The Sun. — London, England, 1851-07-09 00:00:00

, , - ..,...'1 Elii:i „,,r 4)44 i., , / 1 •;:',.-,,,iv or, IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. (THIS DA Y.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The SPEAKEIL took the Chair shortly afar Twelve o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Lords' amendments to the Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe, and West Yorkshire Railway Bill were consi- den - d and agreed to. The Caledonian Railway (Gla?gow, Garnkirk, and Coatbridge, Police and Govan, &c., hallways) (Amend ment and Continuation, &c.), Bill was read a second time. The Sheffield and Glossop Turnpike-road Bill was read a scci:nd tice. - • Mr. COBDEN presented a petition from a place in Yorkshire in favour of the Pharmacy Bill. The Attorneys' Certificate Bill was brought in and read a first time. THE BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER. Mr. HORS lAN gave notice that on Friday next he should move fisr returns of all correspondence connected with the subject of the leasing of florstield by the Bishop of Gloucester, on which occasion he should he ready to hear and meet the explanation which the recently pub lished letters of the Hon. Member for Bristol, and of the Bishop himself, might seem to promise. Mr. P. MILES said that on that occasion he should be ready to give every explanation on the subject of the ehaq.tcs made by the lion. Gentleman opposite. COLONIAL PROPERTY QUALIFICATION BILL. On the motion for going into Committee on this Bill, Mr. TUFNELL moved that it be an instruction to the Committee to provide for the abolition of any pro perty qualification for the election of Members to serve in Parliament. The Hon. Gentleman dwelt strongly on the recent case of Mr. Prinsep, elected for the borough of Harwich, who, though no doubts were entertained as to his respectability and wealth, was deprived of his seat by the default of some technical qualification. No property qualification was required for Scotch Members, and he could not see any reason why any difference should be made between the two countries. Mr. EVART seconded the motion , as being a Scotch Member, and therefore not called on for a property qualification. He also reminded the House that the Members for the Universities had no qualifications. Lord JOHN RUSSELL thought the present pro posal came rather in a singular shape, being an amend ment to destroy all qualification whatever on a Bill, the object of which was to admit colonial property as V. qualification. Since the time when qdalifications were first insisted on the times were much changed, and those things which were then realities were now mere fortes. At present there was no security in the state of t he qualification, and therefore he thought the whoie subject ought to bo taken into the consideration of the House; and for his own part he should b© ready to give it ali the attention in his power. The subject, however, would be better introduced in tho shape of a separate Bill than as a mere amendment on another Bill. If hie lion. Friend, therefore, proposed his amendment to the Bill, he should feel it his duty to vote against it. Mr. NEWDEGATE said he would fully admit that the law was defective, but the remedy was exceedingly simple. The effect of the amendment would be to get rid of the Bill while it raised a discussion on a very large question at a time when the House was not pre pared to discuss it, Mr. HENLEY thought this motion had been brought forward at a very inconvenient period. He denied the proposition of the mover of the amendment, that it ever was the privilege of electors to return representatives to the House without any restraint whatever. As to their character it was desirable that Members of Parliament should be able to attend to their duties in the House without inconvenience or pecuniary loss, and inde pendently of possessing the confidence of constituents, that they should always be persons who were likely to become good legislators. Mr. E. DENISON opposed the Bill, which only pro fessed to alter a slight defect in the law where quali fication ought to be abolished altogether. He recom mended that, under the circumstances, Mr. Tufnell should withdraw his motion, and leave the question in the hands of the Ne.ble Lord at the head of the Government. Mr. TUFNELL said, after the statement of Lord John Russell he would not press his amendment, and would suggest that the Hon. Member who had charge of the Bill should :Wept a similar course. Mr. HUTT replied to acme of the observations made during the discussion, and concluded by Niithdravving his motion. The order of the day was then discharged. HOME MADE SPIRITS IN BOND BILL. On the order of the day for the second reading o this Bill, several petitions were presented in its favour. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER pre. seated a petition from the spirit dealers of London against the Bill. Lord NAAS then moved the second reading. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER op posed the motion. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER opposed the motion. To carry this Bill would be an act of gross injustice to a large branch of trade. There was a wide difference between the mode of levying the Excise and the Customs duties; the one was levied in the first in stance, while the other was not collected until the latt,st possible moment prior to the period of consump tion. Unless Government pursued that course a con siderable addition of labour, and of course of expense, would be thrown upon the Excise Department, owing to the extended supervision that would be necessary to protect the revenue. This Bill was introluced on the plea that colonial spirits, by the present system, en joyed an undue advantage over home-made spirits ; but so far from that being the case, the fact was that during the last four years, while the consumption of home made spirits had greatly increased, that of colonial spirits had very selieusly fallen off.— (Hear.) Well, then, the ground of injustice being swept away, what other argument could be urged in favour of this Bill? None whatever; but on the con• trary, innumerable objections besides that of diminishing the revenue could be urged against it. If this Bill were carried, it would be inflicting a great practical injustice on the English distiller, in so far as by the existing law the mode of levyini , the duties in Ireland was very l different to the mode of collecting it in England, and it the law were changed in the manner proposed by this Bill, the Irish distiller would p)sseas an undue advan. tage over his competitor in this country. On all consi derations, therefore, it was his duty to oppose the second reading. and he hoped the House would concur with him in desiring to throw the Bill out. Lord NAAS denied that the home-made spirit trade was on the increase. The injustice which he complained of was that the foreign and colonial producers could ex port without paying duty, but the home-made spirit dealer could not, and virtually the present restrictions upon his trade altogether prohibited him from engaging in the export trade. He disputed the position of the Chancellor, that if the law were changed on this Bill it would lead to great loss in the revenue. On the contrary, he firmly believed that it would increase the returns from the spirit duties, but admitting that it would diminish the revenue the home made spirit dealers were quite ready to submit to a slight additional increase in the duty they paid for the sake of obtaining this advantage of bonding their goods.—(Hear, hear.) He agreed with the Government, that the duties imposed on spirits ought to be the last the House should think of touching in any scheme for reducing the taxa tion ot the country, but it was not for the sake of ob taining any remission of duty that the home-made spirit dealers promoted this Bill. It was because the present law interfered with their trade upon an unfair principle, and he could only account for the opposition of the English distillers to an unnecessary alarm that their exportations were likely to be diminished by the Bill, or to a desire to play the part of the dog in the manger. They did not want the change themselves, t h o ugh it would do them no harm, and they were deter mined that nobody else should obtain it. Mr. BRAMSTON opposed the Bill, and moved that it be read a second time this day six months. Mr. BASS wanted to know where the supporters of this Bill could hope to find an export trade for British spirits ? It, was impossible for the home-made spirit dealer to compete with the foreigner abroad, and really he for one was quite at a loss to un d erstand why they of the Bill. The should be so a nxious for the passi ng fact, however, was, that they did not want to compete with the foreign or colonial producer, but to secure an unjust advantage over the English distiller, and he hoped the House would not sanction such a modest proposal. The whole body of English distillers were not enactin g t h e c haracter attributed to them by the Noble Lord who had moved the second reading, but they regarded this Bill as a direct attack upon themselves, and they were th ere fore justified in resisting it. M rh.erse RE YNOLDS should be willin g to take the Hon. Member's e6,, r—tan if this Bill related to ale instead of spirits, but h e h e lp feeling that the Honourable _honld no had been poaching upon another maws tientleman and what he said should; be received with great manor,an Note he would take the g O u n t e ion liberty of mentioning House, and particularly the to whom he b r had just referred, to fact, which should induce the thispeullon. Member Bill. Scotland there were 156 distilleries, i n there were only I I 4 England at a a nd 56, but .11 of the latter were to be consulted the wishes the former. Those who oppesehdp t zference to _ to continue the monopoly ot the Englishßill were anxious question for the House to decide, distillers. The more evneosted of statistics tose of and technicalities, was