The Sun. — London, England, 1850-02-22 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, Feb. 21. (Sittings at Nisi Prins, before Mr. Justice COLE RIDGE and Special Juries.) Tar GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF THE COPPER MI- C- ERRS OF ENGLAND V. FOX AND OTHERS. 'lr. Crowder, Q.C., and Mr. M. Smith appeared for.the plaintiffs; and Sir F. Thesiger and Mr. Pren tiudt for the defedants. Zie nominal plaintiffs in this action were the Go versior and Company of the Copper Miners of Eng land, incorporated under a charter from the Crown ; an .the defendants were Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and Cdt,-.. iron merchants, in Spring-gardens. The corn pail had become insolvent, and the present action was brdught by the trustees, in the name of the company, to ticover the sum of 700/., as damages for the breach of =it . contract into which the defendants had entered withe company. The original contract was made e 19th of October, 1846, for the supply of tveit7 thousand tons of good merchantable iron-rails to Ale defendants, at 91. 15s. per ton, to be deli ved free on board at Port Talbot, in Wales. Tile defendants were to hand sections of the rails required to the plaintiffs by the Ist of April, 1847, and a portion of the rails were to be delivered on the Ist of June following, and the residue at the rate of 300 tons per month. When the Ist of April came the defendants had not forwarded the sections according to the terms of the contract, and in the. month of May a negotiation was entered into with the company to postpone the day for sending in the sections till the Ist of September. The company cemented to that proposal, on the condition that the defendants would deposit with them bills to the amount of 2,0001., such deposits to be deducted from the 4 invoices at the rate of 11. per ton. This was finally agreed to, and the bills, accepted by the de fendants, were deposited with the company. On the 10th of July the defendants sent sections of 1,100 tens of rails, and they afterwards took by agreement, and without prejudice, 200 tons of bars, but they did not send sections for the remaining 700 tons of rails. The plaintiffs, therefore, contended that they were entitled to damages for this breach of the substituted contract, by which the defendants were bound to fur nish sections for 2,000 tons of rail on the Ist of Sep tember ; and the measure of the damage sustained was the difference between the contract price of 9/. 15s. per ton and the price to which the rails had fallen when the contract was broken, viz., on the Ist of September, 1847. A witness was called who stated this difference to be about 1/. per ton. The defendants contended that the company could not recover upon the contract, inasmuch as it was not under their corporate seal, and because they had not supplied the rails within the time spe cified in the order, viz., by the 25th of September. Mr. Justice COLERIDGE, in summing up the evi dence, told the jury that the objection that the con tract was not under the seal of the company could not prevail ; but the defendants should have an op portunity of taking the opinion of the Court upon that point. The jury then gave a verdict for the plaintiffs, with 521/. ss. damages. BARKER V. GIBSON. Mr. Humfrey, Q.C.. and Mr. Willes appeared for the plaintiff, and Sir F. Thesiger and Mr. Bramwell for the defendant. _ . The plaintiff, Charles Barker, is an advertising agent, in the city of London, and the defendant, Wyatt George Gibson, is a banker, at Saffron Walden, in the county of Essex. The defendant was a member of the provisional committee and also of the managing committee, of the Eastern and Northern Counties Junction Railway Company, one of the companies started in the year 1845, but which the witnesses said was never landed. The action MS brought to recover the sum of 797/. for advertisements, and also two several sums of 661. 3s. 10d. and 211. 135., which the plaintiff had been compelled to pay for costs in two actions which he had allowed to be brought by the company in his name. These actions had been brought against two refractory members of the provisional committee of the company, who refused to pay their quota of 251. each towards liquidating the liabilities of the company; and as the actions had failed in these two instances, though others had been successful, the plaintiff sought to recover the amount which he had been called upon to pay from the defendant, at whose instance the actions had been brought. The defendant denied his liability altogether, and as to the last two demands, he alleged that he did not manage the ac tions, and that .the agreement to bring them was cor rupt and unlawful and therefore void. At the conclusion of the first witness's examination, the further hearing of the cause was adjourned until this day. COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Feb. 21. (Sittings at Nisi Prius, before the CHIEF BARON and a Special Jury, at Guildhall.) TARTE V. BARNES. Mr. Sergeant Shee, Mr. Bovill, and Mr. Phipson, appeared for the plaintiff ; Mr. Martin and Mr. Greenwood were counsel for the defendant. This was an action brought to recover the sum of 2,9371. 10s., under the following circumstances : Thar plaintiff is a Belgian engineer, who having sur veyed and set on foot all the preliminaries of a line from Louvain to Jemappe, with the exception of that important feature, the capital, sent over an agent to London in 184.5 for that purpose. The result of that gentleman's operation was, that a company was spee dily formed by the assistance of Mr. Barnes, an in fluential member of the Stock exchange (the defen dant on the record), on the condition that he should act as broker for the company, as well as to be a di rector. Upon this two of the directors proceeded to Brussels, where the plaintiff executed an agreement, by which he stipulated for the receipt of 30,0001. out of the deposits within one month after the " concession" should have been obtained from the Belgian Govern ment, he undertaking to pay all the expenses of form ing the company up to that time, including broker age and commission, and 7,5001. by way of allowances to the provisional directors, who were five in num ber. After this agreement the scheme was regularly launched. The defendant, who was the only acting director, as we understood, received upwards of 200,000 applications for shares, 23,000 of which he passed and allotted after inquiry. On these shares all the payments and calls were duly paid. In the course of a short time the plaintiff and his agent quarrelled, and proceedings in Chancery were insti tuted for an injunction to restrain the directors from paying over the money to the plaintiff. These dis putes, however, being adjusted, an arrangement took place, and the balance of the sum agreed upon was paid to the plaintiff, after deducttng the 7,5001. for the directors, and 2s. 6d. as brokerage for 23,000 shares, which are alleged to have been issued through the instrumentality of Mr. Barnes. This claim amounted in the aggregate to 2,9371. 10s., the amount sought to be recovered ; and the question now raised was, whether it could properly be claimed by, and al lowed to, the defendant as brokerage under the ar rangement above-mentioned. On the part of defendant, Randell was called, after the plaintiff had struggled uccessfully through the jaws of a nonsuit, and that entleman stated that he was solicitor to the company, nd detailed the arrangement and settlement thereon after the injunction was removed by him with Mr. few, since deceased, on behalf of M. Tarte, when the Claim for the 2,937/. 10s. was made and allowed, though " under protest and subject to the approba tion of M. Tarte." It, however, appeared that Mr. Barnes had presented Mr. Randell with 300/. out of this sum after the negotiation terminated, and fur ther, that the co-directors of Mr. Barnes, on hearing of the result, preferred a claim to (participate ,in the so-called brokerage, which, after consideration, was assented to, though Mr. Barnes had then a partner on whose behalf a plea of set-off had been recently in troduced into the record. It also appeared that though Mr. Barnes had allotted the whole 23,000 shares, he had done so at the office of the company as diretitor, and that out of that number somewhere aboUt 10,000 only had been recommended for allot ment by him as broker. Under these circumstances, Mr. Sergeant SHEZ contended, in reply, that there was no right whatever on the part of the defendant to retain this money ; that all that he had done was as director, and that the commission or brokerage for which the plaintiff was to pay was not contem plated by him to attach to any such charges. The CHUB BARON left it to the jury to say whe ther the defendant was entitled to deduct the whole or any portion of the sum in question for any services rendered as a broker, expressing . it to be his inclina tion of opinion that the services performed were rather those of a director than broker. _ The jury found for the plaintiff for the whole amount. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, Feb. 21. (Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Guildhall, before the Lord Chief Justice WILDE and a Special Jury.) THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH COMPANY V. ERETT. This was an action brought by the Electric Telegraph Company against the Messrs. Brett and Co., for an infringement of patent. It appeared from the speech of the ATTORNEY GENERAL, who opened the case for theVplaintiff at great length, that the patent under which the Electric Telegraph Company's lines are worked was first taken out by Mr. Wheatstone. from whom it passed into the hands of Mr. Coke, Mr. Ricardo, and Mr. Bidder, who afterwards as signed their several shares to the company in whose hands the whole profits from the patent are now vested. The principal improvements, as stated by the Learned Counsel, consisted in securing a vertical angular motion to the needles, in the arrangement and combination of the needles in connexion with diff?rent batteries, in the arrangement and combination of .different butto ns to worleltiplifferent needles. and in having duplicate dials, soAsto itsitird i cate intelligence at any point between ti - eceeee m j a e jScceep. 