Mr. Bingley would divest himself of the office of Committee-man, it being his (the Chairman's) opinion that he would not, even had he gone to the ballot, been eligible to serve as Director. _ _ But this is the only possible case of " depreciation" —the change in the value of no commodity whatever can " depreciate" the paper. This the least reflection will show : cotton may have fallen 20 per cent, and sugar risen as much, since a Bank note was issued ; and shall we say that the note is " depreciated" because it will not purchase as much sugar as it would have done on the day of issue ? If so, we must say that it is appreciated, or enhanced in value, because it will buy more cotton, i. e., that the same note is, at the same moment, " de preciated and appreciated, diminished and increased in value!" If not with cotton and sugar, neither with gold or silver; all are alike commodities and subject to the same laws of increase or diminution of value, accord ing to the ratio of demand to supply. The whole blunder arises from a loose and unphi losophical mode of thinking and expression. People see the relation of two articles, in point- of value, altered, and fancy that it is a matter of indifference, whether they say that " A has risen," or that " B has fallen ;" and thus, because gold, being in exces sive demand during the war with France (for pay ment of troops, &c., &c.) rose in price, the currency writers immediately talked about the .paper being " depreciated !" Mr. ADDIS returned thanks for the proud situation in which they had placed hiM, and he could assure them that nothing should be wanting on his part to do all that hi) possibly could to promote the prosperity of the Soci'ety. Mr. BINGLEY having returned thanks to the gentlemen who had supported him, A vote of thanks to the Chairman was moved and car ried by acclamation, and the meeting broke up. Would these gentlemen, in case they had two chil dren of like size, and that at the end of two year; they had found the one six inches taller, and the other only three, assert that the latter wit's diminished or " depreciated" in height ? The truth'is, that it is impossible to find an immoveable standard: Metals, precious stones, corn, labour—all are liable to fluctua- iion in their value relative to other commodities. A general average of the whole might possibly be ap proximated to, although a task of enormous labour, difficulty, and nicety. I will, however, venture to assert, contrary to the fancy of the vast body of currency writers, that the paper of a State, regarding which no doubt of sol vency exists, is less liable to fluctuation, and ap proaches nearer to the abstract idea of the unit of comparison than any metal whatever. A Bank note for 1001. (or a good bill of exchange for that amount) will, for example, at the time of issue, command in the market a certain am oun t o f manua l labour, of cotton, sugar, meat, &c., &c. Let us suppose, for example, that it will command the following articles :—viz., 200 lbs. weight of flour, 200 lbs. of meat, 200 lbs. of butter, 200 lbs. of iron, 200 lbs. of oak timber, 200 lbs. of copper, 200 lbs. of sugar 200 yards of linen, 200 days of the labour of an unskilled labourer, and fifty days of the labour of a skilled artisan. Let us now imagine that the money Value of half these things .advanced 10 per cent., that the other half decreased in value in a like ratio—the 100/. note would purchase the same intrinsic value. If a greater proportion than a moiety rose or fell in value, the command would be somewhat varied; but, as probably the balance might be restored by the change in the smaller number, exceeding in ratio that of the major number, in an opposite direction, the actual command might remain nearly unal ered. I am, Sir, yours, with best wishes, BEIRNIARD. A SCENE in the FRENCH CHAMBERS CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES-SITTING OF DEC. 30, The Chamber met this day for the choke of Vice- Presidents, and for the definitive constitution of the Chamber. After the election of the Vice-Presidents, Lafitte, who, as the senior member of the Cham ber, had acted as pro tem. President, addressed the Chamber as follows : Gentlemen, called for the second time to the honour of presiding over you, I will not abuse the privilege of my age and my functions. The sorrowful' reminis cences which I feel in this place would perhaps lead me to speak to you of my appre hensions for the future, whilst I would only wish at this moment to express to you my thanks for the kind- ness of which you have given me a fresh proof; but, in the presence of a situation which does not appear without danger, my conscience obliges me to tell you what France expects of you. In the course of your session, besides the official programme of your labours, opportunities will offer themselves for ex amining if our late illusions and our fortune will be engulfed in the abyss which opens at onr very doors —(lnterruption)—whether the struggle entered on in various localities--(Oh, oh)—between the Go- vernment and the elective powers does not contain within itself the seeds of a struggle still more grave between the two principles which, for four teen years, we have laboured to conciliate—(Loud exclamations from the Centre) —if the artificial calm created on the surface of the country—(Ah, ah) —be sufficient for our dignity—(Oh, oh)—whether dis order and anarchy are not at the foundation of our situation—(Murmurs from different parts of the Chamber)—and whether good faith and rectitude in the administration of public affairs are not preferable to the resources of venality—to a traffic in corruption. --(Loud interruption from the Centre, and a Member loudly called " Order, order.") M. Lafitte—l consider that my age, my chiracter, and my position, give me a right to speak the truth when I consider it useful.