The Sun. — London, England, 1850-03-06 00:00:00

te t e s pent in th e communication between the two tallf not less than two hour , . Now, v. a, iit not, he Ilese d a i s , k, of vast impertance that that communicati▪ on rt rre ° ace el , ra . o? He did not care, he should ob ttbillh‘ s tlitr th e ; ads were forwarded by Folkestone outer upon th at po i nt he had no preference t). 'le had ere-y reason to believe that the rout, talre,,,'Roe would be found preferable to that by Caleb. ‘ vip lected to the former route that when the wind tale a partieular gear ter it would be impossible to tiehs°habeur of Boulogne. while wo could make Ife io '"Dar of Calais. But he found that during a space , l 'ele ses )(l ,ra the night-null between Folkestone and ` h t les:'," tl e , nal missed the latter harbour thirty-eight "ere t hat durin g a similar period the mail between 10 (4 1 , 111 Calais had missed tee latter harbour t wenty a• Tb les s • e difference , therefore, between the numbsr "Ile s , la which either harbeur had been missed was qVi th ' ta i 4111 c ould not b e put i n com p et i t i on w i t h th e '))11 " , ge l), e' having the mails delivered two hours 4 )4 7at t uere was an o th er a d van t age attending tue 414 tt t t e: eß cullogne. Wh en a steamboat could not hrl e alu arbour i n consequence of the preva l ence o f iltit • Or ° T I to Cal tit h - Westerly winds, the mails could be L ll eft . an:, and would arrive there in the same NI b e a nne which was at present required to carry ,r t ' L letir e " e 'le direct route; while, if a boat could not 4re "rbo ur of Calais, it sho u ld return to Dover. e ber t r h e, the re f ore, greater chances of missing a1t0.41 . 41 by Passage to France by the Calais they°t3 to Boulogne line. The mail boats had 'each Boulogne six times only in the year ' o 4 lee tal e the number of times they had failed 1 , 111 44' 4 ' 4 s- Now, he only ailed that they the e w e 4 Committee which would sift those matters INitt ee 4l3 ; and surely the investigations of such a Otee e could do no harm, and might be productive t y i eh eu red• Let them look at the incenvenience to kloe t ; g re at commercial towns were exposed from 4:i . et e r re ' a f t t ro of tile present route. When a mail ar tt „ o raris it vial too late to be sent by . p a le . , r eats, f e e s; and the consequence was, that the Intl t tenchester, Liverpool, and our . other gee! l cet e ,' t owns lost ono day in the receipt of their eottiell ordere from the East Indies, from France, ear whole whole of the south of Europe. But if the I,', t e hseTrwarded by Boulogne, and were to leave to "doe 4t"-Past seven in the evening, they would reach . N t t ilin g t 11 ):1 1 S ufficienty early hour on the following It tor • my of their being sent off to the country by r e ll s l 4:,s mail. That was an advantage which s e " o nn eitlY most desirable that they should if u'ese--(Heae, hear.) The Hon. Member con tigt,l4,,,nrlng for the Committee. et'oHERTON seconded the motion. A VFEIi. said he bad no objection to the ‘: te r4l ,)2t rri h ei cia t °I . the Committee for which the Honourable S 'tee • n 'nred. But he certainly did not entice. k Pt, r Its ; 14 PA e s _ inquiries any very important results, ex b3, e t r . a, that it would sift many of the statements t hat 4 41 1 e non ' Gentleman. He believed that the ii,:ksr e ,: l nan attached far too much importance to kit lion Which he had stated was the foundation of 41 1 : 4 _ _lie believed it would he shown to the Com : li e , another express had been forwarded by the Ite e YetleZ tu t;t was to say, by Calais—and had been 1 1; °cel l :`r the hi s within sixteen minutes of the Pled Pre, eatable°res the transmission of the one to which to' to ll t sl ik Pre s , fl aider in that matter was, not by which line l ko t S il s t e t e fe e s e ti n o l n d he conveyed with the greatest rapidity, atee: Was by which line could the greatest q . N ew rultY be maintained throughout the whole ,ti te 'aref - }3 't had been found from the peculiarity of the War t ee °nlolene that there was the greatest uncer at s ollt l°o period at which the mails could be received 'bera'ep eve s e and it was surely of greater value to those ho=edeete letters that those letters should reach 1 ? . i " u Periods, than that they should reach them ors earlier or a few hours later. During the the mails were forwarded by Boulogne it B,b°lt,aci necessary to allow five hours and a half le t toie Joureey; while by the Calais route four k' t sse o Y wer e n e aeowsd for the see voyage—that was to +oPtwet ur " is m a half less. It appeared to him that if i , t tli e eli t ie ° have that Committee it would be as well ,klp D 9 th 0 7 also direct its inquiries to the communica eoiag th tlntl, becense there were many reasons for 40 by 1 , 4 ' the mail s cou ld be carri▪ ed to the north of sg t e e ranee without any additional expense, thus Of ‘.w? lines into one, and insuring the same A nt t o P u hty as at present. He would therefore tiNe " lion. Friend the propriety of aiding the 11" .'"la to his motion—" and to tie north of ' r 1 4 5 h ila cilj e lo r : -41-1 . said that as the lion. Gentleman tle't wi sh addressed the House hal said that he Ytt .;',to oppose the motion , he (Sir G. Clerk) t , e ` i , 1 4 4 '1 4 11d to object to it ; but at the ke" rar e " thought that that question could be k°ol.itiese satisfactorily settled by the Government ri t M to th a by a Committee of that House. It etektls hi m that it was a question which ought to toed upon the principles laid down by l ei l eaot te "L, eniber for Hertford, and that they d at the time spent in conveying sp f eci e a - 1 le' 'at tai the With all the preparations made be e c i i e r e. time spent in conyeyreg t e t r e m of u N i ,!tidr . of the your, and in all weft eY ought to endeavour to have a postal Ile ? " conducted with the greatest regularity; s ''S k 4 've enra parativele unimportant matter whether p;lsb e t e r .i ec i eived an - hour earlier or an hour later. Nt l ' s ade l ,„_'" tile interest of the merchant to have his t11„ 1 „!hi e"'" arrive at a fixed period. But that was a 4 thc t ie: es ° , ll ,gbt he thought, to be arranged by the N at the post -office arid at the Admiralty, and ,;41t.05reeitraittee of that House. He . admitted that ree,Rhestrable that the merchants in our cammer.- I 'i t o tll bicate nal ti, if possible , be enabled to receive their L t 4 Lo n a "r Orn the Continent . on the day of their `eta , - ,en ° n• But the attention of the Committee 'etjsceeftecially directed to this point, what accele Or? This subject in the transit between London Osei 'puts subject engrossed the attention of ek e seat cif Trade when he had the honour he there, and formed part of the able b 80ar es eritee ' • of Lord Dalhousi▪ e. , r , under the direetion N 4 ' l o Of l a Tr ade at that time pointed out the im ''vn avin • communication between - Poi nt g a direct L eth , " e rts i nsteadB,. of continuing to follow the present e'Vaats" In convenient route by Reigate , and the .h '18:114 Company proposed a scheme by which t hat Th,"'"t have been conveyed by that mere direct P v arrj' s Was 6 ve years ago, and nothing had been I, l e / I l 4 s t Pose n e , 4rr Ying it out. A petiti▪ on for a Bill for atop': e xecuting that scheme, he was hap to , 12 , 4 1 before Parliament this year, which .. i t 4 ,4 e ' i llo e f e P ( '' in its progress by a technical objection. ei ‘ ei.ar e - e ' e r, he remembered, that in a line of this t by of the journey was performed by land P k , 111 ' 4 4 h' et h Yon could not always take the shortest I s 4 , l el l lier - I t lt iP , but must take into consideration also ~varte r ` 4 of harbours and the ports or arrival Via e ) and the most circuitous line by land e. Yon to avail yourself of the shortest sea itk'n'ttit wand wish was that the inquiry should be as thatihellu as ample us possible, because he felt con ' tltilejr, f ever question might arise as to the re sale eLe'',/ of Boulogne or Calais on the other e - "o be no doubt whatever that the port of ,t:aabes s tlr e % it great advantages and facilitie . s, which ksN v . 1 44 a t all times to be selected as a pelt of d l' i ps,ra a:Pendently of that, Parliament determined e 'l it ' Vkl• e °2 to construct most important works there t l eb ;),' expense, which were not yet completed, c„` ll ‘, e ll ' li . a c e ° they were so, would give Dover advan lOVltoe; to itself. It would then no longer be a t Mine accessible only at particular hours, bu t. k : . 0' f ees months be accessible at any time o rtference to Calais, independently of its ‘'4 'Oa : 4 f rom the westerly gales, works had re . - a ; 11 e 'instructed there which rendered it accessi letterl e n s ; It was considerations such as these ty'Sceee"P'aion, justified the Admiralty in saying :"I not to look so much to quickness of com -1411.