The Sun. — London, England, 1850-02-27 00:00:00

EXHIBITION OF INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS. (From the Times.) The Prince Consort can claim the credit of having projected a festival in the appreciation of which all men and all nations concur. Such unanimity of ap proval has never yet been gained for any object, how• ever intrinsic ally laudable, however sincerely pro moted, or however enthusiastically desired. There is scarcely any example of a religious or social or poli tical association which is not in some sense exclusive and in some opinions objectionable; but the Exhibi tion of the Industry of all Nations collects on the same platform prelates and nonconformists, peers and tradespeople, ambassadors and manufacturers, Whigs and Tories, Free-traders and Protectionists. Even Lord Brougham put off his idiosyncrasy and became an ordinary mortal for the occasion, avowing, like a great orator of antiquity, that his resolutions of silence and reserve were unable to withstand so impressive a call. "Diuturni silentii P. C, , quo eram Ms temporibus uses finem hic dies attulit." We were not aware, we confess, that his Lordship had been living in the observance of any such vows of taciturnity and retirement. Perhaps, if the peaceful ness of our theme did not preclude the remark, we might question whether his address was apt to pro duce the harmony and progress he was advocating. We will not linger, however, on such points, but will thankfully acknowledge the accession to 30 noble a cause. For what was the cause in behalf of which such eloquent appeals were delivered on Thursday ? Ac cording to the Bishops of our Church, it was a cause singularly calculated to promote the progress of religion, the growth of Christian principles, and the amelioration of mankind. According to states men of high authority, it was calculated to increase, establish, and perpetuate the peace and harmony of all nations with each other. According to the most eminent of our merchants, its infallible ten dency was to improve all products of art and labour, to facilitate every man's industry, to lighten every man's toil, and to augment the resources of each for the benefit of all. Such a cause can surely not fail of success. Its promotion in the present shape is certainly a novelty, but novelties are not usually unwelcome. On a similar scale and with partial effect ,the experiment of industrial conven tions has been already triumphantly tried, but it was an idea as new as it was felicitous to consider all man kind as one people, and to transform the metropolis of Britain into the hospitable rendezvous of the world. "In ancient times," says gibbon, " the nations of then earth were brought together by the pursuits of piracy or the practices of pilgrimage. The for mer of these institutions has certainly been regarded of late with singular indulgence, but unless it is to be revived under an elaborate system of reciprocity and protection, some substitute must be found for those calls of conquest which for the last three cen turies have furnished the peoples of the world with their opportunities of contact and their means of in ternational acquaintanceship. If war is to give place to commerce, exhibitions of industry supply the •only form which national demonstrations can take. Our grand reviews must be all under cover. Our parades must be of manufac tures, not of men. We may still eompete, en. champ clos, with our neighbours and our rivals, but on better conditions and with surer hopes. Nothing will now be left to chance or fortune. In these con tests the race will really be to the swift and thebattle to the strong. The most industrious, the most inge nious, and the most patient will infallibly be the con querors. And as war, according to the old fashion, was the only game from which both parties inva riably rose losers, so these new lists will exhibit the only contests in which both parties must necessarily be winners. Those who gain the day communicate the means Isy which they were enabled to excel ; those who lose it appropriate the excellence in virtue of which they were surpassed. The great festival of inauguration is already taking palpable shape. In a speech replete with imaginative eloquence Lord Carlisle announced some of the dis tinctive features of the exhibition. Its two stages are to be different in their respective characters. Up to a certain point the undertaking is to be exclusively Bri tish, beyond this it is to be universal. The competi tion is to he international—the preliminaries national. We are to provide accommodation for the works ex hibited, and a hospitable welcome for the exhibitors. As a natural consequence, the arrangements rest with ourselves alone. When these are once completed our peculiar functions cease, and the representatives of all nations step in to share the entertainment we have prepared. Such a bidding as this must needs be emphatically public, and our readers are aware that proposals of private responsibility liberally made, and at first regarded with approval, have been now declined in deference to that opinion which a few days' reflection sufficed to develope. The undertaking must, in every sense, be national, and though ample funds will be required, yet the magnitude of the amount vanishes altogether when compared with the multitude of the contributors. In the next place comes the question of accommodation, and then that of the classification to be adopted for the multifarious articles of the show. The latter subject is at this moment under the consideration of the Commis sioner., -and the results will shortly be submitted to public discussion. We forbear to give examples of the form they may take. The talent of classification is one of the must important connected with science, and ample scope will be given on the present occasion to all the faculties of organization and order. We have said that the sums required to carry out the project, considerable though they may be, are scarcely appreciable when balanced against the re sources of the people entrusted with the work, and if it is only remembered what collections have been made for purposes not only of charity and benevo lence, but for objects of less universal pretensions, and even for the recompense of private individuals, the truth of our remark will be evident at once. There must, however, he no parsimony in the preparations. Upon the liberality of the arrangements depend the whole practical success and utility of the adventure. lit must he an exhibition, not only for show, but for study. There must be room and oppor tunity for the deliberate and leisurely examina tion and comparison of every article exhibited, and these advantages must be at the command of every visitor, however humble. Every manufacturer and artisan should have the opportunity of compre hending the whole exhibition as readily as he would examine the museum of a country town, and it is the en ,rmons sp a ce requ i re d f or i nsur i ng all these facili ties which will entail such demands upon the funds. But the demands mast he met. It is the interest of all alike that there should be no restriction of privi leges, and that one man should enjoy as freely as another the adv . antages of so important a chance. All depends upon the liberality of the details, and, there fore, upon the ade qu a cy o f t h e funds. There are a dozen towns in the kingdom which could subscribe the amount in an hour ; but it is far p re f era bl e t h at the contributions, like the benefit forthcoming, should be universal, and that all should be sharers alike in the responsibility and enjoyment of the exhibition. SAVINGS' BANKS.—It is another " great fact," that those officers of savings' banks, who have proved de faulters, were persons in excellent stations in life. Trus tees and managers of sume of those institutions appear to have had a special liking in the appointment cf such persons (a sort of favoritism to worldly-minded men) to the exclusion of competent and upright individuals, to whom tle situations would have been a benefit. ana a credit to those appointing them. But the appointments, • being not of a personal nature to such trustees and managers but a public concern, why they could serve pet men more easily end more conveniently to themselves. Raving done se, the fivourecl men were left to the almost uncontrolled management of the banks (for it would net do to watch, much more suspect, them) and the result has been what all the world now knows. So much for favoritism and injustice I STRENGTH OF GUTTA. PERUSAL TUBING.—A trial of the strength of gutta percha tubing took place a few days ago at Stirling in presence of a Co mm i ttee of the Town Council, with a view to its applicability fires, flushing drain s , &c. T he for extinguishing tubing, which was oneeind-a-half inch bore, was at taehed to the water-pines; and, although the pressure of ili water is perhaps the greatest in the kingdom (bein g about 450 feet), not the slightest effect could be per ceived upon either the tubing or the joints, whilst the same amount of pressure upon strong leather hose scat tered the rivets in all directions.—Edinburgh Advertiser. SALVED SPIRITS.—A firm having purchased of the Admiralty agent, at one of the northern ports, a cask of turn, which had been picked up at sea, and brought into the port. by a foreign vessel, the cask having on it Eng lish marks, and all the appearance of being of British manufaciture, application was made to the authorities of the revenue to allow them to vat the rum in bond, and then reduce it to proof strength for exportation as stores. It will be . observetithat the cask of rum was picked up at sea by a foreign vessel, on her voyage from a foreign port to this country, and had been purchased by the par ties from the Receiver of Droits of Admiralty at the place, and therefore, with regard to this application to vat it for exportation as ship's stores as of the produce of a British possession, it was considered that as the cask of spirits was required to be vatted, or mixed with other spirits of the same sort, and reduced with water, for shipment as stores of vessels, and which could not, therefore, be afterwards cleared for home use, there did not appear to be any objection to the request being allo l3 si E e v. if 6lAN Hors.