The Sun. — London, England, 1845-03-12 00:00:00

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Td iOO as tha t 1 4 "tvo'cor 1 to be pet tte.'4 veo.oo , t he . , i v:1 3,1 ,1 5 10 0t h t be ti e l do c o oel‘ t , er t i r i ag, ef b ; f° ° °f t i : f th e lio l36 #l i s l r t i of 5 5 di o•t r `dio, l ,4 l a ss '` s ,o/ oel d ul [to l e st b ils r ti T tb ; 0°• oce';111 r , , t I t t r ti oO ' re ije ' 0 011: 4 f I 'oo t the :be),ji,l f ,rtl' a e ro r ' w e ot he is e re, { teTn'te'r°9l 4 0 1 ' Ile' er e si Oe l' t b or , b ie t ti,flogos, od d ofd P ot Cte l bye Ile t ,er • 0 4 00 6 I ) , s e , gle e ' rb 0 0 0.. ec t• c" c ' ubi re' te 11 11? or' e of g i o II of' r ig ' , l ol ol , h i c h , o tt e t i,e 01 a cod tb` Jot li coo olo w tb ; to the Colonial -offi ce hi mse lf . S ome two years ago h e h a d drawn iattention of the House to the state of the colonies, aid he had to express his thankfulness to the House for the atten tione with which th e y h a d f avoure d him on that occasion ; and h si e had a l so to express h i s grat i tu d e to t h e H ouse an d L,n country for the we i g ht w ith which rublie opinion and the force with which public feeling had been brought to bear Wnn this quest i on, i n consequence o f t h at attention--( Hear.) e w° l lld again apply to that public feeling, he would again evoke that public opinion, and he did hope that both would be Made available on the present occasion for the besefit of the colonie s an d the country.—( Hear, hear. ) H e (M r . C . B u ll er ) h ad_ always i n f ormer d ays un d erstoo d th a t w hen an English r,an left the land of his birth he carried with him the birth fight of an Englishman ; that he was entitled to the same priyi - I T' as he w a s i n hi s na ti ve l a nd. and that he was nowhere were to b e t axe d w i t h out hi s consen t. But now matters at e changed ; and if the colonies were thought of Croall. they were only thought of as the colonies of the so , wm Did the Hon. Gentlemen of the Colonial-office know i ',tat a Crown colony was ? When the colonists, in early days, jit this country to found those splendid empires in the west, rY felt that so long as an Englishman retained his connexion w ithi this country he felt that he was entitled io its privileges. tie felt that he was entitled to all the benefits of a representa tive Government ; and when the State of Pennsylvania and there Island, and other of the American States, were founded, te was every care taken to secure a representative Govern ment for th em. Indeed to suc h an extent did thi s g e, that • ofnind Island h a d a d omes ti c L eg i s l a t u re, though the number t , t sinhabitants did not exceed five thousand. But now, a l system pursued towards the colonies was one of despotism, b e "Pa Per otis fectm w despotishich, b m, aut fo nd r ththis w e supe a srvi s the system theyion of that House,pursued would towards New Zealand—a system which prevented all liability e s " tne part of the Governor to have his conduct or his mea je, canvassed by the colonists. They had in the island a tb e e lslattire, it was true, but it consistedof the Attorney-General, . Colonial Secretary, and the Colonial Treasurer, and three ble‘,dependent members; but the three official members, e t' i _ the assistance of the Governor, were always wt . to outvote the independent members. There s no disgrace in that matter. The whole thing was tuPterfeet despotism —a round-about despotism it might be, es a despotism nevertheless. Of these three despotic go dildtmrs, two of them had belonged to the Royal Navy. He b" ~, het mean say to speak disrespectfully of the Royal av, must that the Royal Navy was the N very Glast ..la ce to cho ose a governor from who would be vested with sPatie powers. They had no light charges to make against o tn fernor Fitzroy. He would state three instances of his mis efTN3elnent while governor, that must convince every person 4 . A ia utter incompetence for that onerous position. It was t a l u and maintained, that the Government of the Right Hon. currency, had disseminated the soundest views with respect to ts i ; r enc3', and it was therefore the more extraordinary that the clifivernor of New Zealand should, upon the subject of finance, Bil it er as widely as he possibly could from the Right Hon. aronet. Would the House suppose that in any part of the they imagine any thing mere monstrous? And yet such had 1 7,1 estahli-hed in New Zealand by Governor Fitzroy. In r ''ngland they had, at a considerable sacrifice, returned to a gold currency, but in the colony of New Zealand they had get nev i nconvertible currency established. In this country they ea: allowed a paper currency to be is-ued for any amount slid r a pound. But Captain Fitzroy had issued five shilling slid shilling assignats. There was something wicked in n bad political econom. What was the object of this issue m e n , and 2s. assignats? They were issued to pay work that s , wages. And what were the consequences of Theseus: ? This—the depreciation of that currency. assignats were in a course of deprecia- Q . ' ;lithe very time the Governor issued his proclamation. th e lleosing that some accredited party had stated that li t - Parent country gave no authority to the Governor to Isde , these assignats, wlsat would then be the consequence ? . , 01 ". , it must naturally have followed, that the credit of the . sh e ( MY would suffer by the condu of the ovrnor, ad that ~ depreciatinn of the currency G e would be reduced to the , a e j e Y lowest scale. What would be the further consequence t ' n the 2s. assignats would perhaps have been depreciated , 2d, s le gilats f Why,, that they would have to pay 15,1001. on as. t or which they would not get 15,0(4) pence. Was not shatll scandalous ? Was it to be tolerated that any Governor si re ' 4l , (l so trifle with the community, and so violate the most im; P'e 'princples laid down by the Government which had ap tf„'"ed him? Captain Fitzroy was not merely incompetent. Li u - , 4 w ax nesitivele mischievous and dangerous, as in every (11 4 " er of Lis kind he entailed the most extensive harm.— de ear, hear.) Such blunders as these were enough to con taint. anY man, no matter how superior his other qualities 11,1 1 4 ) ' be. Let them now turn to his system of taxation. t at did they find there Why they found that the Governor ? e e l every sheep imported los., and cattle 20s. Let them ; 1 -ceie e a man doing all he could to destroy the resources of his country over which he was appointed Governor ; if he tried ci e s ti ve rY best, he could not do more than Captain Fitzroy had h - ,,, :e 1 - ( Hear, hear.) Since the time of the Houynyhms, i r CY nad never heard of such a thing as abolishing the customs ( c ' i le part of a province, and allowing it to remain in another. th p ,;annhter and cheers) The Hon. and Learned Member 'PC re ad a letter complaining of the miss ule in the Island. i t e native s begged' to have the custom-house abolished in the 717 e of Isl an d s , an d t h ey ended by pulling down the flag - staff. ;tits Governo r se nt to Sydney for forces, he alarmed the hi norities there out of their wits, and 150 men were sent to H assi stance. The natives requested him to send them back. th e di d so, and in order to conciliate them further , he abolishe d ~: cu stom -house in the Bay of Islands, and left them standing hy leaving other parts of the colony. What could the man mean te et the custom-house in one place and abolishing it in richers, ? Helping the Bay of Islands and ruining the port of 4 i 'and. What would they think of the Government if it st e lished the customs at Bristol anti left them in full and active tie e d rat ion over the rest of the country ?—( Hear, hear.) po rt t h s eY suppose that any ship would . unload at . any other hr,,„•'''nile Bristol was so privileed? Did they think that the oe ' s ," l , 4t rY would come down to g the House and say that they ' h th '"tt to be su ,ported because they had abolished the custom :o;e in Bristol p? The Duke of Buckingham, he thought it Pre' ho, at some public meeting lately he ld, came clown asPlant with information, and complained to the audience— hia I firicultural audience—of the Right Hon. Baronet, and of 4 si s P e rs ech on the budget. He complained that the Right 1.4 1 : naronet did not mention the agricultural interest at all ; ne added, " We are treated as if we were a colony."— es ;1Y gfeat laughter.) That was the way in which the Duke /Se rs ue l'nham spoke of their colonies. " They care for us no " re than if we were a colony."—(Renewed laughter.) !`'S, b eY care nothing for us—let us legislate for ourselves." was the literal interpretation of this remark, "They care for a colony." The Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Aglionby) col but lightly on the subject of the proclamation. By i mhsa ' th e 'tit and 6th of Victoria it was enacted that no waste land in ' tie ecd caly should sell for a less sum than 11. per acre, and the , ta nation therefore was, whether land held by the natives was t f„ b e considered and sold as waste land. If the House ' n e en -rr Li ed to the 23d section of that Act, they s cr i be find that waste lands were intended to de- Ilan e „ the lands vested in the Crown with the sanction of the At v 4- 1; This was a moat just and a most humane enactment. p as intended to protect the savage by making all such sales nati,`" r ough the hands of Government. All lands held by the a e l ' e a and sold to Europeans became vested in the Crown as in isrter of right ; and, under the terms of the Act, lands sold N e ~!. w Zealand became part of the waste lands of the Crown. A. et "tan could doubt that such was the proper reading of the a r i a ", Parlia men t. He (Mr. C. Buller) complained that by ls tid Pe stroke of the Governor's pen he reduced the value of fa t in the co l ony f rom 2 i os. to 10s. They had asked for n t ; of N at kfl upon six subjects connected with the adm inistration Of th ew Zealand, and they had only got information upon one 'se re e ni• Some mention had been made of the Wahrou mas- 44. ' of the slaughter f nine gentlemen who had i L e tendered to the natives.(The Honourable and se ee r t ted Gentleman was so much affected, that for several ' ' es I ;;„` t ahe could not proceed.) He trusted the House wou l d ' • Rel- e l:Bins if he felt upon this subject. He knew one of these )for e ,i l ! la n well—he meant Captain Wakefield,—one of the most 4 'sing officers in her Majesty's navy ; and to think of such ass, n Perishing in a distant colony, by the tomahawk of the sth e ' i e, through the ineapacity of a man like Captain Fitzroy, th oss u ld afterwards come forward and said that the conduct of iNieliisersons (referring to those unfortunate gentlemen) was an ns tu u le disgrace to their country. He should be more ge tale V, O Captain Fitzroy than be was to the unfortunate Cap tek.4 aicefield, and he would not go into that matter. It had nf o red in a dispute about land, in which the Commissioners I lece t : l nal Lands would or could not decide the point of sale, t ti , e. e the nat i ves were no t present. The parties in the other '4 4 4 had be en b e f ore hi m , and he had decided that in those P•ori t i d t he property had been sold fairly and for eland, ful th ey oration. They thought they had a right to that th e o p w h ent to survey it, and the natives came down and burned of t l ij a ` le nxes. The magistrates at Wellington, on information ,tisei v e t r nomstances being communicated to them, very un ihet' and improperly issued a warrant against the natives. tor ticourie was irrational. They went. out, and he must say kit es ? magistrate, Mr. Johnson, and the other gentlemen who elle e - Parlivd him, that they were grievously misled in the nost, a : t ers of the people with whom they had to do. The ass, -* in the neighbourhood of Nelson were few in num xlihm!'nd not at all of a warlike temperament. They generally 4 1'. J it ' s e d to the decisions of the law, and the unfortunate nlid as ,;"lason and his friends were not aware of the for elsi,t.u'e tribe against whom they were proceeding, or of their a ear e i t Rallituera, who was the principal object of their !foe ti ' A conflict took place ; the gentlemen stood their s.v s. ' and were massacred by the natives. ba d ! e and horrible as the customs of those people were, they f `liti ete d according to their established usages, and God Z n h ,.. at , he _should say the were to be punished for them, t %s tai ~to the usages of En y glish law. All he said was, that 44 Fitzroy ought to have protected the European in hie ~, Ott, instead of encouraging the native aggressors. But i see v e T el arnation was, that he would severely punish those who gee tt , ea lied from the tomahawk of the savage. The coiase keetie was, that the inhabitants of Wellington, who had held thr eat n gs. for th e purpose o f d e f en di n g them s elves against their inch e ning assailants, were thrown into the greatest alarm. In lb 4 ,State of things a wise Government would have said to '1 noble had armed themselves to protect the settlement, E inar - , s "Tik ou for what you have endeavoured to do, but , Ns se "e have sent a body of soldiers for your protection, and fle t ":”' return to your peaceable pursuits."