13rett's patent, it was con teh _ ded;' • wai in - --oiler respect similar to this, except-in tYce a,l% , :fic that the needles or magnets were ma t l O*tedt inifeed of straight, as in Mr. Wheat stones ine***._ the conclusion of the Learned Cga ll iser? rk of the Court read some long re" extracts from a description of all the details of the working of the telegraph, to elucidate which frequent use was made of a model of a working telegraph, which had been erected in the court. (The case had not concluded when the Court rose.) INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, Feb. 21. (Before Mr. Commissioner PHILLIPS.) IN THE MATTER OF SERGEANT C. C. JONES. The insolvent, a sergeant-at-law, of Sergeants' . lnn, Fleet-street, came up for his discharge. Mr. Cooke supported ; Mr. Parry appeared on be half of Mr. T. J. Phillips, a creditor for 1,2001. Several creditors appeared in person. The insolvent, who is in a very ill state of health, was accompanied to the court by his surgeon. At the conclusion of the case, after his liolsouß had intimated his opinion that there had not been a taint of fraud in the insolvent's conduct sustained by the evidence in opposition, and that he would leave the court with an unspotted reputation, the creditors acceded to the offer made. It was agreed that it should be made a rule of court that one-fourth of the insolvent's income should be duly set apart for the liquidation of the debts, and the discharge was pronounced. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. GUILDHALL. Mr. Edward Kenealy, a barrister, living at No. 4, South-square, Gray's Inn, appeared before Sir Peter Laurie and Mr. Alderman Hunter, charged with brutally ill-treating his natural child, by hanging it up and flogging it in a most cruel manner from its ankles to the nape of its neck. _ _ Mr. Burnie, the barrister, who attended on the last occasion to watch the proceedings on behalf of Mr. Kenealy, also appeared yesterday to defend him. Mr. Pontifex, olerk to the board of guardians of the West London Union, said that he appeared on behalf of the board to prosecute in the case, if the Aldermen thought it necessary. Sir P. LA.IIIIIE and Alderman HUNTER said they had not the least hesitation in saying that the case must be sent to the Middlesex Sessions for a jury to decide the matter. Would the guardians undertake to keep the boy, and have proper care taken of him ? Mr. Pontifex said that he would be properly attended and cared for. Mr. S. J. Burt, partner of Mr. Bullen, the surgeon to the West London Union, said, I live at 26, Far ringdon-street. On Thursday, the 14th of February, the child's case first came under my notice. There was a horizontal mark round the child's throat, which might have been caused some days. Chief Clerk—Can you form any opinion how that was caused ? Mr. Burt—l cannot say exactly as to the instrument used, but it appears as if a cord had been passed round his neck. On minute examina tion I found an indentation in the throat, near where the abrasion of the skin was. There was a scabbing in front of the throat, and some portion of it had suppurated at that time, and therefore I inferred that it had been done some days previously. Sir P LAURIE—WouId you believe it to be done so recently as the Tuesday before you saw it ? Mr. Burt—lt is possible that it was done three or four days, but I cannot say. Sir P. LAURIE—Do you think a rope was used to cause it ? Mr. Burt—lt appears to have been caused by the struggling of a child to free itself. There is no mark on the back part. Sir P. LAURIE—Now describe the appearance of the body of the child when you examined it. Mr. Burt— On removing the dress from the upper portion of the back to the lower I found it perfectly dis coloured from bruins, suppuration having taken place in consequence of the rupture of small vessels. I did not count them, but they were all of the same cha racter, from the scapula down to the posteriors, and his arms and leg., to the feet, were also in the same state. In other respects the child was in good health, except that he became excited when questioned. Sir PETER LAURIE said it was not a question for summary jurisdiction, but for a jury to decide whether he had not exceeded his duty as a father, in correcting the child too severely. The case must go to the sessions. Mr. Kenealy was allowed to go at large on condi tion of his appearing with his hail on Saturday, to answer the charge on the sth of March. WORSHIP-STREET. Richard Pike, a hairdresser in business at Hert ford-terrace, Haggerstone, was placed at the bar be fore Mr. Arnold, charged with having assaulted and wounded his wife, Margaret Pike, whereby her life had been seriously endangered. It appeared from the evidence of police-constables Hooper and Harrington, that while on duty in Hag gerstone shortly after three o'clock that morning they were attracted by a loud crash of broken glass to the house of the prisoner, upon reaching which they heard stifled cries of " murder" and "police " in a woman's voice, in one of the upper rooms. police, " knocking loudly for admittance without receiving auy an swer, they at length burst open the door and pro ceeded to a room on the first floor, where they found the prisoner's wife, who was far advanced in preg naßcy, extended upon the floor and held down by the prisoner, who was grasping her throat with one hand, while in the other he was brandishing a heavy brass candlestick, with which he had beaten her so cruelly that the blood was pouring out from her mouth and now. The instant they made their appearance the prisoner threw down tlie candlestick, and grasping her by both hands round the throat, endeavoured to strangle her, laut they dragged him forcibly away, and upcm telliag him that he appeared to have killed liis wife, who lay perfectly senseless, without exhibiting any signs of life, he carelessly answered that he was glad to hear it, and hoped that she was dead. The prisoner was then con veyed to the station-house, to which also the injured woman was taken in a cab, and Inspector Tarleton instantly procured the assistance of the divisional sur geon, who dressed her wounds, and directed her re moval to the infirmary of the workhouse. The in spector afterward; repaired to the prisoner's house, where he found four little children without any one to take care of them, and, as they also appeared to be totally unprovided with the ordinary necessaries, he directed them to be placed under the char ge of the parish authorities, until some of their friends could be induced to receive them. Two medical certificates were produced by the in spector and handed up to the bench, the first from Mr. Robinson, the police surgeon, describing the wo man as having sustained several severe contusions about the head, as well as other internal injuries, which, to a person in her condition, would probably be productive of the most serious consequences; and the second from Mr. Clarke, the parish surgeon, to the effect that she was in such a dangerous state as to wholly preclude her attendance at this court. When called upon for his defence, the prisoner said that he had had an altercation with his wife, who had broken the windows of the room, and that he was compelled to drag her to the floor, to prevent her throwing herself headlong into the street. Mr. ARNOLD said that it was a most serious case, and he should order the prisoner to be remanded for a week, to await the result of the injuries bis wife had sustained. LAMBETH. Mary Sails, a middle-aged German woman, was brought up for final examination before Mr. Norton, on a charge of stealing 281. 10s., a valuable gold watch and chain, a silver snuff-box,'and other articles, the property of Mr, Hurst, a gentleman holding a situation in her Majesty's Customs. The prisoner, in reply to the charge, said that Mr. Hurst had given her la in cash, the gold watch, chain, and other things. This Mr. Hurst positively denied, and the prisoner was fully committed for trial. SOUTHWARK. In the course of the day one of the ministers of Lambeth parish waited on the magistrate in order to solicit his advice with reference to a society recently started on the south side of the metropolis, and which was of a nature calculated to impose upon the bene volent. The Rev. Gentleman then handed in one of the circulars of the said society, termed the " South London Soup-kitchen Benevolent Loan and Visiting Society, supported by annual subscriptions and voluntary contributions, 33, Redcross-street, Union street, Borough." The circular or prospectus of the society commenced with a quotation from the Bible —" He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord ; and that which he hath given will He pay him again." It then went on to describe that it was es tablished by a few friends of the destitute and de serving poor, for supplying them with bread, coals, soup, and other necessaries, by such means and manner as every wellwisher to the wants of their suffering fellow -creatures can but appreciate. It stated the distress at present existing in this great metropolis was to an extent far beyond human comprehension ; that the late dreadful epidemic that has ravaged this country, more particularly the labouring poor, has left them at this particular season of the year in the most abject and heartrending condition. Plan of operation—That the annual subscription to this society be from 10s. Gcl. ; all subscribers of 1/. is. and which will ill b be entitled to tickets for distribution, pre sentable as gifts to any person they may think pro t pe is r to distribute them to, it being in the powerof this society of purchasing necessaries