—The importations of hops from Belgium are on the increase, and are of considerable in terest and importance. Tho steamer Triton, arrived from Ostend, has brought, as part of a geueral oargo, 30 bales of hops, consigned to order; the Sir Edward Banks, from the same part, 9 bales; and the Commerce de Gand, from Ghent, has brought 60 bales of the ar i. igned to commercial firms aid to order, the X ~ _ „,, . , .roduce of Belgium. In addition to these ;eIZ ..• --.. 1442 ' -Xlie vessel Albatross, just arrives at the k. , 0. .... ,-.,-`,. - 91 ',1r , ... Both Antwerp, has brought 76 bales of Fes- , , is by far the largest importation of the kind Avi * _ eielueett Jute :talon pl ace at that port from abroad, the es • - *us tteiivalt int o B u ll h . beau 0f a limited vizir% . \ •.'?.,411_....9, LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN RAILWAY. The useal half-yearly general meeting of the London and South-Western Railway Company was held yester day at the Nine Elms Station; William Chaplin, Esq., chairman of the board of directors, in the chair. The advertisement convening the meeting having been read, the minutes of the past meeting were confirmed, and the report of the directors submitted to the share holders, from which we make the following extracts:— " From the accounts that have been for some days past in the hands of the proprietors, it will be seen t hat— The net revenue for the half-year ending 31st December, 1849, amounts, after deducting interest on loans, and all other preferential charges, to ... £107,658 14 6 The surplus from June, 1849, to 2,687 18 8 The balance applicable to dividend is, therefore £110,346 13 2 From which the directors recommend that a dividend for the half-year, at the rate of 31 per cent. per annum, be deducted, amounting on 6.602,422/. 3s. 4d. to Leaving to be carried over to the next half-year . " The total working expenses for the half-year amounted to 109,4151., and of rates and taxes, exclusive of income-tax, to 19,0251. " It is to be remarked, that although a large amount of capital is still unproductive, in consequence of the original intentions of the company not having been carried out, the whole of the interest on such capital is charged to revenue. " From a comparison it appears that the passenger traffic of the last half-year, although twenty-three more miles of railway are open, is 3,1841. less than in 1848, the goods traffic being 6,8371 more; the whole increase being consequently only 3,6531. It is, however, satis factory to perceive, that it has been possible to work twenty-three more miles of railway with an expenditure of 8,3541. less. The net revenue is thus 12,0071. more. " The total expenditure, per mile of railway, 5541., and per mile of train, 3s. 34d., will, it is believed, bear com parison with any metropolitan railway. " In October, 1849, they reduced their fares within short distances of London, with a view of encouraging traffic to the suburbs, being of opinion that the true po licy of of the company is to promote in every way the daily extending habit of residence out of town ; and they believe that when the districts this railway tra verses, and the central position of the London terminus are considered, it is able to offer advantages, in regard to re sidential traffic, greater than any other railway out of Lon don. It is now shown by experience, that every additional house of the better class, inhabited on the line, brings with it a certain increase of traffic to the railway. The directors therefore purpose to establish a low scale of sea son tickets for the suburbs, to be issued for terms vary ing from one to twelve months, and to be renewable at the same rate for seven years ; and they are satisfied, that by adhering to this policy, a large additional re venue will be eventually secured to the railway. " The maintenance of 207 miles of railway is charged upon revenue during the half-year, the average cost, per mile, of maintenance of way and stations, amounting to 283/. per mile per annum. " The charge for locomotive power for the last half year was (the price of coke being 21s. 10d. per ton) per train per mile, including pilotage, 9.36 d. "During the last half-year 3,3871. has been expended on the locomotive stock on renewals, and is included in the charge of 9.36 d. per mile. It is probable that, in some years, this charge will exceed the present rate; but the directors are satisfied that the company is pur suing a safe and sound course in meeting these inequalities out of revenue. The locomotive stock of this company is in excellent condition. It is satisfactory to find that the earnings for the past year of the steam-packets leased by the company have sufficed, after paying all expenses, to meet the interest for that p-riod on the 50,000/. lent to the New South- Western Steam Navigation Company, and to pay the 5 per cent. guaranteed dividend on its paid-up capital ; a balance of 3,1801. is carried over to the credit of the present half-year. In November, 1848, it was proposed to confine the opera tions of the company to the completion of certain lines then in progress; these are all open for traffic, and there remains not a single mile of line now under construe- The directors have accordingly been anxious to determine and discharge all liabilities and engagements, with the view to the final closing of the capital account at the earliest possible period. It is impracticable sud denly to effect this object, some of these engagements requiring great circumspection in dealing with them; but it is certain that no creation of new capital can be necessary in this company." The CHAIRMAN said the report of the committee ap pointed to investigate the charges and statements made against the integrity of the directors would be read. It is only necessary, however, to give the concluding paragraph in the report, which was as follows: " The committee having reported upon all the charger ... 107,289 7 3 affecting the directors, either Collectively or individually, which they think it necessary to bring specifically be fore the proprietors, have only to add in conclusion, that although they have discovered in the course of their inquiries much to blame and to regret, especially in the finance department, they are unanimously of opinion that nothing has come before them which affects the integrity' or probity' of the directors." Mr. CURRIE, the chairman of the committee, moved that this report be received and forwarded to each share holder. Mr. MYCROFT took exception to this, because the re port did nc t deal with the charge against the directors of mystifying and circulating false accounts. Mr. MANGLES, M.P., one of the committee said, they had never before heard of such a charge. The CHAIRMAN did not agree with all the conclusions of the report, which he had not seen until ho came into that room; but on the whole he hal no desire to quarrel with h.—(lleer, hear.) The resolution having been seconded, was shortly clet , aAed and agreed to. The CHAIRMAN said the next matter to be disposed o was the report of the committee which had been ap pointed to consider the question of audit. Mr. MoRTIMER, the deputy-chairman of the com mittee, moved the adoption of the report and the ap pointment of a committee to confer with the committees of other companies in procuring an Act of Parliament for establishing an efficient system of audit. A SHAREHOLDER suggested that the report should be read, which was accordingly done; but as it was pub lishei some weeks ago it is unnecessary to repeat it. The CHAIRMAN observed, that however desirable it might be to carry out the recommendations contained in the report, it could not be done to the fullest extent without the sanction of an Act of Parliament, and he therefore hoped the directors would not be called upon to carry them into effect now. Mr. LOCKE, M.P., said the majority of them could be carried out under the bye-laws of the company; but he would suggest that the entire matter should be referred to the committee to be appointed to-day, to communi cate with the committee of other shareholders on the general subject of audit. That committee might also confer with the directors upon the propriety of accom plishing some of the recommendations under the bye laws. Mr. SAINSBURY objected to referring the matter back again to a committee, and suggested that it had better be left in the hands of the directors. He moved an amendment accordingly, that the report be referred to the board to decide what point of it was compatible with tho existing Acts of the company. The CHAIRMAN wished to have nothing to do with the audit question, but to leave it entirely with the shareholders. Mr. HELPS, a member of the committee, said that both he and the chairman of the commitVe, Mr. Thomas J. Hall. the chief metropolitan police magistrate, were fa vourable to a Government audit. In the event, there fore, of the amendment being rejected, it was his in t= ration to move another, to the effect that the report be referred to the directors, with instructions to communi cate the opinion of this meeting to the Railway Commis sioners, that railway accounts ought to be audited by two auditors appointed by the shareholders, assisted by a public amountant to be nominated by the Government. Mr. BAKE; another member of the committee, an nounced his determination to support anything in the shape of a Government audit. Mr. Sergeant GASELEE was favourable to a Govern ment audit, but as shareholders were not ripe for that system, he had no objection to the alternative proposed by Mr. Locke. Mr. MooN, of Liverpool, explained the provisions of the: Bill prepared by the London and North-Western Company, and recommended the meeting to appoint a committee of three gentlemen to assist in carrying it through Parliament. He proposed that Messrs. Locke, Hoyes,and Baker, should torm that committee. Mr. MANGLES, M.P., would second