—(Hear, hear.) teatiownat did the Governor actually do? He issued a procla and i t l i , s t katalleb meetings of the inhabitants were treasonab le, 411 0tile n ,e9 were held again, those who took part in them 'd be cut down by the soldiers. He called a meeting had "le inhabitants of Wellington, and denounced "ad se e ntlduet in the words which he (Mr. Buller) 4 '„her i ent ioned. Having given every encouragement to the dare g iv es, he went to Nelson. Now, there ware in that set- Ns b at 'IX gentlemen in the commission of the peace—and it l a 1 0 ,i' no means unimportant to observe, that in so small and lest ) , n „R a settlement there were five or six gentlemen of pro i'Nee -4 ,d station fit to be placed in the commission of the ;,LX s ti ss ti k Hear, hear ) Well, Captain Fitzroy called those t fe se s i.; t enlen before . him, and rebuked them for having issued e ked nt—be it remembered that he (Mr. Buller) did not 1 4e lis e the warrant. The parties were in a state of war, and ;nlasti.l e of a warrant was foolish—it was most imprudent and - NA - mix—but it was extraordinary, that when officers were th ou t Nth, , to govern in any of the colonies, they sometimes l e .ntle tt t neY were privileged to overlook the feelings of other iisi e ,„ e _n, and to violate the common decencies of life. Captain teatl etti "Zcordingly thought proper to charge one . of those six :Pe ts `, l ,„' with having written some statement in the news ,,,ntt n • The magistrate, Captain Dillon, said that he had not toss et, in the newsp a p e r. Captain Fitzroy told that gentle -4 'Rlit h at it was not true !"—( Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Buller) ea t) e toil t h at these th i ngs were not i m p or t an t.—( Hear, k c 'atl ere But he would say that they were of importance. If teatsh en , Were induced to go out as settlers to your colonies, Vi a `'' t i' l nid , take care that those who represent you should ~,,an h „ e m as gentlemen.—( Hear, hear. ) Captain Fitzroy ertrt e-4 d hlit six months in the colony, and he had in that time t ,,:: th e R.. to wound the feelings and to endanger the property I , fr lx 36 ,0 `,', 1 '"1/eari inhabitants. The amount of the expenditure sil f 'tit a year. He (Mr. huller) thought that was pretty (Hear or t h e _ sw , h _ Governor of a colony of I.l,ooo . inhabitant 1ty...._, ~ r )—a colony new and struggling with every d. - 11a no estw s r slear, hear.) 36,000/. expenditure for the t if ti °f a population ef 14,000 was two and a be as arcs - ex the expenditure of Britain, including er e, (~_,nal. debt. In justifying an increase of th . e expe.ndi teieleq"iiiptin Fitzroy said that the greatest calamity which a t ., Le s( r I to avoid was to deprive the officers of their sala ekvt;einue by taxation. Accordingly he proceeded to make up his andt'es.-s i s, taxation. He laid a tax upon the importation of v he ‘ -lear, hear)—a 'tax upon sheep-dogs—(Hear, hoar) a tka. t' ti hned assign a ts of 2s. and ss. for the payment of t When the aborigines revelled against the customs' duties, to please them he abolished three custom-houses out of four.—( Hear, hear. ) He ( Mr. Buller) did not want to make Captain Fitzroy a monster. He did not want the House to impeach him. He wanted to show what the Go verner was worth by his own acts ; and he asked the Govern ment to pass no further censure upon him than to say that he was a very foolish man.—( Hear, hear.) He asked them what right they had to commit the safety of 14,000 Englishmen in New Zealand to such a man as this ?—Hear, hear.) He did not want to he hard upon the infirmities and deficiencies of human intellect, but he did not think that they ware justified in putting at the head of a colony a man whom they would not entrust in the common affairs of life.—( Hear, hear.) When they had the proofs of his incompetency, what was the duty cf the Government but to recal him?—( Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Buller) did not ask that as a punis'ement (though he deserved it)—he did not ask it as a warning to future governors, (and the warning was wanted) ;—but he asked it for the sake of the colony, which could never be prosperous or safe whilst such a man was at its head.—( Hear, hear.) What it was the duty of the Government to do was—to send out a keeper for Captain Fitzroy, and to send out his successor at the same time.—( Hear, hear.) They ought to have recalled him before this, and they ought to explain why they had not done so.— ( Hear, hear.) He trusted the House would so express its opinion on this subject as to prevent the colonies from being exposed to misrule such as this. —( Cheers,) Colonel R. TREVOR would not, on this occasion, have troubled the House, but that he was the only near relation of the Gallant Officer whom the Hon. and Learned Member for Liskeard had so unjustifiably assailed in his absence. The Hoe. and Learned Gentleman had said, in the course of his speech, that he did not wish to hurt the feelings of any one. (" Hear" from Mr. Buller.) He (Colonel R. Trevor) was glad that he, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, assented to his statement. With the charges which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman made against the Colonial-office, he (Colonel R. Trevor) bad nothing to do. He had only to deal with the charges against the Gallant Officer at the head of the colony. There could be no objection to a Member of that House mak ing charges against any servant of the Crown. But he thought any Member went too far when he drew unfavourable in ferences from general statements, without any specific facts. He thought it would have been better to wait until the Govern ment and Captain Fitzroy had an opportunity of communicat ing the facts to the House. T he Hon. and Learned Gentleman said that Captain Fitzroy made up his mind upon the informa tion he received from the murderers, without hearing the colo nists. But this was not the fact, for the opinions stated by that officer were the same as were expressed by the Colonial Secre tary before Captain Fitzroy went out to New Zealand. The Hon. and Learned Member for Liskeard himself admitted that the warrant was illegal, imprudent, and injudicious. Mr. C. BULLER—I did not say illegal, I said imprudent and injudicious.—( Hear, hear.) Colonel TREVOR—The Attorney-General of the colony denied that it was illegal. He would not have risen but for the extraordinary, unfair, and unbecoming language used to wards Captain Fitzroy.—( Hear, hear.) That officer had de voted all the energy of his mind for the benefit of the colony, and it was very hard that he should be assailed in his absence at so great a distance. No voice could be raised in his behalf in answer to these charges, for four or five months, whilst those charges rested only on partial information.—k Hear.) Captain Fitzroy had been so much occupied with the affairs of the colony, that not one of his relations had received ono line from him.—( Hear.) It would, therefore, have been only justice to an absent officer to abstain from attacking him, until his friends were in a position to explain his acts. Colonel WOOD would not go into the merits of the case, but he would protest against two epithets applied to Captain Fitzroy, who was a distant connexion of his (Colonel Wood's). He trusted the Hon. and Learned Member for Liskeard would, on reflection, regret that he had applied to a gallant naval officer the terms " foolish and incompetent."— ( Hear.) Captain Fitzroy had been many years in the service of the country. He had been long employed in the survey of the coast of South America, after which he brought his little vessel, at great cost to himself, round the world. In that voyage he touched at New Zealand, and he ultimately accepted the Governorship at the request of the Company itself, after he had refused two or three other lucrative appointments.—( Hear.) Mr. BULLER—Not at the request of the Company. Colonel WOOD found that he was wrong, it was at the re quest of the Colonial Secretary.—( Hear, hear, and a laugh.) If the whole transaction were before the House, it would bear a very different complexion. Sir W. JAMES said it should be remembered that the at tack upon Captain Fitzroy was founded upon very imperfect intormation.—( Hear.) The Hon. and Learned Member for Liskeard himself said that nine-tenths of the information on the affairs of Zealand was from the newspapers. He hoped, therefore, that it would go forth to the country that this was newspaper information and a newspaper spirit.—( Hear, hear.) He could not conceive that any facts could be brought forward to justify the assertion that Captain Fitzroy had, on any occa sion, been guilty of conduct unbecoming either a gentleman or an olEtrer, nor did he believe the statement the Hon. Member had made would increase his character or reputation in the country, unless he were prepared substantially and most accu rately to prove it.—( Hear, hear.) He would sympathise with the Honourable Member for Liskeard, when he lamented the death of his friend, and if the Hon. Gentleman had not made use of language hi reference to Captain Fitzroy which was un justifiabiy strong, he would not have ventured to trespass upon the time of the House. He hoped, however, the Hon. Mem ber would see the necessity of retracting some of the expres sions which he had thought proper to use. The expressions if unfounded in fact, were certainly unbecoming a gentleman, and he therefore hoped the Hon. Member would either bring forward some exceedingly strong facts, or else withdraw the expressions altogether. Captain Fitzroy had, in more than one instance, proved himself to be a valuable servant ; and if there was a person upon whom he could lay his finger as a man remarkable for public integrity, or remarkable for his pri vate virtues or humanity, that man was Captain Fitzoy. Sir CHARLES NAPIER admitted the justness of the en logium which had been passed upon Captain Fitzroy by the Hon. Gentleman who last addressed the House. He was a remarkably clever man. He had made discoveries and surveys in a most singular and peculiar manner, but the House must re member that a man might be able to make a very good survey, and yet be a precious bad Governor.—(Laughter.) The Govern ment, in his opinion, made a grand mistake when they sent Captain Fitzroy to govern New Zealand. He would have made a much better Chancellor of the Exchequer.— (Laughter.) Nevertheless, he was a gallant officer, but in stead of shaking hands with the murderers of Captain Wake field, he ought to have executed them.