at the lowest mar ket price (having entered into contracts with trades men and provision merchants), giving the possessors the full benefit of the boon. The remaining portion of the subscription to be devoted to the general pur poses of the society. The prospectus also set forth that not only would temporary employment be given to those in need of it, but small amounts of money, as loans, to deserving persons would be distributed ; and is concluded thus : " The managers, therefore, earnestly appeal to the benevolent in thi s th e i r charita ble , endeavour to alleviate th© distress of their suffering fellow-creatures, in the hope that the call will not be made in vain. Should you feel disposed to forward their views, your name to the enclosed form is respectfully solicited, either by a dona tion or annual subscription. " T. GIBBINS, Superintendent." The reverend applicant said, that he had instituted inquiries relative to the society in question, and as certained that the person who denominated himself the superintendent _was the man who had rendered himself notorious in connexion with the Animals' Friend Society, and to which publicity had been given at the period it occurred. The society of which this man was now the head was well calculated to impose upon the humane, and he: found that several subscriptions had been procured from them. He had made it his business to discover if any and what benefits resulted from the formation of such a society, and found that there were none, and that the money was expended for very different purposes to that which was intended by the donors ; that, in point of fact, the poor derived no benefit from it, and on as certaining the facts his object in bringing the matter under the notice of the magistrate was that such pub licity might be given to the circumstances as would put the public on their guard,!and prevent such a society from receiving subscriptions for such pur poses. Mr. LONG inquired if the society had established a soup kitchen for the relief of the destitute ? The rev. applicant said that the so-called society had two miserable rooms in Redcross-street, but there was no appearance of anything in the shape of food for the poor ; that, in fact, it was a piece of gross deception altogether, and no doubt concocted for the purpose of obtaining subscriptions under the guise of serving the poor and destitute. Mr. Edwin, the chief clerk, said that he had re cently heard of the existence of such a society, and that a friend of his had contributed a guinea, and that he"was furnished with some soup tickets. One of the tickets was shortly afterwards given to a poor woman, who, on presenting it to the society, was informed that the soup was not prepared, and the ticket was therefore useless. Mr. LONG said that if publicity was given to !the application through the medium of the press, it would be the means of preventing any future attempts of such a society from practising impositions on those who were charitably inclined. The rev. applicant having stated that that was the object he had in view, then retired. GREECE. Letters from Malta of the 13th state that the resti tution of Sapienza has formed no part of the condi tions under discussion between the British and Greek Governments ; and that it is untrue that the British marines have taken possession of Sapienza and Cervi. The Corfu Gazette of the sth publishes the fol lowing letter from the Lord High Commissioner of the lonian Islands to the President of the Senate : "Highness,—The uneasiness naturally caused here by the present interruption of the friendly relations exist ing hitherto between her Britannic Majesty's Govern ment and that of his Majesty the King of Greece, and the charges openly preferred against her Majesty's Minister at Athens and Vice-Admiral Sir W. Parker, of hiving provoked the rupture by the precipitation and dictatorial character of their demands, induce me to communicate to the Senate a statement published by her Majesty's Minister, Mr. Wyse, which places the course :adopted by him, aad the nature of the matters in dispute, in the clearest possible light. By this your Highness will perceive that the claims preferred by her Majesty in behalf of British and lonian citizens, who bare thrown themselves upon her protection are of very old standing, and have been repeatedly urged upon the attention of the Greek Government, which has either denied justice, or left the official applications made to it without a reply. The whole of the cases now at issue were recapitulated in a note addressed to the Greek Government by Sir E. Lyons, on the 6th December, 1848 ; and that note again referred to matters, many of which were included in the warning given by him so far back as May, :847, not to mis construe the forbearance shown by her Majesty, or to imagine that she was not determied to enforce the justice due to her subjects for wrongs and outrages sustained, if that justice were further withheld.' I need not point out to your Highness the fact, that the right of Great Britain to take the course which she has taken is incontestable. Greece is independent, but not irresponsible; indeed, it is because she is inde pendent that she is responsible for injuries inflicted upon the subjects of other independent powers. Of these in juries the power that sustains them must judge; and the Queen of England is no more bound by the opinion of the law officers of the Greek Crown, in sustaining what she considers to be the just rights of her subjects, than France was bound, some years ago, by the opinion of Mexican law officere, as to the equity of the indemnity for wrongs, said to have been sus tained by French citizens, which she claimed and en forced. The time has now arrived when remonstraeasee having been carried to the utmost .extent, and justice being still refused, her Majesty has been compelled to have recourse to other means. Those means are recapitulated by Mr. Wyse in the documents which I have the honour to enclose. They have been carried out with the utmost desire, on the part of Sir William Parker and the officers under his com mand, to avoid irritaion, or effusion of blood; but measures at first restricted to Government property have now been extended to Greek property engaged in trade, an embargo being laid upon all Greek merchant vessels which will be detained by her Majesty's ships, until a settlement can bo effected of the matters in dispute. Your Highness will perceive that there is nothing in this question to affect the territorial in tegrity of Greece. The claim pie ftrred by her Majesty is a pecuniary claim ; and I b: hey° that there would be no difficulty in submitting the details of that claim to arbitration, provided proper provision were made for the amount. It is the refusal of his Hel lenic Majesty's Government to enterain it in any shape—and the assertion that they alone are the jaeges of its equity—that have . coropelled her Majesty's Minister and Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker to resort to measures, the necessity of which they regret. But the case is ono of those in which a community must suffer for the faults of its Government, because it is only by these means that the Government can be coerced. I hope that the evil will not be of long duration ; and I believe that I am authorised in assuring your Highness that so soon as the responsibility of the Greek Government is acknowledged, and proper provision made for the payment of such demands as shall be shown to be justly due, commerce will be re lieved from its present restrictions, and the whole of the property now seined restored. I have only to add, as a proof of the caution with which her Majesty's Mi nister at Athens, and Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker have proceeded, that although a note ad dressed to the Greek Government eleven years ago by Sir Edmund Lyons upon the subject of the islands of Cervi and Sapienza, was left unanswered and un noticed till the month of December last, when it was ge nerally understood that her Majesty's Government was about to take measures for bringing this matter to a close, the question has not been included in the claims now preferred, facts having been stated in the note of Mr. Glarakis, which it was thought desirable to submit to the consideration of her Majesty's confidential advisers, before any step was taken to enforce a claim, which can only be interesting to her Majesty, in virtue of the obli gation contracted by the Crown of England, under the treaty of Paris, to maintain the integrity of the lonian States.