that proposal if he could do so with order. They had no right to force upon the board the wholesale adoption of all that the report contain'd. Mr. MORTIMER had no objection to withdraw his resolution in favour of Mr. Moon's proposal. Mr. ROTES was opposed to a Government audit. The shareholder s were the best source whence auditors should emanatd. Eventually all the a m endments, including that of Mr. l% Helps, were rejected , wh en the rep or t was received, and Mr. Moon's proposal, now becoming a substantive reso lution, eiwolaustipoinit was and. thenagr e to . passed, recommending the di rectors to adopt the recomme n d a tions of the report as far as they could possibly do so. The CHAIRMAN then moved th e a d opt i on of the di rectors' report, which was agreed to aft er some discus sion, and the dividend declared payable on au early day. Mr. Chaplin, RP., was then re - elected as director. The other two vacancies which occur at the board this half•year it was resolved should 11 ut be filled up. Thanks were than voted 0 the Chairman, and the meeting terminated after a very lengthened sitting. EAST AND WEST INDIA DOCKS BIRMINGHAM JUNCTION RAIL WAY. The general ordinary belf.Yearly meeting of the pro prietors was held yest e rday, a t the Euston Station; Mr. John Scott in the chair. The report stated that the directors had continued to forward the works upon the line a..; much as possible, in order to bring the railway into operation at the earliest possible period. Tho land required for the branch to the Blackwell Railway had been agreed for, and a contract haring been concluded for the construction of the branch, no time will be lost in the commencing and completing it, thus connecting the main line with the Fenchurch street terminus. A contract bad also been taken for cempleting.the line of railway to the East and West India Docks and to Bl ackwell, at a price below the engineer ' s estimate. The efforts of the directors to enforce pay ments of arrears of calls bad met with little success. Those arrears amounted to 27,3101. on 693 shares, upon which 7,3401. had been paid. The necessary THE SUN, notices bad been given for the forfeiture of 460 of those shares, upon which 3,8501. had been paid. The Bill now before Parliament would show that the necessary steps were being taken to obtain legislative sanction for leasing the line to the London and North- Western Company. One of the directors, Mr. Robert Cotesworth having resigned, Mr. Edward Maxwell Daniell had been elected in his room. The directors who went out of office by rotation were Mr. Creed, Mr. Hibbert, Mr.'Kelsall, and Mr. Thomas, and, with the ex ception of Mr. ICelsall, they offered themselves for re election. Mr. Sweetland, the auditor, who also went out of office, was eligible for re-election." The total receipts, from the commencement of the undertaking to the 31st December last, amounted to 627,677/. 19s. 3d., and the expenditure to 622,3681.21. 5d., leaving a balance of 5,309/. 16s. 10d. The engineer's report stated that the portion of the line between the North-Western Railway and the City might be finished ready for opening in the present spring. The sites for the different stations had been fixed, and the buildings were now in the course of erection. The sudden fall ing in of seven of the arches of the viaduct, at Camden town, in November last, occasioned much anxiety. The searching inquiry then made proved that the accident was to be attributed solely to the peculiar character of the soil of the district, and could not, by any possibility, have been guarded against. This conclusion was confirmed by the opinion of the engineer of the London and North-Western Railway, who was requested to examine the works and report on the subject. He stated that the design was most judiciously arranged, that the materials were of every description most excellent, the workmanship un exceptionable, and that the occurrence was a casualty which no foresight could have prevented. In conclu sion, he states, that " the loss falls on the contractor, which is to be regretted, as the works have.evidently been constructed with much care and honesty." In reply to a question, the engineer (Mr. MARTIN) stated that 130,0001. would be required to complete the works remaining to be executed on the 31st of Decem ber last. The company was in the possession of surplus land, which was valued at between 150,000/. to 170,000/. After a brief discussion, the report was received and adopted, and the retiring directors and the retiring auditor re-elected. The proprietors then resolved themselves into a spe cial general meeting to consider a draft Bill intended to be promoted in Parliament during the present session. The SOLICITOR read the heads of the Bill, which is to enable the company to make and maintain certain branch lines, to amend the former Act, and to authorise the leasing of their undertaking to the North-Western Company, to create additional stock, and for other pur poses. In reply to a suggestion from a PROPRIETOR that the North-Western Company would be enabled by their shares to swamp the votes of the other proprietors when they wished to carry any proposition, Mr. THOMAS, a director, said it was provided in the Bill that each proprietor who held no more than twenty shares was to have a vote for each share, but larger holders were only to have one vote for five shares; and as twenty shares was about the average number gene rally held, it was calculated that the proprietors would have 2,000 votes, whilst the North-Western Company would only have about 1,600. The Bill, with the exception of the clause giving gua ranteed interest upon the additional stock to be created, was then agreed to; and after a vote of thanks to the Chairman, the meeting separated. MARKET INTELLIGENCE. (From the London New Price Current, Feb. 26.) SUGAR.—To-day the market for West India. Sugar presented a more active appearance, holders wore less disposed to realise, and at former rates a fair business was concluded. The business amounted to 620 hhds., &c., in cluding at auction 133 hhds 8 trcs Barbadoes, which sold freely at 6d per cwt advance; fine yellow realised 41s to 425, and other sorts 38s to 40s; 25 hhds 75 trcs Deme rara, crystalized, went at full terms; ord and mid yellow 38s 6d to 41s 64, and good brown 37s per cwt. REFINED.—Today home dealers made purchases with more freedom in Refined Sugar, but better prices could not be obtained. Sales of brown Lumps were made at 48s per cwt, and fair to good grocery 48s 6d to 51s. The market is still in a dull state for Bonded Crushed Sugar at 29s 6d to 30s 6d, and there are free sellers. MAURITIUS.—This afternoon the quantity of Mauri tius Sugar submitted to public sale amounted to 6,000 bags. There was a more active demand, and the whole sold at fully former rates; yellow went at 37s to 39s 6d, low 36s to 37s 6d, mid to good brown 32s to 345, fine 34s 6d to 35s 6d, inferior 304 to 31s, and very low 26s to 27s 6d per cwt. EAST INDIA.—This afternoon there was a better de mand for Bengal Sugar ; the parcels offered at public sale amounted to 4,620 bags, and nearly all sold at steady rates ; white Benares at 38s to 40s 6d, fine 41s to 425, yellow, like Mauritius, 35s 6d to 37s 6d, ord 34s to 355, and fine strong yellow 44s 6d to 45s 6d. Of Madras 928 bags were disposed of at the full value of soft brown at 29s to 30s 6d, and yellow 31s to 33s 6d per cwt. FOREIGN.—To-lay there was no public sale of foreign Sugar, but by private treaty rather more business was concluded at the former value, and holders display firmness. Of yellow Havannab about 5,000 chests have been sold on the spot at 20s 3d to 20s 6d, in bond. a cargo of 5,000 bags brown Pernams 18s 9d, and 400 chests strong white Bahia 23s 3d per cwt. MOLASSES.—Prices tend downwards for West India, and operations have been small in all sorts by private treaty. Of Demerara 150 puns sold at 15s to 15s 6d. At auction 90 puns Trinidad were taken in at 15s 6d, and 91 puns Demerara at 16s. East India Treacle is to be obtained at 13s 6d to 14s. COCOA—To-day Foreign Cocoa met with little atten tion, and at public sale 971 bags Guayaquil were all taken in at 30s to 32s for grey, which are lower rates. TEA.--There has been little desire evinced to operate in common Congou since our last report, still holders are firm and require 9,id to 10d per lb, whilst several fresh shipping orders are expected. Other sorts have been in good demand, and prices are fully as high as on this day week, but middling and middling rather strong selling at loid to 11d, blackish leaf is Id to is 3d, strong blackish leaf is 3d to Is sd, ditto and Pekoe flsvor is 5d to is 9d per lb. For Hyson and Young Hyson the market became dull, and prices have fallen Id to 2d; still other sorts of green have been in good de mand at full terms. Twankay met with much attention for exportation chiefly for Canada, and there are no sel lers under 9d. Scented Caper has been purchased with caution at is 2d to is 7d, but in scent e d O range P e k oe a good deal has been done at lld to is 2d, and good Is 3d to 3s 3d. COFFEE.—This afternoon there was no improvement in the Coffee market, and both shippers and home dealers operated with much caution, whilst the downward ten dency, continues. At public sale 53 casks 946 bags Ceylon were offered. Native was, taken in at 59a 6d to 60s for good ord, whilst a few lots damaged sold at 54s to 56s : of the Plantation a part only found buy ers at rather lower rates ; good ord at 57s 6d to 58s 6d, fine and fine fine ordinary 61s to 655, middling 68s, and triage 524 6d to 58s; the better sorts were taken in at 70s to 80s. Of Mocba 150 bales were in part sold, fine at 80s 6d, mid 702, low mid 665, damaged and triage 37s to 665; but 116 bags Madras were taken iu at 565, and the sound of 305 bags Padang at 48s; damaged sold at 39s 6d to 40s 6d, which are lower rates. Of Native Ceylon 2,000 bags were disposed of for arrival at 58s per cwt for good ordinary. SPICES.—To-day Cloves met with more attention, and at public sale 174 bags of Bourbon all sold at 74d to for bold; likewise 198 cases Bengal Ginger, at 51s to 53s for small cultivated sorts. RlCE.