The Sun. — London, England, 1850-04-10 00:00:00

, -Att . ,N - 1 4 1 SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Cloek. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. (THisDA Y.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The Srzatma took the Chair shortly after Twelve o'clor,k. REPORT. The report on the outh - iSfales Railway Bill was co niiidered and agreci to. SECOND READING. The Merionethshire Turnpike Roads Bill was read a second time, and ordered to Le commiitc,d. PETITIONS. : The Etrl of ARUNDEL and SURREY presented petitions from pl i ebes in Surrey in favour of the exten sion of the jurisdiction of the county courts. Mr. PLOW DEN presented petitions from several /liaises hi the Isle of Wight to the same effect. . WATKINS presented pftitione from several places compluieing of church-rates and praying fel* their abolitioe. t . Mr. BROTLIERTON presented petitions from Sal ford, and ether parts of Lancashire, in favour of the Ten Hours' Bill ; also petitions ht favour of the ex tensica of the jurisdiction of county courts ; and a peti ..tion in. favour of the Libraries Bill introduced by the Ron. Member for Dumfries. • Mr. WILLIAMS presented a petition from a place in Bedfordfordshire against church • rates. Mr. FITZROY presented several petitions from places, n Denbighshire in favour of the extension of the jurisdiction cif the county courts. Lord R. GIIOSVENOR presented a petition from Ilieepateed. to the same effect. Sir R. INGLIS presented a petition from the county of Reeks praying that the Church of England might be placed on the same footing as other establish mente with respect to the fund for national education; also ti petition from Sir J. ilerschell and others agaiutt the Marriage Bill. Lord EDWARD HOWARD presented petitions in favour of the extension of the jurisdiction of the county • Sir J. WALMSLEY presented petitions from places in Lancashire praying for the abolition of church-rates; also a petition in favour of the Ten Hours' Bill. Lord DUDLEY STUART presented petitions from -several parts of the metropolis against Sunday trading in the Poet- office. Mr. BERNAL presented a petition from Rochester to the same effect. Lord JAMES STUART presented similar petitions from different parts of Scotland. . Mr. BATESON presented petitions from the pro pr.::tors and editors - of the Londonderty Standard news p.4ptr praying fur the abolition of the taxes on knowledge,' 'Sir GEiORGE GREY presented a petition from Northum'aerland praying for the repeal of the malt-tax. Mr. lII:NLEY presented a petition from Banbury complaining of agricultural distress, and praying for relief. • Mr. C. HOWARD presented a petition from Penrith iu fneeciur of international arbitration ; also a petition troth K^ndal in favoer of the extension of the jurisdic tion of the county courts. Mr. CHRISTOPHER presented similar petitions. J. WILSON presented a petition from Westbury stgainst ahureb-rates. 'qr. P. 'HOWARD presented a petition from Carlisle in favour of the extension cf the jurisdiction of the comity courts. Mr. J. HOWARD presented a petition from Malmes bury that ether places to the same t ffect. SCULLY presented a petition from Clonmel •••., against the Irish Fisheries Bill, introduced by the Hon. and Learned Member for Youghal. Sir GEO. PECHELL presented petitions from Wor thing and ,Gloucester in favour of the extension of the juriaoietion cot: the county courts. Mr. HODGES ore:elited similar petitions from places in the county of Kent. Mr. COBDEN presented petitions from Doncaster and other places against Sunday labour in the Poste office; also a petition from the proprietors of the Leeds limey newspaper against taxes ou knowledge. Mr. CARDWELL presented a petition from Liver pool praying for the extension of the jurisdiction of the county courts to debts of 50/. . )Ir. E‘. - VART presented a petition from Dumfries • against'the Marriage Bill; also a petition against Sun do), labour in the Post-office. Mee CLAY presented a petition from Hull against the Marriage Bill; also a. petition from the same place pray ing foran extension of the County Courts Act. Mr.; GIBSON presented a petition from Manchester • against - taxes - 2n the suffusion of knowledge; also a peti tion from theTsame place in favour of extending the 'jurisdictien'of county courts. • Mr. •Alderman SIDNEY presentel a petition from Stafford also in favour of extending the jurisdiction of county courts. ..Mr. DUNCAN presented a petition from a place in Fesfarshire against - it Sunday labour in the Post-office. Mr. E: I)ENISON presented a petition from Maltoa in :favour of an extension if the stilt age. Mr. LOCH presented a petition from Bodmin against Staeday labour in the Post-office. 'CHRISTY presented a petition from Newcastle iniavour of extending the jurisdiction of county courts. •"* COUNTY COURTS EXTENSION BILL. On the rnotioa for the second reading of this Bill, •• scr 0. GREY admitted that a desire existed through ' ',out the-country for an extension of the jurisdiction of county courts, but he thought the House ought to pro - teed- the consideration of this Bill with the greatest pl3ithle caution. The exiting Act, limiting plaints in • tdesc - courts t 20/, bad been introduced to Parliareent 'by sieteeesive Governinenrs, and had undergone the 71-30,••t, careful revision, both by successive in Select Com- Stratees end the highest legal authorities. He believed it. eras first brought forward by Lord .Melbourne's Ad enalistretime in 1841, but it did not then pass, and tifl; was again introduced, containing identically the rttno provisions, by the Government of the Right Hon. Member for Tam worth. When that Gentleman retired from office the measure was taken up by the present Adeeinistration, and eventually let came law. Ile (Sir • G. 2 Grey) was not prepared to say that Parliament was preeltidedlfom considering whether an extension of the-provisions of that Act might not be desirable, but be thought they ought not hastily to pass the second reading eta :13i11 which made soimporieut a change in these courts as .. to take away their character as tribunals for the settle ment of small debts. The Bill proposed to extend the jurisdiction froth 20/. to 501., and in regard to cases of seiancler and • libel from Si. to 20/., end he presumed, if this principle were acceded to and worked well, the lion. Gentleman who had charge of • the measure would-- census •forward next year, and move that tbejarlsdiction be extended indefinitely, acoompanied *vitd•what must necessarily follow, an increase of the salaries of the judges, as well as of the officers of the coeirtees Mita a heavy burden would be thrown on the • •Consolidated Fund. The Right lion. Gentleman then refdrred:to the most objectionable Farts of the Bill, and morod as an amendment that the Bill be read a second Limo that day six months., intimating that if the House asserated to the Bill, he should object to those provisions .which • increased the salary of the judges and the clerks. •Mr.•LAW seconded are amendment. Mr. J. EVANS said, parties who had now debt; of :•! 4 ' , .‘i 204 before these small debts' courts were enabled to recover those debts speedily and cheaply. The simple 'question now before the House was, whether they should they had been called upon extend the unanimous ta 504 voice of th e country to do, namely, t b xtend jurisdi ct i on o f t h e count y courts. lle would sup the port this Bill, c ons id er i ng it wiis a judicious extension of a system which had already been found to work well. _Under' the now cauity court system they could do What they *Could' not do in a superior court of law, rtdinay:', 'recover a do bt without quibble and without hear.) Another advantage arising ..) fri.,ta,the . Small Debts Act was, that it brought the par ti -togefber personally, a hich facilitated the settlement .. • of ;their dispute, but witich never happened in any ut the „ superior cottons. A great deal of expense was also saved , admittiog the llogants to state their own case them , skAtiv-', and. to give evidence iu support of it. He would vote for ;LW proposed extension. _ • Mr. MARTIN considered the proposed extension was . . a step towards doing away with trial by jury altogether. . Ho I. , elieveil. the hest system of judicature was that „ .:which . had: existed time out of mind, namely, -Jot juries to decide upon matters of fast, and for -judges • to decide on matters of law. did not believe that the expense of law in this • country tires so great as to justify any departure from Cot ancient practice of adjudiLation in this country, that l ool vo. 4 g . the question of facts to be decided by a jury, slid. ,ho question of law by a learned j u d ge . ll e m i g h t be tho.upht to be speaking for his own interest,but the cafe,con and he should be borne out in this state "' t ,,, r t l ; h vg ‘ lit ie red Friends in the House. He did not ay ; lib Learned sot many things in the practi ce o f th e thatu peri .tatere were con n _ rts' which might be amended, b u t t h at h e ttw+rglgt that that sor ought to be lett in the hands of the private Member could carry it out. H e Amid just mention the unomaty of allowing judges' clerk s a. receive te ion circuit and in the judges' chambers, naktione d ur in g term; and also the payment of fees ,a 4 trial s at nisi price, when none were . allowed . at fittin g n o o s e Nand a measure • tig banco. if the IQ.4oohsh> them , he believed that, with the exception of ex Dell Se of wittiesses, which must ale ays be to some cntrut fluctuating, the administration of justice would .4 , ? cheap ti . this con t . try 1; ". ":‘ , llf. He th oug h t that i f t h e At orne,) -Genera as in any other country cfl br;.ogrit,in some measure of this suit he was sure that lie N. UUla not only d 0 much tu retain • a• , cient custom , ot ttial by jury iu this tuur , try, but al.o du more than fir, everload dory to the eleaper and wore effective ad , naistei:ratien,of justice. CRISTOPHER thouf2,bt that if any arguments of any ri" 't l wei g ht hl-3-1 "I'd to convince 11:e House ul the - nrceasity of acceding to the second reading of this Bill, they were thole that had been used by the lion. cud Learned G -ntteman who had just sat down. hits was one calcul.ted to remove an abuse which cumplained f from one end of the country to the other, tie should not now enter into the que3tiin c f , • eateries, which was involved in this Bill, but coutin e him seif so the aetua! necesLity or the Bill. He could not tee necessity why dobts of any amount should 1 not be nicde recoverable by these courts. He knew ' many instances where tradesmen had Lean induced to relinquish a great part of their debts in erder to sae fir 201. merely before the county c - orts' as a more expeditious mode of recovery. lie was ',surprise , ' to hear trout the Learned Gentleman Poltztitt) that the ccucty court tystem was likely - io do U;v7ty with the alai by jury.