The Sun. — London, England, 1839-07-31 00:00:00

EVENING EDIT I ON. BIRMINGHAM.-TUESDAY EVENING. (FROM OCR OWN REPORTER. The utmost vigilance is still obs erve d by th e l oca l an d military authorities, and the town is regularly patrolled, by the dra goons , po li ce, an d spec i al constables, after e i g h t o'clock every evening, and continued at stated hours throughout the night. The London police were yester day placed on permanent duty in the town, and as there istill remains something of ill-blood between that force and the inhabitants, the arrangements have on the whole an alarming aspect ; and although they effectually prevent the possibility of any outbreak, their prudence is questioned by many, who feel that this formidable military and civil parade is calculated to keep alive much excitement and alarm, more especially in the minds of strangers visiting the town. It is, in fact, giving an importance to the Chartists, to which neither their numbers nor their in fluence entitle them. Indeed the dissensions and squab blings in the Convention, in conjunction with the experi ment of the "sacred month," whenever it comes off, will, it is expected, hasten the dismemberment of the Chartist body to a great extent throughout the country. The inquiry into the conduct of the local Magistracy will not commence before the prorogation of Parlia ment. Pending that investigation perhaps the less that is said upon the merits of the case the better, but from what I have been able to collect, the facts which will be brought out at the investigation will leave neither " the Duke" nor the Earl of Warwick much to boast of, if it do not end in implicating some of their Political partizans. There arc good grounds for believing that these nobl emen h ave b een ma d e t h e " cat ' s paw " o f some Tory lawyers here, who expect to reap advantages, pecu niary or otherwise, from the broils and agitation which they have insidiously fermented. One thing is certain—. that the Magistrates generally do not shrink from investi gation, although some of those who have been most lauded for their energy and zeal, will not escape unscathed from the ordeal. The Chartist trials at Warwick excite little interest or attention here, although there are many sur mises and speculations, embodied in as many rumours, as to the influence their result may produce upon the working classes in Birmingham. " The wake," or fair at Derritend, one of the densely peopled suburbs of the town, which lasts four days, elm- Menced on Alonday, but the injury inflicted upon business has extended to ils most minute and insignificant ramifi cations. There were no booths, shows, or fancy stalls ex• hibited ; and the rain, which fell throughout the evening in torrents, cleared the streets completely of stragglers. I understand it has been determined to make this the great central garrison for troops, and to remove the greater portion of those stationed at We..don Barracks to Bir mingham. Its central situation and the numerous lines of railway branching from it to the other large manufactur ing towns, point it out as the most eligible point that could be selected for such a purpose. The local Comm' ttee of the British Association met to day at the Philosophical Institution, on business connected with the approaching meeting of the Association. I un derstand the object was to take into consideration the pro- Piety of postponing the meeting of the Association, in consequence of the late disturbances in the town. The result has not transpired. ' BIRMINGHAM-TUESDAY. Alderman Sturge has given notice of the following motions, which he means to bring forward a t th e T own Council on Tuesday, the 6th of August :- 1. That it is the opinion of this Council the New Police should be formed of men of known good character, who have some time previously resided in the Borough, and that they should never be armed with mortal weapons. 2. That an Address be presented by this Town Council to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pray ing him forthwith to withdraw the London Police from the borough of Birmingham. 3. That a Committee of this Council be appointed to investigate into the cause of the late riots, and that the re sult of such investigation be published. N EWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. ' MONDAY, JULY 29, 1839, SEVEN O'CLOCK. Sir,—About an hour ago, during the Assize Trials in our Court, the Grand Jury brought in a true bill against Bronterre O'Brien, Mr. Devyr, Mr. Thomason, Mr. Ayre, and Mr. Mason. Every one in Court was thun derstruck, as not one word was ever beard of warrants being out against them ; in fact, every man of them was at large until a few minutes ago, when Mason was arrested ; he has just passed up Dean street, and en immense crowd following : the others are expected to be arrested every moment. The town is in a dreadful state of excitement. A public meeting is expected to be held to-morrow night, to protest against the " augmentation of the police and the military." A requisitoltus has been sent to the Mayor to call the meeting; he gives an answer to-morrow. It is said the meeting will be called by the requisitionists should the Mayor refuse. What with the arrests and the consequent excitement it will be hard to say what may be the consequence. A CONSTANT READER. UNIVERSAL PENNY POSTAGE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sta—The now only apparent difficulty attending this most desirable measure seems to be as to the mode of ap plying the stamp. I beg to suggest that it be imprinted on a sheet of post paper, in the centre at the back, so that in folding it will be on the part where the direction of a letter is usually written. This will obviate the trouble to the writer of affixing the stamp by means of an adhesive substance, which would be liable to be rubbed off, or de tached from the letter, and of being fraudently used again. It will likewise afford the stationer or vendor of the paper a means of remuneration for advancing the cost of the stamp, supposing the charge for paper and stamp to be three- halfpence per sheet. Persons having a considerable correspondence might purchase by the quire at a cheaper rate, but so as to afford the vendor a fair profit. In order to prevent the abuse of using the stamp a se cond time, the post-mark should be placed across the stamp in a different coloured ink. Mere covers or envelopes are objectionable on more grounds than one ; these have been stated, and I therefore will not trespass further on the reader's time. July 30, 1839 AN OLD SUBSCRIBER. STAFFORDSHIRE COALS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Seeing a correspondence in your paper of yes terday between Mr. Pletts, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and the Lord Mayor, on the coal combination is the north, and noticing the price of the best coals in Staffordshire to be (according to his Lordship's statement), 6s. per ton, on board, I shall feel obliged to Mr. C. Lea Wilson, or any other gentleman, to inform me at what mine, or mines, the lest coals of that district are to be had at 65., at Bs., or even at 9s. per ton, on board ; and from what authority he states the canal dues, (or tonnage) to be only ss. 11d.:per ton the whole distance from these mines to London ? If he can clearly and satisfactorily show these statements to be correct, I, for one, am very much deceived, but shall not be the less gratified to find them true. Should the insertion of this letter in your paper induce a reply, th e pu bli c will know how to set a proper value on his Lordships' exertions, which have boon so eminently useful. —I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Dudley, July 30. JOHN PARTRIDGE. MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS. TIME S.—From the Paris papers and letters it would appear, not only that the accounts were substantially true, of an attempted arrangement between the Bank of Eng land and the Bank of France, but that the additional mortification is imposed, of two failures in the applications made —one to the Bank of France, and the other to the capitalists of Paris —a disgrace which certainly never be fore befel the great English banking corpora ion. The Government, too, the natural consequence of being in bad company, comes in for a share of the dis grace. English Exchequer-bills, it seems, are not good security at Paris, because they would not, at short notice, be convertible so as to answer banking purposes —a remark which is perfect y true, and at the same !time a very useful admonition to the late Governor of the Bank of England, who was the ne gotiator cn this occasion, on his own recent practice in regard to available securities. The " dead weight," of course, if the Paris hankers could be made to arrive at the comprehension of its meaning, would be far less available as a banking security, since it is universally admitted not to possess that character even in London. Phis is the objection of the Paris capitalists to the arrangement, who were to :save undertaken it, if that difficulty could have been overcome, with the aid of the Bank of France, the latter taking them as its security. With the Bank of Eng land in a direct way there was a refusal to treat at all, the charter of that institution forbidding all traffic in " foreign securities." The transaction is the universal topic of dis cussion in the city, and every where severelyreprobated. ---___...