—l have the honour to be your Highness's most obedient humble servant. " 11. G. WARD. " His Highness the President of Senate, &c., Corfu." The same journal publishes the following letter from Sir Thomas Wyse to the British Counsul at Patras " On board her Majesty's ship Que e n. " Salamis Bay, 26th January, 1850. "Sir,—Various incorrect accounts have been pro pagated with respect to the proceedings adopted by Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker, Commander-in- Chief of her Majesty's naval forces in the Mediter ranean, and me, in obedience to the instruction of her Majesty's Government, for the purpose of inducing th• Greek Government to settle the long-pend ing claims for losses and outrages inflicted in Greece on British and lonian subjects. It is therefore necessary to furnish you with a correct account of them up to the present moment, and you will find this in the accom panying paper, which you are at liberty to make generally known, together with the contents of this letter. You will be careful to make it clearly understood, that the claims, of which we demand the settlement, affect, exclusively, the rights and interests of individuals to whom her Britannic Majesty's Government is bound to afford protection; that the patience and forbearance of her Majesty's Government during so many years have had no other effect upon the Greek Government than to cause it to treat with neglect and indifference the repeated and urgent remonstrances, and warn ings addressed to it :—that the demands of her Majesty's Government do not, in the slightest degree, affect the independence of Greece, of which her Ma jesty's Government is, and ever will be, the effective protector: but that, on the contrary, they are exclu sively limited to the enforcement of that just and proper treatment, which is due by one Sovereign state to the subjects of another. No Government has a greater interest in the tranquillity and pros perity of Greec• than that of her Britannic Majesty, and by no one more than by Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker, and me, twill any evil be lamented which may result to the country, from the persistence of its Go vernment in refusing to redress the wrongs and in juries, for the reparation of which her Majesty's Government has for so many years ineffectually ap plied. No stronger proof of this can be given thai.i the extreme care which was taken by me to avoid, to the last moment, giving any publicity to the instructions I had received. You will point out the opportunity thus afforded to the Greek Government for settling the questions, without its ever becoming public that coercive measures had been in contemplation ; the very mild nature of the mcsiures at first resorted to, the slow degrees by which we have pro ceeded, and the extreme reluctance with which we have at last resorted to measures affecting Greek com merce. It will cause us the greatest pain to be com pelled to have recourse to still more stringent measures; but it must be evident to every one that the Greek Government is alone responsible for consequences which it is in its power at once to obviate, by complying with a just and simple demand. Our present demands do not include the treaty engage ments relative to the regular payment of the interest on the allied loan of sixty millions of francs, nor do they re fer in any way to the islands of Cervi and Sapienza.—l have, &c., (Signed) " T. WYSE. " T.. Wood, ZVI" lI.M. COLISUI, Patras." IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, Feb. 21. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat upon the WoolFack at Five o'clock. SLAVE TRADE. The Bishop of OXFORD moved for the appointment of a Select Committee to consider the best method to be adopted for the extinction of the slave trade. ACTS OF PARLIAMENT ABBREVIATION BILL. This Bill passed through Committee. WAR MEDALS. The Duke of RICHMOND rose, pursuant to notice, to call the attention of the House to the awards of medals for actions by sea and land, from 1794 to 1814, in pursuance of the general orders of the Admiralty and Horse Guards. He rejoiced that medals had been given in many cases to which he had drawn their Lordships' attention. It might be invidious to draw distinctions between cases in which medals had been awarded, and those in which they had not been awarded; but he thought that in all cases in which the thanks of Parliament bad been voted them, medals should be awarded. Sir James Gordon had been rightly rewarded with a gold medal for his services in the Actmon frigate, but why had not the men who fought at Washington and Bladenbargh also had a medal? The men who had captured Sc. Se bastian had received a medal, but those who fought at Sebastiano and at the Bidessoa, for the purpose of cover ing the attack, were equally entitled to a medal, but had received none. He hoped his Noble Friend opposite would revise the list, and would advise her Majesty to award medals where medals were deserved. He was rejoiced to hear that it was probable that justice would at length be done to the medical officers. In 1744 thanks were •oted for operations in the West Indies—no medal. The Noble Earl then rapidly read a list of actions, including the capture of the Dutch squadron, the;teking of Monte Video, the taking of Copenhagen, the Basque Roads actions, the taking of the Mauritius, and of Java, in which no medals had been given.) He asked upon what principle medals had been refu,ed for those actions, while they had been awarded in other cases? He thought some inquiry ought to be instituted before a committee of officers into these cues. He asked if it was the intention of the Govern ment to take these cases into consideration? Earl GREY said that it was not the intention of the Government to make any further award of medals. He considered the subject was one which it would bo most inconvenient to discuss in that House. Nothing could be more inconvenient than that the Government of the present day should be called upon to review the de cision with regard to the distribution of honours of a Government which existed h a lf a cen t u ry a go. With regard to the distribution of army medals, the Government had been guided by the recommendation of the Noble Duke at the head of the army. It was con sidered that the expedition to Egypt fairly came within the rules laid down by the Noble Duke, and therefore medals bad been awarded for that service, but he believed that the Noble Duke agreed with him that no further award should take place. The Duke of WELLINGTON said that several ap plications had been made out of doors, and in both Houses of Parliament, for an award of medals to the army engaged in the Peninsula, which it was said had not received the same honours as the army engaged in Flanders, in China, and in the East Indies and elsewhere. He had been consulted on the matter, and he had advised the adoption of a plan which he thought would meet the wishes of the applicants and those of his Noble Friend, and which would gratify all parties, which was to grant medals to all those engaged in actions in the Pe ninsula in which medals had been previously granted, by order of the Sovereign, to the principal officers en gaged in those actions. That aas the principle which he had adopted, and he believed that it had given satisfaction. It was a matter for her Majesty to decide whether or not this list should be extended. When he should rs ceive her Majesty's orders to prepare an order for the extension of the list, he would exert himself to pre pare such extended list to the best of his ability. Lord COLCHESTER regretted that there eas to be no further grant of medals tor actions. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY thought that by increasing the number of medals they were decreasing their value, until at length a medal would boa; valueless as the star of a continental order of knighthood. He regretted to find that the Noble Duke (Richmond) was still press ing for an additional distribution of medals, and ho hoped that it was the last time they would hear of the subject. The Duke of RICHMOND, being of opinion that he had justice on his side, would not promise his Noble Friend that he would not again men tion the subject ; on the contrary, he would press it forward. He had quitted the army, but he had not quitted it until all charm for foreign service was over, and until he had been seriously wounded, and then he bad preferred quitting it to putting his claims at the Horse Guards to the detriment of those who lad perhaps seen more service than he had.— (Cheers.) All honours proceeded nominally from the Crown, but really from the Ministers, and the present Ministry had, much to their credit, overthrown antiquated prejudices, and grantel the Peninsular medals. He could not agree with the Noble Duke, that the present distribution had given general satisfaction to the army. He complained of the manner in which the Mint had executed the medals, and of the delay which had taken place in their distribution. The Ma - quis of LONDONDERRY expressed his re gret that the Noble Duke who had just sat down had ever quitted the army. After a few words from Earl Grey, the Duke cf Wel lington, and the Duke of Richmond, the subject dropped RAILWAY ABANDONMENT BILL. Onthe motion of Elrl GRANVILLE the order of the day for the House resolving itself into Committee on this Bill was discharged, in order that that Bill might be referred to a Select Committee. IRISH POOR-LAW. Lord STANLEY presented a petition from the ()rulers of larid in the Balinasloo Union against the Iri,h Poor-law, aad praying for protection to agri culture, The Earl of DESART considered that the peti tion which had just been presented by his Noble Friend would form a proper introduction to the motion of which he had himself given notice. He rose to move the following' resolutions : 1. That under the pro districts, purpose, pro visions of the existing Poor saw the resources of many districts have been found utterly inadequ a t e f o r the sup port of the population; and that whil e th e A c t has thus fad to it has produced bank ruptcyle has driven capital out of the country, and has enfeebled and par a lysed the ef forts of both farmers and landlords, 2. That it is the i it and ruin accomplish in opinion of this House that these mischief's have resulted from the extension of the Poor-law of 1838, and the adop tion of a system of out-door relief at that time not con templated; and it is further their opinion that no per manent system for the relief of the poor can be carried out in Ireland safely and beneficially to receivers or payers without a return to the principle of the original law, by a strict application of in-door relief to all classes of paupers." Before addressing himself to the subject of his motion, ho begged to remind the House of the vital importance of the question to Ireland; that it was a question on which hung not the well-being or pros perity of any one class, or of any one interest, but on which hung the existence and prosperity of every in terest and even the very life of the people of Ireland. When that House met in 1847, that portion of the kingdom was labouring under the pressure of unexampled calamity. y The Noble Marquis opposite on that occasion said, that since the period of all authenticated history he did not remember any calamity so great having fallen on any civilised country as that which had fallen on Ireland. Under such fatal circumstances he would be the last to blame any measures which might be calculated to afford relief. He would, therefore, not allude to either the public works or other measures of temporary relief, but would at once proceed to what he considered the most fatal, one under which every interest was still groaning and suffering, the extension of the poor-laws. If that law had been passed for a country supposed to be in a sound social condition, or comparatively so, it might in itself have done no harm, and caused no abuse, and besides, it was passed without any view or contemplation of out-door relief, and, indeed, stringent provisions were introduced against such a system being acted on. All parties agree that a sys tem of outdoor relief would be unmanageable and dan gerous, and that its evils would be aggravated a hundred fold if applied to Ireland. Under that view the law was passed, with the general concurrence of all parties. But then, in the summer of 1847, when the country was still smarting under the effects of that great calamity, which had shaken, and almost annihilated its interests, so that it could not be relieved by the extension of any poor law whatever, but called fur more comprehensive mea sures and more active and energetic legislation, they in flicted on it an extension of that law and the dangers of outdoor relief.