—(Cheers.) An How. MEMIcEIL said he knew from other sources than the public prints that, from some cause or other, the conduct of Captain Fitzroy had not been such as ought to be expected from a public officer. He should nut, however, have addressed the House had not the Hon. Member for Liskeard alluded to a gentleman with whom he was personally acquainted. He knew from private information that the conduct of Capt. Fitzroy to wards Mr. Dillon had been, he would not say, ungentlemanly, but certainly it was not such as generally characterised the usual courtesy which was due from one gentleman to another. Sir R. PEEL regretted that the debate had extended so far. It would, he thought, have been much better if Hon. Members who had lately addressed the House had, like the Hon. Gentleman who moved for the papers, allowed the motion to pass without remark. Had this course been pursued, he did not anticipate that any opposition would have been offered to the motion, as his Noble Friend at the head of - the Colonial Department, and the Hon. Gentleman who represented him in that House, were perfectly ready to give the Hon. Gen tleman all the information he required. If they had de sired to call in question the acts of Captain I , itzroy, he thought it would have been fair to postpone it until they had got the papers before them. But, as it was, he thought injustice had been done both to his Noble Friend at the head of the Colonial-office, and to Captain Fitzroy, by the comments which had been made that night. One Hon. Gen tleman had gone so far as to say that the Colonial Department showed great ignorance in their policy towards New Zealand, because they, as well as the public, had been in possession of certain information three months, and yet his Hon. Friend had not recalled Captain Fitzroy. Another Hon. Member had made use of language which, he must say, was highly unjus • tifiable. The Hon. Gentleman said it was the duty of his Hon. Friend to send over a keeper for Captain Fitzroy. is ow, in his opinion, there was nothing to justify this remark as di rected against Captain Fitzroy.—( Hear, hear.) What were the facts of the case ? Why, true it was, his Hon. Friend bad not formally made a statement to the public with respect to this paper currency, but he had nevertheless declared the fact that Captain Fitzroy had, from some cause or other, omitted to send any information on the subject. It was possible, however, that there might have been some cause to prevent Captain Fitzroy forwarding his papers. But be that as it may, Captain Fitzroy had omit ted to send them, and it would be for him to give some reason why _this deficiency should be overlooked. There was no doubt, then, that his Hon. Friend was not in possession of any official information on the subject, and would it therefore be just to condemn, still more to recal an officer performing duties in a distant colony upon newspaper information ?—( Hear, hear. ) Such information as the Colonial-office was in possession of, should be freely given. His Noble Friend was perfectly right in postponing any comments upon these acts of Captain Fitzroy, until he should have received an explanation from that gentleman. It would be unjust for his Hon. Friend to condemn Captain Fitzroy, without giving him an opportu nity of explaining his conduct. They were not in possession of the ordinance relating to the unconvertible paper cur rency, and still less were they in possession of any official ac count from Captain Fitzroy, stating the circumstances under which that order was issued ; and therefore the com ments of the Hon. Member upon the ignorance of his Noble Friend were entirely out of place, and unwarranted by the facts. With respect to debentures, there was no act of Captain Fitzroy of which: they had not taken official cognizance, and when they thought them good they approved of them, and when the debentures were unsatisfactory they directed them to be modified.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman con demned his Hon. Friend for appointing a naval man to the office of governor of a colony. The Honourable Gentle man said it was not proper to take a man from the quarter deck, and set him to perform functions which attached to a civil Government. Now he was not prepared to acquiesce in this doctrine. He should be sorry, indeed, to say that either a military or a naval officer was incompetent to per form such functions. He could see no reason why gen tlemen who had distinguished themselves in one of the two services should not be appointed to these offices. But they were talking of a man who had distinguished him self not merely in active naval service, but in the scientific part of that profession. He was a man, moreover, who had a kindly disposition, and had throughout life been distinguished for strict honour and integrity. The New Zealand Company did not object to his appointment, because he found, after the appoitnrnent was made known to the New Zealand Company, Mr. Ward, the Secretary of the Company, addressed a letter to Captain Wakefield, wherein he expressed himself warmly in favour of Captain Fitzroy. Then the Company had a personal conference with Captain Fitzroy, and afterwards they con sidered it to be their duty to notify to their agent in the colony what were their impressions with respect to this officer; and, again, Captain Fitzroy was spoken of by the New Zealand company in the *lost favourable towns. That was the opinion expressed by the Company after communicating with Captain Fitzroy, and therefore whatever the Honourable Member opposite might now say with respect to the disqualifications of Captain Fitzroy, his answer was conclusive and complete. It must be remembered that Captain Fitzroy relinquished a seat in Parliament, and gave up a lucrative situation, to un dertake the government of New Zealand. The gallant gentleman could not, therefore, be said to have taken office with aview to remuneration. On the contrary, he believed that Captain Fitzroy was actuated in such a step only by a sense of public duty, and by a benevolent desire to become an instrument of good. Ile fully sympathised with some of the feelings and sentiments of the Hon. Member for Lis keard, for it was not to be wondered at that the Hon. Member should lament the untimely fate of his friend.— ( Hear, hear.) But still he must ask the House to suspend its final opinion upon this case of Captain Fitzroy until they could hear from the gentleman himself. It was consistent with justice that they should wait until they had a report from Captain Fitzroy, who certainly had omitted to forward them certain in formation, but he would ask the House, whether it was not within the range of probability that this omission had been occasioned by some accident or other? The Hon. Member for Cockermouth had delayed a motion on the subject of New Zealand and the Colonial-office, to give him an opportunity to make himself master of the subject ; but he could assure the Honourable Member that whenever he brought his motion forward. he should be perfectly pre pared to take his part in 'the d eb ate. H i s No b le Friend nsd laid on the table of the House the dispatch rela tive to the report of the Committee. It was in pos session of the instructions ht had given. His Noble ' Friend did not shrink from any examination of his conduct. He would say nothing upon that subject now ; but the time was come when Hon. Gentlemen should be prepared to bring forward a motion, if they intended to do so, so as to enable his friends in that House to vindicate his Noble Friend. Lord HOWICK said that, as it was evident this subject must be brought forward in a shape which would enable the House to pronounce a judgment upon both the conduct of the Government and Captain Fitzroy, he would not on the present occasion enter upon the field of discussion. He rose for the purpose of saying that he did not think there was anything in the language used by his Hon. and Learned Friend (Mr. Buller) of which the Right Honourable Baronet could justly complain. His Hon. and Learned Friend felt strongly upon the miscon duct of the Colonial Government, and in a speech, no less dis tinguished by moderation than ability, imputing no blame to the motives of Captain Fitzroy, he condemned—what every person was at liberty to condemn—the exercise of his judg ment, and in his (Lord Howl:4es) opinion his Hon. Friend could not condemn that judgment too strongly.—( Hear, hear.) He concurred with his Hon. and Learned Friend in the opinion that the conduct of Captain Fitzroy, so far as his judgment was concerned, was utterly without defence. The Right Hon. Baronet said that they ought not to condemn Captain Fitzroy unheard, and that the reports of newspapers were not to be de pended on. But the newspapers gave formal reports of what took place in the colony, so that it Was not mere rumour. When they had dependencies at such a distance, care should be taken to inform Government of what was going on. Cap tain Fitzroy might, at least, have sent home a dispatch which would arrive as soon as the newspapers, and there was no pos sible justification for his not having done so.—( Hear, hear.) While the welfare of 12,000 or 14,000 persons was in peril from a total disorganisation, and while accounts of an alarming na ture had been brought home far a long time, it was with sur prise he learned that her Majesty's Government had not sent out some gentleman, in whose judgment they could rely, to supersede Captain Fitzroy.—( Hear, hear.) In his opinion, her Majesty's Government were, to a great extent, as respon sible as Captain Fitzroy, and es this was a matter of import ance, he hoped it would soon be brought forward, when they could pronounce a more distinct judgment upon it. Mr. MANGLES said that it might appear presumptuous in him to answer the Right Hon. Baronet, but he had so strong a reliance on the justice of his ease ' and such a strong confidence in the justice of the House, that he would attempt to reply to the Right Hon. Gentleman. He had heard three definitions made by the friends of Captain Fitzroy for him, and he had heard his conduct strongly upheld by the Right Hon. Baronet. Sir R. PEEL—Certainly not. Mr. MANGLES—The Right Hon. Gentleman, at all events, said that they ought to suspend their judgment respec ting the conduct of Captain Fitzroy until they had further information. The Hon. Baronet the Member for Hull ( sir W. James) said that Captain Fitzroy was at a distance from the Government at home, and that he had to act upon his judg ment. But it should be recollected that there were others at the same distance in whose behalf the Government ought to be watchful and vigilant. The Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the Government had alluded to a letter in which the New Zealand Company, at the time of the appointment of Captain Fitzroy, expressed their confidence both in Lord Stanley and Captain Fitzroy. That letter was written, believing that Captain Fitzroy had given up a lucrative employ ment in this country, and that he had undertaken his appointment in New Zealand solely upon public grounds; and they did not now question his motives, though they condemned his judgment. When they wrote that letter, they were also in a state of deception as to what had been done by the Colonial-office. He believed that Captain Fitzroy went out to carry out the agreement en tered into by Lord Stanley and the colony, and which was substituted for the better agreement made with the Noble Lord the Member for the City of London. They were under the iron foot of the Colonial-office, and they were ob liged to submit ; there were now ten thousand of their fel low-subjects in a state of ruin, because they could not get one acre of land from the Crown. They had not known at the time that Captain Fitzroy had instructions from Lord Stanley to explain away the agreement they had made with him, and they had never seen the letter containing those in structions, till many months after Captain Fitzroy had left the country. If they had known of that letter, they would have thrown up the affairs of the Company altogether, and resigned themselves to the loss of the money they had ex pended rather than submit to such treatment. Unhappily for for them the state of the law was such that they could not sue the Crown to fulfil its engagements. In India, which was unfortunately under the Board of D ir ec tor s — (A laugh)— Lord Cornwallis had, in 1793, placed the Government and the subject on an equality in the courts of justice. If that were the case in New Zealand, they would apply to the laws of their country, and require redress for the monstrous injuries which they had received from the Colonial-office. Their only resource was now to appeal to the justice of the House; and as this was not a political or a party question, but an appeals made by men who believed themselves to be grievously injured, and not only themselves, but thousands of their countrymen, whom they were the instruments of sending out to New Zealand—he hoped that they would not appeal in vain. On looking over the correspondence between the Co lonial-office and the Governor of New Zealand, he found that in 1842, 12,414/. were expended, the greater part of which expense arose from blunders sanctioned by the Government. Whatever else the New Zealand Com pany might be guilty of, they were guiltless of the bankruptcy of the colony which was to be laid entirely at the door of the Government. With regard to the outrages which had been committed—those outrages in the north, where the Governor had full sway—the natives and the Company wereon the best terms; -there was no dispute between them, the dispute was alone-between- the Government and the natives, with which the Company had nothing to do. It was owing to the conduct of the Government that their countrymen were plundered, that their countrywomen had been outraged, and that their flags had been torn, and, after all this, the Governor was obliged to conciliate them, and Captain Fitzroy did not want testimony as to the conduct of the natives in the imme diate vicinity of Auckland, for he found in a debate which had taken place in the Assembly, that Captain Fitzroy said, in reply to Dr. Martin, that the Hon. Gentleman seemed to desire that he should drive the public from the towns to the bushes, where they had neither safety nor food. He thought that when the whole case of the Government of New Zealand and the con duct of the Colonial-office was brought fully under considera tion, justice would be awarded.