nothing shall the Irish and Scotch distillers be placed less l than this, same footing as the English distillers? u P e tted on the thought.. they ought, and, therefore, he should continue until full justice was done. o complain Mr. GOULBURN could not consider the question before the House o ne of minor or smal l importance, be ca use if the Bill were agreed t o i t would give an ad - . vantage to one class of distillers over another, and lead to great dissatisfaction. It was no light matter to effect partial changes in a duty which yielded between ei g ht and nine millions of revenue, and was readily and willingly paid into the Exchequer. Besides there was no other tax levied that was so littl e inhl principle 89 the one placed upon s ° p b l j r c i e ts ti . anae iii - e - H . it'rember had said that the present law cramped the enterprise of Scotch end Irish distillers, and prevented their s p irits bein c_on th su e m y. e h d ol i o n c E or ng s a la m n p d_, o but the fact was, that one-third f tion in the latter country was furnished.. from the etillsof Ireland and Scotland. His conviction was, tatat the mea sure would be dangerous Hot only to. revenue and the dealers, but not interests of the general body of - promote th e i nterests o f the distillers in w hose favour it was said to be proposed. Mr. J. A. considered that it Iva] irapos;ible T E justify the ineq— ualities which now existed in the clut.',es on spirits in this country. The House then divided, when there appeared — For the second reading 166 Against ... ..• ... 194 Majority against the 13i11... —2B ARREST OF ABSCONDING DEBTORS. The Arrest of Absconding Debtors' Bill was read a second time. LAW OF EVIDENCE. The Law of Evidence Amendment Bill was also road a second time. IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RESIDENCES. The Ecclesiastical Residences (Ireland) Bill went through Committee. CHURCHES AND CHAPELS (IRIU,AND) BILL. The Churches and Chapels (Ireland) Bill also went through Committee. 'UNITED CHURCH OF ENGLA. - ND AND IRELAND BILL. This Bill also went through Committee. PHARMACY BILL. This Bill went, pro forma, through Committee. The remaining orders of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned. THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO THE CITY.—(THIS DAY.) The preparations for the reception of :her Majesty in the City, to-night, were continued this morning with great vigour, and in all the principal thoroughfares from Temple-bar to the Exchange, workmen were actively engaged from an early hour in laying down gas pipes from the main, to supply the hundreds of illuminations which are to decorate the different p ublic buildings and houses in honour of royalty. The illumi nations. indeed, promise to ha more numerous and bril liant than on any previous occasion, though, be fore yesterday, there was scarcely a sign that such a demonstration of civic feeling would take place. The internal decorations of the Guildhall are now nearly completed, and give to the ancient edi fice a degree of splendour and magnificence quite beside its usually naked and sombre appearance. All that now remains to be done are the arrangement of some draperies, and the placing around the hall, passages, galleries, supper, and ante-rooms various kinds of plants and exotics, which are to bo supplied in very large quantities. A new entrance, in the gothic style, surmounted by a royal star, has been erected for her Majesty, and awnings have been put up along both sides of the court-yard, in order to enable the cc mpany to alight under cover. Most of the public buildings in the City will be brilliantly illuminated. The beau tiful facade of the Exchange will be covered with coloured lamps, end the motto, " The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof," will be in scribed in large letters of glittering light from one end of it to the other, and will be seen from a considerable distance eff. The Bank of England will be sur rounded with gas stars, elevated on each lamp post, wreaths of jets being suspended between post and post. The black and dingy portico of the Mansion-house will be lighted up by a very extensive illumination, consisting of a star, a crown, and floral wreaths, which occupy the whole front of the building. This central spot will be a perfect blaze of light, such, perhaps, as was never befcre seen. Along the whole of the Poultry, Cheapside, Sc. Paul's Churchyard, and Fleet-street, illuminations of various kinds, and on a greater or less extensive scale, are in wave preparation, many of them bearing mottoes very appropriate for the occasion. At the shop of Messrs. Dakin, in St. Paul's Churchyard, a large trans parency, representing the union of nations, has been fitted up, and will, no doubt, form an object of considerable attraction to-night. Temple bar will be completely covered with lamps of various hues, and will scarcely be known in its new and gay attire. Each side will be ornamented with a huge V. A.," a crown, and a scroll. During the whole morning the above thoroughfares have been densely thronged by persons anxious to witness the preparations, and in many places both vehicles and pedestrians found it a matter of the greatest difficulty to push their way. As early as twelve o'clock people began to take their seats on the platforms erected along the route to be travelled by her Majesty, and at the time of going to press the crowds in the streets wero beginning to take up their places. HULLABALOO ORATORY. At a high Protestant meeting lately held at the Rotunda in Dublin, the Rev. Hvgh Prior, in sup porting a resolution, said "He had no speech prepared; but if he wanted a speech, there was his speech—holding up an orange lily. (Loud cheers.) He was not ashamed of that tiny flower —he was not ashamed of the principles it bespoke, .a nd he hoped he never s hould, so help him God."—(Loud cheers.) And Father Malone, at a meeting in the Roman Catholic cathedral of Ballina, where the Ronolan Catholic Bishop, Dr. Freeny, was present, is thus re ported, in the Tablet, to have spoken:—"Let the Minis ter carry bis iniquitous measure into law, end let there be a community of religious ladies in this town to morrow, and let him appoint the day of visitation for his official, I, too, would be there on that occasion, and I would expect that, it necessary, there would be there also, jive hundred of the good, and virtuous, and the brave young men of this parish.—(Loud cheering.) I would take my stand upon the very threshold of the door, and defy the Russell beadle to enter.—(lmmense cheering.) I would put him to the necessity of bringing one hundred of her Majesty's forces to effect his entrance ; and should he demand access to the innocent victims of his wanton barbarity, I solemnly say, before this august assembly, I would sand between him and thorn, and only give him access by the sword or the bullet.—(lmmense Depend upon it they are not now the days of Smith O'Brien and the Ballingarry affair; neither is the occasion nuw such as it was then." When the reverend and loyal orator terminated his harangue, the aforenamed " Dr. Feeny stated that, for the benefit of persons un acquainted with the use of tropes and figures, he had to say that when Mr. Malone made reference to the sword and spear, he did so not in a literal but a spiritual sense." PATENT LAW AMENDMENT ASSOCIATION. - Last evening a public meeting of the members of this association was held at the Belle Sauvage, Ludgate-hill, to consider the New Patent Law Amendment Bill now progressing through Parliament, and to take steps to secure the abandonment of certain clauses, which it was stated threatened to render the operation of the law highly injurious both to inventors and the public, and to hasten the enact ment of a real Patent Reform Bill. Mr. Alderman Sid ney, M.P., occupied the chair, and observed that though he was very little acquainted with the nature of the pa tent laws, ho felt the greatest pleasure in presiding on this occasion, as he should be enabled to glean much in formation, which would be of use to him in his place in the House of Commons. He could not but iegard the pre sent patent laws as being in a most anomalous condition, and calculated to produce great evil, not only to inven tors, hut to the public generally. The present system bad the effect of " tying up" the talent and genius of the country, and it was next to impossible for an inventor to obtain a remuneration for his labour. Instead of making patents expensive, Government ought to give every possible protection to inventors, exacting only such a sum as would defray the incidental costs. He would ask why the cost should be so enormous in this country, considering that the cost of a patent in Belgium, Franco, Denmark, and America, did not amount to more than 101.? He contended that the patent laws were altogether de fective, and he did not know any subject which required more attentive consideration on the part of the Govern ment. Mr. Shepherd proposed the first resolution, to the effect that, it having been already acknowledged by Government and the public that the patent laws required amendment, the meeting was of opinion that the Bill now before Parliament should effect an efficient amendment forthwith, and that if this be not done, inventors who had ,previously registered and exhibited new inventions at the Great Exhi bition, under an implied promise from the Government, that the attainment of letters of patent would be ren dered less costly, would be subjected to the injustice of having been induced to publish their inventions without reasonable means of protection from the Legislature. The motion was seconded by Mr. Keene, and supported by Mr. Rogers, and after some discussion, was carried. A resolution was then passed, that it was contrary to the interests of the inventors and the public that the new patent law, which proposedthat a patent should be granted in consideration of a series of payments, should require from the inventor more than a few shillings in the first