—(Hear, hear.) Did they calculate when passing that measure, for what end they were bringing on the country an increase of the permanent difficulties and dangers under which it was already labouring with out any adequate relief being afforded from the tem porary distress of the moment? With a people idle and demoralised by the public works—with a tenantry desti tote of capital and deprived of sustenance, and with land lords whose tenants were unable to pay their rents, how did they expect the one to sustain themselves, or the other to pay rates for the support of the rest, as proposed by that measure?—(Hear.) The consequence of that experiment on a country much less fitted to bear it than England, was, that it had been an utter and total failure, as well in those districts which were still strug gling against distress, as in the completely crushed and ruined districts o f th e far West. The only ground for the moat sanguine to hope that the ruin was not yet ir remediable lay in the fact as given in the returns laid before Parliament two days age, that there had been a small decrease in th e num b er o f persons receiving out door relief. In those returns he found that in this year there were 98,000 persons less receiving out-door re lief than in the preceding year. That might be so; but then there were 30,700 more on the in-door relief list. The stringent application of the in-door relief test, no doubt, diminished the out-door list to a very great ex tent, but still not to the whole extent. He found that the debts due to contractors and other private persons, alone amounted in 1848, to 268,0001., and in 1849, this debt had increased to 513,000/. In 1848 tbo unions in debt were 66, and in 1849 they rose to 105. This was the state of the unions that were said to be well off. Now, ho would refer to the state of other unions that were said to be well off. The expenses of Ballena, for instance, amounted to 52,7001. The rate collected was 10,0001., and the Treasury advances were 36,0001. — (Hoar, hear.) • The Noble Lord then referred to the state of various unions in Ireland, which ho showed were in a most impoverished state. How, then, he asked were they to go on? Could they expect that im provement would go on in a land where such things occurred? Certainly not. He a bleated that districts were bound to support their own poor, but parishes ought not to be called upon to support the poor of other districts by a rate-in-aid, or by other means. The state of parishes in Ireland wr.s this, solvent, struggling, and insolvent. Were they, by carrying on the present sys tem, to lower the two former classes of parishes to the level of the latter? One way of meeting this difficulty was by raising a new loan of money by the authority € f Parliament. Ile also suggested that they should pro vide labour for those willing to work, to promote emigra tion in respect to these who could not or were unwilling to work. By the recent Acts of Parliament, which took away protection from corn, the great means of existence to the labouring classes ir. Ireland had been destroyed. Cheapness and plenty had been the cry for this altera- Con in the law, but when he saw the result of this alte ration in Ireland, he looked upon the cry to be most fal lacious. The Noble Lord concluded by expressing a hope that they would, by largo and comprehensive mea sures, meet the distress which prevailed in Ireland, and which, if allowed to continue, would reduce it to the lowest depths of misery. The Noble Lord then moved the adoption of his resolutions. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE would state shortly the grounds upon which he would oppose the motion of the Noble Lord. In the outset he would admit that out door relief was only justified on the ground of in evitable necessity. Tho Noble Lord suggested that they ought to adopt comprehensive measures to meet the existing distress in Ireland ; but as the Noble Lord had not stated what those measures were, he could hardly be expected to observe upon th em . The Noble Earl had referred to a speech of his, delivered some time since, but the Noble Earl would do him the favour to recollect that he only admitted that two of the measures alluded to would be beneficial to Ireland, namely, advances to promote improvements in Ireland, and the other, to sell encumbered estates. Measures on these subjects had been adopted, end they had operated advantageously in Ireland. Although he admitted that out-door relief had led to abuse, still he would rather have had this abuse than that the lives of thousands of the poor should have been sacrificed by the adoption of a different system. It was impossible in such a scattered population that an abuse of out-door relief should not have occurred; but the establishment of local inspectors had done much to pre vent the recurrence cf this abuse. But if this abuse did exist, as he was free to admit it did—it was to be attributed to the want of care on the part of the guar dians as to the mode in which relief was administered. Ho was happy to be able to say, that not only had out door, but even in -door, relief diminished materially of lite. In proof of this, he would mention that in the week ending the 7th of February, 1850, the number of persons relieved in Ireland was 124,000, whereas in the week ending the 7th of February, 1849, the number of persons relieved was 546,407.—(Hear, hear.) So that the reduction was equal to three-fourths. The same fact applied in respect to the expenses for maintaining the poor. In the week ending the 7th of February, 1849, the expenses of the poor all over Ireland was 14,081/.; in the corresponding week in this year the expenses had fallen to 2,673/., a reduction of the expense amounting to full four-fifchs.—(Hear.) And he was happy to say, that this reduction in the expenses for the maintenance of the poor had been going on progressively since October last. Even in the province of Connaught. which had been in such a state as apparently to defy all legislative means to remedy it, ameliorating symptoms were manifesting themselves. He held in his hand a re turn from eighteen unions in that province, from which it appeared that the monthly expenditure of these unious had been reduced from 33,000/ to 17,0001.; that out door relief had decreased from 91,000/. to 11,000/.; that the numbers in the workhouses had also greatly de creased; and that the total amount of pauperism in all Connaught had decreased from 136,000 persons to 46,0°0. —(Hear, hear.) Adverting to the opposition whien ex isted in Ireland to the erection cf buildings for this pur pose, ho was glad to say that the necessity for a whole some administration of the poor-law, which was now perceived by all classes, had in a great measure annihi lated the general antipathy which prevailed with regard to it. Notwithstanding their desire to promote the gradual extinction of out-door re!ief, the Commissioners would, in very many instances, have to give relief on the sudden. For that purpos,s they would have to give a sealed order, but he trusted that they would only be induced to do so under the most rigorous circumstances, and with the exercise of a sound discretion.