—(Hear.) Sir it. INGLIS defended the conduct of Captain Fitzroy, and the Government of New Zealand. Much had been said against him and her Majesty's Government; but he could not but think that a fundamental error—a fundamental sin—had been committed by the New Zealand Company.—( Hear, hear.) His sympathy would always be with the poor and the weak. The inhabitants of New Zealand were those with whom sympathy ought to be enlisted ; they were not children, because they could trace their descent from thirty generations, or from the time of the Norman Canquest, and in that he was borne out in the statements of the protector of the aborigines — Sir George Clarke. He maintained, therefore, that the inha bitants of New Zealand were entitled to respect, and this country had recognised their national character. The course to be pursued by this country was clear—they must either make it a case of conquest or a case of recognition. They had adopted the latter course, and therefore they were bound to recognise New Zealand as a free nation—( Hear, hear) —and from that moment all their proceedings ought to be upon the footing of equal rights. The case at present was a case be tween a Company and the inhabitants, the object of the Com pany being pecuniary interest. It was not high principle alone that brought any of the individuals connected with the Company together, but a commercial speculation.—( Hear, hear.) Party had nothing to do with this question, it was pounds, shillings, and pence alone—( Hear, hear)—that ac tuated all parties to become connected with the Company.— ( Hear, hear.) Captain Fitzroy, he was assured, had no sordid motives in view, and he therefore had no hesitation in giving his support to her Majesty's Government on the present occasiou. The question having been put from the Chair, Mr. G. W. HOPE rase to move the amendment of which he had given notice, namely, to leave out the words, " fulfil Lord Stanley's agreement of May 12, 1843," and to insert the words, " execute Lord Stanley s instructions." In the fifth paragraph, to move to leave out the words, " at a less price than that fixed by the Act of s th and 6 th Vie. c. 36." He thought if the Company chose not to bring forward their case, they ought to abstain from making the assertions they had done. Mr. C. BULLER hoped the House would not go into a discussion to-night upon such an unsettled verbal distinction as that now attempted to be drawn. He thought the course that had been pursued by Lord Stanley was a direct promise, but how had that promise been performed? lie contended that between men in private life the course which had been pursued would not be advisable. Supposes he were to make an agreement ? Mr. HOPE—There was no agreement. Mr. C. BULLER—Suppose there were an agreement, and suppose his own servant came to him and said, " I don't know why those instructions were given without consulting me," in such a case there could never be faith between gentlemen and public officers. He did not care a rush for anything but the substance of the case. They had received the news of Captain Fitzroy's proceedings in the colony for the first nine months, and it did not appear that he had taken a single step to carry out the promise t everything which had been done with regard to the company's title had been upon the sense of the old un derstanding. He did not care whether it was called a promise or an agreement, but he did want to know what were the in structions given to :the Governor-General of New Zealand, in pursuance of the promise in Mr. Hope's letter of the 12th of May. Mr. HOPE said the instructions given were in pursuance of thus words of the letter of the 12th of May. ( The Hon. Mem ber then read the letter. ) Mr. C. BULLER wanted to know what had been done to fulfil the promise ? Mr. HOPE said the Hon. Member knew that the course was to select portions of land, for which they were to obtain a grant. It was not for the Governor to make a conditional grant without application being made to him for that purpose ; and the only intelligence which they had on the subject, after a great deal of discussion, was the compensation which it was proposed to give to the natives. Mr. Hope then consented to the insertion of the words "in pursuance of Mr. Hope's letters of the 12th of May." The motion, as amended, was then agreed to. NEW POOR LAW. Mr. S. CRAWFORD rose to call the attention of the House to the petition from the ratepayers and inhabitants of Rochdale ( presented Feb. 25), against the introduction of the new poor-law into their district ; and to move, " That the peti tioners be heard at the bar of the House, in support of the allegations contained in that petition." Although lie rose at that late hour of the night, under considerable disadvantage, yet he thought it better to proceed with his motion than trespass on the time of the House on another occasion. From the nature of his motion, the question might appear to be a local one, but it was in reality a question of great public im portance. The question was, whether the authority of the Poor-law Commissioners was to be forced into every corner of England, whether all the great districts now under local acts were still to manage their poor under the Vestry Act, or were to be compelled to bow their necks to the yoke of that sove reign authority which had been, not inappropriately, called that of the three kings of Somerset-house. There was also another question arising out of this one, whether the New Poor law Act should continue in its present form, or be amended in such a manner as to render it more conformable with justice, policy, and the constitution of England. These were the ques tions raised in the petition presented from Rochdale, which he had brought before the House, and he would shortly relate the circumstances connected with the petition. The dis trict of Rochdale had been managed for twenty-six years under the Select Vestry Act, and he believed no fault had been found with the manner in which the relief of the poor had been conducted under that Act. In the year 1837, a union was formed for the purpose of registration, under the New Poor-law Act, but the relief of the poor was to continue as before under the Select Vestry Act. But on the 25th of October last. an order was issued by the Commissioners, that this mode of relief should cease, and the district be brought under the operation of the New Poor Law. Notwithstanding this order of the Commissioners, it was found impossible to obtain a Board of Guardians to carry out the order ; neither guardians nor official magis trates could be assembled to carry it cut. They were de termined not to be the instruments of doing what they thought would be injurious to the porn- and the locality. On the 24th of November a mandamus was applied for- by the Commissioners in the Court of Queen's Bench, and it was something strange that when the mandamus was applied for, it was not in the usual way of moving for a rule, compell ing the guardians to show cause why they had not complied with the order ; but a motion was made THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH ' that the mandamus he issued at once, en the alle gation that the poor at the time were starving. This was not the case, as the overseers of Rochdale, in pursuance of the in structions from the Commissioners themselves, continued to relieve the poor as before, under the local Act. The people of Rochdale made every exertion to escape the infliction of this law; they wished by every legitimate means in their power to prevent its operation taking place, and to avoid also the ap pearance of any resistance to the authorities. The Board of Guardians signed a memorial to the Secretary of the Home Department ; another memorial was also addressed to the Right Hon. Gentleman by the rate-payers of Rochdale, each praying his interference to prevent the law being forced upon them. The memorial of the rate-payers was signed by 11,415 persons, and of the whole number of rate-payers in the district, only fifty-one refused to sign it.—( Hear.) He, therefore, stood there as the representative of a consti tuency which, though consisting of many political parties, was on this subject completely united. The answer of the Secre tary of State to the memorials was—that he had no power to interfere to prevent the operation of the law. Under these circumstances, the inhabitants of Rochdale appealed to that House for relief ; they came there to ask if that House could not prevent the infliction of this law upon them. Though no reason had been assigned for enforcing the law—though no regular document had been produced--he had an indirect knowledge of a document which had been drawn up with the view of establishing a case for the Commissioners. That document stated that the expense of the relief of the poor had greatly increased, and instituted some comparisons with other districts to prove it, which he contended were not fairly drawn, inasmuch as the three towns of the district of Rochdale were compared with three other towns. In reply to this, he asserted that, taking the whole number of paupers in England, the expense of each of them was 21. 