instance, so as to cover the expense of recording his de mand, and that if the protection of patent rights in courts of law be not rendered more certain, the law would still remain in a very defective state. It was next resolved that the foregoing resolutions be embodied in a petition, and pesented to the House of Commons, and the meeting separated. R/ CAN American ßoNDH bond holders OLD SPANISH 1V committee A Ll E l o f Spanish have received a letter from their agent, Mr. Lord, ERS' dated La Guayra, June 9, 1851, of which the following is an extract : " I have nothing, as yet, from the Minister, in reply to my last and previous communications. The Extraordi nary Gazette, of the 22d nit., did not reach me till the close of the late month. I forward a copy herewith, as it contains the la w o f ways an d means f or 1851 to 1832, with the assignment of 500,000 dollars to the foreign debt. The few articles at the end of the law merit at tention, especially Articles 5,6, and 7. The amount of expenditure autlaorised by this law is 2,688,890 dollars, about equal to the revenue, ordinary and extra ordinary, in the financial year, ending 30th June last ; no estimate of that for the year ending the 30th instant h a s yet appeared." d to in th e a b ove ex t ract:— Her e o n d wars fol l ow a means the l f u ll d r e e e principal ar ti c l es - o f t h e l aw o f ~ Art. 5. The executive power is authorised to deduct from the sanctioned changes, with the those thatconcurrence of the Council of State," onesnot absolutely ne to retain o third of the assigned cessary ; and also d out of public treasury for salar i es, amount to be receive ~ sion whatever, of all ants pensions, or any commi. according as the ' state of the exceeding 400 dollars, this h • ' risation,however, finances may require it; au . t o does not include the sum appropriated to the public cre dit, both interior and exterior, the payment of which will be made in all cases with dun preference. " Art. 6. When the recei is are not su fficient to p a y in full, f or t wo consecutive months, the salaries, pensions, or assignations of th e pu b l i c servan t s , the Minister of Finance will issue the necessary orders to have the funds distributed pro rata between all the creditors, without any preference whatever, prohibiting at t eL h ' Sam° time any anticipation. " Art. 7. The treasury and every collector has to publish weekly a s t a t ement of receipts and disburse ments, and actual funds, as t h e books may show; and in places where this cannot b e d one by printing, he said EENIN SUN, r. > 1.`"? 5 WEDNESDAY V G statement is to be fixed up at the door of the respective office, and an authent ieated copy thereof sent to the functionary, who has to transmit a general statement to the Finance Minister." The committee of MI ?Akan bondholders have received a communication from :Mr. Falconnet, dated Mexico, the 4th June. He had had an inteleriew with the President, 'on the subject of the genuine Deferred Bonds, wrongly shut out from the conversion of 1846, in consequence of which Senor Pay no has been instructed to report on the mat ter; and after receiving his report, the Government in tend to provide what the case may appear to require. Messrs. Manning and Mackintosh bad failed to give ' securities, as agreed on., for the balance due from them, and Mr. Falconnet was about commencing legal proceed ings to enforce the due performance of the agreement. The extraordinary Congress which had opened on the lit of June was to devote its attention exclusively to the proposals of the Government for the regulation of the finances and public credit, the reduction of the expenses of administration, Sze. Senor Pena y Cuevas was the new Minister of Finance. He enjoys a high reputation for intelligence and industry, as well as for decision of character, and is the same who filled that office on Mr. W. J. Robertson's first arrival in Mexico, in February, 1849. Mr. Falconnet has had an interview with him, and reports as follows :--- "I have just returned from seeing Senor Pena y Cuevas, and if I may judge from appearances, the inter view has been satisfactory. The Minister explained that from the circumstance of his only just having taken office, and the manner in which he has been oc cupied with the (hashers during the brief time he has been in, he has not been able to make any arrangement for forwarding funds by dispatches to meet the July dividends, but that it is his intention have the amount dispatched by the next steamer. In the meanwhile he promises to discuss freely with me all measures concerning the bondholders. " I am happy to see from this that my strong remon strances have had effect, and that there is evidence on the part of the Minister, and also of the President, of an intention of more frank communication with me. Both repeat their sense of the necessity of fulfilling the terms of the decree," LIVERPOOL RACES. (THIS DAY.) BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) The Croxteth Stakes. Maid of Mosham Alonzo ... ... Won easy. The Bickerstaffe Stakes. Harpsichord Miss Whip Colt A good race. The Produce Stakes. Bethgelert Meanee colt Happy Joe Won by a head. The Sefton Stakes. The Abbess ... Sweepstakes of 50 SOV3. each. Clasher LIVERPOOL CUP. 3 to 1 agst Officious 4 to 1 agst Russborough 6 to 1 agst Marquis 12 to 1 agst Windischgratz Strongbow is friendless. ... 1 ... 2 ... 1 ... 1 ... 2 -. 3 walked over ... walked over DEATH OF << DELTA.' We are filled with profound regret at having to an nounce the sudden death of Dr. Moir, the gifted poet and scholar, now for some years celebrated as the " Delta" of Blackwood's Magazine. Having received the intelligence immediately before going to press, we have only time to state'.that the lamented de ceased breathed his last on Sunday, at Dumfries, after a sudden and unexpected attack of peritonitis, his death-bed being surrounded by his family and his old friends, Mr. Aird and Mr. Blackwood. I%IARYLEBONE SAV] WELBECK-STREET.—EstabI COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FRG PERIODS, DURING THE LAST On July 5,1845 ... 1846 . 9,3, 1847 „ „ 1848 „ „ 1849 /t 1850 ... If 12 3 , - 1851 ... Open Deposit Accounts. £15,724 16,729 17,939 18,564 19,843 20,866 21,878 D. FINNEY, Se, GS' BANK, tithed July 5, 1830. )cxEss, AT SPECISIED SEVEN YEARS. Sums invested with Na tional Debteommissioners £356,265 346,977 31:4340 284,757 301,663 315,638 334,073 ;retary and Actuary. YIORTALITY in the METROPOLIS. NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTERED IN THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1551. Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases ...*214 Diseases of Uncertain Seat ... ... 46 Tubercular Diseases ... ... ... ... ... 202 Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses... ... 132 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels ... 33 Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of Respiration ... 114 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organ 3 of Digestion... Diseases of the Kidneys, &c. •• . ••• Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus, &c. ... Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles Diseases of the Skin, &c. ... ••• ••• Malformations... ... ... Premature Birth ... ... , .. ... Atrophy ••• ..• ... Old Age ••• ... ••• ••• ••• Sudden ... ... ... ... ••• ••• Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance Causes not specified ... ... ••• ... ... 68 ... 27 ... 23 ... 40 ... 16 60 DEATHS FROX ALL CAUSES 1,003 Population Deaths in corre- Deaths Enumerated, spending week in the 1841. of 1850. Week. West Districts... 301,189 136 ... 167 North Districts.. 376,568 .. 146 ... 194 Central Districts 374,199 ... 119 ... 176 East Districts ... 393,067 ... 166 ... 186 South Districts.. 503,346 ... 227 ... 280 T0ta15........ 1,948,369 ... 1,003 ... 534 ... 469 Males Females ... no attention to the Noble Lord on the cross benches, who had risen to move an amendment, had put the ques tion and passed the Bill. The LORD CHANCELLOR had put the question, and had looked round the House to sea if any Noble Lord was about to oppose, and seeing that the Noble Lord, who moved the Bill, nodded his head, thought that no one was about to oppose it, and ho had passed the Bill. But ho would take this opportunity of requesting their Lordships to pay a little more atten tion when questions were pat—(Hear, hear)—because it was impossible for him on some occasions to ascertain amidst the buzz of conversation whether an opposition to a Bill was intended or not.—(Hear, hear.) Here the conversation dropped. Lord CAMOYS presented petitions, some for and some against the Ecclesiastical Tides Assumption Bill, but it was impossible to hear the names of the parties from whom those petitions came. The Earl of HARROWBY presented a petition from certain landowners in Lancashire against the Gunpowder Stores (Liverpool) Exemption Repeal Bill. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from the president and other members of the Preston Association for the Protection of Trade, praying for the extension of the jurisdiction of the County Courts to cases of bank ruptcy. His Lordship also presented a petition from the attorneys and solicitors of the county of Devon i❑ favour of a Bill which had already passed their Lordships' House, and which he hoped and believed would also pass the other House of Parliament—he meant the Bill for the amendment of the law of evidence. Ho also presented petitions from the attorneys of WincheLter, Stafford, and some other places, but to what effect the petitions were we have no knowledge. The Earl of :SHAFTESBURY presented a petition from the inhabitants of Edinburgh, in favour of the Lodging-houses Bill. MODEL LODGING-HOUSES. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY moved the second reading of the Model Lodging-house Bill. He would beg to detain their Lordships a short time with a few preliminary observations, not so much for the purpose of proving the existence of a great social :evil, for that needed no proof, as in explanation of the means pro posed for its mitigation. As the Bill for the improve ment of common lodging-houses had recently passed, it would not be necessary for him to detain their Lordships with a repetition of those disgusting details which had been elicited by the previous Bill. The population of the country was either stationary or migratory. The migratory were usually found in common lodging houses, and the stationary in private dwellings. Is was with the view of improving more particularly the sta tionary population that this Bill was introduced. Ile would trouble their Lordships with a slight view of what the Bill was intended to remedy. From the inspector's report made in 1842 he took the fol lowing description of the parish of St. George Hanover-square. The inspector's report stated there were 2,164 families dwelling in 1,465 houses. But observe how they were distributed:-929 families had only one room each, 482 families only two rooms, 94 only three rooms, 17 only four rooms, while of the whole number only one family had seven rooms. Now, the condition of St. George's parish might be taken as an example of what was the best condition of parishes; and it this were so, what must be the state of things in Shoreslitch, Whitechapel, :St. Luke's, and other parishes where the poorer classes predominated? But his state ment of St. George's parish required to be analysed. Though 929 families were shown to have but one room, it said nothing about the very many instances—he could vouch for the fact from his personal experience—in which two, three, and four families were found in the same room. It said nothing of the condition in which these families lived—of the absence of comfort, decency, in short, of the absence of everything requisite for the morals and health of the individuals. He would wil- tingly pass over all the minute details, and simply assure their Lordships the state of things was such that it was necessary to apply an instant and an effective remedy. This state of things was not confined to large towns. If they pursued the inquiry, they would find it equally bad in small towns and villages of the coun try. In fact, it would be found that the evils were even of a worse complexion than iu large towns. It was, however, in the power of the Legis lature to put a stop, to some extent, to these evils. The application of the present Bill was to be confined to towns having upwards of 10,000 souls; but he trusted, if a beginning were made in this way, that their Lordships' attention would soon be directed to other localities which the Bill did not reach. Their Lordships would see that the existing state of things, if permitted to con tinue, must in the end lead to pestilence and epidemic.. In the time of the cholera, he gathered from the in spector's report, that in one rural district (in Norfolk, we understood) the number of deaths by cholera was to the extent of one-fifth of the inhabitants. But that was nothing compared to a small town in Norfolk (Northesk, we understood), where, it was reported, the houses were damp, dirty, almost roofless, end in a condition of general discomfort and wretchedness. The report made by the inspector of this locality to the Board of Health was, that 52 cases of cholera hod occurred in 100 fami lies, that one-third of the inhabitants had been attacked by cholera—a proportion which if applied to the metro polis would have numbered more than 700,000 persons. This locality bad been purified, and what was the result after the cleaning and clearing ope rations had been performed?— that only four case of cholera occurred, with a few cases of diarrhoea. The same state of things prevailed in many of the small towns and Tillages, and the mischief took its rise entirely from the domiciliary conduct of the people. There was a locality no great distance from their Lordships' House, which he had visited, and which he should advise their Lordships to visit, in order that they might see and judge with their own eyes of the existence of that state of things which he was about to bring be fore them. The locality was notorious; but notwith standing its notoriety, nothing had been done to remedy existing evils. He referred to Church-lane, in the parish of St. Giles (we understood). Ho would take two houses from that spot, as exhibiting a fair specimen of what was to be found in a district where many thousand persons were living. The picture would present human nature in a state of wretchedness and degradation al most incredible. In those houses would be found fathers, daughters, mothers, sons, brothers—the sick and the dying—all sleeping and herding together. This was no exaggerated picture—he spoke from his own personal knowledge of the fact. In a room in one of these houses, 13 feet long, 14 feet broad, and 6 feet high, rented at Bs. per week by the tenant, who charged three pence per night to lodgers, there were found 8 males above tie age of 20, 5 females above the ago of 20, 4 males 'matr the age of 20, 5 females under the age of 20—in all 2l persons sleeping in the same room. He would not detain their Lordships much longer with such details. He would just state that the inspector, who was sent ov e r th e coun t r y by the Board of Health to bring the :owns under the operation of the Bill, reported that the condition of 161 villages, con taining 1,900,000 souls, was uniformly of the same de plorable c h a racter. Ile would just wish their Lordships to consider the ultimate consequences of such a state of things if not remedied. It was impossible to perambu late certain districts of the metropolis without seeing the greatest physical degradation among the inhabitants. It was impossible not to see that their condition induced a tendency towards endelging i n i n t ox icating drinks. All who inhaled the noxious atmosphere of those districts— who perambulated these parts only to make observations —stated that they .entered into the feelings of the un happy people inhabiting these localities, and that while perambulating those 'laces they felt the same desire to sustain exhausted nature by intoxicating drinks, which the inhabitants felt eery day. One fearful eonsequence of this state of things was fever, and what was the effect of fever?—(Hear.) It not only fell on the adult male, depriving him of the means of earning his subsist ence, but such was the character of malignant fever that it passed the very young and very old to select those in the prime of life and vigour, and with the largest fami lies. These facts were established by the records of the fever hospitals. By those records proof was af forded that the greatest mortality from fever was found among the vigorous adult population. He would give a proof of what was going on in p ar t s o f th e metropolis by referring to a district in Gray's Inn-lane, where, since February last, 84 cases had been sent to the fever hospital. Did their Lordships suppose that these physical evils were productive of no consequences? They were productive of the most pernicious consequences—nothing in short could be more striking than their effect on the temperance of the inhabitants. A vast proportiuu of the prevalent drunkenness was produced by that sanitary condition which it was the object of the present Act to assist in removing. He was certain if the mischief was removed they would see the people in a very different condition. But all that could be devised would prove useless unless this end was steadily kept in view, that nothing whatever could com pensate the young of both sexes for privation of domestic training. Without this it would be vain to look for any moral effects from any system of education they might introduce. Education, to be beneficial, must be based on home training; nothing, in fact, could compensate for that domestic training which a child received at home under the example of its mother. What was the conse quence of that deprivation? He saw it daily. He was connected with the ragged schools—institutions which were beneficial in their effects, but less so from th© cause he had pointed out th a n they otherwise would be. Children were sent to these ragged schools; they re ceived instruction; but when dismissed they went back to one of those horrible dens he had de scribed, to a roo m t ena nted by two or three families, where there was no regard to decency or comfort — there, he maintained, those children unlearned in one hour, by the examples which they saw about them, all that had been communicated to them, in twelve months' education.—(Hear, hear.) So long as this state of things existed education would be useless and vain. They must remove the evil before educational efforts would be of use, and before g oo d p r i nc iples and good habits could bo instilled into this hitherto neglected part of the popula tion. Ho had not a doubt that much of the pressure of the poor-rates was caused by the state of health, intoxi cation, inability to obtain a livelihood, deaths by fever, and by families sent to the workhouses to become per manent burdens on the country. He would give an in stance out of several hundreds which had been contri buted. In Bishopegate, in a small court, during the pre valence of cholera, th e at t en ti on o f th e p ar i s h authori ties was called to the condition of the place. In three days the cholera b ro k e ou t i n th e court . Lik e th e fever, it seized on the stro nges t, and in on e d a y several heads of families were carried off, and their children were obliged to be conveyed into the workhouse, to become permanently chargeable on the rate payers. Now, had 101. been spent in time, not only would this burden on the ratepayers very probably not have o ccurre d, b u t th e un h a ppy children would not have had to mourn the deprivation of the care of their parents. From calculations that had been made, ke had no doubt, if the sanitary condition of the people was properly improved, in ten years the poor-rates would be reduced to the extent of one-third of the present BIRTHS IN THE WEEK. Males Females ... 