—There has again been much dulness in the market for East India. At public sale a part only of 4,100 bags found buyers; low and mid white Bengal 9s to 9s 6d, Madras, Bombay sort, 83 to 8s 6d, and good pinkey white 9s to 9s 6(1; the value of good and fine white Bengal is 10s to 11s Cleaned Rice continues in excellent demand, Patna, low to fine 12s to 18s, broken 10s to Its 6d, town dressed Carolina 22s to 265, and American 19a 6d to 21s. Of Sago•the quantity offered at public sale has been large, and amounted to 1,230 cases, but a part only sold at from 21s 6d tp 24s 6d fur low to fine pearl. To-day at public sale 150 boxes Pearl Sago were all taken in at 23s 6d to 24s per cwt. SPlRlTS.—Leeward Island Rum has been sold at is 5d ,o is Sid proof, and at Is 6d for fine brown. East India is 44 to is 5d proof. Of Demerara several parcels have been sold at from 2s 3d to 2s 7d for 30 Le 40 per cent over proof. Jamaica,2o to 29 percent over proof, from 2s 44 to 2s ed, 30 to 36 over 2s 9d to 3t sd, fine and choice marks 3s 6d to 4s 3d. In Brandy operations have been upon a more extended scale. The value of Cognac, best brauda of the vintage of 1848, is 4s 7d to 4s 9d, 1847 do 5s 2d to 5s 44, inferior sorts 2s 8d to 45 2d, and Bordeaux 3s 6d to 2s 8d per gallon. Geneva Is 9d to is 10d, and fine 2s 3d to 3s 3d. British made Spirit 9s 6d net cash. SALTPETRE.—To-day there was a good demand, and at public sale 821 bags Calcutta sold at full rates, refrac tion 5i to 2 per cont. realised 27s 6d to 28s 6d, and 12 to Si ditto 26s per cwt. COCHINEAL.—To-day there was little desire evinced to operate in Cochineal. At public sale not above half of 150 bags sold at id to 2d decline. Honduras silvers went at from 3a 10d to 4s sd, Black 4s Id to 4s 9d, Mexican 3s 11d to 4s ld, and silvers 3s 10d to 3s lld per lb. • OlLs.—There has been a further increase in the de mand for Cod Oil, and higher rates have been paid, sales having been made at 321 10s to 331 per tun. Seal, pale at 381 to 381 10s, straw and tinged 341 to 374 yellow and brown 311 to 33/ 10s. Whale Oil met with a more active sale. At auction 30 tuna went at from 32/ 5s to 341, for middling to fine, and 50 tuna of St a Elephant Oil 32/ to 331 10s. Sperm 821 to 821105 for Colonial. Of Ground Nut Oil 34 hhds were taken in at 41s 9d. There is firmness in the market for Linseed Oil, whilst the rates paid have been 32s 3d to 32s 6d on the spot. A fair quantity has been sold for delivery, and the market is at attention, 4 ls, brown firm at 32 s 6d t o 335. R ape O i l met w i th little a 4 n O d s , Foreign a desire is Refined 4 3sto 445,t0 sell, pale brown 425. Palm, sales of good and fine have been made at 31s 6d to 32s 64. Cocoa Nut, at auction 200 casks were taken in at 33s to 365, and ordinary 31s 6d to 325. For Olive there are sellers of Spanish and Gallipoli at 491. ta 501, Barbary, Levant, a:l4 Portugal 471 to 48/ per tun. TALLOW.—The value of fine P.Y. Candle is 36s 3d to 36s 9d per cwt. For delivery in the last three months of the year only limited sales have been made, although a desiro is evinced to accept 38s to 38s 6(1. Home melted has been operated in with caution and prime melted is to he obtained at 363 to 36s 6d for cash. Of other sorts of Tallow there was been an abundant supply, and reduced rates are sub mitted to. At public sale 70 casks Potcrsburgh Soap were taken in at 33s 64, 50 cks Taganrog at 3556 d, 183 cks Odessa 35s to 365, 1,130 casks Sydney only in part fonnd buyers, good and fine 35s to 36s 6d, low and Middling 331 to 34s 9d ; 1,000 pkgs South American, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27, 1850 good and fine 3486 d to 36s 3d, and inferior 31s to 548 3d per cwt. For auction on Friday 2,000 pkgs of Tallow are declared. Rough Fat is 20 per stone of 81bs. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, Feb. 26. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool sack at Five o'clock. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from an in dividual praying to be permitted to sue for a divorce Bill in forma pauperis. He thought that some altera tion ought to take place in the present system, so as to afford to the poor a remedy as well as to the rich. The NOBLE and LEARNED LORD also presented a petition from the Chamber of Commerce in some town in Scotland in favour of the Bill for amending the Scotch law of distress; also a petition from Northampton in favour of the extension of the jurisdiction of the county courts; and a petition from the tenant-farmers of Tyrone in favour of an alteration in the grand jury law in Ireland. AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS. The Earl of MALMESBURY wished to draw the attention of the Noble Marquis to the state of the agri cultural population of the parish of Leamington, in Wilts. The farmers had determined to reduce the wages of the labourers to 6s. a week ; in consequence, the labourers riotously assembled, one of them was captured and after wards rescued, and several riotous proceedings took place. He could not blame the farmers for making the reduction of wages to 6s. a week, as it was only inflicting on the labourer his fair share of the loss accruing from the reduced price of produce. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE had received no in formation of the circumstances referred to by the Noble Earl. ENCUMBERED ESTATES (IRELAND) ACT. Lord BEAUMONT presented a petition from Lady Jervis White Jervis complaining of the operation of the Encumbered Estates Act. The estate which she ad ministered, and on which she had a jointure, was an im provable estate encumbered to the amount of 29,0001. The solicitor of the petitioner had lent 1,0001. on it ; he owing to the estate 5001., the petitioner sought to set off the 5001. against the 1,000/. on which the solicitor assigned the judgment of 1,0001. to a person in London, whereupon he was dismissed from his office as solicitor, on which the holder of the judgment petitioned the Commissioners, who ordered the estate to be sold, unless the en cumbrance should be paid off in twenty-eight days. The petitioner prayed that longer notice should be re quired before a sale was ordered, and that jointures should not be considered as encumbrances. Lord BROUGHAM said that whatever length of no tice had been given, she could not have appeared under any circumstances. Lord BEAUMONT considered that the Act gave un due facilities to the creditors of persons possessed of encumbered estates, and opened a door to oppression. The whole object of the Act was to sell up and to revo lutionize the landed interest. After a few words from the LORD CHANCELLOR, Earl GREY said that if the owner of the property'had chosen to oppose the sale he would have been heard; but as he did not oppose the sale, surely no other person bad any right to do so. The Earl of GLENGALL considered that it was un just that a junior creditor for a small amount should have the power of enforcing the sales of' an estate. This was one of the most outrageous and brutal cases of which he had ever heard, and he only regretted that the petitioner had not in serted in the petition the name of the agent of the person to whom he had assigned his interest. The Encumbered Estates' Commission was not a court of justice, or of law, or of equity; it was an auctioneer's court and nothing else, and the Com missioners ought to be compelled to take out a licence.— (A laugh.) By the operation of this Act persons were robbed of their estates. Lord CAMPBELL must earnestly request their Lordships to discountenance petitions such as this, reviewing the proceedings of' a court of judicature, against the decisions of which their Lordships hed decided when they passel the law there should be no appeal. These appeals, therefore, were extra judicial. It was clear that the petitioner had no interest in the estate, for if she had she would have had a locus standi in the court and have been heard, and as . the estate was encumbered to more than half its an t, ual value it was clear the Commissioners had j urisdiction, and yet the Noble Earl thought it proper to hold the Learned Judges of this Court up to ridicule as auction. eers, because in their zeal to do the best for the holders of encumbered estates, they had themselves sold the estates in this Court.—(Hear, hear.) He had no doubt but that that Court would exercise their powers properly. The Earl of GLENGALL said the Act was an atrocious and unconstitutional Act, intended to destroy the gentry of Ireland because they were Conservatives. The Earl of MOUNTCASIIEL considered that a more arbitrary Act never passed the House than that Act. It was an Act of injustice and confiscation, which had been forced upon Ireland against the wish of the majority of both Houses of Parliament.—(Loud laughter.) A body more oppressed than the Irish landlords never were—(A laugb)--and when the Bill was extended to England then Noble Lords would understand its opera tion and tyranny. Lord BEAUMONT explained that he had not complained of the Commissioners, but of the opera tion of the Act, by which estates had been brought into the Court, which their Lordships, when they passed the Bill, had never intended to be brought into it. lie thought the Act was a wise Act as regarded those hope lessly encumbered estates to which alone its operations t al been confined. The Earl of GLENGALL explained that ho had meant no reflection on the Commissioners, who were most respectable men. The petition was ordered to lie on the table. RAILWAY BILLS. Lord MONTEAGLE then rose, according to notice, to move that the House do resolve "That ten days at least bef ire the second reading of any private Bill for making, improving, abandoning, or in any other way affecting or varying any railroad, or for erecting, incor porating, or affecting the powers vested in any railway company, or fur the amalgamation of any railway com pany, or in any other way touching the same, there shall be delivered at tne office of the Clerk of the Par liament for the use of this House copies of the balance sheets of every such company, for the years 1848 and 1849, as required to be kept by the Bth and 9th Vic., cap. 16, or by any Act incorporating such company, together with copies of scheme s for dividends, in which dividends shall have been declared during the years 1848 and 1849, under sections 120 and 121 of the said Act of the Bth and 9th Vic., cap. 16, or under any other declared in pursuance of such company., and' a statement of the A schemes, and the date at w hi ch suc h sc h emes s i m nc o o u r n p t or o a f t d in iv g ide t n h d e s were agreed to, and the dividends declared." The importance cf an inquiry conducted on rigid prin ciples was amply shown by the returns of the seven principal railways in the kingdom, amongst which were the Great Western, the North-Western, the South- Western, the Manchester and Leeds, the Midland, and the York and North Midland. In the month of August 1845, 1001. of the average notinal stock of these rail ways was worth 2161. 