The Sun. — London, England, 1845-02-07 00:00:00

LONDON AND COUNTY JOINT STOCK BANK- The Directors and Shareholders of this establish ment held their usual half-yearly meeting at their office, 71, Lombard-street, yesterday. The SECEETARY read the advertisement c nven ing the meeting, and the Directors' report, of which the following is the substance " Your Directors have again much pleasure in laying their half-yearly report before the Proprietors. " Your Directors are happy to report that the business of the Bank continues to improve and to inerease, and they recommend the payment of the usual dividend, at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum on the capital stock of the Company for the half-year ending Dee. 31, 1844. " The Proprietors will recollect, that at the last meeting the Directors reported they had, by a second verdict, maintained their right to hold the Scrip of the Royal Mail Packet Company, which had been lodged with them for advances bona fide made to Messrs. Coils, the brokers of Messrs. Acraman, of Bristol. After alluding to the law proceedings (the trial against the assignees of Messrs. Acraman) the report stated " that the present head office could not afford the accommodation required by the great increase of the Company's business, and that they had obtained the more extensive premises, 21, Lombard-street, to which they intend to remove during the ensuing month." The CHAIRMAN then proceeded to address the meet ing at considerable length. lle congra'ulated the Shareholders on the prosperous state of the affairs of the bank for the past half-year, which he said had not only been very satisfactory, but far exceeded the most sanguine expectations of the Directors. He then alluded, to the state of the branch banks, which he said were equally satisfactory and profitable in their results. With regard to the legal proceedings in which the Company were likely to be involved, he said this was the third time they would be compelled to take their position as defendants, in order to submit to a fury of merchants the question as to whether they had a right to dispose of scrip of vihich they hail become the holders. lie next read the balance-sheet, by which it appeared that a large sum was to be placed to the credit of the Company. Having spoken at considerable length, and congratu lated the Shareholders upon being the pro prietors of •so prosperous and profitable a con cern, he next answered several questions that were put to him by some Proprietors upon matters ol detail, and the replies appeared to give general satis faction. The meeting unanimously adopted the balance sheet, re-elected the out-going members of the Board and auditors, and having passed a resolution to the effect that the Directors be paid 1,5001., to be divided amongst them as remuneration for their services, the usual votes of thanks were passed, and the meeting separated. MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS The following are the results of "A Table of Mortality in the Metropolis, showing the Number of Deaths from all Causes registered in the Week ending Saturday, the Ist of February, 1845." The Table is issued from the Office of the Registrar-General: CAUSES OF DEATH. Weekly Total. Average of Five Years Epidetnic,Endemic, and Contagious Diseases 200 184 Diseases of variable or uncertain seat llO - 106 Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses 155 159 Diseases of. the Lungs, and other Organs of Respiration Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 29 24 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 63 71 Diseases of the Kidneys, &c 6 6 Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus, &c. lO 10 Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles 4 6 Diseases of the Skin, &c •••••• Old Age, or Natural Decay B9 70 By Viol‘mce Privation, or Intemperance Causes spec ified... 1004 954 Deaths from all Causes 1011 963 DE&TIIS rnost THE 'PRINCIPAL DISEASES INCLUDED UNDER TILE ABOYE HEADS. Weekly Average Total. of Five Years. Consumption Scarlatina, 35 36 Pneumonia ..,....... Dropsy ..... .. .. ..... Hooning Cough .. ......... .. Typhus Small Pox 42 20 Disease of the Heart Measles 36 24 Apoplexy .......... ... .... ... 26 19 Diseases of the Brain 7 10 Diarrhoea.. Sudden Deaths DISTRICT& Deaths Weekly ;Arita hi Average of in the Week. Five Years. the Week, West North lB9 176 199 Central East 221 209 274 south Total .. . .... ....... 1011 963 1236 SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. PROM THE EVENING PAPERS 07 YESTERDAY. STANDARD.—The debate in the House of Com • mons last night was—as always happens on the second night of the session, when there is no amendment to the address, and scarcely a formed opposition party—very flat, and, if we may apply so undignified a word, " rag ged"—a thing of shreds and patches. We regret that the Premier was not able to give a more encou raging reply to the question put to him re specting . the proposed refuge harbours in the Channel ; but we are bound to own that we feel more regret, than surprise at the Hight Honourable Baronet's hesitation. Ile knows that the construction of the har bours will involve a considerable expense, probably five or six millions ater.ing, and be knows, no Minister ever had such good reason to know it, that: a, . surplus of re venue over income is a principal, spring of national pros, perity ; that surplus his wisdom has : secured, and with it the inseparably attendant prosperity ; and he must 1.1. e forgiven if he is reluctant to riek thern . —at all events reluctant .to plesige himself to any expensive measures until Parliament has given him security that the means of effecting it should . not fail without encroaching upon his snrplu3. On the other hand, we cannot help seeing that the Channel refuge harbours are a necessity created by our arnetdented commerce, and by the chang e th a t P steam navigation Intbt effect in thesystem of maritime war. Nor can we he blind to the fact that if they arc not under taken by a Minister as bold and successful in his financial policy as Sir Robert Peel, they never will be undertaken at alt. . The sum proposed is large, say six millions sterlirg, but these six millions could not be expended in one year, two years, or probably in less than six years. The expenditure until all the harbors should be corn pleted woeid, therefore, scarcely exceed one mdlion per annum in . the whole six ytars—little more than one year's produce of the property-tax. Is it possible, however, to imagine a-1y money so welt hid out ? Had Mr. Pitt realised his plan of a refuge harbour at Dover, whica in the then imperfect state of c instructive science it was calm lated would c.),t four millions (though it is now esti mated at no more than two millions and a half), there is no doubt that the four mll4olls woul,l, beeore this, have been re-p lid five times over in vessels (lives out of question) saved from shipwreck ; five times over again, in lacilitiei afforded to Cr e river com merce, and twenty times over in the advantage it would have afforded during the late war. The Channel haebours, acCompanied by the increase in cur steam navy in progress, would in fact double —more than double the power of this country, offensive as well a, defensive, in any future war with a nei g hbouring nation of the Continent. We ' do not, however, contemplate the subject in a military light. Preparation for war is no doubt the best guarantee of peace, but there are other guarantees of peace much pleasanter, which the Channel harbours, more especially the Dover harbour, would give us in full measure. Free communication and active commerce are these pleasanter guarantees, and the harbours of which we speak would draw nearly all the coasting trade of Western Europe to our side of the Channel. Even at present Ramsgate, ill beaced as that harbour is, serves sometimes as an entrepot :ween Dieppe and Dunkirk, Havre and Rotterdam ; but Dover, standing as boldly as it does stand out in the Channel, flanked by Dungeness on one side, and the noble roadstead, the Downs, on the other, would, with a safe, capacious, d e ep-water harbour, become the universal entrepot f the Channel coasting trade for both sides. This is a subject upon which, as the elder-readers of the Standard know, we have long held 'very strong opinions ; but if it were pose sible to strengthen our previous convictions they would be strengthened by a glance at Mr. Wyld's recently published and splendid post map of Europe. In this flap the distances of the several ports in the Channel ffromeach other are re carefully laid down, and it is impossible not to see in a comparison of these dis tances, th 6 enaoacrtn.rs. amo this country . . unt of coasting commerce that uartya ri ur ce a s in not providing a safe, capacious, O'Connell . deep water Linen . has been outvoted in the Council here e o f . w th a e s R. :Pe ont al to Association . In the very chamber Those who but latel fa d.i wn ti c t i e , he has been defeated. upon and flatt ere d hi m , now presume :to beard .LilsFranken.stein, he has to created a monster w hi c h refuses be the servant—, longer subser vient to.his will. Th e master has become the slave. The Association is paramount e o ras leader. The head is moved by the tail. Thissticie of those who depend on the popular breath for ul le ry p fate tion which they occupy. The inferior minds which they invited to cofoperatowith them-as instruments, combine to dethrone their chiefs: they either consign their leaders to oblivion,: or retain them fora time, 'as the ministers of their own purposes — the creatures of their open or covert designs. The question, whether the Members of Parliament who have become members of the Repeal Association should attend to their Parliamentary duties, was sub , mitted to the Repeal. Committee ; and the following re- . solutions were discussed and adopted That, however