- hid that Learned GLntiotnan I.rgt:t that in the county courts any party T Ff V, !I tT N, interested in a suit might impennel a jury to try it if he thought proper. He (Mr. Christopher) thought the proposed extension would be most beneficial to the country,and he w maid give it his cordial support. Celonel THOMPSON had heard ma eminent City banker say that any man might sue him for 5001. and he would make no resistance. There might be something of hyperbole in that declaration, but at all events he would only say the matter might be made better, and possibly very much worse, by the proposed extension. — (A laugh.) Mr. CLAY could not see, if this extension were con ceded, where the encroachments on the superior courts were likely to stop. He should like to see the reformation of the laws undertaken by those who best understood them—he meant the members of the legal profession, but those members seldom or never came forward and tendered their services to the Government with that view. He thought that in a very short time the proceedings in the superior courts of law would be so much simplified and improved as to render the pro posed extension of the county court system unnecessary. Mr. B. DENISON had been a little surprised to see the rapid progress which had been made of late years in this new system of jtelicature ; and he could not help urging the House to pause before they consented to the propoed extension. One of his objections to the Bill was, that it would do away with a great part of the benefit of the existing Act. It was proposed to establish a court of appeal, but if such a provision were assented to, very few decisions in these courts would give satisfac tion. A Bill of this nature was of too great a magni tude to be brought in by a private Member, and should, he thought, have been introduced by the Government upon its own responsibility. The country had not yet had sufficient experience of the working of the present Act, and on that ground he should oppose any further extension of it. Mr. MlTCHELLlsupported the Bill, and said the delay and expense consequent upon a trial in a superior court was so great that solicitors were in the habit of telling their clients that they had better be robbed of 1001. than run the risk of a trial for that sum before a nisi prius judge. Actions in those courts were seldom or never tried before two years, and after getting a verdict some legal quibble might be started, and a new trial obtained, and perhaps no definite result was ar rived at until after the lapse of four or five years, by which time the property in dispute might, to use a vulgar expression, have eaten off its own head. Indeed, so great was the dislike of parties to enter a su perior court, that in 99 cases out of 100 they settled their disputes by arbitration. hir. HENLEY would vote against the second reading. If the Bill were passed, it would effectually destroy the usefulness of the existing county courts, which were now working very well, for if the judges had to deal with large sums and important points of law, they would be compelled to slur over all cases of a minor character. The number of debtors in the year 1845, before the county courts came into operation, was 2,047, in 1846, the first year of the new Act, the number was 3,847, and in 1848 it had swelled up to 8,784. This showed the working of the Bill; and he should not be disposed to second its extension. Mr. COCKBURN gave his earnest support to the second reading of this Bill. He could not see any ma terial difference between 204 and 501., and when he saw that these courts bad already worked well, ho did not see why they should not extend their jurisdiction. It was said that they were doing away with trial by jury. He entertained a deep sense of the good which trial by jury had done for this country: in political cases, but in trials of property and common law he thought that very frequently a single judge was a more efficient tribunal:—(Hear, hear.) With juries which could be got in Westminster and Guildhall, and in many of the towns, and a judge of the superior courts presid ing, he thought that this country could present the finest tribunal in the world; but the experience of many years told him that that was not always the case with juries which were gut at many of the assizes. They had a great example in the equity courts, where there were no juries. Ari objection of this kind was disposed of by the proviso in the Bill, which gave a right of appeal to all who thought fit to claim it. There was one point which appeared to have been passed over by every Gentleman who had spoken on the subjE cc, and that was, that with the exception of London and West minster, justice was only administered at intervals of twice a year in the country. It was all very well fur Hon. Gentlemen to get up in the House and eulogise the state of the law in this country. Tree it was that it was impossible that the Character of judges could stand higher than the character of the English judges did; but when they considered th e number of the tribunals which existed, the prolixity of the pleadings, and the fact t'sat the law was a st sled bock to the great mass of the people, he thought that was not a state of the law which called for eulogy—far from it. One of the signs of the times which he hailed with great delight was, that the most eminent lawyers were becoming gradually more and more sensible of the many abuses in the law, and were ashamed of them. This was why it was that they saw his Honourable and Learned Friend the Solicitor-General, and even the Attorney-General, coining forward as law reformers. He could only say that he gave his earnest and cordial support to the second reading of the Bill, which he considered was a great step in the direction of reform. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL thought that he should be wanting in his public duty if, regardless of all imputations on his motives, he did not state that this Bill, if passed, would entirely destroy the good working of the county courts. But first he would beg to say that, in regard to the hints which bad been thrown out by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman the Member for Ponte fract, that those reforms had long bten under the consideration of Governmen'. Every argument which had been urged by the supporters of the Bill bad been directed not to the sum of 501., but to the general jus risdiction of the superior courts. He did not wish to say anything in imputation of the gentlemen connected with the county courts, but he thought that the clause relating to the increase of salaries had much to do with the introduction cf this Bill. He did rot state this rashly, for ho Leld in his hand a circular addresged by the clerks of the county courts throughout the country to the mayors in different parts of V . () kingdom, e.iclosing a short form c f petition to be presented by them to the House praying that all officials should no longer be paid by fees, but by salaries. It was pretty evident that the question of salaries was at the bottom of the introduction of this measure. The measure was so sweeping in its character that it would not only take away the jurisdiction of the supe rior courts over sums between 201. and 501, but would abolish every local court which existed in the kingdom for the recovery of small debts. The Bill allowed the plaintiff and defendant to bo sworn and examined, and he would ask the sup porters of the Bill if they were preptii - e'd to introduce this principle into the superior courts? Law) ers knew that i❑ instances where such a privilege had been al lowed the plaintiff and defendant had sworn point blank against each other, and there could be no doubt that the tendency of this measure, if passed, would be to encou rage the crime of perjury. But there was an other objection to the Bill. The fact of ha►ing a judge who resided in the district and a local jury would be open to the suspicion that partialities might be shown in the decision of cases. He considered that the Bill was full of objections, and would be fraught with gre. - 3 danger if put into operation, and begged of the House to pause before it gave an assent to the second reading. Mr. AGLIONBY gave his cordial support to the Bill, and bore testimony, in his own person, to the grie vous effects c.f . the present system of adjudication. Mr. MULLINGS could not understand the course which was taken by the Government with re gard to this Bill. He had not been convertel by the arguments which had been used by the Learned Attorney-General. He should give his cordial support to ir, for he considered that it was a Bill which, with reference to the movements of reform which were abroad at this day, was a step in the right direction. He thought it would confer a benefit upon the public at