—(Marks of assent from the Gauch6.) M. Lafitte—l shall not carry my lave:tigations any further. A voice from the Centre exclaimed, " 'lhat will be no misfortune;" and another voice fio:n the Left called on the interrupter for silence. M. Lafitte—l will not carry my invesfgarons any further ; but bear in mind that lactic)t s de away, Ministries are changed, systems become xhausted, and we t Gentlemen, we remain responsible for the obstacles which the country meets with in the deve lopement ofthose resources •1 power and of prosperity which it ought to expect from the Revolution of July. —(Loud murmurs from the Centre, and approbatory exclamations from the Left.) M. Lafitte then said—" I now invite the President and the Definitive Secretaries to take their places ;" and returned to his usual scat in the Chamber. A voice from the Centre—" A la bonne heure." M. Sauzet, the President, then addressed the Cham ber, amidst the most profound silence; and after thanking the Chamber for the honour they had done him in electing him again to fill the honourable office of President of the Chamber, he concluded thus —" The first session has fulfilled its work—let the second do the same ; let the Chamber concur in it with the Bureaux by the good order of its delibera tions, the prompt and wise distribution of its labours, that no salutary idea may be lost sight of, that no one moment be lost; let us know how to show what may be expected from an intelligent and powerful nation, and thus merit the gratitude of the country. 'The President then declared the Chambers to be constituted, and proposed to vote the usual thanks to the Member, who, from his seniority, had temporarily presided Some voices from the Centre here excla'm 01-, oh !" and " No, no !" and others from the Let', " Consult the damber." President—l demand that the thanks be voted : s usual to the members of the provisional bureau.— (Oh, oh.) There is no opposition to the vote. A voice from the Left—" Yes, there is op; osltior, Consult the Chamber." President—l again demand that thank; be votel to the Provisional Bureau.—(Yes, ycs). Tht re i 3 no opposition.—(No, no.) The thanks are vote I.— (Loud murmurs and exclamations from the Left.) The Chamber soon after adjourned. THAMES TUNNEL.—The number of persons who passed through the Tunnel last week was 37,114. LIEUTENANT MUNRO.--It does not appear that the statement which has been put forth by several of the papers with so me thing like authority, namely, that Lieut. Munro would surrender this session and take his trial at the Old Bailey, has any foundation or truth in it. ' No notice o f an y such intention has been given to the officers of the Central Criminal Court, nor is it likely, under nil the circumstances, that there will be. SPHUr of the PUBLIC JOURNALS . 1 IRELAND. INAUGURATION OF THE NEW LORD MAYOR. MUM TILE 'MORNING PAPERS OF U'IIIS DA y. TIIE STATE PROSECUTIONS. TIDIES.—We have really been so mud' amused at a New Deurex, JA N. I.—This day the Lind Mayor for the cur- Year's manifesto by one of our c ontentporarit s that we feel i rent year (Timothys O'Brien, Esq.) was sworn into office with bound to rescue it from the obseu t ity i n w hi ch i ts own limite the usual formalities. limited the circulation might otherwi•e leave it, by o ff er i ng it the ad 1 - The members of the Corporation proceeded to the Assembly- house in s t a t e , an d a ft er some pre li m i nary prceecd i ngs, tional notoriety of our own columns. Ou r Contemporary ap ~ pears to be in a state of revolution; it has changed its size—it Ilse late Lerd Mayor, Oconee Row, Esq., tose and ad has changed its managers; it appears conscious of having c dressed the as embly at seme length. He commenced by say (" not essentially ") changed its politics; it has, if we mistake le he felt it his duty to render an account of his steward ship for the past year ; and, after adverting -to some topics not, changed its type (at least we recognise here and there in of local interest, he observed that he regretted much toktid its columns the familiar letters of an Evening Contemporary), himself opposed to the majority of the house on a question and out it comes," spick and span," on New Year's-day to pay ls which had been discussed by it ; but while lie could net concur its readers the compliments of the season in its new dress . , T t in the opinion of the majority, still he fi It that the discussiun first words are its own name, "Ab Jove prineipium." ' he -- • of the repeal of the union was a perfectly constitutimeel Morning _Herald having_ lately changed its proprietors and and justifiable one in that house. The manner in which that managers, we deem it right, at the commencement of the pre discussion was conducted elicited the approbatiou of all stilts sent year, to announce to our readers the principles upon which the paper will be h ence f or th con d ucte d . " T hese annoucce were present or h a d h eard if it. There was no ill-temper , exhibited on either side, and the question was disposed of tricots of principles are very dangerous things. Few people ' e ithout probing in that House the sligleest feeling of court them, and those who do are very apt to burn their fingers. ill-will. The next topic to n Inch he said he shoeld advert Placemen in posse do, because they wish to gain the confidence might be considered to have grown wit of ilea di cus.sien—Le of an office-bestowing - "Government, and can only do so as me e n s th e vending State tri a l s . H e tasked upo n th• rn with pledged men. Premiers in es.ee do so, because their friends tee deepest anxie'y ; and s fr e e conside ring eonelus d th e subject in cannot know how to su pp or t th em if t h ey don ' t. Members of i:s bearings, he hail come to thi in of the that it Parliament in mile do, becanse there they are o n th e hustinge, all and have to stat e ca , egorically what merits or opinions of their would be for the benefit of the cou n try--nay, United Kingdom at large—th of at these t r i a l s s h oul d own have brought them there. But urine of the sober men of net take place.