desirable it may be that a discussion should take place in the House of Commons with a view to ex pose the injustice of the proceedings connected with the late State trials, this Association is so deeply impressed with a sense of the hopelessness of obtaining redress for the wrongs of Ireland from the Imperial - Parliament, that we cannot recom mend that the Irish Members should be called upon to attend such discussion." There is an appearance of. mo deration in this resolution, which wiluld imply a discretionary power in those with whose rirlitimentvry duties it interferes " We cannot recommend," but we do not absolutely forbid, you to attend-the. House of Commons, of which you are Members There is reason to b9liers that tai or something like this, was suggested by Mr. O'Connell in the Committee, as an ingenious mode of flattering the vanity of the new dominant spirits of the Associ ation, while it left the repeal Members of Parliament to take their own course. This res, lution was moved at the Conciliation Hall, on Monday, by Mr. Smith O'Brien, and seconded by Mr, James Belly, both being Members of the House of Commons. Mr. O'Con nell, making a virtue of necessity, would have been content with this. He would have found a loop-hole sufficiently large to enable him to escape from the recommended ab sence from Parliament. Had nothing more stringent than this resolution been in existence, O'Connell and the majority, if not the whole, of the "Repeal Members" would have been in their places in Parliament in less than a month. The Repeal Committee were aware of this. Another resolution was therefore proposed, as a clincher to that we have given, viz. :—" That the at tendance of the Irish Repeal Members in the Conci liation Hall would be most conducive to the great object of the Asscciation, the restoration of our domestic Legislature." This resolution is not more humiliating to the "Liberator," than it is opposed to his wishes, and fatal to his policy. We believe that he would gladly escape from the trammels and the toils which his task-masters impose on him. It is evident, from the way in which he—cautiously, but with sufficient explicitness to , be understood—alluded in his speech at the Conciliation Hall, on Monday, to the debates on this resoulution in the Committee, that it had given rise to considerable opposition ; in fact, that he was strongly averse to it ; but had been defeated. " There were disagreements and discrepancies among the members," said Mr. O'Connell, "respecting its adoption." It was, however, adopted by the Committee, and submitted to the public meeting at the Conciliation Hall for approval. It was proposed by Mr. Barry, and seconded by Mr. M'Neviu—two of those fiercer spirits, whose influence has acquired ascendancy in the councils of the Asso ciation, and cast O'Connell into the shade. The aid of such men was useful while they acted in the capacity of subordinates. No sooner do they take the lead than di%i sion and confusion are introduced to the council, and will soon extend themselves to the body of the confederation. O'Connell has succumbed to a faction in his own camp. The moral courage and exquisite tact by which he acquired ascendancy over his countrymen, and incited, guided, or checked them at his pleasure, has departed. The Irish Samson is now shorn of his strength. Though he go forth and shake himself, as in other times, the change is manifest to all. He is now fit only to make sport for the Philistines. The men who have deprived him of his power, now bind him with the cords they have woven, and he cannot go whither he would. Whether consciousness of the humiliation the Repeal Association has inflicted will rouse the spirit of O'Connell into action, and induce him to disobey the mandate which is interposed between the repeal Members and their Par liamentary duties, remains to be seen. If that mandate of the now dominant spirits of the repeal movement be obeyed, there is not a slave, however abject, who will not hail O'Connell as a brother in bonds. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Feb. 6. (Before the Lord Chief BAnos and a Special Jury.) TRIAL AT BAR. THE ALLEGED FRAUDS UPON THE REVENUE. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL V. SMITH. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) Daniel Wentworth Thornton—ls a supervisor of Excise. Surveyed the premises of Mr. Smith from the 29 t h of Se p t., 1838, to May, 1843. Produced the last entry under which they worked, on the 16th of September, 1840. Cross-examined by Mr. KELLY—When he surveyed the premises he was generally there from eight to nine hours a day. The officers on the premises were himself, another officer, and the supervisor. To Mr. Baron ALDEBSON—Was then an officer—is now a supervisor. To Mr. KELLY—These were always present when a charge was taken. There were always officers there during the distilling week. That was not constantly the case during the brewing week. The officers examined the premises sometimes at night. They could do so at any uncertain time, if they thought it necessary to take the distiller by surprise. Did not know how long the premises had been wed as a distillery. The officers knew that there was a water pipe for supplying water from the large reservoir over the , a;ranaries. That reservoir *as capable of containing s.tveral hundred thousand gallons of water. It was supplied by the 'East London Company. A vast quantity of water was necessary for the purposes of a distillery. the stables at the opposite side of the road and the dwelling-house were supplied from that reservoir. Did not know in what way the rectifying distillery of Mr. James Smith was supplied. Was never before aware that it was supplied from a branch pipe from the said reservoir. All the cocks and pipes in a distillery have, according to the Act of Parliament, parti cular colours to distinguish the liquid which passes through them. Mr. KF,Ltx—We hare heard a great deal about spirits passing from the vat No. S in the distillery to No. 17 in . the rectifying-house. Point out these on the model. (The witness did so, and also showed the plan of the reservoir in the building, on the top of which was the above-mentioned reservoir.) After the spirit was deposited in that receiver, the Excise had done with it, ex cept that the spirit, when the manufacture was completed, and thus passed into that receiver, was dipped, and the quan tity to be charged with duty was ascertained. After that the Excise had done with it. The officers had to ascertain whether the quantity of spirit corresponded with the quantity of wash from which it was made ; 100 gallons of wash, at 50, was calculated as capable of yielding 10 gallons of spirit, but it ought to yiskl more. If the product was less, the charge was made on the wash ; that is, up to 10 gallons. If it exceeded 10, the excess was charged up to 12 gallons. If the excess was more than a gallon, and a fourth above that, it was inferred, according to the 71st section of the Act, that fraud had been committed. After the officers had once charged upon the spirits in the receiver they did not make any other charge upon it when removed to the larger vats. At every distillery the s: - irits in the receiver was ganged two or three t hues a day or oftener. When the tpirits was removed to the vats, stock was taken by the rdlkcrs about once a fortnight. The spirit was re moved the receiver to the vats by pumping it out. In toe vats the officers might examine it at any hour of the day twilight, and as often as they pleased. Knows enough of the busioes3 to ha able to say that the quantity of spirits pro • duced varied with the density and strength of the wash and the quality of the grain. lte-examined by Mr. J.vmus—Stock was taken once a fort ‘Vitness knew nothing of the underground pipe lead ing to the receiving.house. A different set of officers attended to that establishment. Some time was Ulm occupied in reading the description of the premises and utensils returned, according to the Act, by the defendant to the Excise authorities. Mr. Wiliiam 3Torland, a land-surveyor, examined by Mr. JAnyrs--:-Ile made the model in Court, on a scale of three eighths of an inch to a foot. The pipes are all made to the iame-scale. A part of one end of the premises was omitted. Cross-examined by Mr. KEt.t.y—Li the model two-thirds 'of the tank were left out, because otherwise the model would be too large. Did not know enough of the Lusiness to be able to say what became of the water which was conveyed by the pipe under the road to the rectifying-house. The whole ()Nile premises (the rectifying-house) and the VC3,3C:S were supplied from that pipe, with th 9 exception of a spirit vat in the cellar. The pipe had no connexion with the spirit receiver. Joseph Drinicwater, examined by Sir Tnosies Wrenr.