•■••••••••••• SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS' The South London horticultural Society held their summer show of flower s and fruits at their Gardens yesterday. The collection of flowers wa :by far the best we have yet seen exhibited hythisi. rododendrons, fuschia s , b alsams, and forei gn gn h ety eat The hs in great abundance, a n d o f the most rich and variedwer de e scription. The show of geraniums, even at this season, was nearly as good as at the former exhibition, and one in particular, a scarlet geranium, raised by the gar dener of Mr. Sullivan, of Fulham, for its size and I , th e beauty of the colour, attracted general attention. There was also a plentiful display of cut flowers, dah lias, roses, carnations, &c., and several fine specimens of the fruits of the season. The day was most unpro pitious, yet several hundreds visited the Garden s in the course of the day ; and but for this unfortunate ci r . numstance, the numbers would probably have been in creased tenfold. The arrangement of the flowers was in good taste, and what with the excellent collectio n of li ons, and tigers, and elephants, which Mr. Cross keep s I n such a healthy condition, the company, notwith standing the bad weather, seemed to think that the 1 shilling had been well spent. A number of prizes were awarded, and among them t he large sil ver medal to Mr. Lidyard, for the b est col ec ler • tion of miscellaneous plants ; •1 AID e sl iver medal, for to Mr. Barnard, the Mr the best blooms of picotees ; to . Edmonds, the large silver medal, for the best heart's ease ; th e l arge silver medal, for the best collec 0n of miscellaneous plants for gentlemen's gardeners, to Mr. Coutts ; for cut flowers, to Mr. Sadler ; the large silver medal for the best collection of miscellaneous plant s for nurserymen, Mr. p a • • band fi • to market gardeners, florists, specin Fair bairn ; for roses, to Mr. Paul ; for the best .._ I ._ plant, open 1%1 r. Dicks o n . to all classes, to Mr. Pamplin and LITERATURE. TRAVELS IN NORTH .AMERICA. 2 VoLs. Bentley, London, 1839. ...... .. . The thirst for adventure—that fierce, uncontrollable , passion which sent Captain Head galloping, in steeple chase style, across the Pampas, and is just now in ducing our enterprising Lord Mayor to brave the perils of a voyage in the city barge to the far distant town of Henley-upon-Thames —impelled the author of these volumes, Captain Murray, in the year 1834, to quit the more civilized portions of the United States, and go hunting with the wild Pawnee tribes in the Prairies of the Far West. Ile left England, it seems, in the Ame rican ship Waverley, for New York ; but encountering a stiff Atlantic gale when about twelve hundred miles from Liverpool, where he had embarked, was compelled to put in for shelter to Fayal, one of the Azore Is lands. Here the vessel was detained for nearly a month, while the necessary repairs were being made, which enabled Captain Murray to acquaint himself with the manners and customs of these remote islanders. Of the town of Fayal, he tells us that " the streets are execrably paved, and altogether the most favourab!c I ever saw for the production of broken shins and sprained ancles." Whlle a resident in this charming town, which for quick or negligent pedestrians must teem with at tractions, he was invited to a dinner given by the chiefs of the island, at which the following ludicrous scene occurred. It should be premised that one half the company could not understand English ; the other half were equally ignorant of Portuguese After a few minutes passed in bowing to my right and left, and in various modes of telegraphic communica tion, I perceived that the chair on the right of our host was occupied by a portly good-humoured Ecclesiastic. The bright idea immediately struck me that I might here derive some advantage from my Eton education ; so I addressed the priest with, " Salve, vir roverendissime," which instantly drew his attention and that of the whole company to my learned self. The good priest rose from his chair, and answered my salutation with a torrent of complimentary eloquence, and soon found means to obviate the difficulty resulting from the difference of our pronunciation. Two sheets of paper were provided, on one of which he wrote me a complimentary address on my arrival, assuring me, therein, that " the Scottish nation was the greatest on earth, that the island had never been so honoured before, and that my visit would be treasured in its latest annals.' Having had some exper'ence in public dinners in Britain, I flatter myself I was not a bad match for the priest at the weapons which he had chosen. I assured him that my feelings of gratification wore too overwhelm i ng to be con veyed in words; that this was, without exception, the proudest moment of my life ; and that I congratulated the island on the possession of a reverend luminary whose learning and eloquence were not i n f er i or to that of Gro tius orErasmus.'" This is a delicious piece of humbug, scarcely to be rivalled even by our own public practitioners in the art, at a political dinner. On quitting Fayal, where the Irish portion of the crew of the Waverley got into a " pretty skrimmage" with the natives, the vessel again set sail for New York ; and in the course of the voyage the author, to his own inexpressible astonishment, shot a whale stone-dead through the heart, with his double barrelled rifle. After a, comparatively speaking, quick and smooth passage he reached the United States ; made a short stay at New York ; then sailed up the Hudson, and 'afterwards visited Boston, Washington, Albany, Richmond, Baltimore, and other towns of the Union. At Baltimore he encountered in the Museum one of the loveliest girls be had ever met with ; but, strange to tell, he took fright at her beauty, for imme diately on being observed by her, be turned away and left the room 1 Old, and spectacled, and grey-haired critics es we are, we scarcely think we should have run away, like our bashful author, from a beautiful girl ; on the contrary, our only apprehension would have been that she would run away from us. But Captain Mur ray must tell his own story : " While at Baltimore I strolled into the Museum, to see the well-known figures of Tam O'Sbanter and Souter Johnnie, which were being exhibited; when suddenly I ob served a delicate round arm passed round the Soutcr's neck, and,a profusion of dark tresses mingled with his grey locks! It was a young girl, of about sixteen or seventeen years, who, with the naivete of youthful curiosity, had approached to take a nearer view of the jolly Souter. She was one of the loveliest creatures that I ever had looked upon ; her hair was dark and glossy ; her eyes black and brilliant, beneath eye-brows most delicately pencilled, and shaded by lids the fringe of which threatened to tickle her rosy shock ; her nose was of that fine correct form so distinc tive of American beauty, and round her sweet, small mouth played two dimples that Psyche might have slept in; her figure and her attitude blended the playful grace of the child, with the symmetry of ripening bloom ; and thus, in delighted and unconscious beauty, did she hang her arm round Johnnie's neck of stone, and look into his grinning visage, her arch eyes beaming with surprise, and her full cherry lips almost touching his rough check. I could not forbear gazing more intently, perhaps, than I ought ; she happened to look up, and on encountering my rivettcd eyes, she blushed deeply, and changed her position. I turned, and left the room:!" From Baltimore our author proceeded to Pittsburgh, " the Birmingham of the West," and thence to Louis ville, from which place he steamed down the Ohio to the Mississippi. Here, it appears, the cholera—an unwel come passenger—came on board ; committed an assault and battery on several of the crew ; and did for one man in, what Lord Duberley elegantly calls " the twinkling of a bed-post." Fortunately Captain Murray escaped the visitation, which is singular, considering the very dangerous weather he encountered on the voyage : " I never," says be, " experienced or conceived such changeful or unhealthy weather. On the 20th the heat was most oppressive ; we sat at half-past nine P. M. on the deck, perspiring, without hat or coat, and could scarcely bear a sheet on the bed. On the 22d of June the cold was severe. Most of the passengers wore their great coats, and added two blankets and a coverlet to their bed ding ; we kept, moreover, a good fire in the cabin stove I This change occurred in about two hours! Who can wonder at the fevers, agues, and bilious diseases prevalent in such a climate ?" Arrived at Fort Leavenworth, which is situated on a promontory formed by a sweeping bend of the Mis souri, on the edge of the territories of the native Indian tribes, Captain Murray fell in with a party of Pawnee savages, who had come to the fort on an invitation from the commanding officer ; and after a day or two spent in their company, he resolved on returning with them to the encampment of their chiefs, who were just about to commence their great buffalo hunt. On his way thither, nothing struck him so much as the prodigious appetites of the Indians, who combined the voracity of the Alderman with the digestive powers of the ostrich. Here is an account of the gastric achievements of one of the savages, who, had he exhibited at a Lord Mayor's Corporation dinner, would have excited the envy and admiration of the whole assembly, and, not improbably, have been presented with the freedom of the City in a gold snuff-box ! " I had been lucky enough to kill a fawn which fur nished us a good supper, and no more; for never did I see anything equal to the appetite