15e, and on the Ist of January, 1850, it was only worth 63/. 65.. being a falling off of 1531. 10s. The object of the resolution which he should now move, therefore was; that before they came to the second reading of Railway Bills in the course of the present year, they should have before them their finan cial condition, with a view of :seeing, that if that finan cial condition showed:malversationon the part of any of th ose companies, their Lordships should, as trustees for the public, refuse to confer on them new and increased powers. The Noble Lord concluded by moving the re solution of which he had gives notice, and it was agreed to. The Earl of CARLISLE presented petitions from the West Riding of Yorkshire, directing the attention of the House to the evasion, by Brazil and Cuba, of treaties made for the prevention of the slave-trade, and praying the House to take steps to enforce them. EMIGRATION MEDICAL OFFICERS. The Earl of MOUNTCASHEL, in moving that there be laid before the House copies of the testimonials, with the names of the parties subscribed to them, produced by Thomas Hammond, upon the faith of 'which he was lust summer appointed surgeon to the emigrant ship Una, together with the mhsutes made by the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners on those testimo nials, called the attention of the House to the result of the inquiries which he had made into the circumstances, which had led to the appointment of this individual to the medical charge of the Una, and , into his previous course of life. In his opinion he did not think him a person at all qualified and fitted for the discharge of so important a trust, though he did not mean to say that that was a matter upon which he intended to found any charge against the Colonial-office. This, gentleman for curly lived at Eton, and from following an irregular course of life became at length deranged, and was far some time confined in a lunatic asylum, at or near Norwich. How he got out of it he did not know, but he did get out, and was appointed m e di ca l surgeon on board this emigrant vessel, W hi c h sailed for Sydney from one of our ports in the middle of July last. There were 313 souls on board this vessel, and he would admit that in the course of his in quiries he received testimonials of the highest character relating to this person, and he admitted it freely, be cause his object really was to point the matter out to the Noble Earl opposite at the head of the Colonial depart ment as a caution for the future. Having referred to several matters which took place in the course of the voyage, which were very much to be reprobated, he concluded by mentioning a number of instances of inca pacity on the part of emigrant medical officers, the sum mary of which was that ten out of twenty of them had been declared incompetent by the colonial authorities upon their arrival in the colonies. Earl GREY said that as to the general statement of the Noble Earl, of general misconduct on the part of colonial medical officers, he could safely refer the House to the papers before them for information on the subject. That information would show them, that although in so large a service, 32,000 emigrants having gone out last year, some cases of misconduct might well be expected to occur, yet, taking the system as a whole, it was successfully tnd well conducted.. With regard to the e chare 6 of general inefficiency which the Noble .Earl had made against these officers, he would state a fact derived by calculation from the papers be fore the House, and that was, that notwithstanding the drawbacks usually incidental to a long sea voyage, the .mortality on board emigrant vessels was less than the steerage mortality occurring among the same class of persotts, and of the same age, living in this country. Without going thrc ugh all the cases mentioned by the Noble Ea.-I, he need only say that it was impossible for the Emigration Commissioners to know exactly what kind of mese they were employing, until they had actu ally tried h.im. The emigration which it was most de sirable to cat ry out was the emigration of large families, and that was the only one which, to a great extent, could go on with success. Under other circumstances it was always more difficult to provide against such occurrences as the Noble Earl had adverted to. He held in his hand the testimonials which had been presented by Mr. Hammond on his appointment, which were of such a description that he could not believe that the information which the Noble Earl had received was correct, and that it must refer to some other person. When he applied in June last be was seen by the official person whose duty it was to inves tigate the qualifications of the applicants, and was told that his certificates were of too remote a date to be perfectly satisfactory, and others of a more recent date were required; and accordingly, on the 2d of July, he produced others, as well as the necessary diplomas from Apothecaries' Hall and the College cf Surgeons, where he had been admitted a member on the 23d of July, 1820. The certificates of competency and character which he produced were from Mr. Guthrie, of Berkeley - stteet, in which he was described as late of Windsor. Another was from Mr. Andrews, another from Doctor Merryman, who testified to his moral character; also a testimonial from Mr. John Rowley, assistant-surgeon of the Scots Fasilier Guard., and finally, a certificate from Dr. Cox, who described him as a married man and the father of a family, and a person in whom every confidence might be placed. It was impossible that any gentleman could have higher testimonials. At the same time, he agreed with the Noble Earl those who signed such testimonials did so under great respon sibility, and in that view he would not object to the production of these testimonals, that those who signed might be made responsible. When the ship's arrival would be reported, a report of the conduct of the sur geon would be transmitted to this country from the co lonial authorities, when further information would be afforded with regard to these transactions. The Earl of MOUNTCASHEL said he did not be lieve he was at all mistaken in the information he had received; and the fact that he was described in the tes timonial of Mr. Guthrie as late of Windsor went to con firm it, where he had resided thirty years, and where his character must have been well known. He could re fer in corroboration of what he had stated to the Rev Stirling Marshal of Eton College. The motion was then agreed to. Berl NELSON then brought in a Bill to regulate the appointment of chaplains at the Foreign Consulates. He said it was the same as that which bad been intro duced last session. He should move that it HOW be read a first time, and ordered to be printed—Agreed to. Their Lordships adjourned at a Quarter-past Seven o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 26. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock. Mr. WILSON PATTEN moved that, in all cases where notice had not been gi►en in the Pri►ate Bill Office of the intention of parties to oppose the second reading of a pri►ate Bill, the second reading of such Bill, if op posed, be postponed until the day on which the House shall next sit. CAMBRIDGE AND SHEPRETH JUNCTION RAILWAY. i Lord G. MANNERS moved the second reading of this Bill. Mr. LAW said that the feeling of the University of Cambridge was decidedly opposed to this measure. He should oppose the motion of the Noble Lord on this ground, and also on the ground that there was no want of this line, that it had very few share holders, that it ran parallel at an averag e distance of one mile from another line which ran b tween the same termini. He should move that this Bill be read a second time this day six months. Mr. P. BENNE r supported the reading of the Bill. Mr. SHAFTO ADAIR also supported the Bill. Mr. GOULBURN said, if the House would give him its attention for a short time, he would lay the facts of the case before the House. The Bill was a Bill for a rail % ay, seven miles long only, between two points which were already provided for by aline which bad been al ready sanctioned by the House, and which line would be commenced almost immediately; and, besides this, this very Bill had been rejected by the House three times already. On grounds totally independent of the University he opposed the second reading of the Bill, because he con sidered they ought not to allow additional expense to be incurred by sending the Bill to a Committee until they knew whether the other line would or would not be completed. Mr. FITZROY said he had a petition, which was most numerously signed by the inhabitants of New market, stating that it was of the greatest public im portance that the measure should he passed. The real parties who opposed that Bill were the Eastern Counties Company, and the petitioners stated that the New market line, which was in the possession of this com pany, did not afford the people of Newmarket that con venience and facility which Parliament intended it should give them, and they thought that the present measure would afford them the accommodation they wanted. It was not strictly the fact that the Bill had been three times before Parliament; and he could assure the House that it was for the sake of promoting the public accom modation that this Bill was introduced. He therefore protested against the attempt to atop the Bill in limine. Mr. CAMPBELL supported the Bill. Mr. WADDINGTON said it was all very well for the inhabitants of Cambridge to say they wanted a station independent of the Eastern Counties Com pany, but he should be glad to know how this Bill could possibly accomplish that object. The Eastern Counties Railway Company had a claim upon the House. He called upon the House to pause before it sanctioned the second reading of this Bill. Mr. M. GIBSON said the Committee were of opinion that fur the purposes of the public business the line be tween Shepreth and Cambridge should be constructed, and that the Eastern Counties Company should make the link between Shepreth and Cambridge within a certain time. which had not expired. After a few words from Lord GEORGE MAN NERS, the House divided, when there appeared— For the second reading ... 