`" te e -3 to that which would give security and mae, ki t 'eC Nit ! lek nowledged the importance in a corn -0014 ta get v iew of facilitating • quick postal commu -I°,le 43 er e s e neral, aad seagested that it would be well ht h" uet her the benefit of the penny postage 1110'ileXtended to the colonies. I, l) lti, ted ") a e rejoiced that the Government had co.n eaetier,s4lusit'ee, fur he felt, that by means of . its 1 : I t , 01 t he Ron. Member opposite would be dis- e' l las. ",, n ,Y of the opinions which he ha stated to b t ' i ' t e ,said the passage would he shortened by lepoe'a 42 te t,oe real difference, he believed, aas not le, - ‘l, ‘ L'en e e' L e notee. The incr.ase or the passengers Vtt ;".!e 6 4 7 4,1 been commented on, but that increase ftnediately aft, r the establishment of steam -I,,Zremi,Ple 4 ' re the construction of railroads, and for er,"",,,ati e l 'nrlt that people wished to avoid the three j ai °r diligences between Calais and Bou leiNs;alsetAse, however, was very different since the ~p e no t aC re of railroads. South-westerly winds pre tle;°°l.ha in the year, and during the preva- VI; Tla e W inds the approach to Boulogne was very 4 1 1 . Z e 'ts e e °ll , l Y time when there was any sea at 4 5 ,, 1 0 4 C' if, ' ri ng the prevalence cf a north-easterly klu.llder such circumstances, you could not lbit te.:tiAe Boulogne would be accessible. The 1k by b as "' s ever had said that Boulogne must he ao te-' c ommunication for passengers, but o,l"taZeeCtie followed as a matter of course. S t 4 e,'" lie te ' i me, for instance, it was dangerous to i s i k „,e - k e ep - 4,900, for the shore was steep and there Oo f With reference to the direct line h i .11 1 ,; (41 and Dover, to which reference had 11;ear,Pelet".could only say there never was a railway thdr through which it was 's;1 1 1;i1 10 te te There was not a landowirr, he be.. th at i r whole line who was not noxious for its Tut ,was . very sorry that it was put off till oelievel it would not be delayed beyond 1: 14 , 14 , L A hag n'keir EVANS only rose f the purpose l of s ;4l (/'s o bservati on with reference to the direct e ''i . s h e t ioe e T ill °, ll to Dover. This he conceived to '4 . "115 - "ala t - ° hied - and he hoped the public spirit k k t 4 4 7 0 1.11' u % with the assistance of the . Honourable ‘ki over , would secure the passing of the Bill 1, 11 0 fl oe bkil tk 1 5 , If t) , TON thought the change would be of d~ illQ forty m i nutes were gained ; al hl 11ts 414 4 " f make v er y li tt l e diff erence i n London, or 1% , t ,` the difference of a day in the northern , I ,tl 1, ,,.kt ' 41 '14 sngeested that the two hours might be saved li•i,oeirxPrPas from Dover. the ' I N NON proposed to amend his motion 1 0 . N tql.,words and the northern parts of Eu e:se,ll' te e re been informed that: the South-Eastern 41setetirar,° willing, if the Government chose, to enter t,l/44,04:! te ct fro ° carry the mails either from Dover to ,41 to In k re Folkestone to Boulogne, at a very 3? ° I; e zPense to the country; he was almost titter no much, but he believed it to be 200001. ke s 'ald "1 ". Be hoped the representatives for ' e asea uo t be so alarmed about their harbour, for Adtßach zaalfold Advantages, they would no , doubt be eFtzblished beFore the Committer, and ir, on the other hand, it should be ealblished tl at Folkestone could be made equally gcod, he trusted thy would not resat ita being made so. The motion WAS then agreed to, with the addition pro- posed. FINES ON THE ADMISSION OF FREE NIEN. Mr. Alderman SIDNEY motel for leave to bring. in a Bill to abolish the payment of fines and stamp duties on the admission of freemen into corporations of cities and boroughs in England and Wales. His first in tention was to introduce a Bill applicit'lle to the city of London alone, bat he was informed by the Right Honourable Gentleman in the chair that such a men cute would come under the dcnominaton of a private Bill, and he had now brought within its scope all the municipal towns of England and Wales, and ho rejoiced that he had taken this course, f.:eling assured that there was much to be amended. The fads on enrolments ranged from 6s. to 38s. 4d., which inflicted great injus tice•on those who were compelled to pay them, many of whom were extremely poor. The evil was more severely fat in London, because there the system of imposing fines on residence, abolished by the Municipal Act of 1835 in other corporate towns, still prevailed, and im posed a great hardship upon the small shopkeeper, while the large merchant, the wholesale dealer, and proLesional man escaped. A few years ago the City Solicitor had to proceed against 3,000 persons for not taking up tieir liberty, and there %ere now 2,000 persons who refused to pay the fine on residtnc-'. Last election many hun dreds of pounds were paid for fines on taking up the freedom of electore. Ia London, with a Parliamentary roll of 20,000, there were only 6,000 entitled to the muni cipal franchise, and these were divided into 25 wards, five cf which consisted of between 70 and 100 individuals, and many of which on an average Ind a!rout from 100 to 120 electors. Was this the proper tt ite for a corpo ration with funds to the amount of upwards of 200,000/.? In Manchester the municipal would be double the amount of the Parliamentary roll, in Leeds three or four times as numerous, and Birmingham and Sheffield exhibited about the same proportion. He had hoped that the Go vernment would not have opposed the introduction of the Bill. The principal argument against it, ho believed, was that it would affect a revenue of from 600/. to 800/. a sear; but thin, he submitted, ought not to form any ob jection, when it was considered that the tax was imposed on a puor, hard-working class. He asked nothing but justice; and with these observations he asked permission to lay the Bill on the table. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL was satisfied that the House would be only waiting its time in allowing this Bill to be introduce.). Ile thought -they had some rea son to complain of the course pursued by the Hon. Mem ber,for he hal admitted that his.original intention was to imit the operation of his Bill to London, and then, finding that in such a shape it fell under the category of private Bills, and therefore would require notico to be given to the Corporation of London, and the various companies whose interests were to bo affected, 11-2 got rid of the difficulty by altering his Bill into a proposition for confiscating property throughout England and Wales. Mr. Alderman SIDNEY—No, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL—The Hon. Cantle man admitted that he had applied to the Speaker. Mr. Alderman SIDNEY—Not as to confiscating pro perty. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL—StiII the Honour able Member ascertained that, in its original shape, the Bill would have required notice to be given to those with whose vested rights it proposed to interfere. The lion. Member hal instituted a comparison between the muni cipal roll in London and that of Liverpool, Manchester, and other places, but the remedy for that was very simple. Let him bring in a Bill to make the London constitu ency like the Liverpool constituency, instead of pro prosing to increase the constituency by taking away the property of the Corporation. Let the Cor poration of London bring in *a Bill to apply the Muni cipal Reform Act to themselves. What was the history , of this Bill? It was brought fsrward by the Hon. Mem ber from his knowledge of the city of London. He moved, in the first plane, for the amount of fines and fses payable in every city and borough in England, and then before grtting any information he brought in his Bill affecting the property of all the corporations throughout England, without the consent of the inhabitants, with out any application frem a single member cf any town council, or from elsewhere. If such a thing were re quired, if the old corporations wished it, the town coon cils could abolish fines to morrow. Why, then, come with an Act of Parliament and take away their property, and deprive the corporations of the right of self-govern ment? No petitions had been presented in favour of the Bill, and the Hon. Member had not inquired into the subject except in reference to the city of London. The Common Council of the City was a body elect el an nually, why not leave the matter to the corporation it self ? Did the lion. Member mean to say that the Bill was in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants of London or the Corporation? Mr. Alderman SIDNEY—Of the inhabitants gene rally. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL—They have pre seated no pc titions. Mr. Alderman SIDNEY—I presented one. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL.—I know that the Corporation do not entertain that opinion. Mr. Alderman SIDNEY—Many do. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL—If they had that feeling they might do it to-morrow. They first invested those bodies with the principle of local government, and the subject was submitted to them, and because one of their members happened to be also a Member of Parliament, he sought to defeat their decision by making Parliament a Court of Appeal. The Munici pal Reform Act abolished freedom by purchase, but this formed no part of the Hon. Member's project. The Hon. Member had estimated the loss to the revenue at about 600 k He was mistaken ; it was between 2,0001. and 3,0004 Mr. FORSTER admitted the abuses which the Hon. Mover had detailed to the House, but objected. to all piecemeal Corporation Reform. He admitted the re forms which bad boon introduced into the Corporation of London within the last forty years, but still thought it not creditable to the Government to have excepted the city ef London. Ile could not, however, concur with the Hon. and Learned Attorney-General in thinking that they ought to wait till the Corporation itself stirred in the matter. Colonel SIBTHORP would be willing to assist in re moving fines and penalties, but he regarded this as a 8.11 for the city of London alone, and as a sort of party motion. He thought it extremely hard that the City of London should have been excepted from the operation , of the Municipal Refirm Act; but as long as that city had Prime Ministers fur their representatives such a state of things was to he expected. He complaind that the Honourable Mover had given so little notice of his motion. He, for instance, had bad no opportunity of consulting his constituents on the subject, and he agreed with the Honourable and Learned Attorney-General that it was unjust to affect the property of panics without their concurrence. He