of our Indian. Ribs, head, shoulders, &c., disappeared one after the other ! He quietly ate every thing placed before or near him, without the slightest symptom of diminished power ; and I was not then aware of the incredible capacity of Indians, or of their notion that it is unpolite to decline proffered food under any circumstances whatever." Captain Murray met, as might have been expected, with several difficulties and annoyances in his progress across prairies, streams, and forests, to join the main hunting-body of the Pawnees ; and among his minor miscellaneous miseries, was the vexation occasioned by his mule—an animal of a very indiscreet and eccentric turn of mind, who was never happy but when in mis chief, and had a particular penchant for " throwing somersets," kicking up his heels, and plunging down hills with a load of brittle crockery on his back, all of which he of course made a point of smashing to atoms. " This," says our author, with infinite truth and pro priety, " though laughable enough, was scarcely pleasant, as we were in a hurry." To enhance his afflictions, one of his horses coolly walked off with a keg of brandy, which occasioned a lively chase of some hours ; and the handle of his frying-pan was broken off by an Indian to whom he had lent it. Moreover, he generally got wet thrmeh once or twice a day ; but whanever it happened that there was no rain, then the sun was so scorching hot, that he was literally half-roasted. These, it must be confessed,:were considerable drawbacks on his pleasure ; but he bore up against them with the firmness of a martyr, and had soon the satisfaction of coming up with the main body of the savages, whom he found encamped upon an extensive prairie, sloping gently down to a creek : " here there were about five thousand savages, inclu sive of women and children ; some were sitting under their buffalo-skin lodges, lazily smoking their pipes, while the women were stooping over their fires, busily employed in preparing meat and maize. Far as the eye could reach, were scattered herds of horses, watched by urchins, whose whole dress and equipment was the slight bow and arrow with which they exercised their infant archery, upon any blackbird perched near them. Here and there might be seen some gay young warrior, ambling along the heights, his painted form partially exposed to view as his bright scarlet blanket waved in the breeze; while his small, fretful horse was scarcely to be recognised under the variety of trappings with which the vanity of his rider had tricked him out ; near him might be seen an other naked savage without a saddle, and his only bridle a thong round the horse's head, galloping at full speed ; while the banks of the stream were alive with the garru lous voices of women, some washing themselves, their clothes, or their infants, others carrying water to the c amp, and others bearing on their backs a load of wood, the portage of which no London coalheavcr would have envied them•" Captain Murray entertains but an indifferent opinion of the Indian savages, whom he represents as perfect Jews at a haanrain, and delighted with every opportu taorelieon a parcheat. w i t h one of p? i t n i i i t e y y tome •sonutroofynconpsectiteifnotgioguinsgueasts-, ; and are as dexterous at special pleading as a of cleanliness, Nisi Prins lawyer, that itti o w in n d u ir d e b re e nt u a n r s e ar t e he to y o sh n a t k h e e h s a c n o ( r i e s with them otherwise n an through the medium of a pair of tongs. Far differ: these Indians. In lig;srertaotTanttic pages they teem with is Mr. Cooper's account of virtues and graces, accordinglyo the annoyance his ofc Bird's sense of justice, who y tale "Nick of the Woods,"clever has pourtraycd the sa vages, pretty much as we find them pourtrayed in these I volumes. When our author had been some days rest dent among them, a cry was raised one morning that a herd of buffaloes had been seen, whereupon the whole camp sallied forth in chase, when the following incident took place " A buffalo had just been shot, and two or three In dians were round the fallen monster, whose life was scarcely extinct, whetting their knives on their mocassins ; and just as I arrived, they began to take off the skin. I am confident that from the time the first incision was made, till the whole meat was cut up, packed, and strung upon a horse, fifteen minutes had not elapsed ; and except the head, there was not enough left on the ground to feed a dog. They were not provided with saw, axe, cleaver, nor with any other weapon than a common pointed dinner knife, and yet they had carried off the brains, heart, marrow, and liver ; the greater portion of the two latter they ate raw on the spot. I was then surprised and horrified, bat I soon grew wiser." This disgusting scene will remind the reader of the dinner off the half-dead cow which Bruce describes in his Travels in Abyssinia, and which at the time was generally discredited. Captain Murray goes on to sketch the character and appearance of the squaws, who, it seems, arc horridly ugly ; the modes of court ship prevalent among the Indians ; and the course of education they adopt towards their children. So re conciled did he become, after a short time, to their habits, that one fine afternoon, when they were de vouring raw large slices off a buffalo which they had just killed, and which was yet warm, he tells us—" I re ceived with thankfulness, and ate with eagerness, a good piece of the warm liver, untouched by fire, water, or salt, and I found it as agreeable to the palate, and as tender as any morsel I ever ate." A few weeks sufficed to weary our author of his residence among the Paw nees, and he quitted them, accordingly, in company with one or two guides, and, in the fullness of time, arrived at Fort Leavenworth, whence he made the best of his way back to the more civilized towns of the United States. The interest of bis narrative ceases in a great degree with his departure from the camp of the savages ; still it will continue to amuse throughout, if only from the unaffected, good•humoured style in which it is writ ten, and the gallant front which the author everywhere opposes to difficulty and danger. BRITISH HISTORY CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED. E. Wilson, London, 1839. This corpulent octavo is eminently useful as a work of reference, for it contains a chronological account of English history from the earliest recorded periods ; a copious obituary ; and a brief sketch of the character of the different reigns of our sovereigns. Mr. Wade is the compiler, and he has evidently spared neither time nor la bour in his task, TEMPTATION, 3 Vora. Colburn, London, 1 839. Temptation is a tale told with considerable feeling, but possessing neither novelty of interest nor character. The plot of the story may be summed up shortly, as follows. Helen Gardener, a lovely, artless young girl, who has been brought up from childhood in seclusion by a maiden aunt, is married at the early age of seven teen, to the Earl of Montgomery, a cold, thick-headed Peer, who is old enough to be her father, and who hav ing met with her at Cheltenham, where he finds her the object of general admiration, falls in love with her at first sight. Immediately after the nuptial ceremony is performed, he hurries off with his young bride to his magnificent ancestral seat, Norburn, where they live in a round of gaiety, entertaining a constant succession of guests. About two years after Helen's wedding, a fashionable party of friends arrive at Norburn, on their way to the Moors in Scotland, among whom is a young man of rank and fortune, by name Vernon Clavering. This youth, who is described as being uncommonly hand some, intelligent, brave, amiable—in short, all that the hero of an impassioned love-tale should be, as a matter of course, falls desperately in love with Helen, and she, equally as a matter of course, reciprocates his affection. While this misguided—but, it seems, well-intentioned —couple are thus hovering on the brink of a precipice, an old friend of the young Countess, a clergyman by name Morton, comes to Norburn on a visit, and seeing at a glance the exact state of affairs, persuades Helen, though not without a world of difficulty, to leave home and go on a visit to her maiden aunt. By this means he manages to effect a separation between her and Vernon Clavering ; but, unfortunately, it is only for a season, for they again meet in London, and again, therefore, poor Morton has to set his wits to work to prevent an elopement. But this time, as might be anticipated, he is unsuccessful ; Helen's infatuation bids defiance to all the earnest remonstrances of friendship and reason ; and she is just about to take the last fatal step that must cut her off for ever from society, when, luckily for her fame, Vernon Clavering breaks his neck by a fall from his horse, and she, after a long fit of illness brought on by the shock of this catastrophe, turns saint, and lives to a good old age in the full possession of every virtue under heaven. It will be seen from this sketch, slight as it is, that " Temptation" by no means conveys so sound a moral as the author would have us believe it does. Helen does not resist her guilty passion. In fact, she abandons herself wholly to it, and nothing but the circumstance of her lover dying just in the nick of time, prevents her from becoming an actual and avowed adul teress. We protest, therefore, against her canonization as a Saint. It is at variance with all sound morality. MEMOIRS OF SIR HUMPHREY DAVY. Smith and Elder, London, 