—Ts supervisor of Excise of Stepney second division. Took charge of Mr. Smith's premises in \larch, 1812. Left it in August_ \Vas aleo absen t from December to January, when he returned, and remained in survey of the distillery up to June last. Had examined the reservoir mei aecertained there was an error in the drip before taken. The model ii Court is a correct model of the premises. The entrance to the rectifying-house was in Brick-lane. It was surrounded bv a wall which sepa rated it from the distillery, with which therm wasno apparent communication. In the distillery there were two very large water-tanks. In Brick-lane there were very large stables, in which the horses belonging to the two establishments, the distillery and rectifying-house, were kept. 311 the carts he had ever seen belonging to either establish ment were marked with the same name—Thomae Smith and Co. The processes of distilling and brewing were not carried on at the same time, but in different weeks. In brewing, when the water was put to the grain, it was called worts. The vessel was called the under back ; from that it was conveyed to the coolers, and from them ran into the wash back, in which the process of feementation commenced. The strength of the wash was ascertained by its specific gravity. After that was ascertained, the distiller was allowed to add yeast or other ferment to it. After fermentation •commenced the gravity diminished ; but no charge was estimated until it went to the still. It was then estimated according to the attenuation that had taken place. in the process of fermentation; that is, the difference of specific gravity from the first to the last. The change was made for one gallon of proof spirits for every five degrees of attenuation upon a hundred gallons of wash. The receiver had glass sides and a glass top. It was not an exact level, but was somewhat inclined. The quantity in the receiver was ascertained by the dipping rod, which was dipped into it through an opening in the top, which was covered with a brass plate at other times. The quantity contained in the sloping span was ascertained by measuring in water to the length of the level. Witness first took the drip by measuring in the water in September, 1842. He measured in 260 gallons, and the dipping rod told an in clination of four inches six-tenths. To Mr. Ilaron ROLFE—It required 260 gallons of water to rise to the level of the highest part of the bottom. To the Loan CILIFF BARON—The dipping-rod having shown an inclination of four inches and six-tenths to be covered by 260 gallons, in making the charge that quantity was counted for the first four inches and six-tenths shown by the dipping-rod ; and the remainder of the charge was cal culated by the dimensions of the vat and the height of the contents. The drip taken before was set down as four inches seven tenths, with the same quantity of water. That one tenth difference in the calculation made a difference of about nine gallons in the estimate of the charge. A part of the re ceiver was sunk in the ground. The place where it stood was very dark, and in taking their charge the officers were obliged to use a lamp. The place altogether was very in convenient fbr them.—(The witness explained by the. model the position in which the officers stood when using the dip ping-rod, and pointed out the alle g ed inconvenience, which we could not explain without the same means.) —The depth of the receiver was 45 inches ; the spirit was pumped up from the receiver into the vats. Two of the vats were over the receiver. The vat No. 8 was the furthest from the receiver, from which the spirit was pumped into it, through a pipe 26 or 28 feet long. There was an Excise lock upon the pump, and when thereceiver was exhausted the pump was locked. He knew the large water tank over the granary, from which a pipe ran the whole length - of the Wilding. A branch from it' led into the spirit house, and to a small tank under the vat No. 8. That small tank was entered in. the Excise, both as a spirit and a water-tank. From that there was a the rectifying , under h it e mett r r i w a t e h w a a n y into o t h e r pipe, i t pe e , and a branch from these 'led - to the back. the e have water bebeiciancukaolr: all\or.niWitness—Yes lig T uo h r e always ra lL e t a n n o s N w — af f ee i r i . e: Sir T. WILDE You m e i ss o — lrov; Y i es ng ; you in a mistake. I thought b The witness then pointedout liquor" you meant spirit. and their ramifi ca ti ons i n th the course of th ese pip es several places there w ere cocks byo establishme n t s . I n other fluid could be st o pp e d off from which the water o r After the jenction.pipe, which crossed•unde different branches. the rectifying-house, it we n t on. to t r l the road, ent ere d in which there - were no spirit vats. 13 . u o t oin the No. o 13 4 e ' went next into the spirit store-hous e , N o. 's th ere communicated with almost all the- vats: It and colas_ mu nicated directly with the vats from No. 14 to No.; and sent off branches to the others, and to the receiver and the wormhead. There were cocks to all these pipes, and branches, by which the water could be stopped off from any or all of them. The principal pipe, from which the junction p pi e crossed under but the joined the main of the East London Water Convoy; but the junetion-pipe azttl the brauchea in the rectifying-house had no connexion with the water-main. There was a trough which traversed the top of the distillery from the large tank, and crossed over the carriage-way, into the rectifying-house, where it supplied all the worm tubs. The worm tubs in the distillery were also supplied from it. In the rectifying-house there was a small tank which was filled with water pumped up from the worm tubs, by the same machinery that worked the pumps in the distillery. In October, 1843, being in the rectifying-house, with two surveying examiners, Cameron, and Prankish, and an officer, Batten, they noticed that water was coming into the worm-heads. It was about three days after that he gave directions t 3 open the ground. It was on the 14th of October they first observed the water in the still-heads. On the 15th they saw Mr. George Smith, the defendant. Mr. Cameron asked him if there was a communication between his distillery' and his brother's rectifying-house ? He replied, "You are not going to catch me." Cameron observed that " no doubt Mr. Smith had heard from his brother what occurred at the rectifying-house the day be fore; but that all they (the officers) wanted to know was, whether there was a communication between the two pre mises." (The witness here obtained permission to refer to the notes which he made of the conversation immediktely - af ter.) In answer to another question from Mr. Cameron, Mr. Smith said that " a pipe from the large tank supplied the troughs which communicated with every part of the two premises, with the water-main, and consequently with all the houses in the neighbourhood." They then caused the water to be stopped, by putting a plug in the hole of the tank from which the water flowed through the downright pipe into the troughs ; and on going into the rectifying house they found that the water still flowed for five minutes in the worm-heads. The next day they traced the pipe, which entered the rectifying house from the distillery, to all the vats in the rectifying house. They were not then aware that the pipe came from the distillery. They thought it came from the water-main. Mr. KELLY—Are those notes original, or a copy of what you first wrote ? Witness—They are the original. Mr. KELLY then asked to look at them, but The CIUEF BARON said that the Learned Counsel could not have them until the witness had finished using them. They were not evidence, but only used to refresh his memory. Cross-examination resumed—Had suspected before that there was a pipe underground communicating from the dis tillery to the rectifying. house. On the 17th, From all they had observed, they determined to open the ground, and they proceeded to do so in the rectifying-house. They traced the pipes there to the junction-pipe leading from the distillery. Mr. Cameron went in :the meantime to Mr. G. Smith, the defendant, and stated his intention of opening the ground in the distillery. Mr. Smith at first said that they should wait until they had done in the other house, as he wished to employ the same men. Mr. Cameron per sisted, and, after a time, Mr. Smith gave him the men to do the work. On that night some one took ont a plug from the water main, and flooded the excavation in which they had traced the pipe that day. Mr. KELLY—YOII must not charge us with what the water company did. Examination resumed—On the 18th and 19th they traced the pipes across the road, and the whole way to the granaries. Cameron then said to Mr. Smith that he thought it would be possible to transmit spirits from the distillery to the rectifying-house through that pipe. Mr. Smith said that it was impossible, as it would require a left-handed cock to do so, and he defied them to find a left handed. cock on his premises. The officers said that they would make the experiment with a tub of water. Mr. Smith said if they succeeded, they would do more than any one else ever did or thought of. They made the experiment, however. Having connected the tub, containing sixty gallons of water, by a hose with the pipe, and having stopped off the cocks of all the branches except that leading to the vat, No. 17, in the rectifying-house, the water passed from the tub to the vat in about a minute. Witness and Cameron remained in the distillery attending to the tub, while the officers went into the other house to watch the result at the vat. Some of Mr. Smith's Servants and he himself were present. After the water was gone from the tub Mr. James Smith came in, and said that the conduct of the officers was diabolical. Mr. G. Smith said that they had put some water in the tub, and that they had made it dis appear as if by some magic of their own. After this ex periment, the officers said they would repeat it with spirits. They asked Mr. Smith's permission, which he refused to give. He said that to pass spirits in that way would be illegal ; he would not oppose them by force, but would hold them responsible for whatever they did. Witness procured a pipe eleven feet long, with which he connected the spirit ..N vat o. 8, in the distillery, with the vat No. 17, in the rectifying-house. The strength of the spirit in No. 8 had been first ascertained by the other officers. The spirit was then permitted to flow from the vat into the pipe, but after a short time it ceased to flow. This was ascertained upon examination, to be occasioned by air in the pipes This was remedied by permitting water from the water-tank to flow through them, as there was a great pressure ; and the leaks being stopped with putty, the spirits in the vat, No. 8, was examined, and it was found that about 33 gallons had been used in the first trial. The cock of