recommended the worthy Alderman to withdraw his mo tion. It appeared to him to be a milk-sad-water sort of motion, aed not worthy the consideration or support of the House. Mr. HUME said the Hon. Member and the House did not appear to be aware of what ha I taken place with reference to the city of London. The Hon. Member opposite said there ought to be an inquiry, but there bad been already one of the most searching inquiries that ever had been instituted with reference to the city of London by Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Palgrave. The Hon. Member merely wished to place the cit:zens of London on the same footing as the 'citizens of other towns. He asked the Government whether it was not their duty to do so, seeing that they had pledged them selves to bring in a reform Bill for the city of London. Ho thought their doing so would be only an act of jus tice equality, and fairness. Sir B. HALL said, after what had fallen from the Right Honourable Gentleman, he could not suppose that the motion was likely to meet %LI any great success. He did not think, however, that the time consumed in the discussion had been entirely thrown away, because the question had been brought bef ire the House of the unreformed state of the Cor poration of the city of London. When the reform of municipal corporations had been undertaken by the Government, the city of London was not included; bu there was a most distinct pledge given by the Govern ment that a Bill would sbo:tly be brought in for that purpose. Since then many years had' passed; and, although ample opportunities had been afforded to them, no measure of that kind had yt t been introduced. He was glad, therefore, that the present conversation bad taken place, because the attention of the public would he thereby directed to a subject which he thought should have been long since brought forward for discussion. It was stated by the Hon. Member that the fends of the Corporation cf . London amounted to 200,0001. per annum, over which neither the Parliament nor the public had any control. That alone was a sufficient reason why the question should be taken into considera tion, with a view to introducing some measure of re firm which might giro the Legislature or the public some control over that large expenditure. He did not mean to say that tt e Corporation of London was cor rupt, but they kept it as close as possible; and when the Honourable Gentleman, and others in his situa tion, put on the aldermauic gown, the election being fir life, they became as conservative of the privileges of the City as it was possible to be. With regard to the motion of the Hon. Member, he did not think it was worth noticing. It might be a good Bill for the Mem ber for Stafford to introduce, but it would not effect the necessary c dorms in the Corporation of London. He recollected having been invited some years since to stand for the borough of Stafford, and one of the conditions was that he should pay certain fees of freemen of the borough to enable them to vote. He had declined to stand on such conditions. Mr. Alderman SIDNEY replied the motion had been termed paltry because it referred to the case of poor men, but what was paltry in the eyes of that House was of all importance to the humbler classes. He should with d► a a. the motion for the present, and re-introduce it when the returns to which the Attornes-Gencral had referred were laid on the table. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL objected to the motion being withdrawr, and would not sanction the principle of its being again introduced. Mr. REYNOLDS suggested the propriety of bring ing in a 13111 simply to place the ratepayers of tho city of London on the same footing as those of other towns and cities of the kingdom, and give them thereby a voice in the municipal elections. The motion was then negatived. DUTY ON TIMBER. Mr. MITCHELL moves, pursuant to notice, " that this House do resolve itself into a Committee to take into consideration the duties on wood, with the view of remitting the duty on all wood used in shipbuilding." Hp regretted to see so f.:w Hon. Members on the Oppo sition side of the House, because when the repeal of the navigation-laws was discussed in the last session they had hoard many eloquent speeches from that side of the House, pointing out that the effect of _that measure THE SUN, LONDON', would be to throw the whole of the shipbuilding trade o f the country into the hands of foreigners. The ques tion he Nall about to submit to the House was simply or.e regarding the interests of shiebuilders and shipwrights, and hail nothing whatever to do with timber-merchants. Ho would premise that he was himself a wood-merchant. He begged to remind the House that in 1844, when the Right Hur. Baronet (Sir R. Peel) brought forward his proposition for the reduction of the duties on foreign timber, the price in the English market was 105 s. the load—at the present time the same description of timber was selling for 655.; the duty was formerly 55*., and it had been reduced by the Right Honourable Baronet to 155., so that the public had got the entire benefit of the reduction of the duty in that case. By the Bill of last year the duty on all foreign ships a Imitted to home registration had been entirely taken off, and if a British subject now chose to buy a foreign ship, that ship was at once edmined to all the privileges of British-built vessels, without the pay ment of any duty whatever. At present hewn timber paid 15s. duty, sawn timber, 20s. ; masts and spars, the smaller size, 245., and the larger siz 48s. Now it was known that every ship built was entered on Lloyd's Re gister according to a certain classification—the highest class standing, thirteen years in the A list, and the lowest class f ;ur years. The difference arose from the difference in the materials of which they were con structed. He would now state to the House what was the per centage which the duty on foreign timber bore t the gross cost of the construction of the ship. Lie would take it according to the most accurate calculation that had been made, that the cost of a 12 A ship was about 141. per ton; and he had assumed that as mach foreign timber was put into that ship as would be re quired, according to Lloyd's rule?. He found that the per centage of a 12-year A ship upon the quantity of foreign timber, masts, spars, &c., was, as compared with the gross cost, about 9-16ths percent. The per centage of the cost of the 11 A ship was 5-Bths per cent.; on the 10 A ship it was on the 9 A ship it was 4 per cent.; on the 8 A. ship it was 6 per cent.; on the 7 A ship, 12 per cent.; on the 6 A ship, 13i per cent.; en the 5 A ship, 15k per cent.; and on the 4 A ship, 17 per cent. Beginning at the 9 A, and down tr the 4 A, a very large per centage was given to the foreign ship builder. He admitted that the English shipbuilders were remarkable for building ships of a superior class. Those from A 12 to A 9 were ships generally employed in the East India and China trade, and that trade required very superior veesels. It was admitted that the per centage with regard to vessels of that class was a mere bagatelle, as those ships were built regardless of expense. The second class included 8,7, and 6 A ships. These were acquired to bring home corn from the Mediterranean, hemp, flax, and corn from the Baltic, and cotton from the United States. Now two kinds of the cotton brought to this country were brought home in American ships, and if superior ships were sent from this country the freight would not pay, there being the greatest compe ti don in that class of ships. The question was whether the trade could go on intilasterily it' the present burden was continued, and he did not think their ship-builders could compete much longer with the Americans. With regard to the third clasp, 6 and 5 A, they were em ployed principally in bringing home timber, and they came into competition with the ships built in Canada. He did not see why so enormous a premium should be given to Canadian-built ships. He admitted that it was not the intere it of the country to encoarage the building of ships of a superior class as it told very heavily upon the growth of English oak. At present a party must go at least twenty miles from a ship-building yard to pro cure oak, and it was already telling upon it, so that it was generally thought that young oaks were touched too soon. In no other case was a ready-made article admitted duty free, and it was in the present case a gross infliction on the industry of the country. With regard to the practically carrying out of his plan, he believed 'here would be no difficulty in ascertaining the amount of the drawback upon the timber used in ship-building. A gentleman of great experience in the trade had told him that there would be no difficulty whatever—the ship was built under the survey of Lloyd's surveyor, who took an accurate account of the timber used ; and, in addition to his report, they might have the certificaae of the building of the ship. The annual average tonnage of the ships built in this country was 140,000 tons—the proportion of foreign timber used was about one-fourth, and the number of loads was about squat to the number of tons. The fourth of 140,000 tons then was 35,000, and the entire amount of the duty he asked the Government to remit, averaging it at 20s. the load, was' l 3s,ooo/. For that sum a stimulus would be given to the industry of a class which had lately been exposed to severe competition. He hoped the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Labouchere) would not, in his reply, quote the case of some foreigners who had purchased ships built in the north of England, which had been already sufficiently explained. The price of all descriptions cf shipbuilding materials had never been so low as at the present moment. He hoped the Right Hon. Gentleman would, under all the circum stances, take the matter into his consideration and do justice to the claims of a most important and useful class of the community.