—( Loud cries " Hear, hear.") Il e f e l t the day like it. L oo k at Sir Robert Peel He parts with his opinions as if th ey were so muc h gold. i lea that they would produ c e excitement and ag i ta ti on , and lead that he can't bea r t o l e t t h em d rop out e Lives them so dearly to all the evils con s eq u e n t upo n su c h a s t a t e . —(ll ear , h ear. ) t' ins mouth ; and if he does, he t a k es th em up aga i n awl whips them iota h.s rocket Sorely, in the midst of s u c h a g itati on as th ese t r i a l s wou ld lead before w e h ave h ai l t i me to be sure what thee are. . And we to, the country could not apply itself to the promo:ion of com t fierce or agriculture. Ile wou ld f ran kly t e ll th e assem bl y t h an frankly a d m it th at we d o not warder at it. " l ' o the most hones after being in communi c ati on w i t h men o f a ll part i es s i nce t h e sure to prove em b arrass i ng. Explained b the cumstare and straightf o r war d man a b stract prefes,ioi s o: i roiviple ase prosecutions had co mmence d, h e fi rm l y b e li eve d i t to b e t h e y e es general d es i re th a t t h e ag i tat i on • f t h e country should b e pre of the moment, th e k nown op i nions of the speak ir er, aeil the understood requirem en t s o f t h e h earer, t hey it, very well to can- vented by the abindonm en t o f th ese tr i a l s.— ( H em .. ) H e f e l t vey a true impression in conversation or an after-dinner slime:h.' extreme delicacy in saying anything that might be considered trenching upon the Administration of the land, which he felt to But when liable, as such public declaration; are, to Le noted be sacred g roun d ; b ut h e cons id ered that an expression of down, treasured up, and produ ce d at some future period, under circumstances to which they wer e never i ntended or tinder public feeling, u n d er a ll t h e c i rcumstances, would be calculated stood to apply, with a demand for literal pt•rf winance, they are to serve the coun t r y. H e wou ld , t h erefore, urge such an ex about the most unmanageable and unr e a sona bl e enem i es t f iat a pression of p u bli c f ee li ng, pray i ng her Majesty to take the question of th e s t ate o f I re l and into consideration, to statesman in an electioneering town can well leave b e hi n d hi m. What in the world, then, we asked ourselves, can ou r. Contem- appoint a C omm i t t ee , if neressary, of the whole House porary mean by this sudden and appare n tly g r at u it ous exposure of Commons, to ascerta i n t h e cause of discontent ich unhappily prevailed.—( Hear, hear.) It was admitted of its inmost heart? Is New Self go ng to throw Old Self by e e asi there were grounds for discontent, and, witheut more overboard ? In plain words, is there a rat in the case ? T e . particularly alluding to them, he should mention the system of suspicion was half rebutted and half confirmed, but our wonder nentraliz Aims as one. He held in his hand a document, pub was scarcely abated by the next sentence which we read : fished by order of the House of Commons, in which it neared " They (the principles aforesaid) will not esse,tially differ that the Commissioners of Woods and Fits received from those which have been espoused by the Morning Herald 6 4 8,0091. in this country, and only expended 117•10 120,0001., for sense time past, viz., the principles td moderam Consetva- leaving a balance of half a million spent out of the country, tism in Church and State." " Not essentially " Well. then, nhich it was raised, for the advantage of England.-- we get rid of a few uncomfortable artich sin the Morning from Hea. ) He mentioned this solitary fact torshow sere were Hera:d, Senior, which might have embarrassed Us. • "nlode- great and numerius grounds for discontent. As a mercantile rate Conservatism,"—that may be made in the course of the men, he felt that the agitation and excitement that would next year and a half to embrace anything between Lord John be produced by the State prosecutions would retard the in- Russell and Lord Winchilsea. On the whole, the readers of flux of capital and all improvement for a considerable time. this paragraph will not gather much b yond the fact ISu,pose that complete success should at tend these that the writer had no great wish to -be hampered by the prosecutiens—would it be calculated to allay the irritation and past or for the future. But to proceed into partieulars, discontent of the country ?—(Cries of •" No, no.") Suppose, The theology of the paper is to be consonant to. that of the ags ain, there should be a verdict of acquittal, would that restore " great body of divines" of the English Chureh, fie ru Hooker neare?—( No, no.) If, on the other hand, as was apprehended, downwards. This again is somewhat of the vaguest, and will it would be a drawn battle, would that tend to any possible do, not indeed correctly, but plausibly for wed:leg between good—would it allay there, angry feelings which had been ex- Laud or Andrewes on the one hand, and Tillotson or Werbur- cited ? No man could say, what the consequences would be ton—perhaps even Newton or Cecil—on the other. Like I should these prosecutions be pressed on. —( Hear, hear.) His everybody else, our Contemporary is unfavourable to what he Lordship concluded xpressing a hope that the majority of considers," extreme High Church views;" but. where modera- that house would b i n petiton her Majesty to grant an amnesty for tion ends and extremity begins is left for future etresideration, the past, and take steps to remedy the grievances cf Ireland.