1839. The completest and most satisfactory life we have yet seen, of this great philosopher, is the one now before us, which is the production of his brother, Dr. Davy. It is penned in no inflated spirit of panegyric, but with calm good sense and moderation, which are the best vouchers for its excellence. The volume is deeply in torczting, not only from the character and variety of its details, and the numerous anecdotical reminiscences with which it is interspersed, but also from the frequent extracts it gives from Sir Humphrey Davy's Diary, when travelling for health in his last years, on the Con tinent. These extracts show him to have been a con summate man of the world, as well as:a philosopher, en dowed with a nice and unerring faculty of observa tion, with a graceful and salient fancy, and with that resolute, aspiring nature which, when joined with com mon sense and a power of continuous application, never fails to achieve renown in the world's eye. The volume is embellished with a well engraved portrait of tho late President of the Royal Society. FINE ARTS. ENGRAVINGS FROM THE WORKS OF SIR 7'. LAWI?ENCE. Hodgson and Graves, London, 1839. The Part before us, which is the S:xth, contains three engravings, all from original pictures, which rank among the best ever painted by the late President of the Royal Academy. Among them we find a print, by Egan, from Lawrence's portrait of John Kemble in the character of Hamlet, which the engraver has exe cuted with much skill, though we could wish that he had shown a little less stiffness in his disposition of the drapery. Hamlet's cloak does not fall gracefully clown from his shoulders to the ground. which it sweeps in its exuberant amplitude, but stands up solid and erect, without fold or wrinkle, like a brick-wall. " Miss Murray " is a full length portrait of a lovely little girl, fresh as the spring, and as sunny looking, with an arch intelligence of countenance that the engraver, Phillips, has been very successful in preserving. " Lady Wallscourt "is another portrait —a half-length—de verly engraved by the same artist. The Chartists of Stockton-upon-Tees, taking advantage of " Ciierry Fair," which is held in that town on the 18th of July in every year, anounced through the mu sical instrumentality of their celebrated bellman, " Bree ches Brown," that a public meeting would be held on the occasion; but that as they had no wish to interrupt the amusements of the people, the place of assembly would be Yarm-lane, and not the market-cross. This considerate pledge, however, was broken by the Chartists, their meet ing being held in the market-place. In the midst of the speechifying, some gentlemen, who wet e then in the Town hall newsroom most injudiciously threw halfpence amongst them, to produce a scramble and a hubbub. The conse quence was, that a stone was thrown through the newsroom window. About the same time a commercial traveller to provoke the meeting still more, began to mock the speaker. A few lads attacked him, and he teak to his heels, followed by a pack of pursuers amounting to upwards o a hundred. A brother traveller came to the rescue, and by the use of a few " physical force" arguments they contrived to obtain a safe refuge in their inn. The chasing Chartists then quietly returned to the meeting. Much fun, we understand, was occasioned by the fluctuating numbers of the orators' hearers, each successive donkey-race running off with a large portion of the assembly. But the fickle throng returned to their allegiance between the " heats," in good order.—lt was subsequently considered necessary —whether because of the Chartists, or of the travellers and scramble makers, we arc not informed—to adopt mea sures in the town " for the better protection of the persons and properties of the inhabitants, and a meeting was con. vened by the Mayor, to discuss this question. The meet ing was held on Saturday, but it seems to have been thought politic to have no discussion ; and the Mayor at once announced, that the magistrates were ready to swear in special constables. A large number of constables were then sworn in, including many members of the Society of Friends. A Chartist basket-maker called in question the regularity of thJ proceeedings, and launched forth into a tirade against the aristocracy and other ocracies. Mr. Walley admitted himself to be little short of a Chartist, but strongly condemned the violent pro ceedings of that body. Mr. Henry Heaviside said, that he was quite a Chartist in his political opinions, but the conduct of many of the Chartists was disgraceful, and retarded the progress of Reform. As a sample of their language, he said, that on Thursday night, July 18, one of the speakers advised the people to sell their coats and buy swords and pistols ; to secrete these weapons in their houses in readiness for the struggle; and to bring them into excfcise at the proper time, and use them so determinedly, ' that either they themselves, or their enemies, or both, should lie low on the earth.—On Tuesday night there was another Chartist meeting in Stockton, when Mr. Heaviside was denounced as a traitor, and the people were called upon to mark their disapprobation of his conduct by three groans ; but the Stockton poet being a greatfavourite in the town, they gave him three hearty cheers, aed sepa rated in peace.—Gateshead Observer. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 1539 AYLESBURY ELECTION. Yesterday being the day appointed to put in nomination one or more candidates for the Borough of Aylesbury, the town at an early hour presented an animated appearance. Banners and flags, with appropriate devices, were seen flying in all directions, but up to the hour of twelve o'clock, it was qmite unknown whether a third candidate would be proposed, with the view of forcing Lord liugent to the poll. • At twelve o'clock, the hour appointed, the doors of the County Hall were thrown open, and the great body of the constituents at once rushed in, and showed by their various signs that the election was not to pass off so quietly as some bad expected. The precept for the election having been read, and the usual formalities having been attended to, the Bribery Act was read amidst loud and continual peals of laughter, both fro m C onservatives and Lib era l s. Mr. ROBERT WHEELER, grocer of the town of Aylesbury, then came forward amidst loud and long-continued cheers, groans, and hisses, which for a time rendered him corn , pletely inaudible. After a few observations which were very indistinctly beard he concluded by putting in nomi nation Captain John Charles Baillie Hamilton. This was received with the most tumultuous vociferations, cheers, groans, hisses, and yells. Sir Jong DASIIWOOD KING , Baronet,then came forward to second the nomi nat i on, and was received in pretty much the same manner as the mover. Lord Nugent and Mr. Lockart were then proposed on the Liberal side. A show of hands was then taken, and the returning offi. cer declared in favour of Captain Hamilton. A poll was then demanded on behalf of Mr. Lockart, and Lord Nugent, and the poll was fixed for eight o'clock this day. The Reformers afterwards dined at the Crown Inn where a number of loyal toasts were given, and an ex• pressed determination was entered into to support Mr. Ca. vendish at the next election. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, JULY 30. The Lord CHANCELLOR took his seat on tho Wool sack at Five o'Clock. A message from the House of Commons brought up the Devonport Small Debts Court Bill ; the Newark Small Debts Courts Bill, with their Lordship's amend ments agreed to. A message from the House of Commons, brought up by Mr. O'Connell and others, prayed that their Lordships would be pleased to convey to that House a copy of the Report of the Select Committee of their Lordships on the state of crime in Ireland. Upon the motion of the Earl of SHAFTESBURY the Message was agreed to. The Messengers were then called in, and the copy of the Report was delivered to Mr. O'Connell at the bar. Upon the motion of Lord FALKLAND the Turn pike Tolls Reduction Bill was read a second time. The Bishop of GLOUCESTER presented a peti tion from the clergy of a place in Norfolk, against the Church Discipline Bill. Upon the motion of Lord WHARNCLIFFE, the Courts for Counties Bill was read a second time. INLAND WAREHOUSING BILL. Lord LYNDHURST presented a petition from the London Dock Company, against the Inland Warehous ing Bill. The petitioners had stated that they lail out 3,900,0001. upon warehouses under an Act of Parlia ment ; and that they would be deeply affected by the present Bill passing into a law. They prayed that they might be heard by Counsel at the bar against it, and that it might not pass into a law. The Noble and Learned Lord did not think it ne cessary to press the prayer that they should be heard at the bar, as be did not think their Lord ships would feel themselves justified in passing the Bill at this late period of the Session. The Noble and Learned Lord also presented a petition to the same effect from the Corporation of the East and West India Dock Company. Lord STRANGFORD presented a petition from the Hull Dock Company to the same effect. NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. _ Lord N said, that he had been asked a question the other night relative to a person who had presented a petition to both Houses of Parliament with respect to the stone with which the Houses of Parliament were to be built. A Commission ,consisting of Mr. Barry and others, was appointed on the subject of the stone to be used, who made their report before the petitions to which he had alluded were pre. sented. The representations of the petitioner were referred to Mr. Barry and other persons, and he now laid on the table copies of correspondence between him self and those other persons upon the question. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY understood there were details respecting the petitioner's stone which he was not aware had been laid before those gentlemen. In answer to a question from Lord CHARLE VILLE. Lord DUNCANNON said he should make in quiries respecting the medical certificates of prisoners who had been confined in gaols in Ireland. CRIME IN IRELAND. Lord BROUGHAM said that as some doubt seemed to have been entertained as to whether he should proceed next Tuesday or not with the motion of which he had given notice, he thought it right now to state that, upon considering the matter, and after having con versed with a numberof Noble Lords upon it, andfinding that there were only about 40 or .50 pages of the Re efeurn, undoubtedly b h te a d d ly no b w rin n g o be osuhould forward his motion on Tu es d a y next . H e also w i shed on this occasion to cor rec t a m i sta k e wh i ch seemed to port to hesitation whiinchst ating h i s t h t moti o n have gone abroad. He was represented to have said that if he did not bring forward this motion this Session, he should do it next Ses iis was hehad just never a mode adoptedsion. H e h a d never made such a statement. i odeo either fgarnis in garnishing this the Ho noticense e be r ek which in the other. Lord LYNDHURST had never seen it done in ,his House. n I H ottOsoUfGrequAe:Altl h a a s dseenit in elsewhere. this‘s L rimt House, he but did certainly 9 rdß say was, that if h e found the debate on Tuesday did not go sufficiently into th e su bj ect, h e wou ld t h en g i ve their Lordships an opportun i ty o f aga i n di scuss i ng i t and supplying the defect next Session.—( Hear, hear.) The Marquis of NORM ANBY hoped the Noble and Learned Lord would give notice of the resolution he meant to propose. He understood the Noble and Learned Lord's mot i on would relate to forty or fifty pages of evidence ; b ut he (the Marqu i s of Normanby) might perhaps f ee l i t necessary to make some general observations on the state of the country as arising out of the proof br oug h t b efore that Committee.—( Hear.) His opinion was that any general discussion on the sub ject. at this period would be physically impossible. He had commenced readin g the evidence, but he made very slow progress with it. The Committee had sat forty four days ; they examined witnesses for three or four hours each day ; and there was therefore very nearly 1,50 hours of work, so that if any Noble Lord wished to make himself master of the evidence before the discussion came on in that House, he would not only have to employ every hour of every day, but every hour of every night.—( Hear, hear.) Lord BROUGHANI believed the evidence might be read in a week or ten days, from beginning to end; If he were to give six months' notice of motion, nobody would read the evidence till about six days before the time at which the motion was to be brought on. He would lay the Resolutions before their Lordships on or before Friday 'next. The Earl of WICKLOW said the mor e h e rea d the evidence the mor e he was convinced that it would be impossible to do justice to the subject, a n d th a t great injustice would be done to parties, if the Noble and Learned Lord confined his motion to one portion of th e evidence only. It w as a most extraordinary circumstance that the draft of the Report which had been prepared by a Noble Lord, and presented to the Committee, should have been published in the papers. He thought there had been a gross breach of confidence some where, and it was a matter which ought to be in vestigated and inquired into. It certainly was most extraordinary that a private draft brought down by a Noble Lord should have found its way into the public papers. Lord fl AT HE RTO N—And marked" private and confidential." vV ...... The Earl of NN , ICK.LO \V had first seen it published in the Dublin Evening 111ai1, whi c h professed to have had it from some private fr i end. He thought great in justice would be done to the attempts of that Com mittee, who had laboured for many months in receiving evidence, if the subject was to be partially gone into. Lord BROUGHAM would be the last person to do anything unjust in regard to th e su bj ect itself or to the Noble Marquis, but he thou g h t t h ere was abundant time for reading the evidence. Lord MELBOURNE saidtheir Lordshipsknew how very difficult it was tor any Member connected with the Government to say anything t h at would have the appearance of deprecating a putting off the motion. Whether they were intended to in cu l pate hi s N o b le Friend, or whether they. were intended t o ma k e an y alteration in the course of justice, a s was stated by the Noble Lord opposite, he did think t h at t h ere was a decided objection to either of the courses, that their Lordships had not had tim e to consider the evi dence upon which the charges must be grounded. Lord BROUGHAM—The resolutions, my Lords, which I will propose may be adopted by your Lordships without either of you having ever rea d one word of the evidence.—(A laugh.) I pledg e myself to it. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY was not sur prised at the course which was now proposed to be taken. It was just the same. course as was t a k en w ith respect to Canada. the Secret Committee had been sitting for three or four month s , an d i t was gene rally understood that they had agree d to a R eport. c A o t n a l l m l jetit'eee . n expe cte d a Report from the ts, However, ever y one it was at len g th d ec id e d t h a t only the evidence should be laid on the table. The Noble and Learned Lord then gave notice that he intended to call the attenti on o f t h e H ouse fluslce— an d hi s N o b le Friend his int en ti on to ca ll the at another p ar t o f t h e R eport, tb t o eenht t i in h od e n h a oi d fm m t gh i n ne i vs Houseter a n t e i t o i n e eot too and now up gets one Lord, and says, there is no time for I considering th e ev id ence— i n that another Noble Lord ) joins him, and very likely the matter would end for the Ses sion. He would not say there was any manoeuvring about this, but he must say that to him it had all the appearance of it. It was the same course as was taken upon the Canada question. Three months ago the Noble Lords opposite, threatened to bring serious and grave charges against the Noble Earl, but now the Noble Earl complimented the Noble Viscount, and the Noble Viscount returned the compliment, and so the matter ended.: He dared to say that the Noble Marquis opposite did not want to press forward the discussion in any possible shape or way, but surely Parliament would not come to a close with out saying whether the Noble Marquis was culpable or not after so much preparation. The Marquis of NORMANBy was not astonished at what had fallen from the Noble Marquis, because upon a former night he stated that he was quite ready to come to a decision without ever having read a word of the evidence. He had never shown any desire to shrink from the discussio n ; all he wanted was, that their Lordships should read, study, and digest the evidence before coming to any conclusio n respecting any part of his conduct. If their Lordships had done so, the sooner the discussion came on the better, though, at the same time, it must be remem bered that a great part of the evidence referred to his conduct as far hack as two or three years ago. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY denied that he had stated that he was prepared to come to a de cision without having read the evidence. It was impossible for any one residing in Ireland to be without a strong feeling on their minds respecting the manner in which the Noble Marquis had compromised the Go vernment in that country. Lord HATHERTON said his Noble and Gallant Friend was so accustomed to diplomatic controversy that he could see nothing but manoeuvre where every one else saw plain sailing. Nothing could be more straightforward than the course pursued by every indi vidual in the Committee. He (Lord H.) did every thing in his power for the purpose of shortening the inquiry, and the same disposition was manifested on the other side to expedite the Report. The conversation then dropped. WARWICK GAOL.—TREATMENT OF THE CHARTISTS. The Earl of WARWICK said the House would re collect that a petition was some time ago presented by the Noble and Learned Lord opposite from two persons, named Lovett and Collins, complaining of their having been severely and cruelly treated in Warwick Gaol. Knowing the Magistrates, and the way in which that gaol was conducted, he was satisfied at the time that the statements were overcharged ; and as the Noble and Learned Lord went into so many de tails, and animadverted on each sentence with so much force, he (Lord W.) must take up some of their Lordships' time in reading the answers to these allega tions in the Report which had been made by the visit ing Magistrates. The first examination was that of Mr. John Williams, surgeon, who stated that the pri soners were inspected from time to time, and examined by him in the usual course—that at the time they went into the ward there was no person afflicted with the itch, and when it was discovered the prisoner was re moved. After the Noble Earl had detailed the evidence he had been furnished with, in a very inaudible voice, he concluded by saying that they had suffered no par ticular inconveniences all the time the petitioners had been there : that on the contrary, great civility had been shown to them, and that the Noble and Learned Lord had been imposed upon on this subject, as many hun dreds had been. Lord BRO GH AM said that if he had been imposed upon, the imposition had been practised upon him by his Noble Friend who had just spoken. His Noble Friend had confirmed the statement he had made. The petitioners did not make any charge against the Governor, against the turnkey, nor against the Magis trates, but they charged the system which treated per sons before their trial with the same conduct that they were subjected to after trial.