98 Against it ... • ... 135 Majority --37 The Bill was consequently thrown out. SECOND READINGS. The following Bills were then read a second time and ordered to be committed:- 1 Copper Miners' Company (England). Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Manchester Bonding. Victoria (London) Dock. Waterford and Kilkenny Railway. MR. FEARGUS O'CONNOR. A special report from the Committee of Public Peti tions was brought up by Mr. THORNELY, which was read by the Clerk at the table. It stated that a petition was presented on the 14th of February by the Honourable Member for Ox fordshire, which was ordered to lie upon the table. That petition was not seen or heard of for some days afterwards, which had led to inquiries being insti tuted by the Committee, and the result was that the Committee had discovered that the petition was taken from the table, and kept for many days by Mr. Feargus O'Connor the Member for Nottingham. Mr. THORNLEY thought it right to state that this report was agreed to yesterday morning, but its presenta tion had been delayed till this evening, because the Hon. and Learned Member for Nottingham was not in his place last night. Mr. F. O'CONNOR said it was entirely through ignorance of the practice of the House that he had taken the petition away. The reason for his taking the petition from the table was to have it published in his newspaper, but a few days afterwards the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Wolverhampton re- minded him of his having taken it away, and he at once directed his secretary to bring it down to the House. If, however, ho had violated any rules or orders of the House he now begged leave to apologise to the Speaker for having done so. When he took the petition away he was not aware that he was violating any of the orders or rules of the House. He hoped he had given a sufficient explanation to the House, and he begged leave to express his regret that he had violated any of its rules.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. HENLEY rose to explain. He said the petition came from a number of people in his (Mr. Henley's) own county, and he conceived it was directed against the scheme, and not against the Hon. Member (Mr. O'Con nor) personally. If he (Mr. Henley) had thought other wise, he should have adopted the usual course of giving the Hon. Member notice.--(Hear, hear.) The petition was then ordered t,) lie upon the table. THE ALLIED PRINCES OF INDIA. Sir E. COLEBROOKE gave notice of his intention to postpone until this day fortnight his motion, which etood fir this evening, to inquire into the rights of suc cession of the allied and dependent princes of India. CASE OF CHRISNA RAO WITHUL. Lord DUDLEY STUART postponed until this day fortnight his motion for a Select Committee to inquire into the claims of Chrisna Rao Withul, of Baroda. WINDOW-TAX. Lord DUNCAN postponed until this day fortnight his motion on the paper for to-night—" That, whereas the present mode of assessing, levying, and collecting taxes on air and light in England and Scotland inter feres most prejudicially with the health and sanitary condition of the inhabitants of Great Britain, therefore it is expedient that the window-tax should be repealed." GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND. Mr. HUME fixed for this day week his motion re specting the removal of the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. THE FRANCHISE. On the motion of Sir 1)E LACY EVANS, returns were ordered of appeals from the courts of the revising barristers to the Court of Common Pleas, made , up for the year ending the Ist day of March, 1849 ; also, the judgment in the case of Palmer v. Allen, omitted in a former return. MORTALITY IN THE NAVY. On the motion of Captiin HARRIS, returns were or dered of the mortality per cent. amongst the officers and crows of her Majesty's ships employed on the coast of Africa during each of the years from 1840 to 1848, both inclusive: of all slave vessels, their names and tonnage, captured from 1340 to 1848, both inclusive; specifying the date of capture, the ;atitude and lon4itude, and whe ther with slaves on board or not: and of the number of slaves captured during the same period in each year, with the number of deaths between the date of capture and adjudication, showing the annual per-centage of mortality. LAW OF SETTLEMENT IN ENGLAND. l e c ti h n a g na t e h l e til l Sir D. NORREYS p ostpone d th e question which he had intended t o a d i o f t h e Fi rst L or d of the Treasury re ri s s p fuotfurseetdtia7.ent on this side of the MERCHANT SEAMEN'S FUND. In replytoaqaestiOrTfComMr. CARDWELL Mr. LABOUCHERE replied that it was not the in tention of Government to take the division on the second readings of this and the other similar Bills ou thy days for which they were fixed, and hoped therefore that the Hon. Gentleman would not, oppose his postponing them to a future day, in order that they might be rendered as per fect as possible. THE FRANCHISE IN THE COLONIES. Mr. AGLIONBY gave notice that on the discussion of the Australian Representation Bill he should move that the elective system be extended to New Zealand, and, if there was no clause for it, that it should be ex tended especially to the suutbern provinces of that island. THE BLOCKADE OF ATHENS. Mr. ANSTEY wished to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he would lay on the table of the House copios of the instructions to Admilar Sir William Parker, meationed at p. 316 of the " Corre spondence respecting the Demands made upon the Greek Government," and particularly any order of her Majesty in Council authorising that officer to blockade the ports of Greece, and take and detain vessels belonging to Greek subjects or their Government? Lord PALMERSTON said Sir W. Parker had re ceived orders from the Board of Admiralty, and that it was not generally the custom to make these orders the subject of an order in Council. Mr. ANSTEY wished to know if the Noble Lord would state whether it was necessary, in order to justify such reprisals, far an order in Council to be issued. Lord PALMERSTON was understood to say it was not. Mr. ADDERLEY wished to ask whether's late Secre taryship in the colonies had not been offered to Mr. Dominick Bailley, formerly Secretary to the Canadas, who assigned as a reason for refusing the appointment that he did not think a stranger to the colonies could discharge the office. Mr. HAWES could not answer the question. REPAYMENT OF IRISH ADVANCES. Mr. MONSELL said, as warreint;h . atiWe; — issued against the persons in Ireland to whom advances had been made by the Government, under the Labour Rate Act, he wished to know whether, in consequence of the in tention of the Government to extend the period for the repayment of the advances they were prepared to stay those warrants until the decision of the House was known ? Sir W. SOMERVILLE said, it was necessary under the Act to issue the warrants, but it was not the inten tion of the Government to force their execution. SURVEY OF THE IRISH COAST. In reply to Mr. ANSTEY, Mr. PARKER said, the survey of the Admiralty from Waterford to Dungarvon had been completed, and in all probability the survey would be continued to Youghal. TIPPERARY UNION. In reply to Mr. SCULLY; Sir W. SOMERVILLE said there appeared to have been considerable mortality in the Tipperary Union, but the last accounts he had received did not bear out the statement that 40 or 50 had died in a week. EXPLANATION OF MR. BRIGHT. Mr. BRIGHT asked the indulgence of the House with reference to a personal matter affecting himself and another Member of the House. It would be in their re collection that on the debate respecting the advances to distressed unions in Ireland he made a statement as to the difficulty of collecting the poor•rate in certain districts. Amongst other statements that he made was, that a large landed proprietor in the west of Ireland, and an Hon. Member of this House representing an Irish county, had made over to a near relative certain goods and chattels, the furniture of a house, for the purpose of saving them from being seized for the payment of poor-rates. At the time he made that statement he had every reason to believe that the information was founded in truth, but he had since had an opportunity of seeing the Honourable Member on the subject, who had laid before him papers and documents from which he was bound to believe that the parties who had furnished him with the information were mistaken in their view of the purpose for which the property was made over. He had not had time to com municate with them on the matter, but nevertheles he thought it right to accept the statement of the Hon. Gentleman, and retract that which must have been calculated to cast an imputation upon his character. Mr. H. HERBERT acknowledged the candour with which the Hon. Member had made this retractation, but had he been aware of the intention of the Hon. Member to make such a statement as they had just heard, he should have availed himself of the opportunity of reading a letter which he had received from a large landed pro prietor in Ireland, controverting other portions of the Hon. Gentleman's statement.