—(Hear.) He did not wish to concur in any resolution binding the conduct of these parties in that respect, and he had no desire to offer any direct opposition to this resolution. But, if bo did so, it must not be understood that Parliament considered that the system of permanent out-door relief in Ireland was desirable. Ha hoped that no efforts would bo spared to carry into effect the original spirit of the poor-law, which, he felt convinced, would operate to the advantage of all classes. As to other measures for the redief of Irish distress which it might be in the contem plation of the Government to introduce, their Lordships would not expect him on that occasion to enter into any explanation with regard to them, as in due time they would be laid before them. The Noble Lord concluded by moving the previous question. Lord MONTEAGLE said he thought the House had great reason to complain that information and public documents had been withheld, or, at least, had not been furnished on this subject, which were essential t s the proper understanding of the question. The fellacy of drawing conclusions from their present state of know ledge, was singularly seen in the instances of the unions of Kilrush and Vcariff. It would appear from the returns relating to these unfortunate unions, thut they were more prosperous now than they had ever been, because no out door relief had been given from the House. The fact was well known, however, that the funds of those unions were so exhausted, that having not oue single farthing to support even a moderate system of out-door relief, and her Majesty's Government being unable or une illing to make an advance, in one week 11,000 persons were struck off the out-door relief list. In many districts of Ireland, whilst the valuation had de creased, the rate had increased. Thus, in the Newcastle union, whilst the valuation had decreased 25 per cent., ihe rate bad increased in the enormous proportion of 1,100 per cent. This exhaustion of lands in Ireland was continually going on, and the facts he had adverted to had a direct connexion with the question under consider ation; fir the House would find that this increase in the rates was connected immediately with the question of out-door relief. To provide a remedy for this vats of things, he did not concur in the opinion of some Noble Lords, who thought it advisable, and that it would be sufficient to meet the exigency of the times, to abandon the out-door relief system as soon as expediency and humanity would permit. Neither did he think it would bo advisable to proceed by Bill, because the Bill would require much discussion, and if passed into law, would require much time to bring into full working order. Under these circumstances, he was decidedly of opinion that the subject should be considered in the mean t time in the shape of a resolution, and that the Poor-law Commissioners should be allowed to give power to the boards of guardians, under sealed orders, for one or two ye a r s , t o g i ro re li e f , In the neighbourhood of Castletown there were 30,000 acres thrown out of cultivation. One of the arguments in favour of the poor-law was, that it would prevent the influx of paupers into this country. Well, what had been done since ? The Commissioners issued a sealed order, that relief might be given to the wives and chil dren of men who had quitted the country in search of work. This was an injustice to both countries. It sti mulated the immigration of Irish labourers upon the overcharged labour market of this country, and imposed anfadditional charge upon the country they left. He thought the system would never work well until they discontinued altogether out-door relief. It was said that giving out-door relief preserved human life, but he did not think it had any such effect. He would in sup port of his opinion, adduce the evidence of a Roman Catholic priest, who stated that the people died by thou sands, and added, that he thought nearly as many died as if there had been no out-door relief, and that much less misery would have arisen if none had been given. Now, this gentleman was originally in favour of out door relief. With regard to the debts of the unions—if they left the causes which led to the accumulation of those debts remain, it would be useless to pay them in the first instance. On these grounds he supported the views of his Noble Friend, and if he chose to divide he would vote with him. The Earl of WICKLOW said he concnrred with the resolution of the Committee, but there was a material difference between that resolution and the present. The resolution proposed to allow a discretion to the Commis sioners to give the out-door relief, but this resolution ex cluded out-door relief altogether. Besides, the resolu tion of the Committee was prospective, whereas this re solution condemned what had been hitherto done. He was convinced if the poor-law had never been introduced into Ireland the evils which that country had suffered would have been aggravated and increased. With re gard to the testimony of tho Roman Catholic priest against out-door relief, it amounted to this, that there had been a great loss of human life, but it was clear that the loss of life must have been checked by the extent of the relief afforded. He could not agree with the re solution. Lord ABINGER said he was sure that the evils of Ireland had been aggravated by the introduction of the poor-law into that country. In fact,. he thought that poor-laws were injurious to any country where they were a 'opted. It bad the effect of lowering wages, and discouraging the employment of capital. He thought the poor-law might be alleviated by palliatives, but it would not ever work well, because in its construction they had abandoned a great principle. The Earl of GLENGALL said he could not agree with the Noble Marquis that there was a progressive im provement in Ireland. On good lands the taxation in the south of Ireland was 275. an acre. The consequence of this was that the good land was lying waste. In the west of Ireland the case was hopeless. This state of the law as regarded taxation produced emigration, and the worst of the thing was, that the tenant farmers were leaving the land and emigrating to America. Th e recent laws had exhausted the stock of the farmer, and this was the cause of the emigration that had taken place. The labourers in Ireland were actually working fit their diet. The case of the mercantile community was almost as bad as that of the agriculturists, for the former depended very much upon the latter. Merchants' stores that used to be filled with flour, butter, and such like produce, were now let out for auxiliary workhouses and the circulation of money hail decreased one-half. The Noble Earl read extracts from documents to show that the occupiers of land in the province of Connaught, who had to pay poor-rates, had not milk to drink with their meals, and that the price of stock bad fallen less than one-half. The Earl of DEVON said, that the arguments of the Noble Lord went the length of saying, that they ought to alter the law by which the poor in Ireland, under certain restrictions, should receive relief. He, for one, could not consent to do this. Ho had the happiness to state, that in the Newcastle Union a great improvement had taken place. Did the present distress arise from the permission to grant out-door relief under particu lar circumstances ? He denied that it did, and he con tended that more mischief had arisen from the mis management of the local authorities than from the state of the Jay.—(Hear.) The Earl of CLARE said the Noble Earl who last addressed the House, was not in his place, when he presented a petition, which stated that the poor-rates in Newcastle were 15s. in the pound. If he hod been, he would hardly have made the statement with which he had favoured the House. There was no doubt that the poor-law had produced great distress in Ireland. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE admitted that in parts of Ireland great distress at present existed, but the question now was, was Ireland in a state of dis,tre , s equal to that which it had been in two years ago ? He admitted that the local taxation was very heavy in Ire land, but would it be wise to adopt these resolutions for the trifling advantage that would be gained by such a course of proceeding? He warned them not to limit the provision for the poor in Ireland, as it might lead to a serious consideration of the subject in this country. which could nut be advantageous to those who promoted this discussion in that House. Lord STANLEY said that in his opinion, after every Member who had spoken in the debate had condemred the principle of out-door relief, the speech of the Noble Marquis himself was the most conclusive and convincing of any he bad heard in favour of these resolutions. But why did they refuse to adopt those resolutions? They asked if it was consistent with humanity that, having sanctioned the principle of out-door relief, they should desist from extending it to those who required it. His Noble Friend did not propose to act on the suggestion implied by that question, but simply on the proposi tion which the Committee last year recommended, upon which five Cabinet Ministers sat, that no system of out-door relief could work well, as one of pormaneet continuance. He did not wish to say anything against the control vested in the Poor-law Commissioners; but he had heard statements that night, which, he thought would sound oddly in English ears. When they heard of the exceptions taken by the Poor law Commissioners to the operations of the out-door-re lief system, they ought to feel strong doubts as to whe they could safely leave in their hands the discretion of modifying it. They were told that the Commissioners were anxious to reduce the expense of the out-door-re lief system, so as ultimately to do away with it altogether. If that was the feeling of' the Poor-law Commissioners, could there be a greater affirmation of the principle that it was desirable and absolutely necessary to revert to a sound system of out-door relief as soon as was consis tent with humanity, than the adoption of these resolu tions by their Lordships' House? He was glad to find that her Majesty's Ministers did not mean to meet the proposition with a decided negative—he was glad that they had only met it by the previous question. But, thinking no harm could arise by the affirmation of the principle agreed to in Committee, and thinking that an advantage would be gained by a re-affirmation of it, if his Noble Friend divided upon the question, he should divide with him.