— (Hear, hear.) Mr. HEADLAM seconded the motion. The present system was not in accordance with either the maxims of policy or of taxation which had been recently laid !own by the Government. Mr. LABOUCHERE :complimented the Honourable Member for Bridport on the tone and temper in which he had brought the present important question before the House. He had stated the case of the English ship builders not only with his accustomed ability, but with the clearness of one who had a thorough knowledge of the subject. He did not intend to enter into a contro versy with the Honourable Gentleman as to the general principle, and he must say that he addressed the House under very considerable disadvantages, and he should be mistaken if ho left upon the Honourable Gentleman the impression that he either concurred in, or disapproved of, the proposition to take off 35,0001.—(A laugh.) The Rouse would bear in mind that they would very shortly have the financial statement of his Right Hon. Friend 'he Chancellor of the Exchequer laid before the House, and he hoped the Hon. Gentleman would not attribute to any want of respect his giving expression to any opinion upon the subject. As the financial statement would be laid so much earlier than usual before the Howe, it would not ,be advisable for him to ex press any decided opinion upon the subject. !Ie hoped that the House would accept this as a reason for saying that he could not advise the House At that moment to agree to the motion of the Honourable Gentleman. As to the higher classes of vessels, the duty upon timber was very irnma erial. The burden, he admitted, was much more considerable upon the smaller classes. He thought that QvAa with these duties their shipwrights were fully able to contend with those of any f weign country. That, aowever, did not furnish a sufficient reason why, if they Found it convenient with their interests, this duty should not be removed.—(hear, hear.) Although their ship wrights were subject to great disadvantages by reason of ;his impost, they enjoyed countervailing advantages. In Prussia, for ins.anee, in respect to the article of iron, the Prussian shipowners paid far more for their iron in the construction of their vessels than the British shipwrights had to pay for theirs. While no saw that these ship vrights did not fear foreign competition, he did not mean to say that it would not be desirable to remove ',hese duties if it were convenient to do so.—(Hear, hear.) A.s reference had been made to Sweden, he had to in awns the House that he held in his hand an extract from a letter received from their Consul at Stockholm on this subject. This gentleman stated that since the altera tion in the English navigation-laws he took every 'pportunity of watchirg the effect produced upon the shipbuilding in Sweden. He said that from what he had seen it did not appear that the English ship builders suffered in the slight est degree from the competition that was treat-d, and he had been in formed by ono of the principal shipowners there that he invariably imported all his cordage and other articles connected with ships from England, which onabled him, notwi hstandine the duties upon them, to have a much superior vessel than could be fitted up at Stockholm—([dear, heir.) fle (Mr. Labouchere) felt the importance of giving the greatest encouragement to their shipbuilding, feeling that it am a matter of na tional importance to do so, yet he was unwilling at that moment, for the reasons he had stated, to assent to the motion of the Hon. Gentleman. He hoped the House would consider how very soon the financial statement would be before them, and would therefore see the im propriety and imprudence of discussing this question on the present occasion. Ho thought that the House would involve itself in some difficulty, and would not do its duty to the public as fairly as it ought, if they assented to this motion before they were able to take a survey of their whole financial affairs. Me. CARDWELL thought he might congratulate the Right Hon. Gentleman for having maintained that equi poise upon this subject which he had promised to ob serve in the commencement of his speech. lie thought that the principal object which the Right Honourable Gentleman had in view was to conceal the intentions of the Right Honourable Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which were to be revealed in the speech to be made in about ten days hence. He believed that this veil of secrecy as to futurity had never been drawn more closely by any Minister of State. It was a speech which did not even enable him to perform the part of a prophe`, in anticipating any of the propositions that would be made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his budget speech. If ho were to venture or surmise upon that subject from the speech they had just heard, he would be disposed t r say that the Government would not be unfavourable to the proposition now made.— (Hear, hear.) At the commencement of this century, they imported a great quantity of timber from the Baltic. He was, however, happy now to say that they could compete successfully with Prussia, particularly in iron. If they saddled this article with extreme duties of 15 or 17 per cent., they would be only exposing the capitalist here to great disadvantages. Had they not exposed the shipowners of this country to a competition with the world by their recent legislation?—(Bear, hear.) Since 1842, had they not, as far as they could, made it the great principle in their commercial legislation to set fre e from duty the raw material, in order to give the greatest scope to industry?—(Hear, hear.) Having done so, they also exposed their shipbuilding to general competition by the measure of last year. He asked them to show a sin gle instance in the whole of their tariff where they had taxed their raw material and at the same time had not protected the manufactured article. If this be the case, where; he would ask, was there either justice or ex pediency in refusing to rem ove these duties? He, how ever, thought that the Right Hon. Gentleman was cor rect when he said that it would be most inconvenient if they discussed such subjects as this Mere the budget was revealed to them, which was so soon to bo brought under their consideration, when the general taxation of the country would be reviewed. He hoped that next we:A they would have the pleasure of congratulating the Right Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Ex chequer upon his return to his health and to his duties in that House; and he hoped that they would be also enabled to congratulate him upon a large surplus, which could be made available to the remission of those duties which were so unjustly p. easin; upon the netiveindustry of the eountre.—(fleas, hear.) Mr. HUML said, that havieg &ull himself to use his best efforts ou every ecca , ,ien to remote a 1 peetrictive duties that prevented cy f ital heving a free scope, he was of course faveurable to this proposition now brought forward by the Hon. Mernher for Bridport. Frern the speech which they had just heard feoln the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Labouchere) he should be dis posed to say that there wes no kt melon on the part of the Government to take off these duties, for he said that the disadvantages which these duties creat'd to the British shipwright were more than counteracted by the advantages which they gained in another way. The House of Commons should decltre itself in 'favour of the present motion, in order thae any doubt which might remain upon the minis of Members upon this su'oject might be temoved, and the Government be strengthened in their efforts to deal satisfactorily with this question. Mr. HENLEY should like to know where they were to stop if they assented to this motion? It was no doubt very easy for the shipbuilders to try and nibble out of this tax. How did the general taxation of the country bear upon every interest? How did the presstir6 of the national debt bear upon every interest?—(llettr4hear.) He should like to know how, for instance, they,w,ere to get rid of the malt tax? Upon the raw prochice they paid a tax of IGO per cent. I: they wished to go through all the items of that tariff, where were they stop? The next question which they had to consider was, what was to become of the public credit?