— On the poor-law our Contemporary is rot less jedicious in'his ( L oud " cm. ) sentiments. Under the law of Elizabeth we me talc(. " Eng land has reared up an industrious and t ffieieet ',urinati on e r I the address he had d e li vere d w . s t o b e ta k en s i mp l y as hi s own Aldo man Bov se ( Conservative) asked hi s L or d s hi p w h et h er Borne labourers;" but that law was abused, and amendment be- . a ntimsnts e came really desirable. "At the seine time wh en a system i s 1 The LORD MAYOR repli e d i n th e a ffi rmat i ve. introduced which, instead of recoguising the right o f th e un happy pauper to relief, treats him as an Intruder upon society, Alderman BOYSE again rose , an d proposed a most compli if not as a criminal, we are dispeecir Well, what are we reentary vote of th an k s to t h e Lord 'Mayor, for the ad m i ra bl e and impartial di sc h arge of his duties. " disposed" to do on this alarming hypothesis s To do battle, Alderman Sir JOHN POWER, Bart., said he felt the highest tooth and nail, against the unrecogneed right of the pauper— gratification in secondieg the motion, vihich passed unanimously, to expose abuses--denounce false principles—Leant INltiiisters amidst the warmest plaudits. —urge petitions—exhort electors—confine fillaeies? • Nuthing The Lord Ma.,•or then retired. of the sort—. We are dispose Ito look with don, ton its wiss The Lord Mayor elect, Timothy O'Brien, Esq., was then dont, and to watch its administration te'ile the utmost lea- worn in with the usual formalities, and took his seat as Lord lousy." No one, certainly, will think that this pledge is likely Mayor. Soon after the Council adjourned. to be very embarrassing to its melon Let the 'menial of the The procession which accompanied the new Lord Mayor poor-law fall how it may, our Contemporary nil; not• break his consisted of a great number of priva'c carriages, headed les a head against it. But the sliding scale is left in a still norealarm• nelitar3 band, ing state of unstab'e equilibrium. Was the Mos niees Herald IMPORTATION OF FIRE-ARMS. frightened by the false report of Lord Hardeicke's sk eerie...Alen , A letter, ef which the following is a copy, h as b een a dd res s e d it could bear to be so very b ac k war d i n " b ac ki ng its friends, " to the agent of the British and Irish Steam-packet Company, as it shows itself in the following most unsatisfaetory sentinice : Eden quay : The adjustment of the corn-laws upon the modified slidine scale of Sir Robert Peel is an experiment, to which Te think that a fair trial should be given. We (Iqt-team frequent and hasty change in financial matters; but most - wrongly do we condemn that restless agitation which tends to dis• turb the public mind, create panic in tin commercial world, and destroy all confidence in the security of the law." Not a word of approval of this most eminently Ministerial meas sure—not a hint as to the probable duration which ':s to be wished or expected for this " experiment." Oily our Con temporary advocates that most. uncertain advantage " a fair trial"—" condemns restless agitation"—(l(• l recate:' " frequent and hasty changes in financial matters," as every body el,e dries in every other branch of human practice, arid I; c t l•rticeeils with the same oracular caution through the varieus heads of Irish and foreign politics, manufactures, and lase reform. Only one somewhat unguarded expression a hypereeit a l eye might notice—and that upon an incidental point where it is-arniable to be enthusiastic. " With the progress of the reformed religion," says our Contemporary, "i s assoc i ate d not only all-the glory and happiness of our own kingdom, but everything which is great in the history of man,"—including, of course, Abraham, !Moses, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Julius Caear, Tamerlane, Peter the Great, and the wall of China. Tie, is tint quite historically true. But, with this excetebm, we mini' do nothing but approve. We will only venture to regret that such a con fined application has been made of a formula whishe,Ceurs hilt in one paragraph of the article, but titan which noddle , could have been - more happily appropriate as a begirming . anSending of the whole composition. " We need scarcely say,' says our Contemporary ; " You need not, indeed," we cannie help re plying; and we are irresistibly pushed on to add, n ait why in the world did you?" Yet we cannot regret a composition in which the coy dignity of a maiden Queen addressing her first Parliament is so gracefully compounded with the mysterious caution of an experienced Minister. We will evert hoee that our Contemporary will continue his annual eshibitioe of a counter Queen's speeds (the imitation is obvious), de'ailing to the world with the same majesty his probable course for the next twelvemonth. It would be a tievelty in news, aeer his tory, and we think might tell-sat least no worse than some I ite vagaries of our resuscitated friend. POST.—Our Ministerial Contemporary, the Herald, has once more changed its shape. It has ceased to be-""perma nently enlarged." The Ileraid's " principles," 11/riveter, will, we are assured, be hereafter v,-ry much what they have been heretofore. These will undergo neither '.' permanent enlarge ment" nor contraction. They will remain, we presume, in a state fit for the application of either pro este They will prove as " stretchable ( " in short, hereafter as they have proved in time past. Of the corn-law of 1842 the l'erabl, in his new confession of faith, discoursed' in the follewin•s strain:— " The adjustment of the corn-laws upon the m :Aim' sliding scale of Sir Robert Peel is an experiment to which we wisn that a fair trial should be given." A fair trial given to the cern law of 1642! Why, the Resold ham, ever sense the pass ing of that law, prononnced it to be the eoniumma ion of political wisdom ! And is that admirable law to be now described as merely an " exreritnent ?" 