large. Mr. IIUME wished to remind the Attorney-General that he had not answered a question put to him, whether he would advise a client of his to go into the superior courts fir the recovery cf a sum of a smaller amount than 100/. lie (Mr. Hume) should support the Bill, be cause he thought it would do more for the public for the saving of time, trouble, and expense in law proceedings, than any other measure. He was astonished at the Go vernment for opposing themselves to such a measure as the present. He bored that the House would overrule all the technical objections which had been raised against it. Mr. FITZROY replied. He was quite ready to submit his Bill to all the suggestions which had been thrown out during the present discussion; all he asked the House was to confirm the principle of the Bill by passing the second reading. He could not allow the Attorney- General's slightirg remark with reference to the feeling of tlos country on this Bill. There was no doubt but that it was a subject on which the country at large felt very strongly, and he was convinced that in bringing forward this measure he was acting in accordance with the expressed wishes of the country. The House then divided, when there appeared— For the second reading of the Bill 144 Against it •• ••• ••• 67 Majority for the second readi ng 77 On re-entering the gallery we found Mr. HUME inquiring whether, after this demonstra tion of the feeling of the louse on this subject, the Government would persevere in their opposition to it? Sir G. GREY said that he should certainly feel it his duty to oppose the increase of salaries proposed by the Bin, but he could not state what further opposition it would meet with from the Government. PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS BILL. Mr. EWART moved that the House should go into committee on this Bill. Colonel SIBTIIORY thought the poorer classes had already rates enough, without imposing fresh ones for the purpose of recreation and entertainment. This Bill would be partial in its operation; it would be bene ficial to people redoing in, and in the vicinity tf, large towns; but the per pie residing in the agricultural dis tric4 would not be in a situation to avail themselves o f it. He of jc.cted to the principle of the Bill, he did not know how far it might go, a n d h e wou ld move that the House resolve itself into a Committee on this Bin t hi s d a y six months, and he would Like the sense of the House on that question. Mr. NEWDEGATE granted that it was most desire ble that the means of information should be supplied to the people; but he thought it most . unwise tax the people is boroughs or counties for purposes not of immediate necessity. He would, there ore, o pp ose the Hill, believing that it was undesirable to introduce such a measure at a time when agricultural distress pre vailed so extensively, and which distress was rapidly spreading towards the towns. Mr. STANFORD thought it was objectionable that the ratepayers in a borough should have only ten days' notice of the intention to levy a rate for the put poses cf the Bill, as was proposed by the Bill. LONDON,' He did not, however, object to the spirit or principle of the Bill. He thought it was an oversight that the Bill did not provide tha; the libraries and musr.ticias be created under is were to be open to the public tor av:y .3.tated periods. When the Bill went into Committee he sheuld move an amendment, that every rector, vicar, or incumbent of a parish in which it was sought to intro duce it, should be an 6v-officio member of the committee or council of any public library or museum established under the Bill. Mr. HUME supported the Bill. Mr. LAW objected to the principle of the Bill, because it taxed the more influential inhabitants of a borough for the establishment of a library for the benefit of the less. influential inhabitants, to be placed under the control of the town councils.—(Hear, hear.) lie thought it was time enough to go into Committee on such a Bill this day six months, because by that time people's heads would have become cool, and they would be dis posed to dispense with the Bill altogether. He would therefore vote fur the amendment of the Gallant Mem ber (Colonel Sibthorp). Mr. BERNAL thought in no case should the Bill be introduced into a borough, except with the sanction of two-thirds of the inhabitants. Mr. BROTHERTON supported the motion for going into Committee. The Bill was only permissive, and the rat ;sought to be levied was only a halfpenny in the pound. The House was desirous of lessening taxation. Could they bettsr attain that object than by educating and elevating the great body of the people? He considered the measure would be a great boon to the working classes, and be besides a moans of diminishing crime throughout the country. It remained for the members ( f the Universities to oppose this Bill—(Hear) —who objected to anybody being educated besides their own class.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. BUCK objected to any measure at the present time that would throw increased taxation upon the pe-ple, and of all persons in the world town councils were the last who should be entrusted with carrying such a Bill into operation. Mr. WALTER, said the Bill would be of little use if parties were not allowed to take books home for perusal. Mr. ANSTEY thought it was unfkir to cast ridicule upon the Bill because it provided libraries and not books for the people. The main question was, whether the introducer bad made sufficient concessions to induce the House to assent to it, and being of opinion that he had done so, he would vote for going into Committee. Lord J. MANNERS complained that libraries and museums should be placed on a te'ter footing than churches, schools, and hospitals. Mr. EWART, in reply to questions, said it was not his intention to apply the Bill to Scotland or Ireland, but the insertion of a fow words was all that would to necessary if the House wished the benefit of the measure to be ex tended to those countries. Mr. BRIGHT thought that the objectors to this Bill deprecated that the people should learn, through the instrumentality of this Bill, things which it would be better for them not to learn. It had been said that the agricultural classes would be excluded from participating in the benefits of this Bill ; but he would remind the House that those classes were not called upon to contribute one farthing to the support of the libraries sought to be instituted by this Bill. The Bill was only permissive in its nature; he thought, too, it was most excellent in its object, and he would give its second reading his most cordial support. sp Mr. ROUNDELL PALMER could not understand why Scotland should have been excluded from the opera tion of such a Bill. —(Hear.) He had always under. stood that the people of Scotland were as intelligent as those of any other part of the United Kingdom— (Laughter)—and he could not understand why the people of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dumfries—(A laugh)—and other places in Scotland should be excluded from participating in a measure thought to be so laudable and desirable by those who advocated it. He could only say that he thought it was the wiser course to leave this and all kindred objects to be supported by voluntary rather than compulsory contributions. Mr. W. J. FOX said in one point of view tho Bill would be exceedingly beneficial in that, under it, structures would be built which would form a per man. nt depository for the books which might be accumulated as a library for the people in a town. He had known cases where considerable num• bers of books, which had been collected by the working classes with the view to the formation cf a library for thf it mutual improvemeLt, ir.,d in course of time been squandered and lost for want cf a place of public deposit. Having such places of public deposit provided for thew, the people, so disposed, would be furnished with a greater inducement for collecting books and objects for libraries and museum's than is at present supplied. Mr. MUNI Z said, on the last occasion he voted against the Bill, but as the lion. Member for Dumfries had made several concessions to meet the objections which had been urged, he should now give it his support. The House then divided, when there appeared— For going into Committee ... 99 For the amendment ... 64 Majority ••• ••• ••• —35 The House then went into Committer, Mr. BERNAL in the chair Mr. EWART moved the following amendment:—ln clause 1, line 13, after the words " it shall be lawful," to insert " for the town council of any municipal borough (the population of which, according to the last account taken thereof by authority of Parliament, ex ceeds ten thousand persons), for the purpose of determi ning whether this Act shalt be adopted for such borough,to convene a meeting of persons rated to the relief of the poor within such borough, by notices signed by the mayor, or five members at the least of the said council, and given three clear days at least before such meeting by fixing the same on or m ar the door of the town-halt of the said borough, and on or near the door of the church or chapel cf every parish or chapelry wholly or in part within the said borough, stating the special purpose of such meet iug ; and, if it shall be resolved at such meeting by two thirds of the voter. there present, that this Act shall he adopted, then it shall be lawful for such town-council." After a short discussion, in which sever..l Hon. Members suggested that a notice should be published also in the local newspapers, Mr. B. I)ENISON observed that many ratepayers never saw a newspaper, and he, therefore, thought that the better plan would be to send each a printed circular. Mr. W ALPOLE suggested that the notice should be posted upon the town-hall and every church and chapel in the borough, and