—(llcer, hear.) They should have made a bargain with them before they exposed their shipbuilders to those difficulties in which they now admitted they were. How could they reconcile the statement they had heard as to foreigners coming bore to buy timber cheaper than they could get it in their own country with the demand now made on them to reduce these dudes? If they affirmed the pre sent proposition now, they could net stop short when they were asked to remove any other particular tax which was sail to press hard upon a particular portion of the community. Mr. SANDARS said that the smaller class of ship owners had suffered dreadfully by those duties, and he thought that their abolition would be a great benefit to that class. Mr. CLAY wished to remind the Honourable Mem ber for Oxfordshire that their particular case here was this, that their raw material was taxes, which, in a manufactured state, would be allowed to come in free. lie did not think that aay similar CLIS3 of injustice existed. Mr. WYLD said that tin continuance of this tax was sin a great injustice to the mining interest, which was exposed to the competition of the whole world, Mr. MITCHELL confessed that he did not wish to press the question to a division, after what the Right lion. Gentleman had said. At the same time, as these duties were felt to he a great injustice to a large and im portant cliss, he thought it was only due to them to press this motion to a division. The House then cliviled. The numbers were— For the motion ••• ••• 45 Against it ... , ••• ••• 32 Majority against thy Government... —l3 Mr. MITCHELL then namad this day fortnight for ,ho House resolving itself into a Committee. AUDIT OF RAILWAY ACCOUNTS. Mr. STANFORD said he had given notice of his in tention to introduce a Bill far the more effectual audit of railway accounts. It might be in the recollection of the House that he had inquired, early in the session, whe ther it was the intention of the Government to bring in any Bill relative t the audit of railway accounts, and that the President of the Beard of Trade then stated that the Government were not disposed to introduce any Bill on the subject, bat that if no measure was proposed by any independent Member on behalf of the share holders the Government would be prepared to take up the question. It might be recollected that a Bill relat ing to the audit of railway accounts had been originated in the other House in 1818, but had been rejected by that House; and last year a nearly similar Bill, which had bcea introducel in the House of Lords, had also shared the same fate when it came down to the House of Commons. He did not believe that any system of audit which was tainted by Government interference would have the confidence either cf the railway shareholders or cf the country; and ho thought that iu this case the trite quotatica was particularly applicab'e— " Timeo Danaos et dons ferentes." He understood that a Bill for establishing an audit of railway accounts had been introduced last night in the other House, and he believed, from what he had heard of its nature, that it was a measure to which he could give his support, as it very closely resembled that which he had intended to submit to the House. He was con vinced, a'though there was an almost unanimous opinion against Government interference, yet that the opinion was equally universal that it was high time some steps were taken to establish an effectual swift with regard to the vast amount of capital embarkei in railway specula tions. It was unnecessary to recal to the recollection of the House the painful disclosures which had been made as to the west', extravagance, misappropriation, and frauds which had occurred in railway concerns, a - id it had beets a matter of surprise to every man a cqua i n t e d with business that some measures had not been taken earlier to protect the bona fide investers in such specula tions. He considered that, to render any system of audit efficient, it must be continuous in its operation, the accounts must be published half yearly upon a uniform model, and the audit must Le untainted by what was called Government in terference. Ho had had six or seven years' experience as a shareholder and bondholder in most of the large railway companies, and bad become familiar with the. ill consequent es resulting from the want of an efficient control over the fine scial departments of those corn paniee, and, having applied his attention to the subject he had framed a Bill, which he was ready to lay on the table, with the view of establishing an efficient system of audit. He considered that any measure that might be adopted on this subject should be framed in a spirit of courtesy towards railway direct )ts, bccaase, although there Lai undoubtedly ben much extravagance, and in some cases gross frauds, yet he believed that, with some few exceptional cases, the directors were honourable men, who exerted themselves to promote the interests the shareholders. He must say he thought the President of the Board of" Trade had not quite kept good faith with him. An Hon. GENTLEMAN moved that the House be counted ; and there being only 31 Members pt esent, The SPEAKER, at Ten o'clock, declared the House adjourned. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. From the Votes and Proceedings of th e House of Commons.' TUESDAY, MARCII 5. WOOD USED IN SHIP BUILDING. Motion made, and Question put, " That this House do resolve itself into a Committee to take into consideration the Duties on Wood, with a view of remitting the Duty on all Wood used in Ship Building." The House divided:— MAJORITY—AYES, 45. Adair, Hugh E. Greene, John Ricardo, J. L. Aglionby, 11. A. Headlam, T. B. Salwey, Colonel Anderson, Arthur Henry, Alexander Santini's, J. Bass, 31. T. - Hayworth, L. Scho'acid, W. Cardwell, Edward Hume, Joseph Stuart, Lord D. Chichester, Lord J. ilutt,;Wllliam Thompson, Colonel Clay, James Jackson, William Thornely, T. Clive, H. B. Kershaw, J ulnas Wakley, T. Cobden, 11. Matheson, Colonel WalmsleY, Sir T. Cocks, T. S. Moffatt, George Willcox, Brodie Duke, Sir J. Morris, David Williams, John Duncan, George O'Flaherty, Anthony Williamson, Sir H. Edwards, H. Palmer, lloundell Wyld, James • Fagan, William Pechell, Sir G. TELLEIS. Farrer, James Pigott, Francis Mit c h e ll, T. A. Forster, Mathew Pllkington, Jam es Gibson, T. M. WEIONESDAY MINORITY-NOES, 32. Armstrong, R. B. Howard, Lord E. - Raphael, Alexander Battles, M. T. Howard, J. IC. Rich, Henry Baring, Thomas Howard, Sir It. Hominy, Sir John Bellew, It. M. Jervis, Sir John Shell, It. L. Berkeley, Admiral Labouchere, hen ry Shelburne, Earl of Elliot, John Lewis, George C. St ur t, henry G. .T Evelyn, W. J. Maule, Fox Verney, S i r 11. Hateliell, John Mtilgrave, Earl B ro therton, Joseph Laseello, W. S. Stanfor d , J. F. Hawes, Benjamin Pag,et,:Lord A. Mutts. Hayter, W. G. Paget, Lord C. 11111, L4rJ Moreno Hobhouse, Sir John Parker, John G:ey, R. W. TO THE SECRETARY . OF THE BRADFORD [ASSOCIATION. Sir,—On Monday the 4th, the principal interest was in the progress of what has got the name, whether deservedly or not, of the Irish Reform Bill. Statements on all sides aro generally exaggerated; but there are certainly those that maintain, that on some points the Iri s h R e f orm Bill will leave the state of things worse than before. It is difficult to say why in the Ministerial quarters there should be such an extreme terror of undue extension of the suffrage. It may turn out there are dangers on the other side, more than equivalent. A respectable minority of 90 votes was mustered in support of reducing the qualification from eight pounds to five. On Tuesday was a discussion on the conveyance of the snails from France, in which it is probable you have a local interest. The position maintained at present, is that the essential thing is that your letters go 68 miles round, by Dover. It is not denied that this has the effect of causing the letters for all places out cf the metropolis, to miss the morning mail, and lose twelve hours by waiting for the evening. But then it is urged, that a steam boat misses Boulogne harbour six times a year oftener than it misses Calais. And it is attempted to be laid down as what nobody can deny, that thi s is an inconvenience overbalancing the advan tage cf having your letters twelve hours sooner on every other day in the year. To this I think you will demur. But as it is on record that a Member of the House of Cammons once said, that "everybody knew five per cent. to be tho natural rate of interest," so it is not very wonderful that the Members for Dover should hold the same s or t o f opinion on the subject of Dover being the natural place for communication with the continent. A Com mittee is appointed to investigate the question ; which is to a certain extent an admission that there is something that wants inquiry. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, AN OLD B-EFORMER. London, 6th March, 1850. A large apricot-tree has been moved in a very skilful manner from the late Mr. Alexander's grounds, at Ipswich, to Mr. May's, a mile distant. The tree was a tine one, 56 years old, with a head of 100 feet in circumference. It was safely transported with no less than five tons cf earth round the roats ; the soil being surrounded by staves and supported by planks undera(aih. The load required five horses.—Essex Herald. EVENING, LITERATURE. THE UNCLE'S LEGACY. 3 Vuls. By 301111 Bert y Torr. Although we presume, from the title-page of this agreeable tictior, that its author, Mr. Turr, has yet render himself familiar with the labours of a novelist, we could scarcely have suspected so much from the general and various merits of the " Uncle's Legacy." What the reader cannot fail to remark as among the most conspicuous characteristics of the story are, first, the fascination of the different inci dents, and secondly, the fruitfulness of the writer's imagination. We may say literally of the work be fore Us, that its interest commences with the opening chapter, and continues not only with unabated but increasing attraction as the plot becomes more and more developed. At the outset we :re startled into attention by the occurrences upon which the whole lure° of the narrative is subsequently made depen dent. The horse of Alick Wildman gallops up at nightfall to his farm-house, with its reins flying loose, its stirrups jangling idly from the saddle, and the saddle itself—rides less ! Search is made, and the bady of the unfortunate yeoman is found—murdered! The assassin proves to be Isaac Ramsay, who figures throughout the novel as the principal ruffian ; although the detestation felt towards him in this respect is shared rather largely by the son of a knavish attorney, cne Barrow. Much artistic skill is displayed by Mr. Torr in the delineation of these personages, but others of a more important and certainly also of a more at tractive character aro likewise pourtrayed by him, and