145., while the expense of the peer of Rochdale under relief was not more than 28s. per head. Was not that an argument in favour of Rochdale, and a reason why they should continue a system with which the people were contented ? This was not the first time he had ha , ' to defend the people of Rochdale. In 1841 he stated in that House the distress of the town, and in consequence an inquiry was insti tuted, which also extended to the system of poor relief then existing. This inquiry was conducted by Mr. Tuffaell, and he reported that the poor were sufficiently relieved, and that there was a general desire on the part :of the people to avoid applying for relief. Now, if the poor were sufficiently re lieved, and economy also preserved, surely that sys tem ought to be continued. He had presented a petition from the people of Rochdale, which con tainedvariety of all ega ti ons , an d h e wou ld no t be doing d a justice to those who h a d sen t hi m if h e did no t ca ll th e attention of the House to th e a ll ega ti ons o f th a t pe titi on . Th e ne petitioners stated that the new poor-law was unconstitutional and was destructive of the principles of civil Government. Were they not right ? They went on to state that the new poor-law destroyed the desire for public liberty. The peti tioners allege that the Poor-law Commissioners had the power of levying money by means of the poor-law guardians. They contended that this power ought not to be vested in irrespon sible parties. The guardians were machines to be worked by the hands of the Commissioners, in order to sanction that taxa tion which they had no power in themselves to control. The petitioners contended that the Parliament had no right to dele gate any power which was contrary to the Bill of Rights. Why was this power, to which the petitioners had alluded, given by the Parliament to the Commissioners ? It was intended that the Commissioners should do that which the Parliament did not choose to do. The intention of the framer of the new Poor-law Bill was to abolish all out-door relief. The poor man had a right to demand relief when he could not obtain work. It had been stated that five-sixths of the poor received external relief. He did not deny this, but it was contrary to the intention of the framers of the new Poor-law Act. The dietary was the next point which he would take up; and here he would say that this was one of the greatest inflictions of this law upon the poor. He saw by the returns of the Poor law Commissioners, issued in March, 1844, that the dietary for five days in the week was, for breakfast, seven ounces of bread and one piut of gruel ; and for dinner one pound of pota toes. Now, he would ask, what was a pound of potatoes ? Per haps some Hon. Members were not aware that one potatoe was so large as to weigh more than la pound--( A laugh)—and it was quite a common occurrence to find two potatoes weigh more than a pound; and he would just ask the House to imagine a working-man having only one potatoe for his dinner ? ( A laugh.) Why, he knew many working men in Ire land who would make but a poor dinner on seven pounds of potatoes.—(Loud laughter.) In fact, this scale of dietary was not at all suited to the wants or habits of the poor ; and he would have no hesitation in saying that it was a starvation scale.—( Hear.) The whole of this oppres sive and unchristian system of treating the poor had made such an impression upon the inhabitants of Rochdale, that they felt themselves driven to make the appeal they now did to that House through him.—( Hear.) It appeared that, al though out-door relief would be the best possible system that could be adopted, yet the guardians had made a rule against it. He had often spoken of the hardship of this system ; but surely it was not necessary to go this length with it. The law gave a power to extend out-door relief to the poor in towns ; but that too, had been rendered useless by the order of the guar dians, which went to the extent of depriving the justices of the power of declaring who were, and who were not the fit and proper objects of charity. He would be far from wish ing to vest too much power in the hands of magistrates ; but surely they should not have been deprived of this useful power ?—( Hear.) There was another point to which he would allude, namely, the evil of compelling a person who had once been industrious and respectable, but unfortunate and pauperised, to associate with the very worst characters in society when they sought relief in the workhouse.—(Hear.) He contended that this alone would be sufficient to make many people recoil with horror from the workhouse relief, as would also what was called the workhouse test of destitution, which was the only test applied, or that the law would be allowed to apply, and hence its total failure. —( Hear. ) The working men of England claimed subsistence or employ ment. It was a birthright which they possessed by the laws and constitution of England for a number of years, and was as sacred to them as any right by which:property of any description was held. The working of the present law was well described in the words of a distinguished individual, who said that the law might be defined in these words :—" And be it enacted that the Poor-law Commissioners have unbounded dominion over the poor and rich of the land," and it might be added, to exercise this dominion in the most arbitrary manner. He was most anxious that the House should inquire into the mode in which the poor-law was administered, as he felt confident that many Hon. Members were not aware of the injuries which it inflicted. Let there be a public inquiry—a full investigation. His constituents were determined to resist with all their might the introduction of this law, and would suffer the penalties of an attachment rather than concur in a measure which to them seemed full of injustice and severity. The motion he made was, " that the petition of the people of Rochdale be referred to a Select Committee, to inquire into the administration of the poor-law in that district." He had modified the resolution, that it might, by its practicability, receive more general sup port, but would not push it further if the Right lion. Gentle man would promise to appoint a Commission to inquire into the matter. Mr. FERRAND said he was rejoiced that he caught the Speaker's eye, far he was anxious to bear testimony to the re spectability and unanimity of the meeting at Rochdale, when this petition was adopted. He wished to call the attention of the House not only to this law, and to its administration, but to the pledges which had been given when this law was first introduced in that House. The people of Rochdale were, ho considered, fully justified in resisting this law; in fact, under such circumstances, he thought obedience was a crime, and re sistance a virtue. The most solemn pledges were given, when this law was introduced, as to the mild mode in which the law was to be administered, and the restrictions which were to be kept up ; but these pledges, without which the House and the country would never have consented to the law, were most flagrantly violated. Lord Althorp said, on the 17th of April, 1834, in reply to an observation of the Ho nourable Member for Marylebone, that the law would not interfere with well regulated parishes, but the administra tors of it would copy their example ; and his Lordship further said that when the parish was well regulated, the slightest ap prehension might not be entertained of interference on the part of the Poor-law Commissioners. This pledge, continued the Hon. Member, was given by the mouthpiece of the Go vernment, and such was the condition upon which the House gave its consent to the Bill. The Hon. Member then quoted the remarks of Lord Brougham on the old poor-law, which he said destroyed all sense of dignity, erased all manly and honour able feeling, and fitted its victims for acts of violence. The volume on the table of the House, said the Noble Lord, was a record of the violence entailed by it, of the idleness which it engendered, and the guilt, the sister of idleness, which stalked over the land, notwithstanding the progress of education, and the more extended and impartial administration of justice. The Noble Lord said the new law would remove these evils, and restore to industry its proper reward, and lift once more the character of the English peasantry to that proud eminence which they were naturally qualified to hold. The Noble Lord the Member for the City of London had en titled himself to the respect of the country for the consistency with which he had adhered to the views which he entertained of this law. But what was the conduct of the Right Hon. Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the Home Department ? They had been elevated to the places which they now held by an express understanding that they would oppose the proceedings of the Poor-law Commissioners. The Right lion. Baronet had told them that the New Poor-law would put an end to the giving of alms in this coun try. But what was the language used by the Hon. Baronet this night, and what would be the effect, when the effect of these declarations was made known in all parts of England ? But how different had been the conduct of the Noble Lord the Mem ber for the City of London, on the motion in 1839, for the ex tension of out-door relief to parties who had been married before the poor-law came into operation. The Noble Lord had opposed this extension on the ground that it would be a continuance of the allowance system, which system it was one of the main objects of the poor-law to abolish—that it would have the effect of dividing the poor into two classes, and render the law, in fact, a dead letter. Why it was a dead letter already. There was one law for the east and another for the north—another for the south and another for the west. Th e w h o l e sys t em was a system of force, and which nothing but force would carry into effect. He well remembered the speech of the Noble Lord the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; on hearing that speech of the Noble Lord he jumped up in his place and declared that he had no confidence whatever in the poor-law Commissioners —that he desired rather to see their powers re stricted than extended—that his object was to secure to the poor all the benefits of the law, whilst he endeavoured to elevate the character of th e noble peasantry of England, and place them in an independent position. What was the inde pendent position of the peasantry of England now ? Expe rience was a sufficient reply, The Cabinet Ministers sitting on that bench had been elevated to their places by advocating the privileges of the poor of the country, either by speaking for them on the hustings, or strongly against the new poor-law in that House. They stated that they were apprehensive of disaffectien in the country. Why, he would tell them that the greatest inciters of disaffection were themselves and the Poor-law Commissioners. They attempted to cary into effect the discontinuance of the allowance system, but what had been the course they had pursued? They had introduced the new poor-law into Bradford—they dared not introduce it into Leeds had deformed b—ywiittshodinitoeuns r n e ' g ile u s la o t f io t n h s e . "Trhyepylalcie w ad i o l n ic c h l t a h w ey in England on one side of the brook, and another on the other. They professed that this grand panacea was to elevate the wages, and secure the comfort of the po or. But what was the consequence ? They wages in the north o f N o tti ng h ams hi re , 3 a week, while in Northamptonshire they were only 9, a week.hard l lt was thus that they ra i se d wages. N ow came some startling facts, which lie sh ou ld a dd uce, i n or d er to e Ist l at g the dreadful malady which they had inflicted upon the country. In 1841 the population of the country was 19,681,841. In the year 1842 the number of persons who received in-door relief was 222,642, while those receiving out-door relief wes 1,204,545, making a total of 1 ,427,187. In 1843 the number wh.) received in-door relief was 24560, those receiving out door relief was 1,270,930, making a total of 1,509,490. Thess were strong facts, and the House should remember that the years 1842 and 1843 exhibited a progressive increase of pros perity in the manufacturing districts. In 1842 the sum pa;d for in-dour relief was 15,9111., and that for out-door relief was 4 relief, ami,otioi, m a ki ng atotal 2 93,1841. more than in 1841, making a total increase in 1843 o the total anlount of in-door relief v e over l 1843 the total amount of in-door relief was 985,6701., and for out-door relief, 3,773,019 1 ., ma ki ng a total of 4,758,989 1 ., showing an increase in the in-door relief of ioaf2s 4,,1 04 f 94,5 1 3, 1 64 2, 414 0 2. , 1 00 . l f • then I n out-door 8 23,893/., and of the out-door relief 230,6241., making a total increase in those two years of 254,5231. That was the reqt IF2 3 1845. their attempts to save the poor-rates to the country. But he would now call their attention to the frightful increase of crime which had taken place under the operation of this Act. He held in his hand a report extracted from the " British Almanack for 1845," published by the " Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge," of which Henry Lord Brougham was chairman. It was compiled by Mr. Red grade, from the " Home-office Records," and the Right Hon. Baronet might study them to-morrow at his leisure. The amount of crime, as evidenced by this document, was in round