'I he corn-law of 1842 was, as the Herald has a thousatel times proclaimed, " a settlement of the glued:in ;" yet from that " settlement" the Herald, leokieg to Ministers (whom, according to the measure of his feebleness our ('on temporary flatters), desires now to escape. Ministers dread the League, and that base fear may soon induce M.nisters to abjure the policy ill protection in prac:ice, as they have al. ready abjured it theoretically. The Herald naturally longs to be free to follow it: patrons. Four years ag i the Herald advocated a protective policy so strinsent as to amount al• most to a policy prohibitive of the use of foreign labour. For two years the herald bas mouthed the modified free trails dee trines of Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Gladstone. For two years the Herald has sought to defend free trade doctrines, when these have been assailed by the Post—and yet, derirg the whole of the same period, the herald has been al•usieg free trade doctrines when advecated by Mr. Cobden. This process of blowing hot and cold must have 1 roved awkward work. The Herald is naturally anxious to escape f urn it, and to prepare for the assumption of a place in the tanks of orthodox free traders. The Herald has, for a l o n e time, trumpeted forth League doctrines—th e 1. irced will', doubtless, speedily be employed in trumpeting the praises of the League itself. Ot the daily tires., only the He rald and the Standard have supported the industrial pulley of Ministers. This unity of view would seem to ha'i'e led the way to union of a closer kind. These worshippers of the wisdom of Peel and Gladstone have, at length, been joined together. The morning and the evening song of sycophancy teal now be more harmonious than ever. As Ministers, moreover, shall approximate towards the League, so will the Standard become more and more impregnated with the spirit of that benevolence by which all Leaguers—whether Ministers or millowners—are animated ; and as the Peel of 1843 is, in the Standard'sjudg ment, the wisest of Ministers, while the Peel of 1829 was pro nounced, on the same authority, to be the basest Of traitors, so rosy the Bright of 1845 appear to our Contemporary an angel of light, although the Bright of 1843 has been described by him as among the vilest of mankind. Whv, in short, should Standard and Herald quarrel with the League? Herald and Standard have, for two years, been doing the League's work. It is time that they openly wore the League's colours. Let Ministers give the word, and these colours will forthwith be " sported" by our lofty-minded Contemporaries! - " Metropolitan Police-office, Dublin Castle, December 28, 1843. " Sir,—The Commissioners of Police have directed me to acquaint you, for the information of your Board of Directors, that it is considered necessaar and has been directed by Go vernment, that the police shall inspect on arrival, and while Wading, the portion of the shipping in the port of D u bli n , cu d under the uninterrupted su p er i n t en dence of officers of Customs, with a view to the more effectual prevention of the clandestine imporiat ion of fire-arms; and that therefore the inspectors of police have been ordered to make this inspection, in pursuance of the power given by the Dublin Police Act, 5 Victoria, c. 24, see. 23 ; but that in the performante of the duty they have been directed to avoid the adoption of any steps calculated to inter• rapt she commerce of the port, or cause unnecessary inconve nience to passengers or other persons in the vessels inspected, towards whom the officers will demean themselves with due courtesy. Mr. S. Cotterell, one of the victims slain in the affray at New zealand, was the son of Mr. F. Cotterell, of this city, a member of the Society of Friends. It is stated on the best authority that ho took rto'part in the affray, except as an " unarmed peace maker; " that, during the whole o f hi s so journ in New Zealand, h was on the best terms with the na tives; and the very last letter received from him here mentions the pleasure he experienced in having acquired sufficient the native language to be enabled to converse with th e m aer i es . on religious subjects, and thus to benefit them in the Ifghest sense. He wanted only a month of tsenty•Lur sears of age. —Bath Journal. CHRONOLOGY OF SPORTING EVENTS IN 18-13. Ben Life in London of Sunday next, the ith•of January, will consist of two folio stamped sheets of the ,Itlne size, the second gratis ! comprising full and accurate Chronologies of all the important Sporting Events of the year—lacing, Steeple Chasing, Aquatic, Cricket, Trotting, Pedestrianisin, and Cie Prize ring; all alphabetically and intellig bly arranged fur immediate reference. Entries for the Derby, Oaks, and St. Leger ; horses in training, trainers, and ;Lc,. sof training ; the two-years-old and their engagements, &c. ; lormir:g a concen tration of intelligence invaluable to tl e sporting ei - eles. Price of both sheets, td. Papers forwarded on transmission of 6,1 , or six Post-office stamps, to Mr. Clement, jean., 170, Strand. ' BODY OF A MAN FOUND IN THE PIDLIC ROAD.