—(Fear.) Earl GREY said he confessed he had heard with sur prise the speech of the Noble Earl who had just spoken, especially that portion of it in which the Noble Earl claimed the speech of the Noble Marquis, the President of the Council, as being in favour of these resolutions. He had always heard it said, and he did not doubt it, that in England, as well as in Ireland, the system of out-door relief was dangerous in the extreme, and ought to be administered with great caution. But, holding that opinion, he contended that there was nothing in it which induced him to give his support to the proposition befare their Lordships. He totally denied the truth of those resolutions. They charged that the poor-laws were the real cause of' all the calamities which afflicted that country. That was an assertion con trary at once to fact and common sense. He be lieved, on the other hand, that the poor-laws had tended much to mitigate them ; and he denied em phatically the sweeping censure which the Noble Lord had passed upoa them. IF they were again placed in the same situation of affairs which prevailed in Ireland at the time that law was passed, he should again give his support in favour of a proposition to enact the same measure. In vindication of that opinion, he maintained it to be a wise and just principle of legis lation; for it in fact declared that a severe visitation of Providence should not be confined to the class upon which its weight most heavily f4l, but should be divided eivally between all classes. It was untrue, thertfere, that the poor-law had been the cause of the distress which now prevailed in Ireland; and the re volution being also untrue in stating that it bad been the cause of bank ruptcy, and of entailing a burden upon Ireland which Ireland was unable to bear, he should certainly oppose it. A resolution, moreover, was not the proper mode of effecting so great a modification of the principle of the poor-law, that of refusing out-door relief, except in cases where no other species of relief could be giver. The poor-law authorities were governed by the law which Parliament had made, aed it' that law required altera tion, which he maintained it did not, they would not be bound by resolutions, which amounted ita fast to a Par liamentary censure on an Act, the utility and humanity of which their Lordships could not but appreciate. For those reasons be hoped the House would not give its assent to these resolutions.—(Hear, hear.) Lord LUC AN observed, that if the Noble Earl who had just sat down was still prepared to support the Irish poor-law, he was nearly the only Cabinet Minister who was disposed to do so. Lord BEAUMONT said that had it not been for the speech of the Noble Earl below him he should have been content to give a silent vote for the previous question, and though he still intended to give his vote in support of that alternative, he now wished to explain that he did so on grounds totally different from those stated by the Noble East; that the Irish poor-law, not perhaps of itself alone, but at any rate when associated with other causes, had produced ruin and bankruptcy he thought was notorious, and he heard the Noble Earl with aston ishment deny Lot only that fact, but this also, that it had driven capitsl out of the country. Why, fcozn having the management of colonial affairs, no man ought to know it better than he. The speech of the Noble Mar quis who preceded him was the enunciation of the most sound wisdom and the most obvious truth. The Noble Marquis exhibited in the strongest language toe evils of the system of out-door relief; and if no other good would result from this debate, he crustal that it would at least serve to direct attention to the abuses which had pre vailed in the administration of the law. Ile thought it woul2, however, be injudicious to adopt these resolu tions, as it might excite an expectation that they were about immediately to make a change which it would be more advisable to make at a later period. The Earl of DES ART replied. He said, as be had a concur-rent opinion against the principle of out-door rt - lief, with but one exception, he should withdraw the re solutions. . . _ Ihe resolutions were accordingly withdrawn, and their Lordships adjourned at ten o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 21. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Foar o'clock. WRIT FOR SLIGO. A new writ was issued for Sligo, to replace Mr. J. F. Ffulliott, who has accepted the Chiltern Hundreds. AGRICULTURAL PROTECTION. Lord GALWAY presented several petitions from agricultural places in Yorkshire in favour of protection. SUNDAY LABOUR IN THE POST-OFFICE. Numerous petitions were presented from different parts of the country_ against Sunday labour in the Post-office. EXTENSION OF THE SUFFRAGE. Mr. HUME presented a petition from Shoreditch, signed by upwards of 16,000 persons, in favour . of an ex tension of the suffrage. SECOND READINGS. The following Bills were read a second time:— Borough of Salford Waterworks and Improvement. Childwall Waterworks. Mr. HUME presented a petition numerously signed from the letter-press printers of London, stating that the present duty on paper prevented their obtaining that employment which would arise from the issue of new publications which several parties were ready to give. They particularly complained of the evil eff,ct of the stamp duty on newspapers.—(Hear, hear.) Sir E. COLEBROOKE gave notice that he should postpone the motion which stood in his name for that night until that day fortnight. RAILWAY AUDIT. Mr. STANFORD gave notice that on an early day he should wove fur leave to bring in a Bill fur the better audit of railway accounts. CHANNEL ISLANDS. Mr. HUME rose to ask Sir George Grey, whether the, Government had decided upon carrying out the recommendations of the Commissioners for alteration of the criminal law, and the mode of its administration, in Jersey; and, if so, whether by Bill in Parliament or an order in Council ? Sir G. GREY said that the Government intended to introduce some reform, but the scheme which had been forwarded by the Commissioners bad been remitted back t 3 them as not being altogether calculated for the purpose. In reply to Mr. HUME, Sir G. GREY said the Government would have no objection to lay the papers before the House. SALVAGE MONEY. Mr. STAFFORD wished to know whether the atten tion of the Admiralty had been directed to a circum stance :which had lately come to his knowledge relative to a vessel that wag driven upon the west coast of Ireland in a state of distress, but was saved from destruction by a few fishermen. It appeared that these fishermen had 8001. awarded to them tor salvage money, but, in fact, only received lio/., the remaining 690/. being required to satisfy the Court. Sir T. BARING said be bad not received any infor mation on the subject, but would institute inquiries as to the truth of the statement. LAW OF REMOVAL AND SETTLEMENT. In reply to Mr. STUART WORTLEY, Sir G. GREY said a Bill on the subject of the law of removal and settlement was still under the consideration of the Government, but they could give no assurance that it would be introduced into the House this session. DEATHS FROM STARVATION IN IRELAND. Mr. P. SCOPE wished to know whether the Govern ment had received any information as to two inquests which had been held in an union in Sligo upon the bodies of two children, in which the verdicts were death from stariatioo? Sir WILLIAM SOMERVILLE was sorry he could not give a satisfactiry answer to the question of his Hon. Friend, but if his Hon. Friend would furnish him with the facts of the case he would write to Ireland and obtain the information fJr him. COUNTY FINANCIAL BOARDS. Mr. M. GIBSON presented a petition praying for the establishment of county financial boards. THE - FRANCHISE. Mr. BRIGHT presented a petition from Mr. Charles Hastem, residing at a place in Lancashire, complaining that although he rented a house at ten pounds a year, and paid a!I rates and taxe?, he was shut out from the franchise, and praying f )1. an extension of the suffrage. SE - AVE TRADE. Sir E. BUXTON presented a petition from the county of Cornwall, in the island of Jamaica, praying the House • to exclude Vie p7oeuce of slave-eneouraging s t a tes from British markets. JUVENILE OFFENDERS. Dm Mr. M. MII,M 4 :S obtained leave to bri n g in •""- for the correction a nd reformation of juvenile offenders, and the prevention of juvenile offences. ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION. Sir MONTAGUE CHOLMELEY said he had sues tended to have asked leave this evening to bring a Bill to enable the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and ecclesiastical bodies, sole and corporate, lessors of estates held for a term of years or on lirese to commute their interest therein for an a nnusi rent charge (either fixed money payment or cor n rent) : and to appropriate, at their discretion, the whole or a part e of such payment, for the augmentation of the livings at the parish us which such estate is situated. Since , however, he had given notice of his intention, he hadleen the rr port of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, in which certa.tn recommendations were made to the Government, on Or, matters which the Bill he contemplated embraced. II the Government intended to bring in any Bill this St: sion, founded on those recommendations, he (Sir M. Cholmeley) would rather leave the subject in the haunt of the Gov e rnment, who were much more capable of handling it than he was; and, if such was their intone tion, he would withdraw the motion. it in Sir GEORGE GREY said the Government had contemplation to bring in a Bill partly found ed on the recommendations of the Ecclesiastical Com mission q; and which ho thought would embrace the objects a tz Hon. Member's motion. AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.—ADJO URNED DEBATE. S everal Mr. DISRAELI p resen t e d petitions from places in Buckinghamshire, praying that the petitione.er_ might be placed in the same favourable position as tn rest of their fellowesubjeAs. The orders of the day were then proceeded to, whe n % Mr. A. STAFFORD said that ne had been exee.et_l, ivr ingly pleased in fi n di ng th a t th e Ministry of the day hay not refused their sancti on t o the complaint "t 1 had been made respecting distress in the agricultun; diiaricts. Still more w as h e pleased when he ora" that the two questions which h a d forced thernseldr upon the public mind—namely, the existence o f the te tress and the continuance of it—had been publicly r! cognised by the men in p ower . The existenc e o d u e : distress was not denied, an d the necessity for it s r e f tb , lion Lai been acknowledged by the Chancellor o Exchequer.