inset ted in two newspapers, printed and published and circulating in the b oroug h, fourteen cit ar days before holding the meeting. Alter a lung and irregular conversation, in which almost every Member of the Committee took part, this suggestion was eventually agreed to. Mr. STANFORD proposed an amendment to the effect that in order to make the rate legal one-third at least of the ratepayers should be present at the meeting, and assenting to the rate. After some discussion, The CHAIRMAN, at the suggestion of Mr. EWART, re ported progress, and obtained leave to sit again on Wed nesday next. The Parish Constables Bill was rrad a second time, and ordered to be committed on Thursday week. The Exchequer-Als (9,200,0001.) Bill was mid a third time and passed. Mr. MIILLINGS moved for a copy of any Treasury minute made at the times of or relating to the appoint ments of Lord Denman and Lord Campbell respectively to the office of Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench; and of any letters or written communications which passed on those occasions te:ween such chief justices and any Member a or connected with the Government, or on their resrective behalf; and of so much or any part of the letters patent granting such office to the Lords Denman and Campbell respectively, as appointed or fixed, or related to their respective salaries as such Chief Justices. Mr. ITAYTER had no objection to produce any docu ments that were public ones, but he must decline any private ones. If the motion was confined to any Treasury minute there would be no objection to it. I Mr. MAJLLINGS was only anxious to obtain the official documents on the subject. Mr. HAYTER said that all official letters on record would be produced. Mr. MULLINGS said that would answer the purpose he had in view. The motion as amended was then agreed to. The other orders of the day were disposed of, and the House adjourned at Six o'clock. STATE OF TRADE. (From the Manchester Guardian of this day.) MANCHESTER, TUESDAY.—The market has re covered what it appeared to have lost in tone on Thursday last, and the sellers of yarns have shown increased firmness et the , improved rates of this day week. But the buyers have held back with their usual caution, and the aggregate business of the day has been of very limited amount. At the previous quotations, however, there has been a disposition to operate rather more freely for home consumption ; while, for the eastern markets, we have continued to experience a very fair demand, at full prices, for No. 40's to 60's. But the buyers for Germany and Italy do not seem to gain confidence at all ; and they have accordingly taken only such small parcels *as might be neces sary in the way of assortment. For 40-inch shirtings there continues to be a very active demand ; and, as the makers are generally under contract, still higher prices are obtainable by those who have anything to sell. In 45-inch shirtings there is a larger business doing, and in some kinds of madapollams also. But printing cloths are quiet, and long clothe, T cloths, and domestics, exceedingly dull. IiCCIIDALF, MONDAT.—We have had another slack market today ; the attendance of buyers has been limited, and those few have shown no disposition to purchase. The merchants have been offering less money for pieces ; but the manufacturer cannot afford to take a lower rate, with wool at its present price. AlAccLEsrisx.n, TUESDAY.—The last week havirg been a holiday time, there has been a partial cessation of business ; but,since the mills have resumed work, we hear of a better feeling in the market for goods, some of the manufacturers having received fair orders. In the thrown silk market prices da not as yet assimilate to tbatfof the re w material ; and unless an advance in this article takes place we apprehend a lessened production—indeed there are already symptoms of slackened trade amongst the throwsters. The dyers are only partially supplied with work. The raw silk market. - remains without alteration. HUDE USFIELD, TIIESDAY.—There has not been much variation, if any, in the state of our market. Since th e last report things have remained pretty nearly in the same state. There has been very little doing in ~ the warehouses ; the stock, however is very 1; - wiermrsDAT YVRN T N AT 11 ITA 10, MA low, and the manufacturers are employed in pre paring for the coining season. HAnlzax, ..',ATUTIDAY.—AIthongh the attendance in cur Piece Hall to-day was somewhat larger, there docs not appear to have been a much greater amount of busines, and prices have undergone no alteration. There is more inquiry for yarn, but without any change in the quotations. The wool market is mere animated, but we cannot report any advanca upon late rates. LEEDS, TUESDAY.—No new feature to notice in the woollen trade since last week. The markets are again dull; but prices are firm, and stocks low. The manufacturers are still making large deliveries direct to the merchants. MURDER AND HIGHWAY ROBBERY. Last night (Sunday), between eight and nine o'clock, in consequence of information which had been received at the Cheltenham police-station, Superin tendent George Seys, and Sergeant John Sliekleton proceeded to one of the common lodging-houses in Milsorn• street, and there arrested two men on a charge of murder. Their names are Maurice Murphy, aged 21, a native of Blarney, county Cork, and Patrick Sullivan, aged 22, of Minchinstown, county Cork. In their possession the officers found a quantity of wear ing apparel covered with blood—a pocket-book, razor, pieces of corm', and other trifling articles. The cir cumstances which led to the apprehension of these parties we will now endeavour to detail. It appears that on Friday afternoon information was received at the police-station, Newport, Mon mouthihire, that the body of a woman, named Jane Lewis, aged about 65, was fouod in a brake, near Nancotch-wood, and adjacent to the Bassalleg-read, lying on her back, with an awful wound in flicted on the right eye, as if with a :stone or nstrurnent, severe bruises on the left eye, scratches on the cheek, a quantity of blood at the back of the head, and the front part of her dress torn open, as if with violence; while the back part of the dress was covered with mud, as though the body had been dragged over the ground. It was found that deceased had lived at Pontymaswn, about two miles from Bassalleg ; and that on Wednesday morning she had come to Newport f or th e purc h ase o f some peas and other trifling articles ; and was last seen passing the Hand Post a little after five o'clock, walking by herself towards Bassalleg, where she was to receive her weekly p2rochial allowance. About six o'clock the same evening a young lad, named Henry Phillips, son of Mr. William Phillips, of Nan toch Farm, observed a quantity of peas scattered on the road, almost close to the gate, within a few yards of which the body of the poor old woman was dis covered on Friday, by her son, at two o'clock in the afternoon. It appears that the deceased, not having returned to her house on Wednesday, her husband, who is a cripple, sent information of her absence to their son, John Lewis, night watchman under Sir Charles Morgan, at Bassalleg, who accordingly came towards Newport on Thursday, and on passing the gate where the peas had been observed on the previous night felt a presentiment :that his mother was in a shed, situated at the top of the brake. He stated that on going there he happened to turn his head around, and then saw some dark object lying near the road hedge, and this he speedily found to be the body of his mother. An inquest was commenced on Satur day, but adjourned, The prisoners, who seem very determined charac ters, left Cheltenham, in custody of the police, at three o'clock this morning, for Newport, where they will be examined before the magistrates. Information has since been received that the same men have been concerned in an almost equally appal ling transaction in this county. Mr. Benjamin Meredith, aged 72, of Aylhurton, was stopped between six and seven o'clock on Friday night, on the high road, at Purby, in the parish of Lydney, by the two ruffians, and there severely beaten, the crown of his head being kicked in, and the poor man left for dead. The raz:cals decamped with a sil ter watch, pocket-book, umbrella, receipt stamp, and other articles which they found on his person. Mr. Meredith was afterwards found by some passers-by, and conveyed to the nearest house. Medical assistance was speedily rendered, but the un fortunate man has been unable to speak since, and lies in a most precarious state.