numbers—in 1836, 20,000: in 1837, 23,000; in 1839, 24,000; in 1841, 27,000; and in 1842,31,000; thus showing an increase of crime in 1842, over 1836, of 10,000. The poor law increased crime in the country. This was a remarkable fact. But be also took from this book a further extract of the sentences of death, and of the transportations for life for various classes of crime; and he found that crime was frightfully on the increase. He would, if the hour were not so late, read them to the House—(Hear)—but it might suffice to say that the capital punishments in 1832 ' were 1,444, and in 1843 the numbers were 1,73.5, showing an increase in this latter year, through the operation of the poor law, of 291. But in 1838 they had repealed capital punish ments for minor offences—the very period when this law was first introduced into the manufacturing districts. He would I take the average of the three preceding years, 1835, 1836, and 1837, and he found that the average amount of those capital punishments was 807, while in 1843 capital punishments had increased to 1,696, showing an increase of 889 over the ave rage of 1835, 1836, and 1837, or more than double. But that was not all. They were obliged to have a winter's assize in order to sweep off this mass of crime from the face of the people of England. At one of those assizes—that held in York in the winter of 1844—Judge Coleridge, in charging the grand jury, had stated that another cause for the winter assizes was the startling increase of crime throughout the country ; and in Yorkshire he stated that crimes of a petty kind had not increased in the same proportion with those of a more serious character. Crime, he stated, had doubled, and though the population had increased, yet he did not think that that could possibly satisfy or explain away the great incubus which hung over them. During the last six years ! Why, that was the exact time when this obnoxious law was introduced into Yorkshire. What would the Right Hon. Baronet say to-night to justify this law ? Had he one word to say in its favour. That report, the prisons, the re bellion in Wales, evinced the operation of the law ; and how the Right Hon. Baronet could justify himself to the inhabitants of Rochdale was more than he could say. Would they adopt the same plan of thrusting this law upon the people that they slid at Bradford when the bayonet was drawn, and when the cry was, " Cut down the populace !" The feeling of England would be raised, and the people of Rochdale would be justified in the sight of their countrymen. The Right Hon. Baronet, the other night, had stated that a million and a half of the population were dependent on the poor-rates. The best feelings of the British peasant now shrunk from the workhouse, and he cried, " The workhouse ! a gaol rather— the gaol for me." That was the result of their infamous law ; and he had told them a short time ago that that law had wrapped the south of England in flames. The Right Hen. Baronet had admitted that it had produced the rebellion in Wales ; and the Hon. Member for Finsbury, were he in his place, could say that he held inquests every day on persons who would rather starve than enter the workhouse. Treat them with mercy as our forefather did. Give them the protection of the old poor law, and they would forget and forgive, for they were a loyal and peaceable people. But the worm itself would turn when you trampled on it. With pleasure he seconded the motion. Sir J. GRAHAM had frequently been called on to address the House on this subject, in consequence of motions brought forward by the Hon. Member for Rochdale, and on all occa sions he had acknowledged the candid spirit and the excellent intentions of the Hon. Gentleman. But at this time he might be allowed to remark on the conduct of his Hon. Friend. —( Hear, hear.) He trusted, therefore, the Hon. Member would bring forward his motion at the earliest possible period, and then the question of misgovernment would be finally dis posed of. When he (Sir J. Graham) came down to the House this day he was prepared for a motion to hear Counsel at the bar, and he found that the motion was altered to a de mand for a select Committee. The Honourable Gentle man (Mr. Crawford) had bestowed great industry upon this subject ; but he would permit him (Sir J. Graham) to say that he had not heard one new argument in the Hon. Gentleman's speech. He must be permitted, also, to observe that the speech itself was an accusation against the whole of the existing poor-law, and was well adapted to preface a mo tion for the repeal of that law. The Honourable Gentleman said, himself, that the question was not a local question, but the Honourable Gentleman would pardon him for observing that his 'notion was altogether of a local nature. The Hon. Gentleman, although he had bestowed much attention on the subject, still laboured under this disadvantage, that he had no practical acquaintance with the subject which he studied. The Honourable Gentleman spoke of the destitution of the people of this country, and he said that they had a right to claim re lief. But the Honourable Gentleman was not aware of the circumstances of the people of this country, or of the operation of the law. In the country which the Hon. Gentleman himself inhabited, there was very great destitution, but the people had no claim for the smallest dole of relief from the wealth of the land. Here it was quite true they lived under a different law, with the effects of which the Hon. Gen tleman had no practical acquaintance. It was true, that after the present poor-law was passed, a considerable time was al lowed to elapse before it was introduced into the manufactur ing districts. But in 1837 it was introduced into Rochdale, and officers were appointed under it. At present the case of Rochdale was under consideration is the courts of law, and the Court of Queen's Bench had issued a mandamus calling on the poor-law guardians to carry the law into operation. They had refused to comply with it. They had made a return to that mandamus which the Crown had since traversed, and the case now stood for trial at the ensuing Liverpool assizes. Under these circumstances the House, no doubt, would agree with him, that no practical good could result from the inquiry which the Hon. Member sought. Mr. BRIGHT merely rose for the purpose of offering one or two observations with respect to the motion which had been brought forward, because he was a rate-payer of Rochdale, and acquainted with the circumstances under which that memorial had been raised. He could bear the fullest testimony to the truth of a statement made by his Hon. Friend, that the people of Rochdale were averse to the introduction of the new poor-law into that town. He believed there was a general feeling amongst those who paid the rates that the interest of the poor, and the interest of the rate-payers had been very well and wisely attended to by the local vestry under whose direction the old law was carried into effect.—( Hear.) He said this with perfect impartiality, for he believed he was one of the fourteen or nineteen rate-payers of Rochdale who did not sign the petition which had been presented to the House a few days ago. He must, however, admit, that among all classes of the people there was but one opinion upon the new poor-law. They were attached to the local government, and entertained great disinclination to be placed under the control of the poor-law Commissioners. —(Hear, hear.) And he could not help thinking that they had some reason to be afraid of the Commissioners, for although they might have been extremely useful in some instances, in the generality of cases they had administered the law in any thing but a wise and temperate spirit.—(Hear, hear. ) Captain PECHELL hoped the testimony which had been borne that night of the feeling the people entertained against the New Poor-law would convince the Government of the existing necessity for a change being made in the law. The people of Rochdale, seeing what had taken place in the Ken sington union, the Cirencester union, and the Lambeth union, would rather go to jail than submit to be placed under the Poor-law Commissioners. The Right Hon. Baronet had not given any reasons for resisting the motion except that the Hon. Gentleman who moved it was not acquainted with the law in this country, and that he had better remain in his own country and assist in carrying out the poor-law there. All the people of Rochdale wanted was inquiry. Let them get an inquiry and they would not fear the result. Colonel SIBTHORP would vote for the motion because he thought the poor-law was oppressive, and the commission use less and expensive. He could not agree with the Hon. Member for Knaresborough with regard to the feelings of the people of the country. He thought the people would remain loyal under all their trials, though he admitted that their feelings would be I changed if the law was continued.—( Hear. ) General JOHNSON would vote for the motion. He would not go so far as the Hon. Member for Knaresborough with re gard to the feelings of the people, but he was as certain as he was of his existence that they were much changed in conse quence of the law. Mr. BORTHWICK supported the motion of the Hon. Member for Rochdale. Mr. ENTWISLE also supported the motion of the Hon. Member for Rochdale. _ _ Mr. S. CRAW FORD shortly replied, and the House divided, when there appeared— _ For the motion l6 Against it Majority against the motion Sir J. Y. BULLER obtained leave to bring in a Bill to amend the law affecting the collection of county-rates. The Consolidated Fund Bill was read a third time and passed. The House then adjourned, at One o'clock. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. (From the Voles and Proceedings of the House of Commons.) TUESDAY, MARCII 11. POOR-LAW. Motion made, and Question proposed, " That the Petition of the Ratepayers and inhabitants of Rochdale, presented on the 25th day of February last, be referred to a Select Committee of this House, to inquire into the administration of the relief to the Poor in that dis trict." The house divided : MINORITY—AYES, 16. Ainsworth, Peter llindley, Charles Sibthorp, Colonel Blake, M. J. Johnson, General Williams, William Borthwick, Peter Manners, Lord J. Buncombe, T. Morris, David TULLSRAI. Eutwisle, William O'Couor, Don Ferrand, W. F. Eseott, Biekhan► Paget, Lord A. Crawford, W. ! 4 .. Hamner, Sir J. I'cchell, Captain MAJORITY—NOES, 59. Aland, Sir T. I). Gladstone, Captale Nieholl, John Alibrd, Viscount Gordon, Captain Paae, C. W. Arundel, Earl of Goulburn, Henry Patten, J. W. Baird, W.lliam Graham, Sir J. Plumptre, J. P. Baring, W. B. Oreenall, Peter Praed, W. T. Bolder°, H. G. Hale, It. 11. Pringle, Alexander Bowles, Admiral Hamilton, W. J. Shaw, Frederick llowring, Dr. Hope, G. W. Smith, T. B. C. Brotherton, J. Hussey, Thomas Somerset, Lord 0. Bruce, Lord E. Hutt, William Stuart, henry Buller, Sir J. Y. Jermyn, Earl Sutton, henry Cardwell, Edward Legh, G. C. Thesiger, Sir F. Clayton, It. It. Lincoln, Earl Trotter, John - - ~ Clerk, Sir G. Mackenzie, W. F. Vivian, J. Ennis Compton, 11. C. 11Iarsluun, Viscount Warburton, Henry Curry, henry Martin, John Wawn, John T. Denison, E. B. Maule, Fox Wood, Colonel T. 3 Dickhuon, F. H. Maxwell, J. r. TELLERS. Fitzroy, Henry Mcynell, Captain Forbes, William Neville, Ralph. Young, John Gmkell, J. M. Newry, Viscount Lennox, Lord A. DEAFNESS. TESTIMONIAL from John Sawyer, Esq., of Hay wood Lodge, Maidenhead, Berks, to Messrs. S. and B. Sole mom, 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly. Gentlemen, having been deaf for some time, I was induced, in the month of No vember, 1839, to make trial of your Invisible Voice Conductors, and, although at my advanced age, at that time past my 77th year, I had no hope of obtaining any relief, yet immediately I applied them I could hear the general conversation, and my hearing has become so much improved by their use, that I oan now hear acutely without their aid. I am, Gentlemen, your most obedient servant, J. Sawyer. 22d June, 1.842.