—(dear, hear.) That Right Honourable t Gentleman had declared that the only re li e f that be could be obtained by the agricultural classes could derived from no other source than a rise in Prn s e He thought that the Right Hon. Gentleman 0 14 3°51 4 on ed them some explanation, at least of the advoc d stage at which cheapness ceased to be a blessi n g a t e . becomes a curse. He had charged this side of the. with deceiving the farmers by holding out d e - House, lusive hopes to them of a return to protection. w ill thought that such an accusa tion came wld a very ill grace from G ent l emen on that si t , when they were for the h ea li n g up the f aun wounds, by foretellieg a '_rise in prices; kern g ent le men who were in the habit of valuing eve rything re its cheapness, it was somethin g new t o hear the w q b , telling prosperity in consequence of a rise in prices., I. Right Honourable Baronet had taunted his, l ' ° d Friend with not introducing the subject of the ial dr , settlement into his resolutions, but hi. Hon. Friend k, Disraeli) was quite willing, if the House wen t h ,' . ll be Committee, to adopt any resolution which teig"" j e . se tt thrown out with reference to the law of ment, but he must remind the House that ausiii alteration which might result in their statistics wo.te• rather astonish H on o ura bl e G en tlemen 02P°6106 He must say, and be did s o with grea t regret , et when the Secretary f u r th e R ome Department brag': forward the small nu m b er o f p au p e rs in thousli cultural districts as an a rgumen t vvlsy no e e the etion should b e g i ven t o th e claims °4ferelf landed interest, he, i n hi s hi g h position, : a very poor inducement to the emplaY e af a h a t labour in tho s e di s t r i cts to cont i nue t h e s ystem WI" d, great inconvenien ce t o th emse l ves , t h e y he t al continue heir in order to dimi n i s h th e amount o f p au p e rism in gin spectiva Fetishes. H e cer t a i n ly cou ld not itnalio.. that they gave an °pp: tunity to an officer o f the that vernment by making those exertions to say t o h i e t y hair di a s i e i n ina tit: . e — d (H th ea em ro sel T ve h s ey tohad beenthe aseopna: i e d d e r t e s t b ti°b ; competition of the whole world, and hail been told that it was to the interest of every one to buy in the cheap market and to sell in the dearest; and when th e y came distressed in certain districts, by acting °II to principles laid down by the Legislature, and by trying to get the commodity of labour in the cheapest enarht 3s cl Right Ron. Gentleman (Sir George Grey) sj„ - ee d wholly oblivious to those grea t p r i nc iples, and de n i al . that wages bed been unduly reduced. That Big" e" t to Gentleman had, in feet, conc e d e d the whole arga i l t he them, and ho thought, after the statement made Jd be Hon. Member for Surrey the ether night t he clang-co be vrtni ee roell convinced of his inconeistency, it not of o) nature of the principles be advocated.—(Rear'7,oo The Right Hon. Gentleman said the criminal ie;--the were highly favourable, and quoted a charge the Learned Recorder, in which mention was mad e , g ° 9 as extent of crime prevailing in the metropolis in • compared with 1848, and showing that there had ~""e e ee rt large decrease in the former years. He doubted, 11% c ow whether the Leaned Recorder would draw the sag bad, elusion from this which the Right Hon. Gentie tint :i m inal for in 1848 the Chartist disturbances made the e h ` " e „,...... offences higher than they otherwise would have u n e t ioto ha (l i l s e d a h r a , a n d ear w .) hia ß h ut sahoSweecdtehahretivaranreabsaed been P " thin tihne e l c B r 4 e s ase the in rater for county of Dumfries, which repres(lll4 d to unte e bed t& 232/. les w pr c o r p i e le y . s l to t l ' en wa o s nly a tol r , : n t d that ~ tole the amount stolen in 18 4 e r -a • e ht to 8.5/. Now, if the Right Hon. Baronet had a A r i t' l i g ht draw conclusions from one return, surely he h a °e al e 13s -. to do the same from another; and the Right . 14° ,tice react ought to see, from this, how very little! tt e ste can bear upon the real merits of the case. c ie9 tert hear.) 'The Honourable A; ember for Mann the following the Bight Honourable Baronet, quoted and criminal returns for 1836 at 20,000 as the lowe6t,,‘oo for 1847 a t th e highest, but the Hon. Gentleman shivoe have remembered, a stringent memberctcl,whe a n orc h - a w he did, so , that in t re e we itt h c white 47 trade was in full operation, and anY lB t bat elusion, therefore, was to be drawn from it was one that would mileaee against his (Hear, hear.) Th e Hon. Genaernan g :lso told thorn tbaE when corn became remunerative crime increased, an d 0 they were to draw anything from that argumen t ' it.: t simply that corn ought not to be grown at all excee adopted a tone which he (Mr. Stafford a loss. The Hon. Member for Manchester T esdaYlaifig )onmasut so, Mena. bers intended it to be the charmer's voice to lure Hon. 31 :, ) ,. 0 . bers to vote with him, was the most extraordinary e duction he had ever heard. Whatever professions of sY nl e . patty might bo shown on the Ministerial side of the House towards the sufferings of the agricultur afr class, the Hoe. Member for Manchester did net disgui se that he cordially hated the agriculturists.—(Laughter' ) He (Mr. Stafford) firmly believed the Hon. Membe r hated them both individually and as a class. When t! 3 . 0 ,, Hon. Member said he was not the farmers' friend, P" could understand from the cheers which that er f pression elicited on that (the Protectio n i s t) side the House, how cordially they believed him.—(Ch eer6 l But he (Mr. Stafford) would like to know whose frie n tg the Hon. Member for Manchester was? How an „ g b - oi ought the Hon. Member to be with every 0311/ e - ci av wished untaxed windows in his house, and who w a %uld. repeal of the duty on paper. lie (Mr. Stafford)-foe charge the Hon. Member for Manchester wi t id po getting now what he formerly said of the agricultur pulation, when he designated them a hard-workinVitteo If there had been any objection to going into Corn i be it must have been entirely removed by the speec h be Member fur East Lothian, who speaks so well "'"T e k.o does speak that the whole House regretted that first or so seldom.—(Hear, hear.) This was not the t l fo e second time that this ' subject had been broil the notice of the House and the public. Ricardo. culloch, and all the writers on political econorq;_ eig e unceasingly urged it, and the result of their inquier e s o P or been that a fixed duty of from sa. to Bs. would be th hear ) sufficient protection for the agriculturist.—(flear'uld es To this he would adduce an authority which Yr: _ bo o there unquestionable. It was the evidence of on t. w o we e word was always repeated in that House, and w2 i ' ot ion. still a Member of that House. It was a coterou,.. wet a brought 1460., which bore the date of the 22d January, 1846. e Ve em ber communication of the Right Hon. Baronet th Ar etra ot for Tamworth. The Hon. Member then read an " the re that be from a speech of Sir Robert Peel, to show he to were peculiar burdens on land which 0 1 .4 e gteon. . oe ne _ a compensated by some remission of fiscal e ndo w He was astonished that the Right Hon. G e , tbil 4 should have recourse to so poor an artifice cod When his Hon. Friend (Mr.: Disraeli) introu,': oln extensive measure the Hon. Gentleman au r a it leer was so gigantic a measure that he could not o f la"' When his Hon. Friend brought in a ineio ulf .d: ' ,414. extent then the Right Hon. Baronet sa ke j i) it is only fourpence an acre, why be Rigs e 6 t. much talk about that ?" All tha t the P"a",,e Stafford) could draw was the inference tha t iustics i 7 Hon. Gentleman was at heart convinced of the their claims, and as he had nothing better °foe the condescended to artifices so poor as tho e s e e s e 0 3 a e " Right Hon. Baronet had said, now that ali tex e h e tfaS tp ings were over of which they had heard so nitle h r ' e tern glad to find that he had given up all idea of a' eet iegae" . protection. True it was there had been those ra ti l we a not stirred up by the landlords, as Hon- GI t h e y we re posits, said, but by tenant-farmers —at which ote etira asked to do their best to return to a ~1 0 3 gong' system. On their first entering into t" d e feate d they had introduced the subject, and ha d h , seel:he theme by a large majority, and as they did not Wi i _sil bat i ao ng to descend to the level of a common e at a shap e ' eiety, they had introduced it in the pr lot bee.:• ' Now, what they said was, that the questil nvaeu that th e settled, and he began most strongly to bpi ' were of ,f o b n Noble Lord and the Gentleman opeete d the as set t same opinion. It had been declared, a had not free trade in land. They s,ai l d' nd foi ple i tV had' never been controverted, that th e , right to deal with the commodity of nted raY des 'jeol but you have tied our hands, and prefvere u ntil you ro e with my produce as I like, and thereleos, 1:ovr earl pee with this question on your own princip one merely o vf pounce it settled?" The question s a not n otnes tin n t i l„ge diency, as it always ought to be, and b e d the n-Mauch-egter mere rule, which they could not or _ r for to carry out. The Hon. M ne COe3llllcl not appeal (Mr. Gibson) said he ee peat ro kte 00,a0 of b r a d 50 0 how they could make out that be , w ith an the House, and observed store for d t he wag oriebuistyli during the present session, viz., the a h war d to !he la se d t Pa s Tenants' Compensation Bill. b th at I expression]dou ht about t t h h a e t i their here character, were two at tote et c a o_u i_om pl coupled to r n lite ; d . 964 through the House last . trOdg Qe- - Bill ho would remind Hon. Ar on e wit h soarceif division, and when it had been re-1n A R 22, 1850