— Cheltenham Journal. ELOPEMENT EXTRAORDINARY. (Fnom A CORRESPONDENT.) The Commissioner of a certain nobleman arrived lately in one of the islands of the Outer He brides, to make his half yearly collection of rents, to make new arrangements of crofts, and to enact other things which, if really carried into effect, will forma fit ting topic for the public prints. And all this with the advice and concurrence, and at the instigation, of the leading man of the party referred to, in whose house he took up his short residence. We say short, for be fore a tithe of his intended task was done, Mr. Com missioner suddenly made his retreat. One of the sweeping arrangements really carried into effect, was the displacing young Mr. M—, of Al—, from an office to which he had only been lately ap pointed. Not content with this unpopular and ill•advised act, Mr. Commissioner, it is said, and believed by all in the place, wished also to disappoint the well-known hopes and wishes of Mr. M-- in another and more interesting quarter ; but Miss Jessie M--, of B--, was not to be won by this Commissioner Plenipotentiary. She was determined that Pit.. M— should not he further in jured, and that in this matter the Commissioner, with all his legal acumen, should be outwitted; fur he had gone but a few hours from B—, with her refusal to comfort him, when young Mr. M— and his Jessie eloped together. The affair was managed most dexterously ; his vehicle was speedily brought into request—Miss Al— at dead of night made her escape, and spi ritedly, with her lover, through mots and fen, soon reached the conveyance. Crack went the whip of the postilion on the foremost horse—louder still the lash by Mr. Al—; off sprang the spirited steeds, and in less than two hours, in a dark and murky night, the happy pair were at the port of L—, several miles off. Our Commissioner C— was all the while heavily slumbering at L—, waiting the sailing of the mail packet. Never mind that. The vessel Mr. M— had in waiting was immediately boarded, the crew had their sails unfurled and all in readiness, the anchor was quickly weighed, and the lovers were speedily wafted on - wards by a favouring gale, and far, far at sea. Air. M—'s servant had returned home before it had transpired that his master had stormed the citadel of 13— and carried off his lovely prize. Who can envy Mr. Commissioner's feelings when he heard that " the lass he left behind" was now " o'er the maddies and awa'." Little did he think, when practising the back step to the sonorous tones of the bagpipes, and acting the agreeable during all the previous week at B—, that the plans were then forming by which he was so soon to be left a luckless and unpitied suitor. eyes of the kw of Scotland was then and there con. tranted. In h::is time than our readers can peruse this nurrzive, llr. and Mrs. M--, and their faith ful r,:tiners e'er,' safely on board, stceririg for the op poe :11ore:i. Such a dashing and chivalrous exploit we scarcely expected to hear of in the nineteenth century, it is worthy of the ancient days of knight errantry ; and, sur,ly, there is not a lass in a' the kind but will admire the conduct of young and not a gallant youth but will applaud the heroism and sorely-tried faithfulness of his beauteous bride. —Court Journal, of April G. IRELAND. SALES UNDER THE ENCUMBERED ESTATES ACT. DUBLIN, TUESDAY EVENING.—Four sales of small properties were this day effected before the Corn milAioners. The first was in the nature of a perpetual annuity of 2001. per annum on lands in the county of Wexford, and was sold for 2,9001, car 141- years' purchase. The second was a small property in the county of Clare, held on lease fur ever, the rental amounting to but 241. per annum, s old for 3101., or about 13 years' pur chase. 'lnc third was of a simple estate in the county of Cavan, producing a rental of 110/. per annum, sold for 2,550/., or 23 years' purchase. The last was a small property in Monaghan of about 50/. per annum, which sold for 810/., or little over 16 years' purchase. A OL ITION OF TUE laissr COURT.—In a reply to a circular addressed to the Irish Members, Mr. R. J. Tennant, M.P. for Belfast, states that it is his inten tion to vote for the abolition of the Viceroyalty of Ireland, and denies that the measure can inflict any injury on that country. IMPERIAL PAIILIAMENT. IIOCT3E OF (;O.VMOIVS, .4pril 9. IP.") READE. , ;GS. The Wakefield Buroira•ii Paiarket Bill was lead a third theta and passed. TRANSFOR T OF CONVICTS. In reply to Sr W. MOLESWORTH, Mr. HAWES said there was no foundation for the statements which had appeared in the newspapers that the Blenheim transport-ship had been sent to Van Die men's Land with a number of convicts on board. WINDOW DUTIES. Sir B. HALL presented a petition from the parish of St. Pancras praying for a rept al of the window duties. Lord D. STUART and Mr. Alderman HuairreEnx prof eated similar petitions; f.em Marylebone and South wark. Lord DUNCAN, sf.er presenting two similar peti tions from Bath and Deptford, proceeded to move, that whereas the present mode of assessing, levying, and collecting taxes on air and light in England and Scotland interferes most prejudicially with the health and sanitary condition of the inhabitants of Great Bri tain, therefore it is expedient that the window-tax should he repealed. The Noble Lord did not think it was necessary for him to make any long apology to the House for introducing this subject at the present moment. The first time he brought this motion forward was in the year 1845, when the Right Honourable Baronet the Member for Tamworth was at the head of the Government, when he moved for a Committee to inquire into the operation of the window duties ; that motion however was not granted, but still he had no reason to regret the manner in which that motion was received. The Right lion. Baronet stated at the time that he was ready to take the matter into consideration at some future period.— (Hear, hear.) The next time that he brought on the motion was in 1848, when the Noble Lord whom he now saw in office was at the head of the Government, and he certainly had no reason to regret having brought it on then, for the Noble Lord stated on that occasion that all the arguments that could be used in the discussion were in favour of it. In the year 1848, however, there was a diminished revenue, and it was, therefore, proposed to increase the income-tax, to 5 per cent. Fortunately, at the present time there was a surplus in the Exchequer, without any prospect of increasing the income-tax, nor was there any prospect of a foreign invasion. On the contrary, they had an assu rance in the Speech from the Throne that her Mejesty . continued at peace and amity with all foreign powers. There was one passage in the Speech, which was strongly in favour of his motion—he referred to the wish expressed by her Majesty to pro mote any improvement in the sanitary condition of the people. Now, this motion was essentially a sanitary measure, and considering the state of our finaneea and the flourishing aspect of the national affairs, whoa they were enabled to reduce the esti mates by upwards of a million of money, and to retell the stamp and brick duties, he could not help thinking that the window duties could be safely re duced, if not entirely abolishod.—(Hear, hear.) He was encouraged to make this motion at the present time by the circumstance that, with the exception of the glass trade, every branch of our manufacturing industry was in a flourishing state. The glass trade, however, was in a state of severe and unexampled de pression ; but if the window-duties were repealed it would be restored to a flourishing condition. He did think it would be a very great boon to the glass trade, if the House would take his proposition into its consideration. In looking at this matter, they were bound to consider, in the first place, the policy of levying duties on windows at all. If the window-tax was to be retained, it would be much wiser to levy it fairly and impartially on every window in the kingdom than by the present sliding-scale mode, which presse.l most unequally on the occupiers of small houses. In the smaller houses, those, for instance, in Baker-street, in this metropolis, the window-tax amounted to no less a sum than 30 per cent. upon the rental. In many of the other small streets the window tax was found to press most unequally, to the ex tent sometimes of 30, 40, and occasionally even 50 per cent. Now he did think if this tax was to be persevered in at all, it would ee desirable that it should tall much more equally on the different classes than at present. In 1708 there were no less than 580,000 houses chargeable to the window-tax ; iu 1784 the number had declined to 495 000, and in 1849 it had further decreased to 473,000. Com paring the present time with 1708, and considering the immense increase which has taken place in the popula tion, he could not help being struck with the small num ber of houses now chargeable to the window-tax. The number bad gone on decreasing, instead of augmenting according to the increase of the population. That was partly accounted for by people blocking up their windoe s to avoid the window-tax.—(Hear.) Another reason was the number of exemptions which had taken place. The list of exemptions to this tax was perfectly frightful. The first exemption to this tax was that of iron; public offices were also exempt, as were also farm houses of less than 2001. a-year. Why farm-houses of that class should be exempt, he did not know. Churches were also exempt; so were manufactories, which he thought was most unjust: coanting-houses were also exempt; in short, there was no end to the exemptions to this tax. He hoped if his Right Hon. Friend the Chan cellor of the Exchequer did not accede to his proposi tion, that he would at all events brinc , in a 13111 to do away with all these exemptions.—(4t laugh.) With re gard to the principle of the window -tax, it was so vicious that no modification could possibly make it supportable. In 1696, when the window-tax was put on, it was consi dered not as a wiedois -tax, but as a property-tax, and the number of windows was taken merely as a criterion of property. A tax of one shilling was put on every window, with au additional 4s. for every house with more than ten windows. Such was the ori gin of the tax. In 1710 another per tentage was laid on. Lt 1747, after a report had been presented by a Mr. Reed, a person of great weight, in which it was stated that many persons through the pressure of the tzx had begun to block up their win dows, but of which no no:ice was taken, the tax was gradually augmented. In 1797 and in 1802 Mr. Pitt augmented the tax under the plea of dimi nishing the income-tax. In 1825 a slight alteration was made, and iu 1834, Lord Althorp being pressed to take off the house-max and the window tax, took off the house-tax entirely, forgetting that the window-tax was in the first instance a house-tax. He hoped that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, would in his reply to his (Lord Duncan's) remark, state what a window really was, for at present every hole in the wall was liable to be charged, and nobody was exactly certain what a window was. If a man only took a brick out of a wall the effect would be to increase the assessment upon his dwelling. All who had visited foreign cities must have been struck with the fact that the inhabitants of them had two win dows to our one in England, and, looking at the great competition to which the labouring classes of this country were subjected, it was obvious that in many re spects additional light would be of great value to them. It • was said that an Englishman's house was his castle, but how could that be so, if his windows were subjected to taxation? It might, perhaps, resemble a castle in being built with as few windows as possible, and in being dark in the interior, but as regarded his right over it, in respect of the windows there was no such resemblance. A Committee of the House had declared its unanimous opinion that the blocking up of windows by owners of houses for the purpose of escaping the window tax was the primary cause of much sickness and mor tality iu the metropolis ; and, indeed, the legislation had been such as to introduce fever and cholera into many towns of the kingdom.