—(Hear, hear.) The subject then dropped. ATTORNEYS AND SOLICITORS' CERTIFICATE DUTY. Sir D. Norreys, Mr. Henry Herbert, Col. Chatterton, Mr. V. Smith, and Mr. Henley presented petitions pray ing for the repeal of the attorneys and solicitors' annual certificate duty. Sir JAMES DUKE also presented a petition from cer tain respectable attorneys practising in the city of London praying for a remission of the duty on attorneys' annual certificates. Mr. AGLIONBY presented a similar petition from the Law Society of Staple's Inn. Mr. CARDWELL presented a similar petition from Liverpool. Lord ROBERT GROSVENOR presented similar petitions from the Incorporated Law Sec'ety of Great Britain, and from the counties of Bedford, Hereford, Cambridge, Chester, Cumberland, Durhsm, Hants, Huntingdon, and others, there being 178 petitions in the whole. The NOBLE LORD again rose, and said that it bad been his duty, before the termination of last session, to bring under the consideration of the House the case of the journeymen bakers of the metropolis, with a view to re lieve them from the hardships by which they were op pressed.—(Hear, hear.) The journeymen bakers formed but a small portion of the community, yet the House bad given a fair consideration to their claims.—(Hear, hear.) It was now his duty to bring before the House the claims of another portion—a still smaller, and, in point of numbers, a more insignitimant portion—of the community, but a portion whose power was acknow ledgedly great, and of whom it had been justly said that the confessions made in all the confessionals in the world were not, put together, half so important in their consequences as those made to the attorneys of this country. How great, then, might be the injury, were they to publish the communications which had been made to them; and yet how few had been the instances of 'any breach of trust which the members of this body bad committed. Th• tax was so contrived as to press with all its rigour upon the poor man, while it left the wealthy man entirely free. But, notwithstanding this, should the Noble Lord below him, as be hoped he would not oppose, his motion, he should trust to the good feelings of the House to carry it out. The origin of this tax was when Mr. Pitt was at his wit's end tor an impost, and had tried several others in vain. Upon the discussion of this Bill several very facetious and sensible remarks had been made. It would be much fairer to tax the practitioner according to the. amount of business which he did and to his gain, and on the same principle as that on which the income-tax was imposed This certificate duty at present realised an annual sum f 120,0001., but the injustice did not end here, for eanh attor ney had to pay 1201. for stamps to his articles before he could be allowed to practise, and the annual receipts to the Government from this source amounted, according to the last return, to 68,000/. The injustice of the tax would be apparent when he mentioned that while the rich practitioner paid a tax of only a half per cent., his less fortunate brother in the profession actually paid 12 per cent. on his income. It might to urged against this motion that attorneys levied larga contributions upon the public, and that other trades and professions were taxed according to the same principle. He, however, disputed the truth of the latter objection, since that was a profession similarly taxed and circumstanced as that of an attorney, while, if they wished to decrease the gains of the attorney or the costs of the solicitor, nothing was more calculated to accomplish that object than this very motion. The time was when attorneys made grf at profits, but these times were gone. The House had, within the last year, taken away from the attorneys a sum of 45,0001. in hard cash by refusing to allow them any discount upon stamps, of upwards of 101. This duty operated in a most injurious manner towards managing clerks in attorneys' offices, affecting their morality and their independence.—(Hear, hear.) What the attorneys complained of was, that the odious tax was still continued upon them, while every day they were injured by the Legislature rendering them unable to pay it. He had already shown the House that the tax was not general, that it was partial and unjust; and having done so, he would leave the matter to the decision of the House. The Noble Lord concluded by moving for leave to bring in the Bill. Sir DE LACY EVANS seconded the motion. Mr. HAYTER must oppose the motion, as its effect would be to reduce the revenue to the extent of upwards of 120,000/. The Hon. Gentleman concluded by moving that the further consideration of the motion should be postponed to the 22d March. Sir F. TFIESIGERT:tipPorted the motion. Mr. COCKBURN hoped the Government would consider the proposition of the Noble Lord. After a few observations from Colonel CHATTERTON and Sir DE LACY EvArts, the motion was postponed to the 22d March. SECULAR EDUCATION. Mr. W. J. FOX said that in rising to move for leave to bring in a Bill to promote secular education in Eng land and Wales, he was deeply sensible of the difficul ties cf the question. There were those who thought that it was not the duty of Government to educate the people, and there were those who thought such a duty peculiarly belonged to them. Between these extremes there was a large number of persons who held that though Government should educate the people, it might yet see that the people educated themselves. It was upon this view that he had constructed the measur e which he hoped to be allowed to submit to the House. He thought the difficulties on the subject of educating the people arose now not from indifferenee, as formerly, but from the machinery to be employed. The efforts made for the promotion of education were honourable to ' all. Of late years the Church had made magnificent efforts, and so also had the Dissenters to spread educa tion among the poorer classes. He believed also that the Committee of Privy Council had sincerely endeeroured to combine the agencies they found existing, and to pro mote the education of the people. And yet this result was that these great bodies were in collision one with another; that the minutes of Council were received almost always with angry discussion; that large num bers of the National Society repudiated the grants, and that largo numbers of Dissenters connected with the British and Foreign School Society also repudiated the grants. The Committee of the Privy Council had tried to bring into harmony the jarring elements, but is vain, and the resu l t was that the progress of education' lad been stayed, and in some respects the movement had been retrograde. Such a state of things was earnestly to be deplored. A few years ago the Congregational Dissenters 124c1 declored their iutentiwa of raising 290,000/. fo r e d uca ti ona l purposes, but hartfa-e a Pet more than 8,0001. havin g found its way into the hs!'_, of their com m itt ee . I n conseque nce of this they as' announced that their grants to their small and 0 0 ° r schools were suspended. From a report of the Natio soli Society, it appeared they found the annual suPP°r t some ~f theit- schools a matter of greater difficulti than the building of them. In one of the report s of the inspector of the southern district, it was 5-- he d, that not only was the building of schooli wretc hed, it but that the attendance of scholars was such tha o t m. could not he contemplated without regret. A ce bu t modation was provided for 130,000 scholars, r eared by more than 14,0C0 attended. From a parer — area by the National Society this year, it e P P :i s ole that their financ es were so i na d equ ate that they pended th e b u ildi ng o f sc h oo l s , an d had placed h r ile ! tr i n ic : Lions on St. Mark's, Chelsea, and Battersea schools. There w ere other grounds than the se for, call .. c. ing the att en ti on o f the House to the question. Dl' the last discussion on the subject, three years ag'ou ri large body of ev id ence h a d b een co ll e cted from var. sources as to the quality of the education in thiesoehr c os ol ts u a e i try, and sh ow i ng t h at t h ere ex i ste d a strong r for a caref u l cons id erat i on o f t h e que stion. An ious reason was the moveme n t s th a t had arisen is °r The parts of the country on the subject of educatiou• r people of La ncas hi re h a d f orme d an association foianwd, education of the p o p u l a ti on o f th a t county. S eet her which had always maintained a proud position &r iot of educational system, now came forward with a cl a die j. more extensive secular education, in order that: . aer ous education might not fail of its efficiency. na« tropolis the working people had taken a dee? : 0 . by rest in the question, and had manifested this fali n i a t establishing a number of self-supporting seb °° at which hundreds of their children were educate girls. the rate of 61 per week for boys, and 4d. for g There were still stronger reasons for making s° ll3B fa te vance in this matter. No person could consider the L out of education in thi s an d i n f ore i gn c ountries wii h u ig h feeling that this nation was not supporting her , cb• character and ancient prero ga ti ve . From return° or tained by the Governm en t, it a p peare d that the V o P s in tion to the population of persons educated was iP ',f ic he% 1 in 6, in Bavaria 1 in 7 at day schools, and I ° ° '.'", of Sunday schools 1 in 4, in Holland 1 in 8 exclasrso. those privately educated, in Belgium lin 9, I% t e sti• chusetts lin 6i, while in this country the highes t p i mate, that of Mr. Baine, gave the proportion of ° b n e l fi e eed 8/, including all kinds Of schools, although , the lin 13 would be nearer the mark. Not onlY of it to smallness of the proportion, but the irregularitY ° in be lamented. It was not the same in two countiT o i s sses different parishes in th e same t own , or i n differe n u it i, of the working people. In Liverpool it was l i n j e 11, Salford 1 in 36, in Chest er 1 i n 20, i n Sheffiel d „icor in Manchester 1 in 14. In Middlesex, Sussex+ awbile is berland, the proportion was above the average' , 7. War- Bedford and several other counties it was below I "„ r diog wick and Chester were above the average. ..