746 ... 784 Total ... ... 1,530 *ln this number are included 22 by Scarlatina, 46 by Typhu3 Fever, 23 by Diarrhoea, and 5 by Cholera. THE EMBEZZLEMENT BY THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS TOWN CLERK.—The total of the defalcations arising from the embezzlements of Benjamin Lewis, the town-clerk at Tunbridge Wells, have at length been ascertained, and amount to the enormous sum of 4,0001. ; the chief sufferers are the gas and water companies to whom he acted as collector. Mr. Superintendent Merton, who holds the war rant for his apprehension, traced him to Godstone, where all clue was lost. His family still remain at Tunbridge, and it is believed that he has very little cash in his pos session. The Marchioness of Salisbury and her infant son were yesterday going on favourably. The Countess Dela warr, mother of the Marchioness, has arrived in town from Buckhurst. The head-quarters of the 91st Regiment, which have for some time been stationed in this town, and whose frequent collisions with the police have rendered their re moval necessary, left Liverpool on Saturday for Chester and Manchester. They have been replaced by a few companies of the 28th Regiment.— Liverpool Mercury. DR. KAHN'S ANATOMICAL MUSEUM.—Last even ing we again visited this splendid anatomical museum, and were even more delighted than on the occasion of our first visit. We advise all those who would wish to see the won derful construction of the human frame to pay a visit to Dr. Kahn's museum. Those to whom surgical science is a mys tery, need not fear of gaining knowledge from a visit, for the whole of the models are very clearly, simply, and beautifully described by the talented E.nglish gentleman (Dr. Leech) attached to the museum. THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY AND THE EXHIBITION.—The directors of the Great Nor thern Railway Company have given all their servants leave of absence for five days each to visit the Great Exhibition, with each a free pass over the company'slines, and permis sion to the married men to take their wives, and those not married to take a friend. The remains of the late Earl of Derby were in terred yesterday morning in the family vault at Ormskirk Church. The funeral was private. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, July 8. EXPENSES OF PROSECUTION BILL. This Bill was read a third time and passed. The Earl of LONSDALE made soma observations on the subject of the Bill, to which Lord CRANWORTH was replying, when, Lord CAMPBELL rose to order. Their Lordships could not discuss a Bill which had passed. Now his Noble and Learned Friend on the Woolsack had dis tinctly said that the Bill had passed. It passed like a certain Bill elsewhere, without the majority being aware of it. Earl FITZWILLIAM contended that the question had not been put. The &al of POWIS was proceeding to object to the Bill,fao onf r L Ld a o o mt r: hb y d da h eu ty C e St t n e A olic rfoMAI of fi jal CAMPBELL B mot E o tL discuss s e said s t that . the remembrance of the Lord Chancellor was with him. The Bill had passed, —the taking advantage Lord CAMPBELL said that it was not a matter of The Earl of HARROWBY rose to order. There was no motion before the fleas°. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGII said that certainly the Noble and Learned Lord On the woolsack, paying 9 7 1851. amount. It was to provide a partial remedy for this state of things that he had ventured to introduce the present Bill, which was founded on the same principle recog nised in the Baths and Washhouses Bill, which had already produced such beneficial effects. The Bill be fore their Lordships was permissive, not compulsory. The principle on which the Bill was founded was that these lodging-houses would be remunerative—that they would sufficiently repay principal and interest. The Bill had no eleemosynary character; parties were to pay full rent, sufficient to replace the outlay, whether made by the parish or by others. He would give an illustration ofits assumed working. The Society for Improving the Dwellings of the Labouring Classes, whose object was to improve the domiciliary condition of the people, pro ceeded on this principle—that it would do no good to improve those dwellings unlasa it could be shown that the scheme was remunerative, and at the same time to exclude every condition of charity. The society had expended in buildings about 23,0001., the return upon which, deducting all expenses, was an average of 6 per cent.; on new buildings about 51 per cent., and on old buildings improved twelve per cent. The labouring man paid no more nor no less rent than he would have paid; but, in place of a dirty disgusting room, tenanted perhaps by several families, he had every comfort and accommodation provided for him. It was stated at the time when the Bill was under consideration that the rent would be so high that the working classes could not pay it; but the rent for all the comforts provided in the new and old buildings was actually less than would have been paid for bad accommodation. In addi tion to the saving and the comforts, the health of the inmates was greatly improved, and he was particularly struck with the remark of one of the female occupants, who said to him it was a blessed thing to live in the place, for now she could live on the wages she earned. When the common lodging-house was erected in Church lane not a single case of cholera occurred in it, although, within a few yards of Church-lane the cholera was raging and carrying off ten or twelve persons a day. That result was not only exhibited in this common lodging-house, but in all the other lodging-houses in which sanitary precautions prescribed by the Bill were attended to. He had shown that in the case of the Common Lodging-house Bill the results had been of a remunerative character. The same result was expected from this Bill. The Bill would not be subject to abuses —as its operation was confined to parishes not having less than 10,000 persbns. The Noble Lord here went into a description of the machinery of the Bill, and con cluded his details by stating that the Bill was guarded in all respects against the probability of jobbing or elee mosynary acts. Such things would utterly destroy the object and the utility of the Bill. Provisions were also introduced against carrying the Bill into effect too rapidly. The Bill, in short, was merely to supply the working man with all that he could not provide himself. There were two reasons why this business ought not to be left to private speculators, first, because they would require a great deal of superintendence; there must be some authority either parochial or municipal to superin tend their operations, and on this ground ho shrank from leaving the matter to private speculators. Then the second reason was, that private speculators had a tendency to run up small, narrow, and ill-built houses, because they yielded larger profits than houses con structed on the plan the Bill proposed, and which was considered to be absolutely necessary for comfort, health, and decency. He would show the large rents which small houses yielded to speculators. One of these houses the society which he had referred to kept on their hands as a curiosity, in order to prove the amount of profit gained by the small speculator. This house provides the lodgers with every comfort they re quired, and the net profit was thirty per cent. If tho society could make thirty per cent. by affording every comfort, how much would a person make who let his house without providing comforts or even necessa ries for the lodgers? There was a vast number of schemes afloat for the benefit of the working classes, all of which he expected would do good, on the principle that if you improved the domiciliary condition of the people you would also improve their moral and their sanitary condition. They had the concurrent testimony of City missionaries, of visitors, and others conversant with the habits cf the working classes, that if you im proved the condition of the dwellings they would present precisely the reverse of the picture which they now ex hibited. The subject had excited much interest among foreign nations. The society was in correspondence with Germany, France, Italy, Prussia, and the United States, who were desirous of being informed of the society's plan and system, and he could assure their Lordships many foreigners who came over to visit this country came to him to be taken round to the establishmenes for the benefit of the labouring classes, and they expres said them selves perfectly satisfied with the results, and appeared to think the system full of promise for the future. The present Bill would give the working man a full and fair opportunity of making the beet use of his time and powers. Many a working man who came to the metropolis was obliged to live in a tainted I o eality to be near his work. They would not unfrequently see a young man in the prime and vigour of life eare.ing his 255. or 30s. a week, in eight or ten months, from being forced to live in some unhealthy, comfortless locality, pine away in health, or else carried to a premati ire grave. This was no imaginary picture; he had witnessed it himself, and the Noble Lord opposite could, from his own personal knowledge, corroborate the tru th of his statement. All these, however, were preventi pie cases, and there was no reason whatever why the phy, deal con dition of the workpeople of this country might not sur pass even that of the population of the United States. Mr. Porter, a gentleman well known to the put had lately given to the world a small pamphlet, entitled " Self-imposed Taxation," in which he showed that the working people of this country expended yearly in beer, gin, and tobacco, the sum of 57,000,0001. sterlir ,g. Only conceive that sum, which was now voluntarily wasted, expended on the promotion of education—upon the so cial and moral well-being—upon objects which dignified the human heart! But a great portion of this ;slim was capable of being