—(Bear, hear.) A correspondence had taken place between the Carpen ters' Society and the Chancellor of the Exchequer upon the subject of the exemptions under this tax, and the then Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Goulburn), in reply to their communication, said that it they could make a hole through a wall which should pemit air without light, theu it would not be chargeable. —(A laugh.) In the heat of the sanitary reform move ment an association was started called the Health of Towns Association, which comprised amongst its mem bers the Marquis of Normanby—(Cheers)—the Earl of Carlisle, Mr. Cowper, Mr. Shell, Lord Ebrington, the Right Hon. Member for Oxford, and the Hon. Gentle man the Under-Secretary for the Colonies. The Noble Lord the Member for Falkirk (Lord Lincoln), had brought in a Bill upon the subject, and that Bill the association took into their immediate consideration. They reported " there is one subject so intimately con nected with sanitary improvement that no sanitary mea sure can be tolerably complete without embracing it, which is wholly passed over in Lord Lincoln's Bill, and into the investigation of which her Majesty's Commis sioners enter but slightly, namely, the operation of the vexatious window-duties." They added, " The window duties are a tax on light and air—a tax more vicious in principle, more injurious in its practical consequences, than a tax on food —it was, therefore, a most un happy thought which suggested itself to the Legislature of laying a tax upon windows to prevent the ingress of light and air. It was not for the House of Commons to step in between God and the people, and by laying a tax on the light of Heaven and the breath of life to ren der them unattainable to a largo mass of the population." (Hear, hear.) This was only a portion of the report, which was drawn up so ably, and which said what he would have wished to say so much more eloquently than he could pretend to do, that he trusted the Hon. and Right Hon. Gentlemen he saw on the Ministerial benches, who concurred in drawing up that report, would rise and reiterate those sentiments which he had so frequently listened to when they sat on the opposite side of the House.—(Bear, hear.) The same report went on to state, that in proportion as the window duty excluded light and air, it tended to deteriorate the popu lation by presenting obstructions to the full development of the physical condition of the people. With reference to the sliding scale, it showed that its effect was to make the poor pay for the rich; and it likewise showed that the operation of the tax generally was exceedingly discouraging to the erection of model-houses for the poor. Now, really, with such strong facts before them respecting the effects of the tax, and entertaining, as he did, a strong opinion that, under present circumstances, sanitary reform was a mere delusion, he hoped that when they came to discuss the question of the salaries of the Sanitary Commissioners the Hon. Member for Mon trose would give his particular attention to the question; for surely nothing could be more absurd and ridiculous than, era the one hand, to pay large salaries to a number of Commissioners who did nothing but inundate the House with blue-hooks, and on the other hand to raise mo :ey to meet those very salaries by taxation from the unfortunate people who inhabited the smaller description of houses.—(Einar, hear.) He begged it to be borne in mind that a sacrifice of 100,0001._ a year would enable - • the House to do away at once with the window-duty on - - eeeeeesseesesseee—e-se,—,--seeeseeeeseeo all le uses below twelve windows—a sum which woul be much better expended in this way than in the pay' riser?t of salaries to the Commissiouers at Gwydor-house' In Mr. Simon's report on the sanitary condition of the city of L on d on , i t was stated " that there are houses and localities within the city which are irremediably bad—places which the uninterrupted pie" sence of epidemic disease has stamped as absolutely twig for human habitation—places where drainage and water supply are indeed defective, but where the perfection of those necessaries might exist in all probability without giving healthiness to the inhabitants—the predominant evil in all the cases referred to was their thorough jo' possibility of ventilation." That report was hat we''' adopted by the Committee of Health of the City court of,Sewers, and the Court itself unanimously passed a resolution to the effect that it was their firm opinion that the continuance of the window-tax in a great de: gree neutralized the effect of their exertions in behalf of sanitary reform.—(Hear, hear.) Really it was of no use putting a long paragraph about sanitary measures into the Queen's Speech unless something was done to Inc' dify the window duties. He could read to the House evidence almost without end in support of his views on this subject. lie would only trouble their, however, by referring to the memorial of the medical officers of 0 9 West London, East London, and City of London Poor-law unions, in which they pointed out the inconsite tency of the Goverment appointing boards of health and keeping on the taxes upon light and air. He op' pealed to all those Hon. Members who had directed their attention to sanitary reform to stand up in their 020 0 and say wh(ther the existence of the window-tax had not thwarted them in their exertions to provide better habi' tations for the people of this country? He must say it would be a curious thing if, immediately after all the philanthropic sentiments which bad been expressed 10 that House with respect to the habitations of the poor! when they were debating the subject of the brick duties , it should be declared that we had actually come to that pass that it was absolutely impossible to get on unless we continued to levy a tax upon light and air. Be knew he would be told that he was a thoroughly inv practicable person,—that he was calling upon the Houle to do that which would prevedt the interest of the nit' tional debt from being paid. He denied that such was his object, or that such would be the effect of big motion. When they looked back to former years, and considered what had occurred, he thought the House would agree with him that the shorter they kept the Chancellor of the Exchequer by the head the better. What had been the effect of the broad hint that was given that Right Hon. Gentleman, that they would not agree to a 5 per cent. property-tax? The effect had been, that this very year they had had the pleasure of seeing him come the; House and declare that he was in possession of a large surplus, and that so much coo' nomy had been introduced into every department of the State that it could be carried no further. This same statement about economy, it wsuld be reaaemhered, was made last year; and yet the House had had the pleasure of seeing the estimates fer this year 1,000,000/. WO those of last year.—(Hear.) The fact was, that so far as words went, they were all in favour of economy; but the moment some really saving measure was proposed it reminded him of the Council of Beasts— " When saving measures were professed, A lamb's head was the wolf's request; Th• 3 fox submitted, if to touch A gosling would be deemed too much?" A majority of that House had declared that it was lin' possible the national honour could be maintained unless they voted 1,000.000/. a year to the African squadron' Ile hoped that the people would understand that if the sum that a as voted to the African squadron was retsina" there would be no necessity of taxing houses unde r fourteen windows. Wh en h e was to ld t h at economy ha°,, been carried out as far as p oss ibl e, h o recollected t h a t the same thing was said two years ago, when he brough t forward this motion. Since that time it had been bts good or bad fortune to be Chairman of the Committe e on the Woods and .Forests. It appeared that in that d'' prrtment of the State the practice prevailed of deduct' ing the expenses of the department and paying t" residue only, in-tead of the gross receipts, into the Pt : eh:quer. lie stated f e arl ess ly t h at two years ago, out ° an income r f 370 ; 0001. only 60,000/. found its way to into the public Exchequer. In 1831 the Committee on p u blic Accents reported that:— "To aecomplish with perfect security and efficienni, those onkets of safe cust o dy, l ega l appropr i at i on, an d record, it is obviously necessary that all public mood whatever should, in the first instance, be paid into th e Exchequer. But it app ars from the accounts laid hr fore Parliament that the whole amount of the public in' curiae is not so