— About six o'clock on Monday morniw2, as a oti!lt named Wright, the son of a milkman of that name, residing at Nor wood, was proceeding along the road at Norwood Hill, he dis covered the body of a man lying across the ro id, completely encased in mud, and his clothes torn almo t to tibbons. Wright immediatelj raised an alarm, and the body was removed to the George the Fourth public-house, opposite, to await a Coroner's inquest. Nothing was found upon the bo.ly coal lead to its identity. It has the appearance of being that or ono o f the superior order of mechanics, and is about 111 , . mithit. , age and stature. During the night a man Lamed Tilly, who re sides in a cottage close to the place w here the bo,ly was found, heard a voice say, " Come, an't you going to get up—do get up, come," but supposing the noise proc'eded fiom some drunken men, he took no further notice of it. . Dea It is sup posed to have been caused by ap,plexy, but it cant 't at present be conjectured as to the manner in wl ich his chs.hing had been so much torn. I nm at the same time to refer you to a provision in the 27th section of the Arms Act (an abstract of which is sent herewith), authorising passengers to import fire-arms usually carried for personal defence or sporting on registering them the , with the chief o ffi cer o f th e port , an d l am to suggest, , the consideration of your Board, the expediency u(onlopting some means of making this provision known to persons taking berths, &e., at the CoMpany's offices in England and Scotland, as the obtaining of the i n f ormat i on t h ere may prevent inco nvenience to passengers, and any misunderstanding with respect to their fire-arms on arriving here. " The Commissioners have suggested to the Government that this information might be best afforded to passengers in the mail-packets by a printed note on the form of receipts isgird on taking berths.-1 have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant, "NV. STANLEY, Secretary." FUNERAL OF V. MAHER, ESQ., AI. P. Dxc. 28.—The remains of the late lamented Valectine Maher, Esq., M.P., were removed from Turtulla Ilou-e at twelve o'clock on Wednesday, a , tonded by a numerous train of carriages, jaunting care, and gigs belonging to the resident gentry of the surrcunding neighbourhood, to be interred in the family burial place in Thurles churchyard. The number of carriages exceeded thirty, and the cortege extended from Turtulta gate 'to the town. Never was there in this neiglibourhooht such a respectable and numerously attended funeral. The most marked respret was paid to his memory— all the shopa of the town of Thurles being closed from the time of the melancholy occurrence of his death. There was a most numerous - attentance of his tenantry, and a great number of the clergy.— Tipperary Free Press. The Tipperary fox-hounds did tot meet for the lest week, in ennsequence of his death. - • EIRATot.-1.11 a paragraph yesterday, relative to the departure of the India Mail—for " Maid" read " Mail" ALARMING EXPL OS I ON OF G AS AT GREENWICH.— La•t. night (Tuesday) shortly after dusk, the inhabitants of the neighbourhood of Trafalgar-street, Greenwich, were much alarmed by a mist terrific explosion of gas, which took place under the premises occupied by Mr. G. Oxborough, tailor, Ste., in the Trafalgar-read. It appears from what we could as certain upon the spot, that some difficulty was experienced by the next doer neighbour of Mr. Oxborough in getting his gas to ignite, and that consequently he sent a man down into the basement of the premises to ascertain the cause of the difficulty, when the pipe suddenly burst immediately underneath the floor ing of Mr. Oxborough's room, tearing away the wood work and bursting up the counter. Thence it passed towards the ceiling, and upset in i:s progress Mr. Oxborough and a female who was sitting with him at work. The ceiling is torn from the lathing, anti the shock was so violent, that the front wall wa• split by it from the top to the bottom. Upon inquiring, last night, be tween ten and eleven o'clock, we were informed that Mr. Ox borough's injuries are but trifling, but that the female is so mu tilted, that she is considered in a very precarious state. SINGULAR AND FATAL ACCIDENT BY THY KICK OF A Cow.— Yt sterday afternoon Mr. Carter, Coroner for Sur rey, held an inquest at the Rose and Crown, Salisbury-lane, Bermondsey-wall, on the body of Richard Creasy, aged fit; years. It appeared by the evidence that the deceased was in the employ of Mr. Edward Kelsey, cowkeeper and dairyman, in East-lane, Bermondsey. On the morning of Saturday, the 9th ult., the deceased went as usual to milk his master's cows. After so &dug he fed them, and whilst in the act of wiping his shoes in the litter beneath the cows, one of them rushed against him and knocked him down, and before he could recover him se:f another beast, whose propensity for kicking was well known by dreeascd, struck him a violent blow on his head with her hind hour, which laid him prostrate. A 'fellow-servant of de• ceased immediately went to him . ' and assisted him home, when it %vat. asccrtcined that his skull had been fractured. Ile died on the 25:11 ult. The jury returned a verdict of " Accidental eeatli." THE DISI CHANCES OF AUGUST, 1 84'2.— f lier CliancE AGAINST AN ALDERMAN OF LEI:Ds.— It will be remembered that a statement, which excited a good deal of public attention, recently appeared in the public prints, charg ing an alderman of the borough of Leeds, and a member of the watch committee, with rot only being cognisant of the distur bances of 1842, previous to their commencement, but with having been actually instrumental in producing them. The statement was first made public by Mr. Joshua Hobson, pub lisher of the Northern Slur, and a member of the Town Coun cil, at a public meeting held in Leeds a short time ago , and on Monday the subject came under discu ss i on i n th e Council, where Mr. Hobson reiterated his statement, stating that the Alderman seas named Bateson. From the exilanations of Mr. Ho!lon, Mr. Bateson, and others, it appeared that the charge had been preferred by a person named Smith, who hail been made a bankrupt by Alderman Bateson, anti who, it was con tended, could not be believt don his oath. After a i.reat deal of boisterous altercation, the Council decided that the matter did not come within their jurisdiction. Tile SALE OF LIEUTENANT MUNRO'S EFFECTS.