diverted into these channels if tl le poor had places to dwell in which they could feel, were a home. The Bill before the House had been well re ceived in the other branch of the Legislature; b a , hoped their Lordships would extend to it an equal d agree of favour. At all events he was quite sure they wot ild show the poor of this country that as they were part a of the same common humanity, so were they actuate& by the principles of the same common Christianity. The Marquis of NORMANBY expressed Hs great satisfaction that this subject, to which he had i 'ormerly devoted much attention, was now in the hand a of the Noble Earl There was a point, however, to v ahich he wished to call the attention of the Noble Earl and the House—namely, the limitation of the Bill to certain places in the country. The evils it was sought to remedy existed in localities not included in the Bill, and he wished therefore that the limitation to towns of 10,000 souls were not laid down in it. He hoped, b .owever, the measure would be considered as an instalme int, and that next year the Noble Earl would apply for a :further extension of the principle to less populous places.. Lord KINNAIRD hoped if the Bill was four d'. to be successful it would be extended to Scotland also, with a suitable machinery. He bore witness to the good, effects of the efforts that had been made by the society; among others in forcing the proprietors of the poorer classes of lodging- houses to shut several of them up. The Earl of HARROWBY said the measure would do much good; but there was another measure which should be adopted along with it. Parliament wa s con stantly asked to sanction the construction of new. streets upon the sites of old houses, and Parliament foil got in all these cases to make a stipulation with the atm ehcants for providing other suitable dwellings for the poor a con dition of its sanction. This, he thought, should be the rule in all cases, and the speculator should be obl i ged to provide a similar class of house to those destr eiyed— whether it was the Dean and Chapter of Westr tipster, or whether it was a private individual. The o‘ r - 1. was one every day growing greater instead of dimn nshing, and it would continue so to do unless it was checked by legislative interference. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said every or le must feel that the Bill needed no support; but he rose to point out one circumstance in coenexion—name] ly, that all the efforts made to educate the children of t lie poor were permanently neutralised by the effects of the dwellings in which they were now obliged to live. From all he could collect, there was a perpeti ad ten dency on the part of these children to relapse i tato the condition from which they were redeemed by day through the examples which they found placed before them in their wretched homes at night. TlLearefore the constant attempt at reformation on the o r.o side was met by a constant resisting process , on the other, in consequence of the immorality comma 'heated to them under the miserable roofs of their parents. There could not be a more effective auxiliary to tib e edu cation of the people, consequently, than the promotion of social comforts among them, especially the on eation of a decent home. The Noble Lord was wise, as sin ex periment, in limiting the operation of his Bill ; and he (the Marquis of Lansdowne) hoped the example set in the large towns would have the effect of inducing a vo luntary adoption of its principles in smaller localities. The House was,indebted to the Noble Earl who had just spoken for his valuable suggestions, and he agreed with him that no public or private speculation :should be sanctioned by the Legislature without an inquiry being first made and answered as to what b id be come of the displaced population. It was a subje et well worthy of consideration to endeavour, in as far a a pos sible, to effect a beneficial change in the condition of the poor as regarded dwellings. The Bill was then read a second time. The Bills on the table were advanced a stage, and the House adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. July 8. THE SOUND DUES. Mr. JAMES CLAY asked th© Secretary of which State for Foreign Affairs—this being the y during (under the agreement of 1841 with Denmark regulating the dues levied by that country on goods passing e Sound), notice can be give n o f terminating such agree ment—whether it is the intention of her Majesty's Government so to give notice; also, whether any and what negotiations have been entered upon between this country and Russia, or Prussia, having for their object the commutation of these dues for an immediate money payment to Denmark, or other compensation? Lord PALMERSTON said that at present there was no intention on the part of her Majesty's Govern ment to give notice to the Danish Govern ment to dissolve the existing agreement with Denmark, nor had any negotiations passed between the two Governments on the subject. He thought the House would agree with him that whatever might take place, this was not the exact moment to press hardly on a country which like Denmark had just passed through a season of great trial.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. HUME begged to ask the Noble Lord whether they ought not to consider our own shipping? MESSAGE FROM HER MAJESTY. Lord PALMERSTON, at the bar of the House, commuilioted her Majesty's reply to two addresses which had been presented to her by the House of Com mons, one praying that two laymen be added to the Chancery Commission, and the other, that steps might be taken to relieve the spiritual destitution of the peop;e. Her Majesty was graciously ploased to signify her gra cious ascent to the prayer of both atkire:i.-s. ATTORNEYS AND SOLICITORS' CERTIFICATE DUTY. Lord ROBERT GROSVENOR, in asking leave to re-introduce a Bill for the repeal of the attorneys and solicitors' annual certificate duty, said the grounds on which he did so was that this duty was partial, unjust, and oppressive. On the last occasion when he brought this subject under the attention of the House, no less than 259 Members voted in favour of the repeal to 224 against it, thus giving a majority in support of the prin ciple which he advocated. If the Chancellor of the Exchequer would promise to agree to the repeal of the tax next session, in the event of the income-tax being renewed, and no;unforeseen circumstances arising in the country, he would be content with simply laying the Bill on the table; but he should feel compelled to press his motion if the Right Hon. Gentleman could not give him such an undertaking. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he would bo most happy to accede to every proposition for the repeal of taxes, provided he could consistently do so, but if further reductions of taxation were made under existing circumstances he knew not how the business of the country could be carried on. Feeling it neces sary to stand by his Budget, he must oppose the mo tion, which he hoped would not receive the support of the House. Strangers were ordered to withdraw, and the House divided,_ when there appeared— For the motion Against it Majority against Ministers ... —3O Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. THE BALLOT. ... 162 ... 132 Mr. H. BERKELEY, in moving for leave to bring in a Bill " for the protection of Parliamentary electors of Great Britain and Ireland by taking their votes by ballot," observed that they were on the eve of a general election, when the people would require against political bullies the protection of the ballot; for the landucracy and aristocratical bodies were about to be arrayed against popular rights. No plan of Parliamentary re form could give satisfaction without the ballot, for with out it the popular desires always ran the risk of being nullified. The Noble Lord, in refusing to admit the ballot amongst his proposed reforms, would by extending the franchise only extend the area of intimidation. In dis cussing this question he could not avoid remarking that he and those who were in favour of the ballot had torn the last rag of reason from the shoulders of its opponents, and had paced them as indecent pictures of national obstructions.—(Laughter.) The Noble Lord opposed the ballot because ho feared a change. Did then that from which he feared a change work well? Did that system work well which deterred one-third of the elec tors from recording their votes? Did that system work well which gave to forty-eight peers and seventeen Mem bers of Parliament the means of returning ninety-eight Members of that House by direct unconstitutional interfe rence? Did that system work well which converted their agricultural voters into electoral flocks of sheep? The fact . was the entire system was a great lie, for it compli mented men upon their liberty when it rendered them slaves.—(Hear.) But, even it he were to admit that the system worked well, then it must be allowed that it was a good end attained by bad means.—(Hear.) The Se cretary for the Home Department had ceased to support the ballot on the ground that there had been a great im provement in political morality. Where were the illus trations of that improvement? Were they to be found in the Aylesbury "man in the moon," in the St. Alban's " bell metal," in the drenching the electors with "whisky" in the Falkirk burghs?—(Hear, hear.) On Christmas-eve, of all other periods in the year, the St. Alban'a election commenced; and the Times' reporter gave a graphic description of the proceedings. He said that the scene which the town presented throughout the entire day was anything bat that which would lead per sons to suppoee that Father Mathew's disciples were numerous there; that the sights in the principal streets were absolutely disgusting—drunken men and women staggering about, or lying in such curious places as ine briety alone selected. It appeared by the same report that after the election was over, both candidates ad dressed the people. Mr. 8011, in his speech, told the drunken mob that they Lad greatly and gloriously distinguished themselved.