that too with a remarkable deree of ability. lAs we have no inclination to mar the charm of the fiction by any untimely disclosure of its outline, we shall preserve our customary silence upon this head—leaving the reader to make his own acquaintance with the structure of the whole of the present romantic production. Without, how ever, tending towards any such premature revels floe, we may be permitted, altogether, without detri ment to the author's endeavour, but rather on the contrary to its direct enhancement (by thus stimu -1 lating curiosity), to comment cursorily upon the more prominent among the chief dramatis persona, and upon the more noticeable among the numerous events in which they become involved. As the title of the book sufficiently indicates, the whole of the plot hangs upon the wording of a certain will, by which a considerable property is left to particular individuals upon especial conditions. How much villany may be betrayed in regard to such a docus ment by an unprincipled solicitor, in whom the utmost confidence is reposed, may be readily conjectured by those familiar with the chicaneries of law, and the op portunities afforded by its evil working to individuals disposed to profit by them at the expense of the in nocent. To the " Uncle's Legacy," consequently, the major part of the vices and virtues, the crime and magnanimity, the good and evil vicissitudes of the narrative are directly dependent. Towards the actual fulfilment of the arrangements sketched out in the " will," the interest and anxiety of the fiction is concentrated. Whether the wishes of the departed are realised or not, if realised, how, or when, or where—we shall not attempt even to insinuate, abandoning to the very competent hands of the no velist the duty of thus gratifying the inqui sitiveness of his perucers. Enough for us to assert with the emphasis of a reviewer conscious of his own unbiassed truthfulness, that the tale is told from first to last with a charming fluency of manner, a fluency which carries the mind on un interruptedly with the current of an enthralling series of descriptions, and leaves it at length with an agreeable sense of satisfaction, not unpleasingly tinged with a sentiment of melancholy. Without this blending cf these two incongruous and yet re concilable extremes of pain and pleasure we should find almost any prose romance become towards the close distressingly monotonous. The alternations of tears and laughter are as essential, in fact, to a fiction, for the purpose of rendering it fascinating to the fancy, as the alternations of shade and shine, of the cloud and the sunbeam, are requisite to impart the charm of variety and animation to a landscape. It was a sense cf this necessity which induced Walter Scott to introduce in his tragic romance of the " Bride of Lammermoor " the whimsical figure of old Caleb Balderstone by the side of the gloomy youth of the proud and mysterious Master of Ravenswood. In our own generation of novelists, again, we have seen the same artistic contrast employed very fre quently. For example, we have witnessed the va garies of that most comical wight, Mr. Richard Swiveller, in the same story which has immortalised so beautifully the death of Little Nell. We have ob served felling almost simultaneously from the gifted pen of Lytton the fantastic limning of Sir William de Mallet and the grand and historic portraitures of Griffiths the Cymrian and Harold the Saxon. Mr. Toots has jostled Little Paul Dombey on the same imaginary high way ; Charles Vernon has fluttered by with his " ador able impertinence" cheek-by-jowl with the saturnine Dalibard, and the grotesque shape of poor Beck, the crossing sweeper, flitted across the disc of our imagi nation in companionship with the sombre phantom of Lucretia. Mr. Torr, acting upon a kindred prin eiphs, has blended together with delightful ability the tragical and the humorous, giving in one part an ac count of a shipwreck, and in another a comic sketch of high life not exactly "below stairs," but decidedly " below ton," or, according to the slang of the day, somewhat "below par." Mary Wildman, the he roine, and her lover, Arthur Maitland, who, for that reason, of course must be regarded as the hero, will engross the chief portion of the reader's attention, interest, and admiration. A large amount of admi ration must at the same time, however, be awarded to I kind of second heroine named Aurelio, a niece of Monsieur de Malleville, whose fortunes are tragically associated with those of a young Italisn sculptor, Morosini. The last mentioned is one of the most ad mirable portraitures of all—the account given by our novelist of his love and of his labours as a sculptor upon a most exquisite statue of a female figure, which work of art becomes involved at last in the catas trophe of his own mournful career, is one of infinite beauty and gracefulness. Upon this particular we must content ourselves with briefly directing atten tion to the description occurring at page 287, vol. iii. Otherwise, were we to make the quotation we could have desired, much of the interest of the story would be destroyed. In broad contrast to the passage just referred to—take the droll account of Mrs, Grim sha w's Ball—(see p. 48 et seq. vol. ii.)—where the parvenu hostess makes a ludicrous attempt to emulate the " style" of the fashionable Countess Lyndon—an effort in which she is slyly humoured by Earnest de Lisle, the nephew of the Countess. The denouement of the entertainment, where Major Grimshaw is horrified by a report that his wire has eloped with M. de Lisle, is extravagantly rich and laughable. Squire Prankman is another of the more remarkable characters in the romance, and a particular interest attaches to him from the circumstance of his being in volved in several of the most striking incidents in the " Uncle's Leg coy. "Besides those already mentioned, some of these same incidents will prove on perusal to ' be written in a style as variel as it is unaffected arid power:ul. Oi these let us particularise the accident in which Erneat de Lisle extricates 'Lille and Mrs. Grimshaw from imminent peril—(p. 191, vol. ii.) — the description of the steeple-chase, an event con eeived in that felicitous vein of adventure in which Charles Lever has recounted the triumphs of Maderi deroo (p. 81, ibid)—the delineation of the artist's atelier containing the chef d'oeuvre of Morosini— (p. 110, ibid)—the account of the wreck of the " Petrel," ,an account scarcely unworthy of the master-hand of Penimore Cooper—(p. 79 vol. iii.) —and the terrible narrative of the assassination — (p. 29G, ibid)—•.vhich . immediately precedes the close of the last volume. From what we have now observed, and especially from our enumeration of these passages of startling and absorbing attraction, it will be manifest that the work is no ordinary, hum-drum fiction, with just a dash of love, and a taste of sentiment, and a smacic of philo sophy, and a suspicion of plagiarism, diluted with a large and predominating quantity of twaddle, but that it is a novel pennsd with considerable power, and that it is altogether the first fruit of a ripe and exuberant imagination.i As such we have deemed the "Uncle' s Legacy' en titled to our particular commendation ; and we have only delayed noticing its merits till this time, so as to admit of a careful perusal and a scrutinizing exami nation. Satisfied, notwithstanding the abilities dis played in his present production, or we should rather perhaps say on account of the abilities which we have seen displayed in it, that the author can achieve if he so pleases yet greater success, we cordially coin mend him to adventure further upon that blooming path of Eterature where, as a romance writer, we are persuaded lie may push forwardinto the van with his competitors. We have selaom witnessed a first endeavour as a novelist in which we have recognised larger promise, and particularly promise in that quality which is the chief essential in compositions of fiction—the quality of a bold, and now and then (es we have recognised) an original and brilliant imagination. ALISOA'S HISTORY OF EUROPE. Vol. XIL Illustrated Edition. Our European annalist has here brought his nar rative of the great wars of Napoleon down to the capture of the last town ever taken by that wonder ful conqueror—ltheims I Here it is, especially, that the eloquence of Alison ha s b een more p ar ti c ularly manifested, his genius, like that of Gibbon, possibly finding something inspiring, and his sympathies something congenial, in the days of disaster, decay, and desolation. The twelfth volume of the present splendid re-issue is embellished with portraits of Prince Blucher and Prince Metternich—the former a perfect masterpiece of engraving. No likeness could possibly be more felicitous than the one in which the hero of Waterloo is here represented by the pencil of Groger and the graver of llarland. It depicts the old captain —as famous as a gamester as a general— with shaggy moustache, observant eyes, and finely ehise , ll,:d forehead. In that portion of the " History el Europe," however, in ass.,eiation with which the portrait of Blucher is introduce el, in the form of a frontispiece, it so happens, unfortunately, that he ap pears the rinst frequently in the character of a de feated soldier, the latter chapters in the volume under consideration being thseriptive of the brilliant campaign of 1814, where the Emperor Napoleon, surpassing hims e lf, out-manoeuvred his opponents, and, multiplying his small and worn-out army, kept the united invaders of France at hay during a wonderfully protracted interval, contesting the soil of his empire almost inch by inch against the advance of his assailants. No man capable of appre ciating valour and heroism in their loftiest manifesta tions can fail to linger over the pages of Alison with a heart engrossed, and a mind absorbed by the magni tude of so many tremendous calamities accumulated on the head of the great hero whose fame, during nearly twenty years, had overshadowed the world, and to destroy whom, a twelvemonth afterwards, the whole of Europe was to rise " from the Tanais to the Thames." A more admirable edition of these remark able annals could scarcely be published than the one which is now drawing towards its completion. Em bellished with authentic portraits of the extraordi nary personages involved in the narrative, portraits carefully selected and beautifully engraved, the present rc-issuo of Alison's celebrated " History" wanted only one additional attraction, and that at traction has been carefully supplied throughout by a simultaneous republication of the copious illustrative atlas produced under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Alexander Keith Johnston. LATTER-DAY PAMPHLETS. No. 11.