paid, but that amounts derived iron; divers sources of revenue are received and disburse° without the intervention of this institution, or being i.e any way submitted to its control. It is also certan t that considerable sums arising from taxes and othe r matters are deducted from the gross receipts, and re' tained and expended by several departments, which 0 1 9 account to the Exchequer for the net amount after such deductions. We think this practice ought to be die' continued, and we recommend the gross receipt of sh ° Crown propel ty under Woods and Forests and ether offices should be placed, without deduction, in the Es' chequer, and be accounted for to Parliament, whose 50 ' thority should be necessary for the appropriation of th e whole. We feel this principl e t o b e one o f paramo unt importance, a principle which we believe to be a ne l s' sary preliminary to all sati s f ac t ory fi nanc i a l reform. tel He trusted the Chan ce ll or o f t h e E xc h equer woul d ie' the House what steps had been taken to carry out th e recommendation of thet Committee. He begged to re' mind the House, too, that on the 31st of May, 1848, th e following motion by Dr. Bowring was carried by a W s. jority cf 56 to 51:—" That this House cannot be the effectual guardian of th e revenues of the State, unle the whole amount of the taxes, and of various o ther s sources of income received f or t h e pu b lic account, either paid in o r accounte d for to the Exchequer." ale (Lord Duncan) did not hesitate to say, after two yea te s experience on the Committee of Woods and Forests, the great reductions might be made in that .department. (Hear.) He trust e d th a t H on . M em b ers would slO4 2 consider whether econo m y h a d b een carr i ed to a sti"`‘ cient extent before they consented to the Right Von' Gentleman raising a revenue upon light and air, w hich hat been granted by Divine P rov id ence to such unlimited extent, upon the abundance of which the necessaries life and the physical condition of the people depende d ' and which he contended no Government had a right to e withhold.—(Elear, h ear .) Th e Noble Lord conclude d by reading his motion. Sir DE LACY EVANS said, in seconding the 10 0 : lution, that after the comprehensive manner in whin; the Noble Lord who had, just sat down had treated tats important subject, he had little else to do than to relic' rate some of the more prominent observations which h e ha-I made, and to insist on the necessity there was f or paying attenti on t o t h em . Th e N o b le Lord had pointe d out a remarkable circumstance incidental to this ta% which was, that though the houses of the United King: don had immensely increased in number since the ta i : was imposed, yet, in p o i n t o f f ac t , t h ere had scarce'' been any augmentation o f th e revenue f rom the first' It was true that several ex em pti ons h a d b een made, but they were quite inadequate to account for the non -its' crease of the revenue. There was no mode of solvil the difficulty, except by the f ac t th at hundreds an, thousands of houses 'had b een e i t h er d epr i ved o f the amount of light and air which they would otherwis e have enjoyed, or been cons t ructe d i n a man ner d directly suited to evad e th e d uty — o f w hi ch he had many instances in his own district. It must be' totally inconsistent in this House and in O n Government allowing s an it ary comm i ss i oners to carry on their proceedings, an d a t th e same t i me to maintain a tax the operati o n of w hi c h was to counter a°i ~ all their efforts.—(Hear, h ear .) H e did not at all d e n/ the necessity of taxation for maintaining the pub l e l credit—but, then taxation ou g ht t o b e w i se, and it oug'i - to be equal. If economy could no t b e carr i e d furthe r that session, as he underst oo d th e Ri g h t H on. Gentle;' man, the Chancellor of th e E xc h equer to say, st ill h , could see no reason why h e s h ou ld not attem pt to equalise taxation by repealing the obnoxious wind" duty, and imposing a probate duty on real property'' There were three di s ti nct o bj ect i ons to the win d o w, duty as it was now imposed: its inequality, its partiality?' and the detriment to the public health, especially of th e poorer classes, which it worked. Its inequality. w it " marked, and as for its partiality, if farms under 2001 e year rent were exempted from it, he could see no reason why shops of equal rents should not be exempted also This tax was felt to be an obnoxious one all over th e metropolis, and he hoped th a t if it cou ld no t b e ent irely repealed during the, present sess i on , at l east t h at hots% having less than fourteen w i n d ows m i g h t be exenePte' from it. lie had grea l t pleasure in seconding the roe lution. On the question being put, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER sat that this was not the first occasion on w hi c h hi s N o b le Friend opposite had brought this subject before th l House, and he did no t k now t h at he had now advance: any new argu men t upon i t; i ndeed, he believed that tb,iery was nothing mor e t o b e sa id w i th reference to it. ea would not attempt t o f o ll ow hi s N o bl e Fr i end into th e other topics on w hi c h h e h a d a l so spoken, for he did 0 0' think it advantageous on the present question to discs! ! such a m a tt er as th e management of the woods a nd forests, which, though undoubtedly every proper questio n ! for the consideration of the Rouse when properly brough l before it, was foreign to the immediate subject of the debate. His Noble Friend said that ho (the Chancello r of the Exchequer) had declared that economy could bi carried no further that session. Now, what he btfd said more than once was, that in order to effect grea t reductions, they should be effected grad ua ll y . They b 8 reduced the estimates year after year, and still he did 0; say that economy could be carried n o f urt h er; but be did say, that in order to effect an extensive econoniiv with a due regard for the interest of the country' economy should be gradual and successive. Far fro ° , saying that no further reductions co u ld b e ma d e, he must only nowthat it was n o t a d v i sa b le to reduce the estimates onl say blow the amount proposed to the Hous e ' The objections which his Noble Friend had taken to the window -tax, arose, in a great measure, out of the exenir d Lions from it which certa i n c l asses enjoyed. He appear ed to consider the exemption as an aggravation of the tar' and that because certain parties had been relieved fro m paying it, th a t a l one was enough to make the taxi's The exemptions were enjoyed by those engaged in O a important avocations of agriculture, manufacture, an trade, for carrying on productive industry. Then Is"' Noble Friend made a proposal for further ex e mptiong: which, a ccor di ng to his own view of the subject, ough: to render th e l aw st ill more o bj ectionable. At prese n t huuses under eight windows were exempt from dati' and it was proposed that houses under twelve w indow! should be exempt. That would carry the ex em ption: Hite further, a n d i nvo l ve a sum o f 206,0 00 1 ., a l t h o ug h no reason a pp eare d to b e sta t e d f or fi x i ng th© num b er windows. His Noble Friend also rested his objection co': sanitary gr oun d s , an d h a d re f erre d to t h e author i t i e s Parliament ar y C omm itt e es o n th e su bj ect. Th e genergle tendency of debates of this kind was, that soul tax was to be got rid of. II would be 194' ITALY. The first instalment of the Rothschild loan reached Rome on the 20th ult. Toe Costituzionale of the 2d inst. states that the splendid illuminations and other matters which were in preparation at Rome for the reception cf the Pope have been suspended, it having been learned that his Holiness's return is deferred, Austria having coun selled Pius IX. to postpone his entry into Rome till the question of the ecclesiastical privileges in Pied mont is settled. The Pope, in this case, will stop at Terracina, or some other town in his dominions. MALTA. We have received a Malta Mail of the 30th of March. It contains a protest of the Bishop of Gib raltar against certain articles in the proposed code of criminal law for the island, as also against an over bearing disposition displayed by the Roman Catholic members of the Council of Government entrusted with the amendment of the said code. The follow ing is the protest : " We, the undersigned, George, by Divine permission, Bishop of Gibraltar, being by virtue of our office, and by the authority of her Majesty's letters patent, invested with the power of exercising episcopal jurisdiction according to the ecclesiastical laws of England in all places belonging to the Church of England with in the island of Malta, and being ordinarily resi dent within the said island, have considered it to be our duty to examine those articles of the proposed code of Criminal Laws for the said island which are entitled Concerning offences against the respect due to religion,' as amended by the council of Go vernment, and having found that it is therein proposed to make the Church of Rome the dominant Church in Malta; to declare it to be exclusively the Catholic Church; to class the Church of England and the other religious bodies of her Majesty's subjectssas dissentients from the Church of Rome as it at present exists in the said island; and to enact heavier penalties for offences against the Roman Catholic worship than for offences against others; there fore we, the bishop aforesaid, do hereby protest in the strongest manner against the adoption of the said Article', for the following reasons:— " 1. Because whatever may be the privileges granted to the M,ltese, the supremacy of the English Crown carries with it of necessity the supremacy of the religion of the Queen and of the people of England, and