—(Laughter.) Mr. Carden, on the other band, asserted that in his defeat he bad achieved a victory; that he was told if he had put the bribery oath to every elector he would have won his seat; but that he refused to do so, because he knew that the man who had taken a bribe would not hesitate to swear that which was false. It further appeared that when the bribery oath was read on one oc casion there it was received with shouts of laughter and derision, - and was looked upon by the immaculate electors there as a very good joke. He knew that by the ballot they could not prevent a man purchasing a vote, but they could prevent him knowing whether the elector had voted for the party that had bribed him. By the operation of the ballot they cast into the shade four dis tinct events. Firstly. Whether the bribed elector voted for the party who had paid him. Secondly. Whether the elector that was bribed did not vote for the other party. Thirdly. Whether the purchased elector did not split his vote. Fourthly. Whether the elector had voted at all. With such an uncertainty what party would bribe at an election? He had taken the opinion of many agents who had been accustomed to conduct elections, and they had all concurred in saying that intimidation would be completely done away with by the ballot, and that they believed that the ballot would be, generally speaking, a complete protection against the system of ' bribery. Intimidation contained the principle of bribery in its worst form. It was practised in the shape of ex clusive dealing, withdrawal of custom, ejectment of tenants, and that inquisitorial search into the lives and finances of individual voters. These were all used oc casionally to prevent the party from voting in the way he wished. He had before him a return of the poll at the last Bath election, and in connexion with this sub ject he would remind the House that the Hon. Member for Birmingham had told them that in the last elec tion for that town at least 1,000 men had absented them selves from voting in consequence of intimidation. He (Mr. Berkeley) wrote to a friend in Bath requesting him to send him an analysis of the voting there. In the re ply which he received the writer said he could quote a few instances of direct intimidation, but they were the exception and not the rule. On the registry there ap peared to be 3,130 electors, of whom only 2,150 went to the poll-1,110 polled for Captain Scobell, and 1,041 for Mr. Sutcliffe. There were 449 electors who had not voted at the election, and the reason given by them for not doing so was, that they wished to vote for Captain Scobell, but they knew that if they had done so their ruin would inevitably follow, for they would be com pelled to shut up their shops. Tho greatest boon that they could confer upon the tenant-farmers would be to give them the protection of the ballot. It would be better upon great estates to allow a paper to be signed by the different voters at the time of an election, with the name of the candidate for whom they were compelled to vote, rather than oblige them to travel to the next market town for the purpose of telling a lie.—(Laugh ter.) He was deeply interested for the tenant-farmers, and although be had felt it to be his duty to object to them as soldiers solely on the ground of their incompe tency—(Much laughter)—he would b© only doing them justice in declaring that there were not a better drilled or a more obedient body of electors in Europe. The farmer might refuse to go out to fight, but he dared not refuse to vote upon pain of immediate condign punish ment. The evidence taken before the Committee of 1835 ought to form the fonndation for a legislative measure upon this subject. That state of tyranny and slavery which was proved to exist in 1835 continued to flourish in the country as generally as ever. The farmers were now murmuring at high rents and low prices, and they were beginning to think that they were not thoroughly represented in that House. The last South Nottinghamshire election afforded a strong example of this fact. The statement to which he was about to refer was sufficient to show the abject condition of the tenan try upon the estates in that part of the country. He would select the Times' report of the proceedings at that election, because in the first place their reports were generally very correct and admirably well written, and in the second place, because that paper had manifested a bias against the cause which he was then advocating. The report stated that this was one of the most aristo cratic counties in England, and the landlords to a man were banded together to support their own nominee, who was a scion of one of the largest landed proprietors in the kingdom. That this nobleman thus supported should be defeated by a plain country gentle man—a retired solicitor with scarcely one acre of land of his own—appeared most marvellous. It could only be accounted for by the fact that the losses whi c h were endured by the occupiers of land during th e l ast two years had rendered them indifferent as to whether they would be expelled their homesteads or not. There was an admission on the part of the Times.— (Hear, hear.) The article further stated that many who had voted for Lord Newark did so with extreme reluctance. In some cases the farmers were dragged from their hiding-places in some hay or straw ricks. They were taken to the poll and there forced to vote against their will. In many instances the answer given to the ques tion "for whom do you vote-" was, " for Lerd Newark, I suppose;" the unwilling voter l oo king et the sa me time into the landlord's face fur a nod of assent.—(Hear, hear.) After hearing this tale of humiliation and de gradation of the tenant-farmers as described by the Times, he hoped he would be perm i t ted to apostrophise that great organ in th ese wor d s , 0 tempura, 0 mores.— (Laughter.) In the Bingham which had t h e paper) there w as a c l ever tr i c k play ed district (continued th at effect of securing some votes for Mr. Barrow. Bills were posted in every village in the neighbourhood, pur porting to come from a nobleman that was accused of coercing his tenants in favour of Lord Newark. Lord Chesterfield announces to his tenantry that he takes no part in this contest, and permits them to exercise their franchise in whatever way they were inclined." He (Mr. Berkeley) asked the House if this miserable forgery could have the effect of carrying these votes, what effect did they think that the ballot would have?—(Hear.) The sessional order against the interference of Peers at elec tions was a mere mockery. Far bett er wou ld it b e t o take the franchise altogether from the tenant-farmers, than to subject them to such a state of things as then existed. At one time were the landlords leading on their tenants to the accompaniment of a band that played .‘ See the conquering Hero comes." At another, ferret ting them out of their hiding places behind some hey or straw ricks for the purpose of compelling them to vote against their conscience at an election. Oh! for the pencil of Hogarth, or the stereotype of Punch to sketch such scenes as these.—(Laughter.) Oh! for the glorious yeomanry of England.—(Renewed laughter.) Future ages will wonder at reading that such things had really existed in the 19th century. In the county of Gloucester there resides a gentleman with a difficult same. Apr fear he would be unlined of giving a handle to his nctle, he would spelt it to the House. The gen tieman's name was liandcl Co:; sham. It appeared that ho was a warm advocate of the defeated candidate at the last ekction. He had, however, lltely joithd a Total Abstinence Society, and at a meeting held in Bristol on the 10th of February last it was stated in a report which appeared in the Bristol Mercury, that this gentleman had made a speech which yeas remark able for good sense, moral courage, and a penitential tone. Ile said that many political as welt as other crimes were connected with - the use of strong drink —he had a grew; deal to do with the last West Gloucestershire election, but that he repented of it new, and ever should repent of it—that the drinking at that election was enough to corrupt all England, but more particularly the county of Gloucester. The rea son why they had not better men to represent them was because the drinking was so extensive. The best men could not come forward under such circumstances; while those who were successful at the election would take very good care to make the electors pay afterwards for the expense they were put to on their account during the contest. Such were the reported opiaiuns of Mr. Handel Cossham. Ho (Hr. Berkeley) found that the same sen timents were uttered by old Daniel Defoe. The coinci dence was somewhat remarkable. In 1708 Defoe pub lished a review, in which he L. , slied the electoral system of that day. Mr. Ward had quoted with good effect from this work, when he had brought this question in 1842 before the House. In 1710, about a year after the publication of this review, a Bill to give the electors the protection of the ballot had passed through the House of Commons, but was rejected by the House of Lords. The House of Lords of that day very much resembled the House of Lords of the present day. They still held in their grasp the constituencies of the country, and they knew that they must relax their grasp the mo ment that the ballot was adopted by Parliament. Defoe followed this work up by the puplication, in 1710. of another, entitled " Thoughts on Pub:ic Spirit." The coincidence between Daniel Defoe and Handel Cossham was here most remarkable. Cossham, for in stance, strongly deprecates the political evils arising from the use of strong drink, and has given penitential testimony of the effects. Defoe said that the frequent orders of the House as to treating electors to strong drink, and as to bribery and corruption, had little effect, for moat people thought that they might be easily evaded; that it was a great fault with electors to sell their votes at elections for a small sum, or what was worse, for a pot of ale.