No. 8 was then turned, and the spirits permitted to flow into the pipe. Whilst it was running he went round to No. 17, in the other house, and foiled the spirits coming in very fast, and of a great strength, gradually increasing to eleven above proof. lie had samples of the spirit in Court. He had not himself tested the strength of the spirit in No. 8. When they were satisfied with the experiment they got out the spirit that remained in the pipes, by causing the water from the tank to flow through them, which forced the spirit out. They afterwards tasted the water, and found that it had no flavour of spirit. When they were about to make the experiment, Mr. G. Smith said they would contaminate all the water on the premises with - spirits, and the horses would be drunk for weeks. Subsequently, on the 30th, Mr. Smith tol I hint that his family had not been able since the experiment to get a drop of water free from the taint of spirits. Witness said he_ would taste the water himself; but Mr. Smith would not allow him, and asked " By what right he attempted to enter his (defendant's) house?" To the CHIEF BARON—The quantity of spirits which re mained in the whole line of pipes, after the flow from one vat to the other had ceased, would be about 450 gallons. These might (if allowed to remain long in the pipes) become mixed s ith a little water. The CHIEF BARON—Then every time the machinery was employed to pass spirits from the one house to the other 450 gallons would be placed in jeopardy ? Witness (to Sir T, Wilde) —The mixture of the water would not be of any consequence, because all the spirits had to be re-distilled in the process of rectification. After the experiment, it was found that there were 3,500% gallons in vat No. 17, which had before been empty. Eleven hundred gallons of water were afterwards passed through the pipes to show that no spirit remained in them. Sir f. NN'teme said that no was now about to examine the witness on another part. of the case. The Loim CHIEF JUSTICE said that it would be more ex pedient to adjourn the examination till to-morrow, as it was now beyond half. past four. Mr. kELLY submitted that it was highly desirable that the jury should examine the premises in person, as it was evident that the model, elaborate as it was, cEd not enable ;hem to judge correctly of the evidence. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said that, if the application had been made before the trial had proceeded so far, be should have been disposed to accede to it. But he thought it would now be highly inexpedient. Mr. MARTIN could not see what was the objection. The defendant's friends could exercise n influence or misrepresent anything, as the premises were entirely in the hands of the Excise. The CHIEF BAnoN thought it would be necessary now to go on as well as they could with the assistance they already possessed. The Court then rose. CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. OLD COURT. Isaac Harmon, 30, bricklayer, was indicted for the manslaughter of Mary Anne Brown. The prisoner and the deceased cohabited together, and resided in Groat Peter-street, Westminster. On the - night of the 10th January the prisoner went home in a state of intoxication, and he was very angry with the deceased for keeping him at the street-door, and not let ting him in immediately ; and when he went into the room he was heard to say that he would " pay her" for it, and make use of very bad language towards her. In a short time the noise of a scuffle was heard, and then a heavy fall upon the floor; after which the prisoner was heard to say, " My dear Mary, what is the matter ?" Ile then gave an alarm, and on tne other lodgers going into the room, the deceased was found lying upon the ground insensible, and shortly afterwards she expired. The prisoner, on being questioned, said that the deceased fell clown from the bed ; but he afterwards asserted that he lifted her out of bed and put her in the chair, and that she fell off the chair to the ground, and he denied having ill-treated her in any manner. From the evidence of the surgeon it appeared that the heart of the deceased was very much diseased, but the immediate cause of death was congestion of the brain, which ho said might be occasioned by the action of the diseased heart, or from great excitement. There were no marks of violence upon the body of the deceased, and the cause of her death was net by any means clearly made out.—The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty. Thomas IViker, 42, sailor, was charged with having feloniously uttered a forged order for the payment of 31. 10s., with intent to defraud James Waters. From the evidence adduced it appeared that the prose cutor keeps a beer-shop and lodging-house for sailors in Ratcliffe-highway . , and the prisoner was living in his house. On the occasion in question the prisoner pro duced what is termed an advance note, which he repre sented he had received from the owners of a vessel . called the Maria, in which he had obtained a berth in a voyage to Malta, and which would entitle him to receive 3L 10s. after the vessel had sailed. The wife of the pro secutor believing the story to be true, advanced the pri soner 11.25. upon the note, which afterwards turned out to be a forgery ; there being no such vessel as the Maria, nor any firm of the name to which the note was addressed for payment in Mincing-lane. The jury returned a verdict of Guilty, but recom mended the prisoner to mercy. The prisoner was then convicted upon a second in dictment for a precisely similar offence. Mr. Justice WILLIAMS sentenced the prisoner to be kept to hard labour for two years upon each indictment, that being the lightest sentence the Act of Parliament empowered him to pass, but it was intimated that a re commendation would be made to the Secretary of State .to remit the second two years' imprisonment. James Bridgman, 24, was indicted for stealing a quan tity of tools in the dwelling-house of John Cross, and afterwards burglariously breaking out of the same. The. jury found the prisoner Guilty, and he was proved to have been before convicted of felony, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. Mr. Justice WILLIAMS sentenced • him to be trans ported for ten years. MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The following para graph appeared yesterday in a morning Contemporary whose abject servility is but ill-rewarded by its patrons: " Our well-informed Contemporary, the Times, stated yes terday morning, in its leading columns , that Sir George Clerk was to be the Vice-President of the Board of Trade. In the House of Commons, last night, Mr. Young moved for a new writ for the borough of Stamford, Sir George Clerk having accepted the office of Master of the Mint. So much for the early and accurate information of the Times! Neither Mr. Cardwell nor Sir George Clerk has been .ap pointed Vice-President of the Board of Trade, although our Contemporary first gave the appointment to one, and then to the other." The stupidity of our Contemporary is, if pos s ible, greater than usual. Th e office of Master of the Mint Is always held con j o i ntly with that of either Pres id ent or Vice-Presid en t o f the Board of Trade. There is but one salary —two thousand pounds a-year—specifically allotted for the Board of Trade, and the office of Mater of the Wet, whieh has no duties attached, THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 7, 1845. is annexed to either of these appointments as may ba necessary. Mr. Gladstone was President of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint, receiving the salary of the latter office, which is al s o 2,000/. p er an num. Lotra v Dalhousie , and received th e sa l ar y a tt gc h e d to the appointmentiVice-President, _ ie the Board of Tr a d e , w hi c h he still n it ' e ln eof the Master of th e Mi n t i s in rc T, hres office previous to Mr. Gl a d s t one ' s re ti rem ent, was d con sequence held by Sir George Clerk, in conjunction with the Vice -Presidency. And the writ for Stamford was moved for on the acceptance of office as Master of the Mint only, as it is not usual to confer the appointment of " Vice-President of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade" upon any person until he has been sworn in as a Privy Councilor, which Sir George Clerk has not yet had the opportunity of doing. Mr. Cardwell is Secretary of the Treasury, and has taken his seat at the Board in the usual manner.—Times. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 6. The House met at Half•past Four o'Clock. REPLY TO THE ADDRESS. The SPEAKER informed the House that her Majesty had been graciously pleased to return the following answer to the Address : " GENTLEMEN OF THE HOIISE OF COMMONS-- " I return you my warmest thanks for your loyal and dutiful address. "I rely with confidence and satisfaction on the re sult of your deliberations, and I trust they will tend to promote the p i r , o r sperity of all classes of my people." MEDICAL REFORM. Mr. TANCRE p presented a p e titi on f rom the medical practitioners of Banb ur y, aga i ns t an y meas ure of medical reform that did not enforce a proper examination for the qualifications of students ; also a petition in favour of Sir James Graham's Bill, from the medical attendants of Gloucester Infirmary. leave to bring in a Bill f o r th e im provement SANDON presented a petition from Liver- NOTICES OF MOTION. pporoovLempreanytinof for the Liverpool Docks. Dr. BOWRING gave notice that he would, to-morrow, inquire of the Government whether any arrangements had been made with the Porte which would place the British merchants in circumstances not less advantageous than the most favoured nations. Mr. MACKINNON gave notice that he would, on Thursday the 20th, move for leave to bring in a Bill to prevent the nuisance of smoke from furnaces and factories. Mr. HUME wished to know from the Right Hon. Baronet (Sir J. Graham) whether he had any ob jection to lay before the House the Order in Council of the 18th of January, respecting the affairs of Guernsey and Jersey ? Sir J. GRAHAM was understood to say there would not be any objection. Mr. WALLACE gave notice that he would, on Tuesday week, bring forward a specific motion on the subject of the petition which he presented from Glasgow. Mr. MILES moved that a humble address be presented to her Majesty, praying for an abstract of the accounts of county treasurers for the years 1843 and 1844. THAMES EMBANKMENT. Mr. FOSTER wished to know from the Noble Lord opposite (the Earl of Lincoln) whether it was the intention of the Government to bring forward the measure which had been brought in last session, for the embankment of the river ; and, if so, whether any additional tax would be laid on the coals coming into the river, to carry out the works ? The Earl f LINCOLN said it was not the inten tion of the Government to bring in the measure of last year. He anticipated, however, that a Bill might be introduced on the subject, but no additional tax would be laid on coals. POOR-LAW IN IRELAND. , Mr. FRENCH gave notice that he would to morrow put a question to the Right Hon. Baronet, the Secretary for the Home Department, whether the effects of a union Workhouse (the blankets, sheets, and so on) had been sold off under an execution. LAW OF SETTLEMENT. Sir JAMES GRAHAM said that he would, next Tuesday, move for leave to bring in a Bill for the purpose of consolidating the law of settlement in England. PRIVILEGES OF COUNSEL. Mr. WART gave notice that he would, on an early opportunity, introduce a Bill to allow counsel the privilege of replying in criminal cases. SCOTCH BANKS. Mr. MACAULAY put the question, of which he had given notice, as to the intentions of the Right Honourable Baronet at the head of the Government with respect to the Scotch Banks. The Right Honourable Baronet could not be aware how this subject had excited the public mind in Scotland. If he had placed a right construction upon the words to which he had alluded, he trusted that the Right Hon. Gentleman would feel it compatible with his public duty to give sonie information on the subject. Sir ROBERT PEEL—It certainly would not be consistent with my sense of public duty to make any explanation now as to the character of the measure, which I shall, at as early a period as I can, consistently with the performance of other public business, bring under the consideration of the House. In the course of last session, in the Speech from the Throne, the attention of Parli ament was called to the state of the laws affecting the Bank of England and other banking establishments. I was constantly pressed by gentlemen repres en ti ng var i ous interests to give some notions of the genera l outline of the measure that it was intended t o p ropose. I steadily refused, and I said that I would give a full measure affecti ng t h e b ank i ng esta and fair explanation when I b roug ht f orward the measure. Now I must take the s ame course w i t h respect to any blishme.n! - s of Ireland and Scotla n d. I must reserve to myself the opportunity of stating the nature of those measures, until I ask leave to brin g i n th e Bill which is in the ,sontem dation of the G overnmen t. I believe that the Right Hon. Gentleman has put an erroneous construction on the w or d s w hi c h f e ll f rom a colleague of mine. I believe it was stated in the House of Lords that reference was made in the speech from the throne to the currency of Ireland and Scotland. I believe that what my Noble Friend intended to say was, that the s ame references had b een ma d e t o t h e banking establishments of those two countries has had been made with respect to the banki ng es t a bli s h men t s of this. I trust the Right lion. Gentleman will excuse me from giving any explanation until I ask leave to bring in th e measure, and I do hope that no inference will be drawn as to the intentions of the GovernMent from t he ex p lan ations I have now given. —(A laugh.) RAILWAYS. Lord G. SOMERSET moved for leave to intro duce the six following Bills !'--The Companies Clauses Consolidation Bill ; the Lands Clauses Consolidation Bill ; the Railway Clauses Consolidation Bill ; the Companies Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Bill ; the Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Bill ; the Railway Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Bill. The object of the Government in introducing these Bills was to etaboly the statutes which already existed in one uniform Act. Great uncertainty had hitherto pre vailed in reference to the matters which were em braced by their provisions; ?tad on this ground it had been thought desirable that some general Bills should be introduced. The Noble Lord spoke, in an extremely low tone, of the proceedings of the Board of Trade. He could see no objection to fourteen days being allowed, after the reports of the Board had been published, for allowing parties to decide whether they would proceed or not. For his own part, he should never consider himself bound, either as repre senting one particular constituency, or in his more ge neral character as a Member of that House, to follow in the track.of the Board of Trade. He wished it to be understood that those Bills would not be com pulsory; but they would be found to be so useful that he scarcely apprehended any opposition to them, and therefore he trusted the House would go further than he had at first expected, and give them the support they merited. He did not think it would be convenient if he troubled the House with any fur ther observations, and therefore he would conclude with this observation, that the copies of the Bills ' would be in the hands of Members by Saturday next. • Lord HOW ICK thought the explanation given by the Noble Lord opposite quite satisfactory. He did think that fourteen days' notice after the reports of the Board of Trade were before the public quite suffi cient. He thought he also understood the Noble Lord to say that it was the intention of her Majesty's Government, when there were two competing lines reported on, that those reports should be referred to a Committee of the House. . This was a point of ex tretne importance, in order that the report should have a full and fair scrutiny ; so tha' if this point be conceded, he was quite satisfied. He would also wish to remark, in reference to the Bills which the Noble Lord now proposed to bring forward, that the country would feel greatly indebted to him for them, as they would tend greatly to les sen the expenses hitherto attending tho:,e measures ; but before he sat down he would beg leave to ask when these Bills would be laid upon the table of the House ? There was one other observation he had to make. In order to carry out substantially those arrangements he had been alluding to, regarding the reports of the Board of Trade, it would be necessary, where there were reports on two competing lines, that that which had been unfavour ably reported on, should have precedence before the Committee of that w hick had been favourably re ported, for this would be only fair.—(Hear, hear.) He thought that a company should not be allowed to carry a Bill through the Committee, where there was a competing line, without giving the latter an oppor tunity of putting forward their case, whether the re port of the Board of Trade had. been favourable or not. Mr. HODGSON wished to say a few words upon what had fallen from the Noble Lord, who had said that the line in favour of which the Board of Trade had reported, should not be proceeded with in Committee, until the Board should also have reported on the competing line. Now, he thought this might in some cases operate unfairly. There might be two companies, one of which, although ready to proceed, would prefer delay, in the hope of forcing 'the competing company to come to a com promise; what he should recom•nend was, that after the Board of Trade had reported in favour of one line, the other company should be admitted to appear in opposition before the Committee, with plans and drawings. Sir GEORGE GREY though', that the delay suggested by his Noble Friend was only reasonable, and would not operate materially to the inconve: . ..ienee of the Company favoured in the report of the Board of Trade. Sir R. PEEL had said that the Government would give the subject their impartial consideration, and they had done so. What he proposed was, that the parties should be allowed to present their petitions whenever. they pleased, but that they should not be obliged to present them before fourteen days: Lie had that day had an interview with his Right Hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, and he thought it would not be desirable to postpone the presentation of those reports that related to railways that might be considered to belong to st particular class, not immediately bearing on other railwayA, till the whole of the reports should be ready. His Right lion. Friend would be prepared in the course of the next week to take one particular class of rail ways—say, the Kentish lines—and present, during the week, the report on that class, and then proceed with various other classes. The whole would thus be divided into six or seven families, if he might so call them, the interests of which were neither competing nor connected with other lines, and periodical reports of them laid before the House. It was never contemplated that the Board should in any way fetter or control the dis cretion of Parliament. The intervention of the Board of Trade was for a specific purpose—for afford ing information to the House, and that intervention did not at all involve the Government in any neces sity of taking any other part in questions connected with railroads than it had hitherto done. Col. SIBTHORP said it was pretty well known to that House and to the country, that he was not particularly partial to railroads. He rose now to ask a question, in consequence of some reports that had been circulated in reference to certain members of what was called the Railroad Commis sion. The question was, if any of the four or five gentlemen composing the Commission were connected, directly or indirectly, with any of those railroads which had been brought under their consideration ? Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET said it had never struck him that the question which had been put by his Gallant Friend would have been asked. He was not consulted with regard to the formation of the Committee. All he knew from the communica- Lions which had been given was, that parties always expressed themselves satisfied with the fairness and intelligence with which the cases that came before the Committee had been discussed. Mr. WAKLEY said that the question which had been put by the Hon. and Gallant Colonel was not answered by the Noble Lord. He di- 2 not expect that it would, because the Noble Lord did not possess the necessary information_ on the subject. It was rue, as staled by the Hon. and (;allant•Colonel, that reports were actively circulated in the City to the prejudice of holders of rail way shares. It was stated generally and openly by parties acquainted with railway sub jects that there must have been some pri • vale information in the market or parties could not have made such enormous sums of money within a few weeks.—(Hear, hear.) The Right Hon. Baronet opposite alluded to the circumstance how dangerous to the character of the Government it would be, if such an opinion were circulated and not contradicted or capable of being contra dicted. But the Right Hon. Gentleman wished to have something like a tangible accusation. There was great difficulty in obtaining such information, but this was clear, that certain parties in the city who were engaged in the sale of railway shares happened to be right in their speculations, and were not wrong in any one instance for several weeks ; and one gen tleman made 40,0001. by the sale of shares in a single day, the shares having gone from a small premium to a premium of 91. 10s. or 101. in the course of a few hours. ThgNoble Lord the Member for Sunder land had opened the question last night in a most able and practical speech. The Right Hon. Gentleman paid that attention to it which it deserved, and showed by his decision of adjoUrning the subject, that he was himself influenced by prejudice, but was open to receive impressions from either side of the House. But the question then opened ought not to be thus abruptly terminated. If the only result to be obtained by the speech of the Noble Lord, was an extension of the time with regard to the introduction of Private Bills, he would feel greatly disappointed as to the benefit which he anticipated from the speech which the Noble Lord had addressed to the House. If he (Mr. Wakley) recollected rightly, the Right Hon. Gen tleman, when sitting on his (Mr. Wakley's) side of the House, said that he had sat for 63 or 65 days on, he believed; the Stafford and Rugby Railway Committee. During the whole of that time was not one gigantic company fighting another company, and beating jus tice and principle out of doors ? (Hear, hear.) The Right Hon. Gentleman hid stated that that iniquity had been . perpetrated yesterday ; the Right Hon. Gentleman, in reply to the Noble Lord who had so ably discussed the subject, stated that it was most difficult to control barristers in their addresses to Committees of that House. That was a most extraordinary declaration for the first Minister of England to make ; a Minister, be it remembered, who influenced Foreign Powers in no ordinary de gree.—(Hear, hear.) How extraordinary that he should complain, in his place in Parliament, of the difficulty of controlling barristers in their ad dresses to Committees of that House.—(Laughter.) He did say that the conduct of Committees of that House with regard to private Bills was not only inju rious to the best interests of the country, but disgraceful to the cause of justice and detrimental to the character of that House.—(Hear, hear.) They could not be ignorant of the practices carried on there. Why it was well known that barristers of moderate ability, during the last session, earned their six, eight, and 12,0001. in the Committees of that House. The difficulty of controlling barris ters Why, the Right Honourable Baronet, were he applying his vigorous mind to find a remedy, could do so in less than four hours, and it was only for want of that application that they had not the remedy before them. They need not expect it from the law officers, for barristers had too much respect for the law, to throw out insinuations against barristers. The common sense of the people of England found out the best. mode of transacting business—of accomplishing their objects. Supposing the Right Hon. Baronet employed a physician, and said, "As long as I am in good health I will give you ten guineas a-day." Why, when did they think the Right Hon. Baronet would be ill ?—(Laughter.) Supposing, again, that he got into a cab at the end of Oxford -street, and said to the cabman —" I wish to see the Lord Mayor's Mansion-house ; but I don't know, perhaps you don't, but drive me about the streets till you find it, and I'll give you a guinea a day."—(Continued laughter.) He would, I am assured, be a very long time in finding it. What was the common rule with barristers? Thie. They got their fee for a particular case; and how long did they think the trial lasted. It was, indeed, a lengthened one if it went over a couple of days. It was, at all events, brought to a conclusion within a very limited period. But in the Committee of that House the case was very different. His (Mr. Wakley's), information said, that barristers in Committee were paid by the day, or by the divisions on each clause. The senior barrister commenced arguing the question on the first, sub-division, and he commenced a kind of circle, for there was neither beginning nor end to his argument, but he continued during five hours upon the first sub-division, and at the end of that time it was intimated that the Speaker was at prayers. On the following day one of the Committee said, " Good God, when will there be a termination to this affair I really think I shall insure my life —he has not got through one of his subdivisions—l am sure it will kill me." And yet there were 183 clauses to go through with. The junior barrister in a Committee frequently asked for time, in consequence of his senior being absent, and it was a perfectly notorious thing that seniors frequently required Committees to be adjourned from day to day, and witnesses to be detained, at an enormous expense, until it was conve nient for them to be present. He (Mr. Wakley) had been informed that a junior barrister, very young, addressed a Committee some thing after the following effect:—" Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, the Bill I hold in my hand contains 183 clauses, and each clause contains a distinct subject, and that subject, I find, on being sub-divided, will em brace 13 subdivisions." 183 clauses and 13 sub divisions in each ! When they applied common sense to such a practice as this, he thought it would be seen that it called for immediate remedy, in every view in which the subject could be taken. There was not an aspect in which it could be placed before the mind that did not cry for a remedy. Somebody was robbed. Members of that House were robbed of their time, robbed of their comfort, robbed of their health, and robbed of their convenience ; while other parties were robbed of their money, and might be ruined by these disgraceful proceedings. He thanked the Noble Lord (Lord Howick) for having introduced the subject, and he trusted the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite would endeavour to apply a remedy to the evil complained of. He would only trouble the House with one more remark, and that was, with respect to the secret proceedings of the Committee of the Board of Trade. The Noble Lord had alluded to the vast amount of property that a as placed almost at the disposal of that Board. The Noble Lord also justly stated that every trial in which property was involved was made public. They must recollect that the' character of the Go vernment was implicated in these rumours. Hon. Gentlemen opposite, he was sure, could not be aware of what was said on this subject.—(Hear, hear.) What objection could there be, if the Committee of the Board of Trade acted honestly and uprightly, throwing their doors open, and letting the public see all that transpired.— (Hear, hear.) If there were insuperable obstacles to throwing their doors open—if it were absolutely ne cessary that the tribunal should be a secret tribunal, it would be better that it should be at once abolished, because its continuance, under such circumstances, would not only inflict great injury upon individuals, but would bring the character of the Government itself into disgrace e —(Hear, hear.) Mr. W. Ee GLADSTONE said that the Hon. Gentleman bad made many tbrcible remarkii on the delay which took place in the conducting of the pri vate business before Committees of that House, end he had also asked why the railway departme nt of the Board of Trade did not conduct their business with open doors. He would give the lion. Gentleman ono reason only why they did not do so. If the railway department of the Board of Trade were to conduct their business in public, the lion. Gentleman would find that there would be the same complaint made of the delays, the dilatoriness and the expense of con ducting investigations before that Committee that he had so justly made of the manner in which private business was conducted before Committees of that House. He admit ted the g difficulty which existed, from the not coei d u cting the inquiries before the Board of Trade wit h open doors but on the other hand, it should be considered that these inquiries were not final; they were merely piC liminary inquiries. On no other grou nds could tile constitution of that tribunal be defensible.