--(Hear.) He had received a letter from a friend of his whom he should trust an examination and cross-examination to with as much confidence as any person he knew out of the law. That gentleman had stated that he had had Lovett and Collins with him for four hours when the petition was drawn, and that to prevent any exaggerated statement he had subjected them to the most rigid examination. He further stated that from his personal knowledge of Lovett no man could exceed him in integrity, and therefore he certainly would trust him greatly in pre ference to one Samuel Smith, a felon convicted of theft, who had been brought forward to contradict the state ment of the petitioners. It was said that Smith had only been convicted of stealing a spade. Why he (the Noble and Learned Lord) called a spade a spade, just as he called a thief a thief.—(Laughter.) But it was ad mitted that they were told they must have a county crop—meaning that their hair was to be cut at the ex pense of the county, and to correspond with the other prisoners in the gaol. It was not denied that they were drawn up like a number of wild beasts, ordered to take their hats off, and shown to persons who went to the gaol to see them. The only statement in opposition to that was, that fewer persons happened to go as visitors to the gaol at that time than usual. Then it was ad mitted that they had been compelled to bathe. It was said that that was in conformity with the regulations of the prison. It was charged that after they had been compelled to strip naked, they had to bathe in dirty water. That was contradicted by the statement that:only two. persons had bathed in the same water before ; and that therefore it was perfectly clean water.—(Hear, hear.) The purity of the water would of course under such circumstances, depend upon who were the persons who had been washed in it before.—(Much laughter.) Then it was admitted that they were told they could only be allowed to spend threepence in eggs and bacon, be sides having the gaol allowance ; nor was it denied that the turnkey had told them they could neither have their eggs boiled, nor their bacon cooked ; or, that when they said the bacon could not be eaten raw, the turnkey replied that many would be glad to have it raw, and that in that state they would be content with it.—( Hear.) Then again the rules of the prison were that the prisoners should be locked up at eight o'clock in the evening. These men had been locked up at seven, and were told that they were not to pay attention to the rules which were hung up in the prison, because the Magistrates were cola tinually altering them. Now this was a most important subject, and the Noble and Learned Lord trusted that out of this evil would come some good—(Hear, hear)—and that care would now be taken, that rules should be framed different with respect to persons in prison before trial, to those applicable to convicts—(Hear, hear)—because no Government, or Judges, or Magistrates had a right to establish rules which would work this gross, this grievous, and crying evil, namely that men whom the law assumed not to be guilty should before trial be treated as tried and convicted felons.—(Loud cheers.) It was not the fault of the gaoler, it was not the fault of the turnkey, it was not .the fault of the Magistrates, a but it was the fault o f very bad system.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped that, through the sufferings of Mr. Lovett, this grievous abuse would be remedied, and different rules would be established for different classes of prisoners ; and if that should be so, no man would rejoice in it more than Mr. Lovett himself. With re gard to prisoners before their trial, no man and no Go vernment had a right to subject them to any suffering beyond that which might arise from that which was necessary for their safe custody, and the proper discip line of the gaol.—(Cheers.) Beyond all that, these men had been kept in prison nine days before bail was taken for them.—( Hear.) Why was that ? Why was not bail taken for them when it was first offered ? Mr. Leader and Sir W. Molesworth then wrote, offering themselves for bail ; and then it was that the Magis trates, finding that those were not helpless and defence less men, took the very first bail that was offered to them. The fact was that they ought to have accepted of the bail within nine hours of the time at which they had been received into the prison. If they were found guilty non constat, they might not be sentenced to more than nine or ten days' imprisonment. He, however, hoped they would be acquitted ; but of this he was sure, that if they should be convicted, if he were in the Government he should take care that they should not undergo another hour's imprisonment, nor suffer any more punishment on this occasion. The Earl of WARWICK hoped that the Noble and Learned Lord did not mean to say that any unfor tunate wretch who might be sent into gaol should not be washed and made clean before he was tried? From the cheers by which the Noble and Learned Lord's speech had been received on both sides of the house, it would almost seem to him that such a thing as that was to be condemned, although there could be no question that for the sake a keeping down fevers and disease in gaol it was necessary that every attention should be paid to cleanliness. Lord SCARBOROUGH presented a petition from Gainsborough in favour of the inland warehousing of goods. - Earl FITZ W 1 LIAM!! rose to present a petition upon what he considered a most important subject. A few nights ago he was about to ask his Noble Friends on the Treasury Bench if they had any opinion as to what were the causes that had led the Bank of England to the step of raising the interest upon the discount of bills of exchange. Their Lordships must have been aware that that must have arisen from the Bank of England feeling that the treasures in their coffers were reduced to a degree below that at which it was desirable they should remain. Then arose the question, what had been the cause of those coffers being reduced below their usual level ? Their Lordships must recollect that during the course of the last eight or nine months this country had been engaged in a very unusual course of trade, a course of trade forced upOn it indeed in that unusual manner by the operations of nature, but those operations being greatly affected by the state of the law relating to that branch of the trade of this country. He alluded to the very extensive trade in foreign corn, into which this country had been suddenly forced under the peculiar circumstances of the law by which that trade was regulated. To that lie believed it %as the opinion of the persons most extensively engaged in the coal. mercial affairs of this country that the Bank of Eng land owed that drain upon its coffers which had in duced it to raise the rate of interest, an d w hi c h , he believed, most of their Lordships were, in common with many others, suffering from. The petition he held in his hand was from an individual called David Laurie, praying for the total abolition of the Corn-laws. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE presented a peti tion praying for the adoption of a penny postage, and that no considerable del a y mi g ht t a ke place in its adoption. INLAND WAREHOUSING BILL. The Marquis of LANSDO WNE in moving the second reading of the Inland Warehousing Bill, said that its object was to give to towns that were not tech nically ports, the advantages of having bonded ware houses. He could not see what objection there could be to the Bill, and he trusted that their Lordships would agree to it, as he believed it was calculated to effect a great deal of good. If their Lord ships allowed the measure to go into Committee, they could then determine as to the towns to which this advantage should be given. The parties that had hi therto enjoyed the privilege which was to be extended by this Bill, had enjoyed it as a monopoly and he therefore could not see what right they had to deprive the public at large of the benefit of the warehousing system. The Bill had been very fully considered in the House of Commons, and had met with almost the universal approbation of that House. Lord ASHBURTON felt bound to object to the second reading of the Bill, as he could not see any benefit that would be derived by extending the principle of bonding warehouses to inland towns. If any benefit could be shown be should be one of the last men to oppose the Bill. The whole object of the mea sure was to give to the consumer in inland towns a longer period for the payment of the duty. He could not see what possible advantage there could be in making these inland warehouses in different towns, look ing at the rapid communication that at present existed in the country. The strongest case that had been made in favour of this Bill was with respect to the town of Manchester, but there, in consequence of the establish ment of railroads, the merchant was as conveniently placed, with respect to his goods, as any tradesman in London. Considering that the revenue would be sub jected to great uncertainty, if the Bill became law, he should move that it be read a second time that day three months. Lord BROUGHAM thought, considering the pe titions that had been presented by his Noble and Learned Friend opposite (Lord Lyndhurst), praying to be heard against the measure, that their Lordships ought to pause before they allowed the Bill to be read a second time. That Bill cams within the principle laid down by him a few nights ago—it was brought up too late for consideration, and that was a good ground fur their rejecting it. It was brought into the House of Commons only on the 16th inst.