—Fr0m the late Henry Cowper, Esq., of Tewen Waters, fleas,: Messrs, S. and B. Solomons:—Gentlemen, having been dea for many years, I was induced to try your Invisible Voice Conductors. They enable me to hear persons in company, and at a place of worship most distinctly. The Spectacles and Handglass which you have sent me are very excellent, and suit my sight perfectly, the transparency of which is so bril liant, that although I have passed my 56th year the 22d of May last, yet they enable me to read, and by candle-light, with the greatest ease and Comfort to myself. I return you my best thank, and remain your obedient servant, Henry Cowper.- 2.2 d June, 1839.—Telescopes, Opera Glases, Microscopes, tic, of the same kind of Lenses.—Caution.—Messra S.and B, So 'onions, Opticians and Aurists, arc not in any way eauneeted with a person of the same name in their inuabdiate neighbourhood. Nor n any part of the country. To prevent mistakes, Ile raw tious, and Observe, —Only to be had at 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly, °Resits the Yotit Hotel, THE WEST INDIA MAIL. SOUTHAMPTON, MARCH 11. DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT BARBADOES. CAPTURE OF SANTA ANNA. The Tay Royal Mail steam ship, Commander Richard Sharp, arrived this morning, at half-past eleven o'clock. She is four days over-due. The reason of her non arrival will be found stated elsewhere. She brings datcs down to the following : Honduras, January 20 ; Tampico, 25th ; Vera Cruz, 31st ; Tobago, Feb. 6th ; Jamaica, 7th ; Trinidad, 6th ; Demerara, 4th ; Jecmel, 10th ; Barbadoes, 9th ; Gre nada, 11th ; Havannah, 10th ; Porto Rico, 13th ; St. Thomas's, 16th ; and Bermuda, 22d. The Tay brings 151,907 dollars, 10,000 of which are on account of the Mexican dividends, being 6,000 from Vera Cruz and 4,000 from Tampico; 2,2071. 15s. in Bri tish coin, 191 b. of gold dust, 1731. ss. in silver, 1011 b. of plata bruta, and 59 serous of cochineal. She also brings 22 passengers, amongst whom are the Marquis de St. Croix and Lieut.-Colonel Taylor. I am sorry to announce that a most destructive fire has destroyed the principal portion of the town of Bridge town, in Barbadoes. I gather my information from private sources, and not my usual file of newspapers from that island, which unfortunately did not come to hand. It may, however, be strictly relied upon for its authenticity. It broke out, it appears, on the morning of the 4th or sth, in the house of a Jew storekeeper, and was caused by a little girl, about nine years of age, playing with lucifer matches. It commenced in the part of the town principally devoted to commerce, and where the stores and houses are thickly studded. The buildings being built principally of wood, old and worm-eaten, it may be readily imagined that the fire spread with the greatest rapidity, and denied all human efforts to suppress it. The tire having been observed by Admiral Sir Charles Adam, he immediately landed his officers and the whole of his sailors, together with the fire-engines on board. It is almost needless to state, that such ef ficient servi ces, although they could not put a stop to the devouring element, were instrumental in effecting a great amount of benefit by arresting the progress of the flames. Sir Charles himself was most indefatigable, and directed his men with untiring energy. The fire, notwithstanding such powerful aid, continued to burn with great fury for three days, and was, in short, smouldering when the packet left on the 9th. The negroes stood by, and looked on with the greatest apathy, and could not be induced to assist cheerfully. Their conduct resembled that at the great fire at Kingston, about two years since. The whole of the public officers of the town were at their posts, and ex erted themselves to the utmost. A great many of the principal inhabitants were sworn in to maintain order and regularity. I cannot give you a succinct account of the damage done, but the Barbadians assert their loss will exceed half-a-million of money. The Post-office is amongst the public buildings destroyed ; and so is Caroline Lees's hotel. The house of Moore, Brothers, and Co., are suf ferers to the amount of 40,000 dollars ; and there is a house connected with the Irish trade in Cork who are also great sufferers ; I could not learn the name. Nearly all the principal stores, being in the locality of the fire, are of course destroyed. I understand that the fire has caused a great rise in the price of wood, shingles, &c. at Martinique. The accounts I learn of Santa Anna are—that, after his attack upon Puebla, he fled, with 1,000 cavalry, to San Antonio, and from thence he stole away in the night, with four attendants only, and left his followers in the lurch. He attempted to reach his farm, that is, his private property at Encerro, but, on his way, was caught by a small party of Indians, who captured and made hita prisoner. This took place at the village of Ilico, about three leagues from Calopa, whence they escorted him, their party having been reinforced, and delivered him over to the authorities. He was shortly afterwards removed to the castle of Perote. The general impres sion is, that he will be shortly put upon his trial, after wards banished the country, and the whole of his pro perty confiscated to the State. He was careless enough to write to some friends at Vera Cruz respecting his money and other treasures, and giving directions for their safe disposal. The letters were, however, seized, and an embargo laid upon the whole. General Bravo, it is supposed, will be the new President. The Country is now tranquil. The commander of the Tay reports that he ex perienced very bad weather in tho Gulf, and was obliged to stand off Tampico in a heavy " norther," in which a sloop upset, and all hands perished. Her name couldenot be ascertained. He also experienced another heavy norther off Vera Cruz. A fine American schooner went ashore there, and soon became a total wreck. The crew were, however, saved. The Tav had a heavy gale all th e p assage h ome . O n the 6th and 7th she could not average more than 130 miles, and indeed one 'day her speed was down to 80 miles, but she performed admirably against such a tempestuous sea. On the 7th she passed the barque Adams, outward bound, anti on the 10th, 60 miles off the Lizard, passed a brig, bearing up with fore-yard gone. The Tay not having left Bermuda till the 22d, and that in severe weather, and being the short month of February, occa sions her apparent lateness of arrival. Indeed, she can scarcely, untler those circumstances, be considered more than due. FLANDERS MAIL. Bitussurs, Mancit 6.—The Senate in its sitting to-day was engaged on some projects of law relative to the votes of credit. The Chamber of Representatives continued the debate on the budget of the Minister of Public Works. The Industriel, of Verviers, says—" We are informed that the Directors of the Civil Hospitals have just passed a resolu tion by which admission to the hospital is forbidden to the Jesuits who have settled at Verviers, and to those who may be settled there in future. This resolution was adopted una nimously." This morning (the sth), about nine o'clock, just as the Princess Victoria was going to leave the basin the depar ture was delayed by a melancholy accident. The second mate was at the wheel, when a mass of ice struck the helm and caused the wheel to revolve with extraordinary rapidity, so that it struck the mate in the stomach and wounded him in a most dreadful manner. All possible assistance was im mediately given him. Our readers will recollect that in the month of May last there was an explosion of fire damp in the coal-mine of Horlevy, in which twenty-eight workmea lost their lives. After a long investigation the proprietor, the director, and head workmen, have been se n t before the correctional tri bunal, as having by imprudence and want of attention to the regulations been the involuntary cause of the deaths of these twenty-eight workmen. BRUSSELS, Mud ( 7 .—ln the Chamber of Representatives M. Mast de Vries read the report on the project of law for proroguing the law relative to the tolls on the railway. The Chamberi mmediately discussed the project, which was agreed to unanimously by the fifty .four Members present. The debate on the Budget of Public Works was then continued. Lord Wellesley, who has so long resided at Brussels, which he left only on Saturday last, has already taken the oaths to her Britannic Majesty, as Earl of Mornington, having suc ceeded to that title, on the death of his father, with a fortune of 60,000 francs sterling per annum. Captain de Bonings, commanding the Comet, schooner, belonging to Ostend, who has just arrived from Messina, states that, on the 9th of February, about one in the morning, being off Cape St. Mary, and fifteen miles from the Spanish coast, he fell in with three light vessels, with lateen sails, which opened a brisk fire of musketry on his vessel, which was struck by several balls. Having a good wind, he lost sight of them about four o'clock. They were, doubtless, pirates. }BONI THE RUSSIAN FRONTIERS, FEB. 24.—Recent accounts from St. Petersbargh, which may be depended on, say that neither the Emperor nor the Empress will visit Germany this year, as was at one time supposed; nor is there, at present, anything said of the intention of the Empress to visit Southern Russia. The health of the Emperor is good, but the Empress is still suffering. BRUSSELS, MARC!! B.—The average price of wheat in the week ending on the Bth of March, wsa 16f. 36c. ; and that of rye 10f. 63c. for 1,000 kilogrammes. The duties on im portation and exportation remain the same as before. The Senate has discussed and adopted to-day the articles of the first chapter of the budget of the Minister of the Interior ; and the Chamber of Representatives continued the debate on the budget of the public works of which it adopted several articles. Several journals announce that their Royal Highnesses the Duke of Nemours, Aumale, and Montpensier, will arrive at Brussels on the 15th, but we believe there is no foundation fur this statement. The Moniteur publishes a law, dated the 7th instant, by which the Government is authorised to grant to Richards and Co., the iron-railway D' Entre, Sandra, and Meuse, and its branches as the basis laid down in the convention of 21st of January, 1845, between the Minister of Public Works and that Company. ALEXANDRIA, FEB. 6.—Mr. John Galloway, who arrived here yesterday on board the Hibernia steamer, has been com missioned by Mehemet Ali to survey the desert between Cairo and Suez, and to make an estimate of the expense of an iron-railroad on that line, and if it should not prove too great, the work is to be commenced as soon as possible. Mehemet Ali, who has quite recovered from his late indis position is gone with Linant Bey, from Cairo to Fayound, to be present at the opening of a a canal ; he intends afterwards to go in a steamer to Upper Egypt.—Allgenteine Zeitung, March 5. BELGIAN FUNDS.—BRUSSELS, MARCH 7. Actual Debt, 2% per Cent •••••• • • • • • • Botlisehild's Loan, Five per Cent • •• • • • Loan of Thirty Millions, Four per Cent 93% Ditto Three per Cent ...... — Ditto Thirty-seven Millions, ditto Ditto, ditto, 1840.. . ........ Ditto, ditto, 1844.. .. Ditto of the City, 1813 Ditto, 1832 . Bank of Belgium ......... 626 —Brussels Papers. March 8. AUSTRIAN FUNDS.—VIENNA, MARCH 1. 5 per Cent. Metalliques ll2' 4 per Cent. ditto. 3 per Cent. ditto Loan, 1834 .................... Ditto, 1839 Ilaiik Shares F.6terliazy's Loan • • • .• • • —Allgemehie Zeitung, March 4. . 