— The opinion of counsel upon Mr. Wakley's proceedings on the late occasion of the attempted sale of Lieutenant Munro's eff«;ts being adverse to the legality of the Coroner's right to interfere, the auction has been re-announced to take place this day and to-morrow. From circumstances which occurred at a late hour last night it would appear, however, that the Hon. Member in ends to contest the matter in spite of the lawyers. Mr. Kirke (the auctioneer employed by Mrs. Munro) has, it seems, been placed under the surveillance of the police for some- days Fast, a sergeant and two officers of the B divi sion being stationed near his residence, so as to observe all person; passing to and fro. Last n i g ht, s h ort l y a f t er seven o'cl.,ek, Mrs. Munro arrived at Mr. Kirke's house in Bromp too-row. The carriage in which she rode drew up by the roadside, and before Mr. Kirke could reach the door the police had surrounded the vehicle, apparently with an in tention to ditcover who was inside. Mrs. Munro having re quested Mr. Kirke to let her have a small dressing-case which had been left in his care, that gentleman returned to the !mow fur it, and as he was handing it into the carriage, the police sergeant required to know " where that. box was going?' Mr. Kirke replied that it belonged to Mrs. Munro, and he believed that she was about to convey if to her mother's residence. Having closely examined the t...se, the officer petmitted Mr. Kirke to place it in the carriage: at the same time directing hs brother officials to run off to the nearest stand and call a cab to follow the vehicle. Mrs. Munro having emu -I,le.ed the purpose of her call, ordered the coachman to drive home, and the cab not having arrived at this time, the ser geant, in the " performance of his duty," was compelled to fol low the carriage as fast as his legs could carry him down the , Brompton-road ; the object being, it was stated, to wa't.i where the b o x in q u e s ti on was conveyed. It intende d to proceed with the sale. of The military authorities are engaged, a r t e h d e a 4 7 i V 3 4; connected with m young officers of the The particulars of L'i Dragoon Guards stationed in Dublin.htwhiethC4thme.ncaaseedoefr-ItCriheitefiluirnstveasntidgattrainvg the factsl? 3'e t inquiry has been directed in consequence Sun. The present of a meninx-la I forwarded by Harriet Hurst IQ the Duke& t t r h a i t s e e s a C) e f , th which lie head Psolicc_ot2ice, brought olce-otli c u e n , der have t a e lre n a o d l y ic a e p . p o e f Wellington. PRESENT TO lIER MAJESTY.—EigIit frost iTtu tiful and pure-bred bant.ms (consisting of a e,;(:k anti three herr, of gold, and the like number and description of silver bantams), arrived at Windsor Castle on .:11or d:ty last, as a pre sent to the Queen, from W. IL Holcombe, ERE, (.4 Camptlen, in Gloucestershire, a gentleman ttho has 'hu g be en c:elebratrd for hi: peculiar breed of this tare and euii , us syrcies of do- McitiCl/ircy, COURT CIRCULAR WINDSOR, TuEsnAr.---Her :Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert promenaded in the precincts of the Castle this afternoon. His Royal Highness Prince Albert, accompanied by his Serene Ilighness Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, and attended by Lord Rivers, Colonel Arbuthnot, and Mr. G. E. Anson, went out shooting in the royal pre serves this morning. The party afterwards returned to the Castle. Captain the Hon. Arthur Duncombe, RN., arrived at the Castle to-day, and has succeeded the Hon. Captain Nelson Hood as the Groom in Waiting on her Majesty. The Royal F a mily have been t a k en out fur their usual exercise in the course of the day. Captain Francis Seymour left the Castle to-day, for Winchester, to join a detachment of his regiment doing duty there. Mr. Edward Puckle had the honour, this morning, of submitting to the inspection of the Queen and Prince Albert, a finished proof of a portrait of her Majesty, from a paining by Sir W. C. Ross, of which both her Majesty and his Royal Highness were graciously pleased to express their approbation. Her Majesty and Prince Albert will dine this evening wish her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, at her residence, Frogmore Lodge. Almost the whole of" the Ladies and Gentlemen in Waiting on her Majesty and her Royal Highness will have the honour of dining with the Royal Duchess at Frogmore. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester had a select party at dinner yesterday evening,4lit her residence, Gloucester House. Mr. Everett, the American Minister, transacted busi ness yesterday, at the Foreign-office. The Countess of Jersey and Lady Clementina Villiers left town yesterday, for the residence of the Hon. Frede rick Villiers, in Northamptonshire. Dispatches from the Governor of New Zealand were received yesterday at the Colonial -office. Dispatches were also received from the Governor of Sierra Leone. BANQUET AT FROGMORE-HOUSE W.mnsoa, TUESDAY EVENING.—A grand banquet was given this evening, by her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, to her Majesty, the Prince Consort, Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, and a distinguished circle, in honour of the birth day of his Serene Highness Ernest Antoine Charles Louis, the reigning Duke of Saxe Cobourg and Gotha (the father of his Royal Highness Prince :Albert), who was born on the 2d of January, 1784. Covers were laid for sixteen, in the large dining-room. The Royal dinner party included, in addition to the Queen and his Royal Highness Prince Albert, his Serene Highness ' Prince Edward of S axe W e i mar , the Marchioness of Douro, the Hon. Eleanor St an l e y, the Hon. Clementina Hamilton, Lady Fanny Howard, Lord Rivers, Captain the Hun. Arthur Duncombe, Colonel Arbuthnot, Major-General Sir Edward Bowater, the Hon. and Rev. Charles Leslie Courtenay, the Hon. C. A. Murray, Colonel Sir George Cooper, Bart., and Dr. PrEetorius. At the conclusion of the banquet her Majesty, the Prince Consort, the Duchess of Kent, and her Royal Highness's