—was not that a good ground for not agreeing to it ? He gave his hearty con. currence to the motion of the Noble Lord, but on the ground of time alone. Lord MELBOURNE had not the experience of his Noble Friend opposite, nor the eloquence and expe rience of his Noble and Learned Friend, but with all respect to them, he considered they had not made out a valid case against the Bill. He contended it was not necessary to make out a case of a great grievance for such a Bill—if they showed that it would be for the benefit of the trade of the country, then they had made a strong enough case.—( Hear, hear.) For instance, in the case of Nottingham, it was almost in the centre of the island, why should the people there be obliged to go to the sea ports for all the goods they wanted ? Surely it would be a great [accom modation to them to have them on the spot, and so the same held good with all inland towns. He denied that the sea ports had obtained any rested interest in ware housing. Such a doctrine would put an end to all im provement. The privilege was sought for by a great number of towns, and it would confer a great benefit upon the commerce of the country. It had passed through the other House with a large majority, and though he did not lay so much stress upon that as his Noble and Learned Friend, for he thought that Bills which were sent up by a large majority might be properly rejected by their Lordships ;so on the other hand he thought that some passed by even a majority of two ought and might beneficially to pass that House.—(A laugh.) He would certainly give his vote in favour of the Bill. Lord BROUGHAM said he had not spoken of vested interest, except so far as it gave the parties a right to be heard. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw. The House divided, when there appeared— For the Bill, Contents Non-Contents 4B Majority against the Bill lO The Sheriffs Exemption Bill went through Committee without amendment. The Imprisonment for Debt Act Amendment Bill, and the Bankrupts Estate (Scotland) Bill were read a third time and passed. The House then adjourned till Thursday. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Juzr 30. The SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour. Mr. BLOUNT took the oaths and his seat as Member for Totnes. [lt will be remembered that a double return was made from this Borough ; the numbers on the poll being equal; on inquiry we find th a t th e ru l e i n suc h i cases s, that the first corner of the two candidates shall be sworn in as Member, but he cannot vote till the va lidity of the election has been determined on.] On the motion of Captain PECHELL the Brigh ton Cemetery Bill was read a third time and passed. On the motion of Mr. BROTHERTON, the Lords' Amendments to the Newark, Belper, and Oldham, Small Debts Bill were agreed to. Sir E ARD LEY W ILMOT presented a petition from the stationers and paper manufacturers of Birthingham, praying that in any scheme for the introduction of a penny postage their interests might be attended to. CHURCH-RATES (LAMBETH). Mr. HAWES presented a petition from G. W. Webb and Apsley Pellatt, inhabitants of the parish of Christchurch, Surrey, stating that the petitioners are Protestant Dissenters, and conscientiously object to forced contributions for the support of the Established Church—that a rate was ordered to be levied for the support of the parish church in the parish of Christ church, Surrey, which the petitioners had refused to pay, that they were cited in the Ecclesiastical Court, and the expenses amounted to twenty times as much as the matter in dispute, which they were compelled to pay, and abandon further proceedings, in order to save them selves from ruin, and they prayed the House would take measures to remedy this injustice. CHURCH IN CANADA. Mr. P KI NGTO N presented thirty petitions from different townships in Upper Canada, stating the peti tioners had settled in that colony under the firm per suasion that they were to enjoy the benefits of the British Constitution, a part and parcel of which was the Established Church ; that there was no support for that Church from tithes, which they did not wish to see established—( Hear, hear)—but they considered they were entitled to the same protection as the Roman Catholics of Lower Canada, and praying that the House would not sanction the diversion of any property granted originally for the support of the Church to any other purpose. Also a petition from the Chiefs and Warriors of the ()windage and other Indian Nations, who had been converted to Christianity by the Church Missionaries, to the same effect. The signatures were attested by Adam Elliott, the Missionary who had converted, and the signatures specified the names, resi dences, and callings of each of the persons signing, and also the number of persons whose opinions each Chief represented ; and he gave notice that if early next Se ssion her Majesty's Government took no steps this matter he should feel it his duty to call the attention of the House to the frightful extent of religious destitution existing in Canada. The Hon. Member also pre sented a petition from Church Staunton, in Devon, to the same effect. Mr. YORKE presented a petition from the Cam bridge Union denying the statement of the petition pre sented a short time since by Mr. Fielden. The petition was ultimately withdrawn in consequence of an infor mality. Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from an individual in favour of the Irish Municipal Bill, and praying that he might receive compensation under it. He (Mr. O'Connell) would have considered the petition of great importance and worthy the consideration of the House, if there had been any chance of carrying the Bill. The Hon. Member also presented a petition from Dublin complaining of the expense of the erection of a new gaol there. Mr. HOPE presented a petition from the members of the Society of Briti,h Artists, stating that in place of deriving considerable profit from the Institution, they had expended considerable sums upon it, and complain ing that the whole of the privileges belonging to the National Gallery had been entrusted to a private and irresponsible body. Mr. A. YATES moved for a return of all applications made for military in aid of the civil force in Ireland si nce the Ist of January.—Ord M ert d. JAAICA. his Hon. Friend the Under in his place, begged to ask question the answer to which must be of very him a siderable Importance to the people of this country. Sec A/ r i e r t . a ß ry E fo ß r N t A ha L C soeleolniges c a n e had seen in a newspaper a p aragrap h relat i ng to procee dings in the island of Jamaica, in which it was stated that there had been a meet i ng of the Baptist Ministers, in which resolutions were passed, stating that hegoeght not to be called u p on to pay rent f or t h e i r g :nd it was f urt h er stated that the negroes were o arming thems e l ves, an d that a great number of t c e tt n ae r s s stands of arms had L een purc h ased for them in K i ngston. He had no private letters upon the subject ; but seeing it stated, he was anxious to know what knowledge the Government had upon the subject. Mr. LABOUCHERE—It was not only not the fact that no information of that kind had been received by the Government ; but on the contrary, all they had received was of a totally different nature—that the negrees were pursuing a quiet, innocent, and orderly EVENING EDITION. j course, and all was going on well. As re- I yarded the meeting of the Baptists, no doubt there lied been a meeting of them ; but the resolutions passed were very indignant ones, that any I doubt would have been entertained of the liability of the negro to pay his rent, which they were most willing to do. This view of the case was confirmed by many private letters which he had seen. Mr. O'CONNELL—Was the Hon. Member aware that it was publicly stated in the Jamaica newspapers that the people were arming ? Mr. LABO UC HERE—The Government were not aware of that fact. On the motion of Mr. F. MAULE, the Lords' amendments to the Prisons Bill, were agreed to. One of them being against the rules of the House, but being a very reasonable one, the Standing Orders were suspended for the purpose. PRINTING THE BIBLE IN SCOTLAND. Sir J. GRAHAM said that as under the recent re gulations on this subject, a Secretary would be appointed to perform certain functions, he presumed he would be paid, and it would be satisfactory if the allowance would be included in the annual estimates. The LORD ADVOCATE said that it would be included in the miscellaneous estimates. TITHE COMMUTATION BILL. On the motion of Mr. FOX MAULE the Tithes Commutation Bill was read a first time. CHURCH