—Model Prisons. Edited by Thomas Carlyle. Another portion of this powerful and eccentric series of pamphlets unfolds to us some of the more practical notions of Mr. Carlyle in regard to the wants of general amelioration. His estimate of the Convict Question is sufficiently serious, and well would it be if the Administration would regard the matter with the same earnest solicitude. Mr. Carlyle seems to regard it as altogether impossible that we can still go on with impunity patching up our dc cayed and decaying system, building penitentiaries here and there, constructing prisons at Pentonville and convict depots at Portland Island. Botching will no longer suffice. The day of reform has gone by. Change, radical change is what is required. Thus speaks Thomas Carlyle to the existing school of improvers:— " What sort of reformers and workers are you, that work only on the rotten material? That re Jer think of meddling with the material while it continues scund; that stress it and strain it with new rates and assess ments, till once it has given way and declare I itself rot ten; whereupon you snatch greedily at it, and say, Now lot us try to do some good upon it! You inisteke in every way, my friends: the fact is, you fancy yourselves men of virtue, benevolence, what not; and you aro not even men of sincerity, and honest sense. I grieve to say it; but it is true. Good from you, and your opera tions, is not to be expected. You may go down!" Thus saith he, in conclusion : " 0 my friends, in sad earnest, sad and deadly earnest, there much needs that God would mend all this, and that we should help him to mend it!—And don't you think, for one thing, Farmer Hodge's horses' in the Sugar Islands aro pretty well emancipated' now? My clear opinion farther is, we had better quit the Scoundrel province of Reform; better close that under hutches, in sem.) rapid summary manner, and go elsewhither with our Reform cnrts. A whole world, for want of Re form, is drowning and sinking; threatening to swamp itself into a Stygian quagmire, uninhabitable by any noble-minded man. Let us to the wellheads, I say; to the chief fountains of these waters of bitterness; and there strike home and dig I To puddle in the embou chures and drowned outskirts, and ulterior and ultimate issues and eloacas of the affair: what profit can there be in that? Nothing to be saved there; nothing to he fished-up there, except, w;th endless peril and spread ot co ;tile:ice, a miscellany of broken waifs and dead dogs! In the name of Heaven, quit that!" May this stern remonstrance and earnest appeal be came, to some effect, audible. OPENING OF THE BRITANNIA MARCH 6, 1850 TUBULAR BRIDGE. THE FIRST TRAIN THROUGH. MENAI STRAIT F, TUESDAY AFTEIINOON..--The opening of this magnificent structure, looked forward to with so much interest, came off this day at dewy, with the grandest success. At half-past six o'clock A.M., three powerful en ices (the Cambria, the St. David, and the Pega-us), of from 50 to 60 horse power each, decorated with flags of all nations and union jacks, steamed up, and harnessed together, started from the Bangor-station, carrying Mr. Ste phenson, who drove the first engine through the tube, and the o.l3wing gentlemen :—Mr. Bidder, engineer, Mr. Trevethick, locomotive manager of the London and North-Western Railway ; Mr. Edwin Clark, Mr. Latimer Clark, Mr. Appold, and Mr. Lee. At precisely seven o'clock the adventurous convoy, pro gressing at a speed of seven miles an hour, were lost sight of in the recess of the vast iron corridor. Instead of being driven through with a dispatch indicative of a desire on the part of those who manned it to get in and out with the utmost expedition, the locomotives were propelled at a slow and stately pace, with the view of boldly proving by means of a dead weight the calibre of the bridge at every hazard. The total weight of the locomotives was 90 tons. The appearance of the interior of the tube during the interesting experiment was of a novel and remarkable character. The pauses that oc curred during the progress of the transit furnished an imposing view of the interior of the gigantic structure, which, as contrasted with that of a tun nel of similar length, was rendered comparatively cheerful by the recurrence at intervals of loopholes of which serve the three useful purpose of ven tilating, and lighting, and divesting the tube of steam from the passing engines. The locomotives were brought to a standstill in the centre cf each of the great spans, without causing the slightest strain or deflection. The first process—that of going through the tube and returning—occupied altogether ten minutes. The second experimental envoy that went through consisted of twenty-four heavily-laden wag gons, filled with huge blocks of Brymbo coal, in all, engines included, an aggregate weight of 300 tons. Tnis was drawn deliberately through, at the rate ( f feom eight to ten miles an hour, the steam working at quarter power, and on the engines of this train, besides the gentlemen already enumerated, there were Mr. lledworth Lee, the resident en gineer, Mr. Charles Rolfe, Mr. J. Maclaren, Mr. Borthwick, Mr. 'l'. L. Gooch, Mr. Frank Forster, engineer, Mr. Binger, manager of the line, Mr. C. Mare, maker of the tubes, and a large number of scientific gentlemen. During the passage of this experimental train through the tube, a breath less silence prevailed that was almost solemn, until the train rushed out exultingly and with colours flying on the other side cf the tub:, when loud accla mations arose, followed at intervals by the rattle of artillery down the straits. Upon the return, which occupied about seven minutes, similar demonstrations ensued, and during the progress of the train, those who stood upon its top to ascertain any possible vibration reported they could not detect any sensible deflection. After this, Mr. Stephenson and his staff steamed up to Plas Llanrair, Mr. Foster's seat, and partook of a handsome repast. Meantime the loco motives were passing up and down the interior of the tube without eliciting the slightest manifes tation of strain. An ordeal stronger still was then resorted to ; a train of 200 tons of coals was allowed to rest, with all its weight, for two hours in the centre of the Carmarthenshire tube, and at the end of the time, on the load being removed, it was found to have caused a deflection of only four tenths of an inch. It ,is remarkable that this amount of deflection ip not so much as one half-hour of sunshine would produce upon the struc ture, it being morever calculated with confidence that the whole bridge might with safety and without in jury to itself be deflected to the extent of 13 inches. These loads it is most material to remember are im mensely more than the bridge will ever be called on to bear in the ordinary run of traffic, though the engi neers are of opinion that it would support with ease, and without much show of deflection, a dead weight on its centre of 1,000 tons. Twelve miles an hour is the limit of speed at which Mr. Stephenson intends that trains shall at first go through, more particularly as there are sharp curves at the termini of the tube. During the trial of the dead weights a very in teresting episodical proceeding took place in the inte rior of the Carnarvonshire land tube—that of putting the last rivet into the plates, making exactly the 2,000,000 th that have b een use d . T he r i ve t having been put in by Mr. Mere, was driven home and fas tened by Mr. Stephenson with successive strokes with a huge hammer. This ceremony was followed by the waving of hats and the deafening acclamations of the wor k people. Mr. STEPHENSON, in a brief address, eulogized the industry of these men and their devotion to their work. lie could never forget the ingenuity and the humbler sphere manner r re in of w t i h li e oh gr t e h a e t labour exhibited in the operation, nor the k had been carried out under th . e superintendence o w f or r. T. Fleet, who had distinguished himself as a masterly h um sterling and honest workman. It being now nearly twelve o'clock, another testing train was prepared to be taken through the tube. It consisted of the three engines, the 200 tons of coal, and from thirty to forty railway carriages, containing between 600 and 700 passengers packed together as closely as figs in a basket, all so clamourous and eager to " ge through the tube," that it became im possible to accommodate them. At length, obediently to a long wild whistle, the train, which was almost long enough to cover the extent of tube, glided slowly into the interior, saluted by a loud burst of "Rule, Britannia," from an array of Liverpool seamen up aloft in the towers at the entrance, on the front of which, cut deeply in the atone, were