„ n b - etter to recent returns from 407 cotton mills in al a " - ,. on% and the surrounding districts, no less than 82i n o g of the factory operatives could read. This cu s ri s is extended to the sexes. In the National sebos ecia , London and its neighbourhood three boys w i er v nr eig°, rated to two girls; while in the British an d ', l n - atea Schools of the metropolis only one girl was e- ,, t a 0 to two boys. Another ground for inquiry ,:ssio to the efficiency of the education given, and its go raising barriers against criminality.—(Hear, ass knew that those who were disposed to make a I(4' e :by in of the argument he meant to use on this point o r ig o . o ol appearance make it recoil aga i nst e d ucat i on itsel f a t est returns on the table he f oun d resu l ts w hi c h shoe df elf education as now administered had had c ot:opa l r so 1 little effect in preventin g cr i me . H e s h o uld ru e r i t ei. years from 1837 to 1843, an d s h ou ld c l ass ify the e ", 0 0' pals, as had been done, u n d er f our heads—l. T h°s o ,- rile able to read or write ; 2. Th ose a bl e to rea d sir wa ll; imperfectly; 3. Those able to read and write and 4. Those whose edu ca ti on h a d b een o f 6 e "' s be kind. During those years the gross amount of crirs i . undergone great fluctuation; but the prof:lo o° , ll ,y ° spinals classified as above showed no such diversite: bad per-tentage of criminals unable to read and w r h i s - c t re' decreased; the per-centage of criminals who the ceived a superior education had also decreased; per-tentage of criminals of the intermediate cla d , , of those who could read and write well—in other ri er ilbe those who had received the usual instruction ° poorer classes, had increased.—(Hear, hear.) 11 rwils r appear from the reports of Mr. Fletcher that 'i ot a, results had taken place in other respects. For in s s43, in the whole number of commitments for 184 2, bile and 1844, the decrease had been 13 per ten!"„ rss t the decrease in the nu m b er o f t h e w holly lg"tbare criminals had been 15 6.10 p er cent . Th ere bad ' fib ° fore been an advance of the criminality of th ese t ofs' enjoyed the instruction o f sc h oo l s un d er t h e Prete" n es S teen. Although he felt that religious i ns tructie a th at most important to children, y e t h e was c onvioce ci res olo that instruction would only p ro d uce i ts ge nuine ' l ,,agee when given with a.clue admixture of secu lar W l ' bill% —(Hear.) It was to the want of that secular te 4e iv ell that he ascribed the failure of the efforts so e lttell iecie: made to benefit the rising generation by means t hipo cation. Without this teachi ng th e c hild l ea rned 11 , e f iesro but words f which he did not f ee l t h e mea ning. -- , d pot hear.) The child might r e p eat t h em , b u t they i s c it~ sink into his mind, and an atmosph ere O f seeti t i et iee struction was necessary, as a stimulus to his r i e 00 6 faculties.—(th a.-.) He would refer to the ge.°L.," e for a of 1848, aril takP the test generally applied v i l w e .3 _ A s' liana to ascertain the state in which the crimin a l respects • &cation —viz., whe'her the party c°`",choe could repeat the Lord's Pra) or. Children h iiclre° paren , s Lad tau g ht th em were not generally the caclfe/1 found in gaols—alear.) It was th e a b an doned C . d .- tbs' , of reprobate parents who were unable to Ol io sr, symbol of devotion so d ear t o a ll Ch r i st i a ns. 'd o es' sumed, therefore, though there might be o° eF i,otf l ‘ cases, that if a child was found able to repeat the d the Prayer, that child mu s t h a v e b een at one o r other w, be :chows for educating the poor. Bearing that in Vg e oliog would apply the test. Out of 631 prisoners in gaol there were only 204 w h o cou ld not repeat toe nol iea" Prayer, leavin g 427 w h o h a d rece i ve d on lY a ! 1 ; 0 0 1 education. Of 229 in Cambridge prison onlY °1 1 , 2 0 1 i unable to repeat the prayer. In that of Corri,n, is 139 out of 684. In Dorset gaol only 57 out 0 , u' o6 ol of Lancaster prison 115 out f 603; and in the p p Sussex 80 out of 522. He might follow tho h `o ell; other returns from governors of gaols, shovving, t b - OA . of a total of 6,000 prisoners , 3,000 at least had "ewhlc" Sunday or some other schools. The impress i T i c these facts had mad e upon h i m, that, to re ll ) , Id 1 1 . gious education va l ua bl e i t was necessary it s—° bee combined with s ecu l ar k now l e d ge, se ems to ba / A e , 1° made upon the mi n d s o f a l most all who h a d atten"ja(l his the subject. The chaplain of Peetonville prisored ro es last report, stated that the proportion of eduea t h e l eg victs to the unedu ca t e d was f u ll y as hi g h as Vsooi portion between th ose c l asses i n t h e gener al P°P, -- th at e r The same, in a rep ort b e f ore t h e H ouse , state d so rt 500 prisoners he found 178 bad attended som e h fee t a school upwards of four years, and 193 less i n `lasr ec ; years. Similar testimony was borne by Pr ise ; cee e l tors. In the fourteenth report on the Exete r gaol, it was stated that of 120 prisoners e/ t 4 ;" s os' 21 could not repeat the Lord's Prayer , Co te ; repeat it, 51 could repeat parts of t tr oiee chism, 5 the whole, giving 99 nom inally 'nth Ili:. and 21 alto ge th er untra i ne d. I n t h e fourte e rios7; port on Bodwin gaol, it was stat e d that 465 c r am, out of 684 c ou ld not repeat the Lord's .° e a oth er could repeat it a nd h a d a general knowledge. 0 684 bs e parts of Scripture, showing that 545 out °I., to O D gone through tr a i n i ng - sc h oo l s . I n an apPeii," l- 13riti 6 f e of the reports, Mr. Fl e t c h er , an i nspec t o r of to e . t ion „ and Foreign Schools, stated that the school edenecristriciv the poor was still in infancy, and that in rate igose / n eY' it was little more than nominal. The Rev. •T n ttent7 n rl t ; whose reports merited a great deeree stated that his experience led hinito the oeewtedge that there was a greater amount of religious i t r r ipt° l o . in those schools where the reading of the. S oe110:' was blended with a just proportion of secular lls-rpletr Another inspector, the Rev. T. Cooke, of t?O1oUa ay politan district, stated in his report that rocAlci• r , struction was advanced in proportion to the l i e f. 'T e d of the children in other studies. Tbe •!; t , O s ; r , Blandford, an inspector for the eastern dis tr ,!ble f e ; o .. his opinion to the effect that it was iropelod ' op teacher, however intelligent, to raise the sta ) ,, oo lto „ o n struction without an ads quate supply er ; rent secular subject, and that out of 12, 78 "• t e g,„ si , examined, 2,891 read the Scripture ; Ivi f o rnia 4 - v ease, on account of their general in form The Committee of the Privy Council oil : 00 gh t stated, in one of their reports, that Wai le n; t r et ° l e o efforts of religious societies there was a 8 " - h - els ^ th e i se of Bibles and other religious books in the se ,„, - A s ° i° Bn had been visited by their inspectors, there - h olt& t ilt schools a deficiency of other elementarY the re° intelligent American traveller laid it dol l°, fis d 5°411110 of careful observation, that in England „. 9 n .lotis er the meesia the pupils in those schools in which r e ,'"ate a de were taught, were much less acquainted 1," 003,,0 date portions (.1" the Gospel than the pupils of 0- a t OD is in the United State. Then again, an intellig. :0 his traveller in America, S. C. Len, had tate" 00 n - recent work that the clergy were bee° sl. t he o° ' li lac more convinced that where the education 01 cot reg° its had been carried farthest, the people w ere 1 : t seo lol in their attendance at Divine worshiP,, lrie ns t liber' ne d defence of their theological opinion', and as tora " o e contributing funds fur the support of tbeir,P o jafer e . oo o for the building of churches. His (Mr. r.",b a t rel i f i .t it from those different testimonies was, ii °l ' 5 but tip— t eir education should be checked or restricte wool would well become theta to take the best Car% com panz o v o could that that education should always s b ° 4 furc° oo l by such midland`rainng as would give it it '" ; the 13°6116 ei t ,i the elicit its best results ,nne filiotq l ° op characters of children.— Bear, bear.) . endeavour briefly to exlain the t 0 sure which he should move f or leave to lay on tr_ t eP House, and in which he had ,endeavoure d "' but,° 911 e tb e provision table t:bf ieje, cede any existing education of children relies' tbgi-_sv the deficiencies of that education. P r d% P catioa deficiencies in the means of supplyin g u l e d be 35°0113 es - parish °l wo or combination of parishes, by her Majesty's inspectors; and in e _ t oes v „, tireetl those deficiencies he would havo...it"..e_Fur„theld account every item of educational in?( n l lu e - 7 acho ols ' a . t ienci tionel sehools, the British and Forel& of the deb' s ee ,- public or private schools. The utnoubristv.ng been. g ood in the means f affording education 1 t t tepdp, supply y e i tproposedand that that the the inb locali t y bitti tg s t h so ° , ll l/ 01 1 1 cl i e d b o e rn f l ai n a r iot t t h .e f ;.; purpose be summoned to elect an e duca e l ea d to rate th which committee would be empower ine , t hey T o o, habitants for the expenses necessarily. t the y sm . _ co rying out their views. lie proposed til, i 3 for t h e 01°0 1 at the same time, have a continued regal" de , in wit t; already in existence. There were two I or disc! es they could meet the wants of their parish Atiotione j a r . the first was, assuming that sect , atti t t oo „les, their peculiar province, the Pres e vers , remuneration t) the teacher in e t OOP" school for so many Oupils as the