DISCIPLINE BILL. On the motion of the same HON. MEMBER, this Bill was also read a first time. REPRESENTATION OF TOTNES. Sir GEORGE CLERK said that at the late elec tion for the borough of Totnes the number of voters, as the House was aware, was equal, and two certificates had been returned to the House from the Clerk of the Crown, stating the return of Mr. Blount and Mr. Baldwin. It had been the practice at the com mencement of a Session to make a sessional order that when a double return was made both Members should withdraw until the House should declare which was properly returned. Since 1834, that sessional order had not been renewed, and some diffi culty might now exist. It was impossible that both these Gentlemen could be allowed to take their seats, and he, therefore, thought the safer course would be to take the course which was pursued up to 1834. As one of the Gentlemen had taken his seat, he had thought it necessary to mention the circumstance to the House, to prevent the inconvenience which might arise if he should give any vote to-night, and would now give notice that he should to-morrow call the attention of the House to the subject. PARLIAMENTARY FRANCHISE. Sir C. GREY, i n r i s i ng to b r i ng i n a Bill f or esta blishing throughout England a n nua l mee tin gs o f people in their parishes, and for securing to the industrious classes a regular influence in the election of Members of Parliament, said that if any one supposed he was trifling with the House, or had not an earnest desire of carrying it into effect, they did him great wrong. The time was come when it was absolutely necessary that Parliament should consider the situation and claims of that portion of the people who had no share in the election of Members, and he believed the circum stances of the age, and time had, by increasing the intelligence, and consequently increasing the excitement and aspirations of that class of people, made it quite impossible that they should remain in the condition in which they had previously subsisted without danger. If any one suspected him of revolutionary principles, or of rashness in adopting this motion, he would appeal to the whole course of his life, to his known principles of loyalty, to the situations of trust he had held under the Crown, to his time of life and disposition, to protect him from so injurious a suspicion. In conse quence of the great difficulties connected with the con sideration of this question, he had selected this period of the Session for making his motion, and al though it might appear paradoxical, yet h., would avow it was not his expectation—it was not his wish that the measure should be carried into a law and completed this Session. His main object was to call the atten tion of the House to the subject, and his desire wo '. on 1d be h accomplishedtetable of if he the House, and were permitted to lay the it printed for future consideration. He proposed to i confine the to E a o g p l a e a d t ! ion because of the h e ni t h e a o s n u g r h e t c t o h u e l d first tried with greater safety in that part of the United Kingdom. He hoped that would be a sufficient excuse to these Gentlemen who represented Scotland and Ire land for his not extending it to their countries. He would now state the object and details of his proposed measure. His first object was that the people should be enabled to hold meetings without riots, tumult, and disorder, and tending to secure to those who were not qualified by property to vote in the election of Members of Parliament—not a right of vot ing —not Universal Suffrage, nor Household Suffrage, but something which he hoped would satisfy the public and produce that good, looked for by some from more extensive and sweeping measures, namely, an influence in the election of Members of Parliament. The right of petition and the right of meeting to frame pe titions, was already established and recognised as an undoubted part of the most valuable rights of the people. S 3 late as Lord George Gordon's riots there was an attempt by the then Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench to put a restriction on the right of petitioning, and of assembling for the pur pose of petitioning, resting on the antiquated statute of the 13th 'of Charles 11. But it was unneccessary for him (Sir Charles) to state how that attempt was met by that House, and in particular by Mr. Dinning. The practice of petitioning and meeting had since universally prevailed, and no limit whatever could be put to the number of per sons who might meet for the purpose of petitioning, or who might sign the petition they wished to present. What he wished to propose was, that instead of meet ings occasionally taking place in a disorderly and tu multuous manner, there should be stated periods at which it would be known the people would assemble ; that there should be stated places, and such sub divisions of those meetings, that in none of them should there be overwhelming numbers or such as were likely to lead to confusion or tumult. It had been said recently by the Secretary of State for the Home Department that although the right of meet- ing was unquestioned there existed considerable doubt as to what constituted a legal or an illegal meeting. The fact was there was no one criterion, nothing well defined, no line of demarcation separating a legal from an illegal meeting, if it were held for the purpose of peti tioning, and the only way of deciding was to infer from the conduct pursued by the parties what their intentions really were. When such a question came before a Jury for their decision there could be little difficulty in deducing the intentions of parties from their conduct ; but the mischief was that instead of being drawn by a Jury after due deliberation, these deductions had to be drawn on the spot, in a moment, and by persons not always the best qualified for the exercise of a cool judgment. From these circumstances it must be admitted that this right valuable as it was, had occasionally produced mischief. He need only refer to the recent occurrences at Bir mingham, to the events at Manchester some few years since, nay, he would go back to Lord George Gordon's riots, to prove this assertion ; those riots had their origin in a meeting held for the ostensible purpose of petitioning against what was considered as a public grievance. These evils had led before, and were likely to lead again, to the bringing forward by the Government of measures to restrain this im portant right of meeting for the purpose of petitioning ; it had been done before in times of excitement, and these measures had frequently been passed very hastily, and had been denominated Coercion Bills or Gagging Bills, and he should be exceedingly sorry to See the present Government compelled to adopt measures of such a nature, and he hoped measures might be brought forward to obviate this necessity, and he knew not how Members could more profitably employ their time during the recess, than in considering a subject so vitally interesting to the best interests of the people. Having stated that his own plan was to provide that at stated periods there should be meetings of the people in their parishes, he begged to state that this was no novelty. It might be startling to those who had not considered this s ubject ; but one of the oldest features of the Constitution, one that preceded the present Con stitution, one intimately connected with the institutions of the Saxons, was the Court Leet or Frank Pledge. In those times there was once a year a meeting i p n roy: e h l o e f wv. h .oo o au l& ld of all persons in the district. At those meetings no qualification was required, all persons in the district were obliged to appear. There was no restriction upon what they were to do or what they were to speak upon. ' De omnibus cognoscit, quamvis de omnibus non judkavit.' He would not go through the history of the antiquities of the Constitution of the country, but he would pass at once to later times. At the close of the last century wheel it was thought necessary to put restrictions upcvn the right of meeting, an Act was passed prohibiting at iy meeting of more than fifty persons, except meetings , of the people in their separate townships or parishes, and throughout the kingdom there was reserved by that At:t of caution and safeguard the right of holding meetinirs in their township. He knew, therefore, of nothing under the GOth of George 111. that would prev_e a rat meetings of people all over the country on i i_e l a te tebae s nuht a ds: m sning e ceso d s,usastil y od i f A he s wouldto the take price th he e u w a o s t u e i r d w e propose ckfoor f . o i rt the pure in the meetings, and as he did n pr t ep thl l i r n de : day, meetings. trymen had degenerated in the l? ; re i s f e n n e t eet not be afraid to meet in the open ,;' r Church porch, merely as propose that the Vestry or the tht expense, no difficul:l,l,7l calling upon There would be no a sh Parliament, elter for or r those transact who wereo,e business . 0 Sheriff, or the Ma3or of a town, to appoint a place the Lord Lieutenant of the county, the Msg:srates, the during Easter week in winch a meeting of the whole of should be held. It might be t asked what I )o: proposed to himself from his motion being agreed to. His first object was that as they were nom -- tell the people that it for driven to it was necessary the av a parish .tgc the public safety to put down all public discussion upout public grievances, as the people saw they were now ! losing the right of publicly discussing their grievances ;I,