the words " Erected Anno Domini, 1850: Robert Stephenson, Engineer." A the huge train trailed slowly through the tube successive salvos of artillery were fired at each end. This accomplished, the steam was got up, and the company assembled proceeded at the rate of thirty -five miles an hour, amid the magnificent scenery and snow-capped hills of Wales, to Holyhead, where they were received by all the principal towns poeple, and with salutes from the steam-ships in the harbour. The effect of the recent hurricane on the calibre of the tube has proved th a t i ts l ateral surface strengt h i s sufficient, and far more than su ffi cient, to resist the strongest wind. It is calculated that, taking the force of the m ind at 501 b. on th e square foot—an excessive supposition—the resistance offered by the bridge would be 300 . tons, which multi p li e d b y 2, i s equal to GOO tons, which is not two-thirds of its own weight. The wind going at 80 miles an hour, the rash of a hurricane would only press in th e ra ti o o f 128 tons on the side. It is intend ed, when both t u b es are up, to brace them together with stays so as to counteract any possible oscillation. The great work has now been four years in hand, and is nearly complete, while Telford's suspension bridge took eight years. The floating and actual transference of the tubes has occupied since June last—a short period when the bulk of the fabric is taken into consideration. Great fears were enter tained for its safety during the late gales, from the re collection in this part of the country of the damage done to Telford's suspension-bridge. The express train at two o'clock P.m. from Holy head, and which started ten minutes after the expe rimental train arrived there, would have been sent through the tube, and thus have saved an hour, but this could not be done without the consent of the Railway Commissioners, unless under heavy penalties. It is understood that Captain Symonds, the Govern ment Inspector, will inspect on the 9th inst., and re port to Government; and the public inauguration for every -day tra ffi c may be expected on the 15th inst. The inauguration was to have taken place on the 17th, St. Patrick's-day, out of compliment to the natives of the sister isle, but that day happening to fall on a Sunday, this could not be accomplished. It may be interesting to know that the general opinion of the numerous engineers present yesterday, appears to be that the Britannia tube-bridge is as trustworthy as any tunnel on terra firma. w...~. r. THE ARMY. M jor-General James Grant, C. 8., has been p'aced upon the list of officers receiving rewards for dis tinguished service. He served long in India, and was present at the battle of Mallavelly, siege of Se ringapatam, action with Doondin, and storming of the Fort of Turnioul, where he volunteered to lead the assault with fifty dismounted Dregoons. He was employed in Sicily, and returned to India; he was subsequently engaged in the Peninsula, and tock part in the campaigns of 1813-14, including the action of the bridge of Croix d'Orade and the battle of Toulouse. He was also present at the battle of Waterloo. Captain IL B. Wynyard, late Brigade• Major at York, will succeed the late Major Canch as Fort- Major at Edinburgh Castle. Captain Wynyard's situation at York was included in the late reductions NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. APPOINTMENTS. Lieutenants—John Frederick 111.-_ , cham (1849), to the Assistance, active service; John E. Parish (1846) to the ConfEct, screw-sloop, at Devonport. Surgeon—W. B. Fegen (1847), to the Lily, 12, fitting at Portsmouth. Clerk in Cbarge—E. N. Harrison (1844), to the Assistance. Midshipmen—Sir Greville 'Temple, to the Lily; T. L. Pearson, additional to th • Centaur, flag steam frigate, for service on the coast of Africa. Naval Cade's—Arthur P. Tighe to the Lily; H. nmsell Cam, to the Victory, ilig-ship at Ports mouth ; G. B. Vivian, to the Fisgard, tlag-chip at Wcohy jet]. We have heard that Captain Horatio T. Austir, C.B , the chiff of the new North-West Passage ex. pedition to proceed in search of Sir John Franklir, will receive the honour of knighthood previously to leaving England. Commander Featherstone has remitted to Dr. M'Ternan, of Greenwich Hospital, the sum of 381., c.llected by him at Ripon fur the six destitut3 or phans of the late Lieutenant C. Mackenzie. Among the benefactors are the Earl de Grey, his Countess, and other members of his Lordship's family. The Superb, 80, Captain Purcell, at Queenstown, is still short of her full complement, and appears likely to be se, notwithstanding that she has been so many months endeavouring to procure a couple of hundred A.B.'s. Landsmen and boys are plentiful everywhere, but not seamen. Tue Shear water, 3, steam• vessel, Lieutenant-Com mander Turnour, is at Queenstown. A letter of thanks has been received at the Ad miralty from the Minister of Marine, on the part of the French Government, for the service rendered to a French vessel in distress by the Shear water. The Trident, steam-vessel, Lieutenant-Com mander Risk, is at Kingstown, raising men for the Superb. The Lively, lighter, 1 fc Patsmouth on Monday for Woolwich. The Driver steam-sloop, Commander Johnson, left Valparaiso the 29th of November, for Cabaya, Arica, and Hay, full of provisions for the Herald, it being then the admiral's intention that she should reach Callao by the Ist of January, to proceed on to Pa nama for the next mail, to convey the same to the Sandwich Islands, when she would find the Asi., but after remaining at Arica ten days, the mail steamer arrived with orders for the Driver to proceed to Callao, and embark Mr. Sullivan, Charge d'Affaires and Consul General for Valparaiso, where he arrived on the 231 December. He came in the mail-steamer from Panama, with an American minister, whose wife took possession of the rooms ordered by Mr. Sullivan some time before. We cannot say what was the cause of the quarrel between these gentlemen, but the American struck Mr. Sullivan over the nose with a stick. M. Sullivan wanted to call him out, but he was advised to resign first, and he has written home in consequence. The provisions destined for the Herald on board the Asia and Driver had been put on board a mer chant vessel, to go to the Sandwich Islands, a?, in consequence (it is said) of the Tigre Island business, the admiral had put off his visit to the Sandwich I,lands. MADAME SONTAG'S THIRD CONCERT IN PARIS. Madame Sontag's third concert took place in Paris on Saturday evening, and excited even greater furore than her two preceding performances. It is thus de• scribed by one who was present : " Madame Sontag is certainly the musical litonne of Paris for the present season. She has put both French and Italian operas out of fashion, and there is a perfect furore to be present at her perform ances. She last night gave her third concert, and the struggle for places was, if possible, greater than at the first two. Every corner of the Conservatoire was filled, and such large extra prices were readily paid for boxes and stalls that the speculators on public curiosity and public taste must have secured a richer harvest than even the entrepreneur himself. Madame Sontag is only to give three more concerts, a❑d as all the places have already been secured, to emeute of a new kind may be expected, if the number be not extended. Nothing has surprised the Parisans so much as the slight , inroads made by ti me e i t h er on Madame Sontag 's voice or person. It is just twenty-four years since she first appeared before tbe Pa risian public, and neatly twenty-one since she bade it what was supposed to be an eternal adieu. It has been the pride of the dilettanti of that period to dwell on the sweetness of her voice, the brilliancy of her execution, and the grace and h elegance of her person. What the t ment of all, and especially of when, son ae whom instead n he w" eld t e h r e diletta nt i, aston e t ld h e ey rly se a w nd a pa led ss y eeper beauty—in short, appa rently in the prhne of life and they e y the expected, rather them. One of the most lively of t he t 1. h ac of de ig t Mdlle. Sontag, pretty much as she was w r h a e r n is s e h r e it l io ef s t in describing her, exclaims in an ecs y " • She has to this day the same grace, the same freshness. The figure remains svelte, and the regard limpid. Not a wrinkle appears on that sweet face, not a hair the less on that pure forehead ; not a dimple has deserted that smile; there is not a pearl wanting in the scale of that voice, which i fi t v s m a a n r a v e l w o u e n s t y a g y i e i t t ai y mr . se aTg has o h e t w o haveuocmhaeelndl is always sweet, always admirable for it s express i on, u Nlit n 'sh d oc e h r fi g aor o um n r e isa s hn o ed m d e metamorphosis ; t t h hie e a m dmama a r l ei l , ss m oo o fn r t e hagi o s r anl l ao e in s l s es w e s i cß th ayp t e h wd e hf p ar o to i m n p t r ot o hd f ieg l s i ye is , then, n w e in vi g .t s a has attacks ?' " Madame Sontag opened with a charming air from the Sonnambula, in which she was rapturously ap plauded. She after wards sung a Swiss air, accom panied by a chorus, and her success was equally great. In the second part she sung a scene and air in German, from Der Freischutz, after which she was recalled twice. But the great success cf the evening was Rode s vat iAtions on the air of Al Joke in cant,,,' which she had sung at her first concert, and which she now repeated twice. The evening's entertainment closed with Madame S :nag being brought funs ard twice to re ceive the congratulations of the company, and the invariable shower of bouquets. Mdlle. Ida Bertrand sung the duo from Seiniramide with Madatne Sontag, ard came in for a large share applause."