1640 ANCIENT WROUGHT-IRON WORK In ancient works, such as hinges, lock; bolts, rivets,, railings, or screens, thegreatestintghe v ingenuity ok uit);to so p un ro d d a u n c d e beauty, in addition to skill to render fit for its purpose, is apparent. You see that the man was an artist as well as a smith, that he understood the material on which he was working, and knew how an effect was to be obtained by it. The beauty of the foliage in some works of the sixteenth century formed out of thin iron plates, simply twisted up by a tool, is marvellous. Tracery was produced by plates differently pierced, laid one over the other, without any attempt at disguise, and flat bars were rivetted together, and made ornamental by the very rivets. These men, as we said before, were artists as well as smiths : ono of them, in deed, Quentin Matsys, shows himself so to the world in another material; but his reputation as the worker of the iron screen of King Edward the Fourth's tomb in St. George's Chapel, at Windsor, is as great as it is for his well-known picture of the Misers, at Windsor Castle. That extraordinary piece of ironwork is now under repair at Messrs. Bramah's, and must be considered one of the finest specimens in the country, presenting panelling and tracery, crockets, finials, and minute orna ments, wrought in the most perfect and artistical manner.. Inquiring of one of the firm whether he would be abl• to produce a similar work, his reply was, " Certainly; but nut by contract, or un d er li m i tat i on o f t ime:" and' these, there is nu doubt, are the great bars against the improvement of our own mechanics and artisans. The master cannot afford to develop a man's ability; what he is obliged to seek for is, the greatest quantity of work in, the smallest space of time: excellent work won't dos work that will pass is all that he can hope to give. And the result, as might have been expected, is 44 lamentable decline in many of the constructive arts.--1 The Builder. DEBATE ON THE INCOME-TAX. 4 DIRECT TAXATION. Though the wisdom and honesty of Parliament hers inflicted the income-tax for a further period of three years, thus exacting the same sum from the uncertai and contingent funds of professional men, as from fix 4 and enduring property, nevertheless there is much ire the debate which calls for congratulation. Not by one Member, but by several Members, was the great prim ciple of direct taxation announced, as the most politic and the most just. This doctrine was enforced by us ila the earliest numbers of thi s j ourna l, an d it foruied a distinctive feature in our original prospectus. We thent were told, that the doctrine was wild and chimerieta ; that it might be good in the abstract, but was abs:urd in the concrete ; we were charged with adve - Jating the impracticable ; and when we referred to the first six centuries of the monarchy, When direct taxation obtained, w e were to ld , that the; system might suit a comparatively barbarous age, be:,, was i ncom with a high - degree of W civilisatiop . patible We remember Sir William Clay delivering G 10; ng phili pp i c against our views in the House of Cocurn'ans, and not a single Mem ber opposed him. Opinions, however, are now materially changed, and the debate tf Wednesday night very sig nificantly indicates )7, what direction the mind of the country is runme- s . Mr. Ewart supported the principle of direct taxP,Aron ; so did Dr. Bowring ; it found a friend eve n in the Conservative Lord Sandon ; while Mr. HawCs gave notice that he should take the sense of the Jiouse upon the question of direct taxation, either upon the bringing up of the report, or on the third reading of the Property-tax Bill. The movement is thus fairly commenced, and the circumstances of the country will impel it forward, in spite of every resistance. A direct tax on property is the necessary condition of genuine free-trade. Mere anti-protectionists are not free-traders ; mere anti-monopolists are not free traders. It is true, they claim the title of free-traders, but only through an abuse of language. To abolish a differential duty—for instance, on sugar—shortens the fiscal chain, by knocking off some of its links; but, if any import duty whatever be retained, whether on foreign or colonial sugar, it cannot be said that the trade is free. It is a contradiction in terms, nor is the absur dity weakened by saying, that such import duty is for purposes of revenue, not for protection. We shall never arrive at just conclusions on this sub ject, till we broadly and clearly separate commerce from revenue. If we desire free-trade as the end, we must will all the means by which it can be established. Hence it follows, that the abolition of Customs and Excise must precede any practical realisation of free-trade. Let us end eavour to po i n t out some o f t h e more im portant consequences that would follow the introduction of this relation to property as it now exists, with our public indebtedness. Under a perfectly free trade the price of wheat in this country would fall to 335. per quarter. During the last war, when our national debt was doubled in amount, the average price of wheat was 87e. per quarter. If we repay that debt at the rate of 335. per quarter, the debtors would be giving the credi-. tors nearly thr ee ti thes the amount borrowed; or, what is the same thing, we should, de facto, swell the debt from 800 millions to nearly 2,400 millions. This would amount to a complete revolution in property ; it would be better for the landed proprietors at once to transfer all their title-deeds to the fundholders ; for, with such burdens as they would have to sustain, on the hypothesis we aro now considering, their possession of the soil would be simply nominal, and in no respect beneficial. Under this view of the subject, we may consider direct taxation, because of our public indebtedness, im practicable. It would involve a wholesale confiscation, and create a ruin of existing interests, as sweeping and as desolating, as though the united hordes of Ge n . giskhan and Attila were to be resuscitated from their graves and renew their work of devastation. How, then, shall we introduce direct taxation, with out these awful consequences ? Let us first understand what wo propose by direct taxation. It seems to us to be a system by which all the burdens of the State may be shifted from industry to property, so that the poor may be relieved from all fiscal assessments what ever. This may be accomplished by an indirect mode of direct taxation, which simply requires a free-trade in the precious metals, so that gold may no longer be tied down to a Mint price, but rise and fall in value according to the laws of supply and demand. The trite law of the Currency is nothing more than the law of ratios applied to the instrument of exchange, and may be reduced into the form of an algebraic equation. It is. because that law of ratios has been violated by the Legis lature, that the country is constantly witnessing the al ternate sacrifice of the agriculturists and the manu facturers. Assuming corn to be the standard of value, and the precious metals to be the measure of value, we must first ascertain the relations tliat gold, silver, and corn bear to each other in their natural or untaxed state. It has been proved that they stand to each other in the following re lations of equivalency. Quarter of Corn dsvts. of Gold which = GS oz. of Silver. Taking our present standard, according to Peel's Bill of 1819, which makes the ounce of gold the equivalent of 67 shillings of silver and lOid. of copper (allowing lid. for mintage), then the price of the quarter of wheat, expressed in silver, would be 335., taking silver at ss. 2d.. per ounce. So long as direct taxation was maintained, these ratios would be permanent and unfluctuating. But introduce the principle of indirect taxation—apply it to corn, and put a tax upon it, say of 50 per cent., then the corn, to repay the producer, must rise from 8} dwts. of gold to 121 dwts. of gold ; for, if not, the funda mental ratio between the two would be disturbed, and the original equivalency would vanish. Now, this is the very error Peel committed. He tied down the gold to 8i dwts., while he indirectly taxed the corn, thus confounding value with price. It is clear that taxation does not increase the value of the commodity taxed ; but it renders a higher price neces sary, exactly so much higher as is the amount of taxa tion. If the measure of value remains a fixed quantity, it can only measure natural values ; therefore, with this restriction, there is nothing to measure the tax added to natural value. Consequently, where indirect taxes are levied, with a fixed price of geld, such taxes must fall on the producer, not on the consumer ; in this manner, industry is depreciated and property appreciated, or, to use the popular phrase, the rich grow richer and the poor poorer, precisely because, under such a system, the rich escape all taxation. Now, the remedy for the evil is simple and efficacious. Liberate gold from the Mint price; let it be sold at the market price; and let all Bank-notes be convertible into gold, not at the fixed Mint price, but at the fluctuating market price: then wages and profits would rise exactly to the height taxation required, and competition would prevent them passing that limit. The excess of price, over and above natural value, would be condensed in commodities, and, therefore, he who consumed most, would pay most: thus the taxes would fall on the rich as the great consumers. In this way, then, we arrive at direct taxation through an indirect process; and, to effect this, we ask no more than a free trade in gold. This is the remedy for all our ills; and when it is per ceived, the League and the Protection Societies will shake hands, their antagonism will cease, and they will be united in the bonds of amity.—Sentixel. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert walked out yesterday morning in the Royal Gardens of Buckingham Palace. Ms Royal llighness Prince Albert, attended by Sir Edward Bowater, rode out on horseback yesterday forenoon. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, and the Princess Royal were taken an airing in an open carriage and four yesterday, accompanied by the Dowager Lady Lyttelton. Her Royal Highness the Princess Alice was taken an airing in the Royal Gardens yesterday. The Royal Dinner party at Buckingham Palace yes terday included her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden, his Excellency the French Ambas sador and the Countess de St. Aulaire, the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Exeter, the Marquis of Douro, the Earl of Aberdeen, Lady Wharnclifte, the Right Hon. George Dawson Darner, and the Baroness de Strumfeder. A military band was in attendance during dinner. Her Majesty's private band afterwards attended in the Palace, and performed the remainder of the evening. The Viscountess Canning has succeeded the Countess of Dunmore, as the Lady in Waiting to the Queen. Viscount llawarden has succeeded the Earl of Morton, as the Lord in Waiting to her Majesty. And Colonel Berkeley Drummond has succeeded Mr. R. Ormsby Gore, as the Groom in Waiting to her Majesty. Sir William C. Ross, R.A., had the honour of waiting on the Queen and his Royal Highness Prince Albert yesterday, on his return from Italy. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had a 61) 7 1 la e r e cye t m eeting e y ß e s Therei t s e h r oN d vp a e y roef aeon, p f L t rco l sn m edn o otn,t h a te t h e t A h D e rci o s h h ffi b o i c p s e h o o i i n p ß l o V a f n h g C i otaern},t the Bishop of Chester, the Bishop of St. David's, the Bishop of Hereford, the Bishop of Lichfield, the Bishop of Lin coln, the Bishop of Rochester, the Bishop of Worcester, Lord Ashley, the Right Hon. John Nichol!, and the Dean of Westminster. The Judge Advocate-General had an interview with Sir R. Peel yesterday. Mr. John Wood, Chairman of the Excise, had an in terview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street. Dispatches were received yesterday at the Colonial office from the Lord High Commissioner of the lonian Islands. Mr. 13e11, M.P., and Mr. H. Kemble, M.P., had inter views yesterday with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Rev. Mr. and Lady Harriet Moore have left Far rance's hotel for their sent, Staplehurst, Kent. Private letters have been received from India, which, we regret to say, contain the melancholy intelligence that the Bishop of Calcutta, the Rev. Dr. Wilson, was suffering from severe indisposition : his medical ad visers had recommended a sea voyage as the best means of restoring his health. llis Lordship intended re turning to England immediately; but, as he was at a dis tance of 800 miles up the country from Calcutta, it was ap prehended that this great distance would be almost too much for him to accomplish without very great fatigue. It i s now thirteen years since his Lordship quitted his native country. I