estab lishes it by the law of the land in es e r y col o ny and de pendency of the empire, Malta included. " 2. Because this proceeding of the majority of the Council in attempting to make the Church of Rome dominant in Malta, and to declare the religion of the said Church to be exclusively the Catholic religion, is an attack upon the supremacy of the Crown and the fun damental laws of the empire, and an invasion of the rights and privileges of the Catholic and apostolic Church of England. " 3. Because the attempt to class the Church of Eng land and other bodies of her Majesty's subjects together, as being merely dissenters or dissentient from the Church of Rome as it at present exists in Malta, is an insult to the religion of the Queen and of the people of England. "4. Because the enactment of greater penalties for offences against the Roman Catholic worship than for offences against the worship of other Christian churches is a violation of the principle of equal protection for all classes of her Majesty's subjects, and of the rights and lihertiesof Englishmen. "5. Because — neither the clergy nor the reople of the Church of England in Malta have given the least occa sion for any such proceedings, they having been careful on all occasions to avoid giving offence to their Maltese cts in all things connected with their religion. " — Given at Gibraltar Palace, in the city of VaData, this twentieth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty. "G. GIBRALTAR. " To his Excellency the Right lion. Richard More O'Ferrall, Governor of Malta, So." (From the Malta Mail, d March 30.) On Sunday last, we are informed, notice was given in the Roman Catholic churches, that for the future no intermarriages would be permitted between parties, one of whom professed the Roman Catholic and ttie odic'. the Protestant faith, except under a solemn promise that the children to be born thereof should be brought up in the Roman Catholic faith. On the same day, public notice was given fee= the altar of the cathedral church of St. Paul, that for the future no banns of marriage would be published, or the solemnity performed between parties as above, of opposite religious faith, if either bad sworn, in the court of the Roman Catholic Bishop, to bring up the children in the Roman Catholic faith. his Lord ship the Bishop of Gibraltar concluded, and we th►nk with much reason, that the parents who would consent to such a sacrifice had better themselves embrace the profession to which the children are thus, by parental weakne.ts, so unceremoniously condemned. MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTERED IN THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, APRIL 6, Ibso. Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases ... *l5B Diseases of Uncertain Seat ... ~. 54 Tubercular Diseases 186 Di s eases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses... ... 162 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 37 Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of Respiration ... 253 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion... ... 63 Diseases of the Kidneys, &e. 11 Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus, &c. ... 9 Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles ... 11 Diseases of the Skin, &c. 2 Malformations... Premature Birth ••• ••• ... 31 Atrophy —• Old Age ••• ••• ••• ... 26 Sudden ... 17 Violence, Privation Cold, and Intemperance 35 Causes not speelfied 1 THE SEQUEL—Pursuit was made early in the morning after Mr. M—__ and his affianced brid e. One party, along with the C omm i ss io n er, started in one direction, and a ser van t, h ea d e d by a stout disciple of Malthus, who i s one o f th e larger tenants in the north of the island, set off in another ; and these, along with a gentleman on a neighbouring estate, immediately proc ee d e d f urt h e r north, to the Bay of T--. The vess e l c f Mr. M-- had pre viously entered that bay, and Jay quietly at anchor. He little thought that chase would be given in that direction; and while he and his betrothed were com fortably seated at tea in the small cabin in the even ing, the pursuers boarded the vessel. The door of the cabin was violently - burst open, and here a scene occurred of the most painful and yet interesting nature. Mr. M------ was assailed with the warmest invective, and the object dearest to his heart was tried and tempted in every way to leave him — but all in vain. She clung to Mr. M----a virtually using th e words of the favourite song of her own. 1 "Before I'm forced to break my faith, I'll lay me down and dee: For I hae pledged my virgin troth, Brave Donald's fate to share, And he has gi'en to me his heart With a' its virtues rare:' After a long interval, the fair fugitive and Mr. AI---- were decoyed on shore, on the assurance that POST-OFFICE NOTICE.—The United States' Go they were n o t t o b e se p a rated. Scarcely, however, vernment having e s t a bli s h e d ma il p ac k e t s b e t ween N e w had they stepped ashore, when the promise was York and Chagres, in connexion with a line of packets pro y seeding at regular intervals from Panama to San shamefully violated •; for the lovers were instantl ho ra e ncis o c t o, the public . may avail . themselves of this separated, and, most cruelly, not permitted to ex- communication for their correspondence to change either looks or words. Galifornia and Oregon, by specially addressing " ria New 11Ir. M---- proceeded to —, and next day the York," ur via the United States," any letters or news uncle carried off his niece to R —7-. A stormy week papers they may desire to be so forwarded. The corn ofl(.;ia7fd British . and United States' postage upon letters for wind and rain succeeded. The wind moderated paid, and and wili i t i .i e re o go o n n , a se l n et t ter by r ; o t t h e is ‘c r e o e u d t . e, ri:listanbeollnreee however, and favoured Mr. M-- in the daring ad and a company venture now to be narrated. He arrived off the coast Donald." in weight, 2s 5 1 / 2 d., pexceeding Ida an - Ounce n a )g ndliot exceed ofing 1 ousts, 4s. lid., and so on, according to the scale in H--- at night, with two large half-decked boats, of some twenty-four brave retainers, operation for charging inland letters. The postaga will be the same, whether the letters be conveyed from this country The man on guard at R-- was instantly tied be liable to a combined British and United States' postage who would venture their lives for gallant "young access into the house, by B . :iiish or by United States' packets. Newspapers will succour. Arr. Ai— and his men speedily obtained EMBEZZLEMI , IST.—On Saturday, Mr. Peter Hay, to the post of the gate to prevent his procuring any of 2d. each. an d, without entering into de- the superintendent of police at Stroud, received a telegraphic tails, suffice it to be said that Jessie, who was in th e message from Stafford, via Gloucester, that a man named same bedroom with her aunt, was quickly awakened, Williain Pride,,liacl absconded from Glasgow, having em asevt soon d resse d, an d i n th e arms of her pr o t ec t or an d 7r. ex liezzled the sum of .50t /. belonging to his employers, and that dearest f r i en d . Th e unc l e , of course, was also arous e d p; ir cte l d ia t t o , cbamllndat,tho.trtseand p t e o ra , o S n tr a o n u s d we p r o i s i t , - , offi tt e me e d io e r from his s l um b ers, b ut only a lel to act a most unexpe c ted sc r ip t i on o f Willi a ; u P r id e h a d arrived in Stroud the previous part. Mr. M____. peremptorily asked the uncle, in evening, and proceeded on to Nailsworth by the omnibus the presence of all, " Are you a magistrate ?" and on which left the former place at half-past seven. Mr. hay his answering in the affirmative, Mr. 111--e- then nut thereupon made the best of his way to Nailsworth,_ and as the question, at the same time taking her hand, "Jes- c hi e o rt t k cl ine i d r t t l i i i z a t t t 1: 0 ; N i % d n e . had He taken happened u pllis to be quarters just atthtehne abroad,George sie, are you my wife ?" and on her emphatically say- so the superintendent determined to wait. Alter the lapse ing "Yes," he replied, e And lam your husband " of an hour, Pride appeared, and was forthwith taken into 1 This was a meat adroitly executed part of the drama. custody. A 10/. note and 26 sovereigns were found on his The uncle must have felt keenly the awkwardness of i t r me rso ,r n ii ; an i d ao tl t i o e u re k r o va n s de a r g h r i e s at ea g ri tial r y id o e f l is ug i g t a i g ia e, ti N i v , h e ic o li t. his position—when, instead of proving, as he thought the protector of his niece, he was, as a Justice of ---7 Nailsw c o e r r th a , but has not resided there for several years. He has been conveyed to Glasgow, where the case will be en the Peace, called u p o n to act a most important ; tried into before the proper authorities.—Che!teaamJouriud, part in the solemnization of the marriage he was ' nunetN, APRIL B.—Wind S.S.E. to .E.—A, rd. so heartily opp ose d to. We dwellers in Scotland I Harmony, Abeeata, l3arbadoes; Ouzel Galley, Trinidad. 'verily believe, that a marriage valid and legal in the ! SW. Xenia, 13abaloes. DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES ... ... 1,124 Population Deaths in corro- Deaths Enumerated, sponding week in the 1841. of 1849. Week. West Districts... 301,189 . . 163 ... 182 North Districts.. 376,568 .. 192 ... 210 Central Districts 374,199 ... 173 ... 187 East Districts ... 393,067 ... 176 ... 224 South Districts.. 503,346 ... 290 ... 321 --- T0ta15........ 1,948,369 ... 994 ...' 1,124 Males ... ... ... ..• ... 560 Females ... ... ... ... ... 564 BIRTHS IN THE WEEK. Males ••• ••• ••• ••• ... 697 Females ... ••• ••• ••• ... 646 Total ... ... 1,343 *ln this number are included 17 by Scarlatina, 34 by Typhus Fever, 15 by Diarrhoea. and 2 by Cholera.