—(Cheers.). The real question was, if, on the whole, it was expedient that some such preliminary inquiry shouio be made. He confessed that be was of e r g nion that however doubtful might be their d ecision . in some instances, on the whole the exe4l- ment had worked well. lie admitted that any inquiry involving secrecy must be necessarily,ilq?_l- feet, and therefore he fell back upon th e deciara %_ which had been made last session, that t hese inquirt t before the Board of Trade did n ot profess ed give any definite result.—(Cheers) W o e the House would look at the question, not upon abstract principles, but with a view to practice! re' 11, 3. sults. They were at present in a great cris railway matters. A mass of propo sals had beep brought f sward. The whole specu l a tive arti, ° _ d n of the country seemed to be concentratrbe or upon railways, and although fault toigh e t the found with some of the decisions eons Committee of the Board of Trade and valid objecting might be urged against those 'inquiries Mouse'! conducted in public, yet he would ask the ire what condition they would have found themsehresi); no preliminary inquiry had taken Ple ce ( i e4O if, at the present moment, they bad m ß o ai n l hi?. Com swawyithß,i,lults any y d nelnuothteotagbuliedeofththeemHose °f esti the gation of their respective merits, but n tviiinlgveton• whole of them subject to those delays of which th i e ri ct of Gentleman had so justly complained in the co°"1:013, th® private business of the House. The s ubject ' we re no doubt, undergo further investigation at a c such time, and there could be no doubt that evir; r mu st immense interests were involved certain partilesihoed be disappointed. The lion. Gentleman ha° alluded to certain rumours, but he would express autoe° oe the opinion that up to the present mottl, favourwhole, the - public sentiment was I° de part' of those decisions to which the ra ilway ca ne. ment of the Board of Trade had , es , / to The arrangements had been made w ith a "behalf candour and impartiality. lie must say' 0 ? v it ae, of the Railway Departme,nt of the Board bale bea n that the utm .st possible precautions b,lr e Gen' made to insure secrecy. The HonouraL" ahr oaa tleman said that notions had gone reports as to what the nature of these e , Gentl e : would be. A very small part of the 11 ° t hat man's sagacity would enable him to see that mptio , was no proof, nor even a very strong Pre'llrailvrel that anything had been divulged from the the la d on • department. If their decisions were foulw , this bete'', facts of the case, those parties who cam e an 111 deartment for examination, would gt e-- re eilts' what transpired, some inkling as to the Pr°h able decisv ns and, therefore, in the same proportion as t hese ~o n oo ti: were just and proper, in the very same P r° P cdl t i erte i°eci cl cipations approaching to certainty would he y ° n os I°, The House might rest satisfied that eyef t y of any been taken in order to prevent the Phs sibi I made on premature disclosure. No communication waSembera the subject by any person except one of the h i ho es V I that department. Eren with respect to the ' de part" which communications were put for the railw a l l i a e ea" ment of the Board of Trade, locks of a Perticold c t a r p u e ct i i n on th w a ' t er w e a affixed, so that no intelligear,eueegh moors had gone , abroad, doahzyet tusnt ostahyinthagttbsathcvsotiotiroecond: spired had in any degree tended t,° d evic e him that anything had been improper*: nt of t With respect to his Noble Friend the Fre sid; lo . ce his• Board of Trade, that Noble Lord bad been 3et'hir;-, own responsibility, but it never occurred t° li eth Gladstone) that he was a holder of s hares- esai e ri spect to the other three gentlemen that had, been res t e c e f they certainly were connected with sad it s'e' e c i before he (Mr. Gladstone) came into office ; tt r et her • t1; 0 occurred to him to ask them the question %cud held shares or not, though he certainly Wa s noe int,° . er that they did. There was, however, on° a e t e l e sibi e l e ) e for which he was responsible. lie was re s r;eo the appointment of Mr. O'Brien, a genders'° '00 1 " e' commission in her Majesty's service ; a nd 11 ' 1 ',, spot il eg. that upon that gentleman's appointment, e fsl c r i • ously made the statement that he was a lwe' h e ce ld e e af and it was therefore agreed upon that be s " A s t 1) ith diately dispose of them.—(H ear , hear.) nf had fallen from the Hon. Nl em ber for Fz i l e . P r- e be regard to the many evils attendant uri n , si stem of management, the great exP, e ,e - e se ,lt een begged to assure him that it was very ‘ 1 , 1 " . ; „ -I t *t l o i) a re:nedy. and that these causes of c omPla„. l ..--(jep possible to remove by any sweeping me"s",,^ t . of s e ; h ey He and those eith whom he bad the hon ° l - re a S 1 1 0 4 had applied V'emselves diligently to such P l l ' e se t ere ct conceived would be best calculated to " e re ° bll ob causes of complaint piecemeal ; but theY s ere so inset to approach them with great elution ; ei'l°ll,tise to contend against in the shape of the co nlittr as ,) oi of contending local inter. sts.—(He ar ' i es• of year he and his colleagues proPose,„asieg ,ese, experiment, to refer certain 1.31115, ih - tha t ps`r, e te' points, to a Committee appointed for e been mate' and they had found that experiment to hav, cre es° , •Jea rially beneficial. But still the difficulties ° sa e art)) ; ets ingly great, great r than the Hon. Meinheri';o he more & 9 either of removing or checking- I s ' c otl l ' l c P. ctlt Gladstone) believed that the lion. Menju i c ",, t easily blanch the cheek of some fereiga properly shert the speech of a prose' la"q" e eint s ' ter.) In order to remedy these conflicting diffiesc which he and his colleague had found so ite,t l . ., c t r erP ° t he they had been engaged in measures for tn,,,reyietediii% measures which would tend materially to af . u e et ts,e. h is - less of time, and very much lessen the exPe',,, s ed / 03 0 Private Bills. With respect to the Bills erei (e s- Noble Friend (Lord G. Somerset) he o.l.'tbe le rug( rd begged to express his entire concurrence "e' Lions of the Noble Lord opposite ; and th d i,posit r i c e might rest assured that there was everY j e st ~s t the part of her Majesty's Government to P o e eep tope , oni be all parties. On the other hand, he eh e o n la - that every fair indulgence and considers d shown to those engaged on those Bills tea s ~ pithy found that all their energies had been dev9 hand ing the vast mass of b u siness in their u u i„ ti something like manageable limits. co le pa r Mr. DI VETT said he was disposed to A ii N e d to view taken by the Right Hon. Gentlensan• ha d op? goo' ties with whom he was acquainted, '‘h°teod the Board of Trade, had (as we under.sisat boa co ol Gentleman) stated that' the secrets of t hereof° a ov r e r been strictly preserved. Ile thought th n st. l hc e te4o;lo' be one scheme better adapted than ,„ e go , t oo the evils so graphically described by , hat • man, it was that of having a tribunal V i _t . riot je: the purpose of extunieing the merits of t_D e ' nee es s a t ( t ios s Mr. ENTWISLE thought that no . a o ' n of p_casoin; lay should take place in the presentatilliosed 5 At the same time, parties should be, v,,,,, cs ted inc ur far . able time after the Board of Trade lieu r ep WOO ld in o lt them, to determine whether or not they ore r e ' on ther expenses. Mto hi r m . I t t h . a Y n O t oR connect n s e a c i t i improvernothinuguccatotouhatleidir bif,Bs;, duct of the Board of Trade. whatever way it was managed, Board of Trade did ooze out. Ho knee, crea tb t 'A be s r i „, railway, the shares of which were, w hen t, zi lie kept at par on the morning of the the 6 { ; th etee' e , was published. But two hours be ) 91 esce fe s peered, the shares rose to a premium L, the`;',. cs linA, this was a matter worthy of the attentr.%,sont ' sac cl je e e ment, as it had a tendency to raise tail Went Viv re e e r towards the departments of the G(re k u now e. b v olt terminations were prematurely made the the were communicated to the public, t f. channel—that of the Government its e 15. (1.1 Leave was then given to bring in_t°, foe'r ne THE SHERIFFS' COURT SMA.leu Mr. WALLACE the motion of which he had given noal_eetie _ou il i g h r the Sheriffs' Court Small Debt Act, before be fore a gLaAveNDno)tiecteCtThi.tt.he_slovoicthosep.so.eseefoP°ll:lo_ tribunal.—The i r b m u e n d a that T thhee motionsubj ec t been taru t l irawri . , retur fr., ti i . o ' r e t .t h i e , Lord stituted by the Act 6 and 7 Witt ete ber , 184 : 0 1, ee n 'ter year ending the 31st thy of Dse _ a e o n / 46, 13, • • , " Return of the Police SuperaMin c - v ' 04 4 . fell toted under the Art 6 and f pec , eo ber , eivi a the year ending the 31st day O . „ epoe s re t c, ooda , b ser , " Return of the Names of all sions or Gratuities from ing the date in each case of th Cob 01 ,.1 rers et ocp eith er ct °f _totteabeTOelieviltde°D.l, Ith; vice, the rank or emp loyment e ° _„ ere`l IsYsels cause and date of retirement, eth amount eeetter ore' the date of retirement, and th received wee char g ro e tie per annum, or otherwise , as an above Funds, specifying on which w h i ch the made." nuation fund had been improperly sarrY 11,° 11 - He knew of several instances_ i n a a n a a cisb ' o_ c a eat arida. had retired without receiving t ha t any wh ich ..co lieved that Major Warburton ?cl aw ,. cei . jot die surgeon. Now, it was ins Po ss D be r ode 1. 