die• tinguished guests, retired to th e gran d drawing- room , w h ere a concert was performed by the band of the Ist Life Guards. OBITUARY of the NOBILITY and ARISTOCRACY for 1843. Amongst the other important events connected with the past year may be enumerated the great number of deaths which have taken place in that class of society termed the aristocracy of the country. Many of those who have played prominent parts on this world's stage have departed. Amongst them we find a Prince of the Royal B!ood His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex. The Dukes of Manchester and Dorset. The Marquis of Winchester. Earls—Re Reede De Ginkell, Athlone, Abergavenny, Hope toun, Coventry, Glasgow, and Plymouth. Viscounts—Ferrard, and Hinton, the eldest son of Earl Poulett. Lords —Duffus, Abercromby, the son of Sir Ralph Aber. cromby ; Forbes, (General); Fitzgerald and Veaci Robert; Ker. Rodney, Lynedoch, and Inverury, the eldest son of the Earl of Kintore. Baronets— J. Hesketh, C. B. Codrington, J. P. Murray, F. Sykes, T. W. Vaughan, A. K. Jackson, E. Synge, M. Wood, J. Shaw, R. Fitzwygram, J. Gordon, and J. \V. Mac naughten. Knights—T. Robinson, and T. C. Morgan. Bishop Lichfield. Judges—The Right Hon. Charles Kendal Bushe, ex-Chief. Justice of Ireland ; and the Right Hon. J. Radcliffe, Judge of the Irish Prerogative Court. Generals—The Hon. Sir Charles Colville, Sir W. Brooke Thompson (the senior General but one in the British service), Sir John Fraser, C.C. IL, and Sir John Taylor. Majors-General—Percy Drummond, C. 13., Director-Ge neral of the Royal A rtillery ; Sir John Thomas Jones, Bart., K. C. B. ; Edward Hutchins Bellasis, Sir Donald Macleod, K. C. B. ; Sir J. O'Halloran. Lieutenants - General-0 1 Loghlin, Beever, R. A., and Sir Archibald Campbell, G. C.B. Colonels—Clement s , M. P., fer the county of Cavan ; Sir Horatio G. P. Townsend, K.C.H. Li eu tenant-Governor o f Windsor Castle; Fortesc ue Elli son, and Dertemet G. Muirhead. Lieutenant- Colonels—Forb es , Champagne,Ullerton, Willi a m L. Wood, K. li., Ar c hib a ld C ameron , Richard Murray, Si r William 'Thom (Author of " The History of the War in India, under General Lord Lake,") Morgan, George Hart Dyke, and Williamson. Admirals—Thomas Alexander, and Sir R. Barlow, K. C. B. Rear-Admirals—R. Henderson, and Sir Arthur Farquhar, K. C. 11. and K. C. H. Vice-Admirals—Sir Edward Brace, K.C. 8., Commander in-Chief at the Nore. Right Honourables—J. A. Stuart Mackenzie, Governor of Ceylon, and afterwardi Lord High Commissioner of the lonian Islands. Honourables—Wm. Howard ; Robert Kennedy, brother of the Marquis of Ailsa ; Henry Browne, the youngest son of Lord Oranmore ; R. G. Quin, brother of the Earl of JDunraven ; and F. T. Tollemache, brother of the Earl of Dysart. Members of Parliament—Major G. Brown, for the county of Kilkenny ; and Valentine Maher, Esq., for the county of Tipperary. Late Members of Par:iament—C. F. Palmer, G. A. Mus keit, W. H. Sarsfield, A. Blennerhassett, J. B. S. Merritt, J. B. Hoy, G. W. Wood. Private Secretaries—Edward Drummond, Private Secre tary to Sir Robert Peel ; and Colonel Shaw, Private Secre tary to the Marquis of Wellesley, when Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. It will thus be seen that during the past year one Prince of the Blood, two Dukes, one Marquis, six Earls, two Viscounts, eight Lords, twelve Baronets, two Knig hts , one Bishop, two (Irish) Judges, five Generals , five Majors-General, three Lieutenants-General, , seven Colonels, nine Lieutenant-Colo nels, two Admirals, two Rear-Admirals, one Vice-Admiral, one Right Honourable, five Ilonourables, two Members of Parliament, seven late Members of Parliament, and two Private Secretaries, h ave died—making the total eighty eight individuals, who during their lives were what are termed public men, by their connection with the Government of the country. on New Y ear ' s n ay, i n DEATII.—At Shoe-lune, the ordinary course of nature, the double sheet of the Morning Herald. Post. We have really been so much amused at a New Year's manifesto by one o f our contempo rar i es (the M orn i ng Herald) that we feel bound to rescue it from the obscurity in which its own limited circulation might otherwise leave it, by offering it the additional notoriety of our own columns. Our Con temporary appears to be in a state of revolution , it has changed its size—it has chan ged its managers ;it appears conscious of having (" not essentially") changed its politics ; it has, if we mistake not, changed its type (at least we recog n i s e here and "spick and sp an, " there in its columns the familiar letters of an e ve ning contem porary ), and out it comes,on New Year's. day, to pay its readers the compliments of the season in its new dress.— Times. ACCIDENT TO THE EARL OF MOHNTCASHEL.—In consequence of a statement having appeared i n the account given of the meeting of magistrates lately held at Fermoy, that the Earl of Mountcashel had received but a slight injury by his carriage being upset, we are authorised to say, that the accident was of a much more serious nature. On Thursday, the 21st, as his Lordship was returning from the mountains, where he had been shoot in g, the horse took fright, and running away down a hill, the carriage in which he was seated came in contact with a stone fence at the side of the road with such vio lence as to separate the two hind wheels from the body, and he was dashed (at with c onsiderable force. t-r a —e was taken up in sensible immediately afterwards by some persons who were hpaeshsiansgb, been n d c c o a n r fi ri n e e d d i ntotohaisn bed, cottage. F or t h e l as t week sufferingmuch pain, but is now out of all danger.—Cork Paper. 'We are informed that Mr. and Mrs. 'Wood are en gaged at the Princess's Theatre, and will make their first ap pearance in a few days in the opera of The Maid of Judgh.