—(Laughter.) Mr. Cossham again said he believed that the great expense incurred by the candidates at these elections they would contrive to pay themselves back when they gut into. Parliament. Detoe said that many went to great expense in order to be returned for some pitiful borough; but it must not be supposed that they were influenced by public spirit; they seek for the salaries of office, and show a strong inclination for its perquisites also. As a last word be lore he sat down, he (Mr. Berkley) would appeal to the Noble Lord at the head of the Government who stood pledged to further reforms, not to turn aside from the consideration of this great question. Mr. Grote, when speaking in support of the Reform Bill, said that the pro tection of the ballot was necessary. He did not know how many Hon. Members would vote for his present mo tion, but he did know that there were 150 Gentlemen in that House who concurred in the opinions expressed by Mr. Grote. Amongst them were the names of those who bore great names, and who were remarkable for their talent and wisdom, and with whom the Noble Lord was in daily communication. He found there the revered name of Remitly, a gentleman in whom were combined high position, great talent, and unbounded popularity.— (Hear, hear.) He was also supported by her Majesty's Attorney-General, than whom there was no ono better pequainted with the electoral system and working. There was also the Solicitor-General, whose sound judg ment and eloquence went hand in hand, and whose bril tient defence of this question could not easily be for gotten when it was pressed through that Route. He was also strong in ancient legal authority. Chief justice Holt said he considered it a great privilege to have the power of electing those who were required to make laws for the country. Sir W. Blackstone laid it down that the House of Commons should be elected by the people to make laws for the people, and to counteract the encroaching ten dency of the laws sometimes framed by the House of Lords. He asked the Noble Lord, in all sincerity, to reconsider this question for the sake of the people of England. If the Noble Lord would give them any pledge upon the subject, he would cheerfully withdraw the pre sent motion. If, however, he declined to give any such pledge, he had only to ask the leave of the House to bring in a Bill to give protection to the electors of Great Britain and Ireland, in the discharge of a solemn duty, an important right, and a great privilege.—(Cheers.) Mr. ELLIS bore testimony to the extreme intimida tion and coercion which were exercised upon all descrip tions of voters at elections. Both sides of the House were equally chargeable with this practice. He believed it was impossible to adopt any sound system of election without the shield of the ballot. In the name, then, of the people of England, he asked the Noble Lord to ad vance, by his great power and wisdom, the important question which had been just submitted to their consi deration.—(Hear.) He asked the Noble Lord to recon sider the question, and give the constituencies the shield of the ballot, of which Gentlemen invariably availed themselves in their clubs, and in every situation in which they themselves were called to vote. But the present system could not last much longer. The day was coming when tho people would demand the ballot, and whoever happened to be sitting on the bench now occu pied by the Noble Lord at the head of the Government would be compelled to grant it. He therefore urged the Noble Lord nod the House to take this time of peace and tranquillity for the extension of the franchise and granting the shield of the ballot. Mr. HUM +' could not see how any man professing a desire to promote equal and practical reform could shrink from giving his support to the motion, though it would only secure part of the rights to which the people were entitled. He wanted the Noble Lord at the head of the Government, who had formerly done so much to enlighten them on the subject of the British Constitution, to go back to those days, and act as be would have acted then if he had had the power. In 1832, as soon as power was placed in his hands, he, as the organ of a Liberal Administration, brought for ward the Reform Bill; and he asked nothing more of him than the fulfilment of the views which he then ex pressed. He said the time was come when the people would . no longer permit Peers to nominate their repre sentatives, and expressed a hope that no constituency would be left with fewer than 300 voters. Since the passing of the Reform Act, many had asked what advan tage had been derived from it? Now, though he con ' fessed that it had not realised all the sanguine hopes which he had entertained of its results, it had un doubtedly produced incalculable benefits. No man could tell what might have happened in times of excitement if the old system bad been persisted in, though some ' idea might be formed from what had passed elsewhere. The Noble Lord, in proposing the Reform Bill, re served the questions of the ballot and triennial Parlia ments, stating that he was anxious to try the effect of the reforms which he then proposed, and added, that if these should be found incomplete, it would be then time enough to bring forward those questions. The advantages anticipated by the ' Noble Lord from the Reform Bill had not been realised, and he ought therefore to assist, or rather to be foremost in supporting the motion. For his own part, he con fessed he should net be satisfied with that single reform , for he thought there was another more important still, the extension of the franchise. He maintained, on the authority of the greatest constitutional lawyers, that every man who paid taxes and performed the duties which the State required from him as an Englishman was entitled to a voice in the election of representatives to Parliament. Be was not wedded to any particular mode but he certainly held the protection tobe ht essential. He also thought the duration co the its.iParliamentsought to be shortened to three years. These refor ms h e a d vocate d on econo m i ca l principles. He was old enoug h to reco ll ec t the str ugg l es to obtain Parliamentary re f orm b e f ore the French w ar , du o raftei x o and what was the result of the efforts then made by the landed proprietors and the aristocracy to check the pro gress of reform? An addition of 600,000,0001. to our ' debt, and 21 ,000,0001. of charge- He warned them to profit by sad experience, and be called on the Noble Lord at the head of the Government to recur to the Whig principles of former days- Would peace and content ment continue to prevail if they persisted in denying to six out of every seven males a voice in the election of their representatives? Would England, who formerly had been at the top of the ladder in Europe as regarded her representative system, consent to remain at the bottom? Would the artisans of this country consent to remain behind the artisans of every other country, excep Russia? He, therefore, counselled the Noble Lord, whilst employment gave wages and wages contentment, to come forwar d and grant the boon. Let him not suppose that the people were ignorant of their rights, nor was there the least fear that those rights would be abused. New circumstances had occurred since the question was last under their consideration. The Noble Lord at the head of the Government had declared that every colony was entitled to all the advantages of British institutions and a responsible government, and the electoral system in Ireland had undergone revision. But still he found by a Parliamentary paper that there were places, such as Colne and Reigate, and others, in which there were not more than from 150 to 250 electors. Could this sy stem be maintained? He called on the Noble Lord to redeem his pledge. Under the present system five metropolitan boroughs, with 89,000 electors, return d the same num ber of representatives as 12 boroughs with 3,509 electors. Unless the ballot formed part of the Noble Lord's re forms, they would not give satisfaction.—(Hear, hear.) Why were the benches opposite so empty? Because the Members who ought to have filled them disregarded the voice of the people. He hoped the fact would not be lost upon them. He had given notice of an amendment, but being anxious that there should be no mistake as to the division, and wishing to remove ad excuse for not coming to a decided vote, he would withdraw it. They had been too long passive. The Noble Lord at the head of the Government had allowed the powerful reform party, of which he was the head, to linger from year to year, till it was almost destroyed. It was now in his power to restore, reanimate, and unite it; and in making the effort he might rely on the support of the great body of the people.—(Hear, hear.) Captain SCOBELL said ho had entered the House with no intention of addressing it on the present mo tion; but as the city which he had the honour to repre sent had been so largely referred to, and a numerously signed petition had been presented from that quarter, he felt that ho could not give a silent vete upon the ques tion. It was due to himself to state that, in his recent election, he had declined to canvass the constituency, , thinking that proceeding not only unnecessary but de grading.—(Hear, hear.) Ho had taken the more open course of meeting his constituents in their several wards. He had thus an opportunity of knowing that great inti midation had been resorted to. He might be asked, then, whether be was a convert to the ballot? ge confessed sir e. i%re, e Its a to w for o(, to Dter a , Alto cat lY Prod ue „"Lorl Z tde d " fl% I lt4 olus 3 to ( it ec o ha 4e ru eat a b d cng hi 0 0 1 toe] kot; ° ° 6l l * o Poomm h was li kkb , 4 w in tie nt " ) to 1 but 4 4 Of •vic eo rti , t by supc e 1 bor n ° (met 1 " 4 them ma tes ob of a be ~- (1 soy, c ot , sso,r' gd 43 b ih..! b e 8