3 tato one surgeon. 18 could give his approbation to t ould 'but 1 Jan e ' bre ° funds had been applied. to August, 1842, a per case of an individual wbioodlihaeoefl to ba d ter , Y e tTu°' months, but was then, ()wit% d ottac r to resign. He was of perfectly goo the P°°,,i'd" tithes e to man, he was now past service, ... c p., o alie The Government was insloortl tiv 'h a rids, /t u , s r a s put the funds into other. / or -a -. 0 that the a t k h e ey t h e were pe a c j e ult i l o y d pr t ,t r : b c , o u r e f t e s s d o t . h a e . ° co t ,' D o t o r o ' f ' r r c coi tt for the maintenance of en setae °f it ihe otberir;o stabulary in the disturbed po fte rte ivo so tee' the country was perfectly dls e tt ri 'ir e d oh to co g r the W 3 0 9, thought the Government wais to a ccoun t he el se t ee l planation on the subject, an Oven Act had " qua in which the policy of their into the V' He should not go more at 10,,ta OTAHEITE. Sir G. GREY wished to put a question to the First Lord of the Treasury, in reference to that por tion of her Majesty's speech which referred to the discussions which had taken place last year between her Majesty's Government and the French Govern ment, relative to the island of Otaheite. As the close of last session the Right Hon. Gentleman declined giving any detailed information as to the nature of the correspondence which had taken place between the two countries, and expressed his intention ofsnlamitting to the Mouse, at a future period, full information on the subject. Now, without expressing any opinion as to the course the Government had taken, he might say, that no man more sincerely rejoiced than himself, that the dissensions between the two countries had been so satisfactorily arranged between the two Governments. He for one would be extremely unwilling to press for the production of any correspondence which might tend to create a feeling of irritation, or foment discord and jealousy between the two countries. At the same time it could not be overlooked that this question was exciting a very warm interest among a very large class of persons in this country, as it was regarded as of great importance both to our national honour and interest. At present the House was in possession of no informa tion except that which they had derived through the medium of the public newspapers, from documents that had been submitted to the French Chambers. He wished to know whether the Right Hon. Gentleman had any objection to produce the correspondence which had taken place ? Sir R. PEEL trusted that, as the correspondence was of a somewhat delicate nature, the Right Hon. Gentleman would not press for the production of the whole of it. Now that the affair had come to a ter mination honourable to the two countries, and, he trusted, satisfactory to all parties, he did hope that he should not be pressed for the production of the whole of the documents. He would have the greatest pleasure in laying before the House the result of those negotia tions—that was to say, the two letters of M. Guizot and the letter of his Noble Friend. He objected to the production of this correspondence on exclusively public grounds. It was not necessary for the vindi cation of the character of Mr. Pritchard, because Mr. Pritchard had been originally appointed, before those differences existed, to a situation of higher emolument, and which embraced a more extended sphere of action, and that appointment, had bepn conferred since these transactions had taken place. If he were to present the whole of the docu ments to the House he would have to present a correspondence which had taken place between officers in the naval service of France, and 'in the naval service of this country, of a highly irritating character ; and, as the whole affair had been amicably settled, h e should be exceedingly sorry to be compelled to produce that correspon dence.—(Loud cheers) But that amicable termina tion had been chiefly brought about, not by corre spond2nce, but by daily communication, between the representative of the French Government in this country and his Noble Friend and himself. Any correspondence, therefore, which could be produced would present but an imperfect record of but presenting no sue h of what had passed. The represe ntativ aof the French Government had more amp le mean.; in his powerassed Lie could owe reacno record existed t e record o a f s t w h h e g Uoverument was had concerned. p the House that he did not shrink from the production of these papers, because he thought their production would be injurious to the Government, but he did hope that if the feelings of the House and of the country were favourable to the principle of bringing these differences to an amicable conclusion, and as each party had male concessions, for the sake of bringing the matter to that amicable conclusion—if the House was satisfied with the course which the Government had taken, he trusted they would be content with the production of the result of those communications, and would not press for the pro duction of those portions of the correspondence which were of an irritating character.—(Loud cheers.) He felt obliged for the manner in which he had put the question, and he trusted that, after the announcement which had been made, the Right Hon. Gentleman would not press for the production of the whole of the papers. Lord J. RUSSELL thought that the production of the results of the correspondence would be satisfactory. It would be irregular to press for papers, the production of which would be in jurious to the public service, and as to the produc tion of any irritating correspondence, he would not press for it. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS BILL. Mr. P. BARING, seeing the Right llon. Gentle man the Secretary of the Home Department in his place, would ask him if it was his intention to intro • duce, during the present session, any measure for the regulation of the Ecclesiastical Courts ?--(Cheers.) Sir JAMES GRAHAM had already given notice of the introduction of several measures of very great importanee during the present session ; but, from the experience of the last two sessions —(A laugh)— he despaired of being enabled to bring in any measure for the regulation of Eccle siastical Courts, which would be satisfactory to the present Parliament.—(Cheers and laughter.) He knew not what might be the intention of his Hon. and Learned Friend the Advocate-General—(A laugh)—but he himself had no intention of bringing forward any measure on the subject.—(Laughter.) Lord J. RUSSELL put a question relative to the charter of the College of Surgeons, which we could not catch. COLLEGE OF SURGEONS. Sir J. GRAHAM said the Hon. Member for Finsbury had given notice of a motion for the pro duction of the charter to the College of Surgeons. He had offered no opposition to the production of other papers connected with the subject. These papers would be laid upon the table. Mr. WAKLEY said the Right Hon. Gentleman had not correctly interpreted the nature of his motion, which was for a copy of the memorial pre sented to the Crown from the Council of the College of Surgeons. MONTE VIDEO AND BUENOS AYRES. Mr. EWART said he would feel obliged for an answer to the question he was about to put, if it were convenient to the Government to answer it ; if not, he would put the question on some other occasion. He alluded to the trade of the river La Plata, which had been so much obstructed of late, and it would give him great pleasure to hear that there was even an approximation to an arrangement of the subject. The British merchants entertained great apprehensions regarding the trade with these parts, as the Government of Buenos Ayres had inter fered with the navigation of the River Plata. He had hoped, from the aspect which things presented last session, that some combined operations on the part of the Governments of France, England, and Brazil, would be attempted. Sir ROBERT PEEL said he regretted exceed ingly the prolongation of those lamentable hostilities between the inhabitants of the two small powers whose quarrel disturbed the commerce of Eu rope. He could assure the Honourable and Learned Gentleman that this question had occupied the attention of the Government during the recess. He had had a communication with the Go vernment of Brazil, and with the Government of France on the subject. He could not better illus trate the importance of a cordial co-operation be tween France and England, than by mentioning what had occurred on this subject. When the proposal for interference was made to France, that Goverment at once hearkened to the call, and joined in their efforts. He trusted that, with the concurrence of Brazil, the three Governments, by acting in complete concert, would make such representations to the belligerent parties as would terminate these disastrous events. He hoped the good sense of the parties would not reject such mediation.—(llear, hear.) ASSIZE EXPENSES IN IRELAND. Lord CLEMENTS wished to know whether the expenses of the judges going to the assizes in Ireland had been increased, in consequence of any recent arrangement? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the Noble Lord was not present last session when the votes regarding law expenses in Ireland were under the consideration of the House. The grounds for seeking an additional allowance were simply these :--By an Irish Act of Parliament the judges were allowed 201. Irish to provide them selves with lodgings in the; several assize towns in Ireland. The sum was found inadequate to obtain lodgings in which the judges could decently reside; and it appeared therefore to the Government that an estimate should be submitted to Parliament for an increased allowance. Accordingly an estimate was submitted in the course of the last session, and Parliament acquiesced in the amount fixed, namely, 6691. for the thirty-nine assize towns.